ERIENCE - Sandringham Yacht Club

OFF THE BEACH REPORTOpening Day for 2011 started the sailing season andwas a huge success. I would like to thank all of theOff the Beach sailors who participated in the Sail Past(lead by the great Endeavour - driven by Glenn Taylor).Those who were not in dinghies, made sure theywere on our club Beneteaus or scattered around onKeelboats with family and friends. Our dinghy sailorsthen went on to compete in the Opening Day RonstanChallenge and if that was not enough excitement, thejuniors and youth members followed with a TeamsRacing demonstration event in front of the Club.These events can only happen when our wonderfulgroup of volunteers give up their own time. I wouldlike to especially thank and acknowledge GlennTaylor for running the on-water events on the day,together with James Rohan, Terry Cavanagh, CraigWiley, Shane Quinlan, Rob Freeman, Michael Coman,Marianne Rohan, Tara Rohan, and Kirstin Wiley. Itwas a very long day on the water and the time thesemembers and volunteers put in was beyond the callof duty!Off the Beach is a very special and important part of ourwonderful club. Many members start their sailing journeyhere, either as sailors, supporters and/or as volunteers.Through the friendships that are formed, many becomelong-time members of the Club and make the progressionto crewing and sailing in keelboats. Participation in club lifeis what we espouse in the Off the Beach area. We striveto promote a family environment which caters to all typesof sailors, be they sailors who just want to have fun on thewater sailing with their friends or those that want to pursuea competitive sailing career.This leads me to think about what success means forSandringham Yacht Club. Success can be many things:• Success is seeing our members win or place well inworld, national, state and overseas championships• Success is seeing our members win well-deservedawards in the sailing world• Success is simply seeing the smiling faces on our youngmembers when they come down to the Club to sail, butmore importantly to some, to catch up with their sailingfriends who they spend so much time with• Success is watching a young sailor coming last in racesat the start of the season and then watching them keeptrying and learning so that by the end of the season theycan count a couple of boats behind them at the finish line• Success is watching the international cadet skippersletting their crews sail back into the marina - watchingthe mentoring process that makes this class so special• Success is watching one of our JDS coaches, who hasfinished sailing his own race, encouraging one of ouryoung tired optimist sailors to keep persevering withbailing out the water after a capsize… resulting in theyoung sailor finishing the race. While it was hard work atthe time, the young optimist sailor learnt many life skillsthat day and did himself proud on the water• Success is watching our club’s Keelboat owners givingopportunities to our junior and youth members to crewon their boats, appreciating that dinghy sailors are avaluable addition to any keelboat crew• Success is watching parents of new junior members getas much out of the Club as others have in the past andthen joining up as new members themselves as they getinvolved in keelboat racing and on-water volunteering• Success is seeing the appreciation on juniors’ faceswhen Peta Davis, our Canteen Team Leader, hands outfree bags of lollies to the competitors for their race downto Black Rock• Success is looking on with pride as our junior sailorsgrow up and start coaching and passing on what theyhave learnt to the next generation of junior club sailors• Success is watching (in between races waiting for thewind) Oli Tweddell (Finn sailor and JDS coach) swap hisFinn for an Optimist to give the juniors a chance to saythey sailed a FinnFinally and I believe most importantly…• Success is watching our junior and youth sailors beinginvolved in the sailing scene for a long time into the future.Some may be interrupted by study or work, but if we havegiven them the right environment and instilled a love ofclub and sailing in them - they will always come back!We were unlucky with the weather for Sail Sandy thisyear with all classes only getting one or two races in onthe Saturday before the huge front came in. In a matterof seconds we had capsized boats across both courses.Thanks to our PRO Steve Aulich, ROs John Middleton andGraeme Matthews and because of our well-drilled and skilledteam of rescue boat personnel, we were able to ensure thatall sailors were rescued. It was a remarkable effort on behalfof all of our volunteers and we thank them all.Since our last Off the Wind edition, we have had somenotable performances at overseas regattas, which you canread about in our “Conquering the World” report in thisedition.Last but by no-means least, thank you to Hocking Stuart andthose members who list their houses for sale or rental withHocking Stuart. Jennifer Middleton, from Hocking Stuart,regularly presented us with a donation emanating from thesesales or rentals. The OTB Committee is in the process ofallocating these funds to various projects around the OTBarea. Watch this space as we have some great ideas!Onwards and Upwards!Marija SassonClub CaptainOff The Beach10Summer 2011 | syc off the wind