style="font-size: larger;" | West Mersea Yacht Club

Burgee
Ensign
Founded	1899
Clubhouse	Coast Road, West Mersea. Mersea Island (Essex)
Country
Website	http://www.wmyc.org.uk

West Mersea Yacht Club has its clubhouse in Coast Road, West Mersea

West Mersea

West Mersea is a small town in the Colchester borough of Essex, England. It is the larger of two settlements on Mersea Island, located south east of Colchester. The smaller settlement on the island is the village of East Mersea....

, Mersea Island

Mersea Island

Mersea Island is the most easterly inhabited island in the United Kingdom, located marginally off the coast of Essex, England, to the southeast of Colchester. It is situated in the estuary area of the Blackwater and Colne rivers and has an area of around...

, Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. It is on the estuary of the River Blackwater

River Blackwater, Essex

The River Blackwater is a river in England. It rises in the northwest of Essex as the River Pant and flows to Bocking, near Braintree, from where its name changes to the Blackwater. Its course takes it near Stisted, and then via Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall and near Witham where it is...

, 20 minutes by road from Colchester

Colchester

Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

. The Blackwater estuary is a major sailing centre with possibly the best sailing conditions on the English east coast.

Founded in 1899, the club has sponsored national (United Kingdom) and international yacht racing meetings. The club has competitive offshore racing fleets and run racing throughout the UK sailing season, a cadet week and an annual regatta during 'Mersea Week'. Of its many famous members, the most notable was probably Maurice Griffiths

Maurice Griffiths

Maurice Griffiths is a noted yachtsman, boat designer and writer on sailing subjects. In his writing of some 20 book he focuses on the creeks of the Thames Estuary and the English east coast. Books he has written include The Magic of the Swatchways, Swatchways and Little Ships, Sailing on a Small...

, the yacht designer and author.

A club launch runs from Tuesdays to Sundays during the season; callsign on VHF Channel 37: YC1 (Why - See - One).

The WMYC ensign

Ensign

An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...

 is the Red Ensign

Red Ensign

The Red Ensign or "Red Duster" is a flag that originated in the early 17th century as a British ensign flown by the Royal Navy and later specifically by British merchantmen. The precise date of its first appearance is not known, but surviving receipts indicate that the Navy was paying to have such...

defaced with the Essex symbol (3 seaxes).