Club Regatta

The Regatta will take place on 3/4 August and detailed information will be published on the website in due course. Meanwhile, the organisers are looking for volunteers:

• 2 assistant ROs to help on the committee boat.
• one person with Sailwave experience to take entries and calculate results.
• one assistant to help with taking entries on Saturday morning only.
• a “traffic warden” to assist with car parking and boat unloading direction.
• a beachmaster to look after shore activity and to liaise with the committee boat.

Anyone willing to help please contact [email protected].

Ness Cup

The Ness Cup cruiser & dinghy passage race, postponed because of poor weather, will now take place on 25 August. Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions are posted on the website. The Harbour Rosebowl races currently due to take place on the 25th will be rescheduled.

Cruiser Regatta

The cruiser regatta will take place on 20 July and further information will be published on the website.

Scones & Tea – 14 July

Following the cruiser and dinghy racing on 14 July there will be “scones & tea” available in the clubhouse for all members – not just those sailing.

Rowing Skiff

The committee is in the very early stages of considering a proposal to obtain/build one or two rowing skiffs (jordanboats.co.uk/st-ayles-skiff-jordan-boat-kits/). If anyone is interested in this project, either building or rowing, please let Steve Bramwell know ([email protected]).

Training Issues

Marisa Astill-Brown is moving abroad later this year (although still hoping to spend the summers sailing at Chanonry) and Richard Jenner has kindly volunteered to resume the role of Training Principal. As Miriam Fisher is expecting to be abroad for several months Richard will also be covering the Chief Instructor position. Please contact Richard J for all dinghy training matters ([email protected]).

There is a 'sail better - adult improver' evening on Friday 5 July at 7pm. This is open to all adult members at a cost of £2 and is there to help you 'sail better'. Please note this is about general sailing skills not just 'racing'. Contact Richard J if interested.

There is one vacancy left on the power boat level 2 course on Saturday 24 & 31 August. The cost is £25 and preference will be given to someone who is either training to be an instructor or keen to help with club safety duties. Contact Helen J ([email protected]).

There are 7 club dinghies (3 x Optimist clones & 4 x Tera) and by arrangement access to 3 Sea Scout Topaz (was 4 but one is broken). The primary purpose of the boats is to support training but we also allow them to be used for other club activities such as racing or recreational sailing. If you use a club boat please fit a masthead buoyancy bag to reduce the risk of inversion and consequent boat damage. One mast section has been replaced this year (around £60) and we are in the process of replacing a Tera hull (over £600) following damage to the mast pot. Please also remember to make your contribution in the appropriate honesty tin in the Race Office when you use a club boat - the charge is £5/person/session (only £3/person/session on Friday evenings). Finally, if something does break, please let Richard J know. We are coming-up to the junior stage courses and all the boats will be needed; it is very frustrating for the instructors and disappointing for the sailors to turn-up for a training course to find that the boats are broken or missing parts.

Clubhouse Security

On 3 occasions recently the clubhouse has been left open overnight with complete access to all our stock and equipment. While it is the last person present’s responsibility to lock-up, please, if you are one of the last to leave remind those left of the need to leave the clubhouse secure. This includes the sail store door which is easily overlooked and gives direct access to the club room.

10:40

Please note that Plan B is in operation and there will be no sailing to Rosemarkie today.

Members will be aware that Grenville’s Memorial Sail – for both cruisers and dinghies - takes place this Sunday. Plan A is to leave the Club at 11.25 and sail to Rosemarkie Bay for a soup and sandwich lunch (very kindly provided by Helen Robinson & Family) at The Old Mill. Safety boats accompanying the dinghies will offer a water taxi service for cruisers anchoring offshore.

The current forecast is F4 gusting F7 and a decision as to whether conditions are suitable to sail will be made at the Club at 10.00 Sunday morning. Members are welcome to call me on Sunday morning (07824 811652) to avoid a nugatory trip to Fortrose.

In the event that the weather is unsuitable for sailing, Plan B is to walk/drive to The Old Mill (first house past the end of the car park on Rosemarkie beach) arriving at any time after 12.30. Last year the lunch at The Old Mill following the sail was probably the Club’s largest social gathering of the year. Helen Robinson has asked me to make especially clear that non-sailing partners are very welcome.

David Pocock
Commodore CSC

Many thanks to all who assisted with the RNLI/Club Open Day. Although visitor numbers were down on last year many favourable comments were received from those who did come along.

In conjunction with the dinghy events on 2 June, a “soup and sweet” lunch will be available.

If there is sufficient demand, a 2-day Power Boat Level 2 course will be held on 24 & 31 August. Expressions of interest to Helen Jenner please[email protected].

The poor weather so far this season has meant some planned events have had to be postponed. A new date for the Ness Cup will be published shortly but rescheduled Sunday morning events are:

o       2nd June - Practice Starts
o       16th June - Match Racing
o       23rd June - Skiff Courses

Hi all

Guidance from the Commodore on the use of Dutyman:

When filling any gaps remaining after most club members have volunteered for duties on dates of their choice, it is inevitable some individuals will find they are rostered on days for which they already have commitments. When this occurs, it is important to re-allocate duties reliably while avoiding an unmanageable administrative burden on the volunteers who look after the roster.

The Dutyman program used to maintain our duty roster has a user-friendly interface for requesting swaps and this should be used in the first instance. Simply log into Dutyman (directly or via our website), click on the 'Request a duty swap' link, and follow the instructions.

Please only contact the Dutyman administrator to swap duties in the following circumstances:

• You have requested a duty swap through Dutyman but you are unable to swap because you are not free on any of the available dates.
  

• You would like to swap for a duty that has not yet been allocated (it is not possible to swap with a 'blank' duty through Dutyman).
  
• You would like to be removed from an allocated duty and for a specific reason feel unable to undertake a replacement.
  

Thank you for following these guidelines that will minimize the risk of problems occurring with swaps and also ease the load on the volunteers administering the Dutyman system.