Many thanks to all you club members who turned up on the 31^st March/1^st April to help with the compound-cleaning weekend. This was Phil Shaw’s first weekend in charge as Compound Officer and I think you will all agree, that he did an excellent job in organising the many tasks we carried out – Well done Phil. Just a reminder to you all, it is your responsibility to keep your own boat space trimmed and tidy. In addition there are always maintenance tasks that need doing throughout the season, so if you have a few hours to spare, please contact Phil Shaw on 01 903 773122 to see if you can help.

Just a footnote to the above: There are a number of members requesting boat spaces, together with existing member boat changes. Phil has been working on a new compound boat space plan, which will be posted in the club hut by mid May.

The season is only a few weeks old, and we have had two instances of the club hut and main gates being left unlocked overnight. Apart from our own boats, we also have valuable club assets to protect. It is likely that our insurance is invalid if property is stolen or damaged under these circumstances. If you are the last person to leave the club, Please, Please lock up all the gates and facilities.

Well folks, having got the compound prepared for the new season, a few hardy members took to the water in our first race over the Easter weekend. This was a first for Ian Finlayson as he won the Cat race but he was also last, as he was the only entrant. Sorry Ian, I am not sure we can count this in the season’s results. Let’s hope the weather improves significantly so we can enjoy the full race calendar that Martin Kirby has organised, and also the social events that Fred Young is putting together.

Here are some dates for your diary. Please note these, and support the social events we are planning for this year.

Dinner Dance: We have decided to hold our dinner dance as close to the end of the season as possible, to avoid the clash with Christmas events. It will also be on a Saturday night and reasonably local. These thoughts are all geared to see if we can boost the number of members attending. So here it is:

Saturday 10^th November at Ham Manor Golf Club

Here are some social/sailing events we are planning, with an emphasis on the family aspects of the club.

Saturday/Sunday 9^th/10^th June - Dart 15 Southern Championships.

More details in the next Main Sheet.

Your Commodore and two other club members ( Peter Fenning and Rod Newing ) attended a level two Safety Boat course at Arun Youth Training Centre (AYAC ) Littlehampton over the weekend of 28^th/29thApril.The conditions were challenging to say the least, but as our instructor said " Who wants saving on a fine sunny day". The course content was excellent and demonstrated how much we do not know about safety, and power boat handling, in rescue situations. Together with Phil Wicks our Safety Boat Officer we will endeavour to increase our expertise and safety awareness in the club.

This is a reminder to ensure you tie down your halyards, to prevent them rattling on the masts in the wind. The noise is a nuisance to neighbours, so please help to keep the peace. Please also ensure your boat is firmly tied down – the reason we had little damage in last autumn’s gales was that most boats were secure.

I am still looking for somebody to take over insurance from Fred Young. This post does not need to be a full time committee member position, and is relatively easy to manage. Please call me on 01903 856279 if you are willing to help.

That’s all the news for now, look forward to seeing you on the water, or just enjoying yourselves at the club through the summer.

Commodore Date: 3^rd May 2001