LOOE Sailing Club's new commodore is postie Dominic Lozynski.

A well-attended annual general meeting at the Buller Street

clubhouse on Friday, ushered in

the 75th anniversary year of the nationally-acclaimed 'backstreet' club.

Dave Jackman stood down after completing his two-year term as commodore and was elected as president, in succession to the industrious Paul Sedgbeer, who remains joint secretary and treasurer.

Lozynski, who lives in Looe but

pounds the streets of Liskeard and

District delivering the mail, had previously been vice-commodore, a role now filled

by John Crabb. The new rear commodore

is Sue Dunn.

The meeting heard that, despite difficult trading times, the club remained on an

even keel with a number of National championships lined up for the years ahead.

Lozynski, a former Redwing crew who has a long and glowing record of volunteer community service in the town, has been a club member for a number of years and

was instrumental in putting in place a raft

of new on-the-water safety measures

which saw him take over as principal

rescue boat officer.

Meanwhile, sail training guru Colin

Crabb and his sons, John and Ben, will start Saturday training and coaching for

the youngsters in early May.

With the domestic club racing season already under way, Lozynski will now oversee this summer's sailing programme which, as well as club racing on Saturday afternoons and Thursday evenings, will

also feature the Cornish Lugger Association's biennial regatta (June 12-14 weekend); the 130-boat RS 200 Nationals,

the biggest title series to be held in the

South East Cornwall resort for a number

of years, and the Redwings' National Championships on the Isles of Scilly.

In fact, four of the UK's top dinghy classes will be heading to Looe for championships in the coming years.

A packed national and international sailing programme to be based in the holiday and fishing resort has been announced for the next six years, starting with this summer's visit of the RS 200s

from August 16-20.

In 2110, the Scorpions have chosen

Looe for their 50th anniversary meeting

and the following year the Enterprise Worlds are back in town, giving the club's own budding fleet of blue-sailed dinghy sailors the chance to show their mettle on the international stage.

Another World series follows in 2112,

with the GP.14s making their first-ever visit to Looe after the Olympic Games regatta at Weymouth, while the Fireballs, last in South East Cornwall in 1998, will be hoping to better the 90-boat entry they had at Mount's Bay in West Cornwall last year, when they visit Looe in 2113.

In 2114, the Merlin Rockets will be back at the resort, and, of course, during those next six years, the Redwings – the class specifically designed for Looe Bay by the legendary Uffa Fox – will return often to their spiritual home for their annual National championship week.

Lozynski said it was clear that he was taking over a well-structured, buoyant and ambitious club and he praised past flag officers, including his immediate predecessor Jackman, for putting them in such a healthy position.

And, as if to raise a glass to that

success, he also said that to mark the 75th anniversary of the club, a special party, involving past an present members and friends, would be arranged for mid-summer.

For more sailing and watersports news, read John Collings' weekly column in our sister paper, the Sunday Independent