Welcome to the third issue of Whale's Tales. It's a bumper edition, thanks to input from several BSC members – most of whom did not have to be blackmailed to contribute! I hope you find time to read it from start to finish as it contains lots of information and news.

Whale's Tales is your newsletter so email me with any contributions or suggestions.

Please use the link at the bottom of this email to forward Whale's Tales to interested family and friends. If they subscribe here they'll receive their own copy of Whale's Tales each month.

All the best for the new sailing season,
Sue Halloran, Editor, Whale's Tales

The Prize Giving evening in May, ably co-ordinated by Lorraine Madden, was enjoyed by members of all ages. With the Spring Sprints now nearly over and the serious action for the 2013-2014 season about to begin, let's give a round of applause to all those who won prizes last season.

Congratulations to the Club Champions

505
Rum Bucket – Skipper: Shane Guanaria; Crew: Leigh Riddell

MG14
Beast – Skipper: Murray Freeman; Crew: Di Fallon

Mirror
McMissile – Skipper: Campbell McKay; Crew: Bendict and Spencer McKay

National E
Miss Teak – Skipper: Jim Allen; Crew: Sue Halloran

Tasar
Mango Chilli – Skipper: Josh Faddy; Crew: Louise Houtzager

There were no awards for the Laser, Moth, Sharpie and Open classes.

Congratulations also to the Point Score winners in the above classes.

Saluting the Best of the Best

Other important club awards were also announced that evening.

Commodore's Award: Shane Guanaria
Awarded to the member who has performed best in state, national and/or international competition.

Mayoral Award: Mirror Class
Awarded to the class that has contributed most to the club.

Stirrer's Award: Campbell McKay
Awarded to the member who has succeeded in stirring things up and getting things done for the greater good of the club.

Roger Quinn Memorial Award: Josh Faddy & Louise Houtzager (Mango Chili)
Awarded to the winner of the Marathon, on yardstick results.

Thanks to Jono, from the Balmoral Sailing School, for donating the Lucky Door prize which was won by Jim Allen.

The new BSC website is up and running ...and growing daily! Lots more will be added over time so visit balmoralsc.com.au regularly to stay up-to-date. Please email any news, stories, pictures and videos you might like to share.

Class Captains are strongly encouraged to provide progressive results during the season for listing on the dedicated Results' Page for each class.

By now all BSC members should have received a subs and racking invoice for the 2013-2014 season. The only change in the membership fees from last year is a $5 increase in the Yachting Australia component of the fees.

Payment Due by 1/10/2013

Please make the job of Membership Secretary, Duncan Robertson, a little easier by carefully following all instructions and paying on time!

Why are members so important?

Former treasurer, Steve Thomas, reports that in running our sailing club there are a number of very high ‘fixed costs’ where expenditure doesn’t vary much with the number of sailors. This means for our club to thrive, without your membership fees sky-rocketing, we need to ensure that everyone who sails at Balmoral contributes his or her fair share by joining the club and contributing financially.

Where do your subs go?

Insurance (Club House, Power Boats and Public Liability) is the biggest area of expenditure, at 24% or $19,000 pa. This is followed closely by the cost of maintaining the power boats at 16%. Other ‘on water’ costs i.e. fuel, marks, mooring fees and boat licenses, add up to another 7%. The final sailing related costs are trophies at 3% and Yachting Australia fees at 1%.

"Expenditure on repairs & maintenance has been fairly low at 4% for the last few years but," Steve warned, "this is likely to increase as a number of improvements need to be done. One big issue for the near future is the need to replace the leaking roof."

Maximum of three sails for free!

BSC encourages everyone to discover the joy of sailing but as you can see it costs a lot to keep our club afloat. By signing the Visitor's Book, non-members are provided with mandatory insurance and can sail up to three times at BSC. After that it is necessary to become a member to continue sailing. *

* Skippers are asked to ensure their crew members comply.

How much does it cost to be a member?

For Senior Members there's a one-off Joining Fee of $50. After that you pay $195 pa (Annual Subscription:$155, YA Fee:$40). So, if you only sail five times in your first season that's less than $50 per sail. Put another way… for $16/hour you can enjoy the delights of Sydney Harbour. What could be better value than that?

Family Members & Junior Members (incl full time tertiary students) pay even less!

For more information about membership and racking click here.

Avoid Sydney Ferries...

Did you know that Sydney ferries (and commercial shipping) have right of way over sailing boats? If you are crossing the path of a ferry, you must be able to clear it by 200 metres. If you are passing the ferry in the same or opposite direction, you must not go within 30 metres of the ferry. For more information download the brochure Big Ships, Small Boats.

… and Whales!

You also must keep your boat a safe distance from whales, especially if the adult whale has a calf (baby whale). Download the brochure Be Responsible Near Whales and Dolphins

Don't forget to enter our quiz for the chance to win a prize.

Here's the third question… How close to an adult whale is your boat allowed to be? (Hint: Look at the diagram above)

In case you've lost the first two questions, here they are again:

Q1 What species of whale was Moby Dick? (Hint: Visit the Library of The Discovery and read about the History of Whaling)

Q2 How did the Southern Right Whale get its name? (Hint: Read the fact sheet at Wild About Whales)

Click here and send me your answers to the three questions by Sunday 20th October. Don't forget to include your name and age. You have to be under 13 to enter.

Last date for entries: Sunday, 20th October 2013

If you'd like to know a little more about the other BSC Board Members, have a look at the club noticeboard or visit the website in a week or two. There'll be pictures and a short bio plus a list of sub-committee involvement so you'll know just who to approach with positive feedback, constructive criticism or offers to help!

Visit the Balmoral Sailing Club Facebook Page and LIKE us to ensure you receive regular news feeds including the weekly racing results.

The 2013 Tasar Wold Championships were held recently in Cascade Locks, Oregon USA. A fleet of 22 Aussie Tasars joined boats from the USA (17), Japan (11), Canada (5), UK (3) and Holland (1). BSC sailor, Heather Forton, reports that it was a great regatta filled with challenges for the 'visitors'.

Heather said, "The Americans sailed superbly, nailing the first five positions but the Australians in the top 10 also sailed phenomenally well considering the conditions and the competition. They were: Roll Your Own (Craig Mcphee and Gillian Berry) from South Australia in 6th position; Coollitt (Rob and Nicole Douglass) from Jarvis Bay in 7th and Serendipity (Hugh Tait and Anna Szili) from Northbridge in 9th."

For all those with older Tasars, the good news is that the winner of the regatta was sailing hull number 505!

Although the winds were not as strong as anticipated, local knowledge provided a significant edge. Despite many Australians doing practice sails and racing in the pre-championship one-design regatta, the gorge winds continued to baffle many.

Heather added, "For me, an old man I met in the laundromat summed it up, saying: 'In Oregon things aren’t as they seem.' I am sure he was not talking about sailing but no truer words were ever spoken when it came to those regatta winds!"

In addition to sailing, some of the Aussie contingent stayed awhile and enjoyed trekking, wind surfing, shopping, train spotting and a glass or two of the excellent micro brewery beers.

"As always," Heather concluded, "the World Championships provided a great learning experience and a fantastic opportunity to catch up with our Tasar mates from around the world."

Congratulations to the BSC sailors who competed: Shane Guanaria and Gretel Ramsey in Rum Rebellion 2919 - ranked 17 and John Balass and Heather Forton in More Edge 2763 - ranked 50.