From the Tiller

As the weather is warming up there is no greater place to be than sailing on Pittwater. Welcome to our new members this season and great to see everyone back from their winter holidays or hibernations. We have a full schedule of activities to see us through to December. 

Helena van de Linde

Commodore

Places Available in Blue & Red

Blue Group tends to fill up every year, but this year we still have spots available. If you have friends or family with school kids interested in sailing - encourage them to sign up quick. If they are unsure - get them to come down Sunday morning to have a look.

Crewing spots on Yachts

A number of our yachts are seeking crew, and we have also come up with a “crew pool” concept where part time crew could make themselves available for the occasional Sunday to fill in on a boat that is short of crew.

If you are interested in joining a boat, or filing in occasionally please email info@avalonsailingclub.com.au

Dates for your diary

Saturday, 4 to Monday, 6 October – Dangar Island Jerusalem Bay Cruise

Saturday, 4 October - Bookochino Author talk at ASC 6pm to 7:30pm

Thursday 23 October – Meredith Rasdall Art Workshop Fundraiser 6:15pm to 9:15pm

Saturday, 18 & 25 October, 2 & 8 November - Adult Learn to sail 4 week program

Saturday, 25 October - UNSW Water Research Laboratory Open Day 2025 9am to 1pm

Saturday, 25 Sunday 26 October – Smiths Creek Cruise

Saturday, 15, 22 & 29 November & 6 December - Adult Learn to sail 4 week program

Saturday, 15 November – Try Sailing Day 10am to 3pm

Saturday, 29 to Sunday, 30 November – Hallets Beach Pre Xmas Cruise

Friday, 19 December Clareville Fitness Xmas party 12pm to 4pm

Monday, 26 January – Australia Day regatta

Sunday, 14 December – last sailing day of the Spring season,

Saturday 27 December to Friday 2 January NYEve Sydney Harbour Cruise

Sunday, 4 January Two Island (Yachts)

Sunday, 11 January Quartet Bowl (Yachts)

Sunday, 18 January Blue Water Shield (Yachts)

Sunday, 1 February – first day back for Blue Red, Gold – Summer season goes till 5 April for Blue, Red or to 191h April for Gold

Bookochino author talk with Heather Rose

Saturday 4th October 6pm to 7:30pm

Book tickets here: A Great Act of Love

Art Workshop with Meredith Rasdall

Thursday, October 23rd 6:15pm - 9:15pm

This is a fundraiser for the club. Meredith has kindly volunteered to run an Art workshop where you can create your own seascape masterpiece. Cost is $80 with funds going to ASC. The bar will be open and ten out of 15 places have been filled already. 

Book now: Art Workshop - Meredith Rasdall 

UNSW Water Research Laboratory

Open Day Saturday 25th October 9am to 1pm at 110 King St Manly Vale (Manly Dam area) 

UNSW WRL Open Day 2025

Discover Sailing Day
 

Sunday 15 November 10am to 3pm

The purpose of this event is to showcase the club to the community and to encourage people to take up sailing with us. If you have some ideas on activities that would attract and interest new commers, or if you can help please talk to Helena. Activities will include: 

• Food (morning tea am and sausage sizzle pm) 

• Taking guests for a sail on members’ yachts 

• Taking guests out on Lucinda 

• Demonstrating centreboard sailing and or supporting people trying centerboard sailing. 

Clareville Fitness Xmas party

12pm to 4pm Friday 19th December 12 pm to 4pm 

We need some RSA volunteers. Knowing Judy there will be some great healthy party food.

Let us know if you want to help via  Sign up

ASC CLUB STUFF - GOOD TO KNOW

Race Tracking Software for Yachts

For the last few seasons some of our Yacht racers have been using a tracking app called RaceQS to replay and analyse Sunday yacht races. Unfortunately the free RaceQS has been shut down. Our research has found a suitable replacement called eStela which will be trialled over the next few weeks. Anybody will be able to replay races online and the software offers realtime tracking of yachts (& support boats) which will be a useful safety feature available to OODs. 

Links etc are being communicated in the Yachts WhatsApp.

Sailsys for Centreboards

We have been using SailSys for managing our yacht races and results for a number of years, and are now also using it for centreboards. If you are racing with us in Gold PM, you need to be registered in Sailsys in order to have your results recorded.

All members can view each series results online.

WhatsApp Groups

We now have six WhatsApp groups for communications. On the bottom of the WhatsApp screen, there is a Communities button. If you select that you can find these groups to join:

·       ASC Yachts

·       ASC Cruising

·       ASC Instructors

·       ASC Gold Centreboard

·       ASC Red Group

·       ASC Blue Group

Volunteering via SignUp - need people to sign up to do canteen

Blue Group parents: Thank you to those who have already picked dates to do canteen. Can others please nominate themselves for the dates from 19 October through to 14 December, or we will nominate you and you will get an email.

The canteen is an integral part of our morning program and the volunteer role itself is a simple series of tasks. Pick up order from Amber Waves bakery in Avalon (pies, sausage rolls, finger buns), stock pie oven, arrange finger buns on platters, get chips and EFTPOS machine out of cupboard, restock fridge drinks, arrange tea/coffee station, empty dishwasher if necessary. 

Yacht owners: Thank you to Jane D for scheduling volunteers for PM OOD. It looks like we are all set till December.

Membership Audits

We are currently following up with members from last year whose registrations have now lapsed. If you have a boat on one of our moorings, or a dinghy in one of our racks or if you sail with us… you need to be registered now. Registration here:

If you do not plan to sail with us going forward please remove your dinghy and/or return your key.  We will be auditing registrations and racks to make sure that all members have signed up for the correct items and that every dinghy stored belongs to a paid up member.

Racing Yachts and Dinghies are audited to ensure insurance and category certifications are up to date.

Mooring invoices will be coming out by the end of September.

Gear

A range of Avalon Sailing Club branded clothing including shirts, vests, hats and caps is now available from Shoreside, a local business. They are giving us a rebate of $8 per item to go towards the Instructor shirts. They can also add your boat name, if you want to make a special order contact sales@shoresideclothing.com.au They will deliver the orders to the club once a month. If you are thinking of Xmas presents then you place your order soon. Avalon Sailing Club Range

Safety Stuff

Kill chords on outboard motors  – If you are driving a powerboat (Your own, Red Rib, Blue Peter, Yellow Glen, Flotsam, Jetsam and Tender Rib) you need to wear a kill switch cord on your wrist or ankle all the time. The common cause of propeller blade strike injuries is people falling off their own boat. Motors always need to be in neutral or off anywhere near a person in the water. This is not negotiable. Feel free to remind a driver if necessary.

Splinters – always wear footwear (preferably covered footwear) on the rigging deck. If you do get a splinter we have splinter probes, tweezers and antiseptic wipes in the black first aid kit accessed via the cupboard under the canteen serving bench (front of canteen).

Looking back:

AGM 2025

We held our AGM on 10th August and saw the retirement of Graham Vick, Larry Eastwood, Brett Stapleton and Jane Durham, who we invited to become a Life Member.

Your 2025-26 committee:

Helena van de Linde Commodore and Membership/Roster

Paul Westcott – Vice Commodore

James George – Secretary

Martin Didsbury – Treasurer

Ralf Moller - Yacht Racing and Rear Commodore

Tony Cockle – Club Captain

Kingsley Forbes Smith – Head Coach

Ian Turner - Support Crew

Jeff Conly – Maintenance

Chris Zonca - Expert Assistance

Other Key roles:

David Baker – Yacht Cruising

Matt Young – Co Club Captain

Gary Timm – Moorings and External Racks

Pat Quinlan – Internal Racks

Thank you Ralf M for taking on Brett’s role as Yacht Coordinator. Mindy M has offered to assist us with social media & marketing. Nick C is managing and recording centreboard race results.

Registration day Sunday 24 August

We had a number of families and prospective members visit on Registration day. Thank you to Matt and Amy Young for a letterbox drop and Amy for cooking sausages. Thank you Tony for hanging and taking down the banners at the intersection of Mona Vale & Pittwater Roads in Mona Vale and also in the Avalon Village. Thank you also to the Cockle family for creating and hanging a jib at Kamikaze corner.

Opening day Sunday 7 September

Congratulations to James George on winning the Opening Day yacht race in his Couta “Cariad”.

Congratulations to Nick Chan & Jeff Conly who tied first after two races in the centreboard fleet.

Thanks to Bronwyn and Anthony Q, Brett S and Lyndall who shopped and cooked breakfast and sausages. The red group had a lovely morning sailing past Lucinda, and it was great to see so many parents and youngsters returning this season. The wind did come in strong in the afternoon with gold centreboard completing two races before it got busy with rescues.

Blue Group start Sunday 14 September

We had champagne sailing on 14 September with 11 young people starting their sailing journey with us. Thank you to the instructors and volunteers led by Rose C and KFS. We warmly welcome the new members to the club and hope you have a great season with us.

FUNDRAISERS

Beach to beach Marshalling Sunday 24 August

A number of members helped with the B2B marshalling. (James G, Martin C, Dylan Z, Chris Z, Ian T,  Peter K, Nicholas C) This opportunity came to us from Rotary who needed volunteers to help with this event. We will find out how much money the B2B will give to our club at a thank you presentation on 24th September. Thank you Ian T for being the key contact for this.

Titanic – A deep dive with Pieter de Vries Sunday 2 September

A very interesting talk from Pieter de Vries, Cinematographer about his experiences working with James Cameron on filming on the Titanic was held on Tuesday 2nd September. The event was sold out and we hosted around 75 paying guests. Thank you to the members who helped make this event happen, especially Judy D who connected us with Pieter. We raised over $3,000 from tickets and bar sales.

Thanking

Mens Changeroom builders Ian C, Garry O, Chadd L and Karl N with final styling by Karina C

Bin Men: Barry B for moving the big red bin to the street (especially on Sunday 14 September when he wasn’t even sailing) and James G for recycling our bottles and cans weekly. Please use the recycling bins under the shelves inside for cans and beer bottles and do not crush the cans. And thank you to whoever brings the bins down when they’ve been emptied.

Jeff C and Ray Phillips Marine for a very fast turnaround fixing our Red Rib after some damage on the big wind Sunday 7 September and the 9HP outboards on 14 September. 

Club Working Bee 23 August: 

The club is looking great and we are maintaining safety protocols. People cleaned entryway handrails, rafters, fans, chairs, canteen, tidied the response crew area and bar. Some plumbing was sorted, first aid kits updated and life jackets checked. We also have a new dingy rack in the middle bay and a loose board in the kitchen floor has been replaced. Thank you Ian C, Gary O, Graham V, John McN, Martin C, Jan S, Bram M, Clara J, Kathrine C, Louisa J, Emma D-J, Steve J, Quinn J, Juergen H, Tim B, Scott R, Ant Q, Charlie Q, Neve Q, Bronwyn Q, Chris Z, Jim F, Rick H.