Hi Everyone , Looks like the rain might be back for the weekend but as long as there is wind we should be ok but dont forget to let us know your coming so we know how many we are catering for . Finally all the work at the club has been completed and now all we need is the money back from the insurance company which hopefully wont be too long . Now I can focus on the upcoming Open bic skiff states starting on the 28/6/24 which should as always be a great event especially this year with the importers being heavily involved in its set up. Its a bit different this year because of their involvement as we normally at that time of year run the midwinter cup which is open to sabots , optis and lasers as well but this time around because its the queensland state titles for the open bic skiff its only open to them but should still be a good event.
There has also been a change with our youth sailors in that as of july 7th they will now be racing every second and fourth sunday and training will be on the opposite sundays this way all the work they have put in early this year will now transfer to actual racing and yes it will be open to lasers ( 4.7 ) Optis and Sabots as well which should make it more interesting for everyone .
8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
With the winds slowly building early in the morning it was looking like a good winds day and even sunny skies !
As usual hayden was first in which even though he is too early to start rigging he gets a chance to ask questions aas he is keen to move to 10.30 training and the way he is going he will soon be ther just have to stop facing backwards when tacking! . We had a couple of first timers as usual which Halle and Leila looked after and the tj and jack arrived to help with rigging the boats while charlie and I ran around lifting masts and boats . Charlie set a nice reaching course to suit the s/s/e wind which actually came in around 8 knots which was pretty solid for this group even Quinn had some dramas with the stronger winds mainly tacking but leila helped her through it . Halle and jack sailed with some new sailors while I did some training with tow boys as the tried sailing without help but didnt cope well some some tacking practice was needed in the shallows . I have to say it was just getting a bit chilly out there so Iam thinking its time for wetsuit pants just to stop the shivers , even quinn was shivering and she was wearing a wetsuit.
10.30 Youth Training / Racing
It was a perfect day for racing as it was the last sunday of the month and next month it will be the queensland open bic skiff states and then in july we start the new system of two race weekends and two training weekends as we think our group has absolutely gone forward in the sailing from the start of the year mainly thanks to their dedication and charlies hard work coaching 
Unfortunately the winds had dropped from 8.30 class that was around 8knots to roughly 4 knots so you guessed it slow was the operative word . We set a triangle with the start/finish near the club and using the minion buoys for the rounding buoys we set a mark up at the canal and one over towards ephriam to make the triangle . Our new sailor in Max ( 4.7) had to do one extra lap but that didnt bother him . The start was good although charlie did do some yelling at some people who seemed to find the no sailing zone early but with some coaching they were soon all out there giving it a go . Of course the wind stopped then started again so nothing unusual which did favour max ( waterline length ) but Tristan who sailed brilliantly kept him honest yes a bic kept him honest well until the light breeze kicked in but still there was daylight behind Tristan then leila and halle , jack and TJ . It was actually a good race between halle and leila which in the end halle won as leila capsized but got her boat back up to finish third and yes you are right Halle finished 2nd first time ever so well done Tristan and Halle for really sailing the conditions well .
So where was Zach well he is training for the kokoda challenge but will be back next week , well done mate !

Upcoming
Queensland Open Bic Skiff state championships 28-30 june 

cu on the water
J Murphy

 Hi Everyone , after 16 years I have finally retired the club truck it has held up through thick and thin but with 550,000 klm on the clock she just  keeps having niggling issues so after much searching I settled on a holden commodore ute as the new tow vehicle . It was owned locally by long term friends of the sailing club so its staying in the area , signwriting will be going on soon so that everyone knows where it comes from and this one even has power steering Yeah!!! Those who attended on sunday got to see the final product in the new cage a now including new roller doors which are more suited to the sometimes windy conditions at the club and we even had time to re configure the storage so hopefully it will now work better .
We have been approached by keppel bay sailing club for the loan of a rigid inflatible so for anyone who is going you will see the yellow ( banana boat ) rigid up there with charlie in charge even in charge of towing her up and back , should be a great experience for him.

8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
Mother nature was at her best keeping us guessing as to what it was going to do and with the BOM forecasting 35 knots and a strong wind warning current it really left us no choice considering our insurance liabilities  regarding safe operations . We posted on facebook and our website at 7am and felt confident that we had done the right thing as the wind speeds at Yamba were 25-30 knots southerly so it seemed to be on its way . It did blow up a little but then abated to around 10/14 knots but I will always go safety first so it is what it is and lets hope this weekend is back to good weather for 8.30 am juniors .

10.30 am Youth Training 
We did finally run this class although earlier it was definitely not happening but with mother nature being her fickle self it just settled to 10/16 knots so with only zach leila halle TJ and jack dropping in we decided to try something different and that was sail the pacer . Charlie went out with TJ first to show everyone the ropes while the rest came with me on the safety boat  and we even did a rescue of a stranded young sailor and his dad down near crab island , it was just too windy for the 8 year old and they were stuck on a sand bank and I new they werent part of southport as I had seen them out on saturday so duty of care took over and we towed them back to the beach up from the club . Once we were finished it was time for everyone to take turns on the pacer and I have to say they all did very well with no capsizes and the boat only half full of water ( forgot to show them where the bailer was ) Charlie and I were very impressed especially with Zach and Leila as they sailed well together with Leila on main and Zach steering . It was a bit sloopy on pack up but we got it there in the end and everyone promised to do better next time and yes there will be a next time .

Open Racing 1.30 pm
Our open racing series has been suspended due to lack of participants but we hope to restart later this year but we will keep everyone informed .

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi  Everyone , Seeing that I missed the news letter last week due to being in sydney I thought I would get in early this week and do it today ( tuesday ) . The big news is finally after delays with stock and tradies this week we have finally had the waterside door replaced and the upstairs carpets are being finished today and finally the storm damaged roller doors are being done on Thursday its been a long slog but its finally being completed now all thats left is the insurance claim on the 420 mast but I think they will wright it off so we keep the boat but just have to find a mast .After much searching we have found a new treasurer to replace kelly who asked to be removed as treasurer and our new treasurer will take a bit to get up to speed but it shouldnt be long before she has everything sorted . You may have seen recently another instructor at the club his name is mike and he is the green fleet coach for the states and is volunteering with us to get a feel for the club thanks mate hope you are enjoying yourself. A special thanks to jacks dad Ronan for fitting us in to his work schedule when water damage was found upstairs allowing the carpet people to lay the last of the carpet in the master bedroom now geoff and wendy can move back in instead of sleeping in the lounge room , what was the leak ? apparently incorrect fitting of the flashing under the tiles.

Sunday Morning Juniors 8.30 am
With it being mothers day we didnt expect much of a turn up for 8.30 even charlie was late as he took his mum for coffee so well done charlie .As it turned out we ended up with 10 junior sailors signed on and with the help of jack , Leila and Halle , tristan and harvey we soon had the group rigging boats including the odd repair mainly minor stuff .Once the briefing was completed we soon had the boats on the water and with a n/w breeze around 3-5 knots it was perfect for the morning group. Hayden who is always first here asked if he could sail alone and Quinn was again in the bic with Leila as instructor. Itook two sisters and we did tacking near the shore then once they had it down patt I sent them out with everyone else . Hayden was doing really well as he wants to progress to 10 .30 class  practicing gybes and tacks  . Quinn learnt about Bic battens especially as the wind lightened out as they just wouldnt pop so she had a lot of practice shaking the boom . unbelievably there was even a capsize and yes it was on purpose definitely not for me as the water is getting cold . It was a great session even with lightening wind and of course one boat without a bung!!!

Youth Training 10.30 am
With the Bic states getting closer charlie had a question and answer session first and these guys and girls are starting to really think about sailing with some really good discussion and questions being asked such as buoy room and right of way its been a bit of a slog but they are all starting to become more focused which of course improves sailing we hope! Charlie set a windward leeward to test everyones upwind and downwind with roll tacks and gybes and pumping allowed . Being the first time for pumping and I think only the third time for rolls it was very interesting to watch with not all pumping going well and some of the roll tacks under rolling our slightly over . We had a new sailor in the laser in matt who is one of charlies students from yepoon last year and he had a great run as did harvey , reece jack and Halle well at least from what I saw . At the debrief it was good to see what everyone thought of their effort and even my new student TJ went much better with a bit more focus on the water and double checking his rigging .

Open Racing back next Sunday
UPCOMING 
queensland open bic skiff states 29-30 june 

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi everyone  , Winter is on its way with cool mornings now the norm with fine sunny days and even the wind is coming back .. We are also well under way  with the preparations for the queensland Open Bic State Titles , this event is usually our Midwinter Cup open to optis sabots lasers and of course Bic Skiffs but we have been asked by Bic Australia to hold their State Championships instead and seeing that we have quite a few Bic sailors here we thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce our bic sailors to racing on the big stage . We will be looking for volunteers on both days as there are three divisions from beginner to open fleet sailors so yes it will be busy both on land and on the water so any help you can give us will be greatly appreciated .
Finally this week the temporary fencing has been removed from around the new caged area and even the new aluminium gates look good and yes it doesnt leak when it rains . We have decided to leave the Open Bic Rack inside for better protection from the weather and we are changing the general set up inside as well hopefully to make life easier especially for us that unpack and pack up the gear when we are operating . Finally our grant upgrades and storm insurance are slowly coming together with only the inner roller door and the water side entry door to be done and on the insurance side the carpeting upstairs is nearly complete and the outside roller doors should be done mid may , everything is slow just do to supply and trades people .

8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
With the winds around 4-7 knots it was looking as a great morning for juniors and with ten sailors including a couple of newbies signed on we were soon into rigging boats and with Leila , Hallie and Jack out there showing everyone how its done charlie and I were left to do minor repairs and generally oversee rigging . Jack asked if he could present some of the session on the white board and he even brought his own notes  and did a great job for his first time now all we have to do is convince the other assistants to give it a go as well. Charlie was in charge of on water and no sooner was he out there the capsizes started happening . The winds were pretty consistant with the occassional puff which caught a few people out and also the odd accidental gybe . Hallie and her crew  were just cruising while Leila brought her crew in and went through tacking in the shallows while jack and i at first fixed the odd rigging problem then jack jumped on with charlie to help with towing and tip overs . I must admit it is getting a bit cool in the water so it might be time for wetsuits I know Iam going to start wearing mine .
11.00 am Youth Racing
The weather conditions were actually great for the race with the winds turning e/s/e at around 6-8 knots , we did have a bit of a chat prior to the race especially as we were using gates which did confuse a few people last time we tried it so with fingers crossed we set a course out the front with an upwind mark . 
The wind came in a bit before the start causing TJ to capsize but we had to leave him there until the rest started which was a bit iffy until the all got their act together with Zacn first on the course then Leila , Jack , TJ and Hallie . Some people had trouble with the No sail zone by easily finding it and stalling but the down winds although not perfect were much better than previous efforts . I have to say Zach blitzed it and even went back after finishing and helped Hallie around the course so well done mate . Leila and Jack had much better down winds as well but mark roundings proved a bit of a struggle . First was Zach 2 Leila 3 jack 4 TJ and 5 Hallie ( one lap down ) .
To round of the session Charlie jumped on Zach,s laser and did the actual race course to show them how even a rusty sailor would attack the course and where they all did the course around 15 minutes charlie did it in 6 minutes which seriously amazed them all especially his general sailing technique which the saw from the safety boat that followed him around the course and no unlike usually he didnt capsize even sailing a 4.7 !

Open Racing back next weekend 
Mothers day sunday 12th of may 
Open Bic States 28/30 june 2024


CU on the water
J Murphy