Nearly but not quite!
Dear Members
Unfortunately, yet again we find ourselves in Stage 3 Restrictions.
We have been working on a 20/21 Calendar with some great events, however this is now on hold again. We had planned a return to sailing “First Race Back” on July 25, and the ORCV had planned a combined event to celebrate being back on the water on 1 August, however these events are again on hold given that the current restrictions are due to run until about August 13 as presently known.
Gavin Wall from Australian Sailing has advised:
Dear Commodores, Secretaries, Club Captains and GMs,
With the reintroduction of restrictions in the greater Melbourne area I have attempted to summarise the relevant information below as it pertains to sailing. I have a meeting with Sport and Recreation Victoria tomorrow (Thursday) to confirm their interpretation of the communicated restrictions. I will send out an updated frame work for all clubs tomorrow after that meeting.
Please note that for all clubs in Regional Victoria that sit outside the suburbs in Greater Melbourne and the Shire of Mitchell. The move back to stage 3 does not effect you. There has been no change to your restrictions, so sailing may continue as per the guidelines introduced on the 22nd of June.
My initial interpretation of the new stage 3 restrictions are:
- All club training and organised sailing must stop as of 11.59pm tonight (Wednesday 8 July)
- Recreational boating my continue as long as it is with members of your household, or with one person from outside your household. However, the 1.5 meter social distancing rule must be adhered to at all times and there is to be NO sharing of equipment. So this now rules out all double handed dinghy sailing until further notice.
- Informal training is NOT allowed. It is not seen as recreational boating.
- Club facilities (meeting rooms, changing rooms, toilets, cafes, restaurants, canteens etc) should be closed, except for the delivery of takeaway meals and drinks.
You can find all the current information on these restrictions at https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.
Key Points from the DHHS website for sailing clubs:
- Community sport training and competition cannot occur within the Melbourne metropolitan area or the Shire of Mitchell. If you live in this area you cannot participate in community sport elsewhere.
- Outdoor sport facilities will be closed, except for facilities where people can exercise with no more than one other person or members of your household while maintaining 1.5 metres distance. Equipment should not be shared, and communal facilities cannot open. Personal training outdoors can occur but with a limit of two participants plus the instructor.
- Restaurants and cafes can open to serve takeaway and home delivery only.
As Gavin says, we may know more after his meeting with Sports and Recreation tomorrow – Thursday 9 July 2020, and we will keep you informed.
In the mean time, keep safe, and I am going to take the opportunity to continue maintenance on the bits of my boat that I can bring home!
We will be having a Zoom Social next Wednesday 15 July 2020 with Guest Speaker Mark Abbott – Corsair Boats, our latest valued sponsor – more to come with a Zoom link in due course.
Cheers, and best of luck – dont forget to sing out if you need a hand of any nature – we can still help each other if we know who needs help!
John Hall
Commodore