Restart of Training!

Published 11:40 on 6 Jun 2020

Following several Committee Meetings in the last week the Club is very excited to announce we are now in a position to resume training activities!

In order to enable the restart of training we have had to make several changes, which are outlined below. The safety of everyone involved is of the highest priority here at Spinnaker Sailing Club, and the new interim training programme has been designed to enable as much activity as possible in a way that is as safe as possible.

The prices for training have been kept as low as possible to enable as many members as possible to participate. This level of charging will not be sustainable for the Club long term, however, in order to provide the best possible service to our members at this time we have worked hard to minimise the costs we are passing on.

Should there be a form of training we have not planned that you or your family are interested in please let James know as soon as possible via email (training@spinnakerclub.co.uk). We have some flexibility in the programme and will make additions where it is safe to do so. There has already been some interest in a Youth Sailing Stage 3 group to run on Friday afternoons, so if interested in this please do get in touch!

Programme

A rolling programme from Saturday 13th June to Sunday 12th July has been uploaded to the website and is now open for bookings to be made. Further training through July and August will be planned and publicised as we assess how the first few weeks have worked and take into account any changes in either Government or RYA advice as well as feedback from members about what they would like to see included in the programme.

All sessions must be booked individually, they cannot be booked as a block. We have introduced this change for the short term to allow members flexibility as many of us adapt to returning to work/school and reconnecting with family members we may not have seen for several months.

The sessions on offer weekly include:

• SYT Intermediate Topper Group - For sailors with Stage 2 or above
• SYT Intermediate Optimist Group - For sailors with Stage 2 or above
• SYT Begin to Race Group - For sailors interested in racing with Stage 3 or above
• SYT Improver Racing Group - For sailors with experience racing
• Ladies Sailing
• Youth Social Sailing
• Adult Begin to Race Group
• Stand Up Paddleboard Tasters
• Youth Stand Up Paddleboard Tasters

If you are unsure which group activities are appropriate again, please contact James and he will be more than happy to provide advice. At this time the club has taken the decision to not provide any beginner tuition due to the prolonged close contact teaching those new to sailing dinghies often requires. We will keep this under review, and resume beginner dinghy training when we can do so safely.

Private tuition can also be arranged for any sailor wishing to improve, this can be booked directly with James.

All training activities are currently limited to 5 participants plus an instructor and unless sailors are from the same household will be conducted in single handed dinghies. Should sessions be fully booked and you are interested please let James know and we will try and organise alternative times.

Parental Assistance

Many of you receiving this email are parents with a keen interest in supporting your children's sailing. Your support in enabling the training for our younger members is going to be crucial over the next few months.

Sadly at this time we cannot have parent helpers afloat with training groups, as this will results in a group of more than 6. However, parental support ashore will be vital. Can I please ask that all parents assist their child(ren) in rigging their boats and launching them before the sessions advertised start time. Parents/carers will then also be required to assist in the recovery and de-rigging of craft after the advertised end of session time. Instructors will be available to answer questions from parents at these times.

When craft are being launched/recovered please observe social distancing at all times and secure boats to the pontoon in such a way that this remains possible as our younger sailors start their sessions.

Should a young sailor encounter a problem afloat, equipment or otherwise, that the young person cannot resolve themselves, the default action of instructors will be to tow the boat back to the pontoon for a parent to provide close assistance. For this reason parents must remain on sit and available throughout youth training sessions.

Health and Safety

As I said above the health and safety of everyone involved in activity at the club is of paramount importance. To enable these activities to occur safely all instructors will be carrying Personal Protective Equipment whilst afloat, in case close contact is required. Additional PPE is also carried in all the first aid kits.

We must at this point remind all members that if they should be self-isolating in line with government advice either due to displaying Coronavirus symptoms or having been in close contact with a suspected case of Coronavirus that those members do not come to the club and cancel any bookings.

An enhanced cleaning regime is currently in place for all Club Boats, as many of you will have seen with the relaunch of the hire of club boats. We are now in a position to provide Buoyancy Aids for Training Activities only, buoyancy aids will not be available when members are hiring club boats or using their own for recreational sailing and racing. An enhanced cleaning regime has been put in place for Buoyancy Aids involving the use of disinfectant and a 3 day quarantine in line with the latest advice from the RYA. As such the numbers available are limited and members are requested if they have their own buoyancy aids to use those.

Should anyone have any questions please get in touch with me. These are uncertain times for many of us, but the ability to be able to start offering organised training to our members again is fantastic news and hopefully the next step along our path to a great summer here at Spinnaker Sailing Club.

Stay safe, and see you on the water,

James

Last updated 09:41 on 20 December 2023