Newsletter: 7th September 2020

A note from the Commodore

I am very pleased to announce that Phil Lawrence has been appointed to the General Committee under Article 13.4 to fill the casual vacancy left by the resignation of Richard Jenner earlier this year.

Phil has also agreed to have his name put forward for the position of Commodore when my three year term of office comes to an end at the AGM in 2021.

Phil is an active sailor and was previously Captain of Juniors from 2007 to 2009, Rear Commodore Sailing from 2009 to 2012 and Commodore from 2012 to 2015. He is a Chartered Accountant and is currently employed as the Race Director of The Ocean Race.

Roger Garlick -  Commodore

More Fun on Thursday Evenings

We have teamed up with the guys over at the Lymington Pop Up Restaurant to bring you a whole new exciting dining experience. This Covid secure Pop Up will be situated adjacent to the Club house on Bath Green for the month of September and our members have been given priority booking for Thursday evenings following the racing.

This week’s food offerings include:

• Chulli Pizza  
• Frisky Avocado
• Idelica Paella

Pre-booking is essential so don’t miss out on this great opportunity to try something different. Book online now via our exclusive link now: https://lymingtonpopup.co.uk/rlymyc

Kirsty Husband, General Manager - Operations 

Club Ferrying

The boatmen are operating on limited hours throughout September but we are now in a position to relaunch a limited ferrying offer. Members can be transported to their boats at the times shown below. The Club launch can take a maximum of 6 people from bubbled households and will need to wear face coverings whilst on the launch. 

 Kirsty Husband, General Manager - Operations 

Optimist Training Regatta 29th / 30th August

The cancellation (due to COVID restrictions) on 14^th August of the IOCA Late Summer Championships planned to be in Pwllheli on 29^th / 30^th August left a big hole in the UK´s top Optimist sailors’ diary.

So, the RLymYC team sprang into action to put on an event that would give the sailors the chance for some top-quality racing.

Race officer for Main Fleet was Nicole Ames, a graduate of the RYA´s “Race Officials Academy project 2024” which aims to get more young people into becoming race officials.

The weather for the event was perfect, with a very variable Northerly wind sending various puffs and shifts down the course.  This meant the sailors couldn´t just “bang a corner” according to the tide, which led to some very tight tactical racing.

In Main Fleet, with most of the UKs top Optimist sailors attending, it was always going to be tight racing, and after day 1 with 6 races in the bag, Archie Munro had a clear lead with four bullets and two 2^nd places.  Lying second was RLymYC´s Cameron Bignold Kyles and first girl was RLymYC´s Emma Breese in 5^th place.  

Regatta Fleet with Clive Cosby as RO managed 5 races, and here it couldn´t be tighter at the top with 2 sons of Olympic Medalists (Jonny Rogers and Leo Gosling) topping the leaderboard on equal points, Jonny just holding first place on countback. 1^st Girl was Freya Hutchinson in 3^rd place.

On Day 2 Main Fleet´s already weary sailors managed another 6 races to be bring the total to 12 (well done race team!), Archie didn´t have it all his own way but still managed to finish 1^st with a creditable lead of 19 points over 2^nd placed Charlie Gatehouse, RLymYC´s Emma Breese managed to clock up 3 bullets to bring her final position to 3^rd and 1^st girl.

In Regatta Fleet, it was to be Johnny Rogers who would eventually take 1^st place after a total of 10 races with a 4-point lead over Leo Gosling, 1^st Girl going to Sienna Mordaunt in 3^rd place.

With great feedback from all the visiting sailors the RLymYC team really showed it could meet all the challenges thrown at it and still put on a top quality event, so a massive thanks is due to all the team and the volunteers!

Richard Breese, Captain of Optimists

Oppi Sailor Making Waves!

Making a name for himself in the fiercely competitive Optimist fleet is 14-year-old British sailor Santiago Sesto-Cosby. Having sailed the Optimist for an astounding 10 years, we were eager to find out about his journey and where he is heading next.

Sesto-Cosby started sailing at Salterns Sailing Club in Lymington on the south coast of England. He then joined the Royal Lymington Yacht Club before being part of the regional squad and ultimately being selected to train at a National level; a commitment that set him up well as he now competes internationally and races all over the world.

The young sailor recently made waves on Lake Garda after winning the Ora Cup against 240 boats earlier this month. He topped off his achievements most recently after becoming the first-ever British sailor to win the Country Cup, also on Lake Garda, racing against countries including Denmark, France, and Germany.

It is clear Sesto-Cosby has some in-depth knowledge of Garda as a sailing venue, so we asked him to share his insights. “During the Ora Cup, I learned alot about the fleet, the wind, and the conditions. We often launched early so got to know the conditions prior to the race start. It was different from when I’ve sailed there before as there seemed to be less wind, but it arrived earlier. Sailing with a north wind on Garda is tricky because it is shiftier which means big gusts to look out for!’’

Getting caught up on the line can ruin the whole race before it has even begun. Sesto-Cosby balances picking the bias side of the line whilst avoiding starting amongst the big bunches. He explains, “Generally, only one or two boats starting in a bunch will actually get a good start and the rest will be buried. Once I’ve got my position, I accelerate a few seconds earlier than most and don’t start too close to the pin to allow myself room to tack off. Once you have done that and crossed a few boats, you are out in front and in the lead. From there, you can fight with those closest to you rather than battling it out with everyone and risking dropping back in the fleet as a result.’’

Read more; https://www.northsails.com/sailing/en/2020/09/north-sails-optimist-santiago-sesto-cosby

Shipmate Expedition!

Twenty of our Shipmates (members aged Under 8) enjoyed a great sail through Pylewell to Tanners beach on Sunday. 12 scows set off in very light conditions however the wind quickly built giving a fantastic sail through the marshes. On arrival at Tanners the boats were moored behind the motherships offshore whilst we tucked into our picnics on the beach with plenty of mud jumping and donkey spotting too . The route home required plenty of tacking for which the reward was large ice-creams. Thank you to all who made scows available to us.

Maria Shannon, Membership Secretary

Lymington Harbour Mooring Management

I will soon start work on preparing our mooring management plan for this winter. I would therefore be grateful if you can PLEASE complete the short questionnaire using the link below.

COMPLETE SURVEY

The information requested is essential for us to manage the relocation of boats to accommodate our annual dredging programme. By completing the survey you will be saving us valuable time and cost associated with phoning round which can be better spent working to improve the harbour.

Your co-operation is very much appreciated.

Colin Freeman, Operations Manager Lymington Harbour

FRIDAY NIGHT SUPPERS

Friday theme nights continue this week with 'Chef's Favourites'.  See the menu here & book a table here.

Last week's theme of 'Forest Favourites' was fully booked so please do book soon to avoid disappointment.

Click here to see our membership testimonials.

SUNDAY ROASTS

Please book your table here to join us for a Sunday Roast with all the trimmings.

CLUB LUNCHES

Our lunch time service is increasing steadlily in popularity.  Thursdays to Mondays (excluding Sunday) we have this menu available.  Click here to book yourself a table.

FRONT OF HOUSE VOLUNTEERS

We have been very grateful for all the hard work & support received from our Volunteers so far and it has been such a pleasure for me personally to be working alongside Club Members to ensure a great service is provided. If you are keen to help out and be part of the team, please see what is involved and read volunteer testimonials by clicking here, We also have a list of shifts available that you can add your name into – click here to view. All voluntunteers have a free drink & meal!

Click here for more info and to book a table.

Please contact me on [email protected] if you have any questions.

Gillian Poole, Clubhouse Events Manager

Bar and Restaurant Update - September 2020

Our recent Member survey attracted a wealth of suggestions relating to the RLymYC restaurant and bar. The Club has taken your comments on board and in June instigated an extensive review of the food and beverage (F&B) provision.

We have two clear options: continue our inhouse service but modify it to better meet the needs of our Members and be more efficient and cost effective; alternatively we outsource to a specialist provider.

In either case the Club will have an experienced professional F&B Manager taking ownership of the combined service provision, Kitchen and Front of House.

Our objective is for our Club bar and restaurant to provide good food and drink, of high and consistent quality, that is promptly and well served at a competitive price - as you, our Members, requested in the survey and we are confident this can be delivered.

Whichever option we select will result in a step change in the Club’s F&B service and we all are excited and optimistic as to the possibilities resulting from an experienced professional taking ownership of the service and reporting to Club management.

Outsourcing - In June the Club advertised nationally and locally for specialist providers to register their interest and we received an extremely encouraging response. Since then, led by Nick Clayton and Rod Clark, we have held eleven virtual interviews followed by five socially distanced, face to face interviews at the Club. We now have a shortlist of three first class companies who have inspected our facilities and with whom we are holding detailed negotiations.

Inhouse - In parallel, we have been looking very closely at our past inhouse F&B operations, and this team, led by Dan Howe, supported by Nicola West and Richard Jenner have determined the changes we would need to make to ensure we have total control of this operation and return to profitability, whilst delivering the service desired by our Members.

The effects of Covid 19 will obviously make planning difficult and will have an impact on our ability to present a definitive financial outcome for the 2020/2021 winter months as events, functions and attending numbers are completely unknown.

We all look forward to returning to a full sailing and social program, however in the meantime, the Club will continue its best efforts to maximise every opportunity to hold events and maintain a facility for Members to meet and socialise insofar as Government guidance allows. We very much hope that you will support your Club and the efforts underway to revitalise our bar and restaurant services.

The F&B Group’s recommendation to the General Committee will be presented on September 23rd and if a decision to outsource is made, the successful company will commence in early November. If an inhouse solution is preferred we will plan to advertise for the F&B Manager with the goal of appointing this position as soon the restrictions on offering a full service and the Club’s financial position allow. Following the disastrous effect that Covid 19 has had on the ‘hospitality’ sector we are advised that there are many, very competent professionals seeking secure employment at the current time.

We will update you again as soon as the way forward is decided.

Michael Derrick - General Committee