DELPH SC NEWSLETTER

 

COMMODORES  RAMBLE

Spring has arrived early with a spell of warm beautiful days, what happened to the winter you might say? The successful Plum Duff seems a long time ago and despite the buds on the trees and the singing birds, many of our sailors have braved the winter and continued sailing at events up and down the country in all conditions well done.  They do say there is a thin dividing line between madness and genius if the hat fits wear it.

You will notice an immediate change to the club upon your arrival for the AGM on Wednesday 5th March, the safety fence will have been installed and you will all have an opinion in relation to its appearance and necessity, all I will say to you is, it was a decision the club had little option in, given the identified risk the open wall posed to members and visitors.  A big thanks goes to all those members who were involved in the purchasing and installation of the fence.

The Commodores Dinner will be held at the club on Saturday 15th March the theme will be ‘Black & White’ so no need for any new frocks (sorry ladies and some gentlemen) you can wear whatever you like provided its black & white, a four course meal will be laid on by a visiting chef whose identity must remain a secret for now in order to keep the papparazi away, so come along enjoy the splendid culinary delights and convivial company. Tickets are £15 per head and can be obtained from Jill (jillestephenson@yahoo.co.uk  or  07977056975) or Hilary, hilary.baycroft@ntlworld.com we will need to know numbers ASAP because the catering really is being sourced externally.

The last social event I need to tell you about is the visit to the club by Steve Cockerill on Monday 31st March,  Steve is a renowned sailor who will entertain us with his ‘boat whisperer’ presentation  this is a rare opportunity to get some top tips at the beginning of the season from one of the country’s top competitors again tickets can be obtained from Jill or  Hilary.  Pie and peas are thrown in for the price of £8.00 to members and £10.00 to non members bring a friend or two for a cracking night out.

Committee members have been burning the midnight oil in preparation for the new season and the following is an update of some of the changes.

SAILING COMMITEE

History was made the other night when the committee decided to alter the Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) rating on a number of boats in order to make the racing more competitive and give everyone a sporting chance of winning something.  However, you have still got to turn up and race in order to get a prize, for a trial period the following amendments have been made to the PY;

Topper plus 5%

Miracle plus 2% making 4% over current RYA suggestion

Laser radial plus 3%

Solution plus 1%

Laser plus 1%

Phantom minus 1%

RS 300 minus 1%

The figures were agreed unanimously and will be compared and reviewed once the RYA publishes its own figures and in any case following the Wednesday Evening Handicap (A)

Some other changes are being made in order to allow the Laser fleet to race together these will be published later when we have sorted the consequences out.

The Enterprises will sail with the slow handicap fleet, and whilst I am on the subject we need a volunteer to represent the fleet at the Sailing Committee, please form an orderly queue.

Staying on the same subject the sailing committee has decided it needs some youth representation, so if you are up for it and think you can handle a load of old cantankerous pseudo sailors then step forward; just to give you a bit of support we will accept two youths let me know as soon as if you are interested, in the event of being oversubscribed we will make it up as we go along. 

I will now take the opportunity to thank Andrew Taylor for his contribution as sailing secretary, Andrew intends to step down at the AGM.

Just a reminder sailing starts at Delph Sunday 30th March...YAHOOOOOOOOO!

TRAINING

Martin Smith and myself qualified recently as RYA race coaches and we intend to hold a number of race training sessions throughout the season, details will follow but we will be looking for a firm commitment to stay the course and if oversubscribed we may have to have some form of selection. Numbers will be limited and the sessions will be intensive and fun (anyone thinking of taking part will benefit from the Steve Cockerill event).

We also plan to hold further first aid courses and power boat instructors’ courses.

Three taste of sailing events will take place in May and all members are encouraged to spread the word amongst friend’s colleagues or whoever, we will do the rest.

HOUSE  & GROUNDS

Septic tanks, boilers, oil tanks and fences are the bread and butter of the House & Grounds committee, hardly exciting stuff, BUT, without the tireless effort of the few involved we simply would not have a club, so thanks particularly to Sue & Jan,  However we need more members to get involved in this vital activity so again contact  myself, Graham, Jan or Sue  - WE NEED YOU

The annual working parties will be held at the club on two consecutive Sundays 2nd & 9th March – BE THERE.

 

 

Delph SC Forthcoming Events

 

Wednesday 5th March 8pm           Annual General Meeting

 

Sunday 9th March 1pm                   Working Party (1)

 

Saturday 15th March 7.30pm        Commodores Dinner

 

Sunday 16th March 1pm                Working Party (2)

 

Sunday 30th March                                   Here we go again sailing starts

 

Monday 31st March 7.30pm          Steve Cockerill Boat whisperer