BT Offshore Sailing Club

All berths have been allocated for the 2012 race. This remains a big event on the Solent sailing calendar and last year there were nearly 2,000 entries. It is a fantastic experience sailing alongside over 1500 other boats round the Isle of Wight.

If you are interested in participating in next years’ race , please get in touch. Don’t worry if you don’t have much racing experience – we will try and spread the experience across the boats.

More information can be found here:

http://www.roundtheisland.org.uk

Cost: £340 per berth [this event is a little more expensive to cover race entry/insurance]

If you would like to take part in this or any other events on the programme, please let Hazell know at btosccrew@gmail.com

Tall Ships Youth Trust are currently offering some shore based training at half price. The course include:

• First Aid
• VHF
• Radar

If you are thinking of doing one of these this is a good opportunity to save some money.

See http://tallships.org/qualifications/rya-shorebased-courses/

You will also be helping the Trust at the same time!

Chris Price

2 or maybe 3 Berths still to fill – £260 for 5 Days Training incl RYA Certificate Fee.

Onboard Food, Diesel any Mooring fees will be additional, i.e. shared by the crew.

So you have been on the water a few times and seen how everybody else seems to know what to do. You have now decided you like the sport, but would also like to be able to participate more and contribute to the running of the boat; that’s what a “Competent Crew” member does and after the course you will have confidence and be able to participate fully in most of the activities of running the boat!

For full details of the course content go the RYA web-site < www.rya.org.uk > and click on the following in turn:- Courses and Training     (Across the top)

Sail Cruising                   (Left Hand Drop Down)

See “Competent Crew”  (On same Drop Down)

The RYA Day Skipper Practical Course runs concurrently with the above; candidates will have attended and passed the RYA Day Skipper Shorebased Theory course and on successful completion of this practical course will be competent to skipper a small yacht in familiar waters by day!

Closing date for bookings must be by c.o.p. Friday 23^rd. September!

This RYA course will be taught by Chris Price (BTOSC Chairman, Yachtmaster Ocean and Club Instructor) under arrangements made with with the Hamble School of Yachting based on the River Hamble near Southampton.

To book a berth on this course or for further details please call  John Wells (Cruising Secretary) on  01494 433 221 or email John at johnwskip@aol.com

We now have two boats filled for the BBQ Weekend with reserves for a possible third boat subject to availability of another skipper.

On Sunday 6 Mar 2011 the BTOSC took part in an hi-line exercise with Solent Coastguard.  This was one of a number of activities planned for this year’s Skippers’ Refresher weekend.

Andy Shrimpton reported as follows:

“Once initial contact had been made and they asked us to tack out for more sea room.  They came back after about ten minutes and we confirmed that we were ready.  Not being complete novices at this routine we had already removed the dan-bouy from the port quarter and brought a bucket on deck for the hi-line.”

The briefing received over VHF was as follows:

• Hold a steady course
• Sail hard on the wind on port tack
• Take the line on-board but don’t attach it to the boat
• Take-in all slack
• When the man on the wire is ready he will indicate to haul him in – it may take more than one person.  Once on-board he will direct the rest of the operation.

The exercise then commenced and went exactly as briefed.

First the hi-line was lowered into the water to be taken on board Bagadeus.

Then a crewman was lowered from the helicopter…

for transferred to the yacht.

After a few minutes onboard, the crewman was then safely recovered back to the helicopter as captured in the following video.  To view this you will need to enter the word ‘skipper‘.

On completion CG Helo 104 called Bagadeus on Channel 67 to confirm completion of the exercise, to thank us for our participation, and to kindly say that we had done well.

Andy commented:  “It was a good experience (especially when you don’t need rescuing) and everyone learned something from it – not least how noisy it is underneath a helicopter!”

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Other activities during the weekend included ‘pontoon bashing’, setting up a tow and a variety of man-overboard techniques.