Wow, there’s a lot of news this month and some important updates – please read on!
Duties Update by Mark Dinwoodie
Duties Secretary
Duty allocation and duty roles.
I try and allocate members to duties according to your preferred duty role as indicated on Dutyman (subject to experience and qualifications). Dutyman is populated with your preferences from your membership application when you joined the club, along with any updates that you have made. It would be helpful if you could make sure that your preferences are still correct, and also your days of availability.
If you would like to do Wednesday daytime duties (10am-4pm) you either need to be a qualified and approved Rescue Helm (all year-round duties) or an Officer of the day (April to September). Please let me know if this is the case and you are not already doing Wednesday Daytime duties.
There are a few Thursday evening duties in June and July, but again you need to be a qualified and approved Rescue Helm
At present, the expected number of duties required per membership year is between 2 ½ and 3 full-day duties (Wednesday daytimes count as ¾ and Thursday evenings as ½). Sometimes need to allocate you to a different role e.g. ask a Rescue Helm to be a Rescue Crew at open meetings, or to ensure a fair distribution of duties. At present I look back to the total duties you have undertaken since 1/4/2023 to try and ensure fairness, taking into account members who have joined since then.
When you arrive for your duty, you may be asked to fulfil a slightly different role (subject to experience and qualifications) for a variety of reasons, so please arrive with wet weather and warm sailing gear suitable to go afloat if needed.
House and Grounds improvements by Chris Meredith
Slipway Improvements:
Whilst we are all groaning about the falling water level this gives us the opportunity to undertake some remedial work and improve our slipways.
Work is scheduled to start in early-mid September on the “ILCA” slipway, to remove the existing cages on the slipway edges with a tapered concrete runoff slope over a distance of around 4metres to provide easier and safer launching and recovery.
At the same time we will be installing a removable safety barrier on the slipway adjacent to the rescue boat launch area, marking off the existing edge where there is currently a considerable drop. We also plan to do some basic remedial work on this slip to shore up an area that has been underscored by the water
Work is planned for September providing the water continues to either remain at the current level, or ideally drop further, and is conditional only on Natural England works approval.
If, as we hope and expect, the works go ahead the “ILCA” slipway will be out of use for about 2 weeks – we will let you have more details nearer the time.
Club Balustrade:
After a long consultation with structural engineers and various suppliers I am pleased to report that we now have a preferred contractor and equipment orders have been placed to replace the balustrade on the lake side of the clubhouse, finally allowing removal of the temporary warning barriers. Work should progress in August/September. During the works one or more fire exits may be out of use for a short period – more details will be advised.
Abandoned Boats:
The dinghy park team, lead by Austen and more recently David Price, have done sterling work over recent years to tidy our dinghy park and stay on top of the various boat comings and goings.
As part of the ongoing work we have identified over 20 “long term abandoned” boats in the boat park belong to members that have not paid an annual subscription, in many cases over several years. We will shortly be posting notices listing these boats in the clubhouse and will endeavour to contact the last known owner to arrange removal or full payment of outstanding fees. If the situation cannot be resolved, we will be taking steps to sell or destroy each boat in accordance with club rule 13
If you have not paid your fee, or know of a boat owning non member that may be in this position, please (urge them to) do so as a matter of urgency, or make arrangements to remove the boat.
Ladies Trophy Day 19-Jul-25
This year’s event was a fun filled day with 6 classes of boat, 2 male crews and an age range from under 10 to those qualifying for a diamond bus pass!
The race team of Derian and Andy Scott provided a morning training session during which we learned about weed avoidance, how to spot wind shifts, and even at times how to spot wind, how to drift in the most comfortable position and how to get round a triangular course with a beat on every leg, and with a run, reach and beat on every leg while sailing in a maximum of 2 knots!
The afternoon wind ranged from 0-13knots but after the first leg settled to a SWwith an average 4-6 knots enabling 10 boats to sail 3 races and use our wind shift spotting knowledge to complete the course. The different classes of boat meant that we were kept in suspense about the position we had of achieved until the prize giving! This took place out on the balcony whilst lots delicious home made cakes and tea were consumed!
Save the date – Bart’s Bash and family Fun day Sunday 14-Sep-25
Bart’s Bash is the annual global sailing race where we encourage anyone and everyone to come and compete. 1 big race at 11:00. This will be followed in the afternoon by some games and on the water activities for anyone to participate in in the afternoon.
More details in the next newsletter and hopefully to be published elsewhere!
Watch your head!
Following a couple of head injuries from sailors being struck by booms it seems timely to remind everyone, particularly those that are learning and less experienced, sailing in stronger winds or sailing dinghies with low booms particularly, to consider wearing a helmet out similar for protection.
The decision to wear protection remains a matter of personal choice, but anyone that is considering wearing a helmet may wish to review the RYA article linked here
Alternatively, for those that would like something a little less obvious and fashionable, a member recently pointed out the peak cap style bump caps available from around £10, as shown below for example, which can be purchased here (many more ‘bump caps can be found on the internet). These do not appear to be designed specifically for sailing but you may wish to consider these as they could potentially help provide some additional protection and may help prevent a nasty bump or cut.
RYA Level 3 (Better sailing) Course 13/14-Sep-25
We are offering 4 places on an RYA Level 3(Better Sailing) course over the weekend 13/14 September.
The course offers coaching to consolidate and develop the skills learned during the Level 1(Start Sailing), and Level 2(Basic Skills) courses. It is also an opportunity to have short taster sessions from the RYA advanced training modules such as Day Sailing, Sailing with Spinnakers and Seamanship – dependent on students’ preferences and other considerations during the weekend.
It is not meant to be a re-run of a Level 2 course, so students will get the most from the course if they have completed at least one full season of sailing since gaining their Level 2 certificate (or have achieved a comparable level through experience.)
Places can be booked through Webcollect and will cost £125.
Autumn Youth Programme from Ruth Gribble
Screenshot
This autumn we are running the following youth events:
(1) Autumn Chew Crew: For stage 2+ sailors to have fun and build confidence.
On 31/08, 07/09, 14/09, 12/10 and 19/10. Sessions can be booked individually, at £12.50 per session, using this link:https://webcollect.org.uk/cvlsc/event/chew-crew-autumn-programme-2025
(2) Stage 3 course: For confident young sailors, looking to cement their single handed skills.https://webcollect.org.uk/cvlsc/event/2025-rya-youth-course-stage-3
(3) Stage 4 course: For capable sailors wanting to move into double handers.https://webcollect.org.uk/cvlsc/event/2025-rya-youth-course-stage-4
(4) Regional Topper event at CVLSC: coaching on Saturday 20 September and racing on Sunday 21 September. Sign up and boat booking details to follow.
(5) Autumn racing: We are encouraging all young racers to do Sunday club racing, with a trophy for morning races between 7 September and 19 October and some informal coaching. Email chewcrew@chewvalleysailing.org.uk to join the race group WhatsApp if you’re interested.
Training Opportunities
Got your PB2 and want to take the next step? Then this is for you, our own in house one day free safety course. It will at some point be a requirement for all rescue helms who don’t hold the RYA safety boat certificate. We have a course on Saturday 9th August with spaces. To book or ask any questions email today jeffstratford@btinternet.com We also need a helper on the day to rig and capsize dinghies and be rescued, free lunch supplied.
Want to take the first step powerboating we are running the RYA PB2 Powerboat course on Saturday 23rd and Saturday 30th August 2025, no prerequisite apart from being a club member and 16 or over. The certificate is accepted internationally. You must complete the two days, cost still only £40 please book via your Webcollect account, any questions please ask.
Finally we are running a RYA first aid course on Saturday 13th September 2025 still only £30 please book via your Webcollect account.
Solo Fleet News
Turn out has been variable but some close racing has been had on Sunday mornings. Mr Goldhawk currently leads the Summer Points AM, but by only a few points from Damian G-T. Chris Meredith had a weekend racing in Cornwall at Torpoint and Porthpean. Torpoint presented challenging and gusty winds and a 6th position. Sunday at Porthpean moderated somewhat leading to an improved 3rd position, and 3rd overall for the weekend.(see Y&Y report)
Start Racing
Well done to all the attendees, especially on the rather gusty days. Attendance this year was up on last year and as last year we joined the Police Group Fun Thursday race and had a short prize giving afterwards. It’s great to see some of the attendees already joining in with club racing.
Club Racing Updates by James Williams
Racing Etiquette
With lower water levels and weed across much of the lake our activity is presently being squeezed into an ever reducing area. This in turn means more congestion and with that in mind, here’s a couple of recent reminders about the racing rules and good etiquette:
– it is the responsibility of all helms / crews to keep a good look out while sailing / racing. There are rules defining who has right of way, first and foremost is the avoidance of collisions. Please make sure you are happy before setting out, and ask if unsure!
– before the start of races, please keep the start line clear if you are not the next fleet in the sequence
– similarly, when you have finished a race, please make sure you sail away from the course so as to not intrude on / impact those who are still racing
Water level
The water level continues to drop, so much so that old tree stumps and other obstructions are starting to impact our sailing area. These are often still hidden below the surface so not able to be seen. Please take care, both when sailing and driving powerboats – in particular, a reminder about not using full throttle in the powerboats unless it is an emergency (hitting solid submerged objects at speed can do a lot of costly damage to the RIB props)
Wednesday Evening Wind Down
The final Wednesday Evening Points race is this week (Wednesday 6th). Although the A Handicap is the only fleet still open for top spot, there’s still plenty of places that can change elsewhere.
The calendar has provision for up to 4 “wind down” Wednesday races. These evenings do not get rostered and are reliant on those who plan to race at some point picking up a duty. There is a sign-up sheet in the Declaration Room, otherwise duties will be organised ad-hoc each evening. These races are less formal and aim to keep evening sailing as long as sunlight allows us to.
Fun Thursdays.
The Police Group ran Fun Thursday 3 on 31st July with 12 boats taking part in the FUN race, the winner being Paul Baxendale in his Laser 1, well done Paul. 37 people attended the bbq.
The next and final FUN Thursday is on the 14th August, let’s make it the biggest and best. We provide safety cover from 1400 for anyone to come for a sail. At about 1800 we have a very simple FUN race, run by none other than Hugh Whatley and his wife Jackie, there is a countdown to the start. No entry fee, no prizes only bragging rights. We then have a bbq, no fixed prices we just ask for donations to cover our costs and Malc our newly trained bar person will open the bar. All we need from you is notification that you are attending the bbq and any dietary requirements so we can get enough food in.
Members Travels
Kicking off with the single-handers this month, James Colls represented the club at the latest SW Topper Traveller at Dittisham, while Oli Allen-Wilcox sailed in a huge 148 boat ILCA7 fleet at Kiele Woche. Chris Meredith, pictured below, sailed in a Solo double header at Torpoint and Porthpean, with a 3rd place finish in the latter.
In the RS100s, David Smart sailed in their National Tour at Lymington, including by all accounts, a pretty full on Sunday race for all fleets
Dave Smart at Lymington
The RS200s represented the double handed asymmetrics, with two events on the SW circuit. Dave Sweet and Anna Mason sailed to 3rd overall at a shifty and gusty Bowmoor, while 3 Chew boats sailed a weekend event at an even windier Restronguet. Dave Sweet once again flying the flag best with Derian Scott crewing. Adam Din also swapped out his usual RS100 for the back of a RS200 to take part in the chaotic 206 boat Lord Birkett at Ullswater.
The double handed symmetric boats have also been on the road, with Matt and Hannah Greenfield managing some great races (including a 6th and a 9th) at the iconic Merlin Rocket week at Salcombe. Ian Cadwallader also had a couple of great races (including a 2nd and a 3rd) at the Osprey Nationals at Mumbles, to finish 5th overall. In the run up to their Worlds at Lake Garda in a month’s time, Derian and Andy Scott won race 4 on their way to 4th at the Fireball open at Blackwater.
Plenty more championships with Chew representation coming up over the next month or so.
Andy
Andy Jones
Commodore