Page 8 - Masthead - Salcombe Yacht Club 2019 Yearbook

6 Fleet Reports
REAR COMMODORE SAILING REPORT
The sailing season kicked off in March with a visit from The Beast from the East, severely depleting attendance at the London Dinghy Show, and cutting Salcombe off from the rest of the country. Fortunately, the snow had mostly cleared by the following weekend, permitting the SYC dinghy commissioning race to take place.
14 boats came to the line, and the race was won by David Greening in his Solo. The previous evening, we were treated
to an inspirational talk from Tim Law illustrating his progress from young Cadet sailor to several times champion in Laser National and World series.
The Beast returned the following weekend and blew off the first of the spring series races. However, from then on the weather gradually improved, eventually delivering the best summer we have seen in Salcombe for many years.
Sharp’s Doom Bar Merlin Rocket Week in early July was held in balmy conditions. While the generally light winds may have been frustrating for the 240 competitors and taxed the course-setting abilities of our principal Race Officers, Simon Dobson and David Greening, the payoff was long evenings outside on the terrace and great bar profits. David and Simon were assisted by a loyal band of volunteers marshalled by Margaret Mackley and Gail Allen, and the whole event fronted by Graham Cranford– Smith. Although standing down as my
predecessor Rear Commodore Sailing and so propelling me into this role, Graham continues to put in huge effort in organising what is possibly the premier dinghy event in the UK. Immediately following this year’s event, Graham had 170 entries for 120 places in next year’s MR Week. Another major factor in the success of the week is due to our harbourmaster, Cameron Sims- Stirling’s dispensation allowing us to use the whole width of the estuary for starts, while his staff led by Phil Goodhead patrol the estuary, closing it to other traffic during the start sequence.
No sooner is Merlin week packed away, than the Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta
is upon us, sponsored again in 2018
by Salcombe Gin. This week too was
held in wall-to-wall sunshine, although stronger winds on Thursday caused some excitement. We are immensely grateful
to our Race Officers for the week for the sterling work they do in setting and starting 11 races a day. John & Fiona Wylie drew the short straw, running 6-morning starts, with 3 under handicap, with Geoff Gilson
overseeing our afternoon racing. Plans are afoot to share responsibilities more evenly next year.
Once again, Scud and Wendy Stewart assisted by Simon and Nicki Dobson ran a very successful Town Regatta sailing week, raising substantial funds for regatta charities.
In addition to these premier weeks and the many volunteers involved in running the racing and manning patrol boats, there is a 10-month schedule of racing from March to December during which we need to allocate at least 6 members every Saturday just to enable the regular Club series to continue. Typically this needs every active member to undertake at least 3 duties
per year, either in the Watch House or on the water in the patrol boats. Later in the year, the race schedule will be published to enable members to sign up for duties that they can conveniently fill. Duties remaining unfilled will be populated by the SYC Office and entered into Dutyman. Once allocated it is a member’s responsibility to undertake that duty or to arrange for a replacement. No assistance can be given by the Office. A further point to note is that while only one member is allocated in dutyman to each patrol boat, in practice one person on their own is unlikely to be of much practical assistance in an emergency situation, and
NO SOONER IS MERLIN WEEK PACKED AWAY, THAN THE SALCOMBE YACHT CLUB REGATTA IS UPON US