Coronavirus Update

A Message from the Commodore and the Committee....

The committee and other members have been quietly beavering away in the background while the Yachts have been in their enforced hibernation, with a key priority to make sure that the BBCYC can survive and can ride out these challenging times and get us all out sailing as soon as we can practically.

With that in mind, we have to continue to tread carefully in how we re-launch the YC this season as we don't have a bottomless pit of cash and have actually eaten heavily into the reserves which were earmarked for replacements of hardware (Engines/rigging/yachts etc). Even with the yachts laid up doing nothing, we have had ongoing continuing costs, that are roughly half that of when the yachts are in use.

The committee are monitoring the situation closely and continue working with an aim to restart sailing as soon as possible. No one knows for sure one way or the other what is going to happen, so we all need to continue to be adaptable and as flexible as possible as the situation develops over time. The committee are hopeful that if all goes well, we'll be able to do some great sailing this summer.

When we launch one or both yachts, as already mentioned, the YC costs instantly double. Then if there was a 3rd wave or delay which caused a small lockdown again in the summer, we could be in real trouble.

With all the above in mind, the committee need to make some decisions based on what we think the expected demand for sailing might be, as we exit out of lockdown. We are using the guidance from the RYA (https://tinyurl.com/RYARoadMap ).

In the meantime we hope that lockdown hasn't been that bad and that you have all been trying to keep your sailing skills and knowledge up to date? I for one have discovered Tom Cunliffe's Youtube Videos. If you have exhausted Netflix etc I would recommend the passage planning video.

We'll be following the government rules, so we will probably see day sailing return first and, because many of the skippers haven't sailed in over 18 months, we'll be running some familiarisation days.

By late May, we hope to be able to run cruises for 6 people with more happening as summer progresses. The summer cruise this year will remain in the UK but will be an excellent chance to cruise to some fantastic locations little visited by the club.

In order to get the boats ready for launching, Boatswain Dave will be after some volunteers. Whilst we managed to do most of the Winter Work last year and the boats have had some upgrades since, unfortunately the anti-fouling paint only lasts 6 months out of the water so a final coat is needed, both boats need cleaning and ropes and sails and everything stored off site needs refitting. Prospero will be a bit delayed as her mast was being repaired when lockdown 1.0 hit and parts supply has been sporadic, but we're hopeful she can make an appearance this summer.