Commodore Bulletin 18 - 200525
Published 12:55 on 20 May 2025
Can you believe that we are already into May with our 2025 season firmly settled in. The last month has been freaky weather with an ENE being the common direction which sends the windex all over the place, especially at the club end. But Hey Ho, every hour on the water is a learning day, especially for relative noobies such as me! Who would have thought 4 years ago I would be discussing the implications and frustrations of wind direction!
I wanted to start this months bulletin with a bit of recognition and celebration to one of our junior members. Dion Horton has been part of the club for a few years and recently he was presented with his Duke of Edinburgh Gold award at Buckingham Palace by Prince Edward. This is a huge achievement and as a committee we would like to pass on our congratulations to him.
The last month has been incredible at the club as we hosted two Open events (the Waspz Welsh Championship and then an RS400 and general Asymetric Open). These open events not only bring much appreciated revenue into the club but also showcase our club to fleets across the country. Positive vibes breed positive vibes and then more classes hear about it, want to race at our venue which in turn creates assured revenue. We already have classes wanting to rebook into 2026 and other classes talking to us about using the venue. This year we also have some new fleets joining us as we host the Lomo Watersports Blaze Inland Championship and the Scorpion Open at the end of the season. Each open takes the best part of 30 club volunteers to make it happen and I would like to send out a personal thank you to each person who has helped in whatever role or capacity!
We also had two of our fleets have social days, taking advantage of the quieter Saturdays and just getting together to enjoy their type of sailing. The cruiser class kicked it off with a sail down the lake, stopping for lunch and general cruising banter ending up with a nice Jacobs supper. Not wanting to be outdone, the Catamaran and Multihull group (have to add that in as we have a Trimaran as part of the fleet), threw together an adhoc gathering which saw 10 boats rigged and having a play. This fleet is having a resurgence at the club on the back of some great taster sessions ran by our more experienced helms. We have had a few members who were dinghy sailors attend our taster sessions, then book out the club Dart 16s to get some more experience then go the final leap and buy one. On the day it was very informal with people swapping boats to try the different varieties. It was great to try Johns Dart 15 which felt very similar to my Catapult, see John and Alan have a blast in our Spitfire and see Jonathan out on his Vortex (which I also had a try on).
I think you will see a few more of these class days in the future and if you are a small fleet and want to do a fleet based day at the club we totally encourage people taking the initiative to arrange it. The committee are here to support you as much as you need!
So lets mix it up mid report with a real curve ball……………… grab yourselves a Bourbon, Custard Cream or whatever sugary biscuit will keep you attentive for the next few paragraphs. We operate in a strange sector as the traditional sailing club from years ago must evolve into a new form otherwise the probability (like many clubs) is that it will become financially unviable. That is an area as a committee we focus on a lot as we constantly work to safeguard the future of our club.
{permission to grab another biscuit}……….
We were approached late last year by the Welsh Under 19 Coach for the Welsh Rowing Association. Our club has been considered as a potential location to develop a rowing centre to provide a North Wales hub of rowing excellence but more so as a grass roots development centre not just for experienced rowers but to create learning opportunities for new people into that sport. Our preliminary discussions with them make it look viable, it would compliment our offering and provide a good revenue stream. We have been clear that this would be a 1 year pilot and would be an integrated part of the club and not an annex association.
So what is the challenge?
To make it happen, Welsh Rowing can provide us with the funds, the boats and even the training / qualifications for coaches (who do not need to have any previous rowing experience), but the ask on us would be to provide a person (or small subcommittee) to lead this and make it happen. As a committee we are still very open minded to it but understand the risks and probability of it being attempted with limited energy or commitment.
Therefore, I would value two things. Firstly as members I always appreciate feedback and if you have an opinion on this I would love to know (both positive or no so positive) but secondly, if this has piqued your interest, and you would love either to lead or be part of a small team to run this pilot please make yourself known to me.
You would have noticed a lot more activity on our social media streams and another one of our challenges this year was to create more photos and videos to turn into short 2 minute clips. As well as a Facebook page and group, we have an Instagram account (@bala_SC) and a YouTube channel (@balasailingclub1411). Please follow these if you use those social media platforms and spread the word!
If you have any photos or videos, please let us know so we can add them to our footage library. It doesnt have to be perfectly formed as we can edit it and the topics can be really diverse. Its amazing what we can use and how it creates a positive story about the club.
Dont forget that last month we launched our club merchandise pilot. This is a low cost way for getting an item of your clothing embroidered with the Bala SC logo and if you want additional things such as your name, boat and sail numbers, these can be added at an additional cost. You can order it via the following link, searching for Clothing Embroidery then we just arrange drop off and about a week later you get the item back. https://webcollect.org.uk/balas-sailing-club/subscription
A few final topics to close out this months bulleting. Its always sad to look to the end of the season but September we have the Annual AGM. This is where the current committee stand down and either get re-elected or other people come forward. As I come to the end of my second year as Commodore (which is the normal term although the last few terms people have done three), I have been fortunate to work with an incredible committee and we have achieved alot by embracing this period of change and having an committee culture that allows each committee member to feel valued and to be allowed to contribute to the clubs future within the capacity of their role. I have been made aware of one role where the person is standing down (not from the committee entirely as they have additional roles they fulfil) but after many years of leading the charge on the foreshore winter maintenance, Mick Flemming will be stepping down from Facilities Manager (Winter). This role kicks in at the end of the season and ensures that all the maintenance work with our contractors is scheduled and carried out as well as supervising the land contractor work to clear the foreshore after the floods. If you would be interested in standing for this role, please have a chat with Mick first who can brief you. This is a really exciting role as it encompasses managing our SSSI status as well as being the custodian of our environmental policy so for someone who has an interest in safeguarding the importance of our site, its a very fulfilling brief.
I will use the next few bulletins to update on any more roles I know will be formally standing down and it is always great to have new people standing and joining the team.
Another item to keep an eye on is our awards evening. This year we would like to do something to celebrate the end of the year and present the trophies etc. We have a few ideas but anyone who might be interest in helping us arrange this, please make yourselves known. Hopefully next months bulletin should give us an idea of a date to slot into your diaries.
One of the more informal awards up for grabs is open to any member and that is the 5-4-1 challenge. We have a few scores on the board now and whilst the top spots look like are going to be tough to beat, you never know what other prizes we might be giving. Who knows you might get the prize for the most attempts or maybe the biggest range between your times. The 5-4-1 challenge was designed to get everyone out on the water regardless of their level of experience or boat. We have fleet challenges for Multihulls and Dinghys and there is nothing to stop us adding a cruiser group for example.
As a reminder, the rules are as follows:
- They are self timed, you do the run, record your time and whatsapp it into the club admin
- Time will now be adjusted for PY
- A running leader board closes near at the end of the season (prior to the awards night)
- Course can be reversed in the event of a different prevailing wind direction
- The courses is as follows:X-5s-4s-1s-X OR X-1p-4p-5p-X
In the background, our Duty Rota Officer has been reaching out to everyone who as yet, has not signed up for any duties. It is always disappointing for me to have to mention this in the bulletins but the level of compliance is still not acceptable despite regular communications. We are a volunteer ran club who support multiple watersport disciplines and also generate revenue (which allows us to control our membership costs) by hosting open events. One of our successes is that every Sunday last year we had a safety boat out on the water and so far this year we have matched this. But a significant number of members have not come forward to support the club and as a committee this is now reported on the 15th of the month. We are now at the stage where we will consider the revenue impact of not renewing these memberships in future years. If you have received a reminder from Steve, can I encourage you to put yourselves forward please.
Ending back on a positive note, we have an incredible month planned with lot going on at the club. Our Saturday Youth sailing scheme after a few weeks pause, starts back up which is introducing and developing a good sized group of under 16s to our incredible sport. A few of them are already showing a keen interest in racing and Tom McIntyre is regularly seen on the start line in his RS Tera Sport.
We also have the annual Long Distance Weekend (21st and 22nd June) which is consecutive single races on Saturday and Sunday using the whole length of the lake. This can be a great opportunity to see Llyn Tegid at its best and as we have multiple safety boats on the water it is also a great safe event. Last year we had 56 boats line up on the Saturday which is an amazing sight to see and we already have 22 boats registered (15 which are visitors) as I write this bulletin. If you are planning to enter please register online at https://balasailingclub.wordpress.com/open-meetings/
Looking a little more forward, we also have our annual Catamaran Open on (5th and 6th July). We rested this last year but were asked to put it back on again so we are taking a leap of faith, especially with the resurging interest in multihulls at the club. If you are a multihull member, have been on our tasters and started developing your skills on the club boats or fancy seeing if there is a crew spot going, I would encourage you to get your entries in now so we can establish the numbers.
If you are planning to enter either of these, please register online at https://balasailingclub.wordpress.com/open-meetings/
Finally, we have been contracted by the Drascombe Association who are going to hold their Annual North Wales Rally on the weekend of 31st May and 1st June. We have a small but growing fleet of Drascombes at the club and it will be great to see a few visiting boats mingle with our members, enjoying our incredible lake together.
Well, I think that is about it for this month. It has been great chatting to members on the foreshore as I wander up and down and the vibe and feeling at the club is incredible. As always, if you see me and we have not chatted before, please take the opportunity to say hello and have a quick chat.
Wishing you a great month ahead
Rob
Last updated 15:47 on 27 November 2025