Hello all,

The RYC River Champs & The Viking Funeral This Weekend is the main event of the first half of the 2008/9 sailing season and is guaranteed to be a weekend of competitive sailing, fun, good food and entertainment.

The River Championships has a long history dating back to when the Zwartkops Yacht club was still around. This event was staged to determine which of the ZYC and RYC as well any visiting club were the true champions of the Zwartkops River with the victor taking the prestigious ships wheel trophy home with them.

Following the demise of the ZRC the River Championships has continued to be held at Redhouse and remains one of the premier events of the year attracting an exceptionally large fleet of entries from both RYC and visitors.

The program for this weekend is as follows:-

• 14h00 Saturday - Races 1 and 2.
• 18h30 Saturday - A toast and short eulogy in honour of the late Harold Kohler
• 18h45 Saturday - The Viking Funeral
• 19h00 Saturday - Spit braai and entertainment (R55 adults & R25 children)
• 14h00 Sunday - Races 3 and 4.
• 17h00 Sunday (or one hour after last race) - Bar snacks & drinks compliments of the Commodore

Bookings in advance for the Viking Funeral and spit braai are essential to ensure adequate food is prepared and table space is reserved for members. If you have not yet booked and would like to join your fellow Club members for the evening supper and entertainment telephone Rhona Clark on 041 4631611.

The River Championships is an open event and as such all other clubs are invited to participate. Any sailors from out of town who wish to enter and who require accommodation should please call me on 041 5815394.

The Max Lippstreu Trophy Race this past Sunday was really enjoyed by all and remains my favourite race of the season. Despite school exams taking their toll on the number of entries a fleet of fourteen yachts sailed in very favorable conditions that tested the ability of every sailor.

Our appreciation and thanks to Max Lippstreu for sponsoring this event and congratulations go to Don Robertson who won the senior trophy and Taryn Butler for winning the junior trophy. Click here to view the full results.

The Youth Nationals take place in Mossel Bay from 12 till 19 December and contrary to what the name implies this regatta is open to all sailors under the age of 18 and all classes of sailing dinghies including novices. For more information and online entry click here.

Junior Club Room - The RYC committee has decided to make the upper deck at the clubhouse available to our junior sailors as their very own Club room from this Saturday. Our junior sailors will be required to elect a team captain and vice-captain from amongst their ranks who will be responsible for keeping the venue clean and tidy as well as ensuring good behaviour is practiced by all who use it.

If you have an old table tennis table, dart board or any other table games which you no longer use that you would like to donate to the junior sailors for their new club room please bring them to the club with you this weekend or contact me on 041 5815394 to arrange collection.

Mirror Sailing Dinghy For Sale - The Club has just purchased a Mirror sailing dinghy with an excellent set of sails. This boat has not been sailed for the past sixteen years and has been stored under cover so is in very good condition. The boat is supplied complete with a valid measuring certificate and is hence class legal for sailing in all provincial regattas.

This is the perfect opportunity for someone, be they a dad and son or mom and daughter team, to take up the sport of sailing without having to dig deep into their pockets to finance a boat that will retain it's value for many years to come. The asking price for this boat is around R1,500 subject only to the purchaser undertaking to sail at and keep its home the RYC. If you are interested in acquiring this boat please call Rhona on 041 4631611.

Optimist Sailor Training - OCRA and Rudy McNeill, the national Optimist coach, will be conducting an intensive training session for the more experienced Optimist sailors in Port Elizabeth from 05 till 07 December 2008.

The program is as follows:-

• 18h00 Friday 5th Dec. Rudy arrives. Registration. Rules session followed by a braai (for both parents and sailors) at ABYC.
• 09h00 Saturday 6th Dec. Whole day sailing training at ABYC.
• 09h00 Sunday 7th Dec. Morning sailing training followed by an afternoon regatta and debriefing at Redhouse.

All participants need to be paid up Optimist Class Racing Association (OCRA) and SAS members to partake in this course. OCRA will fund Rudy (now you know how your Optimist class fees are used) but sailors must pay for their own beverages and food which can be bought at both venues.

To book your place please telephone Glynis Baer on 0828937905. Places are limited and will be reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. Any visiting sailors requiring accommodation may contact me.

Club Membership Fees and Boatshed Rentals - Final accounts for outstanding Club membership fees and boatshed rentals have been posted to members known to be in arrears. Please ensure your dues are paid without further delay to avoid being named and shamed on the Club noticeboard and risk having your boat evicted from it's shed.

Sailing School - There will a full session of sailing school this Sunday morning.

I look forward to joining you on the water this weekend for the River Championships and to enjoying your company at the Viking funeral and spitbraai.

Yours in sailing

PAUL PETTITT
Commodore
041 581-5394