PLYM YACHT CLUB CADETS NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2022
Let me begin by once again saying a big THANK YOU to all those club members and parents who have supported the cadets in so 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.
Usually, we hold a ‘wash-up’ meeting at the end of September for all the cadets and parents to provide feedback but, even though sessions on the water had finished, Ade and myself were still extremely busy with port wide and National events and training. So, how did the season go?
An obvious highlight of the season must be our involvement with SailGP again. We were paired with New Zealand again and due to the eased Covid restrictions some of their top sailors were able to visit the club and join the cadets on the water. Plym YC was highly commended through its loan of all our Fevas (6) to the RYA Inspire Feva training programme, enabling a total of 10 clubs to participate in the programme.
We actually had 4 cadets involved in the programme, William Boalch, Erin Doody, Maddie Jinks and Daniel Moulding, who came 2nd and 3rd respectively in the racing. William and Maddie have gone on to gain a place in the RYA Feva Training programme and will be busy over the winter attending training sessions. Will there be an opportunity for someone else next year?
A chilly start in April still saw a good turnout of cadets with numbers steadily growing over the season – the final two sessions saw every available boat out on the water. The development of their sailing skills was obvious as several sessions took place in quite breezy conditions in the early part of the season, but by end of the season those same conditions were comfortably dealt with by those same sailors.
PYC Cadets also had a presence in the Water Safety event which took place on the green at the end of August. Supported by Maddie and William, our boats display looked impressive, attracting many favourable comments and enquiries. You will notice on the whiteboard the raffle prize of a PB2 course offered by SeaRegs Training who generously donated all the raffle monies to cadets.
You should already have received the planned Winter Programme (or find it on our Facebook page), an important element in developing that knowledge base to further the practical skills development; the first one is this coming Tuesday, November 1st. For those who are relatively new to us and did not experience the programme last winter, it runs on Tuesday evenings, in the clubhouse, over the winter months. Please note it is usually a fortnightly event, beginning in November, but note the dates carefully as we have to work around holidays etc. We take October off to enable the instructors to recharge their batteries. We 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 when it is important to get out on the water, and others are pure fun.
An important date to be aware of is the Cadet Presentation Evening on FRIDAY 24th February. Certificates achieved through the season and trophies will be presented by guests; last year’s guests from around the port, who have helped both the club and the Cadets, spoke very highly of our achievements. Food and drink will be provided.
Aware of the support many parents give both on and off the water, we are also offer training where appropriate, at no cost. We have once again run a PB2 course during, putting 5 candidates through their paces who all passed – Mel Boalch, William Boalch, Jonathan Burrell, Daniel Moulding and Sam McCallien. We also gained recognition this year to run SRC (VHF) courses at the club. The date for the first course has been set for SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11th - notice will be sent out nearer the time if you are interested.
Finally, I wish to inform you that, after an agreed 2 years at the helm to guide the club in acquiring RTC status for dinghies, powerboat and SRC, I am now stepping down with immediate effect. Mark Prue, whom many of you will know, is taking over as Principal. I’m sure you will support him as well as you have supported me during my time.
Many thanks,
Malcolm Wood (RTC Principal)
