Ardleigh Sailing Club New Members Day 2017 takes place this Sunday between 10:00am and 3:00pm.

If you are not a member but are interested in finding more about what the club has to offer, then please do come along to have a look, chat to members and if you fancy, have a trial sail.

If you are a member but don't often sail, this is a great time to socialise and sail in the company of others.

If you are a member who sails regularly, the committee asks that you consider bringing a friend or relative to have a go and/or make yourself available to take others on the water.

There will be a pursuit race at 10:30.

The club boats will be available for members to use.

There will be a one-off joining discount for new members.

Hot and cold refreshments will be on offer throughout the day.

Let's hope for fair winds, a little sunshine and a good turn out!

Volunteering Opportunity 1: to give new members a trial sail.

Volunteering opportunity to run a trial sail at Ardleigh Sailing Club

As part of our ongoing efforts to attract new members, we want to encourage those interested in joining to come along and have a trial sail as a first step. Therefore, we need to build up a list of confident sailors at Ardleigh SC who are willing to take members of the public for a short trial sail on a club boat during the course of the season.

The sessions will be around 20 minutes sailing time and will only take place when there is a safety boat on the water. This will be most likely just after racing has finished, during a social sailing session or a special event such as New Members Day.

Guidance about how to run the session will be given by the committee, but ultimately it will be up to the volunteer 'host' to sail according to their capability and prevailing conditions.

Please do consider volunteering if this is something that you are able to do, even if only occasionally.

At this stage, we are asking those who would be interested to get in touch by emailing sail@ardleighsc.co.uk, and in the email suggest a couple of dates that they would be available.

Volunteering opportunity 2: To provide informal sailing coaching for members.

An opportunity to provide informal sailing coaching to other members at Ardleigh Sailing Club.

Ardleigh Sailing Club committee is looking for confident sailors willing to provide informal sailing training to other members. Previously the club has successfully hosted such training sessions and would like to do so again.

Guidance about how to run the coaching session will be given to volunteers by the committee, but ultimately it will be up to the volunteers to sail according to their capability and prevailing conditions.

If you are interested in volunteering for this role then please do get in touch with sail@ardleighsc.co.uk.

I am pleased to inform you all, that this years Wednesday evening series, will begin Wednesday 19^th April. These mid-week races will consist of 8 spring pursuit races followed by 10 summer handicap races, and finally 8 Sundowner pursuit races.

Wednesday evening is an ideal opportunity for those members who just wish to have a sail with the security of a safety boat on hand, or for the more competitive members we run a midweek race.

As in previous years with pursuit races the 5 minute starting sequence will begin at 6.15 pm with any Mirror entrants crossing the start line at 6.20 pm and the faster boats starting shortly after (please see start times below)

MIRROR (6.20 pm)

TERA PRO (6.21 pm

TOPPER (6.22 pm)

PICO (6.23 PM)

LASER 4.7 (6.28 pm)

WANDERER (6.29 pm)

LIGHTNING (6.30 pm)

BYTE CII, SOLO, STREAKER, LASER RADIAL, GRADUATE (6.31 pm)

ENTERPRISE, ARGO (6.32 pm)

LASER, OK, 2000 (6.33 pm)

LARK, SUPERNOVA, NATIONAL 12 (6.34 pm)

PHANTOM (6.35 pm)

MERLIN ROCKET(6.36 pm)

505 (6.41 pm)

PLEASE NOTE ALL BOATS WILL FINISH AT 7.20 pm.

If your class of boat is not listed below or if you require any additional information, please email richard.biggs@hallmarkonline.co.uk (Duty roster co-ordinator for Wednesday evenings)

The social sailing season is approaching fast!

The first Ardleigh Sailing Club Family and Social Sailing event of 2017 takes place on Sunday May the 7th from 1pm until 5pm. If you fancy a play on the water on your own boat  or one of the club boats, this is the perfect opportunity! There will be a safety boat on the water at all times and use of the club boats is FREE to members, providing you help rig and/or put them away.

Family and Social Sailing events take place on the first Sunday of each month from May to September. If there is enough demand, more of these events will be scheduled...

Many members, young and old, arrive around midday and have a picnic before getting ready to sail. This is the perfect opportunity to meet other social sailors and a lovely way to start the session. By the way, there are generally enough club boats to go around, but please do let someone else have a go if anyone is waiting.

A word about safety, please sail to your ability and let someone with a radio know if you have any special requirements or concerns. If you expect to be rescued in the event of capsizing,  then please stay within sight of the safety boat!

Each session requires a safety boat helm, crew and shore person. Even better if a volunteer can run the canteen and provide hot food at the end of the day. The safety boat crew and shore person roles require no previous experience, so do not let this put you off!

So, if you’re interested, please sign up for a social sailing volunteer duty on DutyMan. We can only run the sessions with these crucial roles covered.

DutyMan is to be found here: https://dutyman.biz/dmmain.aspx?id=A0001669

Any enquiries or suggestions about family and social sailing events? Please email the Social Sailing Secretary using socialsailing@ardleighsc.co.uk.

See you on the water very soon!

It will not escape the attention of members that the club website has recently been overhauled! There are many changes that have been made including:

• simplification of page hierarchy to promote usability
  
• use of the Wild Apricot event system
• use of the Wild Apricot blog system to manage news
  
• mobile optimisation
• improved look and feel
  

Some things have moved and some less essential items may not have made it into the first version of the update. But hopefully all the important items can be found easily. Most important is the login button which is to be found in the top right hand corner of every page and looks like this:

When viewed on a mobile or other small screen it may change to this:

Please take a little while to familiarise yourself with the new layout and navigation. If you do find critical items missing or have any feedback please email this to media@ardleighsc.co.uk.

Hopefully we can pick up on ommissions and additions in a series of minor updates over the coming weeks.

We are currently in the process of updating the club website so that it works better across all screen sizes and devices. 

The Ardleigh Sailing Club Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place at the clubhouse on Sunday 26th February 2017 - 2.30 pm, refreshments from  2.00pm.

The laying up supper on Saturday the 22^nd was a great success. Our thanks to our members Fergus O Sullivan, Rob Turvil and Ben Constable, as well as our guest vocalist John, for providing the music before and after our meal.  It was enjoyed by all, and even the audience managed to sing along!  Lastly, our thanks to Andy Mumford for providing such excellent pies – brilliant!!

The Main Prizes for Racing were award to:

Adrian and Heather Godson	Commodores Cup, Warren Trophy, William Wyatt Trophy, Ladies Cup, Crews Cup, and Goosewing Trophy
Fergus O Sullivan	Early Spring Trophy (The Clock), Greene King Trophy, Richard McFarlane Trophy, Mirror Trophy
Richard Clayton	Beaver Endeavour Trophy, One Up Trophy
Rob Turvil	Hill Trophy
Jim Stewart	New Tankard Trophy, Adrian Lee Memorial Trophy
Anya Newman	Sundown Trophy, Pursuit Race Trophy
Paul Constable	Measurer’s Trophy
Steve Eade	Anniversary Plate
Theo Walsh	Junior Endeavour

I believe that Ardleigh is a not a Racing Club, but a Sailing Club., and all its members are encouraged to become involved with activities that promote, maintain, and make more enjoyable the Ardleigh experience.

Although committee members continue to work hard for the club, this year I wanted to give recognition to ordinary members who have gone the extra mile on several occasions. So, the following were thanked with a small token: Richard Askew, Mike Harden, Nick Staunton, Fergus, Paul Barnes – for carrying such tasks as grass cutting, building the pontoon and organising the Goose Scaring, & extra duties etc..

However, Mick Balaam was award the Member of the year Trophy for 2016 for being involved in virtually all the activities mentioned, but especially for clearing and cleaning out the race hut extension and then rebuilding it.

Andy Mumford was awarded the 2016 Ardleigh SC Bake -off winner for providing us with such a fantastic meal.

John. Thompson - Vice Commodore