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Keelboat Captain Report (Nautical News November)
Welcome back to the sailing season! The new season has seen a great start with good participation across all divisions. We are hoping that the coming season will entice many sailors onto the water to compete in our regular Sunday racing events as well as Wednesday twilights and Friday afternoon JaMs.
The Cape Vlamingh Ocean Race was indeed a challenging race... for both the race officers as well as the competitors. Despite the wet conditions and lack of wind all of the 34 nominated boats completed the race and the Club received glowing accolades from the competitors for hosting a great race. A special thanks to our Activities Coordinator, Vanessa Cornwall for organising the event and our sponsor, Wild Oats Wines.
The Perth 2011 ISAF event takes place in the first 2 weeks of December and many of our regular sailors and volunteers are busy assisting with the preparation and on-water racing activities. During this period we have planned sailing activities to keep us on the water without requiring too many resources. On Sunday, 4th December we will be running a Novice Skippers race which will be non-consistency handicap start. This is a great opportunity for the regular skippers to give the helm to a crew member. On Sunday, 11th December a Swan River raft up is planned. We will leave the club around 11am and cruise up the river to a designated sheltered anchorage and have a social raft up. More details will be available in the upcoming Around the Club newsletters prior to the event.
Sunday 18th December will be a lay-day with no racing at the Club and this may be a good opportunity to watch some of the ISAF racing off Fremantle.
As part of the opening ceremony on Friday 2 December a team of boats and yachts will take part in the Parade of Sail down the Swan River and with an exciting line-up of special flag bearers, culminating in the ISAF flag being hoisted at the Round House at Bathers Bay in Fremantle to mark the official start of the World Championships. EFYC will be represented by Past Commodore Robert Brown on his boat Romper Stomper as he takes the flag through the Reach and past the Club, so come down and support the parade on the water or watch from our spectacular viewing point on the balcony at the Club.
Friday afternoon JaMs are proving to be a great success with plenty of sailors finding the pleasant sail in the reach a great way to finish the working week. The sailing commences at 3:45pm each Friday afternoon and all are welcome to join in. Simply nominate in the wet bar and enjoy the sail.
Preparations are underway for the upcoming annual Rumble in the Reach Sports Boat Regatta to be held on Saturday 14 January. Last year’s event was an outstanding success providing excellent sailing for the participants and exciting viewing from the Club’s balcony. We will keep you informed of the details closer to the date but put this event in your diary – it's one not to be missed!
We have several boats that are looking for casual or regular crew on race days as well as Wednesday twilights and Friday JaMs. If you are interested in joining as sailors simply register your interest at the Club and we can arrange a sail for you. There are also regular training courses available for the novice who would like to ‘learn the ropes’.
Our Club has a group of dedicated volunteers but we are always looking for more. Are you able to spare a few hours to help with our Keelboat Racing? You don’t have to commit to every weekend nor do you need to be experienced as our faithful band of regular volunteers are eager to show you the ropes. We require people to assist the PRO with the race start and finish, as well as people to follow the fleet in the Rescue Boat. This is a great way to be involved with the Club and meet more people. So if you are interested in learning about the other side of Keelboat Racing and have a few hours to spare during the season, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact the Activities Coordinator to register your interest, send an email to activities@efyc.com.au or phone 9339 8111. Early next year the Club will be providing a Race Officers training session, more details will be available once this has been finalised.
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank our Keelboat Committee. A lot of time and effort goes into organising events, coordinating volunteers, training, race results and handicaps, on-water safety, just to mention a few. We have a great team who give up their spare time and work together to make our keelboat racing the great success that it is.
Regards
Tess Azzopardi
Keelboat Captain
