March News letter

Nearly time to get our bottoms wet!

There have been some changes to members of the fleet since the end of the 2024 season.
We welcome Cathy Thompson as our new Fleet Secretary, taking over from Keith who has become
our new Rear Commodore. Cathy has been a Fifteen sailor for a long time and I’m delighted she
enthusiastically offered her time to do our admin. She is working closely with Keith – whom we
thank for his commitment to the RWYC Fifteens over many years.
After many years of Flying Fifteen sailing, John & Elizabeth have sadly sold their boat ‘Funny Enuff’ –
which I believe has gone to the Isle of Man. However, both are thankfully still part of the Fifteen
family and regularly around.
Sadly, Alan Williams passed away in February. Alan & Christine were fairly new members and had
just decided they would be more suited to sailing a cruiser. They had quickly integrated into the
social scene at the club and enjoyed the company of their new sailing friends, despite Alan having
treatment for Leukemia. Hopefully we will still see Christine at the club this season.

New to the fleet

David & Julie Sykes – previously Ullswater Y.C
Tim O’Brien – latterly from Grafham but has been a RWYC member before (in a previous century!)
Sorry Tim – had to get that in!

Dates for your diaries!

First race is on Thursday 3rd April
Thereafter it’s Saturday, Sunday & Thursday evenings generally. Monday evenings are also available
as handicap racing from June onwards
On Easter weekend there is racing on Saturday, Sunday & Monday
Our annual Open Meeting – which is also the Northern Championship this year is on 26th & 27th April
All the above & timings are in your Fixtures & Entries card available from the Club but always check
the website as live alterations can be made!
2.00 pm is the start time for ALL Saturday & Sunday races (regardless of whether there is 1 or 2 races
scheduled)
Weekend races and all Bank Holiday Monday races count towards the seasons Points & Average
trophies.
Thursday evening races (6.30 start) do not count for the above and are an opportunity to perhaps
take an unfamiliar crew for practise – and not be too bothered about the breeze dropping away!
Monday evenings are open to all boats and is handicap racing.
The race target times for evenings is about 40 minutes.
Please respect other fleets – we are all equal members of the club enjoying the same activity! It can
be easy when racing to only concentrate on your own race. There are Cruisers, 17’s, dinghies &
juniors all out there at various times. Please familiarise yourself with the other fleet start times,
their flags, what course they are sailing and varying finish times!
The 17’s start at 2.20 most Saturdays, but 10 minutes before us (1.50) on their occasional double
race days. If it’s NOT your starting sequence – please keep away from the start line!
On most weekends there is a course meeting at 12.30 pm (12.00 on 17’ double race days)
To clarify – this is to decide which end of the lake to sail i.e upper lake or lower lake. There is 1 vote
per boat (of those intending to sail) Sometimes it is an obvious decision, but not always. It is a
shared decision guided by the weather forecast & input from the Race Officer. At meeting time, if
there is no wind then the decision may be postponed.

Duty Roster

The Sailing Secretary produces a rota for us to volunteer (remember NO safety boats = NO racing)
There are spaces for weekend, evenings & Open Meetings to give back to the club. There is a
necessity for 1 or 2 RIBs or 3 at Open meetings. Please sign up if you are able.
Health & Safety tips on launching & recovery
On a race day, when there’s plenty of us around, we don’t need the tractor for launching but at
other times it may be useful if you’re going out for a practise or social sail.
Thankfully we all work well as a team with the aim to avoid damage to any boats. Prior to launching
it is good practice to have a person at the stern, assisting and looking out.
When launching, please be prompt with your departure from the jetties, to allow others to launch.
It is preferable to never leave a boat ‘parked’ at the end of a jetty as this impedes others trying to
leave
Trailer ropes – make sure yours is up to the job – about 7m long is ideal
Tractor – only people who have been trained to do so can drive. Tony Houlihan is our tractor
monitor and in charge of training. Please speak to Tony (or via Nigel / Cathy) if you would like
instruction (or request a refresher session as a reminder of the best techniques)
If there is a fault or damage to the tractor, please let Tony, Nigel or Cathy know ASAP so it can be
fixed quickly
Parking – when turning / parking your boat in its space, have a person at the stern to prevent any
damage to adjacent boats

Finally!

Incidents on the water
These are best avoided! Club racing should be competitive but fun!
If you are unfortunate to have an incident with another boat which is racing (same fleet or not) then
you need to, very promptly, assess the situation & whether you might be at fault.
If you are the infringing boat, you must as soon as possible take your penalty turns, making sure you
are not in the way of other boats.
If you think that you are the right of way boat, then you must hail ‘PROTEST’ and promptly display a
red protest flag. If the infringing boat acknowledges their error & does 2 turns, then the protest flag
is put away.
If in doubt – do your turns! It can be done quite quickly and is worth practising!
Finally – if there is no independent witness to a 2-boat incident and you are the give way boat – it is
best to do turns regardless (as you would probably lose any protest)
RYA Rules of Sailing – an essential read!
Here’s to a good season, on and off the water…..

Nigel Tullett – fleet captain

Cathy Thompson – fleet secretary