Statement on phased return to sailing at PSC – issued 15th May 2020

This IS the message you have been waiting for, thanks for your patience, I’m pleased to say that we are now in a position to detail how we plan to start some sailing activity at Priory Sailing Club.

There is a lot of important information here so please do read it carefully; there is a request for info from you near the end (please don’t skip there now!). If you are unclear about any of the arrangements that we are implementing please do contact me, or any committee member.

We are getting back on the water, but you won’t be surprised to hear that it will not be business as usual. The current regulations allow us to sail for exercise but not to operate the club with its normal range of training, racing and social activities. We are developing a plan to provide as much opportunity for as many members as possible to get as much sailing exercise as possible. We plan to introduce sailing activity in two stages.

Stage One – from Saturday 16^th May PSC members can use their own craft at Priory Sailing Club (Please note that Club Equipment is not available).

From Saturday you can come to the club on any day of the week and use your own craft to sail on our lake. In addition to our normal Sailing Rules and Club Byelaws there are some supplementary measures that you will be required to observe in relation to the additional risks that the Covid -19 virus presents to our wellbeing.

These measures are in place to encourage members to come to the club to exercise, in the knowledge that the risks on our site are being managed and minimised. We are confident that after our period of Lockdown the principle of looking after each other by following the recommended guidance is well understood and will be respected by our members.

In drawing up our procedures we have followed Government and RYA guidance.

Our additional Covid 19 measures include –

• You should not come to the club if you have Covid 19 symptoms. If you have had contact with a work colleague, family or household member who is unwell with the symptoms of Covid-19 you should not attend the club for a minimum of 14 days.

• We must practice social distancing at all times, on and off the water. This means that you cannot sail your boat with anyone who is not in your household as a crew, additionally we should avoid touching other members’ craft or trolleys.

• The clubhouse is closed and none of the facilities of the clubhouse are available; this means there are no toilets available on site for your use. You may decide to get changed at home – please be discreet if you are changing on the car park!

• Caution will be required when opening and closing the main gate; the use of gloves and /or hand sanitizer should be considered. The gate should remain closed (not necessarily locked) to avoid casual visits by other Park users.

• The lake is open to enable you to exercise, not socialise, i.e. please don’t come for a BBQ or picnic, indeed our new picnic benches should not be used.

• Sail conservatively i.e. sail well within your capabilities to avoid accidents and 999 calls. Remember that you are sailing independently and that there is no safety boat cover. You can of course arrange to sail at the same time as another boat owning member; you could use our members only Facebook page to seek a sailing buddy if you wish.

• You should carry out thorough pre sail checks on your equipment – particularly if it has laid dormant for many months.

• We are temporarily suspending members’ rights to bring guests to the club.

We are preparing signage to remind everyone of the social distancing requirements and will aim to provide hand sanitizer in a couple of outside locations. As always it is important that you take your own rubbish home with you.

Stage Two – implementation date yet to be confirmed, but as soon as possible  –  THE USE OF CLUB CRAFT BY MEMBERS

 We are not in a position to start using club craft immediately, I sure that this will disappoint members who don’t have their own boat, but I hope you will understand that we have to get our systems right to protect everyone and this is taking a little time. We are working hard on it, and you can help by providing us with some information to help us decide what is the best plan. When we do start using club craft all of the above additional Covid 19 measures will apply to everyone.

 Managing the risk of the potential transmission of the virus from the use of shared club equipment is a challenge! The guidance received is that equipment should be left for 72 hours after use before a different user uses it again. We have several ideas on how we might do this and are exploring the potential of online booking systems to allow us to schedule boat use.

One approach is that we may offer the opportunity for members to ‘adopt’ a boat (not board) for a fixed period. That particular craft would become theirs to use exclusively thus avoiding potential virus transmission.

To help us gauge if this approach would work, and to see if we have enough craft to satisfy demand, please send me an email with your preferred craft should we adopt this system. Please email by 10.00pm on Sunday 17^th. (Boats available – Omegas, Hartley 15s, Heron, Vibe, Lasers, Picos, Toppers, Oppies)

We also have many children’s buoyancy aids and whilst these won’t be available as normal on a session by session basis we will loan them out for the summer period for you to take home, care for and return at the end of the season!  Adults should of course have their own BAs, but if you haven’t got one yet we can help.

Once we receive your ‘PSC Boat Adoption Info’ we will continue to refine our Stage Two plan and will hope to have it in place next week.

It’s unclear when we will be able to start operating as a club again, offering racing and training activities. As soon as we are able there will be a Stage Three!

When we closed the club back in March I said that ‘it may take a while, but the lake will still be there, and when the sun shines and the wind blows PSC will once again be the place to be – and of course we’ll have a BIG party!’ Pleased to report that the lake is still there and from Saturday we can exercise on the water in the sunshine – we just need to wait a little longer for the party!

Best wishes to all.

Tim Hewett

PSC Commodore