Dear Member
I hope you and your family are well and have been coping with the Covid-19 restrictions. I expect this will be the first in a series of emails to the membership over the next week or so. It is important that you follow any instruction or guidance we provide at this important stage in our return to sailing.
Since the restrictions on access were introduced on March 29th, members of the Committee have been visiting regularly and watching over the Club facilities, making sure that everything is safe and secure and that we were in a position to quickly and effectively respond to Government guidelines and a phased return to sailing.
Whilst the Club and its activities were suspended to cope with the Covid-19 event, the Committee has been working with Irish Sailing and the Government’s ‘Return to Work’ strategy plan, to prepare a phased return to sailing in Sutton Dinghy Club.
In addition, with the Club a CE Project sponsor for many years, the Committee has also had to ensure we are compliant with the broader requirements covering staff in the workplace. To this end, we have been engaging with our CE Sponsor Group to ensure the safety of our Community Employment employees in addition to all our our members.
Over the coming days, a Committee sub-group will attend the Club with a view to putting in place the necessary safeguards and an operating plan. Those safeguards will undergo a rigorous assessment to ensure we comply with Irish Sailing’s Return to Sailing regulations. We expect, following these assessments to be in a position next week, to provide further communication regarding the opening of the Boat Park.
NOTE – The Club will NOT be open on Monday 18th May.
It must be noted that strict adherence will be required to whatever safeguards, procedures or restrictions the Committee feel are needed. This is to ensure we can protect members and our Community Employment staff. The responsibility on the Club for contact tracing during the ‘Return to Work’ are quite onerous, so at this point it is likely that entry to the Boat Park or the Clubhouse (if open) must be recorded in an Attendance Book or pre-booked beforehand.
Please remember that at this point:
- Members living over 5 km from Sutton Dinghy Club should not travel to the Club
- Members ‘cocooning’ should not travel to the Club
- Members must not come to the Club if exhibiting any of the symptoms of Covid-19
- Members must not come to the Club if they have had contact with a known Covid-19 patient in the last 14 days
- That there is NO insurance cover available for contracting Covid-19 while using the Clubs facilities
While Club activities have been stopped for some time, the Club still has commitments and outgoings for things like insurance and utilities. The Committee understands that this is a difficult period for everybody but would greatly appreciate if those that can, would renew their 2020 membership, as this would greatly help us manage our immediate financial commitments.
I hope, like me, you are all looking forward to getting back on the water and going sailing.
Stay safe! And look I forward to when we can all Sail Safe!
Ian McCormack
Commodore