Events, News & Weather 

Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening!

Quoted from a well known song… one of the best for a karaoke team effort!  http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/queen/bohemianrhapsody.html

Lightning is most commonly produced by thunderstorms. However there are numerous forms of lightning, for the more scientifically inclined take a visit to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

What does this have to do with sailing you may ask?  Well the spars on your boat conduct electricity and a boat with a mast increases the chance of getting struck by lightning. An interesting article on the probability factors can be found at

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2015/02/19/lightning-facts-analysis-lightning-strikes/

Luckily in Adelaide, the number of thunderstorm days is a lot lower than those of Sydney, Brisbane or Darwin.

Overhead electricity wires, also pose a very dangerous threat. One of my primary school teachers lost his life whilst standing in a boat, holding the mast as it was driven under some wires in a car park at Goolwa. The mast came in contact with the overhead wires.

Always de-rig your boat in an area free from overhead wires before transporting.

Interesting facts:

• Whilst the temperature of a lightning bolt can be up to 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun, you might only receive some minor burns due to the limited duration of the charge. The danger comes from damage to the nerves from electricity.
• The speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound. You can estimate the distance of the thunderstorm/lightning by counting the time difference between seeing lightning and hearing thunder. The storm is about 1 km away for every 3 seconds.  
• Lightning strikes can occur intra-cloud, cloud to cloud or cloud to ground. Some are easily spotted associated with a distinct thunderstorm cell, others can occur more randomly out of thick middle level cloud.

How do we monitor for lightning?

Read the weather forecast. There is a weather section in all coastal waters forecasts. I highly encourage all sailors to be visit the following websites to gain a good understanding of marine weather forecasts.

www.bom.gov.au/marine

and in particular the links that are in the above site

www.bom.gov.au/marine/about/about-marine-services.shtml

www.bom.gov.au/marine/about/check-the-weather.shtml#vitalchecks

The nearest Meteye grid point over water to BSYC, contains a thunderstorm forecast www.bom.gov.au/places/sa/KHE2/forecast/detailed/

Monitoring the local radar assists in tracking thunderstorm speed and direction, as well as growth and decay www.bom.gov.au/australia/radar/

The display from weatherzone, includes lightning (the little crosses which are known as GPATS), although it is sometimes unavailable www.weatherzone.com.au/radar

The raw feed from GPATS is at www.gpats.com.au/australian-real-time-feed

A combination of both, overlaid on 10 minute Himawari satellite imagery can be found at http://satview.bom.gov.au and under Layers choosing Lightning

Lastly our eyes and ears are useful tools. If you see a lightning strike near the club before heading out that is not overly obvious to all, report it to either a Flag Officer, Principal Race Officer, Race Advisory Committee member or to the Sign On desk, describing it’s approximate location relative to the club.

If you are unfortunate enough to be caught out near lightning, encourage your crew to avoid contact with the spars, head for shore and take cover in a building or in a car.

© Copyright Brett Gage 2017

Secretary Office Hours 

Sailing Season (October - April):
Tuesday - Friday: 11:00 am - 3.00 pm
Saturday: 11.00 am - 2.00 pm
Off Season (May - September):
Tuesday - Friday: 11:00 am - 3.00 pm

Functions Enquiries 

Stephen Brind manager@bsyc.com.au
8296 7935

Membership 

Patsy Potter bsyc@bsyc.com.au
8296 7935

Sailing Professional 

Brett Yardley sailing@bsyc.com.au
8296 7935

Boat Storage 

Bruce Noble bsyc@bsyc.com.au
8296 7935

All other enquiries 

Patsy Potter bsyc@bsyc.com.au
8296 7935

BSYC is located at the southern end of the Esplanade at Seacliff, approximately 30 minutes south of Adelaide’s CBD. Looking over the Gulf of St Vincent , BSYC is relatively sheltered at the foot of Marino Rocks and we are directly beside Kingston Caravan Park and serviced by both train and bus.

Getting here from Adelaide CBD

Take Anzac Highway and turn left onto Brighton Road. Turn right onto Jetty Road at Brighton and then left onto The Esplanade and keep going until you reach the public car park.

Getting here from Eastern Suburbs

Take Goodwood Road and then Main South Road. Turn right onto Seacombe Rd. Turn left onto Brighton Road and then immediately right onto Wheatland Street. At The Esplanade turn left until you reach the car park

Getting here from the south

From Hallett Cove go north on Ocean Boulevard and turn left onto Wheatland Street. At the Esplanade turn left until you reach the car park. Otherwise go north on the Expressway or Main South Road and turn left onto Seacombe then Brighton Road and Wheatland Road.

Attached to the drawings will be a separate document called "Notes", which will be introduced here. They are actually a set of rules to be used when assessing what we have produced.

Here they are........

• The Masterplan is a document showing long term concepts only, it is to be used as a basis for future planning of our facilities and development of our site. Example: Council is interested in such a document, it assists Council to look at the development plans for the local precinct as a whole and whether future funding of yacht club facilities might be considered.

• Any future improvements to land and buildings should align with the overall concepts in the Masterplan. Example: Any capital intensive upgrades to toilets and changerooms should be carefully considered to avoid conflict with the Masterplan. They may have to be demolished in the future, which would be a waste of money.

• The drawings are not meant to be looked at in detail. This may well change as various elements of the Masterplan are implemented. Example 1: You may not like the proposed location of the lift, just remember the CONCEPT is for a lift to be installed one day. We may never be able to afford one. In the interim we may decide to connect with the Surf Club's ramp to provide disabled and heavy goods access to the upper deck. Example 2: You may not agree with the general layout of the upper deck bar and galley, again these have low priorities at this early stage, the CONCEPT is for a upgrade one day, and the final details may change for good reasons at that time.

• The various Stages are not fixed and have no specific priority. Example 1: Stage B may well be the first one because it makes the operation of the bar and canteen more flexible and is more appealing to the public. Example 2: A single bay shed in the existing back yard of the house next door is not contemplated by the Masterplan, but it does not conflict with it. Given that we can't afford to lose the house, this shedding might well be enough to accommodate the junior fleet and assist in our plan to demolish the old boatshed.

• The Masterplan concepts show intended final uses for the various facilities, but these may change in the interim. Example 1: The junior boat storage is finally located on the southern boundary, however it might temporarily be in the house backyard and the eastern shed before it finds its final home. Example 2: If the downstairs canteen is relocated, the existing room and indeed the corridor outside of it may be used for other purposes such as storage or meeting room.

Do you get the idea? The overall CONCEPTS are what we are looking at, not the detail. Don't try and redesign the detail, that opportunity will come when the club actually has the money to do the work. Please come along to the AGM and give this Masterplan a good going over. Lindsey will be there and so will representatives of the cubcommittee.

If our membership is happy with it, the next step will be to present it to Council as a first step to:

• relocating our junior boat storage
• demolishing the old boatshed
• creating a large central rigging or recreational area in the centre of our grounds
• improving the overall appearance of the club.

Over to you.

Ground Floor Grounds (PDF)

Ground Floor Building (PDF)

First Floor (PDF)

Introduction and notes. (PDF)