Commodore Bulletin 10 - 230724
Published 16:04 on 23 Jul 2024
Dear Member,
With the AGM planned for Saturday 28th September (17:00), this is probably my penultimate bulletin as your current Commodore (a bit more of that later down) so it is great to start this with some exciting news and another date to put in the diary… write it in now, go on grab a pen {pause while you get one}.
Right, now write this date in… Wednesday 7th August 2024 @ 14:43.
Why is that important? Well its the date and time of the Mixed Dinghy Final at the Paris Olympics and Bala SC has one of our ex members (Chris Twiggy Grube), participating in his 3rd Olympics and with his new partner Vita Heathcote, in the 470 class (this year mixed for the first time), looking to chase down his first Olympic Medal after finishing just outside of the top 3 in Rio and Toyko. We are hoping to open the clubhouse up that day to live stream the final at 14:33 so it would be great if you could join us down there to cheer him on. If you work from home using portable IT equipment, why not come down in the morning, bring your phone as a hot spot and watch the racing during the day and the final? It would be great if we could support Chris in this way. Please let me know if you would be interested so we can gauge numbers etc.
Last month, we also had Ken Fowler supported by Pete Barton attempt a 3 lakes challenge. The aim, to sail the 3 longest lakes (end to end and then back so both lengths) in Scotland, England and Wales non stop/back to back and set a target time of around 24 hours which included sailing Windermere in the dark. The final leg was at Bala and the team met them there at launch and recovery and they finished in just over 28 hours. Pete has done a number of sailing challenges to raise money for two charities so it would be amiss of me not to mention them and point our members in the direction of their pages. Even if you could give a small amount, I always say, 10 people giving the cost of a Latte and cake or a pint quickly adds up. You can find more at https://yodare.co.uk/
July has also seen 7 new members complete their RYA L1/2 Dinghy Learn to Sail course. It is great to welcome Craig Fergus Jones, David Holland, Simon Rowland, Gareth Parry, Gwyneth Parry, Gary Carnell & Steve Place into this aspect of our membership. We hope you enjoy your time at the club and look forward to seeing you all out on the water enjoying whatever aspect of club life literally floats your boat.
Looking forward into August, we have quite a busy calendar. With 28th July being the last week of the Presidents Trophy Series, we move into our final 9 week series on the 4th August, with club racing on the 4th, 11th and 18th in August.
That leaves the weekend of the 24th and 25th August as our Summer Regatta with on line entry now open. This also includes a Fun Day on the Bank Holiday Monday, although at the moment, interest in this is not strong so whilst we would like to have a busy day out on the water with some planned activities, at the moment our indication is that this may be more adhoc and leisure based as opposed to planned events. Either way, if you are looking to sail in the Regatta it would be great to see the entries coming in and do not forget that we also have a BBQ on the Saturday night. Steve Pooley has also kindly offered to run a Pizza stall on the Monday but until we have an indication of interest it is unfair to expect Steve to commit to this.
Jumping back to the start of August, we have 3 great things happening on Saturday the 3rd.
After a great coaching session by our Senior Coach (Andy Todd) last month, where we did some serious Tacking and Gybing drill, Andy is planning the next set of needs. These are a very informal affair with the aim of getting as many of us out on the water, practicing different elements of sailing under Andys expert coaching. If you are free on the 3rd, let Andy know via the Whatapp group and if you have a skill you want to brush up on, call it out.
We also have 8 members (and a few more on a reserve / next date list) who have come forward to have a taster on Multihulls. These types of boats are a great addition to our club but unfortunately, we have a low following. Giving people a taster in a safe and controlled manner is the first step to re-energising this fleet. We have two club Darts available and we hope by developing peoples skills and confidence over the next few years, we get to see more multihulls participating in club life and maybe the club boats being used a bit more.
Finally, we also have the monthly cruiser day. This group got together last month in quite challenging conditions, to have a sail down the lake and then a Jacobs Supper. It will be good to see what they have planned this month and if you are part of that scene, dont forget to keep an eye on the Cruiser WhatsApp group as the plans evolve.
As we continue to ensure members participation in duties, I just wanted to pass one the usual thanks to everyone who has contributed last month. We hosted the Catapults and the RS100 fleet at the weekend and I was very proud (on behalf of the club) to receive the comments around what a professionally minded and operated club we are as a totally volunteer ran organisation. Remember, these visitors traditionally travel all around the country and see lots of different clubs, both volunteer ran and commercially operated so to receive that comment was a real recognition of what we are and how we operate. I will be updating members more in the next month or so regarding the approach for duties in the next years membership but as I started this section, a huge thanks to everyone.
I started this bulletin by talking about the upcoming AGM and a reminder that our operating model is based on the assumption that the whole committee stands down and then where a person wishes to stand again, seeks re-election. As this is our approach, we always advertise all roles. I covered a number of these last month and the remaining roles are covered below:
Flag Officers
Bosun - Club boat, sailing equipment and stores. Add on our moorings and the Bosuns job is done (until we throw adhoc stuff at them).
Facilities Manager - With a foreshore to manage and two buildings, we have to ensure that as well as maintaining operational legislation and the byelaws of Snowdonia National Park, we also have to clear the foreshore after the winter high waters.
President - In the abscence of a Vice Commodore, the President deputises for the Commodore and also acts as an escalation point for any disputes.
Rear Commodore - The bar is the non-sailing heart of the club. Whether it is a social gathering on a Friday night, an adhoc chippie tea or post open event relaxation, our Rear Commodore keeps the bar stocked and staffed and running smoothly.
Secretary - A sailing club operates with the need for a high level of legislation. Whether it is insurance, leases or non financial returns, this person ensures that the club is operating properly and in line with all processes in place.
Training Principal - As a RYA registered training centre, we currently offer dinghy, keelboat, multihull and powerboat training. Our Training Office maintains the annual training calendar, co-ordinates our training team , administers the courses and ensures that our high training standards are maintained.
Treasurer - Whilst Bala SC is a volunteer ran sailing club and not a water sports business, we still need to maintain accurate financial record, submit financial returns and have our accounts audited. Add to that the regular money in and out and the Treasurer is quite a busy person behind the scenes.
Other Roles
Auditor x 2 - As part of our financial assurance process, our annual accounts and balance sheet are independently audited by two competent members of the club.
Beachmaster - Working with the Facilities Manager and Bosun, our Beachmaster as well as supporting the laying and retrieval of our permanent racing marks, also is responsible for organising and maintaining the upkeep of the upper and lower hard areas.
Fleet reps - As fleets expand or shrink, we vary the representation of membership on the committee. At present we operate fleet reps for Blazes, Solos, Multihulls, Cruisers and Paddleboard members but these are reviewed each year.
Galley Captain - Whether it is providing self serve tea and coffee services for club members at the weekend or ensuring visitors during our open events are welcomed with bacon and sausage butties, our Galley Captain ensures that as well as working inside food safety legislation, we also are offering a galley service in line with member and visitors needs.
Membership Secretary - Utilising Webcollect software, our Membership Secretary is a busy person, especially at the start of the membership year. Administering membership passes is just part of it, as we start to understand our membership mix and develop club opportunities in line with our membership mix.
Prizes Secretary - Whether it is the upkeep of the honours board, engraving of trophies or obtaining other prizes for regattas, opens and specialist races, our Prizes Secretary ensures that people do not go home empty handed.
Senior Coach - Whilst RYA led training is the backbone of the club, past that, our developing sailors are keen to have a continual coaching pipeline. In steps the Senior Coach whos roles is to either deliver this or pull together the correct subject matter experts to keep our members progressing in their sailing journey.
Youth Squad Co-ordinator - With a focus on bringing new sailors into the club as well as giving local children an opportunity to experience sailing, our Youth Squad Co-ordinator has a wide remit. With racing being at the historical heart of the club, creating opportunities to get our younger members racing is definitely part of our strategy.
Webmaster - Our Webmaster looks after the website….but with a host of other applications and PC and webcam infrastructure at the club we tend to ask them to use their extensive IT skills to help fix other bits.
You can find a list of all Committee positions in one place here.
As we move out of this upcoming months update, a few things in the pipeline to remind members of.
The first one is winter closedown and a quick reminder that ALL boats must be removed by the first Sunday of November (including moorings clear) and therefore if you need to make provision for storage it could be a good time to start making enquiries. We did have an issue this year where one storage provided asked for boats to be removed before we started back up, so to be clear if you are looking to put your boat in storage, please allow contingency time in the event of our start up being delayed by flooding. We are currently planning a provisional start up of 9th March 2025 BUT that could move by 1 week if flooding occurs.
Secondly, we are exploring the possibly of a Club Summer Camp in 2025. Taking place on either the week of the 4th or 11th of August, it would be a range of activities over the Monday to Friday of the week around a range of sailing activities and disciplines. Ideas such as paddle boarding, fishing demos and maybe some trade demonstrations by boat vendors could be mixed with daily sailing activities and events. I would love to get ideas and feedback on this quickly and if there is an appetite for it, I would plan to pull together a little sub committee to make it viable quickly and get a date published for people to incorporate into their 2025 summer plans. It would be a great event for our new committee to get their teeth into whatever shape that takes.
I would like to close as I started by saying that this is my penultimate bulletin during this tenure and whilst it is sort of expected that Commodores stand for 2 to 3 years, the role is open for anyone to apply. If you are interested in the role, please grab me to have a chat. I have enjoyed standing on the committee the few years before and have loved my time as Commodore this yeat and plan to continue on the committee in roles going forward so however the AGM turns out I plan to still be active as part of the committee (hopefully)!
Rob
Last updated 15:47 on 27 November 2025