Category Archives: important

Long service award from the RYA

I am delighted to share with you that our very own Tony Walker has been conferred a Long Service Award by the RYA.

Tony joined Forfar Sailing Club in 1974/5 and has been a continuous member ever since. During this time he has always taken an active part in the running and development of the club, including holding various positions as committee member, Secretary and twice Commodore. Even now, he continues his strong work and community ethic as the current co-ordinator for ground and building maintenance: organising work parties and making sure that the steps and pontoons are safe, as well as cutting the grass every week!

Over the years Tony has worked with various local groups and organisations to attract new members to the club. He was key to the return of Aberdeen University Sailing Club to Forfar and continues to encourage and develop our relationship with them. He keeps in regular contact with other affiliated groups, such as the Radio Sailors and local Angling club to maintain and develop good relationships.

Tony has an incredible amount of drive and once he has set his sights on a goal, no obstacle is too great. He makes excellent use of his local contacts to ensure that the club is well supported by local companies and other clubs.

In 2021, he was instrumental in getting the “skiff project” off the ground and through to completion. Bringing together the Rotary to help with finding funding, Men’s Shed to build the skiff and Strathmore Cricket Club to provide a shed to build it in.  He also organised for students at the local secondary school to be involved. Forfar Sailing club now looks after two skiffs and encourages member of the public of all ages to take part at the various sessions that are run each week.

Recently he has worked with a local architect, local rangers, local industry and Historic Scotland to develop a storage area for the Club on St Margaret’s Inch, which is a Scheduled Monument so development is very sensitive. As always, his drive to reach a suitable solution keeps things moving forward.

Tony continues to be an active member on the water and regularly takes part in the series racing each week. Even when conditions are challenging, he is the first to say ‘come on, let’s get sailing!’.  He is also very generous with his time on the water and will pretty much go out on any boat if it helps to get someone else out on the water. A lapsed dinghy instructor, he is always available to take new sailors out and often supports young and inexperienced sailors to take the helm. He regularly engages a cadet member as his crew for club regattas and encourages everyone to get involved to the best of their ability.

We are a very small club and over the 12 years that I have been a member we have faced continual challenges with attracting new members. Tony’s unwavering support is without doubt a significant factor in securing the club’s future.

Please join me in congratulating Tony on his achievement and dedication to Forfar Sailing & Watersports Club.

Note that he is currently reluctant to receive his award at the RYA Awards Presentation & reception at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports show in Farnborough in February, due to its potential clash with the FWSC prize giving! 

All the best,

Helen Brown

Website updated

Hi, if you look closer at the options on the web site you might notice that there have been a few updates. We are still working on adding more information specifically about the new skiff. If you would like to see information displayed on the website, please contact us. (if you find that something is not working as expected, drop us an email)

New season, (re)new membership

Dear Members,

Following recent government announcements and guidance from RYA Scotland I am delighted to confirm that we expect Club sailing to resume at the beginning of April.

As you would expect there will be some restrictions in place and these will be communicated to all members. We know that these will need to be reviewed continually as the rules and guidance are revised, however we will keep you updated throughout the season.

We would like to invite you to rejoin the Club by completing your membership renewal using the online form and paying by BACS
https://forfarsailingclub.org.uk/membership/membership-form/

Membership runs from 1st April to 30th March.

Members are welcome to return their boats to Forfar Loch any time in the next few weeks in line with government travel guidelines.

There will soon be an opportunity for you to offer any further thoughts and suggestions of what you would like from your Club.

I look forward to seeing you all in the coming weeks and enjoying some great sailing this season.

Helen Brown

FSC Commodore

Phase 3 Update

Good evening,

Following last Thursday’s announcement to move to phase 3, the committee have been working hard to complete our risk assessments and determine what measures need to be in place for us to be able to return to Club organised events and activities safely. This is now complete and a copy of the Club’s latest guidance, effective from tomorrow, is attached.

Please do take the time to read through the information, as you would expect we are not back to the way things were just yet. Access to the club buildings remains restricted and please do make sure that you wash/sanitise your hands before and after touching communal surfaces. Hardest of all, when another club member needs some help please stop for a moment to work out the best way to assist whilst keeping each other safe. Pulling a boat up the slipway together side by side for even a couple of minutes is likely to be a flag as far as contact tracing is concerned. However, with a bit of thought we can work as a team and still stay safe.

We are pleased to advise that Club racing will begin from this weekend and a revised program will be sent out soon. The planned windward-leeward series will run over the next four Sundays and a summer series will take place on Tuesday evenings. We have decided not to trial the Saturday race series as the radio sailors will be meeting every Saturday over the next few weeks, so please be aware of that if you plan to sail at the Club on a Saturday.

We also plan to run fun days for the younger members on Mon 27th and Tue 28th July. If your family would like to take part or assist please let me know.

Finally, if you still have a boat stored at the tattie shed, these should be collected before the end of July. (Email: forfar.sailing@gmail.com or phone Tony Walker to arrange access.) We are very grateful to Fraser for allowing us to store them longer than usual and rely on his goodwill each year.

A reminder also that membership renewals can be done online with payment by BACS.

Membership form

We will continue to monitor the advice from the Scottish Government and RYA Scotland and will advise you of any changes to the arrangements over the coming weeks. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvement at the club relating to covid-19 arrangements please get in touch with me or Tony.

I look forward to seeing you on the water.

All the best,
Helen Brown
FSC Commodore

From the commodore

I hope that you are well. I am sure that like me, you were all eager to hear what, if any, changes would be announced at the end of last week. Unfortunately, whilst England are taking the first steps in lifting restrictions, here in Scotland there has been no change.

As we wait for further announcements, we are continuing to monitor government advice and guidance from RYA Scotland. We are putting together a plan to restart sailing activity in a considerate and conservative way so that we are ready to return to sailing when it is permitted. Our primary consideration will be the health and safety of our members.

Meanwhile, we continue to do what we can and a number of you have been joining in with our virtual racing series. This has proved to be a pleasant distraction once a week, although I suspect that this lockdown will have to continue for some while yet before I consider that I have got the hang of it! Fortunately, some of our members have taken to it rather well and the radio sailors have demonstrated their skills very ably. My thanks to Erwin and Becci Oosterhoorn for setting up and running the sessions each week and also to Tony Walker, who has graciously kept me from finishing last! Plans to host an online quiz are also progressing and we hope to run that soon.

As you will understand, maintenance work at the Clubhouse has been unable to progress over recent weeks. However, with the dry weather that we have had over the last couple of months, the loch is at a very low level and it is an ideal time to carry out some necessary repairs to the pontoons. We have therefore ordered the required materials and plan to carry this work out in a few weeks’ time.

As the restrictions continue, we are all missing our usual activities and look forward to a return to sailing in some form in the near future. Meanwhile, we would love to hear your lockdown news, boat-related or otherwise, or any suggestions for online activities or training.

Stay safe and I hope to be able to see you soon.

Helen Brown
FSC Commodore

AUSC event cancelled

Dear members,

Just to inform you that AUSC has made the difficult decision to cancel/postpone their event next weekend due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Thank you to everyone involved in the preparation and all your offers of help, soup and bakes for the event.

AUSC Commodore, James Chapman, wanted to pass on his thanks from their whole club and the would-be-competitors, for our efforts in preparing to help us host the national championships, everyone was looking forward to the cooking that is remembered very well from the previous event.

Meanwhile, the Committee will continue to monitor the latest government advice and will let you know any further changes or plans relating to club events over the coming weeks due to the coronavirus.
All the best,
Helen
FSC Commodore