Commodores Comments
I am often amazed when I travel how blaze’ people become when they become familiar with the facilities that we enjoy at our Club. It’s only when you meet with an organization that has had only rudimentary facilities that you become aware of what we have to offer in terms of our facilities and venue that we have here at HMYC. Such was the case when we were approached by the Midlands Rowing Club to avail themselves of our facilities by virtue of an application for affiliation as was the case with Hilton Rowing Club last year. We have therefore approved the affiliation of the Midlands Rowing Club who will be relocating to our grounds on the 1st October 2015 and we welcome them to our Club.
They will be taking up an area alongside the Hilton Rowing Boatshed on the Eastern side of the current building and we would request members to welcome them to our facilities which I’m sure will be beneficial to both our organizations. In discussion with them they advise that most of their activities take place between 0600 and 0930 before the wind arrives and could well result in some of their members taking an interest in sailing after their rowing session. Initially until the rains come and the Dam rises they will be parking their training boats below the bank on the eastern side of the boat park and when the dam returns to normal levels they will have a shipping container placed on the grassed area which they will use to contain their rowing craft.
After the euphoria of a well-attended opening sail past we came down with a bump this last weekend when the Rose Bowl weekend competition had to be postponed due to a lack of entries. The weather had a lot to do with the poor turnout as we had a cold snap together with a few days of rain which might indicate that we are getting a bit soft. Midmar Dam has been selected by South African Sailing as the venue which most closely resembles the conditions which are likely to be encountered when the Youth World Championships are held in Malaysia at the end of the year. As a result SAS will be staging a selection series with young sailors of a suitable Standard have been selected to take part in order for a Team to be sent to this World Competition. The selection series under the control of SAS will be held at the Club from the 4th to 12th October 2015. Do come along and watch our budding Olympians being put thru their paces.
Contact Derek Wilkes on 0842537927 or derek.wilkes@me.com
Senior Sailing News.
Well: the first month of the new sailing season has flown past, it was rewarding
to see the number of boats on the water for the sail past and the general activity at the club, may it last into the season. The SASKZN Hunter Regional Championships was sailed over the
past long weekend, as race officer I experienced one of the most enjoyable regattas in a long
time, because although the number of entrants were on the low side, despite CJ’s efforts to get a decent size fleet on the water, there was some very competitive sailing, in excellent conditions and even the tail-enders were never far behind. At a well-organized prize giving HMYC sailors Paul Changuion and Tim Duguid took Gold and John Bruckman and Dave Martinson of WYC received Silver medallions Tim’s young daughter Lea sailed the last two races of the regatta, because Paul had to attend a family wedding and was presented with the Hunter Youth Trophy.
Based on the results I say well done to all the competitors, especially for the spirit in which
you sailed, to the bridge crew and mark-layers thanks for the excellent work done on the water and to Bob Gray, Clive Waddy and Hes Hamilton, thanks for getting the bridge and safety craft onto and out of the water under difficult circumstances. The next major regatta to be held at Midmar is the Midlands Open Dinghy and Catamaran Regatta, which will take place from the 27th- 30th December 2015, the Notice of Race will be available shortly along with posters advertising the event, keep an eye on both the club website and face-book for further information.
Derek Wilkes is busy organizing a Cruiser Challenge, this will be an ongoing event, throughout the sailing season, details of the event and course cards will be shortly posted on the club noticeboard, club website and face-book. Finally after one or two incidents recently, resulting in the club being pulled up by Ezemvelo’s Resort Management and following subsequent a discussion with the head of the Dam Management Safety Committee in Pretoria , members must comply with the following inland water regulations ..
(1) The use of any craft on Midmar water’s, is restricted from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. There are no exceptions, except in case of emergencies or applied for events.
(2) There may be NO overnighting on moored craft, previously the club kept a low profile
regarding this but it has Now driving, will call you back later! been pointed out by the DMC that both from the environmental restriction regarding possible effluent contamination and the safety aspect of passage to and from moored craft at night, members must refrain from spending the night on board their boats, or face the risk of their boats being banned from the surface area of the dam.
(3) An approved buoyancy aid or regulation life jacket of the right size and weight must
be worn at all times by every child under (12) twelve years while on deck of a craft that is underway, this includes tenders and inflatables.
(4) No person may operate any vessel or any of a vessel’s equipment while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or a drug having a narcotic effect.(0.24 milligrams)
NB: You may cry “Bureaucracy”, but please this is for your own and family’s safety and the club cannot turn a blind eye to the above, as we have already been warned to get our house in order. It is never easy to please everyone and I know circumstances are different at other dams in the country, but unfortunately Midmar is one of the five pilot dams where the safety regulations are being applied and the possibility of the club hosting future events and being in charge of the mooring area, would hang in the balance if we do not comply with the promulgated safety regulations and National Water Act.No 36 of 1998.
Contact: Rob Bell on 0739618006 or e-mail: robbell@afrihost .co.za
Youth Sailing.
For our youth members we now have an active sailing school, with qualified sailing coaches.
The sailing school is open to all and has a number of excellent training craft and courses that cover both an introduction to sailing and advanced sail training, this is carried out with safety being a prime requirement for this registered training school. To date approximately nineteen
youngsters have taken part in the training and some have now moved on to participating in
club racing and crewing on Soling’s in the Soling Revival Series.
The club has a Vice Commodore Youth, Claire Perret who is responsible for all youth activities at the club and will be able to help you channel your youngster on to the right course..
Contact : Claire Perret on 0833882267 or email midmarwindwarriors@gmail.com
Mooring Maintenance
A reminder to members to check their moorings and advise the Club that they have done so was sent out recently, however the response to date has not been good and the Mooring Committee would like to request members in their own interests to take the appropriate action i.e.,
1) Check the top end, with the Dam low it should be possible to pull the warp up to check
down to the connection to the chain.
2) If you have carried out a check and found all OK please advise Connie so that it can be
recorded – if you have replaced parts advise the parts replaced, again so that we can record all work done on your mooring.
It is over two years since the Mooring Committee introduced and implemented the new specification so we are going to lift several moorings that have been down for two years and assess the condition. We will then advise members individually if it is considered necessary to lift the mooring and check it all the way to the blocks.
Stainless versus Galvanised Hardware
The experience gained to date on hardware (swivels/shackles/thimbles) using both types of steel suggests that using stainless hardware is more cost effective long term as although it is more expensive it is longer lasting and appears to require less maintenance intervals. The decision rests with the member but we will suggest using stainless hardware for future repairs.
Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact:
Hes Hamilton 0722254230 or Clive Waddy 0833993910
House Matters
The start of the season has seen a flurry of activity at the club, Ruth has her canteen up and running and we request members to support the canteen, as meals are reasonably priced and are overall good value for your money. The pub has also received fair support so far this season, but we are hoping to attract more members, both through the planned camping and braai weekends, plus the added attraction of the wide screen TV for watching the World Rugby Cup unfold. (Remember the pub runs on a card system, so an initial amount of R100
is required to purchase a card).
Over the next few months we are hoping to have a few events which will encourage members to make use of the club’s facilities. The initial event being a fund raising soirée on the evening of Saturday the 5th of December, we are hoping to attract a fair numbers of members who will be taking part in the 2nd Soling Revival Race, camping over and entering the Club Open Championships and George Duffin Trophy Race on the Sunday.
Apart from being for a very worthy cause, we can promise you an evening of first rate entertainment by the well-known Butler Family, the possibility of winning a painting of the mooring area at Midmar, but most of all to get together with a group of friends around a table, relax and enjoy your bring and share snacks with a glass or two of wine and appreciate a couple of hours of
light entertainment and superb singing. To book your table please contact Connie or go onto the HMYC website or Facebook page for further information. The donation called for is R80.00 or more if you can afford it, and that should guarantee a slightly brighter future for young Angelique Schroder.
Contact: Sue Barker 0838952642 ambleside@mweb.co.za
Anton Ellens 0726253049 ellensa@pmburg.co.za
