Royal Solent Yacht Club

ROYAL SOLENT
Yacht Club
2016
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Royal Solent
Yacht Club
TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Office/Secretary
Bar/Members
Caterer
Fax
E-mail
Website
01983 760256
01983 760239
01983 760110
01983 761172
office@royalsolent.org
www.royalsolent.org
OFFICERS OF THE CLUB from April 2016
Commodore Vice Commodore
Rear Commodore (Sailing) Rear Commodore (House)
Hon Treasurer Tony Walton
George Alford
Nicholas Measor Caroline Norris
Anne Kyle SECRETARY Hamish Fletcher
CONTENTS
4
5
6
10
12
14
18
20
22
24-27
28
29
30
32
34
36
37
38
41
42
43
44
47
48-51
54
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
Commodore
Windy
Rear Commodore (Sailing)
Taittinger
Regatta
Taittinger Regatta
P6
YOD Class
XOD Class
Whittle Marine’s new XOD Folkboats in California P30
Yarmouth Lasers
Yarmouth Folkboats
Folkboat Week
RYS Regatta
P32
Club Racing
Race Management
Expanding your boating experience
International Folkboat Regatta
RYS Bicentenary Regatta Week
George
Alford
Membership Secretary’s Report
P38
Reciprocal Clubs
Benefits of Membership Member Profile–George Alford
Secretary’s Jottings
Clubhouse Development
Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club
Sailing Bonny Flighty Home
Royal Freshwater
Bay Yacht Club
Cruising – Out for Lunch
P43
Thursday’s Child to Gibraltar and back
Bonobo across Biscay
Domaine Evremond Yarmouth Harbour Report
Family cruise to
Gibraltar P48
Yarmouth Lifeboat
Bembridge Harbour
Members’ Activities
Visitors’ Activities
Trophy Winners
Social Activities
Merchandise
P64
Front cover photo: FB 168 Finvara, owned by Simon Field, in Folkboat week 2015. Photo by Keith Allso.
All photographs in this magazine, unless otherwise credited, are courtesy of Club members.
Editor: Dick Dawson, Tel: 01983 760256
Advertising Manager: Tony Knaggs, Tel: 01983 761647 Mobile: 07912 646955
Designed and Produced by Solitaire Creation, Tel: 01983 752232
Printed in the UK by: Barley Print Ltd, Tel: 01707 878010
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
3
From the
Commodore
B
y the time you read these notes I will be in my last month as your Commodore. It has been an exciting three years for Mary
and me. We have enjoyed meeting so many of you, dining with
you, sailing against you and getting involved in the huge variety of
activities that the Club organizes other than boating.
2015 was a year of continuing vibrancy at the Royal Solent. The
Club usage has been greater than ever with a significant increase in
numbers through the summer months. As ever the autumn events
of the Turkey Cup and the Needles Relief fill the bar and dining
room with Lymington visitors.
I have been very fortunate to have enthusiastic and hardworking
Flag Officers with Tony Walton, Caroline Norris and David Fox
whilst Anne Kyle, our treasurer, has been magnificent.
The sailing programme continues to flourish with sponsored
Wednesday evening racing by Spence Willard, Club regatta
by Taittinger and Charles Stanley and the Prince Consort by
Eurovines, The Mottistone and Yarmouth Spice. We had lots of
financial help with the Club dinghy regatta from Delphie Lakeman,
Ocean Trust and Harwoods. The fiftieth anniversary of Folkboat
Week was a tremendous success supported by Lymington Marina
Group.
All our Club racing marks are now sponsored. Hayles Boatyard
support our Club boats Marksman and Countdown. These
sponsors are really important to our Club finances but also
allow us to provide superior events. Our high standard of Race
Management means we lead racing in the Western Solent and
many thanks to our Principal Race Officer Jeremy Willcock and
the superb race teams. The Cruising group continues to grow
under the leadership of Geoff Neary with over 80 at the end of
season luncheon.
Socially the Club is regularly busy throughout the week with
scrabble, backgammon, wine society, Scottish country dancing
and film nights. Theme evenings such as Moules and Italian
suppers have really worked well. First Wednesday lunches and
Commodore’s suppers have been well supported and Mary and
I very much enjoy dining with new members on a regular basis.
We certainly enjoyed the mid summer evening when many of you
joined us for the Summer BBQ.
The front of house staff, led by Vicky and supported by Tom,
Scott and Mary with lots of youngsters are a real asset to the Club,
members and visitors. They are always most welcoming and are
key to our relaxing environment only surpassed by our flower
ladies, whose efforts both inside and outside the Clubhouse
constantly brighten the site with wonderful decorations.
4
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Mark Hall, Commodore.
Our permanent Office staff, led by secretary Hamish Fletcher have
been a pleasure to work with. Hamish has given me great support
in all my wild ideas and managed to control the worst of them!
Angela has settled into the Sailing Office and Lucy and Claire have
really grasped the need for private functions with many events
for companies using our wonderful facilities and location during
the quiet periods in the week and in the winter months. These
profitable functions utilise our building and staff to the full.
Vice Commodore Tony Walton and his predecessor, Dick
Dawson, have a great relationship with the Harbour Master. We
regularly run Active Marina boat handling training in conjunction
with the Harbour team.
Over the last three years we have recruited over 300 new members. Our membership now in excess of 1000 which is where it should
be. Many Clubs struggle to retain members, let alone grow
numbers, so it’s good to be kicking the trend.
Our finances and especially our reserves are being rebuilt and our
financial performance in 2015 was significantly better than budget.
Janet manages the funds most carefully. We opened a Repairs and
Renewals Building Fund last year to ensure that money was put
aside for work that we know has to be done. You are all aware now
that a call was initiated in the autumn of 2015 and this has been
received very positively.
The repairs to the dining room roof, its ceiling lights and
ventilation and the replacement of the roof and windows of the
bar are all scheduled for early 2017. We are very fortunate that Ian
and Caroline Laing are intending to fund the replacement of our
1960’s bar extension. When this work is completed we shall have a
completely renovated Clubhouse throughout.
My task as your Commodore has been greatly supported by all the
general committee members, and especially the Guardians, all of
whose help has made my task very rewarding. Mary and I find the
Club and members a delightful environment and look forward to
joining you all in a more relaxed atmosphere through 2016.
Mark Hall, Commodore
A year in
the life of Rear
Commodore (Sailing) S
ailing is a fantastic sport. It is a great way to meet
new people. On the water the whole team needs to work
together and use key life skills like strength, fitness, adaptability,
and planning to get winning results. From this grows great
camaraderie and friendship that make for a wonderful social
scene. For me, it provides a way of breaking away from
every day problems and worries, because you just have to
concentrate, as the sea and wind are never constant. What a
great way to spend a hot and sunny summer day!
And the point of all this, I hear you asking? Well, during the last
few years we have been trying to help develop our youngsters
coming through from the Yarmouth Sailing Club, and also
encourage adults new to sailing to come and have a go. To
aid this in the coming season, you will find a new page on the
Royal Solent web site which members can use to ask for crew
and crew can offer their services. This should help to get more
boats out on the water.
We also need more women to enjoy sailing, whether it be
crewing or helming. Yes, we do have some excellent lady helms
but there must be more ladies out there who would relish the
challenge and no doubt beat some of the men.
So I would like to see some time especially set aside to let
women gain confidence without having to race, but to just
enjoy being on the water relishing the fresh air and freedom.
This can be as simple as planning a cruise to Cowes with
friends or a chase around some marks followed by lunch.
So, can we form a new group called the “Women on Water” or
even “Ladies who Launch”?
David Fox, Rear Commodore (Sailing).
We have had good support from members to help provide
Race Officers and support boat duties, not only for our main
Taittinger Royal Solent Regatta, but for the other regular races
that we run. Our Club race management standards are high
and this helps to attract visiting classes to our Club.
The growing Dinghy fleet, with more events and training for
juniors, has increased the need for patrol boat volunteers and
Race Officer teams and more RIB drivers are always needed.
Without this pool of helpers the Club couldn’t offer its facilities
to visiting classes. So a great big thank you to one and all. It is
very good that people are prepared to put some time back into
their sport.
The Cruising section has had an active year and already the
plans for 2016 are looking very busy, with both on-shore talks,
visits and sailing days away with other boats. We would love
more members to join in, even if you would just be happy to
crew for the day. Please see the Club web site for availability.
This year’s racing programme is as busy as ever with all classes
trying out new ideas to keep our Club sailors keen and helping
them to make the most use of their boat this year.
This past season sadly had plenty of racing cancelled for both
too much and too little wind. It’s very frustrating to have our
racing on a Wednesday cancelled and see Lymington fleets sail
by the Club on a Thursday! Is this the pattern caused by global
warming? Who knows! Perhaps we may have to consider
variable day sailing! Now there’s a radical thought!
So here I am, at the end of my three years wondering just what
to do with all my newfound free time! Don’t worry, I’m sure I
know someone who will have an idea!
However we do need to be ready to go out to race, even if we
do have to cancel when out on the water. I’m sure we’ve all
been guilty of cancelling ahead of the appointed time!
Wishing you all fair winds and a good season.
See you on the water!
Finally I would like to thank all of you for making these past
few years a wonderful experience.
David Fox, Rear Commodore (Sailing)
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
5
TAITTINGER
Royal Solent
Regatta
2015
The weather forecast for Friday
24th July was a stinker. We have
opened the Regatta with a
Taittinger Champagne reception
every year since 2008, when
the Champagne House first
sponsored the event, and the
weather always allowed us
to get away with it.
Dick Dawson
reports.
Main Photo: Conditions were perfect for the
racing on Saturday. Photo by Keith Allso.
Above: Competitors enjoying the
Saturday racing photo by Paul Brown.
Top Right: Spinnakers aplenty. Photo
by Keith Allso.
Upper Right: Congestion at the
start line. Photo by Keith Allso.
Right: There was a good turnout for the X Boats. Photo by
Paul Brown.
Bottom Right: Former
Commodore Martin Le
Gassicke in his Folkboat
Cloud Cuckoo. Photo by
Paul Brown.
6
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Taittinger Regatta
In 2015 the weather had other ideas and only quick thinking by
our redoubtable Club Secretary arranged sufficient marquee
space to give us some cover. Even so, on Friday evening a
savage northerly squall hurled horizontal rain deep into the
Champagne reception and soaked all those serving drinks and
canapés. The fortitude of yachtsmen and women once a glass
of champagne is firmly in hand is a lesson to us all!
Mercifully, Saturday provided superb sailing conditions, but
the weather savaged us again on Sunday, producing really grim
conditions. Once again, the fortitude of our competitors and
race officers shone forth and the weather was not allowed to
beat us, as Ollie Dewar’s report explains…..
With 181 boats entered in 17 classes ranging from the
mighty Classic Swan division to the bantamweight Viper 640
sports boat class, expectations were high and despite tough
conditions on Sunday, racing continued throughout the
weekend.
‘This is a unique regatta and very different from events held
a little further east from here,’ commented the Royal Solent
Yacht Club’s Commodore, Mark Hall, at the regatta’s prizegiving on Sunday afternoon. ‘The Western Solent is a very
special place and we believe that partying and socialising is
just as important as the sailing which we really take seriously,’
he continued. ‘Saturday was a stunning day of good wind and
sunshine,’ said Hall of the crisp westerly that peaked at 21 knots
on the first day of racing, ‘while today was a little grimmer,’
he added as 30 knot south-westerly gusts and horizontal rain
shook the clubhouse windows.
While conditions on Sunday caused cancelled racing at
the America’s Cup World Series 20 miles to the east in
Portsmouth, around 45% of the Taittinger fleet left the
shelter of Yarmouth Harbour into conditions that were later
described as ‘busy’, ‘biblical’, ‘brutal’ or – from one shellshocked competitor - ‘I really don’t wish to talk about it.’ There
was a price to pay for racing on the edge and Julian Tickner’s
Archambault A35 Aztec broke her mast at the first set of
spreaders early in the racing. ‘We’d just put the kite up heading
downwind on the first leg in about 25 or 26 knots and the mast
folded forward before the backstay brought it aft and over the
side,’ explained Tickner. With considerable skill and avoiding
any injuries, the crew secured the buckled aluminium mast
and motored into Yarmouth Harbour without assistance. As
his crew calmly cleared the damage alongside a pontoon in
the harbour, Tickner recalled the moment: ‘It was going very
well until then!’ he laughs. ‘We’d just seen the boat in front of
us broach and I thought “let’s try and avoid that,” and then…
bang!’
Meanwhile, in IRC1, Paul Findley’s team on Kerr 32 Raygun
were putting in a stellar performance with three bullets. Sailing
eight-up and crewed by a highly-motivated team in their
early twenties, Raygun delivered faultless racing: ‘We’ve got
a very, very young crew with many coming from the British
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
7
Taittinger Regatta
Passion. Photo by Keith Allso.
Blue Dolphin of Wight. Photo by Keith Allso.
Ovington Boats. Photo by Paul Brown.
On the windward rail. Photo by Paul Brown .
It looks close but they did miss. Photo by Paul Brown.
Incredible fireworks. Photo by Keith Allso.
Keel Boat Academy,’ explained Findley. ‘They are really very
driven kids and sailing is their passion in life and they are totally
focused,’ he adds. ‘Racing on Sunday was a splendid effort in
the gusty conditions and a big “thank you” to the Taittinger
Race Committee and all the RSYC’s support boats for putting
on racing in spectacular weather!’ The hectic social side of the
regatta failed to dent the Raygun team’s effectiveness. ‘We did
go to the Towers Party on Saturday night, but an early morning
RIB ride to Yarmouth from Hamble into a gale and driving
rain quickly put us in the right mood for racing,’ says Findley. ‘It was wild out there,’ commented Stuart Watson of
Lymington-based Folkboat Crackerjack. ‘Hitting ten knots in
a Folkboat is as close as you can get to planing!’ Watson and
his crew took three bullets over the weekend, stamping their
mark on the 24-boat regatta fleet. ‘It’s never as easy as it looks
on the result board,’ he explained. ‘The main competition for
us was Padfoot and Aries, but we managed to get away although
the starts were very tight as usual.’ Crackerjack also won the
Taittinger Royal Solent Yacht Club Regatta overall. ‘The
running of the races was just outstanding,’ said Watson as he
received a jeroboam of Taittinger at the prize giving.
‘This is a very special regatta,’ he confirmed.
8
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
One of the biggest comeback stories of the regatta was
Yarmouth-based XOD Sirena sailed by husband and wife
team Dugald and Nicky Henderson and joined by Neil
Payne for the Taittinger RSYC Regatta. ‘We broke the mast
during Classic Week in Cowes on Thursday, but managed
to find a second-hand mast locally and were still rigging it on
Saturday morning before the racing,’ explained Dugald. ‘We
were towed out of the harbour, sails up and straight to the start
line while still setting the boat up,’ adds Nicky Henderson
of their massive game of catch-up. Despite the hurried
preparation, Sirena took 2-2 in the 20-strong XOD fleet on
Saturday. Sunday was a less successful as five XODs braved
the thumping gusts hammering in from the Needles. ‘It was
really horrible with endless water coming in,’ admits Nicky.
With one XOD retiring mid-race, Sirena was leading and while
their automatic bilge pump struggled to keep pace with the
distracting slabs of green water rolling over the bow, Black
Rock just off Yarmouth Harbour claimed another victim. ‘We
touched it,’ admits Dugald. ‘It wasn’t a heavy hit, but it meant
we had to do a turn which took us from first to last place.’
Despite this encounter with Yarmouth’s notorious hazard, Sirena’s 2-2-4 scorecard assured them XOD victory in the regatta.
Taittinger Regatta
Introducing a Sport Boat class was a new innovation for the
regatta this year and the conditions proved challenging but
exhilarating. Adam Broughton and Ian Martin with VX One
Zhik returned to the Mainland with the Sports Boat silverware,
but Sunday’s gale proved decisive. ‘It was a great weekend,’
confirmed Broughton. ‘Saturday’s racing was champagne
sailing with windward-leeward courses giving us all the angles
of sail,’ he reports and Zhik took 4-1 in the first two races with
Nathan Batchelor’s Ovington Boats at 1-4 in the seven-boat
fleet. The gale on Sunday provided a dramatic backdrop for
a two-boat gunfight between Zhik and Ovington Boats: ‘It was
pretty ugly out there and the boat is really for offwind sailing,
so there was a lot going on upwind!’ However, Broughton and
Martin survived: ‘Ovington had gear failure with a broken jib
halyard and retired, so we took the gun.’ Having crossed the
finish line, the victorious duo had to sail from the Island shore
to Lymington reaching across the Solent in the building gale:
‘We had a lively trip back across and hit 17 knots!’
While the action out on the water was tough in harsh
conditions, the regatta’s onshore entertainment was equally
demanding with around 900 guests attending the Champagne
Taittinger Reception on Friday night in the waterfront grounds
of the Royal Solent Yacht Club and the sell-out charity Towers
Party on Saturday night attracting the majority of regatta crews. ‘Once again it’s been a first class regatta with outstanding race
management and the club’s staff have excelled themselves,’
explains Nick Ramsey of leading investment management
company Charles Stanley who – with Yarmouth Harbour
Blue Juice. Photo by Keith Allso.
Commissioners – support the regatta in association with
Champagne Taittinger. ‘For us it’s a great opportunity to come
down here and be at the centre of a very social and entertaining
event which continues to grow in popularity and provides a
quite unique regatta atmosphere.’
‘This regatta would not succeed without the commitment
and generosity of our sponsors,’ said Dick Dawson, Regatta
Chairman. ‘Taittinger Champagne and Charles Stanley have
supported us for years and this year were joined by Yarmouth
Harbour Commissioners, who help us so much with
moorings’. And of course, John Caulcutt’s Towers Party is a
great draw and rounds off the social side of the event in style’. The Royal Solent Yacht Club thanks you all!’
Champagne for the
Independently Minded
L’Instant Champagne,
with Vitalie Taittinger.
For further information
please contact sole UK agents:
Hatch Mansfield on 01344 871800
or email info@hatch.co.uk
www.champagnetaittinger.co.uk
Vitalie Taittinger is an active member
of the family Champagne House.
Taittinger-125x185-landscape.indd 1
22/02/2012 19:13
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
9
YARMOUTH One Design 2015
T
he year began with new owners and members and
we are very pleased that Graham and Lynn Fell have
taken on Y7 Blandina. Graham has shown how keen he is
and was awarded with the most improved person award at
the Annual YOD Dinner.
Going over the fleet boat by boat I must first start with
Francesca. She hasn’t managed to sail this year as she is
undergoing a major refit. The word on the street is that she
may be launched in the spring complete with fully stocked
drinks cabinet, as well as being painted bright pink!
Diatom had a particularly good year taking a number of
trophies from John Caulcutt and Graeme Dillon, including
the Centenary trophy which Hugh Hudleston still needs to
bring back from London! It was good to see Colin Finney
doing some more helming this year even if it was just when
Alan Hans Hamilton was particularly hungover.
Anthea sailed a number of times this year, enjoying good
conditions. In the eventually abandoned changeover race,
Chris Temple once again sailing Pimpernel, had a close
fought battle with Puffin.
It was a shame that Genista couldn’t make it to many starts
this year. Her owner is very busy organising his new IT
application. As usual when she did come out she was sailed
very well by Hugh or James Hudleston and was always
near the front of the fleet.
Blandina was out more than any other boat this year.
Unfortunately she didn’t take as many wins or trophies as
she had last year, but the boat is now undergoing a refit, to
smarten her up and perhaps beat Puffin.
10
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
What can I say about Puffin? As usual she won most things
including stealing Blandina’s crown for the Royal Artillery
Regatta and The Junior Helm which was very ably sailed by
Laser Sailor Extraordinaire, Helen Sceales.
Magnolia wasn’t sailed a huge amount this year, but each
time she was sailed by a different group of people. We look
forward to seeing more of her on the water this coming
season.
Katinka came to the fray more times this year than usual
with her owner Rupert making at least four appearances
himself! It has been good to see her sailing more and more
each year so hopefully that theme will continue for the
future.
Finally Pimpernel. She was regularly out on the water
supporting the racing schedule but often towards the back
of the fleet. We must admire the crew’s determination to
keep trying and we hope to see her further up the fleet in
2016.
The Dinner this year was attended by over 60 people and
was an incredibly lively affair with some excellent turns,
excellent food, and excellent service.
The Towers Party was an amazing success this year
with a record number of people and money raised. Luke
McNeil did an amazing job organising the bar and Baz
Parsons-Smith likewise with organising the entertainment.
Main photo: YODs give XODs a run for their money in a Wednesday Evening
Race. Photo by Paul Brown.
Yarmouth One Design
Our thanks to Michael Barnard and Hugh Agnew for
their generous donations. We raised £16,000 in aid of Yarmouth’s St James’ Church.
I can’t close without mentioning two extraordinary people.
Firstly, Baz Parsons-Smith who has unstintingly supported
the Towers Party for 50 years, was made an Honorary
Member of the YOD Class. Our thanks to Baz for all of his
efforts over many years.
Secondly, Chris Temple who, along with Ron Hamilton,
was instrumental in re-establishing the Class 20 years ago
and was Class Captain for 16 years. For these fantastic
achievements and to express our sincere gratitude, Chris
was made an Honorary Member, and also Honorary
Admiral of the YOD Class. Genista was sailed well throughout the season
by Hugh and James Hudleston.
All-in-all an excellent year for a little fleet of vintage and
classic sailing boats in Yarmouth and we are of course all
looking forward to another good season in 2016.
If anyone is interested in coming sailing – either helming or
crewing – then don’t hesitate to contact me at the Club. I
look forward to seeing you all out on the water this year. Graham Fell
Blandina, (Y7) now owned by Graham and Lynn Fell was awarded the most
improved competitor at the annual Y boat Dinner. Photo by Paul Brown.
River Yar Boatyard is nestled on the Western bank of
the River Yar, with the natural protection of Saltern
Wood providing a tranquil and secure location to keep
your boat.
• deep water walk ashore moorings
• dry sailing
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saltern wood quay, yarmouth, isle of wight, PO41 0SE
Telephone: (01983) 761000 - Email: enquiries@riveryarboatyard.co.uk
www.riveryarboatyard.co.uk
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
11
YARMOUTH XOD Division 2015
2015
proved to be
another year of
progress for the Yarmouth XOD. 18 boats launched of whom 16
raced locally generating over 300
starts. In particular the end of season
programme was supported more than
usual with up to nine boats racing on
the September weekends. The season
was at its most intense in late July when
Taittinger Regatta was followed by
the Sunset Series and the Windward
Leeward Series generating a total of 13
races in 8 days.
We welcomed new boats and new, or
newish, owners. The Hendersons
and Neil Payne campaigned X94
Sirena with success particularly in
Club events taking
both a clean sweep
in the Prince Consort and the overall winning XOD in the
Taittinger. In a busy season for them elsewhere, the Seelys
found time to join us several times in X136 Lafia. Chris
Smith recovered from an early injury to become a regular
starter in X128 Little X towards the end of the season, and
Giles Maltby escaped occasionally from re-building Tresco
in the High Street to race X23 Starlight, often with his son
James.
The usual suspects were also active with some success
in the Series races over the season. The Rosalita
partnership dominated the George Plate which as
usual was perhaps the most hotly contested series. Spray clinched the July Series Cup and Mix
picked up the Beryl Kearns Cup by winning
one of the mid-season Wednesday series. Ian
Welby guided Miss T to the handicap win in
the XOD Sunset Series whilst Arrow won
the Club Sunset Series Havers Trophy. At the end of the season Sans Souci
helmed by Peter Mildon ran away with
the Centenary Chase overall as well as
for the Class.
Main Photo: X115 Mix at Cowes, photo
courtesy of the XODCA.
Inset: X156 James Meanings’ Gleam
managed 5th overall at Cowes Week.
Photo courtesy of the XODCA.
12
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Yarmouth XOD Division
James Meaning dominated once again in X156 Gleam,
easily winning the most trophies and also recording his best
series result at Cowes Week coming 5th overall. There was
no Ladies Race due to lack of wind on the day but Agatha
Davies won the Junior Helm in X147 Foxy. The outstanding individual performance was probably
X125 Arrow winning the Thursday Race at Cowes,
Georgen Alford’s first win in 44 years of trying. It was so
dark there were no pictures taken of the racing but the
smiles on the faces of Thom D’Arcy, Caroline Underwood
and George shone brightly. With Nick Dorley-Brown in
Mix finishing 7th and James in Gleam 9th on that particular
Thursday at Cowes it was truly a Yarmouth (Burnes boats)
day!
Socially the inaugural London Winter Dinner held in
February had many of our X-boats represented and was
a great success. The Moules evening at the Club in April
was well supported by the Division. The curry supper at
Love Shore took place in only light drizzle and involved
quite a lot of Pimms. With support from the YODs the
Race Officers’ Cocktail Party was re- introduced thanks to
the kind hospitality of Gareth and Katie Davies and again
we hope this will become a regular fixture to reflect our
gratitude to those other members of the Club who make
our racing possible.
The year ended with the exciting launch of Nick Whittle’s
plan to build a new XOD, the first in the West Wight.
Members of the Divison gathered in the shed to toast the
project. The display of XODs in various stages of winter
refit in Thorley is a wonderful sight and now we will be
able to see one grow from the drawings. The template
which meets Class rules was taken from XOD 117 whose
three local sisters Xs 115,125 and 156 had that memorable
Thursday at Cowes. The new girl will be fast!
For those who wish to follow the progress of the build a
link will be provided from the Royal Solent website via the
Yarmouth XOD Division website. The hope is that the
boat will be completed in 2016.
Looking forward, Mike Till from Cowes Division has
been elected the XOD Class Captain and plans to spend
some of his time racing with us in Yarmouth. He has
appointed James Meaning as his Deputy which in turn has
led to Nick China and Dug Henderson taking over the
technical duties at Division level. Spray and Leda have new
co-owners and there are other whispers of boat sharing in
the winter air. Finally, Malcolm Taylor has taken over as
Captain of the Division.
George Alford
Yarmouth XOD Captain 2013 - 2015
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
13
WHITTLE MARINE’S
NEW XOD
Main Photo: Nick Whittle explains the building process of the new XOD.
Inset: XODs and other wooden keelboat classes in for winter storage and
restoration at Whittle Marine.
2016
will be a landmark year for Whittle Marine as it makes pioneering steps forward towards
building the first Yarmouth production X One Design. With
most people already calling it a West Wight Whittle, this
significant task has been our intention since first establishing
Whittle Marine. Our resolve was further strengthened when
the XOD Class Association gave full permission with a
unanimous show of hands and support at the Class AGM.
With this authority securely in place our determination
and experience will push forward our new traditional XOD
build…..in readiness to take on another hundred years of
racing.
The first stage required construction of a perfectly flat floating
floor. This enabled a full scale drawing of the XOD in three
elevations. The precise flat level surface is crucial to allow total
accuracy for the grid system from which to plot the official
XOD Class offsets.
With the original offsets accurately plotted we had our five
building stations, the DWL (design water line), sheer line and
both the aft and fwd perpendiculars.
The body plan, full profile and half-breadth are all views which
will be used to create vital wooden moulds or frames which will
in turn be used to construct the hull.
14
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
It is essential that all of the information now laid down at this
first stage determines the parameters that will be followed
throughout the entire build process.
Shortly before Christmas we were visited by the official
Class Measurer, ex-Class Measurer and current Head of the
XOD Technical Advisory Committee. They were instructed
to check all aspects of the final loft. A comprehensive and
systematic check of each of the full scale drawings was made
against the Class official table of offsets.
Early in the New Year confirmation was received from
the Class Measurer on behalf of the examining team. The
Internationally renowned long serving X One Design sailor
Lt Col Stuart Jardine OBE notified us that our lofting had
been approved. With completion of the first stage of the
building process under our belts, the task of boat building
gets underway. The new boat will of course also have original
Whittle produced Spars.
Our business remains focused on maintenance, repair and
storage of quality wooden keelboats. We rebuild and repair
XODs and other classes and our high quality of service and
craft skills is becoming increasingly well known by owners in all
of the X Class Divisions.
Nick Whittle
JUNIOR SAILING 2015
T
he juniors at the RSYC had a busy season which started with two days of training at Easter. This was a joint event
with YSC and was run from the Boathouse. Boat handling
skills were developed together with race training for Oppies,
Picos and Laser 4.7s. Next year’s event will be increased to
three days and will be held on Wednesday 6th to Friday 8th
April 2016.
During the summer half term we run our annual Junior Solent
Regatta again jointly with YSC. This is a coached regatta for
Oppies, Picos and Laser 4.7s. 27 sailors took part and they
thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiastic coaching and fantastic
racing as well as having a thoroughly social time. The classes
were won by Sophie Whitehead, Charlie Sellers and Thomas
Whitehead. Next year’s regatta will take place on Tuesday 31st
May, Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd June 2016. Entry forms can
be obtained from the Sailing Office or me.
Dinghy Week is the highlight of the RSYC junior sailing
program and this year was no exception. There were 45 sailors
competing in Laser full rigs, radials and 4.7s as well as novice
and race Picos. We had light winds for once and were able to
run lots of very competitive racing. The social was really fun for
both sailors and parents with quizzes, rounders, karaoke and
the annual visit by Derek Sandy all on offer. Dinghy Week is
always very reliant on support from parents and Club members
all of whom helped to deliver a fantastic event. We were also
very lucky to have the sponsorship of Harwoods, the Ocean
Youth Trust and the Delphie Lakeman Trust which all added
to the success. Next year dinghy week will be from 15th to
18th August 2016 and entry forms are available on the RSYC
website or through the Sailing Office.
Juniors are regularly competing in the Wednesday night racing
as well as Sunset Series. They also frequently sail in XODs and
YODs with both classes having fiercely contested junior helm
races.
Hugo Cordon, winner novice Pico.
A keen competitor during a Wednesday evening series race.
The RSYC Laser fleet has continued to grow and the Club is
investing in two more boats to encourage further participation.
Another initiative is to make Sunset Series, which is at the
beginning of August, more “junior friendly” with additional
patrol boats and sailors’ briefings.
Please contact either the Sailing Office or me if you have any
queries about junior sailing at the RSYC.
Katie Davies
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
15
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YARMOUTH LASERS 2015
A good turn out of Lasers participated throughout the season in a variety of conditions.
2015
provided a great season of Laser sailing and racing. Through the course of the year
we welcomed around 20 Laser sailors partaking in varying
numbers each week and in very differing degrees of wind
and weather conditions. The very popular Royal Solent
Dinghy week saw a further 20 participants in Lasers enjoying
the Club’s facilities. There is something wonderfully special
about coming into Yarmouth Square and seeing the Yacht
Club alive with Lasers being rigged. The process of boats
being readied for racing creates a unique excitement along
with the competitive anticipation of the fun and sport to
come.
As you would expect from a one class design fleet we had
plenty of thrills and spills throughout the season. There
is nothing like the experience of the involuntary gybes,
perhaps only surpassed by the totally unexpected roll,
followed by the quick and unannounced ducking. On the
third Wednesday evening in May we had eight boats out
on the very end of the ebb tide with a north westerly of 12
knots gusting 18 and the race officer set a great course. The
five minute sequence was interrupted to allow a couple of
Class 2’s through adding to the expectation and allowing a
last minute course change. The pack congregated around
Countdown leaving space at the pin end and James Lord
lined himself up perfectly for a port tack flyer and then
tacked away ahead of the fleet. Paddy Hodgson, back with
18
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
some vengeance, was on him straight away up the first beat
and took the lead up to Harbour East. Sam White and Alex
Gallimore went offshore and were able to point so high their
decision paid off impressively. Paddy took a tumble on the
second leg, Miles Norris found time to sledge him but then
got tangled with a Folkboat. Alex Leonard had to work hard
to get his Laser game head back on: perhaps his immersions
helped to focus the mind. Subsequently in the bar he agreed
to take honours with Sam for the most capsizes. Full credit
to Paddy who despite his roll pulled off the guest appearance
with a win. We hope to see more of him this year.
In the first week of July we welcomed Colin Smith out with
us for the first time. The wind dropped prior to our start and
there was other fleet traffic around the line. On the start half
the fleet were ready to go while others just drifted. Colin,
the old pro, lingered just above the line then dipped it for
an excellent start. Libby Deegan, Colin, Marco James and
James Lord got away but curiously a Class 2 racer decided to
tow our windward mark No 17 back down the common. A
message from the Club RIB came through that there would
be a re-start. Colin was “cruelly robbed” second time round.
Will he be back? By now the wind was coming back, the
fleet was on the line, with possibly a few over, but the race
officer keen to get rid of us. The fleet became two bunches at
the windward 17 and James Lord cleared Marco and Libby
to cross the line first.
Yarmouth Lasers
The season traditionally finishes with the Champagne
race in mid-September and the south westerly held
true around 16 gusting 25 knots on a flood tide. On
that blustery evening we were delighted to be joined by
Duncan Willard. The ambience was enhanced by the
warm smell of steam and embers as we sailed under the
counter of the Waverley tethered to the end of the pier,
I hope she saw us? The down hill leg to No 4 featured
a lot of rock’n’roll plus some spectacular submarining
bow dips. As we got to the down windward mark it
really started to blow. The RIB arrived to advise of a
shortened course so it was then a straight beat back up
from 4 to the finish line. Libby, on the back of her 2015
season victory, took line honours. The Laser Class really
appreciates the time and effort provided by the Club’s
race officers and RIB drivers to provide consistently
challenging courses and racing support.
Outside of racing, Laser sailors took part in the first
annual cruise down to Colwell Bay for a fine lunch.
Are the rumours to be believed that The Hut will be
sponsoring this important new event in the Laser
calendar? This area of the Solent provides some really
amazing Laser sailing with plenty of opportunities to
put into shore and wade about in the shallows. There is
no better way to figure out where the sea bed actually is
than to step out onto it.
The 2016 Laser year promises to be another bumper
one with three great series, Dinghy Week from
the 15th to the 18th of August, the second annual
cruise and regular “fancy a quick sail?” evenings. Is
there an app for this? There are plans to run some
fleet training so we look forward to seeing new and
established sailors back on the water. The Club Laser
fleet is expanding to four boats this year. We also
have acquired new temporary marks so we can be
more creative with dynamic course management and
keep away from the challenge of the risky multi class
roundings. Finally, if the thought of outstanding one design
racing, brilliant dinghy park camaraderie and a
disproportionate fleet presence at sailing suppers is
not enough to get you into a wet suit, we should be
inspired by Nick Thompson, the 2015 Laser world
champion who has been named in the Olympic squad.
Charlie Anderson
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
19
YARMOUTH FOLKBOATS 2015
Bossa Nova in a Sunday race. Photo by Paul Brown.
T
he very nature of the design and its sea-kindliness tends to mean that our boats are always willing to go
out and give it a try whatever the weather. As a result we
have been out from the April Early Bird race through to the
end of the Winter Series. Sadly the weather has been our
biggest problem, cancelling many a race. Once again our
boats joined in with the XOD fleet for their long races out
West, Windward/Leewards and in their fun Navigation
Race that we are at last getting the hang of!
At the beginning and end of the season we ran a seven race
(reduced to four) ‘White Sail Only’ series, with a seven race
spinnaker series across the summer, all hit by the weather.
Without doubt the highlight of the year was the 50th
Folkboat Week, which has its own separate report.
Five RSYC boats did the Round The Island Race out of
a fleet of 23. Samphire came 5th, with Bossa Nova 6th and
Ajax 12th. A very long day!
A fleet of 25 raced on the Saturday of the Taittinger
Regatta, but Sunday suffered with rain and too much wind
and many boats did not race. The RSYC had nine boats
competing but with Aries on charter taking 4th place, the
highest Club sailors were Cloud Cuckoo on 8th and Mimi
9th.
The Sunset Series saw a close battle between Cloud Cuckoo
and Riot, with Riot leading up to the last race, when Cloud
Cuckoo got a well earned first.
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RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
The Class also supported the National Association Western
Solent Series and the South Coast Area events providing
a lot of whole weekend sailing. In fact over 50 had a day
out on the water racing - if only the weather hadn’t been so
unkind.
We have lost both Matilda II and Aries from our fleet, but
at the start of 2015 we welcomed Merganser, owned and
helmed by Jamie Sheldon. In the 2016 season the Class will
welcome a new boat, Raev, with the potential winning team
of Mark Hall and Katie Davies, both very experienced XOD
sailors who know our local waters well. We welcome them
all to our solid core of keen sailors that not only compete
hard but also like the bar banter about how things should
have been! Of course, we all know that gear failure, spinnaker wraps,
tides not reacting to the tidal chart and crew failing to
observe wind shifts, are the main reasons for failure to win! Oh, did I forget to mention anything about the skippers? Of course, they are almost blameless bearing in mind all the
responsibility of tactics and helming, and naturally always in
the most difficult of circumstances!
If you would like to join in or just fancy a sail with us to see
what it is like, then contact Teresa Fox , the Class Secretary
on 01983 760628. Or see the crew/Boat register on the
RSYC website.
David Fox
Yarmouth Folkboats
TROPHY WINNERS 2015
Wednesday Series Overall
Hempstead Trophy
Cloud Cuckoo
First boat in Taittinger Regatta
Aries Trophy
Cloud Cuckoo
Best Yarmouth Boat in Folkboat Week
Bossa Nova Trophy
Madelaine
Prince Consort Race
Tattarat Trophy Samphire
White Sail Series
Mimi Trophy
Bossa Nova
Queen’s Jubilee Race
Matilda Trophy Cancelled
Sunset Series
The Otter Trophy
Cloud Cuckoo
Winter Series
Cloud Cuckoo Trophy Woodpecker II
Newest Boat
Woodpecker Trophy
Merganser
Tried Hardest won nothing
Pudding Spoon Ajax
Turkey Cup
Evelyn Trophy
Samphire
Centenary Chase
Riot Trophy
Cancelled
White Sail Endeavour
Ajax Trophy Mimi
Long Passage West
Victoria and Albert Trophy Bossa Nova
Spinnaker Series
Bossa Nova
Martin and Helen Le Gassicke’s Cloud Cuckoo had a good season.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
21
FOLKBOAT
WEEK 2015
David Fox on the Golden
Jubilee of Folkboat Week.
Edward Donald’s Madelaine rounding the mark. She finished second overall.
2015
marked an historic and memorable year for
the Folkboat Association, celebrating the
50th Folkboat Week, all hosted by the RSYC. 70 years since
the original Folkboat design, the weather set out to test us all,
proving once again that its iron ballast keel - representing more
than half of its displacement - really does make the Folkboat a
very seaworthy boat.
To commemorate the start of the event a sail past was
organised from the end of Yarmouth pier. The salute was
taken by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the Island, Mr. Peter
Kingston, together with our Folkboat President Mr. Robin G.
Walters and Mr. Bernard Turner. Certainly a very unusual
sight to see so many Folkboats under outboards in the pouring
rain and blustery wind, proceeding past the end of the pier in
one long line, with a dipping of the ensign and a formal salute.
Boats gathered from all along the South coast to make the
largest turnout the event has ever had. The wind and rain tried
to deter us from our racing, and when that failed the weather
resorted to another great tactic, very light winds! The competition was fierce, especially the starts, with everyone
desperate to get the best possible position. After several general
recalls the Black Flag was introduced. Even so one or two
under estimated the strength of the tide and went over the line,
suffering the consequences. 22
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
57 boats split between Nordic Folkboats and Cruisers took
part in a variety of races from windward/leewards to several
short ‘round the can’ races and two long Solent races that
tested the crews to the limit. Sadly the traditional Christchurch
ledge race had to be abandoned and sailed in the Solent.
The winners for each day were awarded their trophies at that
evening’s social gathering. Venues included a Sing Song at the
Kings Head, together with the traditional events held at the
Club, like the curry supper, BBQ and a Slipway party which
was generously sponsored by Lymington Yacht Haven.
The week culminated with a stunning prize-giving Gala Dinner
for 174 guests hosted by the Club and generously supported
by Lymington Yacht Haven. A commemorative plaque was
unveiled by Bernard Turner at the beginning of the evening,
which can be found on the wall in the bar – so take a look. A
short speech was provided by Erik Andreasen, the Danish
manufacturer responsible for the majority of our Nordic
boats. Erik had flown in especially for the event and brought
with him the magnificent Walcon Cup which is awarded at an
international team-racing event sailed every few years, which he
asked the National Association to organise for 2017.
Main Photo: Ed Donald’s F707 Madelaine leads the charge with Jamie Sheldon’s
F728 Merganser.
Folkboat Week
In all, the week demonstrated that the age of the boat is not
a key factor in winning, rather the skill to sail well and tune
your boat to the maximum of the wind conditions. This
year’s event proved, yet again, that this One Design Class still
provides excellent racing for crews of any age and Folkboats
can easily cope with whatever the weather has in store.
Our thanks to the Race Management Team for their support
on the water all week - often in horrendous conditions - setting
a range of varied courses on both sides of the Solent.
Finally, thanks to the Lymington Yacht Haven sponsorship, it
will make the event the place to be!
THE RSYC BOATS TAKING PART WERE
Madelaine Edward Donald
Woodpecker II James Walters Bossa Nova David Fox
Mimi Chris Beane Cloud Cuckoo Martin Le Gassicke
Riot Sue Cassidy Burgin
Ysa Thomas Case Merganser Jamie Sheldon The Otter Claire Locke Ajax Tim Lee
Columbine Christine Webster
2nd
6th
7th
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
24th
25th
26th
The 51st Folkboat Week will be run at RSYC
from 20th -27th August 2016
Paul Brown Artist
Original Pen & Ink Drawings
Greeting Cards
Tel: 01983 761526 –– mobile: 07726796123
e-mail: paulbrownartist@gmail.com
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
23
2015 CLUB
RACING
The Club organises many racing events
throughout the year – some for members
and invited guests only, some “open” events,
to which all are welcome and some for
visiting fleets. Here is a selection of some
of this year’s events which are not reported
elsewhere in the magazine – Ed.
Main Photo From left to right: Acorn, Niobe and Blue Dolphin during a
Wednesday evening race.
Inset: Michael Craig, skipper of Acorn and Class 2 Captain.
CRUISER RACER REPORT
by Michael Craig
In brief, the winner this season was
the weather. Of the Spence Willard
Wednesday Series races, only 14 out of
the scheduled 21 races started – the rest
being abandoned due, with one exception,
to high winds and rain. And in the Winter
Series, only five out of the ten races got away. Probably not unprecedented, but nonetheless this
had a notable impact on our racing. The results of the races that did start are littered with DNCs
indicating not only holidays etc but also a number of race
days on which the weather was ‘marginal’ causing some of our
‘softer’ sailors to stay tied up! At best, Class 1 mustered six
boats and Class 2 five. The winner of Class 1 this year was Moon. Not the fastest
boat in the fleet, but the one that found ways of improving
performance throughout the year to grab top spot. They
bemoaned that they had little chance to practise with
their spinnaker – if they had, planing would have become
aeroplaning! Walk On By was second. We welcomed Equinox
to the fleet for her first season and I’m sure we will see her rise
up the leader board next year. We were all delighted to see
Fandango out racing with us, but disappointed when damage to
the boat – during a yacht charter – left her unable to compete
in Series 3.
Fandango is based in Cowes and sails down in the afternoon,
races with us in the evening, joins us for supper and slurps and
then sails back to Cowes the same night. Epic! It would be
great to see a few more Cowes based yachts joining Fandango –
they could get good passage racing down to Yarmouth; round
the cans with us then fed, watered and a night sail home – what
more could you want! 24
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
This year, Class 2 racers started at 1735
instead of 1815. This caused problems for
some of our boats (Furstin, Myosotis and
Blue Dolphin) getting working age crew to
the start line on time. We welcomed Niobe,
a powerful Moody ketch skippered by Tony
Walton, to the fleet, and she gave Blue Dolphin
a run for her money in a number of races but
did not compete in the third Series. Acorn was
another regular racer but, with a ‘softer’ skipper, also had
a few DNCs. We had more courses across the Solent, which
was good, particularly for the faster boats, and this meant we
had to judge winds and tides more carefully. Blue Dolphin was
Class 2 winner overall, with Acorn second, Niobe third and Lone
Wolf fourth. Zenith, Zephuros, Myosotis and Petite Bretonne also
joined in enthusiastically – we hope to see them challenging
again next season.
Highlights or perhaps lowlights? Blue Dolphin was in difficulty
in one race when she lost a winch (no, not a winch handle,
a winch!) Acorn ran aground on a falling tide just by her
mooring – couldn’t get off, so forfeited a bottle of wine to the
crew while waiting for the tide to come back! So, on to the
next! We really hope for some better weather this year. We
also want to see a few more boats out there on Wednesday
evenings. Last year, we were joined by Equinox in Class 1 and
Niobe in Class 2. We need a few more – either returnees or
newcomers.
If you would like to bring your boat to the start line but are
short of crew, we have a new ‘crew finder’ section on the RSYC
website. We also have a ‘boat finder’ section for crew looking
for an enjoyable few hours racing on Wednesday evenings. Do
have a look and if you would like to try it, do phone the Sailing
Office to discuss options.
Club Racing
SUNDAY RACING
by David Fox
Despite the weather we did achieve some good racing across the
season, and managed to get results for all the series.
The three regular fleets, with on occasions some Lasers and Class
2 boats, came out to enjoy the morning’s race, even if sometimes
we had to wait for the wind to come in or have a very short race
in order to get back into the bar and have Sunday lunch. Thanks
should also be given to the many boat owners who gave up a race
and took their turn in Grants Race box. Even more frustrating if
the racing was then cancelled! Let’s hope for a better season this
year and get more Club members out on the water.
David and Tina Griffith’s Tradewind 35 Island Wind in the Prince Consort Race.
Photo by Alan Toms.
Sunday racing on XOD Westwind.Photo by Paul Brown.
PRINCE CONSORT CHARITY REGATTA
by David Fox
The regatta was held on the weekend of 4th-5th July. The event
goes from strength to strength, with boats from both sides of the
Solent enjoying this great race east, to round the Prince Consort
buoy and back. 2015 saw over 50 boats turn out to race, with the
generously long line giving everyone room to choose how best to
make the most of the tide down to the Prince Consort buoy and
maximize the spinnaker start. It was split evenly between staying
near to the Island shore and going out into the middle. At the half
way stage the middle seemed to have it but as all the boats came
to go round the Prince Consort, it had made little difference. The
rounding was full of shouts for rights often unable to be given due
to the mass of boats in the vicinity and as the tide was still flooding
the obvious next choice was to stay close into the Island shore.
The new Cowes breakwater and its surrounding exclusion zone
also added to the amount of tacking and forced manoeuvres due
to boats on port tack giving way. All down the Island shore, local
knowledge as to just how far you can go in made the difference.
Once ashore with beer in hand the party could begin! A brilliant
charity dinner was served at the Club thanks to the sponsors,
‘Yarmouth Spice’ and £3,010 was raised for Combat Stress and the
Ellen MacArthur Trust. Sunday saw more gentle racing from Bouldnor Bay, followed
by drinks and the final prize-giving in the bar. Overall, whilst
XOD Sirena won the Prince Consort Race on the Saturday,
James’ Meaning’s XOD Gleam won the regatta overall. 2016 will
see a new charity with Geoff Holt booked to give the keynote
speech and proceeds going to his new charity ‘Wet Wheels’, an
inspirational charity getting disabled people out on the water.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
25
British Soldier during the RAYC Regatta. Photograph by Paul Brown.
RAYC REGATTA
By Angela Cordon
Royal Artillery Yacht Club Offshore Regatta, hosted for the
first time in 1949, was held on 12th-13th September. Royal
Solent boats have always been welcome to join in and this year
fleets of five XODs and five YODs competed.
HARWOODS FANDANGO
by Angela Cordon
The Harwood’s Fandango Charity Fun Race was held on
Wednesday 19th August. The race attracted members in
sailing boats, RIBs and motor boats, who all raced together to
raise money for the charity ‘Help for Heroes’. The Prize Giving Dinner on Saturday evening saw over 80 past
and present members of the Royal Artillery celebrating in the
dining room at the RSYC. The RAYC Bantry Cup was won
by Juke Box, helmed by Col Chris Copeland, second was British
Soldier helmed by Major Matt Sargent & third was St Barbara
V helmed by Nathan Webber. The course was set and everyone raced off together (motor
boats keeping the same engine speed all the way round) and
at an undefined moment during the race a loud BANG was
signalled over the VHF radio and all the participants turned
round and travelled back round the course in the reverse
direction. This photo, taken in torrential rain, is of Chris &
In the Bhopal Cup Class the winner was Rabbit helmed by Ben
Archer, second was Jos helmed by Lt. General Chris Brown
and third was Saoirse helmed by David Holtby. British Soldier –
pictured in the photograph above - came second overall in the
Royal Artillery Bantry Cup Class and first in the Sunday Race
to Gilkicker Point.
The XOD class was won by James Meaning in Gleam and the
YOD class by Graeme Dillon and John Caulcutt in Puffin.
RIB Revenger and Blandina during the Harwoods Fandango.
Bespo
ke cakes fo
ll!
oo sma
r any occasion... none is t
Mo Kearns in their RIB Revenger, who decorated their vessel
with Canadian Flags, going round the Buoy in front of YOD
Blandina owned by Graham Fell and helmed by Jay Smith
Dowse.
Points were awarded for fancy dress, number of buoys rounded
and bribes given to the race team, which totalled approximately
£500 and all went to the chosen charity ‘Help for Heroes’. 07957 618158 daisychina@ymail.com
26
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
f
The winners were Phil Downey, Jo and five children all dressed
up as ‘Tour de France’ complete with all the children’s bikes on
the back of the boat! Big thanks to Harwoods Yacht Chandlers
in Yarmouth for their sponsorship of this event.
Club Racing
CENTENARY CHASE
by Angela Cordon
Over 25 boats entered the Centenary Chase on Saturday
19th September. As one of the final events of the season, this
FUN pursuit race drew over 20 Old Gaffers from across the
South Coast and five local XODs all battling it out to be the
first across the line. Unlike most other races, each boat was
issued with a specific start time – scientifically calculated - in
an attempt to estimate each boat’s average speed on the water,
so theoretically all would cross the finish line at the same time. Reality – as always – was dramatically different and with very
little wind to propel the boats through the water, the skill of the
helms paid off and played a huge part in their overall finishing
position. Prizes were given to different categories, with the first
Old Gaffer being awarded to Hester, skippered by Ed Rice. Prestigious personalised Registration Plate
on Retention
FOR SALE
For price and further details
please ring 07912 646955
TURKEY CUP
by Angela Cordon
The Turkey Cup was raced on Sunday 4th October with over
20 boats enjoying light winds and glorious sunshine in the
Western Solent. The race saw the Alan Spriggs Trophy being awarded for the
30th year. Alan first donated the trophy to the RSYC to mark
his 40th birthday and 30 years on - and about to celebrate his
70th birthday - he proudly presented the trophy to the winner
Libby Deegan in Akarana 3. There was little wind for the Centenary Chase. Photograph by David Porter.
The Overall winners Sans Souci were the Mildon family,
skippered by David Mildon, who was also celebrating his
birthday, with his daughter Anne and son David, who had both
travelled down from the mainland to race with their father
on his birthday. The day culminated with prize giving and a
celebration dinner at the Club.
Second prize and proud winners of the Turkey - kindly
sponsored by Harwoods Yacht Chandlers in Yarmouth - was
Folkboat Crackerjack owned by Matthew Jones and Stuart
Watson, from Lymington. Following the prize giving over 50 racers and crew sat down to,
what was for many, their first Christmas dinner of the season. This race concluded a wonderful season both on and off the
water at the Royal Solent. Turkey Cup, The gaff rigged Rosenn and Bonni Lady. Photograph by Paul Brown.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
27
RACE MANAGEMENT
P
rincipal Race Officer. What a grand title and how responsible it sounds! The reality is that teamwork rules the
day! Tasks are all well established and endorsed by the RYA and
the Club will provide all the training that you need. There is always
something to learn but that’s the fun of being in the Race Officer
Team.
Race officer or competitor – it’s all about decisions. In race
officering your plans and ideas are all public. The start line, the
course, the time it takes to sail the course and the results are all
critical to everyone’s enjoyment. On your own boat if you make a
mistake you can just stay quiet! Back in the bar people may make
comments about the course, but just being out on the water and
away from work is pleasure enough! In reality, there are often not many options. The wind and tide and
our fixed buoys limit the choices, so ROs make the best of what is
available. Once people stop and think it through they will agree
there was no alternative. Interestingly the top few boats never think
there is anything wrong!
So why take on this challenge? Easy – it’s the best seat in the house!
You see everything. Working as part of the team is absorbing,
seeing your plans come to fruition is magical - and your hard work
is all over at the start. Then all you need to do is watch the racing
and record the finish times! Then it’s back to the bar ready to
accept the accolade for a great race.
There are many race officer teams in the Club, from just two
people for a simple Sunday morning race, to the 40 or more who
28
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Chris Temple left) presenting the XOD Race Officers Trophy to James Meaning.
Photograph by Alan Hamilton.
go out on the water during the Taittinger Regatta and make it one
of the most successful events on the south coast.
The Club celebrates its Race Officers’ work each year and in 2015
the party was generously hosted by Gareth and Katie Davies
at Hill Place. It was a great opportunity for all the Race Officer
teams and supporters to get together and reminisce over the year’s
doings. The picture shows Chris Temple presenting the XOD
Race Officers’ Trophy to James Meaning at the party.
Fancy a go? There is no responsibility in the beginning, just be part
of the team and build up your confidence and experience, then
move on to the RYA Club Race Officer course. If you would like to
know more, contact the Sailing Office on 01983 760256.
David Fox EXPANDING YOUR BOATING EXPERIENCE
This year the Club will be introducing a range of informal sessions and powerboat training tailored to your
specific requirements. This is because over the past couple of seasons we have noticed that far fewer people seem
to be interested in taking the formal RYA training courses.
The core of our new on-the-water RSYC training programme is Close Quarters Handling.
This is a three hour, hands-on course for anyone who wants to learn the principles of how to operate safely in
confined spaces.
Whether you’re looking for help at the helm for your family or aiming to improve your own skills, we can help.
Our range of on the water powerboat training and education is designed to help everyone to get more out of
their boating experience. Particularly your crew members will learn to be more comfortable and safe at the helm
under power, especially within the confines of a harbour or marina.
As well as practical training, this year we will also be offering a comprehensive range of onshore classes designed
to provide members of all ages with any additional skills they need.
John Burgess
TRAINING AND TUITION
The Club provides training, informal tuition and advice
for boaters of all ages and experience.
In addition to the regular RYA courses the Club also provides;
CEVNI test required for using canals • The
and waterways in Europe.
•
CONTACT JOHN BURGESS,
Chief Powerboat Instructor
and RYA Principal, RSYC
Assessments for the International
Certificate of Competence.
• Safe harbour and one to one close quarter handling tuition.
All of these activities can be conducted on
your own boat or the Club RIB
In the first instance feel free to arrange an informal chat
to discuss your requirements.
Telephone; 07770 315533 or
email; sailing@royalsolent.org
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
29
WELL, IT SEEMED
LIKE A GOOD IDEA
AT THE TIME……
Tim Lee’s description of competing in the
International Folkboat Regatta in San Francisco.
Our Heroes, Clive, Tim and John.
I
n response to an email we – Tim Lee, John Gallimore and Clive Smith of the Ajax syndicate – put ourselves forward for
the bi-annual International Folkboat Regatta in San Francisco
and were duly approved at the Folkboat AGM. All we had to
do was get there on time and with our own sails.
A wise old sage at the RSYC told us we should look to take
new sails with us as it was bound to be highly competitive.
Unfortunately there was not the budget to cover this so
Ajax’s rather tired sails were packed and handed to Clive for
transportation as he flew jumbo jets for BA and excess baggage
was not an issue.
On 3rd September I flew to LA to meet Clive who, with all of
his amassed travel experience, had offered to drive us along
the coast up to San Francisco. After a few days touring, we
collected John from San Francisco airport and headed out to
find the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon for registration, the
draw for our boats and the opening ceremony.
I cannot begin to describe how welcome we were made to
feel by the Commodore and officers of the Corinthian Yacht
Club who were taking their turn to host the event, particularly
when we were able to follow the correct protocol and exchange
Club burgees. The CYC is a very imposing building steeped in
history and with views to rival that of our own Club.
The Danes, Germans, Swedes and ourselves then drew for
boats and opinions varied wildly as to the results, on one hand
we were told our boat had won on one occasion on another
hand we were consoled as the boat was a bit of a dog. I could
not help but notice there were lots of very shiny new sails about
and to a sail they were all much stiffer than our own!
Monday dawned bright and warm with very little wind, but for
the two straight line sprint races it meant those who knew the
tides, winds and their boats dominated whilst we struggled at
the back and, as all Folkboat fleets other than the UK do not
use spinnakers, we were given no opportunity to practice with
the whisker pole. Not to worry, tomorrow is another day and
free keg of beer awaited us on our return, a trend that was to
happily continue throughout the week!
Tuesday started in much the same way as Monday, but with
even lighter winds. Clive took the helm for the first where we
managed to finish eighteenth out of nineteen boats, relegating
a Swedish boat to last. I helmed for the second race where it
became apparent just what we had taken
on when, despite finishing inside two
minutes of the lead boat, we were dead
last, a couple of seconds behind our
new friend and rival the Swede Svante
Svensson.
Far Left: Exchanging Club burgees with Jytte
Birnbaum, Director of the CYC.
Left: Our borrowed boat with Ajax’s sails.
30
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
International Folkboat Regatta
Entertainment featured heavily in the programme and on
Wednesday evening we were treated to a barbeque with live
entertainment including numbers from some of the other
crews. In a Hawaiian number from the Germans the sight of
Cristoph Nielsen, a near seven foot monster of a man in a grass
skirt, was something to behold! Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the sailing followed in much
the same vein but with between fifteen and twenty-five knots
of breeze. We had some very exciting times building on our
experience, mastering sailing with and gybing the whisker pole,
climbing up the rankings on occasion to have two seventeenth
places. We were still finishing within a couple of minutes of the lead
boat but such was the competition there were often seventeen
boats squeezed into that space. We tried all sorts of adjustments
under the guidance of our fellow competitors and concluded
that our sails prevented us pointing as high as many of the other
boats.
On Friday evening we attended a cocktail party followed by
an excellent dinner and prize giving in the magnificent dining
room of the CYC where, with the application of copious
amounts of alcohol, we managed to persuade Peter Jeal, one
of the leading US competitors to part with a little used set of
Doyle sails for a bargain price just too late for the regatta!
So where did it all go wrong? Well actually it didn’t, we had
some brilliant sailing in a wonderful location with some
magnificent people, we learnt a lot, made new friends and had
a cracking time. Was it really a good idea and would I go again?
Yes, and at the drop of a hat!
Having said that, in mitigation of our performance we found
that our jib was seven inches shorter in the foot than it should
have been so with our replacements at least we can now point
up properly! I also have a sneaking feeling that our experience,
or lack of, was also a factor. For example, Christoph Neilson is
twice winner and three times runner up in the Folkboat Gold
Cup and he only finished second!
Added to that for me there is the issue of the whisker pole,
something that I grew to love with practice, can anyone tell
me why we in the UK go against the grain and persist with
spinnakers?
Mention must be made of Michael the Chief Race Officer who
not only provided the most efficient service imaginable but also
entertained over the radio whilst doing so. It is interesting to
note that given the level of competition and closeness of racing
not one protest left the water to go before a committee having
all being resolved between sailors at the time.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to George Cathey and his team
from the San Francisco Bay Folkboat Association, the
Commodore, members and staff of the Corinthian Yacht Club,
and not least to Peter Jeal for the sails, advice and finishing fifth
in a race with a broken mast!
Contact us for a free quotation: 01983 209 999 or 07717 353 842 or
Email us on marquees@iowcoastandcountry.com or info@graysmarquees.com
Visit our website: www.iowcoastandcountry.com & www.graysmarquees.com
Main Building: Prospect Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight, PO31 7AD
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
31
RYS BICENTENARY REGATTA WEEK
The Royal Solent’s Story
Above: RSYC in GBR 4014 in the lead at the windward mark.
Inset: and extending her lead on the run.
A
s the week of the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Bicentennial Regatta approached it became clear that it was going to be breezy. After
pouring rain and strong winds on the practice Sunday, the forecast
for Monday was in excess of 30 knots and all Monday’s racing was
cancelled. The forecast was only slightly less for Tuesday but the Race
Committee managed to run two races. In the second race the
wind blew up and caused some exciting downwind sailing and
the rare sight of a boat broaching on starboard aiming directly for
a boat which had gybed and broached on to port gybe was pretty
spectacular. The Royal Solent crew managed well and set a new
world speed record for a Sunsail Farr 40 of 15.6 knots! Sadly, when
letting the pole forward to let the spinnaker down, the inevitable
broach followed. At this point there were five boats broaching in the
same direction, one of whom finished beating back to the finishing
line with the spinnaker flying horizontal from the top of its mast. Having missed three races it was agreed amongst the fleet that
Wednesday’s planned Round The Island race should be changed
to two short races and a long coastal race. The Royal Solent team
began to find their form and finished 4th in the long Solent race. Rory Garrett did an excellent job on bow with Alex Cornman and
Theo Seely on mast, Cameron Henderson, Charlie Davies and
Sophie Sheldon trimming genoa and spinnaker. Jack Davies was
trimming main, Patrick Seely navigated with Hugh Hudleston
helming the long coastal race and Jamie Sheldon the two others. 32
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Thursday was perfect conditions with 12-14 knots from the north
west. The Royal Solent team were on fire! Arriving 1st at the
windward mark they hung on down wind to collect a 4th. There
were three races on the Thursday followed by two light air races on
the Friday and unfortunately the Royal Thames team just beat the
Royal Solent team by enough in the last race to come 7th overall
with Royal Solent being 8th out of 10. With two 4ths, a 5th, 6th
& 7th in the last five races it was a most exciting week of racing
for which we owe a great debt of thanks to James Hudleston’s
generosity in making the entry happen.
Many thanks to Simon Van der Byl and his team who made an
excellent series of decisions from the committee boat in pretty
difficult conditions.
Jamie Sheldon
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The marina offers a 20% discount on
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For more information please visit
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RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
33
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY’S
REPORT
By Claire Hallett, Membership Secretary
O
ver the course of the last five years the Club has maintained a healthy average of 90 additional members each year and
happily we were on target again last year with 75 new and 18 reinstated members; bringing our total active membership to 1,039 at
the end of 2015. In addition, the Club has an excellent membership
retention rate – with an average of 89% of the members who have
joined in the last four years continuing their membership.
These statistics are assuredly a positive reflection on the enduring
vibrant and friendly nature of the Club, which is channelled
through an active and diverse social programme, a high standard of
service provided by the staff and a loyal, fun-loving and welcoming
membership!
We hope that all members, existing and new, are getting the most
that they can out of all the Club’s facilities and services. RSYC
membership offers a wide range of exclusive privileges and benefits,
as well as the opportunity to become involved in a variety of
member groups, events and activities, both on and off the water…..
SPECIAL MEMBER BENEFITS
10% off food & 15% off beverages with Club Payment Card*
Sign-in any one guest up to seven times a year
Discounted family membership - children under 18 join for just £1!
Regular members-only social events
Reciprocal rights to over 40 affiliated yacht and sailing clubs
Voting rights
Meal voucher worth £20 for each new member & their proposer
Discounted Wightlink & Red Funnel ferry tickets
20% off berthing fees in Port Chantereyne marina in Cherbourg
Use of Club’s slipway & pontoon
Heavily discounted overnight moorings off clubhouse
Boat transfer via Club RIB
Heavily discounted room hire
Purchase of Club merchandise
Solent Lottery
Weekly email newsletters about forthcoming events
Free advertising of boats & nautical paraphernalia on Club’s notice
board and website
34
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Secure Online Member Area
Dinghy park & storage facilities (additional cost)
Seasonal moorings (additional cost)
Boatshed rental (additional cost)
Car parking (additional cost)
Permit to wear the Blue Ensign (additional cost)
*Excluding Club functions & private events
ADDITIONAL PERKS
(Also available to visiting yachtsmen, RYA and affiliated members!)
Happy hour (6pm – 7:30pm every Friday)
Free Wi-Fi internet access
Annual Club magazine
Showers & hair dryers
Lift & disabled facilities
Balconies & lawn with sea views
ONSHORE MEMBER GROUPS, ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
Scrabble & Backgammon
Wine Society
Bridge
Scottish Country Dancing
Gentlemen’s Lunches
Clay Pigeon Shooting
Film Nights
Talks
Golf
Murder Mystery Nights
Jazz Nights
IT Workshops for Beginners
Themed Evenings
Commodore’s Suppers
Fun Quizzes
Formal Club Dinners, such as Laying Up & Fitting Out
Summer BBQ
Summer Ball or Dinner Dance
New Year’s Eve Party
Membership Secretary’s Report
OFFSHORE MEMBER GROUPS, ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
Wednesday Evening Racing (April – September)
Year-round Weekend Racing
Junior Sailing
RYA Powerboat Courses
Cruising Group
Opportunities to Race Officer
Opportunities to Crew
Rallies
Regattas
OPEN DAY
A key annual event for both member recruitment and member
engagement is our Open Day, which will be held this year on
Saturday 30th April 2016 from 11:30am to 2pm. This is a fantastic
opportunity for potential and existing members to find out about
all that the Club has to offer. Representatives from all the different
groups and societies will be on hand to showcase their activities
and answer questions, and we will of course be hoping to hand out
many application forms to prospective members who will also be
welcome to lunch at the Club. Any members who would like to
come along to lend a hand at this event would be most welcome
indeed - please contact the Front Office on 01983 760256 to
register your interest. REFER A FRIEND
A large number of new members are always gained through
member referrals, so our ‘Refer a Friend’ reward scheme was
introduced as a means to thank referrers. £20 lunch/supper
vouchers are sent to new members to entice them to dine at the
Club with their proposer and hopefully meet and socialise with
other fellow members in the process. We do hope that all new
members and their proposers will participate in this ongoing
scheme and enjoy a lunch or supper and a bottle of house wine on
the Club. To further encourage referrals, members may sign in any
one guest up to seven times a year.
JOIN US!
Prospective members are always welcome to come and visit the
Club during office hours (9am - 5pm Monday- Friday, 9am -Noon
Saturday) and, circumstances permitting, take a tour of the facilities
prior to applying for membership. Membership Packs are available
from the Front Office and bars, and our Application Form can
also be downloaded from our website. Our Vice Commodore
or committee members will always be on hand to meet with
those who don’t have any members to propose or second them.
Applications are reviewed by our General Committee at the end of
each month and those with pending applications are very welcome
to use the Club in the meantime.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
35
Membership Secretary’s Report
The Commodore & Flag Officers would like to extend a very warm welcome to the following
new members of the Royal Solent Yacht Club:
Mr Donald & Mrs Janet Appleby
Mr Martyn Billing
Professor Jonathan Billowes
Mrs Ismay Breare
Mr Barry & Mrs Lorraine Bristow
Mrs Sylvia Butler
Mr Timothy Carter & Miss Sophia Whitaker
Mr Timothy & Mrs Meryl Clark
Mr Nicholas & Mrs Diana de Courcy-Ireland
Mr Rodney Dennison
Ms Carol Donnelly
Drs Peter & Paula Firstbrook
Mr Jeremy Fry & Miss Jane Chase
Miss Elizabeth Gillett
Ms Carol Golding
Ms Madeleine Green
Mr David Hirst
Mr Anthony & Mrs Rachel Holmes and Jacob
Mrs Vivien Horsnell
Mr John Horton
Mrs Jeanette Houghton
Mr Matthew & Mrs Kim Hutchins
Mr Ross & Mrs Gabi Jennings, Max and Ava (Re-instatement)
Mr Simon Jenkins
Mrs Bridget Johnson
Mr Anthony & Mrs Pauline Kay
Mr Tony & Mrs Jill Matthews
Mr Steven McArthur
Mr Mark McDonald
Mr Stephen & Mrs Lesley Metcalf
Mrs Joanna Minchin (Re-instatement)
Mr Edward & The Hon. Mrs Diana Nicholson
Mr Mark & Mrs Anne Paterson
Miss Isabelle & Master Charlie Peplow
Miss Sophie & Master Archie Perkins
Mr David & Mrs Kerry Press
Mr Robert & Mrs Corinne Quain
Ms Christine Rickard
Mr Alan Roffey
Mr Malcolm Sibley
Mrs Catherine Skelley
Mr Michael & Mrs Susan Syer
Mr Kevin Taylor (Re-instatement)
Mr Daniel & Mrs Clair Tennant
Mr Brian & Mrs Charlotte Tongue
Miss Carla & Miss Holly Trainor
Mrs Anne-Cecile Turner and Zachary
Mr Paul & Mrs Vicky Udall, Arthur and Margot
Mr Simon Watmough
Mr Adam & Mrs Sarah Younger
Reciprocal Clubs of the Royal Solent Yacht Club
South CoastIsland (1st October to 31st March only)
• Chichester Yacht Club
• Bembridge Sailing Club (from 1st Nov – 31st March)
• Christchurch Sailing Club • Brading Haven Yacht Club
• Lymington Town Sailing Club
• Island Sailing Club, Cowes (from 1st Nov – 31st March)
• Parkstone Yacht Club (Poole)
• Royal Ocean Racing Club, Cowes
• Poole Yacht Club
• Royal Victoria Yacht Club, Fishbourne (from 1st Nov – 31st March)
• RAF Yacht Club (Hamble) • Sea View Yacht Club
• Royal Artillery Yacht Club
• Royal Cornwall Yacht Club (Falmouth) Overseas
• Royal Dart Yacht Club
• British Kiel Yacht Club (Germany)
• Royal Dorset Yacht Club (Weymouth) • Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia
• Royal Fowey Yacht Club • Gordons Bay Yacht Club (South Africa)
• Royal Lymington Yacht Club
• Penang Yacht Club (Malaysia)
• Royal Motor Yacht Club (Poole)
• Republic of Singapore Yacht Club
• Royal Naval Club & Royal Albert Yacht Club (Portsmouth)
• Royal Bombay Yacht Club (India)
• Royal Southampton Yacht Club
• Royal Cape Yacht Club (South Africa)
• Royal Southern Yacht Club (Hamble) • Royal Cork Yacht Club (Eire)
• Royal Western Yacht Club of England (Plymouth) • Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (Western Australia)
• Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
Other UK
• Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron
• Guernsey Yacht Club (St Peter Port) • Royal Natal Yacht Club (Durban)
• Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club (St Peter Port) • Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (Auckland)
• Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club (Dover) • Royal Perth Yacht Club (Western Australia)
• Royal Cruising Club (London)
• Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (NSW)
• Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club (Lowestoft) • Royal St George Yacht Club (Eire)
• Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club (Helensburgh) • Seattle Yacht Club (USA)
• Royal Temple Yacht Club (Ramsgate) • West Indies Yacht Club (Jamaica)
• Sussex Motor Yacht Club (Brighton) • Yacht Club Austria
• The Naval Club (London) The following clubs wish to accord our members their facilities on production of a letter of introduction from our Secretary without entering into full reciprocity:
• Little Ship Club, London
• Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, NSW
36
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Outstanding Clubhouse
Fine Dining
Talks & Films
Race Management Opportunities
Members’ Lounge
Unbeatable Sunsets
Pontoon & Moorings
Cruising Group
Members’ Dining Room
Two Bars & Three Dining Areas
Clay Pigeon Shooting & Golf
Stunning Solent Views
Dinghy Sailing (Park & Slipway)
Scottish Country Dancing
Bridge, Scrabble & Backgammon
Parking Facilities & Boat Storage
Wine Society
Lunches, Dinners & Fun Events
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
37
45 YEARS
SAILING AN XOD AT YARMOUTH
Top: The XOD Arrow with James Lord at the helm, George Alford (centre) and Caroline Underwood.
Below: (From left to right) Thom D’Arcy, George Alford and Caroline Underwood, Cowes Week 2015.
T
For several years the Alfords stayed in every house
for rent in Yarmouth including memorable stays in
Solent View and Grotti Cottages, with additional
weekends at Jireh House. Finally in 1974 they
bought Love Shore which has been the family
base since then. Please note the boat came
three years before the house which shows
their priorities.
o start at the end; after forty five years of trying George Alford finally finished first in an
XOD race at Cowes in August 2015. The boat
had been there before with James Meaning,
Caroline Underwood and Thom D’Arcy
winning a race in 2003 and James regaining
the Frank Beken Trophy in 2005, but for
George this was the first time after owning
Arrow for over thirty years.
George’s parents, Ian and Jacqui Alford,
came to the Island first by chance. Ian had
some unexpected leave from the Navy and
Jacqui spotted an advert saying ’Yachtsman’s
Paradise unexpectedly available’. This
turned out to be Crab Cottage at Shalfleet
complete with two scows which for a
family whose main reading had been
Arthur Ransome, and had even created a three
dimensional model of the lakes to follow the stories, sealed their
fate. From then on summer could only be the West Wight.
A chance meeting of school contemporaries on the front during
Cowes week led James Gould to invite George to join him on the
YOD passage race back to Yarmouth. Scows had to be replaced by
keelboats. One winter XOD 129 was advertised for sale in a wood
near Pirbright; close enough to London for a nice day out. George
persuaded his father to buy her by offering half, which happened to
be the same amount as he had put up as a deposit on his first flat.
38
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Racing at Yarmouth takes time to learn and
X129 Vixen struggled for top ten finishes
in the seventies unless there were white
horses. The dominant families were Hayles/
Lords/Campbells, Flanders, Kizeleys and
the redoubtable Mrs Cross. The immediate
competition were the Taylors and Miles
Oldershaw and Minty Watson and her brother.
There is still a special flavour in sailing with
someone you have raced in five different decades.
Despite managing to win a George Cup in Vixen an upgrade
was required and in 1984 the family bought X125 Xanthe from
the Chevertons. She was renamed Arrow after the family boat
that sailed in the original America’s Cup race round the Island.
She ran aground! George became a sporadic racer spending five
years in Japan in the late seventies and a lot of time in the City
otherwise but managed the occasional surprise such as helming
Arrow to victory in a Needles race by coming back down the
45 Years Sailing an XOD
mainland shore. Ian was supported by a trio of brilliant crew in
Bunty (Minchin) Cindy (Le Marchant) and Minty (Watson)
and Arrow’s battle honours grew. Her best results at Cowes were
3rd places including the notorious protest that took six months
to decide. Between 1984 and 2006 she won the George Cup 14
times.
As Ian moved to retirement (from sailing) George had invited
James Meaning to share Arrow and this combination lasted happily
and successfully for ten years. On George’s marriage to Corinne
he developed a brilliant spinnaker hand in Caroline who has also
managed three Ladies Vase wins with different crew. They set up
home in Farnham on the Hampshire/Surrey border, an area in
which many RSYC mainland members live. Among their local
activities Corinne has been President of Farnham Inner Wheel for
the last two years and George will become President of the Rotary
Club of Farnham this summer. As Yarmouth divisional captain of
the XOD for the past three years George has been involved in the
development of a mainland event in the winter, a success that, as a
member of the General Committee, he would like to see extended
to other members of the Royal Solent.
Arrow spent one year in Parkstone with some success including
being their leading boat at Cowes helmed by Pete Flanders
before returning to Yarmouth where James Lord and then Henry
Murray Smith have taken on the local management of the boat.
The tradition of inviting a wide range of visitors to crew in Arrow
has been resumed and in the last couple of years Arrow has begun
to win some trophies again but this year George’s best result at
Yarmouth was crewing for Agatha Davies in Foxy when she won
the XOD Junior helm.
George’s mother Jackie is now in a nursing home near Corinne
and George in Surrey and still follows the results closely. George’s
father is remembered annually in the Navigation Trophy race
which Nicky Henderson and Jeremy Willcock have turned into an
event attracting outside interest. The order of marks on the course
is chosen by each competitor incorporating all marks shown at
the five minute gun and thus tests navigation rather than boat
speed. Corinne rewards those still afloat at the end with one of her
wonderful curries.
George is still a banker but has turned from the dark side to act
for the Ministry of Health and to train staff at the Bank of England
and Financial Conduct Authority. Corinne has rearranged
her psychotherapy practice to be able to spend more time in
Yarmouth and has even inspired other members of her family
to move here. New Year in Yarmouth has become a tradition
as well as the summer where a particular highlight is Caroline’s
Open Studios. The West Wight remains a significant influence
on her painting as well as on the family. A wide range of cousins,
godchildren and friends visit Love Shore each year to sail, swim, or
just relax and enjoy the wonderful views of the west Solent that the
Club also enjoys.
George Alford
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RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
39
Gordon House, South Street,
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. PO41 0QB
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40
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
SECRETARY’S JOTTINGS
C
laire Hallett continues in her role as Membership Secretary but in recognition of her impressive
performance she was also appointed Deputy Secretary
in the autumn. Lucy Case is our ever-reliable Events
Manager and has been most successful in attracting outside
events to the Club in addition to laying on a multitude of
well-supported in-house functions for members. Angela
Cordon continues to grow into the job of Sailing Secretary
and Janet Pitman beavers away in the Accounts Office – an
unsung hero of the team. The only loss has been Adam
Preece as Boatman. He so impressed Versadock when
they came to install a pontoon off the jetty that they made
him an offer he could not refuse!
Alberto Bertazzo.
Upstairs, Vicky Tribe has continued her sterling work
as the House Manager where she has continued to raise
standards, resulting in greatly increased Club usage. In
the kitchen she is well-supported by the ever-reliable Tom
Cripps and newly-joined Alberto Bertazzo with Jason
Taylor as our regular KP, helped out, on occasions, by
Tiegan Henderson. In the Bar, Scott Henderson provides an ever- welcoming
presence as the Bar Steward and he is assisted by Emily
Chambers, Cory Turner, Laura Coles, Henrietta McLean,
Lavanna Scoberg and Brooke Drake. The one and only Mary Smith continues as our Head
Waitress where she is helped out by Sacha and Ashlea
Smith as well as those bar staff already mentioned. Finally,
mention must be made of the cleaners who help to keep
the clubhouse looking tidy; Natalie Sibley, Janet Critchley
and last but not least Josh Stevens who not only cleans but
will willingly turn his hand to anything.
Hamish Fletcher
Secretary Josh Stevens.
Jason Taylor.
Brooke Drake.
Janet Critchley.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
41
CLUBHOUSE DEVELOPMENTS
D
onald Rumsfeld’s quote about “known knowns,
known unknowns and unknown unknowns” sums up
my predicament about writing this article: what is written is
accurate at the time of going to press but may not be correct
when you receive the magazine!
First, some background. When the clubhouse was built
in 1897 it was symmetrical in shape and included library,
dining and billiard rooms. Throughout its history, change
has taken place to accommodate a growing membership and
changing needs. The merging of the Solent Yacht Club with
the West Wight Sailing Club in 1946 raised the membership
to 341, double the capacity the original building had been
designed for. As membership numbers continued to increase
it became necessary to expand the building further and four
separate schemes in four separate decades altered all four of
the clubhouse’s elevations. A proposed fifth expansion in the
1990s did not take place due to cost. All these ad hoc solutions
may have been necessary at the time but taken as a whole
they were neither aesthetically pleasing, nor did they add to its
operational efficiency. The most significant redevelopment
since the clubhouse was built took place in 2011-12 and
while the majority of members contributed to this scheme, it
would not have been possible without the extreme generosity
of James Hudleston. The rebuild of nearly five years ago
sought to combine functionality with an architectural style,
sympathetic to its surroundings, which it undoubtedly
achieved. The appearance of the clubhouse changed but its
original form is still recognisable. By mid-2012 an elegant two
storey structure had been added to the west of the building and
the ground floor had been refurbished throughout; thus some
80% of the clubhouse had been refurbished to a very high
standard.
At present the ground floor and west wing are very smart,
while in contrast, the older parts of the building look run
down. The old part of the roof leaks, rain penetrates around
the edge of the windows when there is a northerly wind and
the window frames in the old dining room are rotten. Those
of you who have visited the clubhouse recently will have seen
the internal Heath Robinson guttering fix in the corner of the
bar – effective but only a short term measure. In addition, the
42
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
ceilings, including the dysfunctional
electrics and air conditioning in
that part of the building which
has not been refurbished,
are beyond repair and
need replacing. These are
issues which, although they
encompass elements of the
projected follow-on work from
2011-12 are now very much in
need of urgent repair. Having costed this vital repair work and
set out to carry out these repairs at the start of 2017 one of
our members, Ian Laing, came forward with a generous offer
to replace the flat roof of the upstairs bar with a pitched roof. This proposal would be separate from the proposed repairs
and renewal work. Plans were going well until a report from
the structural engineer concluded that to install a pitched roof
would require considerable strengthening of the foundation
under that part of the colonnade that is underneath the bar. So, where are we now? First, members need to be reassured
that they will not be asked to contribute any more funds than
were asked for in the Commodore’s Autumn Letter; itself a
request. The two options under consideration are replacing
the flat roof with a similar structure or finding ways to install a
pitched roof. This should be resolved by the AGM, when an
update will be given. In the interim we are looking at re-roofing
those parts of the building not covered in 2011-12, less the
flat roof above the bar. This work is projected to start in April;
it will cause some disruption but should not take long and
will have the advantage of ensuring that the old dining room
and kitchen roofs are made water-tight. The remainder of
the work; ceilings, electrics, air-conditioning etc can then be
carried out as planned, along with construction on whichever
roof is decided upon to replace the structure above the bar.
Hamish Fletcher
Secretary
Main Photo: The Clubhouse showing the new western extension
built in 2012.
Inset: The eastern end of the Clubhouse requires attention to both
the roof and windows.
ROYAL FRESHWATER BAY YACHT CLUB
This prominent and beautifully-situated Club in Western
Australia is one with which we are delighted to have
reciprocal arrangements. Our links are very deep, because it was here that Emma
Tongue kept YOD 11, Pimpernel, for a number of years. Pimpernel is now safely
back in Yarmouth. Our member Mike Wilkins spent a good part of last winter
racing J24s at the RFBYC and was right royally received. He writes ‘The atmosphere at
the Club is just like ours, full of very knowledgeable people, all willing and pleased to give
their time, yarn a little and be fantastically hospitable’.
This description of the Club was written by Paul Bayliss, Chief Executive Officer, who was brought up on
the Solent and knows our Club well. Ed.
R
oyal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club is proud to share reciprocal arrangements with the Royal Solent Yacht Club. Standing on the banks of the Swan River in Perth, Western
Australia, just six miles upstream from the Indian Ocean, RFBYC
is one of the premier yacht clubs in Australia and enjoys one of the
best locations and outlooks of any yacht club in the world.
Originally formed in 1896, the facilities comprised a modest jetty
to accommodate Members’ boats together with a small clubroom. Since the Club’s first official race in 1897, Royal Freshwater Bay
Yacht Club has set the pace for many boating classes on the river
and maintained its reputation as a centre for sailing excellence.
Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, as it became known upon the
granting of its Royal Charter in 1934, moved to its current site in
1936 having taken the lease on Keane’s Point complete with the
former private residence, Cappoquin House. This move was the
catalyst for exponential growth of the Club. The Clubhouse has
been extended over the years, of course, and the latest of these,
the AU$4.5M (approx. 2.3M sterling) Ballroom development
was completed, along with new kitchens and office facilities and
opened in 2012.
RFBYC places great emphasis on its yachting programmes and
has strong fleets in dinghy classes – Optimist, O’pen Bic, Mirrors,
420, 29er, 505 and 49er – as well as one-design keelboat fleets of
Flying Fifteens, Dragons and Etchells. In addition to this, there are
four divisions of racing yachts with the Club’s flagship racer, the
GP42 Black Betty.
The Club also has a burgeoning Training Centre which
runs sailing courses for members, their children and the local
community which has strong links with local schools. Hundreds
of young people learn to sail every year at the Club and some of
them go on to become Club members for life.
The Club’s flagship racer, the GP42 Black Betty.
A marina made up of eight fully serviced jetties provides for
some 325 boats and numerous Club moorings ensure Members
have safe and easy access for the many programmed activities.
A separate Dinghy/Junior Club within the grounds is run by a
committee of junior members for the benefit of all such members
of the Club.
The main Clubhouse facilities include an extensive Members Bar
and our restaurant (The Bowline Restaurant) with panoramic
views of the river, and outside “yachtsman’s bar” and extensive
lawn areas where our members can enjoy the Mediterranean
climate for which Perth is renowned.
While all these attributes make for ample convenience, a Club
is more than its facilities alone and Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht
Club takes great care to ensure that its Club atmosphere remains
strongly welcoming and encouraging to the spirit of camaraderie
for which we have always been known. We have been delighted to enjoy the company of Mike (Wilf)
Wilkins over the past few weeks and look forward to welcoming
more visiting yachtsmen (and women) from the Royal Solent
Yacht Club in the future.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
43
SAILING BONNY
FLIGHTY HOME
Bonny Flighty is a well-maintained 30
year old Victoria 26. For sale at Levington
Marina, on the River Orwell in Suffolk, she
was just the boat for us! But how to get
her home?
Pete & Ness Welsh describe Bonny
Flighty’s delivery to the Solent.
S
uffolk, a hemisphere away from Brisbane’s warm waters where I’d completed my RYA Day Skipper course. Ness
had only sailed in our Folkboat, Matilda II. Despite our
inexperience, with a seaworthy yacht and simple navigation,
keep the land on your right, we intended to sail Bonny home.
The first 50 mile, 11 hour leg to Ramsgate was intimidating,
facing the infamous North Sea and Thames Estuary.
With helpful offers of assistance, our friend Brian caught a
train to Suffolk. We met at Ha’penny Pier, Harwich, a short
sail from Levington. Unfortunately North Sea conditions
were very uncomfortable, so we returned. With weather
deteriorating, Brian travelled home. We discussed the considerable task ahead and decided to
engage a delivery skipper. Robin Cole, an RYA instructor and
merchant seaman lived nearby. Waiting for better winds, we
practiced gybing, tacking and experimented with the chart
plotter. Eventually with Robin on board, we used the last two
hours of ebb into the North Sea. The flood helped us cross
the Thames Estuary, Foulgers Gat and the wind-farm array. That day the North Sea was a benevolent expanse of water. We plotted a course to avoid the shoals, sailing through acres
of gracefully turning turbines, spying black seals in the distance.
Rounding North Foreland against the tide, the last few miles
to Ramsgate were slow but the beautiful sunset was inspiring. With Robin’s encouragement we decided to continue the
voyage ourselves. He was available for advice by phone.
A glorious dawn departure towards Dover in gentle conditions. Motor sailing, dodging cross-channel ferries and passing the
famous white cliffs, our three hour passage gave us confidence. Bonny glided into the harbour, we tied up by 9am, thrilled with
our ‘nuggety’ little sea boat.
Buoyed with success, we left for Eastbourne the following
afternoon, a 10 hour journey, the first two against the tide. The
forecast still an easterly. 44
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Leaving Dover conditions were worse than expected, choppy
and intimidating. Waves converged, smashing into white
horses around us. Ness was terrified as we turned downwind. I
reassured her, “this won’t last for long”. But the swells increased
as Bonny surfed down the troughs. Securely harnessed, we
hung on tightly. Three metre waves built up and surged under
our little boat. An exhausting four hours to Dungeness with no
another vessel sighted. Bonny was an absolute star, she held her
course, keeping us dry and safe! The Dungeness Nuclear Power Station was a grim scene . The shingle headland generated a confusing sea on our port
quarter. With six hours ahead and calmer conditions in the lee,
we put the kettle on, ate some food and shouted into the wind!
A soothing sunset, a glorious red moon, a glittering sea. The
temperature dropped. Rugged up, we watched the lights of
Rye, Hastings and Bexhill slowly pass by. Nearing Eastbourne,
our following wind freshened and Bonny rolled in the sloppy
sea. Our night arrival was awful. Leaving the safe-water mark
to port, with bleary eyes we peered at the confusing shore
lights.
Suddenly out of the darkness loomed a huge breakwater, waves
smashing only metres away. To my horror, I’d mistaken the
lights and steered us to the wrong side. Pushing the tiller hard
over, our single cylinder Yanmar at full throttle, we slowly
turned back out to sea. Bonny ploughed on, pitching over the
chop. Spray from broken crests cascaded around. Shaken, I
repositioned for a second approach. Ness was in shock, hardly
able to tie on a fender. We finally entered the lock and moored
just after midnight. A calming cuppa curled up under blankets,
we ate cheese sarnies and sipped chicken soup.
Main Photo: Beachy Head.
Top: Pete Welsh aboard Bonny Flighty in Harwich.
Top Right: Ness Welsh takes a turn at the helm.
Right: Pete at Bonny Flighty’s chart table.
Sailing Bonny Flighty Home
Harwich
NORTH SEA
LONDON
RIVER THAMES
Ramsgate
Dover
SOUTHAMPTON
Dungeness
PORTSMOUTH
Selsey Bill
Yarmouth
ISLE OF WIGHT
Shoreham
Brighton
Eastbourne
Beachy Head
ENGLISH CHANNEL
Robin called the next morning and discussed the unexpected
strong conditions. We asked for his assistance to get home. A
gentle few days spent at Sovereign Harbour waiting for better
weather, while cleaning and tidying Bonny. Robin arrived and we
inspected the breakwater to view the sea state, it was initially too
rough to leave. Seeing the rocks and smashing surf where we
nearly ran aground was confronting. Ness could have caught the train to Yarmouth but despite her
scare, decided to continue the adventure. Pretty brave! Leaving
Eastbourne was very challenging. Running the engine at full
throttle, I pointed Bonny into wind. Waves knocked us off course,
full rudder deflection barely enough to regain our heading. Pitching, we slowed to less than two knots until clear, then turned
south-west.
With tide and wind in our favour, we raced the six miles to Beachy
Head. It felt an age to pass the headland in two metre seas. With the South Downs a verdant, undulating backdrop, Bonny
settled into a comfortable downwind romp. Evening descended
as the lights of Brighton and Hove twinkled across the water. Shoreham’s transit lights assisted a safe harbour entry. Through
the lock, we rafted up to a large Island Packet and raised a glass to
celebrate. A restful night and another sunny day. Huge container
ships manoeuvred in the port and with several small vessels, we
entered the lock at 11am.
The wind steadied, pushing us along at a merry pace towards
Selsey Bill. Ness helmed so I could concentrate on navigating. Hurtling through the Looe Channel at over nine knots, we
rapidly passed ‘Street’ the port lateral mark. Our first time in
the eastern Solent, the Isle of Wight in the distance! We sailed
past forts, avoided ferries and missed hovercraft. Abeam Lepe,
a stunning sunset over the Needles. In the darkness with strong
wind against tide, we were pegged near Solent Bank before easing
Bonny across to the southern shore. An uncomfortable few hours.
The welcoming lights of Yarmouth guided us towards the Pier. We tied up before midnight, elated. Five days sailing with Robin’s
help, we learnt so much. An extraordinary journey sailing Bonny
home, the first of many adventures!
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RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
45
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46
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Harwood Cowes Yachting ad 2.indd 1
14/10/10 14:27:00
CRUISING OUT
FOR LUNCH IN 2015
T
he 2015 “Out for Lunch” cruising programme was very well supported by members and guests, who attended
some 14 events by boat or by car. The season commenced
with a February visit to the RNLI Headquarters in Poole which
attracted more than 40 members. Our season then sparked into
life with an “in house” lunch where approximately 70 members
and guests were in attendance.
At Hurst Castle.
As in previous years we crossed the Solent to Lymington for a
carvery lunch at the Sailing Club, then on a later occasion to the
Folly Inn in the upper reaches of the River Medina. A resumé of all
our outings with anecdotes would take too long to cover but some
photographs may help. Safe to say the hospitality we were afforded
in both of the Lymington clubs and the Royal Southampton Yacht
Club was first class, as was our welcome to Bembridge Harbour,
for another dinner for 35 members and an overnight stay.
We also had a picnic at Newtown Creek and a late summer visit
to the Inshore boat building facility at the RNLI centre in East
Cowes, where we witnessed the precision and care that goes into
the building of the RNLI inshore lifeboats. The season felt to be
soon over especially following our “End of Season” lunch where
we were superbly entertained by the Mediterranean adventures of
Wellow Maid.
On board Dunlin in Lymington.
Your Cruising Committee of David Kennett, Pat Lester and
myself have been most ably supported by Commodore Mark
Hall, Rear Commodore Sailing David Fox and Sailing Secretary
Angela Cordon. We owe them all, along with the staff of the
RSYC, a much deserved expression of gratitude. Our Cruising
season attracted nearly 600 participants, all of whom said “That
was great ! See you again in 2016.”
Geoff Neary, Cruising Captain
Above: Visiting the
RNLI centre in East Cowes.
Geoff Neary.
Main Photo:
Prudence of Yar and Dunlin at
Lymington.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
47
THURSDAY’S CHILD SAILS TO GIBRALTAR AND BACK
23rd July 2014 –12th June 2015 by Jojo Minchin
Joanna (Jojo) and Robin (Bol) Minchin set off on the adventure of a lifetime
when they embarked on extended cruising in their Sadler 34 Thursday’s Child
with their son Harry and daughter Isabelle. However, not everything went to
plan and their problems, difficult decisions and ultimately enjoyable cruise
are described with disarming honesty in Jojo’s log, which deservedly won
the Morva Cup, for the best cruise log of 2015. These edited highlights are a
mere fraction of the story, but I hope they convey the spirit with which this
remarkable family worked together to enjoy their adventure – Ed.
A
n incredible feeling on Tuesday night, 23rd July 2014. Farewell said to family and friends, we sat, the two of us,
in the cockpit at 1am, savouring the moment which had at last
arrived. After more than six years of planning, we were to leave
in the morning. The weather was fine, the boat was creaking,
groaning under the weight of provisions, spares and ‘just-in-cases’,
everything was as ready as it could be. Daybreak and a fabulous
send off by our shore party at Fort Victoria. We waved and waved
until our arms ached and everyone became dots on the horizon,
sailing out through The Needles, the wind and tide helping us on
our way, the sun shining down on our backs.
So how did it all begin?
Like many crazy ideas our adventure began whilst sitting at a
table with a bottle of wine. We would take a year’s sabbatical
in 2014 by which time we could have saved some money and
made the upgrades on Thursday’s Child (TC). Isabelle would be
seven and old enough to remember the experience, Harry nine,
would still be young enough not to have too many pulls to keep
him dreaming of home. Initially we had thought of aiming for
northern Spain, then Madeira, Canaries, Cape Verde, Caribbean,
perhaps the USA, returning to Yarmouth in July 2015.
The journey begins
The trip along the south coast of England went without a hitch,
the weather was perfect enabling shorts and t-shirt on deck.
We knew Bol could get seasick so he took Bonine (Metrazine
hydrochloride) to manage it. So far the conditions had been
calm and he had felt fine, if a little tired. On route we visited
Dartmouth, Salcombe, Plymouth, Fowey and St Mawes. Our
last night in the UK was spent anchored in the beautiful Helford
River.
Farewell England
Our Channel crossing began around 2pm with a NW breeze of 15
knots blowing us on our way. As we passed the final UK cardinal,
the Manacles, the wind rose to 23 knots, we flew! The UK
disappeared rapidly and it was the best feeling in the world. I have
crossed the Channel many times but this time was very special;
it was on our own boat, with my own family and we would not
be returning for many months. But then disaster struck. Around
6pm Bol went a shade of white and soon began a catastrophic
roller-coaster of vomiting for 12 hours. Was it the movement?
Was it the stress? Was it the worry? Was our journey doomed? I
had to concentrate on sailing the boat and keeping everyone safe,
warm and fed. Cruelly but thankfully the children were fine and sat
watching the DVD player, sticking their heads up occasionally to
acknowledge what was happening. Isabelle was an absolute delight
joining me on deck at 4am to see the sun rise. Twenty- three hours
after leaving Falmouth we tied up in Camaret, and stepped ashore
in France.
Main Photo: An Idylic beach on the east side of Islas Cies, Spain.
Top: The Minchin Family Jo Jo, Bol, Isabelle and Harry.
Left: Thursday’s Child, our Sadler 34.
Right: Playful dolphins.
48
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Gibraltar and back
France
The Bay of Biscay was our next challenge so we wanted perfect
weather with some north wind. When the time came to leave
Camaret on 13th August we thought we were heading into the tail
of the 30 knots we had experienced at anchor. A different picture
met us when we stuck our bows out into the entrance for we soon
found 15ft waves right on the nose. As I write this one year later
and one year wiser, we now know we should have turned around
there and then, but we were new and we were keen and we carried
on, hoping that things might calm down as we sailed further off
shore. We managed six hours. A quick study of the chart and a
hand brake 90-degree turn towards Sainte Evette was the wisest
decision. After a rather subdued day ashore and with a beautiful
Northerly forecast we headed on out again.
Bay of Biscay
We had a thoroughly enjoyable 285 miles to northern Spain taking
three nights and two days. Bol and I managed to do our watch
system of 3 hours on, 3 hours off, which worked well, he felt tired
from the medication but not sick. The swell had virtually gone,
we were out of sight of land and finally experiencing life at sea. Ask
Isabelle what was the highlight of our entire trip for her, and she
will tell you it was the dolphins in the Bay of Biscay. For hours we
delighted at the enchanting sight of dolphins ducking and diving,
squeaking and splashing, clearly having a great time.
Welcome to beautiful Spain
The Port Captain was waving at us as we approached Viveiro
Marina, in La Coruna, then he cycled to the pontoon and caught
our lines; it doesn’t get more welcoming than that. A thoroughly
enjoyable six weeks in Spain followed. We day-hopped along
the coast and started to learn Spanish. The weather was blissfully
warm, Bol felt well and life on board was good! Harry began fishing
in earnest, a new all-consuming hobby. Within a few weeks he was
making lures, reading fishing books and providing many delicious
meals for us.
Portugal
We finally sailed away from beautiful Spain on 9th October. We
will never know whether we made the right or wrong decision
because by deciding in the morning to leave that afternoon, we
didn’t give Bol’s ear patches time enough overnight to work. It
turned out to be a decision that would shape the rest of our trip.
We headed out at 6pm into a gentle breeze enabling TC to sail
towards Lisbon. Disaster struck around midnight with Bol getting
seasick again. This time we realised this was a serious problem
that was here to stay; the swell was gentle and we weren’t tired
or stressed; our trans-Atlantic trip was starting to look genuinely
doomed. With Lisbon 250 miles away, I realised I couldn’t sail the
Falmouth
Camaret
Yarmou
th
Cherbou
rg
St Evette
FRANCE
BAY
O
BISC F
AY
La C
or un
Opo
r to
a
SPAIN
POR
TUG
AL
Lisb
on
Sevil
le
Gibr
altar
entire journey alone which would take 48 hours, so altered
course to the nearest port of refuge, Leixoes just north of Oporto.
Stepping ashore in Portugal for Bol to regain some normality, we
were greatly cheered by a friendly welcome in fluent English by the
Leixoes Port Captain. It also accompanied the shocking news that
50 knots was forecast the following day. The 50 knots did indeed
arrive, and it was wild, lasting about 48 hours.
“Good news, good news, we leave on Tuesday”. Eight times transAtlantic Olivier and his wife four-times trans-Atlantic Annie who
owned an immaculate Sun Odyssey 43 Eolaine next door were also
heading south towards the Canaries. Olivier came bouncing in
when the storm has passed and announced that Tuesday would be
the day to leave and suggested we sail in company. What a dream.
Decision time
We had perfect sailing conditions and TC was sailing well. We
kept 15 miles off shore to avoid the many fishing pots and as
the night approached our watch system began without hitch,
Bol was feeling OK and the children were happy. With Eolaine
heading straight to Lagos before heading onto the Canaries, we
knew we were heading for our big decision; do we stop in Lisbon
or do we keep going? On our second night out, with the loom
of Lisbon approaching, Bol and I sat in the cockpit and chatted
through the options. We both agreed, as painful as it was, that we
would not cross over. It was galling but it was right. Our dream
crumbled as we talked, but it was for the best. It was painful but
I realised ever so slowly, that the weight that had been inside me
was slowly lifting. We would slow down, we would explore these
two fascinating countries, we would learn so much of their rich
culture and maritime history, we would make it worthwhile and
we would make it work. So we turned left, radioed Eolaine and
headed in towards Cascais. Approaching the anchorage with
dolphins jumping so high and close to splash Bol on the foredeck,
gave us a happy and memorable welcome. It was 5am, dawn was
just breaking over the land, tall elegant palm trees silhouetted
against the skyline, and a peaceful scene began to emerge out of the
darkness.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
49
Gibraltar and back
Here the log describes in detail how they cruised and explored Portugal, with short hops down the coast
to Lisbon and on to the Algarve, the making of new friends and renewal of old friendships, and a multinational celebration of Christmas. Completely rethinking the cruise was a difficult decision, but once made
the pressure was off and life slowed to a more leisurely pace. They all embraced the opportunities offered by
remaining in European waters – Ed.
2015
New Year brought thoughts of moving on and we day
hopped down the coast towards The Med. We flew that
day, with a clear blue sky and enormous waves right up our
stern, recording a steady 9 knots. The 35 miles were dramatic,
exciting and fast. We reefed as we gybed into the Straits, passed
Tarifa Point, the southern tip of Spain with Africa only 8 miles
away. The Rock of Gibraltar was standing boldly right out of
the sea, 423 metres into the air, wonderful to see for real. We
were in the Mediterranean!
out of the hatch. I relished the responsibility of skippering and
loved the navigation. All-in-all the 15 days to sail 1,005 miles
from Lagos to Cherbourg were thoroughly enjoyable and TC
was a happy ship. Whilst it was bitter-sweet without the family,
just knowing that they would not have enjoyed themselves
helped a lot.
We had five weeks in the Gibraltar Straits. There was plenty
to explore here, a rich and dramatic history with fourteen
sieges between the 1700’s and WWII plus tunnels, caves
and headlands. Nelson memorabilia was everywhere. We
volunteered in the Botanic Gardens Wildlife Park and saw
many of the infamous Barbary Apes.
All the while Bol and I were quietly focusing on returning TC
to the Channel: how, when, and with whom! It was around
mid-March that many emails and phone calls were exchanged
for our journey north as Bol and the children really didn’t wish
to sail the 1,000 miles north to the Channel. To cut a long story
short, at the end of March we confirmed Fred Montanus and
Hans Guelbert would sail with me from Lagos to the Channel.
Bol visibly relaxed knowing TC would be safe, I was thrilled to
have a go at skippering TC and the children were excited about
flying to the UK! Life with crew rather than family was totally
different of course. I was thoroughly spoilt and not allowed
near the galley. Delicious food, hot tea and soups appeared
50
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Top: Harry Minchin wonders at the view on the west side of Islas Cies.
Above: Bonito for supper.
Gibraltar and back
Reunited in Cherbourg
Bol, Harry and Isabelle were back on board TC in time for
Bol’s birthday on the 14th May which we celebrated in
Alderney. Our final mission of our sabbatical was to visit
the Normandy Beaches. Timing was perfect and we headed
around the Cherbourg Peninsula to St Vaast. On 1st June we
ghosted along the 40 miles of Normandy Beaches, 3 miles off
shore, absorbing all the sights, calling the children up on deck
as we approached each beach; Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and
Sword.
We checked in for a week to the beautiful Marina de
Ouistreham and visited Caen and Pegasus Bridge Museums,
Arromanches, Gold Beach and Bayeax War Graves. D-Day
commemorations began with breakfast on Sword Beach. Later
on, there followed a most moving Remembrance Ceremony.
We contemplated the scene that Bol’s father, Harry Minchin,
would have experienced as he came ashore, aged 23, seventy
one years ago.
Bol and I soon realised that we would be unable to ‘top’ our
week on the Normandy Beaches, so we reluctantly but sensibly
decided to return home. We ended on a high and felt truly
grateful for all we had achieved. We didn’t do what we set
out to do but we ended up doing much more than we ever
thought, it was only different. My big brother once said to me
that you can do whatever you like in life, you just need to have a
dream, and to have the courage to make it happen.
JoJo and the homeward crew.
Trying to make sense of it all at the Bayeux War Graves.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
51
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BONOBO
ACROSS BISCAY
An easy Biscay crossing but...
In making an offshore passage
we fear gear failure or difficult
weather most. Just occasionally a
rogue crew member can be just
as difficult. By Pat Dawson.
O
ur pal Simon wanted to take his Bavaria 49 to southern
Portugal for the summer and Dick and I signed up,
persuading Royal Solent member Pete Garratt and his friend
Fraser to join us. We had sailed with Simon before and know
him to be a great sailorman who looks after and prepares his
boats well. Our crew muster was eight: owner Simon, Gary
who knew the boat well, Gary’s friend Mark, who had done
little sailing, Pete, Fraser, Pat and Dick. When Dick asked Pete
if Fraser had any sailing experience, he said “No, not really….
but he has rowed the Atlantic”. The final crew member was
supplied by a crewing agency and had good qualifications, but
was not interviewed before joining.
Dolphins.
Simon (left) and Pete.
We sailed from Falmouth, bound non-stop for Lagos, on a
bright sunny June morning with a westerly 3, but this soon
increased to a 5 to 6 and as it got dark we needed a reef.
Beating to windward was uncomfortable as the boat slammed
badly and little sleep was had by anyone except our new crew
member, who slept like a baby.
‘I don’t know where we are either!’
Dick navigating.
The yellow peril.
La Coruna.
54
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Bonobo Across
Bonobo
across Biscay
Biscay
As dawn broke the wind dropped and we were left wallowing
in a sloppy sea. The forecast gave little, if any, wind for the next
three days so we decided to divert to Camaret to refuel. For the
final three hours we were in thick fog. The baby slept, Dick
navigated, Mark made endless cups of tea and coffee and
relayed messages whilst the rest steered and kept a lookout.
Apart from the occasional buoy looming through the fog as we
hopped from one to the next, there was nothing until we saw
the lights on the Camaret breakwater, at about 100m range.
Now had another skipper of our acquaintance been in charge,
the first thing on the dock when we arrived would have been
sleeping beauty’s kit, quickly followed by him - but Simon
was more forgiving. The man had his Yachtmaster certificate
and came over as an experienced sailor. He had told Simon
that he occasionally suffered from seasickness but would have
the necessary medicine to help him cope with the problem.
He clearly, as a retired GP, had access to some pretty powerful
potions and decided to render himself comatose rather than
suffer mal de mer.
After fuelling up in the morning we sailed – or rather motored.
At least we could see where we were going and after lunch we
saw our first pod of dolphins. The forecast gave us no decent
wind for two days. During the afternoon there were a few
zephyrs so we set the vast yellow spinnaker. With Simon and
Gary’s encouragement Dick, Pat, Pete, Frazer and Mark finally
got the thing to set, for all of five minutes. We went through
this exercise at least three more times that afternoon and were
getting quite good at it. It wasn’t our sleepy dormouse’s watch
so he was dozing over his book.
Despite sailing from Camaret with full tanks, it looked as
though we would have to refuel again in northern Spain. The
leg to La Coruña took 62 hours and most of us fell into the
routine. Fraser was great and would try his hand at anything
and Mark, who had no experience, was good at fitting in and
did splendid things in the galley, keeping us all well fed and
learnt to steer. Our now wakeful sleeper was not improving.
He was often late on watch (although that had advantages),
could not steer a course, never kept a lookout, spent most of
his time in the cockpit reading, only spoke about himself and
had a habit of interrupting conversations. His demeanour
was reminiscent of a querulous character in Dad’s Army, so we
dubbed him Godfrey.
As we approached the Spanish coast the wind filled in from
the NW and at last we could set the spinnaker long enough
to photograph it and sail. When our mobiles sprang into life
Simon contacted a friend who was in La Coruña skippering a
large steel yacht. He undertook to arrange a berth for us and be
there on the pontoon with a bottle of brandy. It took us a little
longer than we had calculated so when we finally tied up only
half the brandy was left. The subsequent cockpit party soon
finished it off !
Job Done. Bonobo in Lagos Marina.
Sadly Mark got a call from his business that required him to
return home so he left the following morning. A day later, at
07.30 in bright sunshine, with a crew of seven, Bonobo left La
Coruña towards Lagos with full fuel tanks. Once again we
were motoring. Where was Godfrey? you’ve guessed it - in
his bunk. The rest of us were having a great time relaxing in
the cockpit. As we rounded Cape Finisterre the wind filled
in and Yellow Peril was soon out of his bag and on duty. Two
hours later he was stood down as it breezed up and the genoa
poled out was a safer option. Everyone was taking it in turns to
helm in an attempt to get the highest speed surfing down the
swell building from the north. It was a great sleigh ride, enjoyed
not only by us but by a huge pod of dolphins who revelled in
bursting out of the top of the waves. We peaked at 13 knots,
but by 20.00 we had a reef in the main and a third of the genoa
furled. And Godfrey? He was reading his book.
We sailed through the night but as dawn came the wind started
to drop so the reef was shaken out. In the afternoon the wind
fell light and never really filled in again so the rest of the way
it was a mixture of sailing and motor sailing. With light airs
we fell to cleaning the boat, checking the engine, keeping the
log and enjoying the warmer weather and the sunshine. Sail
trimming and changes now went like clockwork. Dolphins
continued to come and check us out and cheer us up but
Godfrey had not improved – we just worked around him.
We tied up in Lagos at 02.50 and the log records “Garratt wins
the arrival time sweepstake. Moored up on waiting pontoon.
Good landfall without incident to safe haven after an enjoyable
quiet voyage”. It had taken 67 hours 20 minutes from La
Coruna, with just over 41 hours sailing, the rest motoring or
motor sailing. After a few celebratory drinks we slept well with
plans to clean and tidy the boat in the morning.
As we surfaced, not early, we found a note from Godfrey. He’d
taken himself off for a long walk and would not be back until
the evening, could we please let him know where we planned
to eat so he could join us for supper.
Godfrey was a constant irritation and determinedly not part of
the team. His very presence upset the team dynamic and once
or twice tempers became short. Had the passage been difficult
he would have been a danger to himself and his crewmates. A
lesson learned.
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
55
Domaine Evremond
Pierre Taittinger, President of Champagne Taittinger (left)
and Patrick McGrath, Managing Director of Hatch Mansfield
examining the terroir.
C
hampagne Taittinger, key sponsor of the RSYC Regatta, along with their UK partner
Hatch Mansfield Ltd and friends, have set up Domaine
Evremond, purchasing 69 hectares of farmland at
Selling Court Farm in Kent. 40 hectares of this will
be planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot
Meunier grapes to produce English Sparkling Wine. This
unique collaboration marks the first time that a Champagne
house has invested in the UK with the intention of producing a
range of premium English sparkling wines.
“We have dreamt for a number of years of working with our dear friends
in the UK to create a special Franco/British project, built on the values of
friendship and also to create something special to show our appreciation
of the UK support for Champagne – it is Champagne Taittinger’s
number one export market. We are very excited that this dream is now
becoming a reality.
We believe we can produce a high quality English Sparkling Wine
drawing upon on our 80 years of winemaking expertise. Our aim is to
make something of real excellence in the UK’s increasingly temperate
climate, and not to compare it with Champagne or any other sparkling
wine.
Our family has already had considerable success planting sparkling wine
vineyards in the USA in 1987 when we launched Domaine Carneros by
Taittinger, our venture with the Kopf family of Kobrand Wine & Spirits.
We hope to replicate this success in the UK, working alongside our UK
agent, and good friends, Hatch Mansfield.
Our family has strong connections to Kent through my father, Jean
Taittinger, who twinned Canterbury with Reims over 45 years ago when
he was Mayor of Reims (1959 – 1977); so I am looking forward to
being able to strengthen these links with Kent and with Great Britain as
we embark on this venture.”
Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger
President, Champagne Taittinger
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RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Domaine Evremond is very much a ‘friends and family’
venture between Champagne Taittinger, Hatch Mansfield
Ltd and friends, reflecting the independent, family-focused
philosophies of both companies.
Domaine Evremond takes its name from Charles de
Saint-Evremond (1614-1703), a Frenchman and the first
true ambassador for Champagne, who fuelled its popularity in
England during the late sixteen hundreds at the court of Charles
II. A poet, epicurean and literary critic, he was buried in Poets’
Corner in Westminster Abbey. A passionate historian, PierreEmmanuel named this new company in his memory.
The land, a former apple farm, is near Chilham in Kent, close
to Canterbury and Faversham. The 40 hectares to be planted
are eighty metres above sea level, have chalk soil and southfacing slopes creating an ideal terroir (soil, microclimate and
topography) to plant and grow high quality Chardonnay, Pinot
Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. Stephen Skelton MW (Master of
Wine), one of the UK’s leading viticulture consultants and wine
writers, has worked closely with the Domaine Evremond team
in the capacity of viticulture advisor in securing this ideal plot for
vineyard development.
“We are delighted to be working with Champagne Taittinger on this
project and we have a joint ambition to produce very high quality wines
using our combined expertise. As a team, we have a real belief in the
potential of English sparkling wine. Our aim is not just to be an English
Sparkling Winemaker, but also a significant supporter of the whole
English wine industry.”
Patrick McGrath MW, Managing Director, Hatch Mansfield
No wine will be produced for the first five years as the plots are
transformed into vineyards, after which time a range of premium
English Sparkling Wine will be made using ‘domaine’ fruit from
the farm.
Mark Calver, Hatch Mansfield
Newport
T | (01983) 527878
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YARMOUTH HARBOUR 2015
By Jeremy Butcher – Deputy Harbour Master
W
ith a record breaking year in 2014 we looked forward
to 2015 with nervous enthusiasm. Preparations for our
bid to become the operations and maintenance base for the
Navitus Bay Wind Farm Project were high on the agenda as were
new ideas such as the Spring Festival. These, together with the
challenge to increase visitor numbers, ensured we hit the ground
running.
The weather was not kind to us in 2015 with higher than average
rainfall and long periods of high winds. The number of overnight
and short stay visitors for 2015 were disappointingly but not
surprisingly lower, with overnight visitors down 4% at 18,028
and short stay visitors down 5% at 5,493. However the number
of long term visitors, previously referred to as summer and winter
moorings, were up by 30% at 10,307 nights. Incredibly this
resulted in a 4% increase in the total number of visitors for 2015
compared to 2014. Our Sailing Schools promotion that we offer
during the winter months in conjunction with the RSYC, resulted
in a healthy increase in the number of Sailing Schools’ vessels
visiting the Harbour of 105%, up from 113 to 232 in 2015.
The first Spring Festival took place on 25th April. The theme was
based on safety and security and exhibitors included the MCA,
Hampshire Marine Police Unit, National Coastwatch, RNLI, as
well as national and local exhibitors such as DataTag, Harwoods
and SeaSafe. RAMORA UK provided a disposal facility for
expired flares, while Fat Shaun’s fed our visitors with a superb
hog roast which was eaten while listening to live music by Slainte
Va. All in all a great day and an event that we plan to build on.
This year’s event will be held on Saturday 30th April and will be
58
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Gaffers in harbour. Photo by Chris Boynton.
in conjunction with the RSYC Open Day. Please log on to our
website www.yarmouth-harbour.co.uk for news and updates.
In April we introduced a new harbour management system that
will help us improve our market research. The aim is to proactively
improve our appeal to visitors, both at home and abroad and to
encourage them to visit Yarmouth more often. We also employed
the use of a drone and produced a detailed guide entitled “How
to enter Yarmouth Harbour”. This 18 slide guide gives detailed
information on what to do and what to expect when entering the
Harbour. It is designed to give potential visitors more confidence
and at the same time contribute to safety when using the Harbour.
It will no doubt be useful to those of you who are regular users of
the Harbour too. The guide is available on the home page of our
website but to give you a taste, two of the slides are shown on the
opposite page.
In 2015 we hosted 52 rallies, our highest ever and 30% up on
2014. In May we hosted the Old Gaffers Festival. We had over
100 Gaffers in the Harbour and this together with the shore-side
festival organised by YOGAFF made for another exciting and
enjoyable event. The YOGAFF Committee have decided to hold
the shore-side festival on a bi-annual basis, so the next event will be
in 2017. In the meantime they are seeking new sponsorship and
volunteers to join their committee. We will of course continue to
offer our full support and look forward to helping them with their
next event. Fear not though, the Solent Old Gaffers Association
will be holding their rally as usual and will be here from the 3rd–
5th June 2016. We expect to have a similar number of Gaffers and
there will be racing events and harbour water sports as usual.
Yarmouth Harbour 2015
September was an eventful month for the Harbour. On the 3rd
September we celebrated Merchant Navy Day, a national event
to celebrate and remember the sacrifices that the Merchant
Seamen have made for our country during numerous conflicts.
A short ceremony, attended by HM Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle
of Wight and other local dignitaries, was held on the Pier and
afterwards at the RSYC. On the 11th September the Energy
Minister Lord Bourne announced that development consent
had been refused for the proposed Navitus Bay Offshore
Wind Farm. This effectively put an end to years of speculation
and hard work by those involved in the project. However we
will continue to promote Yarmouth Harbour as an Eco-Hub
and provide opportunities for companies to install and test
renewable energy equipment, such as the PLAT-O project early
in the year.
How to enter Yarmouth Harbour guide.
The RYA Active Marina event hosted by YHC in October
proved once again to be very popular. Tony Walton organised
the day’s proceedings which included a tasty lunch and an
informative Q&A session at the RSYC. This year we have an
event planned for Saturday 2nd April and possibly two more
later in the year. Full details will be available on our website.
Other rallies of note were the Taittinger RSYC Regatta in July,
which attracted over 120 boats and the 50th Anniversary Folkboat
Week in August; both of these events involved detailed planning.
The success of these events were a testament to the superb
working relationship between the RSYC and YHC.
Once again a busy and eventful year for the Harbour. So what
does 2016 hold? In March we will have news about our bid for
grant funding to replace piles on the Pier; look out for our new
uniforms for the Reception Team and don’t forget our AGM at
the RSYC in April!
A rELAxing WELCoME
YARMOUTH HARBOUR OFFERS SO MUCH
MORE THAN JUST A PLACE TO MOOR UP...
The friendly harbour
accessible at all
states of the tide
Moorings of all types
available for visitors
and residents
Jovial pubs and
renowned restaurants
Historic town and
heritage trail
A wide variety
of events
Access to safe country
walks and cycle rides
Facilities for
the disabled
WiFi access
Fuel and gas
WINTER
& SUMMER
MOORINGS
AVAILABLE
AT MONTHLY
RATES
GREAT
DEALS FOR
RALLIES &
SAILING
SCHOOLS
Cranage
Excellent Harbour
facilities
Washdown facility
Helpful staff
Laundry
PLEASE CONTACT
THE HARBOUR OFFICE
FOR DETAILS
For further information see our website www.yarmouth-harbour.co.uk
BOOK
ONLINE
NOW
TEL: +44 (0)1983 760321 EMAIL: INFO@YARMOUTH-HARBOUR.CO.UK VHF: CHANNEL 68
YARMOUTH HARBOUR, THE QUAY, YARMOUTH, ISLE OF WIGHT, PO41 0NT
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
59
OUR
YARMOUTH
LIFEBOAT
2015 was an eventful year for the Yarmouth RNLI lifeboat station. Dick Dawson reports.
Dame Ellen MacArthur
On 1st December Dame Ellen
MacArthur DBE, became the
chairman of the Yarmouth RNLI
Management Committee.
Her remarkable sailing
achievements have captured the
world’s imagination, culminating in
her world record for a single-handed nonstop circumnavigation of the globe in 2005. Dame Ellen is the
founder of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, a charity helping
young people to regain their confidence through sailing, which
continues her strong association with the sea. Dame Ellen
took over from Dave Kennett MBE, who was coxswain of
the Yarmouth Lifeboat for 23 years. Dave will continue to be
involved as the Yarmouth RNLI Station President.
Vicky Tribe
Vicky, well known in the Club as
our Catering Manager, has made
history as the first female to join
the Yarmouth lifeboat. Vicky grew
up by the sea and has worked
abroad for many years on luxury
yachts. She is an experienced sailor
with a passion for the sea. She is also
well known to all the volunteers at the station and is a very
popular addition to the crew. Vicky says ‘I have enjoyed all
aspects of my training so far, it is exciting and a privilege to have
the opportunity to crew on my local lifeboat and I am looking
forward to the challenge.’
60
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Pam Skinner
It really has been a ladies’ year at the Yarmouth station. The day
after going into work at the Yarmouth RNLI charity shop on 19th
April, Pam Skinner celebrated her 100th birthday. She is the oldest
working volunteer in the whole of the RNLI and it is calculated
that during those years she has helped to raise around £70,000 on
her Sunday morning shifts. She has no intention of retiring. Claire Hallett
Claire was appointed to the post of Deputy Press Officer in the
spring. She is responsible for all electronic media - the web site
(see www.yarmouthlifeboat.org.uk), Facebook and Twitter and
she stands in for Richard Heming, the Press Officer, when he’s
away. Claire is well known to members as the Club’s Deputy
Secretary.
Services
As always, the services covered a wide range of problems. Here
are details of a few: On Easter Sunday a service coincided with
a rowing race in the river Yar in which five of the lifeboat crew
were taking part. The rowers raced to the shore to man the
lifeboat to assist a yacht in the Needles channel which had
been holed after hitting a navigational mark. An emergency
pump was put aboard and the yacht was towed to Lymington. Two other services followed on the same day! On 2nd July
a head injury was reported on board a yacht off Newtown
Creek. Upon reaching the scene the lifeboat transferred two of
her volunteer crew members to the yacht to provide medical
care for the casualty. With the arrival of the Search & Rescue
helicopter, the casualty was airlifted to Southampton General
Hospital. The casualty made a full recovery.
Our Yarmouth Lifeboat
On 7th August the Fairey
Huntsman motorboat
Here and Now caught fire
to the east of the mouth of
Lymington River. Escorted
by the Yarmouth lifeboat,
the damaged motorboat
was towed back into Lymington by the Lymington lifeboat,
where the Yarmouth lifeboat’s salvage pump was used to pump
her prior to being lifted out of the water. The casualty had an
illustrious past, having featured in a boat chase in the Bond film
‘From Russia with Love’ in 1963.
On 10th December the
22ft yacht White Osbeat was
in distress off Hengistbury
Head in Christchurch Bay. The south westerly wind
was gusting 35 knots (force
7) and the visibility was
very poor. The yacht had a
serious rigging failure and was in danger of losing her mast. It
took two hours to bring the yacht to safety due to the weather
conditions. No one was hurt.
Lifeboat refit
Our Severn Class Lifeboat, Eric and Susan Hiscock (Wanderer)
(main photo opposite)has spent the winter at South Boats
in Cowes, undergoing a thorough refit. The hull and
superstructure has been stripped back, many systems renewed
completely and two new MTU engines installed. By the time
this magazine is published she will be back on station and fit for
service. The Severn lifeboat is a very successful Class. Initially
designed for a 25-year life, experience shows that they are
immensely strong and fit for much longer service. Our boat is
15 years old and fit for at least another 15.
The Crew
The crew (below) is as strong as ever. Here they are on
the quayside with coxswain Howard Lester in the middle,
Operations Manager Jeremy Willcock on the left and Press
Officer Richard Heming on the right.
The clothing accessories and gift boutique by the sea
/bluebythesea
www.bluebythesea.co.uk
Tel: 01983 760362
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
61
BEMBRIDGE HARBOUR
Writing this commentary at Christmas 2015, we celebrate four years of owning and
managing the Harbour. During this period we do believe we have brought ‘added value’ to
the Harbour, its environment and what is offered to yachtsmen and local stakeholders.
Malcolm and Fiona Thorpe report.
AT THE RISK OF REPEATING OURSELVES:
On average we have dredged 38,500 metric tonnes of silt from the Harbour and channel annually.
We have extended the pontoons by ¼ mile in length
We have increased visitor numbers by 39% and anticipate having a waiting list for the residents’ marina in 2016 for the first time.
Together with installing finger pontoons on the Duver visitors’ pontoon, we also offer the ability to pre-book berths in advance on our premiere berths that will include a ‘berth service’ for daily newspapers etc.
We have installed a live-time digital tidal depth gauge on our website updated every 60 seconds to show the minimum depth within the entrance channel.
These fundamental improvements not only bring benefit to
the Harbour with greater numbers of visiting yachts but also
indirectly for local businesses such as restaurants, shops and
both sailing clubs; we are totally supportive of East Wight and
its economy. And by and large both of us are still enjoying the
experience of being involved with a very unique part of the
Island.
In autumn 2012 we commissioned The Manser Practice and
other consultants to create and package an overall planning
proposal - this was formally submitted to the IOWC in May
2014 and after much deliberation and negotiations with the
likes of Natural England and the Environment Agency, we at
long last gained our planning approval.
Whilst we appreciate that not 100% of the local community
are in support of our plans, these proposals have been
thoroughly examined through a full democratic process to
arrive at a positive result which will enable us to continue vital
regeneration of the Harbour.
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RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
Main Photo: View of Bembridge Harbour from Bembridge Fort.
Top: Yachts dressed overall for the fun weekend in July.
Top Left: Visitors on the Duver Pontoon.
Top Right: Wild flowers beside a peaceful stretch of the harbour.
Above: An autumnal view of Bembridge Harbour.
N
Bu
oy
ed
Cha
nnel
3
5
7
4
Bembridge Harbour
6
7a
6a
Regrettably, to be able to achieve the support of all agencies and to
gain the local planning authority’s agreement meant that we had
to withdraw our plans for both The Old Boathouse and also the
commercial business units along Embankment Road - a pragmatic
decision not taken lightly. The original anticipated timing for such
a decision was pre-Easter 2015; as at now we are looking at Winter
2016 for completion of our new facilities and admin complex at the
Duver plus the new facilities and car park at the Marina, with the 13
new houses with spectacular Harbour views to follow on afterwards. When comparing this number of houses to our total land holding of
250 acres, it really is a very low overall density. Very exciting times lie
ahead to enable us to fulfil our dream of establishing Bembridge as a
fully fledged destination Harbour within the Solent.
The new facilities and admin complex will be housed in a two-storey
building situated on the new sea wall on the water’s edge - double
the number of showers and toilets, a new laundry, a new version of
the ‘Galley Locker’ and combined berthing and admin offices for
greater efficiency. In all, a huge change from our present cramped
and old amenities and ex-shipping containers !!
But in the meantime, the Harbour goes from strength to strength on
a daily basis - certainly the 2015 seasonal staff training programme
paid off to back up our permanent berthing staff - enabling us to
welcome existing and new visitors as well as looking after our locally
based boats.
9
8
9a
10
THE DUVER
ST HELENS
ay
ew
us
Ca
Small Craft
Moorings
Bembridge
Point
11
Harbour Office
DUVER PONTOON
17
13a
Attrills Boatyard
Bembridge Boat Storage
13
14
12a
12
10a
Bembridge
Sailing Club
Small Craft
Moorings
BEMBRIDGE
MARINA
VHF Channel 80
Brading Haven
YC
Small Craft
Moorings
Redwing Quay
Fishermans
Pontoon
Selwyn Pontoon
Bembridge Harbour
BEMBRIDGE
Selwyn
Boatyard
Boatyards
Harbour Office, The Duver, St Helens,
Isle of Wight PO33 1YB Tel: 01983 872828
E-mail: office@bembridgeharbour.co.uk
Website: www.bembridgeharbour.co.uk
NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION
The Bembridge Boat Storage business continues to gain a footing
at the high end [literally !!] of RIB and boat storage inside our large
green shed and has been extended in 2015 with some new external
racking.
Life is far from dull at the Harbour - 2016 and beyond looks just as
exciting as the past four years; we intend to lead from the front in the
Harbour’s regeneration.
BRING IT ON – WE’RE READY AND LISTENING ON VHF CHANNEL 80 !!
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
63
2a
Members’ Activities
Before 2012 it was often a question of whether the Club could host an event for members or an outside event
but it could seldom do both. However, this situation changed following the expansion of the clubhouse, with
the Club now able to look after the members as well as simultaneously hosting outside events. Here, in no
particular order, are details of some of the events that members are involved in organising – Ed.
Film Nights
Wine Society
Film nights have proved to be well-supported, featuring
such epics as Dr Zhivago, Ice Cold in Alex and the African
Queen regularly drawing sufficient numbers to fill the
Hudleston Bar. A particularly illuminating evening was
Drummond Challis’ talk and showing of the film The
Riddle of the Sands. Drummond was the film’s producer
and responsible for the construction of the replica yacht
Dulcibella which features strongly in the film.
The Wine Society meets once a month throughout the
winter. Its success goes from strength to strength, thanks
to the hard work of Hilary Vernon, with all evenings
fully subscribed. Will Gilsenan from Enotria Winecellars
presented fine French wines from small producers. Bob
Godden from Pioneer Wines, a local company, gave us
nine wines to taste, all from small producers. Majestic
Wines came to present a range of their Champagnes and
gave an insight to the production of Champagnes and their
Champagne Houses. They also introduced a mystery wine
which turned out to be Nytimber Classic Cuvée 2010.
Dining and Dancing
The Moules and the Italian Evenings were great successes
and the Club intends to run more themed evenings in
2016. Watch out for another Moules Evening and also a
Scandinavian one! There were two social events, the Christmas drinks party
followed by supper and the annual dinner, with, as always
fine wines to complement the food. At the time of writing
the next event is a departure as Richard Pierrepont is
presenting a gourmet Duck evening, no doubt with some
of his favourite wines from Burgundy. The last event of this
season will be a quiz organised by Bob Godden.
Golf
The Commodore’s Summer BBQ. Photo by Larry Ellis.
The Commodore’s Summer BBQ at the Boathouse was a
great success as was the Summer Dinner Dance and New
Year’s Eve Party. With regard to the latter - what would we
do without the Accelerators? The Club continues to excel
at its more traditional functions such as the Laying Up and
Fitting Out Dinners, which are always very well supported.
Scrabble, Backgammon and Bridge
Scrabble evenings are well-supported, with beating Jeremy
Willcock the main aim of those present. Backgammon
and Bridge continue; in the case of Bridge we are indebted
to Anne Vernon for all her efforts.
64
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
This year the golfers once again left their tillers and ventured
forth to Afton Down for matches against Seaview Yacht
Club and the Royal Thames. While both matches were
officially declared to be honourable draws, we have it on
good authority (from Miles Oldershaw) that in reality the
Royal Solent easily beat the Royal Thames while it is also
rumoured that the Eastern Block were in similar disarray!
Post the golf, all retired for sumptuous fare at the Club. On a sad note the Club has lost one of its leading lights,
Peter Coke. To paraphrase Richard Bundy’s words; “the
fairways will be quieter but not
as much fun”. The apocryphal
story may, or may not, be true: a
professional golfer concentrating
on his putt at Freshwater Bay
Golf Club rose from his crouched
position and asked what Peter
Coke, on the tee one hundred and
seventy yards away, was saying
to him, only to be informed that
Peter was talking to the chap next
to him, not to the professional! Peter Coke will be sadly missed.
Members’ Activities
Gentlemen’s Lunches
Flowers
It is not possible to think of Peter Coke without being
reminded of his single-minded dedication to the cause
of Gentlemen’s Lunches. The past year’s events have
been a huge success, the highlight being the Bicentennial
Waterloo Lunch in June where ninety five members had an
excellent Beef Wellington Lunch followed by an excellent
talk on the battle by Hugo Fletcher. In a fitting tribute to
Peter, (see Golf section) over fifty members attended the
The Club is very grateful to the Flower Ladies Team,
which is organised by Anne Gradwell. Their efforts can
sometimes be taken for granted but without them the
clubhouse would not look as stunning as it does after they
have worked their magic. Christmas decorations for 2015
were based on the theme of Christmas Carols and many
other Club members rallied round to make the Club
particularly festive. The Club’s gardens have benefitted
enormously from June Smith’s dedication and hard work.
Shooting
The three founder members of the Christmas Gentlemen’s lunch.
Christmas Gentlemen’s Lunch. March 2016 saw the 10th
Anniversary lunch, attended by the three founder members (L to R) Anthony Davies (currently chairman) Colin
Clements and Peter Jennings.
2015 was another successful year for the RSYC Clay
Pigeon Shooting Events for both beginners and experts
alike. Our highest score at the March meeting was 65 and
in September 70 out of a possible 80 hits. We try to spread
the more talented shots between the two teams in order to
create a bit more competition. This worked particularly well
in September where there was only half a point between
them.
First Wednesdays and Commodore’s Suppers
These continue to be well attended and our thanks are
due to Tim Francis for the way in which he continues
to provide a never-ending list of speakers for both these
events. The wide variety of topics seen in this selection
of talks – “The Battle of Verdun” by Dr Anna BarringtonWard, “Behind the Scenes at Shanklin Theatre” by Vic
Farrow and “The Falklands Campaign – a Chinook Pilot’s
Story” by Tony Stables.
Scottish Country Dancing
The Scottish Country Dancing group meets every
Wednesday at the Club from October to April. Sessions last from 7.30 to 9.30, and after this the bar is
available for everyone to unwind. You do not need to
have previous experience - we make sure that beginners
are introduced to our dances in a painless fashion, and
the ethos of the group is non-competitive and directed
towards maximum enjoyment for all. And there is no
need to bring a partner; we welcome everyone.
If you would like to give our group a try, please give Nick
Measor a ring on 01983 760462, or email n.measor@
btinternet.com
The enthusiastic shooting team.
For the March 2016 meeting we are encouraging the ladies
to join us and have two signed up already. Training sessions
are being organised to assist the beginners and those of us
who are a bit out of practice! The smiles on the faces of the
teams show that a good day was had by all.
Tuesday Ladies
Another enjoyable year has passed for the Tuesday Ladies’
Group. These weekly lunches were started in 1998 and
have many happy memories for those who attend of
time spent at the Club. Do take the opportunity to look
through the Blue Book, available from the upstairs bar. All members are invited to join this group, even if on an
occasional basis. Come whenever you can. You will be
most welcome as we all wish these lunches to continue. Those attending gather from noon onwards; it is all very
informal and no prior notification is needed. Just turn up!
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
65
Visitors’ Activities
With so much space now available in our extended
clubhouse we provide facilities and hospitality for
many external organisations. Here is a selection of
those events from 2015 – Ed.
Functions for Visitors to our Clubhouse
In addition to the many in-house functions in 2015, the
Royal Solent hosted 68 visiting yacht clubs and associations.
We held 18 meetings and 20 private functions for members,
which included a very special drinks party to celebrate the
100th birthday of local member Pam Skinner and an art
exhibition to name but a few.
The wedding of Clair and Daniel Tennant, August 2015.
Lymington Yacht Charters visited the Club regularly
throughout the summer months with a number of
businesses and organisations enjoying a day away from
the office and out on the water. What better place to stop,
take in the view and enjoy a BBQ lunch than on the Club
Lawn. The Club can meet all catering needs from coffee,
tea and biscuits through to breakfasts, buffet lunches and
three course meals or a hog roast. We are happy to work to a
timescale to provide a meal that fits in with any schedule. A first for the Royal Solent in March 2015 was a three day
management event for Hall Hunter. Following on from
the success of the March event, they returned to the Club
again in October. The Club layout provides the flexibility
to accommodate a range of delegate numbers from small
board meetings to large conferences or seminars. Our
rooms can accommodate theatre-style, boardroom-style
and classroom-style seating. Staying nearby at The West
Bay, over 25 Hall Hunter employees started the day with
a delicious buffet breakfast at the Club before enjoying a
number of team building activities. They were kept well
stocked with food, with a selection of morning and afternoon
snacks, buffet lunches and dinner.
The Island offers a wide variety of activities perfect for team
building activities, from RIB trips, archery and kayaking
to paint balling, go-karting and mountain boarding. Hall
Hunter employees ended their October trip with a rather
chilly but very enjoyable trip to the Needles with local
company Needles Pleasure Cruises.
August saw the wedding reception of Clair and Daniel
Tennant. They had perfect weather for their vintage-themed
wedding in a marquee on the lawn overlooking the sea. In
its idyllic seaside location, with stunning views of the Solent
and glorious sunsets, the Royal Solent Yacht Club provides
a unique and romantic setting for this most important day
in any couple’s life. We wish Daniel and Clair a very happy
married life together. Looking forward to 2016, the diary is
filling up fast and we look forward to what we hope will be
another busy and enjoyable year.
Lucy Case, Events Manager
66
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
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TROPHY WINNERS 2015
Club Trophies presented by the Commodore and Mary Hall at the Laying Up Dinner.
Pat & Joe Lester (left & centre)
JOHN LEONARD TROPHY
Anne Kyle (right).
GOLD LACE BOWL
Peter Coke (left)
Outstanding services to the Club
JUNE SLEEP ROSE BOWL
Other awards presented throughout the year
(Back left to right) Sam Grade,
(Left to right) 2nd Michael Craig,
Charlie Davies - who picked up the
1st John Poyner, Duncan Willard
of sponsors Spence Willard
Anne & David Mildon with their prize on behalf of his brother Jack.
(Front left to right),
father David.Overall winners
3rd Tony Walton
Thomas Whitehead, Hugo Cordon,
CENTENARY CHASE
WEDNESDAY SERIES CLASS 2
Sophie Whitehead, Helen Sceales
DINGHY WEEK
James Meaning (left)
Overall Winner
PRINCE CONSORT REGATTA
Jojo & Bol Minchin (right)
The best kept
Cruising log trophy
THE MORVA CUP
Libby Deegan (right)
with trophy donor Alan Spriggs
TURKEY CUP
TAITTINGER RSYC REGATTA
Trophies presented by Stephanie Cornelis.
Robert Stiles
THORPE TANTALUS TROPHY
Richard Haycock (left)
Nik Ramsey of Charles Stanley
(right) presenting the
CHARLES STANLEY AWARD
68
Roger Morris
BARCLAYCARD SALVER
Mark Devereux
RSYC ALLISON CHALLENGE
BOWL
Matthew Jones
BURNETT CHALLENGE CUP
Dug & Nicky Henderson
HAVERS TROPHY
Malcolm Mitchell
RYA NHC DIVISION 2
Christopher Greenan (right)
HUNTER KERMIS CUP
RSYC MAGAZINE 2016
(Jonathan Rolls
GANDALF CLASSIC SWAN
TROPHY
Libby Deegan (right)
IRC CLASS 3
TROPHY WINNERS 2015
Commodore’s Award Anne & Roger Gradwell
Gold Lace Bowl
Anne Kyle
Noreen Smith Coaster June Smith
West Wight Sailing Club Race Distinction Bowl Ajax
Tim Lee, John Gallimore & Clive Smith
Morva Cup
Thursday’s Child
Robin & Jojo Minchin
John Leonard Trophy Prudence of Yar & Fortune’s Star
Jo & Pat Lester, Brian & Maxine Crawford
Herbert Davies Jug (1st RSYC Boat in the Round the Island Race)
Madelaine
Ed Donald
June Sleep Rose Bowl Peter Coke
THE PRINCE CONSORT CHARITY REGATTA
Winner of the Prince Consort Race
The Neptune Trophy Sirena
NHC Class
Petite Bretonne
Folkboat Class
Padfoot XOD Class
Sirena
YOD
Puffin
Overall Winner of the Prince Consort Regatta Gleam
Folkboat Class
Samphire XOD Class
Gleam
YOD
Puffin
Nicky & Dug Henderson & Neil Payne
Paul Hastings
Chris Hills
Nicky & Dug Henderson & Neil Payne
John Caulcutt & Graeme Dillon
James Meaning
James Hoare & Graham Coulter
James Meaning
John Caulcutt & Graeme Dillon
CENTENARY CHASE
Overall Winner Sans Souci Royal Southern Yacht Club Challenge Trophy
Sans Souci 1st Open keel Boat Sans Souci Old Gaffer’s Class
Hester
The Secretary’s Prize (Awarded to the last Boat to finish)
Cazrlotta
David Mildon
David Mildon
David Mildon
Ed Rice
Piers Rowlandson
SUNSET SERIES
Black Rock Trophy XOD & YOD Class
Arrow
Henry Murray-Smith
FolkboatsCloud Cuckoo
Martin Le Gassicke
LasersAlex Gallimore
WINTER SERIES
Blount Cross Cup
Woodpecker II
WEDNESDAY EVENING RACING
Leveson Gower Cup Ambitron Trophy
RSYC Challenge Bowl
Hempstead Trophy The Alex Leonard Laser Trophy DNF Award
Wednesday Evening Pot
Iseult Centenary Trophy
The “B & 8” Award. Sailing Office Award Bernard Turner
Class 1
Moon
Rodney Hogg
Class 2 Blue Dolphin
John Poyner
Class 3
Puffin
John Caulcutt & Graeme Dillon
Folkboats
Cloud Cuckoo
Martin Le Gassicke
LasersLibby Deegan
Pimpernel Tony Knaggs & Steve Carson
Moon
Rodney Hogg
Mimi
Chris Beane
Foxy
Mark Hall
Paul Brown
DINGHY WEEK
Pico Novice
Hugo Cordon
Pico Race Thomas Whitehead
Laser 4.7 Helen Sceales
Laser Radial
Sam Grade
Laser Standard
Jack Davies
Best Under 16
Sophie Whitehead
Best JuniorHugo Cordon
Hurley TrophyYarmouth Sailing Club
TAITTINGER RSYC REGATTA
Gandalf Classic Swan Trophy Xara
Swan Class
Masquerade
RSYC Allison Challenge Bowl
IRC Class 1
Raygun
Thorpe Tantalus Trophy
IRC Class 2Diamond Jem
Bottle of Taittinger & Mug
IRC Class 3Akarana
Bottle of Taittinger & Mug
IRC Class 4Stan the boat
Bottle of Taittinger & Mug
IRC Classic Cruisers
Pazienza
Hunter Kermis Cup RYA NHC Div 1
Alize
Bottle of Taittinger & Mug
RYA NHC Div 2 Ocean Lore Commodore’s Cup Contessa 32 Blanco
Burnett Challenge Cup Nordic Folkboat
Crackerjack
The Gaffer’s Hoggit Gaffer Class Windflower
Barclaycard Salver
J24 Class
Jolly Roger
Sigma 38 Class
With Alacrity
Havers Trophy XOD Class
Sirena
Minchin Trophy
XOD Class
Sirena
Caulcutt Bowl
XOD Class
XL
Sports Boat Class Zhik Charles Stanley AwardPazienza
Jeroboam of Taittinger Regatta Overall Crackerjack
Jonathan Rolls
Roger Motson
Mark Devereux
Robert Stiles
Graham & Libby Deegan
Toby Gorman
Richard Haycock
Christopher Greenan
Malcolm Mitchell
Richard Vanner
Matthew Jones
Malcolm McKeon
Roger Morris
Chris Choules
Nicky & Dug Henderson & Neil Payne
Nicky & Dug Henderson & Neil Payne
Roy Paton
Ian Martin & Adam Broughton
Richard Haycock
Matthew Jones
Club clothing, accessories and burgees are available for members to order via the
Front Office. Boat names can be embroidered below the insignia for just £2.50.

Crew Gilet - £36.00
Lambswool Jumper - £45.00

Rugby Shirt - £30.00
Short or Long Sleeved Polo Shirt - From £18.00

Quarter Zip Micro Fleece - £30.00

Fleece Jacket - £30.50

Women’s Quilted Bodywarmer - £38.00

Men’s Zip Neck Sweater - £33.00

Men’s Chambray Shirt - £28.00

Musto Sailing Bags - From £33.00

Thinsulate Hat - £8.00

Baseball Cap - £8.75

Cap Badge - £17.50

Ties - From £7.50

Buttons - From £7.00

Burgees - From £30.50


Child’s Hoodies - From £14.00

Child’s Polo Shirt - £11.75

Child’s Rugby Shirt - £18.00
View full
full details
details via
via the
the Members
Member Area
View
Areaon
onour
ourwebsite.
website.

SERVING OUR CUSTOMERS
FOR OVER 23 YEARS
SAME DAY Delivery SIX DAYS a week
Wine list professionally prepared and printed
Regular specials and promotions
Call 811743 or visit www.eurovines.co.uk
THE ISLAND’S LEADING INDEPENDENT WINE WHOLESALER