Commodore’s Call
September 2020
Opening Day and Sail Past
The Opening Day for the season is on Saturday 5th of September at the Sailing Club. The day will commence with a champagne breakfast at 9.30am followed by the presentation of trophies for yachts and OTB sailors from last season, as our formal Presentation night had to be cancelled due to COVID. After that, sailors will be encouraged to decorate their boats with flags etc, and at 12.30pm follow the Minder in a Sail Pass to receive a “Blessing of the Fleet”. A prize will be awarded to the best dressed boat & crew. Then at 1pm we will have a short social non spinnaker non pointscore race.
We would really appreciate it if you could let Lyn McAllister know on 0428 416 660 if you can make it. so that we can arrange catering.
Winter Retreat
The previous weekend was the Sailing Club’s Annual Winter Retreat which was held at the Orchard Lodge at Omadale near Moonan Flat. We were fully booked, with 4 further sailing club couples camping outside in their own vans. Everyone had a great time and were treated to a real bonus on the Saturday when we went for a short drive up to the Barrington Tops and got covered in snow.
Winter Sailing
The Winter Sailing series have now finished with “Achilles” sailed by Rob Brown and his capable crew taking out both the Commodores Cup and the Achinar series. Congratulations guys, your efforts have been duly noted by the handicapper.
Safety Audit for Yachts Sunday 6 Sep
All yachts must have this safety inspection completed before they will be eligible to race. Some have done so however there are still a lot that haven’t yet. Our next inspection session will be on Sunday 6 September between 9am and 11.30am. Make sure you have checked all your equipment, including your first aid kits and completed the necessary paper prior to the inspection. The Cat 7 paperwork can be downloaded using this link:
https://www.sailingresources.org.au/scripts/download/file/&id=w2fzdwixn3nxneht
COVID Restrictions
NSW Health in conjunction with Australian Sailing have issued a set of restrictions which all club must abide by in order to run races. A link to these will be on the WASC website. One important requirement is that all boats racing must advise the race officer by text message of the names and phone numbers of all crew on board each week before the start of the race. Failure to comply may result in penalties or a disqualification.
https://www.sailingresources.org.au/covid-19/nsw/
Membership for all Sailors
Under the current sailing rules (RRS46) all people on board a boat in any race, including twilight races must be members of an affiliated sailing club. So as not to discourage new people to try sailing, Australian Sailing has developed an online temporary membership process called a “Sail Pass” which grants a temporary membership for the day of the race. All a person needs to do is go online with their mobile phone and access the WASC website and follow the prompts. The person will be able to obtain the first 2 Sail Passes free of charge, if they require more, they can purchase a maximum of 2 more Sail Passes at a cost of $5 each. After that, they will be expected to take out a normal club membership.
It will be the responsibly of all skippers to ensure that all their crew are current financial members or current Sail Pass holders, as failure to do so can result in penalties or disqualification.
Sailing Club Booklet
The new Sailing Club booklet will be pretty pink and will be available at Opening Day to collect along with laminated course sheets for yachts. The booklet will contain some useful information, the sailing calendar and a copy of the courses, however the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions will not be in the booklet this year but will be on the WASC website. There have been quite a few changes to the NOR, SI’s and course so please read them carefully and disregard old copies to avoid confusion,
Online Entries and Membership
The online system should be up and running ready for the new season by 4th September. As in the past, all entries and membership must be done online, however payment must be made using credit card, debit card or paypal at the same time, or the entry or membership will not be accepted. In other words, you cannot join now or enter now and pay later. Yachts entering both the Spring and Summer pointscore at the same time and thus paying for both upfront, will be entitled to a reduced race fee. This applies to the Wed & Fri Twilight and the Weekend Series.
Off the Beach & Juniors
The OTB sailors (OKs 505s) and the Juniors (Sabots) and the Learn to Sail Program have all moved to Sundays this season. This was suggested by the junior parents to help attract more sailors, lessen the congestion on the water and also to free up club’s resources With the extra COVID restrictions for OTB sailing and the fact that many winter sports have been pushed back, the Juniors and OTB sailing will now start their pointscore races after the October long weekend, however they will be conducting some practice races on Sunday 20 & 27 of September.
Working Bee
Thanks to al those that helped out last Saturday morning at the club’s working bee. It did not take long at all and now the boatsheds and canteen are all clean and tidy ready for the new sailing season.
Next Monthly Meeting 10th September in the clubhouse at 7pm
