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Established 1953 June 2020

NEWSLETTER

PO Box 46, New Castle, DE 19720 (302) 307-3060 Editor: Ernest Russell

Commodore’s Corner

By the time you are reading this newsletter, about half of the Fleet will have been launched! This is truly amazing on so many levels- despite the additional challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic placed on us, despite the justifiable social unrest around race and despite the redefining of so many people’s jobs and the upheaval of an economic recession, our membership has made it happen. Thanks so much to you all!

We had a Committee Boat deck that was painted for the first time since it’s purchase; we had work crews getting the boats ready while working in masks, disinfecting and practicing socially distancing; and we had a dinghy house that was dug out and rehabilitated after having its lower levels buried in sand carried in from numerous rounds of usually high floods this winter and spring. And we are still working on other maintenance items with the Club House property.

All you members who pitched in to help get us ready to sail should feel very much appreciated for your incredible efforts!

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As we move forward in the season, please be mindful of maintaining Club practices for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Wear a mask when you can’t maintain social distance, disinfect frequently touched surfaces like tillers and your own hands, keep to one person at a time in the enclosed sail house (and always wear a mask when inside), avoid forming in groups of more than 10, be respectful of others who may feel they need more distance, etc. Read the special NCSC COVID-19 Procedures that are posted on the Fleet page and abide by them. And please do give us feedback as the season progresses—we do plan to launch more of the Fleet if demand dictates it. If you find

that you can’t sail because the Fleet is all out, let us know—that’s a clear signal we need to get more boats on the water. If you feel your safety is being compromised, I want to hear about it. And as always, please take individual responsibility not only for your own safety and the safety of your crew, but also for maintaining the boats. As you go about your sailing, fix items that require maintenance or, if unable, let the boat and Fleet Captain know what the issue is, and mark it on the whiteboard.

Please also remember to be patient—everyone is stressed to varying degrees and trying to find their way in this “new reality.” There will be fewer opportunities for social interaction, which is a key part of being a member of this Club. Wednesday night fun sails are something that we are postponing for now, for example, and there is no Launch Lunch planned (though we are thinking about ways to have some socially distant gatherings later in the season, as the COVID-19 threat hopefully abates). Smaller crews may make for less relaxation as there are less hands to help. There may be times when you want instruction or aren’t keyed and want to sail and there just isn’t someone keyed available or willing to sail. Give your fellow sailors some time to work through things, and be kind. And lastly and most importantly, have fun! We all deserve that in this tumultuous year... Steve Constable Commodore New Castle Sailing Club

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From the Fleet: A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skillful Sailor

After a long spring work session involving social distancing, shifting work teams and multiple board discussions, we are finally in launch mode. A big thank you to all the boat and equipment captains and their teams for going above and beyond to not only get their boats ready under the COVID-19 restrictions in place, but for also stepping in to fill gaps in the work teams.

The Committee Boat and the mooring field are established on the water, and the initial wave of boats are due to be launched throughout the week of 15 June. By the time you read this, it is my sincere hope that you’ve had the chance to get out on the water with the sun and spray on your face and remember how much FUN sailing is! Please note that we are launching 3 Scots and 3 Thistles initially. The entire mooring field has been set, and all the

boats are ready to go if demand dictates. Please be patient with us for the first week or two while we monitor the demand for boats as well as our ability to provide boat maintenance with a skeleton crew. We hope to get the entire fleet out as fast and responsibly as possible.

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And we do need your feedback—please get in touch with me directly with suggestions or observations while you are going through the process of not only sailing on the river, but everything involved in getting out—signing the logbook, transferring the sails, dealing with the dinghies and interacting with your crew. This will enable us to respond more effectively to keep the membership happy and healthy.

The Commodore has already stressed the importance of sailing responsibly this season, and I am going to follow his lead. Ensure that you know the person you are sailing with (and his/her state of health and exposure), that you use your mask in ALL sailing public areas (sailhouse, on the riverfront while taking out and putting away dinghies and at any time where you feel you are

unable to effectively socially distance). Please use the sanitizing wipes or liquid hand sanitizer, and wash your hands when you get home. While your safety is our first priority, please always remember that sailing is a FUN activity. So, let’s get out there—sail fast, have fun and enjoy! Meg Farrugia Fleet Captain

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Membership

Thank you to those who volunteered to be a mentor! Last year we reinstituted the mentoring program. The role of the mentor is to be proactive in reaching out to newer members to ensure they are getting out on the water as much as possible, assist with options for on-the-water instruction, and address questions for getting keyed, as well as address any questions regarding the Club in general. We will continue the program this year. As we lost some mentors this year due to attrition, and have over a dozen new and prospective members this year, I will be reaching out to some of the experienced keyed members to see if they can volunteer to be a mentor; including current mentors to see if they will agree to mentor more than one active member. In addition, I will be reaching out to mentees from last year to see if they still see the need for having a mentor assigned to them this year, opening up mentors for the newer members. As COVID-19 brings additional challenges this year the role of the mentor may be different, such as not physically sailing with their assigned mentee(s). I see the role being even more critical now to address questions, and to help get the newer members on the water, especially with the shortened season.

John Harder Membership Director

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Racing

Here is our revised 2020 NCSC racing schedule. I will schedule some informal races during July once I have a better sense of the COVID-19 situation, the number of boats that have been launched, and the level of member interest in resuming races. The July races will be on Saturday mornings or possibly a weekday evening, and will be done by advance sign-up. By August, I anticipate that we will be able to hold more typical Saturday races, but all is subject to the direction of the COVID-19 health emergency. I will send out an email with more information about July racing by the end of June.

Tom Gorman Racing Director

Safety & Instruction

Due to the COVID-19 situation, we are planning a slightly different approach to instruction, at least to start the season. We have heard that some other clubs are assigning instructors to a small group of students in order to minimize interchange & think this may work well for instruction by appointment. The thought is that many of our instructors may be in the relatively high-risk category and we (and they) may want to limit their contact with persons outside their household. But, they may be willing to instruct one or a few individual(s) multiple times. Once finalized, a list will be emailed out, and posted on the Instruction page of the website.

This year, I feel like instructor sign-up for the regular Saturday & Sunday instruction will be on a volunteer-only basis, at least to start. No assigned instruction dates—instructors can sign up when they're free & ready to instruct. No pressure on any individual to instruct, especially at the beginning of the season. Potential instructors will receive an email each week requesting volunteers for that weekend.

Hopefully, the virus will continue to fade. We’ll see how it goes and may adjust during the season.

Clay Greer Safety & Instruction Director

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Needed: Weeders and Beach Groomers

Greetings all, good to see folks at the club again. If you are able to get to the club house you may have noticed that the hedge is being outpaced by the rapid growth of weeds. You are invited to pull or cut weeds and toss them in the brown container by the gate. We are hoping to keep it under control this year and avoid a long work session to trim it.

Also, rising tides and litter bugs have kept us busy at the beach. There is a grabber and bucket in the sailhouse for any that are motivated. Driftwood can be moved to the side away from the dinghy house. Some of you have been doing these chores for years. Many thanks to you.

Scott Andrews Property Director