Yacht racing in West Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River has additional safety considerations for all skippers involved due to restrictions to vessel movements due to the geography of the area. These waterways are enclosed and restricted by depth. We share these waters with boats from up to five other sailing clubs over a range of performance and speed capabilities.
A recent close contact incident with GFS boats during Saturday racing has been brought to our attention by a member of Parramatta River Sailing Club. While not attributing blame to any party involved as no protest was lodged, the Club takes this opportunity to remind all skippers that Racing Rules of Sailing apply to any vessel racing in any Sailing Australia endorsed event and of course Col Regs apply to all other vessels in a vicinity of possible contact.
As different club courses on any event day will inevitably cross, often in opposite directions, Skippers and their crew must remain aware at all times of vessel movements in their vicinity and be prepared as a matter of courtesy to make their planned course or course adjustments obvious to other close vessels when a likely close contact may occur. A hail or hand signal, and consistent straight steering maybe all that is required and is a means to say g’day to our fellow yachties on the way past.
Don’t forget Col Reg #1, a vessel must at all times maintain an adequate look out and take all steps necessary to avoid contact with other vessels.
There is provision for inter club protests to occur if deemed necessary by lodging a protest in accordance with RRS and your club Sailing Instructions.
David Leslie
GFS Safety Officer
GFS Burgees are back in stock and can be purchased for $40. Please email the Commodore at gfscommodore@gmail.com for payment and collection details.
It is encouraging to see that most skippers are entering their crew lists via Top Yacht. Accurate lists are for the benefit for all persons on board. However, please be aware that crew lists for the previous week are deleted on Monday at 12 midnight. If you enter a crew list before then for the following race (Twilight or Saturday) your list will be deleted. Therefore, please enter crew lists for the following week on Tuesday or after.
Please remember all crew require an Australian Sailing number which should be recorded on your crew list. SailPass allows a guest to receive a number valid for three races. Use the QR code in the right hand margin to sign up.
Medallions for first, second and third places are awarded for our designated Australia Day Races.
First place medals are awarded at a presentation at Sydney Town Hall and the winners will receive an invitation from the Lord Mayor.
Second and third place medals are given out at the club and many have been collected. There are still medals there for Pea Jay, Meerkat, Ausreo, Whiplash, Tonic and Amateau for Twilights. Paca and Adrenaline for Saturday. It would be appreciated if they could be collected.
Please note Lane Cove Sailing Club is hosting a round of the NSW Sabot State Titles. There are bound to be a number of competitors around when we leave and return from ‘down harbour’.
Lane Cove 12ft SSC – Saturday February 12
Round 1 of the 2021-2022 NSW Sabot State Championships
Start 1300hrs – 3 back-to-back races.
27 boats registered
Race dates for the Joe Walsh Down Harbour Series.
Our catered dinners will be held from Wednesday 2 February onwards.In the meantime, the Club will be available for you to have a BYO BBQ following our upcoming twilight races (12 & 17 Jan). (No race on 26 Jan Australia Day).BYO food, drinks, plates, cups and cutlery, etc.If you use any club items they must be cleaned and returned.
Skippers and crew members (INCLUDING SAILPASS HOLDERS) follow the links below to find Australian Sailing numbers (AS#s)
Changes to the RACING RULES OF SAILING (Rule 46) require all crew to have an AS#. Crew who have joined a Sailing Club previously (or successfully applied for a SailPass) can look up their AS# either by:
- If a GFS member, accessing their Member page on the GFS Website (https://members.gfs.org.au/ ) and accessing their page by entering their User Name and Password;
or
- entering their details in the Australian Sailing AS Number Finder link https://www.sailing.org.au/member-finder/
CHANGES TO RULE 46 OF THE RACING RULES OF SAILING 2021-24 COME INTO EFFECT ON JANUARY 1 2022
“From 1st January 2022, all persons on board a boat while racing shall be members of a Club affiliated to Australian Sailing and have an Australian Sailing number, or hold a valid Sail Pass….”
In keeping with this requirement, yachts racing in GFS events post 1st January 2022 are required to enter details of all Persons On Board for each race via the TopYacht Persons on Board List Facility along with each crew member’s AS#. Amongst other things this is intended to ensure that Emergency Contact details are available to GFS for all crew on boats racing in GFS events. It also means that Australian sailing top-up personal safety insurance will apply to all crew on boats participating in GFS Races.
Emergency Contact details are updated annually for GFS members renewing their memberships and will also be Compulsory fields for completion by crew when applying for a SailPass via the QR Code link on this website (see top right hand column), the QR Code Link in the Sailing Instructions or a SailPass QR Code displayed at the Clubhouse or on boats provided by Skippers.
For Crew financial at other Clubs, valid AS#s also need to be listed in the POB entry for the boat they sail on in each GFS race. If crew have AS#s but are not financial (or do not have a valid SailPass), this does not meet the RRS requirements and boats on which they are sailing may be disqualified if subject to protest.
GFS SailPass Rules
SailPass arrangements are now available for all crew new (or returning) to sailing in races conducted at GFS. The online facility allows crew to sail up to 3x times in a season (at this stage free of charge) without formally joining the Club. The dates can be nominated all at once or singly, but in either case involves a single AS# being issued the first time a SailPass entry is lodged, which must be retained and used for booking subsequent SailPass sessions. After 3x sails the system will not accept further SailPass applications by that person in a given financial year commencing 1 July. Crew who already have an AS# but are not currently financial should use their existing AS# in applying for a SailPass. (Crew with AS#s already can reconfirm them through the Australian Sailing Number Finder – https://www.sailing.org.au/member-finder/ or if members of GFS on their member page https://members.gfs.org.au/ ).
Once a crew member has completed the SailPass Application, they will receive an email confirmation that a $0 payment has been received, along with a button (link) in the email enabling download of a receipt. By Clicking that button and opening the resulting receipt the applicant can view their new AS#. They should then supply this number to their skipper for entry into the Persons on Board (POB) List via TopYacht. All other crew who are financial members of GFS, or other Clubs, who are sailing also need to provide their AS#s to skippers for the POB records.
After 3x sails using SailPass crew intending further participation must join GFS as a formal crew member by completing and lodging the Associate Membership Application Form available on the GFS Club Website, after which email instructions will be issued on how to pay a club Crew membership fee using our online credit card payment system. For these Applicants, their SailPass AS# will then be transferred to a standard GFS Crew membership.
GFS Sailing Instructions have been updated to reflect this requirement.
GFS member John Hayward has been confirmed as the North Sydney Older Person of the Year: for ‘outstanding service to the community! John is also an active member of Lane Cove Sailing Club and is appreciated for the amount of work he does for them. Well done John.
Greenwich Flying Squadron is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all its Members, Guests and Volunteers. Given the ongoing risks associated with the Covid pandemic the GFS Committee has decided to update its Covid Safety plan and will continue to require all members, guests and others (over the age of 16) entering the clubhouse and participating in GFS events to be fully vaccinated and to sign in using the QR code. Crew lists remain a mandatory requirement each time you race. The policy will be reviewed monthly and updated as required.
The 2021/22 Women’s Helm Series starts next week!
Please email me to register (if you haven’t already) if you are participating with your yacht name, Division and name of Female Helm.
Race 1: Wednesday 22 December 2021 (Summer Race #1).
Race 2: Wednesday 5 January 2022 (Summer Race #2).
Race 3: Wednesday 19 January (Summer Race #4).
Notes: A yacht competing in the Women’s Helm Series must have a minimum of 2 persons on board (skipper and 1 crew member). The yacht must be helmed by a female. The Women’s Helm Series and Twilight Series are held simultaneously and point scores are separately awarded.
We have received significant interest in this race sub-series and we’re looking forward to some great racing!
Contact me with any questions!
Regards, Holly Charalambous
Aetos
