Hi Everyone , After a week in Sydney I have decided that its not that cold in queensland because it was absolutely freezing in sydney with 35 knot plus winds and rain for most of the time I was there even the manly frerries were getting a battering as the crossed the sydney heads . I was told it was a bit windy here but no rain so that was a plus .The one thing I did notice on my drive down was the effect that our current pandemic is having with very little traffic on the roads and lots of closed small businesses even sydney was heavily affected so lets all keep our fingers crossed that we get through this crisis soon .
8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
With our usual bright and sunny weather greeting us we soon had our usual group of junior sailors signing on and heading off to rig their boats even though the wind was non existent which didnt seem to matter to everyone they were just happy to be here by the looks on their faces . Madison turned up with her own Open Bic and you could tell how happy she was by the big smile on her face . We had a couple of requests for a solo sail which we dont normally do but with conditions so light it was perfect conditions to say yes . So who was our latest junior to have a try on their own it was Ransom who has for weeks no always been keen to answer sailing questions at the briefing and he didnt disapoint us on the water where he was soon sailing around the buoys tacking and gybing . The course was set favouring a westerly wind which slowly came in to around 3/5 knots so it was perfect for  both tacking and gybing practice . Mason took his sister out for a sail and we did give him a bit of a hard time because he hates light winds but it looks like he,s finally coming to grips with the light stuff and was soon sailing around the course so well done Mason!
10.30 am Sunday Training
We are starting to get a hard core group of sailors in this session with Ross Emmerson Kaia especially starting to improve their skills again in the lighter wind conditions . I shouldnt forget Jack and Dean who are really improving in the Open Bic and they are even coming to gripps with popping the battens in the light stuff ( its all about the tacking boys ) We set a course from the club down past the red nav mark you know where Jade is addamant she wont sail too ! and with the addition of an outgoing tide it was a definite challenge especially going back to the club . I have to congratulate Emerson even though he has a tendincy to muck around his upwinds into the current were excellent and when we managed to coach Ross away from the sand bars he started to gain consistant boat speed . It didnt probably look that difficult a course from the shore but the winds were very shifty and combined with the increasing outgoing tide everyone sailed well . Now all we have to do is teach thm racecraft so look out Youth week next year !
1.30 pm open racing

Hi everyone , yes Iam back to Thursday this week for the newsletter as I will be driving back from sydney on Friday . Why am I in sydney well I took the opportunity with the relaxing of covid 19 restrictions to visit my family for a few days and yes its cold , wet and windy so normal sydney weather. It was great catching up with lots of laughs and great company and I only hope that restrictions will keep easing so that I can return at Xmas.
Sunday Juniors 8.30 am session:
Last Sunday was again another perfect Sunday morning with even the temperature up a couple of degrees from the previous sunday but unfortunately I couldnt say that for the water temperature . As usual all our keen young sailors turned up early with smiles on their faces and were soon kitted out and ready to start rigging . Charlie Abby and I were soon running around with a few of the dads help rig boats finding missing ropes and sorting out sails but we were soon ready to have a briefing and hit the water.
Conditions were a bit light at first with a really soft breeze from the n/w so the course was set from the beach to about half way along the bridge with both tacking and gybing possible . The wind soon moved a bit more north and increased up about a solid 1knot so we stretched the course out toward Ephriam just to give everyone a longer course and a more enjoyable sail . I have to say all these young sailors in this group are really starting to show their new found skills not only on the water but at the briefing where questions on conditions on parts of the boat and sailing conditions are being answered without hesitation and again with a smile on the face so well done everyone.
Sunday Training 10.30 am Session:
Like the 8.30 am session people are generally arriving early which helps the group to be on the water earlier and allow me more time for a de brief all be it a short one .
When I announced to the group at the briefing that the days course would be triangles there was the odd moan from the group and to just make it more interesting I set a reverse triangle and then had the group tell me how each buoy would be rounded which certainly brought out some interesting answers but you could see the thinking caps were on . Everyone soon left the beach well except for Jade and Ross who took forever to set off ? Jack and Dean soon had the course nailed and both boys sailed well and came in with grins . Kaia who is normally a bit slow of the beach was second off the beach and after a couple of laps soon had the angles down pat . As usual Jade just took off with Ross trying to follow in the other Bic but  here smoothness in the water soon had her away .
Madisons parents have brought her a Open Bic which is coming down next weekend for its first sail so she is very excited and that means her club boat can be passed on to another keen young sailor . As usual thanks to all our sailors for derigging washing and storing their boats as it definitely helps with the pack up at the end of the day.
​1.30 p :m Open Racing
With the winds starting to shift around more by 12.30 it was a bit of a challenge setting a suitable course now that racing is back on the calendar . The wind was predominately West but shifting from n/w to s/w so we set a start over towards crab island and the upwind ( yes we managed to get an upwind in ) buoy set on the southern side of the canal with a third buoy out to the east so we could include triangles .The start was good well excepty for Tom who thought he could come in from the east while everyone else came in from the west and his timing was off so he started last . The rest of the group headed of on the upwind but Greg just rocketed away with the full sail on trimmed perfectly and was never headed while everyone else struggled especially with the dead spots and large wind shifts although Tom slowly worked his way back to second and even went through the finish line without capsizing , yep it was definitely a tough sail even returning to the beach in the shifty westerly caught a few people out and the just walked their boats home .
All in all a good day to be on the water.

UPCOMING:
try Sailing day December 
Members Xmas Party December
School Holiday Youth Sailing Camps September School Holidays 

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi everyone , So where was the news letter last week well thanks to my new NBN connection I had no internet for most of the day which was the third time in three weeks that it refused to work ? it did take most of the day waiting for telstra to call back but I finally had a reconnection late in the day but forgot the news letter but at least this week its still working .
Sunday Juniors 8.30 am Session:
It was a cool start to the day but the promise of a fine day soon had a pile of keen young sailors turning up for the early class and yes nearly all of them were wearing wetsuits which by the way included me definitely a plus on the day.
Conditions were somewhat light and variable so it was perfect for some of our newer sailors to have their first chance at steering around our reaching course which Charlie and Abby set on a north south angle for the light n/w winds . The outstanding effort in the conditions was from Jade who came to grips quickly with the light conditions and was easily sailing around the course . Madison in another Bic had lots of trouble with battens not popping even though I had loosened them off for the day as did Ross but most of the Teras were just managing to sail around the course even if we did have to tow and push a few people at times .
I should say that Jack and Dean also managed to come to grips in the light weather in the Teras which is a good sign for them to move on to the Bic,s full time well that is when I get the fourth Bic operating ( mast trouble ) With the cold conditions we thought no one would want to capsize but as usual we were wrong oh to be that young again where the cold isnt a problem which might stop the fun.
Sunday Training 10.30 am Session
By the end of the 8.30 session we did actually have a light but consistant breeze now out of the N/E so we set a windward leeward course yes a lots of tacking upwind course just out the front . It was always going to be a bit of a challenge so I sat everyone down and and reinforced light weather sailing where we chjace the wind not the rounding mark. We set everyone off and straight away things werent going well with most of the group caught up in a bundle of boats . Mason in the laser soon got the idea and was off around the course with Jade not far behind and the rest of the fleet were soon following well except of Dean who was the unlucky one sailing into several dead spots but with a push or to from the start boat he was soon managing the difficult conditions .
I should add that by the time they all got out there the wind had dropped down to between half and one knot but they all managed to come to grips with the conditions . To me it showed that they are all keen to learn more because there is nothing more frustrating that sailing in super light winds so well done everyone and lets hope next weekend has a lot more wind!
Sunday Open Racing 1.30 pm
With conditions really slowing wind wise with at  times absolutely no wind I left the decision to race up to the fleet as it was our first official race day under covid 19 level three guidelines . A few of the guys werent keen buck six sailors said that they would give it a try so we set up the usual windward leeward course that has been our training course while in lock down . Luckily when we set up on station the wind had come back a little and had a big easterly component in it so we set a start line down towards runners and a top mark adjacent to the canal entry near the club . The starts were keenly contested even if everyone was generally a bit early and had to run the line for a second or too but at least they were all up there ready to go . The wind probably maxed out at around 4 knots but at least it was consistant allowing everyone to get around the simple upwind downwind course and yes Greg the were gybing on the downwind and unlike some people they had no trouble with counting their gybes ! We ran five short races then called it quits as the wind was starting to weaken and the outgoing tide was getting stronger so better to sail back to the club while everyone could .

UPCOMING

Camps again next september school holidays 
Try Sailing Hospital Fundraiser December 

CU on the water
J Murphy