A SEASON OF PLAIN SAILING AND FUN AT SEA FOR OUR YOUNGSTERS
Our club has, as in previous years, held dinghy sailing sessions on Tuesday afternoons, primarily for junior sailors.
This season we have experienced a mixture of highs and lows over the 12 weeks .
The highs being the increase in participant numbers, their continuing enthusiasm and sailing skills. The lows being weather- related, where, due to high winds and safety concerns, sailing had to be cancelled. However, due to the ingenuity of the club’s Vice Commodore Tess Woodnutt, some of these sessions were turned into fun theory classes.
In previous years the afternoon sailing sessions stopped at the start of the school holidays with the commencement of formal dinghy sailing courses. However this year it was decided to recommence afternoon sailing sessions after the formal courses had finished. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t too cooperative and a couple of afternoons had to be cancelled.
The club has three safety boats, using a minimum of two per sail. Unfortunately one of these has suffered UV degradation. However Neil Collings – one of the safety boat team – has volunteered to carry out the repairs. In addition to this, one of the outboard engines was damaged in a storm and will need repairs.
Fortunately Matt and Zoe McAllister-Wilding, parents of one of our young sailors, have offered to organise and cook a supper evening for club members in order to raise funds for repairs to the boats and dinghies. They have even recruited some of the juniors to ‘wait on table’.
To ensure the children’s safety it requires a minimum of six people. In addition to those already mentioned I would therefore like to thank Andy Le Clercq, Heike Peck, Hugh Harrison, John Saunders, Nigel Clarke and Sally Simmons who have not only given up their time to ensure safety on the water but, in addition, have spent time moving the boats out of harm’s way during storms, repairing damaged equipment and thereby enabling Island youngsters to sail safely, and importantly, have fun on the water.
