Yacht Club Kitchen Blog RIP

Hi all,

It is with great joy that I'm announcing that this blog will be no longer! The BFYC website (www.bfyc.org.uk) has been changed and now is very easy to update. As a result all the information I used to put on the blog will now be on the home page or Kitchen page of the website. Take a look there are plenty of exciting features on there.

I will be changing the website every Tuesday(ish).

Bye for now and thanks.
Dan

Happy New Year B&FYC Members and friends!

Happy New Year to all members and friends of Blackpool and Fleetwood yacht Club.

There are lots of exciting things planned for this year starting with the Annual Eskimo Race on Sunday, the start time is 1245 with the kitchen open as ever from 10am. This is always an enjoyable spectacle and the forecast is looking good. So, even if you can't get out on the water come on down and enjoy the show.

 

New Opening Times:

The bar is now open from 12 till 3 both Saturday and Sunday and for a trial period the kitchen will start opening at 10am and close at 2.30. So if you have not been down in a while, come and see what is on the menu.

The monthly live music nights: "Hooper Nights" with Ian Hooper and guests are moving from Thursday nights to the second Friday in each month. So the first one of the year will take place next Friday 10th January. These are free to everyone to come down and enjoy. The bar is open from 7 with the music starting around 8. Food is served till 9.30, so come on down and come armed with requests!

This months bistro night will be on Friday 17th January but will move to the 4th Friday of the month from February onwards. This is a restaurant style night with a choice of 4 starters, 4 mains and 4 desserts for £15. They also normally sell out with 50 hungry diners being served so book early!

From February the 3rd Friday of the month will be taken up by Ian Gartside (Cruising Secretary) who will be arranging for a number of talks. More info to follow on this.

 

Now all we need is an idea for the first Friday of the month and we will be open every Friday! Any one fancy themselves as a quiz master??

The yacht club events currently on plan are a rules night on Tuesday 21st January and the annual prize giving on February 8th. More details on both those nights to follow.

See you all soon.

Thanks

Dan

Annual Regatta: Bike ride and BBQ, Summer ball and Family Day

Dear member,

 

It is now less than 2 weeks to the Annual regatta!

 

Friday 9th August: Bike ride and BBQ. Start: 7pm at the yacht club with a 3 mile routs along the riverbank to Stannah before returning to the yacht club. The BBQ will be up and running from 7.30 so even if you don't want to do the bike ride come down and enjoy good food, cheap booze and stunning views!

 

Saturday 10th August: Summer Ball. Tickets are £12.50 a head for a 2 course buffet and dancing to DJ Lee. Dress code is smart casual and there is no formal seating plans but we do need to sell tickets in advance so I know how many to cater for! Tickets available NOW! Just email me, text or call. I just need the names of the people in your party and you can either pay in advance or on the door on the night.

 

Sunday 11th August. Family Day. Following the success of last years family day we have decided to do it again! There will be a BBQ, bouncy castle and a Children's entertainer. The racing starts at 1250 and the fun day will start at 1pm. Come down and bring your friends and family.

 

Also in the news...

 

Check out my blog for updates from the cruising captain and the powerboat section (copy the following address into your search bar) :
http://yachtclubkitchen.blogspot.co.uk/

 

If you are setting out on a voyage, whatever the vessel, please let me share the knowledge!

 

See you soon

Dan

Cruising members activities from Ian Gartside

Trinculo, Barrie Abbot-Hull’s Voyager thirty eight, left its winter mud berth as usual at the beginning of the season and sailed straight to Douglas were he took up residence in the Marina pending his departure Southwards towards the Channel Islands. Now retired, Barrie spends his summer cruising using Douglas as a starting point and, in recent years, Trinculo has been seen in Brittany, Ireland, Milford Haven and the South Coast, the Clyde and the West Coast of Scotland and the Hebrides. He invites friends to join him for various parts of the summer and returns to lay up for the winter around October.

Ian Gartside started his season by sailing his newly acquired Westerly Merlin, Lady Jane, from Losiemouth in the Murray Firth home to the River Wyre at the beginning of May. Sadly the good weather had not quite decided to set in so the voyage via the Caledonian and Crinnan Canals turned out to be a cold one.

The Westerly Fulmar Tortola, now owned by Russ Tabiner, was re-engined over the winter and finally made its voyage to Strangford Lough via the Isle of Man. Despite Russ’s tenacity and determination to keep his old engine running, previous attempts to satisfy his yearning to visit Strangford had been foiled by the aforementioned engine’s equal determination to prevent him from getting there.

John and Jim Preston’s Westerly Fulmar, Helvelyn, made its usual passage to Douglas for TT week and was made available to family and friends to enjoy. She is now based in Whitehaven for the rest of the season. John and Jim have done a fine job of refitting Helvelyn  to include a new Bukh engine and an almost total refurbishment of her gear and fitments. She is a ex sailing school yacht but has now been brought back to top condition

John, Ian and Russ are planning a trip in August to the Isle of Man during Manx Grand Pris and if anyone is interested you are welcome to join us. We can’t guarantee the weather but the craak will be good wherever we end up. 

Round Ireland Powerboat and RIB challenge

There are a couple of boats from the club competing in a Round Ireland Challenge, a mammoth 1000 mile expedition (especially as Terry Newton is doing it in a RIB only a little bit bigger than the ones the club has!!).

 

Essentially they set off from Milford Haven last Thursday and will be stopping along the way. I'm hoping for updates from Gordon as they get on...

 

The Rib is called Topcat a 7.5m Scorpion with a 200HP Mariner Optimax, the whole rig  is 13years old but has been recently restored & modified over the winter. I've been doing the final preps for the Challenge. It's been hectic as I've had two Ribs to prepare!  The second one was my 25yr old Delta 5.5m which was in a bit of a sorry state. One month before we set off and Terry Newton decided he wanted to do it in a smaller vessel than his Phantom as it would be more of a Challenge! ! And also use a bit less fuel. It's now got a brand new 90HP Mariner Opti with hydraulic steering new electronics, long range fuel tanks, an additional seat for his team mate Alan McAdams & repairs to tubes and trailer. The engine has now done about 16hrs & runs like a dream obviously Terry would like it to be a lot faster! But it's a good sea boat and should easily cope with Irish sea and Atlantic, if they look after it!

We leave for Milford Haven marina this Thursday & I can't wait to get started after all the hours of preparation.

Regards

 

Gordon

New members night, bistro, Hooper and regatta

Hi all,

 

We have a busy month ahead of us at the yacht club culminating in our Annual Regatta from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th August.

 

Thursday this week is new members night and an opportunity for them to meet existing members of the club so feel free to come on down. The event starts at 7pm with a BBQ, the bar will be open and there is an evening race on too. With the weather like this it will be a fantastic night.

 

 

This months bistro night is on Friday 26th and with 57 attending the last one, I'm expecting another busy one. As ever the menu will be finalised nearer the time but here is what we cooked last time: Starters: Garlic Mushrooms, Pea soup with mint cream, Goats cheese on crustini with rhubarb and horseradish chutney and black pudding on mustard mash with caramelised apple. Mains: Flaked poached salmon with Penne al Pomodoro e Vodka (fresh pasta with a tomato and vodka sauce), Spring lamb shepherds pie, beef bourgignon with dauphinoise potatoes, roast chicken breast with parmesan and polenta crust and pan fried mackerel with rhubarb. Desserts: Individual chocolate fondue, London Syllabub, Strawberry panna cota and Forrest fruit crumble with cream. If any of that takes your fancy come and join us for the next one.

 

Thursday 1st August is Hooper night with live music from Ian and guests. This is a laid back night with a light bite menu available or just pop in for a drink and listen to some great music that you request.

 

Friday 9th August - Regatta kicks off with the usual bike ride and BBQ. The route was well received last year so will remain the same. Start at the yacht club at 7 travelling down the river path to Stannah and up to the pub in Thornton for a pit stop before returning back to the club via Thornton Lodge if you wish.

 

Saturday 10th August - Sailing starts at 1250 and the Summer Ball (dress code to be confirmed) will start at 7pm. The menu for this is also to be decided but there is a band booked so get your dancing shoes on. Tickets will be on sale shortly.

 

Sunday 11th August - Sailing starts at 1330 and this will be a family day with bouncy castle, a children's entertainer and BBQ.

 

Below is an update on Liz and Brian's cruise to Norfolk (maybe) via the north of Scotland with a mention of Tinker Bob who is heading to Shetland. If you are heading off we would love to hear from you and your journey!

 

 

Hi Dan, another instalment at last.
After leaving Luing we went to Oban to get a new alternator , but that's another story! We had a good sail tacking up the Sound of Mull, sitting out the ebb and the night in Ardtornish Bay, a surprisingly good anchorage. Tobermory came next, together with a string of depressions bringing gales. We pottered found Loch Sunart for a few days (otters in Salen) before we had a window to sail round Ardnamurchan Point, tucking ourselves up in Rum for another gale to go through! -Nice place to be stuck though, and saw our first Golden Eagles. 

After a couple of nights on Rum, we crossed the short distance to Canna in a SW5-7, very exciting, especially when a big Calmac ferry went by and added its wake to the mix. One more wet and windy day in Canna, a beautiful island, and the high pressure caught up with us at last. We crossed the (swelly!) Hebridean Sea to Barra, anchoring in Castle Bay. Fog was then the problem but we found the beautiful west coast, of the white beaches and azure seas, in sunshine. What bliss!

Once we were refreshed and restocked, we sailed north to beautiful Eriskay, and had some good walking and fantastic views, especially when the mist lay over the other islands like a fluffy blanket. Now we are at Loch Boisdale on South Uist, and will work our way up to Lewis to coincide with a traditional music festivel, before turning for home.

When we last heard from Tinker Bob he was in the Skye area, having had to acquire a new dinghy after losing his in a gale. He was then heading our way, but we haven't found him yet!

Best wishes. Elizabeth and Brian on Avocet.

 

See you all soon.

Happy sailing.

TONIGHT! Live and Exclusive… And 1 way to spend a weekend on the water:

THIS JUST IN:

Andy Airnes has a Level 2 powerboat course running this weekend which was fully booked. However, 10 people have dropped out so there are spaces available. That’s this weekend: 8^th and 9^th June starting at 9am. The course costs £80 for members or £160 for non-members, please email (amairnes@aol.com) or call (07801716477) Andy to reserve a place or for more info.

 

Hi all,

Hope everyone is enjoying this good weather? Long range forecast shows it lasting well into next week with just patches of rain on Monday.

 

TONIGHT!

For one night (this month) only!

LIVE and EXCLUSIVE:

Ian Hooper and Guests

Bar open from 7. Free Entry.

Come and enjoy the view with reassuringly inexpensive booze.

 

The last couple of weeks we have seen a number of boats from the club set sail throughout the British Isles. A small contingent have gone to watch the TT, some have headed north to Oban and beyond and one is heading to the Scilly isles. We may even have a couple of boats setting off for Shetland today / tomorrow. Good luck in you adventures and see you all safely back soon.

Friday 28^th June is Bistro night. My monthly restaurant style night bringing you a choice of 4 starters, 4 mains and 4 desserts with a varying menu for each one, utilising fresh seasonal produce all for just £15. Reservations are required so drop me a line if you are interested.

Thursday 4^th July is Hooper night.

Thursday 18^th July is new member’s night. The BBQ will be going and there is an evening race starting at 1900 so come down and enjoy a drink or two.

Happy sailing and see you all soon.

Thanks

Dan