From John Grainger

Hi everybody,

Ollie RiordenJust wanted to tell you all that a quiet revolution in yachting is taking place on Port Stephens.  The sailing & Aquatic Club (Dinghy Club I like to call it) has become a YA accredited sail training center and young Oliver Riorden is now conducting junior training sessions each Sunday from 9.00 am.  If you have not been down for a look yet, please do.  The president Karen Nye will welcome you with a cuppa,  but do not stay too long or she will recruit you into the action.

I tell you, there are little kids, big kids, Granddads, Aunties and old salts alike chipping in.  Try some of Maggie’s Munchies.  Big yummy muffins for just a dollar donation.  All they ask is that visitors park away from the littlies running around in front of the club house.

 I had great fun instructing one young girl who had missed Ollie’s week of sailing, the week before, where 24 children were turned into confident junior sailors. After just 2 trial lessons, she’s hooked and ready to join the club. New members young and old are joining every  week.

I was given the little Bic training yacht (purchased by PSYC) to be named “Jack Hollman,” for the little girls lesson.  Next to it was the Max and Edna Berman dinghy, WOW!  What a delight those little unsinkable, self draining yachts are.  Children as young as seven can manage them, and don’t they learn so fast!  Even Bob Naftel is getting worried at their skills!!

John Grainger, Yachtsmaster, Instructor

Junior Sail Training

We, as a Club, have been keen to become involved in Sail training in our area for some time.    Various concerns have prevented this as we have seen a number of these ventures founder for one reason or another.

Our location has prevented us becoming actively involved, as has the lack of a rescue boat and, lately, with OH&S and insurance concerns, our involvement became even more difficult.

However this situation has now changed.In action off Wanda Beach

We are pleased to announce that we have purchased two Bic trainng dinghies to assist the Port Stephens Sailing and Aquatic Club with their junior sail training programme.

Bill Haskell and I attended their morning session this morning and saw 12 children aged from seven to thirteen sailing these great little craft.   This afternoon a further 12 took their places and the week saw 24 youngsters obtain their first and second grade certificates of competancy.

They are light, easy to handle and, best of all, very easy to right after a capize.

The children commenced their one week session on Monday.   Most of them had experienced very little time on the water sailing,and a number were most apprehensive about being on the water in a sailing craft on their own.   

All this has now changed.   Ollie Reardon, Alan Croft and Bob Naftel have been involved in junior sailing in the PSSAC for some time now and Ollie is now a fully accredited Sailing Instructor.

The PSSAC has two Bic's of its own, two more are privately owned by family members and, with our two, will be able to keep the graduates from these courses in the water each weekend.

Our Bic's were financed by interest accumulated from the monies invested in the Jack Holman Memorial Trust and the Max and Edna Berman Trust.   with any shortfall made up from Club Funds.     We will name our dinghies the "Jack Holman" and the "Max & Edna Berman" and have our Club Burgee featured on both craft.

We hope in the near future to have a "Juniors Race" included in our race programme where a junior is required to take the helm of our yachts for at least one leg of our course.  
Scanned image (to be improved)
(We might even select 6 of our more athletic members to skipper the Bics in a challenge one Sunday Morning!    The only problem is that the maximum recommended weight in one is 90kgs!)

We will bring one along to our Club on the 5th of November (Jack Holman Day) and rig it on the lawn adjacent to our BBQ area so that our members and the Holman family can see what these dinghies have to offer.

We have a movie on Bic sailing now HERE

PSSAC Commodore Karen Nye addresses course participants.