End of season

Now that the winter is over, we will hopefully enjoy a far better summer than last year which will enable us all to get out onto the water and have lots of fun.

We have new Stewards who started at the Club just before Easter and we wish George and Linda Dykes the very best in their new venture. As we all know working here at the Club and keeping everyone happy is a challenging job! If you have any comments or suggestions please pass them on to our Vice Commodore, Heather Ibotson. May we take this opportunity to remind Members that only food purchased from the Stewards may be consumed on Club premises.

Training courses at the clubhouse are back on the agenda so please sign up to learn new skills or to refresh existing ones. The initial course run this year was the First Aid course on 2nd April. Please keep an eye on the Club website and emails for future courses.

We have now provided some facilities for children in the end room of the clubhouse so the whole family can now come down and enjoy time together at the Club. Parents are reminded that children do need to be supervised at all times please.

The ever popular adult dinghy training on Tuesday nights will continue. Wednesday evening keelboat racing needs a lot more support this year. Handicap, 707 and white sail racing can all be accommodated so please come along and join in. Dinghy racing on Thursday evenings has a strong and active contingent and is very competitive and will no doubt thrive again this season. Junior sailing will take place again on Friday evenings and is, as always, very well supported.

During the winter months Yoga classes have been held at the clubhouse and these will soon be joined by Art and Spanish classes. Please look out for notices about these and possible other classes on the website and emails.

Now is a particularly good time to join the Helford River Sailing Club as the joining fee has been reduced to £10 so please encourage your friends to join.

We have an active social calendar planned for this summer as you will see later on in this Newsletter. Notable amongst the events are the L’Aber Wrac’h Champagne Party on Thursday 23rd June and the Falmouth Week Helford Regatta Day on Sunday 7th August. Please come along and support your Club and our new Stewards.

Finally may I wish all Members a very happy and fun-packed summer both on and off the water and I am looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible down at the clubhouse.

Mark Buckley – Commodore

Download Spring Newsletter

Despite the unprecedented year 2020 has turned out to be, surprisingly we have seen an increase in new members joining the cl ub. We’ve been lucky enough to employ Oliver Hassell as Club Steward. Ollie previously worked at the Prince of Wales in St. Martin and I think you’ll all agree that he offers a very warm welcome on arrival.

Tuesday’s Adult Sailing has been steady and Wednesday night’s Keel Boat Racing has seen a regular 4-6 boats throughout the summer season, with the sailors coming up to the clubhouse to enjoy a meal and a few drinks after their time on the water. My thanks go out to Sally and the junior sailing volunteers who have given up their spare time to ensure that our young sailors get to enjoy the river safely. Although we couldn’t host as we normally would, the Falmouth Week Regatta saw 116 boats in the water, which was a huge success.

I’d like to thank all the Committee for their hard work during this difficult year, but especially Tracey, Penny and Jane for their work in preparing the club ready to welcome you all back after our first lockdown. I’d also like to thank our temporary chefs Chris and Adam who stood in at short notice and have done a sterling job feeding all the hungry sailors. Also thanks to Ed and Dave for their continued commitment to keeping the pontoon in a good state of repair. And last of all my thanks go to Peter, Mike and Tracey for their support on the financial side of the club which has been vital, especially during this unusual year.

I would like to wish all members a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a healthy New Year.

John Bolitho – Commodore

Winter Newsletter 2020Download

This harrowing yet fascinating talk is not to be missed! Please join us to hear more from Col (Retd) John Steed MBE.

Hello and welcome to what will hopefully become a regular HRSC sailing update.

The RYA have issued guidance on what sailing activities can happen vs the government’s timetable. In summary organised activities are permitted from 29 March, and changing rooms and toilets can open from 12 April – when we should also be able to enjoy a socially distanced drink on the balcony 😀. From 17 May the club should be open indoors (subject to the rule-of-6), until 21 June when all restrictions will hopefully be lifted.

The August Rock buoy Fl green 5sec is now back on station after its winter overhaul. It has been moved slightly [50 metres] and an update for waypoint purposes will be published soon.

The winter gales do cause concern and we have put down a new mooring block with eye and new chain with welded shackles, expensive but very necessary.

John Head
Helford River Navigational Aids Committee.