Dear Member,
With the February storms behind us and the encouragement of the wonderful weather of last weekend, many of us will have turned our thoughts to sailing this summer. Thanks to the success of the current lockdown, and the on-going vaccination program, it does look as though we will soon be able to return to sailing. However, the current advice is still to stay at home.
As we all know, last week the government has published its long-awaited roadmap out of lockdown. Based on that, the RYA has updated its advice to the boating community and compiled a new list of frequently asked questions as guidance to members and clubs. The advice and FAQs are accessible to non-members on the RYA’s website (www.rya.org.uk/).
For our Club, the current situation is unchanged, with the site being closed for all activities other than essential access and maintenance. Although it is possible for schools to go sailing at the reservoir, this would require self-contained infrastructure support and only one school is able to provide that. Regular checks are being made to ensure security and certain health and safety tasks are being undertaken.
The key date is 29th March, when outdoor sports facilities can re-open, and we are planning to start sailing again on the following weekend of 3/4 April, although it may not be on both days. Quite what facilities can be used and what restrictions will apply are yet to clarified; we expect further advice from the RYA soon. For the moment, we are working on the assumption that the basis of operations will be essentially the same as prior to the current lockdown, with organised racing on Sundays. We are hoping, however, that we may be able to make some use of our changing facilities, in addition to the toilets. However, currently the RYA advice is to keep changing rooms closed.
Step Two of the Government’s roadmap is 12 April, but this has little significance for sporting activities.
Assuming the Government’s test criteria are satisfied, Step Three will be implemented on 17 May, which may permit more use of the clubhouse and its facilities.
Again, if all goes to plan, Step Four will be on 21 June, when life is scheduled to return to near normal, although I suspect we may find social distancing and masks are still with us.
I will provide further updates as soon as further information specific to sailing is made available. The Club’s calendar of events is currently work-in-progress for the Sailing Committee and we expect to offer some great experiences, both on and off the water.
Dutyman will soon be open for bookings from 29 March and we really do need members to fill the slots so that we can get out on the water. We will start with a clean sheet, so those who – for whatever reason – did not do one or both duties last year will not be expected to do more this year.
As I mentioned earlier, I will provide more details once we are able to refine our plans, so keep an eye out for more messages.
Meanwhile, stay local, stay safe and – most important – check your sailing kit!
Merv Clark
Commodore