Hi Everyone , Iam one day late this week with the club news just because the rain the last couple of days was just too dismal but now the sun is back out so time to catch up.
Because of the rain the replacement of our caged area was put on hold but the guys are back today to at least put the posts and new frame in luckily we had already said that we would not be open easter sunday especially now that we have everything stored either inside or on the front lawn . The outside area will be secured by temporary fencing over the weekend so access can only be gained through the waterside door but even that access is limited as the club gear is there . Again I have to thank everyone who helped with moving all the gear on sunday yes in the rain as we were all done by 1.00pm , it looks a bit messy inside but it all fitted . Our other works are also getting closer with new roller doors ( storm damage ) and access door being replaced after easter and now all we need is the approval for the 420 mast ( storm damage ) to complete the current upgrades.
8.30 am sunday juniors 
Firstly I had a bit of a surprise on sunday with one of our original instructors turning up having finally returned from  victoria so welcome back Tianna great to see you out there with the kids and I noticed your old skills soon came back to you even falling over in the water while launching ! The conditions were perfect with light winds from the south and just the start of the turning tide from high so as one of the girls said no mud on sails when capsized . As usual Hayden was first here but decided that he would like to learn about the safety boat I think mainly because there was no wind and no sailing mates . As I was safety boat driver for the day the crew and I set a nice reach in the 2/4 knot winds and we soon had nearly all boats on the water except for one crew who Tianna keep near shore while they were learning how to tack . there was the odd swim supposedly accidental ? while other sailors like Allannah finally got the idea about steering and tacking and then she passed her knowledge on to her crew ( Zippy ) Even our new assistants in Halle and Leila are starting to look comfortable taking new sailors out  just have to stop standing in boats right girls!!!
10.30 Youth Training 
Well it was the fourh sunday of the month so it was racing day and with charlie in brisbane working at RQ for the day it was up to Tianna and I to set a course in what was very challenging conditions with the winds still light from the south . To not make it too difficult I set a start at the club pontoon and for the top mark I used the starboard channel marker and yes I know you are not supposed to do that but it was raining and light winds so hardley any boat traffic .
Charlie has taught them well in their starts with everyone crowding the line which caused two general recalls and the attached confusion but finally start three was a success ok one boat was slightly over say 100 ml but I let it go . The best thing that happened was that the wind swung more west which made it a close reach to and and a broad reach back  . Gemma was soon out in front leading the fleet as was never headed with Reece sticking in second and Harvey third  over the line . Zack ( laser ) had trouble at the start but slowly managed to claw his way back to finish behind Gemma so good recovery mate and the rest of the fleet were not far behind well except for Leila who needs to work on straight lines between the buoys right Leila ? .

Upcoming 
5/7 april lasers at lake cotharaba
8/9 Sailing camp p.p.s.c.
Aus open skiff state championships 28/30 June 2024

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone , yes its official Energex is now a sponsor of paradise point sailing club thanks to Guy for all his hard work in setting this up and lets hope that they stay with us into the future supporting children and their families in the great sport of sailing . We are also going to be the host club for the 2024 Aus Open Skiff Queensland Championships to be held at the club from the 28th to the 30th of June 2024 . This event is open to all Open Bic Skiff Sailors from green fleet to open sailors so it should be a great weekend of racing and fun.
Our big changes are starting this weekend with the removal of all our boats and gear in the cage to inside the club and some out the front so that the builders can turn up on monday to demolish the old cage frame which shouldnt take much considering the amount of rust in the old frame . We are looking for people to help us on sunday at around 1.30 pm to help remove all the boats so if you can spare an hour just come down and give a hand it will be much appreciated . The new cage should be up by the following friday but I wont start asking for helpers to put it all back until we know its finished just in case something goes wrong!!!
A special thanks to Gold Coast City Council and our division 4 representative Shelly Curtis for all their support for this project.
8.30 am Sunday Juniors
After being a bit iffy weather wise on saturday it actually turned out a great morning for sailing especially for beginners . We even had Charlie who was originally going to be away at Manly with TSS but he got a leave pass so he rocked up at 8.00am which certainly made life easier .
As usual Hayden was the first here and was itching to start rigging but charlie made him wait to most of the group had signed on . We soon had all the boats rigged and for a change I did the briefing and I even got the wind direction right as usually I forget to look . The winds were out of the s/e at around 4/6 knots so charlie and reece set a nice reaching course which some people even managed to sail mostly despite the odd capsize and collision because despite being told at the briefing to tack away from capsized boats they just sailed right into them so charlie had his hands full  trying to push masts out of the mud while avoiding boats behind sarah c.
I had lucy sofia and charlotte who did have a bit of trouble with steering but we swapped skippers and charlotte gave it a go and managed to go straight !! even if the tacks were a bit iffy anyway well done girls.

10.30 am Youth Sailing 
With the winds picking up to a good 6/8 knots from the e/s/e everyone soon had their boats rigged well the thought so right Jack ( mainsheet ) and Hallie ( twisted mainsheet ) anyway everything was soon rectified by beach control ( me ) and the full team was out there practicing starts again . I can really see the difference in everyone,s boat control with everyone holding station just at the line then taking off at the whistle . Hallie had a brilliant start on one go as did Zach , Harvey , Leila and Reece with TJ AND Jack right there as well much better that three weeks ago when no one was at the line so I have to say great perseverance Charlie as coach getting them up to this level . Charlie even let everyone go for a bit of a sail as conditions were perfect . Now we will see next sunday how everyone goes in a real racie when charlie is not there to yell at them yep he will be at manly..

1.30 pm Open Racing
The wind was solid at 8 plus knots from the e/s/e so we set a line south of the canal with a triangle course for everyone down towards runners . Charlie set the start to slightly favour a pin end ( starboard ) start and with only four lasers signed on plus one Bic ( Harvey ) it was looking good . Claire and Reece came along to see how it goes and we soon had the five minute flag up and the count down under way . As it came down to inside one minute harvey pulled up near the pin with Nic there as well but Harvey kept him out all the way to the start but the surprise was greg who came through on port and absolutely creamed the start . Heading up the inside he soon had a good lead and although Nic tried his best he just couldnt overtake greg all the way around the course even after greg caught his main sheet around his tiller from a sloppy gybe . Harvey had his own race with two very big triangles so a bit shorter than the lasers who also had windward leeward legs but he showed great boat speed around the course so Iam sure he will be back .
Final positions were 1 Greg 2 Nic 3 Steve 4  Roger .

Upcoming 
Club cage replacement  25 to 29 mch
Aus Open Skiff  28-30 june 2024

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone , well it seems we are on a bit of a roll with not only our cage area funding being approved and starting demolition and replacement on monday the 25/3 we have also just received the news that a grant from the department of Sport and Recreation Queensland has also been approved which means we can now replace the rusty roller door inside the club and also the main water side fire door which is badly rotting , now all we need is the damage to the club caused by the christmas storm to also be approved by the insurance company lets hope that happens soon! 
We will be looking for a few volunteers on sunday the 24 - march to help put the boats inside the club which will mean a bit of stacking so will probably take about an hour so if you can spare some time on the day just let us know and yes to answer the kids questions regarding the pile of pool noodles at the club yes they are for stacking boats .
In regards to our event in june involving the Open Bic Skiff titles its slowly coming together so there should be more news soon , the proposed dates are from the 28-30 june 2024 so keep those days free as it should be an exciting event .

8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
Well with parents booking in from tuesday it was safe to assume that this class was going to be well attended and I believe from memory that we had 14 junior sailors signed on and again with a large proportion girls in the group which I think is awesome  . Charlie has got a new way of starting the session with everyone learning rigging before a briefing and then on the water . Our team of young budding instructors in Harvey , Reece , Leila ,Hallie and Gemma were out rigging boats and talking with the students before setting off on the water . Gemma is getting good at rigging lasers well except for the clew strap and Harvey is looking very relaxed as he delivers his rigging course . Hallie and Leila who have only just started helping at 8.30 are starting to understand how it all works and they also looked a lot more relaxed with juniors on board . Harvey and I stayed with some new sailors in the shallows while Guy and Caharlie set a nice reach in front of the club . The new sailors we had asked form tacking practice so we kept them back for a while until the had the idea then we sent them off as well in amongst the group and yes there was the odd capsize , collision and even the occassional loss of a crew member but all in all a good session and yes the overboard crew members were returned to their boats !
10.30 am Sunday Youth Training 
With a couple of people missing it was up to the hard core sailors to endure another training session with Charlie and I know they are all trying because each week now Iam doing maintenance on the Bic,s things like rudder blocks , jammers , rope replacement and sail repairs all from constant use.
So what did Charlie have in store on sunday well it was starts and how to stay at the line , sounds easy but I think not as its always a struggle to maintain your spot and a few people even practiced back winding sails . I have to admit its hard just being boat crew as Iam so used to being in charge but Iam slowly learning to keep quiet and give no hints were to be at the line .
The session lasted for just on an hour yes just start lines and they all kept at it trying to sneak up to the line and slowly it all came through with everyone there with a little help from Harvey he kept telling everyone without a watch how much time was left ? well it ok to be helpful to your sailing mates right !
On the last start Hallie absolutely creamed it just breaking the line as the whistle went with everyone right there as well and charlie even let them sail up to the windward bouy before coming in.

1.30 pm Open Racing
Well after a lot of work setting this years open calendar only two sailors turned up so thanks Steve and Trish for making the effort apparently a certain persons Lexus broke down so the rest stayed away and there was even a rumour tha a certsin sailing instructor was going to race as well so maybe next race day he might get his boat out and brush the cobwebs off who knows he might even get his feet wet! 

Upcoming
Cage area replacement 25/29 march volunteers needed ?
The club will be open easter sunday for juniors 
Mid Winter Cup 28/30 june

CU on the water
J Murphy