When do people arrive (in general) and where do we leave boats etc.....is it possible to arrive early on Sunday and still make the 1st race..or do we need to arrive earlier...thanks

Registration is in the Yacht Club on Saturday night.  If you can't make it you need to make special arrangements with the club beforehand.  In theory you can arrive early on Sunday but it leaves you very short of time to make a 10:30 start & if you have a 14:30 start it's going to be difficult to get trolley, cover & all over to Mill Bay when half the fleet's already racing.  I would advise getting down for registration and to get the boat at least more or less prepared for the morning even if you can't get down earlier.  And the bar is open so you can indulge in some important training for the rest of the week  {;-/

We left at 11pm Saturday last year. Picked the holiday home key up from under a stone, and went to bed. Managed to rig the boat and get everything across to Mill Bay for the afternoon race on Sunday, no sweat.

Just need to arrange the signing in (email John Murrel) and ask a friend to show your certificate for you. It can be done.

And if the weather is good it is nice to have a sail around without the pressure of a race, making sure everthing is rigged and working, practice tacking, getting used to things etc.

Boats are normally (99% of them unless you have some where else to park) parked on Mill Bay which is on the other side of the estuary. This creates a small logistical problem of getting your trolley over, but the club normally run some boats on a Saturday to make crossings. However a large proportion of us (maybe 30%) bring or hire some sort of powered vessel, and it is well worth making the right friends so you can cadge lifts during the week as well.