Introduction and News

A year ago today, the flag officers and I were busy in Plas Heli, setting up the large TVs and putting up flags and posters to welcome our members and guests for the start of the Guinness 6 Nations rugby tournament. Saturday saw the bar full, and we enjoyed watching Wales play Italy, and Ireland play Scotland in the first two games. Little did any of us imagine then what was to come. Seven weeks later we were in lockdown.

2021 started with a frightening increase in cases and some new variants of the disease but as we said goodbye to January, there has been better news - not only are the cases and fatalities across the UK beginning to subside, there is hope of two new vaccines that could be approved by the MHRA within days. The latest Novavax vaccine has proved to be 89% effective and will be made in Stockton on Tees UK.

The Welsh Government review completed on the 28^th January, concluded that the whole of Wales should remain at Alert Level 4 - this means everyone must stay at home and all non-essential retail, hospitality venues, licenced premises and leisure facilities must remain closed. There will be a further review of restrictions by the 19^th February, and we will report any changes in the next newsletter.

With the infection rates coming down across the country and the nation’s vaccination programmes being rolled out, let us all hope that we can return to a normal life in the very near future.

SATURDAY 6^th   This weekend then we must watch the rugby at home, the games will be played behind closed doors, but I am sure that there will be some exciting moments for us all to enjoy - the fixtures will be:

ITALY v FRANCE at 14.15 GMT.

ENGLAND v SCOTLAND at 16.45 GMT 

SUNDAY 7^th

WALES V IRELAND 15.00 at GMT.

If rugby doesn’t rock your boat, then this weekend may be a good time to get out the charts and pilot books and get involved in some passage planning in readiness for what we all hope will be a great summer.

Meanwhile things are beginning to grow in the gardens,  I have seen the first snowdrops appear in Abererch - It won’t be long now before we welcome daffodils and early lambs to herald the arrival of Spring.

Last week saw the arrival of Pwllheli’s new all weather lifeboat coming a step closer with the delivery of her new launch and recovery tractor (SLARS)  which now stands proudly in the new lifeboat station  - see the article below.

Only a week ago we were reminded of the bravery and dedication of the RNLI volunteer crews, when no fewer than seven lifeboats from five different stations were launched and involved in a two-day search for the missing Fishing Vessel "Nicola Faith." sadly the vessel and its three crew could not be found and our thoughts are with their families and friends.

The 9^th Vendeé Globe Round the World Yacht race came to an exciting and dramatic end on Wednesday the 27^th January when French Skipper Charlie Dalin was the first to cross the finishing line at Les Sables d’Olonne - although first across the finishing line, he had to wait for both Boris Herrmann of Germany and Yannick Bestaven of France to finish before a winner was declared. They had been awarded time allowances of 6 hour and a 10 ¼ hour respectively by the race jury for their part in the search for and rescue of Kevin Escoffier. Boris Herrmann collided with a fishing vessel when only 90 miles from the finish and Bestaven crossed the line to beat Dalin by two and a half hours on corrected time. Dalin greeted Bestaven on the pontoon. There was no protest and Bestavens first words were “There are two winners on this Vendee Globe” A great example of true sportsmanship and a lesson to us all.

Sadly, this week we learnt of the sudden and untimely death of Captain Tom Moore, who inspired the whole nation last year by raising £39 million pounds for the NHS. This great man will be sorely missed and our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Let’s all continue to abide by the Government restrictions and heed their advice. Hopefully, a more normal life awaits us in the not to distant future.

Take care and stay safe

Gerallt Williams -Morlywydd /Commodore - CHPSC

Webcam

The club has a webcam mounted on the Plas Heli Bridge, and the live images can be viewed here, or at the bottom of the website home page. 

An additional webcam will be installed later this year looking over the Plas Heli pontoons and marina and will be streamed in the member's area of the club website.

Welsh Government  Alert Level 4

Latest RYA Cymru Wales advice here 

BREXIT - RYA  Guidance

Border force (customs)  requirements for recreational boats leaving UK waters (for example visiting Ireland) are listed here with links to the forms etc

Bad Achub Pwllheli Lifeboat - Shannon Launch and Recovery System arrives in Pwllheli ahead of training

Video and photos courtesy of the RNLI and Tomos Moore (Press Officer RNLI Pwllheli)

Pwllheli RNLI has taken delivery of an impressive kit which will launch the station’s new Shannon class lifeboat when she arrives. Pwllheli RNLI also took delivery of a new tractor which will launch the station’s inshore lifeboat

 For a video of the new SLAR unit arriving at Pwllheli see here

 

 With training commencing in a couple of weeks’ time, the volunteer crew were thrilled to welcome the arrival of our SLARS ( Shannon Launch and Recovery System ), along with the tractor for the inshore lifeboat. These are vital pieces kit which will enable the crew to launch their Shannon Class lifeboat and D Class Lifeboat.

The new SLARS unit features much improved facilities for the operator and will enable the volunteer crew to launch and reach casualties quicker. The current Talus and Mersey carriage has a speed of approximately 7mph, where the SLARS can track the whole rig to the tideline at approximately 10mph.

Coupled with an impressive recovery and turnaround time, once the Shannon has reached the shore, after an exercise or service, it can be recovered and turned around to be available for service again in 10 minutes. This is thanks to the highly sophisticated and unique turntable cradle, which winches the Shannon onto it and then spin’s the whole cradle a whole 180 degrees. When comparing this to the current 45 minutes with the current Mersey class, this enables the RNLI as a charity, to be back and ready for service once more in less than half the time of the current setup. All in all, the SLARS system is an impressive piece of kit, and is one component out of many, that will enable us to continue saving lives off the coast of Pwllheli for many years to come.

As well as the new SLARS, and equally as important, the New Holland 3045 for the D Class has also arrived on station. Quite a change from the current setup at Pwllheli, it features a 4WD system, a winch to the front of the tractor and towing point’s to the front and to the rear, giving flexibility on how the shore crew decide to launch the D Class.

As you might have seen in the photographs, the SLARS unit at Pwllheli has been named ‘John Llywellyn Mostyn Hughes’. Mr Hughes was passed away in 2017 and left a significant share of his estate to the RNLI and in recognition of his bequest part of his generous gift has been used to fund the SLARS for Pwllheli in its entirety. He was a lifetime supporter of the RNLI and when he was young boy had a connection with Moelfre Lifeboat Station and the Coxswain at the time, Richard Frances had taught him to sail. In his professional career, Mr Hughes primarily worked in London and sat on many boards for high profile companies such as INTEC Telecommunications systems as a Non-Executive Chairman and his most recent, the chairman for Just Eat. From all of us here at Pwllheli Lifeboat Station, we would like send our deepest heartfelt thank you to Mr Hughes and his family for the generous funding of our new SLARS unit and there is no doubt, his legacy will live on with us here at Pwllheli for many decades to come.

Clifford Thomas, Lifeboat Operation Manager at Pwllheli said:

‘These are vital pieces of equipment that our shore crew rely on every time that we have an exercise or indeed a service. Without these highly advanced pieces of kit, both boat’s simply could not launch. Volunteers will commence with training on the equipment shortly and cannot wait to get involved with their new equipment’

Pwllheli RNLI's Shannon class lifeboat is due to arrive on station in early spring of 2021, following crew training and mechanical trials at the RNLI College in Poole.

Article courtesy of the RNLI press release 30/01/2021

CRUISING

RYA Cruising Conference goes Virtual for 2021

The RYA's annual Cruising Conference will take place as an online event this year on 21 March 2021. 

 

The conference promises to cover the issues that matter most to cruisers, including post-Brexit guidance, training insights, real-life stories from fellow cruisers, as well as the latest developments in safety and more. 

The exhibition area and on-demand talks at the conference will be open to delegates from 9am to 2.30pm with the live streaming sessions running from 9.30am to 12.30pm. The exciting range of topics and speakers for the event will be announced by the RYA in the New Year. 

 

Stuart Carruthers, RYA Cruising Manager, commented: “This is the first time that the RYA Cruising Conference has been held virtually and we’re really excited about the benefits that the online event management programme can offer, particularly in terms of being able to pre-record content that will enable delegates to visit more sessions that previously may have clashed on a live event timetable.  Being a virtual event also means that delegates can join the event from across the globe, making it the most accessible RYA Cruising Conference yet.   

“We have a broad range of speakers and workshops lined up for the day, from cruising sailors to technical specialists and RYA experts. We look forward to sharing the full conference programme very soon.”  

Booking for the 2021 RYA Cruising Conference is expected to go live in early January. For all the latest conference news visit the RYA Cruising Conference page or follow the Royal Yachting Association on Facebook and Twitter.  

Cruising - Look after your lifejacket

RYA Cruising Manager, Stuart Carruthers, considers the importance of lifejacket servicing.

I have had some correspondence about the lack of availability and cost of replacement items to enable owners to do their own servicing; particularly replacement rearming kits and parts. It is argued that this makes it difficult for lifejacket owners to do their own servicing. The question is should you be servicing your own lifejacket?

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency publishes extensive advice on lifesaving appliance (LSA) servicing requirements in two Marine Guidance Notes (MGN).  MGN 548 (M+F) provides guidance on inflatable SOLAS LSA and MGN 553 (M+F) on non-SOLAS LSA.  Whilst the guidance is primarily aimed at vessels that operate commercially and at liferaft servicing, it does make it clear that inflatable lifejackets on small commercial vessels (including training and bareboat charter craft) should be serviced at a service station accredited by the manufacturer. In fact on small commercial vessels it is an offence to carry an inflatable lifejacket which is known to be defective, or which has not been serviced at the intervals prescribed by the Regulations.

Most lifejacket manufacturers recommend that their products are serviced annually by service stations that they have approved although some may extend this to two years for privately owned lifejackets. Your lifejacket is an important piece of technical safety equipment and there are some tests that simply cannot be done by a DIYer; the most important of which is the overpressure inflation test where the bladder is over inflated under controlled conditions and temperature and pressure are monitored over a period of time. If it does not pass these tests, then more than likely the lifejacket will not work as intended and it will be condemned.

Check your lifejacket regularly

So what can you do and why are rearming kits and parts available? It is important that you understand how your lifejacket works, how to use its features and how to ensure it performs as intended throughout its working life. This means that you should check your lifejacket regularly throughout the season for signs of damage to the bladder cover, webbing straps, stitching and clips and buckles.  If you are concerned, get it looked at.

There are three inflation methods for gas inflation lifejackets – manual, automatic and hydrostatic. Both the automatic and hydrostatic inflator mechanisms rely on a water sensitive element dissolving rapidly to activate them but differ in activation; it is worth knowing how yours works. Clearly, manually inflated lifejackets are operated by pulling a cord which pushes a firing pin into the CO2 bottle which inflates the lifejacket.

Automatic and hydrostatic lifejackets still have the manual cord, however, automatic inflator mechanisms have a small water sensitive cartridge or bobbin which is what holds back a powerful spring. When the cartridge/bobbin comes into contact with the water it dissolves very rapidly, releasing a spring which pushes the firing pin into the gas bottle.

The most common types of automatic inflator mechanisms are the United Moulders cartridge and the Halkey Roberts bobbin. The UML Automatic Cartridge has an expiry/replace-by date printed on it, the Halkey Roberts bobbin has a date of manufacture printed on it and typically has a three year life when taken off the shelf (provided it is stored correctly) and fitted to an inflator.

The hydrostatic (Hammar) lifejacket inflation system has a hydrostatic valve that protects the water sensitive element until the inflator is approximately 10 cm underwater; they have a five year expiry date and are ideal where you are regularly soaked by waves or excessive spray.

Be aware that screw-in CO2 bottles in lifejackets can work themselves loose and are a common cause of failure and should be checked for tightness every month. In fact the international standards body responsible for PFD standards are addressing Cylinder Seal Indication (CSI) on all inflatable lifejackets and a number of manufacturers produce lifejackets with indicators to show the state of the bottle and trigger mechanism.

If a lifejacket is accidentally inflated during the season, and it does happen, you will want to be able to get it ready for use again straight away, particularly if you are on a long voyage. The principle reason that rearming kits are sold is so that you have the ability to rearm your lifejacket if you are, for example, on passage and it inflates for whatever reason so that you are not left without a lifejacket.

Check the CO2 bottle for corrosion. A heavily corroded bottle should be replaced. Also check any areas of material that have been in contact with a rough cylinder – the fabric may have been damaged. CO2 bottles are not “lifed”, they have a weight marked on the side of them and provided they are free from corrosion and provided they weigh at least as much as the weight marked on them they should be ok.

RYA advice

Annual servicing is a requirement for SOLAS approved lifejackets for professional use and a strong recommendation from authorities worldwide for recreational users. The overwhelming advice from the RYA, RNLI and MCA is to get your lifejackets serviced annually by an approved service station.

Recent RNLI lifejacket clinics have found that in excess of 30% of lifejackets brought in for inspection would not have worked in an emergency. Those who have their lifejackets serviced according to the manufacturer's instructions, check them at regular intervals, and have a spare rearming kit available should not have serious concerns.

Boredom Buster Video - Documentary - "Inner City Sailing"

an inspiring story of an inner city London school ultimately racing in the Fastenet

 

 

 

2021 Membership renewal process

At the end of last year  a bespoke membership renewal email was sent out, which we hope simplifies the renewal process, with much of the user data populated when logging onto the members area. This process also includes an option to collect the new and fantastic club calendar, or for a small fee we can post it out to you.

The calendars have arrived and the  collection times for local members when a Flag Officer will be in attendance at Plas Heli are published below- We will be using the external door of the middle ground floor  training room (to the right of the main entrance)  - this will be signposted as the main doors and internal facilities will be closed. Please don't make a special journey, but we recognise many local members pass by as part of their exercise so an opportunity exists to collect the calendar.

  2021 Membership Rates

Membership of CHPSC for 2021 

The membership year is from 1st January to 31st December.

2021 Fee Structure 

Primary Member - £65

Joint Membership - £115

Racing Skipper - £125

Joint Racing Skipper  - £180

Associate Member - £75

Student Member - £30

Youth Member - £20

Dinghy Storage

Small (Optimist/Topper) £55 (£48 early payment)

Medium (Laser) £65 £55 early payment)

Large (Merlin Rocket) £85 (£75 early payment)

Multi Hulls (Dart etc) £95 (£83 early payment)

Road Trailer £50 or £75 for 2 stacked

You can purchase a club burgee or pay for your club calendar postage as part of your membership process!

The centre is closed in line with Welsh Government Alert Level  4 restrictions. New opening hours will be posted  as soon as  restrictions are eased, and our bar and catering partner's have assessed what they can offer. 

In order that the club and centre can open re-promptly, there is some essential maintenance work being undertaken on the infrastructure  of Plas Heli and both Plas Heli and CHPSC equipment by the Directors and Flag Officers, in line with Welsh Government Regulations. In addition a review of the facilities is currently underway.

When restrictions are eased a little,  we will be looking for additional volunteers to ensure a smooth return to club activities. All voluntary activities will be managed to keep members safe, and all within allowable guidelines.

J24's for sale - expressions of interest

A project is underway to  look at the feasibility of replacing  the two academy J24's with a lift keel sportboat, to use for race training, club racing and for CHIPAC sailors to transition to keelboats. It will also be   available for charter into class events in the UK and Ireland, representing Wales. 

The two J24's, with one good quality trailer, yard cradle and a good set of sails are available for sale as a package,  please reply to this email if interested, or email Mae'r cyfeiriad e-bost hwn wedi'i warchod rhag robotiaid sbam. Rhaid i chi alluogi JavaScript i'w weld.

New codes on all gates - please don’t pass on these numbers. Anyone with a genuine need to access the pontoons, compounds or other gated areas will be provided with the code, combination or key. Email Mae'r cyfeiriad e-bost hwn wedi'i warchod rhag robotiaid sbam. Rhaid i chi alluogi JavaScript i'w weld. for details, or talk to one of your Flag Officers. The Plas Heli event car park on the quay is also available for members parking, should the main Plas Heli car park fill up - for a parking permit see instructions below.

Track and Trace is a Government requirement, please record your details on the sheet provided at the entrance to the  bar, or send an email to Mae'r cyfeiriad e-bost hwn wedi'i warchod rhag robotiaid sbam. Rhaid i chi alluogi JavaScript i'w weld.. It is a Welsh Government recommendation that you also use the NHS app, via the QR code below. 

Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy and Event Centre, has been awarded the venue rights for the 'IRC Welsh National Championships' for 2021 and 2022.  The Championship is hosted by Plas Heli, and organised/managed by CHPSC and the RDYC.

We now are recruiting volunteers for event planning purposes and if you would like to contribute, or have any suggestions to enhance the event, please reply to this newsletter. Its intended to have the first planning meeting shortly to agree the Notice of Race and proposed format of racing.  This meeting will be open to all potential entrants   and volunteers, and will be held using Zoom.  

Thought for  the Day:

"you only get this day once"

 For more information, membership links and the latest weather and webcam

go to:
www.pwllhelisailingclub.co.uk

Plas Heli Quayside Parking

The parking area on the Plas Heli Quayside is available for paid up CHPSC members and to authorised pontoon users.

The parking area is accessed through the gate adjacent to the old club building

The code to the gate is changed regularly and can be obtained through the plasheli.org website  > Facilities> Parking.  For convenience follow this shortcut link here

Fill in the details – put a tick in the box to confirm that you are a CHPSC member (have your 2021 membership number ready)

Then in the payment bit – use ‘I am a paid up CHPSC member and request permit for parking’ - Then Submit

You will then receive an automated return e-mail with instructions

Please make sure the gate is closed and locked at all times and that the padlock is never left open or with the code left on the dial