REDHOUSE YACHT CLUB g
 NSRI Regatta Weekend


Hello all,

This Weekend at Redhouse we sail the NSRI Regatta on both Saturday and Sunday with 11.00am starts on both days. The racing on Sunday will be followed by a family bring 'n braai to which all members, supporters and their families are invited.

The NSRI Trophy is one of the older and more prestigious trophies so despite light to moderate winds forecast for this weekend the competition on the water should be quite strong.

The Revised Sailing Program for the remaining three weekends of the 2009/10 sailing season is as follows:-

  • Saturday 1st May - 11h00 NSRI Regatta Race 1 & 2
  • Sunday 2nd May - 11h00 NSRI Regatta Race 3 & 4
  • Sunday 2nd May - Family Lunch / Bring 'n Braai after last race

  • Saturday 8th May - 14h00 Class Champs Race 1 & 2
  • Sunday 9th May - 14h00 Class Champs Race 3 & 4

  • Saturday 22nd May - 14h00 Frostbite Regatta
  • Saturday 22nd May - 18h00 Club Supper plus Official Opening of the New Ablutions
  • Sunday 23rd May - 14h00 Frostbite Regatta and Closing Cruise

I do apologise for not having updated the club web site with the revised program earlier and more so to those who arrived at the club expecting to sail only to find that the program had been changed subsequent to the building work in the new ablutions not been completed.

To ensure that you are always kept in the loop of program changes and sailing at RYC would those of you not already subscribed to the SMS alert system that is used to advise of last minute program changes please enter your details at www.ryc.co.za/sms.html

Easter Holiday Regattas - Many of our sailors were kept very busy during the Easter break travelling around the country for the BSA Grand Prix Regatta, Optimist Selections and the W. Cape Provincial Championship regattas.

The BSA Grand Prix Regatta was sailed 27 & 28 March at Wriggelswade where RYC was represented by nine boats and eleven sailors whose results once again demonstrated that Redhouse is the premier dinghy sailing club in the Eastern Cape.

Joshua Woolard, Patrick Butler, Tarryn Butler and Sydney Pettitt all sailing RS Tera's took 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place respectively in the Open Class followed closely by James & Tracy Lawrence who took 7th place on their Gypsey whilst Mathew & Michael Lawrence took 12th place on their Mirror.

In the very competitive Laser fleet Matt Van Rensburg narrowly missed line honours to take 2nd place and was followed by Andrew Butler and Paul Pettitt in 4th and 5th places respectively.

The weekend at Wriggelswade was a real blast and thanks go to our hosts for their superb hospitality. I am certain the Wriggelswade weekend will become a firm fixture on future RYC sailing programs and continue to be well supported by our members.

The Optimist Selection Regatta was sailed at Mykonos after the Easter weekend. Congratulations go to our Joshua Woolard who gained a place in the South African national team to sail the All African Championships in Kenya in July this year.

The Western Cape Provincial Championships were sailed from Saldanha Bay from 23 till 27 April. RYC was represented by six sailors who all did rather well.

The biggest RYC representation sailed in the nineteen strong RS Tera fleet in which our sailors earned five of the top ten positions. Joshua Woolard really did our Club proud winning every race scored earning his first ever provincial gold medal whilst Sydney Pettitt (4th), Patrick Butler (6th), Tarryn Butler (9th) and Justin Harth (10th) all qualified for selections to sail the RS Tera World Championships in Carnac, France at the end of July. Very well done and congratualtions to all of them!

The only other RYC entry at the W.Cape's was Sarah Arnold crewing on a Hobie 16 who, despite missing the first three races due to delayed flights from Johannesburg, managed to gain 38th place out of a fleet of 52 entries in that class.

A very bug thank you to Juannette Pettitt who managed and kept the the Redhouse RS Tera team warm and fed and for organising everything after I got stuck in the UK subsequent to the flights being grounded due to the volcanic ash cloud.

Sailing School - Due to the early start of the races there will be no formal sailing school this weekend but all sailing school attendees are invited to join their fellow sailors and race the NSRI Regatta this weekend. The Club boats will be available for those without their own boats to race.

Renovation of the RYC Ablutions is 99% complete and with only a few finishing touches still to be applied is looking very good.

Part of the ablution renovations entailed the addition of direct access to the men's ablutions from inside the clubhouse. To help minimise slippery wet floors inside the clubhouse access to the mens ablutions via the new internal entrance is restricted to 'dry' persons only and all sailors with wet feet, etc. must still please use the outside entrance.

All members, and visitors, are asked to please respect this rule failing which the new internal access door to the mens ablutions will otherwise have to be kept locked during sailing events.

With just three weekends of sailing left before our annual winter shutdown I appeal to all members to please support our last regattas of the season. Please acknowledge and show your appreciation of the work put in by our bridge, galley, grounds and rescue crews this season by being on the water and sailing!

I look forward to joining you on the water for the races this weekend and to sharing the traditional RYC hospitality with you and your family at the bring 'n braai after the racing on Sunday.

Yours in sailing


PAUL PETTITT
Commodore
041 581-5394