“Quite a lot has happened since my last report.

You may remember the Turkey Race last December. Lots of water and lots of weather. Too much of both. But we made the best of it: we put away the start gun and handed a gavel to our resident Master of Ceremonies, who auctioned the prizes off to the applause of the members; some of whom had battled high tides, overheating engines (and break downs) in order to be there. Hats off to those who stayed aboard despite the cold and rain.

February brought our first visit to the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk where 51 members enjoyed an excellent evening: the biggest turnout since before Covid. As usual, the quality of the food was surpassed only by the company and the surroundings.

April brought a pilgrimage to the Blackfriars Tavern, where we enjoyed beer, pies and a quiz. Hats off to Julia for her excellent organisation, but can I make a request for next years quiz……. Could we have some questions that I know the answer to?!

The next event was the Entertainment Evening, brilliantly organised by John Burton and the team from the Yare SC committee. Hats off to all involved. Nigel Boy Syer and Sadie Louise made for a wonderful evening attended by 70 people. The finale was the whole audience singing along to Rod Stewart’s ‘I am sailing.’ A boost for the club funds, as well as a great event.

Weather and circumstances conspired against the members in the early season and the Perryman Race was deferred. So the Spring Regatta was the first proper event of the year. With a fleet of motor boats and eleven sailing boats, it was a good competitive event. In the end it was Glory which took the honours, winning the weekend overall.

The Yare Challenge - Coldham versus the Yare SC - was an excellent weekend for those few folk who took part, only handicapped by very light winds. Once again it was the YSC which took the honours.

The 40th Anniversary regatta was the next event and what an event it was. I must congratulate all the people involved in the organisation of the weekend. It met everyone’s highest expectations and set a benchmark which will be very hard to match in the coming years. On Saturday morning, in very strong winds, a small group of near dare devil sailors hoisted sail on Oulton Broad. For some it was chaos with sails coming untied on one boat and water pouring into the forehatch of another. Great for spectators and all the while Stella Genesta calmly took the wind in her stride and lifted the trophy. Then part of the fleet braved the lock and the salt water to make the trip to the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk for a magical evening. The following morning all headed back to fresh water. Up Lake Lothing and through the lock for the Perryman Race to Somerleyton. Keeping up tradition, Farthing came first. Morning Calm was second.

August came and with it the Breydon Regatta. A marvelous turnout of boats from the Northern Rivers swelled the numbers and the wind and weather did not disappoint. Saturday saw an outstanding turnout including the newly constructed River Cruiser Shark. 12 boats came to the line on Saturday morning for a race won by Mystery. Sunday dawned with a light wind. Competitors were faced with the dilemma. Wait for the wind to build or aim to time the tide accurately? The weekend ended with Mystery winning the Breydon Barometer.

The Autumn Regatta opened with the Junior Race. A short course was set and six boats came to the line. Jack Copping won sailing Swallowtail with a margin of only five seconds over Jasper Richardson sailing Ladybird. Willum Johnson was third sailing Glory. The wind improved for the afternoon pursuit race and twelve boats came to the line. This time it was Willum Johnson’s race as he held off the fleet to finish first. Someone ignored the crew’s warning of an island floating down the Yare and I ran aground mid river. What no one expected was the gale, which turned the Yare into a Fairground Ride overnight, with boats bouncing up and down on the moorings. Sunday dawned with a strong but manageable wind. The morning race was won by Valkyrie with Glory in second place. The afternoon race saw the places reversed. With Glory taking the honours from second placed Valkyrie; Ladybird was a consistent third in both races. So ended an exciting and eventful weekend.

The Cecil Howard race set the race officer a difficult task. Very light winds and a favorable tide meant that a straight race to Coldham would be a very brief sail, so a loop was added to provide a challenge… And what a challenge it was. 17 boats came to the line but only ten finished. Light winds and a tack against the tide defeated 7 boats. In the end it was Starlight Lady which took first place, followed by Sabrina 2.

The wind and weather continued to dominate the year as with a strong gale forecast the YNR was cancelled.

So my report has only two more items: don’t forget the Turkey Race and, most of all, a huge Thank You to all the people who stepped up to make this such a special year. A special call for John Burton and all who made the special social event work so well, all the members of the committee and all the people who manned the line and the club boat. We owe all of them a great thank you. They make our club work.”

Additional thanks were offered to Brian and Michelle Thompson from the floor, for stepping in to help on many occasions. The Secretary then gave her report, covering some of the same ground as the Commodore, but additionally mentioning the joint social with EACC and the Autumn Cruise to Beccles. She also offered her thanks to Adrian and Margaret.

Bill then presented the Treasurer’s report on behalf of Adrian, who was unavoidably in London. There was some discussion from the floor, but ultimately the report was accepted by the membership. With the same committee then being quickly elected for next year, Julia went on to outline the programme for 2026, highlighting the difficulties of avoiding clashes with other events. Bill thanked her and Adrian for their work in compiling this.

After the photographic competition judges had been selected, the meeting was then closed just after seven o’clock and most of those present retired to the bar before sitting down for a group meal. They then spread out and separated into four teams for a thirty-question quiz by the landlord, Glenn. This proved challenging in places! After ten moderately difficult general knowledge questions, the next questions were names of straits and we had to work out which countries they were between. The Bering Strait was easy, but the Denmark Strait had us all fooled and as for the Makassar Strait…

The ten final, easier, general knowledge questions were a light relief. In the end, the scores were close, with “Scuppered” on 18 points just losing out to the “Foxtrotters” who scored 19. A fun evening.