Mainsheet

Summer Sailing Season Edition

June 2011

Chris’s Scribbles

Firstly I would like to welcome all those new members that have joined this year many of which I had an opportunity to welcome at our open day.

I would particularly like to mention Steve and Gerri Scudder who have kindly agreed to take up the roles of Bar Manager and Social Secretary respectfully. We are going to start a House Committee so that all the bar and social matters can be discussed separately from the Management Meeting, this will initially be led by Darren the Rear Com Seaford so we have all the issues with social, bar and the galley linked in together. I would also like to thank Tom Roper who has volunteered to help with the duty rota.

We have had reasonable take up of new memberships over the last couple of months however the number of sailing members is still down on last year, so please encourage new members to join so that we can generate the finances to maintain the facilities we all enjoy.

I hope that the sailors amongst us have all had a chance to sail by now, after my absence from the water for most of last year with frozen shoulder it has been very nice to get on the water and the weather has been fairly kind to us so far with most races run to date.

Andrew Barnes has been busy organising various sailing and powerboat courses with many people taking up membership after the course and we have also now got over 60 children attending Monday night cadets. If any of the more experienced sailors would like to help out with Cadets or indeed training courses we can very easily run an assistant instructors briefing and I am sure Andrew would be very grateful for the support. So please if you can support Monday nights it would help the cadets immensely, don’t feel you have to be a cadet parent to help, it is good fun and the more experienced sailors we have the more the kids will get out of the night.

For all of you that use the rescue boats out of Newhaven please note that the grey rib is the primary one to use. The keys are in the office in the grey storage can that holds the flares, first aid kit etc. Please also be aware that at low tide the silt has built up to the point that the rib can drop another half metre relative to the Ark or Jetty, so do not do the mooring lines up too tight!

All users of Newhaven please note that the Harbour Master has been booking people who have gone against the vessel traffic signals, so if you are unsure call in on channel 12.

I would like to remind members that we still have committee and officer vacancies, that means some members of the committee have to double up on roles. Particularly the Duties Secretary, which Michael is covering on top of his Treasurer role. So now that we have the duties running smoothly for this year using Duty Man, now is a great time for a volunteer to step forward and learn the role. So please do not hesitate to discuss this or any other role with any of the Directors if you are able to help us.

I would also like to thank Met who as berth master for Piddinghoe has again done a great job in following up and unpaid berths and late membership renewals, which takes a lot of time and persistence.

So now summer seems to be here I hope to see you down at Seaford or Piddinghoe and enjoy the facilities. Don’t forget Clive and Jane open the Café every day except Monday so you can come down to Seaford clubhouse almost any time for good food!

Some Key events coming up are the federation event and sailing week. The fed event is at Bexhill this year so please can we have a good turnout, it will be our turn to host the event next year. Also don’t forget to pencil in Sailing Week, first week of August and you can camp down at Seaford. Finally there is a Midsummer Party social event which we have pencilled in for the Friday the 24 th of June, more details to follow.

Chris Recorders Notes

Seaford Bay Sailing - New Season Report

The weather during April was mainly sunny with breezy and gusty offshore winds. Turnouts were ini- tially good because of the warm weather but the Wednesday Evening series got off to a bad start with cold winds and only 5 boats entering the first two races. Generally the racing has been very close with the new club handicaps being used. The Cats, Fireball, Streaker and the Lasers have all been winning races. The Lasers have had some good turnouts and it is nice to see a new face, Graham Hardy, racing his Laser regularly.

The first day of the Seaford Regatta was blown out but the following day although initially misty turned out fine. Unfortunately there was more seaweed than usual so you needed to be very careful to avoid it. Six Hobie cats sailed over with their rescue boat from Brighton, which added to the inter- est and competition. We also had Alex Mills-Barton racing and Rupert with a new impressive set of P&B sails. The result was some very close racing with Rupert and Chris taking the first race, Alex win- ning the second and Darren Field won the third. Overall results were 1 st Rupert (Fireball), 2 nd Alex (Laser), 3 rd Laurence (Streaker).

Results so far: - Commodores Cup – 1 st Laurence Venus. Bosun’s Cup – 1 st Laurence Venus. Tufton Beamish Cup - 1 st Laurence Venus. Sussex Express Cup – Rupert Smith & Chris Turner (2 races still to sail) The current position half way through the series is: - Sunday AM Series 1 Overall – Matt Springall Sunday AM Series 1 Lasers – Steve Duncan Sunday AM Series 1 Multihulls – Terry Jones Sunday AM Series 1 Keelboats – ‘Cornet’ Sunday AM Series 1 Menagerie – Laurence Venus Sunday AM Series 2 Overall - Laurence Venus Sunday AM Series 2 Lasers – Matt Springall Sunday AM Series 2 Multihulls – Terry Jones Sunday AM Series 2 Keelboats – ‘Arf ‘n’ Arf’ Wednesday Eve Series 1- Rupert Smith & Chris Turner

This season the RO’s should check by radio and note down the names of the keelboat helmsman and crews on the signing on sheets. Keelboats should also ensure the RO’s know who are onboard as this is also a safety issue for the club.

Re-sails dates The two remaining races for the Sussex Express Cup will be sailed concurrently with the Sunday AM Series 1 & 2 on 14 th August. Friars Bay race will now be sailed on Sunday 31 st July. This will be a tri- angular race taking in marks at Tidemills, Splashpoint and the new sewerage outfall in Friars Bay which is 3 miles out to sea and just visible from the sailing club. (Compasses required for safety).

Laurence Venus. Recorder

Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club Alex on Track

January kicked off with a bang for NSSC sailor Alex Mills-Barton with the RYA nominating him for the coveted Marlowe Ropes Award, he picked up the award at the the Tullet Prebon London boat show, pat of the award gives free Marlow ropes for a whole year. The following day he was off to compete at the Miami Rolex Sail- ing World Cup regatta in Florida USA, he was on course for his first World Cup points until the last day when a couple of mediocre races dropped him down the order to finish 32nd.

The World Cup circuit moved across to Europe for the Princess Sofia event in Palma, Majorca, not his best result and missed out on making the gold fleet finals but posted his first race win in a Sailing World Cup event. Back to the UK for the RYA National Youth Championships held at Hayling Island, Alex won the event with a day to spare posting 5 race wins along the way, and giving him his first UK Championships win. No rest for the wicked and 4 days later it was off to Hyeres in southern France for the second leg of the Sail- ing World Cup in Europe, the Worlds top 150 Laser sailors turned up on mass as the regatta was be- ing used by most countries as part of their Olympic qualification process. Alex made the gold fleet and finished 38th overall and the only youth sailor to make it through the qualifying rounds, not his best Sailing World Cup position but considering the quality of the fleet, it was his best result to date, even reigning Olympic champion could only make 10th and Team GBR sailor and world number 3 Nick Thompson finishing 21st.

Fellow NSSC sailor Ed Thorburn was also competing in the Finn at the regatta alongside who showed his true class to win the event with a day to spare. Back to Blighty for a few days before the last of the Laser World and European qualification events in Pwllheli, Alex marked another mile- stone with his first senior regatta win, he was also the first U21 to win a qualifier since 2006.

His Pwllheli win pushed him up 4th in the UK senior rankings and along with his triumph at the RYA National Youth Championships he is currently the UK's top youth sailor in the Laser. His continued progress at the top level has also moved him up to 76th in the ISAF World rankings with a goal of making the top 50 by the end of the year, which would be an amazing achievement.

Three big events next, starting with in Weymouth, the senior Europeans in Finland and Youth World Champi- onships in France, the season finishes early this year due to the ISAF World Championships being held in Australia in December.

Jonty Freeman will also be competing for club and country in France after successfully qualifying in the Laser Ra- dial class, well done Jonty. Fingers crossed Alex can keep his good form going and qualify for the ISAF World Championships at the end of the year, the event is only held every 4 years and is the qualification event for countries to compete in the Olympics. Feline Attitude Correction – (or how to get a cat upright)

Back in April a few of us got together to have a practice and try different techniques for righting a Catamaran from a rescue boat. After having a look at the RYA training DVD, we noticed two glaring omission in their scenario for rescue. First, no wind or waves featured in the video. Therefore their technique of gently approaching the mast head and lifting until the Cat came upright didn’t seem practical in 3-4 foot waves and force 5 wind, especially as the coxswain was single handed. Second, there were no instructions for inverted boats, which is when it is most needed. Obviously, we needed to work out a method of our own. From a 90 degree capsize, with the mast touching the water, we found the crew could bring the boat upright themselves without too much trouble. In this case the rescue boat should just stand by, as getting too close could cause many more problems than it solves. When the Cat comes eventually upright, it does so pretty quickly and is likely to start sailing erratically on its own until the crew gets control, so give it a bit of space. From a total inversion, the crew are more likely to want some help. The unaided method is for the crew to go aft on one of the hulls, which lifts the opposite bow and eventually brings the boat to 90 degrees. However, after sliding off the hull a few times the crew get knackered and will need help. After a bit of experimenting, we found the following worked best. • Throw a LONG line to the crew, keeping the rescue boat well clear of the Cat – and the sail under the water. Don’t use the line with the big shiny carbine hook. This will either punch a hole in the side of the cat, or brain the crew as he tries to catch it.

• The crew should pass the line over the hull furthest from the rescue boat and tie it with a bowline around the mast. Don’t tie it to the shroud, as the rescue boat can pull that out of the side of the boat.

• GENTLY back the rescue boat away so that the rope is pulling sideways across the boat. Now, this is where a bit of good boat handling comes in to play, and also some variation depending on the type of Cat you are pulling up. When I have done this with a Shearwater, I have needed to pull slightly forward to bring it to its 90 degree position. When we tried this with a Dart 15 it failed miserably, with the tow rope sliding over the bow in a couple of seconds. I think this is because it didn’t have a jib. In the end we found that pulling the tow rope quite a long way aft of centre was the only way to have any good effect. You will probably find that each class of boat will need pulling at a different angle, so don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t work first time

A few general things we found during our practice were • It doesn’t need lots of power to pull a small Cat upright, sometimes pulling by hand will be enough. • Do all manoeuvring at tick over revs, and keep a good distance from the casualty. • The rescue boat crew must ‘manage’ the tow rope at all times to keep it clear of the prop. The rescue boat end of the rope also needs to be able to be undone easily in a hurry. • You can’t have too much practice at boat handling at low speed in close quarters. Full throttle to get to a capsize in a hurry is fast and fun, but what you do when you get there is the mark of a good coxswain. Keep calm and keep looking for potential hazards before they become real hazards.

I need to say a big thank you to Mike and Jason for constantly capsizing for us and spending a long time in cold water while we sorted out what to do from a dry rescue boat. Also thanks to those who came along to practice. I hope you found it as useful as I did.

Rupert

The Newhaven & Seaford Sailing Club Ltd. (NSSC)

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Seaford Clubhouse on Saturday 2 nd April 2011 at 18.30 hours

Present

35 voting members and 4 non voting members

1 – Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Helen Renson, Tom Roper, Andrew Barnes, Ian Lambert, Ken Bourne, Jack Baker, Derek Gough, Liz Beardwell, Bob Corbett and Paddy Turner.

2 – Minutes of the AGM held on 24 th April 2010

Acceptance of the Minutes of the previous AGM was proposed by Andy Hiscox and seconded by Rupert Smith. Carried.

3 – Receive and adopt the Company Directors' Report and Financial Statement for the year ending 31 st December 2010

The Commodore highlighted various points in the published Report with added comment regarding the RYA inspection of the training school which was a condition of it's accreditation. He thanked Jackie Bloss for her work on tidying up some older ac- counting line anomalies and referred to the addition of model boating activities at Piddinghoe, the Triathlon event there and the opening of the Shore break Café at Seaford.

Bill Giles asked about CASC and was assured this was a priority for 2011 but there was a need to re-visit the Articles which was ongoing. Bill offered his help if required.

Turning to the Financial Statement, the Treasurer explained the £5,533 shortfall for 2010, outlined the reduction in income over 2009 and the negative effect in 2010 of correcting disposal of a fixed asset dating back to 2009.

Mike Woollard stressed that NSSC must make a profit (not just aim to break even) and that the finances were not in a healthy state since the £50k cash reserves did not provide an adequate “cushion”. The Commodore said this was accepted.

Clive Mills Barton thought the social membership fee was too low but the Commodore said that (with the exception of East- bourne Sailing Club) it was in line with other nearby clubs in the Shoreham through to Bexhill area.

There was general reference to the strength of owning two sites which the Commodore fully agreed with but also pointed out that NSSC was carrying the overheads of two locations compared to other sailing clubs and that the membership had declined over recent years.

Acceptance of the Directors' Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 st December 2010 was proposed by Bill Giles and seconded by Rupert Smith. Carried.

4 – Election of the Company's Board of Directors and Officers of the Club

With the exception of the Vice Commodore all the current directors had indicated their willingness to continue and there were no alternative nominations. The nominations were therefore Chris Turner (Commodore), Darren Field (RC Seaford), Ian Lam- bert (RC Piddinghoe), Ricky Smith (RC Newhaven), Jim Skinner (Secretary), Paddy Turner (Bosun), Michael Veale (Treasurer), Bob Corbett (Public Relations), Andrew Barnes (Training Director) and Terry Jones (Sailing Secretary).

The nominations were proposed by Carolyn Turner and seconded by Mike Woollard. Carried.

The Vice Commodore position is now a vacancy and the Commodore appealed for a member to come forward.

The Commodore circulated a list of the current Officers for the information of members since they were not an item to be voted on. He stressed the various vacancies which need filling. Bill Giles offered to take on Health & Safety.

5 – Election of Auditors

The Treasurer explained that this item should be “Election of Accountants” since current regulation does not require NSSC to have an external audit and Harts were engaged as Accountants to assist with ensuring that the Accounts were presented in accordance with company requirements.

Election of Harts as Accountants was proposed by Carolyn Turner and seconded by Mike Woollard. Carried.

Contd.

AGM Minutes Contd.

6 – Open Forum

The Commodore outlined various issues for 2011. He thanked members attending recent work parties mentioning Jack Baker and Eric Neave. Sponsorship of Alex Mills-Barton (Laser) continues. An engineers report will be obtained on the Seaford Club House. A Friday Club was being started at Piddinghoe for small maintenance jobs. CASC had already been referred to. A points system for duties was being considered. Dutyman was in operation but an administrator was required. Need to return to prof- itability against a difficult financial/membership numbers background. The forthcoming Open Day weekend was an opportunity for all members to “sell” NSSC.

The President asked about strategy over the next five to twenty years, for example in regard to the likely finite life of the Sea- ford Club House? Given the limited resources of the management committee he offerred to work with a small group of long standing members to consider the longer term. The Commodore said this would be helpful and would discuss with the Presi- dent further.

Darren Field stressed the need for more members to come forward and help with day to day tasks (such as property and boat maintenance) currently being undertaken by just a few members of the management committee – resources were a key issue. On behalf of the meeting Terry Jones expressed thanks to those involved. Tom Taylor felt that more members do want to help but we need to find a way for them to come forward. The Commodore asked for names and skills. Clive Mills Barton suggested a board detailing specific jobs which members could take responsibility for.

Clive Mills Barton said that with the Olympics in 2012 (and Alex Mills Barton's progress to date) there was a massive opportuni- ty to get people sailing. Carolyn Turner pointed out that 2012 was also the 60 th anniversary of NSSC.

Mike Woollard asked about the Cadets and family memberships. Was NSSC now charging Cadets to obtain RYA Certificates? Had a restriction on cadet numbers being introduced? Carolyn Turner explained that he had misread the training brochure re- garding Monday night cadets. There had been no restriction on cadet numbers but there had been problems with some parents not wanting to stay and help. There were currently 35 Monday night cadets. With regard to family memberships Mike asked if numbers were significantly less in 2011? Sharon Allen advised that some family members had converted to single membership on renewal this year. Mike's point was that without youngsters and parents coming into the club through the cadets then the future was bleak. The Commodore acknowledged that this was an important part of the income stream. Mike offered to run a sailing course for interested parent adults to bring them up to assistant instructor level. This would be most helpful and Caro- lyn Turner will tell the Cadet parents about Mikes' offer.

Clive Mills Barton mentioned schools liaison and was happy to help with development in this area.

John Cook referred to NSSC's aim to be “best club in region” and was concerned that there was a bias towards youngsters with the recent renewal process removing concessions to pensioners, some of whom were helping strenuously and had provided valiant support. The Commodore explained that a 25% discount for existing pensioners this year had been retrospectively in- troduced and apologised if John had not been made aware. He also said that many Clubs in our area did not have discounts for senior citizens but NSSC would be pleased to consider ideas for pensioner members in the future and suggested these be put in writing to the Committee. John also raised training but would discuss with the Commodore out-with the meeting.

There being no further open forum items, the Commodore closed the meeting at 8.00pm.

NEWHAVEN AND SEAFORD SAILING CLUB SAILING WEEK 2011 If you have never been to Sailing Week you are missing out on a great part of being a member of NSSC. You do not have to attend every part of the week. Pick and Mix. • Some members bring their families and camp for the week – without sailing.

• Some members work mornings and come just for the afternoon races.

• Some members come for the evening social events.

• The event is open to non members – so you can bring friends to join in the fun.

• The Shorebreak Cafe will be open all day for food and drinks. The bar is open at lunchtimes and evenings.

• Make 2011 the year that you come along to

Seaford Clubhouse and experience

Sailing Week Saturday 30 th July – Sunday 7 th August Day Morning Afternoon Evening

Saturday Expedition to Cuckmere Bar Open Haven and Picnic on the beach. Sunday Friars Bay Middle distance PM race Bar Open Race Monday Cadet Races – approxi- Series Handicap Races Social events – Tuesday mately If possible 2 races per day – programme to be final- Wednesday 45 minutes long for the 1 on Friday (prize Giving) if 9 ised. Thursday Len Miller Trophy. races – best 6 count. Quiz Night Friday Beetle Drive For Adults – a series of Prizes for different classes as Music informal novelty races. well as fun prizes. Dancing Fun nights Bar open Saturday Games Tourney Race 1 Games Tourney Race 2 Bar Open

Sunday Games Tourney Race 3 Games Tourney Race 4

Race/sailing fees Member Non-member – pay- Camping fees – SMALL Camping fees – LARGE able per sailor TENT (<4) TENT (4+) Whole event Free £35 £15 £30 (30/7-7/8) Expedition Free £5 Sailing week Free £25 (1/8 – 5/8) Games Tourney Free £10 £5 £10 (6-8/8)

MID-SUMMER NIGHTS DREAM party at Seaford Clubhouse

FRIDAY 24th June 7pm until Midnight

An evening of DELICIOUS FOOD, DRINK and LIVELY MUSIC

£10.00 per person (Adults and Children)

LADIES: long flowing dresses ~ Fairy Wings optional GENTLEMEN: Smart Casual ~ Crowns optional

To help us plan and make this Social event a real success please: BOOK & PAY by 17th June, either with JANE in the Seaford Galley or Gerri e.mail: [email protected] phone: 07808 964796

Gerri will also be at Piddinghoe Pond on Mondays 6pm to 7pm to take bookings

Poster available on the club website at: www.nssc.org.uk

======ENDURANCE RACE (6 hours) Piddinghoe Pond Saturday 25th June 2011 Sailing 10.00am to 4.00pm Registration from 9.00am

Great opportunity for beginners, intermediate and competitive sailors to have a FUN DAY at PIDDINGHOE POND

Entrants who pre book by 23rd June receive free food vouchers. BBQ available all day, or bring you own food. Form a team with your mates or simply go for it solo! Prizes for most laps, corrected time and mystery prizes Limited club boats (Toppers, Picos, Slippers) available f.o.c. pre book with Darren Parents or responsible adult to remain on site for cadets.

Speak to Darren Field 07980 563177 or email [email protected] Help always needed to assist organising / judging /safety boat Poster available on the club website at: www.nssc.org.uk