FOR SALE: Nearly new Byte CII

Published 25 August 201625 August 2016 by Sailing Secretary

Byte CII for Sale

This is the chance to own a dinghy in the same class as the ones that has won more seasons at CSC in the past 5 years than any other:

Sail number 3567
“As new” condition, used <10 times!
Manufactured in 2014
Previously a showroom model
Already has an allocated boat space at CSC
£2,500

If you’re interested, contact us (or speak to Peter).

Are you Bytesize?

The CII is designed to appeal to sailors in the 40-73kg (6.5-11.5stones) range regardless of age or gender.

In the UK, Byte CII sailors range in age from teenagers to ladies and gentlemen in their sixties and seventies – all sailing on a level where age and gender don’t count.

The boat may be sailed equally well by men and women. The first World Championship held in 1999 was won by a man, Eric Holden from Canada, but 2 years later it was the women’s turn and Silja Lehtinen from Finland took the honours.

Age is no barrier to sailing the Byte CII. The boat has been the single-hander of choice for the ISAF Youth World Championships on several occasions and is currently the Girls and Boys single-handed choice for the Youth Olympic Games.

The Byte was designed by Ian Bruce in 1990 (co-designer or the Laser) and received a facelift in 2004 with the introduction of the CII rig.

The CII rig comprises a Mylar, fully-battened sail on a flexible carbon-fibre mast. It is this rig that allows the boat to be easily de-powered by lighter-weight helms in heavier weather while still retaining power for lighter winds.

Ian’s aim in developing the Byte with the CII rig was to produce a single-handed dinghy that could be sailed by a wide range of sailors not just from Europe and North America but around the World.

Source: http://byteclass.org.uk/joomla25/

Swimming (in CLEAN WATER!)

Published 23 August 201624 August 2016 by Sailing Secretary

On Tuesday 23rd, Wednesday 24th and Friday 26th August at 08:00 we will be meeting at Brockwell Lido for some open air swimming.

All members are welcome and Over 60s are free until 10am (just show ID).

There’s free parking next to the pool for 2 hours and a nice cafe for a cuppa afterwards.

So why not join us, if for no other reason than to marvel at the swimming skills of the Prideaux Brothers as they show off their Olympic skills!

Robert, Social Secretary

CSC CPD at QMSC (date TBC)

Published 5 August 2016 by Sailing Secretary

That’s right! We have the opportunity of a continuing professional development (CPD) day at Queen Mary Sailing Club (QMSC) if there are between 4 and 8 members interested in taking part.

The CPD will cost £25 for a full day of informal training overseen by a senior instructor, and is open to any member that is already a qualified instructor or assistant instructor, and any experienced members interested in becoming an instructor or assistant instructor in the future.

Queen Mary reservoir is a massive 9km², so not only is a CPD day a fantastic opportunity to freshen up your seamanship skills, but also a great day’s sailing on an expanse of water several times the size of South Norwood Lake with wind. You can see what our instructors got up to at a previous CPD at QMSC here.

If you’re interested please contact us or speak to Neil when you see him on Sunday. The date is to be confirmed, as it requires at least 4 weeks notice to organise.

Free Sailing on Sunday morning, 09:30-11:00

Published 4 August 201620 August 2016 by Sailing Secretary

Thanks to Catherine and Janice we are delighted to announce that the gates to the boat park will now be open from 9:30am on Sunday mornings until the end of October, with the exception of 28th August for any members wishing to rig up a boat up early and enjoy some free sailing while our regular racers get ready for the first race at 11am.

No one will be allowed on the water until the duty officer, an instructor or a suitably experienced senior member of the club arrives at approximately 10am and the safety boat is available.

There will be free sailing until 10:50am, when all boats need to be off the water in time for the start of the first race at 11am.

If you would like to stay on the water after 11am, you are more than welcome to join the race. If you’re a new member that’s worried about getting in everyone’s way, don’t be! Just do your best to follow the course (and the basic race rules) and our regular racers are happy to help if you have any questions.

Members are advised to check the website the preceding Saturday for last minute changes.

Mid-Summer Regatta 2016: We have a winner (and lots of great photos)!

Published 3 August 2016 by Sailing Secretary

With this year’s Mid-Summer Regatta seeing the introduction of three new events, there had been a lot of excitement leading up to one of the biggest events on CSC’s Summer calendar, and I think everyone that took part would agree that it was well worth the wait.

The double hander race saw 8 two-person crews take to the lake in a mixture of Comet Duo, Enterprise, Heron and Firebird dinghies, and after 5 closely contested laps Robert and Dirk showed that they had almost telepathic team-working skills, sailing the club Firebird into first place.

The second race saw seven Comets competing in our first official Comet class race. The first few laps saw several members vying for first place, but as the race continued, Valeria broke away from the pack and never looked back, taking a well deserved win.

After lunch (a big thanks to everyone that donated something!) more of our novice and family members had arrived ready to join the festivities and it was time for CSC’s inaugural Pico Tag race. With 6 teams of 3 selected and tactics decided, the horn blew the first members were off! Two legs complete, there was still everything to play for as Dirk arrived back at the Jetty for Team 3, followed just a few boat lengths later by Arthur for Team 2, but despite his best efforts, Neil just couldn’t quite catch Valeria, and all Team 2 could do was watch as she placed her hand on the Jetty, securing first place for Team 3.

And with novice and family events continuing well into the evening, a fantastic day had by all.

A massive thanks to Kathy and Ian for agreeing to be our DO and ADO for the day.