Greetings for the festive season to all members, friends and supporters of the Club.

With the end of year break about to begin I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the very busy and successful first half of the season, volunteering or supporting our events as a competitor. Participation on the water continues to be strong with key highlights being the Inshore Championships & SB20 Northern Regatta, Northern Sabot Regatta with entries from around the State, rejuvenated Offshore series including the first Ninth Island race for over 20 years, and our Tackers & Junior sailing program.

This is the time of the year for the big Offshore races and National Championships. PDYC will be very well represented with five entries in the Launceston to Hobart race starting on 27th December - a fantastic effort being 100% of the entries from the North and 20% of the entries overall! All the best for a safe and rewarding race to the skippers and crews of “Advantedge” - Andrew Jones, “Ambition” – Michael Jones, “Big Pup” – Anton Bezemer & Teresa Badrock, “Honey Pot” – Nick McElwee & Damon Wecker, and “Sassy’ – Tim White.

The above entries feature a number of family combinations and pleasingly, female and youth participation. Teresa Badrock and Narissa McElwee are lining up for their second race, with Teresa also her first as an owner. Congratulations to teenagers Elysha Jones and Chloe White whose entries as crew on “Ambition” and “Sassy” were accepted following their completion of lead up races and the rigorous Australian Sailing Safety & Sea Survival Course.

The Sabot National Titles had been scheduled for Teralba on Lake Macquarie with another youth member Brooke Teahan busily preparing to compete there. Unfortunately, disappointment for her with these being cancelled this week due to the spiralling outbreak in NSW.

On 5^th December, the final Tackers and Junior Sailing session was held along with sausage sizzle, certificate presentation and casual sailing in the afternoon. The level of enthusiasm and skill development amongst these kids is fantastic – keep an eye out, the future is bright.

Off the water, the EnviroSlip project is progressing well with considerable work being undertaken behind the scenes. Regulatory sign offs are almost complete and commencement of works on track for 2022.

Finally, a word on Covid compliance. As a club and wider community, we have been very fortunate over the past year or so but we are now moving into another phase. As PDYC members we all need to play our part in keeping safe and complying with the rules. Check In Tas, personal hygiene and sanitization have been in place for over a year and are mandatory. Masks are now also required in the clubhouse. Let’s all keep on top of this.

Best wishes for Xmas and the New Year and see you in 2022.

Regards

Greg Rowsell
Commodore