Commodore Bulletin 24 - 170426
Published 22:39 on 17 Apr 2026
So what a way to start this months bulletin? With a huge smile on my face, I am pleased to announce that our club has its first Junior Commodore!
When I was approached to consider taking on the role of Commodore a few years ago, part of the brief was to approach it with an open mind and look at the long term future and strategy for the club. Each Commodore comes with a slightly different set of experiences which guides their direction and my predecessor was responsible for guiding the club through Covid and the post Covid years. Whilst many clubs struggled, under Mikes guidance, our club survived and came out of that period intact. As I prepare to hand over in September (after doing 3 years), part of the strategy to build continual foundations for our club falls into place as our young members will now have representation via a formal committee and Junior Commodore.
Tom McIntyre presented a visionary strategy of how he would like to develop the aspects of the club for our young people and he has the full support of the committee as he settles into the role this year. It would be great if some of our other young members could join Tom on this journey and we are keen to identify a Junior Sailing Captain as the next role on the Junior Committee. I will be working with Tom the next few months to develop this aspect of the club but once again please join me is sharing this amazing news and congratulating Tom as he steps into this role.
As we focus on change and shaping direction, for the last few years (once again post Covid) we have seen a gradual reduction in our paddling members. This year we have Marc Wilkinson as our Paddling Fleet Rep on the committee and he has a few ideas to re-energise this part of our membership. We have three events planned this year which will be open to members, guests of members and visitors and focus on getting people out on the water in Kayaks and SUPs.
The three events are as follows:
Saturday 13th June Distance Paddle Event
Join us for our first paddle event of 2026. Open to Kayaks and Paddleboards, this will be a social paddle and we'll head along the shore to the west. Its also a good chance to meet other members and have a chat. We'll assemble at 9:45 am for a 10am start, and have a leisurely 2 hour paddle at a modest pace and we all stick together. If the weather is poor we may shorten the route. A safety boat will also be out on the water.
Saturday 18th July Timed fun race (5-4-1)
Our first 5-4-1 Paddle race. Open to Paddleboards and Kayaks, its a fun, self timed race, and the winning times will help establish the 5-4-1 Paddle Leaderboard. Assemble at 9:45 for a 10am start. A safety boat will also be out on the water. If the water is too choppy we may have to cancel/modify the route.
For more about the 5-4-1 challenge, have a read here.
Sunday 30th August Sunset Social Paddle
An end of season social paddle, open to Paddleboards and Kayaks. We'll assemble at 4:45 for 5pm start and see where the boats take us. After a few hours of paddling together we'll return to the shore where food and drink will be available. Free to members, £5 to non members.
A safety boat will also be out on the water. If the water is too choppy we may have to cancel/shorten the event.
We are very fortunate in our club to have a range of members who operate in the healthcare profession including nurses and Paramedics. This has allowed us to create a capability to ensure our members have access to the best first aid training. On Saturday 2nd May, we are offering our members the opportunity to attend a Basic First Aid with AED at a very low cost of £25. This 3.5-hour first aid course is designed specifically with sailors and watersports enthusiasts in mind. In a relaxed, friendly, and engaging environment, you will gain the confidence and practical skills needed to respond effectively in an emergency—whether on land or on the water. This fun and informative session covers essential life-saving techniques, including CPR for adults and children, how to use an AED, and how to deal with situations such as choking and bleeding, alongside other basic first aid skills. By the end of the course, you will feel more prepared and capable in handling real-life situations. All participants will receive an HSE-recognised booklet and a certificate valid for three years.
You can book on the course via the calendar on the website.
A gentle nudge from our Senior Coach, to let us all know that very soon he will be spinning up some Saturday Morning boat handling and race training sessions. These are regularly requested and a great way to improve your general boat handling or get an introduction to racing. So watch this space and please make good use of them and let Andy know what you would like to cover.
That actually leads me nicely into the best way to keep in touch with what is going on in the club. As well as our social media channels (which I will cover off next month) we have a number of whatapps groups. If you would like to be added into any of these, please let me know. The main groups are as follows (other smaller fleet / specific interest groups also exist):
General Bala SC group includes old members who like to keep in touch. Used for general chat and communication
Cruiser Group for those who are active or have an interest in the cruising aspect of the club
Multihull Group if it has 2 or 3 hulls, this is where those types hang out. Quite active with mid week sailing shout outs.
Club Racing Group if you are (or are planning to) participate in Sunday club racing, this is where we keep in touch. Useful to find out who is racing or shout out for crews or crewing opportunities
Saturday Juniors Group A way of getting messages out to the parents of our juniors
Just a reminder to all of our members about general foreshore hygiene as standards have slipped for the start of the season. Firstly I would remind all of our members and membership types to make themselves aware of our policies, specifically our Code of conduct and membership disciplinary policy (Pol 01) and also our Environmental policy (Pol 04). We have had a small number of members who still have tyres by their boats. These MUST be removed immediately. Also a number of members have been carrying out small repairs to their boats but have left materials behind. This once again is totally unacceptable and should this continue, we will have no option but to address this in a more formal way.
We have also had a number of members ask about membership packs. A few years ago we stopped posting these out due to the cost of postage and during the weekend, the membership packs can be found in the main club house. A couple of people who come down mid week pointed out that whilst they can get through the main door, they can not access the clubhouse so we will aim to leave the membership sticker packs in the foyer during the week and move it into the main clubhouse at the weekend. Dont forget if you want access to the facilities during the week you can order a club key via the contacts / enquiry page of the website.
I have a few other things to update on so I will probably pop another bulleting out in a few weeks covering club and open racing plus and update on the rowing but I suspect that is enough for now!
Keep safe and enjoy yourselves out on the water
Rob Sloggett (Commodore)
Last updated 21:27 on 14 May 2026