MARINE ACADEMY NEWS At the start of a new season it is worthy to reflect upon the Marine Academy’s activities for the past year. The CYCSA Marine Academy continues to be an important part of the Club. 2020-21 was the Academy’s fourteenth year of operation and continues to grow year on year as it assists in enhancing our sport through meeting the purpose of increasing competency, enjoyment, safety and boating knowledge for both our CYCSA members and the general community. Importantly the Academy continues to be a successful entity in terms of providing a pathway and attracting membership to the Club.
A major milestone in the year was the commissioning of our new training vessel, Southern Investigator and the sale of Academy 1. I take this opportunity to thank the CYCSA Board for its investment in our new yacht, a Beneteau 43.3. Southern Investigator is a significant step forward in offering a contemporary training platform. With a number of upgrades during the commissioning process she will serve the Academy and the Club well for many years to come and will be a vehicle for attracting new members. The last 12 months have seen some disruption to Marine Academy participation due largely to the COVID19 restrictions, but also to a windy summer. Those courses temporarily halted were all made up later in the year. The Academy has continued its new offerings and includes the Australian Sailing ‘Out There Sailing’ programs which again attracted teenagers to a three day course during the summer school holidays. As well, ‘Setting a New Course’, run in partnership with the Invictus Pathway Program at UniSA, ran again in October 2020 with ongoing sponsorship from Northrop Grumman. Club member, David Fawcett ably assisted with this sponsorship and deserves recognition.
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We continue to work with our partners to plan for similar courses in 2021-22. Student numbers increased significantly during the last season with 227 students spread over our 11 course offerings. Safety Courses for All Members
The 2021-22 Course Program was published on the Club’s website in mid-July with some courses already heavily booked.
Importantly, the Academy remains committed to providing Safety Courses for all our members be they power boaters or sailors. Safety Sunday will be on Sunday 17 October 2021 with the higher level Sea Safety and Survival Course on the weekend of 6 November. We will continue to provide Marine Radio Courses throughout the year when there are sufficient numbers to run the course. So be prepared and don’t get caught out on the water. Make sure your safety training is up-to-date. David Royle Marine Academy Principal
