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Saturday Club
22/6/11
Dear kids,
Another exciting day was had by all. Very breezy again to the point where all toppers managed to simultaneously capsize due to a very big gust of wind, which kept the safety boats on their toes anyway.
You all managed to land on the shore and count the cows, (there were 20 by the way), then complete a number of laps of the circuit that we set out. Then, after break, you managed further circuits but a lot faster due to the ever building wind, and then we finished with a capsize drill off the jetty where you all managed to capsize and right a topper, so well done to you. Clearly the topper sailors had already had some practice so they had an unfair advantage!!
The trophy went to Jed for the leading the way in righting a capsized topper in windy conditions at least five times and getting quicker every time. Well done to you!
I look forward to seeing you all again this Saturday. I will be there, but Ben will be Beechmaster for the day so I will probably be out on one of the safety boats.
Dear oldies
There have been a number of requests from a number of levels to continue Saturday club through the year. We are happy to do this, but there are a number of weeks when I cannot attend therefore I need some volunteers to act as beechmaster for the day. The role is simple really. Turn up, unlock the boats, ensure sufficient safety cover is in place and then make sure all is locked away at the end of the session. All of the parents are brilliant at helping and there is never a problem with assistance on the day, as you know because you are one!!
Can you let me know which weeks you can cover, and then I will produce a rota. I think we will probably aim to go through to early September. After that, it gets a bit nippy for the kids, and us come to mention it! Either email me, or let me know on Saturday.
Kind Regards
Gary Williamson
To the fearless gang.
Congratulations again for surviving yet another fierce Saturday morning on the wild waters of Hoveringham! Whoever keeps doing the “wind dance” really should stop it so we can try some new activities rather than just hurtling across the water at a rate of knots, even though it is quite good fun all the same.
Your control over the boats is coming on in leaps and bounds, and the safety boat crews were very impressed at your approaches to collect the balls from them in the relay race during the second half. It is a shame it was cut short owing to the crazy winds and a number of you capsizing. Hopefully we can try that game again during the next few weeks.
Saturday club is on again this week, even though there is a solo Open meet. The lake is big enough that we should be able to keep out of each other’s way and you shouldn’t show them up too much.
Congratulations to Ben and Victoria for winning the trophy and mascot for this week. You both thoroughly deserve it for you bravery on the water, and then for helping so much at the end putting the boats away. It is greatly appreciated.
I am away this weekend so you have the pleasure of Ben Thomas being the beech master this week. Please be gentle with him!
I look forward to seeing you in a couple of Saturday’s time.
For those who don’t know, the last week of the Saturday club for this year will be 2nd July so there are only 4 sessions left including this week.
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Sat 7th May
A big thank you to you all for making my first week so easy, and well done on your sailing skills. The Topper sailors did a great job of flying around the lake with a bit of follow my leader and then an attempt at a race, although the wind died which kind of scuppered that! The Oppie sailors also did a great job of sailing to and fro across the lake in a variety of fashions ranging from the full speed direct route, through to more of a pirouette style! All done with great finesse and I congratulate you all.
The session ended with a spectacular game of tug of war in which the boat containing the smallest sailors beat the older ones, and then we attempted to get the entire group into two and then one Oppy which very nearly worked. Apparently the screams, which I think were of joy not pain, could be heard from the other end of the lake.
Nearly frozen ice pops were given to you all at the end of the session as a reward for your hard work and skill.
We had every single Optimist available on the water, and the six Toppers, plus Tom’s.
I look forward to seeing you this Saturday morning for more of the same, plus some new games and races. Me may also try some capsize drills for those who would like a try.
To the parents.
Thank you all for your assistance both on and off the water. It was appreciated and helped to provide the kids with as much time as possible on the water.
Thank you Tim for providing the attached photos. If anyone else managed to take any, please email me copies if you can.
Regarding Duties, we shall sort that out on the day depending upon how many safety boats are available and who turns up. I think there are likely to be more kids this week, which could prove interesting on our current boat allocation, but we shall have to see how it goes. The forecast at present is thundery showers and 14 mile per hour winds. Let’s just hope they have got that wrong!
See you on Saturday
Gary - 10/5/11
Ahoy one and all,
As you are hopefully aware, the eagerly awaited Kids Club starts this Saturday at 10.00am until 12.30am.
We had a very good meeting a few weeks ago and all who attended were very forthcoming with some great ideas and also at expressing their concerns, which helped us in planning events that ensures there is plenty of excitement for the adventurous sailors, but will also prevent the younger kids from being overwhelmed or scared.
For those who didn’t make it, a brief summary of the items discussed were:-
The group will be split into two groups. The older and more experienced sailors will head off in toppers, accompanied by a safety boat and head off down the lake, and the younger ones will stay at the top end of the lake for the first few weeks until confidence has been built.
The general format will be training in the first half of the session, break for drink and cake, and then games in the second half. We have found a number of sailing games on the internet, so we shall try a few of these and see which ones work best. The second half will then no doubt end in tug of war and sinking oppies. All of this of course is weather permitting. There were suggestions of using the smaller lake if it gets too windy for the smaller sailors, but this would be a last resort as it makes the beachmaster and other monitoring works a lot more tricky.
At the start, a roll call will be carried out and all will have to present themselves to the beachmaster whereby their life jacket will be checked to ensure it is tightly fitting and suitable. We will also check they are dressed appropriately with wet-suits and boots, hats, gloves, etc as necessary to suit the weather conditions on the day. If the correct kit is not in place, the parent will be advised and then it is up to them whether they allow their child on the water. It was made clear that it is the responsibility of the parent / carer of the child to look after their safety, not the Saturday Club or NCSC.
A similar query to this was whether the child should be able to swim to attend. Again, it is down to the parent. As long as the child is fully kitted out with wet-suit and lifejacket then non swimmers should be ok, however it is up to the parent. The sailors will end up in the water most weeks, either doing capsize drills, games, etc. If the parent thinks that their child will panic or cannot stay afloat long enough for the safety boat to get to them, then they should seriously consider whether it is appropriate for them to join in, or the parent should consider going out in the boat with them.
When on safety boat duty, “be paranoid about propellers” As soon as the crew gets contact with anyone in the water, they shout contact and the driver kills the engine immediately. Also, the crew should always try and work on the starboard side of the rescue boat as there is less chance of falling on the throttle.
All completed a RYA / NCSC declaration form and put into a box in the conservatory. This is a very basic check to confirm those helping in the club are ok to work with children. Spare forms will be available on the day for those who have not completed one yet. A copy of the list of those who have completed the form to be provided by Will Stanton.
It was suggested that people who have pulled out their sailing gear and found that, despite their best efforts to stop it, their kids have grown and no longer fit in them. If that applies, bring along whatever you have got and allow others to make you an offer to buy them off you.
It was agreed that prizes should be offered to the kids to keep their enthusiasm up. Since the meeting, the club have very kindly made £50 available to cover such items and Kathryn has very kindly agreed to sort the prizes out. She is also going to dig around and see if there are any trophies kicking around so we can have sailor of the week.
2nd July
We seem to go from one extreme to the other. Crazy winds for weeks, and then nothing! Well, at least we managed to perfect our paddling skills!
We managed to play two games out on the water which all went down very well. Some appeared to prefer diving and swimming to collect the balls and clues rather than sailing or paddling, but it was all good fun anyway. There was also a bit of cheating and piracy going on as well, much to the amusement of the parents watching.
James won the Topper competition in the second half and has taken the trophy home this week, and the Meeks beat all the other optimists and took Ellie the Elephant home. Well done to you.
We are continuing on through the summer at present, although there are 3 weeks when there is no cover at present during July and August so if people are around, let me know your availability. Help is particularly needed around the end of July and early August.
I have attached a flyer for the junior open event which is on this week. Club boats can be used, but let me know as soon as possible if you want one so we don’t run out.
Ben is running this Saturday. But I will see you the week after.
Gary 3/7/11
Dear all, - 20th July 2011
We seem to go from one extreme to the other. Crazy winds for weeks, and then nothing! Well, at least we managed to perfect our paddling skills!
We managed to play two games out on the water which all went down very well. Some appeared to prefer diving and swimming to collect the balls and clues rather than sailing or paddling, but it was all good fun anyway. There was also a bit of cheating and piracy going on as well, much to the amusement of the parents watching.
James won the Topper competition in the second half and has taken the trophy home this week, and the Meeks beat all the other optimists and took Ellie the Elephant home. Well done to you.
We are continuing on through the summer at present, although there are 3 weeks when there is no cover at present during July and August so if people are around, let me know your availability. Help is particularly needed around the end of July and early August.
I have attached a flyer for the junior open event which is on this week. Club boats can be used, but let me know as soon as possible if you want one so we don’t run out.
Ben is running this Saturday. But I will see you the week after.
Kind Regards
Gary Williamson
You may or may not be aware that Saturday club was called off this Saturday due to an outbreak of Blue / Green algae in the lake.
This algae can be poisonous in certain circumstances, and also can be an irritant on sensitive skin. The RYA guidance is to not let children under 14 in the water whilst this algae is present. Test are being carried out to find out what sort it is, but the results will not be known for a while.
Unfortunately, this means that it is fairly unlikely that the last two weeks of Saturday club will be able to go ahead. If anything changes, I will let you know.
Thank you all for this year and I hope you have all had some fun. Thank you for those who have supported with safety duties, beach master, etc. It has all been really appreciated and made my job a whole lot easier.
All the best and I will see you next year.
Gary