February eVine

This month's eVine is a bit of an extended one as we ramp up to the start of the new season. There's a lot going on and plenty of opportunities to lend a hand - please give whatever help you can to get the club ship shape!

Events coming up in February

Tuesday 20th Feb - The President’s Supper

Our Club President, David Brunning, invites all members to the President’s supper this coming Tuesday evening. The menu is chosen on this occasion by the President. Booking details

Sunday 25th Feb @ 15.00 - AGM

Reminder to all members that the AGM will be held at the club on Sunday 25th February.

If you are intersted in standing for a post, there is still time to get your applications in by the deadline on Tuesday 20th February. You need to write a note to the Commodore (acting as Hon Sec) stating a) you wish to stand for the post of xxxxx, b) a Full member has Proposed you and c) a Full member has Seconded you. All names should be signed AND printed please. There is also a form on the notice board in the clubhouse on which you can make your application. Remember though that you need to be a member to vote or stand so, if you haven't already renewed, get your renewals in beforehand or bring your checkbook on the day!

AGM Luncheon @ 13.00

Book your seats or for a Chef prepared pre-AGM luncheon. Please make your bookings before Tuesday 20th February Booking details.

Sunday 25th Feb @ 09.00 - First Aid Course

Please note we have a pre-season First Aid course coming up on 25^th Feb which would be a great time to catch up for those whose certificates are about to expire. For those of you who have spotted that 25^th Feb is also our AGM date, we have organised the logistics around this. Training will be in the clubhouse in the morning, and in the changing rooms in the afternoon and there will be opportunity for voting in the afternoon session, so we can kill two birds with one stone, and make full use of the club facilities. Price is £30 and there are currently still spaces available.

Events Coming up in March

Sunday 4th March @ 11.30am - Safety Boat Anti-fouling

Volunteers are sought to help with the antifouling of the Dorys and Cora. Please bring a paintbrush! Many hands will make light work so the more the merrier. If it is wet or raining the event will defer to Sun 11th March

Sunday 11th March @ 13.00 - Encouraging Participation - Session 2

Please note that the date of this event has been changed from Tuesday 20th of Feb to Sunday 4th March to avoid the clash with the President's Supper. It precedes the Rater Assoc meeting (at 15.00) to kill 2 birds with one stone and to maximise attendence.

The second session will take the form of a workshop to identify how volunteer management best practice , as defined by Jackie Bennett of the RYA, can be applied within the TSC.

We would encourage all members to attend even if you did not manage to make the first session. We would particularly encourage officers and club post holders to attend as one primary aim of this workshop is to find ways to 'spread the load'.

Sunday 18th March @ 11.30 am - Safety Boat re-floating

Volunteers are required to help put the rescue boats into the water including Cora and at least one Dory. Easy with many hands making light work.

Any queries please contact Nick@Care4Free.Net or on 01372 270112 (day) or 272447 (eve)

Sunday 25th March @ 10.00am - The Spring Work Party

Bring gardening tools and cleaning products please. Help make your club a place of which you can be proud. Food will be provided at lunchtime.

Tuesday 27th March @ 19.00 - Assistant Duty Officer Training

This is a quick one hour run through for members who may be new to or a bit rusty in the practice of running races and safety boats for club racing. As we all have to do our Officer of the Day duty this is a gentle introduction.

Saturday 31st March and Sunday 1st April @ 09.00 - RYA Powerboat training 1& 2

This course is very useful for anyone who intends to use the club powerboats for safety or towing purposes. In addition, it is a requirements to have this qualification to be a Dinghy Instructor. This 2 day course is open to all members at a cost of only £50.

Advanced Notice - Future Events

Spring Sail Training at the TSC

It's time to start thinking about the Spring training session at the club. Are you able to help in any way? Are you interested in joining the training team? Do you want to book yourself onto the training programme to achieve the next level of RYA certification? Or do you have friends or family who would be interested in learning to sail? For further details of all the options and opportunities to learn or help go to Training Programme.

Firefly Open - 14th April

Following on from the runaway success of last year's event, we are please to announce the 2007 Firefly Open.The format will repeat last year's with races at TSC on the Saturday, a party at the Club on Saturday evening and further racing at Tamesis on the Sunday. Kevin Pearson has kindly agreed to be race officer - further offers to to help with all aspects of the event will be very gratefully received.

Bourne End Week 2007

The dates for BEW 2007 have now been announced. See BEW Poster for further details For newcomers to the club, BEW is the Regatta held in May at the Upper Thames Sailing Club which the TSC attends annually en masse. Notice that the the event once again lasts a full week though the second half of the week is now exclusively for juniors.

General Stuff

Photos needed

The PR team are looking for images of past events to use for the publicity of this year's events. Help us to avoid recycling the same old pictures again this year. Please annotate them with the event details and send to tscpictures@googlemail.com. Credit will be given for images used where possible.

Sunday Soup - every Sunday!

Every event mentioned above on a Sunday will be catered for by the Sunday Soup team. Indeed it appears that, due to competitiveness in the team (well if there's no option to compete on the water...) the Sunday soup kitchen has moved beyond mere soup to an 'open buffet' format with an emphasis on 'hot and filling'. It's still only £1 per item and thanks to overwhelming voluntary support is anticipated to continue into the new season.

20% OFF at Gulidford Marine

Worth noting that from now until 3rd March Guildford Marine is offering 20% off wetsuits, drysuits, Chandlery, accessories etc. Details at www.guildfordmarine.co.uk