Greetings fellow sailors, I trust everyone has got over the Millennium Bug. You will no doubt be wondering why the spring newsletter is a bit early this year. Well, the reason is, we are looking for mugs - sorry "volunteers". You may have noticed that the interior of the clubhouse is getting a bit scruffy (in fact dosshouse springs to mind). We (that is you) intend to rectify that. On Sunday 13th February and the following two Sundays the plan is to strip out and repaint the premises - plus any repairs that need doing. So if you can drive a paintbrush or scraper come on down, even if you can only spare an hour or two.

Dates for Your Diary

The monthly regatta series for the Club Championship is as follows:

These dates are all Sundays, racing starts 2pm latest.
The format for the regattas is of two races on each regatta day -a total of 14 races for the season. The best nine results are counted, the winner being the boat with the fewest points. Each race win counts as one point, second place is two points, third place three points and so on. All boats sail together in a mixed fleet, the results being calculated on standard dinghy class handicapping tables. Midweek sailing will be on Wednesday evenings, as last year.

One-Day Event

A one-day event is proposed for Sunday lOth September. It will consist of several races with prizes, and hopefully a barbeque if the weather suits.

Weekend Trips

Tayvallich in Argyll has been the venue for several holiday weekend trips in the last few years. Sailing in Loch Sween or the Sound of Jura offers plenty of scope for sailing excursions.

This is normally a camping weekend based at Leachive Camping and Caravan Site (01546-870206) in Tayvallich. Owner Roy McArthur now has two caravans for hire and if numbers allow, we could hire one of these.

Dates for Tayvallich are 5th-8th May. and 22nd-25th September. Another Argyll venue suggested for the Glasgow Fair weekend 14th-17th July is the campsite at Tayinloan in Kintyre. Final details of trips to be confirmed by participants nearer the time.

Club Telephone

Please note that, as directed by the AGM, the telephone at the Club has been removed. The telephone expenditure had been justified on grounds of safety, but it was felt that mobile phones were so often present during sailing that emergency calls were usually possible. The payphone had often been out of service and was generally unreliable. Visiting parties will be advised to provide their own emergency phone cover.

Audit of Boats and Equipment

The committee has lost track of who owns what in the spar shed and dinghy park All equipment in the spar shed or sailboard store should be marked with the owner's membership code. (Your membership code is included on the label with this mailing.) We also need to identify the owners of boats in the dinghy park, and will be looking at berth numbering. In the first instance, please ensure that any equipment in the clubhouse is clearly marked with your ownership code by the start of the season (16th April).

Committee

Members of the committee this year:

Please encourage any visiting prospective members to take a membership form from the clubhouse and contact Neil McVicar for enrolment, keys, etc.
A letterbox will be fitted to the main gates to allow enquiries to be left at the club.
Fees remain unchanged this year: Family Sub. £55, Single Sub, £50 Students £30, Boat Berths £10, Entry Fee for new members £20

A basic website for the club is being developed at www.mcvicar.u-net.com/index.html. Any graphics or contributions welcome. There is a link to our site from Scottish Sailing Clubs page on the web. It is a means of contacting the club for prospective members. Also we now have a webmail account at www.hotmail.com. The account name is lochside_sailing_club@hotmail.com.

The Loch is waiting for you . . .