All valid points - good to get the discussion out there. Remember we do have the Coffs Harbour comp in Oct.
I've go a couple of "Youths" where I teach who would come along to a comp but rely on parents to get them there. One dad said he is not comfortable letting his son sail without rescue facilities such as a jet ski (and ambulance accessability)
The other issue is that Local Councils are getting quite strict on risk management strategies and risk management plans. Although many of us launch into pretty hard core stuff from time to time the Association must have permission from local council at all venues - contingent upon these plans. There is also NSW Maritime, NPWS, even parking management plans! At least we are not as bad as the Health and Safety in the UK. I know in the UK they have an unofficial "Wave Jam" which gets around all the legalities but it's a much more informal system of judging and assessing.
I agree the best publicity for the sport at a comp is having good sailors in good conditions, however, getting to participate is a high priority amongst many sailors who come along, i.e time on the water.
No flaming from me
So there is no conflict of interest in my comments - I do the Waterways permissions for the club and taking on judging role this year.
Personally I just want to go hang out, get some sailing in and help raise the standard of sailing for your average wavesailor
cheers
How long does it take to get the necessary permits in place to hold a comp? Would it be possible to hold the mid winter bash at the best location depending on the conditions forcast a week out from the event.
Birubi has to be the best westerly sailing location on the east coast! (not to many options) Hope to spend a few winter saturdays up there, but probably better places to sail behind the fronts ie the gong.
Great to sail saturday with the Newcastle/central coast boys. Not competing certainly hasn't diminished their sailing capabilities. Be great to see them show for an event.
The decision was made last year due to the fact that there was a hell of alot of water moving. And with the fickle wind most people didn't want to go out at all. It was very difficult sailing to say the least, even good sailors like ma were prodominantly sailing the inside which bears testimony to the conditions. At the end of the day the decision was made due to the fact that if someone got into difficulty we could not assist them adequitly. We held an expression session so as not to force anyone out who didn't feel comfortable or safe. In the circumstances what other choice was there?
Some of the permits take months to get approved and are even reviewed and voted on at council meetings.
Floating comps are a great idea but you need to cover all your bases in the application. The Gerroa/Windang comp covers multiple councils who all have to get the correct paperwork.
The decision not to hold a birubi comp was a very difficult decission to be made with pretty much a 50/50 split on the idea at the AGM. Alot of people wanted to remove the winter comp from the scoring rounds completely (i was one of them) due to the un-predictable winds which we often encounter during winter and the fact not many people are all that keen that time of year. In the end after a huge amount of debate it was decided and voted that Port Kembla in september would give us a better shot of good competition sailing. It wasnt chosen due to it being a great spot to sail in a westerly (Birubi is definately the best option for westerlies) it was chosen due to the fact that in the local area all of the predominent wind directions could be sailed. Southerlies at windang, SW-Westerlies at Port Kembla and NE'ers at Gerroa or Warrila.
Might try and nip this one in the bud before it gets nasty again
1. If you don't like something go to the agm and vote to change it.
2. If you don't like the way the committe makes decisions. Put your hand up to do some work in the committee and have a direct role in improving it.
3. If you don't do well at a comp, sail better.
Plenty of people comes to the comps and have a great time, last comp at birubi we had 5 people drive down from qld for the comp, I wonder why?
Because they enjoy it and have a good time maybe
Just for the record I was not trying to be funny/smart or sarcastic in asking why people had left.
The aim was to actually determine if there was something constructive that could be done to bolster numbers... finding out some of the reasons why numbers have dropped seemed like a natural place to start.
Futhermore, I would have thought 5 people driving all the way down from QLD to take part in the Birubi comp is genuine proof of the mid winter bash attraction... not to mention solid reason to keep it on the Calendar.
One of the aims of the NSW WA this year is to give sailors more time on the water sailing heats, in particular the non-pros. This was some general feedback from comps and the AGM and chatting with guys in the amateurs.
Another one is to give your average sailor a better understanding of how heats are judged so that they could improve their performance.
Thirdly another aim is to bolster numbers in the youths, groms and (younger) amateurs by providing the type of environment they feel welcome and can experience success.
There is definitely a real vision for the club and specific objectives and lots of energy being voluntarily contributed.
Is there a Newscastle venue that will provide the right sort of conditions during NE seabreezes. We always discuss the venues at each year's AGM so happy to get the input.
cheers
.
Tim, there are plenty of N/E spots around Newcastle (south of Newy). One inparticular that is excellent. Krusty sent me an email about this same thing earlier this year. I gave him a full run down of all the good spots, however I never heard anything back from him. Ask him.
Crash Landing, how do the Loft wave sails go? They are a good price.
I'm not for or against any of the decisions about venues, I wasn't at the AGM and infact I didn't make it to any events at all last year. But I don't think that Port Kembla should be underestimated. I don't sail there much because I dont really sail in winter much. But when I have it has been good. I reckon that it will be closer to the conditions of Birubi than you give it credit for.
Also while you girls are having your massDebate. I will be surfing perfect waves in Samoa
Tough life George, I'm off to puerto RICO for a month sailing and surfing and no doubt eating so I'll be havin a tough time too
