A big thanks to all the club members who came out to help launch the sailing school boats yesterday. The new ramp was put to great use, and the CL16s are now floating in the harbour, ready for the sailing school.  Tim

After a very successful racing clinic, the racing season itself has got off to a very slow start; 3 of the first 4 scheduled races have had to be canceled due to lack of wind. If you were considering racing this season, there is still time to start - you have not missed anything significant yet. The next races are on this coming Saturday, June 2nd. Tim

With thanks to help from some volunteer scuba divers (Paulo and James), Tim Glover and Jeff Reid, we have all the racing marks in the water - including a replacement mark 4 (that went missing late last year).  Bring on summer! 
 Tim Francis

The season is almost upon us, and the first event of the year is our on-water racing clinic.  If you have raced before, this is a great chance to clear away some of the cobwebs and brush up your skills.

For those of you who have not raced before, the racing clinic is a fabulous opportunity to learn the basics.  The racing clinic is not a competitive event, but is a series of drills to help you understand and improve important aspects like a race start, or efficient mark rounding.  If you have been trying to decide whether to race your boat this year, the racing clinic is a good way to get a feel for the environment, and to see if you enjoy it. Come on out and give it a try!

Don't forget that the first race of the year is Victoria Day Monday (May 21st).  If you plan to race this season (yes, do!), then please see the sail measurement information, below. 

The racing clinic will be held on Saturday, May 19th.  It will have a 9am start, and we should be finished about 4 pm. The cost is $25 per boat.  It will be a great start for the season, come on out and enjoy the fun.

Please register for this event online, here: http://sailgeorgina.ca/registration-on-water.html

Tim Francis

In order to race in Sail Georgina club races and in the Lake Simcoe Inter-club Series, all boats must have a current PHRF Certificate.  PHRF stands for Performance Handicap Racing Fleet and is a well established handicapping system that provides a multiplier on the actual time a boat takes to complete a race that allows vastly different boats to compete fairly. A full explanation of the PHRF system is available at the PHRF-Lake Ontario website  http://www.phrf-lo.org/

The Slip Allocation Chart has been updated to show the slip assignments of everyone who has fully paid their 2007 slip fees. Please note that slip fees must be paid in full before you put your boat into the harbour. Thanks!
Tim Francis

This event is designed to give everyone a chance to practice the skills critical to effective racing. Participants will use their own boats and non-owners can sign on as crew, as space permits. The clinician will be aboard the chase boat and will co-ordinate a series of drills designed to practice the basics of starts, mark roundings and basic tactics. The style is to be informal, easy-going and fun.

No experience is necessary - the racing clinic is a great way for experienced skippers to refresh their skills, and for beginners to start to learn the basics. We will be posting registration information on the web site shortly, but block your calendar now and plan to attend this fun and useful event.

Clinic Leader
Our clinician, Mr. Rob Hupfield, has led our clinics in the past, is a past CYA Sailing instructor, former Director of the Whitby Yacht Club sailing school and a passionate racer. Rob campaigned Reactor, his J-24, out of WYC for three seasons, competing in Ontario and National Championships as well as World Qualifiers and the 2002 J-24 Worlds at Kingston. Previous to that he sailed his Tanzer 22 Cool Fusion to many victories, taking first in his division at the Youngstown Level Regatta in 1999. Rob currently campaigns a Star at Queen City Yacht Club.

We are continuing with the work hours program that we established last year; all members with a Sail Georgina slip are required to contribute at least 8 hours of volunteer work for the club. There are lots of activities that require help; the first few are:

• We will be launching the CL16 Sailing School boats on Saturday, May 26
• We need a Sail Georgina mailing box to be built in the harbour office
• We need a new roof to be built over the green storage bin (the old roof collapsed in the winter)
  

If you can help with any of these activities, please contact Tim Francis at commodore@sailgeorgina.ca.