Hi Everyone Todays news letter is starting with a story about a young sailor who nearly 12 years ago showed up with his mum and dad on a sunday morning to try out this sport called sailing . To say he was a natural is definitely not true as he did struggle at first with steering and balance and going the right direction but over time he slowly got the hang of this sailing caper and became very comfortable in a Tera tacking and gybing out the front with the other boys around his age . With some original protest he transfered to open bic and after a lot of swimming became again very comfortable with the boat so much so that he started competing in both club events and even state sailing regattas . Somewhere in this learning process he went from a chubby little kid to a rather tall slightly chubby teenager who realised that he just didnt fit in a Bic and took the final hurdle into lasers and again was soon racing against the adults and generally doing well . Throughout this period he also discovered tha he was pretty good at also teaching the sport to the beginners on sunday and slowly but surely has transitioned to a fully qualified sailing Instructor teaching both Children and Adults the sport of sailing and is now looking at becoming a national sailing coach next year . Of course most people know how it is ( Charlie Bratton ) I have watched this young man not only mature as a sailor but also as an Instructor who is always ready to lend a hand , give advice and laugh a lot so well done Charlie and I wish you all the best for your future and also Happy 18th Birthday today , apparently a hangover is expected tomorrow well done mate!!!
8.30 am Sunday Juniors .
With blue skies and light winds and a very keen group of young sailors signed on and rigging boats on the lawn we soon had a fleet ready to sail . With our safety briefing over and the winds settling in from the n/n/e at around 6 knots it was absolutely perfect for all the sailors to practice tacks and the occassional gybes . As in recent weeks Zack was really starting to show his tacking and gybing skills which is why he is off next year to our 10.30 Youth Training Group at 10.30 . Another sailor how I think next year will also progress to 10.30 training is Torsen who each week is showing a better understanding of the sport . Leila and Halle were their usual selves but are also sailing better and not falling out of the boat as much right Halle ? but we will see how they go on the holiday sailing camps . As usual I should thank the club Instructors who are always ready to either jump on a boat and sail or stand in the water teaching static tacking to the new sailors before letting them have a try at steering in front of the club.
10.30 am Youth Training 
This group is mainly now made up of Open Bic Skiff sailors and it comprises of about half boys and half  girls who are all keen to learn even if it does mean lots of capsizes mainly with the girls who are the newest Bic sailors so its to be expected . Once we had a briefing we were soon on the water  practicing everyones favourite Gybes . Dan and Jade were fine as was Harvey but with the rest of the group the early gybes were catching them out simply because the were either letting their sails out too far in the gybe or letting go of the rudder which we all know is a big no/no . After a lot of on water instructing we finally had the gybes sorted and took of for a bit of a sail as it was the last training session until 2023 . I just have to say that on the day for determination it would be awarded to Laya and Gemma who are such a tenacious pair as no matter how many time they capsize the are straight back up and sailing again well until the next gybe ! but Iam sure they will get there in the end .

Club Racing restarts in february 2023 calendar coming

Upcoming Events 
Club Xmas Party Sunday 18th December starting 12 noon booking essential 

January 2023 Annual Try Sailing Fundraiser for Gold Coast University Hospital Sunday the 15th starting at 9.00 am 

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone , With Christmas is fast approaching ( 18days ) just a quick reminder that if you want to attend our annual Christmas Party to be held at the club on the 18/12/22 starting at 12 noon you need to book so that we know how much food to order , booking can be done at the office or via email and dont forget you can invite your friends to come along and join in the fun! I even heard a rumour that Santa might even drop in ! 
Depending on the weather conditions there might even be an adventure sail down to the Seaway for our younger sailors and even if we cant sail we intend to take the safety boats down for a run so let us know if you are keen and we will add your name to the list , should be fun! .
Its also the time of year for local schools to have their annual try sailing day and last week we had Musgrave Hill and despite the weather they still turned up with 75 students so as we couldnt sail ( 20-30 knots ) we loaded successive groups on the rescue boats and took the for a trip around the waterways and you guessed it they all ended up wet not only from the rain but from Charlie and I splashing each other and generally having very wet fun . Did the kids enjoy it well yes even though in rained all the time and the winds were over 20 knots they all came back shivering but excited . This week we have Coombabah Primary ( 90 students )so we have our fingers crossed for better weather in no rain and safe winds .
8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
With the weather totally reversed from what we suffered all the way until saturday sunday arrived with blue skies and light winds and we soon had 11 young sailors out on the lawn rigging boats and looking very excited about sailing . Ross asked to do the briefing and as usual he did a good job with me occassionally interupting in regards to safety protocols and more information , he even sailed a tera with leila . 
Zack had trouble with boat speed and I think it scalled sand banks right Zack anyway Zack is heading off to 10.30 sailing in january as he just nails 8.30 . Most of the boys are coming along well and handled the slow increase in wind easily with Torsen like Zack just cruising as was orson . Leila had her first real go at steering and slowly got the concept even if she did fall out again while steering but I was pretty sure the instructor had a hand in it as when the gust hit he thought he was sailing his laser and didnt ease the sheet causing a round up and then Leila let go of the steering just as ross eased off and it violently beared away and no ross didnt capsize it he managed to save it and return to pickup Leila ! By the end of the session the predicted winds started arriving which had started at around 5/7 knots but by the end of the session were up around 12 knots , finally who sailed the best well I have to say Reece on the day as his handling of windier conditions improves every time he is out there so well done mate !
10.30 am Youth Sailing 
With wind speeds increasing starting around 12/14 knots we had a briefing to discuss how we handle these conditions with tighter rigging and more mainsheet control . Reece decided it was too windy for him as did Gemma but with Gemma who had her boat rigged I offered her some one on one sailing close to shore which she gladly took and the rest of the team decided on start practice . Ross rigged a radial which was probably asking too much considering the winds were now around 16-18 knots but at first he did well with some really good tacks and gybes but after a visit to the rocky shore from a bad gybe where he cut his foot ( no boots ?) he dropped of a bit Harvey excelled as did Jade but unfortunately Dan tore his sail down near the tack so he pulled out early while Xavier did some capsize practice but it didnt deter him he just got the boat back up each time and took off again literally .. So how did Gemma go in her one on one well again there were quite a few swims mainly on the down wind as she generally managed the upwind gusty conditions well and again like xavier she would just get the boat up again and give it another go until on her last try she managed a good tack and bearaway and nearly made it back to me and only capsized when she hit the mud with her centreboard so again great effort Gemma .

1.30 pm Open Racing
The 2022 race season is officially finished but as we couldnt hold the marathon the week before due to wind conditions we thought wemight try again on sunday but you guessed it by 12.30 it was gusting 30 knots again so everyone decided it wasnt worth it well except for steve who apparently was desperate for a sail so off he went but again didnt last long and was soon back on shore . I asked him what it was like and he said he thought it was up around thirty which was great for a reach but hopeless when he tried close hauled and he definitely looked puffed at the end .

Upcoming
Club Xmas Party sunday 18 - 12 -22 12 noon start booking open now contact the club!
School Holiday sailing camps 12th /13th  and 19th / 20th dec  ( not many places left )
more camps in January.
Club Xmas Closure 21.12.22 reopen 4.1.23
Try Sailing Fundraiser Sunday 14th January 2023
Sunday Juniors resumes sunday the 8/1/23

CU on the water
J Murphy