Junior Offshore Group

In the 10 days since the last announcement, our decision to postpone all racing has quickly become mandated by legislation. We are now all constrained by lockdown to our homes and, no, we don’t believe that we could get away with yacht racing as “daily personal exercise”!

Notwithstanding the current uncertainty of timing before we can race, we have made the decision that, whatever happens, our 70^th Anniversary triangle race will be postponed until 2021. Our plans around this year rely on a dialogue with France which is not possible right now with yacht clubs and offices closed down. We think that this important celebration is too precious to be left to chance and last minute arrangements.

We see that several principal events have been re-planned for the Autumn. The Classic regatta and Round the Island race being but two. At the moment, we are unwilling to announce any new dates for the, missed, early season races. There will need to be a relaxation on social distancing and unnecessary travel as well as our own sense of responsibility. The International situation is too fluid for any certainty on dates so we are just continuing to monitor matters as they develop. We certainly hope that we will not have to wait for the Autumn!

The series points are under review. If we can still run a viable series on a restricted programme we will but, again, it’s too early to decide. The Committee plan to have a teleconference soon so that we keep the general business of JOG on track. The Flag Officers are in frequent touch and keen to get things moving when we can. In the meantime, we will post occasional updates here as our plans evolve. This will include any decisions on the AGM and Annual Ball where there are financial considerations if we have to make a late cancellation.

A quote from Pierre Huglo “ you must keep your humility when you sail. This is the right way to approach the sea and life”. We can’t control events but we do wish you and your families the best for a safe outcome to these unprecedented times.

Dougie Leacy. Captain

Colin Mudie, designer of Sopranino and close friend of our founder Patrick Ellam

The Captain and Committee have been notified of the death of Colin Mudie, fellow Transatlantic sailor with Patrick and designer of Sopranino. Colin supported our 60th Anniversary gathering and his speech is still on our website with a photo in “JOG History” It’s worth a listen!

An obituary has been published here: https://www.advertiserandtimes.co.uk/colin-mudie-obituary

In the current climate, funeral arrangements will be restricted to family only but we hope to give details of a memorial service in due course.
Our condolences go to his family and friends on the passing of an incredible character and benefactor of JOG.

Since our last announcement, successive Government briefings and the impending likelihood of further restrictions in travel and community interaction, lead us to make the, earlier than planned, judgement call to postpone the One Sails Nab Tower race and suspend our future programme until further notice.
As we have previously stated, we are mindful of the overwhelming circumstances which threaten our members, economically as well as health, and the external criticism of flying against international recommendations. As a club that puts its members first, our social responsibility makes any other considerations of secondary importance. 

With the postponement of the Nab Tower race, JOG will transfer your entry automatically to the rescheduled Nab Tower race when we have fixed a date.
 
For any cancelled races, JOG will automatically credit your MyJOG account as the credit can be used for any future race entries. All season entries or all Category entries will be credited proportionally to the discount applied at the point of purchase.
 
Where skippers would prefer a payment refund for any races, they will be made on request by email to the secretary.

We wish all our community well during these challenging times and are here to support you where we can.
 
Dougie Leacy Captain.

15:34 19/03/2020