Wally afloat in safety boat
The memory of a veteran member of the Claremont Yacht Club will sail on after members named a new safety boat in his honour.
The new 5m boat was named after the late Wally Giles in the traditional way last month – by smashing a bottle of champagne on its hull.
Wally was a longstanding CYC member who died in 2020.
He had joined in the 1970s and served in roles that included rear commodore of dinghies.
CYC rear commodore of dinghies Don Page, of Subiaco, said the ceremony was attended by Wally’s widow and daughter.
“It went very, very well and they were really chuffed about the event,” he said.
A commemorative plaque on the boat was also revealed.
The safety boat will be crewed by club members during races which run in all seasons.
They wasted no time in putting it to work.
It was called up for duty for Commodore’s Cup races straight after the naming ceremony, which was presided over by CYC commodore Darren Chatfield.
“In heavy weather our sailing dinghies are prone to capsize,” Don said.
“We have a safety boat on hand to provide assistance to a capsized sailor in righting his boat or in the event he is injured he’ll be dragged onto the safety boat and taken ashore for treatment.”
The safety boat was also used to lay the marks for river race courses.
“It’s used to go out and change the marks if there’s a change in wind direction during the race,” he said.
It has a centre console, a 60hp motor and can hold four aboard.
Don said the old safety boat was small and uncomfortable for the crew in bad weather.
“The volunteers in that boat would get saturated in strong winds,” he said.
The club’s sailing dinghy fleet had grown over the years and was now the largest Laser fleet on the Swan River.
“We’re still growing and new members are joining us often,” he said.