Hi everyone,
The 2023 season is underway!
The 2023 season is shaping up really well, and it’s been good to see many clubs already benefitting from some great turnouts for activity, whether social sailing, cruising, racing or training. I know there’s plenty planned for the Easter weekend, so I look forward to seeing your posts online (don’t forget to tag us @RYAEast!)
The RYA East Regional Training Day
I was delighted to be able to deliver a face-to-face training day on Sunday 12 March. It’s been three years since we were last able to run our Instructor Training Day. Having this break enabled us to review the event and this year we opened it up to all those involved in the delivery of activity, not just instructors. As a result, we had attendees that varied from experienced instructors through to those that may act as buddy sailors in Sailability sites. Participants got involved in sessions on shore at the Royal Hospital School (RHS) during the morning and then after lunch went afloat at Alton Watersports Centre (AWSC) and Royal Harwich Yacht Club (RHYC). Activities included an introduction to winging, dinghy foiling and advanced powerboating techniques. I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that supported this event, especially, RHS, AWSC, RHYC and all the Trainers that delivered sessions. Keep an eye out for future events via the East Region pages of the website.
Discover Sailing Days
Many clubs have seen significant success with membership recruitment over recent years which is really good news – I know you will be working hard to keep your members active and making the most of their membership. Inevitably there will be some membership churn and it is likely you will need to keep recruiting to top up your membership levels. If you are looking to bring new people in, whether through open days or taster sessions please do consider making the most of the Discover Sailing initiative. Discover Sailing has been designed to help promote your event and provide you with some resources to manage the day/s. Please find out more here. If you have ideas around recruitment which you think would be helpful to other clubs, or would like to tell us about your Discover Sailing Day so that we can help with publicity – please drop us a message here.
British Youth Sailing Regional Junior Championships – entries open
For the Region’s younger sailors, entries for the British Youth Sailing Regional Junior Championships are now open. There is the Windsurfing Championships at Datchet Water on 10 June and the Dinghy Championships at Grafham Water SC 17 & 18 June. There will be a Championship Fleet for your experienced Racers, Coached Regatta Fleet for sailors newer to racing and then the OnBoard Rookie Fleet for all who are just starting out their sailing journey. You can find out more here.
Club visits/catch-ups
As the season gets underway, I am keen to visit clubs and catch-up with you about your plans for the season, any challenges you may have and to see how the RYA may be able to support you. Please do get in touch about having a chat online or a visit.
Hope to see you soon!
Robbie
