WHITE HORSE CRUISING CLUB EVENTS

Meetings are on the second Monday of each month, at the British Legion Club, Mill Orchard, East Hanney, starting at 8 pm.

2007/8 Autumn Programme :

Monday 10th September 2007.

"Sailing into Sticky Situations" - Eleanor Tims.

As befits the experienced sailor she is, Eleanor’s sticky situations were not generally what one thinks of as the risks of going to sea.

In her early days she suffered from the mal-practices of a fraudulent sailing school, she lost her share in a jointly owned yacht, when in her absence it was seriously damaged on rocks and the insurers declined liability. Later on, now sailing her own yacht she suffered at various times from crew members jumping ship at the most inconvenient times. For example, she and a woman friend were left on their own in the Azores to get the yacht back to England – and then the auto-pilot failed; but they made it, albeit over-tired and hungry.

Especially in Spanish and Portuguese harbours, she was often affronted by the harbour authorities insisting that when they wanted to talk to the skipper, they meant a man!

All these and many more were regaled with a background of the curiosities of sailing and landing in remote places including the Cape Verde Islands and The Gambia. – a lighthouse whose light was extinguished at midnight when relied upon to enable a night time entry, physical assault by a man masquerading as a harbour authority employee in Oporto, dinghy mishaps in unlit harbours and so on.

Underlying all these stories was an evident love of sailing, appetite for trying out different yachts and her sheer determination. As Pete Sowden said during the discussion at the end, despite what you might see as light-hearted hilarity, having sailed with Eleanor on a couple of her voyages, he had learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Eleanor closed her talk with an invitation to anyone to join her when she sets off south in November in her newest acquisition a substantial catamaran, now being fitted out at Southampton.

Monday 8th October 2007.

"Cruising on the East Coast" - Bob Dyer

Bob gave us a comprehensive account of his experiences of sailing on the East Coast from Malden in Essex. He covered the area from Southwold (in the north) to the Medway in the south. He has sailed these waters for 20 years although now sails out of Langstone on the south coast.

Clearly, this trip down memory lane triggered many reminders of the pleasures and pitfalls of this unique sailing area. Ideally suited to bilge keelers or any vessel which can take the ground without damage, there are numerous creeks and hidden quiet anchorages to be found.

If you can locate the sometimes mythical 'swatchways' made famous by Maurice Griffiths then you and your vessel appear to be virtually sailing on the land! Although mostly low lying, the shoreside terrain still provides shelter as there is very little 'fetch' for waves to build up. So the wind maybe howling in the rigging but a quiet drink can be enjoyed. The tidal range is modest (three to four metres) so even if you take the mud during the night it is unlikely to wake you!

Monday 12th November 2007.

Neville Smart "Hamble to Staines"

Neville Smart gave us an interesting account of a 'reverse delivery' trip from the River Hamble back to his home in Staines. His newly purchased 40 foot motor cruiser was 'sailed' east along the south coast rather than the somewhat easier and quicker route by road. As a newcomer to all things nautical this proved to be a very steep learning curve for him. Although experienced in the air as a early retired commercial pilot he discovered that the surface navigation involved was far more complicated than he had expected. Neville took the very wise precaution of hiring a professional skipper for the trip which was to be completed within a weekend! This move turned out to be an ideal arrangement as the skipper was very familiar with the River Thames' unique navigational challenges. Neville said he learned a lot and in fact did most of the necessary tasks under the watchful encouragement of his skipper. The boat was successfully delivered to the mooring at the bottom of Neville's garden in Staines. He has had to install some high mooring poles to prevent the boat drifting onto his lawn during floods and stranding itself!

Neville isn't a total novice however, having completed some elementary RYA courses - mainly in the Mediterranean. His experiences with RYA endorsed courses left him somewhat surprised at the variation of quality of RYA sailing schools. This prompted quite a bit of discussion among those present. The conclusion seemed to be that the RYA, although an umbrella organisation for leisure based nautical training, cannot monitor individual courses. The principal of the establishment involved has the main responsibility for ensuring consistancy & quality of training.

Monday 10th December 2007.

Members Evening

This annual roundup of members recent experiences delivered the usual high standard - ranging from anecdotes to professionally produced video presentations.

Hugh Woodsend showed a video log of the Summer Gathering 2006, where the sun seemed to shine all weekend. Several members were recognisable in spite of some dubious headgear and all seemed to have a drink in their hand!

Mike Coombes shared his experiences and frustrations of yacht brokers with us, highlighting the huge variation of customer service levels! His treatment by some brokers was patronising and condescending, given that he had money 'on the hip' - he wasn't 'just looking'. By contrast others were exceptionally good, although the good ones seemed fewer!

Mike Roberts had a salutary image sequence of the foundering of a yacht in Fishguard harbour during a gale. The unfortunate yacht 'chewed' through its mooring warps and was blown onto a rocky lee shore. Within a very short time it was beyond salvage. An 'Alderney mooring chain' was recommended by several members. This short piece of chain is an essential item for several exposed 'harbours' such as Fishguard and Alderney to replace the section of warp between the buoy and the yacht's strong point.

Paul Molyneaux recounted the qualificational hoops he had to jump through to gain the trust of the JSASTC before they would let him skipper one of their expensive Nicholson 55 footers. He eventually took “Chaser” around the Canaries with almost all novice sailors on board. With Paul luxuriously ensconced in the Skippers cabin, the rest of the crew hot bunked whilst at sea. They called at all seven islands clocking up 655nm, visiting 11 ports, incorporating 4 overnight passages. From Paul's understated jocular account of the trip it was clear that a good time was had by all.

Monday 14th January 2008.

Annual Dinner - We had a good attendance for the Annual Dinner with 48 members enjoying a varied selection from the Bear & Ragged Staff's menu. There are a few fuzzy pictures to illustrate the event. Apologies if I haven't got your 'best side'. Several 'prizes' were distributed based on whether your chair had a magic sticker underneath it. Manufacturers labels didn't count!

Monday 11th February 2008.

Jo Mooring-Aldridge “One Woman and her Dog”
Jo Mooring Aldridge gave us an amusing insight into cruising with a dog. Many of us have sailed boats with dogs on board but probably not single-handed! Jo came fully prepared with JoJo (her dog) along with a selection of essential equipment needed to ensure the dog stayed happy and safe. During Jo's talk JoJo seemed quite content mooching between the chairs of the audience accepting any attention going. Jo's boat 'Sulali' has graced many an issue of Practical Boat Owner and Yachting Monthly. Jo sails her extensively around the Solent & South Coast including the Channel Islands. The dog JoJo remained the star of the show however and Jo regaled us with anecdotes of JoJo's antics. Apparently, if any boat appears alongside Sulali, JoJo assumes she is being taken ashore and immediately jumps ship! Alternatively, she may decide to stay ashore and at the critical moment of leaving a berth will jump back onto the pontoon.

Monday 10th March 2008.

Tom & Chris Eaves “Cruising in the Baltic”

Tom Eaves MRCC MRIN (assisted by his wife Chris) showed us exactly what sailing and navigating in the Baltic involved. He had a comprehensive portfolio of charts for us to look at which demonstrated just how challenging the navigation can be. The archipeligo of islands consists of hundreds (if not thousands) of islands all of which are hard rocks with very little forgiving sand or mud. The consequences of making contact with these rocks was not lost on anyone present. Tom admitted to hitting them on at least three occasions but fortunately no serious damage was sustained.

Tom's photo slide show also underlined just how little wind there is in the Baltic region. Plenty of fuel should be carried aboard as the sailing opportunities are so limited - not just by lack of wind but some of the passages between islands are a few metres wide and sailing through them would be a risky enterprise. The whole area seemed to be virtually undiscovered by British yachts - Tom & Chris rarely saw any ensigns either red or blue! There are so many anchorages overcrowding is never a problem - such a contrast to the south coast of UK.

Monday 7th April 2008. Annual General Meeting.

The evening started with our AGM. Reports given covered the Club’s sound financial position and the revised Marketing Plan, being developed by the committee. A number of useful suggestions were made for its improvement. The previous officers and committee were re-elected, except for Mike Roberts who was unable to offer himself for re-election. Richard Oliver was taking over as Programme Secretary.

John Magraw followed this with an account of Fred Rebell’s solo voyage across the Pacific in 1932 from Australia to California. This was accomplished in a Sydney Harbour skiff, a substantially open boat, gaff rigged, with little apparent suitability for long distant voyaging – apart from an inherently sea-worthy hull. He navigated with a home made sextant and a pair of wrist watches. He missed New Zealand passing too far north, but then contrived to call at Samoa, Fiji, Christmas Island and Honolulu. The US authorities were unimpressed with his home-made passport and he spent some months in custody as an illegal immigrant. Fellow yachtsman Harry Pigeon managed to secure his release and he was eventually put on a ship to Europe on his way to his native Latvia.

Monday 12th May 2008.

Clive Sutherland will explain "The Global Positioning System (GPS)".

Longer standing members will recall his fascinating talk, some years back on the Tides; informative, broad in its approach and well grounded in the physics. We look forward to a similar broad scope in his treatment of of satellite navigation.

Saturday 7th June 2008 - Summer gathering Royal Southampton Yacht Club.

Our Summer Gathering this year will be on Saturday 7th June at the Gins Club House of the Royal Southampton Yacht Club on the Beaulieu River.

We shall be benefiting from a Hog Roast organised for the RSYC Cruising section. The cost per head will be £13.95 which covers the roast plus salad, a sweet course and coffee. I am assured that the Club house verandahs are ample to cover us all, should it rain. Food will be served from 8 pm.

Sailors will have no difficulty in identifying the venue about a half-mile up river on the west bank. Pontoon space might be available, but best call up their Bosun, Andrew Bonney on VHF Channel 77, call sign "Sea Echo". If there's no pontoon space or capacity to raft, he will be able to allocate a nearby river mooring and also runs a water taxi service. HW on the 7th is about 14.00 hrs.

I do encourage Members without boats who are tempted, to come along too. It could make a pleasant evening after a day in the New Forest or amongst the many other attractions in the area. You take the B3054 west out of Beaulieu and almost immediately turn left as to Bucklers Hard. Don't turn in there, but proceed another 1.3 miles to St Leonards where the road turns sharply to the right, beside the large wall of a ruined barn, also on the right. That however is the point where you look out on the left for an RSYC sign beside a gravel track. Follow this track into the Gins Clubhouse carpark.

Aiming to get there say between 6pm and 7pm, would allow ample time to address any formalities, find fellow members, get a drink and join the developing fun.

Do take a look at the Royal Southampton web-site (www.rsyc.org.uk), and click on Gins. One option then is for Getting there.

We do hope the event works out well, especially as this venue offers the possibility of land-based members joining in.

Only one consideration and that is that you should let Bob Dyer (01865 820282) know by Saturday 31st May, whether you plan to come, so that he can give RSYC an indication of our likely numbers.