Finally the announcement, which everyone has been waiting a very long time for, has arrived that we can at long last reopen the Clubhouse for indoor use!

Whilst the restrictions will be lifted on Monday 24th May we will not open until Thursday 27th May to allow for relocating stock from the boat shed, restocking and preparation of the Clubhouse to open.

The following restricted bar opening times will apply for a further period of time for staffing reasons and will be kept under review in line with usage.

Monday – Closed
Tuesday- 7.30 pm to 10.00 pm
Wednesday – Closed
Thursday – 7.30 pm to 11.00 pm
 Friday – 5.00 pm to 11.00 pm
Saturday – 3.00 pm to 11.00 pm
Sunday – 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm

Members are advised that the following mitigations will be in place inside
the Clubhouse and must be adhered to by all.

• Face coverings must be worn when entering, exiting and moving about inside the club building such as going to toilets and must be worn when not seated for any reason and for staff.
• Social distancing of 1 m minimum must be adhered to when moving inside.
• Members and guests must use the sanitiser at entry and other points throughout the premises
• Track and trace applies so everyone over 16 years must fill in their name, date and time of arrival. Records will be kept for 21 days & subject to GDPR regulations
• Table service only applies and members may not approach the bar.
• Maximum table size of 6 people applies per table – excluding children under 12.
• Tables must remain at apart and must not be moved from their positions.
• No indoor furniture may be moved outdoors.
• No live music or dancing is permitted.
• The premises must be ventilated and open windows or doors must not be closed other than by staff members
• All Club COVID protocols & requirements must be obeyed and any member or guest not adhering to these will be refused service and requested to leave.
• Any such breach will be subject to disciplinary action.

Now the Good News

All returning members who renewed their membership for 2021 and paid by the final subscription date of 31st March 2021 have had 10% of their membership fee added to their bar EPOS card and can use this credit in the Club on production of the card with order.

A number of members are still to collect their cards from the Club and new members will be allocated one for collection.

In the case of family members please note it was only possible to add the credit to one member card and it has been applied to the lead named member card.

You will not be entitled to use the credit or member discount without producing your card at time of order.

2021 Membership cards will also be  available for collection on reopening of the Club.

Access
Members are again reminded that they are required to use their black fob to access the main gate and Clubhouse entrance door which must not be left open or propped open at any time.
CCTV is in operation and both the gate, door and premises are monitored 24/7.

Finally
Thank you sincerely once again, on behalf of the Management Committee, for your continued support of the Club during what has been very difficult times for everyone and I hope you will enjoy your return to the Club house and bar whether you choose to drink indoors or outdoors over the coming “summer” months.

Trevor McCaig
Commodore

Racing is abandoned for Keelboats this evening; Thursday 20th May.

Keelboat Racing for NHC Restricted and Unrestricted and Ruffin 23 boats will start again on Thursday 6th May

Summer Series 2021

Online Entry, Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions are now available for the Early Summer Series for RS400 & other Dinghies startign this Sunday

Summer Series 2021

Online Entry, Notice of Race and Sailing Instrucitons are now available for the Junior Summer Series that starts on Saturday.

Further information for the RS400 and Dinghy racing on Sunday will be available tomorrow.

Summer Series 2021

Bar reopening

As you will be aware by now the announcement was made last week that licensed premises and member clubs are permitted to open outdoors only from next Friday 30^th April albeit with certain restrictions.

We will therefore be reopening the Club bar from next Friday 30^th April outdoors using the Boatshed Bar and initially on a limited days and times basis as follows:

Friday                   5pm to 9pm
                                Saturday              3pm to 9 pm
                                Sunday                 3pm to 6 pm

The above days and times will be monitored and if numbers justify and or sailing commences shortly on certain evenings then we will review and increase the opening periods.

Members are advised this is a temporary outdoor arrangement until we can hopefully reopen in the Clubhouse on 24^th May (subject to confirmation) and as such will be weather dependent so be prepared for any forecast cold or wet periods should you be using this facility.

Please also note there will be certain limitations on the drinks selection.

In order to access the club via the automatic entrance gates members are required to use their access fob. This is the same fob for accessing the clubhouse via the front door. Please ensure you have your fob!
If you have mislaid your fob or have any issues with it, please contact Trevor Kirkpatrick directly or email the membership secretary Steve Atkinson at membership@carrickfergussc.org to obtain one.

Return to boating

Organised training for groups with a maximum of 15 (inclusive of coaches and safety) was permitted from 12^th April and we have trialled this with an RYANI Topper training group last weekend (17/18^th) and a Laser training group this weekend (24/25^th).

Our own junior training sessions will hopefully recommence on Saturday 1^st May for members and further information will be made available on both the club website and via the appropriate What’s App group.

Recreational sailing with mixed households is possible as part of activity that is not organised activity, but this must conform with the wider social contact regulations, which include social distancing and the Rule of two households and 10 people.

Club racing is now permitted but is subject to several restrictions particularly regarding mixed household crews where the rule of 2 households and 10 people still applies and our sailing committee is currently assessing what can be organised by the Club and planning to recommence on water activity as soon as possible.

The published guidance recognises that in some situations whilst afloat it will not be possible to maintain normal social distancing; helps skippers and participants to evaluate the risk and suggests some mitigations which may need to be implemented.  It is important that skippers (in particular) determine a suitable number of crew whilst balancing the risk of Covid transmission vs the risks involved whilst carrying out manoeuvres and generally sailing and racing short-handed.

The Covid 19 Framework for return to boating, FAQs and Mixed Household Guidance are available through the RYANI Return to Boating Web page.

Unfortunately, there remain several restrictions that will impact on some Club organised sailing activity and future updates will be communicated and shared as soon as reasonably possible.
We want to get our sailing activity back on the water asap but in a safe and responsible manner for our members.

& finally Boat Detail updates

For the purpose of club racing and for use at Belfast Lough Yachting Conference regattas we maintain a record of club members boats. We need to provide a list of boat names and sails numbers and owner names so that they can be identified at regattas around the Lough.  These updates are required to be compiled before the end of April for BLYC.  We would be grateful if you know of any changes either to your own boat ownership or others that you are aware of could you let us know by email to sailing@carrickfergussc.org 
The details we currently hold are on the website at https://www.carrickfergussc.org/boat-details/
Trevor McCaig
Commodore

Thank you!

Another month has passed since you received my last email and thankfully the days are getting longer and brighter and the vaccination programme is rolling on faster than a lot of has hoped and the prospect of getting back out on the water is getting much closer and the dream of even getting to the club for a well-deserved draught pint or what takes your fancy is hopefully not far over the horizon for all of us.

The main reason for this email is to say on behalf of the Management Committee a big thank you to all members who responded to the requests to support the club and pay their 2021 membership and on time to strengthen the financial position of the club and you have certainly done that so again thank you sincerely! Your support has been vital and amazing!

By the end of February (last week), we have received in approximately 70% of the normal annual membership fees, by those who have paid in full or signed up for the direct debit payments running January to June.

It goes without saying that we would further appeal to the remaining 30% who have not yet paid to do so on or before 31^st March, which is the cut off date for payment, except in the case of new joining members.

Our thanks also goes to those members who have promptly paid their boat park fees, which as our main source of income after membership and the bar revenue has also been of great assistance. Some dinghy bills have still be issued so you haven’t been forgotten!

Boat Park

Having mentioned the boat park I have been asked to remind any members accessing the boat park for the permitted purposes currently allowed of carrying out essential checks on a boat (e.g., to check the boat is secure) that it is essential that they close and lock the boat park gates on leaving, including the wicket pass gate unless they have specifically agreed with any other member on site to do so.

It is important to realise that members with small dinghies and other small craft and trailers have insurance conditions specifically requiring them to be kept in a secure locked compound. Any member leaving the gates unlocked is risking other members insurance in event of theft.

Thank you all once again

Trevor McCaig
Commodore

The RYA Northern Ireland welcomes today’s announcement by the Northern Ireland Executive on the Pathway to Recovery.

The Executive has outlined the “ approach to further relaxations will likely focus on those activities which are of most benefit to our health and wellbeing, community and the economy and considered to be a lower risk of increasing transmission.”

RYA Northern Ireland is now analysing the plan, in particular the theme of Sport and Leisure. A number of questions still remain and we will be working with officials on more detailed considerations and frameworks in order to provide guidance to clubs, centres and participants. Although we welcome this announcement, it remains clear that the steps will be cautious and in very gradual steps.

In the meantime, is important that clubs continue to adhere to current guidance on our Return to Boating page.

The Pathway to Recovery can be found at: https://bit.ly/2OgLmXS

In advance of the Membership Subscription Renewals being sent out for 2021 we are undertaking a data validation exercise. Over the period of 29-30 December a personalised email was sent from the Membership Secretary to confirm the details we currently have on record regarding your membership.

There have been a good number of confirmations and updates received so far. 

If you have received the email, but haven’t yet replied, we would be grateful if you could take a couple of minutes to check the content and confirm if it is correct, or provide any changes or additions as necessary.

If you don’t appear to have received it please check if it has been sent to your Spam/Junk folder for some reason. The Subject was of the form “CSC Membership Details Validation – <Membership Number> – <Name>” and it was sent from the address membership@carrickfergussc.org

it may also be the case that we don’t have a current email address on file for you. If so please send an email to membership@carrickfergussc.org so we can confirm the remainder of the records we hold.

Thanks for your assistance, Steve Atkinson – Membership Secretary