Dear Members

Although it is very difficult for all of us who enjoy the fabulous facility we have at Starcross Yacht Club and our chosen water sport there, we had no choice but to close it this week.
The Club is deemed to be a Leisure Centre, one of many of which the Government has said should be closed to maintain social distancing.
The thought that we may use the River Exe as individuals has now been negated by a Notice to Mariners from Exeter Port Authority. This states that “it is not appropriate at present for the Harbour/estuary estate to be used for leisure or exercise, despite the current fair weather.” A full transcript can be downloaded here.
There is also the rule of unnecessary travel. Those travelling to the Club by car would certainly infringe that regulation.
Let’s hope that by staying at home and observing rules made for our benefit we can ALL return to enjoy Starcross Yacht Club again soon.
For those who may be worried about security of their boats and water craft stored at the Club, I have arranged for irregular visits from certain people to check over buildings and property. Bill King and Tracy Blackwell will continue with their duties of maintenance and cleaning to make sure all is neat and tidy for our return.

The Starcross Steamer, a winter-months 2½-hour pursuit race for monohulls, has become one of the classic British open sailing events, drawing competitors from the length and breadth of Britain. 

In the Eighties the popularity of the Pompey Perisher and Bloody Mary annual pursuit races, attracting large entries of small boat racers, emphasised the vacuum of a similar event in the South West. The first Starcross Steamer was created in the early months of 1991 by SYC’s then Flag Captain, Nigel Bath. It has now been repeated in the early months of the New Year since that time. The 2020 event was therefore the 30^th.

The thirtieth Exe Sails and Covers Starcross Steamer was held on Sunday 19^th January. This was also the 5^th race in the 10-race Sailing Southwest series where competitors compete in winter pursuit races all over the south-west. Due to high winds the Steamer last year had to be cancelled, so we were a little concerned that we might not get up to the 100-boat limit. We need not have worried: within 14 days of the entries being open we had a waiting list.    Photo Gallery by Garnett Showell is here

SYC always welcomes new members and you don’t necessarily need to already have - or even buy - your own boat.

For more experienced sailors, the club maintains a small, varied fleet of dinghies that can be hired by members at very reasonable rates.

What a great day we had yesterday, with weather and turnout!

One incident marred the day for Mike Arstall, who skidded on the ice and turned his car over on the approach road to the Club. I spoke to him yesterday evening and he sounded his usual chipper self. He has just sent a message to say he had a good night and wishes to thank everyone who helped him yesterday. He is very grateful and says he will show anyone who wants see his array of 25 stitches, but by appointment only. Get well soon, Mike.

96 boats entered for this epic pursuit race and there were no incidents on the water.  Garnett Showell's photos

It has been recognised for some time that it can be daunting for less experienced OODs to sort out courses for three fleets when the pressure is on to get the course laid and the race started. Help is at hand. Over the last few months the Sailing Committee have put together twenty four example courses - three for each of the cardinal wind directions, covering good tide/wind, low tide and low wind conditions. Each course is shown in a format that you can transfer directly to the course board, and includes some instructions on how to position the start line and the inflatable buoys.

• Thank you to all members who volunteered for the work parties on Saturday 8, Tuesday 11 and Saturday 22 February
• Work party for 15 February was cancelled (see below)

Preparation for SYC's new storage containers continues apace. Three Saturday work parties have seen the area cleared and foundations laid for the containers. Thank you to those who gave up a cosy Saturday morning to shift gravel, dismantle existing structures and level the site.

As you have probably seen, there has been a request from Jane Hill, the Junior Chairperson, for help in preparing the site and erecting the flat-pack containers. The work will be carried out mainly on Saturday mornings from 10 am till 2 pm if the weather is reasonable. We will not expect anyone to work in wet or freezing conditions. There will be refreshments in the galley provided by our Secretary, Kathy Jones.

Part 1 of the work plan looks like this:

• Saturday January 25th. Clear any remaining or newly deposited gravel from the foreshore to the storage pile. Clear the immediate area around the existing plastic sided tent into piles of similar materials. Remove and dismantle the steel frame which originally stored the stolen inflatables. Done!
• Saturday February 1st Prepare site for storing the containers which will arrive the following week. Done!