Cygnets Model Boat Club
Maidstone

Sail Home Page

Sailing boats were very popular with the Cygnets members in the 1980's but died out almost completely in the 1990's. However in the early years of the 2000's, a couple of members started sailing and soon others were adding yachts to their fleet. With this resurgence of interest a separate sail section within the Club was formed - this section continues to grow and approximately 20% of the memberships have yachts, some have also Thames sailing barges. The attraction for sailing is that for a comparatively low outlay, say £75.00, one can have a very attractive and simple to construct model which performs well on the water.

In 2004 it was decided to run a internal Club sailing competition based on a handicap system and run over a ten month (February to November) series of races. The competition was originally for the Cygnets Sail Trophy which was presented at the Annual General Meeting. Late in 2004 one of the stalwarts of the Sail section, Ronnie Richardson, died and it was agreed that the competition would be renamed in his honour.

The competition has become very popular with a variety of yachts being entered. However, this caused a few headaches for the scorers as there were now boats of varying sizes competing for one trophy. In 2008 the committee decided to split the sailing into three separate classes, each with their own cup.

In the past we have convened a Sailing Regatta but this year, 2009, the decision was made to incorporate it in our primary fun day Boats on the Mote which is to be held in mid July.

In 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 the Cygnets Model Boat Club hosted the Championship Finals for the Association of Model Barge Owners (A.M.B.O.).  Again for 2009, we have been asked to host the Championship Finals on the lake in Mote Park, Maidstone, on Sunday the 27^th September. In fact, to whet your appetite, we will be hosting a Championship Round for AMBO on the 24^th of May.  You are very welcome to come along and enjoy the proceedings of the day.

The Sail section of the Club operates almost exclusively on Sunday mornings throughout the year when many yachts take to the water - come along and see for yourself. If you have a model yacht of your own - bring it along and have a sail - you will be made very welcome.

Sailing a model yacht is a very relaxing pastime in that you concentrate on the skills of getting your boat to perform and you can forget your worries (if you have any!!!)