The club’s Covid Management Group and General Committee have been monitoring changing Government regulations and RYA advice on dealing with the COVID-19 situation.  As a result of changes announced in July we are able to modify some of our activities.

Club Racing

There is now no restriction on organising Club racing.  Any number of boats racing on the same stretch of water are not considered to be a “gathering.”  Rules on social distancing still apply however to people not in the same family group.  This will make crewing two person boats a problem for some people, and it also makes it difficult to find race teams able to operate from the Committee Boat and to man the safety boat – which is obligatory for Club racing.

The Club therefore proposes to restart some modified racing from 2 August on Sunday mornings only, using volunteer Race Officers and Safety Boat crews. The five Sundays in August will constitute a shortened “Late Summer am Series.”  There will be a shoreline start with the race team using a shore-based race management system.  Further details will be given to those racing on 2 August and subsequent Sundays.

Training

We have seen the adult improvers enjoying the water with Richard Lambert. The training team are having a meeting on 27th July and I am hoping we will able to offer some form of junior training in the coming weeks

On shore

The plan is for there to be a volunteer OOD on Sundays who will open and close the gates.

The rules now say that there should not be a gathering on land (i.e. in the dinghy park) of more than 30 people unless the site is big enough (it is) and is declared “Covid Secure,” i.e. there is a risk assessment and mitigating measures are in place, which is all in hand.  However it is important to maintain social distancing around pinch points like the launching ramp, and the OOD will be asked to manage this.

Thank you to all the members who have been following the request to register visits to the club by emailing ivisitedbbsc@gmail.com to help us comply with the government “track and trace” requirement.

The Clubhouse

The Committee is looking at how and when the clubhouse can be reopened.  

Government advice remains that showers should not be used and that changing rooms should not be used unless it is unavoidable.  If they are, they have to be regularly cleaned and somebody has to stand by the door to manage numbers inside.  Surfaces and handles throughout the building also have to be cleaned regularly throughout the day. Clubs cafes may offer take away food, but at the moment there are no plans to reopen the galley. With all this, the Committee sees no point in reopening the clubhouse at least during August, but this will be kept under review.

The Club’s Covid 19 Risk Assessment and Road map have been updated to reflect these changes and can be found on the Coronavirus Precautions page of the website