Wavelength The magazine of the Sussex Yacht Club • June 2013
The survey results are in! Members tales from the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean New bar proposal
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
Contents
Editorial
Contents
Welcome to the just after Spring 2013 edition of Wavelength! It was our intention to publish earlier in the season but we delayed to allow the inclusion of an article on plans for the bar. In addition this edition contains the latest club news, an introduction by our Commodore Dave Ramus, the results of the club survey, and the doings of many club members across the world, together with many enticing articles.
Editorial.............................................................................. 2 Commodores Report.................................................. 3 House Committee!....................................................... 4 Legislation Watch.......................................................... 5 Moorings and Maintenance.................................... 6 Tales from the River Bank........................................ 7 Farewell to Deana........................................................ 8 A Life Remembered - Paul Powter.................... 9 10 Steps to Heaven...................................................10 Eight Days Without The Fenders ...................12 Prusik or Klemheist?................................................13 The Jewel of the South Pacific ..........................14 BSAC 007 Dive Section.........................................18 Why do Ropes Tangle...............................................19 Festival of St.Joan......................................................20 Normandy Rally ........................................................22 Survey Results.............................................................24 Sailability.........................................................................31 Bar Project.................................................................... 33 Olympic Sailing .........................................................34; Buccaneer explores Brittany...............................36 Through the Iron Gates .........................................40 How to set fire to a motorway............................. 42 Congratulations to Sleeper in Antigua............43
The club continues to thrive both financially and in terms of activities. The restaurant has been rejuvenated by the efforts of the new franchisee, a major upgrade of the bar area is planned and a group of new moorings have been added to the club’s Southwick location. Much has also been achieved already in upgrading the club premises and we now have a young and active management team who between them have an astonishing array of talents, covering all the practical matters which the club can need. It is sad to record the passing of some prominent club members. Paul Powter, who served the club in many ways and was also well known for his irresistible good spirits at club functions; an obituary to him is included in this edition. Bob Harrison Page has also passed away recently; he was also a committee member in his time and a member of the Institute of Navigation. To this sad list we must add Rod Patching and Chris Cox, and tragically Ian Harber; a quiet man who loved the sea and left us during a circumnavigation of the UK. It is a sombre start to our sailing summer to bring such news, and we welcome the opportunity to celebrate and remember the lives of our friends by publishing obituaries when provided. We have also been asked by Port Captain Julian Seaman to bring the attention of members to the SPA’s port signals for Shoreham which control access to the locks and the harbour. The lock access signals are essentially in line with the International standard (the IPTS) and those to be found on the lifeboat station (Oc R 3s) give warning of major vessels passing out of, or between the west and east arms of the harbour. The amber light (Oc Y 3s) on the central pier warns of exiting vessels and prohibits entry of all vessels to the port. Further details can be found on the club website. The dead hand of government regulation, or rather over-regulation, continues to tighten on our sport. There are a number of impeding legislative issues which will damage our innocent enjoyment of the waters around this country. These are dealt with in a subsequent article. The most challenging is the proposal to allocate large coastal areas as “Marine Conservation Zones” where many restrictions to passage and anchoring might be introduced. A large area of Osborne Bay near Cowes, which many yachtsmen use as an overnight stop or place to enjoy a quiet lunch was recently cordoned off and declared to be off limits for anchoring. This was ruled illegal by the Portsmouth harbour QHM (who controls the area), but the buoys are still in place. Those who placed the buoys will however be able to do this legally if proposals presently under consideration go through. The RYA is leading the fight against this torrent of regulations and surely deserves our support for this reason if for no other.
SUSSEXFOUNDED YACHT CLUB 1892 Brighton Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 6RE Brighton Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, WestOffice: Sussex01273 BN43464868 6RE SYC Fax: 464217464868 SYC 01273 Office: 01273 Restaurant: 01273 441190 Fax: 01273 464217 Restaurant: 01273 441190 secretary@sussexyachtclub.org.uk secretary@sussexyachtclub.org.uk www.sussexyachtclub.org.uk www.sussexyachtclub.org.uk EDITOR: Miles Mayall EDITOR: MilesBY: Mayall PRODUCED www.electricfarm.co.uk PRODUCED BY: www.electricfarm.co.uk FRONT COVER PICTURE: Giles Mayley and Zonpuka on the PICTURE: way to line honours in a FRONT COVER recent 2013 Highland Spring Series race. and Bombardier, Daughter Picture courtesy www.vyso.co.uk Catch 22 racing at SYC. Picture courtesy www.vyso.co.uk
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wavelength || autumn Wavelength June 2013 2012
The weather last year and for this spring so far has been pretty adverse for those of us who enjoy sailing in moderate conditions - let’s hope that the rest of 2013 will be more clement. Apologies to those who kindly provided articles through the office but don’t find their contributions in this edition. It will be in the next one! From the Wavelength team we wish you good sailing this year.
Miles Mayall Editor
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
Commodores Report This is my first Wavelength report to you as your new Commodore. To those who may not know me as well as others, let me introduce myself; My name is David (Dave) Ramus. My family and I have been members of Sussex Yacht Club since the early seventies, myself from the tender age of fifteen, nearly forty years of continuous membership! I have seen most people in this club come and go and have been, and continue to be when time, mind and body permit, involved in youth sailing, dinghy racing, training, cruiser racing, inshore and offshore. My family have owned boats at this club for nearly all of the time we have been members and now principally own, sail and race “Devils Advocate” (The Devil), a 45’ Beneteau kept at Lady Bee, the Marina in Southwick. My professional work is the running of the family business, Opas Ltd. I have watched, agreed and disagreed with the many committees, Commodores and Directors I have seen over the years, I have involved myself, even instigated and listened to a fair share of the banter, criticism, condonement and humour that surrounds the bar and makes us the unique place that we are. Only in recent years have I felt that the time and circumstances (family, financial, life balance) were right to shut up and put up and start to influence directly those decisions that I was so quick to dissent to in the past, something I would urge any keen member of this club, young or old, to undertake also (not the dissenting part, the shutting and putting up part please). And so here I am, the Commodore of a Club with which I am very proud to be associated having done my tenure on the sub committees and board before being elevated to this role in January this year. I am very fortunate in that I bring to the committee and particularly my fellow Flag Officers, a very professional and tight knit team who have the right mix of skills to make a very real contribution to the way in which this club goes forward. My Vice Commodore, Steve Vyse runs an IT company, has a strong marketing background, lives, races and sails here in Shoreham and Southwick (“Barda”) and will in addition to his role as our web master, be responsible for member retainment and recruitment. He chairs the Royal Escape Race Committee and will be our primary tool for influencing outside and inside publicity. Laurence Woodhams, our Treasurer is a perfect blend of the entrepreneurial spirit of Derek Trotter running more businesses than he can count on his fingers and toes, combined with the balance of Rumpole of the Bailey, weighing up arguments for both sides and then delivering his verdict to all who need to know. Sometimes these verdicts become a sermon, sometimes they become a volume of works to rival “War & Peace” but they are always delivered with passion and enthusiasm and after considered thought. Laurence sails and races “Ocean Dream”, moored at Southwick whilst he resides north of the Downs in Horsham. My two Rear Commodores, Pat Hill, a partner in the Shoreham and Brighton based legal firm of FitzHugh Gates, a long term member, lifelong resident of Shoreham and my new Chair of House, enjoys the company of many boat crews, to name but a few, “Italian Job”, “Barda” & “Devil’s Advocate”. Pat brings very short incisive opinion to committee meetings and her professional legal background has ensured that we do not step over the line on many occasions.She has ably deputised for Chris West on the House Committee and now brings her huge wealth of experience of Club parties and functions to the role of again making the social side of the club the vibrant experience we enjoyed not so many years ago. Terry Kinch is a very steadying influence on the board. He runs a successful Sussex based business operating nationally and sails and races “Bombardier” moored at Southwick. He lives locally and as my new Chair
Dave and his Royal Escape ‘Devils Advocate’ team celebrate in Fécamp
of Moorings and Maintenance, brings a significant depth of knowledge, common sense and professional expertise in matters of health and safety to the benefit of this vital area of the club’s income. I will introduce the other Directors on the board in a later edition but please suffice to say at this time, that I feel immensely proud and privileged to have such a dedicated crew aboard and my next two years as Commodore will be the easier for the commitment and talent they bring to their role. I have made no secret of the fact that my main thrust and objective in my tenure as Commodore is to see the revitalisation of the bar, restaurant and social side of the club. To this end I set up six months ago a Bar Refurbishment Committee bringing together those people required to design, plan, and project manage a budget of up to £50,000 to refurbish in a major way, the bar and lounge areas of the club. This is long overdue and I will not dwell on it too much here as much work has yet to be done. I very much hope you will support this project, both in its conception and afterwards in its enjoyment. I wish to add that the late Charles Partridge, a very long standing member and respected local resident and businessman, left a significant sum in his will to Sussex Yacht Club. It is my intention to honour and remember his life and his bequest to us with the addition of a memorial aspect of the new bar and lounge dedicated to him and his funds will be used to this aim. May I take this opportunity to wish you a good season ahead, on the water and off. I always and very much look forward to receiving comment, constructive criticism and praise (especially praise) from any member who feels they have something to contribute to current affairs. Please feel free to contact me via the Club Office. Tim Leigh, the Club Secretary and I meet at least weekly and he always passes anything received on to me. Email is always best for communication, secretary@sussexyachtclub.org.uk Dave Ramus Commodore
Wavelength | June 2013
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NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
House Matters - And it really does! Chair of House Pat Hill and previous incumbent Chris West update us on the dramatic improvements to our catering. In the last 18 to 20 months, we have been very lucky to find a gifted chef, (Simon) and his popular ‘Front of House’ manager (Sharon), who between them have managed to lift the standard of cuisine at the Sussex Yacht Club to new heights. All of which sets off the continuing bonhomie radiated by Hocine, our bar franchisee, together with his regular staff. It has been a bit of an uphill struggle to regain the interest and support of the membership, after some of the rather dire experiences with past caterers and we have also had to look very closely at what sort of service we could provide. Long term members are frequently reminding the House Committee that hot lunches were provided all week at the club. However, analysis of the lunchtime crowd reflects that whilst some of the members pop in for a pint, they are rarely wish to purchase a hot lunch at the club on a daily basis. In the last year or so the downturn in the international economy hasn’t really helped either. So, in the short to medium term we took the decision to suspend the hot lunchtime service. To be fair, you can’t ask people to be ready to cook hot food every day, when nobody was using the service. So we had to concentrate on promoting the Sunday lunches, with free birthday meals and drinks, to encourage members back to using the club’s franchised facilities. The Sunday roasts
The very popular Sunday lunch carvery.
St.Georges Night Mummers Play - Laurence Woodhams cuts David Golding down to size.
are a growing success and it’s now even more important to book with Simon, rather than just rocking up to the club, as its all cooked fresh every Sunday, on site, in the club’s kitchen. So if you turn up late or without a booking he may have run out of roast potatoes! It is important to the club that our franchisees, who each pay the club a fee to operate on the premises, that they are supported, both in the bar and the restaurant. For them to make a living and to also pay their franchise fees, we need to support them both as much as we can. To this end, it needs to be emphasised that all the upstairs area of the Shoreham club house, including the balcony and the River Room are part of the club’s franchised area, as is the Royal Escape Room. Our franchisees pay fees to operate in the club, so please understand why we ask you not to consume your own food and drink in these areas.
A pint and a chat in the sunshine - it doesn’t get any better. (Photo by Judith Green).
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Wavelength | June 2013
In the last 18 months the attendance figures at the main five club events, with the addition of the ever growing popularity of the Club Night dinners, (generally the first Friday of the month), reveals a steady upward trend
in the footfall of visitors and members using our super facilities. Together with the private functions, weddings, christenings, birthday parties, professional lunches and dinners etc., they all help to put a smile on the faces of our franchisees, so let’s keep supporting them in the coming months The new house committee is committed to improving the events for all. Please look at ‘In the Wind’ and the posters displayed around the Club. All events will be advertised on the SYC website and reminders will be sent out by text. Simon is working on a forthcoming events flyer so you can see what is happening, not just now, but in the forthcoming months. We are also going to take a good look at suggestions made in the recent survey, and hope to arrange more fun and great value events. The recent St.Georges night dinner was a classic, with great food, live music, dancing and a ‘Mummer’s Play’ featuring well known club faces that had the whole room rocking with laughter. Oh and to reinforce how hard we are working to remove every excuse not to come and join in the fun, Chef Simon would like to confirm he is happy to cater for any special dietary requirements, or if someone simply does not like what is on the menu, given sufficient notice he is happy to provide an alternative. Chris West – Vice President and former Chair House Committee Pat Hill – Rear Commodore and Chair House Committee
EDITORIAL VIEW
Legislation Watch Governments of whatever hue seem impelled to pump out huge quantities of new legislation. In the small boat area, this is resulting in an avalanche of new regs. Here we look at the status of three of these. eBorders eBorders, which is the UKBA proposed border control system, and which would greatly complicate the business of taking a boat across the channel, particularly if the intended destination proved impractical and had to be changed at sea. Under implementation for some years, it has encountered two key problems: The cost of the systems has spiralled out of control, contractors being replaced, and the EU has objected that it breaches the principle of free movement of people across borders. Whilst the Home Office and the UK Borders Agency remain committed to implementing the e-Borders programme, there is no doubt that these two problems imply that implementation is at the very least a long way off. Gus Lewis, the RYA chief lawyer says: “Our understanding of the EU legislation and the assurances that the UK Government gave to the EU Commission some time ago is that advance passenger information cannot (and will not) be demanded from EU citizens travelling between EU member states. However, the UK Government has not yet confirmed this formally.” The RYA does not believe that implementing the e-Borders programme in the recreational boating sector would be the most appropriate, proportionate, effective or efficient mechanism for securing the entire sea border, and has serious concerns that the e-Borders reporting methodology is simply not designed to accommodate the unscheduled activities of the recreational boating sector. Maritime Conservation Zones Government plans proceed inexorably toward designating large chunks of the waters over which we sail as Marine Conservation Zones. Of course, all right minded people will support sensible measures to preserve critical areas of the environment. This is a very complex subject, not easily accessible to the layman, but the RYA have identified several concerns over the process. These are: 1/. That areas are proposed for designation
without adequate scientific evidence that they are under threat and that the measures which may be proposed may not be beneficially appropriate. 2./. That the social and economic consequences of designation have in many cases not been considered when proposals have been made. These of course, include the rights of leisure vessels to transit and anchor, and the livelyhoods of those who service those vessels and their crews. In many areas, e.g. the Isle of Wight, the contribution of the leisure boat user is pivotal to the local economy. The missing ingredient in the proposals are the “management measures” (civil service speak for “thou shalt not” style regulations, patrol boats, fines, departments with budgets to grow and justify, petty officials with their own agendas etc.). The government proposes to announce these only after the zones have been designated, and no doubt they are hoping to get these through with reduced outcry. One example of this process has been seen in Osbourne Bay, where officials from English Heritage jumped the gun, by attempting to buoy off an area of the bay, ostensibly for swimming, but reportedly with a broader agenda. They laid yellow buoys connected by submerged ropes, which could have fouled the propellers of any vessel lawfully navigating in the area. It took the intervention of the Queens Harbour Master for Portsmouth, under whose auspices the area falls to get these submerged ropes removed. The buoys however remain but the RYA has confirmed that in their opinion there are no legal impediments to transiting or anchoring in Osbourne Bay. Gus Lewis, of the RYA said: “We have received a number of reports from boaters that they have been instructed by a representative of English Heritage from the beach in Osborne Bay that they are not allowed to anchor in or close to the marked swimming area. Clearly, if there is an area marked out for swimming then boaters will need to take particular care if they choose to navigate or anchor in this area. However, English Heritage has no authority to prohibit anchoring anywhere
in Osborne Bay and its staff have no power to require anchored boats to move.” The situation would be different however if English Heritage are successful in establishing Osbourne bay as an MCZ. This normal anchoring spot, and with many it others would then be lost to the recreational sailor. It may sound far fetched to think that a large chunk of British coastal waters could be lost for sailing and anchoring in this way, but this is already happening in the Mediterranean. The consultation process for Marine Conservation Zones finished at the end of March 2013, so we should soon know which coastal areas and anchorages are to be affected. Marine Navigation (No. 2) Bill 2012 This Bill includes provisions governing pilotage, the management of harbours, and the powers and duties applicable to harbour authorities, port constables and the General Lighthouse Authorities. The concern here is that Clause 5 of the Bill would confer on designated harbour authorities the power to give ‘harbour directions’ to ships (including recreational craft) within their harbours. Failure to comply with the direction would be a criminal offence. The Bill creates no checks and balances to govern the exercise of power by individual ports and harbour authorities and no practical recourse or remedy for the review of inappropriate and unjustified directions. In essence, the proposed power to create new criminal offences in clause 5 of the Bill contains none of the supervisory safeguards usually imposed in relation to law-making bodies in a democratic society. Harbour authorities generally are not law-making bodies nor are they necessarily well-placed or adequately resourced to frame controls introducing new criminal offences. However, the Bill appears to be a “done deal” with neither government nor opposition willing to find parliamentary time to accept the reasonable amendments which the RYA and industry bodies propose. A sop has appeared in the form of a code of conduct which would provide a non statutory mechanism for influencing harbour authorities in their proliferation of regulations. Gus Lewis of the RYA said, “The code would provide a form of check and balance to govern the exercise of the power by individual harbour authorities and offer a practical framework for the review of inappropriate and unjustified directions. Our preferred solution would have been for a statutory safeguard to be included on the face of the Bill. However, it is becoming clear that neither the Government nor the Opposition are keen to amend the Bill”. It’s the best that can be done with a bad job.
Wavelength | June 2013
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NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
Moorings and Maintenance Before Alan Saunders, previous Commodore and chair of the Buildings Maintenance Committee left for his yearlong French canal cruise, he writes about the project to upgrade club buildings to a modern standard. Until several years ago the fabric of both clubhouses was looked after by two committees; House Committee was responsible for the internal maintenance, decor and functions and the Moorings and Maintenance committee looked after the external fabric and pretty much everything else externally. This inevitably resulted in some anomalies; if House was responsible for painting the inside of a door and Moorings and Maintenance for the outside, from whose budget should the works come? The answer was as simple as forming a separate Buildings Maintenance Committee purely to be responsible for the upkeep, improvement and maintenance of both buildings, comprising members with useful knowledge of the subject. Since inception this new committee has focussed on a rolling five year plan for improvements and maintenance, and so far several large jobs have been completed. Most of these have been overseen by Bernie Watkins in the capacity of project manager, though we are sad to note that due to family commitments Bernie has now left the club board and committee - he has our heartfelt thanks for the considerable time and effort he has put in over recent years. Part of the overall brief was to ensure that future costs were minimised, and to this end all the exterior windows and doors, timber shiplap, the River Room and balcony have been refurbished and updated and will no longer require routine costly decoration and repair. The lift has been replaced by a much more suitable installation and more recently the central heating in the bar and restaurant has also been replaced with an up to date system with zoned heat controls and fan assisted radiators. By the time that this article is published the works to the changing rooms and toilets will have been completed. This was necessary because the panels to the vanity units and cubicles were laminated m.d.f. (medium density fibreboard) which had soaked up moisture and were degraded in places. All the panels have now been replaced with solid grade laminate which is impervious to water ingress. The Ladies and Gents toilets have also been re-tiled and the cisterns re-furbished. Where possible existing basins have been retained, cleaned and
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Wavelength | June 2013
replaced to avoid unnecessary expenditure. You will also notice the sinks have new taps and ‘flip wastes’ rather than the old plugs, which bizarrely kept on vanishing! We have tried to keep the disturbance to a minimum but of course some disruption has been inevitable. During early spring the heating system at Southwick will be also overhauled, and a new combi-boiler fitted. The gas supply to the kitchen will also be uprated to accommodate the new boiler and existing cookers. The committee would be grateful if the controls to the new boiler are left untouched by members (Ed Note: we are pleased to report that since this article was written the new boiler has been commissioned at Southwick). In addition to the above works, and to comply with existing legislation, the club has commissioned a Fire Safety Report and Asbestos survey for both clubhouses and the recommendations therein are in the process of being implemented. Alan Saunders
Terry Kinch, rear commodore and new chair of the Moorings & Maintenance Committee has a huge task. The new pontoon extension moorings in Southwick are finished now, with yachts moving to take up residence and we have been promised an essay on this huge project from David Skinner, hopefully for the next issue of Wavelength. For my own part I have been focussing on the boat yard; from the survey results and comments it is clear that members share the feeling that our yard could look better! Over coming months, as yachts launch and space is cleared, working closely with Ben our bosun and his team we’ll be working to deliver a yard we can all be proud of. However before I can get Ben busy with that, we need to get the river pontoons back in place rather than cluttering up the car park and slipway; we’ve had to replace almost all the floats and all our yard staff have been putting in a tremendous effort to get this difficult task completed whilst also keeping the yard running as normal. Well done chaps! Another project that will require careful handling will be the reinstatement of our pedestrian west entrance which has been closed during the foot bridge construction., Discussions are well in hand with Osborne’s and WSCC over the shape of this entrance and I hope to reveal much improved access combined with an attractive new gateway. Terry Kinch
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
Tales from the River Bank Tim Leigh’s missive from the SYC office.
Photo by Judith Green.
Car Parking This old nutshell again! Last year we worked out a new system as the age old one of recording every members’ vehicle and changes thereof became too cumbersome to maintain. We now issue members with a personalised card, which you can transfer to whatever car you own. This will assist you in not having to advise us of changes of car and will help us to identify the true owners of cars parked at the club. The Club Directors have also planned to carry out regular spot checks, particularly outside of office hours, of “illegal” cars parked on our premises. To assist them and to prevent inconvenience to you, please contact the office if you need a card or two for your car/s. Health & Safety We engaged the services of a professional consultant again last year. With the laws that prevail and the rise of “no win, no fee” legal firms eager to take advantage of every bruise and graze to commence litigation, we must ensure that as a club, we are doing everything reasonably possible to protect members, visitors and staff from accidental harm or injury. We have been given a fairly extensive list of improvements by this consultant and we anticipate spending most of the year working on various items of differing importance to your safety. As with all things, these improvements come at a cost, some monetary, some in time. Our club, particularly the outside is always going to have hazards and all the money, signage, rules and guidance in the world can only go so far to help people avoid harm. Members, visitors and staff must also take responsibility for their own safety and common sense, clearing up after yourself, being aware of where you are walking, working, parking, clearing up, goes a long way towards this. Tally-ho! We have had dinghy tallies for a number of years now to identify and correctly bill those people who choose to store and sail their dinghies and other small craft from our club.
We are now extending this system to help us identify every piece of loose equipment stored outside and in communal access areas, both at Shoreham and Southwick. This includes RIBs, kayaks, trailers, masts, safety boats and ancillary equipment. We must be able to easily identify the owner of items left here, both for safety, to avoid theft and mis-identification as well as for charging fairly when appropriate. Please help us to help you; Paula and Chris in the office are jointly tasked with this endeavour and any assistance you may give is always appreciated. Lockers, Lockers and yet more Lockers… The Club is considering installing lockers for personal possessions etc. in the changing rooms. We would very much like to hear from anyone who would consider this beneficial and who would take up an offer of a locker were it to be offered. The form is likely to take an annual rental fee to recover the cost of the locker within about4/5 years (maybe £30/£40 per annum). In addition or perhaps alternatively we could look at the type used in sports clubs/swimming pools with a slot mechanism where you pay a pound a session. If you think this is a good idea then please let us know. We are also looking into installing a run of secure metal lockers in the circulatory area
of the ground floor stores at Southwick. These would be for boat equipment, sails etc and would be rented out annually first come first served. There may be a variety of sizes to suit demand. We would again be grateful to hear from anyone who feels this would be of benefit to the boat owing community; if there is no positive feedback then we’ll not take the idea further. Cost is unknown at this time but would be commensurate and relative to the store rates currently charged. Tim Leigh
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Wavelength | June 2013
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NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
Farewell to Deana
Winter Sailing Lectures? Yes Please! Every winter, The Sailing Section organises a number of lectures, usually on a Wednesday evening, once a month on sailing related topics. for 2012/13 we have held lectures on Cowes Week, IRC rating and finally on first aid at sea given by Dr Tim Stevenson, a long-standing club member, RNLI emergency doctor and local GP. The pictures show Dr Tim giving his lecture in the restaurant to an audience of around fifty members. It was interesting to note that the question and answer session lasted longer than the lecture showing the level of interaction that this topic generated. If you have requests or ideas for the lecture series this coming autumn, please communicate these to Tim Cork, Sailing Section Captain who can be contacted through the Yacht Club office. Tim would love to hear from you and will do his best to try and bring together those subjects that members wish to be informed upon. Please note these do need to be of relevance to Sailing although it is appreciated that relevance is a flexible concept. Subjects already suggested have included, race officer training, race tactics for people new to racing, cooking at sea (practical ideas for recipes, demonstrations and nutrition) and fire at sea (how to avoid it and what to do if it happens to you).
Dave Ramus presents Deana with the Commodores Shield.
Members will be sorry not to see the cheerful features of Deana around the bar these days. After 28 years service to the club she has retired to look after a member of the family.
from our grateful club. Aware that Deana was popping in for a quiet farewell to her regulars, Hocine laid on a lunchtime spread and made sure word got out to visit the bar on Wed 29 May - Commodore Dave Ramus was just one of many so see her off in style and recognised her outstanding service to SYC by presenting Deana with a Commodores Shield.
Neil Fraser Betts writes: “Deana started work at SYC some 28 years ago. She has mainly worked Mondays and Tuesdays as well as club functions. When we first started the club quiz 20 years ago Deana would purchase the nibbles and plate them for us purely for the cost of the food only.
Deana - please come back and see us whenever you can!
During centenary week she was an absolute godsend, not only working all hours behind the bar, but being the peacemaker between some members and the organising teams. Her Monday “lunch club” was also appreciated by the members where again she did all the shopping and preparation as a service for members. Many times Deana has been of great help when various works were in progress in the bar area. Away from the club Deana loves to go shopping looking after her pets and seeing her grand children.” It was typical of Deana that she wanted to retire without any fuss, but we couldn’t alow that. Her many fans got togther with Hocine to make a collection, which was swollen by a cheque
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Wavelength | June 2013
Tim Leigh
Advertise in Wavelength The economy is under a cloud and the chill wind of cutbacks has scattered marketing budgets. Looking at Wavelength dispassionately it was clear that the advertising rates were unrealistic, so after a careful review the rates have been substantially dropped. We are also launching a new classified section which will feature in the next issue, along with advertisers being able to include a banner on the SYC website. If you want further details then please email or call the office. Email secretary@sussexyachtclub.org.uk or call 01273 464868
NEW LOW ADVERTISING RATES • Back cover £100 • Page £90 • Half page £50 • Quarter page £30 • Eighth page £20 • Classified section £1 per line. • Website Banner: To get on the SYC website home page with a banner in the rotating carousel adds £20 and runs for the life of the Wavelength issue the ad appears in (the carousel is shared with equal exposure for all advertisers).
NEWS & CLUB MEMBERS BUSINESS
Paul Powter, A Life Remembered Paul’s first taste of sailing, at the tender age of thirteen, was in a 40’ yawl based at Weymouth. Having developed a taste for the sea he joined the RAF as an Aircraft Apprentice in 1951 and during his leisure time he helped to build Cadet dinghies and sailed them on the Thames above Teddington Lock. He was a ground engineer with the RAF for eleven years during which he was posted to Christmas Island in the Pacific where he witnessed two H Bomb tests, (from a safe distance). For the latter part of his time he specialised in Britannia aircraft and had a further posting to Aden for two years. On leaving the RAF in 1966 he joined a charter airline at Gatwick as a flight engineer but was grounded five years later due to the onset of diabetes. He then worked for a cargo airline from 1977 to 1986, first as Liaison Engineer, then as Deputy Engineer and finally Chief Engineer. He continued working with aircraft until his retirement in 2001. Paul worked for a time for Air South at Shoreham airport and while he was there he ‘acquired’ an old Cessna 150. Intent on restoring it to its former glory, he decided that it would be better to work on it at home. Having first removed the wings and installing them in the lounge he had to get the fuselage back. This was achieved by hooking it up to the back of the car, driven by Mavis, with Paul walking behind controlling the plane with two lengths of rope. On the way home Mavis encountered what she imagined to be a pilot driving a car towards them. She waved him out of the way only for Paul to tell her when they arrived home that it was a surprised police officer. Eventually the
A link with the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Australia
plane was restored and Paul was able to accompany the pilot on the test flight. During this time his love of sailing had been undiminished, and he joined Sussex Yacht Club in 1967, sailing Enterprise dinghies, Windsurfers and cruisers. His first venture into cruising was on a 21’ oversized dinghy called Macy which was purchased in the late sixties, then moved up to Overture, a Rival 32, which, with his wife Mavis, he sailed for many years, before moving on to Chiron, a Jeanneau Sun Légende in 1999. Both Paul and Mavis enjoyed many years cruising, together with Roger ‘The Bear’ as crew. As Roger was often to point out, the boat was sailed according to the creed that there is the right way, the wrong way and Paul’s way to do things. During his membership of the yacht club Paul served as Treasurer and Rear Commodore as well as being a popular and entertaining part of rallies and club events. He will be greatly missed. As told to Alan Saunders by Mavis Powter
Roger and Rosemary Titley present an SYC burgee to the RFBYC. The presentation night for the Mid Week Autumn Winter series coincided with a visit to Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club by Roger and Rosemary Titley from West Sussex. Roger brought with him a burgee from the
Sussex Yacht Club to present to RFBYC and in his presentation speech, Roger explained that he and his wife had visited RFBYC as the guest of their good friend Bob Lawrence on previous trips to Perth and had always enjoyed the location, views and friendly atmosphere. FRBYC, Rear Commodore Clarke welcomed Roger and Rosemary, and thanked them for the burgee, which he promised would be duly framed and hung proudly in our Clubhouse and invited the Titleys to visit again when next in Perth. Roger was made an Honorary Member of Sussex Yacht Club, after serving for many years as the local RNLI Medical Officer. The Sussex Yacht Club was founded in 1892, making it 4 years older than RFBYC and like RFBYC they have active Keelboat and Dinghy sections.
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WHERE WENT & NEWS &YOU CLUB BUSINESS WHAT YOU DID
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Steps to Heaven Brian Thomas finishes his account of his Atlantic circuit, with this third instalment, which documents his return Trans-Atlantic crossing back to the UK aboard Dances with Waves.
The Caribbean...pretty close to heaven..
THIS IS A STORY about a person who wanted to complete a dream that had grown over a lifetime in which normal stages of one’s time on this earth were to unfold. Stages such as growing up through teenage years, starting to build a career, meeting a girl, getting married, having a family and retiring.
had the sailing bug, but I don’t think it ever passed a moment’s thought for my father, even if he did posses the finances to do such a thing. I was alone in my enthusiasm for sailing amongst my three other brothers and many friends and associates. So I am at a loss to comprehend why it was such a bee in my bonnet.
I am one of the fortunate members of the war babies era. We experienced a completely different lifestyle from our parents and forbears. It was a time of energy, growth and unlimited opportunities. My path enabled me to retire with just enough capital to plan my lifelong dream to sail the Atlantic. The reader will quickly realise that I started this adventure with a large helping of blissful ignorance. Perhaps that was not a bad thing bearing in mind what I was taking on.
What is even more remarkable is the way we all start something and being human feel obliged to finish. It doesn’t occur to us to stop and consider what we are really taking on. It’s like the snowball rolling down the hill. Once momentum is started there is no stopping the forward rush until the bottom is reached. I’m glad my snowball never deviated or broke up or hit a brick wall on the way down.
My sailing experience was very limited. What you might call a weekend sailor. My parents never
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However there were many moments when it was very nearly run out out steam and me meltdown. Here is my story in all it’s raw and open honesty.
We take up the story in the French West Indies where having left the Island of Saba, Brian arrives in suave St Barts. “Our next stop included a pleasant sail to St Barts and the port of Gustava. It is a French colony which is very rich and very chic. The marina provides stern to mooring onto the quayside. We dropped anchor some 60 metres out and reversed back onto the quay to which we made up. There is a very nice spot just around the side of St Barts so we stopped over for a night in St Colombier Bay. Then off to St Martin with a good 30 +Knt easterly breeze. On March 22nd we arrived in St Martin: The Island is half Dutch and half French. Everyone speaks English so no problems with language. There are many marinas to choose from. I had the usual difficulties getting them on the VHF By April 10th We were as ready as we will ever be and set off to sail to Anguilla. It took us 6 hours with the final two hours heading into the wind. We anchored in Little Bay for the night. Real shame we didn’t
have time to explore the island as it looks absolutely beautiful. We were both tired and pleased to get a good anchorage next to Virgin Gorda outside Spanish Town marina in St Thomas Bay. We slept for 12 hours before getting up and taking the dinghy to Spanish Town. Our first stop for the grand BVI tour was Marina Cay which on paper looked superb and an easy approach as long as one spots and heads for the red buoy. Unfortunately it was chock-a-block with catamarans and charter boats with a mooring fee of 25 $ so we left early the next day for North Sound which is a lovely lagoon but still very windy. The passage looks a bit foreboding but again very simple once there, providing one keeps inside the buoyed channel until the third red buoy when the whole lagoon and sailing area opens up. We could have turned right and anchored in Blunder Bay but we played safe and dropped anchor off Prickly Pear Island near Vixen Point very close to the beach. I could see my long promised Bitter End restaurant just across the lagoon.
WHERE YOU WENT & NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS WHAT YOU DID
St.Barts
On April 18th we had an excellent sail to the small island of Anegada registering 6 to 7 knots boat speed all the way. Maybe the clean bottom gave us a bit more speed. We hope it stays that way for the trip home. The island is surrounded by the Anegada Reef and has a very low promontory of only 28 feet in height, but we steered well clear of Pelican Point on the south east of the island and headed towards the red marker just outside Setting Point Bay further along the coast. If you can spot red buoys at 90 degrees to the left, it’s an easy approach. The sand is soft so there is good anchoring and there are plenty of mooring buoys. We set off the next day to sail back to Cane Gardens which was recommended in all the brochures as the hidden treasure of the BVI’s. It was a bit too commercialised for me. We next visited Jost van Dyke Island and anchored off Great Harbour. This time we did experience a nice meal but it was not cheap. The venue was Foxy’s Bar which is quite famous.It is similar to The Bitter End but I think these famous places are better known by the Americans. With no wind to speak of we motored onto our next destination, Norman Island where we found lots of boats. In fact it was so very
busy that we had to take a mooring near the party time boat in the SE corner of the bay. There was lots of noise and wouldn’t come here again. It’s now the 26th April and we have completed an easy downwind sail back to the marina in Road Town. I quickly glance over to “The Baths” on Virgin Gorda wishing we had stopped off there. But time is once again against us. Now it’s time for a crew change as Mo departs for the UK. Some new crew have arrived and the delicate process of getting to know one another begins. Alan gets to grips with apparent boat inadequacies and seems very well informed. Overall crew seem very good which augers well for the big trip. We departed Jome Marina, Road Town, Tortola for the Azores on May 1st with typical F4 winds and with everyone prepared including Alan, who had inspected the boat to his satisfaction. My thoughts were on the weather across the big Atlantic. What conditions would we have to endure? Would the winds be in the right direction?
via Bermuda and by May 4th this was proving to be correct. With a northerly heading and an ENE wind we were making excellent progress and managed 144 miles on the second day. The engine was turned off at last after 40 hours. We then made good progress under sail and with 100 miles remaining to St Georges harbour it looked like we would arrive in the daylight which is no bad thing as the coast around the island has lots of reefs and hazards and the approach is a challenge. We found the Bermudan coastguard extremely helpful. They have a very tall aerial that picks up boats within a 50 mile radius. Nevertheless we took a great deal of care approaching the entrance which was quite narrow.
On the 9th - 10th May we made our final preparations for the passage to the Azores which is 1800 miles. The Bermudians are very friendly and helpful but also out to make a large profit from being the only port of call for hundreds of miles. The cost of food, fuel and water is astronomical. But we had no choice. On May 11th we refuelled, waved goodbye to Starfire, a 27 ft Sadler from Fowey and left Bermuda for Horta. Starfire, manned by two young guys had crossed our path both in Madeira and St Lucia after they had been supported by Silver Bear during the ARC crossing when they had to complete the Atlantic with a jury rudder. I admired their bravery in such a small boat.
Our plan to sail direct to the Azores was in trouble. The more reliable NE winds were not what we wanted and Alan’s hope of heading straight across the triangle to the Azores was not looking good. Accordingly we decided to go
Dolphins came to take a look at Dances with Waves.
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WHERE WENT & NEWS &YOU CLUB BUSINESS WHAT YOU DID By the 13th May we began to feel the true Atlantic weather. Despite our best route planning tactics we didn’t manage to miss the first low which took 20 hours to blow through and gusted 55 knots, so the night was not very pleasant. We got a bit of a drenching! Come back Caribbean- all is forgiven. Larry and Doris are both doing a grand job. We have fingers crossed for second low coming through on Saturday night. By the 15th May it was clear that this low was not going to play ball. It did decide to track further south which bought us another very rough night of consistent winds in the 40’s. As usual Dances with Waves took it all in her stride That night was not a very good night to be on watch but Chris spotted a whale first thing in the morning. It came within 30 yards of the boat. What a size and presence! On 21st May it was exactly one year since leaving the UK but I’m not celebrating until we actually get back. It’s not a good day as the engine has been running for 24 hours and there is not much prospect of the wind returning. At least motoring has enabled us to head further north to reach Horta. Five days back we were on a heading further south to San Miguel because of our concern to stay below the track of the lows. We arrived in Horta on May 25th and by the next day had completed shopping for last leg and bought some spares from the chandlery including a Reeds Almanac for 60 Euros but food and other things were very cheap. We departed from Horta and sailed between San Jorge, Terciera and Graciosa. It’s a shame there is low cloud around
Horta marina, Azores.
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as we leave this beautiful, peaceful place. There are 1200 miles to England and we are hoping for a 10 day passage if the winds are favourable. But by 31st May there is a lack of wind so the engine is on. But there is only 750 miles to go to Falmouth so we have adequate fuel on board to motor all the way if needed. We have covered 3000 NM in four weeks.
Eight Days Without The Fenders
1st June was a cold and wet and we are beginning to feel a bit homesick for Shoreham. There is no activity to speak of on board – good. The next day we saw dolphins which are much bigger than the usual porpoises and which have a different swimming pattern using circles rather than following the boat. They make magnificent jumps high out of the water By the 5th June we have only 60 miles left. It’s difficult to comprehend that I have completed 10,000 miles in a little over a year. We have sighted Lands End and then later arrived in Falmouth at 2100. We were in the pub by 2130 supping a pint of lager. Being surrounded by English speaking people feels completely alien. Now I am here I want to return to the Caribbean. What fickle beings us humans are. We were rafted up to another boat and from which I managed to fall despite not having had much to drink. I couldn’t explain why this happened. I certainly didn’t feel drunk but perhaps I was subconsciously letting go after completing such a personal challenge.” Brian Thomas
Peter Everard rediscovers the delights of simple cruising without engine or marina berth. We used to sail with the marina madness, dashing from one harbour pontoon to another. This meant a fair amount of motor sailing and sometimes just plain motoring. The battery relished the extra charging and we arrived near our ETA, but we gained little more of relaxation and enjoyment. Of late, with so many more things to fit in, life in general seems to have got more and more busy. Faint memories of tranquil anchorages recurred, inviting a different sort of sailing break. One season recently I set off with the simple aim of sailing not very far and then anchoring overnight. I made eight days without getting the fenders out - though I did cheat a little at one spot. I rediscovered some of those forgotten pleasures. The days began with the forecast and tea in bed then a swim before breakfast. A leisurely start allowed for some passage planning to suit the forecast. Perhaps a fishing stop for some lunch, and later sailing up to an anchorage with not too much fuss. Some reading filled the time before supper in the cockpit, revelling in the sunsets whilst birds called in the distance. There was even time to take some long walks from dinghy landings.
So where did I get to? Firstly to Chichester - a favourite spot near Pilsey Island out of the main channel. Then to Osbourne Bay which becomes very quiet when the day trippers leave. After that a mooch around the central Solent on a windy day, and a potter up to Newport and back before another night in Osbourne Bay. Then out of Hurst Narrows and an overnight in Studland Bay before an excursion around Poole Harbour. Here I stepped ashore to get fresh supplies and got permission to stay alongside the well fendered pontoon. (I didn’t need my fenders so I don’t count that!) Some more exploring left me anchored just by Brownsea Island looking out for red squirrels. Next day it was time to start my way homeward via Newtown Creek and Chichester. Finally a blast around Selsey just as the weather broke after a week of friendly breezes. Neap tides made for easy depth calculations and setting off westward was an advantage. Each day the tides ran just a little later to allow for that leisurely breakfast or doing a few little jobs before setting off. A few days afterwards the tides were late enough to catch the current flow back home without getting up at silly-o-clock. I’ve done further trips and more adventurous trips but I’ve rarely returned as relaxed as from this gentle excursion around the south coast. Eight days was really good but if only I had eight weeks! Peter Everard
GENERAL INTEREST
Prusik or Klemheist?
Mike Wylde mast climbs in an unconventional manner. Some people scamper up and down the mast like squirrels up and down a tree trunk. Unfortunately not me. I find it very “challenging”. It’s completely irrational in someone who happily flies gliders and home built aircraft at thousands of feet, but as soon as I’m above the boom with my feet in the air, rationality disappears! Two things I hate about the normal system are feeling totally dependent on someone below and swinging around like a pendulum. Perhaps if I could find a way round those points it would help. So how do solo sailors do it? Prusik knots, ascenders, Jumars, gantlines, bits of plywood with camcleats screwed to them, they are all out there offering themselves as solutions. There are commercial systems; fixed mast steps, collapsible ladders on sail slides, block and tackle systems and so on. Amongst these the TopClimber caught my eye. In this, rather than the halyard lifting a bosun’s chair, the halyard is fixed to the deck and tensioned, and a climbing harness is attached to the halyard with a jammer. Loops for the feet are attached to a second jammer. As the climb proceeds the first of these jammers carries the climber’s weight and the second, which bears no weight at this point, is slid up the rope. The weight is then transferred to the second jammer and the first one is slid upwards, enabling the climber to progress up the halyard and mast by putting his weight alternately on the harness and foot loops. I thought maybe I could do a “Blue Peter” and patch something together experimentally for less than the £250 that the pukka version costs. My rig consisted of two 6’ webbing tethers, hanging double with the hooks at the top and tied together 1’ above the bottom to make foot loops. My Crewsaver bosun’s chair, which is a nice enclosing design with thigh straps and a waist strap that keep it in place, substituted for the harness. I couldn’t beg, borrow or steal any ascenders (jammers) so it was down to a
choice of self-locking knots, the general recommendation seeming to be the Klemheist. I used 6mm polyester onto the 10mm polyester halyard for the two knots. (Dyneema is advised against because of its lower melting point in the event of slippage and friction heating). A third tether was looped round the mast from the bosun’s chair lifting eyes, but this turned out to be unnecessary because the tight halyard already limited how far I could swing. A second halyard was attached both to the bosun’s chair and to a lifejacket – not in case I ended up in the water, but as a back-up harness! This was actually the spinnaker halyard, brought back outside the shrouds, so not for lifting. No cheating! With Miles volunteering as safety man, off I went, with the main halyard tied at the mast base and winched tight. Climbing up went quite well apart from my legs getting a bit trapped between the mast and stays, and I felt more at ease than normal up the mast. Coming down was uneventful and easier to move the knots in this direction. The most difficult thing was repeatedly lifting my legs to unload the knot. Landing on deck felt good, with quite a sense of achievement having worked at the masthead. How could the equipment be improved? Firstly, different knots or else ascenders. A Bachman knot is wound round a carabiner which you can use like a handle. Alternatively there are many self-jamming ascenders available; the Petzl Shunt for example appears to operate much like the purpose made ones in the TopClimber. Secondly, a harness instead of the bosun’s chair, making it easier to straighten the legs. Thirdly, purpose designed foot loops. In fact, rather than assemble all those, you might as well buy a TopClimber!
Editors note: This all goes back to mountaineering, where apocryphal stories abound of climbers who, left dangling on a rope after an accident, untied and used their bootlaces to ascend the safety rope in just this way. The name that comes most readily to mind in this regard is that of Dr Prusik, an Austrian climber of the 1930’s whose name is given to the eponymous knot. However, the knot in use here was the Klemheist, which is almost like half a Prusik, but as ‘elf and safety would say: “Don’t try this at home”. Regulations on using bosun’s chairs on commercial vessels for ascending rigging are to be found in the MCA’s Code of Safe Working practices Chapter 15.5. They do not foresee the use of friction knots and are very prescriptive! You have been warned!
Mike ‘Squirrel’ Wylde.
Having now beaten my demons twice – I went up again a few days later – I will try the conventional method again and hope it feels better. At least it makes the crew do more of the work instead of the climber! However I’m sure that in extremis in that desolate bay, one could ascend single handed on three Klemheist knots, with the extra one on a fixed safety line. The Prusik, Klemheist, autoblock and Bachmann knots are all shown at http://www. chockstone.org/TechTips/prusik.htm The MastaClimba - http://www.mastaclimba. com/id68.html The TopClimber - http://www. topclimberinternational.nl/technical.html The MastClimber - http://www.atninc.com/ atn-mastclimber-sailing-equipment.shtml The Petzl Shunt ascender - http://www.petzl. com/en/outdoor/multi-purpose-ascenders-0/ shunt Finally for you squirrels, see if this would appeal to you as the ultimate mast climb - http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG1D78g8hQU Mike Wylde
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WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID
The Jewel of the South Pacific Tim & Kate Leigh smell the frangipani, taste the vanilla and Tim just about avoids becoming lunch for a marauding moray eel. Only by boat can you truly experience the magic of the Leeward (Society) Islands of Tahiti. Sail through tranquil lagoons in the shadows of volcanic peaks, just as ancient Polynesians did in outrigger canoes. Let trade winds scented with the fragrant mix of orchid, frangipani and vanilla carry you to islands that have cast their mesmerizing spell on writers, painters and centuries of sailors. Sailing trips can be great value as they are significantly cheaper than hotels, especially when splitting costs with others and cooking your own meals. It’s a great adventure; sails taut and driving in the wind, the sun in your face and no one anywhere near. However sailing isn’t for everyone; the seas can get rough at times, you’ve got to pump toilets to make them flush, showers are rudimentary (even the deck one although space ceases to be an issue, we didn’t shower inside once) and living quarters are cramped. But when you’ve got warm sea breezes, sunshine by day and starry nights, you don’t need much beyond bathing suits, shorts and flip-flops. And so it was in late October 2012, Kate and I, following a ten hour flight on Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow to Los Angeles, a one day stop over in LA (spent enjoying the thrill rides and sights of Universal Studios), a seven hour flight on Air Tahiti Nui (beautiful plane, beautiful crew, beautiful food, beautiful service, beautiful flight), a second night at a “cheap” £100 airport motel, and an early flight on Air Tahiti (just like Liat in the Caribbean but reliable) we arrived on the small quiet island of Raiatea where, greeted with a necklace of Tiare flowers (the national flower of Tahiti) from the girl meeting us from Tahiti Yacht Charter, we waited for a man and
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his tractor to deliver our bags. Minutes later we were enjoying the air conditioned minibus ride to the charter base all of five minutes away, where within three hours, we had checked our pre-ordered provisions, had a boat and chart briefing, gone shopping for everything else we wanted on board for a six night stay, and had left the still heat of the marina on our Lagoon 380, a gleaming four cabin catamaran heading for our first recommended nights’ anchorage eight miles away on the east side of the neighbouring island of Taha’a. The boat was well equipped and everything worked. We grabbed a cabin each as our personal dressing rooms and unpacked using the last spare cabin to store the surplus towels and linen that we would not use (the boat was kitted out for ten people even though we were just two). We had the usual sails, white only in a bright yellow stack pack, single line reefing, a decent tender suspended on davits coupled to a 6hp outboard which started first time every time. A 600 litre water tank meant we would
not need to come alongside at all during our six nights on board and we used just a fraction of the 200 litres of diesel (Gazole); oh and by-theway, having two engines 20 feet apart makes for great manoeuvrability! Raiatea, Taha’a, Huahine and Bora Bora make up the principle four islands that are within easy cruising distance of the charter base centrally located on Raiatea. The islands are all volcanic and having formed some millions of years ago, they have (and are) slowly slipping back into the sea, hence why all the islands have a barrier reef encircling them and one or two passes between the reef where the sea has come through to flood the low lying areas. This creates the lagoons, within which much of the cruising is undertaken. Raiatea and Taha’a are unique in that they share the same barrier reef and lagoon, and the picture postcard image is not a product of photoshop and exists in reality as the unedited photos accompanying this article show. Each island is different and more beautiful than James Michener’s descriptions in his “Tales
Kate on dolphin/whale watch off Ta’haa (in background)
WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID of the South Pacific.” The locals are even more striking than imagined, with their crowns of flowers and leaves, the women wearing brightly colored pareos that can be tied so many different ways. All the time we were there we enjoyed a steady 12-15kt easterly breeze. This was enough to allow the boat to move happily under full sail, never challenged us unduly as virgin catamaraners, and didn’t get the boat wet when we motor sailed to destinations into the wind; we were on holiday and zigzagging upwind to our next port of call did not appeal. Our apologies to the sailing purists who will be pleased to learn we did go outside the reef on one or two days and tacked and gybed all over the place just for the fun of it... then we motored to where we wanted to go! If I may borrow a term from esteemed Club Member, Graham Webster, in order to maintain power to all our ‘boat systems’, we had to run the engine for an hour or so each day anyway, so may as well have it in gear and doing something useful. Our first night anchorage was sublime; we set the hook just as the sun was starting its final downhill run to the horizon, in 4 metres of water, anchor clearly visible on the sand in the crystal clear water and the nearest (in fact only) other boat over 300 metres away. The mooring was so good we decided to hang around there the next day, chill out and play with some of the toys we had on board; water loungers, kayaks, snorkelling gear and the tender. The coral teems with fish; striped banner fish, long skinny trumpet fish, parrotfish, triggerfish, a barracuda and a big ugly eel that eat our scraps of day-old baguettes (we are in French Polynesia, after all). Snorkelling trips to the reef and motus (mini islands on the barrier reef, nearly all uninhabited) nearby, kayaking right up to the reef where we were in less than a metre of calm water on one side, with the Pacific swell hurling itself against the coral just a few metres
away on the other, water loungers in which, à la Dead Sea, we could lie in the water and read a book, and the tender, well we used that to go to the mainland and visit a vanilla plantation. The directions from the owner to this were “Get ashore, walk until you see Jordan, turn left!” ‘Jordan’, instead of being a twin peaked pin up object of male desire, turned out to be a rough looking vessel, patched up here and there, suspended above the water on a scaffold; actually there are similarities then aren’t there! Vallee de la Vanilleis a local plantation set a few minutes walk inland from the shore. The colourful houses (tin huts) lining the pathway to the plantation is serene and humbling. Vibrant mailboxes house bread for the local people, Tiare bushes with an abundance of white scented flowers line our route. Upon arrival, we are greeted by a Tahitian farmer who is happy to see us. He has a passion for cultivating the vanilla bean and we are eager to learn. Farming of the bean from early stages to mouth is two years he goes on to explain. A walk through the farm is educational and very interesting. Everything is done by hand right down to pollinating the plants. The tedious process of Nothing like having “Mumm” around on holiday!
Cockpit of our cat’ with ‘George’ on the helm.
cultivating, drying, massaging and extracting the beans is well worth the final product. Vanilla from Taha’a is some of the best in the world. Buy fresh beans or purchase vanilla extract, perfumes, shampoos, and more to take home! “If the bees did it, it would be so easy,” our farmer guide says. But they won’t go hungry. There are fruit trees everywhere; limes, star fruit, coconut, grapefruit and mangos, and 47 species of banana trees. “You have to love what you do and do what you love” we are advised; philosophy is alive and well in French Polynesia! Taha’a, the “Vanilla Island” produces 80 percent of French Polynesia’s vanilla and is Raiatea’s smaller companion island. We are in paradise - really. The fish literally eat out of our hands, the water is so clear we can see seashells in the sand 4 metres below us and the island nearby is ringed by lush, green trees, some dripping with exotic fruits. Bananas, Pineapples, Mangos and Coconuts grow to the extent that they are left where they fall to rot and produce more offspring of the same variety. When we visited the vanilla plantation we were given fresh mango juice and when we asked if we might buy a few bananas to replenish dwindling stocks, we were given a huge bag of these and aforementioned fruits by our host who seemed as keen to get rid of them as we were to accept; “I feed them to the chickens we have so much” he advised us! The barrier reef is an amazing thing; it is true to say that the bow of the boat can be anchored in 4 metres and the stern of the boat can be lying in 50 metres, it just drops off
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WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID
the narrow winding lagoon to the southern end of the island where we had been recommended to anchor, we were overtaken by two enthusiastic dolphins. Huahine is an island forgotten by time. There is no real tourism there, the main resource being fishing and the production of the rare and valuable black pearl unique to these islands. There are a few restaurants, one hotel and a pension or two but that is about it. The whole of the Tahitian Islands are very safe and friendly, but Huahine (Tahitian for vagina, read into that what you like) is the friendliest and safest of the lot. Goes down a treat after a hard days nothing.
like a cliff hence why it is advised to ignore the GPS and the depth log on the boat and instead rely on the colour of the water for pilotage, dark blue deep water, light blue less than 12 metres, turquoise less than six metres, sandy less than 2 metres, green…..you’ve guessed it! (anyone reading this who has sailed on ‘Mean Feeling’ when I have been entrusted with the helm will know I am no stranger to this!) Anchoring in shallow water near the reef proved straightforward with common sense and a good lookout on the bow. The breeze was with us all the time, night and day, and as such with hatches left open air conditioning came naturally. As we were a fair way from the mainland shore, mosquitos and other bugs came nowhere near us. Our bug spray went home unused which was a huge advantage over the Caribbean anchorages which as many will know, are often crowded and sultry at night with bugs and insects feasting off you incessantly; and as for boat boys hassling you, not a one in sight. The next day, wanting to show off but with no-one around to show off to, we stuck the mainsail in the air and sailed off our anchorage, through the narrow pass and headed off east to the neighbouring island of Huahine, part under sail but mainly under motor due to the zigzag complex aforementioned. The island is some 20NM away and we got there at lunchtime, negotiated the even narrower pass through the reef, and upon starting the five mile trip down
We stayed there one night, snorkelled the reef the next morning and then traipsed back up to the pass, where we anchored off the local village of Fare and popped ashore to get a couple of bits from the ‘shops’, only to find they were all closed for the day. We stayed the night anyway as the anchorage looked interesting; it was near where we had spotted the dolphins the previous day, we had seen some large fish and some rays and being so close to the pass where the big fish usually are, we were hopeful of seeing more. We had also made the acquaintance of a Canadian chap living aboard his boat who had objected to our initial anchoring plan, and encouraged us with some choice words to go a little further away. We did and half an hour later he paddled over to us with a pineapple by way of apology for his terseness. He was right though, the current through the passes is strong and although we had been careful in our choice of anchoring spot, when the ‘tide’ turned the current did some weird things to the position of the boats in the area. We could easily have got closer to him than we would have preferred had we stayed in our first choice. When we left the next day, he was ashore and we deposited a bag of wearable and consumable goodies on his sugar scoop, all bits we felt we would not need, including a very old SYC T-shirt which I hope is being worn with pride! I perhaps should add at this point, that throughout our six night charter, I annoyed the hell out of my good lady by insisting on putting
Sunrise over a Motu. Just another normal day in paradise.
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Wavelength | June 2013
Kate considers the menu..
up and down daily, at sunrise and sunset, the Sussex Yacht Club Burgee and Ensign, all with a fanfare from the stereo and a smart Benny Hill salute, our Admiral would be so proud! We had the downwind return leg the next morning back to Taha’a, full sail and no engine for once, trying and repeatedly failing to goosewing, but as the main is by far the bigger sail, we opted in the end to give that preference and steer straight for the pass we had left two days prior. Feeling more confident in the cat’s handling under sail now, we opted upon entering the lagoon to sail right round the island. We had been told about this amazing ‘Coral Garden’ adjacent to the pass on the west side of Taha’a, with fantastic hard and soft corals and lots of fish, big and small all in comfortable snorkelling depth. We thought this would be a good place to spend the night and enjoyed our two hour sail round to it. The Coral Garden is the site of the poshest resort in Taha’a, a place where Hollywood celebrities regularly come to relax without the ability of photo journalists getting anywhere near them. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes stayed here last summer, with Suri. When we got there unfortunately we could not find any area where
WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID the line-of-sight crossing from Raiatea. Once inside the sheltering lagoon, sunlight bathes the basalt slab of Mount Otemanu in a rainbow of changing colours. Seen together with the rounded top of Mount Pahia, the view is unforgettable. We however arrived by plane and viewed this from the air as we circled before landing on an airstrip, laid on the reef Manta Rays gliding past during our second dive in Bora Bora. in 1942 to support US we were happy to anchor for an extended bombing missions in the war against Japan. Momentos of its military past are everywhere; period. We had a choice of 50 metres or 5 gun emplacements (with guns), bunkers, and metres but most of the 5 metre area was bullet holes sporadically visible amongst the duty occupied and with only 45 metres of chain, free huts. Visitors are welcomed by garlands and the other was not an option. This was clearly cocktails from each of the dozen ultra posh, ultra a popular spot, so we continued our solo race expensive resorts that now make up 95% of around the island and moored back in Raiatea the GDP of the island. We board a leather lined later that afternoon. launch for our 40 minute trip to the one we That was night five, we had one more on had picked for a four night stay in a bungalow board and had to decide whether to rush to on stilts with a big glass bottom over the water. Bora Bora 25NM away for one night or relax Floodlites shine down at night to attract the fish; within the lagoon, eat the provisions left on they stare up at us through the glass in the floor board, drink the Tahitian Rum we still had of our room whilst we stare at them beneath us some stock of. We were going to Bora Bora the in the ocean. They are the freer ones, with us in following week anyway for a few days, so opted the ‘tank’ looking out at the world. We did have for the latter, trying without success to arrange the champagne though, which they did not but a scuba diving session for the next day. then the fish weren’t paying to be there. We went snorkelling the next morning in just Finally with no assistance from the hotel, we one or two metres of water, and I came within managed to book and have our days scuba a hairs breadth of becoming breakfast for the diving, a two tank dive; the first to swim with largest moray eel we have ever seen. Only a lemon and reef sharks outside the reef in one shout from Kate alerted me to this beast of an of the passes, the second to swim with giant eel, coming further and further out of his rock as I got closer to him; I was totally oblivious, looking for shells and souvenirs on the sand. No-one has seen me move so fast!
manta rays inside the lagoon. Both dives were memorable, we had a Canon underwater camera designed to go down to 10m. We had tested it to 20m but below this the buttons get pushed in by the water pressure and don’t come back up again so we stayed at 20m. There was just our dive instructor and the two of us on the trip, which was fantastic. We had been told to lie down on the reef if a shark comes near, to have no food in our pockets and don’t swim above him in case we scare him into eating us! These sharks were upwards of 4m big and when they came close I blew lots of bubbles, not all from my regulator. The second dive was the most serene, beautiful dive ever. We lay buoyant just above the reef and watched in awestruck wonder as these huge graceful giant manta rays, with wing spans of several metres, slowly circled above us, moving along the reef, huge mouths gaping to collect the morsels of food, mainly plankton, they survive on. We could have stayed there all day but not having gills the time came all too quickly to return to our boat and the hotel. The iconic Bloody Mary’s restaurant on Bora Bora, a must-visit place which based on the celebrity name boards outside, everyone who is everyone has tried. For some reason they declined my offer to put my name up there with Meg Ryan, Penelope Cruz and Tom Jones. To sum up, you should GO! Tahiti and her islands are worth the expense, the time in planes, airports and transfers, jet lag and everything else you might throw up as a barrier to visiting; they truly are emeralds in an ocean of sapphire, the jewels of the South Pacific. Tim Leigh
Our log reads: “…that night we ate under the stars, the boat gently rocking whilst we watch and count one… two… three… four shooting stars in as many minutes. We snorkel without another boat in sight, jumping off the cat to swim. We eat local pamplemousse (giant, tasty grapefruit) for breakfast, crisp baguettes, salami and cheese and wonderful large local tomatoes for lunch. We make papaya smoothies - sans blender. We drink local beer and mix weird cocktails from everything we have left in the fridge and fruit bowl. It’s everything a holiday should be and all the better because our iPhones don’t work and we aren’t near any Internet cafés. We congratulate ourselves for our good fortune and participating in an adventure that we won’t ever forget. Bora Bora With a lyrical name that casts a spell, Bora Bora is the otherworldly mountainous soul of the South Pacific. Sailors are greeted by a spectacular scene and an easy approach on
Toasting a glorious holiday at Bloody Mary’s Restaurant (Kate was behind the camera).
Wavelength | June 2013
17
BSAC 007 Dive Section Winter Activities Children fascinated by the try-dive instruction.
Nigel Haines 007 Dive Club Chair-ManPerson explains how wet politicians and Japanese flamenco dancers have been livening up the diving section’s winter. I have always been successful in being able to keep in the background when it comes to volunteering for extra jobs within the club, and then suddenly last October I found myself being made Chairman/Chair person (or what ever the correct political title is) of the SYC dive section. This came as a great shock to me and one that I must learn from, as there wasn’t even a honeymoon period because we had heard the previous week that Dave Lee’s beavering away with Sport England had managed to get us a grant for £9,000+ for training and safety equipment. So we started the winter off with much enthusiasm, and thanks to our training officer Karl Thomas and club members, new equipment was purchased and four trial dive afternoons took place at the Surrendon School pool in Brighton. Encouragingly nearly 40 people came to try diving out, and we even managed to get our local MP Tim Laughton into the pool, which resulted in press coverage and radio interviews. Hopefully we will get some new members in!
spectacular and everyone had a good time; there aren’t many Japanese flamenco dancers around but I know how to get hold of them if anyone is interested. And lastly some of us went to “White Mink” a 1920s speakeasy at The Old Market in Hove, where we all dressed up in our best 1920s gear and had such a good time. Live bands, black and white films and a burlesque dancer, plenty of drinking, plenty of dancing, plenty of fun was had by one and all, so much so we are off to the next one in May and then there’s the Brighton festival coming up. Brighton does these shows so well. So we start off the season on a high note with plenty to look forward to; Black Pearl, our boat is nearly ready for duty and the sunshine has been ordered. Hopefully we will have some new member’s, clear waters and plenty to see. I am sure we will see you at sea somewhere. Nigel Haines
For obvious reasons the winter period is generally a bit slow when it comes to diving in the UK, so a few of our lot escaped to the Maldives and I understand it was a lot warmer and the seas a lot clearer than over here. To cheer us up from the winter blues we took ourselves off go-carting in Lancing and strangely it was very competitive. There seemed to be a lot of bumping in the carts despite the signs, and it turns out that when the staff were frantically waving they weren’t cheering us on, but telling us off. Unfortunately the best man didn’t win on this occasion, (you would have thought being chair-man-person gives you special privileges, but sadly not) and our treasurer might have to rethink his position, being strange that he organised it and came first out of our club. Anyway not to dwell on that, we had our Christmas dinner dance in January which went down well. It was a Tapas evening with Japanese flamenco dancers who were
18
Wavelength | June 2013
Tim Loughton, MP.
GENERAL INTEREST
WHY DO ROPES TANGLE?
Wavelength asked it’s expert fluid mechanic, Eddy Viscosity, who is also the clubs resident thermodynamicist, to answer this vexing question. How come that unless mooring warps are stowed away in a locker in the RYA prescribed way, they always come out tangled? (Of course the RYA always deny that there is such a thing as a RYA way of doing things. Like everybody else they don’t want to find themselves in court). The answer lies in Entropy. When I was at school I was told that the third law of thermodynamics, which deals with Entropy, was something to do with steam engines, but in fact it has significance over a much wider field including that of tangled warps. Somewhere along the line those well paid TV scientists renamed the third law as the second law, but that is the sort of thing you get with thermodynamics, where one thing turns into another rather easily. So what is Entropy? Well, apart from all that stuff about steam engines, you know ∆S=∆Q/t, entropy measures the probability that a length of warp is to be found in a disordered state. The more tangle, the higher the Entropy is said to be. The relevant thermodynamic law (be it second or third) says that any action results in an increase of total Entropy or disorder. So, because there are many more disordered states than ordered ones, one of those disordered states is more likely to occur after any action, such as chucking a loosely coiled (but not RYA style) bundle of rope into a locker. So when you take out that tangled line from the locker, don’t blame your crew, (who anyway don’t give a damn, because you’re paying to take them sailing) as it’s all really the fault of the Third law (or is it the Second, I’m confused). The real question is why this rope started it’s life in a state of order or low Entropy, from which it could subsequently increase to satisfy the relevant law. You might argue that this is because when it’s all nice and new it came on a neat coil down at the Chandlers (Motto: We don’t have the part you need, but if we did, you couldn’t afford it). Deployment of this line of argument immediately classifies you as a rich chap who can afford to pay £4 per metre for rope that costs only £1 per metre on the internet. Whilst science fact is not determined by the
democratic weight of opinion, we can safely exclude from the rational population those who of their own choice buy rope at Chandler’s prices. We must get back to the question of why ropes start in the special ordered state from which they could subsequently obey the Second or Third law or whatever, by getting tangled later. There is an element of mystery in this, not much helped by mathematical descriptions of the early Universe, which do not apparently include rope amongst their elementary things (or is it strings?). My own take on this is that skippers tidy up after crews have departed, re coiling warps which have been left in a deplorable state by those anxious to head the rush to the bar. Somehow the Second or Third law must be obeyed, so the Entropy of the skipper must increase to compensate for the reduction contained in the re coiled rope. This would explain why skippers are to be found in the bar muttering amongst themselves about the lack of adequate crew. One interesting theory is that the increase in skipper Entropy might be offset by beer. If beer has this extraordinary property, that also would explain why a large number of applications for university research grants appear to contain generous funding for beer (disguised as grants, salaries and stipends). String theory (not rope theory) appears to predict that there are something like 11 space dimensions in the Universe, of which we only experience three. Plausible or not I once met someone at a scientific congress who claimed to have met someone who had met a sailor from α Centauri where they have seven space dimensions. Apparently, the possible number of combinations of tangle is so enormous with seven dimensions that untangling warps is not possible at all on α Centauri, so sailing is very limited. This probably explains why they did not do very well in the sailing events in last summer’s Olympics. Bye for now, I’m off for the summer, as long as the jetstream drifts south. Eddy Viscosity Chief Fluid Mechanic
Wavelength | June 2013
19
Horses and crowds at the festival of St.Joan
Miles Mayall is an accidental attendee at a unique festival on the Island of Menorca. With myself, Nick and Steve as crew, Zest had made a leisurely crossing from Majorca to Menorca and was slowly entering the harbour of Cuitadella at about 09:30 in the morning, and was looking for a berth so that we could have a run ashore. We had the intention of going up to the yacht club pontoons, but when studying the Imray pilot again, I noticed a remark to the effect
that “June 23rd is the feast of St.Joan and on this day visitors will not find a berth anywhere in the harbour”. “Umm, what date is it today?” You guessed, it was June 23rd! What is written in the Pilot is not always the case so we continued up the harbour to discover that all the berths off the yacht club and those on the town quay opposite were closed – not full – closed. Why? Anyway we headed out of the harbour and decided to anchor just outside its mouth in a small bay where we would be in company with a number of other yachts. Backing the boat on
a curved course to skim inside the limestone outer rim of the bay, we let go the Bruce anchor six boat lengths out, and then stopped the cable running about two boat lengths from the shore. There being no quay, how to secure the stern? Nick quickly volunteered to swim the end of the 40m mooring warp ashore. The warp being coiled as a figure of eight flake, with its bitter end down on the cockpit floor, it ran out without problems as Nick swam ashore. The only puzzle was how he could get out of the water and up the steep face of the little cliff to the top of which the warp had to be made fast. Anyway this was soon done at the cost of only a few cuts and bruises. Discussion about the best anchor to use can stir the strongest emotions at the bar, but I had found the Bruce to hold better in Med conditions than the CQR. Our chosen anchorage was completely open to the south and any swell would have rendered the place untenable, and in addition, the very sharp and eroded limestone characteristic of the area would quickly have chafed the shore line. We were fortunate therefore that the sea was calm and remained so for our whole stay.
Anchorage at Cuitadella, Menorca.
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Wavelength | June 2013
So keen were the crew to explore the delights of Cuitadella, despite having made a two day passage and being a little short of sleep, that a
WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID hurried breakfast was followed by a short trip in the little dinghy round a corner, where a sort of shingly beach served as a landing place. We made the dinghy and its outboard fast amongst a few others, confident in the knowledge that the light fingered would prefer any of the other boats and engines to ours, these being newer, posher and larger. The walk into town was quite rural and shaded by plane trees. At a certain point we were about to pass a railed paddock containing two horses when Nick went into “horse whisperer” mode. He walked to the rail, called one of the horses over and started to talk to it. Within seconds the horse was bowing it’s head and was totally engaged in “talking” to Nick. This continued for some minutes until the thought of further exploration made us bid goodbye to our new equine acquaintance. The dominant feature of the town apart from its picturesque harbour is the main square and it was here that the gathering crowds could be found. At first, it was unclear what was to happen but then we began to understand that a riding demonstration of an unusual type would be forthcoming. There are in Menorca, horses with unusually strength and this combined with a particular saddle arrangement allows them to walk on their hind legs, carrying their riders for some considerable distance. One of the things left behind by the three periods of British 18th century occupation of the island is the habit of drinking gin and lemon. Large bottles of this mixture began to circulate in the growing crowd, mostly of young people, although perhaps unlike what happens closer to home there was no sign of over consumption. Just as well for what was to follow would test the reactions and fleet footedness of the crowd. Of constabulary, there were none, the only sign of authority being the mayor and his guests who Rider in the crowd.
watched from a large balcony at one end of the square. By this time all motor vehicles had disappeared and in the distance down side streets, columns of black coated horsemen could be seen weaving in and out of view. The excitement of the crowd grew and the distant horsemen were seen more frequently and at closer range. The moment that the horses and their riders, all dressed in identical black and white period costume, and of whom there were about 80, emerged into the square, a great cheer went up from the crowd. The horses then began encircling the crowd, almost with a sinister air of those corralling livestock. Those of us who are used to living in the litigation driven health and safety culture of the UK were astonished to see what happened next. Riders individually and in groups began charging at full speed into the dense crowd. The horses were doing their party trick of advancing on two feet with their fore legs waving menacingly ahead of them into the crowd. The only parallel I can think of is the bull run in Pamplona. No quarter was asked or given, and the crowd was so thick that many fell in the path of the horses, including your correspondent, who had not realised until that moment the extent to which this was a contact sport! By some miracle, however there did not seem to anything more than cuts and bruises, but the crowd were noticeably young, agile and presumably had done this sort of thing in previous years. Every time another charge was developing, the crowd roared its approval, encouraging on most strongly those of the riders who could cover the furthest distance into the crowd with their horse on two legs.
Nick and Steve.
The ebb and flow of the crowd and the horses continued for several hours, but eventually the horsemen disappeared almost as suddenly as they had come and the show was over for the evening. The dust clouds began to settle (literally) and the low angle of the sun in the sky told us that it was time to return to Zest and consider our next move. It was Steve’s turn to knock up the evening grub, which he did with his usual good humour and culinary skill. This was eaten with gusto as we had had nothing substantial all day, and afterwards I suggested that as the evening was fair we should make the 36 mile coastal passage to Mahon overnight. This was to be one of those legendary night sails where there is a soft, warm and aromatic offshore breeze sufficient to give the boat 3 or 4 knots, and the sky puts on a dazzling display of shooting stars on a background of deep black, punctuated only by a vast array of stars. First we steered a little west of south to Cap d’Artoutx, past the lights of holiday villas until guided by the lighthouse we could turn south east towards Punta Prima. Now passing a darkened coast, the land breeze held up surprisingly well and somewhat before dawn we rounded the point and the Illa d’Aire lighthouse, which guards against offshore dangers, and shaped a course for the entrance to Mahon harbour a mere 4 miles to the north east. The sun came up as we came under the grim walls of the fortress of La Mola which guards the entrance to what may be the best natural harbour in the Mediterranean. It was not the sort of dawn which poets dream about, more the cold hazy type which one often encounters at sea, even in warm climates. Thus into Mahon, and another story. Miles Mayall
Wavelength | June 2013
21
Normandy Rally Barbara Runnels goes on the club’s 2012 Normandy Rally and explores the delights of Honfleur. The extra Bank Holiday in June 2012 seemed like an ideal opportunity for a new and exciting Normandy Rally during the week after the Royal Escape. There was an excellent turnout of keen ralliers for a meeting held in April to discuss and plan the rally and an outline itinerary was drawn up. This was to depart Fécamp on Sunday, sail west along the Normandy coast, visiting ports such as Honfleur, Deauville and Ouisterham on the way to Saint Vaast, from where we would make a return crossing to the Solent en route back to Shoreham. On the Saturday following the Royal Escape Race, as we relaxed in the familiar surroundings of Fécamp on yet another gloriously warm and sunny day, the eight skippers and crews of our forthcoming rally started to plan for the next day’s sail. ‘Tehari II’ set out for Honfleur on the Saturday morning, and the rest of the little flotilla would follow on the Sunday. The forecast did warn of more blustery conditions but we would keep a weather eye open and time our departure accordingly. Sunday was indeed more blustery - or blowing socks off to use the correct nautical expression. Readers may remember even the Queen was looking chilly on her Thames flotilla on that day, no doubt wishing she’d put on full foul weather gear. The ralliers got together and most decided to postpone our departure for another 24 hours. Sunday afternoon seemed to offer a weather window, and ‘Me-Mo’ and ‘Dances with Waves’ braved the choppy harbour entrance and set off to Honfleur. Monday was little better, but by now several Royal Escape yachts had departed overnight for the return crossing to Shoreham, others were now preparing to set out for home or to other destinations for their next adventures, and I decided now was the time to leave Fécamp harbour in ‘Moon River’, along with ‘Bombardier’ who had to reach Torquay and would be in sight for some of the voyage to Honfleur. Fécamp harbour entrance was as choppy as expected, but ‘Moon River’ is a weatherly boat and stood up well to the conditions. ‘Bombardier’ remained in sight up to Cap d’Antifer and called me up on the VHF a couple of times to check all was well and provide reassurance. Eventually they were just a speck on the horizon.
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Wavelength | June 2013
WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID
Moon River tucked up in the
Approaching the Baie de la Seine, with rows of ships anchored off, I started to look out for my waypoint; the first of the red and green buoys marking the channel leading to the river Seine. As I turned into the river I received a number of texts from Bob and Mike to see if I was on the way and when I would reach Honfleur. There is a lock to enter the harbour, but no place of refuge out of the very strong tide, to wait for the lock gates to open. Fortunately they opened within minutes of my arrival, and I was able to raft up to a local fishing vessel which was anchored by the lock gates when I arrived. Once into Honfleur outer harbour all was serene and there were ‘Tehari II’, ‘Me-Mo’ and ‘Dances with Waves’ moored up to the harbour wall and rafted together, and I soon had Moon River rafted alongside. It was about 9pm by now and a few texts later I was happily ensconced in a delightful bistro with the other three crews. We had a lovely week in Honfleur. ‘Moon River’ didn’t get any further West. ‘Dances with Waves’ sailed on to Devon and eventually Cornwall, the Scilly Islands and Ireland for their summer cruise. I moved ‘Moon River’ into Honfleur’s Inner Harbour to ride out the approaching weather system. On the Tuesday, I was invited aboard ‘Tehari II’ for a day sail to Ouisterham in company with ‘Me-Mo’, and back the next day, and then ‘Tehari II’ made the crossing home before the impending gales which were forecast for Friday. ‘Me-Mo’ also set out but was forced back by the blustery, choppy and deteriorating conditions. Even the ferries were cancelled. So now there were but two boats left on the rally. ‘Me-Mo’ moved into the inner harbour. We battened down the hatches and spent the next couple of days exploring Honfleur which is absolutely enchanting; a beautiful, old, picturesque port, characterized by cobbled streets, houses with slate-covered frontages, pretty little squares and atmospheric alleyways. The “Vieux Bassin” is very protected, and is right in the centre of the old town, surrounded by thronging harbour side cafés and stone quays with dozens of artists capturing the light and charm of the scenic harbour that inspired Courbet, Monet, Boudin and other painters of the Impressionist movement.
Vieux Bassin, Honfleur
Crew and friends in Honfleu r.
By Friday evening the worst of the gales had blown through. The Harbour office forecasts were suggesting a F 4-6 for Saturday, increasing again on Sunday. With no clear weather window in prospect over the following week, Mike, Diana and I decided ‘Me-Mo’ and ‘Moon River’ would set out early on Saturday and head home in company. We motored out of the inner harbour late on Friday afternoon and rafted to a French yacht, next to the harbour wall again, ready for an early departure in the morning. The French yacht was embarking on a voyage through the canals and eventually to the Black Sea. Later that evening as Mike, Diana and I climbed over on our way back to our boats after a last meal out, a French voice called out “Barbara” – and looking round we saw it was the Fécamp harbourmaster, on an evening out on board his friends’ yacht to wish them bon voyage for their
trip. It just emphasised what a short distance we had travelled on our Normandy Rally. As planned I was up at 2am, and ‘Moon River’ went out through the 3am lock, followed by ‘Me-Mo’ a couple of hours later, for the voyage back across the channel. I think if we had seen that day’s shipping forecast of force 7, with a “moderate” sea, before we got home, we might not have set out. As it was, the sea was very confused after the previous day’s gales – so confused that at times it forgot it was meant to stay outside the boat. ‘Me-Mo’ had a cracking sail. We arrived back in Shoreham at 11pm, with a little help from our friends in orange, at the end of a Normandy rally which didn’t turn out quite as planned but which 4 of the “little” and/or “slow” but weatherly boats of the fleet thoroughly enjoyed. Barbara Runnels
Mi Mo in the Vieux Bassin, Honfleur.
Wavelength | June 2013
23
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
SURVEY RESULTS In 2012 your committee decided to consult the membership over all aspects of SYC, using a questionnaire distributed in the post. Steve Vyse received back 69 forms and presents here an analysis of those returns which will prove helpful to your committee and officers when balancing budgets against the members needs and desires. Where appropriate I have given an overall satisfaction score which is calculated as a percentage of the maximum score available. For example under “How did participants rate SYC social events?” there were 45 votes cast by participants giving a score out of ten. With 10 being the highest grade a participant could award, the maximum possible score is therefore 45 x 10 = 450. I then compared the actual score given, in this case 298, as a percentage of the maximum possible score, delivering an overall score of 66%. This is not the most sophisticated statistical analysis, but it does deliver a useful comparative guide.
was helped by me extending the survey return period right up until last month, but nevertheless I am surprised so few came back. Can we gather from this that nearly 95% of our members are entirely satisfied with every aspect of SYC? I am not so sure and we certainly won’t take it as a mandate for complacency. Number of surveys distributed
1,350
Number of surveys returned
69
Participation level
5.1%
I am minded to run another questionnaire towards the end of 2014 and it will be interesting to see how the numbers change. It is worth noting that most of the board, including myself, decided not to take part and of the few that did, they abstained from marking areas of personal interest. With such a small sample this helps me to be confident you are looking at pretty accurate picture.
Where it falls down is when we ask about particular sections with significant bias arriving as most members didn’t apply a score and those involved marking 10/10. An example of this is the Dive Section with a result of 42% however with such a relatively small section this figure might be viewed as pretty good. We could attempt to refine the results with weighting for section interest etc. but that would take even more time and not deliver anything more useful than we already have here.
Members were urged to jot down personal responses and we have certainly had a lot of feedback, both good and bad which has all been included. To maintain anonymity anything that might identify a member has been altered or removed and where comments have become personal these too have been put aside. Also,
Perhaps the most disappointing result is the general participation of just 5.1%. This low figure
where a number of comments were largely the same these have been combined with a (x2) for example indicating where two people have made a similar comment. Polarised views are to be expected, but it is important to note that for every dissenter there seems to be an equal if not greater number of positively contradictory comments, which helps us keep a balanced view of what is going on. As promised in the last issue of Wavelength we were going to award a bottle of champagne to a participant chosen at random, and I am pleased to announce that the winner is George Furneaux, a member of some 36 years. My thanks to all those who sent in the forms; your comments and effort are really important to us. As promised the original forms will remain confidential, and are being stored by myself, away from the yacht club and are only available to Flag Officers. The results and comments have given us a lot to think about, and in a way provide a mandate for the next couple of years whilst David Ramus’ hand is on the SYC tiller. Steve Vyse Vice Commodore.
About The Participants Age grouping of participants
Age range of participants
Up to 15 Years
16-19 Years
20-29 Years
30-39 Years
40-49 Years
50-59 Years
60-69 Years
70-79 Years
80-89 Years
90+ Years
Response
0
0
0
4
11
17
24
12
2
1
Result %
0%
0%
0%
6%
15%
24%
34%
17%
3%
1%
How often did participants visit the club?
If participants’ boats are not moored at SYC, where are they and why?
24
Wavelength | June 2013
Range
Daily
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly
Rarely
Response
7
20
14
8
11
Result %
12%
33%
23%
13%
18%
• 2x Moored in Solent as no SYC mooring available. • 1x Moored in Brighton as no SYC mooring available. • 1x Moored at Brighton Marina for better facilities. • 1x Moored in Brighton as better value for money. • 1x Moored elsewhere dislike rules relating to Sailing Moorings. • 1x Dinghy at SSC to sail at all stages of the tide and easy access to the sea. • 4x Moored in sunnier climes. • 1x 22’ kept at home awaiting berth. • 1x Kept elsewhere as unaware of any moorings available at Shoreham. • 1x Because it’s in my garage. • 1x 21m is too big for SYC mooring. • 1x Elsewhere for better cruising grounds.
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
Social Excluding Club Nights, how often do participants attend club social events?
How did participants rate SYC social events?
Range
Always
Most of Them
Occasionally
Once a Year
Never
Response
0
9
37
12
12
Result %
0%
13%
53%
17%
17%
Overall Score
Range
66%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Response
1
0
2
3
4
9
7
17
0
2
Result %
2%
0%
4%
7%
9%
20%
16%
38%
0%
4%
Comments on SYC social events.
• 4x Events are dull/boring. • 1x Dinner only events are a bit of a bore. • 1x More variety needed. • 1x The social events are excellent. • 8x Should be less formal. • 3x Better mix of formal and informal. • 5x Balance between formal/informal now about right - too many black tie events can put off younger members. • 1x More events that appeal to all sections such as ‘Walk to the Pole’. • 1x At least one social each year with tuxedos and long dresses would be nice. • 4x Discos not for me and music can be too loud for conversation. • 3x Tendency for small cliquey groups to form/club needs to be more welcoming. • 8x Poor value. • 4x Happy with value.• 1x Socials are good fun, varied and value for money. • 2x Quality of food can vary. • 1x Restaurant staff need change of attitude. • 2x Parking problems put me off. • 1x Always supported by the same members. • 3x Better publicity needed. • 1x Publish a guest list so we can see who is already signed up. • 1x Events are centered around eating mediocre food with no music or dancing except for the Christmas event which was great. • 1x Better bands and better food - most of my friends would pay more to support this.
Suggestions for new events or improvements
• 3x Comedy Nights. • 1x Burlesque Show. • 3x More live music • 3x More lectures and events that appeal to all sections such as ‘Walk to the Pole’. • 3x Improved quiz night. • 1x Events do not have to be sit-down meals. • 1x Encourage members to bring along friends and family. • 1x Televised sports events (Rugby, F1 etc) should be advertised and supported by bar being open. • 1x Loyalty scheme • 1x On-shore social membership class please. • 1x Themed nights. • 1x Drinks promotions. • 1x Wine Tasting evenings. • 1x Daily newspapers on the bar. • 1x Fish and chip nights. • 1x Curry evenings. • 1x Happy hours.
How did participants rate the restaurant over the past year?
What would tempt you to dine more often at SYC?
How did participants rate the bar?
Overall Score
Range
65%
Response
3
0
3
3
4
1
7
12
3
3
Result %
8%
0%
8%
8%
10%
3%
18%
31%
8%
8%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
• 8x Restaurant would be improved by being open more. • 2x Saturday and Friday opening required. • 6x Lunchtime snacks/chips service needed, especially when there is a training course/Sailability session. • 2x If the restaurant was open for lunch weekdays I would use it quite often. • 1x Restaurant has a bad reputation and should, if necessary be subsidised until its reputation is restored. • 1x Trying to make money from the restaurant franchise is short-sighted. • 1x menus OK. • 2x Boring menus. • 1x Get a better cook. • 1x Catering needs root and branch reform. • 1x Need a choice to use other caterers for social events. • 1x Food far too expensive. Twice the price of local carvery for just a roll and chips. • 1x Value for money has been one extreme to another, which discourages ‘non-function’ dining. • 1x Reduce menu - improve quality. • 5x Too expensive compared to High Street. • 3x Simple menu needed - I don’t always want a meal that costs £12. • 1x The menu is restrictive and expensive. • 1x I see the catering as the main problem which is simply poor value - £9 for two small bowls of soup and a chunk of bread. • 1x More special offers for members. • 1x One course price required. • 1x Coffee and puddings are poor quality. • 7x Service is good. • 7x Good reports heard and seems to be getting better. • 3x Good value now. • 1x Members should be allowed to prepare simple food.• 1x Menus seem to be on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis. • 2x Have not seen any vegetarian options since new chef arrived so have not eaten at the club since then. • 1x Better selection of meats on carvery. • 1x More quality than quantity even if more expensive. • 1x I don’t like 3 course menus, especially at lunch time. • 1x Please reduce the traffic on the A259. • 2x Bar and restaurant should be integrated. • 1x Why can’t the restaurant serve their own sourced wine? • 1x ‘Quaint’ that you cannot order drinks from the waiting staff but have to go to the bar. • 1x Pleasant ambience. • 2x The ambiance could be improved by more decorations - background music would be nice. • 1x Would never attend a valentines dinner as no intimacy. • 1x More events in Southwick so members can sleep aboard boats. • 1x Because of the emphasis on booking we don’t come - publish opening hours. Overall Score
Range
79%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Response
0
1
3
1
3
4
11
13
8
20
Result %
0%
2%
5%
2%
5%
6%
17%
20%
13%
31%
Wavelength | June 2013
25
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
Social (continued) Comments on the bar.
• 4x Better wines and choice needed. • 1x Happy with wine. • 6x Happy with beer. • 1x Beer 1664 is often poor and complaints not well received. • 4x Choice and quality beers could be better. • 1x Can we have guest beers. • 1x Hot drinks should be more readily available. • 1x Should sell 6X Bitter. • 1x Stock fruit cider please. • 1x Concerned at use of multi-packs crisps/coke etc. which are specifically printed ‘not for resale’. • 1x Bulk bottle fizzy drinks are not good enough. • 2x We have to drive so we’d use it more if there were some non-alcoholic beers. • 16x Good value.• 1x Discount double spirit measures. • 1x The best value bar in town. • 1x Hocine is the best Steward I have come across, the value is almost incomparably good and the bar is the nicest to be found for many miles along the coast in either direction. • 1x Hocine keeps the club alive. • 1x Hocine seems bored and does little to generate custom. • 1x Ho is fantastic. • 1x Long live Hocine. • 1x The welcome from Hocine and his memory for names is fantastic! • 1x Hocine works really hard and gives 10/10. • 1x New franchisee needed. • 1x Ho is a great guy and is always welcoming - a good first face of the club to most visitors. • 1x Very happy with the bar - best part of the club. • 1x Those that criticise Ho were not around before Ho when we had a succession of very poor/disastrous stewards. • 12x Service is good. • 1x More staff needed during busy functions. • 2x Bar area is not welcoming/lacks atmosphere. • 1x Awful cheap settees and chairs - an old place like SYC needs a rustic interior. • 1x Room is just too big. • 1x Furniture is a disgrace. • 1x No atmosphere during the week. • 1x Bar is very tatty. • 1x Needs music and pool table. • 1x needs more people. • 2x Bar needs refurbishment. • 1x Please do something about the N.E. corner. • 1x Sometimes feels like a small private club not for members generally. • 1x More friendly please. • 1x I feel I can’t bring friends to the bar because [another member] is often rude to non-members making them feel unwelcome. • 2x Excellent, always homely and pleasant when I go there! • 1x Credit cards should be accepted. • 4x More consistent/published opening times. • 1x Should open at the end of Sailability sessions. • 2x Seems closed whenever we visit in the evenings so have given up trying - publish opening times. • 3x All day opening on Saturday would be an improvement. • 1x Bar at Southwick should open more.
Admin & Office How did participants rate overall the SYC office?
Comments on the SYC Office.
Overall Score
Range
77%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Response
0
3
3
0
3
6
7
15
14
15
Result %
0%
5%
5%
0%
5%
9%
11%
23%
21%
23%
• 2x Saturday morning opening required. • 3x Office manned all day on Saturday and 10-12 on Sunday. • 3x Opening times are poor. • 4x Stop making clerical mistakes/reply to all emails. • 1x Please check dates before sending mails and newsletters. • 1x Office staff should work for/respect the members, not the other way round. • 1x Staff can be unhelpful and make you feel like you are a nuisance. • 2x Members and visitors often have to wait for attention whilst eyes are on PC screens. • 1x Unfriendly welcome at times. • 1x Office always seems to be reactive unless you are a regular known face which can be uncomfortable. • 1x Despite extra staff and Apple computers it still takes reminders to get routine updates actioned. • 1x The office should publicise events automatically without having to be prompted. • 1x I have problems with billing, most difficult when bills do not reach me. • 1x Why is it that every year the Christmas party is double booked even though it is in the diary? • 1x Improve communications to members. • 1x It feels like Sailability is not treated as part of the club. • 1x Do we require the number of staff? Admin costs have risen considerably over recent years. A business would not allow this to happen. • 1x I have asked several times for SYC ‘goodies’ on sale only to be informed that there aren’t any. Why? • 2x Commercial activities at SYC should be subject to contracts/charges. • 1x Someone should be made responsible for observation of flag etiquette at Shoreham. • 1x Dinghy database needs improving. • 1x The office is friendly and efficient but there seems to be a weakness between the office and organisers of events and rallys. • 1x Would be nice if the office had some idea about what was going on. • 1x Very helpful, very friendly and some are beautiful! • 1x Improve multi-skilling across admin team. • 1x Jacqui is always helpful. • 1x I always get a warm welcome. • 1x Service has got better. • 1x The best team in 40 odd years. • 1x The few contacts I have had with the office have been very efficient. • 1x Fully satisfied. • 1x Staff very helpful.• 2x Well done/Fantastic. • 1x Good service and attention received. • 1x Pick up the telephone and smile. Talk to people more. People buy people.
Communications How did participants rate overall SYC communications?
26
Wavelength | June 2013
Overall Score
Range
79%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Response
0
0
0
1
6
4
4
22
13
9
Result %
0%
0%
0%
2%
10%
7%
7%
37%
22%
15%
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
How would participants prefer to get regular news from SYC? How important to you is ‘Wavelength’?
How important to you is the club email newsletter ‘In The Wind’?
How important to you is the club website?
Comments on SYC Communications.
Range
Printed material sent by post
Email and website only
Both digital and postal
Response
8
35
28
Result %
11%
49%
39%
Overall Score
Range
74% Overall Score
Range
66%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Response
1
4
1
1
9
7
6
11
8
19
Result %
1%
6%
1%
1%
13%
10%
9%
16%
12%
28%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Response
7
2
0
2
6
11
11
11
6
10
Result %
11%
3%
0%
3%
9%
17%
17%
17%
9%
15%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
70%
Response
6
0
1
1
12
5
9
7
7
17
Result %
9%
0%
2%
2%
18%
8%
14%
11%
11%
26%
• 1x Communications seem sporadic and inconsistent. • 1x Little clarity on the objectives and motivations that will drive the future direction of the club. • 1x Text messaging is good. • 1x When texting messages should be shorter and used just as a reminder. • 2x Do not send duplicate texts about same events. • 1x Improve club forum use. • 1x Club forum has died so why not drop it? • 5x Regularly check website for literacy, out of date articles and broken links. • 1x Website updates take too long. • 1x Publish a club regalia shop online or just show available items so they can be purchased through the office. • 2x Website is cluttered/too complicated. • 2x I find the website easy to use. • 1x Invest heavily in the website which needs a make over with lots of video. • 1x Higher profile for dive section on website. • 1x Send an email promptly when significant changes are made to the website. • 3x Speedier race results on the website. • 1x Place pursuit results on website. • 1x Communications can be unfriendly and too service orientated - remember this is a members club first. • 1x Maintain section specific targeted email lists. • 1x I get so many emails I never open ‘In The Wind’ - so prefer the magazine. • 1x Do not always get emails because of the ‘sex’ in @sussexyachclub.org. • 1x Send more frequent emails about what is going on at the club. • 1x Place Wavelength in lobby for collection rather than post. • 1x Wavelength is poorly used and needs to explain both what and why something is happening. • 1x Compliments to the producers of Wavelength. • 1x Please do not refer to those with disabilities/Sailability members as “those who are less fortunate”. This is very offensive. • 1x Would like to see more Sailability news in Wavelength and for more SYC members to come along and join in with Sailability sessions. • 1x Include port items and what is going on in Wavelength. • 1x The latest Wavelength [Autumn 2012] is an immense improvement over previous issues. • 1x The accuracy of printed calendar should be clearer. • 1x Restaurant and bar opening times should be published in the fixture list. • 1x Many older members would like to be advised of events by post. • 1x More communication by post, especially for those members who do not have email. • 1x Too much goes missing in the post. • 1x Post a monthly mail shot detailing what is on.
Committee, Club Officers and Directors How do you rate your satisfaction with current (2012/13) main committee.
Overall Score
Range
76%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Response
1
1
2
1
4
3
4
18
11
8
Result %
2%
2%
4%
2%
8%
6%
8%
34%
21%
15%
Comments on Committee, •• 1x Dislike way Flag Officers can make decisions. • 1x Dislike feeling that positions are ‘pre-filled’, undermining Directors and Club Officers members sense of loyalty. • 1x Committee are friendly and approachable. • 1x I have respect for those giving their time voluntarily. • 1x Club Officers should have made more effort to influence new footbridge encroachment on river sailing area. • 1x Some officers/directors fail to show leadership by not attending social/bar events such as Club Night. • 1x Club needs to be more transparent. • 1x Minutes are too sparse and real issues are not covered correctly. • 1x Accounts are impossible to follow. • 1x Office should be more integrated with club and actively promote all activities. • 1x They must remember they are there for the membership not themselves. • 1x Stop the club dying. • 1x Directors seem to avoid talking to members and belittle criticism. • 1x There are those that ‘do’ and those that ‘say a lot’ and I will support the efforts of those that offer their time and effort. • 2x The questionnaire is a welcome initiative. • 1x Rules and regulations regularly flouted and guidelines ignored (i.e. boat on slip there for 3 weeks, then 6 then ad infinitum. • 1x No action taken regarding complaints. • 1x Decisions and actions on things seem to take too long. • 1x I would like to see an integrated SYC Dive Section. (Comments continued on next page).
Wavelength | June 2013
27
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
Committee, Club Officers and Directors (continued) More comments on Committee, Directors and Club Officers
• 1x I think they listen, but then make the easiest decision rather than the right decision. • 1x Guard against apathy. • 1x Club seems very well run - Officers put a lot of effort in I think. • 1x It is good that Directors are changed every couple of years to enable fresh ideas. • 1x No Committee can make people enjoy themselves, but SYC provides such excellent facilities that if members do not use them, that is their loss! • 1x Yes they listen and there’s always room for improvement. • 1x It is difficult to know how the committee members make decisions when they do not seem to seek the opinions of their electorate. • 1x 10/10 for being on the committees which are necessary to run the club. • 1x They all do a good job collectively. • 1x My experience is that the SYC Committee commit an amazing amount of time and effort - please pass on thanks. • 1x Overall I think the club is run very well and the committee members should be highly praised. • 1x ‘TTT’ viz Truly Thankless Task - committee members should be greatly appreciated. • 1x Committee seems varied, professional and efficient. • 1x Commercial entities should be banned from SYC committee and posts of responsibility as a clear conflict of interest. • 1x They do a great job. • 1x The pressure to get rid of Hocine is disgraceful. • 1x No duty director on site at weekends or membership package for new members. • 1x Decision to close the restaurant during the week is short sighted. • 1x A friendly attitude towards divers from committee members would go a long way. • 1x. I feel there is sometimes a lot of pettiness and backbiting around the committee. • 1x I appreciate that some people dedicate a lot of time and energy to the club.
Boat Yard How did participants rate boat yard staff with regards to skills and service How did participants rate boat yard services with regards to value for money
Comments on the SYC boat yard.
Overall Score
Range
90% Overall Score
Range
79%
Response
0
0
0
2
3
2
5
10
7
8
Result %
0%
0%
0%
5%
8%
5%
14%
27%
19%
22%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Response
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
4
17
17
Result %
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
9%
9%
40%
40%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
• 1x Commercial boat yard taking over. • 3x Too many businesses running in the yard possibly not paying correct rates. • 1x Why are visitor berths being used for more than 24hrs at no charge? • 1x There are clearly people living on their boats full time and daily using showers etc. • 1x Criticism of ASR. • 1x Repairs not carried out until highlighted by members. • 2x More regard to health and safety (esp. poles and tow bars left at head height). • 1x Why was the varnish room used incorrectly for car spraying? • 1x Criticism of Moorings and Maintenance Committee. • 1x Suggest SYC staff/ Directors visit Corinthian YC to see what is achievable. • 10x Looks a mess/is overcrowded. • 1x Shoreham amenity tip looks better. • 4x Too many untagged and unloved/derelict craft in yard that should be disposed of. • 1x Yard is chaotic and disorganised, given over to hopeless causes. • 1x Well run by the bosun but looks like a tip where boats go to die. • 1x Do the old wrecks really pay their dues? • 1x The Bosun should have more control to manage the yard properly. • 1x Access to pontoons often obstructed making boat loading difficult. • 2x More yard space is required. • 2x Keep slipway clear of boats, hoist, cars and clear of mud regularly. • 1x Too many ‘car parking members’. • 5x Not enough parking for members. • 3x Stop non-members parking in the yard. • 1x Poor security. • 1x Great staff. • 2x Needs a member of staff, either office or yard in attendance at weekends. • 1x Saturday boat movements please. • 1x Weekend scrubbing required. • 1x Great service but seems expensive for members - suggest increasing fees to non-members to discount members.• 1x Prices at boatlift in Hasler/Cowes are the benchmark. • 1x Friendly and knowledgeable. • 1x The boat yard has been very accommodating for Sailability, often going the extra mile. • 1x First rate - a great facility. • 1x We tend to take for granted the quite exceptional facilities that SYC enjoys in terms of size, lifting equipment and skilled boatyard staff. It is the envy of many well-established clubs. • 1x Friendly but disorganised. • 1x We need better access to deep water. • 1x Cleaner surface in boatyard. • 1x The best in Sussex.
On the Water Which activities are you involved with at SYC?
28
Wavelength | June 2013
Range
Dinghies
Diving
Keel Boats
Sailability
Youth Sailing
Response
16
9
45
10
10
Result %
18%
10%
50%
11%
11%
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
How important to you is dinghy racing?
How important to you is diving?
How important to you is inshore keelboat racing?
How important to you is offshore racing?
How important to you is rallying?
How important to you are Sailability activities at SYC?
How important to you is RYA training at SYC?
How important to you is youth sailing at SYC?
As a boat owner, how do you rate SYC membership as value for money?
If you dive with BSAC at SYC, how do you rate membership as value for money? If you are with Sailability at SYC, how do you rate membership as value for money? If you are a Youth at SYC, how do you rate membership as value for money?
Overall Score
Range
63%
Response
8
2
0
1
9
0
1
9
2
12
Result %
18%
5%
0%
2%
20%
0%
2%
20%
5%
27%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
42%
Response
20
3
1
0
4
1
2
2
0
9
Result %
48%
7%
2%
0%
10%
2%
5%
5%
0%
21%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
77%
Response
4
1
1
1
4
3
5
7
16
17
Result %
7%
2%
2%
2%
7%
5%
8%
12%
27%
29%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
70%
Response
6
1
1
3
2
3
7
9
3
16
Result %
12%
2%
2%
6%
4%
6%
14%
18%
6%
31%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
67%
Response
6
1
3
0
6
1
5
10
1
14
Result %
13%
2%
6%
0%
13%
2%
11%
21%
2%
30%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
59%
Response
12
2
1
0
7
1
3
6
3
12
Result %
26%
4%
2%
0%
15%
2%
6%
13%
6%
26%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
79%
Response
4
1
0
0
5
0
1
13
4
21
Result %
8%
2%
0%
0%
10%
0%
2%
27%
8%
43%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
75%
Response
8
0
0
0
4
1
1
7
2
23
Result %
17%
0%
0%
0%
9%
2%
2%
15%
4%
50%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
75%
Response
0
1
2
4
2
5
6
9
7
11
Result %
0%
2%
4%
9%
4%
11%
13%
19%
15%
23%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
45%
Response
2
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
Result %
25%
13%
13%
13%
13%
0%
0%
0%
0%
25%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
86%
Response
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
2
Result %
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
20%
40%
0%
40%
Overall Score
Range
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
88%
Response
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
Result %
0
0
0
0
0
0
25%
25%
0
50%
1 out of 10
2 out of 10
3 out of 10
4 out of 10
5 out of 10
6 out of 10
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
9 out of 10
10 out of 10
Wavelength | June 2013
29
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
On the Water (survey continued). General comments on improving activities afloat at SYC
• 2x Improve showers and lavatories at Shoreham and Southwick. • 1x Introduce taster sessions for non-sailing members. • 2x More deep water moorings required. • 1x Perhaps reduced membership for members unable to use SYC facilities to the max (due to no mooring being available). • 1x One design racing should be encouraged. • 2x More yard trolleys required (esp. for divers). • 1x More ladies showers (there is more than one lady diver and we have to queue). • 1x Question the advantage given to BSAC over commercial dive craft that operate every week [at SYC]. • 1x Nice if there was a way of occasionally getting older members with 30,000 miles under our belt afloat as ballast on a members boat. • 1x More competitive racing required. • 1x Not ‘more of the same’ and bring on the youngsters. • 1x All crews should be members. • 1x Lucky to be a member of the best club in GB. • 1x More forward planning of open days so they do not clash with low water - sails on water attract visitors. • 1x Making Sailability more of an integral part of the club. I know this requires a lot of effort on both sides. • 1x If only we had more and better moorings. • 1x All aspects are important to keep membership vibrant and mixed. • 1x There is an issue of the cost of combined BSAC/ SYC fees which makes membership costly. • 1x Build a Bassin à Flot with sill in front of club house? • 1x Tidal barrier at Soldiers Point. • 1x Speedier publication of race results. • 1x Give me a better handicap! • 1x I think that there is an all round good balance of activities and opportunities for participation. • 1x The ease with which I can launch keeps me in the club. • 1x Cruising keelboat representation needed. • 1x Diversity is important, I may not do it but I am glad that it is done at SYC. Please keep the diversity going. • 1x I missed the new members meeting so didn’t join a crew - perhaps there could be a pre-series keelboat event where potential crews such as myself could be introduced to skippers (and the same for rallies). • 1x Spend more money improving and expanding moorings. • 1x Find a way to increase participation in offshore events. • 1x I think for the size of the club the facilities are good. • 1x Improve the instructions in the race bag for Race Officers with course options. • 1x Erect a starting box on the beach as the current facilities are horrendous. • 1x Make the club a club again and it will happen, not a commercial boat yard. • 1x I think this club has got it spot on! • 1x Lucky to be a member of the best club in GB.
A Ticket to Ryde David Golding finds a small Solent gem, rarely frequented by the madding crowd. Last summer my daughter, partner and I took Firebird, our Gallion 22, for a 12 day cruise. We sailed to Poole via Cowes and Yarmouth and compared to the rest of the summer we experienced fairly settled weather; it was quite breezy but dry. After two nights in Poole we shot back to Lymington in quite strong winds with just the headsail up, the hairiest part being Hurst narrows which felt like being in a washing machine on the rinse cycle. We then zigzagged our way up the Solent via Newtown Creek, (where we bumped into SYC’s Milk and Honey), and Bucklers Hard (disappointing pint in the bar). We originally intended to head for Gosport marina and its excellent shower facilities (three people sharing a 22 ft boat requires the occasional trip to a marina) before heading home to Southwick. But with the weather forecast looking OK we decided to make a detour to Ryde on the Isle of Wight. This was a first visit by us; we had previously looked at it on the chart but avoided it due to it drying out to 2.5m above chart datum.
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Wavelength | June 2013
After carefully reading our Cruising Companion and double checking our pilotage plan we gave it a go. Approaching from the West we needed to keep a look out for the fast ferry that leaves Ryde pier and the Hovercraft which frequently leave for Southsea. We also timed it to cross the infamous Ryde Sands on a rising tide. All went to plan and we followed the buoyed channel into the harbour. We tied up to the harbour wall and the friendly harbourmaster gave us a fender-board and some useful advice on how to set the mooring lines. This was the first time we had spent a night aboard dried out so there was a bit of unease as the tide rose and fell, but again all was well.
The harbour is situated right next to a sandy beach, a short walk into the busy town with the normal shops, pubs (we enjoyed watched the Olympics in the local Weatherspoons), a boating lake, amusement arcades, and a pleasant coastal walk if you head east towards Seaview. Sailors overnighting enjoy basic toilet and shower facilities, but with it only costing £12 per night you can’t complain! To sum up Ryde is great if your boat has a long or bilge keels and you fancy visiting a typical seaside resort. We spent two nights there before the short trip across to Gosport and then home. David Golding
SAILABILITY
Sailability had a great year, despite the weather; Chris Taylor reports back on Sussex Sailability’s events of 2012.
SUSSEX SAILABILITY
2012 proved an enjoyable and action packed year both on and off water for Sussex Sailability members and volunteers. However, the weather did play havoc with our schedule, as usually the sun always shines on Sailability sessions, but not in 2012! We held 11 sailing sessions during the season, and 4 sessions with powerboats for our Group members. 91 sailors attended our sailing sessions (30 regulars) supported by 65 volunteers (31 regulars). We held our annual 3 - day summer session in July. This focussed on developing key skills, and by the end all sailors were able to sail a triangular race course. Our “Goldman Sachs” day was well attended and enjoyed by a good crowd. A new group of helpers from Lloyds Bank joined us for one session and we hope that they will return next season. Several of our members enjoyed the excitement of racing the Sonars during Cowes Week. The Group is indebted to our loyal volunteer helpers, without whom, our sessions would be extremely difficult to run. We held a Volunteers Day in June, and 15 volunteers attended. The day proved most successful and generated useful feedback, suggestions and ideas. We are always looking for new volunteers to help with sailing, shore duties and fundraising. Please contact: jay.forsyth@virgin.net if you can assist, or have a friend who is interested. Shore based training for Sailability members, and volunteers, was arranged during the year, which included particularly informative sessions on “Disability Awareness” and “Hoist Training”. Powerboat and First Aid courses were arranged by Sussex Yacht Club and a number of people also attended these. Several members and volunteers visited other clubs to promote Sussex Sailability and identify opportunities for inter-club events. Fund raising events included a Boat Jumble and a summer BBQ which helped in generating much needed funds. The fund raising group has worked tirelessly to try and get support, in a very difficult financial period for everyone, and continues to keep raising funds. We are very grateful to Margaret Vick, who chairs the fundraising committee, for her support and input. Margaret has spent a great deal of her time preparing applications for funding and making contact with a variety of organisations, trusts, and local companies on our behalf. The fundraising committee’s major achievement in 2012 was a £10,000 grant from Sport England for a Laser Stratos, which has been purchased and can be seen in the dinghy park. We expect to use the Stratos to develop sailors racing skills and enter more SYC events. Special thanks must go to Martin Lindsay Hills, who retires from the position of Chairman, for his dedicated support and making this such a successful group. We rounded off the year with a traditional Christmas meal in the Shoreham club house, and everyone enjoyed themselves and had a cracking time. The season had not finished yet though as once the Christmas and New Year festivities were over it was time to get out and go sailing again! Sailability like to integrate with SYC events and several keen sailors competed in the winter dinghy races at Shoreham, and enjoyed some cold, wet, windy (and even snowy) weather for the SYC “cooler” series at Southwick. Chris Taylor, Volunteer
Wavelength | June 2013
31
ent
of repair and urgently needs to be re-built. The lounge area is ours and does not use the space in an efficient and welcoming
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
res, ships models, pennants and awards etc are not currently ently, the club is not being promoted to its fullest potential. a bar and lounge which promotes the club’s long and illustrious nner with a more nautical influence than is currently being
ub' atmosphere with an underlying nautical theme, which y in an understated but positive manner. n designed using a traditionally built ships hull as its inspiration. th shadow gaps between planks and, being curved in section, itionally designed yacht. To further promote the ships hull h an inlaid 'teak deck' pattern. Lighting to the front underside front, will further accentuate its curved lines. nge area will have a vertical bulkhead encircling the lounge at graphs and club memorabilia which is currently scattered rds. These artefacts will be lit with a custom designed lighting a more prominent position the existing trophy cabinet will be hting design. The lower half of the cabinet will be re-modelled ions, currently unused in the Southwick Club House, this will bar. cation of the trophy cabinet which will open up the existing reating a new opening in the form of double doors to the y will increase the daylight levels of light and have the effect of area. In this area a combination of low and higher level seating and trophy cabinets will be re-sited in the 'Snug' and be used to rey stored in various cupboards. This combined with a lowered r members to relax in. current presentation board will complete the 'club' ambience he new bar to form a friendly, warm and understated
TROPHY CABINET ENLARGED COPY OF DUKE OF EDINBURGH TELEGRAM AS BACKDROP.
PROPOSED SNUG AREA 1
PROPOSED PLAN
BAR
The architects presentation board portrays various elements of the proposal and will be on display at the club.
it is in this spirit of improvement that I want to enhance our bar, lounge and snug.
SYC is without doubt the most substantial yacht club in the county, and one could even argue one of the best in the country, yet the PROPOSED SNUG AREA 2 bar area is under whelming. It is only when Dave Ramus, Commodore perhaps after PR O Preturn, OSED REFU R BaI Slong H Mcruise E N T that talks about the plans for a new you you notice how the years have taken their toll. bar and lounge at SYC. The bar was never designed as an architectural masterpiece in the first place, and this was The bar could be described as the heart highlighted to me when a recent visitor and soul of Sussex Yacht Club. This is where commented that it reminded her of the bar in members come together, be it for joyous a fading two star hotel in Blackpool. I initially celebration, singing and dancing, official pomp, sombre reflection or just a quiet pint with friends. scoffed, but when you step back and take a long hard look you can see what she meant. We all gravitate towards its familiar comfort and The seed was sown for a stronger remedy than warm welcome from Hocine. simply replacing the tatty coverings on worn bar But all is perhaps not as it should be; the stools. We needed to start again and strive to current bar was designed and built long ago; the create a prestigious yet welcoming new meeting fabric is showing its age and is clearly beyond place that we can be proud of for many, many the help of a simple lick of paint and varnish. years to come. From our 1892 beginnings in a room at The The first step was to bring together a ‘Bar Schooner Inn, to the ‘club ship’ White Swan in Committee’ comprising members rich in relevant 1919, the Old Malt House in 1926 and then to our Shoreham Clubhouse in 1950, we have skills from their professional lives. We talked at always been a forward looking yacht club, and length, scribbled and planned. Nigel Batchelor
S U S S E X YAC H T C LU B
took the technical lead and before long wePROPOSED had CARPET WILTON CARPETS our first drawings. We’d also realised thatSUPP: there REF: MELROSE was a lot more to this project that just a new bar; DESIGN: 22618 what about the floor, the snug, the windows, the walls, the ceiling, trophy displays, lighting, power, heat, drains, storage, security, tills... the list of items that needed to be considered grew and grew. Our treasurer took all this in and eventually enquired as to how much this was going to cost? Blank looks. At such an early stage it was impossible to make anything but a wild guess, and remember we were considering everything from new beer chillers and an ice machine to carpet on the floor; we made a guess, added a bit more for contingencies and Laurence pencilled in a budget allowance of £50,000. And then it hit the proverbial fan. The SYC rumour mill took this guesstimate and conveniently ignored that it was for the refurbishment of the bar, the lounge, the snug, the trophy display and headlined £50K just for a bar... up went the cry of ‘Madness’ and the critical messages started to arrive. By now we’d put the technical drawings on display and invited people to comment, but it became clear that it was hard to visualise what we were proposing from the line drawings. An artists impression seemed to be what was needed, and so with time short and conscious of not spending any more than required I commissioned my daughter, a design student to do her best judging by the new flood of emails and protests I realised that Hannah’s best attempt was perhaps not in the same league as computer generated architects mock-up. We were under siege. So in the face of so much confusion and misinformation I called a halt and accepted
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T S E 8
NEWS & CLUB BUSINESS
advice from some of our longest standing members that it just was not practical to turn an idea into a new bar in 6 months. But we have not given up. We have gone back to basics. With the plans now tempered by the white heat of member criticism, the bar committee was charged to specify and estimate the cost of every aspect of the upstairs refurbishment. We then took the plans to KDP, a nationally renowned architectural practice with relevant bar design experience, who just happen to be based here in Shoreham. After a long meeting and follow-up site visits, KDP have turned our
technical drawings into virtual reality; just take a look at the pictures on this page and for the first time I hope members can properly understand what kind of marvellous space we hope to create in our historic yacht club. The following Design Statement written by Nigel Batchelor for the architects sums up what we are trying to achieve. The next step will be to properly circulate and display the mock ups from KDP and consult further with all those who raised objections. Only when we have clarified the costs and have the blessing of our wider membership shall we move forwards.
Hocine has his say...
Dave Ramus
Design Statement The main concept is to create a friendly, light ‘club’ atmosphere with an underlying nautical theme, showing off the SYC artefacts, stature and history in an understated but positive manner. In order to achieve this concept, the bar has been designed using a traditionally built ships hull as its inspiration. The bar front is formed using wide ‘planking’ with shadow gaps between planks and, being curved in section, takes its inspiration from the freeboard of a traditionally designed yacht. To further promote the ships hull concept, the bar top will be made from teak with an inlaid ‘teak deck’ pattern. Lighting to the front underside of the bar top and projecting down over the bar front, will further accentuate its curved lines. In order to continue the nautical theme, the lounge area will have a vertical bulkhead encircling the lounge at ceiling level on which to display the many photographs and club memorabilia that is currently scattered around the current layout and in various store cupboards. These artefacts will be lit with a custom designed lighting scheme. In order to display the clubs trophies in a more prominent position the existing trophy cabinet will be relocated to the east wall and relit with a new lighting design. The lower half of the cabinet will be re-modelled to provide shelving for existing nautical publications, currently unused in the Southwick Club House, this will provide a reading area within easy reach of the bar. The lighting levels will be increased by the re-location of the trophy cabinet, which will open up the existing window to the new ‘Snug’. This, in addition to creating a new opening in the form of double doors to the existing window to the south wall / conservatory will increase the daylight levels of light and have the effect of bringing the conservatory into the main lounge area. On the north wall a new ‘Snug’ will be created. In this area a combination of low and higher level seating and tables will be provided. The two existing smaller trophy cabinets will be re-sited in the ‘Snug’ and be used to re-house the clubs ships models which are currently stored in various cupboards. This combined with a lowered ceiling and table lighting will provide a refuge for members to relax in. The improved décor and soft furnishings will complete the ‘club’ ambience and will combine with the nautical detailing in the new bar to form a friendly, warm and understated atmosphere to the bar and lounge.
I love my old bar but after “ so many years standing behind it I welcome the chance to be involved in the design and building of a new one. With no insulation in the wall behind us, it is such a cold place to work in the winter, the sink is tiny, storage difficult and the bar itself so shaky now that I worry it will give way when we are pulling pints! Having a better place to work and welcome you and the many visitors to our wonderful club would make me and my staff very happy indeed
”
Wavelength | June 2013
33
Olympic Sailing as viewed from the wings
Peter Lewis was one of the many “Games Makers” who made last summer’s Olympics a uniquely British triumph. There were, let us be honest, an awesome number of us. So many that less than one third of the people who volunteered as “Games Makers” were required. Several of our number stood with smiles and big pink foam ‘hands’ to make sure that spectators, competitors and officials reached their destination in a good mood. To those I say thank you because you gave the rest of us, in our bright uniforms, a good image, not only at the venues but also throughout the country. I was one of the lucky ones who were allocated a role within the sports area of the Weymouth and Portland venue. I was leader of the ‘print results distribution team’ for the second week of the event, taking over from a group of young
Winners scrum.
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games makers from a school just along the south coast. We got to go to most places on the venue, except the water of course. As the sailing was watched from The Nothe, a spit of land just south of Weymouth harbour, the Portland venue had no members of the public on site and was kept secure by a number of friendly soldiers and police. Each morning we were checked in and our possessions were scanned as if we were boarding an aeroplane. All the manhole covers had been sealed closed with great blobs of white paint embossed with a crown design. We were all in our safe little enclave where competitors, VIPs and celebrities could move around without trouble, but even this area was divided into spaces that were separately guarded with permitted access indicated by our large laminated passes. The working rooms were prefabricated units that had been trucked in and bolted together in the required numbers to create the spaces, air conditioning built in. All with the notable exception of the equipment store for the water-side requisites for which the boat handlers had to buy a garden shed from a local DIY store and assemble it
on the pontoons, they were very proud of their equipment shed. This pattern was repeated throughout the venue. The organisers had provided all the major requirements to a high standard, desks, filing cabinets, tables, recycling bins it had all been thought out but any minor omissions were made up by the enthusiasm of the workforce. Mornings started slowly with small knots of competitors and their helpers preparing the boats for the day’s racing. I suspect that some athletes were more involved in the preparation than others but at some point the dinghy would have to be handed over from the shore-base support to the sailors. There was a large dinghy park where the boats would be fussed over by the teams before being wheeled into the water in time to position them for the racing. All equipment that was specified in the boat type would have to be measured to ensure compliance, and there was a team of scrutineers with a base in the dinghy park. The sail “loft” floor was a bespoke wooden construction that stood in the main hall of the National Sailing Academy building so that it levelled out the ramped floor. Once in the water the competitors had between two and five miles to sail to get to the allocated racing areas though, thankfully, the wind was most often fair for the passage from marina to Weymouth Bay. When the competitors were on the water all went quiet, with
the support teams drifting into the lounge or just sitting outside their team’s equipment store. Each competing country had been allocated an area in the boat park for their own equipment store and any other function they saw fit to provide for their athletes. As different countries had differing levels of funding and expectations, there was quite a variation in the contents of these stores. They were all shipping containers but some were bespoke, painted with the country designs and colours, where others had the country name stencilled on the doors. The starkest difference lay on the inside of the containers. Some held sailing gear and specialised provisions but others had physiotherapy facilities and relaxation areas. This generally reflected the country’s expectations for medals and size of team. The media centre buzzed for a while as the morning interviews were filed, with the far eastern countries submitting late copy for their morning papers. The results would be too early for their morning news programs and they would have plenty of time to collect interviews for the breakfast shows after the competitors had returned to shore. Interest from across the Atlantic would not be quite as pressing and at these games there was not much success to report to The Americas so we saw more of the European press than any other. The height of press excitement was to be observed when the athletes returned after a medal race.
WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID
Sitting at The Nothe public viewing area waiting for the wind.
As you may imagine everyone wanted a picture or an interview but the athletes had to be careful that they followed all the rules, to be sure that they were not penalised. It was observed that many of the sailors would join the shore team to wash down the boat and prepare it for the boat park even after the medal race. Now that is dedication. The medal ceremonies took place at the north end of the sailing academy at around 18:00. This allowed time for spectators who wished to be present to be bussed in from The Nothe viewing area. The VIPs who would present the medals had already arrived by suitable transport earlier in the day. Often this was by road or rail and road but for William and Kate a helicopter had been arranged. Celebrity spotting was a pastime for some in our team with British sailors starting at celebrity level. Our work room was next to the media interview unit with the athletes waiting between our office and the interview unit until they were called in to face the press. We had a good chance to congratulate the winners and take photographs, an Australian win was always the most fun, not that other winners were reticent but the Australians had an infectious way of exuding joy so even the woman in charge of the smooth running of the press interviews could not help but smile. Mathew Belcher proudly displayed his pair of “Lucky Undies” presented to members of the
Australian sailing team by Ronstan; he assured us that these were the secret of Australian success.
Mathew Belchers’ ‘lucky undies’.
However there were even more auspicious moments and it was with great delight that we were able to greet Pavlos Kontides as he came to the media centre for the post-medal video broadcast. He is the first Cypriot to win an Olympic medal of any colour in any discipline, he won the silver medal in the Laser class. A good question for a sailing oriented pub quiz! As the regatta progressed more classes finished their competition and the boat park began to clear. Each morning there were fewer teams bustling through the sailing centre and round the countries’ container park. The afternoon excitement was as intense with each day producing another set of medals, two sets on some, but as the earlier finishers drifted away, so the atmosphere cooled. I felt slightly sorry for the girls in the Elliot match racing class, even the wind, that had been fairly reliable throughout the earlier races, seemed to lose interest towards the end. The final races of the 470 class and the later stages of
the match racing were messed about by the wind as has been reported elsewhere. We sat in our room keeping an eye on the live feed from the water and pestering anyone we thought would know more than us, until we realised that nobody knew more, they were waiting for word from the official boats that were waiting for the wind! Only the protests kept flowing until the end, and often past the medal race. One of our team took on the roll of protest investigator. When a protest was lodged with the jury we received the documents to distribute round the venue. This was not always easy, as the first point of reference could have been the Olympic sailing key documents, which would then refer to the ISAF documents, while sometimes placing exceptions. When a protest against the decisions made by the umpires on the water was tabled, we did think that the bottom of the barrel had been reached. Our jury decided that the rule stating that the umpire is always right would settle that one! At the end of the last day, when the last of the protests had been settled, we were invited to a bar in the marina complex where the catering team had pulled out all the stops to produce a groaning board bearing all sorts
of nibbles and bites from prawn kebabs through to ice creams, with bottles of water and sodas to wash it down. The venue was almost alcohol free, the Olympic Family Lounge being the only exception; there the champagne flowed freely. Outside the venue was another matter. One Pub on Chesil Beach declared itself as ‘The Australian Bar’ with special supplies of the amber liquid. They had much to celebrate with sailing providing three of Australia’s seven gold medals. But all good things must come to an end, so with promises to keep in touch we all went our own ways back to the humdrum of everyday life. I had put a change of clothing in my car for the drive back to East Sussex, but I realised that I was proud of the work that we had done that I stayed in my distinctive uniform. I’d like to think that, when I stopped to refuel and get a bite to eat, fellow travellers on the A31 were reminded that London 2012 had been a huge success after all, because it had. Peter Lewis
Pavlos Kontides with his gold medal.
Wavelength | June 2013 35
Buccaneer explores the north coast of Brittany
Chris and Brenda West took Buccaneer to the North Coast of Brittany for a five week cruise. This coast is notorious for its lack of safe all weather harbours and it’s huge tides. Here is what happened during the bad weather during May and June 2012. As we both finally retired this year we thought we’d take Buccaneer away for a longer holiday (five weeks), heading towards L’ Aber Benoit on the Brittany coast. We’d reasoned that with the extra time, we’d be able to pick the calmer days to travel, but we’d need to plan the fuel usage carefully, as I didn’t really want to buy diesel in France. Buccaneer uses four litres a mile at normal cruising speeds, so planning to refuel at cheaper places was necessary. After the weekend’s dive charter, we started to load the boat up with food, emergency wine, bedding, dinghy, outboard, generator and 280 litres of extra diesel fuel in 20 litre drums. We left Shoreham at 01:00hrs and I swear that the wind was only a F3, but in the dark, with unpredictable wave movements, Brenda was not really happy as we powered across the Channel to Omonville, a small open harbour west of Cherbourg with free mooring buoys and a couple of great restaurants. Arriving around six in the morning we collapsed in our bunk for a couple of hours, before venturing ashore by dinghy, in the strong
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May sunshine. We had intended to collect some wine for the boat stores, but the only shop had closed, so we elected to enjoy a late lunch in the café/restaurant in the sunshine, which was absolutely delightful and was followed by a short walk to the impressive defence redoubt built during the Napoleonic period.
by thick fog and a timetable to be kept; we had to meet the fuel tanker at St.Sampsons harbour on the quaintly named stone pier of Abrahams Bosom. The passage called for careful navigation through the rocks to Percee Passage and on to the Corbette passage, where as we arrived the sun burnt off the fog! Taking on 600+ litres and brim full, we motored slowly south to St.Peter Port harbour and the Victoria Marina. Where, who should we meet but Richard and Jane Ogden and a day later Neville Blake. All members of SYC, away on holiday, transiting through the Channel Isles.
The following morning found us rolling around in the NE wind blowing straight into the harbour, which encouraged an early start, braving the overfalls around the Cotentin peninsular as we headed for Sark. The awkward sea dropped away as we approached Sark, and we made fast to a visitor buoy in the Harve Gosselin in glorious sunshine and took the dinghy ashore to explore, beginning with 299 steps up the cliff path. We rested and looked at the views quite often on the way up, and little did we know that steps were to become a feature of this holiday. A meal onboard in the quiet evening sunshine, surrounded by just the seagulls and the sounds of the wavelets on the rocks, was bliss, before retiring for an early night. We woke surrounded
A Pimms before lunch.
WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID Despite the good showers and excellent internet with a barograph and weather forecast in the harbour office, we didn’t want to stay long at St.Peter Port as it is rather too English, but weatherbound, we were destined to stay three nights next to the beep, beep, beep of a pedestrian crossing, on the road above us. At last the weather allowed us to leave and we motored leisurely south and then west as we cleared the most southern coast of Guernsey, setting the course for L’ Aber Benoit on the north west coast of France, about 100 miles away. Running initially at ten knots, enjoying the sun until it became obvious that we’d need to increase speed, as we would not only lose the tidal advantage but would have to make a night entry into a strange harbour. As we got to within 15 miles of port it was still calm enough for me to haul 280 litres of extra red diesel out of the engine room and top up the main tanks; returning the empty drums to the hold, we could now pass inspection from the French authorities! As the sun sank into the western horizon, we started to pick out the odd light and buoyed markers for the entrance channel of L’ Aber Benoit. We eased our way into the port at almost dead low water, we looked for the six white, (free) visitor mooring buoys, which according to Reeds, were just inside the well sheltered entrance. There were dozens and dozens and they all looked new and most were empty of craft, so we just picked the nearest and secured for the night. It was almost like being in a marina the water was so still, but we soon became aware at first light, of the many small French yachts, (without masts) being outboard driven towards the open sea, with lobster pots on the top of the cabins. Oviously this was a very popular activity amongst the local population and they all waved/ saluted as they passed; it was all very friendly. After breakfast, the harbour master appeared and via my poor French and his non existent English, we discovered that in the last two months all the new mooring buoys had been laid and also they were no longer free. Having paid up we launched the dinghy and explored further up the river estuary, which was heavily used for ‘aquaculture’ mussels. We landed at a stone wharf with a steel ladder bolted to it and set off up the hill, to search for bread and other essential items (wine) to sustain us. It seemed that it was lunch time and the little shop was closed, but further exploration found us inside a local café, in the courtyard, under an umbrella in the sunshine, enjoying a three course lunch, with wine, costing about seven quid a head. Bargain ! When the shop opened we filled our rucksacks and negotiated a little unsteadily, the steel ladder down the dock wall into the dinghy and returned to Buccaneer for a snooze in the afternoon sunshine, and to watch the unloading of seaweed into lorries using a specially designed crane/grab.
In the early evening we moved deeper into the estuary, past the aquaculture racks and buoyed areas, choosing a mooring buoy among
Moored in Braye Bay, Alderney.
the scores of empty ones, at end and near a wooded beach; with no nearby river traffic is was wonderfully quiet. The next day we motored ashore in the dinghy and walked for miles around the eastern side of the estuary. Each hamlet/village of six to eight houses seemed to have the same name, all beginning with ‘K’. The houses all appeared empty, but however there must have been a thriving garden maintenance industry as we were serenaded wherever we went by the song of strimmers, motor mowers and hedge trimmers! Despite that, it was a very attractive area and it was quite late in the day by the time we found our way back via path through the woods and along the beach to the dinghy. We moved the few miles east to L’ Aber Wrac’h the next day, using the flood tide, conserving fuel by easing along at slow revs, marvelling at the stunning scenery as we entered the Grand Chenal. Passing the ‘smiley’ face marker into the well marked river, leaving the La Paule marina to starboard and exploring further up the river. But it was not obvious which moorings were available for visitors, so we retraced our course and took a cheaper buoy off the marina. It seemed that every time we sat out in the sunshine in the cockpit, we were investigated by seagulls looking for food, and after I had chased one off the outboard several times I was getting fed up. Ashore we booked into the office and took advantage of the excellent showers. Whilst I waited for Brenda to reappear, I had a stunning idea. Retuning to Buccanear the pockets of my shorts were now bulging with stones from the car park; I placed my ‘ammunition’ close at hand and before long a seagull landed on the dinghy to see what we mjght be serving up. Lobbing a couple of stones at him, I was mortified to find that my action attracted even more seagulls. They must have assumed I was throwing bread! We explored the area, always with rucksacks in case we found a shop or supermarket, and discovered the original lighthouse / coastguard building with commanding views over the entrance and out lying islands. We spent two or three days on the buoy, until the last day when we moored to the outside pontoons to load the shopping and fill up with water.
The weather had deteriorated a little, but we set off east again, using the flood tide with revolutions for eight knots, but managed more with the tidal lift, as we went towards Roscoff. The wind was off the land and we had quite a bit of lee, so it was comfortable, despite being inundated with flies as we approached the Canal de I’lle de Batz which seemed easier than going around to the north. The chart plotter indicated a course between the navigational hazards; Brenda had the chart out on the table as well, so we just ‘eyeballed’ our way along, with the tide now adding another knot or two, it appeared to be reasonably easy. Suddenly, we both felt really unsure if we were in the correct place… I reduced speed and disconnected the autopilot. A small passenger ferry bustled out from the I’ll de Batz sounding it siren. It could have been ‘U’ (you are standing into danger). So we stopped and then as he came by, we tucked in behind him, until we’d sorted out exactly where we were again. Phew! The new marina at Roscoff was a mass of cranes, so we eased up the Penze River in calm seas in the company of a couple of yachts returning after a day sail. We had been here before, six years ago, on our first holiday in this Buccaneer and not surprisingly, there were a lot more mooring buoys, mostly empty as it was early in the season. Once secure to a buoy, we made dinner and had a glass or three as it was pretty sheltered from the now freshening and more westerly wind. Turning in to our bunk in the fore cabin, we had moored ‘stern to’ the buoy as this was quieter, avoiding the slapping noise of waves on the hull. But the increasing wind started to set a resonant humming through the radio aerials as we went to sleep. About 02:00hrs we awoke to a loud bang, from outside the hull. Leaping out of bed, mustering spectacles and torches, we emerged from the wheelhouse into the roaring wind and absolute pitch darkness as we were miles from any street lights and there was total cloud cover. The mooring had dragged with the flooding tide towards a small yacht, luckily we had collided with his mooring buoy and we were almost nose to nose. Obviously we had to move, so flashing up the 430hp Caterpillar, we released the mooring lines and motored slowly away, into the night. We were near the middle of the river estuary, with the spring tide flooding and the wind at gale force from the west and I needed to avoid getting any mooring buoys around the propeller... We found another new buoy and after several attempts, Brenda pointing the torch as I came alongside and then between us getting a line onto the buoy. It was a bit hairy, but we managed it and celebrated with a cup of tea whilst making sure that it was holding OK. An early dawn revealed wind tossed waves in the river and the forecast was for more westerly gales. It was evident that we needed to get into better shelter for the next few days and the
Wavelength | June 2013
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WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID easing our way eastwards along the coast towards Primel Tregastel, a very small natural harbour, but exposed to the north, north west.
Stern to... Sitting out the gale in Port Blanc.
It was quite tight inside, so we took a buoy, enjoying lunch in the sunshine, whilst we waited for a fair tide to take us further east to Port Blanc. This is another natural harbour defended from the sea by a reef of large rocks, with a fairly well marked entrance channel. The almanac advised that it was open to a northerly blow and could become uncomfortable on the visitor’s moorings; this we can confirm! The first morning it rained hard, but we were able to explore ashore in the afternoon by judicious navigation in the dinghy. We discovered a sleepy little village with a couple of hotels and a restaurant or two, very picturesque but almost devoid of people.
nearest totally secure marina was at Morlaix, a dozen miles away, requiring a passage through the rock strewn estuary, before we could find somewhere that was not exposed to the gales. Consulting the tide times for Morlaix, as it’s behind lock gates; we waited until there was sufficient height of tide before we left our mooring. Making doubly sure of every navigational mark, we crept first northwards and then eastwards, powering steadily along at eight knots; we could plainly hear the ensign whipping and cracking in the following breeze over the engine noise. Easing carefully and very closely to the rocks, we managed at last to turn to the south, entering the passage to Morlaix, past Ricard Rock, (no you can’t celebrate says Bren), leaving the picturesque Chateau du Taureau to port, we finally found flat and sheltered water as we motored slowly up miles of winding river. At the lock gates we were allocated a berth next to the movable pontoon bridge, near the centre of the marina, convenient for the office, showers, loos etc. We had visited the port several years before, remembering the enormous railway viaduct across the very tall and steep sided gorge, (the viaduct was built between 1861 and 1864 for the Paris to Brest route), which dominates the whole town. Whilst the marina is completely sheltered from the wind, it can be very hot in the sunshine but the town is delightful, full of period houses, restaurants and a cosmopolitan atmosphere, so there are always quiet shady corners to sit and watch the world go by. Each morning, I would make the ritual trip to the marina office to look at the weather forecast, to see if the low pressure system had passed by, but it remained rather slow moving. After several days exploring the town, it’s restaurants, supermarkets, bars etc we decided that we wanted a change of scene, but the weather was still not playing the game. Enquires at the Tourist office regarding the bus service to Roscoff revealed that there were two buses a day; one there at 06:45 and it’s return twelve hours later! What about the train
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to Brest? Lots of these and at convenient times too, so we booked for the TGV to Brest with a cheaper SNCF train for the return. What we had overlooked was that the train ran across the top of the viaduct; we set off on a long slow hike up the narrow paths and many, many steps, with only a hazy idea that ‘La Gare’ was somewhere at the top. After a couple of mistakes we eventually found it, and collapsed in the bar. The TGV train is more like and aeroplane, when you are travelling; think hushed quiet, smooth with a gentle tilting and enormous speed, not at all like British Rail. Arriving at Brest we were initially rather disappointed with the lack of any ancient architecture, but of course the Brits and Yanks had helped deliver their town planners a completely new canvas to work on after the ’39-’45 unpleasantness! We walked down the broad shopping boulevard toward the sea, viewing a selection of French naval vessels moored in the river a long way below us. We could see that it was possible to walk nearer the river, so without thinking, we skipped lightly down about two hundred plus steps... There was an entrance into the cliff wall and we could see an exhibition inside, so in we passed, penetrating deeper and forever further into the underground tunnel. Approaching the end, we discovered a set of steep staircases and only cursing slightly, we emerged near the top of the cliff and the entrance to the large fort overlooking Brest’s natural harbour bay. It was possible to explore this fort with an English audio unit explaining the architecture and how the building’s use had changed over a thousand years. We explored it all from the dungeons to the battlements - stairs again! It was well worth it, but the last weary walk back to the top of the town to Brest’s La Gare is best forgotten. By this time we really were ready to leave the embrace of Morlaix and with the best forecast for over week, we locked out, passing back through the winding river and across the broad bay, before leaving the Ile aux Dames to port. We followed the markers for Chenal de Treguier,
The wind freshened from the north after dinner and Buccaneer started to plunge and rear on her mooring like a fairground rocking horse. Even moored stern to, the wind made it a pretty uncomfortable night and we were glad to be able to slip away in the morning, slowly motoring northwards up the west side of the Treguier headland, leaving the entrance to the river to starboard and easing our way into the estuary of the Trieux River, using the Grande Chenal, passing the two double barrelled towers that guard the entrance. Finally now in sheltered water, the sun broke through and we followed the river’s course for five miles, through initially open countryside, which gave way to steep wooded banks, to wait outside the lock gates at Pontrieux. Once inside and past the dredged sand washing works, we moored alongside the stone river bank quay, celebrating with a shower and a glass or three of wine, marvelling at the peace, watching the ducks and admiring the beauty of the flowers and trees in bloom. Pontrieux is a quiet village, with the centre arranged around the joining of three small streams, with the houses built right into the river banks, many are wood beamed and overhang the narrow cobbled streets. Restaurants abound, to suit all pockets and it is quite a tourist trap. A small railway station near the moorings is visited by a steam train, several times a day, in the summer months. We were befriended by an English couple who lived in a house overlooking the river with their own mooring. They invited us in for drinks and conversation, where we discovered that the annual charge for mooring his Mitchell 31 (10metre), boat was a mere £350 a year! After a few days, we passed back through the lock and travelled downriver until we reached the bend, overlooked by the Chateau de la Roche Jagu, crowning the steep sided wooded bank, with what we discovered were stunning views, with complete command of the river approaches. Ignoring the very small jetty, we anchored Buccaneer at the edge of the river
WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID and went ashore in the dinghy. As we did so, a tripper boat moored to the jetty and disgorged its punters, which we followed through the landscaped woods, up towards the chateau.
Picturesque calm in Pontrieux.
Although, heavily restored, the building was fascinating, with an enormous entrance hall, warmed by two immense fireplaces. The kitchen was almost the same size with four different size fireplaces for cooking. The rooms were solidly built of stone and several spiral staircases led to the battlements and the aforementioned command of the area and its approaches. Leaving the chateau, the wind was now really making itself felt, as we passed through the more open parts of the river, blowing at least a full gale, so as we wound our way between the stone towers marking the deep channel towards Lezardrieu marina, we discussed how with a contrary three+ knot tide we were going to moor up. The problem was solved as all the visitor pontoons were reserved for a yacht race, boats and crews, so we just eased alongside an almost deserted pontoon in the centre of the river, enjoying the colourful sight of the one design, single handed yachts and all their battle flags cracking in the wind. After a day or so the race was started surrounded by many large, fly bridged ‘Press’ motor boats in attendance, recording it all for the local news stations. We were then able to move into the shore side visitor pontoons of the marina. This enabled us to revisit the local village and restaurants, and to enjoy the market in the central square, listening to music provided by four very elderly and red faced, (wind instruments), locals from the bistro on the south side. We now had to contemplate the approximate 50mile run northwards, back towards Guernsey for refuelling and I was surprised to discover that due to the slow running speeds, employed from L’ Aber Benoit, that we had more than sufficient fuel for the journey. It was a pretty damp and dismal arrival at St.Peter Port’s outer harbour where we elected
Moored in Sarks Harve, Gosselin.
to stay, rather than the moorings off Sark, as we waited for the timed fuel tanker delivery, at St.Sampsons harbour, where we took on a further 485 litres, early the following day. Leaving St.Sampsons, we headed north in a light southerly breeze and sunshine for Alderney. Picking out the familiar land marks with the binoculars as we surged up through the Alderney race, surfing over the overfalls, (sorry Bren), leaving the fine Quenard Lighthouse to port, before shaping up to enter Braye harbour, where we took a swinging mooring close to the dinghy pontoon. Moored by the stern, the aft deck was sundrenched, the sea calm and it was in short, exactly the right conditions to be in Alderney’s Braye harbour. We spent a two or three delightful days, walking around the island, remembering earlier holidays with other shipmates, and also with our children when they were small. We even spent some time on the almost deserted Longy Bay beach, protected from the north by the immense concrete defensive wall, built by the Germans, during the war. The sunshine was scorching, but the water temperature proved too cold for a swim. All too soon the weather started to change again, with the wind going to the ENE and strengthening. Braye Harbour is not a place to be in these conditions. So after a last walk back from the town, we sheltered
for a while in the comfortable lounge of the Alderney Sailing Club, whilst I decided if it was possible to get the dinghy back to Buccaneer against the wind driven waves blowing through the harbour. Suffice to say, I did make it, but got thoroughly wet doing so and was nearly ‘backflipped several times as the wind got under the hull during the journey. Getting the outboard off and the dinghy back on board, disaster was very narrowly avoided as the dinghy was overturned by the wind only moments after I’d removed the outboard. We caught the large taxi rib back to the shore, for our final meal in the excellent ‘bring your own booze’, fish ‘n chip restaurant in Braye, next to the little Crabby Harbour. We had a pretty lumpy night on the mooring, and as the wind appeared to be dropping, (it was forecast to veer too), we got away early in the morning with the course set for Shoreham. But after an hour and half, it was obvious that the crew had had enough of the violent motion, so Buccaneer pointed reluctantly to Cherbourg, where we quickly discovered there were several yachts that had been ‘weather bound’ for a week or more. After a couple of days doing the usual things (shopping), in Cherbourg, careful study of the sketchy weather forecasts posted in the Capitainere, we managed to escape homewards early in the evening, between two low pressure systems. Leaving Cherbourg on the trailing edge of one and just about raising Shoreham in the five hour gap ahead of the next one. After mooring Buccaneer on her SYC berth and walking home in a truly tropical deluge, we both enjoyed hot showers and relished the comfort of a proper full sized bed! Chris West
Wavelength | June 2013
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Lorelei rock on the Rhine.
Through the Iron Gates to the Black Sea Courtesy of Anne Gisbey, we tell the tale of an American couple, Ed and Sue Kelly, who traversed Europe by river and canal, a journey which saw family tragedy and bureaucratic comedy, and confounded by alphabet spaghetti, they had to grapple with ATIS and CEVNI and ICC and AIS Class B navigation. Not content with these challenges they also had to face piracy and snakes, and a route which took them by way of Ceausescu’s death canal and the Iron Gates of the River Danube. Captain Sue and I have the distinction of taking our sailboat, Angel Louise, from the North Sea through to the Black Sea & to Southern Turkey, without ever leaving the canals or rivers. It was a trip via 4 principal rivers and canals of Europe and crossed over the European continental divide Angel Louise is a 25 year old 12 metre Catalac Catamaran, built in Christchurch, Dorset and is number 26 out of 27 of the series. After 5 years of cruising, we crossed the Atlantic and during the 38 days at sea we formed a plan to go to the Mediterranean via the French canals. But those plans were dashed when we bought all the books and charts for the French canals upon landing in England, only to find out our boat is too wide and too tall to transit the locks and the key canals in France Accordingly, we decided to take Angel Louise up the Rhine and over the European continental divide, which is 1,340 feet above sea level, and then cruise down the Danube River to a warm water port of Marmaris in Turkey. Four boaters familiar with the Rhine cautioned us not to even try. They said our two 37hp Yanmar 3 cylinder engines, would not have enough power to get our heavy boat up the Rhine past the fabled Lorelei Rocks, (where legend says Sirens distract skippers and lure them to their doom). Before we left England, while living aboard at St Katherine Docks during the winter of 2011-2012, we joined the Cruising Association, The Royal Yachting Association, the Dutch Barge Association, attended two lectures from two other British boats that had made the trip, and read everything else we could get our hands on to prepare. Forewarned of the possibility of Euro-bureaucracy we took the ICC and CEVNI tests, thought necessary despite the fact that
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we both had US commercial skippers tickets. We also purchased an additional VHF radio with required identification technology called ATIS (Automated Transmission Identification System) legally required to operate on the Rhine. We crossed the North Sea overnight from England and arrived in Holland the following morning feeling OK despite a nauseous ride. We cleared into Holland on 22nd May at which time the Rhine was flowing too fast with Alpine melt water for us to start inland, and spent the next week arranging to have the mast removed and securely packed. We left the Zuider Zee and went up the Ijssel River covering about 130 miles in 3 days time to get to its intersection with the Rhine at Arnhem on June 7th. When we left on the Rhine, travelling upstream was very hard. The 210 mile stretch between Southern Holland and the Main River where you turn off was even more arduous due to water being six feet higher, and coming at us faster than normal as we went upriver. We found that by weaving our boat back and forth when we could barely make progress upstream, in the areas of greatest current, we could make better headway. But it was eerie and disconcerting on the Rhine in several places where we would creep slowly by river buoys that took a full minute to pass. But the scary tactic of weaving out of the main channel and into more turbulent water below flooded wing dams (there to keep the river canalised) let us pick up precious speed and continue moving upstream. The scenery was breathtaking the further we got into Germany, but dealing with the very heavy commercial traffic was not easy because of the very large commercial ships going both ways as we crept along. The most troubling were those coming down at 15+ knots around bends. If their size and speed is not enough,
they also use a system called “Blue Boarding” where long barges and hotel ships will flip down a ‘blue board’ next to their pilot house and the port and starboard passing rules are suddenly reversed! Every night it would be a challenge to find safe moorings, and it was even more difficult to locate a place where fuel was available. From the start we were worried whether we would be able to get all the way up and past the Lorelei area, so we were overjoyed when we finally managed to get past the Lorelei rocks and also through the fastest current just below Bingen. It meant we would now be able to go the whole way. The next day we were thrilled to arrive near the intersection of the Rhine and Main River at Mainz on June 17th; we had covered 210 miles upstream in 10 days. The Main River did not seem fast after getting off the Rhine and we had an easier task going upstream. Although it was a significant distance it was pleasant, partly because near Mainz we were joined by friends from Central Iowa (Norm and Pam Kulow who sail an Acadian Yawl 30 on the Gulf Coast of Florida during winters). The Main River also requires significant care as you are traversing many locks and meeting large hotel ships and commercially powered barges. They always entered locks first and stirred the water up so much that at times you feel like a frog in a blender. With the many locks you have to communicate a lot... and all in German. Neither of us speaks German and using our Caribbean Spanish did not cut it. Sue finally thought she was doing well reading the German from a script in calls to the lock keepers to ask permission to go through. However we decided maybe we were not so good at communications when one German said with a heavy accent, “Could you please speak English?” The leg to Bamberg was 208 miles upstream in 5 days going through 34 locks on the Main. After a pleasant stay in Bamberg, we found our way through the busy commercial canal known as the Main-Donau Canal - 91 statute miles long with giant locks and concrete canyonlike walls. It is now a uniform depth for the heavy commercial cargo and passenger vessels that ply it and is a tremendous engineering feat with many locks, the biggest of which raise and lower vessels over 80 feet at a time. Half way through we got Angel Louise up over 1,340 feet above
WHERE YOU WENT & WHAT YOU DID sea level! On leaving the canal we joyously entered the Danube in South Eastern Germany. We were excited about going downhill from here on, and celebrated mightily as we had finished the 91 mile long canal with it’s 16 locks in 3 days riding a far more manageable current. The Danube was to take us though all of the remainder of Europe for 1,150 miles, until we came to a canal in Romania named the ‘Canal of Death’, which in turn would take us to Constanta on the Black Sea. Our arrival in Vienna was not unnoticed as shortly after we were visited by a team from the Austrian national television network who were surprised to see an American boat arrive. In fact they were so surprised that we had almost 3 minutes of coverage on the main news channel. They do not see a lot of American boats in the mountains! The top moment was during the interviews where we were televised speaking perfect German on screen via the dubbing process. Where was this hidden skill when we were calling locks to let “Sportboat Angel Louise” - as we were always called - pass through? Bratislava, the Danube bend and magnificent Budapest, where our friends returned home were left behind until we cleared out of Hungary at Mohacs. The next day, just before noon, Sue had gone down to the galley to fix lunch when she saw 6 inches of tail sticking out from under the stove. She thought it must be a lizard and yelled without panic, when a huge (to us) snake came slithering up the two steps that lead down to the galley. It was at least 30 inches long and a full inch in diameter. It was very impressive and promptly went under the Saloon table. Upon carefully removing the clutter, we could see it coiled on the floor. Sue got hold of our 36” long ‘grabber’, with a spring-like pincher on one end and a compression grip handle on the other. When the snake realised what Sue was up to it started hissing and trying to escape, however Sue had now got a firm hold of it behind the neck. I thought I was going to get a great picture with camera in hand, but I panicked and forgot to point the lens when Sue turned around and started walking toward the rear door and my position with the snake held out at arms length in front of her. I rushed to the side as Sue ran it out of the cabin through the back door of the boat and promptly delivered it toward the starboard side. The snake started to wrap its body on the rail, but Sue kept her grip on the grabber device and redoubled her effort and said to it loudly: “YOU’RE OUTTA HERE!” In a mighty fling she hurled the serpent into the Danube, where he was last seen swimming downstream in the same direction as us, but we were faster! Later that afternoon, after we had rid our boat of the unwanted snake and stopped shuddering at the thought that it had been on board all night with us, we noted a sudden jolting and shaking of the right engine. Something had fouled the right prop. We tried to free it by
reversing power and trying to back into the following current. But then the whole engine shuddered and vibrated so badly we shut it down and resolved to operate on one engine till we got to Belgrade, which was by then only a day and a half down river. At Belgrade a diver confirmed a line had fouled the propeller but the Spurs line cutters had eliminated it. However when we started her up the engine shook and gave out a horrible metallic squeal. The engineer advised that the engine needed to be removed and stripped, but to get it repaired in Budapest or elsewhere nearby would take time we didn’t have. Though we switched the injector in an optimistic belief that might help, it did not solve the problem and we learned that we would not have a means to fix the right engine for the duration of our trip out of Eastern Europe. We resolved to continue with only the left engine. That is possible on Angel Louise as the autopilot and hydraulic steering system can steer the boat with only one engine running. But it meant we had no margin for error and would be vulnerable if we lost the left engine too. Below the Hungarian border, navigation was complicated by low water levels and lack of good buoyage and charts. Although we were very anxious about falling river levels, we made fast time at 6 to 7 knots going downstream on one engine. We were worried about the good engine and damage to its prop or even grounding Angel Louise in the shallow waters. We had a very old commercial paper chart, and digital charts which showed nothing but the river banks, without any accuracy or depths. There were fewer physical markers and buoys on the river, but we still had a fair number of commercial boats on the river, and some of them were transmitting AIS, which we had also installed before the journey across the Atlantic. The dropping water levels and the sand bars that were building in the areas of Romania and Bulgaria caused great concern but we were helped to overcome our problems in a couple of ways. Firstly we tried following closely behind some of the commercial barges, however almost
everything was tramping along at a high speed and we could only rarely keep up. Alternatively we would use our class B Raymarine active AIS 500 to track the ships further downstream, moving either towards us or away from us; we could then zoom in on their exact position with the chart plotter (even miles in front of us) and put waypoints on their precise locations. Then we just navigated by way of those waypoints. We could do this at distances in excess of 5 miles and it was most reliable. In many cases a set of chart notes showed the channels were now shifted, which we would not have found without the AIS waypoint tracks. We also benefited from remarkable help in Bulgaria. The River Police in one area charged up in their patrol boat and examined our passports. On finding we were trying to navigate downstream and waiting on a barge to arrive for us to follow as a guide, one of the kind officers told us that the river had dropped so badly there were few chances to get through. They then proceeded to tell us they would escort us through the most dangerous part and for us to follow them. For the next 90 minutes they led us through a maze of channels on both sides of the Danube and in several cases crossed over at 90 degree angles to avoid groundings over shallow water. We noted we had less than 6 inches to clear some of the hazards they carefully led us through. We thanked them, exchanged waves, and they turned back. Low water in the “Death Canal” (built by gulag labour during the communist days) caused us to divert via another channel, notorious for piracy so we arrive in Constanta two days later than anticipated. There we were treated to free dockage and courtesy we had not expected. We made lots of friends of folks at Constanta who were from all over Europe and one American couple who had come to Constanta from the opposite direction as us. After leaving Constanta we headed to Istanbul where the right engine was found to have crankshaft damage and was replaced. After that we sailed into the blue waters of the Aegean. Ed and Sue Kelly
Istanbul
Wavelength | June 2013
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How to set fire to a motorway Donald Mc Swein recalls various disasters as he returns to the land of his fathers.
I am in the process of moving back to Scotland and have finally qualified as a country member!! While packing up my sailing gear I was reminded of my last move to Scotland; at that time I owned a small trailer-sailer called Amanzimtombi, named after an African sailing centre. The photo shows the boat on its mooring at Shoreham. Some of you may remember the boat before I capsized and sank it during a pursuit race in October some years ago. My wife Sandra, Janie Smallridge and I were in the water wearing lifejackets for about 45 minutes before we were spotted and rescued by Will Camp, helped by his father and son Charlie. Thank Goodness this time I don’t have the problem of moving the boat; that move was from Woking to Inverkip in Scotland, a distance of about 500 miles. I left Sandra in Woking finalising the loading of our furniture while I set off, on my own, ahead of the removal van which was travelling the next day. I fully expected the journey to be a doddle; after all having raced a Prout Shearwater catamaran in regattas all around the country I was used to towing boats long distances. Since I was towing Amanzimtobi with a modern Volkswagen motorhome I had no problem with weight distribution, and stopped at regular intervals to check the temperature of the wheel bearings. I had freshly greased the bearings before setting off and everything seemed fine and the early hours of the morning found me gliding across the Scottish border on a completely empty motorway. I noticed that my speed had crept up to seventy, but the boat was trailing beautifully. The motorway was lit up and life was peaceful as I cruised along in the middle lane of the utterly deserted motorway. I remember changing the CD in the music player when I was surprised to notice a bouncing car wheel overtake me briefly before veering off and disappear into a neighbouring field! I instinctively glanced in my driving mirror and was horrified to see sheets of flame on the starboard side of the boat. Looking to the nearside mirror there were more sparks and flames. I thought “Houston, we have a problem”. Everything was moving slowly and despite rolling along on less than the designed quota of wheels the whole rig seemed under control, so I gently pulled over onto the hard shoulder and stopped. As I got out I was surprised to see a long, long gouge across the surface of the motorway. As you will have already surmised I was missing the near side wheel from the trailer. The stub axle was glowing red hot and instead of being round was now worn down to a semicircular section by the road! The flames I had seen had come from molten tar on the road.
I have to admit that at that point my reaction may not have been very helpful, and said that I had expected him to be trained to do that. Since this is an SYC magazine, read by youngsters, I refrain for quoting his response. We played around for ages, and then I noticed a trolley jack and a device with casters to allow him to slide under a car and suggested we use them to get the boat mobile. Anyway I jury rigged the boom into the mast step and secured it with some of the ropes on the boat, then tied a rope to the top of the boom and used it like a trapeze to pull the boat over while the AA man rocked his side up and down. I was however somewhat concerned while doing this, since I was on my trapeze across the inside lane of the motorway. As planned he was able to kick the trolley jack under the end of the axle and after jacking the trailer up we got some rocks from the nearby field and lowered the trailer onto them. This allowed us to move the jack under the spine of the trailer further aft; the driver then slowly backed his vehicle while I pushed the device with castors under the axle as the truck pushed under it. He then winched the whole lot onto the flatbed while I humoured the trolley... we were home and dry (I thought). The AA man brought me down to earth by asking “So what do you want me to do with the boat now... where do I take it?”
I had stopped beside a motorway telephone Amanzimtombi on her old SYC river mooring. so I used it and got a sleepy voice response which became quickly alert when I explained that I was sitting on the motorway hard shoulder with a boat minus a I remembered that I had a copy of the Indespension trailer parts wheel. I was in the middle of nowhere, so I was taken aback when he said catalogue in the motorhome. Luckily we found the address of an agent “Yes I can see you on my camera”. He was relieved that I was in The AA in Glasgow so I arranged with the AA driver to take the whole rig to the and said he would call them out. agent’s premises. In the morning a new suspension unit was fitted and the While waiting I went off into the fields and found my missing wheel. The AA guy turned up with a sophisticated low-loader with a tilting flat bed. I was delighted to see him and felt my problem had now gone away, so I was taken rather aback when he asked me how I expected him to get the boat with its trailer onto the flatbed when it was missing a wheel.
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Wavelength | June 2013
boat rolled off the AA low-loader. I hitched up the boat and arrived at my new house to meet the removal van as if nothing had happened! Donald McSwein
Congratulations to Sleeper in Antigua Jonty Layfield tells of a recent racing success Sleeper V111, our J139 won IRC Class 111 in the recent RORC 600 race held here out of Antigua. The race was there toughest yet with winds always around the 22-30 knots with 3-4m waves and from the start the boat and crew were soaked and never dried off until we finished.
the course requiring navigation around 11 islands and having to cope with constant high winds and seas. Nevertheless we recommend the race as an excellent test of navigation and seamanship. Jonty Layfield SY Sleeper V111.
At one stage off Guadeloupe, we were lying 5th overall but even at 15 miles off the Island we lost the breeze and lost four hours and this meant that the chance of getting a good overall result was over, but eventually we went on to win our class by nearly 3 hours from the next competitor. Despite the good result, the race was not without it’s drama as we snapped our spinnaker pole on the first kite run and this meant we struggled for speed on downwind legs and had to rely solely on the asymetrics that had to be set up on the bow. Nevertheless, we still got speeds up in the high teens when running and reaching. This race has to be one of the toughest we have done due to
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BRIGHTON MARINE SURVEYS Times of high water, GMT, for Brighton Marina, 2013. Add 1hr for BST (from 0100 31 March to 0200 27 October). Average difference Dover 0m, Shoreham +5m, Portsmouth +14m. Tidal data courtesy of UKHO Š under licence 13986.
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