The Bondi Surfer No. 124

28 October 2021

Photography by Garry Beath.

Intro & Welcome

It’s so lovely to see the Club full of life and activity again!

Thanks so much to everyone for your patience during the lockdown period - with vaccination levels well over 85%, the Club is largely back to normal operations. Please remember though that we have many healthcare workers in the club and people from immuno-compromised and high risk categories, so continue to use sensible hygiene and distancing protocols wherever possible.

Patrols have been highly active and new Bronze courses are starting up this week, with Nippers to begin in a couple of weeks' time from Sunday 14 November (see more below).  A huge vote of thanks to all the leadership teams who have had to juggle significant changes for these few months.

Unfortunately our Director of Junior Activities Dan Gillespie has had to resign his place given work pressures and we thank him for the effort he has put into planning for the new season. The Junior Activities Committee has selected Liz Webb to be the new Director of Junior Activities and we welcome her to the role.

Last weekend the SRC squad started their swim tests and training - thanks to Kristie McIntyre and her team of trainers for leading our largest group to date with 38 eager young participants. We look forward to seeing them on the beach this summer.

SYOTB,
Brent Jackson
President

Patrols and Proficiency

Saturday 30 October
8:30am-1:15pm       Fletcher  
12:45pm-6:30pm   McDonald

Sunday 31 October 
8:30am-1:15pm         Craven
12:45pm-6:30pm     Fullwood

The season's  first general proficiency is this Saturday 30 October at 10am. Online modules must be completed prior and you'll need to enrol in the training event (see Education below for details). 

Events & Reminders

Key Dates

• General Bronze Proficiency - 30 October
• Bottles 2021 Season Awards collection - 31 October
• Nippers U9-U13 return - 14 November
• Bottles Live Music Event - The Sentosa Trio - 14 November
• Freshwater Masters Carnival - 20 November
• Nippers U6-U8 return - 28 November
• End-of-Year Party - 10 December
• Clubbie Classic - 12 December

Find more information via the TeamUp calendar or on the Club Facebook page.

Clubbie of the Month

Our October Clubbie of the Month is our Chaplain and Yellow Boards Trainer Blake Hatton.

As part of this role bringing the community together during the tail-end of lockdown, Blake started our Virtual Chats including topics such as “How to be a Lifesaver in Lockdown.” You’ll see these starting in person before Christmas. You’ll also know Blake from his tireless contribution to coaching Yellow Boards, keeping everyone safe, entertained, and improving their skills! “Big Waves Blake” can often be seen carving up some waves on his knees, or out body surfing the point when no one else will! Blake recently assisted in a major first aid incident of one of our fellow clubbies, alongside Jonathan Potts. He thinks nothing of helping anyone out, accompanying them to hospital and being a calm, kind, thoughtful friendly ear for anyone who needs it. We are lucky to have such amazing lifesavers who are so giving of their time and skills, both on and off the beach. Thanks Blake!

Here you can see his new family addition - Rachel. “Chats’n’Pats” available on request!

Catching Up

Help For a Fellow Clubbie

Last week, long-term Club member and Clubbie Classic freestyle star Peter Meyer received the devastating news that he has Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma lung cancer which has metastasised in the liver, bowel and tailbone.

His sister Kristie Bishop has set up a GoFundMe page for Peter and his wife Di who are parents to three children - Maddi (15), Billy (14) and Ashton (4).

Kristie writes "The oncologist has confirmed it is not curable, but Pete is going to try his best to fight it for as long as he can. This prognosis is so hard to comprehend it doesn't seem real. Peter's health is the main priority right now, so we have started this go fund me page to relieve some financial pressure off the family."

If you'd like to make a donation go to Kristie's GoFundMe page. Even a small donation could help her reach her goal and, if you can't make a donation, it would be great if you could share the page to help spread the word and help a fellow Clubbie.

Awards Galore 

The Office is holding Awards (certificates) from 2019 and they need to be collected by 14 November. This is your last chance to collect your Bronze Medallion Certificates from 2018 and 2019, 5 Year National Patrol Award (2020) and Silver Medallion (2019). Please collect them by Sunday 14 November 2021.

Those members who completed BM5 2021, ARTC and IRB Crew Cert last season will be able to collect their awards at Bottles this Sunday 31 October.

Women's Masters competitors also need to collect the Bondi Active gear they signed on to receive. The gear is in the office waiting for collection.

In Memoriam

Members will remember that Lea Hill passed away earlier this year, but we were unable to hold the paddle out and ashes scattering.  This is now planned for Sunday 14 November, forming up at the south end near the Icebergs around 10:45am with boards, and with the ceremony at 11am.

For those who wish to pay their respects from the beach, please meet on the sand at the south end, or if a bergs member from the pool deck.

Associate member Keith Wright passed away at home last month (September 2021). Keith joined Bondi Surf Club and completed his SRC in 1978 and received his 25 Year Long Service Award in 2008.

Building the Dream

Photography by Tim Read.

On Wednesday 27 October the Club's Building Fundraising Advisory Panel met at Ravesi's. This initial meeting had been cancelled several times due to COVID but at last an enthusiastic group met to plan how to generate enough funds to complete the project.

Many ideas were canvassed, but one thing was clear. We will need many more members to help if we are to achieve this dream. Please contact Cyril Baldock interested.  

Online Connections

On Saturday 9 October, Club Chaplain Blake Hatton hosted his second Zoom catch up. Patrol Captain Annie Jones introduced us to her new baby Anders and Felicity MacArthur spoke about work and COVID. Then we heard from family and domestic violence expert Erica Hamence about being the kind of person a domestic violence victim could come to. Really important stuff for our community. You can watch a recording of the webinar here. 

Coffee (and Swim) Club

On Wednesday 27 October, the Bondi Early Morning Swimmers celebrated the 80th birthday of Peter Kuner, one of their most popular and regular body surfing members.  Peter is a fearless all weather, all swell, body surfer and a regular at coffee.

Education

Greetings all,

I am delighted to report that the 21-22 training season is now underway with two courses and 37 Bronzies having had their induction, swim test and first theory classes this week. Look out for them on the beaches doing their practical sessions. We are also hosting Tama's Bronzies doing their course whilst their Club is being renovated, so we will have two Bronzie groups doing prac sessions on Saturday and Sunday for a while. Bronze Graduation will be on 19 December.

Skills Maintenance

The first general proficiency will be this Saturday 30 October at 10am. You will need to have completed your online skills maintenance modules and enrol in the training event that is not available in your elearning section of the SLSA Members portal.

To enrol simply:

• Login to SLSA Members Portal
• Select the 'etraining' tab
• Select Training Event on the left-hand side
• Select the event on Saturday 30 November at 10am and click 'enrol'

This one will be being assessed by DoE, Amber Jones. Numbers will be limited so please enrol before coming down.

There will be First Aid courses for TAF's wishing to re-endorse on 26 and 27 November - more details coming out shortly.

For general member who are interested in First Aid, ARTC or any other higher awards click here.

That's all for now.

SYOTB
Amber, DOE

Nippers

We are extremely excited to be getting back on the beach and welcome all our new and returning Bondi Nippers and Parents.

We thank them for their patience at the start of the season and the registration process. There has been much to navigate to get Nippers back on. We continue to work with Surf Life Saving and the NSW Government to keep up to date with COVID restrictions and changes.

This Season will see a staggered start for our Age Groups: 

• Under 9-13 Age Groups start on Sunday 14 November
• Under 6-8 Age Groups start on Sunday 28 November 

Marketing & Sponsorship

Who's That Clubbie?

Gino Farina has been busy visiting the patrol tent enrolling people in the Names and Faces app, There are now almost 200 members online but with over 1,400 members, there's plenty more to go.  The new app will benefit members by:

• Providing the Names and Faces of every club member with a brief summary of each ie Patrol, contact details (if you want to share) and other interests
• Member Benefits Offers - to help support those businesses providing extra benefits to our members and find to them easily, being updated with new offers for this season
• Ability for those self employed members to provide their business and service details (in development)

To be included, go to the Names and Faces website provide your name, email address, patrol and a photo and we will send you an invitation email to access and download the app within 24 hours, as simple as that. Any questions in relation to the app or access please email Gino Farina.

Social

Bottles is on this Sunday 31 October. Numbers are limited and all attendees must be fully vaccinated - this will be checked by the Blue Room.

On Sunday 14 November, Bottles will have a distinctly French flavour. Don a beret, dress in theme and enjoy a live performance by acoustic jazz group The Sentosa Trio. They perform regularly at Festivals, Industry Launches, Weddings, Corporate Events, Oktoberfest - anywhere Acoustic Music is preferred - and will give us all something to kick back and enjoy as we see out the weekend. 

Save the Date

The End-of-Year Party will be held on Friday 10 December from 4pm 'til late at Easts Rugby Club, Rose Bay. Look out for details on how to purchase tickets soon.

Surfsports & Training

Surf sports training has commenced for the fully vaccinated. There are training sessions every day of the week so head down to the beach and spend time getting competition fit with friends! Remember to CHECK IN and CHECK OUT using the Service NSW QR code.

• Monday - Yellow Boards with Blake Hatton - 6:00am
• Monday - Ski - 5:50am off the beach and 5.30am at Rose Bay or Cooks River
• Tuesday - Ski - 5:50am off the beach and 5.30am at Rose Bay or Cooks River
• Tuesday - Ski - 4:00pm off the beach
• Tuesday - Competition Boards with Michael Hallam - 6:00am 
• Tuesday - Yellow Boards with Rex Hatton - 6:00am
• Wednesday - Beach Sprints with Jess Thornton - 6:00pm
• Thursday - Ski - 5:50am off the beach and 5.30am at Rose Bay or Cooks River
• Thursday - Ski - 4:00pm off the beach
• Thursday - Competition Boards with Michael Hallam - 6:00am 
• Friday - Surf Ins and Outs (Love Squad) with Gary Emmerton - 6.00am
• Saturday - Ski - 6:00am off the beach
• Saturday - Competition Boards with Michael Hallam - 7:00am 

If you're interested in competing, make sure you're signed up to the Bondi Surf Club Training Squad Facebook group where you'll get all the information on training, events and carnivals.

Save the Date - Clubbie Classic
Our first (and favourite) club event of the season is the Clubbie Classic - sponsored by R&W and Kinvel Projects. The tentative date is Sunday 12 December.

Preserving Our Heritage

As members return to the clubhouse after lockdown, they might notice that the place of honour above the BSBLSC War Memorials stands vacant in the Hall of Champions. Earlier this year a generous grant for $10,000 through the Veterans Affairs ‘Saluting Their Service Program’ was awarded to enable us to commission vital conservation work to stabilize the flag, and to create a simulacra for display.

The flag is a much loved and precious item in the Club’s archival collection.  The fragile silk and wool march past flag covered in 88 military patches has stood sentinel in the hall since 1945.  To many it might seem just a relic of times gone by, however it is an item of significance both in its relevance to the Club and as a unique military artefact.

The flag was carried by Lieutenant Colonel Les ‘Sambo’ Sampson of the ⅔ Anti-Tank Division on his tour of duty during World War II.  The flag travelled to Palestine, Egypt, was part of the Western Desert Campaign; witnessing the Siege of Tobruk and El Alamein.  After that the flag travelled to the Pacific theatres of war in New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Borneo. 

Sambo carried the standard for Bondi in March Past competitions, waved it wildly at Goldstein Cup clashes and took it with him overseas as a reminder of his beloved surf club.  Americans in General Macarthur's Headquarters in the Philippines thought the newly arrived Aussie officer had gone out of his mind when he went to great pains to prominently display the old standard.  That was until Sambo told them the story of the flag, and then the Marines were glad to add their colour patch to the insignia of the many Australian units which already adorned it.

The flag is currently in the capable hands of a professional conservator, Kate Papirnaik, with work expected to take a year to complete.  It might seem like a simple process, however this is a big project with multiple stages of development:  

• Cleaning and stabilisation of the flag will be undertaken by the conservator - each pigment of colour in the flag will be tested individually prior to any cleaning work commences. 
• PhD Conservation students from the University of Wollongong and Macquarie Universities will be undertaking internships writing the significance report and completing historical research.   
• To create the simulacra, members of the Australian Quilters Guild will recreate the unit patches in their exact colour and materials- stains and all!  
• A Museum grade storage box will also be built to hold the flag.  

All these processes will ensure that the Grand Old Flag is preserved for generations of Clubbies to come. 

Surf Race

This Surf Race is on this Sunday starting from 10:30am.  We will be sited at the bench in front of the Club from 10am and request that you follow COVID rules and socially distance.

 Race Report - 24 October 2021

A cold morning, with a very heavy big sea.  The Patrol had set the buoys in a good position, which the current A Grade Champion, commented resulted in both a good and fair race.

B Grade went off and swam left to right and made heavy weather of it.  Alex showed he had all the skills and made it back, winning comfortably. Nicholas in his first swim beat out a most valiant John (no not Cooper who got a little more than wet, but was timed out)

A Grade after much discussion swam the course right to left that meant they took full advantage of a strong rip, that whizzed them out.  Amanda showing all the skills we expect from a top lifesaver, cracked a humongous wave that saw her bashed about like a rag doll, but came out smiling after conquering the best that Hughie could throw up.  Jesse did one better than last week and seems destined for another big season coming in second, with Pottsy not far behind.

I have been advised by Raewyn (who for many years was my backstop, until she and Peter moved to sunny Newcastle) that her Mum passed away last week.  I have passed on our condolences.

This week saw the return of the Blue Room vouchers and hopefully next week I will have a full review of her meal from Amanda.

Race Report - 17 October 2021

As advised I put everyone up from B Grade to A Grade, who at the end of the season had a handicap of three minutes or more.  This has caused some confusion, with a couple going in the wrong race.  If in doubt, please ask.

A good morning with a heavy challenging swell coming over a shallow bank, with very strong lateral currents that saw many miss the buoy by up to 50 metres. The good news is that everyone got back with many going back to crack some more waves.

A big thanks to Patrol Captain Dori, Toby (ducky) and the whole team for their assistance.

A Grade saw Blake (who normally has congregational duties on Sunday mornings) come down and with the help of two waves (one humungous) got the honours from Grant (down with the family) showing old man time has a long way to go, to catch him.  Our champion wader, almost made it to the buoy before he had to swim.  Jesse will continue to push for regular honours each week.

B Grade saw Emma and Alex have a great tussle and showed they could navigate the surf with the best of them.  We had two new starters Thomas and Rory, who will be great additions to our weekly race.

C Grade saw only Jana in the race, which is very disappointing.  Hopefully we will see Cadets return in numbers in the coming weeks.

To all, thanks for coming down, hopefully we will see more as COVID restrictions wind down. 

Member Benefits

For great Clubbie discounts, look out for the Bondi sticker at friendly local businesses!

Don’t forget to check out the Member Benefits poster in the Club to discover new businesses supporting us.

Director of Marketing, Sponsorship and Merchandise
marketing@bondisurfclub.com

Office

Summer Office Hours
Monday 9-5pm; Tuesday 7am-5pm; Wednesday 9-5pm; Thursday 9-5pm; Friday 9-5pm; Saturday 10-1pm and Sunday 10-1pm.

Please call on the doorbell to contact the office or casually call through the window on the side of the building.

ARTICLES FOR THE SURFER

If you have an interesting article concerning a member, past or present, please direct them to editor@bondisurfclub.com.

Phone:  +61 2 9300 9279
Fax:  +61 2 9300 9596
Email:  info@bondisurfclub.com