Commodore's Challenge

 Challenge Completed

Bob Abell has sent some photos of his completed entry for this year's Commodore's Challenge, to build a Slipper Launch.

She looks extremely handsome and polished, as you would expect for a vessel designed for the upper classes to flaunt it on the river.

Congratulations on a fine piece of work, Bob !

Clubhouse Re-Opening

Clubhouse Re-Opening

The Sailing Club have informed us that the use of the Clubhouse is again permitted, for small numbers of people.

The current government regulations do not yet permit us to resume normal club night activities, but subject to no change in the projected relaxation of current restrictions, due to be announced on June 14, we are hopeful that we may be able to resume Club Nights in July.

For the present however, the Sailing Club have published the following protocols which MUST be observed by any club member using the clubhouse:

Outdoors, groups of up to 30 people are permitted with social distancing maintained.

The current status is that indoor gathering and hospitality is permitted but limited to groups of six people from multiple households or a larger group from just two households with social distancing in place. You must wear a mask unless you are seated for having a drink or snack and use hand sanitiser wisely.  Hospitality will be table service only (no going to the bar for your drinks). There should be at least two and a half metres distance between groups.

There's a clipboard in the lounge area for everyone in the building to sign in on with time/date for every visit to satisfy the legal requirements for Test and Trace.

For the clubhouse, a one-way circulation plan has already been drawn up. This means entry only via the main entrance and exit through the newly refurbished fire door from the lounge. To prevent close contact at the pinch point of the entry to the lounge from the corridor, any visits to toilets or changing rooms when the building is occupied should follow this circular route.

Also because of restricted space, access to the kitchen will also be limited to people from only one household at a time within any ten minute period (i.e. always leave 10 minutes between) and each use shall be followed by disinfectant cleaning of all surfaces that have been touched. Great care is needed with any mugs etc used - a bucket with a bleach solution will be provided to put them in after use.

Government recommendations are for maximum ventilation to be maintained (eg windows open in the changing rooms) when indoor areas are in use. The RYA recommended area per person for changing rooms is 100 sq ft. With our floor area, changing rooms/showers/toilets must be limited to one person or household at once.

As there will be times when ventilation may be restricted (eg no wind or very cold), and coronovirus is likely to become endemic rather than pandemic, the committee felt it would be worth the club investing in some UV-C air treatment as this is known to kill airborn viruses. We are running a trial in the lounge area and the unit should be left active (the fan on) 24/7. When you leave the building unoccupied, press the lowermost button on the side and it goes into a 2 hour phase of giving off Ozone to boost effectiveness.

If you do use the Clubhouse, for any reason, please ensure that you comply with these protocols. In the event of abuse, access may be withdrawn. It is up to all of us to combat the spread of Covid-19, so that normal life can be resumed as soon as possible