Commodore's Newsletter May 2021
Published 12:18 on 26 May 2021
COMMODORE'S MAY 2021 NEWSLETTER
Despite the unseasonal weather there has been a lot going on at the club, and as the summer opens up there will be more and more activities happening. In this newsletter I will try to share some of them with you.
Covid restrictions Just a quick reminder that Covid hasn't gone away and that restrictions haven't gone away either. Please comply with the regulations and if you are visiting the Club either book your slot on line or scan the QR code displayed on the clubhouse door on arrival. We hope to be relaxing restrictions fairly soon but it hasn't happened yet!
Memorial Cup The Wednesday evening pursuit race on 9th June is a one off event when you are asked to make an entry donation that goes to our local Macmillan Cancer charity. The winner will receive the Geoff Fardell Trophy, named after a previous Rear Commodore Sailing who died of cancer. We will be organising a pick up of fish and chips after the race and the bar will be open. You will be able to order and pay for your food on line.
The Clubhouse Bar. Wednesday racers will be aware that the bar has been open after racing has finished. This has proven to be popular and we are hoping to extend the experiment. The Club is hoping that a volunteer will come forward to take on managing the bar. We are looking for someone to take on provisioning the bar, not being bar staff, as this will be appearing in the volunteering scheme that we are about to launch,
New volunteering system We are about go live with our new volunteering scheme. We are a members club and are highly reliant on all the effort that you put in to make the Club so successful. Rather than duties I prefer the term volunteering. Solo sailor Ivan Paynter, Neil Franklin, James Oborne and myself have been working on the new system We used to ask members to undertake two duties a year but now we are asking for around 12 hours a year of your time, which equates to the previous two duties. You will be able to include volunteering any special skills that you have, site maintenance, bar duties and other time as well as or instead of the existing racing related duties. I hope that is will be seen as more inclusive and will make the Club an even better place. Further details to follow shortly, so watch this space.
Open events We have the Laser Open on 5th June and the Solo Open on 19th June. You don't have to be a top of the fleet racer to take part in Opens so please consider supporting your class and entering. Further details on our website. The class captains, Keith McQuillin laser@spinnakerclub.co.uk and Nick Robinson solo@spinnakerclub.co.uk can also give advice.
Weed update So far this year the dull cold weather has meant that the weed growth in the lake has been quite restrained ,which is obviously good news for everyone. A sonar scan earlier this year confirmed this. Whether this will continue when the hoped for sunshine arrives is an unknown. As many of you are aware Dick Meredith is the Main Committee lead on weed issues and here is his latest report.
" Weed report May 2021
Spinnaker Lake is owned by Wessex Water and is designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) particularly for birds such as the over winteringgadwall and coot.Because of this SSSI designation any actions that may effect the ecology of the lake have to be agreed with Wessex Water and Natural England.
For many years the lake has had some Hornwort and Nuttall's Pond Weed growing in the it. Over the past few years we have seen increasing quantities of Nuttall's Pond Weed present. This weed starts growing from the lake bed once the lake temperature exceeds 6 degrees centigrade. It continues to grow towards the surface until August/September when all the vegetation that is in the water column separates from the root system and floats to the surface form weed rafts. The timing and extent of the formation of the weed rafts is dependant on a number of variables such as water temperature, water clarity and nutrient levels.
During 2019 the club secured permission to remove floating weed rafts from the lake. Following some limited success during 2019 a more concerted effort was made to remove the floating weed in 2020. Starting in August a contractor using a specialist weed boat was employed for 5 days spread over 4 weeks to try and keep the lake useable. The work which fortunately coincided with some strong SW winds was largely successful at keeping the lake fit for sailing.
For 2021 the club has secured the services of the same contractor for 5 days during the August /September period. Unfortunately the days have to be booked in advance and the timing of the formation of the weed rafts will vary depending on the weather. Natural England are particularly concerned about the phosphate levels in the lake. The primary reason for this concern is that if phosphate levels rise there is a greater chance that the lake will see an increase of algae blooms which would be detrimental to the birds that use the lake as well as potentially to the people that use the lake. Wessex is committed to producing a plan to try and control the phosphate levels.
Following concerns expressed by the club about the spread of the Nuttall's Pond Weed, Wessex are seeking permission to run a trial across part of the lake using a trailing knife system to cut the weed near to the lake bed. We wish to evaluate if using this process helps to suppress the weed by keeping it away from the surface of the lake so reducing the amount of UV light it can absorb and hence the quantity weed mass that grows . Discussions about this trial are ongoing with Natural England . If approved it looks increasing probable it will not be conducted until 2022. "
Racing calendar This Bank Holiday Sunday sees a one off event consisting of a morning pursuit race followed by a series of sprint races , The weather forecast is good so there should be a good turnout and as it's a Bank Holiday Weekend the bar will be open after racing. The following Sunday, June 6th sees the start of two new series, a morning Summer Pursuit series and Races 1 & 2 of the Summer Handicap series in the afternoon. I am be the race officer on the 6th. On Wednesday 16th June we start two new race series with the Wednesday B Handicap at 17:45 followed by the first of the Summer Cup Pursuit series.
Feedback We always welcome feedback, either to me commodore@spinnakerclub.co.uk or the Office admin@spinnakerclub.co.uk
Stay safe, enjoy using the Club and I hope to see you down there soon.
Best wishes
Hywel
H J Morris
Commodore
Last updated 09:41 on 20 December 2023
