Bill Hagerup has prepared a full post-race report on the US Region One Footy Championship. It was held on August 26 in New Hampshire. In a day of high winds the smaller rigs prevailed. Read the rest here.

The Chris Dicks Award design competition has so far been very successful in bringing attention to the Footy class, which is attracting many builders and newcomers to model yachting. Last year's competition attracted 8 very varied, original and exciting entries and we hope that there will be even more new designs entered this year. Please find attached PDF notice about the Chris Dicks Award design competition which is open to anyone in the UK.

I know that some of you designers have some new designs and hope that you will be submitting them by the deadline of midnight on Sunday 18th November. I would ask club secretaries to please forward this to all your members or anyone you know who may be interested in the class or considering designing a Footy and submitting an entry.

This class is an ideal way to get newcomers introduced to model yachting, because they sail well, are small, inexpensive and provide good racing. It is not as daunting to spend just a few pounds on a basic boat, as it is to spend a few hundred on something more complex. They are currently being registered at a rate of 2 per week.

To remind you of last year's presentation to the MYA AGM, see the display board.

Please contact me Roger Stollery if you have any queries.

Cheers, Roger

Angus Richardson sends us a comprehensive and humorous report on the September race at Slithey Tove in the UK. Read it here.

Angus Richardson sends along his September UK Footy Newsletter. He has information on the Burton and District Model Boat Club as well as a Footy demonstration to be given at the Two Islands MYC.

Angus Richardson sends along his latest UK Footy Newsletter. Angus has undertaken to plot the UK Footy sailors and clubs in a Google mapping application. From the look of it, the British Isles are about to sink under the weight of the multi-colored markers indicating boats and clubs.

After the success of Gosport there may be an incentive for further Footy events. There's also some rumor of a Liverpool 2008 event. More details in the newsletter itself...

Derek Morland's boat was the 100th Footy to be registered in the UK. That's amazing growth for a new class of boat!

Slithey Tove Trophy regatta to be held at Llandudno, Conwy, UK on September 16, 2007. See the Notice of Race and the entry form for more details.

The Triangle Model Yacht Club will host a Fall Footy Regatta in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA on October 14th, 2007. You can find more by reading the Sailing Instructions or viewing the Entry Form.

Angus Richardson has sent out his latest Footy Newsletter. This time he highlights the Gosport Footy Championship being held in Gosport on Sun 29 July. There's also a P.S. about another possible Footy regatta in Raleigh, North Carolina (USA).

Guildford Model Yacht Club were invited to Crawley Mariners' water at Hedgecourt Lake to provide some model yacht racing for their members. Martin Crysell, Mark Mortimore and I visited the club and also invited Footy sailors, Nick Burden from Southwater Dabblers, and other local Footy sailors Gary Sanderson and David Sweet to take part.

The approach to the club by car was most unusual in that one turned off the A 264 just west of East Grinstead down a narrow track through a thick wood. Over half a mile of winding through this dense undergrowth the Dinghy Park, Club and Lake appeared as if the light was being gradually switched on as one approached. It is a beautiful open water with well landscaped edges close to agricultural fields. The clubhouse and launching jetties close to the windward end of the lake did cut down the moderate south-westerly wind, but there was enough to give good sailing. What wasn't so welcome was the rain, which not only halted the tennis at Wimbledon but also spoiled somewhat the ambience of this summer evening.

Commodore Donald Roche welcomed us and set out a small triangular course whilst skippers, used to sailing dinghies, had to go with the models. There were four Marbleheads, two BOTTLE boats, five Footy and one 2 foot boats, and a small plastic kit boat. Lots of problems mainly to do with inexperience caused havoc in the first race with two Footy boats beating all the bigger boats not just on handicap, but boat for boat! Many had a go with more than one boat and experienced a reasonable range of what good model yachts had to offer, from the speed of the Marbleheads, the acceleration of the BOTTLE boats and the nippy manoeuvrability of the Footys. These were enjoyed right to the end of the evening as the rain stopped and it started to get dark. During the racing Nick, with his new design 'Buttercup 2' was pleased to win one of the races as was Gary with his balanced McCormack single sail rigged 'Bobabout'. I was also pleased that the new design 'ANT' handled very nicely in the gusts as well as sailing as fast as the 'BUG' on its first trip out.

We have left some leaflets and hopefully Crawley Mariners will take up this branch of the sport and be able to enjoy even more racing on their beautiful lake. Donald thought that this would be good for teaching newcomers sail, training and in particular learning the rules. Pictures are here.

Report by Roger Stollery 2007-06-28.