Newsletter

July 2010

PYSC BBQ Saturday 10^th July

This years event exceeded all expectations 24 people came up to the club from Portishead by sea and additional people came by land, there was an excellent turn out by our own membership the weather was superb the result of this was that the cooks were flat out all evening, the bar was busy, and the feedback from all who attended was the they had a really enjoyable evening.
A big thank you must go to Sheila, Angela and Gerry for the cooking and also to Nigel and Dawn for getting additional supplies when at one stage the food ran out.

BBQ Saturday 7^th August

The final BBQ for this year is to be held on Saturday 7^th August. if any member would like to volunteer with helping out with the cooking etc, please contact either myself or Nigel to discuss, as always all members, family and friends are welcome, and there is also sailing on this evening,(HW 17:44). Food will be available from 17:00.

Winch Cable

When using the winch please could members ensure that the electrical cable for the foot pedal is routed up over the door and not below it,

Sailing calendar

See the sailing calendar page.Safety Boat to Be Manned Two Hours Before High Water for Normal Sails and Two And A Half Hours Before HW For Races

Crew 4 or 2 Crew

Ken Lovell would like to make members aware that as he has sold his lightening he will be available to crew for members if required

Guidance for Safety Boat Crews

After discussions it has become clear that some members would like guidance as to certain aspects of carrying out safety boat duties, please see below a rough guide as to points to cover whilst carrying out safety boat duties.

1. Safety to Sail

If the crew of the Safety Boat judge that the conditions of the day are not safe to sail and that if a dinghy got into trouble safe assistance could not be offered then they should cancel the day, and the dinghy crews should be made aware of this fact, If crews still wish to sail then they are to be made aware that it is at their own risk and the safety boat should not be launched. As the crew of the safety boat you should assess you own limitations and under no circumstances proceed to launch the safety boat if you feel the conditions exceed these limits.

2. Slip Cleaning

It is the Safety boat crews duty to ensure that the slipway is in a safe usable condition prior to launching, If you are lucky and your duty falls on a Saturday after the usual Saturday crew have already done this then that is a bonus, but please do not assume that this will be the case and ensure that sufficient time is allocated to carrying out this operation if required.

3. Preparation prior to launching

The fuel level should be checked, also checks should be made that the radio is in place and well as that the bung has been inserted into the transom. Clothing wise the safety boat crew should enter the duty with the mind set that one of them will be required to enter the water if assistance is required, and so should dress accordingly.

4. Launching of dinghies

This is where many comedy moments can and do often occur, and where possible cover should be provided by the safety crew in case assistance is required.
It is good practice to stand by on the other side of the river whilst launching takes place, this enables the slipway to be covered whilst maintaining a good view of the dinghies that might already have launched and are heading down river.

5. Once all of the dinghies are on the river

Firstly inform Bristol VTS (VHF Channel 12) of the numbers of dinghies on the water and the intended destination for example, if it is a race to Nelson point make them aware of this fact. This is always a tricky one with regards to providing cover for the entire fleet as sometimes the spread of the fleet can be so wide as to make total cover very hard to achieve, a vantage point where as much of the fleet as possible can be monitored should try to be achieved, and if individuals are planning to launch early, (for maybe a trip round the Cockburn) then the Safety boat crew should be made aware of this by the dinghy crew, and they should then explain to what extent of cover can be provided (Normally line of Sight). This can also be affected by such factors as the experience of the crews in the dinghies, times of launching, and conditions etc,

6. Trips Into the Channel

1. At the end of the duty

Once all the boats are ashore and the safety boat is also ashore then the usual cleaning of the Safety boat and flushing of the engine should take place, also please remember to contact Bristol VTS and make them aware that all dinghies are safely ashore. Then remove the Radio and put on charge if required or return to the safe along with the ignition key, Log the engine hours in the log diary and make a brief note of how many dinghies sailed. Always ensure that the boat shed is locked prior to leaving.

On the EBB

As stated at the beginning of the guide above, it is only a rough guide and should any member wish to discuss in detail more technical aspects of the safety boat, or require a refresher on where things go etc then the usual Saturday crew will be only to happy to offer advice as required, and can be found on most Saturday mornings between 9:00 – 12:00 either covered in mud on the slipway or next to the tea pot.

Club website

Do not forget to keep visiting the club website and use the fund raising options such as easysearch and easyfundraising

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