December News

Well I suppose that you are already aware that the weather this year has been a case of Consistent Recirculation of Atmospheric Particles, and if you are familiar with acronyms it’s been that too. Too much wind – not enough wind – too much weed (especially as all our boats have keels, even the single seaters) it has been most frustrating, but we soldier on. It has been a case of consolidating our position with acquiring another Sunbird and a very neglected Caprice 19 which David Cunningham has been again working his socks off to get seaworthy and hopefully sell to add to our finances. We have been providing sailing experience to a group with learning difficulties on most Wednesdays this year and our Drascombe lugger has done Trojan service in this respect and we are indebted to club member Mike Fowler for his assistance when we were short of volunteers on occasion. Whilst on that subject, if any club members would care to help us on Wednesdays we would be extremely grateful and it would give you the opportunity to sail the wide range of craft we have. If you are aware of anyone who is retired and at a loose end on Wednesdays we would like to meet them

A couple of items in the AGM were of great interest to us in that our landlords Severn Trent are insisting on safety cover being available whenever sailing takes place. As we tend to sail mid week this is a good thing for us, although we are capable of doing this ourselves and have done so on occasion. Being safety conscious we are grateful that the club has gone over to marine band which makes contact on the water so much more effective and as an added benefit hand held marine band VHF’s are much more reasonably priced and tend to be waterproof. Another couple of safety issues we are endeavouring to adopt is the inclusion of an ICE contact on mobile telephones. This is ‘In Case of Emergency’ and carries details of whom to contact if the owner is unable to respond after an accident. Another is for our members to place in a sealed envelope, details of who to contact in case of an accident or other situation, their disability and medication they may be using. Knowledge of this kind can be extremely significant if the situation needs medical intervention. The envelopes are to be kept in our sailability slot in the office and only opened in an emergency. Keeping details on computer may be another way but I think we may be contravening the data protection act by doing so.

The AGM also decided to apply for inclusion in the new Community Amateur Sports Club Scheme. This brings clubs into line with registered charities, guaranteeing an 80% reduction in council tax and the ability to claim back tax through ‘Gift Aid’. We have been very fortunate over the years in that Derbyshire Dales District Council have been allowing the club a 100% rebate on council tax which amounts to quite a sum of money. Two of the main conditions for clubs adopting the scheme are 1. Membership must be open to the whole community and 2. The Club’s facilities must be available to all members without discrimination. Carsington Sailability, as a corporate member and an intrinsic part of the club, ensures that these conditions, when referred to in ‘disability’ or ‘Lack of Ability’ terms are covered, as they are in the case of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Don’t forget, if you know anyone who is disabled and would like to sail – come and talk to us.