Olympic Sprint Regatta - OOD Assistant wanted
With the Olympics being held this year, we're having a one-off "Olympic Sprint Regatta" on Sunday 16th June. The plan is to run a series of short races on the day. Dave Pugh is the OOD (Officer Of the Day) and needs someone to assist him with running the races (no OOD experience is required).
If you are available and willing to help please email: ssc-chair@pysc.org.uk
Thanks
Modified: 1 day, 19 hours ago
Dinner Dance & Prizegiving. 8th March 2025. Nailse Masonic Hall
The Dinner Dance & Prizegiving will be held on Saturday 8th March, at Nailsea Masonic Hall.
Put the date in your diaries.
Modified: 1 week, 6 days ago
Steve Pascoe agrees to act as Commodore
As most of you will be aware, we concluded the AGM in October without being able to elect a Commodore as we had no candidate for the position. The General Committee has carried functioning without, but has continued to seek help from the membership.
The GC are pleased to confirm that we have now co-opted Steve Pascoe onto the General Committee. Steve has agreed to take on the role as Acting Commodore until the next AGM in October 2024, when he will be officially proposed to the membership for election as Commodore.
Steve did a fantastic job as PYSC Commodore in the noughties, so we are delighted to have him back on the team.
GC
Modified: 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Change to 2024 Handicaps
The RYA Portsmouth Yardstick Scheme enables boats of different classes and characteristics to race competitively against each other. Each year the RYA updates the yardsticks for each class., which means that each year the yardstick for some classes improves, for others it gets worse and for many it stays the same.
Classes with a better (i.e. higher) handicap number for 2024 include:
- 2000 from 1114 to 1118
- Comet Trio Mk I from 1096 to 1104
- Enterprise from 1126 to 1133
- Europe from 1141 to 1147
- Fireball from 952 to 955
- ILCA4 from 1210 to 1213
- ILCA6 from 1150 to 1154
- ILCA7 from 1101 to 1102
- Osprey from 934 to 937
- RS Aero 5 from 1126 to 1141
- RS Vision from 1137 to 1139
- Wayfarer from 1106 to 1109
Classes with a worse (i.e. lower) handicap number for 2024 include:
- 29ER from 897 to 895
- Buzz from 1020 to 1006
- Lark from 1065 to 1062
- Mirror – double handed from 1387 to 1380
- Mirror – single handed from 1377 to 1370
- Phantom from 1002 to 1000
- RS600 from 920 to 917
- RS Aero 6 from 1105 to 1102
- RS Aero 7 from 1063 to 1061
- RS Feva XL from 1248 to 1244
- Supernova from 1017 to 1015
Modified: 3 weeks, 3 days ago
Class Racing – Which class can you sail in?
For Class Racing the fleet is divided into 3 classes. The divisions between these classes overlap which means that some competitors (& dinghies) can choose between one of two classes in which to sail. It’s up to individual competitors which class they sail in.
- Competitors sailing a boat with a Portsmouth Yardstick Number (PY) below 1000 must sail in Class 1.
- Competitors sailing a boat with a PY between 1000 and 1050 may choose to sail in Class 1 or 2.
- Competitors sailing a boat with a PY between 1051 and 1074 must sail in Class 2.
- Competitors sailing a boat with a PY between 1075 and 1200 may choose to sail in Class 2 or 3.
- Competitors sailing a boat with a PY greater than 1200 must sail in Class 3.
For each of the dinghies most commonly sailed at PYSC, here is a list of their PY number and the class or classes that they can be sailed in:
Boat
|
Yardstick
|
Class or Classes
|
2000 (Laser 2000) |
1118 |
2 or 3 |
3000 (Laser 3000) |
1085 |
2 or 3 |
29er |
895 |
1 |
29erXX |
850 |
1 |
420 |
1100 |
2 or 3 |
Alto |
921 |
1 |
Buzz |
1006 |
1 or 2 |
Comet Trio (Mk I) |
1092 |
2 or 3 |
Contender |
966 |
1 |
Devoti D-Zero |
1032 |
1 or 2 |
Enterprise |
1133 |
2 or 3 |
Europe |
1147 |
2 or 3 |
Fireball |
955 |
1 |
Javelin |
930 |
1 |
Kestrel |
1035 |
1 or 2 |
Lark |
1062 |
2 |
Laser – ILCA 7 |
1102 |
2 or 3 |
Laser Radial – ILCA 6 |
1154 |
2 or 3 |
Laser 4.7 – ILCA 4 |
1213 |
3 |
Laser Pico |
1330 |
3 |
Lightning 368 |
1160 |
2 or 3 |
Merlin Rocket (Classic) |
1000 |
1 or 2 |
Mirror (2 people) |
1380 |
3 |
Mirror (1 person) |
1370 |
3 |
Osprey |
937 |
1 |
RS200 |
1046 |
2 |
RS300 |
965 |
1 |
RS500 |
963 |
1 |
RS600 |
917 |
1 |
RS800 |
799 |
1 |
RS Aero 5 |
1141 |
2 or 3 |
RS Aero 6 |
1102 |
2 or 3 |
RS Aero 7 |
1061 |
2 |
RS Feva |
1244 |
3 |
RS Neo |
1180 |
2 or 3 |
RS Vareo |
1093 |
2 or 3 |
RS Vision |
1139 |
2 or 3 |
Solo |
1142 |
2 or 3 |
Supernova |
1075 |
2 or 3 |
Topper |
1369 |
3 |
Topper 4.2 |
1425 |
3 |
Wayfarer |
1109 |
2 or 3 |
Modified: 3 weeks, 3 days ago
Training available to members (RYA 1st Aid,Food Safety,PB2,VHF)
Training courses
The club is supporting the following training to help members and club operations. Please let us know if you are interested via the email address below:
· RYA 1st Aid course. 50% club funded to be run this spring. This is a useful general 1st aid course with additional sea/cold related aspects, which lasts for 3 years. It is also needed for various sailing qualifications (instructor etc). £TBC
· Food safety. Fully funded by club (~£11). “On-line” course (and exam) that can be taken at any time. Most people complete the course in one evening, but you can take as long as you want. It is the basic level needed to be allowed to cook in the galley. Anyone involved in the galley is encouraged to do this course.
We would also like to gauge interest in setting up a group outing for the following courses:
· VHF Radio (RYA). Needed to allow operation of the VHF radios on anything other than 37A. Useful course for anyone involved in sailing. 1 day, either classroom or on line options (exam must be in classroom somewhere). £ TBC (£65-£100 training + £70 exam)
· Power Boat 2 (PB2). 2 day on water course covering basic skills of operating a power boat. Cost is around £250-£320 depending on where organised/available.
If you would like to undertake any of the above courses please email training@pysc.org.uk
Club committee and support roles
Dear Members
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at the AGM at The Ship Inn on Monday 16th October at 7.30pm.
As usual at our AGM we will be looking for people to support with the many roles that are essential to the ongoing running of the club. Some of these require attendance at regular meetings, but many can help with one off tasks.
In particular we are looking for volunteers for;
Commodore, Vice Commodore, Maintenance support, Arranging the Dinner Dance (urgent support needed!!), Instructors and General Committee members.
If you are interested in finding out about any of these roles or are willing to help or want to join the committee, please get in touch with gc@pysc.org.uk, and one of us will respond asap.
Club Training, all welcome
All are welcome at club training days, those wishing to learn more, those wishing to teach and those who justwant to go for a sail!.
You can find the training days with this link
You don't have to be an instructor, maybe just someone who can show a newer member the ropes, you may even find a willing crew. Please come along and help the club grow.
Merch!
Portishead Yacht and Sailing Club
|
Hello,
We have just re-negotiated our Sailing Club Merchandise for the Year, which all contains the Club Logo and can offer the following high quality items at the following costs in sizes of Small, Medium, Large, Extra Larage and Extra Extra Large:
Polo Shirt (Fruit Of The Loom SS11) |
£20.00 |
Fleece (Regatta RG122) |
£30.00 |
Softshell (Regatta RG631) |
£42.50 |
Hoodie (Gildan GD57) |
£25.00 |
Sweater (AWDis JH030) |
£22.00 |
T-Shirt (Sols 11500) |
£15.00 |
Baseball Cap (BB15C) |
£14.00 |
Beanie (BB45) |
£12.00 |
Dry Sack (40 Litre) (QX640) |
£32.00 |
Daysack-Scuba (20 Litre) (BG168) |
£27.50 |
Backpack (18 Litre) (BG125) |
£22.00 |
Our Merchandise Supplier has also advised if we can get an order of over 50 items they will also kindly provide a further 5% Discount on our order, which in turn the Club will pass on to the Members.
Any order really helps with the Club's finances so is always gratefully received, consequently if anybody would like to order any items, can you please by close of play 30th April 2023:
Send an E-Mail to: merchandise@pysc.org.uk
Detailing:
- Item
- Quantity
- Size
We will then collate all orders and will let you know the price to pay for your merchandise.
The Galley is open...
Hi all,
Just to be really clear, if you want to help on the Galley and just serve tea, coffee and cakes, the there is no restriction on who can do that. Just follow the normal hygene rules, wash your hands and make sure things are clean, before you start.
When you are done tidy away and leave the galley as you found it. Lots of people will appreciate your efforts.
If you want help with the card machine or any other aspect of the galley drop me a line webmaster@pysc.org.uk.
Electronic version of the sailing programme
If you would like version of the sailing programme on your phone or tablet, it is published in ical format. This should be understandable by most devices.
You will need this URL.
https://www.pysc.org.uk/ical
If you have an Android device the instructions for adding to your phone are here. N.B. you need to do this on a computer as you can't do it on your phone.
You will have to select the "From URL" option. The URL you need to use it https://www.pysc.org.uk/ical
If you have an Apple/IOS device follow the "Set up a calendar account" at the bottom of ths page
If you would like the programme in a different format, please ask if there is enough demand I can make it available. The ical format above will change as we add and remove races (i.e. next years events will appear automatically)
Any feedback on the calendar would we welcome.
Galley stock suggestions
If you have any suggestions for things you would like to see in the galley we would be pleased to hear them. We can't promise to stock obscure things but if there is a general consensus we'll try our best.
email webmaster@pysc.org.uk
Galley News, we need your help!
Hi all,
Last year we received an inspection from North Somerset Environmental Health about our arrangements for cooking food at the club. This was the first food safety inspection I had ever been involved with, and had no idea what to expect. The result of the inspection was a "Food Hygiene Rating" of 1 (major improvement required). This was basically down to the lack of a documented food safety system and no staff trained in food safety. Thus our food could have been safe and we could have been serving it correctly, we just didn't have the right paperwork.
I have been working with a friend of mine who is a chef and has helped me with a few pointers and now we have got a lovely food safety system courtesy of www.food.gov.uk. Unfortunately there is little distinction in the rules between a restaurant serving a lavish menu and us making a few bacon sandwiches. This means we have got a 100 page food safety system to follow to cook bacon sandwiches. Lots of it is very sensible advice to try to ensure we aren't making people ill. The food inspector put it rather starkly “something to show the judge if it goes to court”.
We are due an inspection in a few weeks and hopefully we will get a significantly higher rating.
If we are serving hot drinks and cakes, there is little change, and following the normal hygiene rules (wash hands etc) will suffice.
If we are serving reheated/cooked food (i.e. you put in the oven, grill or microwave), then this will mean a few changes to the way the galley is run.
1. A person in the galley will need a Food and Hygiene Level 2 certificate.
2. We will need to follow our food safety system (This isn't that scary, only two or three pages will affect people day to day)
3. We will need to fill in the food diary to prove we are following the system.
4. We will need to test the food temperature before we serve it.
5. We will need to document the cleaning regime, and record what we do.
This will obviously be more work for anyone cooking food in the galley.
How can you help?
We need a few volunteers to take the food hygiene course (it is online and I managed to read all of the material and pass the exam in one night), the club will pay the cost of the course which is around £12. If you are interested drop me an email webmaster@pysc.org.uk.
Are you involved in the catering trade and could you help us prepare for the inspections? This would be most welcome.
We need to make sure the kitchen is super clean (and kept that way) there will be a working party soon to tidy up and ensure that we are ship shape and Bristol fashion! Please come along and help.
Please be patient and appreciative of the galley staff as they hand you a bacon roll, they will have worked extra hard to create it safely for you and it will have a nicely documented history.
Any feedback is most welcome.
--
Stephen Brooks
General Committee for 2023
Happy New Year to you all,
2023 is here and a restructured GC is already working towards a fun year of sailing and associated activities. Following the AGM in October, here is how the new GC looks:
Commodore - Sarah Long
Vice Commodore - Stephen Brooks
Rear Commodore - Mike Chorlton
Treasurer - Tony March
Secretary - Rob Larder
Membership Sec - Jason Hadlow
Training Sec - Chris Haire
GC Member - Jonathan Cooper – Continuing to support in several areas
GC Member - Rob Dutson – Will be focusing on social activities. Watch this space.
GC Member – Alex Barry - Will be focusing on encouraging new members
SSC represented by Chris Romans and/or Colin Jarvis
We all look forward to seeing you at the Dinner & Dance on 13th Jan and/or down at the club for winter working parties from 15th Jan.
First Aid Course
Hi everyone
We will be running a 1st Aid Course again this year over two evenings - Monday / Tuesday 20th / 21st February 6.30pm - 9.30pm. There are 8 places available - I will take one (as Chief Instructor it's advisable I do it) leaving 7 available.
Cost TBC - from memory it was £70 pp last year split 50/50 between attendees and club.
Please let me know if you would like to attend. If demand is high we can run a second course.
Thanks.
Christopher Haire
Info@chrishaire.co.uk
Social Events Survey
Hi all.
Following the fantastic success of the club dinner dance we’d like to arrange more social events for this year. To help understand what kind of things members would be interested in, we’ve put together a quick Surveymonkey:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9JVWP2X
It should only take a few minutes to complete and will really help us understand what kind of events you’d like to take part in this year and are therefore worth arranging. There’s no real deadline for the survey as we’ll probably only start planning events come February. Also, and for info, it is anonymous.
Kind regards, Rob
Winter working parties start 10am Sunday 15th Jan
Our annual winter working party sessions will be starting from 10a.m. on Sunday 15th Jan.
For those new to the club, these sessions are when we make the biggest effort to spruce up the clubhouse, clear the compounds of weeds, lift and revitalise the racing marks, do maintenance work on the club boats, etc, etc. The Sunday sessions will carry on through to the start of the season, as required.
- Please come down to assist, dressed appropriately and with suitable garden clearing equipment if you have useful tools.
- Can’t do every Sunday? No problem, please come and help when you can.
- Want to do your bit to keep the club running, but can’t do Sundays? Take ownership of an item off the “Things to do” list and come down when you can (Stay safe if you are working on your own).
- Noticed a job that needs doing? Please write it on the list at the club or notify via gc@pysc.org.uk
Trophies - please return any trophies you may have
Please can you bring any trophies that you have to the Clubhouse the next time you go sailing or come down to the Club so that I can collect them and get them engraved ready for the Prizegiving and Dinner Dance.
Thanks
Chris Romans
Photos from 2022
Each year at the Prizegiving and Dinner Dance we have a slideshow of photos showing people sailing, club events etc. for the past year.
If you have any photos from last year that I can include in the slideshow can you send them to me at:
ssc-chair@pysc.org.uk
Regards
Chris Romans
2022 Notice of AGM
NOTICE OF 2022 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MONDAY 17 OCTOBER 2022 AT 19:45 hrs
You are invited to attend this year’s PYSC AGM to be held at The Ship pub (310 Down Rd, Portishead, Bristol BS20 8JT) – we will be upstairs.
For those who prefer, the option to attend virtually on Zoom will also be available - ID and Password will be sent out by email prior to the meeting, however, please attend in person if you are able to do so as the meeting will run more smoothly, and we can minimise the bandwidth required on the zoom call.
All members will shortly receiving an email containing:
- Agenda
- 2021 AGM Minutes
- 2021-22 Accounts
- SSC Report
- Safety Boat Report
You should have recieved the above documents via email. Please contact webmaster@pysc.org.uk if you haven't.
Gallery
We do have a photo gallery, if you have any photos you would like to contribute please forward them to me
Cruise details 13/8
CRUISE on 13/8
Hi all,
There is a cruise on Saturday, and I thought I would provide some information to people who haven't been on one before.
A cruise consists of a leisurely sail down stream (towards Clevedon) on a out going tide a few hours before low tide. We will beach the boats on the sandbanks roughly opposite Clevedon for a while the tide turns, on return we will then cross the channel to Clevedon and sail back up the coast to the Club.
It is a nice social activity and gives you a chance to see some different areas of the estuary you may not have been to before. We will be out for most of the afternoon. The conditions may change to it is worth bringing some extra clothes to put on if you get colder.
We will try and accomodate anyone from the club who would like to come on the cruise and flexibility is appreciated on who goes in which boat.
Some things to note:-
* We are weather dependant, if the wind is too strong or it is going to rain constantly I will have to unfortunately cancel. This is suppose to be a pleasure. :)
* Bring some extra clothes with you incase the weather changes
* We will be on the sand banks for about 90 minutes as the tide changes you may want to bring some entertainment. (I'm going to bring a portable BBQ and some sausages), we normally bring a cricket bat and a ball or two as well.
* You will definitely need a drink or two it can get very hot out there with no place hide!
* Bring suncream and or a hat to shelter from the sun!
* We will have to leave promptly at 13:00, so please make sure you are at the club in plenty of time. There will be a briefing at 12:15 to finalise details give details of the route. Please aim to arrive at the club at 12:00.
* We will have to sail as a group so please try and stay together on the water. If you are a long way in front please circle around and rejoin at the rear. This helps us to keep together and lets everyone sail at a comfortable speed.
* Bring a waterproof bag to put everything in.
* There is some limited storage on the safety boats, so as long as we don't bring too much with us you can sail without "extras" on your boat. Space cannot be guranteed through.
Any question please drop me an email on steve@pysc.org.uk
Yes, you might be feeling a bit of Deja vu here. I've just repurposed this article from the previously cancelled one.
RYA Chasing Tokyo
Discover the hidden story of the most succesful Olympic sailing team as they head to one of the most uncertain Olympic Games in history.
For the first time, the British Sailing Team is baring all in a 90-minute feature documentary, Chasing Tokyo. Available now to watch for free on the Olympic Channel or RYA website.
More details here
Pictures Pictures Pictures!
Hi all,
A local photographer has made some pictures available to us and I've put them in the gallery. He is more than happy for people to take copies of them for their own personal use.
Just to give you a taste of what is available here are few of my favorites.
The whole gallery is available here
Weather Station Update
Hi all,
The Denny Island weather station is producing data. It is currently undergoing tests on my balcony.
The initial version of the website is here.
I know the graphs etc aren't great at the moment, reliability and accuracy of the instruments is what I am concentrating on at the moment.
If you would like the data provided is a particular way, draw me a picture of what you would like and I'll add it to the todo list. Better still if you can code and you know what PHP, Javascript and git are come and have a chat, maybe you can create a page that displays the data in your perfect format!
Any feedback is welcome.
--
Stephen Brooks
Shirehampton BBQ on 23/7
Hi all,
On the 23/7 it is the Shirehampton BBQ, we set off for a leisurely sail to Shirehampton Sailing Club on the River Avon. There the members of the Shirehampton Sailing club will be there to welcome us ashore and provide food and drink (remember to bring some waterproof money). Once high tide has passed we sail back to PYSC on the out going tide.
It is a nice day out, and very socialble activity. It is a good way to meet other people in the sailing club who you don't normally sail with. We will try and ensure that everyone who wants to come gets a seat in a boat, so if you are sailing in your own boat, or in one of the club ones flexibility is appreciated.
There are a couple of caveats:-
* We are very weather dependant if the forecast doesn't look favourable we won't be going.
* If the wind is from the South West the the journey back is worse that the way there. Nothing too bad, but there will be waves!
* On the way back to the club don't overshoot the slipway, the tide will be going out and you might not get back against the tide. There will be safety boat cover, but with a large area to cover you might have a while to wait.
If you don't fancy sailing but still want to be social, it is actually a very nice (mostly) off road cycle to Shirehampton, you will be welcome there by whatever means you travel.
If all of the above has sparked you interest, please send me an email so I can gauge numbers. (If you don't respond and still want to come no worries, but Shirehampton would like to know how many burgers to buy!)
Any question please ask
Stephen Brooks
steve@pysc.org.uk
Club Programmes
Hi all,
The club handbook is available for collection from the club. Please come and collect yourself a handy guide to the year's sailing.
If for any reason you would like programme delivered, please send me (webmaster@pysc.org.uk) an email, and I'll arrange delivery
--
Stephen Brooks
Great opportunity!
As you know, we are a mutual help organistation. The more we all contribute, the more we can go sailing.
The is GC is looking for more input from some new faces with an injection of new energy and ideas. Perhaps you have been on the committee previously and would like to contribute again? Either way, we would love to hear from you.
GC
Happy New Year
Hi all
Happy New Year to you all. I hope you're enjoying the foggy start to the new year.
Today should have been our dinner dance, but as you all know we took the decision to cancel it, and in the circumstances I am pleased we made that decision.
However we do intend to celebrate and hold a prize giving before the start of the season when hopefully things have calmed down on the Covid front and we can be at least partially outside.
In the meantime, it's not all doom and gloom - because there is the excitement and camaraderie of the winter working groups to keep you going. Or if you prefer to keep your distance then you can pick a job and do it at your leisure. Please use the link below to look at which jobs need doing and select one or many that suit you. Some may need you to do some prep or take relevant tools, so if you can select before you go then that's great - otherwise there is always compound pruning to be done. Also if you spot other jobs that need doing please add them to the list.
A priority job that needs doing is lifting the buoys on 23rd January. We need 3 or 4 strong folk, plus extra people around to launch the boats at 10am.
If you are available to help please let me know on Whats app or email
sarah@pysc.org.uk so we can make sure we have enough people.
Thanks to all of you as always for everything you put into the smooth running of the club.
Sarah and the GC
Buoy Recovery
A priority job that needs doing is lifting the buoys on Sunday 23rd January. We need 3 or 4 strong folk, plus extra people around to launch the boats at 10am.
If you are available to help please let me know on Whats app or email
sarah@pysc.org.uk so we can make sure we have enough people.