Safety Boat Officer's Report
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May I take this opportunity to thank all who have manned the Safety boats for your support to the SYC this year.
For information, we have managed to supply manning for two safety boats at every SYC club racing weekend, including fully manned safety boats at the SYC Cadet Week and of course Kippford Week. We have also provided and manned 2 safety boats for the Five Castles event at Loch Ken and Four Safety boats at the Open Weekend in September.
This has been no mean feat when we were without Popeye until the end of August.
I would also like to thank on behalf of "all the sailors" and "the Solway Yacht Club committee" in particular those people who loaned their own boats during Cadet Week and Kippford Week and those who manned their own boats and Ribs on many occasions to give us complete cover and support:
· Dennis Latta for Spare Rib and
· Jim Prentice for Jim's Rib.
· Sarah and Richard with Bishops’ Rib
· Becky and Piggy with Becky's Rib
· Joanne and Mark with their new Rib, Medium Rare
· Alan Crichton with Speedy Pimm
· Lindsay Tosh with Jack Thompson
· John Dee with Minx.
May I mention two people, the man I sail with, our Club Secretary John Sproat who has covered Safety no less than 11 Times this season and Alan Gillman a new SYC Club member this year who has been on a Safety Boat so often that he has only raced his own flying fifteen on one occasion!
Next season is already being planned and looks to be as busy as ever. There are planned at least two Powerboat level 2 courses and a Safety Boat Course. There will also be an be opportunity for Powerboat level 2 continuation & improver sessions over the closed season, the first being 14/15 December. Please just let me know if you would like to take part.
That should keep our "five club" volunteer Powerboat Instructors busy.
May I use this opportunity to ask if there are more club members who would like to join the Safety Boat Roster. Please don't be shy just let me know. Without Safety Boats on the water there would be no dinghy racing!
Pete Hammond
Safety Boat Officer
Missing Mark
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Hi,
One of our inflatable marks went missing between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. We have had a good search but to no avail. Often, these come back in after a day or two so, if you're walking around the coast, please keep an eye out.
Lindsay Tosh
Commodore
Adventure Day
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What a success! When I put the four adventure days into the 2019 programme, this is exactly what I had in mind. Fortunately, Willie Patterson took a fairly woolly aspiration and made it real, conceiving, planning and executing a masterful event. I saw 27 kids having the time of their lives and I saw a whole lot more "kids" (whose birth certificates maybe told a different story) coming together as a team to make it all happen. When our club gets together to have a bit of fun, boy can we make a good job of it.
Fortunately, the weather gods smiled on us after giving us a fair fright overnight and during the early morning. Going to Plan B seemed a worry but it all just worked perfectly. Watching it all from mothership Alicat was a joy for me.
Now we know what we can achieve, let's build on it for next year. Sailing, of course, has it's pinnacle at the Olympics but, without the base of the pyramid, that's worth nothing. We, and clubs like us, are the solid base on which the whole edifice rests.
Thank you all.
Lindsay Tosh, Commodore
CADET ADVENTURE DAY
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Cadet Adventure Day Saturday 31st August 2019. 11:00am - 3:00pmKIPPFORD WEEK A GREAT SUCCESS
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Kippford Week and RNLI Regatta 2019
A week of mixed sunshine, showers and winds from nothing to “sailing perfect” produced another year of challenges for sailors young and not-so-young for the Solway Yacht Club’s main event of the year. As always led by the Club’s highly experienced team of Race Officers and safety crews, but in particular this year’s Club Commodore, Lindsay Tosh.
Day 1 quickly identified the leading crews in the various classes and the pace was set. Many familiar faces but several new ones going well, particularly among the young.
Tuesday, day 2, and as the fleet launched many were towed out to the start line with virtually no wind. An hour passed before a few slight zephyrs could be felt and after a wee while more, enough to get the races underway. Further offshore it was again the Hawks that dominated the Cruiser class with the David Henderson and David Butler crew winning again but back in action in the Flying Fifteens after the previous day’s breakage were Colin Filer and Jamie Gascoigne. They weren’t having it their way again, beaten by the Scott Train and Anne Stewart crew. In the dinghy fleet Stewart Mitchell led the fast handicap class to a win in his Olympic Finn, fresh back from a great performance in Denmark in the World Masters Championships. Medium handicap class saw a close finish with Emily Biggar and crew Mhairi McFadzean take “line honours’ but it was Ian Purkis and crew Emily Overend in their Firefly who won after handicap corrections. The slow handicap class was won by Megan Greaves in her Topper. With the light winds, the inshore races were finished “on the water” thanks to the safety boat of Duncan Gillespie and crew, pressed into timing the finishers ensuring there was a fair result.
Windy Wednesday brought a big change to the weather with a near perfect strong steady wind which got the leading boats really flying. Offshore again it was the Henderson/Butler Hawk but in the Flying Fifteens it was the Jim Holland and Dewi Williams crew that had a big lead at the first mark and were delighted to win by a narrow margin beating the fast closing Filer/Gascoigne boat. In the dinghy classes, Alex Gendinning in his Vortex won both races in the fast handicap class, while the medium handicap class the Biggar/McFadzean crew were really flying stretching out a big lead in their 420 boat (the Olympic training type), getting their first win. The slow handicap fleet again went to Megan Greaves, clearly now the one to beat.
Thursday and another day of light winds saw a similar pattern but by now in the medium handicap class it was getting very crowded at the top of the series with Stewart Biggar in his Laser 4.7, James Bishop in his Laser Radial and the GP14 crew of Mark Lewis and Beatrice Overend joining the Biggar/McFadzean crew, all in with the chance of an overall win.
With several fleets results already settled, interest was all in the medium handicap class. On the water, line honours went to the GP14 of Lewis/Overend, but the handicap win to the Laser Radial of Alex Noble but despite only finishing third, it was just enough to secure Biggar/McFadzean the overall series win.
Despite the domination of the cruisers by the Hawk yachts, all week the other cruisers were still having their own battles. Mention must be made of “Kintra”, skippered by John Searle and his crew Andrew Bodenham who consistently came out on top of the rest.
In a very crowded clubhouse, prizegiving celebrated all those series podium place winners and those who had made the whole week run so smoothly and successfully from the galley to the race office, the mark layers, the safety crews and many others. However special awards went to Jim Prentice for his immaculate and “very shiny bottomed” foiling catamaran and most especially to Deirdre Harding for her outstanding contribution to the whole of the Club and Club life, much behind the scenes, from her days as a cadet through to today. A massive “Thank You” from everyone.
Kippford Week overall podium results.
Cruiser Class
1st David Henderson and David Butler (Hawk 20)
2nd Angus Campbell and David Henderson (Hawk 20)
3rd Sandy Mair and Alison Young (Hawk 20)
Flying Fifteens
1st Scott Train and Anne Scott
2nd Jim Holland and Dewi Williams
3rd Colin Filer and Jamie Gascoigne
Fast Handicap
1st Stewart Mitchell (Finn)
2nd Rhys Williams (Laser)
3rd Steve Brisley (Laser)
Medium Handicap
1st Emily Biggar and Mhairi McFadzean (420)
2nd Mark Lewis and Bearice Overend (GP14)
3rd Stewart Biggar (Laser 4.7)
Slow Handicap
1st Megan Greaves (Topper)
2nd Tamsin Wallace and Mollie Keiley (RS Feva)
3rd Louisa Birdsall and Alice Parker (RS Feva)
The Kippford RNLI Regatta
With all entry fees being donated to the local Kippford RNLI, the Regatta races are a separate event but linked to the main Kippford week sailing. With several crew changes and new entrants, boats were in the same classes as the main Kippford Week. This time all the races, including for the larger cruising yachts and Flying Fifteen keelboats were started from the same inshore start line. This made for a very crowded water and quite a spectacle for those ashore. With the Kippford lifeboat doing the lead boat turn, assisting sailors to follow the correct course, the races got underway.
In the light wind it was a test of sail trim, balance and patience but in the glorious summer weather, the beautiful Colvend coast was looking its best. One feature, welcomed by some, was the larger cruising yachts breaking the stranglehold previously held by the Hawk yachts in the class, with Fiona Blandford and her crew taking second.
With no sign of the wind increasing the Race Committee again called on the Safety crews to provide “on the water” finish lines between a convenient course mark buoy and their safety boat, something that had already become a feature of Kippford Week 2019
So concluded another Kippford Week with huge thanks to all those who made the whole event possible from the Race Committees, the safety crews and many more to everyone who kept the sailors fed and watered in the galley and the bar.
Kippford RNLI Regatta overall podium results.
Cruiser Class
1st David Henderson and David Butler (Hawk 20)
2nd Fiona Blandford and crew (Delpha Classic 700)
3rd Sandy Mair and Alison Young (Hawk 20)
Flying Fifteens
1st Scott Train and Anne Scott
2nd Colin Filer and Jamie Gascoigne
3rd Jim Holland and Dewi Williams
Fast Handicap
1st Stewart Mitchell (Finn)
2nd Mark and Anna Simpson (National 12)
3rd Mark Crowther (Laser)
Medium Handicap
1st Mark Lewis and Bearice Overend (GP14)
2nd Ian Purkis and Emily Overend (Firefly)
3rd James Bishop (Laser Radial)
Slow Handicap
1st Tamsin Wallace and Mollie Keiley (RS Feva)
No other finishers
Open Day Success
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Willie Patterson's meticulous plan came to fruition today with a most successful Open Day. We had 115 folk from outwith the club go on the water and we got 8 new memberships. We had even more visitors who did not go out including local MSP Finlay Carson and Marc Turner from RYA Scotland, whose photographs we are agog to see. We even had the Kippford lifeboat in for a cup of tea and a bun; good to see you.
Such events rely on a huge effort from many members so can I thank all who turned up to help. We had members in the kitchen, bringing bakery, at the pierhead, in the boat park, giving joyrides, manning safety boats and much else besides. Publicity is vital and Becky, Ian and Anna arranged posters and banners. Becky has already posted some great photos on Facebook. Thank you all.
Lastly, thanks go to the RYA for their help and the materials allowing us to link the national Push the Boat Out initiative to our Open Day.
Now the task is to consolidate the gains made. We have new members, we have a raised profile locally and we need to use that to develop our great club even further.
Lindsay Tosh, Commodore
Success at RYAS Awards
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The club came away from the RYA Scotland Awards evening with one direct success and one indirect.
The trophy for Club of the Year was brought home to Kippford and the honour was all the sweeter when you consider the quality of the other two clubs on the shortlist; Royal Northern and Clyde YC and East Lothian YC. East Lothian now head for London as a shortlisted club for the UK awards and we wish them well.
Our one time cadet captain Jock Wishart was successful in the competition for Performance of the Year. Jock took the trophy with his Commodore's Cup team, who went to Cowes and came back not only victorious but very clearly the top team. Jock was kind enough to mention the club in his acceptance speech.
One thing we learned was that, should you be at a Burns Supper and Jock is addressing the Great Chieftain o' the Puddin Race, you'll hear and see a lively address; just keep out of claymore range! See Jock in full cry on the Facebook page.