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Here are the summaries of talks from previous years.

2006/7 Autumn Programme:

To cool everyone down after a hot summer we had a distinct chill to our autumn talks:

11th September: Furthest North with NavPac

The first meeting of the new season opened with a talk by our secretary John Magraw called 'Furthest North with NavPac'. The talk was well attended by our members returning this year and also by new people joining us for the first time.

For those who are not familiar with NavPac, John explained that it was a computer program and data for converting celestial measurements by sextant into the position of a voyaging yacht on the face of the earth. This program was constructed by, amongst others, our fellow member Catherine Hohenkirk of the Nautical Almanac office.

In high Latitudes using this program is an important procedure for finding where you are amidst ice and snow in all directions, and where the land looks just as white as the icebergs.

To give illustration to his talk, this John showed us photographs of his yachting adventures north of the Arctic Circle and his visits to Iceland and Spitzbergen.

The talk was most entertaining we would like to thank him for his presentation aided well by his assistants, Terry Jones and Graham Ansell.

9th October: Members evening.

Members enjoyed a programme of diverse contributions.

Bob Dyer gave his impressions of his first season sailing in the Solent area, having spent the last twenty years based at Maldon, Essex. He had much enjoyed the change and the convenience of access from home, but missed the relative ease of finding safe anchorages as on much of the East Coast.

Terry Jones reported on a voyage on the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s barque 'Tenacious' out of Plymouth cross Channel with a night anchored off St Vaast and another in Cherbourg, then over to the Isle of Wight and Southampton. Besides the interest and pleasure of being on the crew of a square rigger, he was especially impressed with how the disabled, including those in wheelchairs were fully involved and clearly enjoyed the experience.

Mike Coombs told of a trip from the Hamble across to Cherbourg and back, where the forecast F4s arrived as F6 and 7. In lumpy seas near The Needles they were part swamped by a breaking wave which threw him and his skipper across the cockpit, tore the clew out of the mainsail and lost them their dinghy.

John Magraw closed the evening on a lighter note, reporting on his success hosting a Barnacle Goose that had lost a foot and for whom he arranged for a metal one to be fitted.

13th November: Bob Shepton - Greenland Triumph & Tragedy.

Members were enthralled to hear the latest instalment of the adventures of their long standing friend, the Rev. Bob Shepton. In the summer of 2005 he had sailed up the west coast of Greenland with ice in various forms, far off and close to. As before, he and members of two successive crews had climbed various peaks, some apparently as the first ever to do so. Before turning south in the September, cutting a semi-circle in the still thin sheet ice, he believed by reaching 78 degrees, 32 minutes north, opposite Carin Pointhe had been the furthest north achieved a normal fibre glass yacht on that western coast which has no benefit from the Gulf Stream.

Having bade his crew farewell for their flight back to UK, he found a suitable creek in which to anchor and stay through the long northern winter. Before the ice formed he had the further hazard of having fallen in whilst transferring stores from the dinghy then of getting back on board again. With seven layers of clothing this proved to be a difficult but happily not ultimately impossible task.

His berth was a few miles only from an Inuit settlement. One day having collected stores, he set about the familiar task of refilling the tank which fed the cabin heater. Too late he realised he’d forgotten to fit the further funnel, his system required and the neat diesel was running over the already hot stove. Within minutes his yacht was burnt to the waterline. Everything was lost. The locals saw the blaze, came and collected him giving him every possible assistance needed, with clothing, hospitality and documentation to get back to Scotland.

Bob’s account was delivered with his customary good humour and professionalism of presentation. The postscript was that he already has his replacement yacht in commission.

10th December: Dag Pike - Challenges.

Dag (a life long nickname) was introduced as a multi-faceted man from the sea. His remarks well justified that description.

Upon leaving his South London school, he joined the Merchant Marine and was its youngest qualified skipper by the age of 29. A period as an Inspector in the RNLI particularly involved with the start of rigid inflatables, was followed by increasing involvement in power-boat racing. Dag became one of the most sought-after navigators. Success in Round Britain and other long distance races led to being navigator for the transatlantic exploits associated with Richard Branson, seeking to beat the long standing Blue Riband record set by the ocean liners.

On the first trip they had to abandon ship because the chines were opening up. That time they were rescued from their life rafts by a banana boat from the West Indies. Greeting them at the top of the ladder up the side of the ship was the steward in bow tie, with a tray of gins and tonic!

The next attempt also ended up with being rescued, this time directly from the power boat, by a west bound American container ship. Manouevring such a bulky vessel, that has no steerage way below 15 knots, was difficult for the ship’s crew and hairy for Dag and his friends. The first time, there was nothing to catch onto and their craft slipped under the ships stern where the immense screw was still turning, albeit very slowly. It seemed like a James Bond movie when the blades of the screw, began slowly to slice into the bows of their craft. Happily, they got free and were picked up at the second attempt..

All this was delivered in a calm and engaging manner, that completely belied the hazards being described.

8th January 2007: Annual Dinner.

42 members and friends enjoyed a very convivial dinner at The Dog-house Hotel, Frilford Heath. George Huxtable was thanked by the Chairman and toasted by all for his remarkable and very successful period of nearly twenty years as Programme Secretary, finishing at the AGM in 2006.

12th February: Captain William Wells “Life & times of a Ships Pilot”

Until retirement in 2003, when he was promoted to Flag Rank as Commodore, Capt Wells had been Senior River Pilot for the River Thames, He addressed us in uniform.

His talk ranged widely from the history of the role to the practicalities of the work – on the Thames, also in the Middle East and the Bahamas,.

Since at least Roman times, it has been acknowledged that the critical element for a ship’s pilot was “local knowledge". Nowadays exhaustive local knowledge is required before qualification. On the tidal Thames when he qualified in the 1970s, there were over 500 quays, jetties and piers for each of which, candidates needed to know the length, orientation, angles for approach and departure. The pass mark for a live two hour examination by three qualified Pilots is 98%. Only one re-sit is allowed.

He gave a wide perspective on what the pilot is confronted with, including : -

- how size is relative. The QM II at 67,000 tones is enormous, but in displacement it is dwarfed by the Jahre Viking, currently the world’s largest oil tanker, which displaces when laden, about 825,000 tons.

- how attitude appears to relate to status and ship’s size. The senior officer of the USS Nimitz, the American flagship, commanded by no less than a Vice Admiral, simply showed Capt. Wells round his bridge and departed remarking “Don’t bend my ship!”. Conversely the skipper/helmsman of the small family coaster can be resentful of his need to rely on the pilot’s superior local knowledge.

Capt Wells’ shared with us, a wealth of anecdote derived from the 8000 plus pilot assignments he had discharged in his career and of pictures, still and movie, all delivered a very pleasant manner and with well practised assurance.

A lively question & answer session followed which culminated in Capt Wells assuring us yotties that he would not run us down with the ships in his charge!

If you missed this meeting get a flavour here

See whats involved - test your radar plotting skills here.

Another interesting link for European Shipping movements provided by AIS - try this. You will need to request a login to access the system. Real time data is available if you subscribe.

12th March: Adrian Flanagan “ My Vertical Circumnavigation”

Most reports we have of hair-raising adventures are conveyed with still pictures taken when things have calmed down; not so with Adrian Flanagan. He is in process of going round the world as much as is possible on north/south routes – from England, south to Cape Horn, then north to the Bering Straits between Alaska and Siberia , returning to England along the north coast of Siberia, round Norway and across the North Sea,.

But his account was delivered through the medium of the web camera on board his yacht “Barrabas”. We saw the seas moving , and the spray actually arriving on the cockpit cover. We saw the rudder gland leaking and the tiller arm that had come adrift for the umpteenth time. The camera missed him being washed overboard in the Channel without a lifeline, grabbing a trailing line and then being washed back on board again

Adrian had set off from the Solent last October. Going down-Channel the same storms hit him as the then somewhat better known competitors in the Vendee Round the World race met in Biscay. He had the usual sequence of regular winds and the Doldrums going south through the Atlantic, enlivened by such surprises as a rat-a-tat tat on the cabin roof which proved to be flying fish and also opening the presents he had had aboard in anticipation of Christmas – all recorded.

He had a favourable experience of Cape Horn, but finding the mast had been strained, he was able to put into Honolulu, where his arrival was duly feted. Slow progress north towards eastern Siberia plus problems with the Russians over paperwork, ruled out completing his circumnavigation in 2006, so “Barrabas” was left in Nome, Alaska.

He plans to return there this June and be home again before September.

His exploit is also to raise funds for Oxford Childrens’ Hospital and the Save the Children Fund, for which a collection was taken which raised £129.26.

16th April:

AGM - The AGM was conducted in a purposeful non contentious manner by Bob Dyer. Various minor changes to the club rules were agreed and the whole thing wound up within half an hour.

The South-west Shingles Yacht Club.

David Latchford, encouraged by like minded friends, founded the Club in 1983. Its intention was to alternatively celebrate or console, in a light-hearted way, noteworthy mishaps at sea, mostly in yachts.

The idea had arisen from an incident in his Moody, “Backchat”, when he and a friend were distracted by Genny trouble for'ard. His Auto-pilot was in charge and ignored the sideways set of the tide. A robust impact with the SW Shingles buoy near the Needles, caused “Backchat” to limp back to Poole with a substantial hole in its topside. David has been the Club’s Commodore ever since. His charming and easy assurance goes far to explaining why.

Membership of the Club is by invitation only - after an incident has occurred, which the Club deems to be qualifying. Our own Club member, Reg Minal was invited to join after his extended visit to his masthead in January 2006, when the bosun’s chair jammed.

Whilst having no interest in publicity or promotion, the invitation element has led to SW Shingles Yacht Club being ranked amongst the most exclusive yacht clubs in the world.

Mike Golding’s invitation arose from his deferral until daylight, of landfall in England (for the benefit of the media), after his circumnavigation. The wind then died and the tide actually took him onto nothing other than the Shingles Bank itself!
Various yachtsmen including Ben Ainslie qualified by disastrous contact with other yachts, in some cases leaving their prow sticking out of the other side of the other boat.

Stan Bullimore is also a member who could justify his membership for several reasons.
Ray Cocks capped his qualifying performance by accidentally removing the Royal Standard from the bows of “Britannia” at Cowes Week, his masthead was just too close.
Dag Pike who spoke to us last autumn is another member and from his remarks to us, one could guess why.
Many other nautical luminaries (both professional & recreational) were mentioned but sadly they cannot be named here.

The Club dines annually at Royal Thames, when conviviality is the keynote. Mike Peyton, the yachting cartoonist, prepares an illustration of the years mishaps of the new members, which is then signed by all present. David brought the 2006 edition with our own Reg at the masthead on it.

14th May: Peter Somner Exploring the Eastern Med: Archaeology & Gulets.

Peter Sommer was ill and unable to give us his planned talk about sailing in gulets, the traditional Turkish sailing merchantman in the eastern Med.

At very short notice, George Huxtable gave us his lecture on Tobias Meyer, the eighteenth century German inventor and mathematician who had contributed to the advancement of navigation. George had originally given the lecture in Marbach in Germany, Meyer’s birthplace, where there is a museum commemorating his achievements. These included the design of an improved surveying instrument which contributed to the development of the sextant. His own design proved in practice to be too cumbersome for ship-borne use.

Of greater benefit to mariners was his work in mathematics. He worked out a method of accurately predicting the position of the moon in the sky with reference to the sun and fixed stars. This work was completed and published by Maskelyne, the British Astronomer Royal and published annually as the Nautical Almanack. The method of deriving longitude from the angle between and the moon and the sun or fixed stars became general amongst merchant shipping until well into the 19th century. Until then the price of chronometers confined their use to the navy and the better equipped merchantmen such as those of the East India Company.

Clive Sutherland then demonstrated his modern-day realisation of Meyer’s surveying instrument and how he had made it.

16th June 2007: Summer Gathering Yarmouth I.O.W.

Unfortunately, this year we did not hold the 'Gathering' as the date clashed with the other committments of boat owning members.

Next year it will return with renewed vigour!

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CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN ARCHIVE

2007

“Bit of a washout” was a phrase I felt hovering for much of this summer. But then Cowes week was blessed with sunshine though light winds. I even had a very pleasant week myself exploring Chichester Harbour, This was intended as a “shake-down” trip before going further afield, but that’s on hold at the moment….

Something I should draw sailing members’ attention to concerns the sinking of the yacht Ouzo in the Solent. The three crew members were all found but unfortunately too late. The report concluded they might have survived had their life jackets had crutch straps which would have prevented them rising above their heads, and been fitted with spray hoods which would have stopped waves breaking in their faces. The cost of the two extras would be about £30 per life jacket -worth considering even now before the end of this season.

At the same time, it should not be overlooked that the Ouzo incident is the subject of a current Maritime Accident Investigation Branch inquiry that must include attention to the handling of the ferry involved.

The evenings are drawing in and the new season approaches for the White Horse Cruising Club. There at least we can be assured of a happy distillation of what the sea can offer. Since most of us cannot resist taking photos when the sun shines, and we are too occupied when matters get really hairy, we are almost assured of a sunny view of the summer just past.

2006

Some of our members used to have their own boat; some have never done and all are welcome, plus those of course who do have boats and who recount the adventures and troubles of ownership with that familiar expectation of amused tolerance, especially reserved for those who sometimes seem to be making fools of themselves in public. However, this is not a confessional!

I was prompted to think of what underlies why we meet; basically I imagine to remind ourselves of the flavour of the sea during the winter months when more direct experience is less easy, living well upcountry from the sea as most of us do. Looking back on the first half of our season, we have enjoyed a wide variety of flavours, including some many of us just would not wish to run the risk of experiencing, like being burnt to the water-line in the Arctic in winter to having the bows of our boat sliced off by the slowly rotating screw of a massive container ship.

These thoughts arose from a brief conversation after our November meeting. One of our members, who emphasised that he is not a boat owner, nor has had much to do with the sea, remarked what a pleasure it was to come out every month, for as fascinating a talk as we had just had for a mere £10 a year. Quite warmed the heart!

Mike Roberts looks to have created an equally attractive, maybe thrilling series of speakers for the second half of our season; hope to see you there!

Bob Dyer

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People on the move.

The Spaldings, Elizabeth and John, stalwart members of the club since it was formed, and now honorary members, have left our area. For many years, they held the joint roles of membership secretary and treasurer. They have moved away to Woodbridge, on the East Coast, to be nearer family (and the sea).

We were sorry to lose Catherine Hohenkerk, who is effectively Miss Nautical Almanac. HM Nautical Almanac Office has shifted once again; Catherine's first post having been at Greenwich observatory, then at Hurstmonceux, more recently at Rutherford-Appleton Lab, now she has moved to Taunton. Catherine was our only lady committee member, and with her mother Phoebe, have been regular attendees at our meetings. However we hope to have her back for the meeting on 11th September

Members will remember the hospitality of the barbecue-meeting in the barn of our recent ex-chairman, Poul Christensen, in May. Poul now has an important new post as Deputy Chair of the new quango, Natural England, and as a result has had to drop from the WHCC committee, but we hope still to see him at our meetings.

George Huxtable

Notes of appreciation have been received from two of our Life Members - Olive Allington, widow of our fomer Chairman, Mike and also from John and Elzabeth Spalding, our fomer Treasurer and Membership Secretary