Getting back on the water – May 2020
Dear Members
I hope you are all well and getting through this lockdown period. As a club we’ve been rather quiet but hopefully some of you have been able to participate in the eRegattas that we sent information out about.
You will have seen in the news that we are now able to get back on the water as part of the Phase 1 easing of restrictions. Members of the OSC committee and I have been working with RYA Scotland and looking at the guidance (linked below) and the practicalities of what this means to us as a club and I’d like to clarify what we are able to do for you. I’ll start off with what hasn’t changed …
– The Clubhouse will remain closed
– We won’t be starting the sailing calendar or training yet
– Club boats (dinghies and safety boats) are not available for use
So what can we do? Well, we can get on the water as individuals or as family groups. Many of you have your own boats and I’m sure you’re eager to get sailing. The only club facility we will be opening will be the dinghy shed for you to access your own personal equipment. If you need access to the shed we ask the following:
– you take personal responsibility for using any necessary PPE (primarily gloves) and sanitiser that you require. We will put some gloves and sanitiser inside the shed if you have forgotten these. Note that the common point of contact will be the padlock to the shed.
– you take personal responsibility for distancing if other club members are wishing to access boats/equipment at the same time. Try and minimise the number of times and duration for accessing the shed.
The guidance says that the activity must be local and gives a limit of 5 miles from the point of launching/departure.
Please also take a cautious approach and be self-sufficient for your own safety. We don’t want to put emergency services under unnecessary additional pressure.
For those who want to brush up on their skills online there are some great resources here for you to dip into.
https://www.rya.org.uk/programmes/Pages/sailfromhome.aspx
Now we can start sailing again, we’ll keep reviewing the guidance and the practicalities for getting Club activity up and running over the summer.
Good wishes to you all
Finlo Cottier
Commodore OSC
29th May 2020
