Registrations Now Due

Membership starts from the 1st July, and payment of fees is required prior to the season starting on 8th September.

If you haven't registered yet please go to the Members and Registration page to renew your registration and pay the associated fees. Moorings are run separately with invoices issued directly to boat owners before the season starts.

When registering a Family Membership, renew yourself first and then register the others and select the additional fees like storage racks against the individual member it is associated with. If participating in centreboard, you will need to register for the appropriate Event (Blue, Red or Gold) on the events page after you've registered your membership. The Active Child discount voucher can only be used against the Event registration. 

Information & Registration day is on Sunday 25 August 9am to 11am, and is mainly aimed at new members, with existing members on hand to answer questions and help with registration. If you need help or have questions, then pop on in. 

Blue Group (Learn to sail for absolute beginners) fills to capacity every year, so make sure to get in early, and encourage your friends & family to join.

For those competing in our Yacht series, once you’ve renewed your registration and paid you boat owner & yacht racing fees, make sure to enter your yacht into all the series you wish to race in via SailSys, All the documents, sailing instructions and links for SailSys are on the yacht racing page of our website.

Skippers should remind their crew to register as the Australian Rules of Racing require all participants to be current members of an Australian Sailing affiliated club (Which Avalon is). Crew membership is only $145. Skippers will need to upload their insurance & cat 5 or 7 certificate to their boat, and then it's an easy matter of applying them against each series in SailSys. 

Key Dates

25th August - Centreboard Information & Registration Day 9-12am

30th August - Sponsorship Brainstorming 6:30pm

8th September - Opening day: Yacht Racing Red & Gold Groups

15th September - Learn to Sail Blue Group starts

5th October - Adult “Back to Puffin Pacers” - 3 Saturdays

11th October - Spring Deck Party BYO 5:30pm

26th October - Adult Learn to Sail

Places for Blue Group, Back to Pacers & Adult Learn to Sail are limited - so get in early to secure your spot. Entry via Events on the website.

AGM 2024-25

This was held on Sunday 11 August. Thank you to Jane Durham for catering Tea and Scones and for the entire committee and for standing again. We welcome two new committee members Graham Vick (Scow Moth) and Ian Turner (Burrewarra, and Spiral Sailor at heart), and a new Commodore....

From the Tiller

It is a privilege to be elected as Commodore of our wonderful club and I look forward to a great season.

I’d like to pay tribute to Ralf’s excellent stewardship of our Club both as Commodore over the last three seasons and as a member who has consistently participated in our racing program (Kookaburra), representing the Club at Sail Port Stephens and even sailing Gold PM centreboard using the club Spiral. We look forward to seeing you on a Wing Ding next.

I also want to thank the committee for continuing in their roles this season as the running of this club is truly a team effort.

My involvement with Avalon Sailing Club started in 2010 when my son Max participated in a holiday sailing camp and then proceeded to crew in the Manly Junior Nationals at ASC. I started sailing Spiral 813 in 2016. I crew on an Etchells in the Quartet Bowl and occasionally on a Couta. I first learnt sailing as a 10-year-old on wooden gaff rigged 16m2 class in The Netherlands and my heart is with the wooden boats. I am married to Garry Oughtred who sails with the Coutas.

Cheers 

Helena van de Linde

Commodore

How do I find out about……

The Avalon Sailing Club website is the source for all member and club information, so please familiarise yourself with the content. Note that whilst it nearly always prompts you to log in, it’s not required for accessing 99% of the information. You really only need to login to change or renew your membership details and retrieve committee member contact details. 

Home Page - An overview that includes key links for:

• Season Calendar –  Sailing, Racing, Learn to sail & cruising calendar on a page
• Volunteer links for Morning, Afternoon & Instructors. Use this to see who’s doing what and to volunteer for roles.
• Sunday sailing program  Timeline of a typical Sunday along with descriptions of all the volunteer roles and links to key volunteer resources.

Members are really encouraged to use the club and our facilities, including non-sailing days. We also encourage you to bring your friends & family - this Club Etiquette and Code of Conduct page describes what’s OK and what’s not OK.

If you have other questions the email info@avalonsailingclub.com.au is forwarded to various committee members who will either answer you or re-direct your query to the most appropriate person.  

Shed Floor Completion (almost)

When we started the floor boarding project, there were, to reference Donald Rumsfeld (remember him?) known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. We knew that the flooring needed replacing because people kept falling through it. We knew that some of the floor framing would need replacing but didn’t know how much. We knew it would take a while but had no idea how long, and there was always a possibility that something completely unexpected, unpleasant and expensive would be discovered.

As it turned out the floorboards were easy to remove – the nails had all rusted through. As for the framing, we started in the Nippa area at the north end of the building and all the joists were so compromised by rot that they needed to be replaced. Happily, this proved not to be the case for the rest of the building – at worst they only needed “sistering” to provide good fixing for the new boards. The lowest layer of structure, the bearers, proved to be in good condition with two exceptions under the east wall. Additional timbers were installed to reinforce them. The footing piers (all 24 of them) had been duplicated by Andrew Kendall back in the mid 90s. At the same time additional bracing of the superstructure was carried out: had these vital works not been done the building would have been in a sorry state by now.

The closest we came to an unknown unknown was finding that one of the principal internal columns supporting the upper floor was resting on floorboards alone with no connection to the substructure. Fortunately the load was being shared with the dinghy rack uprights.

A total of 30 enthusiastic individuals volunteered to work on the project at various times – on any one day there were as many as 10 and as few as 2 on the job. To date we have worked on 40 days, 3 days per week, starting in mid May. The flooring itself is now complete, leaving only the reinstatement of some dinghy racks, which will be finished by Opening Day. 

If at commencement, the project seemed never-ending, that is no surprise:

We installed nearly 1.5kms of boards fixed with nearly 6000 screws, hardened the timbers with 80 litres of Norseal (thanks to Norglass for generously providing half of that quantity as sponsorship) and coated the joists with copious quantities of blackjack. Those last two tasks were by far the least enjoyable, and reluctant as I am to single out individuals for special mention, I must make an exception for George Moretti (Salina), Karina Chapman (Papillon) & Jim Flaye (Kate Kelly) for devotion to duty above and beyond.

Thanks also to the rest of the team. We have achieved a great result and heard some good stories along the way. My favourite included the timeless sentence ”he was a second hand tractor salesman from Invercargill” (Ed. who went on to win Sydney to Hobart & Fastnet race in the same year)

Still on matters building, members will be aware that the Club successfully applied for a grant to upgrade the men’s bathroom. The amount granted was sufficient only to purchase the PC items (now in the chair store) and the toilet and shower petitions (now a temporary stage in the northwest corner upstairs). The new benches have been installed as a promise of things to come. Thanks are due to the Wilmette Place Mona Vale faction of ASC – Jan Scholten, Ian Lanz & Malcolm Bradford – for taking delivery of the material and transporting it to the Club

I would also like to acknowledge the excellent service provided by Johnson Bros Mona Vale throughout the project.

Ian Craig

Are these Discarded Items yours ?

There are a number of items that had been placed on unused racks, these appear to be discarded and our intention is to throw them out. If you think any of these could be yours - they are currently on the deck - please take them home.

Powerboat Maintenance Program update

Jeff Conly has been very busy of late, and throughout the season, to ensure that all our power boats are serviced so that they can operate safely and reliably on every Sunday of the season. This season we had to undertake some major repairs on Lucinda along with the usual maintenance of the other boats.

Jeff has a lot of experience working with business on Pittwater, which we have selected due to their great service. Each of them looks after us promptly as a commercial customer whilst at the same time keeping their charges to a minimum befitting the non-profit nature of the club. If you are in need of these services, please reach out to these businesses, they are keen to assist ASC members.

1.  Mackenzie Marine, operating out of Gonsalves Boatshed at Palm Beach, provides a full shipwright service from basic antifouling through to complex wood and composite fabrication and repairs. Owner, Ian Begg, spent his younger years sailing at Lane Cove Sailing Club and really understands how important small non-profit sailing clubs are to the waterways around them. He proudly maintains a number of apprentice shipwrights as an investment in the future. 

Mackenzie Marine has looked after the annual antifouling of our floating assets (two Poly boats and Lucinda) for many years now. Ian recently completed a complex repair on the keel of Lucinda where woodworm had breached the epoxy barrier and were starting to cause structural problems with containment of the propeller shaft. The keel has now been rebuilt and sheathed in copper for the maximum protection possible towards keeping this major club asset in good condition for many decades to come. Ian would love the opportunity to quote on any ASC member needs.

https://www.mackenziemarine.com.au/  Ian Begg 0416 138429

2.  Ray Phillips Marine.  Based in Avalon but also operating mobile out of his well equipped workboat, Ray is an outboard engine guru. Outboards in a sailing club get a lot of use, some of it kind, some of it not so much. We have one 90hp, two 60hp, two 15hp and two 9.9hp outboards, all Yamaha. 

Ray has been looking after our engines for six years now, providing a priority service to make sure that any issues on a weekend are fixed by the next race day. As many of our members would know, most of the larger workshops have little interest in solving problems with small dinghy engines, simply preferring to sell you a new one.  Ray has demonstrated many time that he is a magician in diagnosing niggling issues at our club and he would welcome enquiries from ASC members.  

Ray Phillips 0414 918837

3.  Yachtech Diesel Services.  Sandy Wallace keeps Lucinda's heart, a great big John Deere tractor engine, running smoothly. Based at Mona Vale, he operates out of his workboat and comes to you. Able to perform all types of service operations, he is also experienced in yacht engine re-power. He is always keen to talk to ASC members.

https://www.yachtech.com.au/  Sandy Wallace 0404 950112

Providing an Enjoyable Sailing Program

Avalon Sailing Club is run by the efforts of our volunteering members. Many hands make light work, and if every member volunteers twice a season (once before, and once after, Christmas) all roles get filled. It’s fun, you get to meet other members and you learn a lot about how the club runs and often a fair bit about sailing too. 

We use the volunteer software Sign Up which lists all roles. The links for mornings & afternoons are on the home page. It’s a simple matter of clicking “SignUp” against the role you wish to fill. Get in early and pick the role(s) that suit you most. Those who don’t self select will be rostered on by the roster manager. Once you are rosted on, you are responsible for that role and if you can’t make it - you are responsible for finding a replacement.

So please make it easy for yourself, the roster manager and all other members by selecting the role you’d prefer to volunteer for via the links on the home page. Why not do that now ?

• Blue/Red Group parents – we need you to volunteer for morning Canteen

• Gold group parents – we need you to volunteer for afternoon race support

• Yacht Owners – we need you to volunteer for Afternoon OOD (Each Boat must provide an OOD each side of Christmas)

Adult Learn to Sail & Pacers

Kingsley has two adult courses open for registration on the website, the first is a Back into Pacers course for 3 saturday mornings in October, and the 2nd an Adult Learn to Sail course for those new to sailing, over 4 Saturday mornings starting the last weekend in October

Yacht Racing

The season’s racing program has been loaded into SailSys and all skippers are encouraged to register their yachts for each series now. We have chosen to use SailSys for compliance (Cat Certifications and insurance) in line with most other clubs, so that you only need to upload your documents once into SailSys and then apply them for each series at any club.

Last year we also introduced the ability for non-members to enter individual races and series, so if you have friends with a yacht that would like to sample what fun it is to sail with our fleet on a Sunday - please encourage them to do so as a casual entry.

All details, Sailing Instructions and links for Sailsys are on the Yacht Racing Page of the website.

Note that we have cleared our Calendar for the weekend 8th & 9th February, that RPAYC is hosting the Pittwater Regatta, so that all ASC yachts can participate and support this excellent local regatta. Enter via the RPAYC website. 

Are you a skipper looking for crew, or keen to crew for somebody who has a Yacht ? Please send your contact details, name and request to info@avalonsailingclub.com.au.  Depending on the number of requests, we will either put people in direct contact or hold a match making session.

Centreboard 

Club Captain Tony Cockle and head coach Kingsley Forbes-Smith are anticipating strong and growing fleets in Red Group and Gold Novice Sailing with good numbers of O’Pen Skiffs (Bics), MJs and Flying 11s. We also have new members ready to join the race fleets in those classes. If you are a skipper looking for crew, or a crew looking for a ride - make sure to talk to Tony or Kingsley, best to do that on registration day this Sunday morning 25th August. 

Apart from Sunday sailing, the regattas are the best way to improve your sailing by racing with a bigger fleet. Here are some dates to be aware of. 

• F11 States R1 – Middle Harbour 10 November

• Open Skiff Dolphin Chaser – Mannering Park 16-17 November

• MJ States R1 - TBC November

• Open Skiff Manly Cup – Manly 7-8 December

• MJ Nationals – BYRA - 27-30 December

• Open Skiff Nationals Mordialloc – 8-11 January 2025 

• F11 Nationals – Belmont 14-19 January

Our senior centreboard sailors will continue racing in the afternoon with sailors from BYRA. This is a mixed fleet mostly made up of Lasers, Spirals and Aeros in "the Pond". BYRA will be running adventure sails to a beach somewhere in Pittwater on Saturdays. We expect this could be a lot of fun for members, and will keep you posted once details are confirmed. 

Sponsorship Brainstorming Session 

Friday 30th August 2024, 6:30pm Avalon Sailing Club bar

This is a call out for everyone to join us for a brainstorming storming session on sponsorship. Do you know organisations that mighht be interested in supporting our club ? Do you have idea for raising funds ? We need people to be in a creative frame of mind and will open the bar.

Sponsorship and grant applications are a great way to raise funds we need for our ongoing building improvement program. We can offer sponsors exposure via flying their flag on our deck, their logo on our website, decals on our club boats or logos on rash vests. What’s missing from this picture is Sponsors. 

We will start at 6:30pm and keep going till we run out of ideas but you can stay as long or short as you like.  

In the meantime please email any thoughts or suggestions to commodore@avalonsailingclub.com.au. It will help stimulate our discussion.

Spring Deck Party 

Friday, 11 October from 5:00 pm, Avalon Sailing Club

This is a great opportunity to socialise and meet other members, chat to our new commodore, discover new sailing opportunities and simply enjoy our perfect location on a beautiful Spring afternoon. A great opportunity for new members, and also for friends & family who may be interested to join at a later date.

The plan is to get tables out on the deck, fire up the BBQ, open the bar and get a chilled atmosphere going with some background music. BYO food and drink, although we do encourage your support of the bar as those $$ help cover our costs, and it’s still so cheap !

Arrive as early as you like, bring the kids and friends are welcome, but do try and get there before 6:30pm for dinner.

ps. every Friday afternoon / evening is a great opportunity to use the club’s facilities and enjoy a stunning sunset on Pittwater with members, friends and family. Last year “Social Fridays” became quite a thing, especially when the weather was nice - so let’s keep this new tradition going.

Something to Add or Share ?

Is there a topic you’d like to see in a future Jibsheet ? Do you have some photos of sailing that you’d like to share with members ? Or could you put some words together yourself for an article in the JibSheet ? Send it to info@avalonsaiingclub.com.au or call Ralf Moller on 0431 734147.