IMPORTANT UPDATE: Winter 2021 Race Dates

To maximise sailing opportunities for members, we have changed our schedule, and PUSHED BACK THE START OF OUR WINTER SERIES BY ONE WEEK. Our 2021 winter series is now on Alternative weeks to Sugarloaf Sailing Club for those that like to do both club’s winter series.

You can view the calendar here

Our new start date for winter is 2021-06-05.

(For the Sugarloaf schedule, scroll all the way down past our calendar frame)

2021 winter series – VISITORS WELCOME.

Keep calm and go winter sailing at Lysterfield

WINTER SAILING @ LYSTERFIELD LAKE (near Narre Warren, just off the monash freeway)

Lysterfield Sailing Club’s winter sailing commences 5 june.

Races start at 1:00pm Saturday.

All visitors welcome, come for a race, come for the series! Visitors are automatically entered in our winter championship!

Visitor’s fee: $8.00 per race

Join us!

www.lysterfieldsailing.com.au

Please see club website calendar for exact dates, or the list of days is below:

April News

Hi club members,

The forecast for tomorrow is perfect for sailing –  23 degC, zero chance of rain, and a steady 10-15 knot (20-30 km/hr) wind. What a way to end the month!

The following Saturday (8 May) will be our last sail of the summer season, after which we miss two weekends before recommencing on 29 May for the winter season. 

Sailing is fortnightly during winter.All winter races start at 1.00pm, half an hour earlier than during the summer season.


QR Code

We are now legally obliged to have a QR Code for recording your presence.  Antony has kindly set this up for us.  There will be two copies of the chart available for you to scan  –  one in the sign-on book and one in the clubhouse.  As most people will not want to take their phones to the rigging area, I suggest you bring your phone to the clubroom after sailing and check in there. For those of you who (like me) have never used a QR Code, you will still be able to record your presence via alternate means, but we very much would prefer you to use the QR system please.

Please can Race Officers make sure that the sign-on sheets are not thrown out and that everyone, whether racing or not, is listed on the sign-on sheets even if not sailing.

New Members

Welcome to another new member, Don M.  Some of you may have met him two weeks ago when he was sailing a club Sabre.  He will be sailing a club Sabre for a few months.

Since Christmas we have had eighteen new members attending sailing school as well as Kedar, and Sanjay who have joined outside a sailing school introduction. Most will now have met Kedar, who has been sailing a club Sabre. Sanjay, who has not been able to sail so far will likely do same –   Antony wants them to get Lasers!!

Just prior to Christmas, John Rx and Dalton, together with their families, became active members which is great to see.

Sailing Instructors / Sailing School

After 20 years, Rob and Herman have indicated that they want to take a step back from running sailing courses.  The club is deeply appreciative of all their efforts over a very long time. Mara has agreed to obtain the Instructor qualification and commences the necessary training tomorrow. Paula, John and Jarrod are currently running another six week course on Saturday mornings, the second six week course they have run this year. They have also run two half-day sessions for prospective sailors/students.  The club thanks them for undertaking their instructor training and accreditation appraisals which took up a considerable amount of their time.  Their efforts have been rewarded by full classes, many participants of which will hopefully continue their membership next year.


Grants

The club is taking advantage of a reduction in Mara’s instructor training fee which Australian Sailing has made available for female participants to encourage more females to sail.  John has obtained a grant from the state government to purchase windproof jackets for sailing school participants.  This will help new participants enjoy sailing more comfortably, giving them a better feel for the good bits, without having to worry so much about some of the bad!

Congrats to John who analyzed what types of grant applications were likely to be successful and then came up with a successful one. 

Whilst wee could do with some new PFDs for sailing school the grant application conditions specifically excluded the purchase of PFDs.

The club will will shortly be receiving a $750 Covid related grant, which is in addition to the $1000 we received back in September.

Financial Position

Members should have received a financial summary in an email circular.  This strong financial position reflects, in part, the hard work of our sailing instructors which is a source of revenue for the club.  We very much appreciate the role this plays in keeping the club vibrant.

John Rx’s Adventures in Bass Strait

Those of you following the club’s WhatsApp site will have seen the photos and videos of John Rx’s three week trip to Tasmania aboard a 10m, immaculately restored, classic timber yacht.  If anyone who is not receiving the WhatsApp posts wishes to, they should contact John Reid who will then send an invitation.

Australian Sailing Club News

The April edition of Club News is available at

https://mailchi.mp/889889731c13/clubnewsmarch2021-299626?e=28fc3c2b94

Regards,

Steve McConnell

Lysterfield Sailing Club

March News

Welcome current and prospective members to the March News.


New members 

We have two new members:- Kedar Pednekar and Sanjay VJ.  Please make them welcome and help them with the Sabres.  Both have sailed in their younger days but are a little rusty.  They have sailed in one of our Introduction to Sailing sessions and will be sailing the club Sabres for three months.  Kedar will be sailing this Saturday afternoon, but not Sanjay.


Sailing School  

Rob and Herman’s group have almost finished their course and will be racing with us this week.  Paula, John and Jarrod’s group finished a few weeks ago.  Hopefully some of them will return to sail with us.  P, J and J are arranging another 6 week course commencing 17 April.P, J and J are also holding half day “Introduction to Sailing” sessions. the second of which will be this Saturday morning.


Racing 

Thanks for Colin and Rob for manning the rescue boat last week.  They and all the competitors got thoroughly soaked by the rain towards the end.  Somehow John and Andrew managed to win line honours.  The forecast for this week is much better, in fact it is perfect:- max 25C, mostly sunny, wind 10-15 knots.


Club boats 

The three Sabres are all rigged similarly and are available for use.  Unfortunately there are only two launching trolleys at present, so one boat must be launched and then its trolley taken back to the yard to collect the third boat.  Antony is kindly constructing a third trolley.


Committee Meeting

The minutes of a recent meeting are available and will be circulated via email..

See you on the lake!

News – Feb 2021

Welcome to the latest News announcement (Antony’s note as the webmaster). We tried to wrap up the announcement re Covid and the latest newsletter, but it didn’t really seem great in hindsight. So here it is! Separate and ready to go.

The Heron has now been sold.  The price was reduced to $1000 as we discovered de-lamination of the gelcoat which reduced its value.  It has gone to a retired guy who has joined Hampton SC and hopes to sail it with his grandkids after having the gelcoat professionally repaired by Martin Sly.

Sailing school is underway.  Rob and Herman have six participants on Saturday morning, and Paula, John and Jarrod have six participants on Sunday mornings.  In addition, Paula, John and Jarrod are holding two half day “Introduction to Sailing” sessions for beginners during March. 
We have had enquiries from three experienced sailors about joining the club and sailing the club boats for a few months with a view to buying their own boats.  John and Jarrod have arranged to take them sailing to assess their suitability for use of a club boat.  To increase the chances of them joining us, make them welcome.

Sailing instructors:  As usual, please encourage sailing school graduates to participate in our Saturday afternoon sailing for three months after they graduate, at no cost.  (The additional payment for participating in races which was sometimes charged in previous years is not being applied.)  As there may be twelve participants and only six places in Pacers, we should guarantee each participant a place on Saturday afternoon for the first three weeks after they graduate.  After that, if demand exceeds the places available on Saturday afternoon, I propose that we offer them sailing on Saturday mornings.  We will assess the demand towards the end of each week.  The safety boat would have to be on the water, but it could be crewed by members who are not Instructors.  The Instructors will deserve a rest.

The new Pacer sail has been delivered.  It is complete with battens and tell-tails but the battens and tell-tails have to be fitted.  Last week we found that we already had a spare mainsail and jib in good condition although lacking battens.  So now we have two good sails, unfortunately both with the same sail number.  I suggest that we use the best sails, keep one old sail as a spare and throw away the one I taped up, transferring its battens to the one that is lacking battens. 

John R:  Unfortunately, it is unlikely that there will be a Pacer available for you for a few months commencing 27 March.  Prior to that, from 6 March to 20 March, there is a high probability that there will be one available but it cannot be guaranteed.  During this period there may be six sailing school graduates sailing on Saturday afternoon, but two of them will probably sail Sabres, leaving a Pacer available for you.

Wendy, Tony and Sid:  Commencing 6 March the new graduates and new members will be given priority for use of the Sabres, so please make use of the few weeks between now and then to sail.  There may be a Sabre available in later weeks, but it cannot be guaranteed.  I hope you have enjoyed sailing the club boats and will now buy a boat.

Australian Sailing February Edition of Club News: you can find the latest Australian sailing news here. As always, well worth a read.

https://mailchi.mp/943daa1e1ddb/clubnewsfeb2021?e=ba21e7911e

See you at the lake,

Antony (your webmaster) on behalf of the Secretary.

We’re back on Sat (again!!)

Hi Club Members,
Everything is be back to normal for us this Saturday (20th).  There are still some restrictions on community sport, but none of them affect our usual operations.

You can now find our next scheduled race right on the home page

Did you know that we have a next-race widget? It sits just below the weather widget on the home page. It contains all the particulars of the race: Date, start time, Race and Duty crew as well as he series info.

It will automatically display the next race, based on the current date

So check in regularly to see what’s upcoming!

Weather widget now on website!

So we can all get the forecast right on our phones!
You can use the forecast page to get a more detailed forecast, best viewed as a desktop page for the synoptic and wind simulation.
Find the widget on the front page and the details on the forecast page.
enjoy!!