July Newsletter
Commodore’s Greeting
Hello Everyone,
Not much to report this time, except to say how obviously awful the summer has been so far! It now has just
about a week to improve in time for Sea Week which starts on the 25th. Come down and enjoy some sailing
every day of the week. Club boats will be available if the weather is suitable.
Cheers,
Don Bowles, Commodore, Hastings and St Leonards Sailing Club
Any queries on Sailing Club matters? Commodore’s Hotline 01424 214759
Achieving glory
Early summer series winners
Laser fleet Roy Sandford
Handicap fleet Philip and Margaret Blurton (Tasar)
Catamaran fleet Matt, John & Claire Wiseman (Dart 16)
Nautilus Handicap Roy Sandford (Laser Radial)
Topper Open Morgan Archer from Blue Circle Sailing Club
Well done to all!
Sea Week 2016
25th to 30th July – lavish breakfasts! and some sailing.
Don’t forget Sea Week. Poster attached with information. Duties are not scheduled for Sea Week although Sailing Secretary Philip Blurton will be there to co-ordinate lavish offers of help each day. If you do know that you will be around and can take a turn on shore with the radio or in one of our lavish power boats, let him know in advance or show up willing to muck in on the day. This year, on the Saturday (30th) there will be a fun regatta, suitable for all standards of sailors including our youth sailors, our newest sail trainees and our lavish old salts. Bowl up early so that you are ready to push your boat, with someone or own your own, into the water no later than 10.45am.
Superb poster courtesy of Dick Hogg – thank you!
Next Bar Open, Friday 15th July Early start – 7.00 onwards and some eats Short notice, but would anyone fancy coming down for a lavish drink and local takeaway rather than rush dinner before/after coming down? Aiming to get orders in at 7.30.
Sailing Away
Well done to our club Shearwater Sailors, Matthew Wiseman, Lily Share, Greg Wilcox, Tayla Playford and Rob Hamilton who took part in the recent Shearwater Traveller event at Pagham Yacht Club. Our best placed sailors amongst the twelve entrants were Matt and Lily who came fourth. The Shearwaters will be out again in early August for the Shearwater Nationals at Harwich Town Sailing Club.
Philip and Margaret Blurton are just back from the Tasar Nationals hosted by Whitstable Yacht Club. They felt they learned a lot about sailing in very strong wind and enjoyed a sociable long weekend. Their aim was not to come last and they managed 20th out of 26. Lots of room for improvement over the years ahead! We are also looking forward to hearing about Melanie Clark’s big boat sailing in Cork over the last week. If you have been sailing away from the club let us know and we will record your exploits in the newsletter. (Facebook is currently recording that Derek Treacher went overboard in a race around the Isle of Wight last weekend but is fine!)
Day Skippers
Congratulations to Catherine Taylor and Stuart Parkin who have completed the theory and practical sessions of the Day Skipper course. I am sure the other completees of the theory course, Nick Ballon, Megan Trudell, Trevor Beale and Greg and Heather Wilcox will be following as soon as they feel that the high seas are ready for them (forgive me if I am not up to date here).
Saturday Afternoon Improvers Link (S.A.I.L.) Series
This was blown off last Saturday. Fingers crossed for this Saturday 16th July. This series is ideal for people new to sailing wanting to learn and have a go at racing. Three short races. First race starts at 2.00 p.m prompt – be at the club at 1pm to get rigging and changed in plenty of time. Of course you can still come down and sail without racing if you prefer.
Wednesday Evening Sailing
Great to see lots of trainees out last Wednesday evening in comfortable conditions. Keep sailing often and you will improve.
Also, a quick note to clear up any confusion about using club boats.
The bevy of beauties that is our club boat collection is available FREE for this and last year’s trainees and our youth sailors, and for £5 per session (single handers) or £10 (two-handers) for the rest of us. However, certain constants apply:
No more than F3 wind strength;The applicant must be suitably qualified/capable to sail in the given conditions; It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain the go-ahead from, and push the correct payment into the hand of, the Officer of the Day. Obviously everyone is expected to accord club boats at least as much respect as they would their own property, to put them away ship-shapely for the next user, and also to report any defects using a “problem” tag which is on the race board.
If still confused, please read the official document from the Executive Committee on this subject and that.
Also, a quick note to clear up any confusion about using club buoyancy aids.
It is officially ok to use these when hiring/using a club boat or on power boat duty, with the proviso that they are taken loving care of and replaced neatly in the cupboard after use. However, the nags of old still apply: if sailing regularly (and frequently), you really should be investing in your own safety equipment.
Duties for the second half of the season have now been published in Dutyperson. Please have a look and confirm your duties in the system so we know they are covered. Thank you to everyone who responded to the request to let our Sailing Secretary know the dates you would not be available; this made allocating much easier and reduces everyone’s time trying to find swaps.If you find yourself in need of changing a duty, one thing to keep in mind is: if you are on the power boat, please swap with someone at least as experienced and capable as yourself. The duties are doled out with a weather eye on balance and making sure that, whilst ensuring that less experienced people have a chance to learn the power boat’s secrets, there is a safe level of competence in the boat; we need to preserve this equilibrium for everyone’s benefit. Fanks.Laying-up supper 2016