Kutti Cocktails - don't miss out!

We’ve sold a remarkable number of tickets to Kutti Cocktails in the past week! If you want to attend make sure you buy your tickets before we sell out.

Theme: Ibiza Disco (dress up encouraged!)

Date: 1st May 2021

Time: 7pm - 11pm

Tickets: $100 per person includes dinner and drinks - pay here

(As we still have COVID capacity restrictions, tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis)

Fundraising: There will be a raffle and auction on the night. If you would like to make a seperate donation to the club, please click here.

Kutti Cocktails - tickets on sale!

Our annual fundraiser is back! And to make up for last year’s cancelled event we’re making this year’s party twice as good!

Theme: Ibiza Disco (dress up encouraged!)

Date: 1st May 2021

Time: 7pm - 11pm

Tickets: $100 per person includes dinner and drinks - pay here

(As we still have COVID capacity restrictions, tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis)

Fundraising: There will be a raffle and auction on the night. If you would like to make a seperate donation to the club, please click here.

Rescheduled Sailing School & Winter Sailing

With a great forecast for Sunday (28/3) we will be running term ones final LTS session at VA12SC.
Sunday will run as usual:

1. Start Sailing 1 & 2 (8:30-10:30am)

2. Adventure Sailing & Green Fleet Sabot and PJ Racing (10:30am-12:30pm)

This Sunday will be the first and last opportunity to compete in our Green Fleet Sabot and PJ Racing this season. It is a pathway for the kids to pursue racing in the future by learning the basics of a sailing race. Green Fleet Racing is open to kids enrolled in any term 1 course listed above. There will be a separate sign on sheet for the green fleet racing so if your kids would like to complete, please ensure they sign on the regular sailing school sign on sheet and the racing sign on sheet.

Our regular PJ coaches; Sophie and Tash, will run a briefing with the green fleet kids at 10:30am on the boat ramp on the beach. The briefing will cover the course, starting sequence and everything else the kids will need to know for the race.

Don’t let the sailing end on Sunday, enrol in the next course to continue learning new skills!

Winter Sailing is now available to book here.

Easter holiday camps still have places, book here.

Kutti Cocktails - 1st May

Kutti Cocktails is always a highlight of the club calendar. To make up for last year’s COVID cancellation we're going to make this year's event twice as good!

Tickets go on sale in next week's newsletter. We do have venue capacity restrictions because of COVID so whilst we hope we can get everyone in we definitely recommend booking quickly!

If you're at the club on Sunday I'll be able to give you some sneaky previews of what we have in store. For those that are new to the club, Kutti Cocktails is the night that it's all about the real heroes - the parents! Its the night we get to have our fun after making the season so much fun for the kids!

Sydney Sailmakers 2021 SNSW Zone Sabot Championships

Where: Drummoyne Sailing Club

When: 20-21 March

Who: 1-up, 2-up and Transition Fleet

Book here

Notice of Race

Transition fleet boats are encouraged to attend. This is a great first regatta for our junior sailors to transition from club to regatta sailing and for families to be introduced to the wider sabot community.

Hope to see a strong turnout from the Southern Zone.

In addition, we will hold the Southern NSW Sabot Sailing Association Annual General Meeting on Sunday 21st March at 9am at the Sailors Bar, Drummoyne Sailing Club. We welcome all parents/carers to attend, have a say in their association and step forward to nominate for a committee role for 2021/22 if they wish.

Looking for more time on the water?

With 2 weeks left of Learn to Sail there has been an increasing interest in providing the kids with more time on the water. So here are our solutions:

Green Fleet Sabot & PJ Racing

Green Fleet Sabot & PJ Racing will be starting this Sunday (14/3) where sailors from our morning session are welcome to take a Sabot or PJ (2 sailors per boat) out to race around a short course in Watsons Bay. The start of the race will be shortly after the race fleet Sabots at approximately 11:05am. There will be coaches on the water to support the sailors throughout the race.

There will be a separate sign on sheet for the green fleet racing so if your kids would like to complete, please ensure they sign on the regular sailing school sign on sheet and the racing sign on sheet.

Our regular PJ coaches; Sophie and Tash, will run a briefing with the green fleet kids at 10:30am on the boat ramp on the beach. The briefing will cover the course, starting sequence and everything else the kids will need to know for the race.

All the action will be visible from the club’s balcony!

Easter Holiday Camps

The upcoming Easter holiday camps are filling up, now is a great time to secure a place for your kids here. There are 3, 4, or 5 day options available. The camps are lots of fun, providing the kids with a range of sailing knowledge and best of all - heaps of time on the water developing their skills.

Winter Sailing

Winter sailing is a new initiative we are considering trialing this year. It will be a great opportunity for your kids to maintain and develop their sailing skills in the off season. Coaches will work with small groups of sailors tailoring the sailing sessions to their current skill level, maximising learning.

Winter sailing will involve 10 Sunday sailing sessions running fortnightly through winter, with a break over July. The program’s preliminary dates are: 2/5, 16/5, 30/5, 13/6, 27/6, (July break), 1/8, 15/8, 29/8, 12/9, 26/9. Term 4 Sailing will commence in October.

If you didn’t get a chance to sign up at the club on Sunday, please let us know your interest in the program by email.

Photos from the term 1 Learn to Sail course

Here is a link to the photos taken during the course this term.

Don't forget to tidy up...

A reminder that we need to make sure the beach is clean before we leave. That means getting all the boats, dollies, masts, sails etc back into the shed.

It would be very appreciated if you could ensure the boat your kid sailed is either going back out for the next session, or it’s packed away and back in the shed before you leave.

Otherwise the last person standing end’s up with a big clean up job.

Boats for sale

There are a number of member’s boats for sale. If you are looking for a boat, check the listings here and contact the respective vendor.

Sailors Stepping Up To Clean Up!

This Sunday is Clean Up Australia Day, Australia’s largest community-based environmental event. This year the theme is 'Step Up to Clean Up’ encouraging everyone to help protect our planet and conserve local environments. We will be doing our bit with a beach clean-up session between 10-11 a.m. on Sunday morning. Hopefully our clean up packs will arrive by then, so we can clean up Kutti Beach! All welcome. BYO gloves if you have any.

Next season: Canteen team

Are your kids loving sailing?

Will you be signing up for next season?

Can you cook a brekkie roll and a toastie?

After two years running the canteen, Fiona & Sasha are stepping down. The club needs some regular volunteers AND/OR a new keen team take over running the kitchen for next season starting Oct 2021.

Duties include:

• Food shopping

• Setting up ipad/square payment system

• Setting up tea/coffee

• Taking orders

• Making toasties or maybe even a daily special

• Loading/emptying the dishwasher

Historically, a couple of Mums have agreed to the overall responsibility of running the canteen - this could be your chance to make changes/add your personal flair!?   But we realise that people are busy, so the responsibility may need to be shared across a group of regular volunteers.

We will keep the rotating BBQ volunteer system across the whole group of sailing families in place and are just looking for a solid group to learn how the iPad works and make sure the shopping is done each week!

If you can help please sailing@va12sc.org.au or write your details on the list in the kitchen and we’ll be in touch!

Many thanks

Fiona & Sasha

Easter Holiday Camps

As expected our Easter Holiy Camps are filling up nicely. If you'd like your kids to attend then it's worth signing them up soon to ensure you get a place.

Dates:

6 - 9 April

12 - 16 April

Further details and link to booking here

18 footers!

A big thank you to Simon Nearn, Jessica Crisp and the skippers of the 18 foot skiffs who gave our kids a ride on Sunday arvo. An amazing experience!

We traveled to Double Bay by RIB and as the skiffs crossed the finish they swung by, grabbed a kid each and took off, hoisting kites, flying down the harbour! The excited parents raced around by RIB, capturing photos and generally feeling quite jealous. It was when we came back through the fleet we realised a couple of them had put the kids on the helm that we got really jealous! What an amazing experience.

JJ Bando helming Shaw & Partners

Mila Hall aboard race winner Finport Finance

Hugo Minnett on the wing!

Sabot State Championships Round 2. Drummoyne 13th and 14th February

A fleet of 46 boats competed in Round 2 of the Sabot State Championships hosted by Drummoyne Sailing Club and Team Vaucluse was well represented with a team of 8 of our best young sailors fronting the start lines off Cockatoo Island. The winds were moderate but strengthened in the afternoon. Sunday afternoon’s final races proved challenging with plenty of capsizes and shifting winds.

Max Nearn, in Thunderstruck once again produced the best results for Vaucluse finishing , 12th overall. This was not without some competition from Zac Golovsky who was often right on his transom. Emma Badger sailed 1 up in club boat Do or Die and proved that she can handle the helm solo with confidence and determination. Luella Ugarte received a special mention for her sailing effort on Sunday, sensibly completing a granny gibe in the middle of a big gust on the wing mark while 3 boats capsized around her.

Sailing back to back races in different waters is a great opportunity to extend and challenge our sailors to think about wind shifts and seamanship. The learning curve is as big as it gets. It is a big effort and significant achievement for all of our sailors to have competed at State level and its always a great opportunity to compete against the many talented Sabot sailors in NSW.

Special mention should also be made to the effort of parents, our sailors cannot compete without their teamwork and commitment to collecting loading and delivering boats unscathed to regattas. These regattas are important to personal development and building confidence.

Click on the photos to see a slide show of the weekend.

Flying 11 State Championships Round 2 21st and 22nd February at Port Kembla Sailing Club

Round 2 of the Flying 11 State Championships were held last weekend on the beautiful sailing waters of Lake Illawarra. The winds were moderate nor’easters on Saturday and light easterlies on Sunday. 3 boats represented Team Vaucluse in the fleet of over 40 boats. The competition was fierce from clubs such as Manly and Belmont and the quality of the sailing from these kids was exceptional.

Protagonist, skippered by Max Nearn and crewed by Zac Golovsky, was our best performing boat coming in at a respectable 23rd position overall. The boys showed great skill and resilience to mix it up with the top of the fleet at times against boats with much more experienced crews.

All of our kids had a great time in the beautiful conditions. Not only did they improve on their skills and gain valuable experience, but they had a smile on their faces fo the whole weekend which was a delight to see.

These three boats are in their first year of Flying 11s and were up against kids older than them and with many more races under their belts. It was a great preparation for the National Championships to be held on Lake Macquarie over Easter and there are big things to come from these young sailors.

Photos and videos will be in next weeks newsletter so watch this space.

Green Fleet Racing starts this Sunday

Now that the newer kids have honed their skills in the sailing camps and learn to sail classes, its time to hit the start line. VA12SC will be running Green Fleet Races starting from 11.05 am each Sunday for the rest of the term.

The races will be short and sharp and the kids will be able to be coached around the course by our instructors and parents. It is a great way to reinforce what they have learnt in their classes and it is also a great preparation for future regatta sailing.

The club has many boats, both Sabots and PJs, that the kids can use to get them into racing, so if you think that your child has what it takes then let us know this Sunday morning and we will have a boat rigged and ready to go to get them on the course.

Sail an 18 Footer...

Simon Nearn, dad of Max (who just quietly is unbeaten in this year’s club champs!) is Commodore of the 18 Footers League and has kindly offered the kids of VA12SC a chance to have a go on an 18 footer this weekend after the last race of their season.

The 18 footers are fast, powerful skiffs so this one is only open to kids 11 yrs + and we only have 8 spots available. A RIB will be leaving VA12SC at 3.15pm, returning at approximately 5pm. Kids will need their own lifejacket, hat sunscreen etc.

If you’re interested, please complete this form. First 8 to reply will get the places.

Last weekend’s race on the 18’s…

A tale of two Sundays

Another magic day at the club last Sunday. A little grey at the outset, but the cloud soon burned off and the Sailing School flotillas dominated Watsons Bay in the light southerly breeze and bright sunshine.

With the kids having so much fun a few of the Dads saw the opportunity to sneak in some ‘skills development’ of their own. Enter Matt’s wing foil board. One RIB. And five middle aged blokes acting like teenagers. Needless to say, fun was had!

Admittedly we were on step 1 of the wing foil journey, towing behind the RIB, but as Matt Smith has shown us, the below is what we will be graduating to…can’t be that hard?!

RIBs needed this Sunday

This Sunday our Flying 11 sailors are heading to Port Kembla. As a result we are short of a RIB. If there are any parents who have a private RIB they would be able to bring to the club on Sunday for one of our instructors to use that would be greatly appreciated. Please could you email sailingschool@va12sc.org.au to let us know so we can plan ahead.

Easter Holiday Camps

Bookings are open for our Easter School Holiday Camps. We sold out over Christmas so please book early to avoid disappointment.

All details here

Save the Date - Kutti Cocktails

The annual Kutti Cocktails is scheduled for 1st May. For the newer members of the club, this is the end of season party for the parents - because we deserve it! It’s always a fantastic evening. Lock it into the diaries and details will follow over the coming weeks.