TY Delegates Report 24 September 2016
Is Saturday sailing an informed choice or is it just habit? Do we sail because it is programmed in to us or because we like it?
It’s all of the above and more for me. It is a habit, a good habit I hope. Sailing gets me out of bed most Saturday mornings, so that’s a plus. It’s a commitment made and kept with friends. Some days you may not feel up to it or if the weather is not as tropical as you prefer, you still must be read and prepared to sail otherwise you would be letting your friends down.
That still leaves room for making an informed choice to sail rather than do something else. Like most of us regulars I imaging that we derive some pleasure out of sailing. I enjoy that sense of being in the moment that sailing gives you, starting from the time of the warning signal until crossing the finish line. There is also a nice sense of community that being a member of a club and contributing to its running can give you. I even like the putting the boat together bits before you even hit the water. This time provides another opportunity to debrief with your friends, find out how they are and what they have been up to. So for these reasons I chose to go sailing.
Even though I chose to sail because of the good things I perceive I get out of doing it, sailing can still present you with challenges that upset me like making mistakes. You are probably thinking that that Trevor is always under control, always organised and able to make logical decisions. After all he is one of the more mature members of the club. It may surprise you then that, for example, I take a losing tack or, I don’t concentrate on steering the best way to make hoisting or lowering the spinnaker easier, I can get upset. Given that sailing should be fun, not getting upset should be a fundamental rule, and given that we all make mistakes recovering from errors quickly should be one of the fundamental skills. So even though there are moments when sailing can upset me I think I am getting better at focusing on the recovery and not worrying too much about the mistakes. Sailing teaches you to be resilient, to learn from your mistakes and then get on with it.
Just as well I have very forgiving and tolerant crew members though. And today was no exception. I was lucky enough to share my sailing experience with Andy Blakeley and Stephen Sullivan, two very tolerant human beings. It was the first time Frou Frou had sailed this season and the first time Stephen had crewed with Andy and me. I was a little apprehensive about how well Stephen would go sailing on a TY. Most of my conversations with Stephen about sailing to date gave me the impression he had limited sailing experience and didn’t know much about it. His deeds and actions aboard Frou Frou prove this to be a false impression and in my opinion he had grossly understated his sailing talents. His expertise were a wonderful asset aboard Frou Frou and contributed to our collective enjoyment and success on the water today.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the other sailors starting today. Rosstered Off with Jim, Richard Dave and Shaun aboard, and a big welcome back to Serenity with Wayne McKinnon and Richard Lech aboard. Hopefully we will get so see more of Wayne and Serenity this season.
I have to admit that Rosstered Off and her experienced and wiley crew kick our butts today. The 8 knots of North Easterly fading to 5 should have been perfect conditions for the smaller and lighter Serenity and Frou Frou. Alas, as the results contest, Rosstered Off beat us both by more than 6 minutes on CBH.
Position Boat Name Time in Minutes CBH (PBH)
First Rosstered Off 85.12 (86.56)
Second Frou Frou 91.48 (91.48)
Third Serenity 105.39 (97.97)
Very Important New Events:
After extensive consultation with club members, I have a few other dates of significant importance for TY sailors. Thanks to Brad for the suggestion by the way.
Let’s call them the TY Stay-cation events. We have room on our calendar for three of TY Stay-cation events to be scheduled, possibly on Sundays so it does not interfere with other sailing activities and with an around the lake race format. The TY Stay-cation events are intended to be inclusive, to provide an opportunity for having fun with family friends and new to sailing colleagues. We can make it what we want, perhaps even spending Saturday night at the club. We would like to encourage participation and fun.
The suggested TY Stay –cation dates are Sunday 4 December, Saturday 14 or Sunday 15 January 2017 and Saturday 8 or Sunday 9 April. Please have a think about this initiative and let me know your thoughts and preferences in person or by email.
Hope to see you all on our next scheduled sailing Saturday 8 October
The end Trev
Is Saturday sailing an informed choice or is it just habit? Do we sail because it is programmed in to us or because we like it?
It’s all of the above and more for me. It is a habit, a good habit I hope. Sailing gets me out of bed most Saturday mornings, so that’s a plus. It’s a commitment made and kept with friends. Some days you may not feel up to it or if the weather is not as tropical as you prefer, you still must be read and prepared to sail otherwise you would be letting your friends down.
That still leaves room for making an informed choice to sail rather than do something else. Like most of us regulars I imaging that we derive some pleasure out of sailing. I enjoy that sense of being in the moment that sailing gives you, starting from the time of the warning signal until crossing the finish line. There is also a nice sense of community that being a member of a club and contributing to its running can give you. I even like the putting the boat together bits before you even hit the water. This time provides another opportunity to debrief with your friends, find out how they are and what they have been up to. So for these reasons I chose to go sailing.
Even though I chose to sail because of the good things I perceive I get out of doing it, sailing can still present you with challenges that upset me like making mistakes. You are probably thinking that that Trevor is always under control, always organised and able to make logical decisions. After all he is one of the more mature members of the club. It may surprise you then that, for example, I take a losing tack or, I don’t concentrate on steering the best way to make hoisting or lowering the spinnaker easier, I can get upset. Given that sailing should be fun, not getting upset should be a fundamental rule, and given that we all make mistakes recovering from errors quickly should be one of the fundamental skills. So even though there are moments when sailing can upset me I think I am getting better at focusing on the recovery and not worrying too much about the mistakes. Sailing teaches you to be resilient, to learn from your mistakes and then get on with it.
Just as well I have very forgiving and tolerant crew members though. And today was no exception. I was lucky enough to share my sailing experience with Andy Blakeley and Stephen Sullivan, two very tolerant human beings. It was the first time Frou Frou had sailed this season and the first time Stephen had crewed with Andy and me. I was a little apprehensive about how well Stephen would go sailing on a TY. Most of my conversations with Stephen about sailing to date gave me the impression he had limited sailing experience and didn’t know much about it. His deeds and actions aboard Frou Frou prove this to be a false impression and in my opinion he had grossly understated his sailing talents. His expertise were a wonderful asset aboard Frou Frou and contributed to our collective enjoyment and success on the water today.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the other sailors starting today. Rosstered Off with Jim, Richard Dave and Shaun aboard, and a big welcome back to Serenity with Wayne McKinnon and Richard Lech aboard. Hopefully we will get so see more of Wayne and Serenity this season.
I have to admit that Rosstered Off and her experienced and wiley crew kick our butts today. The 8 knots of North Easterly fading to 5 should have been perfect conditions for the smaller and lighter Serenity and Frou Frou. Alas, as the results contest, Rosstered Off beat us both by more than 6 minutes on CBH.
Position Boat Name Time in Minutes CBH (PBH)
First Rosstered Off 85.12 (86.56)
Second Frou Frou 91.48 (91.48)
Third Serenity 105.39 (97.97)
Very Important New Events:
After extensive consultation with club members, I have a few other dates of significant importance for TY sailors. Thanks to Brad for the suggestion by the way.
Let’s call them the TY Stay-cation events. We have room on our calendar for three of TY Stay-cation events to be scheduled, possibly on Sundays so it does not interfere with other sailing activities and with an around the lake race format. The TY Stay-cation events are intended to be inclusive, to provide an opportunity for having fun with family friends and new to sailing colleagues. We can make it what we want, perhaps even spending Saturday night at the club. We would like to encourage participation and fun.
The suggested TY Stay –cation dates are Sunday 4 December, Saturday 14 or Sunday 15 January 2017 and Saturday 8 or Sunday 9 April. Please have a think about this initiative and let me know your thoughts and preferences in person or by email.
Hope to see you all on our next scheduled sailing Saturday 8 October
The end Trev
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