1
AUGUST 2011
DOWNWIND Racing Association Newsletter Diary Dates
September Sat 17:
Sun18:
RSAYS Hardy's Sailing Coaching Day 1 RSAYS Hardy's Sailing Coaching Day 2
Sun 25: CYCSA Safety Sunday Sun25:
RSAYS Hardy's Sailing Coaching Day 3
Fri 30:
Close of Nominations
October Mon 3:
Labour Day Public Holiday
Wed 5: Sat 8:
Skippers & Crew Briefing Inshore R1 / J24 Inshore R1 / IRC R1 / Multi R1
Sun 9:
RSAYS Sea Safety Day
Sat 15:
Offshore R1 / Inshore Offshore R1 / Offshore Mini R1 / Coaster R1
Sun 16: RSAYS Ladies R1 Wed 19: Twilight R1 Sat 22:
Inshore R2&3 / J24R2&3 / Multi R2
Sun 23: RSAYS Bundy Cup Wed 26: Twilight R2 Sat 29:
CYCSA Opening Day
TRACI AYRIS 2011 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Chairman’s Report… As always, the Port Line Cup was a welcome highlight in our bleak months. Despite early rain that seemed determined to stay, the skies soon cleared for some excellent flat water sailing in a light breeze. Racing in the river is not without its challenges and while I did notice a couple of incidents on the water, most crews would certainly have enjoyed the day. With the loss of our major sponsor during the past season, the Racing Association has naturally experienced a loss of income which, unless addressed, will significantly impact on our ability to facilitate a flexible and comprehensive racing program in coming years. Recently Jess and myself have been working on a Racing Sponsorship scheme, the details of which have been mailed out to members and included in this newsletter. Racing Sponsorship is now an affordable option for small businesses and I hope that our members will support our Racing Association by sponsoring a race in the upcoming season. We will also be stepping up our fundraising activities in coming months in a bid to throw more coins in the coffers and would appreciate your support when the raffle books circulate on race days. At our recent REX meeting we tabled a suggestion that we split twilight racing in two divisions. There are good arguments for the pros and cons of this move. On one hand it would certainly mean that slower boats are no longer tail-end charlies each week and that faster boats may be able to enjoy longer courses but the flipside of that is the inability to provide an “all fleet” result, especially when we run our two combined races with the RSAYS. The unanimous decision of REX was to leave “as is” for the moment but if you have strong views on this topic I encourage you to let Jess, myself or any REX member aware of them. Reasons behind this unanimous decision include the view that Twilight Sailing is social and is more about being out on the water with friends and that there are many other options for those who want to race competitively. We notice that if a large fast boat is out on the water on a twilight night the crew often opt to go for a sail after crossing the line then make their way back to the club with the majority of the fleet a little later on. Another factor is the reliance of our duty crew to plan and lay two courses on twilight nights. Perhaps not an onerous task on a moderate day, but possibly a challenging one in more extreme conditions. We are constantly mindful of the excellent work carried out by our Duty Crew volunteers and we feel that we would only ask more of them if the majority of skippers/crews demanded such changes. Rob Sellick spends many of his precious hours assisting the Racing Association and we are extremely happy to congratulate him on his recent appointment to Vice Commodore at the recent club AGM, I only hope that his new role will still allow him to attend our REX meetings Ex-Officio, well done Rob!. Opening Day is on Saturday 29 October and, the Racing Executive, along with our Flag Officers and members of other club committees, is in the process of planning the day’s activities. We urge racing skippers and crews to join us on the day as it really is a wonderful time to mix and mingle with our fellow club members.
Traci Ayris
CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE RACING ASSOCIATION!
DOWNWIND • CRUISING YACHT CLUB OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA RACING EXECUTIVE WWW.CYCSA.COM.AU