New Feature At Perth Sailing Club

Eric Taylor, the Cub's very hard working Bosun, has been investigating the possibility of a non-tidal training pond as a new addition to Perth Sailing Club for the 2013 season.

Image by Eric Taylor

Dundee Sailing Winter Series 2012

Bob Watson and Andrew Porteous were the brave souls to represent PSC in the Dundee Winter Series 2012.

Sandy Rodger captured a very stylish Bob Watson with some brave supporters on the last outing of the Dundee Winter Series which was Boxing Day 2012 

Unusual Bow Wave

We are used to large bow waves from the freighters that regularly pass Perth Sailing Club but due to the large volume of water hurtling down the River Tay, Sandy Rodger caught this bow wave against our nearest channel marker.

A Very Soggy Perth Sailing Club

Perth Sailing Club Has Not Floated Away

Despite some very heavy and prolonged rain over the last 48 hours, Perth Sailing Club is coping surprisingly well.

The Club House is totally dry along with the Boat Shed.

Perth Sailing Club Winter Talks 2012/13

Winter Talks 2012/13

We are arranging a number of events lasting an hour or so, during this winter to allow us to get together in the ‘off season’.

None are compulsory, but are designed to improve  your knowledge of some of the things you might have to deal with.

All will start at 1930 at the Clubhouse.

Friday January 11th.

A short talk on First Aid- Malcolm Moore.
How to deal with a number of problems slanted toward our sport of sailing.

Friday February 15th.

Use of the club Radios and the correct Procedure – Keith Fergie.
This is important if we are going to use these sensibly.

And

Duties of OOD- Bob Watson.
Do you know the correct flags and procedure to undertake this task?

Friday March 15th.

Racing Rules and tactics – Bill Inches.

We don’t have many protests, but let’s get it right, especially if you want to sail elsewhere.

Do  come along it will help to give you confidence to manage to add to the smooth and safe running of the club.

Finally Rick Raeburn is brining a RNLI RIB to the club on Sunday January 20th at 0930 for us to practice and assess the use of this as a safety boat for the Club.

I wish you all a Happy Christmas and fair winds for the New Year.

Malcolm Moore
Commodore.

PSC Kitchen Renovation

Perth Sailing Club Kitchen Gets a Make-Over

Audrey Robertson managed the project of refurbishing the kitchen at Lairwell this month:

Sandy and Eric did the heavy work ripping out the old units and sink and worktop. Audrey followed up ripping off the old fake wood panelling effect wallpaper at the front of the serving hatch - I do hope no one was attached to it!

Andrew did a sterling job doing a couple of runs to the tip with all the rubbish. Finally, the whole place was stripped of old paint, holes were filled, sanded, and the whole lot repainted.

Many thanks to Audrey, Eric, Sandy & Andrew for giving up their time and for making this miracle possible

Perth Sailing Club Committee News 6th December 2012

Perth Sailing Club Committee News.

A meeting was held on Thursday 6th December, 

The AGM was discussed, with the following officers voted in.
Commodore – Malcolm Moore
Vice Commodore – Bob Watson
Rear Commodore – Bill Inches
Secretary – Keith Fergie
Treasurer – Audrey Robertson
Bosun – Eric Taylor
Social Secretary – Liz Fergie
Training Officer – John Ferguson
Junior Representative – Katriona Sanwell
Communications Officer – Euan MacDonald.
Subscriptions will remain the same.
St Andrews have been notified that the club had agreed to allow the construction of a boat shed for their rowing boats. Our neighbours have been told of this.
A meeting will be arranged with them to discuss details about its construction, timing, the ground rental and lease we can expect. Hardies have met with us to give us an indication of what we should expect.
Plans to take the club forward in 2013 included attracting younger members, perhaps from Perth Rugby club, and local schools. It was also felt that a static exhibition to promote the club might be more beneficial that just sailing into the town. Due to the success of the second ‘Open day’ it was felt sensible to consider another in the Autumn as well as the Spring event.
We are keen to promote our Website, Blog and Twitter accounts to advertise our activities, and appeal to members to submit their photos and experiences to Keith Fergie as Club Secretary. We also want to make sure our e-mail address list is up to date as most club activities are being promoted this way to keep our expenses down.
Rick Raeburn is making a RIB and Dummy available for us to assess and practice rescue procedures and we hope as many members as possible will come and take advantage of this. Tentatively the tides seem propitious for the W/E of 5/6 and 19/20 of January. Times and dates to be confirmed.
We are running seminars on Friday 11th January on First aid, February 15th on Radio procedures, Safety officer & OOD duties, and March 15th on Racing Rules. This is to try to replace the rather poor attendances during the season when these subjects are listed. They will not qualify for any certificates, but with luck free coffee and biscuits will be provided.
John has the training courses in hand and if anyone knows anyone interested in getting the certificates for First Aid, Power Boat  and Dinghy qualifications let him know.
He has also gallantly volunteered to set his quiz for our first social event of next year on March 23rd. We look forward to a good turnout.
Malcolm Moore - Commodore

Commodore’s Report 63rd AGM Perth Sailing Club

Commodore’s Report 63^rd AGM Perth S.C.

I would like to start my report by mentioning the death of one of our oldest and an Honorary  Member – Alan Ferguson.

 I mentioned at the dinner, however, the committee unanimously agreed another club stalwart should be offered honorary status and I am pleased that Bill Inches has accepted.

This has been an interesting year with our season producing conditions ranging from flat calm to gale force winds, the latter throwing up problems in our safety procedures, about which, more in a moment.

I would like to thank all members of the Committee for their support and who have given up time and effort to keep the club running on your behalf.

Ian Sadler as vice-commodore has been a great source of help and advice, but alas, has felt he has had to step down because of other commitments, which has deprived me of a successor this time!

Bob Watson merits special thanks for being responsible for producing the race card, collating the results and dealing with the trophies. Most were presented at the dinner last week. It was good to see an increase spread among the winners, especially with some of our new members picking up the chocolates. He and Ann have also been responsible for getting the race reports into the paper.

Colin Fullerton has again kept an eye on the finances and I am pleased that we are still solvent. He indicated that this would be his last year as treasurer and I am sad that he is leaving office and would like to thank him for all his work keeping our monies safe.

On the social side, Audrey Robertson has combined picking up a number of prizes with adding to the club funds by running a number of social events and feeding members craving for hot drinks and sweets. She deserves a special vote of thanks for organising one of the best prize-giving dinners that we have had.

Her presence on the committee has meant that jokes about women drivers  have almost ceased!

John Ferguson has again organised training sessions for the club.  Four youngsters gaining their qualifications and thanks must go to all the members who helped with the training course.  He has also arranged rescue boat training, which is taking place this week end. 

We are aiming to have three evening seminars in January, February and March, on First Aid, Radio and Race Officer Procedures and the Racing Rules. This will be an opportunity for members to brush up and learn these skills.

Our boats officer has felt in need of promotion:

We have achieved this by renaming him the Bosun. Since Eric Taylor not only looks after the boat parking, cuts the grass, and maintains both the club house and club and members boats, we felt this title more nearly reflects his position. 

Last winter he with Chris Watson and Jose da Costa refurbished the old safety boat and made a great job of doing up the club Mirrors, as well as repairing them when Bill breaks them!

I am grateful for Katriona Sanwell’s input as the junior’s representative. She has been a diligent member with very useful comments at our meetings, and is going to serve another year before as she pursues higher education.

Finally I am most grateful to Keith Fergie who stepped in to replace Jose da Costa as secretary. This vital post has suffered over the last few seasons with incumbents never lasting more than a few months, which has made life difficult. 

Keith seems to have brought some stability to the post as well as lots of ideas to promote the club, raising our profile in the wider world by maintaining our website and publishing a blog on our activities.

We decided because of the increasingly unreliability of the Johnson outboard to purchase a 20hp four stroke outboard. This is a more powerful and economic unit and we are considering selling both our two stroke engines and buying another four stroke outboard, which hopefully will simplify and reduce our fuel requirements.

Two very windy days highlighted inadequacies in our safety boat, when it demonstrated how difficult it was to recover people from the water in the ‘Lady Ann’, even though we were dealing with a conscious being who was able to help. I think we have to consider a more suitable type of boat, and we are intending to try out a RIB in the near future.

We played host to visitors from Arbroath in the middle of July and were almost overwhelmed by visitors at two open days. The numbers rather took us by surprise and next year we will be better prepared. Because of fine weather and turnout on the ‘traditional’ open day we held a second which saw some seventy visitors at the club. It enabled us to donate £70 to the RYA ‘Sailability’ program for disabled people. My thanks to Keith and the club members who turned up in pirate costume to host this event.

The unused door in the galley has already been blocked off as part of a program to upgrade the galley with cupboards which have been donated. This should be finished before next season.

All clubs need to attract new members and we have had discussions with P&K personnel to see how we can introduce local schoolchildren to sailing. Our tidal sailing makes this difficult to have set dates and times, but there is still a possibility we may be able to go ahead when TSF open the new pond. We are also applying for the council’s accredited club excellence scheme, opening up opportunities for advertising, grants and support from various bodies.

St Andrew’s have paid to have trace heating installed in the pipes which allows the water to be left on in the winter. They have submitted plans for a new boathouse which you will be asked to consider approving at this meeting.

This report summarised our club activities this year. If you have any questions or comments I will be happy to try to answer them.

Malcolm Moore

Commodore of Perth Sailing Club

Something useful to do on a winter weekend

Winter may be upon us but some of us are looking ahead to the 2013 season and braving the elements to improve their powerboat skills. Euan Macdonald, Keith Fergie and Eric Taylor completed an RYA Safety Boat course run for us By Newburgh SC's John Cameron and were awarded certificates to prove it.

The course included practice recovering an upturned dinghy and a swamped kayak as well as general boat handling techniques in a rescue environment.

 Here the boys wrestle with a kayak, and a load of H2O just to make it interesting. Conditions were cold and frosty on Saturday and damp on Sunday but spirits were kept up with hot tea and mince pies.

Although sailing is over at Perth, two of our members are taking part in the Winter Series at Royal Tay YC. Bob Watson and Andrew Porteous are part of "Dinghy 2" sailing Laser and Solo respectively. When I looked down today, Andrew was completing his final round, middle of the three Solos.

The last sailing day of the 2012 season at Perth Sailing Club was blessed with a good north westerly breeze and five boats had an exciting sail.The first race was largely uneventful but race two saw both Lasers having an early bath while the Streaker and Firefly literally bumped into each other  on the second beat. Nothing damaged but pride luckily. Only Doug Ogilvie had an incident free pair of races.

Must be a good caption for this photo! How about-
B- "Eric, give us a hand. I've got a ladder in my tights."

E- "????!!!!"

PSC Safety Boat

No sailing tonight but we did give the safety boat a test run.

We take the safety of Perth Sailing Club members very seriously and run regular safety training sessions both on and off the water

Wednesday 19th September 2012 PSC Race Report

Perth Sailing Club Race Report 12092012

J Ferguson

A great sailing breeze tonight. Enough to make it fast but not so much anyone fell in.

 Robin Macarthur and Doug Ogilvie made an early start and had to return. Bill Inches and Audrey Robertson crossed the line first but were not far enough ahead of the slower boats in race one.

Robin and Doug led in race two but took mark B the wrong way and had to correct their mistake, allowing John Ferguson to take a lead which was held to the finish.

The ebbing tide started to make rounding the marks tricky requiring some nifty steering to avoid touching and taking a penalty turn.

A Great Place To Visit And Watch

Perth Sailing Club enjoys a wonderful location on the River Tay, East of Perth with nice benches and cut grass.

It makes a great day out for family's and friends to come and watch / support the boats on the river.

Lynn McWilliam came down to support her sister Audrey Roberton who is Keith Fergie's long suffering crew and took these impressive photographs

Bank Ahoy!

Waiting for the Start

Sparkling River Tay

Perth Sailing Club has an Open Invitation to anybody who would like to come down to watch, have a go or just sit and chill.

So the next time you fancy something different, come and check out Perth Sailing Club

A Challenging Saturday Bright and Blustery

It was a an early start with some Members being down at the Club for 0730 to get things ready while others arrived at a more leisurely pace.

The early morning light lit the dingy park with that beautiful golden Autumn tinge:

Sunrise At Perth Sailing Club

Saturday saw four crews coping with an early start in sunshine, and  a steady F3 westerly which increased as the day went on. Eric Taylor set a simple triangular course to allow competitors to waken properly.

After a clean start Keith Cuthbert in his RS100 shot ahead from the rest of the fleet until he was slowed by a capsize at the second mark on lap two.

 We have to accept his explanation that it was deliberate to examine the seal on his centreboard! This did not stop him pulling away, especially on the downwind legs. 

Hunter Williamson’s Laser also managed to pull away from Andrew Porteous’ Solo and Keith Fergie’s 420, elegantly crewed by Audrey Robertson.

In spite of his handicap Keith C finished first, followed by Andrew, with Hunter third and Keith and Audrey gallantly bringing up the rear.

With the wind rising and beginning to gust to F5, the second points race was lengthened to four rounds. Andrew managed to go in at the first mark, which put him last. Hunter in the Laser got away from the two Keiths but at the end of the lap only a second separated the first two boats, before the downwind superiority of the RS100 showed up, so that by the second lap he was 4 minutes ahead of the Laser.

 On the last lap Hunter was caught by a strong gust at the end of lap three and had very exciting time at the second downwind mark, just managing to stay with the Laser, but feeling discretion was more important than valour, retired.

 Although last on the water, Andrew won on corrected time and Keith C was unable to make enough time on the 420 allowing Keith F and Audrey to come Second.

Perth Sailing Club Milhurst 2012 Race Report

Sunday saw one of the Club’s long distant races – the Millhurst, named to commemorate the Club’s original home, the Millhurst Bothy. A race to and back from the ruin.

Conditions were completely different with a very light easterly wind. Seven boats started and the fleet stayed together until approaching the bend at the Sleepless Inch, when Bill Inches in his Firefly and Andrew’ Solo crept away along the north bank.

John Fergusson retired from the middle of the fleet to make an earlier appointment, while Ewan Macdonald’s Laser and Ian Sadler’s Solo took up the rear.

With the fleet well behind Bill and Andrew at the turn, the two rounded the river bend with Bill leading. Andrew inched away on the north bank, and while Bill chose to sail on the south shore, slowly over took the Firefly to finish ahead.

Meanwhile the others, having been spread out, came round the bend much more together, Ewan Macdonald, having caught up, very close to the Albacore, followed by the 420 and Ian Sadler.

On corrected time Andrew Porteous 1st, Bill Inches 2nd, Ewan Macdonald 3rd, Ian Sadler 4th
Hunter Williamson and Eric Taylor 5th and Keith Fergie and Audrey Robertson 6th.

Many thanks to John & Sandy for the pictures

An Open Invitation From Perth Sailing Club

Try A New Sport - You'll be Surprised!

PSC extends a warm invitation to anyone interested in following up their taster session on Sunday. 

Come down 3pm Saturday 1 Sept, 3.30pm Sunday 2 Sept or 5.30pm Tues 4, Wed 5 or Thurs 6 Sept. 

You can have a chat with us about training sessions, watch the sailing from the bank or jump in a boat with an experienced sailor and have a go at crewing.

 There are club boats for those of you that have sailed before but don't have your own boat - we are happy for you to borrow a club boat during these times when the safety boat is out.

Come & get your feet wet & have a blast!

A few more pics from PSC's Pirate day.

The sun shone and while the wind could have done with blowing a little more consistently and make the sailing more interesting, we didn't scare anyone. Paddles were required at times to keep moving the way we wanted but nobody seemed to mind too much. The treasure was all found and the burgers all eaten enthusiastically.
It just proves you don't need to be under 18 to wear a silly outfit! Well done guys!

Perth Pirate Day At Perth Sailing Club A Great Success

The weather was very kind as the forecast had been miserable. In the event it was a stunning day but a wee bit more wind would have helped!!

It was all hands to the pump as the day was a great success with lots of families with child pirates came along. Everybody was taken on the water in either a dingy or the safety boats and in a lot of cases it was both!!

Many thanks to all of the club members who came along to help and special thanks to:
Andrew & Annette
Bill
Oliver
Robin
Audrey
Eric
John

For all their hard work before, during and after the event

Great to see so many boats on the water filled to the gunnel's with visitors!! 

Battling The Water Flow On The Tay

After heavy rain further upstream in the catchment area of the River Tay, resulted in a large volume of water moving down the river.

The light winds at the start of the race soon vanished and the competitors were left fighting for every scrap of wind or movement. Remember that movement of a boat will cause lift and therefore further motion.

It takes a great deal of skill to sail in such light conditions so hats off to all the competitors !

Pirates ahoy!!!

Don't forget our pirate open day this Sunday 10am till noon. Free to pirates of all ages so polish that hook and shake the woodworm from your peg leg and head for Perth Sailing Club. Have a sail or just a look around. Refreshments available BBQ etc.

A great barbecue was enjoyed by members at Perth Sail;ing Club on Saturday evening as the sun went down over the city and Friarton Bridge. For those of you who have not been to one of these, the club supplies burgers, sausages etc while members provide a salad or sweet.

While the social function was predictable, the sailing proved a real test for entrants. Saturday was sunny with rather much wind for some in the gusty conditions, while Sunday was dull with very little wind. As the day continued, the wind got lighter, the rain started and the tide began to ebb.

What Do You Do On A Sunday Morning?

0930 yesterday saw me down at Perth Sailing Club, Lairwell near Perth getting ready for the annual Tow Back Race.

The race is very straight forward in that it starts at Perth Sailing Club and then it's fastest down the River Tay to the finish line which is decided on the day depending on weather conditions.

Yesterday was a fine day in that it was not raining, the sun on occasions broke through the clouds, and there was a fair Easterly wind coming up the river so at least the boats could sail.

Five boats started what is one of the longer and more challenging races organised by Perth Sailing Club. Due to the physical length and the probable spread of the fleet, two safety boats are deployed to ensure the best possible safety cover.

The outbound leg took approx an hour so this video has been chopped significantly but take a look at the skill, stamina and experience required to do this sort of event:

We were third over the line and third on handicap which is a fab result for us and I was home by 1pm with the rest of Sunday ahead!!

So if you fancy giving this a go, come down to Perth Sailing Club any time or pop along for the Open Day on the 26th of August 2012

The Variety of Boats Sailing with Perth Sailing Club

Sailing in the River Tay just down from the beautiful City of Perth in Scotland has it challenges and this is reflected in the variety of boats that actively sailing at the club.

We cater for and welcome all ages:

We are hosting an Open Day with Taster sessions on the 26th of August so please feel free to come down and give it a go!

https://sites.google.com/site/perthsailing/news/news-2012/attentionpiratesofallages

A New Member Makes a Stylish Entrance

One of the latest craft to join Perth Sailing Club is an RS 1000

All levels of craft and members are most welcome so why not pop down on the 26th of August for a wee taster ??

What A Rush!

My first time in an International 14

I am still very much a learner and currently sail an old 420, sometimes with a crew but mostly solo.

When Oliver Williams asked me if I fancied crewing from him in Rhubarb & Custard his International 14, I jumped at the chance to broaden my sailing skills and experience.

Oliver did explain that there were some major differences between his boat and my dingy but I thought yeah yeah I can sail, bring it on.

Boy was I wrong!! I worked so very very hard and I have never sailed in a boat with a spinnaker, never mind operated one.

Oliver was kind and patient and we survived the first race.

The video shows my down-fall in the second race.

Would I do it again?  Totally and I highly recommend this experience to everybody.

Will Oliver be asking me to crew again in the  near future - I doubt it!!

Perth Sailing Club Open Day 26th August 2012

Perth Pirate Day 26th August 2012

Perth Sailing Club is holding a very special Perth Pirate Day on Sunday 26th August.

All activities and events are free with a prize for the best dressed child pirate!!

Free sailing taster events, BBQ (£3), high speed rides in one of our power boats and much more!

Everybody Welcome

Sunny Sailing On the Stunning River Tay

Last night was one of those stunning evenings on the River Tay when messing about in boats is just a must!

Photo by J A Ferguson

Sunshine

After a missed day of rain and no wind, Tuesday saw great sailing again at Perth SC

Another view on Sunday

A ship heading seaward from Perth harbour carves a passage through the dinghy fleet at Perth SC on Sunday. Thanks to Carol Raeburn for this.

Ben Ainsley Inspires Perth Sailing Club Members

K- "I wonder what Ben Ainsley would do here?"
P- "If he was this far from the front of the fleet, I recon he would walk the plank!"

(for more about PSC's Pirate Day, see www.perthsailingclub.org.uk )

And now for the inside view!

Guess who own's these knees??

Perth Sailing Club Committee News from 24th July 2012

Committee News

The committee held a meeting on 24th July when they were told that the conversion kit for the new engine had been purchased, but not yet fitted to the Lady Ann as Eric is waiting for a copy of the manual for fitting it. This will be done as soon as this is available.
A discussion took place over the future of the [unreliable] Johnson engine. It was felt that due to the age of the Mariner engine it would be sensible to sell both of the two stroke engines and buy a new four stroke engine for the yellow safety boat. This would simplify our requirements for fuel for the boats.
We agreed that an 0830 start for our open ‘Pirate Day’ on Saturday was too early and that we would have it on the Sunday, starting at 1000, with a lunchtime BBQ. Members will be told about this and efforts will be made to attract anyone in the area to the club. The details will be thrashed out at the next meeting after the Regatta.
Bob has agreed to run a mini course for a couple of people who are keen to get their RYA dinghy certificates, rather that make them wait until next year when they might well have gone elsewhere.
The bar takings and BBQ  were swelled by the visit of boats from the Arbroath club visiting Perth on the 14th.
If anyone has any ideas for a guest speaker at the prize giving dinner, could they get in touch with Audrey or any committee member.
Malcolm Moore.

Latest from Lairwell - Home of Perth Sailing Club

The Dewar Series starts at Perth SC this weekend. Ten races over five days from Saturday till Wednesday with the best six to count. Sponsorship from John Dewar & Sons Ltd, whisky distillers. Cheers!!

For more info on Pirate Day  26th August see www.perthsailingclub.org.uk

Which way did he go?

Confusion seemed order of the day on Sunday 29th July, as half the fleet ended up sailing the wrong course. Exciting conditions were enjoyed by five boats of five different classes. New member Keith Cuthbert crossed the finish line first but unfortunately took the first mark to Starboard when it should have been Port, leaving Graham Keir to win the race. Graham made the same mistake but realised and unwound again.

Who say's yachts are not romantic?

Lee Robertson, one of Perth Sailing Club's family members, took this picture at Perth Sailing Club (Friarton Bridge in the background).

It's the first time that I have seen yachts cuddling!

Going down!

Oh dear! When you have a boat load of water, you really should sit a bit further back. Bob and Eric look set to pay Davy Jones a visit.

Yes that is a sailing dingy that morphs into a submarine!!

Perth Sailing Club Fun Weekend

It was a busy weekend at Perth last weekend with the Fun Race on Saturday, a barbecue in the
evening, and the Newburgh Race on Sunday. With many members on holiday, turnouts were lower
than usual but enjoyed by those who did take part.

The fun race took place in light winds so that only Oliver Williams completed the challenges set by
Malcolm Moore.

Three keelboats from Arbroath visited Lairwell on Saturday and enjoyed the hospitality of the club
for the evening before returning on Sunday morning.

Race To Newburgh

The race to Newburgh is our longest annual event, a little over seven miles, and has been contested
since 1958. This year, a good westerly breeze was forecast so a fast passage looked on the cards.
On the day, it seemed windier than predicted so Oliver Williams and John Ferguson chickened out
of sailing the International Fourteen “in case we broke something” so opted to sail two of the less
frisky club Fevas.

 Both managed to fit in a capsize on the first part of the course but went on to
have an exciting sail nevertheless. Unfortunately, John snapped his spinnaker halyard so was unable
to achieve the boat's full potential.

Gary Tait also had some difficulty and retired quite early in the race, but the other five boats all
reached the finish line off Newburgh Sailing Club without major incident.

The PSC Race Fleet arriving at Newburgh

Sandy Rodger with daughter Jennifer led the whole race but Graham Keir's Solo was too close
behind to take the honours, both in under an hour. Third across was the Kestrel threesome of Alan
Jones, Audrey Robertson and Martin Howie but again were beaten on handicap by Oliver.

After a break for a cuppa courtesy of our friends at Newburgh, most boats accepted a tow home
from the safety boats, which John described as being “like a tour of the inside of a washing machine
on a cool cycle” in the still freshening breeze.

Sandy chose to sail on ahead to show us wimps the way to do it, including a capsize drill at the west
end of Mugdrum Island, but despite this, they were up and sailing again quickly. Eventually the
ebbing tide and tired muscles saw them accept assistance for the last couple of miles/

Results, Newburgh Cup.
1 Solo 4580, G Keir; 2 Dash, S & J Rodger; 3 Spring Feva, O Williams.