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This is a reminder that you must enter the Twilight and Saturday Summer Series separately. The first race of the Saturday Summer Series is next Saturday, November 30. The list of starters is on the Sailing – Yacht Division Results page or here.
To maintain consistency – Twilight orange division’s start flag is orange and Saturday Down Harbour Division 3 is now ‘Orange Division’ and their start flag will be orange.
We were saddened to learn of the passing of Graeme Davey at 8.15pm on 23 October.
Graeme was an enthusiastic and capable member of GFS for many years, initially as crew and for the last decade as Joint Skipper with Ann on their yacht G-Whizz.
Graeme was always ready to lend a hand to anyone needing help and a keen participant in all GFS activities. He was a great friend to many.
A service to commemorate Graeme’s life will be held at 12.00 noon Friday, 1 November at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens, South Chapel. 199 Delhi Rd North Ryde 2113
The link below will allow those that cannot attend to live stream the service
Invitation to view service of Graeme Davey
A celebration will be held at the GFS Clubhouse from 5.30pm – 7.30pm on Sunday 3 November to allow members to meet and remember Graeme.
Canapes will be supplied by Bern and drinks will be provided by the club.
Can you please RSVP by Wednesday 30 October to gfscommodore@gmail.com if you wish to attend so we can plan the catering.
John Veale, Commodore
An email was sent to members noting significant rules discussed at The GFS rules night held on October 15. The session was presented by national sailing judge Erica Kirby, who is also a member of Balmain Sailing Club.
The aim was to clarify the rules arising from perennial questions such as Mark Room, Continuous Obstructions and Start/Finish line.
A lot of time was spent on the scenario in which a row of slower boats is ahead of faster boats in a narrow stretch of water such as Humbug.
A detailed summary of the points discussed can be viewed here – Highlights from the Rules Night
Purpose
To increase the safety and enjoyment of twilight racing by fostering greater understanding of and adherence to the racing rules
Process
- A table will be set up on the deck for the Rules Corner from 8pm to 9pm Wednesday evenings
- Two or three experienced skippers (the Panel) will be seated as rules advisers
- A whiteboard, markers and model boats will be on the table to recreate situations
- Skippers (with crew) may approach the table for a discussion (first come first served) with or without the other skippers involved
- The Panel will listen to the skipper’s story and recreate the situation on the whiteboard
- The Panel will discuss the rules that are relevant to the situation
- The Panel will offer an opinion on how the rules apply and explain their thinking
- The focus will be on shared learning and encouraging correct behaviour, not on criticising incorrect actions
- The aim is to create a ‘safe space’ for exploring an issue
- The Panel will be able to explain the steps involved in Protests
- The Rules Corner is not a Protest Committee and will not make rulings or impose penalties.
Thanks – your feedback is always welcome.
Leigh McLaughlin, Twilight Captain, twighlightcaptain@gfs.org.au
- Courses will be decided at around 4.30pm based on on current and forecast conditions.
- Courses will be notified by:
- The board at the GFS Clubhouse
- The board on the port side of the GFS start boat
- By text message to GFS boat owners after 4.30. If the owner is not on board the owner/crew will need to make other arrangements
- The course for each division will be announced soon after its start sequence begins
- Etchells, Gold and Black Divisions sail the Black Course
- Red Division sails the Red Course
- White, Green and Blue Divisions sail the White Course
- Given the number of divisions and courses, with only one start/finishing boat (and no finishing boat when races start at the clubhouse) it is not possible to shorten courses.
- Please do not call the starters on Channel 72 during the start sequence. They are busy making sure the start sequence is underway. Any questions please call on Channel 71 and they will call you back when they have a chance to do so.
- Retiring boats must call on Channel 72 to let the starters know.
GFS Twilight Race Committee
Leigh McLauchlan
John Veale
Steve Bradley
The following amendment has been made to the GFS Sailing Instructions
The course number for Orange Division will be displayed on a red board, the course for Green Division, White Division and Blue Division on a white board and the course for the Etchells Class, Gold Division, Black Division and X Division will be on a black board.
Please note there is no X Division in the 2024 – 2025 Season.
Please be aware the safe water mark off Bradley’s Head has moved. The mark is currently a yellow buoy and is located in a different position (more East). NSW Maritime are trialling different positions to relocate the buoy. Details can be found here.
Ships will navigate inbound and outbound between Bradleys Head and the new Special Mark.
Ferries and other commercial vessels will pass the Special Mark on their port side.
Boaters are reminded to keep clear of large ships and their escorts, keep a proper lookout at all times and travel at a safe speed.
The roster and responsibilities of rostered persons at the clubhouse after Twilight racing can be found on the Sailing – Twilight Duty Rosters page of this website or here – Roster and Responsibilities
Greenwich Flying Squadron is holding a yacht racing rules event on Tuesday October 15 from 7.30pm to 9.00pm at the clubhouse.
We have been fortunate to secure the services of Erica Kirby, a well respected national judge and national umpire for the evening.
All members are encouraged to attend to refresh your understanding of the racing rules and ask questions about areas you are unclear about. Understanding and obeying the rules is an important element of keeping our racing safe and enjoyable and we hope to see all skippers and many crew there on the evening.
Please make sure that you lock the fridge securely after use.
There is a slight revision to the 2024-2025 Sailing Instructions to correct the starting order for Twilights on page 5 to line up with the correct order on page 9. There is also a statement that – ‘There is no Division X in Twilights this season’. Section 3 – Rules has also been revised to update terminology and specify that the current RRS 2021 – 2024 will remain in force for the 2024 -2025 GFS sailing season (despite RRS 2025 – 2028 prescribed by World Sailing from December 31, 2024).
It is with sadness that we note the passing of long standing GFS club member John Moffat.
John campaigned his Cole 23 ‘Scopio’ for many seasons and more recently the Young 88, ‘Speedwell’ in partnership with David Quail.
John was a strong supporter of the Longueville Sports club (Diddy).
John (Moffo) Moffat passed away on Friday 13 Sept.
The service for Moffo will be at 2:45pm, Tues 24 Sep (next Tues) Camellia Chapel, Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium Cnr Delhi and Plassey Roads, North Ryde. There is plenty of parking, if not in designated parking spots, then along the edges of the internal roadways. Please note: at the family’s wishes, the service will not be recorded, webcast or live-streamed, and the family requests that guests please do not film or photograph the proceedings.
GFS Twilight Races start on October 9 and we are keen to get the administration correct so that all who wish to race are correctly registered. At present 47 boats have registered whereas last year 86 boats registered.
If you are planning to race twilights at GFS, and you have not yet entered, can you please enter your boat in TopYacht by clicking on the link below and completing the registration.
Also a friendly reminder that it is the skippers responsibility to ensure that all regular crew are members of the club or another sailing club. Please encourage all your crew to join GFS as this is a requirement of the racing rules and it is also important to the financial viability of the club.
Following the unfortunate accident to Peter Hamilton, Tracey Perkins has accepted the role of Acting Safety Officer.
There is one last opportunity to complete a safety audit prior to the commencement of Twilight racing.
Sunday September 29 from 9.00am to 12 noon. If you require an audit please email Tracey at tracey.l.perkins@gmail.com
To make sure the audits proceed smoothly please do the following preparation:
- Print the 2024 – 2025 safety form at –
https://gfs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cat7_Form_2024_pH.pdf
- Check all safety items on board and complete the form
- Ensure that all items in the medical kit will be in date for the season
- Ensure that all lifejackets have been serviced and records kept
On the day of your audit:
- Lay out all safety equipment so that it is ready for inspection
- Call the GFS auditors on channel 72 to confirm availability
- Pick the auditor up from the GFS pontoon and drop them back afterwards
