Nine Yards (6 May '11)

Apologies for a longer than normal Nine Yards but it has been a busy week and certain things need to be communicated to you the members!

Golf Day- The day at Jackals Creek yesterday went off reasonably well. Many were surprised at the quality of the course and the scramble format gave non-golfers the chance to shine (not all of them). Highlight of the day was Washy Neate’s hole in one on the 16th hole. In the shower afterwards, Mango confidently reported that 108 points was unbeatable and the prize giving was a formality. Not to be! One club member (who shall remain nameless to protect his integrity) imported a couple of “ringers”  and managed to report a score of 114 bringing into question the safety of some of the buildings that he has “surveyed” over the years.
I would like to thank Janet Stothard for organising the golf day. Mango Simpkins was a popular MC, thank-you Colin. His jokes are getting a bit tired but they certainly surpassed the quality of the one told by Stu.
Thanks go to all our contributors and club members who supported our day. The proceeds of which will contribute modestly to the funding of those selected to go to World Championship events later this year. The contributors are listed below.
Inevitably in a club the size of Dabs, there is much debate about the price, the location of the course and much more. In respect of pricing, most courses price some form of parity to one another and there are no special deals. Clearly the premium courses that are more central are more expensive and we try and maintain a balance between cost while keeping the goal in mind, that of fund raising.

Hole Sponsors:
Profile Media            Nic Oldert
Global Trader            Stu Rawlinson
Twin Ins            Lionel Ford
Copalcor            Greg Hoets
General Motors            Dion Coulentianos
Adreach                Brad Fisher
Investec            Andy Lieth
Condito Commodity Investments    James Crichton
CDP                John Nicholson
Canoe Concepts            Colin Simpkins / Chad Andrews
NCS Resins            Ross Harris
Kayak Racing            Malcolm Stothard
The Hamilton Boutique Hotel    Dave Hamilton Brown

The Gauteng Surfski Championship- The winner of the inaugural Gauteng Surfski Championship at Emmarentia dam, Brad Fisher, is today a proud man and has earned the respect of many of those who doubted his wave riding skills. Due to logistical constraints, the wave making machine was replaced by a speedboat which, owing to the limited skills of the pilot (one Jorrie Jourdan) failed to make an impact (so I am told). Needless to say, the event was enjoyed by all and created a unique vibe at the club. Thanks to all those who made the event happen.

Wilge Weekend- This weekend was a resounding success and more than 60 paddlers attended the event. Thanks go to Bill, Debbie and the Social Committee for initiating and holding this now bi-annual event. An SMS from Timothy, a new paddler, says it all “It was fantastic! Really worthwhile. I like this sport.”  Is that not what it is all about?

Environment / Relations with other Stakeholders- On Thursday the 19th May 2011, Tony Purchase (Environmental Portfolio), Bill, Skid and myself met with the JRA (Roads) and Parks to discuss the following:

1.    Filtering Reed Beds. These are a project taken on by the club in an effort to improve water quality in the dam. There are signs of slightly elevated E Coli counts at the top of the dam (well within specification) as well as algal bloom (caused by nitrates and phosphates) in the summer months (not evident this year due to the cooler summer and high rainfall). The proposal submitted will be posted on the website for you to read. Parks and Roads Departments are supportive of the project and we need to update and submit the budget to Natural Resources Management (Johannesburg Metro). The positioning of the reed beds will likely be modified and moved to one of the dams above the main dam with one bed being placed above the irrigation pipe at the entrance to the main dam. Roads emphasised the need to anchor them securely. Parks are also seeking to implement a system whereby Effective Microbes are released from “balls” placed underwater. We will keep you updated.

2.    Canoe Polo Jetty. Parks has no objection to this and Roads wants the jetty to be secured in such a way that it will not be carried away in a flash flood / storm. To this end we will obtain an engineering certificate to cover this aspect of the design. Our last hurdle is to get the approval of Natural Resources Management. In earlier discussions with Natural Resources Management, they stated that they did not believe that there was an issue, and so we will get confirmation of this from them. Roads also asked that we clear with Water Affairs and although we did this in 2005, I will ask Samantha Braid to repeat the exercise for both the jetty and the reed-beds.

3.    Dambusters Route. After the last race earlier this year, we had push-back from Parks and the dog walkers. As a result Alex Roberts has proposed another route which moves out of the area above us and uses the Park space below the spillway. Parks does not appear to have a problem with this and we will apply to them for permission to hold the event while speaking to the JOC (Joint Ops Centre of the Joburg Metro) to clarify any road safety issues.

4.    Erosion of the Banks of the Dam. Park’s main objection to the Dambusters was that the “large” number of canoeists using the dam during the race causes erosion of the banks of the dam. While they acknowledge that denudation by the geese and the impact of fishermen on the Louw Geldenhuys Drive side are the principle causes, they are happy to work with us as they have no objection to the portaging of canoes in the Park provided it is not on a large scale. To this end they have given us permission to make a proposal to place gabions with conveyor belt covers above their jetty for the purposes of entry and exit for portaging. We would, however, ask you to stick to the more traditional “Big Tree” route and skirt paths used by walkers / dogs. Should any of the club members be able to assist with the construction of gabions please speak to Bill.

5.    Repairs to Dam Wall and Spillway. We have been informed by the Roads Agency that they have included the repairs to the dam wall (subsidence) and the spillway into their budget for the coming year. Should the procurement process go according to plan, they may well start this June or July (they want to do it in the dry months). In the extreme it may involve draining the dam to a level that allows access to the wall. They also asked club members to report the traffic of any unauthorised construction vehicles across the bridge to Dries v Heerden of the JRA (Bill can pass on). Clearly them draining the dam may have a major impact on the clubs activities but may present the opportunity for some serious resistance training. We will keep you posted.

6.    ERA. Following a request to the ERA Chairman Costas Vranas, they have indicated that we are welcome to serve on their committee as an ex officio member. I am therefore looking for a member who perhaps has an interest in Emmerentia (possibly a resident) to represent us on the ERA committee. Please could one of you volunteer for this important role.

Admin- From time to time I get complaints about poor communication or slow admin from our office. Please familiarise yourself with the office hours and if you do not get a response form Gerda within 24 hours of posting an e-mail to her, please contact any one of the following committee members:

Myself This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 0832541982
Skid Warren This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 0724187895
Jason Howell This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 0824931718
Jacques Theron This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 0827729597
Please put more than one person on copy at all times as we are often travelling or unavailable.

I thank you.