TROON CRUISING CLUB NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2014
Dear Member
Welcome to winter! The remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo have put a marker on the back end of the 2014 season by delaying our lift-out. Cancelling the lift was difficult decision for our compound convenor but ultimately the correct one. As with any of our heavy lift operations safety must be our priority. Brian our long-standing and much trusted crane driver has moved his day job to another crane operator however Kyle has managed to retain his services for TCC lifts.
Sadly we have had a number of recent deaths of members and friends of the Club –
Ken Jack, many years a berth holder until recently when he moved his boat into the Marina.
Grace McDowall, widow of Jimmy McDowall (Sea Eagle) both members of many years standing.
Rita Mitchell, wife of former Commodore Archie Mitchell, and associated with the club for many many years.
Stewart Wyllie, one time partner with Davie Bone in the yacht Verlanda, again a member of many years standing.
Neil Urquhart, a member of the Club for five years who crewed for Ken Andrew on Nuage and latterly Argento.
Much more happily Nathalie Thomson, daughter of Helen and Jim (Sealeg) is looking forward to getting home soon after many months in Yorkill Sick Kids Hospital where she underwent four major operations. This has been a very testing time for all the family and Jim expressed his gratitude to the surgical and nursing teams and to Ronald McDonald House who made life tolerable for them while Nathalie was recovering. We all look forward to seeing them around the club again. Best wishes to you Nathalie!
Much work has been done around the compound recently and we can thank Kyle for planning and undertaking the improvements to the compound drainage to eliminate the ponding experienced over the past few winters. New service ducts were installed at the same time. Additional ladders are in place along the wall and at the grid. The new dinghy storage toast rack has been much appreciated and the cradle mover is an asset that will make life easier in the run-up to lift out — all thanks to the efforts of the usual suspects! However, I must apologise for the lack of progress in the remedial works to the lower end of the slip. An issue arose regarding the material we had planned to use to stabilise the slip surface. SEPA had concerns over the suitability of the binding medium and its potential effects on the marine environment and, given the liability that this could have placed upon the club, we have decided to investigate other solutions. This and the erection of the steel fence around the dinghy storage area are in the program for next year.
You may already know that Wi-Fi has been installed in the Clubhouse the password for which is 3505C7AD55 – no excuse for not getting the latest forecast now.
David Hutton has been beavering away reviewing the Club Constitution based upon the RYA model constitution. This is necessary to bring it up to date and to protect the Club’s members and officers from any liability resulting from activities and running of the Club. The draft constitution and rules will be circulated soon so that you have a good opportunity to review them prior to their being proposed for adoption at the 2015 AGM. This is an important issue for the future of the club and I trust that you will make extra effort to attend the AGM.
You will no doubt have noticed that we have not had a yearbook this year. This is partly due to the editor’s recuperation from heart surgery but also the number of articles received has been declining to the extent that it is difficult to raise the necessary advertising revenue. Consequently we may have to consider making it a digital (pdf) production or a biennial printed version. So if you want to retain your Yearbook get your keyboards clicking….
At a meeting with TYH management the issue of the size of club boats was raised. It was noted by TYH and West Coast Marine, who maintain the moorings, that there has been a trend towards larger boats being moored on the wall and island pontoon. There is a serious concern that this is putting load on the ground tackle, risers and fingers for which they were not designed. Consequentially we can no longer offer berthing facilities for larger boats and must abide by a 30ft maximum limit. Weight and beam are also issues so it may be that shorter, broad or heavy boats may also be problematic. If you are thinking of changing your boat please be aware of this and discuss your plans with the moorings convenor as it will no longer be an automatic assumption that there will be a suitable berth available.
Also, a couple of recent incidents have undermined our relationship with TYH. Please be aware of our position as tenants – we rely heavily on the goodwill of the marina for the smooth running of the Club and the development of its facilities. If you have any issues with TYH please address them through the Council not through social media however strongly you may feel about it. Remember, anything posted online cannot be unsaid and this may be to the detriment of the Club and members.
I’m sure that Izzy will cover the social scene, dates and details in her section of the newsletter but I’ll put in a quick plug for the Prizegiving Dinner Dance and Burns Supper both excellent events – keep your diaries free.
Best wishes for the coming maintenance season.
Doug Lamont
Commodore
RACING
Well done to Ken Andrew of Argento in securing the Club Championship. Full details of all the racing winners will be announced at the Prize Giving and recorded in the next newsletter.
Don’t forget there is still racing every Sunday in November for the Frost Bite Series, so if you’re still in the water, why not join us?
Arran Cameron
Hon Racing Secretary.
SOCIAL
The 50th Anniversary and BBQ was very successful, a huge thank you to members who supported this event..A special thank you to John Woods and Hamish Nicol, their culinary skills on the BBQ as second to none
Thanks to all the ladies who volunteered to assist in the galley at the lift which was postponed from 25 October to 8 November due to the weather. Hopefully you will still all be available to help on the 8th.
Christmas Party
Hi Mums and Dads, Grans and Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles, on Saturday 6th December at 2pm – 4pm Troon Cruising club Christmas party is having a very Special Visitor and I’m sure you have a little ones ages up to 10 who would love to come to the party for nibbles, games and sinalong with Santa’s Little Helpers.
Could you please contact aunt Izzy on 07754085672 or 01292 316776 this helps to gauge numbers coming.
Annual Dance
Please note that the date for the Annual Dance is not Friday 18 November as stated in the Membership Card – but Friday 28 November. Apologies for this error. Cost of the tickets this year will be £29.50. Sorry for the increase but every cost involved is increasing. Please contact me as soon as possible for tickets on 07754 0385672, or put your names on the notice board in the clubhouse. Donations of prizes towards the raffle would be gratefull received.
Dry Weekend
As this is being written some of us, with friends, are preparing to enjoy a two night break at Inverary Loch Fyne Hotel and Spa, which was a great success last year, and we are sure it will be again, and hopefully the Rest and Be Thankful will be open again after the recent landslip. Addendum – a great time was had by all, and we are thinking of making a similar arrangement for early next year – in the spring. If interested, please contact John Woods on 07955853558 or email jwoodsjnr@aol.com so that numbers can be estimated.
Burns Supper
if any members would like to participate in this event on Friday 6th February please contact above number.
Izzy McGowan – Social Convenor
General Note
Now that we have grabrails at the dinghy landing area of the Island and landing pontoons, it is important for them to be easily accessible – especially by those of a certain age… It increases the chance of an accident if dinghies have to be moved in order to reach the rails, so PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT tie your dinghy side-on across the landing or on a short painter making it impossible to be moved by someone afloat.
The painter should be about the same length as the dinghy, allowing it to be bumped (gently) clear of the landing area.
A simple loop or bowline is also easier to deal with at arms length rather than a Gordian knot like your grannies washing line smothering the cleat.
Finally, if you can, please use a downwind cleat so the landing will automatically be clear for the next user.
On a good day, it’s theoretically possible there could be 30 dinghies swinging from the island pontoon. The last to arrive should be able to do so safely and easily.
CRUISING
Recent musters
Tarbert – On 6/7 September this muster was attended by 5 club boats and around 15 club members.
The Closing Muster to Largs attracted 12 club boats and around 30 members for the meal at Largs Sailing Club. Thanks to all who participated
Logs and Trophies
These have all been adjudicated and the results are as follows:
Red Wing Trophy ~ Jim Goodlad ~ Bali Voe
Nautical Narrative ~ Jim Goodlad
TCC Quaich ~ Jim Goodlad
Tankard Trophy – David Lacy – Revel
Anchor Trophy – David Cameron ~ Moody Blue
Nebula Trophy – David Cameron
Neither the Cosalt nor the Saturn Sail Trophies were awarded
My email is ewanB1@hotmail.com and my Phone is 07970647569
Ewan Black – Cruising Convenor
THE JOHN McFARLANE TROPHY
This magnificent trophy is presented annually to the member who has done most for the club in the past year, outwith sailing, and there is a nomination form attached to this letter which members should please complete and return to the committee room, or post to Babs no later than the 27th of November so that it can be presented at the dance. Many thanks.
LIFT-OUT OCTOBER 2014
This note, together with an updated procedure, was circulated to all those members taking part in the Lift out prior to the original date – 25 October – and is being included for information purposes for those of you who will be considering lifting at some time in the future. As you are aware the lift was cancelled from that date to Saturday 8 November.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind all boat owners lifting out to take time and familiarise themselves with the lift procedure, and expectations of your role as boat owners or their representatives.
The Club has over the years, fine honed the procedure, and operation, involving putting in place where necessary, safe guards, risk assessments and training to make this as safe and as smooth as is practical. I would like to remind everyone that you have a direct duty of care to yourself and others around you.
It has been disappointing of late the expectation of a marina type service from the club. This cannot be practically supported – we are a ‘give a hand – get a hand’ club. On lift day, the general consensus is that you are there for the day. All too often of late there are only a few people left at the end of the day, still with a lot of work to be done, and as darkness is falling earlier this time round, the more people to give a hand, the better. Hopefully you will all give this your consideration.
Thank you for taking the time to read this through.
TRAINING
Basic skills training has been ongoing for several months now and we are very grateful to the more experienced sailors in the Club for their assistance with this. We intend to introduce more skill-sets over the coming months, when shore based courses in the winter evenings will be organised. Please contact me for further details on 07747895757 or if you feel you have some expertise to offer, we would be pleased to hear from you too.
KYLE STEWART