Ok so no sun and a cool southerly wind, but it's Saturday and we are sailing! Yeah. It was quite a challenging day's sailing on the weekend with 19 starters from OTB and trailer sailors vying for top spots in their class. The winds were from the south and gusting up to 20 knots by the start of the race with some magic rollers heaving down on Sandridge Beach. A starboard course was set with the bottom mark close to Princes Pier and the turning mark over towards Webb dock.

At the recent Special General Meeting (5th November, 2011) the resolution was passed by the members to purchase a RIB boat to the value not exceeding $45,000.

The Committee of Management will appoint a sub-committee to oversee the selection of the boat, including review of quotations, warranty periods, essential equipment to be included & sea trials.

The rosters for Officer of the Day, duty crew, rescue boat drivers and rescue boat crews are all now on the website, under Duty Rosters. Please check out when you are on duty. If you know you will not be available on your rostered day, it is YOUR responsibility to swap with someone else. Rosters will everyones phone numbers are on the notice boards at the club house.
 

Attached is the Sailing Program for season 2011-2012.

The club racing menu will be amended soon.

Did you know that at the Williamstown Sailing Club we sail the GEM 550TS. The GEM was designed and developed to meet the need for a reasonably priced racing oriented family weekender, and to provide performance at a level that falls midway between the popular dinghy classes and the smallest offshore racing yachts. The GEM 550 Trailer Sailer is a Rob Humphreys European Micro Tonner design that has found a new life in Australia as a popular T/S in several States and Canberra ACT.

You can find final results of the 2011 Victorian Pacer Championships held at Williamstown Sailing Club from 12 to 14 March on the Race Results for the 2011 Victorian Pacer Championships page. There is a write-up about the series part way down the home page of the Pacer Association web site.

What a great Championship the Club hosted last weekend for the Victorian  Pacer Titles.
 
When was the last time the Club had 36 Off the Beach boats squeezed on to the rigging decks with very little room to move? There was a great friendly atmosphere, obviously the renewal of many long term friendships and evidence of friendly but competitive rivalry amongst many of the "better" boats.
 

On Saturday 4th December the Sailing Club marked its 100th birthday with a day of celebration. The weather was perfect, blue sky and warm with enough breeze for a short race.
It was great to see so many people there to wish the Club happy birthday. We had quite a few old (as in past members) as well as old members attending the celebration. Six past Commodores, Rob Ballard, our first Australian champion, and most of our life members were present on the day.