Dear DUC and DSBC Members

This coming week is a busy one for the club so if you don’t want to be a mushroom and would like to be kept informed, please try to at least read this long newsletter to the very end!

Wednesday 27th April is the Freedom Day public holiday but we will be running normal club hours in that the club will be open for dinner as usual on Wednesday.

Friday 29th April, registration for the Durban Ski Boat Club Festival takes place at the club and the clubhouse and beach will start filling up with over 170 boats and their crew. Please note that there will be some changes to the normal club operations to accommodate this influx.

The clubhouse will be open on the Monday May 2nd Public Holiday. Public Holiday hours will apply in that the clubhouse and kitchen will close early as per club hours attachment.

If one of the Festival fishing days (Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May) is cancelled, then Monday 2nd May will be the alternate competition fishing day. In this instance club hours will be adjusted accordingly.

PLEASE NOTE – only boats participating in the DSBC Festival will be allowed to launch over the coming weekend. The launch site will be closed to all other boating over the weekend.

The DSBC Festival

After a 2-year hiatus due to COVID the annual DSBC Festival returns on the weekend of the 29th April to 2nd May. This is one of the largest ski-boat fishing festivals in Southern Africa with anglers coming from all over the country to try win the boat or one of the other prizes that come to a total value of R1,5 million.

This means that there will be some changes to the operation of the club. While the undercover parking will be reserved for members as always, the numbers of boats and activity will limit the space available in the overflow parking in the boat yard from Friday when registration begins so, please be prepared for the possibility that parking will not be available on the club grounds and keep R25 in cash handy to make use of the pay parking.

The menus will be streamlined to cope with the number of people we are expecting. Some favourites may not be available, but we will still have many interesting choices for the whole family. Even some new additions by Chef Chris.

It will be a lot of fun for all members to come and check out the excitement and activities. DJs and bands have been booked for the whole weekend and when the fish start coming in the excitement starts to build.

Please refer to the DSBC Festival Program attached for more details

Staff hellos and goodbye’s

Those members who have frequented the club over the past 10 days may have noticed some positive changes to the club food offering. This is due to Chef Chris coming onboard to assist Roxy, the kitchen manager, as well as the club with improving the overall kitchen service. We wish Chef Chris a long and rewarding tenure at PWC.

On Friday 29th April we will bid our long-time general manager, Paul Smit, a fond farewell. Paul’s leadership at DUC and then PWC has been instrumental in getting the new Clubhouse operation into a strong position through some trying times. Paul is moving on to an exciting new opportunity and the PWC team wishes him all the best. No doubt we will still be seeing him around.

Beggars at the Club

With winter on its way so is the annual migration of the up-country beggars looking for a warmer climate to spend the winter. As the boardwalk in front of the club is public property, we cannot be seen to be chasing members of the public away from the area, including people begging and hawkers.

We ask that members do not give money or food to people begging nor to support the hawkers. Your better nature will encourage them to keep returning to the “place of plenty” which in the long term makes the boardwalk a less pleasant environment for all club members.

Dogs in the Clubhouse

The beach and the promenade are a great place to take the family pooch for some exercise, and we always enjoy seeing people down here with their pets. A reminder however that dogs are not allowed inside the clubhouse. There are signs to that effect at all entrances. As per committee, staff have been instructed not to serve anybody with a dog, even if you’re just grabbing a quick coffee or a glass of water. If you have a dog inside the clubhouse with you, you will be asked to take your pet outside. No exceptions will be allowed.

What’s Happening at the Club:

Wednesday 27th April
5pm to 6pm
Happy Hour: 30% off members drink prices excluding soft drinks.

Friday 29th April
11.30am to 9pm Live Entertainment with DJ SPIKE

Saturday 30th April

6.45am Official Flying Start of the Festival with boats lined up behind NSRI Boat – a sight to be seen!

10.30am to 5pm Live Entertainment with DJ SPIKE

5pm to 9pm Live Entertainment with THE REWIND

4.30 pm to 6pm Happy Hour: 30% off members drink prices excluding soft drinks.

Sunday 1st May

10am to 2pm Live Entertainment with DJ ANT

2pm to 5.30pm Live Entertainment with THE SITUATION

6.30pm to 7pm Live Entertainment with KIRSTY-ANNE STEPHENS

7.30pm to 12pm Live Entertainment with FLASHBACK

Monday 2nd May

1pm to 5pm Live Entertainment with ALLAN FAULTY

This week’s menu specials Wed 27th April – Sunday 1st May

Specials below subject to availability – see attachment

Wednesday 27h April

Burger and Drink Special – Bacon / Cheese and Crispy Onion Ring Burger With a 440ml can of Priestly R 75
Curry Night
Prawn Curry with rice and sambals R 90
Butter Chicken with rice and sambals R 70
Thursday 28th April Club Night
Pork Belly Roast and vegetables R 95
Baked Pasta dish (beef mince) and Mediterranean Vegetables R 80

Monday Club Night at Kings Park Swimming Pool

The Durban Undersea Club has exclusive use of the Kings Park Swimming Pool on Monday nights from 6pm to 8pm. This includes both the inside and outside pools.

There are a number of club disciplines that currently make use of the KP pool, and we invite interested club members to join in:

• Underwater Hockey ( Wesley 079 493 8237)
• Water Polo (Sid Grey 0832753149)
• Open water swimming ( Steve Evans 0828555516)
• SCUBA Diving ( Bryan Hart 0828099188)
• Lifesaving ( Thando Thusi 0691309199)

The Underwater Hockey and water polo teams make use of the undercover pool while the other disciplines make use of the outside pool. Both pools are heated.
If you would like more information on a particular water sport discipline above, please message the respective Committee member in brackets.
The inaugural Club Pool Night will be May 9th and there will be refreshments available from the Wetspot social clubhouse at the pool.

We look forward to seeing you at the club

The PWC Team