Chichester Yacht Club Magazine April 2020 | Page 12

Dinghy Section
by Rear Commodore Dinghies Alastair Jenkin
‘It always seems impossible, until it is done.’
Nelson Mandela, 2001
In just a few weeks, normal has been turned upside down. Everyone has
been given a part to play in responding to the crisis, with many
challenges being thrown up which would have been unbelievable even
just a few weeks ago. Nelson Mandela’s quote seems very apposite,
given quite how much impossible has been achieved in such a short
time.
CYC is not alone in having to manage and implement changes on a
major scale. While the health and well-being of staff and members has
correctly been the clear and immediate imperative, the need now is also
to ensure the Club can survive this crisis and pick things up successfully
in the aftermath. Self-isolation and social distancing help reduce the
physical risk to us all, but the isolation brings its own challenges.
The Dinghy Section has addressed this by creating a virtual Club,
‘CYCDiscord’. All members will have seen the various invitations to join,
via WhatsApp channels, Onboard, Flag It Up, and the virtual Club is
seeing a steady trickle of members getting involved, just in a different
way. The invitation remains open to all Club members, with assistance
offered via email, WhatsApp, and in the virtual Club, for those
experiencing difficulties. Let’s face it, all new software is a hurdle to begin
with, but not insurmountable as long as you have a computer or smart
phone or tablet available.
The structure of the Club is illustrated in the panel to the left. Each of
the ‘channels’, preceded by the # key, relates to a separate chat room.
There is no limit to the number of channels that could be created. It just
takes a volunteer willing to take a lead and then people can dip in and
out at their pleasure. CYCDiscord is not a one stop shop for everything,
it is like a Club. If people have interests, it may be necessary to integrate
certain other technologies but it helps brings the interested together.
One growing group, including a youth section, are the eSailors, and the
events that can be run in Virtual Regatta. The Easter Warmer, along with
the entire dinghy racing scheduled programme, may have been cancelled
until further notice, but there is an alternative. Less physical, less wet, less
weather dependent, but still requiring basic sailing skills to be able to
master, as well as some new skills, namely use of the controls.
The first scheduled eSailing Regatta was held at the end of March in
Fécamps, and proved popular with participants, whatever their abilities.
On completion, an impromptu video get together to share a beer or a
cup of tea, compare lockdown notes and discuss what we could do
next. And the youth section are beginning to organise their own races
and have their own (plus a few parents) channel to hang out in.
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