Hi everyone , We cant believe it ourselves but both our sailing camps are full as the resp[onse has been overwhelming with booking starting over a month ago . We normaly set our participant number at 12 but we have had to up these numbers to accomodate everyone , We have a full range of participants from beginners to some of our more experienced sailors so myself and the other Instructors are going to be flat out , now all we need is for mother nature to give us some good weather . We also have one of our sailors heading north to participate in the Youth Champoinships so good luck and good sailing Abby Roake we will miss your help with all our sailors at both camps .
8.30 am Junior Sailing;
Summer is definitely coming with blue skies and warming temperatures greeting us on Sunday and a big group of regulars plus a couple of newbies soon out there rigging boats and talking sailing .
The weather was perfect with a light breeze out of the s/e at around 4 knots and an occassional burst of 6/7 knots so off we all went for a briefing just to sort everything out and organise crews which it seems nearly everyone had already done . The safety boat crew set a nice reaching course so everyone was soon on the water including abby who volunteered to take a new sailor out on the Tera and despite the usual reds knees when she returned ( tera hulls are rough ) and the fact she fell backwards out of the boat she said she had a great time . Brendan ( dean and jacks dad ) who has been helping me with club repairs lately did a great job with Tristan in improving his steering and he soon had him out amongst the fleet cruising around enjoying his sailing . all in all a good morning of sailing.

10.30 am Youth Training ;
After recent weeks with this group which included sailing in 20 plus knot winds and choppy seas Sunday was never going to be much of a challenge with winds swinging s/s/e at around 6 knots so rather than do triangles or race starts I decided to sned everyone south down to the canal ( upwind ) and then a leeward return but just to make it exciting we used the whistle gybing system where everytime they heard the whistle they had to gybe no matter where they were . This is a great training tool especially designed to make gybing less daunting as you dont have much time to think of it just do it . The upwind created the first challenge as it was dead upwind so a bit of a challenge mainly watching the luff but then everyone had to spin around and start gybing back to the club with an average of 12 gybes each leg . The best of the Bic sailors was Ross who kept nailing it and the best laser sailors was Abby , Dean in the tera is improving his upwind  its all about watching the luff right dean! and his brother Jack just needs to not let go of the mainsheet in the gybes and Maddy in her bic mainly needs to waatch her luff as well . Where was Jade ? away camping but she is back on Sunday .

1.30 pm Open Racing ;

With only seven sailors signing on and it not being a club championship race everyone decided on two short races so Charlie and I set a triangle starting at the canal and set the A mark down towards runners and a third mark over on the ephriam side . Once we had been back to the club and briefed everyone we were soon headin fro the start line and wouldnt you know it some dude parked his yacht right next to our start buoy so it was a quick reset and we were soon into start countdown . Mat was doing a bit of sand bar detection after the one minute so he was a bit slow off the mark but everyone else was soon away and you guessed it the wind faded back to around 4/6 knots certainly different from the previous week of 30 plus . Greg slowly pulled away with Chris keeping him honest but our attention was on a couple of relative neebies Peter and Stewart who had there onw race all be it at the back of the field buy still fun . With the wind dropping out race two was just a short windward leeward so that everyone could get back and pack up by 4.30 pm all in all a great afternoon on the water.

Upcoming ; Club Christmas Party Sunday the 20th which is looking like being held at the club again this year as the general consensus is it was great last year so why not do it again . We will be looking for some help in setting it up on the day so if you can give a hand it would be greatly ap[preciated 

Hi again everyone , well last weekend was again a big weekend with Saturday being another day where Brendan , Jack Dean Chrissy and I continued boat repairs and modifications to the racks that the Bics live on plus some cage security issues . We are hopeful to have even more of our Tera,s up and running soon with parts arriving from England to make up some extra masts yes England as there is not much in Australia part wise . Then of course we had Sunday with very challenging weather from Juniors all the way up to Open Racing in the afternoon which I have to say presented some amazing sailing from all groups . Finally after much discussion it is looking like finally that we will be dredging under our pontoon so that she floats again which has been a marathon effort getting approval but fingers crossed it should be starting soon .
Safety , I would like to remind everyone about the dangers related to our boat ramp regarding Barnacle and Oystrer Cuts in that area even though it is cleaned regularly it doesnt stop the build up and as was found last sunday they will cut through thin booties quite easily so best to keep clear where possible 

8.30 am Sunday Juniors :
With mother nature promising to throw some strong winds at us as the day progressed and with our normal big crew of Juniors turning up to sail we soon had 9 boats ready and on the beach so it was off to briefing with a special emphasis on safety . Charlie and Adam set up a reaching course to suit the s/s/e winds which started out around 4/7 knots with the odd small bullet but very gentle . As usual Brendan and I had beach duty which meant standing in the water teaching . The winds soon picked up to around 6/9 knots and everyone was starting to develop more speed but the slightest mistake brought on capsize with even the odd chock top . Everyone were handling these stronger conditions well although it was cold in the wind but I then noticed dark clouds building in the south and heading our way bringing increased wind speeds which were soon above our safe operating speed for juniors so with still about 10 minutes to go we decided for safety to bring everyone back to shore and a shower . 

10.30 am Training :
Originally this session was going to be cancelled as the storm had hit the Juniors earlier but we decided to rig anyway and then we went and had a chat mainly about the conditions and how we could sail them . My thoughts were they wouldnt want to go but I was wrong they all wanted to get out there so with a bit of trepidation from the safety boat crew and me we sent them off but conditions soon worsened so I called them all back in for another talk thinking they would all pull the pin but you guessed it they all said lets go back out as they were having fun!!! I can honestly say it blew me away as we are talking ages from 7 to 12 sailing in 20 knots plus so rather than say any more I though I would just list these legends names :
Sailing Legends 
Jade 
Ross 
Emerson
Jack  wildest capsize of the day
Dean
 Madison
Truly awesome work everyone 

1.30 pm Open Racing:
Well as you can guess the conditions were getting a bit wild out there by the time racing came around with gusts on the water of 25 knots and half metre waves so Charlie and I decided on a triangle in our channel with A set down near runners but just a bit shorter than normal . Mat found the sandbank prior to the start which was a sign of capsizes to come and Ben found that just a simple rigging mistake ( outhaul ) can certainly bugger up your day after looking very competitive early so it was left up to Greg Peter and Tom to race on and yes they all had a swim with Gregs being the worst going over twice , he said he lost control in a 30 plus gust and she just rounded up been there and done that myself ! Tom and Peter fought it out with some incredible speed from both boats and yes I forgot the camera ! Tom finally got in front and came home first with Peter and Greg who was actually making ground after his early capsize . There was talk of a second race but by the look on everyones faces I think they were quite happy to come in ! never seen Tom puffing so hard as he came over the line .

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone , Firstly just an update on Corona Virus restrictions in regards to sailing , We have recieved advice from Queensland Health and Department of Sport and Recreation Queensland that we can continue with our sailing activities provided that we keep up with Social distancing , Cleanliness and record keeping which Iam happy to say everyone at Paradise Point Sailing Club adheres to so well done everyone as its an important part of our road back to normal operations .
Last weekend was a great weekend with just perfect conditions both on land and on the water with everyone enjoying their sailing on the day so fingers crossed we are going to have more of the same this weekend .

8.30 am Sunday Juniors :
Well it shaped up early as another great morning for our juniors even the water is starting to warm upand with everyone turning up right on time boats were soon of the racks and being rigged . Guys lake Ransom and Havoc were right into it with setting up their boats and as the numbers grew Charlie , Abby and I were soon busy getting the boats ready to sail and then all the team transfered them down onto the beach .
With the winds coming from exactly the wrong direction ( predicted n/e but came in s/s/e ) and somewhat stronger than the 2/4 knots predicted probably around 4/6 on average which made it a bit of a challenge especially with our new junior sailors who have been sailing in around 2 knots so everything was happening a lot faster so you guessed it there were a few capsizes . We had a new Instructor ( Mark ) on the safety boat learning our way of doing things with Charlie and Abby in control apparently there was veen some laughter as Charlie and Abbs made mark feel at home . Seeing that Mark was on board with the team I drew short straw again and did some tacking with Tristan and his mate in waist deep water and although it did take some time they soon got their timing right and had the boat tacking smoothly so well done boys.

10.30 am Youth Training :
With a few people missing we only had jack dean Ross emerson and Jade out for training . Once all the boats were rigged we all sat done for a debrief on last weeks sailing were the team sailed in very challenging conditions with that horrible westerly gusts and all making for a difficult sail . Both Andrew and I patted everyone on the back for their efforts , we asked what they thought the wind speed was and the highest guess was 16 knots so when we told them more like 18 the all looked pretty impressed with themselves . For training we set a triangle course with the focus on efficient mark rounding . The problem rounding was going from a reaching course around a buoy and going upwind to the next mark which did have everyone tacking to early at first but with Charlie rigging his laser and showing everyone how its done even with a passenger ( brendan ) they all soon got the sequence of sheeting on pointing up and then tacking . I was watching Jack at one stage and I have to say his tacking is becoming really smooth very similar to Jades style . Dean Emerrson ( laser ) and Ross soon had it down pat even though there was a lot of upwind tacking they all did well .
1.30 pm Open Racing :
With it being a non points race we didnt expect many sailors but we still ended up with seven starters and with the winds turning s/e at around a solid 6 knots we set a start down at the canal with a top mark at the yellow cross and a third mark on the eastern edge of our channel opposite the start buoy so yes triangles . Because it was non championship racing we decided on two short races and with everyone again behaving themselves at the start line they were soon off with Greg in the lead and the pack following close behind . Adrian actually had a great start on port but was bluffed by Greg who was coming on starboard but tacked away but Adrian had already tacked missing a perfect run to A . The funniest thing was Chris and Ben getting lost well Chris mainly  who nearly sailed past the finish boat until our yelling and waving got his attention and they both managed to skim past the finish boat luckily with Chris,s boom just missing me in the bow . Race two was a bit slower as the wind dropped but Greg still managed to hold out Chris and Russell third  which was a grteat result for Russell combined with his second p[lace in race one .

Upcoming :
Try Sailing Hospital Fundraiser 13th of December , we are already planning this yearly event so if anyone would like to volunteer some help just let us know !

Club Xmas Party 20th of Dec , we are looking for new ideas for this years xmas party so if anyone has any thoughts on a theme or venus this year lets us know .

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone , Well I have to start this weeks newsletter with an appology for last week wher everything just got away from me and the newsletter just didnt happen so I will try to catch up with two weeks worth of news this week . In general our numbers on Sunday mornings are very constant with between 25/30 budding young sailors arriving every sunday to learn sailing or practice their ever growing skills . As part of these great numbers especially for the middle of winter we have been discussing challenges for our sailors and some long term targets . We are currently beginning a learning program for two events next year with the first being our annual midwinter cup followed by Manly Youth week where we hope to send a team of both Bic and Laser sailors . The Midwinter Cup has grown in competitor numbers to always in excess of thirty competitors and Manlys Youth weekwhich exceeds 100 competitors and is a great learning event for all sailors . To start the ball rolling with our training group we have started practicing race starts and i must say everyone is starting to get the sequence down pat because the starts are so important overall so well done everyone for getting it done .

8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
Sunday week was so far back that I cant remember everything except teaching more new sailors steering and tacking in light conditions which are just great for our 6/9 year olds now once we have taught them steering the next step is to have them share with the crews ! sounds easy but it seems theres the superglue effect at times right Tristan? Last sunday was a totally different day as not only were the winds from the west but they were also very gusty with some of the newer sailors striking trouble in the shifty conditions . The safety boat was kept busy towing people back to the sailing area until the winds finally settled in direction but not before a few people got a bit frustrated trying to reach the buoys . Talyah who has just converted over to laser struck trouble but with her trusty instructor at hand ( me ) we went back to the basics and soon had her back on course . Guys like Ransom and Havoc managed to come to gripps with the conditions and Jack and Dean had their crews sailing around the course with no dramas . Tristan and Harvey came in as they just couldnt handle the gusty bits so Ben yes ben roake jumped in and showed them how its done who knows we might even get Ben back sailing again ?

10.30 am Training 
I wasnt allowed on the water so the safety boat crew had to put up with me on the radio constantly giving instructions . The conditions were a challenge not from wind speed but from the gusty bits and wind shifts but the crew soon had it under control well everyone except Dean who just wouldnt let go of the mainsheet in the gusts so went swimming ! yes in the cold water !!! his dad called him back in form a talk and he went out again so well don dad . It was pretty obvious that the rest of the group were coping so I radio,d the safety boat to set some practice starts with the pre start manouvering looking very good with Jack the standout with very sharp tacks and gybes even Ross was swinging around very confidently must be that new wind indicator right Ross ? Of course we should mention Jade who was lucky enough to recieve her new Bic and with the help of Charlie , Casey and Andrew that soon had it put together and she really had some extra pace on the water although I thought the giant smile might slow her down. All in all a great session !

1.30 pm Open Racing

With conditions generally west and a dead low tide the new race officer in training ( Charlie ) had a bit of a challenge but with a lot of thought a course starting at the top of crab and the A mark accross the channel near the boat ramps creating a challenging upwind for a couple of laps and then a run nearly to the top of Soverign for a couple of laps it looked a top course especially the section between A & C downwind because it was dead downwind and shifting bullets which had everyone scrambling from port to starboard as the winds shifted around . Adrian had a couple of swims at A mark but with a good tip about vang after the race we shouldnt have that problem in future . Greg was soon in the lead with Tom and Peter settling into a fight for 2nd and 3rd with some good boat speed especially on the reaches up to Soverign . Everything was going well and we had just anchored for the finish when I noticed a partially de rigged laser floating away from the club so you guessed it up anchor and off we went , By the time we got to the bridge Torin had paddled out in a kayak but she was getting away so we grabbed the laser and towed it and Torin back . Did we make it back in time to finish everyone ? well yes we did with Charlie driving Sarah C the fastest he ever has we just got their in time to finish greg while dropping the anchor at the same time . Who came in second Peter with Tom half a boat lenght and then Steve and John , definitely an exciting afternoon .

WEATHER FORECAST SUNDAY

OK everyone the conditions over the next couple of days are predicted very windy so I suggest all our Junior sailors keep an eye on wind speeds for sunday remember of 12 knots consistant you dont sail and our Youth sailors over 16 knots but we can do knots and theory YEAH! any concerns on the day give me a call 0407145397

Upcoming :
Try Sailing Hospital Fundraiser Sunday 13th december , We are approaching both our local member of parliament and our local council member to see if we can gain support for this worthy event especially with the current pandemic in Australia 

Club Xmas Party Sunday the 20th od December , not sure of the theme this year so if anyones got any ideas just let us know .

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone With the weather generally being perfect for our young sailors with blue skies and light winds our junior and youth sailors have been enjoying the opportun ities to stretch their sailing skills without worrying about loosing control and going for a swim , so we now have everyone tacking and gybing in the 8.30 junior class and even steering reasonably straight lines . Our Youth sailors who sail at 10.30 have been doing the same with I must say a great deal of improvement from everyone to the stage where now we are starting to practice race starts , yes there is the odd bit of start line confusion but thats the learning process . 
Covid 19 ; We are still asking everyone to book in for sailing on sundays so that we can keep control of numbers even though restricitions have eased in queensland but with whats happening in Vic and Nsw at this time I think its better to play it safe so thanks everyone for persevering .

8.30 am Sunday Juniors :
With very mild conditions for this group and a couple of new sailors signing on for their first try at sailing again it was just perfect well except for the water temp which was well at least to me freezing . With fourteen starters and nearly running out of masts we soon had the fleet on the water and with the winds at of the west early at around 2/4 knots Charlie set a course basicall straight up and down the waterway . Jack and Dean were out helping some mates learn to steer and Mason was out with Willow helping her rekindle her sailing after some time off , actually we werent sure hom much teaching was actually going on there even though we could hear a lot of talking but willow told me later taht they were mainly talking about computer games ? oh well at least they were having fun . The wind slowly shifted more south so there was a bit of towing back as the tide was going out but generally everyone read the wind changes well and managed to keep their boats moving . Now we need an increase in wind speed so we can really get everyone going which shoud start happening by september.

10.30 am Youth Training:
In recent weeks this core group of sailors has really progressed in all their skills through practice and determination where in recent weeks all the challenging courses and activities we have set for them thay have each time to understand the courses and sail accordingly , the improvements in everyones sailing is awesome from Dean to Kaia and even Jade who is the most experienced , even Ross hasnt broken any masts lately ! With everyone constantly improving their sailing skills I felt it was time to give them a target goal and that is not only the 2021 June P.P.S.C Mid Winter Cup but also the Manly July Youth Week Regatta what a great advertisement that would be for Paradise Point Sailing Club and our great bunch of Young Sailors . Sure we have a lot of work to do but Iam sure our group of Youth Sailors are up to the challenge . Well back to business we decided to set a start line from the pontoon and a rounding mark down at the yellow 6knot sign . The first few starts were a bit of a shambles well except for Abby who with her past experience nailed the starts and finished first even when her dad told her to go the wrong way ? The main focus was to have everyone at the pin end as it was the best angle for the course because if you were too low it was too tight an upwind and luffing up was common right Ross , Mason ? but generally everyone went well with lots of smiles and there is a rumour that Kaia might jump out of a Bic into a Laser next Sunday !

1.30 pm Open Race 

With the winds shifting more around to the e/s/e our budding new race officer ( Charlie ) needed a bit of outside assistance ( me ) setting a suitable course so we decided on a start near the runaway bay public ramps with an upwind straight accross the channel and then a run up the soverign channel dropping a rounding buoy opposite the ephriam / soverign channel .
The start line did favour starboard start but a port was a possibility even Greg was thinking about it but with 12 lasers (fleet of 13 ) starting on starboard he made a wise decision and started with everyone else . The outgoing current made it a bit of a struggle to get to A but after three laps of windward leeward the were all soon off upto soverign for two laps of basically reaching . Abbey came out for a run as did her dad and it was nice to see them on the water . Greg soon built a gap and wasnt headed even though Peter was there and Steve they just couldnt bridge the gap . We did have one exciting part and that was Chris trying to take me out with his boom as he got a bit lost heading for the finish line and had a last minute gybe over the bow of sarah c where I was sitting lucky I know how to duck !

Upcoming
December Xmas Party20th Try Sailing &Hospital Fundraiser 13th

CU on the water
J Murphy

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

Hello Everyone , With the temperature dropping this week to single digits it has certainly been a bit fresh early in the mornings but the days have been perfect with sunny skies and good winds , all we need now is for similar conditions on the weekend especially early unlike last sunday where it was definitely lite early and only just sailable by the afternoon.
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS:
Please note that all P.P.S.C. memberships are up for renewal as at 1st of July 2020 , if you havnt recieved a reminder via email just let the club know and one will be emailed to you
BOAT STORAGE
For those members who have a boat stored at the club please note that storage fees ( $300.00 ) are also due as at the 1st of July 2020

Sunday Juniors 8.30 am Session
With blue skies and nearly perfect sailing conditions we soon had a big group of new sailors and some experienced out rigging boats and even swimming prior to the morning briefing . Everyone with a bit of help from the instructors and parents soon had a mix of Tera,s and Bic,s ready to go . With current covid 19 rules we held the briefing just standing up in front of the white board which seemed to keep everyone a bit more focused so maybe a good idea for the future . We wrote a course on the board and engaged everyone with questions about sail zone no sail zone and tacking which generally everyone got right so without to much more effort we soon ahd everyone on the water . Conditions were a bit flukey with the wind coming from the n/n/w at first with a wind speed of around 3/5 knots it was not the most exciting sailing but a few of our new sailors like madison who was trying the bic for the second time and even her brother tim out with Mason as instructor it gave the two of them more time to work on their skills . Even Jack and Dean who sailed with their friends actually let them have a go at steering in the light winds which generally worked out well . But as you guessed the winds firstly went west which even caught the crew on sarah cooper out but with a little adjustment of the course bouys we had a light reach going until it dropped out as well so next minute everyone is singing ! not sure what they were singing but at least they were having fun.
Thanks to Declan , Charlie Abby ( boat driver ) and Mason for volunteering their time and yes Abbys driving is getting better !

Sunday Junior Training 10.30 am
Luckily by the time everyone rigged up ready for a sail the wind had returned well kind of with a lot of shifting around and dropping out but still it was wind . With a big discussion about boat speed ( chasing the wind ) rather than pointing the boat before everyone hit the water we wer trying to get everyone focused on the tricky conditions and at first it wasnt working well with everyone struggling to find the wind direction . Emerson and Jade were the first to start sailing to the conditions with Ross and Mason just struggling a bit . It was amazing to watch Emerson and Jade really start working the wind conditions especially with it moving from n/n/w to n/n/e so I set them the task of sailing under the bridge and back again which the both completed several times while we worked with Ross and Mason who unfortunately kept over pointing and stalling out , but yes we did get them going finally well when I say we it was me and Abby as Charlie and Declan were playing flip the bottle ! so thanks abb,s for your imput . I personally was very impressed with everyones effort in what was really hard sailing conditions which at the de brief I let them all know how well they went even Mason and Ross who although the didnt make it under the bridge they did finally started keeping more in the sailing zone so again well done everyone.

Open Race Practice 1.30 pm

We were a bit late starting the race practice as we had to go and help one of our old instructors who had run aground in his pontoon boat off Ephriam , I must admit it wasnt much of  a surprise as it was Aidan who always had a bit of a reputation with sand banks so in true sailing club form we took photos and put them on Facebook and yes we were all laughing and that included his wife and mother in law !
Ok with official racing still two weeks away everyone was quite happy to just do windward leewards again with a minimum of five gybes on the downwind . The wind was around 4/7 knots with an outgoing tide so not too bad well at least it was better than last weeks bucketing rain were we even lost sight of everyone at one stage and Charlie and I ended up wet as shags . The starts were close but the stand out was Tom who started badly in the first race and was way to leeward in the second still managed to come home first , we dont know how he did it in the second race but the first race saw him tack out to the east and snagged a nice lift to the top mark . Everyone was pretty close together in these short races with nearly everyone running full rigs ( Ben borrowed Charlies ) that made it pretty clse all round .
 We have to mention Tom effort in race three as it was a classic finish very similar to some of Charlie,s legend finishes , so what happened well he didnt come across the line first It think it was third but you guessed it he was casually broadreaching over the line and leaning the boat to windward and you guessed it the wind died and he just rolled her over into the drink . The general reaction was you guessed it laughter not only from the start boat but everyone around him so well done Tom and even Charlie gave you the tick of approval as he,s the expert in that manouvre !

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone , Yes after three months of self isolating we seem to havge weathered the storm and although it will take the club some time to be fully up and running at least we are on the active pathway with Junior Sailing , Youth Racing Holiday Camps and Open Race Training all back on Sundays .

Junior Sailing 8.30 am session
With the weather forecast not looking goood and the rain starting at 4am I was a bit dubious as to whether sailing would be on but by the time I arrived at the club around 6.30 am things were looking good for at least Junior and Youth Sailing .
As per the Covid 19 guidelines we restricted our numbers to 12 students which included some of Jack and Deans friends as first timers so it was a busy rigging area especially with the odd boat part missing and the odd boom put on upsidedown but we soon sorted everwthing out and had a short briefing before hitting the water.
Charlie and Abby set a nice reaching course in the roughly northerly wind and with the wind speed around 4/6 knots it was perfect for just a cruise around the buoys . We had a couple of bics out with Jade taking Issabella for a sail and Madison in the other bic having her first try , we did warn her that she would probably capsize but I think the excitement at having her first sail in a race boat just overrode everything else oh and yes she did capsize several times and she only came in when she just got too cold . With her boat on the beach we took Issabella out of Jades boat and gave her a go in the Bic and she now agrees they are hard to sail! Everyone just cruised around for the session and there were plenty of happy smiling faces at the end .
Youth Sailing 10.30 am Session
While Charlie went off to get everyones chip order we soon had all the baots raedywith a mixture of both bics and tera,s lined up ready to go . The wind conditions had changed in as much that the average speed was around 8 knots and the gusts were reaching 14/15 knots and quite quick but generally short in duration at first but they increased as the session went on . We stretched the course over two thirds accross the broadwater so that everyone had a good long sail with one way a close reach and coming back a broad reach which was very exciting at times . The fastest on the water was Jade who is really starting to show her skills especially in the gusty bits where she always looked in total control with great balance and boat speed  Emerson also went well with him keeping his sail on and working to stop the knocks and mainsheeting furiously at times to generate max speed . Ross and Mason forgot the main sheet pressure at times which fior Ross resulted in a couple of swims and with Mason he struggled to keep aiming at the buoys but once got him to keep the sail on away he went . There were a few gybes but everyone generally kept to tacking as the water was cold and the gusts were a bit nasty just ask Ross , all in all a great fierst session back.
Open Racing 1.30 pm