KISS is now in the starter’s hands! We are only days away from the Launch of Queenscliff Cruising Yacht Club’s KISS 2023 program on Tuesday 16 May at Royal Yacht Club of Victoria.
The first session will be a panel of four graduates from KISS 2022 speaking on “Facing Your Fears” moderated by QCYC Commodore Lee Renfree.
Amongst the panelists, meet Marg Goddard, a keelboat owner who has returned as a Mentor for 2023. Marg takes up her story -
“Having sailed for many years in dinghies and trailable yachts, about five years ago, I moved up to a keelboat, a Cavalier 30 I dubbed “Balderdash” and did some racing on the bay and in women’s events.
Then came Covid which affected my crew’s capacity to sail, so my new strategy was to buy a bigger boat better suited to my family, where I could recruit them to crew as well continue to work on the boat and improve it’s sailing performance. Northshore 33 Twice Five replaced Balderdash and I had my restoration project on my hands.”
How did Marg get involved with KISS?
“I first heard about the KISS program in 2022 from a friend at the Melbourne Trailable Yacht Club, who was keen to join the program. I had the keelboat, the program resonated with her and it provided a good opportunity to review the boat set up, take on new female crew assigned from the program and evaluate the learning opportunities I could share and pass on to my crew.
Like sailing, every time you go out, you learn something new. I picked up a few useful tips along the way.
Not new, but the reinforcement of how important thorough preparation is to have a safe and happy sailing experience. Having previously undertaken the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) Beyond the Bay program, the oft repeated phase of ”Failure to prepare is to prepare to fail” was resonating with me throughout the KISS program.
A handy hint was to prepare for races and cruises with a “cheat sheet” as a reminder of what has to happen when… eg.start sequence and flags, course, points of interest/danger, radio channel to be monitored, etc. Particularly handy when short handed and no gofer!
A great hint for radio comms, was the creation of radio call scripts personalised with the boat’s name and phonetic spelling, to ensure clear, calm communication protocols under the stress of a potential or actual incident on the water and to enable the best outcome.”
How is progress and plans for the boat going?
“The boat restoration has been a big project but I have managed to sail the boat in between all the other bits of life! We have done a passage race and some club races, including an all female crew in one of the women’s races.
My daughter joined the KISS crew aboard last year for the KISS Race/Rally in July, and since then has come back to crewing with me when she can, and bringing her family along which has been great. They have now bought their own trailable yacht so another boat project we have been getting ready for sailing, in addition to the keelboat sailing!”
And the name “Twice Five”?
“I inherited the name with the boat. I like to think 2x5 = Ten. Or two “high fives”!
You too could be ‘high fiving” and discovering the joys and opportunities that abound as a confident, competent sailor. There are only a couple of places left in the KISS 2023 program, so time to sign and jump onboard for your own voyage of discovery. To register and for further information go to the QCYC KISS webpage. Keep up to date by following us on QCYC facebook.
Last Modified on 12/05/2023 20:25