The Dog Watch Issue 12

The Dog Watch
Devon Old Gaffers
For the Sea Dogs of Devon Gaffers
Issue No.13
October 2012
Welcome
Devon Gaffers
The Devon Area of The Old Gaffers Association
Promoting Traditional Sail
in the South West
www.DevonGaffers.org.uk
admin@devongaffers.org.uk
Area President:
Mike Lucas
01803 212818
president@devongaffers.org.uk
Life Vice-President:
Mike Lucas
Hon.Secretary:
Gil Hayward
01803 722274
honsecretary@devongaffers.org.uk
T
hirteen - unlucky for some or the start of teenage so a step on the way to maturity. Lets hope that
the number of contributions from Members to this Issue (some of which have been held over for
the next Issue - a first for The Dog Watch!) indicates the latter and becomes a growing trend!
The weather this summer hasn’t been very good for sailing but Devon Gaffers seem to have
got the best of it. The forecast for the Start Bay Rally wasn’t very encouraging but those who came
(some by road) enjoyed it and we had brilliant sunshine for the barbecue on the Sunday. The weather
was good for the Plymouth Classics, in which we are playing an increasing part, and the Ditsum Regatta
had fine weather and a good sailing wind.
Our next event will be the Laying-up Lunch and AGM on 3rd November. We found The Abbey
Inn at Buckfastleigh to be a very good venue last year so we’re hoping for a good turnout this time
(don’t let the letters ‘AGM’ put you off- it’s all very informal and enjoyable!).
The photographs on page 4 were taken by John Gallagher, some of those on page 5 were taken by David Burrell, the background to page 6 was taken
by Brian Budden, the pictures of Annabelle, Swallow, and Hay Ho on pages 7 and 9 were taken by David Harding of Sailing Scenes.com, the picture
of Aberrare on page 8 was provided by David Bewick, the pictures of James Caird and Pelican on page 8 were taken from the websites and the
photograph on page 9 taken from onboard Amelie Rose was taken by David Bewick.
Laying-up Lunch
To be held at The Abbey Inn, Buckfastleigh
on 3rd November 2012 at 12:30 for 1:00pm
Hon.Treasurer:
Alan Miller-Williams
01548 830039
Handicapping Officer:
Peter Crook
admin@devongaffers.org.uk
Trophy Officer:
Mike Garlick
trophies@devongaffers.org.uk
Forthcoming Events
Laying-up Lunch and AGM
Commodore:
Mike Garlick
commodore@devongaffers.org.uk
Auditor:
David Lovelock
01935 891328
auditor@devongaffers.org.uk
Regalia Sales:
Pat Cassidy
01548 550711
regalia@devongaffers.org.uk
Committee Members:
Mike Lucas
Gill Hayward
Alan Miller-Williams
Pat Cassidy
John Gallagher
01822 840193
johnphil.gallagher@lineone.net
Fleur Lewis
01803 732826
fleuroswald@gmail.com
Giles Bowen
01395 232425
gilesbowen@yahoo.co.uk
Peter Crook
01548 857559
petercrook@yahoo.co.uk
Elspeth Macfarlane
01548 857559
elspethmacfarlane@yahoo.co.uk
OGA Web Site:
www.OldGaffersAssociation.org
Saturday 3rd November 2012
T
he idea of having our Laying-up Dinner and AGM at lunch-time seems to be popular and The
Abbey Inn is a good, easily accessible venue so we are repeating last year’s arrangements. The
Abbey Inn is at Buckfastleigh - just north of the A38 at the Totnes turn-off. The food (and beer!) are
good there so we hope we shall get a good turn-out. Menu details are enclosed so please let us know
your choices by 29th October.
40th Anniversary Celebrations
N
ext year will be the 40th anniversary of the South West Area (forerunner of Devon Gaffers) as
well as the 50th of the OGA. We need ideas and volunteers to put them into practice! In particular
we need volunteers from Devon Gaffers to take part in the Relay which the OGA want to use, in
conjunction with the RNLI, to raise the profile of the OGA. Our involvement would be to sail short
legs around the Devon and Cornish coasts, calling at as many ports as possible including small
harbours not on the usual milk run west. Dates have to be finalised but the Relay Token is scheduled
to be in Falmouth by 11th May. If boats can’t be found to do short hops around Lands End and into
the Bristol Channel the Relay Token will have to be transferred to boats taking part in the Round
Britain Challenge. We can’t do anything without volunteers, so if you are interested please contact
our Secretary, Gil Hayward. More details of all the events are available on the OGA website.
Informal Get-togethers
W
e’re planning several of these at various venues over the winter months and as usual will email
details nearer the time. So if you’re interested in coming to talk to fellow gaffers and traditional
boating enthusiasts at a good pub near you make sure we have your email address (obviously if you
receive The Dog Watch by email we have your email address; if you receive it by post it means we don’t
have an email address for you so please send it to admin@devongaffers.org.uk).
These Get-togethers are organised by members near where they live. The current crop of
volunteers all live in Devon so it would be really good if some of our Cornish members could organise
some in their area.
2012 Events
Brixham Heritage Sailing Regatta
1st and 2nd June 2012
Mike Forward has sent us this report:
A
rriana set off from Calstock on Wednesday the 30th for
Dartmouth and Brixham for the Heritage weekend. Their
website indicated that about 26 boats were going to attend, with
some notable exceptions that were going to be at the Diamond
Jubilee pageant, and Arriana was one of three from Plymouth.
The other two were Three Brothers and Victoriex, both based at
Millbrook where Chris and Russell are working hard completing
Grayhound.
It was a weekend of incidents, the first being when
my dinghy went missing on the Saltash pontoon and the
second when rounding Start Point in a fresh westerly wind
where I hooked up a fishing pot on the port bow and very
suddenly 8 knots became 4 knots with the lee rail just about
under, a flogging headsail and a tremendous amount of
weather helm. Being single-handed - I'm going to stop this
sometime soon - I was a bit stuffed for getting the staysail off. I
struggled into the shelter of Hallsand where I managed to slip the
pot and then started the engine up to an anchorage where I stayed
for the night. Leader was anchored close by.
The following day, Friday, I motored through to Brixham
in light airs, passing Dartmouth at the start time for the usual
passage race. The only boat that seemed to be making the effort
was Little Tern. When I arrived at Brixham Vigilance and Leader
were alongside with Pilgrim on a buoy and during the afternoon
the luggers arrived and of course Marie Louise. Chris appeared
with Rusty the dog mid-afternoon. The sea-pie supper was
excellent as usual and during the evening we realised that the
weekend was going to be blighted by the usual Heritage weekend
weather. The forecast was not good.
Hardly any of the boats managed to complete the course
and some, Arriana included, didn't venture out much
beyond the breakwater. During the afternoon the lifeboat
was called out two or three times. As far as the race boats
faired Tony Knight's lugger had to be towed back having lost
gear and being forced to anchor on a lee shore, and Pilgrim
had problems with running rigging. By Saturday morning
a fresh easterly wind with a heavy swell and fog greeted us.
However, the Saturday night entertainment was of a high
standard and enjoyed by all.
And so we came round to Sunday, the day of the London
pageant and the day to sail home. You've guessed it. The wind
blew hard from the west and we had to wait for a 12 hour
Northerly window that was forecast for the Monday before
another round of westerlies forecast for the rest of the week.
Visit to Integrity
16th June 2012
A
lthough they were working hard to complete Integrity for her
official launch Will and Sara Stirling kindly set aside a few
hours for us to see her afloat at Mayflower Marina, Plymouth.
We were all very much impressed with the design and
workmanship that had gone into her and feel sure that once
someone with enough money sees her she will be snapped up.
Sara wasn’t feeling 100% at the time and took herself to
the hospital afterwards to find that she was suffering from
2
concussion as a result of hitting her head on the car when getting
her children out.
You can see the most recent photos of Integrity and all of
Stirling & Son’s projects on Facebook - Stirling and Son. If you
'like' the page you will get updates whenever they put new photos
on there.
Start Bay Rally & Race
13th to 15th July 2012
M
embers will have read our Hon.Secrerary’s comprehensive report of this in the Gaffers Log. The weather was mixed and the
forecast put some off coming by sea: it was pleasing that some of those nevertheless came by car. Conditions for the race weren’t
ideal, but at least if didn’t rain (much) and we didn’t have the lumpy seas of last year. In spite of the fickle wind the shortening of
the course enabled all but one of the entrants to finish.
Once again many thanks are due to Gil and Carolyn for providing us with an excellent barbecue in their garden overlooking
the Dart on Sunday, and as usual ensuring that the day was lovely and sunny!
Results
Line Honours: Marie Louise (Mike Lucas)
Other Results:
Boat Name
Owner
T(H)CF
Class I: 32' and over
Menna
Giles Bowen
Class II: Over 22'
Periwinkle
John & Philomena
Gallagher
Freya
Simon Fletcher
Class III: Under 22'
Barnaby
David Eeles
Swallow
John Wynn
Marie Louise
Mike Lucas
Misty Morn
Roger & Alison Tushingham
Hay Ho
Gil & Carolyn Hayward
Rascal
Mike & Sue Garlick
Old Dan
Alan Miller-Williams
Mayblossom
Paul Jolley
Nutmeg
Steve Cole
Time
Corr
Time
Line
Pos'n
O/All
Pos'n
Class
Pos'n
1.003
01:04:00 01:04:11
5
6
1
0.888
02:18:10
02:02:41
9
9
1
0.900
02:52:25
02:35:10
10
11
2
0.000
0.790
0.840
0.827
0.735
0.820
0.820
0.862
0.865
Retired
00:50:30
00:48:20
00:50:38
01:07:10
01:00:20
01:40:12
02:14:10
02:52:53
00:39:53
00:40:36
00:41:52
00:49:22
00:49:28
01:22:09
01:55:39
02:29:32
2
1
3
6
4
7
8
11
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Trophies Awarded
Dartmouth Deadeye
Lewthwaite Trophy
Pinrail Trophy
Scrimshaw Trophy
Sheave Trophy
Oyster Ring
Kingswear Trophy
Boan Boom
Cornish Shrimper Trophy
Redundant Caulker
Plodder's Pin
Victory Trophy
Bernard Gibson Memorial Trophy
Gaffer's Paddle
George's Cannon
Mike Lucas looked a lot happier than last year!
1st Class I
1st Class II
2nd Class II
1st Class III
2nd Class III
3rd Class III
1st Local Boat on corrected time
1st Working Boat
1st Cornish Shrimper
1st GRP Boat
Last boat to finish
Longest passage to the Race
Oldest Combined Age of Boat & Skipper
Youngest Crew
Commodore's Choice
Happy prizewinners
Menna
Periwinkle
Freya
Swallow
Marie Louise
Misty Morn
Hay Ho
Nutmeg
Rascal
Rascal
Nutmeg
Periwinkle
Old Dan
Freya
Barnaby
Sunshine for the barbecue!
3
Grayhound Launch
4th August 2012
John Gallagher has sent this report and photographs of this momentous event :
It was carnival at Southdown Yard, Millbrook, Cornwall for
front of the bows had to move forward as those at the back
the slipway launch of this fine three-masted lugger on
found the water seeping round their ankles. Serving
Saturday 4th of August. The warm sunshine, the milling
wenches came round with a toast of a tot of champagne for
crowds, the babble of chatter and music and song greeted
all. Evidently one thousand had been prepared! But on the
had already
us as we arrived at about 17.00.
day about 1,500 were estimated to have turned up.
was afloat, gently moving. Freya, Marcus
been nudged down the slip in her cradle and the incoming
Finally
and young Malachi were all at
tide was lapping about her
the bows as Freya thanked
rudder as she waited for the
Chris Reece especially and the
tide to raise her up to be
other shipwrights as well as
freed into the water and come
the many others who helped
alive.
and
before naming
At 63 feet over the decks and
christening her with a bottle
108 feet over the spars, with
of champagne. In fact
a fine curvaceous sweep to
Marcus did the deed as he
her lines, she made an
hefted the bottle and
impressive centre piece for
shattered it on the stem post.
the celebrations. She has
The engine was duly started
been built as a replica of the
up but full reverse and a lot
original 1776 lugger built as a
of shouting was not enough to
fast Revenue boat at Cawsand.
from her
release
She is solidly built with a
cradle. Fortunately the off
broad beam of 19 feet 6
duty Cawsand ferry was there to help and with a pull from
inches and deep long keel and she weighs in at over 50 tons.
her and a large rib she gradually slid out and did a genteel
Bunting flew from the masts and she wore a large colourful
motor past the cheering crowds. There had been a small
garland on her stem for the occasion. The builders and
shower a few minutes beforehand and as
passed
excellent hosts Marcus and Freya welcomed folk aboard to
us a brilliant rainbow lit up the sky. An omen and a good one.
look over the boat. A long queue had extended up the slip
She had been a year under construction. Marcus and Freya
and eventually a bunch of people who had waited ages were
raising their skirts or rolling up trousers to wade out to the planned to have a month holiday on her before starting the
fitting out which it is thought will take another six or so
heavy iron steps, keen to still get aboard as the tide finally
months. Then she starts working. Trips on her first run
surrounded her .
over to France and later the Caribbean can be booked
Music and laughter was everywhere with shanties from a
through Classic Sailing
group called the Old Gaffers amongst others! Pirate
(www.classic-sailing.co.uk/vessels/grayhound-lugger)
characters and sailors’ molls were dancing and singing their
although places are starting to fill already
hearts out. Every so often the singers and players just in
4
Plymouth Classic Boat Rally
27th to 30th July 2012
T
he Plymouth Classic Boat Rally, sponsored by Sutton Harbour
Marina, is rapidly becoming the premier Classic Boat event
of the South-West. This year, the 25th anniversary, saw 75 boats
attending with some turned away through lack of space in spite
of heroic efforts that saw extra pontoons being drafted in. One
of the attractive features of the Rally is the range of boats
attending - pilot cutters old and new, classic yachts of all
descriptions, modern gaffers, dinghies, ex-RNLI lifeboats, motor
boats and speedboats.
The marina where all this takes place is in Sutton Harbour
on the edge of the oldest part of Plymouth, the Barbican, so makes
a splendid spectacle in a popular part of the city. This year’s Rally
was enhanced by the Barbican International Jazz and Blues
Festival which was taking place at the same time - a truly
symbiotic relationship. The public is encouraged to come on to
the pontoons (for a fee!) to get a close-up view of the boats and
this year were able to buy a booklet, produced by
Devon Gaffers using the OGA Area Management
software written for us by Peter Crook, with
pictures and details of the boats attending.
This year there was racing on the Sunday and Monday and
again Devon Gaffers provided support by gathering measurement
data and calculating the handicaps and race results. There were
44 entrants for the Sunday race which was divided into classes to
allow for a good distribution of the many trophies available.
There were just two classes for the Monday race: pilot cutters and
others. The pilot cutter crews were too exhausted to enter after
their racing and partying on previous days, and the others were
somewhat depleted by the prospect of worsening weather and the
need to get back to home ports.
As you know we have been following the progress of Will
Stirling’s 1879 Gentleman’s Cutter Integrity which quite rightly
won several prizes for the quality of her design and workmanship
(as you might have seen in October’s Classic Boat a fair amount
of the latter was down to our member and now magazine pin-up
John Gallagher).
Constance Thomas and matching dinghy
The splendidly restored Harrison Butler Mischief III
The Stavros S. Niarchos sailed in through the Monday
Race fleet
Sea dog aboard Pierrette (1898)
The modern pilot cutter Edith Gray (2011) doing what she does best
- sailing fast
Some of the Monday Race fleet heading for the first
mark
There were lots of trophies to be won
It wasn’t all old gaffers!
5
Plymouth Classic Boat Rally
Results
Sunday 29th July 2012 at 13:00
Line Honours: Springtime (Jon & Clare Elwell)
Other Results:
Boat Name
Owner
T(H)CF
Time
Corr Time
Line
Pos'n
O/All
Pos'n
Class
Pos'n
Class 1: Pilot Cutters
Edith Gray
John Raymond-Barker
1.105
01:46:30
01:57:40
4
11
1
Charmian of Poole
Lez & Chris Arkell
1.042
02:14:33
02:20:12
18
22
2
Class 2: Gaff rig, 30' and over
Seawitch
Katie & Tom Guy
0.968
01:59:46
01:55:56
11
10
1
Anna
Mike & Tricia Jones
0.995
02:00:12
01:59:35
12
12
2
M'Yvonne
Andy & Ann Demaine
1.045
02:00:21
02:05:45
13
15
3
Little Tern
Peter & Di Nash
1.052
02:00:23
02:06:38
14
16
4
Integrity
Stirling & Son
1.153
01:58:09
02:16:13
8
21
5
Victorious
Russell Farraday
1.096
02:33:31
02:48:15
27
26
6
Retired
Class 3: Gaff rig, 20' - 30'
Sea Daisy
Pete & Alison Sharp
0.888
Thumble
Martin & Janet Elliot
0.000
Retired
Charlotte
Mark Steggles
0.979
01:53:43
01:51:19
6
8
1
Annabelle
Brian & Estelle Budden
0.907
02:12:27
02:00:07
17
13
2
Demelza
Robert Dixon
0.907
02:20:10
02:07:07
20
17
3
Periwinkle
John & Philomena
Gallagher
0.888
02:26:52
02:10:25
24
18
4
Constance Thomas
Chris Leopold
0.885
02:27:27
02:10:29
25
19
5
Dido of London
Russell May
0.910
02:25:27
02:12:21
22
20
6
Mareea
Jonathan March
0.958
02:26:37
02:20:27
23
23
7
Arriana
Mike & Chris Forwood
0.967
02:27:47
02:22:54
26
24
8
Retired
Class 4: Bermudan rig, over 35'
Iolaire
Guy & Suzanne Summers
1.037
Orthops
Carole Porter & Tim Minson
0.958
01:45:02
01:40:37
2
3
1
Springtime
Jon & Clare Elwell
1.077
01:40:24
01:48:07
1
7
2
Dreamaweigh
Bill & Marilyn Stewart
1.036
02:22:42
02:27:50
21
25
3
Class 5: Bermudian rig, 20' - 35'
Spindle
Martin Dawes
0.000
Retired
Sheila
Lorna Rice
0.955
01:46:24
01:41:36
3
4
1
Acrobat
Clive Best
0.742
02:18:18
01:42:37
19
5
2
Phoenix
Paul Holmes
0.955
01:57:06
01:51:49
7
9
3
Vindomar
Roy & Susan Potter
0.941
01:58:50
01:51:49
9
9
3
Mischief III
Roy & Sonia Aldworth
0.947
02:12:09
02:05:08
16
14
4
Class 6: Any rig under 20,' including dinghies
Avocet
Richard Shilling
0.735
01:53:07
01:23:08
5
1
1
Mary Louise
John Harris
0.804
02:04:18
01:39:56
15
2
2
Mayblossom
Paul Jolley
0.862
01:59:18
01:42:50
10
6
3
Line
Pos'n
O/All
Pos'n
Monday 30th July 2012 at 14:00
Line Honours: Springtime (Jon & Clare Elwell)
Other Results:
6
Boat Name
Owner
Springtime
Jon & Clare Elwell
Charlotte
Mark Steggles
T(H)CF
Time
Corr
Time
Class
Pos'n
1.077
01:50:21
01:58:50
1
1
1
0.979
02:14:27
02:11:37
2
2
2
Anna
Mike & Tricia Jones
0.995
02:19:47
02:19:05
4
3
3
Annabelle
Brian & Estelle Budden
0.907
02:34:48
02:20:24
8
4
4
M'Yvonne
Andy & Ann Demaine
1.045
02:15:49
02:21:55
3
5
5
Seawitch
Katie & Tom Guy
0.968
02:31:39
02:26:47
6
6
6
Mareea
Jonathan March
0.958
02:33:51
02:27:23
7
7
7
Demelza
Robert Dixon
0.907
02:43:36
02:28:23
9
8
8
Little Tern
Peter & Di Nash
1.052
02:24:44
02:32:15
5
9
9
Seatoy
Julian Middleton
0.938
02:47:34
02:37:10
10
10
10
Periwinkle
John & Philomena
Gallagher
0.888
03:18:04
02:55:52
11
11
11
Ditsum Regatta Gaffers Race
11th August 2012
T
his year’s race was blessed with mostly fine weather and a
fresh breeze blowing up the river. Six boats crossed the start
line - from the shore it looked as if Mike and Tricia Jones’s Anna
was one of them but she just sailed up and down the course adding
a touch of class to the proceedings.
Unfortunately the Race Officer decided on a late change
of course which wasn’t picked up by John Wynn in Swallow so
he was unable to defend his possession of the Devon Gaffers Grog
Trophy, and Gil and Carolyn Hayward in their 12’ open dinghy
Hay Ho decided that getting wet and miserable wasn’t part of the
plan and retired. Dilys, sailed by the owner’s cousin, went
aground and retired so leaving three finishers. The Grog Trophy
was won by a couple of our newer members, Mike and Penny
Oliffe-Lee in their Cornish Shrimper Morwenna. That should
encourage them to join in more of our events!
In spite of the difficulties most enjoyed the race. It is
hoped that next year Devon Gaffers might give a bit more early
input so that we can to have a course that would suit our members
better and doesn’t involve just running and beating.
Next year is the 40th anniversary of the South West Area
of the OGA as well as the 50th of the OGA. Plans are afoot to
celebrate this by persuading the Trailer Section to come for next
year’s race. It’s also the 50th anniversary of the Tideway Owners’
Association (Tideways are 12’ gunter-rigged dinghies so qualify
as gaffers) who held a meet on the Dart this year so maybe we
could encourage them to come and join in too.
Results
Line Honours: Annabelle (Brian & Estelle Budden)
Other Results:
Boat Name
Owner
T(H)CF
Dilys
Hay Ho
Swallow
Shabby
Morwenna
Annabelle
David Dimbleby
Gil & Carolyn Hayward
John Wynn
Edward Wheeler
Mike & Penny Olliffe-Lee
Brian & Estelle Budden
0.803
0.735
0.790
0.820
0.820
0.907
Time
Corr
Time
Retired
Retired
Retired
01:53:55 01:33:24
01:54:48 01:34:08
01:53:52 01:43:16
Line
Pos'n
O/All
Pos'n
Puff - a Tideway owned by
Devon Gaffers and Dittisham
Sailing Club member
Richard Hayes
2
3
1
1
2
3
Trophies Awarded
John Wynn Trophy
1st on corrected time
Grog Trophy
1st Devon Gaffers Member not winning John Morwenna
Wynn Trophy
Annabelle shows the advantage of a yawl rig
A
t last! We have logged a day’s sailing on passage in this
bummer summer!
Having come from Rock to St.Ives, from St.Ives to
Penzance, then to Falmouth, on to Fowey, then Fowey to
Plymouth with a brief stop in Polperro just for the fun of it,
Plymouth to Salcombe and lastly Salcombe to Dartmouth, we
actually managed to SAIL the last leg - into a headwind! Yes,
I know, it's supposed to be a prevailing south-westerly, but
when did that ever coincide with passage plans?
It was a bit of a challenge tacking round Start Point into
an Easterly, but what a relief after having to use the engine
for every other leg of the journey. What a terrible season! But
we are still having a great time.
We did get some real sailing in during the Plymouth
Classics weekend, out of Sutton Harbour into the Sound; we
Shabby
The Race Officer presents the Grog Trophy
Swallow going well
sailed two races, coming fourth in class in each, thus
managing to avoid the inconvenience of winning anything to
be engraved and returned again (like last year!) and had
another good race at the Ditsum Regatta, taking Line Honours
by three seconds. Not as impressive as it sounds actually, as
there were only six entries in the Gaffers; three did not finish
and the other two were Shrimpers who beat us on handicap.
Our excuse for not beating them was that the wind was
gusting up to 20 knots up the River Dart between Ditsum and
Stoke Gabriel and they were both well reefed, so we deployed
a Lazy Reef, i.e. we sailed under jib, staysail and mizzen only.
Otherwise, we would have beaten everybody hands-down, or
demolished everybody, or ended up on the mud or in the
woods.
So all the motoring is worth the effort!
Brian, Cornish Yawl 'Annabelle' CY10, Rock.
7
Dartmouth Regatta Gaffers’ Race
2nd September 2012
T
here was a very poor gaffer turnout for the Sunday race at Dartmouth Regatta. Only a Golant Gaffer Step Back in Time and
Nutmeg, a Crabber 22. It seems that the general feeling is that the race is not really suitable as it is filled with gung-ho racers not our style at all. In the circumstances we feel we should withdraw our involvement in this event and retrieve the trophies we have
allocated to it.
Stoke Gabriel Boating Association Regatta
9th September 2012
Gil Hayward has sent us this report of the Gaffers’ Race that was part of the onshore and offshore
activities of this event:
F
or the third morning in a row there was thick
fog over the River Dart at first light. With a
scheduled 0955 start for the Gaffer Class, it did
not look promising, especially as the boats based
at Dittisham Sailing Club had to get up to Stoke
Gabriel in the first place. However two Devon
Gaffers, David Bewick in Aberrare and Gil &
Carolyn Hayward in Hay Ho arrived in time for
the start, only to be told that as they were the only
gaffers they would not have a separate start but
would be included in the general handicap class.
There was more wind than last year with some of
the dinghies capsizing, but it was still slightly
fickle. Aberrare won the Gaffer Class. She is a
Francois Vivier Aber class beautifully built by
David. He has recently joined the OGA and
hopefully will be seen at more events in 2013.
This is always an enjoyable event - more of you ought to try it! (But maybe a later start
would be more of an incentive…)
Aberrare
Other News
Pelican Sails South
By Capt.Mike Forward
W
est Country maritime
enthusiasts
and
particularly those with an
interest in gaffers and the
Shackleton expeditions of a
hundred years ago will be able
to follow an adventurous
voyage that has just left
Weymouth.
The little square rigger
Pelican of London, a Weymouth
based ship, has just set sail for
the South Atlantic and the
Southern ocean as mother ship
for a team of six explorers who
are
going
to
re-enact
Shackleton’s epic rescue
voyage from Elephant Island to
South Georgia, a distance of
800 miles.
The Pelican of London
was chosen because it closely
resembled in size and rig
Shackleton’s
vessel
the
Endurance, a Norwegian built
wooden barquetine originally
called Polaris.
The Pelican’s voyage
south will take in Lisbon, Las
Palmas, Cape Verde islands,
The original James Caird puts to sea
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Salvador finally arriving at
Punta Arenas at Christmas
time. Meanwhile the replica
boat Alexandria Caird is being
transported by container ship to
King George Island in the South
Shetlands. In the New Year the
Pelican’s voyage crew for the
expedition will join the ship and
the six explorers will fly to King
George Island for the final
preparations with their boat.
Meanwhile the Pelican will sail
down to Antarctica, land the
crew for a day on the Palmer
peninsular and then meet up
with the explorers via Deception
Island.
They will then sail to
Elephant Island, a distance of
120 miles, and then onto South
Georgia, with the Pelican,
which will be full of medics, film
crews etc., shadowing them
close behind. On reaching
South Georgia the explorers will
follow Shackleton’s route
across the mountains to
Stromness, where they will be
re-united with the Pelican’s
crew for the return trip to Rio.
Follow the expedition on
the Shacketon Epic website
and the voyage on Pelican’s
website.
Editor’s note:
Mike won’t be able to join us
for the Laying-up Lunch as he
will be captaining the Pelican
on the leg from Las Palmas to
Salvador.
T.S. Pelican
An Autumn Adventure Aboard
Amelie Rose
By David Bewick
H
aving sailed small boats for
many years and done the
odd bit of yachting, I had just
about come to the conclusion
that small boats suited me
better than big ones. That is
until I became aware of the
intriguing possibility of sailing
on Amelie Rose. You may have
heard of Amelie Rose. She is
a replica of an Isles of Scilly
Pilot Cutter that was built by
Luke Powell in Gweek in 2009.
Her hull and rig are completely
authentic and down below she
very effectively combines the
look and feel of the real thing
with a layout suitable for
modern charter use. She is
owned and run out of Poole by
Topsail
Adventures
(www.topsail-adventures.co.uk)
and came to the attention of
many people through her
pivotal role in ITV’s recent “The
Hungry Sailors” series that also
featured the well known
greenies and foodies Dick and
James Strawbridge. Having
read all I could find out about
Amelie Rose, I got quite excited
about the prospect of sailing her
so booked myself up for a
“taster weekend”.
My trip on Amelie
started on a Friday evening with
a meal in the Lake Yard marina
in Poole where I met the skipper
Nick, his mate Bee and the
other two paying guests (the
fourth unfortunately having
injured himself playing football).
After dinner we transferred
ourselves and all our gear onto
Amelie via the club launch and
were then given a quick tour of
the onboard facilities before
settling down for the night.
After a fine bacon butty
breakfast to get us all started
on the Saturday morning we
were given a deck briefing and
we started to learn just what it
takes to sail a Pilot Cutter. I
thought I had a reasonable idea
of how a gaff cutter rig worked
but I found the amount of rope
on board quite staggering and
of course none of it is colour–
coded! The other startling
difference to
a
modern
yacht is that
there are no
winches on
board apart
from
the
windlass for
the anchor
and a small
one on the
boom for the
reefing lines.
Everything
else relies on
sheer grunt
although the
systems on
board are very well “sorted” so
it is not quite as physical as one
might think. We soon managed
to get the jib and mainsail up
and sailed off the mooring and
ran down Poole harbour in a
gentle NW breeze. The staysail
went up too, and after a few
gybes, we were soon out past
the chain ferry and into the
Poole channel. We then set sail
for the Isle of Wight and had a
fantastic sail down through the
Needles channel to Yarmouth.
It was a broad reach all the way
in a F3-4 wind and lots of
sunshine. I was fortunate to
take the helm for part of this trip
Conditions at Ditsum got a bit hairy for Gil & Carloyn in
12’ Hay Ho
and it was great fun although I
soon found that steering a boat
of this type (44’ long and 24
tons) with a tiller is not for the
faint-hearted. The point soon
came when I was grateful for
the optional tackle with a 3:1
purchase to help me keep
control.
We arrived in Yarmouth
in late afternoon and were soon
tied up on the quay close to the
ferry terminal and able to go
ashore for a short stroll before
dinner. It is not just the boat
that distinguishes a trip on
Amelie Rose from the average
charter: the food is very good,
too. Bee and
Nick certainly
did us proud
for
dinner
with
a
fantastic
b a k e d
chicken dish
with steamed
beans
and
new potatoes.
However, the
fresh
air,
good
food
and a couple
of glasses of
wine all took
their toll and
we were all ready for bed by
about 9.30!
After the glorious sail
out on Saturday the return trip
on Sunday was a bit more
“interesting”.
We sat in
Yarmouth harbour as most of
the other boats there left early
and scurried off in an easterly
direction with the tide. We
waited for the tide to turn so we
could get out past Hurst castle
against the breeze that had
stiffened and gone around to
the SW overnight. Faced with
a F5-6 that was blowing pretty
much on the nose and against
the tide, we ended up motor-
sailing all the way back to Poole
with just the main up with one
reef in. It was lumpy all the way
but particularly so over
Christchurch ledge where we
took one breaking wave straight
over the bow that rolled along
the deck with a large part of it
continuing on down the hatch
which we had neglected to
close up to that point! Now, it
has to be said that I am not
amongst the very best sailors
in the world when things get a
bit rough but I felt fine on this
trip thanks to the very sedate
ride that Amelie Rose gives to
her crew. I even managed to
do justice to the fine hot pasta
lunch that Nick somehow
managed to prepare for us en
route. Whilst tucking into this,
I was certainly very pleased not
to have been aboard one of the
few “plastic-fantastic” yachts
that were being tossed about
near us.
Things calmed down a
lot when we got into the lee of
Great Harry rocks in Poole Bay
and we had Amelie Rose safely
back on her mooring by about
5 o’clock. I must admit I was
quite sad when the time came
to put the sail covers back on
and go back ashore in the
launch.
You have probably
realised by now that I had a
great time on Amelie Rose.
Given that she is such a
fantastic boat and has a very
competent and easy-going
professional crew that can cook
too it is difficult to see how
anyone
who
thinks
of
themselves as a sailor could do
anything else. For my part, I
have already been looking at
Amelie’s schedule to work out
which trips I might be able to do
in 2013 and I might even have
to reconsider my prejudices
about big boats, after all!
The 2012 Start Bay Rally Fleet
Congratulations to: Lee & Gemma Rogers, Sophia born 22nd November 2011
Fleur & David Lewis, Arrabella born 12th August 2012
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Devon Gaffers
2012/13 Programme
3rd November (Saturday)
2012 Laying-up Lunch and AGM
December
Informal Get-together - Dartmouth
January
Informal Get-together - Plymouth
February
Informal Get-together - Topsham
12th or 13th April
24th -25th May
5th - 7th July
26th - 29th July
3rd or 10th August (Saturday)
September (Sunday)
Fitting-out Dinner
November (Saturday)
Brixham Heritage Regatta
Start Bay Rally & Race
Plymouth Classic Boat Rally
Ditsum Regatta Gaffers Race
Stoke Gabriel Boating Association
Regatta
2013 Laying-up Lunch and AGM
Our events are also listed on our website: www.devongaffers.org.uk
lee@leerogersrigging.co.uk
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