SLMASC will again be hosting the national DISCOVER SAILING DAY which will be held at the club this coming Sunday (27th October) from 10am.

The aim of the day is to promote sailing by providing an opportunity for the public to come along and try sailing, perhaps for the very first time, The day is entirely FREE, and a fun, safe learning environment is guaranteed for all. The day will be fully supervised by Yachting Australia qualified instructors and assistant instructors, and experienced sailors will accomany new sailors on the water where we will have club safety boats overseeing all activities. We have a range of dinghies available along with a large and stable yacht (Doug Wilsons’ Sandpiper) to enable people to try a variety of sailing options to see what insterests and suits them most.

The clubs 4 brand new Optimist sail training dinghies will be unveiled for the first time, and registrations will be taken for the clubs 2013-14 Learn To Sail program that will commence straight after Discover Sailing Day. These courses are extremely popular and fill up fast, and last year all courses were filled on Discover Saiiling Day, so if you are interested in registering participants for either the adult or any of the the kids classes it is strongly recommended that you register promptly on Sunday morning to avoid disappointent. Separate Adult and Kids classes will again be held this season on Sunday mornings, with participants working through a graduated program with 5 levels available covering from Basic skills (suitable for beginners) through to advanced Dinghy Racing. Skills are progressively assessed throughout the programs (no exams!) and recorded in participants individual log books. Registration enquiries can be emailed to discoversailing@slmasc.org or discussed with an instriuctor on Sunday at the club.

Registrations for Discover Sailing Day will commence from 10am on Sunday, and sailing DVD’s will be shown in the club as well as display boats for viewing, and instructors will be available to discuss Learn To Sail classes while participants are waiting to get on the water. The club shop will be open for refreshments and hot chips, and a free sausage sizzle will be provided for all Discover Sailing day participants.

If you know someone who may be interested in getting into (or back into) sailing, invite them along to Discover Sailing at SLMASC this Sunday.

Any members who can spare a few hours on Sunday to assist with coordinating Discover Sailing Day activities are requested to email discoversailing@slmasc.org ASAP. It will be a fun day and your assistance will be appreciated both by the club and those that you will help introduce to the great sport of sailing.

Discover Sailing Day …. this Sunday 27th October from 10am at SLMASC (1A Sunshine Parade Sunshine). For specific enquiries regarding Sunday’s activities please email discoversailing@slmasc.org or phone 0438 724599.

We hope to see you at SLMASC this Sunday for a day of Learn, Safe Fun ….

Smooth Sailing

Team SLMASC

DISCOVER SAILING DAY …. LEARN, SAFE, FUN

Thank you and congratulations to the majority of yacht owners who have now successfully completed their Category 7 Safety inspection, with the majority of the fleet having already been issued with their safety compliance stickers for the 2013-14 season. Most owners have found this to be a fairly simply process with the Category 7 requirements being fairly basic and any equipment upgrades being a one off that will make compliance in future years very straight forward.

The small number of yachts that have not yet passed their safety inspections have until this Thursday evening to complete and pass their safety inspection if they wish to continue to accrue points in club pointscore events, as from and including this Fridays Twilight race, points will only be awarded to boats that have passed their Category 7 inspection and provided a copy of their completed inspections form to the club. Boats that have not yet raced will need to have their inspection completed prior to racing, and can arrange this by contacting Doug Wilson (see inspection process document on the yacht page of the club website).

A big thank you must also go to the club safety auditors who have volunteered their time to conduct the audits on all boats, and their flexibiility and willingness to conduct audits at times and locations to suit yacht owners has been appreciated by all. While there have been a few minor teething issues with the new process, given that this has been a new undertaking for the club and the auditors this season, things have run reasonably smoothly, however if you have any suggestions on how the process can be improved for next season, please pass on your ideas to one of the safety auditors or email them to racing@slmasc.org

There are also a few boat owners and skippers who have been sailing over recent weeks but who are yet to renew their club membership, and the club has allowed these first few weeks of the season for members renewals or new memberships to be paid. All sailors are reminded that in accordance with section 16(b) of the 2013-14 Yacht Sailing Instructions, that to be eligible to score points in a pointscore a yacht must be listed on the yacht register. To be listed on the yacht register the yachts owner, skipper and regular crew must be financial members of the club and he/she must have submitted a fully completed boat registration form. All boat owners and skippers should note that from and including this Fridays Twilight race, where a Club Race Officer or the Sailing Committee becomes aware of a boat being skippered by a non-member of the club, then the relevant boat will not accrue points for the race in the club pointscore. Club membership renewal and enquiries can be addressed directly to the club treasurer, Diana Charlton, by emailing treasurer@slmasc.org

Thank you for your assistance in meeting these two very basic requirements which are necessary for the effective and safe operation of club racing activities. Prompt compliance with these requirements is both expected and appreciated by the Sailing Committee.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding being able to meet these requirements before this Friday’s twilight race, please contact a member of the Sailing Committee or email racing@slmasc.org to raise any concerns.

Smooth Sailing

Team SLMASC