Commodore Bulletin 21 - 160126
Published 22:49 on 16 Jan 2026
Greetings members and a very good New Year to you!
Grab yourself a coffee and get ready for a good read as your Commodore sets the scene for 2026… Its actually funny to think that this will be my last season opening bulletin as this years AGM will be the end of my 3rd year term and it will be time to hand over to a fresh pair of hands to continue to take the club forward. It has been an absolute treat doing this role, supported by an amazing committee but more of that I am sure in future bulletins…
So, the big news! Sailing Club Manager (SCM) is now live!!!
As you may recall, a few months ago I mentioned that we were updating the software the club runs on and as part of that we were changing the membership period to now start on the 1st March. Well in the background, a small team have been configuring the software, testing it to make sure it works, getting use to how things are a bit different and setting up the new website. Firstly, a huge thank you to John, Steve and Marc, they have put some hours in and I have never seen such a busy WhatsApp group!
So, what does this mean to you as a member? Well firstly if you have not already stumbled across it, we have a new website and a new website address.
The new website is https://balasc.co.uk
This is your single go to place for everything you need to do whether that is membership, duties, events, results or boat bookings etc.
When you visit it, as a member you will be asked to log on. There are bits of the site the general public can see but then by logging on you get access to other bits you need as a member. So that leads me to the next bit of information.
Very soon you will receive an email asking you to Log On to the website (as a member) and check your renewal details. This gives you access to everything and as part of that you will be asked to set a password. Once you have logged on, have a good look around, explore, have fun!
Through the first few months we want to give our members as much support as we can so if you have any issues getting access just email duties@balasc.co.uk with your query and we will quickly get back to you.
Dont forget to check your spam folder for the next few weeks as the new email address you get emails from might be treated as spam by your email provider
The next step for us, to activate the memberships. Now this is one area where Webcollect (the old system) is different to SCM. With Webcollect, you put the items you wanted into your basket (e.g. 1 x junior membership and 1 x boat park) and then you paid for them at the checkout. A bit like a shopping cart experience. With SCM the system knows your previous purchases and starts by sending you an Invoice for your new membership which you can accept and pay for or adjust. We will keep feeding you information how you add thing like additional berths etc as we progress but for the starting point, we want to get you all renewed.
We will send the renewals out in stages so dont worry if you dont get yours immediately.
One good piece of news with the new system….
Previously you had two methods to pay. If you joined in January, we offered 12 monthly direct debits but we only offered that in January. Everyone else had to pay as a lump sum even if you joined say in March. But… SCM gives us the option to spread payments as instalments. It basically takes the amount, the month you join and then splits that into a number of instalments where the last instalment is January so for example if you joined in April and had to pay £180 it would offer you 10 instalments at £18 a month but if you joined in June, it would offer 8 instalments at £22.50 a month (figures are for illustration only). When you get your invoice, you get the option to pay in full or pay by instalments. As a committee we see this as a huge benefit to our members by allowing them to spread the cost of being a member as well as being a huge attraction to new members.
Once you get logged on, please take some time to look at the calendar AND most importantly get your duties booked. The system cannot be easier, you go to an event, look at the duties and then volunteer. It is so much easier than dutyman, we get brilliant reporting, so to be honest we are looking forward to getting a lot of the events covered very quickly.
Thats about it on SCM for the moment but in summary:
- 1)Visit the website balasc.co.uk
- 2)Wait for the email to activate your logon, set your password and have a look around
- 3)Wait for your renewal invoice to be sent to you
- 4)In the meantime, book your duties
OK, so onto another really exciting development for the club. For a while, we have been throwing a lot of focus and energy into our junior members. It has been great to see the participation grow, especially seeing our junior members joining us in club racing. I mentioned previously that as a committee we wanted to engage with the younger members and give them a voice. I am therefore really please to announce that for this season we will be running a 1-year pilot of a junior committee. We have agreed a set of roles and basic approach for the year and I will communicate this out in the next few weeks. In simple terms the junior committee will be made up of:
Junior Commodore
To provide a single point of contact and represent the strategy and direction of the junior membership within the club. Be the mechanism to increase the junior membership and target long term retention.
Junior Sailing Captain
To work with the Sailing Captain to ensure club racing incorporates the requirements and considerations of the junior members
Junior General Member (B&B)
To work with the Boson and Beachmaster to both learn, support and gain an understanding of the roles as well as introducing and influencing the needs of the junior members in these areas
Junior General Member (T&D)
To work with the training and development / coaching committee members to ensure that the overall program (formal and informal) supports the junior members. Identify pathway schemes for young members and influence the direction of activities and sailing craft / assets to support this
As I said, more to come on this in the next few weeks.
It is now only 7 weeks until we re-open the club and this takes place via the Opening Working Party on Saturday 7th March. As always, we value everyone who comes down to help us bring the club back to life and as a little reminder a few points to remember:
Saturday 7th March - working party
Those members assisting with the working party are able to bring their boats down and drop them off in a bay. Please do not rig your boats until all tasks at the working party have been completed.
Access code will be provided to those who have volunteered and have renewed their membership.
We will start the working party at 09:30 and will be providing hot drinks and bacon/sauasage baps for those helping out.
Sunday 8th March - start of member drop off
All other members are free to bring their boats down. General access code will be issued to those members who have renewed their membership.
All boats from Ty Isaf to be moved from Ty Isaf on this day.
The weekend of the 14th and 15th is our reserve weekend, should the foreshore be flooded on the planned working party weekend. We have an agreed 1 week extension with Ty Isaf but only in the event of flooding.
If you are planning on helping out, please register your interest on the website (once you have had your logins issued)
https://www.balasc.co.uk/event/opening-working-party
Thats probably it for now, in the next bulletin I will give an overview of some of the sailing, racing and non-sailing activities we have planned (including the structure of this years club racing) but for now, have a good few weeks and I look forward to seeing you all at the club soon.
Rob
Last updated 17:23 on 18 January 2026