PYC Cadets
PLYM YACHT CLUB CADETS’
NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2021
After a hectic but extremely successful season, which is fast approaching its conclusion, I thought I would take the opportunity to bring you up to date with what has happened over the season and what is planned for the next few months.
Let me begin by saying a big THANK YOU to all those club members and parents who have supported the cadets in many ways. Without you it just couldn’t happen. It is the usual story of there being too many to mention but that is genuinely the case and I fear I would miss someone out if I tried to name everyone.
The late start due to Covid restrictions, which then coincided with some very poor weather, meant we missed several on-water sessions at the beginning of the season. However, we more than made up for it with some exciting opportunities for our club and our Cadets.
Obviously, the SailGP event featured highly when we were linked with Team New Zealand. Two of our cadets (Ellie Lashbrook and Peter Crudgington) had the opportunity for a weekend of race training, in Fevas, followed by them racing on the SailGP course area during the event in front of thousands of spectators, and going in a high-speed rib to view the racing from close-up.
That was then closely followed by Ellie and Erin Doody, Dan and Henry Moulding, joining the PYS team to participate in the National Schools Dinghy Championships which were being held in Plymouth this year. They raced in Fevas with excellent performances from them all.
Our beach BBQ in Batten Bay was an interesting affair as we had to have it on a falling tide. That meant a short walk after we had eaten all the food to find a suitable place to get everyone back in the boats – rocks and boats don’t mix very well. Thanks to all those who carried the BBQ and food etc onto the beach and served us all. We also wish Kevin well in his recovery after falling ill at the end of the evening – NOT food poisoning!
We hope to have our last on-water session on September 28th, subject to weather conditions as always. It will of necessity be a short session due to it going dark earlier but will be vital in ensuring everyone who needs to complete some of the practical elements of the Youth Programme will have had the opportunity to do so. Many have already completed at least one of the stages with some hoping to complete a second. You can check what your son/daughter has achieved by looking at the information board at the cadet portacabin.
Available here, the planned Winter Programme will help to keep us all in touch and developing that knowledge base to further the skills development. It will run on Tuesday evenings, in the clubhouse, over the winter months. Please note it is a fortnightly event, beginning on Tuesday November 2nd, enabling the instructors to take October off (although we will still be working on plans for the winter and next season- see about the wash-up meeting further on). We will meet from 1730 to 1830 and cover a range of elements. Some are theory based to cover those bits in the Youth Scheme which we didn’t cover during the season where it is important to get out on the water, and others are pure fun.
An important change to be aware of is the moving of the Cadet Presentation Evening from its usual November slot preceding the Club Prizegiving (which this year also includes the PPSA Prizegiving), to its own slot in January, enabling us to make much more of the event. Certificates achieved through the season and trophies will be presented by special guests who are not members of the club but have done a lot behind the scenes to support us; food and drink will be provided.
To complete the Cadet season, we will be holding a ‘wash-up’ for all parents and cadets who would like to give their feedback to us on Tuesday October 5th – what you think went well, where you would like to see improvements. Start will be at 1730, food provided. It is important you let us know if you will be attending so we can ensure that we have enough food for everyone.
Aware of the support many parents given both on the water and off, we are also offering to run some Powerboat 2 courses. The first will be on Sunday October 3rd and 10th, the second will run on October 17th and 24th. If you are interested in either of these please let us know so we can plan for them. No charge for those who are supporting the cadets.
We ran two 1st Aid courses last Spring and are looking to run another for those who missed out, again depending upon interest. Having people on the water and on shore who can administer preliminary 1st Aid treatment is an important factor in proving a safe and secure environment for the cadets.
Malcolm Wood (Cadet Principal)