The summer sailing season has ended, but there is still a lot of activity at the club. It was terrific to see so many in the members bar on Friday night. The 2.4s educated us about their class, with the help of Ray Smith’s models. At the end of July three club members will be competing in the 2.4 Meter Worlds in Finland; Peter Coleman, Mark Seagar and Sean Hogan. We’ll be watching from afar and cheering them on.
I am thrilled to see the new marina gate – I realise we’ve been promising it for a while and several club members and staff have been involved in organising to make it happen. The next priority is to obtain a permit for dredging inside the marina, now that sediment testing has been done.
You will have seen reference to the Code of Conduct in your subscription renewal letter, which you must adhere to as a member of the club. Please read this to remind yourselves of what is expected of a club member. All sailing classes and clubs are increasingly aware of their responsibility to ensure participants and members are safe and respected. The importance of inclusion and diversity was the first topic at the Australian Sailing Summit I attended with the Treasurer last Saturday. The point was made that we shouldn’t be make assumptions about anyone – show them respect by getting to know them and developing an understanding of how the world looks from their perspective. The conference was a wonderful opportunity to meet sailors from other clubs and hear from our peak body Australian Sailing (AS) about their strategy and plans. A key message was that AS aims to promote and support sailing in all its forms not just high performance. Increasing participation and sharing the enjoyment of sailing is an aspiration shared by all clubs. The topic of communication was discussed. It is always difficult to know how much communication is enough, versus too much. Australian Sailing has developed a wealth of resources – I encourage you to explore their website and familiarise yourself with what is available Home | Australian Sailing.
Over the long weekend some of us will be sailing while others enjoy the warmth of the club. Do keep an eye on this newsletter to see what is coming up over the winter months, sailing and swimming and well as other events and dinners. I hope to see you at the club soon.