wet weather

Melissa Yeomans

Keep on learning

For something different I have had a bit on recently. With the juggling act I have been doing I wanted to increase my knowledge to be able to do it better and more efficiently! In the past few weeks I have attended a 2 day Umpire Seminar, Website and Marketing workshop, Child Safe Seminar, plus the usual work and conference calls that go on.

Big thanks to the Warringah Chamber of Commerce who put together some great training sessions.   Being part of the Chamber has certainly been worthwhile especially when it comes to growing knowledge for small businesses. It sometimes isn’t easy to find the money or funds to further your education so their support is very worthwhile!

It is great to stretch the mind and learn new things. The Child Safe Seminar was something I wanted to do with everything going on at the moment in my life.  It certainly was an eye opener and we are lucky to have a government department taking such great care to do these seminars.  It was emotionally draining as you can imagine but I am glad I have now done it.  If you are in a position that is responsible for the care of children I highly recommend taking the time to do this.

Yesterday after the Child Safe Seminar I had a meeting in the city for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation’s Australian Committee.  I decided after the slightly emotional morning that a ferry into the city would be the best option to destress and relax a little. How lucky are we in Sydney to have that option! Even though it was raining and South Head was barely visible as we came out of Manly it put me at ease. Being on the water does that.

Winter is certainly now here so this weekend I am going to try to relax and catch up on some cleaning and sorting myself out with work.  As next weekend I will be heading to QLD for the Australian School Teams Racing Championships followed by Queensland Youth Week! Time to get a bit more organised so I can keep up with everything going on. Lots of opportunities that have been amazing have crossed my path this past year and despite getting busier I just could not say no to such moments.


  

Melissa Yeomans

Sail Sydney and Hail!

What a week! I wasn’t back in the office for long before I found myself at Sail Sydney supporting the sailors.  Making sure those we sponsor have stickers on their boats and catching up more importantly with the Moth Sailors to check where we are at leading up to the Worlds!

It was great to see Sail Sydney back on the Calendar.  The Finn Fleet in particular have been big supporters of DeckHardware and in particular Liros Rope.  Big thanks to them for being so friendly too!

Yesterday I manned the car park for a few hours to make sure everyone behaved and parked in the appropriate sections while trying to get people to park a certain way to optimize the space!  What a mission.  Thanks to those who stopped to chat and worked with us to make it happen.

Today I have spent the day working on the Sydney Sailboat Expo.  While busy working away I got more than a little distracted by yet another crazy storm.  This week has been all about storms here in Sydney.  I can only imagine the stress it added to the PRO and RO’s at Sail Sydney!  As I type this yet another one is about to come through… Amazing clouds all week as each storm has crossed over Sydney.  Today was different though as the Northern Beaches got hit with some serious Hail!  My Facebook feed is filled with Hail Shots and Video.  Just crazy weather.  Sydney is known for it’s afternoon Summer Storms but it isn’t normally every day and more than one!

Let’s Hope the weather plays nice for the Big Boat Challenge on Tuesday and the Extreme Sailing Series later in the week.  I can not wait to get out there and cheer on some friends of mine who are sailing.  #AussieSailorsRock

Melissa Yeomans

Heading out on the water again

Tomorrow is the last day in the office before two Match Racing events at RPAYC and CYCA.  It has been a busy few weeks and I have had the chance to go out and watch the 18′ Skiffs a couple of times to support friends and DeckHardware Ambassadors.  I even got to watch from the 18’s ferry an old friend out on a 12′ Skiff showing off some extreme skills and managing to keep the boat up whilst it turned 360 with a kite up!  There are plenty of photos on the DeckHardware facebook page.

Yesterday I was at MHYC for the Launch of the new 470 Happy Feet for Mat Belcher and Will Ryan.  Here is a photo album from in the rain.  I had the opportunity to be there along with other sponsors, supporters and team members.   It wasn’t the best day for sailing with pouring rain and strong breeze!  However we were all there to celebrate the success that Mat and Will have had the past year.

 

Mat and Will ready to go sailing on the new boat.

It has been an interesting start to the season weather wise and Ambassadors Fire Stopping Skiff Racing Team seem to be doing things a little different.  Check out their facebook page to read how their season is going and just why they may be looking for recipes!  Never a dull moment working with these guys that is for sure!  They have also been working hard on their Trailer program to ensure all their requirements are met when onshore.

Fire Stopping’s trailer has plenty of accessories!
Melissa Yeomans

A fascinating sky

Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday I was umpiring at the NSW Teams Racing Champs. But this isn’t about the racing. As there wasn’t much breeze I spent a long time looking up at the sky trying to predict the breeze. As well as trying to work out when the wet weather gear needed to be on or off. While doing this I realised just how much I love watching clouds. Yes we got wet as it rained on us in no breeze. To make up for the no wind and getting rained on the sky put on a show for us to keep us entertained during the multiple postponements. I still hate as a sailor drizzling rain and no breeze. I much prefer rain and breeze!

Clouds at different levels crossing over as some go North and some South. The varying colours and types are truly fascinating.  I still don’t fully understand what they all mean but after laying back in the rib I realised I just enjoy watching the way they move and could do it for hours.

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Melissa Yeomans

How important is coffee to your day?

I have a coffee machine at the warehouse and one at home and I know I am pretty lucky.  They are the same machine so that I can make the coffee with my eyes closed.

The weather in Sydney lately has been pretty predictable.   It will rain at some point each day without fail.  In fact the storms coming through each day have almost been like clock work.  So this morning I had to feel sorry for someone who clearly was so desperate for Coffee he had gone across to the mall and not taken an Umbrella.   That was a big mistake as it is not under cover at any point and crossing a pretty busy road as well.   Needless to say the rain came through pretty heavy, so much so that there was minor flooding on the roads around the mall.

I just hope his coffee warms him up…

Over the weekend I drove back from Gosford in very heavy rain on Saturday afternoon and Sunday we were packing up after sailing in the rain.   Sunday was a beautiful morning but even still I took out my wet weather jacket on the RIB just in case.  I thought myself crazy but it was needed after all.

You would think we are getting use to it but then again this is meant to be summer in Sydney Australia.