Chichester Yacht Club Magazine December 2019 | Page 8

A few reflections on 2019
My first year as RC Dinghies coincided with the final year of the Club’s current three-year strategy, which has seen the
Club double down on its efforts to become a leading club venue in Chichester Harbour. Both on and off the water, I
see increasing levels of active participation, from new and long serving Dinghy Section members, as a very positive sign.
I am extremely grateful to all the volunteers for their unstinting support and hard work in making the last year the suc-
cess I think it can justifiably be claimed to have been; in particular the core of committee members and regular working
parties whose contributions of time and effort deserve our sincere gratitude.
Club racing has been held throughout the year and I am delighted to have seen the numbers of participants,
particularly new members, slowly picking up. Chris Grosscurth assumed the role of Race Secretary in April, arriving
with the impact of a starting gun, bringing his great experience and enthusiasm for
racing clearly to the fore. And proof, if it was needed, that however much experience
you have there is always more to learn, Chris and partner Emma York kindly gave me
this photo opportunity during one event, which I’m sure they won’t mind me sharing.
Earlier in the season, a number of us enjoyed an amazing Snowflake occasion, when in
light airs and freezing conditions, racers had to ice break away from the beach for the
first hundred metres. Hearing the crackles as boats gently carved their way through
the frozen surface was unforgettable.
The introduction of Drew Gibson as our sailing manager has proved every bit as suc-
cessful as we’d hoped. Training, coaching and one on one development sessions have
reached impressive levels and Drew is beginning to assume more of the load from
several hard-pressed volunteers. He has helped coalesce the Club’s junior
sailing instructors into an effective team and was a great help to me in preparing for
another successful RYA inspection of our facilities and processes in September. I sus-
pect that he is also firmly part of the reason why the winter series has seen the number of junior
participants getting back to levels not seen for a good many years.
Unfortunately, due to other sailing commitments, I wasn’t around for Dinghy Week, recorded by one young member
(not so young that he hadn’t already been to several previous
Dinghy Weeks) as being the best ever. There are always lessons
to take away, of which coordination and timings of so many varied
and inclusive activities will always generate the odd hiccup but
nothing that the band of regular helpers hadn’t seen before and
were well able to contend with.
The Annual Dinghy Section dinner and prizegiving was held in
the Upperdeck with 60 of us sitting down to a convivial evening,
with a quiz, a play area (inclusive but non-obtrusive) for the
children and a demonstration of Virtual Regatta Inshore. It gave
me great pleasure to award so many prizes to so many racers,
but in particular the Special prizes for particular merit.
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