17124 Budworth Sailing Club Guide for New Members

Budworth Sailing Club

A guide for new members

Welcome to Budworth Sailing Club, 75 years in the making, over 450 members and one of the best sailing clubs in Cheshire!

Whether you’ve joined the club to learn to sail or you’re an experienced dinghy sailor looking for some stiff competition, we’d like to think our club has everything you need to achieve your goals. The club is run by the members for the members and we feel privileged to be able to sail in such a picturesque corner of Cheshire.

We’ve put this guide together to help you get the most out of the club and to understand how things work. It answers the most frequently asked questions and, if it doesn’t, then the answer may well lie in the club handbook which you receive when you join. This provides a lot more detailed information as well as the contact details for the committee members, elected to manage the club. Feel free to contact the committee members, as we’re all here to help and want to ensure that everything is in place and works as smoothly as possible.

However, the first priority is to get on and enjoy your sailing as much as we all do and become part of the special community that is now your club.

More details on the club, current events and racing results can also be found on our website:

http://www.budworthsc.org.uk Or on our Facebook Page – search for Budworth Sailing Club 2

What do we sail?

Although there are many different types of dinghy available, we sail a limited number to ensure that we can enjoy good racing between the same type of boat (other types of boat can be sailed on Saturdays, but these cannot be left on club premises due to space restrictions).

Single Handers

Laser

Solo

Raceboard

Double Handers

Rs200

GP14

Snipe

Firefly

Learn to Sail Courses and Training If you are just starting out in sailing or are looking to improve specific sailing skills, the club offers a wide range of training for adults and juniors. The club is an RYA Recognised Training Centre (RTC) and is able to provide both adult (Dinghy Level 1-3) and junior (Start Sailing Stage 1-4) RYA dinghy courses as well as powerboat courses (PB1 and 2 and Safety Boat). Full details of the dates and courses are available on the web site or please contact the contact the training team via email at training@budworthsc.org.uk. Courses are normally held over a series of weekday evenings or over consecutive Saturdays from 3

Spring until Autumn. We are fortunate to have a number of instructors who are all RYA qualified with appropriate power boat, first aid and DBS certificates.

Once you’ve learnt to sail and feel confident in progressing then the next step for many sailors is our “Better Sailing” program, which is run on Saturday mornings from April through October. A number of keen instructors give up their time to support this program which enables the new sailor to develop the basic skills and gain more confidence in the boat. There is a better sailing Whatsapp group which is a great way to keep in touch with fellow new sailors as well as keeping informed of activities in the Better Sailing program.

The final step in our getting started program is the “Start Racing” course, which provides guidance on how to start participating in racing. Some find this daunting, but we try to make it fun and an easy transition, especially as it is a great way to learn and develop your skills.

Junior Sailing and Training Budworth Sailing Club aims to provide a fun and sociable learning environment where Juniors can learn to sail and improve their skills to whatever level suits them best. It is our aspiration for all the juniors to have fun and partake in a sport they can enjoy for many years to come.

As an RYA Regional Training Centre, we offer instruction at RYA Stages 1,2,3 and 4 run by experienced club members who are qualified Dinghy Instructors.

Following on from the formal instruction juniors can join the Budworth JAYS (Junior and Youth Sailors) and receive coaching to improve their sailing skills and as they transition to experience sailing as a sport. These coaching sessions are run by experienced coaches and develop the skills required to participate in club racing events with confidence. With these skills juniors can go on to compete in regional or national events if they choose.

The minimum age to participate is 8 years old and children need to be confident swimmers. All training will be in Bahias, Fevas, Optimists or Toppers. Juniors should wear buoyancy aids at all times on the jetties and afloat.

The Beginners Learn to Sail Group is for those who are new to sailing or who have sailed a

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few times and want to build their confidence and basic boat handling skills. This training follows RYA Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 as discussed above.

Coaching for Budworth JAYS is tailored to the skill of the group but follows to main themes: Start Racing Coaching: For children with basic boat handling skills who can sail a triangular course (including sailing upwind and gybing and beating) with reasonable confidence and who wish to develop more advanced boat handling skills, and, for those who are inspired, to move towards starting to race.

Racers Coaching: For children who are competent sailors who want to progress to racing. Training sessions followed by participation in the first race (and others as they progress). Shorter courses are often set by the Race Officer Many juniors go on to represent the club in regional training events and regattas where they have the opportunity to sail with many sailors from other clubs around the country Junior Boats

Optimist

Topper

Feva

Getting involved: Options to hire or buy a boat Once you have done some sailing as part of a Learn to Sail or Better Sailing course, you will find that you need to practice. Sailing is all about putting in the hours and, just like any other sport or pastime, you only get better by practice. You can get practice through: Hiring a club boat when you are confident and there is safety cover appropriate to your sailing level. Budworth has GPs, Lasers, Fireflies, Snipes and Toppers available to hire so you can join in the racing even before buying a boat. There are also Fusions and Optimists to hire for that extra practice.

Buying a boat and getting out in it as often as you can. Members will be happy to advise on the best boat for you and give advice if you wish to purchase a boat.

Crewing for other club members – speak to the GP14, Snipe, Firefly or RS200 fleet captains to find out if there is anyone looking for a crew or willing to take people out.

Start joining in the Saturday racing when you feel confident to do so, but remember you don’t have to be good and you can get advice from lots of club members who are happy to share. We all make mistakes and the best way to learn is by having a go.

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You can use the club at any time, but there are normally boats on the water on Saturdays, Sundays, Wednesday evenings and Friday evenings. Fridays from June to September are classed as social sailing days where there is rib safety cover and basic coaching available, but no racing.

Racing The main club activity is our racing program, in which the majority of our members take part. It provides a great opportunity to improve our skills and, for many of us, brings out our competitive spirit as we race against each other. Although you can cruise on our mere, it tends to be limited due to its scope and size, whereas racing provides the focus to gain more from the sport.

Novice sailors can be apprehensive about racing, but racing is governed by a set of rules and we run club nights to train on the rules and explain how to go racing. Club members are only too willing to provide help and assistance, as we all know how difficult it can be to start with.

We run the following racing programs from March to December each year, (we use the opportunity in January and February for maintenance both on the clubhouse and the surrounding areas): Saturday Handicap Racing from 2pm. This is more relaxed and is a good starting point for beginners nervous about sailing in close proximity to other boats. Handicap races are where all boats start together and sail against each other on a handicap basis.

Sunday Fleet Racing starts with a Handicap race at 12:30pm before 3 sets of fleet racing in the afternoon. Fleet racing allows each type of boat to race against themselves.

Wednesday Night Handicap is by far our most popular session. Starting at 7:00pm we race until the sun sets normally completing 2 races, followed by supper in the club to swap stories.

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Race Duties For new members doing duties is a great way to get involved, meet other members and see from close up how the club operates.

We have a duty rota for manning the club during organised club racing and activities, and this includes Race Officers plus Rescue Rib driver and crew. You have the option to request specific dates and duties in the autumn, and we attempt to honour all these as far as possible although we do reserve the right to assign duties as required.

The duty rota is published in the club handbook in the Spring and is also on the website where you can swap and manage your duties on line. If you can’t do a specific duty it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to swap with another member and ensure that there is cover.

Please ensure that you do this in plenty of time. If you are unclear how to use the system, just follow the instructions that are issued with your user account details in the spring.

We expect all club members to do just two duties a year which is sufficient to enable the club to run smoothly. Fulfilling your duties is a condition of membership; please don’t let down your fellow club members as they rely on you to do your bit. We are unable to run the races if members cannot honour their commitment.

Rescue Duties The club operates 4 RIB craft with regularly serviced Yamaha 30 HP engines, and we allow any club members to drive the RIBs once they have passed the annual proficiency test. However, we do urge members to undertake an RYA PB2 and Safety Boat course as this provides the necessary level of competence to enable you to make the most of the RIBS and to operate them safely. The RIBs are an essential part of our club operation and a large expense, so please treat them with care as if they were your own.

As a new member, unless you have previous experience, we will assign you to rescue crew duties. Once you have gained some experience we will encourage you to assist in running races and become qualified to support the club more fully. If you join mid season, then you will not be assigned duties that year, but there are always a few gaps to fill, so please volunteer your services to the Racing or Membership secretary who will be happy to add you in.

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How is the club run?

Budworth is a members’ club, run by and for its members; all are volunteers. If you want to know something or want advice, just ask; all the members are friendly, approachable and very happy to help. An Executive Committee, chaired by the Commodore, runs the club including its finances. All the key activities of the club are represented on this committee. The Sailing committee, chaired by the Racing Secretary, is responsible for all the on-water and sailing activities.

The various posts, the people who hold them and their contact details are listed in the club handbook which is published afresh each spring and also on the club website. You might not be on a committee but there are many ways that you can help to run the club and contribute to the quality of life and environment here.

You can also help out in running other activities during the year. For instance, we frequently need support: •

Running the bar

•

Assisting in running social events

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Providing coaching support especially if you have sailing skills to pass on

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Supporting and assisting in maintaining the club’s facilities.

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Joining the working parties during the 8-week closed period in January and February

Security and Access As a full member of the club, you can access the club and sail at any time as long as you deem it safe to do so. Entry to the club is by a single gate which is locked when no-one is there, the club house is locked and secured by the front door key. If you expect to access the club out of normal operating hours, then you can obtain a gate and club key from the treasurer. There is a small fee to cover the cost of cutting the keys.

The clubhouse is also secured using an intruder alarm. The passcode for this is notified when you receive your keys.

The changing rooms are also secured using a push button lock. We don’t suffer any major criminal activity thankfully, however when the majority of club members are on the water we do get visitors walking in. The access codes are known by all club members, but please be careful not to share them with non-club members. Small lockers are available for your valuables – keys can be obtained from the galley team.

If you are the last to leave the club, please ensure that all the outer doors and windows are secured. You should also satisfy yourself that all containers are locked and that the Race Box is also secured and finally that the electricity is switched off on the circuit breaker in the main club room (next to the galley returns hatch). The alarm system is set using the code 1738 followed by pressing the tick button (bottom left on the key pad) once the message has changed and then the final secure is when the front door is locked.

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