Club Newsletter Summer 09 - Sailability
SAILABILITY Janis Buckley
Hello again everyone. Our new season got off to a very good start again on 24 April this year. We were pleased to welcome so many new faces and to meet up again with our regular sailors. We have been lucky with the wind and weather since we started, so we are all enjoying ourselves. We are kept really busy, which is just great!
Volunteers
I would like to say a very special thank you to our regular volunteers for making Sailability so special. I was also really pleased this year to have so much support from PSC in the way of new volunteers. Thank you and keep coming everyone! We still need qualified helms and safety boat people please!
Health and Safety
W
e have been busy this year testing a new and improved rescue device known as the “Jason’s Cradle.” Thank you to all who volunteered, especially those who went in the cold water as pretend casualties. An extra thank you to Peter Burt for the excellent photographs that he took when he was not volunteering to get wet! I will be reporting back to you all, once our tests are complete.
Fundraising
We are still focusing on raising enough money for a new Access dinghy this year but I would also like to put in a special message for Alex Hovden. Alex’s aim is to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Paralympics. Alex needs financial help so that it is easier to participate in training events, both nationally and internationally. If you are able to help, please get in touch.
And finally……..
I would like to end by quoting from an e-mail I received, describing a most enjoyable Sailability session recently. I think it sums up what Sailability at Papercourt is about. The weather and conditions were perfect. The sailors were greeted by a shore crew who were considerate of their needs and pleased to help with the provision of appropriate aids. The sailors that wanted to were able to helm the boat under the watchful gaze of the helming team. One lady was overjoyed at finding joy in sailing again. No one was rushed. The jetty team ensured that the sailors were helped in and out of the boats safely and with dignity. And after sailing, both sailors and helpers had time to sit and chat while enjoying the hospitality provided by the shore crew. It was a wonderful afternoon.” (A special thank you to the safety boat team too!)
So thank you to all at PSC who support us.……..…. and we are having a very busy 2009 season, so don’t forget to help us if you can!
P.S. Happy sailing everyone!
Sailability Dates for 2009
Our remaining sessions are as follows
July 3,17 & 31
August 7, & 21
September 4 & 18
October 2
These are all Friday afternoons and we start sailing at 1.30pm
Sailability is proving more popular than ever and sometimes we have three sailing sessions if necessary. Whatever happens we always have a break for a friendly chat over tea and delicious home-made cakes somewhere around 3.00 or 3.30pm.
