Cobnor 2026 - Brian Beavis writes:

Published 11:09 on 25 Jun 2026

Friday dawns, hot and still, awaiting wind, tide and our young sailors. By early afternoon the Bosun is busy on the terrace with several helpers, dinghies being rigged, RIBs loaded and ready for a quick departure.

14:45 hours - WhatsApp message received . sailor down. A trip to A&E and he'd not left school yet! Best wishes for a speedy recovery Isaac.

Hailey hastily looks for a replacement mum Caroline steps in to sail with Tobias to save the day.

It was nearing briefing time when they came; on foot, by bike, by car and bus, even by rail! .... all on time for the briefing, with the sun is shining and a southwesterly 10-12 knot breeze, perfect conditions to sail.

Escort slips the pontoon at 16:45 hours, then the rag tag fleet of Picos, Mirrors, Fevas, Bahias and a 2000 slip to follow into adventure; 17 boats, 36 young sailors, 2 dads and a mum; with Hailey aboard Escalibur leading the way and patrol boats and Escort to shepherd the fleet.

At Sweare Deep, the first rally point to close up the fleet, our first capsize of the afternoon, but all is OK and on we go.

With favourable wind and tide we're at Marker point in no time and the harbour opens up before us. We continue on down Emsworth Channel for another 15 minutes to N Pilsey and to Rally before we turn east to cut across the end of Stockers Lake.

It's getting a little lumpy now, we're downwind against the outgoing tide, some opt for kites, others roll on downwind with the occasional swim.

At 17:58 hours, our final capsize of the day and the fleet closes up again then on to Chalkdock, it's only 18:15 hours and we've flown down from ESC and across the harbour.

18:17 hours - WhatsApp message from Escort to shore party . at Cobnor Point, beach party prepare.

18:30 WhatsApp from ashore - "the fleet is in sight, here they come".

The fleet turn into Bosham Channel, and the wind falls away, the fleet slows now in the wind shadow of Cobnor Point and the ebbing tide, to crawl toward the final destination, Cobnor Activity Centre, but no tows required today!

18:35 hours - Escort in on the mooring, RIBs shepherd the final dinghies ashore, the passage just an hour and 50 minutes!

Time for showers, refreshments and dinner -evening aromas wafting around the camp were all sorts of culinary delights, from burnt burgers & bangers, steak to fish & chips!

On Saturday morning, 12 of our adventurous juniors got stuck into some awesome activities run by Cobnor. They kicked things off with crate stacking - definitely not for the faint-hearted! The winning team crushed it, managing to stand right at the top of their 14-crate-high tower. After a quick drinks break to catch their breath, they headed over to the trampolines for a fast-paced aeroball tournament. Massive congratulations to Emma and Harry for crowning themselves the ESC aeroball champions!

Saturday afternoon saw lighter winds and cloudier skies but Bosham channel was calling us to begin the orienteering challenge! The fleet of 12 crewed boats had to navigate as many coded bottles as they could, attached to various marker buoys across the channel and return to Cobnor AC against the tide with an easing breeze. With the marks almost in place, the fleet set off to find the codes, battling sinking markers against the tide, moored yachts getting in the way and shallow waters resulting in a few walkers and mystery marks that were mysteriously missing! To say it was a challenge for our intrepid sailors is an understatement, but with pure grit and determination all made it back to shore, if not slightly outside of the arrival time. Everyone had a great time, we certainly did on the committee boat. Well done to all of the sailors and a huge thank you to all of the safety volunteers - this wouldn't have been possible without you!

Saturday evening's entertainment was excellent - whilst dads compared the size of BBQs and the colour of their burnt burgers and bangers, there was football and touch rugby, then followed birthday cake!

Back on the field of play there was then frisbee, until a tree thought we were playing catch, that brought it to a stop. Enfys showed her little monkey side, with a very agile tree climb, which was a little too high so was brought to an end. Next came rounders with sailors batting and parents fielding, only to find we're not as agile as we used to be, and oh those butter fingers!

To round off the evening, marshmallows on the fire pits as darkness fell, all eventually quiet on camp, nearing midnight in some tents!

Sunday morning back on the field of play - a cunning plan to recover the frisbee was hatched and the frisbee released from the tree without having to leave the ground! Time to break camp, pack down and back into sailing kit.

Meanwhile at the waters edge, it was still and hot, with not a breath of wind, so no hurry to get afloat. Safety and sailors briefings - key topics keeping hydrated, sun hats, sun screen, it's going to be hot, hot, hot, . and the possibility of a tow.

At 12:00 hours, with military precision, the fleet was assembled and rigged at the waters edge holding for launch. Then as it by magic, a light zephyr filled in which quickly built to steady 10 knots.

At 12:23 hours the call went out "launch the fleet" - within 3 minutes all had slipped, with Escalibur as lead, the fleet found they way through the moored yachts of Bosham channel, to join the steady stream of yachts and motor cruisers coming down Chichester channel and out into the harbour.

With the tide in full flood, the fleet tacking upwind and tide, some taking in the shallows to avoid the tide, whilst others mid channel and fighting the tide, in just over the hour we made landing at East Head, having managed to find a spot to beach the fleet and RIBs, leaving Escort at anchor.

Picnics & swims, then on again .. the breeze now failing as we cross the harbour heading for Emsworth channel, for the wind to drop away, leaving the fleet ghosting along with a lone seal on the west shore; time to tow tailenders to the front. By the time we arrived at Sweare Deep, a light breeze again filled in, to let the weary fleet finish under their own power.

16:20 hours - Escort is back on her mooring, all boats ashore, crews tallied off shortly after, the adventure sadly over for 2026 . but what an adventure.

The weekend was well received, here are a few snippets from the feedback received:

" Your amazing voluntary efforts have given the kids (and parents!) amazing memories this weekend"

" The weekend had it all from sun to sailing to s'mores but for me the real magic lay in the teamwork and camaraderie of the whole adventure"

" Such a brilliant weekend full of joy"

" The three best bits were having freedom to explore, climbing trees and the sailing orienteering, but I loved it all"

"Fun, active, adventurous"

"A great weekend as a family and really enjoyed meeting new faces too"

"Josh especially was living his best life from start to finish"

"Awesome, adventurous, epic-sailing, spinnakers, picnic, hot "

" Carl thank you for the drone footage - it's fab xx "

" An epic weekend of brilliant experiences and memories for the kids and parents alike "

" Loved hanging out with friends and meeting new faces and new friends too"

" Wonderful weekend of adventure for Olivia, we all had a lovely time"

" Truly memorable weekend of adventures and memories. Was so gutted to miss itI'll be reliving it through Daisy for weeks to come by all accountsshe was in heaven"

" Unforgettable, fun, exciting"

"Absolutely memorable"

"Too good to miss"

" Dear Hailey, Brian, Euan and Rob, thank you all for organising such an amazing sailing camp at Cobnor. The children absolutely loved all the activities and especially enjoyed the sailing passages. It was wonderful to see them gaining confidence on the water while having so much fun. One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting new people and watching all the children play together so happily. The friendly atmosphere you created made it a really special experience for everyone involved. Thank you for all the hard work, planning and enthusiasm that went into making the weekend such a success. It was truly an epic event, and we very much hope it will be repeated in the future! With many thanks. Carl and Barbara"

From Rob, Euan, Hailey & Brian

We would like to thank all who supported the event; the Club for use of the boats, RIBs and Escort, Nigel our Bosun whose fantastic effort on Friday getting boats rigged and ready, all on water crews, trolley dollies, and families too; a big Team ESC effort, a fantastic weekend.

Thank you all for making it such an amazing event.