April was an active month with all sections of the club making use of the warming weather. Although a number of sailing race days were planned around the holidays not all had wind. However, there was enough to get some racing in and the Easter Series was won by JC Broyelle sailing with Doris Hung in his Hobie Wildcat, who were welcome guests to our club from the Hobie Club for the F18 races. We also hosted the F18 Association spring series which was won by Alexandra and Christoph on their Nacra Infusion. Easter Series results are posted here, and our earlier Holiday Series #1 results are here. 

The paddlers have been busy with their regular training and it is good to see the rowers thriving.

The club also held the annual Commodore’s BBQ at which a good mix members from all sections joined in for some 22 North BBQ.

On April 19, we held our first meeting of the General Committee, where the budget was discussed as well as the incorporation. The focus for this year is to invest in the infrastructure of the club to improve facilities and storage. The agenda and minutes of the meeting have been published on the club website, where you will find all agendas and minutes of all meetings throughout the year.

One committee member thought that perhaps after 29 years and with the growth of the club we might rethink LBC's logo. So we've decided to hold a contest for members to submit designs for a new logo. Designs should be submitted to the Club Secretary for judging at the next GC meeting in mid-June.

The new design needs to represent all three sections of the club—sailing, paddling, and rowing—along with the beach, the water, and Hong Kong. The designs also need to be reproducible in black and white as well as colour. The winner will be awarded a prize of a bottle of champagne (or an equally fun alternative) along with bragging rights. Submissions should be sent by email to secretary@lantauboatclub.com by May 30. I look forward to seeing all the submissions. — Andy Keith, Commodore




Club Kayaks Available


As of May, LBC has four club kayaks available for members' use, free of charge. These include two blue-and-white Gemini sit-on-top kayaks (one two-person, one three-person) and two one-person Voyager plastic kayaks. 

Members may reserve the kayaks for one to four hours on a first-come, first serve basis. Booking will be handled through a Google Calendar. To book a kayak, contact the Secretary several days in advance to obtain the login information for the calendar. Once you have the login information, you may reserve a kayak for any date at any time. 

For more information and to view the booking calendar, see this page or go to the LBC website and choose "Club Kayak Booking" from the "Paddling" menu. 

Please note the following rules and restrictions:

• Kayaks are for members' use only
• Each member may book a kayak for no more than 4 hours per day (four one-hour blocks) 
• Kayaks are stored on the left side of the sail hut and must be returned to their place after use
• Users are required to provide and wear a personal flotation device (PFD)
• Users must provide their own paddles
• Children may use kayaks only under parental supervision
• Use of kayaks is at members' own risk

ID Stickers for Kayaks Stored under Sailboats

Several sailing members who store kayaks under their catamarans (free of charge) have inquired about getting an LBC boat sticker to identify their kayak in case it is removed or misplaced. The Committee is pleased to make boat stickers available for this purpose. These stickers are optional, not mandatory. Members who wish to request one may contact the Secretary. The stickers will be marked with the sail number of the catamaran under which the kayak is stored. The Committee also recommends that, for security, members chain their kayak to their catamaran.

Coming Events


We have two sailing race days coming up this month, Summer Series #1 on Sunday, May 13, and Summer Series #2 on Sunday, May 27. These days have been scheduled on Sunday so that those who work on Saturdays can attend. We hope to see a big turnout! 




Don't Forget: Enter Our Logo Contest! 

Submit your design for our new logo by May 30. The design must represent the three sections of the club—sailing, paddling, and rowing—along with the beach, water, and Hong Kong. It should be reproducible in black and white as well as colour.
 

The approximate location of the rocks is indicated in orange in the Google Maps image below. The safest approach to the beach is indicated by the green arrow: approach from the direction of the ferry terminal.

Approximate location of rock clusters (orange) and safe approach (green)

The farthest cluster of rocks from the beach is marked by a white buoy (however, the buoy sometimes slips away from the proper location). One large patch of rocks is almost immediately opposite the aisle from the 2nd and 3rd rows down to the water.

The photograph below (courtesy of Bob Wilson) shows the rough location of the three patches of rocks at very low tide. The photo was taken standing slightly to the south of the aisle between the rows of sailboats.

Rocks visible at low tide

The paddlers have been busy with their regular training and it is good to see the rowers thriving.

The club also held the annual Commodore’s BBQ at which a good mix of members from all sections joined in for some 22 North BBQ.

We held our first meeting of the General Committee, where the budget was discussed as well as the incorporation. The focus for this year is to invest in the infrastructure of the club to improve facilities and storage. The agenda and minutes of the meeting have been published on the club website, where you will find all agendas and minutes of all meetings throughout the year.

One committee member thought that perhaps after 29 years and with the growth of the club we might rethink LBC's logo. So we've decided to hold a contest for members to submit designs for a new logo. Designs should be submitted to the Club Secretary for judging at the next GC meeting in mid-June.

The new design needs to represent all three sections of the club—sailing, paddling, and rowing—along with the beach, the water, and Hong Kong. The designs also need to be reproducible in black and white as well as colour.

The winner will be awarded a prize of a bottle of champagne (or an equally fun alternative) along with bragging rights. Submissions should be sent by email to secretary@lantauboatclub.com by May 30. I look forward to seeing all the submissions.

— Andy Keith, Commodore

Booking will be handled through a Google Calendar. To book a kayak, contact the Secretary several days in advance to obtain the login information for the calendar. Once you have the login information, you may reserve a kayak for any date at any time. 



For more information and to view the booking calendar, see this page or go to the LBC website and choose "Club Kayak Booking" from the "Paddling" menu. 



Please note the following rules and restrictions:

• Kayaks are for members' use only
• Each member may book a kayak for no more than 4 hours per day (four one-hour blocks) 
• Kayaks are stored on the left side of the sail hut and must be returned to their place after use
• Users are required to provide and wear a personal flotation device (PFD)
• Users must provide their own paddles
• Children may use kayaks only under parental supervision
• Use of kayaks is at members' own risk

To help us find a suitable logo, LBC is holding a design contest: all members are welcome to submit designs for a new logo. The winner will be awarded a prize of a bottle of champagne (or an equally fun alternative) at a club event, along with invaluable bragging rights.

Some guidelines: The new design needs to represent all three sections of the club—sailing, paddling, and rowing—along with the beach, the water, and Hong Kong. The design needs to be reproducible in black and white as well as colour.

Submissions should be sent by email to secretary@lantauboatclub.com by May 30.

This month, put your off-water talents to work and help us create a logo!

2012 HKF18CA Spring Series

Overall

We had a great turnout for the third leg of our Easter Series 2012 on Saturday, April 28. Since the first two legs of the series were canceled due to lack of wind, results for the third leg turned out to be the results for the whole series. Congrats to JC Broyelle and Doris Hung, visitors from HKHC, who won the day with two bullets and a second place. Next came Alex Nitsch and Chris Grebe, and in third were Steve Wallace and Charles Yonts. 

Easter Series Total

Overall

R1

R2

R3

Sailwave Scoring Software 2.02 build 6
www.sailwave.com

MINUTES OF GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING

April 19, 2012

A regular meeting of the General Committee of the Lantau Boat Club was held at the Discovery Bay Recreation Club on April 19, 2012. A quorum was established and the Commodore called the meeting to order at 19:35.

Members present: Andy Keith, Commodore
Alexandra Nitsch, Vice Commodore
Chris Fraser, Secretary
Don Nettleton, Treasurer
James Branch, Beachmaster
James Ford, Sailing Chair
Jonny Rodda, LIRC Representative
Merry Sugiarto, LIOCC Representative

1. Commodore’s Welcome

The Commodore welcomed the newly elected General Committee (“GC”) and stated that a major goal for the coming year is to bring the sailing, paddling, and rowing sections of the club closer together to support each other’s activities and the club as a whole.

2. Approval of Minutes

The GC unanimously approved the minutes of the previous committee meeting (March 13, 2012), which were circulated in advance and posted on the website.

3. Incorporation

The GC is moving forward with the process of incorporating LBC as a company with liability limited by guarantee. A chartered secretary firm has been retained. Alexandra Nitsch and Andrew Nettleton will be the company’s initial directors. The members of the GC will be the founder members. The GC will retain an accountant and auditor as necessary and identify a registered address for the company.

Action: Commodore, Secretary

4. Membership and Parking Report

The Secretary reported that LBC has 187 full members and 38 spouse/partner members. The sailing section has 96 members, the paddling section (LIOCC) has 49, and the rowing section (LIRC) has 23. There are 38 canoe/kayak members, about half of whom are also members of the sailing or paddling sections. Fees for all sailboats have been paid for 2012, except two boats that are to be removed. A handful of paddling members still owe 2012 fees. The club has allocated boat parking spaces for 2012 to three new incoming boats and will offer a space to one other boat on the wait list.

Action: Secretary

5. Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer reported that LBC’s financial status is excellent by comparison with previous years. Preliminary figures indicate that the club had a budget surplus for 2011-12. LBC’s account balance as of April 2012 is significantly higher than it was in April 2011. The GC approved the Treasurer’s preliminary budget for April 2012 to March 2013, which includes allocations for equipment, social events, regattas for all three sections of the club, and other items. The Treasurer will reduce the number of weekend beach cleaning teams from two to one but ask the remaining cleaners to come weekly rather than biweekly.

Action: Treasurer

6. Membership Cards

The GC approved plans to issue annual membership cards to all Full Members of LBC. Cards will display the member’s name and membership number and will expire on March 31 of each year. Members may be asked to show their card before using LBC facilities. The cards will entitle members to discounts from local merchants.

Action: Commodore, Beachmaster, Secretary

7. Canoe/Kayak Management

7.1. All but five of the unidentified kayaks and canoes have been claimed and either registered with the club or removed. The five remaining kayaks will be made club boats, available for the use of all LBC members. An online booking system will be set up using Google Calendar. The kayaks will be kept locked and users will be responsible for returning them and locking them up. Paddles will be kept in the clubhouse. Users will be required to wear personal flotation devices.

Action: Secretary

7.2. The LIOCC will build a new boat rack for OC1s on the left-hand side of the equipment hut and will work with the Beachmaster to extend the existing kayak rack on the right-hand side.

Action: LIOCC rep, Beachmaster

8. Equipment

The Beachmaster will assemble one or more sets of new beach wheels for members’ use and order “use at own risk” and “boats are private property” signs for club premises. The club will order another shipment of rubber blocks to rest boats on.

Action: Beachmaster

9. Boat Parking

9.1. Annual parking stickers for 2012 have been placed on all sailboats and will be placed on kayaks and canoes shortly. Two sailboats in the back row are scheduled for removal; the Secretary will notify the owners. One space will be allocated to a potential member on the waiting list.

Action: Secretary

9.2. Beginning in April 2012, non-members who request to be placed on the boat parking waiting list will be asked to pay their joining fee first.

Action: Secretary

9.3. The Beachmaster proposes to rearrange the parking places for two boats to open an aisle through the third row of the boat park. This would allow boats in the fourth row more convenient access to the water.

Action: Beachmaster

9.4. The club will offer LBC identification stickers to owners of kayaks parked free of charge under sailboats. The stickers will be marked with the sail number of the owner’s sailboat. Use of the stickers is voluntary.

Action: Secretary

10. Clubhouse and Sail Hut

10.1. The Beachmaster will organize a work party to reorganize the clubhouse and discard unwanted items. The old wooden furniture will be discarded and replaced with floor-to-ceiling modular storage racks. The air conditioning will also be repaired.

Action: Beachmaster

10.2. The Beachmaster will organize a second work party to clean and reorganize the sail hut, discarding deteriorating or unusable equipment.

Action: Beachmaster

11. New Paddling Members

About a dozen people are on the waiting list to bring kayaks or canoes into the club. The Secretary will inform them that canoe/kayak spaces may not be available for some time, but they are welcome to join LBC/LIOCC and use the club kayaks and OC1s/OC2s.

Action: Secretary

12. Employees

12.1. The GC approved a request by the Secretary and Treasurer to hire one or more part-time administrative assistants as necessary in the future. Assistance is needed specifically for the administrative workload during the March membership renewal period.

12.2. After the club is incorporated, the GC will consider hiring a part- or full-time employee to help manage the beach area and clubhouse. The employee would be responsible for cleaning, maintenance and repairs, security, assisting members in moving their boats, safety, and keeping a sign-out, sign-in log, among other duties. The Secretary will draw up a job description for consideration at the next GC meeting.

Action: Secretary

13. Club RIB

The GC will consider purchasing a rigid inflatable boat for use as a safety and support boat at club events. The GC will consult the club’s safety boat operator about the feasibility of storing a RIB on Peng Chau. The GC will also explore the possibility of fitting the existing safety boat with a soft-sided “collar.”

Action: Secretary

14. Club Logo

The GC will explore whether to replace the club logo, since the existing logo does not reflect any type of boat actually used at the club. One possibility is to hold a design contest.

15. Next Meeting

The Committee will next meet in June. The meeting adjourned at 21:50.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Fraser
Secretary
 

• Commodore’s welcome
• Minutes of previous meeting
• Incorporation update
• Membership/parking report
• Treasurer’s report
• Membership cards
• Canoe/kayak management
• Equipment
• Boat parking
• Clubhouse
• New members
• Employees
• Club RIB
• AOB
• Next meeting

Plenty of breeze for a rip-roaring downwind leg. Steve on helm, Charles on the wire. Photo: Joe Shieh.

A bit surprised, the race officer noted only four boats getting rigged on the beach. Was the race too close to the Easter break, was everybody celebrating Ching Ming, or is just most of the club still in hibernation and hasn’t noticed that it is actually getting warmer?

This race was organized jointly by LBC and the HK F18 Association, and Steve Wallace, F18 Class Treasurer and local NACRA dealer, was very happy to notice that all boats participating were actually F18s. It got even better for Steve later on, when the only Hawk in the race had to retire and it turned out to be a pure NACRA Infusion fleet: the unofficial NACRA Hong Kong championship, so to speak!

Steve and Charles approaching the downwind mark in first place. Photo: Joe Shieh.

The racing was very close with each team winning at least one race. Team Germany (Alex Nitsch and Christoph Grebe) sailed again most consistently and took the overall win. Congratulations!

Alex and Christoph sailed most consistently over the four races. Photo: Joe Shieh.

Despite the windy conditions, there was only one capsize, when one boat tried to round the leeward mark with the spinnaker up. Steve and Charles Yonts promised to work a bit on helm-crew communication…

The fourth race was shortened from an “around Datum Rock course” to an “around Peng Chau,” since the race officer was already exhausted from the hard work in the unusual (for him) crew position. More evidence that crewing is physically tougher than helming? It could have also been due to the two slavedrivers on the committee boat (Joe Shieh and Awah) who usually raised the flag for the next race immediately after the last boat was over the line, giving no one a chance to recover.

Christoph Merz sets up for an upwind leg while Chris Fraser rolls onto the wire. Photo: Joe Shieh. 

Over a beer at the BBQ everyone agreed that it was a great day out!

We look forward to seeing you all for the next race on April 14, when we will also have the Commodore’s BBQ after the race. In order to be back on time for the BBQ we will start the racing a bit earlier than usual, with the briefing at 10am. Please be ready to hit the water immediately afterward.

— Christoph Merz, Race Officer

Steve and Charles in the lead after rounding the leeward tip of Peng Chau. Photo: Joe Shieh.

2012 Holiday Series #1 Results

Overall

Holiday Series I Race 1

Holiday Series I Race 2

Holiday Series I Race 3

Holiday Series I Race 4

Sailwave Scoring Software 2.02 build 6
www.sailwave.com