by Simon Hinnigan

The final weekend in January did not disappoint, both Saturday and Sunday started with zero wind that filled in to provide consistent and entertaining sailing.

David Fewings was OOD on Sunday and put the full sailing area to good use.  It was great to see more than 50 boats joining the first race and the numbers held after lunch in sunny January weather.  Many thanks to the weekend’s duty team! David, AOOD’s Vince Harris and Jason Green, with Alex Weston and Chris Hobbs providing safety cover.

Next weekend we have Squad training on Saturday.

Please note the Club access point below, and the change to our rules for Dogs at the club.

Access at the weekend will not be affected.

Lakes by Yoo are installing services between their Farm Buildings and the Lakes Bar & Kitchen.  This will involve cutting a service trench along the access road to the club.  They plan to cross the club entrance on Thursday/Friday this week which they will do in two halves to ensure club access at all times (construction vehicles may need to move to let members though).  Between the 5^th and 9^th February we have been asked to access the Sailing Club via the existing Farm Building Access rather than the usual route.  The work will be completed as quickly as possible and normal access may be restored early.

Separately, There have been rumours that YOO were going to change the club access route to a direct entrance from the main road.  We’re happy to clarify that the ground preparation was associated with the build work at the farm and that no permission had been requested to change club access.

Many thanks for the large and detailed response to the membership survey.  Any change is something that we want to approach with caution due to the impact on individual members.  The results were clearly in favour of increased flexibility for dog owners while at the same time many members were keen to stress that the responsibility is on owners to manage their dogs rather than wait for members to complain.

As a temporary measure, while we investigate a permanent solution, we'll make the following addition of point 5 to the rules:

1. Dogs are permitted on the Club grounds, providing they are kept under close control.
2. Dogs are on a lead in the Clubhouse and on the Deck at all times.
3. You are required to clear up any dog mess and remove it from site.
4. Dogs are not permitted in Clubhouse when food is being served/galley open.
5. Between 1st October and 31st March Dogs are permitted in the Clubhouse during inclement/bad weather at any time.

We'll manage this change as a trial over the next few months and taking member feedback along the way.  We'll review again in March.

From Nigel Fletcher (training@bowmoor.com)

There are 4 spaces left on the RYA First Aid course running this Saturday 3rd Feb. It's a great course!

Saturday 3rd February
Winter Squad Training,  RYA First Aid Course
Sunday 4th February
11:30 - Icicle
13:30 - Frostbite
Sunday 11th February
11:30 - Icicle
13:30 - Frostbite
Sunday 18th February
11:30 - Icicle
13:30 - Frostbite

The full calendar is published on bowmoor.com/calendar/