Jo Barker, the first lady commodore of any club on the river Crouch, has signed off at the end of her two-year reign with the Crouch Yacht Club in the knowledge that the club is in probably its most healthy state for years.

She hands over to the new commodore Frank Curtis with a sizeable surplus in the bank and a programme of refurbishment at the clubhouse well underway.

New sliding windows at the front of the clubhouse have already been fitted, which will help make the club warmer in the winter but also offer the advantage of being able to open up the sitting and viewing area during hot spells.

At a time when so many clubs are fighting to maintain membership and interest, the Crouch certainly seem to be bucking the trend, and they put their success down to a strong well organised racing programme, which they regard as vital to attracting people into the clubhouse.

Over the last few years the Crouch have, in addition to a full summer programme of racing, organised a highly popular Autumn and Nutcracker series, both of which have been sponsored.

In addition, last year they raised an impressive £800 for the McMillan Nurses cancer organisation.

This summer they will be staging the Burnham section of the Sail East Regatta on June 26-27. The other regattas are at Felixstowe, West Mersea, Medway and Ramsgate.

Like several other Blackwater clubs, this is a special year for Stone Sailing Club, who celebrate their 50th anniversary with a celebratory regatta over the August Bank Holiday.

Five races will be held over the three days, four of which will count - and entry is free, for members and non-members alike.

Everyone will receive a memento to mark the occasion, there will be a Barbecue and a disco on the Saturday and a live band on Sunday, and the bar will be open all day for the duration of the event.

The 50th anniversary reception will be held on the Saturday and the weekend's racing will incorporate the annual Stone Dinghy Challenge Cup.

Results: Marconi SC, Dinghies Race 1: 1 R Greygoose, 2 S Cleaver, 3 L Hurrell. Race 2: 1. R Greygoose, 2 L Hurrell, 3 D Ball. Catamarans Race 1: 1 P Metcalfe, 2 E Davies, 3 G Piggott. Race 2: 1 G Piggott, 2 V Talford, 3 H Rogers.

Williwaw Trophy (RBYC) - 1 Kick Em Jenny (R Tickner), 3 firsts, 2 Mr Bo Jangles (E Breavington), 3 Bad Toad (N Gullen).

Dragon Easter Regatta (Burnham): 1 Quicksilver (R Campbell), 2 Ariel (S Maclean), 3 Apalala (L Caws).

Maldon YC Easter Bunny series: 1 J Simpson (Finn), 2 A & J Hoy (Snipe), 3 B & R Foulds (505), 4 I & K Varney (Snipe).

Stone SC Early Bird Series, Race 3 Fast Handicap: K & G Terkelsen (RS400), 2 R Jelley & C Barnett (Hornet), 3 Strangler & J Hoyle (Hornet). Slow Handicap: R Metha & C Durrant (Wayfarer), 2 S Jaycock (Laser), 3 D Oxley (Laser).

Cadets: 1 W Rogers & E Taylor, 2 P Jones & M Clay. Race 4 Fast Handicap: 1 D Jelley & C Barnett, 2 Strangler & J Hoyle, 3 R & J Alderman (Hornet). Slow Handicap: 1 J McIntosh & E Derrick (420), 2 R Mehta & C Durrant, 3 D Oxley.

Race 5 Fast Handicap: 1 J Gill & J Daniels (ISO), 2 A Miles (Contender), 3 K & G Terkelsen. Slow Handicap: 1 J McIntosh & E Derrick, 2 S Jaycock, 3 S Williams (Laser).

Cadet: 1 P Jones & Mc Clay, 2 R Hanmore & M Kimber.

Race 6 Cadet: 1 P Jones & M Clay, 2 R Hanmore & M Kimber.

Chocolate Easter Egg: 1 G & A Tindale (Shearwater), 2 J Gill & J Daniels, 3 T Selfe & A Montague (505).

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.