August 2013

Sailing Week special edition

NEWHAVEN AND SEAFORD SAILING CLUB

SAILING WEEK 2013.

If you have never been to Sailing Week you are missing out on a great part of being a mem-

ber of NSSC. You do not have to attend every part of the week. Pick and Mix.

Some members bring their families and camp for the week – without sailing.

Some members work mornings and come just for the afternoon races.

Some members come for the evening social events.

The event is open to non members – so you can bring friends to join in the fun.

The Galley will be open all day for food and drinks. The bar is open at lunchtimes

and evenings.

Make 2013 the year that you come along to the Seaford Clubhouse and experience:-

Sailing Week

Saturday 3rd

August – Sunday 11th August

If the conditions are not good to sail on the sea we will use facilities at Piddinghoe.

Day Morning Afternoon Evening

Saturday Set up camp Free Fun Sailing ? Bar Open

Sunday AM Series 1.8 -2.8 PM race 1.6 Bar Open

Monday Cadet Races – approxi-mately

45 minutes long for the Len Miller Trophy.

For Adults – a series of informal novelty races.

Series Handicap Races If possible 2 races per day – 1

on Friday (prize Giving) if 9 races – best 6 count.

Prizes for different classes as

well as fun prizes.

Quiz Night

Tuesday Bring and Burn BBQ Cook your own!

Wednesday Sailing Jive Night

Thursday Live band and attractions

Friday Fish and Chip night

Saturday Expedition to the Cuckmere Bar Open

Sunday Class Championships 1 &2 PM series 1.7 Bar Open

Race/sailing fees Member Non-member –

payable per sailor

Camping fees –

SMALL TENT (<4)

Camping fees –

LARGE TENT (4+)

Whole event

(30/7-7/8) Free £35 £15 £30

Expedition Free £5

Sailing week timetable

Race and camping fees

Commodores bit As mainsheet is relatively easy to produce, cut and paste, and now we don't try and email so file size doesn't matter, we can now put more photos in, so if you have anything to say or pho-tos to share, let the officers know. We will try and do mainsheet monthly during the main sea-son, summer, and every two months through winter. It depends on content so get writing. I have graduated from my apprenticeship with Simon sorting out the toilets, hope you like them, there will be a mirror in the gents so us men can check we look good. My son Adam spent some time trying to tidy up the side of the clubhouse and getting a sailing feel about the building. Please start putting photos in the clips or frames, there will be more soon. Any ideas or help very welcome. Thanks to Kathy and Roger for removing the remaining paint from the ladies changing room, looks loads better. There is a cunning plan to sort out the building issues and after sailing week we may be re-moving the main glass doors an windows while we check things out. Your cooperation and assistance will be gratefully received, so if you are up for a bit of hard labour let Rupert or I know. Howard and I are getting the grass ready for sailing week so all you campers have a comfort-able time, Simon and I have installed a Belfast sink under the outside tap so you can wash your gear, we will be putting a plug and waste pipe in when we can. The Topper open on 20th had a strong offshore wind and a reasonably flat sea, a good turnout from NSSC both on the sea and in support. Well done to all who took part in the day, a full re-port and results inside. A special mention though for Rupert and Matt who appear to have started drinking Iron Brew and manage to bend masts with some hard sailing. The apparent appearance of a sunken object in the pond has caused a problem for the wind-surfers, I happened to be chatting about that when a voice said" I hit that on Wednesday, in fact I hit it a few times, and so did someone else". Why didn't you say anything I asked, "well I did I was chatting to someone and they said some of the fish in the pond are big". So there we have it, if you are sailing or windsurfing in the pond and stop suddenly, you will have probably hit a fish. I am looking forward to sailing week and cadet week, we should all have a lot of fun and some good sailing. If those who remember all the old awards we used to make get in touch we will try and find all the bits, I am sure they are around somewhere. I am also up for some new ideas, best tent? worst dressed? smartest boat? let us know if you have any ideas. Lastly, just to remind you all that the club relies on volunteers for most jobs as well as the duty-man points system. If you have skills or want to help out please come forward, the more help-ers the more we can do.

Ian Johnson Commodore

Do You Own a Lifejacket? At a recent RNLI ‘Life Jacket Clinic’, where people bring their life jackets to be checked, around 50% of the life jackets presented would not have automatically inflated. Worse, many of those defective life jackets would not even stay up even if blow up orally. Ideally, you should return your life jacket to the supplier or maker annually for a check but many of us don’t do that and check them ourselves. So if you cannot get to a RNLI Life Jacket Clinic what should you check?

General Condition: Examine all straps for poor stitching, wear, fraying etc. Ensure that toggles and buckles can be secured properly and are not worn or damaged Open it up and examine the stole (bladder) for wear, damage, perishing etc.

Inflation Mechanism Check that witness clips or devices do not show that it has been operated. If it has you will need a rearming kit. Remove the gas bottle, which should not show signs of rust, if it does then check that the rust has not damaged the stole. Discard a rusty bottle and replace. While you have the bottle in hand check that the screw end has not been pierced as this means that it has been operated. Finally weight the bottle (the weight is marked on it) to check that it has not leaked. Look in the mechanism where the bottle screws in to see the end of the hollow pin which will pierce the bottle. Check the expiry date on the operating mechanism capsule and replace if out of date. Put the new (or serviceable old) bottle in the mechanism making sure that the screw thread goes in straight and not crossed. Ensure that the bottle is firmly tightened BY HAND.

Accessories The life jacket must have the following: Reflective tape – in good condition Crutch straps – in good condition and buckles/toggles effective Light – works Hood – not damaged Lifeline (if used) – in good condition and karabiners operate effectively

Testing Inflate the life jacket by mouth and leave inflated for 24 hours. It should not show any obvious loss of pressure (While you have the life jacket inflated now is a good time to put it on and check if you can ac-tually put the hood on) Finally, deflate the life jacket and fold neatly – marking the label with the date of your inspec-tion. Make an entry in your diary to service the item in 12 months’ time.

In Use Fit the life jacket with the waist adjusted so that you can get a closed fist between your chest and the belt. (Too tight and you will not be able to breath if or when the life jacket inflates.) Do up the crutch straps as tight as possible while remaining comfortable. (if you do this while standing up you will find that it is slack when you sit down, so if you do go in the water, after the life jacket is inflated, tighten the crutch strap again: comfort is not important at this point!) Ensure that the manual inflation toggle is accessible and not tucked away inside the Velcro. (Check the security of the gas bottle from time to time as they have a habit of coming loose) If you are a smoker be careful of hot ash which can pierce the stole with unnoticed pin holes. If you sail off-shore then do the RYA Sea Survival Course.

End-of-Life Is it time for your trusty friend to go to the bin? Don’t keep it for spares, for ‘just in case’ or be-cause you cannot bear to see it go. Cut the straps off so there is no chance that someone not as scrupulous as you will rescue it and put it into use. If you have any doubts contact Bill Giles to ask for help or advice (bill@billgiles.org.uk or 07720 399189)

CATAMARAN SAILING It has been a few years but we now have a com-petitive class of Dart 15 Cats, we now have 5 in the Club, on the 14 July all were racing, 3 boats with 2 up and remainder sailing single handled, very competitive and close racing. These are one class design that can be sailed two up or Single handed, for a real adrenalin rush, on the Trapeze single handed. Howard Minto was on the Trapeze in the Burling Gap race and you could see his grin for miles !. Mike Godwin has taken a number of cadets out on his Cat this season, so parents be warned, they will all want one ! (Secondhand values from £750 upwards). Some more mature members,( sorry S) have also been out with Mike with one putting a tick on her "Bucket list" no not Mike, but sailing a Cat ! We must also not forget the 2 Dart 18's, 3 Ho-bie's and 1 F16, most of which sail/race regularly. If anyone is interested in going for a taster sail, talk to any of us on a Wednesday evening or a Sunday morning. If you are about during Sailing Week we’ll be happy to give you a trip in the bay.

Cadets

We started in May with weather on our side and got 69 kids on

the water. The following 10 weeks have given a collective range

of conditions from virtually no wind, when most of the oppie sail-

ors had full sails up and the toppers paddled, to strong gusting

wind which the topper group loved and the little ones practiced

their rowing skills. Everyone has progressed well with their skills,

new sailors growing in confidence every week and the racing

group making good use of their session with an external RYA

coach.

It was fabulous to see some of our older cadets take part in the

topper open, they sailed like pro's even though they were beaten

by one of our old cadets... but then he is a world class sailor!

Well done for taking part.

A huge thank you to all the adults that have helped make this

season such a success, from supporting the instructors, keeping

us fed in the galley, rigging and repairing boats or just turning up

when they have time. The support has been brilliant and I hope

we can do the same for next year.

I hope to see some of our cadet sailors at sailing week or taking

part in cadet week, it is a great opportunity to practice your sail-

ing and progress. In addition to these events Saturday fun sail-

ing will be starting soon lead by parents at the pond so please

come along and just enjoy your time on the water.

Well done to everyone xxx Sharon Allen

Salcombe Heading off to Cornwall on a family holiday I signed myself up as a temporary member at the Salcombe yacht club. I arrived on the Sunday in time to compete in a topper open. Having never sailed outside of the club before I was fairly daunted as we were rigging up with about 30 other topper sailors. This was not only the most toppers I had ever seen in one place but the most people I had ever raced. Another factor I had to take into account was the fact that I would be sailing on an estuary. This required me to know when low tide was and which areas I had to avoid. Getting my dagger board stuck on a sand bank slowed me down but it was all good fun. I finished in the middle of the fleet and it definitely taught me a lot. We had good wind conditions but after lunch the wind really picked up causing a chaotic start line with 30 top-pers all capsizing and crashing. After two recalls we managed to get off for a shortened race. I enjoyed the experience but it was a bit scary at times with everyone shouting the rules across the wind. I came up against some very tough competitors and the de-brief at the end taught me loads of tips about top-pers and tricks you need to know to sail them successfully. I also learnt a lot about how to cope with sailing on an estuary. The main tip being known tide times and the locations of tricky sand banks as if you don’t you can get stuck (I found this out the hard way). I also did lots of cadet sailing and ended up even teaching capsize drills which many at the club will know I’m very proficient at (ask TerryO). The club welcomed me and I would recommend to other cadets that they have a go at sailing in different locations in different conditions.

D of E I started my bronze Duke of Edinburgh award at the beginning of the academic year. Having finally finished it on the 24

th of June with great relief I could safely say that I didn’t have to work with that bunch of guys again.

as part of my duke of Edinburgh award I did sailing as my skill. This was not only fun but the club was a great help. D of E in the end turned out to be fun and a great experience. I would recommend it to anyone else.

Jasmin

584 is Jazz

First sea trial on aluminium outboard engined dinghy: Ian very kindly offered to help me with my first sea trial of a small aluminium dinghy (2.49 metres so below any need to comply with RCD Regulations) that I had just finished building and is an all welded construction. It is powered by a small 4 hp outboard engine. As well as helping me launch and retrieve it at the sailing club on a wonderful evening in Seaford he also had a little trip out with me and I think was quite impressed with it, as small as it is! This is my first prototype as I believe there could be a niche market for a small lightweight dinghy that is very durable and takes quite a lot of battering and is very strong and doesn’t mind being dragged down a stony beach or riverbank. As this dinghy is quite wide on the beam and has a good freeboard she is very stable for her size. The continuation of the project is looking into the feasibility of installing a small inboard en-gine driving a built in ducted propeller drive (similar to a water jet drive) that could make it equally manoeuvrable and extremely safe to operate (particularly near people in the water) as there would be no exposed prop, and no engine hanging on the back and access all round the dinghy without any obstructions. With a central helm position and space for another two adults at least, then this would make a great little fun dinghy for kids (speed and power would be limited for safety and by design) and also possibly a small safety boat for sailing clubs that could be launched easily by two people and would be very hardy due to its aluminium construction that does not rust or corrode (marine grade). So thank you again NSSC and Ian for your kind assistance and let’s see what the future may hold.

James Oakley

Cadet Week

Monday 26th August to Friday 30th August

10am - 4pm each day

Come and have some fun on, in and out of the water at

Piddinghoe Pond. There will be fun races and activities for all throughout the day whatever the

weather.

The galley will be open for food and drinks at a reasonable cost, there will be a BBQ night too.

For those who want to race there will be an Oppy race and a Topper race each morning and an

Open race in the afternoon.

The training room will be set up as a games room and there will be competitions daily and over the

week.

Remember walk the plank, egg drop, and pirates from last year?

This is FREE for cadet members with their own boats, if you want to use a club boat you can for

£25 for the week. Register early to be sure of a boat.

Cadets friends or relatives are welcome but there will be a charge, and they must be able to swim.

Parents are expected to remain on site with their children.

A consistent 15 knot wind off the land gave a flat sea and exhilarating sailing for 20 Topper sailors who were not on their way to the Topper Worlds in France. It was clear from the start of Race 1 of the four race event that the wind conditions would favour the heavier adult sailors, but there was some splendid sailing from the younger helms and only 3 minutes between first and sixth boat after 30 minutes of sailing at the end of the first lap. Alex Mills-Barton, a local sailor from the host club who is currently Laser National Champion and a member of the Olympic development squad had taken the opportunity of using one of his few days at home between International Re-gattas to help his club get a good turnout on an event and fleet that held many happy memories. Not surprisingly, ALEX led the fleet, from start to finish, in all 4 races, however he was hard pressed on the first lap by Molly Sacker of Bewl Water Sailing Club who unfortunately ruled her-self out of the prizes by sailing the wrong side of a buoy throughout the first race. After three laps of quite a large course the fleet was well strung out with close to a 4 minute gap between each of the first 5 boats, four of whom were adults, but with Alice Smith of Papercourt showing stamina and skill to secure 4

th place.

Topper South East Traveler – at NSSC 20th July 2013

Race two was limited to two laps and saw Clive Jackson of Papercourt, a regular adult Topper competitor, pushing Alex hard with a gap of only 7 seconds at the end of the first 17 minute lap and 19 seconds at the end of 36 minutes of competition to take second place. Molly had now got a grip on the correct course and gained a very credible 3

rd only 2 minutes

behind the first two boats. Matt Springall, an-other local adult sailor who had arrived on the course with only seconds to spare in the first race, was clearly getting in the groove and took 4

th just 20 seconds ahead of Alice Smith

of Papercourt in 5th. Another very experienced

local helm, Rupert Smith gained 6th, beginning

to show the capability that would earn him 3rd

place overall at the end of the day.

Following an opportunity for competitors to re-plenish lost energy ashore over lunch, the race officer took the decision to pull the ‘sausage’ much closer and to shorten the start line, making the course more interesting and less a trial of stamina for the fleet. The outcome in race 3 was clear competition for the starboard end of the start line, however Jazz Sayed from NSSC pulled off a case-book ‘port hand flyer’ that was to earn her a Race Officer special prize, and showed that despite only hav-ing started to sail seriously in the last nine months, that she could be a rising star of the fu-ture. The results for both race 3 and race 4 were very similar, with Alex Mills-Barton leading from start to finish but hard pressed throughout by both Clive Jackson (2

nd) and Rupert Smith (3

rd). Despite

some spectacular capsizes in the wind which con-tinued to blow a steady force 4, the majority of the fleet stuck it out until the end of the 4

th race and

despite not featuring in the top 3 prizes, many of the newcomers for whom this was their first Open event will have gained tremendous confidence in their abilities and be fired with the vision and self-confidence from which future champions are made.

One visitor particularly, Morgan Archer of Blue Circle Sailing Club, who at 11 was the youngest competitor to complete all four races demonstrated the spirit that makes Topper Sailors special – and took the time to sail around and thank the Race Team with a great smile at the end of Race 4, he then went off for a quick final blast of free sailing before returning ashore., another Ben Ainslie in the mak-ing. The final outcome after 1 discard was:

First: Alex Mills-Barton NSSC with three bullets.,

Second: Clive Jackson of Papercourt with three 2

nd places and

Third: Rupert Smith of NSSC with three third places.

Ian Lambert, Race Officer

A macadam smog noon riser (commodore Ian's anagrams)

Crumb onto my flab

Smiley but Street rent

Grip nanny spell Dike mowing Naked forty

Gun pie sure Renters joy

Chile bar gerbil Elves cure a Nun

Boats and sailors by any other name, can you get them

all? answers at sailing week

Have you seen this cadet?

CLUB

Thanks to Kathy and Roger for the new charts on the tables, removing paint from changing room floors and other jobs. The more of us that do a little now and then the more gets done overall.

Hi my name is Maria Cheesman Taylor.

I am writing a short note as an ex-cadet of NSSC. I joined the club quite a few years ago. My dad took

me, my sister and brother out for the first time in his Mirror dinghy. I must have been about 8 years old.

I remember looking and thinking `Wow, that is a lot of water and a huge swell up the beach`.

I actually feel in love with the sport, so we joined the club. I eventually graduated to my own Topper,

then got into racing Lasers. I participated in the winter series at Piddinghoe Pond, made a lot of friends

and learnt a lot about racing. I even remember breaking the ice to go sailing. I think that the best times I

had were cadet week followed by sailing week. We had many races, followed by many discos. We also

camped at the club for sailing week. There was a great group of cadets, we all went over to each

other's houses when it was too windy or rough to sail.

I then did my RYA dinghy and windsurfing instructors courses. I completed my windsurfing course in

slightly warmer waters than Seaford ( Barbados )

I then wanted to go further and try to make my hobby to make into a career. So I started to experience

big boat sailing. I completed my yachtmasters certificate offshore. I then worked for Sunsail in Antigua

and the Mediterranean. Then as a flotilla skipper in I worked in the British Virgin Islands, where I met

my future husband. I learnt a lot about sailing in the Caribbean waters and a lot about socialising.

Five years ago my boyfriend and I took on a slightly more serious job, running a beautiful 2 year old

Swan 53. I have crossed the Atlantic twice on her, and sailed thousands of miles, travelling between

Canada to Turkey, and experiencing a tropical storm called Sean. I was amazed with how complicated

this yacht was, and also how well she sailed. Myself and husband have been with the same owners for

4 years and have a great relationship with them. Sadly it will be finishing in October as the Swan is up

for sale and myself and husband will be looking for a bigger boat to work on, hopefully a bigger Swan.

So, as an ex-cadet, if you are interested in a career in sailing I would definitely recommend it, prefera-

bly somewhere warmer!

Maria Cheesman Taylor

Old Charts and Plans Some of you will have noticed that the old German charts on the table tops have been re-placed with some English ones. If any of you have any charts or plans you think would look good on table tops or the walls let a Director know please.

Treasurer Michael Veale, the Treasurer, intends to step down after three years in the post after year end. If anyone is interested there is plenty of time to find out about the role and what is in-volved before the end of the financial year. The club is reliant on volunteer officers and Directors so if you are interested please get in touch with any of the Directors or Michael direct.