NSC Season 2015-16 Season Report Final-V1 PDF
NSC Season 2015-16 Season Report Final-V1 PDF
NSC Season 2015-16 Season Report Final-V1 PDF
Commodores Report
The 2015-2016 sailing season was another great year for the club with many new families
introduced to the sport along with the running of our usual competitive junior and senior
programs. Whilst there were many milestones and achievements throughout the season, the
Committee has continued to pursue the priorities that were agreed in the 2014-2015 season
under the Operating Plan reported last year.
Whilst there were a set of priorities outlined in the Operating Plan, most can be summarized
under the following three groupings:
1. Re-invigorate the Junior program. In the 2015-2016 season we continued the work
we have been undertaking to build our Junior program and to improve the outcomes
we deliver for the kids who are learning to sail. The investment in the new poly Optis
was a clear success improving skill development for our LTS cohort. Additionally our
coaching program, led by Lizzi and Evan, continued to develop this season including
the introduction of a new holiday LTS program that will be replicated again in the new
season. Whilst the introduction of a more formal coaching program has helped to
deliver better LTS outcomes, a core element of our Club culture is the volunteer
instructors they are the life blood that makes us unique and central to activities
such as Live-In. In the 2015-2016 season it was pleasing to see an increase in our
instructor community and we are carefully managing the formal coaching/ volunteer
balance to ensure we preserve and enhance the culture of our Club.
2. Establish clearer pathways for our youth sailors. Whilst the Club continues to
attract new sailors into the Opti class, we recognize the need for the Club to invest in
ways to keep kids in sailing once they graduate from this entry class. A number of
actions were taken here throughout the season and as always more will need to be
done to continue the progress we are making. For example, the introduction of
multiple short races, providing the opportunity for additional starts and more frequent
opportunities to learn, rather than trailing legs behind as youth sailors gain familiarity
with a new class, has been one of the actions taken this year. Whilst this specific
action is related to sailing outcomes, the broader objective is to maintain teenager
engagement in the Club. Much progress was made this year in this area with new
social activities being established (incl the Free Sailor days and the establishment of
a Youth Social Committee). The response to these social activities was very strong
highlighting the interest many kids have in being engaged in the Club but not
necessarily its racing activities. Special thanks to Ricky, Andy and all of the other
parents who have been involved here these social activities will become an even
more important part of the Clubs activities in the new season. We are also initiating
communications with nearby clubs with a view to coordinating and improving the
youth pathway - a critical area we believe we can improve.
3. Continue to find ways to integrate the Junior and Senior activities of the club.
The Committee is committed to ensuring the Club exists for all members and we are
continuing to look for ways to better integrate the activities of our junior and senior
sailors. In the past this integration was largely achieved through family sailing
parents sailing with their kids and in so doing introducing them to afternoon sailing.
Times are changing and whilst there arent as many parents sailing with their kids
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there are many ways we can ensure the two groups continue to be co-dependent
and that Northbridge remains what it has always been a family club.
These three priorities will continue to underpin the efforts of the Committee as we head into
the new season. Whilst there is clearly much more to do in each of these areas, there were
many highlights from the season.
I have captured a selection of these highlights below:
Our season was kicked off with a number of marketing activities including an Opti
and a Flying 11 rigged up in Northbridge Plaza promoting our activities within the
community. This attracted great interest including from the Willoughby Mayor who
dropped by. This was part of a comprehensive marketing plan that Hugh Morrow led
sincere thanks to all involved here.
The season also saw the introduction of more varied, fun-based events including
specific sailing streams in the Sailing School that catered for both the more
competitive and the more social young sailors.
A new social committee was appointed amongst the youth sailing group and several
sleep-over and pizza nights were held. In addition, Free Sailor days were
established and proved to be very popular for the kids who arent as interested in the
racing activities.
Mike Tait organised the updating of the Honour Boards thank you Mike yet again!
We had 19 Optis competing at the NSW States the second largest junior fleet
contingent from a single club and a strong cohort every week through the regular
season. This was a testament to the coaching program led by Lizzi and our many
volunteer instructors
For the second year running, our Flying 11 sailors won the Sydney Harbour
Championship
Our sailors continue to pursue their dreams in a number of ways and this season we
saw Tim Westwood selected in the Japanese Youth Americas Cup team for the Red
Bull Youth Americas Cup in Bermuda in June 2017. The evergreen Tim Alexander
attended the Laser World Masters in Kingston revisiting the same location he went to
40 years ago when he represented Australia at the Olympics. Lachie Brewer and
Jack Ferguson competed in the 2016 Optimist World Championships in Portugal in
July with both finishing in the top 100, a great achievement considering that only
eight Aussie sailors have achieved that to-date. Mina Ferguson competed in the
2016 Optimist European Championship in Italy in July, achieving second in the Silver
Fleet finals. A great result! Finally Sam Worrall (sailing with Otto Henry from WSC)
came 9th in the French 420 Nationals and 26th in the World 420 Championships in
Europe in July.
Please read the Class Reports which provide details around the many achievements of the
sailors and the Club this season.
Financial Report
This years membership and financial performance was an improvement over last year with
the attainment of a profit from our operating activities for the first time in 3 years.
Memberships grew to 179 from 161 in 2014/15 with an increase in the number of first year
Learn-To-Sail enrolments and a stronger retention rate from 2014/15 due to the
improvements in the Junior Program.
Northridge Sailing Club Season Report 2015-16
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The Junior program generates 75% of the Clubs income and as a result the increased
emphasis here is a key element of the Committees plans to secure the financial viability of
the Club.
This stronger financial performance enabled the Club to invest in some much needed
maintenance. In the 2015-2016 season we prioritized the following capital and maintenance
activities:
In addition I am pleased to report the Club has made a grant request to the Federal
Government for further investment in the Clubs facilities and the Committee hopes to make
an announcement here in the near future.
The Clubs success continues to be built on its members and the unique environment that
we enjoy at Northbridge. On behalf of all members, I would like to thank the many individuals
who contributed to the Clubs success from parents, instructors, class captains, sailors and
other volunteers. In particular Id like to thank the Committee for giving up their time for the
benefit of all members.
It is a privilege to be able to contribute to the Clubs activities and to be part of the Clubs
development. The Committees primary mission is to ensure we hand the Club over to the
next leadership group in better shape than what we found it in and we look forward to
continuing the progress we have made this year.
Steven Worrall
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The twelve new plastic optis enabled the new sailors to get straight into the action, sailing
two up for the entire course enabling quick transition to solo sailing.
The wonderful Lizzi Rountree and her band of coaches and instructors led fantastic
programs of skill enhancement.
We had great regatta representation. First up was the ACT Champs and we had a large
contingent travel down to Canberra. This is a fantastic event at a wonderful venue and is the
perfect first regatta for budding racers.
Lizzi brought her creative skills to Canberra and the kids made t-shirts to celebrate the
weekend.
Northridge Sailing Club Season Report 2015-16
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Regular weekend racing ran quite smoothly with the help of the many parent volunteers.
The ranks were strong with up to 24 Optimists competing on some weekends. This made
for a very busy deck as the kids returned with the seniors hankering to start rigging!
The camaraderie amongst the Northbridge junior sailors at regattas was fantastic to see.
Quite a few of the kids coming out of the learn to sail program joined the contingent that
travelled up to South Lake Macquarie for the State Championships. Not surprisingly, many
first time kids (and parents) had no idea what was going on! but the kids stepped up and
proactively helped each other get organised, rig up and launch their boats.
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As is tradition, the end of season Sailaway took the kids off to a mystery location for a day of
fun and games. Its a wonderful way to wrap up the season.
Thanks to all the kids and parents that helped out. It was a fantastic season.
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The kids have had FUN and it is always a tremendous sight to see them learn and grow in
confidence. We had a range of abilities from front of the fleet regatta sailors through to club
sailors still learning to confidently sail in all weathers and everything in between.
The Flying 11 Program has been ably coached by Evan Andrews and assisted by a hardworking and enthusiastic parent group.
Club Championship
The Club Championship was a close tussle between Rebecca Hancock/Eve Peel and Jack
Taylor/Shuhei Tomishima with Rebecca and Eve proving the form sailors of the season. The
club Championship places were 1st Rebecca Hancock and Eve Peel, 2nd Jack Taylor and
Shuhei Tomishima and 3rd Kashi Saunders and Bezi Saunders.
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Keogh 2nd and Sasha Zenari and Thomas Westwood 3rd in the Presidents Plate. Luke
Bartels followed by Kashi were 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Punchbowl Pennant and Kashi
and Bezi were 2nd followed by Nathan Stanaway and Mathew Yun 3rd in the Commodores
Cup.
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The final round summed it up for me with our small fleet getting beaten up by a 25+ knot SE
squall on the passage across the Heads en route to Vaucluse, the three rescue boats hiding
behind the eastern channel wedding cake to keep out of the horizontal rain, going ashore
after racing to mingle with the Vaucluse kids for a sausage sizzle and prize giving before
going back out into the freezing cold for the sail home. The standout was young Anders
Koskela who had never sailed in a Flying 11 before and was in his first year in Optis when
he was talked into joining the departing fleet at 10 minutes notice.
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State Championships
Figure 8 Patrick and Sam Reaching Before the Storm (and not long before they
washed up on the rocks in the surf off Cronulla)
Northridge Sailing Club Season Report 2015-16
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In the overall results notable successes were Bec and Eve (and stand-in Emma for the last
day) who won the Best All-Girl Crew, Maddy Sloane and Isobel Gosper who came second
on handicap, and Sam Alexander and Patrick Fennell who won the Encouragement award
(for stacking Anzac onto the rocks in big surf at Cronulla - not sure the parents want to
encourage that!). And Tom Warne, who somehow won two(!) lucky door prizes at the results
presentation...
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Social Events
It took a while for the social events to gain momentum this year but there were several
memorable Pizza and Sleepover events that were well attended.
A memorable moment was when 30 kids turned up for a sleepover on a Saturday night only
to discover a wedding had been scheduled at NSC and they were effectively homeless. No
problem for our intrepid sailor group who shuttled everyone to the Seaforth clubhouse using
a variety of boats (gotta love mucking around in boats) for an extra special and even more
isolated sleepover best one yet!
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Conclusion
In summary, the 2015/16 Flying 11 season has been very successful. The club spirit is alive
and well, the kids have had a ball and the emphasis has been on fun. Along the way we
have a great group of kids who have developed great friendships and are developing as
sailors. What more could we have asked for?
A HUGE thank you to Evan Andrews for all his efforts and to all the other parents and
coaches who have put in such a big effort to make the season such a success.
Tom Sloane
Flying 11 Captain
Northridge Sailing Club Season Report 2015-16
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CLUB CHAMPONSHIP
Our Olympic sailor Tim Alexander took out the club championship for the 9th or 10th time in
the Full Rig Division, setting a fine standard for the rest of us. Steve Penny was runner up,
with Ian Clare 3rd, and John Smidmore 4th. The completion for 2nd place was fierce!
Congratulations to Cameron McDonald who won the Radial Division
MASTERS CLASSIFICATIONS: Outside of sailing some persons have difficulty reaching an
age and stage where they are entitled to a Seniors Card. Despite the financial advantages
most take years after being entitled, before actually applying for the seniors card. It is a
similar story as one works through the different classifications of Laser Master Sailing. We
have Apprentice Masters in the 35-44 age bracket, then Masters 45-54, Grand Masters in
55-64, and then Great Grand Masters in 65-74, After that there are the legends. But unlike
Seniors Cards, once you attain a certain age you are in a new classification and we all
know about it. No names mentioned here, but we all know who is going through a stage of
reclassification. Harden up, you know who you are!
NEW SAILORS WELCOME: The long established core of laser sailors welcomes new
sailors. We maintain a club boat for potential new laser sailors, visitors from other clubs
from anywhere in the world, or members. This year we have welcomed at least four visiting
sailors and we encourage them to return.
RULES REMINDER
Let us take the opportunity to remind ourselves that it is important that the rules of sailing be
followed whilst racing at the club. This is particularly important for the regatta sailors, for at
regattas no quarter is given.
TWIGHLIGHT TRAINING
For those of us fortunate enough to take advantage of the often perfect sailing conditions in
late afternoon, there has been laser training at the club once a week during the season,
whenever there is a quorum. A quorum is enough sailors to lift out the boats, and put them
away.
Sandy Kiernan
Laser Captain
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With a number of youth interested in the next step after F11s we are keen to promote the
NS14 and MG14 as the classes of choice. With one hull you can have double the fun and
sail single-handed too! To help with this choice Mike went out a couple of times with Kashi
Saunders with Carbon Neutral rigged as an MG. With Mikes skills somewhat rusty and
minimal wind there wasnt a huge amount of excitement but it was obviously enough to
persuade Kashi as the Saunders have now acquired an MG. We look forward to seeing
them out next season, hopefully as both an MG and an NS as the circumstances require.
The other interesting bit of news is that the very first NS14 built, the prototype designed by
Frank and the small team of Northbridge sailors, is alive and well and still sailing. Named
Seraph, the name being a derivation from the Cherub Frank and Nel brought with them
from New Zealand, she has been in the same family all this time and has the original sails
and rigging and this summer has sailed from Clontarf to Watsons Bay a couple of times.
Unfortunately, she broke her round wooden mast so if anyone knows of one somewhere
please contact Mike. Mike has lent her an alloy mast and sails to suit to get around with
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temporarily and she is seen here with that rig in a picture taken from David Lees yacht on a
MHYC Wednesday race day.
We look forward to an expanded fleet for next season and we are all happy to discuss any
aspects of the classes with anyone who is interested.
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Due to combination of very unlikely star crossed hopes and aspirations, Tony and Maz could
have (somehow) won the Club Championship in the last heat if they beat Hugh and Anna by
two places however Hugh using his superior match racing skills sailed us to the back of the
fleet. This did lead to some animated discussion on our boat shared with all around
however despite best efforts, Hugh and Anna secured a second to Ric and Barb in the last
heat of the Club Championships, with Tony and Maz third. This gave Hugh and Anna the
Club Championship with only one point separating second and third, with Tony and Maz just
nudging out Ric and Barb.
In the regular Sunday handicap racing, there were plenty of close races with featherlight
Ric and Barb making the most of shifty conditions and getting out in front however quite
often there was a cluster of three Tasars bellowing buoy room well into the race legs.
Malcolm Handel was the dark horse of the season we never knew whether he was going
to sail or with whom however both Kerry and Kim seemed to take this in their stride (except
when Malcolm called them by the wrong name).
Somehow I think Hugh will leave less to chance next season.
Tony Stephens
Tasar Class Captain.
Club Championship
Willoughby Shield
Commodores Cup
Annual Point Score
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
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Venue
Georges River Sailing Club
Places
1.
Hugh and Anna
2.
1.
1.
1.
2.
25.
Hugh Tait
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