2020 MEMBERSHIPS

Many thanks to those of you who have already renewed your 2020/21 RANSA membership: remember fees were reduced by a quarter and due date postponed to reflect current circumstances. Membership fees are the lifeblood of a Club like ours and are now due end September – yesterday! so we look forward to hearing from you.

COVIDSAFE ZONE RESTRICTIONS EASED

The good news is that the Zone restrictions which made crewing for the last few Wednesday races so difficult have been eased. Australian Sailing, along with other NSW State Sporting Organisations, has received from NSW Office of Sport and NSW Health changes to the requirement for the regional restrictions. Community sporting competitions can recommence without restricting these activities to regions or zones, where there is a COVID-19 Safety Plan for the activity in place.

While this is great news, we must still ensure our activities are delivered in compliance with the Public Health Order and the COVID-19 Safety Plan requirements including:

• Adhering to the 500-person limit for community sport activities (including participants, officials and spectators) and/or adhering to the one person per four square metre rule in indoor spaces.
• Organisations and participants should continue to avoid shared travel arrangements such as car-pooling, along with minimising social gatherings before and after the event.

We appreciate your support in reducing the risk of community transmission at this critical time and for the patience and understanding over the last few weeks. Australian Sailing is still working with NSW Health on further exemptions to best ensure sailing is able to proceed going forward in a normal fashion. More information can be found on the Australian Sailing Covid-19 page.

RANSA AGM

As previously advised we have had further delays forced upon us with the Auditor just now finalising the accounts with additional requirements and associated workload due to COVID-19. It has been decided to hold the AGM on Tuesday 27th October at 19:00. Revised key dates for the meeting are Notice of AGM will be issued on 5th October. Nominations for Squadron Committee close 13th October and proxy voting will close on Friday 23rd October.More details about how to participate in the online AGM including proxy voting will be available shortly, and hopefully the AGM will finally be held on the 27th October.

AUSTRALIAN SAILING AWARDS

Congratulations to RANSA members recognised at the Australian Sailing 2020 awards presentation:

Member John Allan has been named NSW/ACT Volunteer of the Year. Recognised largely for his services at the CYCA, John is a valued RANSA volunteer, acting as PRO for our Twilight Races and key events such as the RANSA Regatta and the ADFSA Regatta, and as a National Juror is a key member of our Protest Panels.

Member Matt Allen AM has been named NSW/ACT Offshore Sailor of the Year. Matt and his Ichi Ban team have dominated the offshore circuit in 2019-20 by winning the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for the second time in three years, the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore for the second year in a row and the IRC Nationals for the third year in a row. Matt is a proud member of RANSA and the Ichi Ban team are keen participants in our Winter Wednesday series.

RANSA FRIDAY TWILIGHT SERIES

We are pleased to announce that the new RANSA twilight season will begin on Friday 23 October. Within the ongoing restrictions we hope to be able to open the bar and restaurant for the twilights, and as in the past will need help from you and your crew with bar and start boat duty.

More details on how this will work will follow, but in the meantime the Notice of Race and Entry form are attached, are available on the website here and you can enter online here

We look forward to receiving your entries for another fun twilight season, and please contact the office if you need further information at this stage or assistance with your entry.

We thank you all for your support, and we look forward to seeing you back on the water - and in the bar!

Kind regards from the RANSA office