Newsletter: 14th December 2020

Some Essential Reminders & Updates

Covid-19 regulations

Just to remind ALL Members that Covid Tier 2 Regs are in place. It is necessary to wear  a mask when entering the Club. It keeps you and all staff, safe.

Mosimann’s Click and Collect

for the Menu (with new items and pricing)  and instructions for ordering,  or even the front page of the Web Site, where there is also a link. This service will continue.

Art Exhibition

Still available to view and vote on in the Island & Needles room.

Peter Andreae Trophy

Sunday 27^th December entries close 20^th December – use webcollect

Spirit of Christmas

Club gin still being offered for £17.50 Apply at reception.

Club branded products

Ideal presents for the sailor in your life. View opposite reception.

Santa’s Grotto

It is with regret that the Social Committee have been informed that Santa will be unable to visit the RLymYC this year, this is due to Covid restrictions in Lapland. His Chief Elf,   N. Savetree,  hopes to send him next year.

Previous Online Lectures.

See them here

Previous Junior and Youth Online Lectures

See them here

Lost Property

Lost a sailing watch, boat keys or a mobile phone; we could have it in reception Check with them.

Christmas Decs up

We take them all down again 5^th  Jan. 2021 at 09:30. Interested in Volunteering?  contact [email protected]

Not the Needles Relief - oh no

Your Cruising Division likes to offer sailing opportunities to Members all year round. In line with this, we have increasingly been making the Needles Relief event, which salutes the RNLI lifeboatmen at Yarmouth and Lymington in mid-December, part of our winter cruising programme.  In earlier days it was largely a racing event.

 This year Covid-19 prevented the Royal Solent YC from offering their usual hospitality, and the RNLI from putting on their usual display. RLymYC racers decided to give the event a miss, and the result was that we cruisers were the only RLymYC group to visit Yarmouth on 12^th December.  For the full article and a lovely picture of a large Cruiser with a lovely twist in the mainsail 

The first Gala Dinner

It was a real treat to return to the Club for the first evening of the re-arranged Mossiman’s Gala Dinners. In spite of all the COVID restrictions and the challenges that the hospitality industry has faced,  everyone we met, from Mark Mossiman through to the kitchen team were happy and enthused  to see us.

We received a very warm welcome from Gillian, and the club looked its very best, great Christmas decorations and trees, dimmed lights, linen table cloths and candles on the tables. The transformation that this has made to the overall atmosphere should not be underestimated and the subtle background music also helped. We were swiftly shown to our table by the smart well-dressed front of house team. It was great to see some familiar faces back working and adapting to the new Mossiman’s style of doing things.

For the full report from a Gourmet diner

Race Team Training 2021

We have a great series of talks planned, so that we can all be ready for racing next year.

Following a year with very little racing, which has left some of us feeling decidedly rusty and with major changes to the Racing Rules of Sailing  (RRS),  the next series of Race Team Training sessions is all the more important. These sessions are also ideal for anyone wanting to volunteer and help run racing in whatever capacity.

The talks will be by Zoom, on Tuesdays at 18:30 hours, starting on Tuesday 19^th January, and we also plan to record them and put them onto the website. Details of where to access them will follow later.

We start off with a review of the “Navigational Exercises” of 2020 with John Doerr, John Whyte, Nick Ryley and William Newton to see what lessons can be learned.

 A full list of proposed talks can be seen here 

Mary McGough

Winter Changing Rooms.

From Monday 14^th December we are turning the ladies changing    room and disabled changing room into unisex changing facilities.

These facilities including the showers are open for Members use on a first come first serve basis. Please ensure that you follow the guidelines below:

The gentlemen’s toilets will continue to stay open but the changing areas and showers will still be out of action.

Thank you for your cooperation.

  Kirsty Husband

General Manager - Operations

Back Tera-ising

A steady 22-25 knot South Easterly wind welcomed a small fleet of the Royal’s Tera sailors back out onto the River after the second lockdown. 

Given the weather conditions and the high water, we adults struck a deal with the children that we would initially only venture as far as The Rockery,  but allow them to just have a blast-around.  

Despite the cold, the 5 sailors could not wait to get out there.  For Rafferty Seddon it was even more exciting, as this was to be the christening of his new Tera “Ghost Rider”, and what a first sail it turned out to be.

Raffy Seddon said “Sailing my boat for the first time was amazing but being back with my friends was the best. If my dad hadn’t been here this summer, I wouldn’t be the sailor I am now. He has entered me into lots of events and pushed me very hard in my sailing. He also entered me into the RYA /John Merrick’s Sailing Trust competition, and I wouldn’t be sailing this winter without being awarded a boat by them. So I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to my dad”

 Harry West went for a swim before the others had left the slipway, but it wasn’t long before everyone had checked out the water temperature.  An hour of playing around near The Rockery boosted confidence levels, so we allowed the intrepid fleet to venture out into the 1.5m waves in the Channel, have a quick play and then turn and surf home.

 “The first winter session down at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club was cold, but it didn’t stop us having a great time on the water, followed by a cup of well-deserved hot chocolate when we got back in” said Raffy.

Miles Seddon

Galapogos or bust - Lecture 10

The Cruising Division’s last Winter Lecture of 2020 is ‘Galapagos or bust’ this Thursday evening 17th December 2020 at 18.30hrs.

We welcome back two popular speakers, Nick & Peter Ryley, to talk about their voyage to this remarkable Pacific volcanic archipelago, the virtually unspoilt home of Darwin’s finches, giant land tortoises, sea iguanas, seals and penguins – but where did they sail from, what type of yacht were they sailing, how long did it take them and what tales do they have to tell?  We’ll just have to wait until Thursday to find out.

We will also endeavour to broadcast this lecture live via Zoom -

from 18.00 hrs onwards simply 

To book your table for a great lecture followed by a fine Mosimann’s pre-Christmas dinner please email [email protected] and see the Menu here

For the full biography and a photo of the speakers

Book Club Report - The Midnight Library

We had a good discussion yesterday on The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.  I appreciate this is a busy time for many of us, but I hope those of you who read the book but were unable to join the meeting, enjoyed it.  We thought it had a rather slow opening section, but picked up the pace, once the main character, Nora, entered the Midnight Library.  The book provided an interesting set of concepts, reflecting on life and how we perceive our own place within it.  The structure of the book was rather fragmented, but the experiences of the main character prompted thought on the nature of regret, weighing it against the positive things in our lives.

For those of you who are interested, the book is currently being featured on Radio 4 and there was an interesting article on the author in The Radio Times.

For details of the next book and the next meeting

 Merry Christmas Everyone and may it be a peaceful, healthy, happy time for you and your families.

Best wishes

Carolyn Trimming

Cruising Div. 9th Lecture -  Bird watching in the dark

Last Thursday saw the welcome return of local ornithologist and photographer, Graham Giddens, to deliver the Cruising Division’s 9^th lecture of the current Winter Series. Graham presented a fascinating account of the nocturnal behaviour of both local and visiting species – including owls, woodcock, warblers, egrets, avocets, ravens, starlings and members of the Hirundinidae family. We learnt about their roosting behaviour in the Lymington reedbeds, how they communicate, migration, nocturnal feeding and much besides.  The photographs that Graham used to illustrate his talk were first class too and drew gasps of appreciation from an enthralled audience. His lecture was followed by a wide-ranging Q&A session, which included advice on the best locations for bird boxes, how to attract certain birds into your garden - and how to dissuade others,

All in all, a most enjoyable evening, rounded off with a delicious dinner from Mosimann’s excellent Club menu.

For more details about Graham’s bird watching classes, guided wildlife watching walks and bird ringing etc., please visit: www.grahamgiddens.co.uk/

Copyright issues meant that we couldn’t broadcast this talk via Zoom, nor record it for posterity.  

Steve Law

Lecture Coordinator

Christmas Club Help

The Club are keen to ensure that Members have a happy time this Christmas though we recognise it may not be the normal Christmas celebration that would have been expected 12 months ago. Families may not able to get together, which may leave people without the normal support and company that would be expected. 

The Club is here to support its Members and we would ask that if you need a little help this year with shopping, or would like a phone call or a socially distanced visit, please contact the Club by phone or by email  [email protected] and we will pass on your details to volunteer Members who are keen to help out. More physical help is likely to be limited to the New Forest area, however phone contact and an update on Club activities can happen for any Member.

If you are willing to volunteer your help to support other Members in this way please also register this with the Club by phone or by email at [email protected]

Andrew Richards

Coordinator

The Christmas Staff Fund

I would like to thank all those Members who have already generously donated to the Staff Christmas Fund and remind others that they can still donate, thus maximising the amount that may be distributed to the staff before Christmas.

Donations can be made through the Pay Now facility in the Member Central section of the Club website https://www.myclubaccount.co.uk/RLYMYC/Pay/Single or alternatively by cheque, payable to ‘Royal Lymington Yacht Club’. If paying by cheque please indicate that it is for the Staff Christmas Fund.

Many thanks,

Roger Garlick

Commodore

Exhibition of Members' Art

The 2020 Exhibition is now open in the Island/Needles Room at the Club.  Please come and look at it.   You can vote for your favourite picture by emailing [email protected] or [email protected] with the number and name of the work.  If you wish to buy anything, please contact the artist directly (Artists’ details are with each picture).

To view it safely, please enter by the door nearest the Bar and go round in a clockwise direction, making sure that you wear your mask at all times and maintain social distance.

The Exhibition will be open from 4^th December and throughout the Christmas and New Year period whenever the Club is open.

Jose Nieves

The View from the Editor's Chair

The ‘Not the Needles Relief’ event confirmed why we sail. A glorious day, warm(ish) sunny, good steady wind, super company, what is not to like. Even Neptune capitulated with the sea behaving itself.

We have a report from a well-known Gourmet Diner who gave the Gala Dinner 9.9/10.  I have my tickets – do you! I recommend you phone up Gillian quickly before the remaining places are taken for this coming Friday and/or Saturday.

The Art Exhibition is still available for viewing, and Jose is still waiting for your votes and opinions. Some nice pieces there, some for sale, many even good value.

Sad to hear that Mosimann’s are unable to justify opening on Monday and Tuesday but, they are running a business and in these dark times WE cannot afford for them to lose money. We will just have to support them on the other five days of the week.

It is coming up to Christmas and in the Editor household there are many jobs for the Editor to do that do not involve Newsletters. (I doubt if I am alone in that one). Consequently, the last Newsletter of 2020 (The Covid Year) will be next week – the 21^st December. So if you wish to get a Christmas message out to Members, well that’s a lot of Christmas cards to write.  The first of the New Year’s will be published on the 11^th January.

Be aware that this coming Wednesday, our Government will announce the results of their deliberations on how to deal with the current Covid crisis. This may affect the opening hours of the Club, and what we have to do to keep y’all safe and the staff secure. I am sure we will be told – look out for an important email.

Every week I hope you enjoy the Newsletter.  Last week I received one whole email suggesting that while the “Buttons” were lovely, they were a bit small. Having been deluged with this opinion, we are trying an improved version. Please let me know how it is perceived.

          Peter Bell – Editor 

[email protected]

Change to the First Floor

When Mosimann’s were appointed as the RLymYC Food and Beverage provider, both parties recognised that they were starting the partnership at a difficult time.

Being placed in Tier 2 for the second lockdown combined with the usual winter reduced numbers has impacted on support for the Restaurant & Bar particularly on Mondays and Tuesdays.

This has prompted Mosimann’s to approach the Club this week with a proposal to close the 1st floor on Mondays and Tuesdays in December and the 4th and 5th January, and we have agreed to this.

There is still time to book onto the last two of the Gala Dinners coming up on Friday 18th & Saturday 19th December.

For the menu and more information

Book Friday 18th December

Book Saturday 19th December

Peter Blick