Welcome to the BQYC Website

Affiliated to the RYA

The Yacht Club on the south side of the River Blackwater estuary at Bradwell-on-sea in Essex open to all who have an interest in sailing. Log in on Google map CM0 7QX >>>map

Are you new to sailing or just wanting to relocate to a new area and need a mooring as opposed to going into a marina> If so BQYC may well be the club for you , very good access usually restricted to one hour each side of low water, contact us for more details about availability

BQYC welcomes New Members

bqyc We are pleased to welcome people who want to know who we are and what we do, as well of course visiting yachtsmen and their crews. No pressure involved, just come along to the Clubhouse at the weekend or to an advertised event to meet us . If after a few visits you like what you see then you can apply for membership and attend on a permanent basis .

Our aim is to promote and advance the enjoyment of sailing and in our case that of cruising as we do not have a junior or dinghy section. Club races are part of our activity for those who feel the need to hone their skill to a higher level. A social programme during the winter months involved talks and lectures often by members giving insight into the sailing activity. Communication with members who live remote or are not able to visit the clubs as frequently as others is via the in-house produced magazine MAINSHEET where contributions are continually welcome/needed.

VISITING CLUBS - who wish to use the club house facilities (BBQ and bar) should contact the club secretary Roger Price on 01621 890170 email honsec.bqyc@virgin.net

News Items

Sailing and social programme -

Click on the picture if you want to see in details what the committee have organised for this coming year

Saturday Feb 4th - Club night - included a talk and demonstration on many safety aspects, have a look at the attached for full detail click here

January news letter - click here if you had a copy of the draft programme distributed at the AGM then please note that the club event planned for the 14th Jan has been cancelled

Boris Island airport resurrected This news that the Government would look at a new London Airport in the Thames Estuary as part of its overall review of airport needs in the South East was met with groans of dismay from East Coast yachtsmen. click here

rnli RNLI sponsored row-

have a look on the Gallery to see just how the BQYC team performed

Red diesel update - read the latest information supplied by the legal officer Gus Lewis at the RYA with particular reference to Belgium and thus the reluctance of clubs to visit until it has been resolved at Government level -- click here

Childrens party - Santa turned up yet again and so did David Portswain to take some high quality pictures if any parents want copies then contact him direct

AGM - Tony Comber was elected to be the new Commodore , other flag officers are Chris Dyer, Chris Knight and Linda Comber as Treasurer. Roger Price has yet again agreed to continue as Secretary. Reflecting these stringent economic times the meeting agreed with a committee proposal not to increase the membership fees from last years rate .

Layling Creek - there will be new buoys laid before the year end by Maldon district Council to improve navigation into Maylandsea. NM- full story

BACSPA - has dropped the Protection element from it name and in now called Blackwater & Colne Sailing Association (B&CSA), this was approved at the recent AGM when Gerry Askham was appointed the new chairman following the retirement of Chris Edwards.

Silverware Awards - have a look on the Racing page for the listing of who won what this year

Cable Laying across the entrance of Fishermans Gat Whilst the cable is being laid across the entrance of Fishermans Gat the Fishermans Gat will be CLOSED to NAVIGATION for this part of the operation. London VTS will broadcast when the Gat is closed. Latest information can be obtained from London VTS either by telephone 01474 560311 or by VHF channel 69. Additional project information can be obtained from London array’s website

The River Bailiff has issued a NM click relating to an 150m exclusion zone around the baffle effective 4th October 2011 until the expected completion date of the work in February 2012- this will prevent any vessels making a passage inside of the baffle wall click. Full details can be found on www.eastcoastsailing.co.uk . Barges will move into position w/c 10th October with the work starting on the 17th. click , along with disturbing news of an underwater obstruction found at the up river entrance to Bradwell creek click here

Phone contact - To book the scrubbing post the new number is 07714 292809

The entrance to the Brightlingsea Marina can be tricky unless the angle is correct, the mud is building up inside up so vessel ground at low water,

Baffle wall removal - the latest information received from Magnox in response to comments from BQYC.- >>>full update

Weather - There is now a direct link to the RYA website which gives up to the minute weather and tidal information >>>weather/tides

History -If you want an interesting history lesson on the origin of Bradwell then have a look at the following link >>>more

Major items of interest to all who sail on the east coast including the latest data on wind farm developments- can be found on the RYA East web site

Mainsheet - our regular magazine

This is something that we all feel is vital to the enjoyment of members and to promote the sense of belonging that makes for a thriving and active club. It's no good putting on events if no-one knows about them.

Our annual programme booklet is obviously a key element in letting everyone know what is going on. However it is recognised that sometimes the individual events don't make it into diaries or onto calendars, so gentle reminders are sent out by e-mail (if you have one), in the club magazine 'Mainsheet' or posted here on the website.

Mainsheet is published quarterly and is a great forum for passing on members sailing experiences (good or bad!), technical tips, reports of club events, FREE adverts of items for sale, members comments on club matters etc. You might even feature in the ‘Overheard in the Clubhouse' section! Copies of the last issue or two are available in the clubhouse entrance. They should give you a good insight into what we get up to. If you would like a copy just call 01621-890173 and one will be put in the post to you.

Contributions for the next issue to the New Editor - Tanya Meadows 01268 570679 tanyameadows25@yahoo.co.uk