A reminder that boats sail to Bluff on a Wednesday at 5:30 for a bring-n-braai, an old tradition that is being revisited and a great way to enjoy a relaxed evening cruise.
Below are 10 reasons to go weeknight sailing, by by Adam Loory, UK Sailmakers Top 10 Reasons To Go Weeknight Racing 10. You can practice your tactics and manoeuvres in a low-pressure environment. 09. You can bring along and train your B Team so they are ready to step-in when your weekend warriors can’t make it. 08. It forces you to get out of the office earlier than usual – bring a co-worker so they can finally appreciate and understand all those odd things they overhear you saying on the phone to crew mates. 07. It’s a great way to get your kids or other juniors out in big boats. 06. Chances are you’ll see a great sunset. 05. You can rotate your crew through different positions, which helps crew members understand manoeuvres better. 04. You can sharpen your starting skills. 03. There often is a social element après sailing. 02. You just can’t get enough time on the water. And the #1 reason to do weeknight club racing: 01. They don’t call it “beer can racing” for nothing!
0 Comments
For those of our members who enjoy a cigar while enjoying the view from our Britannia Room deck, note we currently have the following cigars in stock: Cohiba, Monte Christo Junior, Partigas No. 4, Jose Petit Cazadores, Romeo Y Julieta and Blackstone Cherry Tip Cigarillos. Reminder that RNYC members enjoy discounted privileges on our published prices.
On a daily basis a lot of members help out behind the scenes and we’d like to acknowledge their contribution and thank members for all the assistance. It would be hard to single out anyone but we do want to acknowledge some people who go above and beyond to help out whenever we ask for it. An old building needs a lot or maintenance and there are constantly projects where we ask our members to apply their expertise. In no particular order, most recently members have helped out as follows. I sincerely apologise if I’ve left anyone’s name off the list but please note we appreciate everything the members do to help us out and, in particular, THANK YOU for always being gracious and helping out with a smile.
Al Burger for spending days on the phone to contact members to update our database and organising engineers to make the reinforced steel ring for the Vasco da Gama clock and organising sponsorship for the Cancer lunch. Kath Burger & Keith Brodie for organising the Ladies Cancer lunch. Steve Cawdron for constantly fixing our old wiring and electrical problems. Bill Howell for organising Club Draw prizes which are kindly sponsored by Bluff Meat Supply and Dieu Donne. Gail Dickerson for keeping our boat paperwork in order. Phil Downing for organising the car park remotes. Bruce Gilmore for keeping LM radio playing. Jeremy Kriek for mending broken equipment. Graham Pennels for transporting Terras for Youth Sailing. Stuart Ritchie for fixing our food lift in the kitchen. Julian King for fixing the motor on our rubber duck. Graham Rose for his work on the Vasco da Gama clock and Tony Rose for fixing our umbrellas. Manuel Sousa for organising the Bobcat to help level our carpark. Carl Zimmerman and Coert Grobbelaar for helping out with Pacers when needed. We would like to make use of this platform to send out a huge thank you to our race support, rescue, and skipper volunteers. We truly appreciate the time you have given to us and without your continued support and assistance, our sailing would not be the same. Over the past months we have received significant support from Alec McNamara, Coert Grobbelaar, Chris Parry, Patricia Kilburn, Rob & Sandy Samways, Gary & Thryza Price, Pam Featherstone, Greg Barkley, Andy Brown, Welcome, Victor, and many more. For those members and non-members with an interest in assisting us with future sailing events, please take a look through our Volunteer Policy Document and feel free to contact us at 031 301 5425 or [email protected] Well done Ladies! (and Carl)
Over the past few months, some may have noticed the RNYC Ladies Team sailing around the bay, trying to figure out how to sail a Pacer. This past Sunday, 19th May, saw us put our practice to the test with our first venture out onto a race course for the Brighton Beach Backline Race. For most of us, who had “learn how to sail” as a New Year’s resolution, it was the first time sailing against another boat, never mind sailing against 9 other boats. The objective of the race was simple – sail how we had practiced. We just wanted to benchmark ourselves, and make sure our training program is going in the right direction. After a less than favourable start, we were left with one simple strategy - sail how we train; and we did just that. An early tack to get clear air got us away from the fleet, and onto a lucky wind-shift. From there, we were able to tack back to the windward mark, and sneak around it with a bit of space between ourselves and the fleet. A quick spinnaker hoist put us onto a bit of a sleigh ride all the way down the coast, managing to hook onto a few surfs in the infamous North-Easter chop. A few gybes later, we were bearing down on Moses in Scorpio and the turning mark. To, possibly the fleet, but definitely our surprise, we were still in the lead – despite pressure from Zing and Ngwenya. Delivering such a strong performance very likely led the crew of most boats in the race to sit up and take some notice. A near-flawless spinnaker drop and the ensuing mark rounding put us onto the long, wet and bumpy beat home. Not really favouring either particular side of the course, we were able to slog it out and keep our boat-speed up, while not losing too much pointing ability, despite the reputable chop. Zing’s good effort up the beat started to get the nerves ticking a bit, but the race was just too short for her to play catch up. The double sweep of handicap and line honours made for a Cinderella Story-type finish for a group of ladies that have shown pure enjoyment, eagerness and determination with the practicing and training. They have definitely put themselves on the radar in the Durban racing scene, and it’s been an absolute privilege to have done my little bit to help get them here. All I can say is watch this space...
Notes from some of the team members: “We sailed. We got wet. We saw a turtle. We had a beer.” – Carl Zimmerman “A great first race for us ladies who are all new to the sport. The race was followed by some joking among some slightly disgruntled competitors about the secret strategies employed by the ladies but Zing and Sundance eventually accepted their runner up places graciously, congratulating the girls on a surprising but deserved victory.” – Ursula Schei “ We were entered at short notice and jumped in feet first to get some experience in offshore racing. We put our training to the test and guided by our young skipper, we enjoyed every minute of the journey. Winning was just a bonus for a most enjoyable and fun team sail.” – Rosalind Moffat We have come a long way in a very short time thanks to the patience, sturdiness and wisdom of our coach Carl Zimmerman!! It’s an honour to sail for RNYC as their ladies team and we will continue to dedicate ourselves and our time to improvement every sail! It’s incredible to see how the team members have each found their ‘happy place’ on our yacht and how we work together as one. Onwards and upwards !! – Phranké Nel and Corlia van Tonder Written by Mr Mark Cawdron, RNYC
This past Monday, on the 20th May, an open meeting was held at PYC to discuss the current general situation that our two Clubs find ourselves in, and specifically the negative effect that this is having on our sport of sailing. The meeting was attended by members of both the RNYC and PYC, however due to some confusion regarding the publication of the notice of the meeting, the ratio of PYC members to RNYC members was approximately 2:1. Notwithstanding this, the meeting was held in a good spirit of frank openness. Nigel Milne addressed the meeting and laid out some of the issues affecting both our Clubs, which included, but was not limited to, the following:
Nigel then opened the meeting to the floor and there were some insightful comments from both RNYC and PYC members. The general feeling from the floor was that both Clubs need to work together to forge a closer relationship that could realise the synergies that exist between us, and that this would prove beneficial in terms re-energising sailing, improving club utilisation and rationalising costs. It was also felt that the Clubs need to move with the times and embrace transformation. A joint committee has been formed consisting of an equal number of members of both Clubs to investigate the way forward. A friendly reminder that we have the following events coming up:
May Events:
June Events:
The Annual RNYC Ladies High Tea was a fantastic event. Our ladies arrived in style, with beautiful hats and shining smiles – our staff even dusted off their suits, dresses and fancy hats for the afternoon. Host Commodore Graham Rose was flanked by Vice and Rear Commodores, Jeremy Kriek and Andy Brown, all suited up, as they braved the room and made the rounds welcoming our lovely ladies. Chef had gone finger-food crazy – with a never-ending array of delectable sweets and treats. This year saw a three-tier statement cake take centre stage - adorned with fresh flowers and cream cheese frosting – an absolute delight! The afternoon was abuzz with music, laughter, and of course TEA! All in all, it was a fantastic afternoon and we could not have done it without the support of our lovely members – thank you! Have a look at a few pictures from the event here and keep an eye out for next year’s Save the Date – definitely not an event to be missed! Click below to see more photos of the event
The General Committee has agreed the annual subscription rates for the forthcoming year. This decision was taken after careful consideration following a review of the Club’s current financial position and taking into account the recently announced increase in utility tariffs; the price hikes in general goods and the decreased patronage of the Club by Club Members. In order to ensure that members continue to receive added value for their membership the Club will now offer a loyalty program which is designed to encourage members to make use of the club’s facilities. Members will now earn loyalty points for every Rand spent in the club. The accrual rate is: Platinum & Senior members earn R10 worth of points for every R 100 spent in the Club Gold & all other classes of members earn R5 worth of points for every R 100 spent in the Club Explorer members are excluded from the loyalty program. Additional loyalty points can be earned when taking advantage of Club promotions or specials or when participating in club events or members celebrating birthdays at the club etc. Loyalty points are valid for the membership year in which they are accrued and can be redeemed for Food & Beverage purchases in the Club. The minimum redemption is R 200. It is hoped that members will use this added generous privilege of membership to patronize the Club at every opportunity All members renewing their membership in full within the month of June will receive a bonus of R 100 worth of loyalty points. . In addition members who prefund their Club account to settle Food & Beverage purchases, RN race entries or sailing fees will receive R 100 worth of loyalty points for every R 1000 deposited to their account. Some members took advantage of the price lock ‘early bird’ special and have already renewed their membership, those members will receive bonus points in line with our new initiative. The 2019/20 subscription fees are as follows:
A friendly reminder that we have the following events coming up:
Sunday Musicians for May:
|
AuthorThe Royal Natal Yacht Club is the oldest yacht and sports Club in Africa and the oldest yacht club in the southern hemisphere. Read our Newsletter to find out more! Archives
February 2020
Categories
All
|