Sailing and Social Report 13-Jul-20

Sailing Club News – Monday 13-Jul-20

The sunshine this weekend meant that lots of you booked to have a sail, though the winds were light and fickle. Both afternoon sessions were filled with 35 boats on each, but both morning sessions had spaces; only 13 signed up for Sunday morning!
Our Covid sub-committees are meeting regularly to review what is happening, both on and off the water, and with the re-start of Rob’s galley last Wednesday.

Return to Racing

Keith Harris, our Principal Race Officer, has offered to run some simple racing for us from next Sunday, 19-Jul-20.
His proposal is that those of you who would like to race should book into the early session, 10.00 – 13.45. (This is the first Sunday that we have extended the sailing hours from 10.00 – 18.00, with two scheduled duty teams, as on Wednesdays.) Sailors who do not want to race should book the afternoon session – 14.15 – 18.00.
There will be a socially distanced briefing for the racers at 10.30am. The racing format is expected to mimic our regular Wednesday evening series with starts for Fast Handicap, Lasers and Slow Handicap boats.
This day is very much a ‘trial’ to see how it works. There will be results, but these will not form part of any club series.

Some words from Helen

Writing on Sunday evening with the sun shining, seeing boats on the water earlier today and yesterday, club boats now available to use, food available on Wednesday evenings and some racing planned to start next Sunday, 19th July, it would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking we are almost back to normal.
I believe that with more people out and about, doing more ‘things’ and coming into contact with more people, we must continue to be cautious as we try to plan ahead.
Navigating the guidelines from government and the RYA remains quite a task. We are grateful to all members for your support in following the club guidance as it evolves, and necessarily becomes longer as more things start to happen!

We have recently updated the members instructions

Also, the guidance on use of club boats

Please read them carefully before you next book to sail.

After much discussion and soul searching, our advice on the sailing of two-handed boats is changing. The latest guidance from the RYA is as follows:-

“Is it appropriate for people from different households to sail together in the same dinghy or keelboat?
The Government is trusting people to continue to act responsibly and follow the guidance on what they should and should not do. Therefore, participants will have to make their own decisions on whether they can sail their dinghy or keelboat whilst maintaining adequate social distancing. From the 4th July social distancing remains at 2 metres unless you use mitigating measures which will allow a reduction to 1 metre plus. On a boat, these mitigations could include (in addition to being outdoors) 1m separation marks on the deck, wearing face coverings, avoiding face to face contact, cleaning procedures, no shouting etc. The risk should be assessed case by case and with the correct mitigation in place, it may now be possible for 2 people from different households to sail certain dinghies and small keelboats. As an example, a risk assessment may deem the risk to be low enough in a trapeze dinghy in strong winds, but too high in a 2-person hiking boat where the crew sit side by side for prolonged periods of time. Similarly, it may be easier to manage the risk when not under the pressure of racing.”

As a consequence, we are no longer intending to prevent double-hander boats sailing when the sailors are from different households, but we want the sailors, our members, to assess and manage the risk themselves.

A few reminders:

• Rob Hatherell is providing pre-booked meals on Wednesday evening. You can eat outside at the club or take your food home. Please follow signs about queuing and wash your hands before entering the clubhouse to collect your meal. He will also be offering snacks and drinks in the afternoon on Wednesday from 3pm. We need as many as possible to support this initiative and make it worth his while!
• The clubhouse and undercover boat store are still closed, except for access to the three toilets.
• Should you need to administer first aid, there are now 2 yellow grab bags with single use masks, gloves and aprons.

Any feedback on what is happening at the Club is always welcome.

Helen Martin – commodore@chewvalleysailing.org.uk

Return to Sailing Phase 2 – Update on Adult Training

It’s great that the club is entering Phase 2 of our return to sailing. This gives us the opportunity to start offering some adult training.
As we are following the RYA’s guidelines on this we sadly can’t yet offer the beginners’ courses that are usually run in summer. However, we can offer some training and improver/coaching sessions for members at Level 2 (Basic Skills) standard and above. This will give members the opportunity to consolidate and improve the Level 2 skills and techniques they will have encountered (perhaps some time ago now), or to make progress towards their Level 3 (Better Sailing) qualification.
We will be flexible in this and will respond to demand as best we can, as we are enabled by the RYA’s guidance and as it can be fitted in alongside the club sailing sessions being run under the club’s Return to Sailing plan. Sessions would be costed much as the club’s Pay & Play scheme works – it would cover the hire of any club boats (if required) and the instructor’s expenses.
So if you would like to plan in some informal or formal training/coaching/improver session(s) please let me know what you’re after, when you would be available, and I’ll try to plan some sessions in with the help of the club’s instructing team.

Dave Orme, Chief Instructor, training.cvlsc@gmail.com

Radio Sailing

The small radio sailing group are now gathering regularly on Thursday mornings at 10.30 (unless the weather forecast is for too much wind).
We usually find a racing course within radio range of the shore and battle it out for an hour or so. Please do come along to watch or possibly have a go – we can clean the radio units for ‘new’ hands.

Calling all Lasers….

I realise it is hard to believe that there may be an un-loved Laser or two sitting forlornly in the dinghy park – but if you have one…
Gus and Jan, the Laser Fleet Captains, have had many enquiries from sailors wanting to buy Lasers. There seems to be a bit of shortage nationally, so if you have one you are thinking of selling there’s likely to be someone at the club who would like to buy it. You can contact the Fleet Captains at chewlasers@gmail.com.

I have to apologise for the shortage of fresh pictures – please someone, take some and send them to me…!
In the meantime, stay safe and sail if you can!

John Smalley – vice-commodore@chewvalleysailing.co.uk
Helen Martin – commodore@chewvalleysailing.org.uk