The Club will resume sailing with immediate effect within the current restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 Regulations. Sailing will be for club members only and members are requested to adhere to the guidance on travel between tiers. The restrictions on gatherings in the clubhouse still apply. Members can now gain access to their boats and equipment as entry keys to the front door are held by class captains and club officials.
Members please note that the internal toilet has been removed and facilities will not be available until March 2022. The nearest conveniences are situated at the cemetery on Beach Road.
It may be possible to start sailing again with more than two participants in England from next Wednesday, 2nd December. Although the Government have published a Covid-19 Winter Plan, which indicates that outdoor sports may be undertaken again in all Tiers, the RYA/MYA are still waiting for the sport specific guidance and Government legislation to be issued so that they can best advise on how we may proceed. We will update all Members as soon as we have further information.
On the 31st October 2020, the UK Government announced the Introduction of a 4 week lockdown in England. This begins at 00:01 on Thursday 5th November and continues through to 23:59 on Wednesday 2nd December.
For this whole period everyone is requested to remain at home and only leave home for very specific reasons which are contained within the legislation available to read here.
One allowable reason to leave home is to take exercise outside alone, with members of their household or with one other person or do this by visiting a public outdoor place for “open air recreation”.
Having consulted with the RYA and reviewed the legislation, the MYA recommend that all MYA clubs should cease any organised activities and close their club and clubhouse. Club waters that are in public parks would be considered a “public outdoor place” and so the water could be used for sailing. This would allow members local to their (public park) club to potentially sail alone or with one other person, whilst following all social distancing measures by keeping at least 2m distance. It is advised that multiple groups of 2 members do not congregate at a clubs location to sail and potentially be seen as larger group.
All MYA Clubs should review the Legislation above and the National Restriction Guidance which is available here and advise their members what they are allowed to do, taking into account their location.
A small but keen group of Vane 36” sailors gathered at the lake this morning to race for the LEVER CUP.
Competitors racing 4 boats enjoyed a great days racing in a 12/ 15 knot easterly wind blowing straight down the lake under the bridge, and brilliant sunshine.
John Taylor had travelled up from Portsmouth eager to see how his latest design the Digitaly (Plastic) Printed “Remix” owned by Bob Jolly, would perform.
Also with us was John Sharman with the “Taxashun” he bought from Peter Jackson, Mick & Sue Parkinton with their “Taxashun”, and Robert Wheeler with his Martin Dovey designed boat.
We all enjoyed the racing and completed 5 heats when a broken boat ended the day with Bob Jolly & John Taylor in an unassailable position 10 points clear of the nearest competitor.
Final scores,
Bob Jolly & John Taylor 22
Robert Wheeler & Derek P 13
John Sharman & Eric Austwick 8
Michael & Susan Parkinton 7
We shared the lake with lots of families crabbing & generally enjoying the day.
For the last event in the Series, and our last evening event of the year, thirteen skippers turned out, and were greeted with a healthy blow more or less straight down the lake, so enabling us to set a long figure eight type course, starting from the bridge and beating all the way up to what we call the lollipop mark, from there it was back down in a zig zag around a couple of marks, taking us to the leeward mark, then a short reach to a spreader, then beat up to the finish mid lake.
It was B rigs all round and each race took about twelve minutes. Eight races were managed before the light faded. Unfortunately, three skippers Eric, Bob and Alan encountered boat failures during the event, and that spoilt their enjoyment on the night.
Victor on the night was John with Garry second, this win for John cemented his position at the top of the leader board for the series and he takes the Richard Walton Cup, with Chris as runner up.
So the first silverware awarded since lockdown, albeit a shortened series, but shows we are getting back to somewhere near normal. We wait now for the start of the Winter Series which kicks off in November.
10 skippers congregated for the final evening event of the 3rd Series. Fickle Mother Nature presented a warm evening and a clear blue sky. However she did insist on varying both the direction and strength of a light, mainly NNW air.
Accordingly the start once again ran adjacent to the bridge. Upwind to a trackside buoy, starboard to a far bank buoy. Once again to starboard and a broad reach taking another track side buoy to port. It was then just a case of a dead run to the finish.
A consensus of opinion resulted in a final upwind leg being added to future races. With the wind on the wane a total of 6 races were completed. With no one dominating proceedings several private duels emerged often producing varying interpretations of the regulations. Finally, may I thank not only the skippers but other members who have supported the Series during these trying times.
The Vane “A” Class Open events scheduled for Sept 5th & 6th 2020 at Fleetwood are cancelled. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic the Clubhouse is closed and it would be extremely difficult to sail within the required safety regulations.
A good fleet of eleven skippers night of racing, was spoilt by the persistent drizzle and the lack of wind.
It was the A+ rig that was out again, and for those that didn`t have one they were going to struggle.
With the little breeze we had in not too kind a direction, we were forced to have a long diagonal start line, with a kind of a beat to a windward mark, then across to a spreader with a run to a leeward mark, and a beat to the finish.
It was awkward and slow going with what wind there was, so much so we only managed six races on the night before we had to halt proceedings.
Best of the bunch on the night were Garry and Mark, who again sailed the most consistent.
Our next outing for the 65 is on Thursday 3rd September with a 6pm start.
Common sense prevailed and the decision to delay the event by 24 hours proved correct. A glorious clear blue sky together with a steady 10 to 15mph westerly breeze greeted the maximum complement of 13 skippers. Prior to race 1 everyone’s attention was directed to the up dated Covid Edict ,the importance of which was accepted without query.
An almost identical course to the previous event was set. The start parallel to the clubhouse upwind to the lollypop buoy taking it to port a fast goosewing to a choice of start buoys. Once negotiated back upwind to the finish. Between races 3 and 4 we were treated to some invaluable starting techniques from Uncle Derek. In a nutshell he highlighted that 1 or 2 of the skippers had trouble differentiating their glutes from their olecranon. Or do I mean the advantageous use of the port tack start.
Once again the fleet was enhanced with the inclusion of Shaun Priestley. The results confirm that he is always a force to be reckoned with. Furthermore Shaun and Mark Rose took sufficient bullets to apply for a firearms licence. Inevitably the odd rule was transgressed but everything resolved in a courteous manner. My special thanks go to Derek and Bob for their input and may I remind you all that, weather permitting, next Tuesday is a 6pm start.
Twelve skippers turned out for our Series 3 event. The conditions on the night can only be described as very testing, as we were hit with heavy gusts, then lulls and changes in wind direction constantly. B rig was the sail of choice and it managed to cope with what we had to deal with.
Due to the wind direction RO Derek set an unusual course to start, with a short beat to a windward gate, whichever side you opted for decided which leeward mark you had to take, then the rest of the course forming a sausage shape. After a few races the wind did an about turn, and it was all up to the other end of the lake as Derek moved the start line to suit, and a simpler triangular course was set.
Mastering the conditions was very tricky, and with the gusts, a few collisions were had, but turns were done and we all got on with it. A breakdown for Mark early on spoilt his night, as he took on water and couldn`t continue, Malcolm also suffering with problems late on.
So to the racing, and as you can see from the results, it was really only Chris and Bob Jones who were sailing consistently in the challenging conditions, and deservedly took the honours. Hopefully for the rest of us we gained some experience to take forward.
Many thanks to Derek for being RO, and the others who helped with the scoring, it really is a big help.
