Periscope

From the Sailing Director

Whatever the Weather

Southern Ports has made public a handy new weather tool, here. The weather is derived from the beacon in the channel. 

Countdown on for Opening Day

Come and shake out those sails at 2pm, this Saturday 12 October! We will use SL2 (Responder) for short series, into the wind starts and scoring will be by the low points system. Both races will be on a Windward/Leeward course.

I expect the program will be available for Opening Day.

Please be advised you will need to provide the following completed forms to race:

As the form indicates, payment can be made online. Please print form, complete including receipt details and hand to me, Sailing Director Neil Worrell, or Racing Admin in the Sailor's Office prior to your first race.

All PRSC required forms are listed on the website under documentation as they become available. 

I'm looking forward to a great season on the water - see you there!

Opening Day Schedule

Plans are underway for a fantastic Opening Day at the Club on Saturday 19 October.

  • 9am: Junior Sailing and Racing. Lower deck open for families.
  • 1-1.30pm: Official Opening of the Sailing Season
  • 2pm: Sailing and racing commence. Visitors invited aboard spectator boats for an afternoon on the water, watching the sailing. Afternoon tea available in the upstairs bar.
  • 5.30pm: Enjoy a glass of bubbles and refreshments in the upstairs bar for Opening Presentation
  • 6pm: Shared dinner for families at the club. Please bring a plate sufficient for four persons. Surnames A-P bring a main dish, surnames Q-Z bring a dessert.

Eligibility to Race

At PRSC every sailor shall register their crew and meet the Eligibility to Race criteria.

Meeting this criteria is important to ensure the following:

  • That the Club honours its responsibility towards participants in organised sailing;
  • That participants are insured; and
  • That the Club know who each participant is in the case of an emergency, so we can accurately manage a situation and communicate with members.

Eligibility criteria is also a responsibility of skippers as described in the by PRSC in the Sailing Program on page five, under General Information.

This should not be a contentious issue so please don’t make it one. Clubs rely on membership. 

This year there is a new Crew Membership at $375, allowing people to register and race at no cost the first three times. Subsequently, they can then either become Crew Members or pay for a day Sail Pass at $15 per day. Direct debit details are included in the registration information. Interested people have three sails to consider buying a pass. Purchased Sail Passes are logged onto a website that Board members will check to ensure your crew are financial members.

What happens if you are responsible for sailing without financial crew? You are breaking the rules. Under Racing Rules Of Sailing 2017-2022 (RRS) and PRSC Sailing Instructions (Program), your boat will be protested by a member of the Racing Committee, most likely the Sailing Director. The protest process is very well described in RRS and the outcome is likely that the boat will be disqualified for the race and receive no points or awards.

Why would you want that?

This year, I would like to see each skipper responsible for his crew, which means knowing their crew's membership status. The club will post in the sailing office window Membership status for skippers to check crew eligibility and to promote club financial membership.

Membership opportunity is important for everyone, so please support efforts towards registered membership for PRSC this year and adopt the changes that we hope will build crew numbers for the club.

Happy Sailing.

Racing Rules and Notices

Now is a great time to review the Racing Rules of Sailing and to know your flags and notices.

Please find below two items that will be useful for Shakedown races as mentioned above.

 

L Flag: When displayed ashore (on flagpole near the club's lower deck), this flag means a notice to competitors has been posted. When displayed afloat, it means "Come within hail" or "Follow this boat".

You may see it on display this weekend.

 

 

 

 

For a rundown of the most basic Racing Rules, see the five frames below.

 

Neil Worrell, Sailing Director