Fun in the Sun-derland
If you cannot attend the RYA Connected Conference this month, you can also catch up with the team at Sunderland Yacht Club on Saturday, 2nd December 2023, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and then there is the North Connected Forum on Thursday 30th November at 7:30 pm.
A newbie to the event listings, these forums will run on the last Thursday of each month from the start of 2024. However, we will host one in November to discuss events starting in 2024.
The forums will include discussions on both RYA and some exciting non-RYA events in the region, such as the Regional Junior Championships, the Northwest Junior Traveller Series, and other regional Junior events. We will also be discussing the Sunrise to Sunset Challenge, which will be held on 20th June 2024 at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club, and the Junior 12-hour race.
New Year, New Skills
In the new year, we have lots of amazing opportunities available to Club Members to improve their skills and further their education to help others.
One of which is our Powerboat Instructor Course, held at Hollingworth Lake. This course will start with a Skills Assessment on Saturday, 20th January, with the actual course following on the 9th-11th of February. We only have six places left for this course, and they will go quickly, so make sure you sign up quickly if you are interested.
Do you need to renew your sailing qualifications?
For anyone who has an out-of-date Instructor Sailing qualification, we will be running an instructor revalidation day on Sunday, 11th February. Please fill out the expression of interest form, and we will contact you when the booking opens.
Onboard Networking Days
If you are the Onboard Coordinator for your club, we invite you to attend our Onboard Networking Days. We want to unite as many coordinators as possible to get us fired up for the new season through networking, sharing ideas and learning more about Onboard resources.
We have two dates available for this, with Saturday 13th January being hosted at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club and Saturday 2nd March being hosted by Rippon Sailing Club, and we would love for you to join us.
Northwest Junior Traveller Series ends on a high
In October, we saw the final of the Northwest Junior Traveller Series. It was fantastic to see such an increase in entry numbers from last year, with a whopping 154 total entries over ten events, with 46 participants doing four or more events. Well done to our overall winners, Oliver Hirst in the U19s, Bill Morris in the U16s, Lochlyn Grant in the U14s and Jessica Warner in the U11s.
You can view the overall series results here. Harriot and Edmund, our series coordinators, are putting the final touches on the 2024 series calendar. We hope to have the fully confirmed calendar before Christmas, so watch for that.
Bidding farewell to a friend
This month sees Louise Halliwell step down as Northwest Regional Chair to the Regional Volunteer Team. We thank Louise for everything she has done for the RYA. She always led the team passionately and enthusiastically and was keen to ensure the Northwest was heard at national meetings.
We now welcome Richard Hemingway as Regional Chair, a key member of Etherow Country Park Sailing Club, Richard is a regular participant in the Senior Traveller Series, extremely passionate about the sport and is open to new ideas for development.
Happy Sailing
Adam