January Newsletter

The AGM and Prizegiving Dinner now well behind us, attentions are turning towards the new season. As such, I have a few parish notices and I hope they will whet your appetite for the season ahead!

February London Drinks

The off-season is long, and so this year we are adding a social event to the calendar. On Thursday 26th February, Daring sailors and friends may meet informally in the Britannia Bar at the Royal Thames Yacht Club (London clubhouse) to simply exchange news, make plans for the season, and to enjoy each other's company. The event is not ticketed or pre-booked but it may be helpful to let Thomas Dickson know if you plan to come.

The event may move on to less stately surroundings subject to preferences and whims.

Afterwards, if Tom gets his way...

*Please note that RTYC and RLYC members may be required to register non-reciprocal club members as guests. Please support this casual arrangement as required. Thomas' details are available by WhatsApp or by the members' handbook.

2026 Fixtures List

My thanks to Malcolm for his hard work, and the Fixtures list can be downloaded in both PDF and Excel formats here.

The key point to note is that the Ladies' and Novice races have been rearranged for the May Bank Holiday weekend to avoid a clash with the Andy Cassell Memorial Regatta, which we believe will become an annual feature of the August bank holiday weekend.

2026 Social Calendar

Our new social secretary, Jenny Stutley, has been busy laying the groundwork for this season's social calendar. While some details are to be confirmed, we have an outline, and I'm keen to hear your views on that which is outstanding in the comments below.

Date	Event	Venue	Notes
Thu 26th Feb	Daring Association London Drinks	RTYC	As above
(Cancelled) Sun 24th May	Racing Clinic	N/A	Rescheduled in lieu of Novice/Ladies' Race
Sun 24th May, after racing	May Bank Holiday BBQ	RORC	Planned for Sunday due to conflicting bookings. If a Saturday venue presents itself, we may pivot.
TBC	YCF Weekend	TBC	Pending YCF Engagement, we expect guests sometime in the summer.
Weds 5 Aug, 1900	Cowes Week Drinks Party	RYS	Will modify format compared with 2025: Darings only, no aperol, later start to avoid issues with late sailing finishes.
Sat 29th Aug, after racing	Andy Cassell Weekend BBQ	CCYC
Sun 27th Sept, after racing	Dying of the Light Lunch	TBC	A yacht club in Cowes
Sat 28th November alternate date: Friday 4th December	AGM and Prizegiving DInner	RYS	Will hold a consultation with the class for preferred date

AGM Minutes

Our Hon. Secretary has kindly published the AGM minutes to the website at the link below. Please direct any errata noticed to his email address, which is available in the Handbook.

2025 AGM Minutes

Jib Purchases

This is progressing well at Ratsey and Lapthorn. Owners should be reminded that the second half of the payment will be due on delivery.

Moulds Inspection

Shortly after the AGM, Giles Peckham and David Tydeman visited the moulds which are stored under a hangar at Medina Village in Cowes. In summary, the four moulds (hull, transom, deck, centre console) appear, to David's experienced eye, to be in good order and perfectly serviceable (albeit badly fouled by the denizens of the rafters).

The basic calculus that it leaves us with is that the cost of a new set of moulds in the future would be upwards of 70x the current annual cost of storage. Therefore if we thought there was a half a chance of needing them within a generation, then they should be retained. Options are being explored to reduce the storage costs but, for the time being, disposal has been ruled unnecessary.

Bermuda International Invitational Race Week

I'm pleased to announce that, after a year away, the Darings will be represented at Bermuda IIRW. The Dauntless team of Cowes Week 2025 (Giles, Josh and Thomas Dickson) will be supplemented by Connor Whelan and Oliver Light for the week of 11-15 May. We'll keep you posted on results!