NEWS FROM OUR FLAG OFFICERS

ROBERT PARKER

COMMODORE

IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE Autumn is upon us and summer sailing season is drawing to a close. Despite February’s local Covid-19 setback, the Club has continued to thrive.

On water and Off water activities since December 2020 have been well patronised and the various Sail, House, Members and Juniors reports will provide more detail.

Our major capital works program continues and members will be in no doubt that the Junior/Dinghy Facility is well underway. On Sunday, 14 March Junior Captain George Elms and I hosted a Slab Celebration to thank all who had donated to date. The slab pour was completed mere days before and had set enough that we had a slab-walk and many signed their names on the concrete. We have had enormous support for the fundraising behind this, but the opportunity still holds for any member wishing to be involved. With tax year end not too far off, a timely tax deduction may be attractive. Please contact me personally if required.

It was sad to see the Norfolk Pine being felled then the stump being grubbed out but be assured we will work with the appropriate authorities as to reinstatement of appropriate planting and reinstatement of the roadway.

The new fuel system is fully operational, and with minor adjustments and tweaks, is running well. I, for one, do not miss the carbon-copy docket book! I encourage all boat owners to use the Club’s fuel facility. The modest markup helps pay for the system of course. A new, longer hose is being fitted to facilitate the larger boats in the Club. Please give the Club another run, if we lost your support previously.

The western wharf remediation contract was awarded by General Committee since last Tidings, and long lead time articles are in progress. Work is scheduled to commence late April this year.

I thank members for their patience and understanding with all this disruption going on around the Club. Of course, one of the key issues has been parking. Please keep a note of any bulletins re large truck movements and minimise car use where possible. I have made more use of my own e-bike of late and can recommend it.

We do have the luxury of lovely stretches of green grass around the Club. Despite reduced parking, there are many times where bitumen bays are available and yet many cars are parked on the main driveway grass. Please use that grass as a last resort. Clearly, after a Thursday/ Saturday sail, there will be cars remaining – that is understood. I have endorsed the CEO’s recent action to place suitable, polite notices on windscreens where parking is inconsistent with Club rules and preferences (eg no sticker, non-member, not marked bay, etc). The gate may be closed more often, and Keith or other attendant may not admit non-members or those unable to verify membership appropriately. Please ensure this important role is treated with respect.

On similar terms, I ask all members to continue to show respect when dealing with staff and fellow members. From time to time, we do encounter issues in this regard. It is our combined duty to provide a safe workplace for staff (mentally and physically) and to ensure no staff or member feels harassed or otherwise uncomfortable. We have various avenues for incident reporting, counselling, chaplain support etc. Please ensure you approach someone in authority that you trust if you need such support.

On a personal note, I enjoyed a fantastic Bunbury & Return Ocean Race on Ross Norgard’s beautiful Salacia II. It was a return to offshore for me after some 20 years, having last competed with my father Stephen and brother Tony in dad’s S&S 34 – Cappoquin II. Suffice to say that Ross’s provisioning was pure luxury compared to the minimal fare allowed back then!

Let’s finish the season with high participation in all activities. Our finances continue to be strong but who knows where economic times will take us. A good club is a vibrant club, so join me in keeping it so.

I thank all members and guests for continued observance of these restrictions.

The summertime is always busy at the Club and this year has been no exception.

It’s great to see the vibrancy around the Club lately with so many people of all ages enjoying both boating events and social activities. In the next few months, we expect to catch up with functions and events that unfortunately had been deferred.

To keep up to date with members’ social events please see our weekly Front of House e-newsletter.

MEMBERSHIP

As part of this vibrancy, membership applications show an increase across all our membership categories. There are quite a few previous members returning to the Club – we do always say ‘should your circumstances change in the future and you wish to return we would happily welcome you back and there may be discounts offered to previous members who re-join the Club’.

For females, all categories are increasing steadily. For males, the Junior and Ordinary categories show good increases. Total membership numbers are now at a five-year high.

In the last edition I made mention of discussions on membership strategic planning and the subsequent implementation of any changes considered beneficial. These meetings help us remain aware and progressive and provide an ideal opportunity for the Club to review and update membership information.

It was discussed that, as years pass and personal circumstances change, it is appropriate to ask members to keep the Club informed of any relevant changes. Obvious examples of this are our Country and Associate Membership requirements. Our Rules of Association set out these requirements quite clearly. Please contact Suzzi Ghent, our Membership Coordinator if your circumstances need updating.

We have concentrated on our 16 existing categories and their ongoing relevance. These existing categories are still very relevant to the Club.

From there, further discussion and progress took place in the OnWater Pass Working Group about our duty of care and compliance with the AS prescription to Rule 46 which has an effective commencement date of Jan 2022. This affects all Australian Clubs.

A few potential new categories, like the above, that are less than full Ordinary membership but may lead to it, were discussed and will be the focus of further research and evaluation.

HOUSE AND SOCIAL

We wish Antony Botello, our Bowline Restaurant Manager, well as he leaves to pursue his legal career. Antony’s happy presence in the Bowline will be missed.

The Children’s Christmas Party was well attended and Santa visited for several hours. Games were set up on the lawns and both adults and children enjoyed them. It is hoped to expand the entertainment for the children next year to our pre-COVID-19 levels.

The NYE Twilight Sail and Party saw maximum capacity attendance at the Club and the evening was a fantastic success. Congratulations to our staff for coping with the numbers and making the evening so enjoyable. The Twilight Sail was not as well patronised and we are working with the Sailing Committee to recreate the spectacle of large numbers of twilighting yachts early in that night.

The Mediterranean Night celebrating our 125th Year was held on Friday, 19 March with perfect weather conditions. In excess of 250 members and guests attended this fun filled night on the main wharf.

Other functions such as Valentine’s Day, Sunday Sessions, New Member Nights and Dads and Kids Sleepover and were all well attended.

Larger private functions that were deferred are now being rescheduled. This trend augers well for the Autumn months ahead.

I look forward to seeing you around our Club.

PETER CHALMER

VICE COMMODORE

AS I WRITE THIS, I note that Government COVID-19 requirements regarding venue capacity and distancing are flagged to change very shortly. Good news indeed for the Club and members.

IAN BURVILL

REAR COMMODORE SAIL

THERE HAS BEEN HIGH participation in keelboat racing this season, as sailors stay home and enjoy racing on local waters.

The international one design classes were unable to compete in National or World Championships, as these were postponed, including the Etchells and Flying Fifteen Worlds that RFBYC was scheduled to run this summer.

During March, State Championships were held for the Etchells (hosted by RPYC) and the Dragons (hosted by RFBYC). Congratulations to Michael Manford, Nick Gray and Dean McAullay for winning the Etchells States and to Willy Packer, Julian Harding and Jock Packer for winning the Dragon States. The Flying Fifteens will travel to Geraldton for their State Championship, barely six months after the postponed 2020 States were run by RFBYC. Can David Yu and Chris Nelson go one better and beat past World Champion Nick Jerwood?

Our youth sailors have been active and successful on the WA Tour. At the time of writing, Will Boulden’s Alpha Racing Team was leading the series, with match racing wins in RFBYC’s JESS Match Cup and RPYC’s Collin Mullins Regatta, both held in December. Alpha racing also won RFBYC’s 2021 Youth State Keelboat Championship in March, after placing second to Marcello Torre’s Columbo Racing Team in SoPYC’s 2020 Youth States in December. Ethan PrietoLow’s Calypso Racing Team has also done well, after placing second in the two match racing events and in the 2021 Youth States. Ethan’s youth team also won the Champion of Champions regatta (which is not part of the tour) at RFBYC in March, beating Michael Manford’s highly experienced Etchells team. Good luck to all our sailors in the final WA Tour event, RPYC’s City of Perth Cup.

Sandy Anderson skippered the Club’s open team to victory in the Women’s State Keelboat Championship. In second place was Adele Jackson with the RFBYC Flying Fifteen team. Thanks to Swan River Sailing for partnering with our Club to host these States, the Youth States, and the Champion of Champions regatta.

The Night Race and Evening Race were held on 26 January. Participation rates were low, with the exception of Division 1. I encourage Fleet Captains to consult with their division, to provide feedback to Sailing Committee.

Saturday windward leeward racing format has been different this season, with the event being held at 0900 or 1630, rather than the previous 1345 start time. The reason for this is that RFBYC, RPYC and SoPYC have decided to discontinue joint, mid-afternoon racing and, instead, to hold their own events. This means that windward leeward racing must be held at a different time, when other clubs aren’t holding around the buoys racing. I encourage any feedback regarding windward leeward race programming to be channelled via your Fleet Captain.

I was fortunate to be on the media boat for the start of our Club’s Bunbury and Return Ocean Race in February. It was a credit to our staff and volunteers that they were able to hold this event in a legal and safe manner while some COVID-19 restrictions remained during February. Congratulations to Geoff Bishop of FSC for being the overall winner on IRC. Congratulations also to our Club’s sailors: Craig Carter took line honours with Indian, Daniel Cannon on Cannonball won Division 2 IRC and PHS, and Ross Norgard on Salacia II was second on PHS in Division 2. Salacia’s crew included Commodore Rob Parker and America’s Cup legend Peter Gilmour.

RFBYC will host the much shorter Roland Smith Ocean Race on 17 April, which coincides with our Closing Day on the Swan River. For those who won’t be ocean racing, I encourage you to race on Closing Day or come down to the Club afterwards.

SCOTT MONRO

REAR COMMODORE JUNIORS

THE SUMMER SAILING SEASON was well underway when the Club hosted the ICR in December. Participation was once again very strong, with 163 dinghies and 188 sailors competing in the regatta, including the Green and Orange Fleets.

The weather conditions proved to be variable from ‘glass out’ to gales, which made for some very interesting and challenging dinghy sailing over the course of nine races. 77 volunteers were involved in the management of the ICR, with other 200 lunches prepared each day. It was a very well organised and successful regatta.

In the absence of any opportunity to sail in National competition, our Junior sailors were kept busy

competing in local Regattas, Youth Championships and State Championships over the Christmas holiday period. The premier event was the Goolugatup Sailing Carnival hosted by SoPYC in January, which provided opportunity for many Junior sailors to compete in two regattas over a two-week period.

At the ‘Back to School’ party in February, we acknowledged our Junior sailors that excelled in the recent State Championships. As well, we formally welcomed 47 of our new Junior Members from 2020, all of whom received a ‘Freshie’ sailing cap from Commodore Rob Parker. A total of 95 new members joined the Dinghy Club in 2020.

Participation in the Training Centre experienced an unprecedented level of

interest over the six-week Christmas holiday period, with over 450 participations in the Little Tackers, Tackers and Out There Sailing programmes. Participation in the school programmes conducted during Term 4 2020 and Term 1 2021 has also been very strong, with over 300 students from eight primary and high schools attending the school sailing programmes co-ordinated by the Training Centre. Importantly, the Training Centre employs 50 coaches and instructors to provide the necessary coaching, assistance and support. The Training Centre at RFBYC has been recognised by Australia Sailing as the No. 1 Discover Sailing Centre in Australia, recording the highest participation in training courses for the six-month period, July to December 2020.

Much of the success of the Training Centre is underpinned by the tireless efforts, hard work and super efficiency of Shelley White. She has done a remarkable job over the last two years developing a very successful and popular Training Centre. Shelley has decided to complete her tertiary studies this year but will still be with us on a part-time basis. Congratulations to Chelsea Hall who has recently accepted the position of Training Centre Principal, replacing Shelley White.

The build of the new Junior Dinghy Facility is currently the main conversation amongst sailors, parents and volunteers. Everybody is very excited with the progress. The demolition of the storage shed and the start of construction commenced on schedule, with every week seeing further progress. The rigging up area is cramped, dinghy storage is over-flowing and car parking is difficult, but this is quickly forgotten in anticipation of a wonderful new Facility in 2022.

With the recent increase in participation in sailing at the Dinghy Club, the challenge is to retain youth and to provide clear pathways in sailing from the Optimist and O’pen Skiff to the faster dinghies and eventually the Keelboats and Sports Boats. This is not a unique challenge and we must endeavour to allow our Junior sailors to experience all dinghy and keelboat sailing opportunities on offer at our Club. We are a very friendly and inclusive sailing community, and we should continue to strengthen the ‘connectivity’ between the Main Club and the Dinghy Club, to provide every opportunity to retain our Junior sailors once they leave school and keep our membership strong.

‘Junior sailing and ultimately the future of our Club relies on having pathways, facilities and support to develop both as sailors and people. The (new) Junior and Dinghy Facility is central to achieving that outcome…’ excerpt

from Welcoming Speech from Junior Captain George Elms to Donors (14 March 2021)

ELISE MANNERS

REAR COMMODORE POWER

UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO the recent COVID-19 lockdown, we were forced to cancel this year’s Twilight Time Trial that was due to be run on Friday, 12 February. Prior to cancellation, we had 15 confirmed entries and 48 people booked for dinner.

Be sure to mark your diaries for next year’s Twilight Time Trial, which is scheduled for Friday, 11 February 2022.

We are very proud to be supporting Camp Quality Family Fun Day, which is on Sunday, 28 March. Camp Quality supports kids and families impacted by cancer by giving them opportunities to have fun, connect and enjoy life for a while. At the time of writing this, we had 14 boats organised to take out 150 guests for a cruise on the Swan River and, by doing so, giving them a much-needed break from treatment and hospitals. A huge thank you to those members who were able to volunteer their time and boats.

Power Opening Day is scheduled for Saturday, 1 May. There will be the usual sail past then a short time trial followed by a raft up on the main wharf for the opening ceremony and a dock party with live entertainment. This is a fun day and a great opportunity to invite your friends to enjoy the festivities.

Please don’t forget to nominate for the season. We would love to see as many boats out there as possible competing regularly, both seasoned time triallers as well as those who are new to time trialling. If you would like to be involved but are unsure on how or where to begin, please contact Sharon Skinner who can help you get started. There are also many regular time triallers who would be more than happy to take you out and “show you the ropes”, so to speak. Time trialling is a fantastic way to use your boat over the winter months as well as providing terrific opportunities to catch up with your mates in the Members Bar afterwards.

Finally, thank you to those power boat owners who volunteered their boats and time to the summer sailing season, your assistance is greatly appreciated. We now look forward to the assistance of all yacht owners who are not competing in the upcoming time trialling season.

I look forward to seeing you on the water.

continued from page 6

Most Notable Achievements by RFBYC Dinghy Sailors at 2020/21 State Championships

O’PEN SKIFF (PDSC, DEC 2020)

BRENN ARMSTRONG 2ND OPEN FLEET HUDSON ARMSTRONG 1ST INTERMEDIATE FLEET WOJTEK TARASEWICZ 2ND INTERMEDIATE FLEET

OPTIMIST (SOPYC, JAN 2021)

ZEN SALISBURY 2ND OPEN FLEET JASPER STAY 3RD OPEN FLEET THOMAS COOPER 1ST INTERMEDIATE FLEET ISABELLE CHARLY 5TH & 1ST FEMALE INTERMEDIATE FLEET

29ER (SOPYC, JAN 2021)

AXEL FLEET & KIERAN BUCKTIN 1ST ZACHARY SPRUNT & VASS KATSAITIS 2ND SAM ROSE & JONATHON EVERETT 3RD

MIRROR (PRSC ALBANY, JAN 2021)

SIMON BARWOOD & TYSON BARWOOD 1ST