Written by adrianshield
February 4th saw the Burns Supper at the club which was very much an in-house occasion. There was a very energetic and entertaining stabbing of the beast. Very funny and uncomfortably accurate toasts to the Lassies and Lads.
Mercifully short historical drivel for the Immortal Memory and a marvellous Tam O Shanter, which despite “interruptions” had tremendous pace, verve and humour.
An evening of good food, good company and general enjoyment.
Written by adrianshield
PHOTO Ⓒ LIZ TULLOCH
The weekend of the 4th, 5th February saw the Scottish Universities Sailing Association holding a team race qualifying event for the BUSA at the RFYC.
As any members who were down that weekend would know the yard was full of firefly dinghies from Edinburgh, Strathclyde, Glasgow and Dundee.
Along with the dinghies were the students, who despite the cold and apparent late nights were both enthusiastic and excellent sailors.
There was some consternation on the Sunday when some of the students appeared to have faces blue with the cold, green with sickness or black with frostbite. However thankfully this turned out to be only face paint from the exuberances of the night before.
The racing took place in the west harbour and there was plenty of drama with lots of close manoeuvring accompanied by some interesting shouting and flag waving.
Team changes were fairly constant and the club’s blue launch which was used for this purpose often resembled some sort of desperate refugee boat. Again the skill of the students in coming alongside the launch in some nasty gusts was impressive.
The event was made possible by those club members who were prepared to use their RIB’s for ferrying and umpiring but in future further volunteers would be needed to give onshore support.
PHOTO Ⓒ LIZ TULLOCH
Written by adrianshield
On Saturday 7th January four Royal Forth Yacht Club cadets took to the water to kick off the 2012 season.
On a cold and windy Saturday morning the cadets prepared their boats in an almost deserted yard. The biting wind saw cadet of the year Lewis Smith don his wet suit and other outer layers to stave off the icy blast that was blowing down the Forth. Callum Gibb and Emma Palmer launched Croft-na-caber and Ken Dougall helped Chris Howden launch his rib to act as rescue.
There was a large swell running with steep waves kicked up by the strong westerly wind, so we stayed in the harbour in the morning. Pete Smith was shore control operating from close to the club and Rosie brought donuts as a lovely homely treat which was much appreciated by all. There were no wet capsizes which just proves that icy waters are a heck of an incentive to stay upright or do dry capsizing! Callum Gibb demonstrated some techniques on the Topper and a great morning was had by all.
After a cold outdoor picnic sitting outside the club (it was closed of course at this time of year) it was decided that we would pack the dinghy away and have a final run in the ribs. By this time peoples fingers and hands were going numb and the light had less than an hour left for the day. It has become a tradition amongst the older cadets to head for Newhaven for a rendezvous be it in dinghy or rib. So true to our tradition we put in an early season visit and headed there chatted to some of the locals and headed back and put the boats away.
A great time was had by all and we finished the day with a trip to McDonalds for hot drinks or food.
Ken Dougall
The commended cruising log from 2011 prizegiving.
The winning log of Janette Wight Hardy follows shortly.
EML_Winter_berthing_2011-2012_Application
The Edinburgh Marina Ltd
INVITATION TO OVER-WINTER ON THE PONTOON 2011/2012
FCYC and RFYC boat owners and non members (preference being given to members) are invited to apply for a laying up berth on the pontoons for the winter season – from Saturday 22 October 2010for FCYC, and from Thursday 27 October 2011for RFYC – until the day after the respective club lift-ins in Spring 2012. (By tradition club members may stay overnight free on the night before their club lift-out, and the night after their respective lift-in.) Please note the conditions for berthing on the pontoons for this winter period:
CHARGES: Full winter season: £59 per metre for members and £70 per metre for non members (rounded up to nearest half metre of overall length, including bowsprits and other appendages) for the full winter season from one of the above lift-out dates, up to the day after your club’s lift-in date next Spring. This payment may be split into two equal instalments.
Part winter season: £29.50/35.00 per metre (rounded up to nearest half metre of overall length) will cover either the period (or any part of that period) starting 16 or 27 October 2011, up to 31 December 2011, or from 1 January 2012 until the day after your club lift-in date in Spring 2012.
PAYMENT: Should you wish to pay for the full winter season in two equal instalments, your application must be accompanied by two cheques made out to The Edinburgh Marina Ltd – one dated16 October 2011 and a second cheque dated31 December 2011. If you are pre-paying for a half winter season only, send one cheque dated either 16 October or31 December 2011. Please note the Company does not undertake to accept an application and reserves the right to decline without stating the reason.
INSURANCE: Original Insurance cover note confirming adequate 3rd party cover for over-wintering while berthed on the pontoon must accompany your application form. You may need to contact your insurance company beforehand, to ensure that your vessel is properly covered for the period and precise location.
MOORING: All vessels wintering on the pontoon must be correctly moored. A minimum of 4 mooring ropes will be required – at least one bow and one stern rope, and one fore and one aft spring. They must be adequate and in good condition with “snubbers” fitted to the fore and aft ropes. In the event of strong demand for over-wintering space, boats may require to be rafted up on the inner (west) side, each boat with its own lines to the pontoons.
Before laying up your boat please check that your application has been accepted, and contact the Pontoon Managers, so that the optimum placings can be arranged.
FACILITIES: The water supply to the pontoons will be turned off from November 2011 to mid March 2012 to prevent frost damage. Should you need water, please speak to one of the Managers who will arrange for a temporary supply. The waste bin at the top of the gangway must not be used for unduly large or special items, e.g. old batteries, waste oil, etc which owners must remove from site.
DINGHIES & TENDERS:
Any dinghies or tenders must be on board and tied down. They must not be left afloat, nor tied to the pontoon, nor stored on the pontoons which must be kept clear.
DREDGING/OTHER WORKS:
Should dredging of the pontoon area or other works be carried out by the company and/or Forth Ports prior to lift-in in Spring 2012, you may be required to vacate your pontoon berth while this is being done, without compensation. The club providing your summer mooring in Granton has agreed to make winter swinging moorings available without charge to those who wish to use them during any such operations.
SEND REQUEST FOR APPLICATION FORM OR COMPLETED APPLICATION + PAYMENT TO: The Edinburgh Marina Company Ltd, c/o RFYC, Middle Pier, Granton, Edinburgh EH15 1HF
Saturday 10th Spetember was the last cadet event and there was great fun for all in blustery conditions for racing in Toppers followed by a BBQ. Well done to all cadets receiving certificates and to Simon and Susan for their hard work all season in running the training.
Change over time
On Sunday 4th September 2011 the senior cadets of the club sailed to Newhaven for their end of season picnic. Lewis Smith and Robyn Dougall sailed Toppers whilst Emma Palmer and Emily Robertson sailed a 420. Safety cover was supplied by Ben MacDowell in Croft-na-caber together with Ken Dougall and Chris Howden in Zodiac One. Shore control VHF was handled by Emma’s mum from the clubhouse. A good days sail was had by all with the Toppers frequently trying to clean residual mud of their sails by doing dry capsizes! The ribs practiced engine trim, 360 reverse turns and emergency stops. Chris had his usual goody bag full of all types of “food” – a kind of aquatic mobile tuckshop – full marks to him. I am pleased to say that both the fishing and sailing communities lived harmoniously together during our short visit; the way it should be of course! A great time was had by all and we got back to the club just in time to put the boats away grab a bite to eat and watch the Fireworks display from various vantage points. Newhaven seems to be a fast becoming the cadets destination of choice for an easy and safe day out and we look forward to visiting again in 2012.
Two 13 year old cadets Robyn Dougall and Lewis Smith took part in the annual Commodores Rally to Aberdour, the first time cadets have joined the Royal Forth Yacht Club rally in a decade or two. They took around 1 hour 25mins to complete the 4.2 mile journey in blistering sun, the hottest day this season, beating some yachts in the process. Twenty boats of all sizes took part and Kenny Mackenzie led the way from start to finish sailing single handed in his yacht Hoodlum. The H boat Varrich hoisted her spinnaker and flew it from before the start right to the finish line in magnificent splendour, gaining them a prize in the process. The prizegiving on the pier saw everything from Smarties to wine being presented to the lucky winners.Barbeques were lit and many a feast devoured whilst the sound of bagpipes rang through the air courtesy of George Brown, Rob Cowie and Pete Hall. The Commodore Fiona Brown presided over a day that will be hard for the next Commodore to upstage, the tricky bit I believe is getting the sun to shine solidly from start to finish!
Report and photos thanks to K Dougall
Royal Forth Yacht Club cadets Emily Robertson and Lewis Smith are probably the first to have sailed to Newhaven Harbour for a picnic this year!! Rescue support was supplied by Chris Howden, assisted by Ken Dougall
Royal Forth Yacht Club cadet Robyn Dougall came 4th in the RYA Honda Rib
Challenge 2011 in the senior group. She was 2 seconds behind 3rd place and
there was 16 seconds between her and the competitor behind her. The competition was staged at Port Edgar on Saturday 11th June.
The winner came from Largs and was runner up in the British finals 2 years ago. Robyn, the youngest competitor, was the highest ranking girl in the competition with 4 of the top 5 being boys.
Congratulations to cadet member Jamie Calder who has qualified for the five boat team to represent Team GBR at the Optimist World Championships in New Zealand. He is only the fourth Scottish sailor to achieve this and the youngest at 12!
Following the visit of over 30 huge, beautiful, German yachts for the Helgoland to Granton Race the return race to Kiel set off on Sunday 19th, a fine site and Club member Susan Peakman is aboard Helena – 
You can track the yachts racing to back to Kiel here
http://www.nordseewoche.de/index_246-RaceTracking.html
for photographs – Duncan Hall: www.northernskyimages.co.uk
Liz Tulloch: www.clikpic.com/lizpics
Written by sarahrobertson
The results for the races held so far are now posted in the Downloads section.
It has been a breezy start to the season and turn-outs have been mixed as a result. Only dinghies sailed in the Opening Regatta, the Jubilee Cup was cancelled on 14th May and only one boat sailed in the first Saturday Series race. There was a good turnout for our first evening points race however. Hopefully the weather will have abated in time for our next race on Wednesday (25th May).
Some of you have noticed the race sign-in book in the club house entrance. Although this isn’t compulsory in the sailing instructions I am hoping that it will help me to find out WHO is racing and also it will inform race officers whether or not anyone is intending to race. I would therefore appreciate it if you would use it.
Dutyman – there are a number of vacant slots in the duty rota. Please volunteer before we volunteer you!
regards, Sarah Robertson (Sailing Secretary)
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