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Spring 2017

Little Ship The magazine of the Little Ship Club

Snap shot from Ronhilda a fellow Fast Cruiser l Photo

competition winners

l 90th

anniversary commemorative pull out

l HPO

list

CONTENT LITTLE SHIP CLUB President: Mike Golding OBE Commodore: Anne Billard Vice commodores: Commercial: Iain Pickard Sail and Power: Jonathan Hague Rear commodores: House: Vacant Marketing: Frank Walters Membership: Hunter Peace Social: Sue Lyons Training: Graham Broadway Hon solicitor: Mark Turvey Hon treasurer: Arlene Keenan Members of the Club committee: Rune Bakken (URNU Liaison), Paul Banks, James Donaldson (Membership), Ray Fox (House), Pete Hampson, Barrie Martin President’s committee: David Roache, Iain Muspratt, Jill Moffatt, Don Shackley Honorary life vice presidents: Norman Hummerstone MBE, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Dr Jean Plancke Little Ship Club Ltd Bell Wharf Lane, Upper Thames Street London EC4R 3TB Tel: 020 7236 7729 Fax: 020 7236 9100 Internet: www.littleshipclub.co.uk Email: office@littleshipclub.co.uk Directors: The Club Committee Members: All Guaranteeing Members Club secretary: Val Tunmer Hon librarian: Deborah Wheeler Hon chaplain: Revd Andrew Wright Hon archivist: Ian Stewart Editorial committee: Brian Humber, Chris Nicholson, Deborah Wheeler Managing editor: Vacant Design and production: Linda Mugridge Tel: 01353 664433 / 07443 531669 linda.mugridge@virginmedia.com Advertising: for advertising enquiries contact the Club office on 020 7236 7729 Copyright: None of the material in this journal may be reproduced without written permission of the Editorial committee.

The Little Ship is published three times a year by the Little Ship Club Limited. Two editions are sent free to members and one edition is published online.

Articles appearing in this journal do not necessarily represent the views of the Little Ship Club or its officers. Charts: No responsibility is accepted by either the contributor or the Club for the accuracy of charts or other sailing directions published.

Printed by Russell Press

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THE LITTLE SHIP

Contents n COMMODORE’S COLUMN: Let’s make our sailing club the ‘best marketed’ open secret pages 3–4 n WELCOME: Letter from the Editorial Committee page 4 n AT THE CLUB: Mike Golding OBE: our new president, Anne Billard reports pages 5–6 n AT THE CLUB: LSC extends reciprocal relations with West Mersea and Royal Solent yacht clubs page 6 n NEWS FROM YOUR COMMITTEE: Reports from Club committees and sub committees pages 7–10 n AT THE CLUB: Welcome to our new members page 10 n FROM THE ARCHIVES: “From the Commodore”,

an article from 1998 spring edition of Little Ship page 11 n PHOTO COMPETITION: Winning pictures from the 2016 Photographic

Competition, report by Patrick MacCulloch, competition organiser pages 12–15 n AT THE CLUB: Club trophy winners page 16 n EVENTS: Round up of events on the water and at the Club pages 17-18 n COMMEMORATIVE PULL OUT: Anniversary Dinner at Trinity House pages 19–22 n ME AND MY BOAT: Edward Allcard: an unconventional life (part one), Clare Allcard reports pages 23–26 n CRUISING: Winter fast cruises: “It’s the taking part that counts”, Brian Humber reports pages 27–29 n ADVERT: Little Ship Club – a quality venue in the heart of the City page 30 n CRUISING: Speed can be relaxing too!, Mike Salter reports pages 31-33 n BOOKS: Reviews pages 34–35 n HPO NEWS: A good get together at the Club, Anne Le Verrier Bizzey reports pages 36-37 n OBITUARY: Leslie Burgess page 38

n HPO LIST: page 39

Cover picture: Snap shot from Ronhilda a fellow Fast Cruiser

by Fast Cruise participant.

COMMODORE’S COLUMN Your new Commodore Anne Billard, thanks all the past Commodores and following in their steps, outlines her vision for a vibrant and active sailing club.

Let’s make our sailing club the ‘best marketed’ open secret As lady Commodore, I am in good company: with Theresa, Nicola, Angela, and the (perhaps) lesser known Kersti (Estonia), Doris (Austria), Tsai (Taiwan), Kolinda (Croatia)… and let’s not forget our Gracious Queen!

In 1926 the Little Ship Club was already well ahead of its time, when it allowed ladies to become full members from its inception. It might therefore be fitting that in its 90th year the Little Ship Club has, again, elected one of the fairer sex as its Commodore.

Coincidentally, I come exactly 20 years after the first lady Commodore took the helm (another Anne – we may have to change the rules to make this a pre-requisite).

I plan no revolution for our club: rather, I stand very much on the shoulders of the good men who came before me. I shall not forget that it is their work and dedication which allow me to stand before you as I do now, confident that the Little Ship Club will see its 100th anniversary.

Without exception, all past Commodores have been remarkably supportive of me, and

this is the time and place to thank them publicly – for myself, but also for the Club.

Hopefully I get the order right – Hunter, Richard, Keith, David, Pete, Michael: thank you for your support, your time, your offers of further help and guidance during my tenure. You can rest assured that I will most certainly take you up on your offers!

Thank you is due as well to the selfless volunteers who have offered to serve under my stewardship. I couldn’t do it without you: I am but the figurehead of the good Little Ship; you are the real heroes who put the wind in its sails. Together, we will very much carry on in the steps of past Commodores: with a sailing programme second to none, a trailblazing training programme others try and fail to emulate, and a clubhouse which needs no introduction. All expertly marketed and advertised to the wider world: not only will our RC Marketing carry on with his task, but I am extremely grateful to Moira Watkins to have taken the responsibility of updating

“... the representatives of the Little Ship Club Commodore on those shores, they will ensure busy sailing programmes wherever the fancy takes you.”

“... I couldn’t do it without you: I am but the figurehead of the good Little Ship; you are the real heroes who put the wind in its sails.” our website. Under her guidance, it will become the responsive, modern, attractive, online tool worthy of our club. Other programmes and projects are in development, the first of which is the nurturing of a closer relationship with both the Royal Solent Yacht Club and the West Mersea Yacht Club (see page 6).

It may be argued that in the past few years we – the Club Committee – have worked so hard on safeguarding the business of the Little Ship Club that our very raison d’être as a sailing club has fallen slightly by the wayside. We are remedying this by the appointment of Fleet Captains on the South and East Coasts, as well as inshore, and a Motor Fleet Captain: the representatives of the Little Ship Club Commodore on those shores, they will ensure busy sailing programmes wherever the fancy takes you.

As you will have read in the Annual Report, I am privileged to be inheriting a Club in a healthier financial position than it has been for a

long time (surplus after tax, increasing operating income from nearly all sources – membership subscriptions, CLC, Club and commercial activities, etc). Membership numbers have increased in real terms for the past two years, the best indicator that the Little Ship Club’s offer is an attractive one. It is up to us all to make the old adage lie: we are not the “best kept secret” sailing club: let’s be the “best marketed” open secret.

The Club Committee works for you, the members. We hope you enjoy the first in the series of ‘News From Your Committee’. We look forward to your comments, suggestions, and constructive criticisms!

When you go sailing, take pictures, take videos, draw, paint, write – blogs for the website, articles for the Little Ship, notes for someone else to put in legible form! If you come across an interesting piece of news, tweet it! If you don’t know how, send it to the wonderful Judy in the office, she will do it for you. Whatever it is, do communicate with fellow club members!

That is how a club becomes a

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WELCOME / COMMODORE’S COLUMN Welcome from the Editorial Committee The Editorial Committee, formerly the Journal Committee, would like to welcome the new President, Mike Golding and Commodore, Anne Billard. We also welcome a new editor when appointed.

The Committee was formed back in the 90s, to provide support for a new editor, a short on time broadcast journalist, and a print production team, unfamiliar with the Club. At different times over the years Club members with different skills or a particular expertise to contribute would join: writers, technical experts, PR, advertising people, others with inside knowledge of the Club. Their help was always appreciated and their contributions made for a readable magazine.

The current members are: Debbie Wheeler, team member since 1992 and, in addition to the occasional article, as Hon Librarian provides two pages of copy for nearly every issue; Chris Nicholson, a Club member since 1982, has held a variety of Club offices from Committee member to Vice Commodore, an ace proof reader and expert on the house style; Brian Humber long term member and past Main Committee member, blogger with an astute eye for the absurdities of the status quo.

As there is no standing editor this task has fallen to hardpressed Commodores. We feel it is a good time to extend the Committee to widen our skills base and support. Therefore we would like to invite anyone to join us on an editorial panel. If anybody feels they have some skills or experience relating to magazines, professional or amateur, if you have no experience but would like to gain some, or if you have lots of great ideas or just want to help in some way, contact us. Even if you live in Scotland, Ireland or Wales, it can all be done by email.

Copy deadline for our Summer edition is early July. If you would like to write something for the magazine send it in before then and watch Club Bulletins for updates and precise dates.

Contact: librarian@littleshipclub.co.uk

For information, news and views from the Little Ship Club go to www.littleshipclub.co.uk and follow us on www.twitter.com/littleshipclub1

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THE LITTLE SHIP

club: sharing stories, successes, near-misses, and everything in between.

Do not let anybody stand alone at the bar: introduce yourself, buy a round – that is how friendships are formed, crews are found and adventures started. The very spirit of ‘Sailing in good company’.

A short biography.

French by birth, I have lived in the UK for over 20 years. But fear not that Brexit should see me deported: I was granted British nationality, and duly swore allegiance to our Gracious Queen a few years ago. A Sorbonne graduate in Modern Languages and Film, I spent 15 years travelling the globe marketing some of the most recognisable feature films of the time, before a career change brought me to recruitment; finally founding my own search and selection firm a couple of years ago. I started sailing dinghies in the Mediterranean as a child; graduated to day sailing and then cruising: up and down the Brittany and Normandy

coasts as a student, with the Sorbonne Sailing Club, in the aptly named Bucephalus, a Beneteau First 21.

I joined the Little Ship Club 10 years ago, going on my first cruise with the Corinthians on the Chesapeake in 2008.

I was recruited to organise lectures, and have since held the positions of RC Social, RC Membership, before being asked to stand as Vice Commodore. I am now honoured to have been chosen as your Commodore. The Little Ship Club has introduced me to many friends, has allowed me to discover many beautiful places – in truth, it has been a huge part of my life for the last 10 years. As your Commodore for the next two, my overriding ambition is for the Club to mean as much to many more as it means to me.

For those of you who do not know me, please come and introduce yourselves; I will endeavour to chat to anybody I haven’t met yet, so do make this task easier! n Anne Billard Commodore

Our 2017–18 Pocket Handbook is enclosed This year we decided to change its format slightly: instead of a diary, Club events are listed under three headings: Social, Sail and Power and Training. I hope that this will help you find what interests you.

Tuesday Club nights aren’t mentioned, as we all know they happen: and of course, we all know to look on our website for the latest information!

In response to public demand, the Membership List also lists boat names. This section is, of course, dependent on members keeping their details up-to-date on the website, or asking the office to help with this.

I sincerely hope that, as the Pocket Handbook evolves, members find it a useful aid. This year, it will also appear online as a downloadable PDF, only available to members. So many of us have smartphones and may be sailing out of range from a signal, this seemed a logical progression.

If you have comments, suggestions for improvements, changes you think we should make, do get in touch!

Jenny Jones office@littleshipclub.co.uk

AT THE CLUB

Mike Golding OBE: our new president

Commodore Anne Billard welcomes the Little Ship Club’s new president, Mike Golding OBE, and gives a short profile of his remarkable sailing career.

IT IS MY great privilege to introduce the Little Ship Club’s new president: Mike Golding OBE. One of the world’s most accomplished and successful offshore sailors, Mike holds a number of world records (singlehanded non-stop circumnavigation east to west against the prevailing winds and currents, single-handed monohull crossing of South Pacific Ocean, singlehanded monohull crossing of Indian Ocean, single-handed transatlantic crossing east-west, Open 60 IMOCA Class for the crossing from Saint-Nazaire to Saint-Malo).

A former career fire officer, Mike turned to professional sailing after successfully skippering the Challenge 67 yacht Group 4 in the 14 yacht fully crewed British Steel Challenge Round the World Race in 1992/93. Group 4 won two of the four race stages securing a close 2nd place on elapsed time.

Later in 1993 Mike set out on a record breaking west about circumnavigation with the same yacht Group 4, only this time alone. Following on the route pio-

neered by Sir Chay Blyth’s first circumnavigation (east to west), Mike became the second person to complete this socalled ‘impossible voyage’. At the same time, Mike set a benchmark world record which remained his for seven years.

A dominating victory in the 1996/97 fully crewed BT Global Challenge Round the World Race, enabled Mike to lead his team and sponsors towards the highly competitive IMOCA 60 class – an innovative open class and race circuit which includes the Vendée Globe – the best known and toughest singlehanded nonstop round the world race.

Over the following two decades Mike was personally involved in the design and build of three unique IMOCA 60s, each of which he then raced on the IMOCA offshore racing circuit, winning or taking podium positions on all of the solo and double-handed events, including the Vendée Globe. Mike was crowned IMOCA World Champion for two successive years 2005 and 2006 (the only Brit ever) and also won the 1996 FICO World Championship (for all the

offshore classes). Mike has also established many WSSRC world speed records – some of which remain current.

In 2006 whilst racing on the Velux 5 Oceans solo round the world race, Mike gave up his own competitive position and race, turning back in storm force winds to successfully rescue fellow competitor Alex Thomson from his sinking yacht, deep in the Southern Ocean.

In 2009 Mike joined the radically different Extreme 40 Sailing Series. Racing inshore with crew and with two hulls instead of one, this was a very different challenge. After a tough start, Mike carefully recruited an all British team to secure a podium position in the 2010 season.

Mike returned to the IMOCA offshore racing circuit in 2011. In 2013 he finished the Vendée Globe non-stop, solo round the world race becoming the first person to have completed three Vendée Globe races, and the only person to have achieved six circumnavigations, three times in each direction.

Mike Golding was awarded the OBE for his services to sport (sailing) in

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AT THE CLUB 2007. His deep passion for the sport remains undiminished and he continues to work on major sailing projects and provides race campaign expertise and consultancy from his base in Warsash, Hampshire UK.

Mike Golding in his own words: “I’ve broken records I didn’t even know about. Some say I’ve crossed the equator 27 times – I don’t know, I don’t count. I don’t sail to accumulate; I do it to race.”

“The Southern Ocean and Cape Horn are the world in the raw. They’re so untouched that when you see debris floating in the ocean – a fridge, a table – you know you’re back in the Atlantic. It’s

amazing what people throw off a boat.”

“Having a royal family is the best PR that Britain does. People knock the monarchy because they worry about money, not the way we look – but that’s what creates our value. Without the queen, we’d be like everyone else. We’d disappear.”

“I couldn’t be married to someone who supported me under sufferance. The great thing about my wife being an experienced sailor is that she knows the risks, so she knows when not to worry.

The negative side? She knows the risks.”

“For every disappointing period in my life, I’ve had some glamour years. You know, those times when it seems like nothing you do can go wrong and even

when you do the wrong thing it somehow comes out right.”

What can I possibly add?

When you read accounts of Mike’s rescue of Alex Thomson, Mike apparently apologised for a “shabby pick-up”, which probably “would have failed him his Yachtmaster”.

As our president, we might offer him a refresher course at the Little Ship Club.

Or, we might remember our own pathetic attempts at picking up a fender on a sunny, windless day in the Solent, and bow in awe at such a feat. And count our blessings again that such a sailor accepted to be our president. n

West Mersea Yacht Club, Little Ship Club, Royal Solent Yacht Club

LSC extends reciprocal relationship with West Mersea and Royal Solent yacht clubs Reciprocal arrangements with other clubs are a very valued part of what the Little Ship Club offers its members, and recently we have been exploring how we might add to those we already have.

Conversations have begun with West Mersea Yacht Club (WMYC) and the Royal Solent Yacht Club (RSYC), to explore how we might increase our use of each others’ facilities.

Most members will, of course, already be familiar with both clubs – our West Mersea Rally is often over-subscribed, and we are no strangers to the hospitality of the Royal Solent, but this is the beginning of a deeper, more formalised, relationship between our three clubs.

West Mersea will provide an East coast

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THE LITTLE SHIP

welcome for our cruisers whilst the Royal Solent provides a base in the western Solent. The Little Ship Club, in turn, provides a meeting place for London-based members of both clubs, a comprehensive range of training courses to fill the winter months, as well as a place to stay for visitors planning a shopping or theatre trip.

Moreover, all three clubs run social and sailing programmes that might be of interest to each others’ members. No formal changes are yet required but each club intends to make information about the others available to its members, to encourage them to use the other clubs, and advise their committees what they feel the other clubs can offer them.

Our club is here to provide satisfaction

to its members. Broadly speaking, this means creating a compatible membership, and providing a range of services and activities through which members enjoy their boating on their own or in the company of others. We are confident that this extended relationship with clubs such as the West Mersea and the Royal Solent, clubs who share our ethos and our passion for the sea, with a membership base similar to the Little Ship Club’s, will broaden our offering to our members, nurture new friendships, and spark new activities.

So, look out for WMYC and RSYC members in Bell Wharf Lane: introduce yourselves, show them round the clubhouse: in a word, introduce them to our way of Sailing in good company. n

NEWS FROM YOUR COMMITTEE

Members of the Club Committee relaxing after their first meeting, from left to right: Barrie Martin (Members’ Benefits), Rune Bakken (URNU liaison), Frank Walters (Marketing), Iain Pickard (Commercial), Pete Hampson (Digitalisation), Anne Billard (Commodore), Ray Fox (House), Mark Turvey (Legal Adviser), Graham Broadway (Training).

Welcome to a new section of the Little Ship!

The Club Committee works for you the members, and this section is our way to publicise a little more what we do, our projects, and to ask for help, ideas and suggestions. We thought you might find a mugshot useful, if you are not quite sure who we are when you see us at the bar!

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Developing our LSC brand It is three years since we first embarked on a strategic approach to establish and communicate the values and character of our unique sailing club.

We did this with a purpose to increase general membership, increase training participation and introduce new Motor Boat members.

To all intents and purposes, these objectives were achieved through both our ‘Raise your Standard’ ad campaign and the hard work of individuals on our stands at the London and Southampton boat shows.

With this in mind, I will

be preparing a new marketing plan based on a set of new objectives in preparation for the Southampton Boat show in September.

Marketing embraces all that’s good about our club and communicates it in a memorable and compelling way. It uses brand assets, both functional and emotional, to convey messages in a consistent manner.

Our new administration now has a great opportunity to begin to address the need to share our mutual assets and attain a continuity in everything we say and do.

First quarterly meeting In April 2017 we will have the very first of our Marketing and Communications Committee quarterly meetings. The aim will be to share values, assets and find out how we can speak with a unified voice to make us more efficient and more effective across all our internal and external communication channels.

We still need to fill the very important role of PR, so please let us know if you know of anyone suitable at the Club?

Frank Walters, Rear Commodore Marketing

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NEWS FROM YOUR COMMITTEE TRAINING

Summer training

High attendance at winter training courses During the winter of 2016– 2017 the Training section has been very busy running the RYA shorebased courses for Yachtmaster Ocean, Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster and Day Skipper. The Ocean course has been very well attended with six students attending. Two courses for both Coastal Skipper/ Yachtmaster and Day Skipper have taken place and again attendance has been good with numbers up from previous years.

In addition, all of the RYA shorebased one-day classes; First Aid, Diesel maintenance, and Radar have taken place over the winter as have LSC courses in Basic Rope Workshop, Braided Rope Workshop and Boat Electrics and all have been well attended. The Basic Rope Workshop covers care of ropes, some simple knots that all sailors should know plus a number of more complicated knots, and splicing three braid rope. The Braided Rope Workshop includes splicing double braided ropes and making soft shackles using hollow braid rope. When constructed using dyneema rope the resulting shackle will be stronger than a steel shackle of similar size and is less likely to cause wear on the parts to which it is attached.

“The quality of the presentation, the handbook and materials was tremendous...”

A new course was run for the first time in January. The topic was Practical Weather Forecasting and was attended by 15 LSC members. It was originally intended that it would be held over two Wednesday evenings but the training calendar was so busy that it had to be moved to Saturday. One of the comments received from attendees gives an indication of the effort, especially by Ian Stewart, that went into the preparation of the course: “I would like to thank you both for such a thorough and Above: training course at the Club Right and left: Rope Workshop

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instructive day on Saturday.

The quality of the presentation, the handbook and materials was tremendous and reflected the huge investment in time and skill required for their creation. I think the handbook is better than the RYA version!

“It is years since I went to a presentation where the on screen visuals were not merely a repeat of the documents and the avoidance of ‘death by power point’ was another plus!”

There is already a lot of demand for another course and one will be organised in the near future. The next course will probably revert to two Wednesday evenings.

Graham Broadway, Rear Commodore Training

Looking forward to the summer, an RYA Sea Survival course has been arranged on 17–18 June in conjunction with Portsmouth Marine Training (PMT). The first session, on Saturday will take place in the Club library with PMT bringing life rafts and other pieces of kit to the Club. This will comprise solely of lectures. On Sunday we will go to a swimming pool in Portsmouth for the practical session. There are 12 places available and it will cost £110 per person. This includes lunch on Saturday.

PMT are running three Day Skipper/Competent Crew courses solely for LSC members on their Bavaria 40 yacht.

There are five places available on each course and if we can fill the boat we have five places for the price of four. The cost will be £449 per person providing we fill the boat. The dates are: 15–19 May, 5–9 June and 3–7 July.

In addition to the hard work by the Training Committee it would be very useful if the Club could offer students practical sailing experience on Club boats. If you are attending any Club rallies and have spare berths which you are willing to offer to students who have just completed Day Skipper/ Yachtmaster courses please let a committee member know.

NEWS FROM YOUR COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

Recruitment is key to the success of the LSC The Membership Committee is responsible for managing and advising the Club Committee on all aspects appertaining to membership issues. These include: membership retention, membership categories, subscription rates and membership rules, provision of regular membership statistics and trends, organising the Tuesday lecture programme, the Club library, the Club Handbook, following up reasons for resignations and lapsed subscription payments, responding to general membership queries, recruitment initiatives and organising boat shows together with the Marketing Committee.

The committee is chaired by the Rear Commodore Membership Hunter Peace, and currently has six members and is strongly supported by the Club staff.

The Club has always experienced a high turnover of members, largely due to the transient nature of the City as well as more recently suffering from an ageing membership. So to just stand still we need to recruit at least 100 new members every year. Like many yacht clubs we have seen a significant decline in membership, halving in the last 20 years; but the decline has been arrested in the last two years.

It is essential we appeal to younger yachtsmen and women but many today are attracted to internet-based sailing clubs offering flexible and cheap sailing opportunities at dramatically lower subscription rates. Our training programmes, lecture programme, library and overnight accommodation are major factors in attracting younger members but the facility for

long City business lunches is no longer the draw it once was.

We have recently reduced the subscription rates for under 30year-old and under 40-year-old members which will hopefully encourage younger members to join; together with a more targeted recruitment drive this will hopefully at least maintain our current membership level.

The last year has seen us at both the Southampton and London Boat Shows, organised by the Membership Committee, with the great assistance of Club staff and some 30 members helping at the stands.

Following a review of the Southampton Show new display panels were commissioned for the London Boat Show and Ian Stewart built a rather splendid new Tackle Puzzle (pictured), which attracted more than 200 entrants (and email addresses) for the prize of a free year’s membership.

Following a trial at Southampton, Portsmouth Marine Training shared our stand at London and this proved extremely successful in attracting prospective members.

Other recruitment initiatives have included written invitations to visit the Club to some 300 companies within a sevenminute walk of the clubhouse aimed particularly at lunch members. Members have been regularly encouraged to bring along a friend on a Tuesday evening or for lunch at our excellent restaurant, just one new member per member would revolutionise the Club’s finances so please do help your Club.

And a final request for help!

We have to find 24 Tuesday night speakers each year, so if you would like to give a talk on

your summer cruise or can recommend an entertaining speaker on some aspect of boats and the sea please just contact the Club office and we will organise. Speakers are not paid but are offered a year’s honorary membership and provided with an excellent dinner and overnight accommodation if required.

Hunter Peace, Rear Commodore Membership

London Boat Show Stand, with the Tackle Puzzle – ‘What was the mechanical advantage?’

CLUB COMMITTEE

Activities for new members The RC Membership has described the aims and activities of the Membership Committee including recruitment activities.

Once new members have joined they are more likely to remain members if they become actively involved in Club activities.

The Club Committee is planning a number of events to help new members settle into the Club and take full advantage of what it has to offer. These events and activities cut across several areas of the Club Committee, including Membership, Publicity, Social, Sail and Power.

One objective is that all new members are given the opportunity to join an on the water event by the summer of 2017.

Watch out for further information on the Club website and the Club email bulletins.

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NEWS FROM YOUR COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Books, reviews and reviewers Navigating the LSC website Publishers specialising in marine and yachting send complimentary books to the Club library. In return we publish reviews of the books in Little Ship (see pages 34–35) and/or the Club website.

Recent arrivals fall into three groups: cruising guides and pilots; books with practical advice on boat maintenance or sailing strategies; and first hand accounts by well-known yachtsmen of their adventures and achievements.

If you are interested in cruising to exotic places, we have: l ‘The Irish Sea Pilot’ by David Rainsbury, published by Imray l ‘Naragansett Bay & South Coast of Massachusetts’ by Linda Morris Childress, Patrick Childress and Tink Martin, published

by McGraw Hill in the USA and donated to the Club by Dave McConnell, Secretary of the US Corinthians l ‘Chile – Arica Desert to Tierra del Fuego’ by Andrew O’Grady, published by Imray l ‘World Cruising Routes – 1000 miles of sailing routes on all the Oceans’ by Jimmy Cornell, published by Imray. Jimmy gave a talk to Club members one Club night.

If you prefer racing, we have a number of books with some helpful advice: l ‘Tuning to Win’ by Ian Pinnell, published by Fernhurst Books in a series called Sail To Win l ‘On Course to Win’ by Jim Saltonstall, published by Adlard Coles l ‘Jib Trimming’ by Felix Marks, published by Fernhurst Books l ‘Wind Strategy’ by David Houghton and Fiona Campbell, published by Fernhurst Books.

Our latest arrival is Peter Bruce’s new edition of ‘Heavy Weather Sailing’. So if you missed the recent Weather Forecasting Workshop, you can still pick up a few pointers from Peter Bruce and also from David Houghton (Wind Strategy).

Many books are in the library awaiting review and I am always looking for book reviewers. So if you have time to spare and a little knowledge on any of the above subjects, come and try your hand at reviewing.

Deborah Wheeler, Hon librarian

The LSC provides excellent training in navigation and seamanship, but some club members still get completely lost exploring the Club website.

Several months ago, I was invited to attend my first meeting of the LSC Marketing Sub-Committee and mentioned that I have some knowledge of website design and administration. During the meeting and the conversations that followed, it became obvious that a small group of club members were extremely keen to create new content, and discuss improvements and innovation but lacked the technical skills and support to implement their ideas.

Following on from those initial discussions, a number of meetings took place, and we

are now planning a more interactive approach with new web pages and improved navigation. Some of the proposed new content includes an online version of the magazine and the Club Handbook; re-designed training pages and full details of member benefits. We will also be reviewing the ‘look and feel’ of the front page and the best way to implement the new marketing strategy.

We are always looking for new ideas and volunteers to help with the website. If you are interested in getting involved, please come and find me on a Tuesday evening or contact the marketing sub-committee on marketing@littleshipclub.co.uk.

Moira Watkins Marketing Sub-Committee

Please get in touch l commodore@littleshipclub.co.uk l Marketing l Training l Sail

Committee: marketing@littleshipclub.co.uk

Committee: training@littleshipclub.co.uk

and Power Committee: sailandpower@littleshipclub.co.uk

l Membership l Social

Committee: membership@littleshipclub.co.uk

Committee: social@littleshipclub.co.uk

If you are a new member, please get in touch with Paul Banks: paulbanks.123@btinternet.com

Welcome to our new members Eoin Ansbro Stephen Appleby Tim Ashworth-Foster Guy Beaton Lily Benbow Mark Benbow Juan Berrocal Francois-Xavier Bery Galen Brislane Brian Browne Jonathan Carr

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Charles Cashman Cara Cohen Ruth Craig Martin Crick Simon de-Ley Steve Dimmer Graham Ellison Jeremy Elsom Richard Follis Donna Gallagher John Gibson

Adrian Gingell Collette Griffin John Halsall Katherine Hearn Nicola Hill Susan Hingley Andy Hunter Zach Hurst Martin Illingworth Marko Kiiski John Kings

Christopher Lennon Paul Lucas Marisa Lucas Roger Marshall Rhiannon Mayon-White William Mayon-White Frankie McFadden Tom Nicholls Matt O’Neill Lorcan O’Shea

James Owen Nekane Ozamiz Targ Patience Robert Paton David Petherick Tereza Placha Irini Politi Frank Presland Gregory Pritchard John Rennie James Roslington

Paul Ross Martin Sandford Richard Smith Joe Sowton Hilary Taylor Christopher Thomas Kristian Waite Paul Watson Stephen Weston

FROM THE ARCHIVES In the year that the Little Ship Club elects its second lady Commodore we look back 20 years and feature the column written by Commodore Anne Riches for the 1998 spring edition of the Little Ship.

“

From the Commodore

By Anne Riches

A

very Happy New Year to you all and may 1998 be very successful and prosperous for our club.

What better way to greet the New Year than with the eagerly awaited spring issue of The Little Ship. Our thanks to Editor Anne Rickwood and her most able assistant Richard Keen for all their hard work.

Firstly I should like on behalf of us all to thank Hunter Peace for his three years of stewardship as Commodore of the club.

Hunter put in a tremendous amount of time and energy and with his business expertise has seen the club safely through difficult times and has left it on a more sound financial basis than ever before. It is now up to us to maintain the situation and build on it. Hunter will be a hard act to follow but I am proud and honoured to be your new Commodore and I am looking forward to the challenge and to participating in the coming year’s activities both in the clubhouse and afloat.

Having retired from my NHS General Practice, although not totally from

medicine, I now have time and energy to give to what is clearly a very busy, but most interesting and rewarding task. So far I have enjoyed it all very much indeed.

We have an excellent team of Flag Officers and Committee members with a wide range of expertise and I am especially glad to welcome Malcolm Malir, our Vice Commodore South Coast, as Chairman of the Policy and Finance Committee and former Commodore, Norman Hummerstone, and Peter Pitchforth who have just joined the main Committee. They are all generous with their time and energy and, together with the loyalty and support of the membership and Club Office, we shall maintain the high standards and contribute to and build on the future of the club.

I am particularly concerned to renew and maintain our membership drive. As I write, at the beginning of this New Year, the Boat Show is almost upon us. The emphasis this year is on training, and the Little Ship Club is well known for training ... and so it is hoped that at the end of the Boat Show we shall be able to welcome many suitable new members who share our interest in the sea and little ships. But, however successful the Boat Show is, the future of the club and the maintaining of this very prestigious clubhouse depends upon the efforts of all of us as individual members.

Personal introduction is undoubtedly the best way of recruiting new members, and to retain them we need to know what they want from the club. And so I ask each one of you to try to introduce at least one or two new members this year and to get to know as many of the others as possible so that we can have the benefit of one another’s ideas and suggestions.

It is with great sadness that we note the deaths of Maurice Griffiths, Graham Denning and Richard Proctor. All were valued members of the Little Ship Club.

Maurice Griffiths, a well-known east coast author, sailor and boat designer, was in fact a founder member of the Club Committee at the time of his death. Both obituaries appear in this issue.

Richard Proctor, a more recent member was killed tragically and accidentally in the Canaries whilst preparing to set out on the ARC. His obituary will follow in the next issue. We shall miss them all.

This issue of The Little Ship is packed with eagerly awaited accounts of members’ activities afloat and on shore.

Afloat: There are reports of 1997 rallies including the Round-the-Island Race and River Seine/Rouen/Paris Cruise which I was able to enjoy. This long awaited rally for powerboats was most successful and I hope there will be more powerboat rallies in the future.

On Shore: In the clubhouse we were privileged to have a visit from the Lord Mayor Sir Roger Cork, now an honorary member of the LSC. His father, Sir Kenneth Cork, had been a member previously for many years.

At the Laying Up Supper prizes were presented by our President, Sir Robin KnoxJohnston and at the Global Challenge Dinner at the Guildhall and the club was well represented.

A full interesting programme has been planned for this forthcoming 1998 session with many old favourite rallies and some exciting new events. On the south coast there is a new rally to Dieppe to be followed by a club cruise to Cherbourg.

On the east coast we plan to charter one or, if necessary, two Thames Barges and participate in the Thames Barge Match.

You will also find the itinerary of the Corinthians/LSC cruise in Maine this coming August which may well tempt you to cross the pond.

My very best wishes to you all for the forthcoming season.

SPRING 2017

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PHOTO COMPETITION 2016 Organiser’s report In this the Club’s 90th year the entries for the 2016 Photographic Competition showed the members found time to record the many places and boating they had taken part in during 2016. This being the age of information technology many were taken on mobiles as well as digital cameras. One of the changes we hope to bring in 2017 is that as well as submitting paper photographs we will ask members to also send via email, a digital image of their entries. This is so we are able to better use the images for the magazine and produce the slide show for the awards ceremony. As we have all got used to always carrying our mobiles, it does mean that members have been able to capture that unexpected photographic moment without having a specific camera at hand.

In running this year’s competition I was very much guided by the way that Anne Malcolm used to organise the running of the event. So I had hoped that some of the winners in the 2015 competition would be the judging panel for this year’s competition. However due to circumstances

and commitments only Pete Hampson who had been the winner in the Category 4 Rallies was available. Luckily help was at hand, because when I mentioned to some of my friends that I was wishing to find a professional photographer who could come to give an unbiased but artistic judgement, they came up with Emma Hare, a London life style photographer. She was very happy to assist. So the judging was held the week before the displaying of all the photographs in the library on the 6 December Club night.

In all, 17 members submitted entries providing 75 photographs. Andy Ormsby, Patrick Smith, Paul Banks, Nicola De Quincey and Anne Billard are to be congratulated in providing photographs in more than four categories. The first two ‘Seascapes/Weather’ and ‘Making Way’ attracting two-thirds of the entries.

As usual there was a high standard and members had captured some interesting and unusual views. In ‘Seascapes/Weather’ category, three members, Anne Turner, Anne Billard and Avril Ormsby had all taken

Category 1: Seascapes/Weather Marine and inland waterways

1st ‘The Lookouts’ Patrick Smith

3rd ‘Reflections on the Yealm’ Anne Billard 12

THE LITTLE SHIP

2nd ‘On the Mooring at Ramsholt on River Deben’ Susan Cossell

Highly Commended ‘Rainbow over Sonning’ Don Walker

PHOTO COMPETITION 2016 photographs of the same magnificent red pillowed sky that occurred at dawn as they left St Malo early while on the Channel Isles Cruise.

There were so many photographs of interesting sunsets/dawns that the judges felt that it was the entries which showed other well crafted and unusual weather scenes that merited the awards in this category.

In ‘Making Way’ there were not so many interesting moments of ships truly underway although there were photographs of both modern and historic craft. This made it more difficult to select the winning entries. I had hoped that there would have been more than six entries in the ‘Rally’ category while there were only eight in ‘Humour’. The winner in this category was one that the judges felt had been wrongly entered in ‘Making Way’. It was often felt by the judges that photographs could have been entered in a different category. Perhaps we need to define better the wording and criteria for the categories in this year’s competition making it easier for members to select which one of their photographs should be entered in.

Although there were only eight entries in the ‘Portraits’ category, there were two outstanding which stood out from the competition. It was then a pity that in category 6, ‘Artwork’, only one member submitted any pictures. Patrick Smith entered three excellent etchings for the judges to choose from. In the past when this category has been part of the competition there has been a good number of varied artwork both oils, watercolours or other mediums to select from. Again in Category 7 I had hoped that members would have been able to search out from their families’ old photo albums photographs of pre Second World War relatives involved in boating. Only Nicola De Quincey submitted an entry of her father sailing an International Canoe of which he was national champion. This was one of the first sailing dinghies designed and built by the legend Uffa Fox.

Patrick MacCulloch Competition organiser

Category 2: Making Way Vessels under way, not drifting

1st ‘J Class Ahead’ David Roache

3rd ‘Condor leaving Guernsey for Portsmouth’ Anna Turner

2nd ‘Under Way at Dawn, Svenborg, Fyn Island Denmark’ Jenny Jones SPRING 2017

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PHOTO COMPETITION 2016 Category 3: Rallies Rallies and water based club events, ashore or afloat

2nd ‘Guernsey Cocktails’ Paul Banks 1st ‘St Vaast Rally 2016’ Andy Orsby

Category 4: Portraits Members and families afloat, at the waterside or ashore at an LSC event

1st ‘Course Ordered, Sails Set, Skipper can take a break’ Edward Sankey

Other Awards Alan Walden-Jones Trophy The Commodore’s choice was awarded to Paul Banks for ‘Uncle Sam’ entered in the Portraits category.

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2nd ‘Robin at the hatch’ Nicola De Quincey

PHOTO COMPETITION 2016 Category 5: Humour An occasional category, run when there is sufficient demand

1st ‘A bit of a scary situation’ Torben Pind

2nd ‘Hands Up’ Paul Banks

In memory of Anne Malcolm, who very successfully ran the competition for the Club until two years ago, and the Club’s 90th year anniversary, there are two additional categories: ‘Artwork’ and ‘Old Photographs’.

Category 6: Artwork

Category 7: Old Photographs 1926–1938

Any painting, sketch or artwork on the theme ‘The Sea, it’s in our blood’

Any old photographs from your family or relations’ archives taken in the period 1926–1938 on the theme ‘The sea, it’s in our blood’ boating and adventure in those early years, of the founding of the Little ship Club.

1st ‘Tom and Alan’ Patrick Smith

Please remember to submit this year’s photographs from September 2017 right up to the closing date of Tuesday 7 November 2017. This year there will again be Artwork category so please get drawing and painting.

The exhibition of all the submitted photographs and artwork along with the prize giving will be on Tuesday 5 December 2017.

1st ‘Uffa Fox International Canoe’ submitted by Nicola De Quincey The photograph is of Nicola’s father, Bill, National International Canoe Champion in 1936, sailing his dinghy. The dinghy was designed and built by Uffa Fox.

SPRING 2017

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AT THE CLUB

Club trophy winners Trophies have been awared to members in recognition of their achievements during 2016. l Alan Davis Salver awarded for promoting traditional sailing – Drummond Robson for arranging cruise on Mirosa in the Swale. l Alan Walden-Jones Memorial Trophy awarded for ‘Commodore’s Choice’ from the photographic competition – Paul Banks. l Alexander Catering Rose Bowl awarded to the member who has made the greatest contribution to the Club – Richard Keen, organising the Thames Trafalgar Race. l Anthony Powell Memorial Trophy Round the Island Race, awarded to the highest placed LSC yacht in the IRC classes – Liam Hayes, Finesse, 335th. l Baton for LSC unsung heroes and heroines – Andrew Wright for work as honorary chaplain including the annual carol service. l Bone of Contention (The Slade Trophy) for racing success at Cowes Week – Richard Strong, Solid Air, 7th Cruiser Division A. l Calais Tourism Trophy for a special achievement during the Calais Rally – not awarded. l Calais Tourism for the longest non-stop passage to attend the Calais Rally – not awarded. l Captain PJ Russell’s Signals Cup for the highest marks in group A in the Dayskipper theory exam – not awarded as the course did not run. l Colonel Hudson Memorial Trophy for the most meritorious performance, judged as an act of skill, courage or character in rendering assistance to life or property on navigable waters – not awarded. l Conrad Tapster (Gaff) Trophy for a small boat race (one design) with a gentleman skipper – Charles Whittam, NHS Regatta. l Conrad Tapster (Galleon) Trophy for a small boat race (one design) with a lady skipper – not awarded. l Corinthians Trophy for the best log of a cruise which contains a passage of not less than 500 miles –

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Tom Davey for account of 994-mile cruise from South of France to Corfu. l Coupe de Vice-President (Calais) Dr Jean Plancke’s personal trophy for retention by the skipper of the LSC boat deemed to be the best maintained and the most seaworthy when attending the Calais Rally – Mark Andrews, Avventura. l David Williams Alderney Tankard for the best write-up of a cross channel rally, Calais/Ouessant – Keith Irons, Brittany Cruise. l Diamond Jubilee Challenge Trophy (Shield) for a member of another recognised club regularly rallying to Calais and is for the longest distance from the last port of call divided by the waterline length – awarded during the Calais Rally to a yacht from a visiting club – Chris Jones, Dancing Bear (RNSA). l Dr Anne Riches Bowl for outstanding sailing achievement/ contribution to the Club – Paul Banks for Corinthian liaison, organising Corinthian Cruise, Club photography and Croatia charter. l Dulcibella Shield for the best log of a North Sea cruise to the east of Calais – Rune Bakken, Netherlands/Belgium Cruise. l Dusseldorf Bowl for best LSC performance in the Round the Island Race, on corrected time, by an LSC handicapped yacht – Graham Wiseman, Tyche, Class 6A. l Eldridge Cup for skipper or member making the longest nonstop passage, with respect to the waterline length, to the Holland Rally – Mark Andrews, Ramsgate to Colinsplaat. l R.W.J. Gibbon’s Ladies Cup – for the lady member who has done most for the furtherance of yachting in or out of the Club – Anne Le Verrier Bizzey. l Goldie Cup – awarded to the skipper of the highest placed LSC yacht in the Thames Trafalgar Race – Steve Treadwell, Irene, 1st.

l Jack Orr Trophy awarded to Mark Scorer for his restoration and fitting out. l Ladies Seamanship Cup awarded for the most meritorious sailing achievement during the year – Sylvia Chesters, Clipper Round the World Race, legs 4 and 5. l Len Kent Cruising Cup awarded for the best log of a cruise in company, submitted by skipper or crew, which includes the Channel Islands – Michael Forbes Smith. l Liège Cup awarded to the LSC skipper making the longest non-stop passage, with respect to waterline length, to attend the London rally at St Katharine Haven – Andrew Noakes, Ruby, Chatham to Limehouse. l Lord Mayor’s Medallion awarded to the skipper showing most resource and perseverance in getting to a rally – Paul Scott, Burnham on Crouch to Channel Islands and Brittany. l Maurice Griffiths Challenge Trophy for the best log of a cruise to Scandinavia – Lindsey Gill, Britt. l Mercer Shield to the yacht making the longest non-stop passage in relation to the length of the waterline to attend the Calais Rally – Lindsey Gill, Britt, Netherlands. l Motor Cruiser Award for the best log of a motor cruise in inland waters and canals throughout the world – Robin Young, London Canal Cruise. l Nelson Trophy in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar for anyone who visited a ‘Nelson’ related area – Richard Keen, arranged the TTR to start outside the Gun public house, where Lady Hamilton entertained Lord Nelson. l Norman Hummerstone Trophy awarded to a skipper making a passage of a minimum of 2,000 miles, with particular consideration being given to the use of astronavigation on the whole or part of the passage – Sir Robin KnoxJohnston, Route du Rhum.

l Old Seadog Trophy to be known as ‘A Geriatric Cruise Trophy’ for the log of a cruise where the average age of the crew is the highest – Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. l Orfordness Light Trophy awarded to the rally organiser who has organised the most illuminating rally of the season – Paul Kelly, London Canal Cruise. l Peggy Wise Bowl for the best article in Little Ship – Debbie Wheeler, Turkey Cruise, spring 2016 edition. l Pinta Salver for the highest marks in the Yachtmaster Ocean theory exam – awarded in April. l Ramille Cup for the first LSC yacht in the Round the Island Race, on corrected time from groups 5 to 9 of the IRC handicap classes – not awarded. l Royal Oak Cup for the best log of a short cruise of 10 to 21 days – Tom Wall, SW Ireland Cruise. l Scott Trophy for the most meritorious sailing achievement – Sylvia Chesters, Clipper Round the World Race legs 4 and 5. l Stanley Swan Signals Cup for highest marks in the Dayskipper theory examination (Group B) – Andrew Noakes. l Suhaili Trophy for Round the Island Race – not awarded. l Tom Worth Memorial Trophy for the highest marks in the Yachtmaster ‘B’ theory exam – Alex Juras. l Vertue Cup for a member’s log describing a cruise of at least one week’s duration made under the Club burgee during the year preceding the award – David Roache. l W & E Moore Trophy for the most progress in the motor cruiser course – Iain Muspratt for his diligence in learning how to ‘sail’ his new motor boat. l Wilson Haffenden Cup winner of the preceding Fast Cruise series – Liam Hayes. n

EVENTS 2017

On the water and at the Club With the sailing season underway here’s a round up of all events on the water and highlights of the social events at the Club.

Watch the America’s Cup at the Club The Club is in advanced discussion with several partners, to screen the final stages of the America’s Cup (May/June, exact dates to be advised later).

We are extremely fortunate that several organisations are very interested in working with us: not only providing large screens, but also the facility to project holograms, which will allow you to examine 3D models of the boats in great detail.

Another partner who wishes to work with us is a world-famous English watch company, whose adventuring ethos fits in very well with that of the LSC. Not only should they support the screenings (including joint marketing and a presence in the Club) but also host a launch party at the Club several days before the Cup kicks off.

More details will be announced in due course – check the website for updates!

Email: sailandpower@littleshipclub.co.uk

Skipper and Crew Service For all your skipper and crew requirements please use the Skippers and Crew forum on the Club website. Or email your requests to: skippersandcrew@littleshipclub.co.uk

On the water For any queries, suggestions or offers of help with any of the Club’s on-the-water activities please email: sailandpower@littleshipclub.co.uk Thames Trafalgar Race

SOUTH COAST May Day Rally to St Vaast 4 Friday 27 to Sunday 29 May (Bank Holiday) Rally to St Vaast-la-Houge, a small fishing village on the eastern side of the Cotentin Peninsula, famous for its seafood. The rally is likely to follow similar lines to last year with a pontoon party on Saturday evening and a picnic for Sunday lunch with supplies from M Gosselin’s emporium. Crews can choose where they eat on Saturday evening. St Vaast gate will open between 0826 and 1400BST on Saturday morning and between 2133 BST Sunday evening and 0307 BST Monday morning. Further tidal information and gate opening times are here. (note times are French local time) The cost of the rally is £13 per person.

Register your interest for this rally online.

Organiser: Graham Broadway

Round the Island Race (Solent) 4 Friday 30 June to Sunday 2 July One of the largest yacht races in the world, it is an amazing opportunity for all sorts of sailors from families and first time racers to world famous yacht racing men and women to race together. Club trophies available, so enter your boat for a chance to win.

More information: www.roundtheisland.org.uk

Cowes Week 4 Saturday 29 July to Saturday 5 August Cowes Week is one of the largest yachting regattas in the world and attracts more than 1,000 yachts and up to 8,000 racers from all over the world. Club trophies available, so let the Club know if you are racing.

More information: www.cowesweek.co.uk

EAST COAST West Mersea Rally 4 Saturday 29 April to Monday 1 May (Bank Holiday) The season opener on the east coast includes dinner on Saturday at the West Mersea Yacht Club, and the annual pilgrimage to the Company Shed for a recuperative seafood (and wine) breakfast on Sunday.

Calais Rally 4Saturday 27 to Monday 29 May (Bank Holiday) The Club’s longest running annual rally, organised with the Royal Naval Sailing Association (RNSA) and other clubs. Formal dinner on Saturday at the Cercle Amicale and recuperative party on Sunday followed by presentations from the Mayor of Calais.

Organiser: Norman Hummerstone, MBE

The Thames Trafalgar Race 4 Saturday 30 September to Sunday 1 October This unique race on the capital’s river, organised jointly by the Little Ship Club and Erith Yacht Club, was founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in 2013 and celebrates the Battle of Trafalgar. This two-day stage race gives sailors an opportunity to tackle the fickle tides and winds of the River Thames, starting from Blackwall Reach, near Greenwich and finishing at Erith Yacht Club on day one. After a dinner on Saturday night paying respect to Horatio Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar, stage two sees the race return upriver to Greenwich. Yachts are able to berth at Limehouse Basin for the weekend before until the weekend after the race at a special discounted berthing rate.

Details will be posted on the Club website.

More information and to register your interest email: thamesracing@littleshipclub.co.uk SPRING 2017

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EVENTS 2017 At the Club Here is a summary of events at the Club, for more information and updates, please go to our website.

MAY l Tuesday 9 – Training dinner l Friday 19 – Over 50’s lunch JUNE l May/June – Join us to watch America’s Cup live from Bermuda, see page 17 for more information. l Thursday 15 – Commodore’s Cocktail Party AUGUST l Monday 7 Club closes, opens on Tuesday 29 August SEPTEMBER l Friday 15 to Sunday 24 – Southampton Boat Show l Tuesday 19 – joint lunch with City Livery Club l Tuesday 26 – Open Evening l Friday 29 – Thames Trafalgar Race briefing OCTOBER l Tuesday 3 – Open evening l Tuesday 10 – Open evening l Tuesday 17 – Trafalgar Dinner NOVEMBER l Tuesday 7 – Laying Up Supper and prize giving l Tuesday 28 – Shanties evening DECEMBER l Tuesday 5 – Photographic Competition prize giving l Tuesday 12 tbc – Carol Service and Christmas dinner l Friday 22 – Club closes at 3pm JANUARY 2018 l Tuesday 2 Club opens l Friday 5 to Sunday 14 – London Boat Show l Tuesday 9 – Honorary Port Officers’ Dinner l Tuesday 16 – Open Evening l Tuesday 23 – Open Evening l Friday 26 – Burns Night l Tuesday 30 – Open Evening MARCH 2019 l Tuesday 6 – Annual General Meeting l Tuesday 13 – Fitting Out Dinner

INTERNATIONAL AND OTHER

Belgium and Netherlands Cruise 4 Saturday 19 August to Sunday 3 September The cruise will include visits to Antwerp, Goes, Zierikzee, Veere, Middelburg and back via the coast of Belgium. The programme will be flexible, and may change to suit the participants and the weather. Join for all or part of the cruise. The highlight of the trip will be the annual visit to the Zierikzee Harbour Festival. Further details will be posted on the Club website.

Organiser: Jonathan Hague

Caribbean Rally 4 Wednesday 8 November to Sunday 19 November 2017 Plans are shaping up nicely for a 10-day cruise in company during November 2017.

Itinerary: Will be optional. You can follow the group or strike out on your own. We will start and finish in Road Town, the capital of Tortola. In between we hope to visit Cooper Island, Virgin Gorda Island, Marina Cay, Cane Garden Bay, Great Harbour and The Bight. It will be gentle sailing for those who just want to chill. For those who prefer more of a thrill, the will be the opportunity to visit the more distant islands in the area.

Charterers: Sunsail are offering us 15 per cent discount – details on our website.

Fun: We are not planning a formal social programme – just a party at the start and a dinner at the end. In between will be informal and spontaneous.

The area is listed in ‘Fifty Places to Sail before you Die’ and described as “easy, comfortable and beautiful”.

More information, questions and suggestions to: Debbie Wheeler at wheeldy@yahoo.co.uk

Chesapeake Bay Cruise with The Corinthians 4 Saturday 2 June to Saturday 9 June 2018 Our bi-annual rally with the American Corinthians will take place in Chesapeake Bay, USA. The provisional itinerary includes an opening dinner at the Chesapeake Yacht Club, and events Lighthouse, USA at Chester River, Baltimore, Magothy River, Wye East River and a tour and final dinner at the Naval Academy, Annapolis. Berths on the cruise are filling up fast.

More information: contact LSC Corinthians 2018 Liaison Officer, Paul Banks, either directly or through the Club office at office@littleshipclub.co.uk

Venice by water 4 Friday 7 September to Saturday 15 September 2018 Come and join the Little Ship Club Motorboat Cruise of Venice and the Lagoon! There is no better way to appreciate the Venetian architecture than from the water. We aim to charter boats from the Le Boat Company based at Casale on the Sile River in the northern part of the Lagoon in midSeptember 2018.

More information: Gabrielle Ryan at gabriellecryan@hotmail.com

Venice

All social events at the Club and sailing activities are listed on the website: http://littleshipclub.co.uk/events/all

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Little Ship Club 90th anniversary celebration

Anniversary Dinner at Trinity House – commemorative pull out

90th ANNIVERSARY DINNER “The event was a triumph, a wonderful celebration of our Club’s history.”

“Absolutely brilliant evening, the house, everyone glittering and men handsome.”

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TRINITY HOUSE 28 OCTOBER 2016

“Captain McNaught spoke with a wonderful ‘twinkle in his eye’ in his address and is clearly a great standard bearer for the organisation.”

“A smashing event.

What a great venue, format, atmosphere, catering and service.

The abiding memory of the evening for all will be a great pleasure!”

SPRING 2017

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90th ANNIVERSARY DINNER “A really super evening. It was a great celebration of the Club’s 90th Anniversary.”

“A memorable event. What are you going to do for the Centenary!”

More photographs on the Club website

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ME AND MY BOAT Edward Allcard, now aged 102, has been an honorary Little Ship Club member since 1951. In part one of a three-part series Edward’s wife, Clare tells his story and his adventures on the water that began when he was just six years old.

Edward Allcard

I THINK IT must be genetic, the Allcards’ attraction to water. Edward’s grandfather had a house on the Thames with a private creek, a boathouse containing one stuffed crocodile and five small boats and a steam yacht called St Kilda. One of his sons owned the first yacht Edward went to sea on, the Dolphin, a Bristol Channel Pilot cutter, while Edward’s father coxed the Cambridge boat in the 1905 University Boat Race. Yes, a long time ago. But then Edward was born in 1914 which is also a long time ago. He went on to own 18 boats – mainly in succession rather than as a fleet – and nearly all bought as wooden derelicts. And then our daughter, Kate, carried on the tradition. Brought up afloat, she took part in the ARC trans-Atlantic race, then canoed some 2,000kms alone across northern Canada before skippering a day charter boat in the Turks and Caicos islands. So, lots of H2O in the family.

Edward’s water-born career started when, aged six, Bob, his grandfather’s boatman, taught him how to sail. A little while later the two were almost swept over a weir, the first of many close shaves in Edward’s life and also the first big secret little Eddie had to keep; for Bob and he agreed that perhaps it would be better not to tell grandfather about their adventure.

He was in his early teens, living with his parents and older sister in Cobham, Surrey, when his grandfather gave him Dora, a 15 foot open sailing dinghy. She

Edward Allcard: an unconventional life was a mahogany centre-boarder with a gunter rig. Edward’s first logbook written when he was maybe 14 tells the story of sailing her the length of the Thames to the sea. On the first day he sailed single-handedly until 1600 when he dropped anchor off Chelsea and waited for his father’s friend, Hugh, to arrive. Edward’s log describes his entrance thus: “… an explosive ‘DORA AHOY’ nearly shot me out of the boat. H. waved a fourteenth of his fourteen stone at me…” Edward’s sense of mischief was already well developed.

At Eton he was, of course, a wet bob (dry bobs played cricket), as were his father and

grandfather before him. All in turn came under the tutorial eye of the same school boatman who – ancient when Edward met him – had many scurrilous tales to tell about Edward’s forebears.

After Eton he spent a year at Chillon College on Lake Geneva. There he not only coxed the school’s boat to a clean sweep of victories but also made friends with Mahatma Ghandi. You see they shared a goat. Or at least it was Madame Beton’s goat and the two of them used to climb up to where she pastured it and there sat and chatted over glasses of warm milk.

Otilia and Edward reunited in 2009 to celebrate his 95th birthday.

SPRING 2017

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ME AND MY BOAT

From Chillon, Edward moved to Scotland and took up a naval architect’s apprenticeship in the Clyde shipyards starting at D and W Henderson – which closed, moving to another yard – which closed – and ending up at Harland and Wolff – which didn’t. (Today he holds the longest ever membership in the 150 year history of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.)

Edward adored Scotland. Almost every weekend found him out on the water with his friends in Five Brothers, that is, when he wasn’t haring down the Great North Road to Cobham in a ‘Boat’ Bentley cobbled together by cannibalising two wrecks that had died. In Glasgow he used to leave it unlocked at night so the local bobbies could take shelter if it rained. On land he loved speed. Afloat was quite another matter.

At some point during his apprenticeship he was sailing alone in a 40-footer off Ireland when she sank under him. He had a long way to swim to shore. As was his custom throughout his life, he had no life raft or lifejacket.

On 1 June 1937, Edward became a member of the Little Ship Club.

In July 1939 Edward enjoyed his first long distance, single-handed voyage, sailing to Norway and back aboard his latest great ‘find’, Dawn Patrol. Built in 1911, she was a gaff yawl with a Bermudan mizzen.

In his first venture into journalism, he described his adventures in a series of articles written for Yachting Monthly in the 1940s. He returned to the UK on the 15 August 1939. Seventeen days later World War II was declared.

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Above left: Edward rowing with his sister, Mary.

Above: Dawn Patrol, Edward’s first proper yacht.

Right: Content, a 40 foot 20 ton cutter on which Edward first attempted to cross the Atlantic single-handed.

“As a naval architect, Edward was assigned to the Air Ministry in Whitehall designing, testing and supervising the building of air-sea rescue craft. During much of that time Edward lived on the Thames aboard an old Dutch steel barge, Julia Elsa. Then, one day in London, a flying bomb got him. He heard the doodlebug coming, heard the engine stop. Then wham! He was badly injured and spent three months in hospital while they struggled, happily successfully, to save his leg.

After the war, to quote his first book ‘Single-Handed Passage’, he was cherishing “the urge to cast off the insidious chains of civilisation and live”. So, in

November 1947, he took off aboard his latest foundling, Content, a 20 ton cutter, to cross the Atlantic single-handed. But a gale in the Bay of Biscay, triggering a major leak, turned him back. The following year he was sailing Content into Dartmouth when he spotted Temptress. ‘Ahhhhh!

Now there’s the perfect boat!’

She had been built in 1910 on the banks of the River Fal in Cornwall. In the book he describes her thus: “She has a slightly rounded bow and pretty canoe stern while a deepish forefoot and long straight keel make for steadiness on the helm…

Planking is of 1-inch-thick pitch pine, copper fastened on grown oak frames and my

ME AND MY BOAT Left: Edward on board Temptress in New York in 1949 having sailed alone for 80 days across the Atlantic.

Left below: having sold Content Edward bought Temptress plus a new mainsail.

Below: ‘Singlehanded Passage’ Edward’s book first published in 1950.

pride and joy are her scrubbed teak decks…” Surely the words of a man deeply in love! Temptress was a gaff-rigged yawl with a Marconi mizzen, 34 foot overall with 10 foot beam and 6 foot draught. She is still going strong in the loving hands of the sailing journalist, Mark Fishwick.

By selling Content (last heard of owned by the author of ‘WoodenBoat’s Bosun’s Locker’) Edward was able to buy Temptress and have something in hand for a new mainsail. On the 21 May 1949 he set off alone from Gibraltar to cross the Atlantic bound for New York. Today such a voyage is pretty commonplace. Then it was not.

On the way he met most types of weather

as shown by his chapter headings: “Fair winds”, “…and Foul.” “Trade Winds.”

“Becalmed”, “Sargasso Sea”, “Toil and Trouble”, “Heavy Weather” and finally “America”! He described his arrival: “… after ploughing through mirror-like calm water reflecting the magic of a full moon, and dodging innumerable vessels, … I picked my way slowly into a little bay opposite City Island, New York” and anchored.

He had just been on the helm for 43 hours on a voyage that had taken 80 days.

Temptress had sailed through close on 4,800 miles of ocean. It was 2400 on 9 August, 1949. He had arrived.

Re-reading this, Edward’s first book, I am struck by the vividness of his descriptions: “The fog was so thick I could almost stand on it.” and “…I turned in with a quiet mind. Not expecting to be disturbed I probably fell into a deeper sleep than usual and so all the ruder was my confused awakening to the high-pitched screaming of a tearing wind, and all the greater my shock when my head was met with stinging spray at the hatch, while great masses of boiling crests surged around me.” The Field magazine also noticed his style saying, “… Mr Allcard has thus no small adventure to relate. But what was hardly to be expected was that he would tell the great tale so charmingly. There is something to please on every page…” ‘Singlehanded Passage’ came out in 1950, with a reprint in 1951.

The return Atlantic journey was a very different matter. For a start, on arriving in Horta in the Azores on the 28 October, 1950, Edward became the first person to sail single-handedly both ways across the Atlantic. In the process he had lived through fog, calm, seven gales and one hurricane. In the latter Temptress had lost her mizzen mast while he had cracked a couple of ribs and broken a couple of toes.

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ME AND MY BOAT Left: Edward crossing the Atlantic experiences all weather conditions including one hurricane.

Left below: Otilia helping out in port before flying off for England.

“1951 was also the year when Edward was made an honorary member of three yacht clubs including the Little Ship Club for his record, two-way solo crossing of the Atlantic.”

He had been lashed to the boat by two ropes and steered in hurricane force winds for 15 hours, frequently submerged by huge waves that swept the boat from stern to stem, bringing with them a bizarre warmth before he was left yet again sodden and exposed to the freezing wind. His description of that hurricane turns my stomach even now. You should read it.

Nine weeks after his arrival, Edward took the repaired Temptress, and some of the generous and hospitable people of Horta, out for a trial sail. All went well and early into the New Year he was ready to leave.

“Getting away from moorings singlehanded when there is no tide, is a delight,

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THE LITTLE SHIP

even on a pitch-dark night. One can first hoist the mainsail, and, disregarding the shaking and slatting canvas, have plenty of time to coil and stow the halyards.

Lashing the tiller over to port, I waited until Temptress surged to starboard, then quickly let go the slip rope and pulled it aboard; it took only a couple of seconds to unroll the jib; she heeled sharply and gathered speed… Up staysail. Up mizzen.

We were off… For the majority when they woke up in the morning, we would just have disappeared as unexpectedly as we had arrived. That is how I like it. Nobody saw me come; nobody saw me go.”

Breakfast time the next morning Edward was still at the helm wondering whether the following seas would allow him to dash below to make some tea when a movement at the hatch caught his bewildered eye.

“I started. Then my heart rolled over in momentary fear at the sight of a clutching hand, followed by a frightened white face, half-hidden by straggling black hair.

Unbelievingly, I stared; open-mouthed; speechless. It was the girl, Otilia – the one who had come on the trial sail. In an instant, alarm turned to wild anger, and I shouted and spluttered at the apparition…

All this time she remained half out of the hatch, eyes wide, motionless, like some wild creature trapped without hope.”

Edward then realised she couldn’t understand a word he was saying. And suddenly his wild sense of humour got the better of him and he gave himself up to shouts of laughter. Despite an invitation to come into the cockpit, Otilia didn’t move. Much later she told Edward she thought he had gone mad and feared for her life.

He wanted to put her ashore in San Miquel or Madeira. She cried. Her dream was to escape those isolated islands and go to England and become a poet. Twentyfour days later they arrived in Casablanca, Morocco. And all hell broke loose; an endless stream of journalists demanding, demanding, demanding. Edward, always averse to publicity, loathed it, but knew better than to refuse them. So the lone yachtsman and the beautiful young girl were followed ashore wherever they went.

There was even a film contract signed.

Finally Otilia flew off to England to sell her story to the press and to take up a woman’s offer of a year’s free accommodation. Edward’s return to the UK some weeks later in Temptress caused more furore and led to an invitation by Roy Plomley to be cast away on Desert Island Discs.

1951 was also the year when Edward was made an honorary member of three yacht clubs including the Little Ship Club for his record, two-way solo crossing of the Atlantic.

Gradually Otilia and Edward lost touch – but not for ever. In 2009, Otilia’s son-in-law contacted us via the internet. It turned out that the Azorean lass, now in her 80s, was living in Zaragoza, Spain, just four hour’s away from us. We drove over to celebrate Edward’s 95th birthday together. n Edward Allcard’s latest book, ‘Solo Around Cape Horn and Beyond’, published by Imperator Publishing, is on sale in bookshops and Amazon.

The Club library has a collection of many, if not all, of his books, which members are at liberty to borrow.

CRUISING

To encourage sailing throughout the winter the LSC introduced weekend fast cruises c15 years ago. Here Brian Humber takes a nostalgic look back at these cruises that for him and his boat Ronhilda began in autumn 2005.

Photographs by various Fast Cruise participants.

Winter fast cruises: “It’s the taking part that counts” Barrie Martin’s A Day at the Races approaching a mark.

RONHILDA’S LOG RECORDS her first Fast Cruise as autumn 2005, and we have been participating every year since.

But before I reminisce about these cruises, first a brief introduction on my boat, Ronhilda.

She was built in 1987 as No11 out of the 21 Barracuda yachts built by Sadler in Poole to the design of Tony Castro for the BBC series Howards’ Way. They were expensive to build with more than 300 separate mouldings in a closed cell foam sandwich construction.

They were the first ultra-lightweight displacement boat built in the UK and required a sophisticated construction process so no one was surprised when Sadler went into liquidation.

The Barracuda is fast off wind but relativity poor beating to windward. They had a lot of trouble with the lifting keel and advanced technology, and as I know

to my cost after 22 years of ownership, the build quality was truly awful.

The first owner raced her with 11 crew and added several tons of lead to the keel to improve the stiffness on a beam wind, and was rewarded with holding the Harwich-Ostend record for several years.

Barracudas are also fun to cruise in and he, like myself, cruised over most of north west Europe’s coastline.

In 2005, I started to participate in the new LSC winter sailing series in the Solent organised by Lynn Griffith and her partner. Its purpose was to get LSC boats sailing throughout the winter months: to add to the attraction and fun we sailed around a series of buoys to handicaps. After a few fast cruises a boat’s handicap reflected its ability in terms of its hull shape, age of sails, crew fitness etc. As a result, each month, we had different winners across the fleet from boats

just 20 foot long through to Ronhilda at 45 foot.

Just one cruise was organised per weekend and great emphasis was placed on socialising at the end of the day, with one of the larger yachts hosting as many members as it could fit. Ronhilda’s handicap duly improved from the back of the fleet – and I like to think her sailing as well.

There were several members based in Chichester and the eastern Solent in those days, and the turning marks were as far east as Nab Tower. We spent Saturday nights in places like Bembridge, Northney, and Royal Clarence, and enjoyed excursions to the Hamble and Yarmouth.

Ronhilda likes a bit of wind and on one long run back from the Nab we even got on the plane and touched more than 12 knots in a sunny NE blow all the way back to the forts.

Needless to say, with several windy

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CRUISING

Above: Fast Cruisers at a mark. Below: A Day at the Races off Ronhilda’s stern.

days that winter requiring up to three reefs – one fast cruise had to be cancelled – we came first that year and the trophy is still in pride of place in my front room.

Sadly, a right hip replacement in 2007 (I could not move around the cockpit without dislocating the ball out of the hip socket) meant I couldn’t sail for a year.

In 2009, I had the same operation, this time on my left hip.

My sailing was again disrupted in 2015, with a split appendix. Ronhilda’s fast cruises that year were, if I am honest, just going through the motions. Still it was nice to be able to just take part as it was a very close run thing being around at all.

By the time I was fully over the second hip operation more of the LSC yachts taking part were from the central Solent area and Lynn and her partner moved to the West Indies so new management took over.

Starts were moved into the Solent to the west of Gilkicker. There was more of a focus on sailing around the cans and a new fixed handicap was introduced.

For Ronhilda this, of course, took no note of old hull forms, age of sails or decrepit crew so any chance of winning ceased from there on in. A second class progressive handicap was retained but

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THE LITTLE SHIP

having been given the second worst handicap in the fleet in spite of some slippery shaped new boats it took several years before we had any chance of really competing in that as well.

With more yachts coming from the west it was understandable that starts migrated that way. That means during a springs weekend we have to creep over Chichester Bar at LW with fingers crossed peering at the depth gauge at around 0600 to 0700 if there is any kind of swell running.

We then spend three to four hours struggling to windward against a flood spring tide to get to the start by which time mine and the crew’s enthusiasm to sail competitively is blunted.

When the schedule was changed from one race to two we could be on the go for 12 hours on cold winter days by the time we had tied up.

Never mind we tell ourselves, it’s the taking part that counts.

This year has seen a return to just one race which is much welcomed as it has cut our hours on the water considerably.

Not surprisingly, as the Fast Cruises take place in winter the weather has, over the years, been kind and cruel. I can

CRUISING remember on a Folly Inn December’s cruise drifting backwards on the tide away from Osborne Bay with all sails out in warm sunshine and the crew dozing off in the cockpit in t-shirts.

In January 2013 the Fast Cruise was cancelled because of snow.

Winds can vary from race to race, and even during a race. In March 2013, winds were just F3 going around the cans but had increased to F7 over the bar at LW as we scuttled back into Chichester Harbour, which was interesting.

The following year we experienced SW 35 knots over the bar, a beat to the start, and hail as a bonus.

It’s not always the weather that can cause problems: one notable cancellation was down to timber. A timber ship from the Baltic had shed its load midChannel and the sea and beaches from Portsmouth to Beachy Head were literally awash with planks.

As the fleet has altered over the years there are not many yachts from 2005 still taking part regularly. Barrie Martin’s A Day At The Races comes to mind, but I am struggling to think of others.

The average size of yacht has tended to increase, which reflects the general trend of yachts today. However, the fleet still contains a mix of yachts which would not be out of place in the Hamble Winter Series through to steadfast cruisers old and new.

Sail selection has always been interesting. With an air draft of over 20 metres and a boom going right back aft of the wheel our main sail is very big and the 140 per cent plus genny is no lightweight to get cleanly past the mast either. So you have to control your gybes like a hawk with big preventers taking the strain as the boom goes over and have crew on the foredeck to heave the genny around the mast when tacking.

Really I do not take enough crew for round the cans stuff – no wonder the first owner raced with 11 even though he concentrated on long passage races.

When I bought Ronhilda 22 years ago her racing days saw her come with 15 sails including a Blooper, and no less than three spinnakers.

The first owner strongly warned against setting even the smallest heavyweight spinnaker in anything more than 26 knots apparent mentioning with a wry smile the

Right: Ronhilda fast cruising.

Below: Debbie Wheeler getting concerned the water might be coming aboard.

yacht went from exhilarating to whiteknuckle stuff very quickly at 18 knots.

The photograph on the cover of this edition of Little Ship shows Ronhilda’s cockscombing wake when on the plane at over 12 knots with two reefs and well rolled up genny. Over 14 knots and the whole yacht starts thrumming like a Laser dinghy, which in some respects it is a copy of.

Beating can be just as challenging: some crew do not like sitting three metres above the water looking straight down as it comes into the cockpit on the lee side. I try not to do this as it is not the fastest way to sail, but sometimes in gusts, if we are late easing, this happens.

With two rudders you do not broach you just heel further in gusts.

Sailing like this is not my preference as it makes the galley hard to operate and I like myself and the crew to be well fed during the Fast Cruise with plenty of bacon and sausage butties. Cooking and supplying hot drinks is doable at 30 degrees heel with Ronhilda’s galley tucked to one side of the keel box but the cooks do not like it really.

I must conclude by thanking all the crew who have sailed on Ronhilda over the years, some have gone on to be yacht owners themselves which is what it is all about at the end of the day really. Long may the cruises continue. n

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Little Ship Club

a quality venue in the heart of the City The Little Ship Club occupies a spectacular site on the north bank of the Thames in the City of London by Southwark Bridge.

The only sailing club in the City, we offer gourmet private members’ dining in our restaurant and accommodation in the Club’s marine-themed cabins.

There are meeting rooms to accommodate from 6 to 120 delegates l flexible meeting spaces l comfortable bar and lounge l fine dining in our restaurant l ideal for special parties and events l licensed for weddings.

Bell Wharf Lane, Upper Thames Street, London EC4R 3TB

020 7236 7729

office@littleshipclub.co.uk

Please call ITA for details and bookings on 020 7392 3998 or visit www.itavenues.co.uk/venues/little-ship-club/

CRUISING Mike Salter recalls the highlights of a weekend spent motoring 294nm along the west coast of Scotland on board Anastasia with his son Stephen.

Tobermory, Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.

Speed can be relaxing too!

ON WEDNESDAY 14 September I travelled to Laggan Avenue on the Caledonian Canal to pick up my Nord Star 34 Anastasia.

It was a fine evening and after loading stores I motored to Laggan Locks and moored up for the night, so that I could spend a nice evening on the boat and have some supper at the Eagle Barge, which is moored just above the lock.

The next morning was fine and dry with light winds and I locked down to Loch Lochy and motored swiftly to Gairlochy Locks, where, after a short delay, I locked down on to the canal again for the gentle run at the canal speed limit of 5 knots to Banavie. After a lunch in the sunshine, I locked down Neptune’s Staircase to Corpach Basin.

There, after fuelling up, I waited until about 1630 before locking down in the sea lock and waiting on the Loch Linnhe side at the adjacent pontoon for my son, Stephen to arrive from Aberdeen.

Arrive he did at 1800, and after stowing his kit we set off down Loch Linnhe at about 26 knots on a lowering evening,

with cloud at about 200 metres, but visibility at sea level quite good. We turned up the Sound of Mull to arrive at Tobermory at 2000 where it was a fine evening if a little damp.

After an excellent dinner in the Mishnish we caught up on things over a bottle of wine before retiring.

Next morning, we awoke to a bright and sunny ‘Balamory’, showers in the excellent harbour/marina building, then breakfast on board, followed by a visit to the fuel jetty.

At 1030 we set off north-westwards up the Sound of Mull to the open sea, just south of Ardnamurchan Point, and continued north-westwards in sunshine and in an Atlantic swell to skirt the islands of Muck and Eigg on their northern sides passing along the Sound of Rhum, with flat sea and Ainshval and Askival shrouded in mist. We were going around the Island anti-clockwise passing Loch Scresort and the rather ugly Kinloch Castle to port. We then crossed the Sound of Canna to the harbour on the island of

Canna itself. We had maintained a speed of around 22 knots at which the boat performed very well and also seemed quieter.

We picked up a mooring at about 1230, deployed the dinghy and went ashore for lunch at the Café Canna, sitting outside in the sunshine and the peace and quiet.

After some discussion we decided that a visit to Invery on Knoydart would be interesting, as would a pint at the Drovers Inn, supposedly the most remote pub in the UK, you can only get there by boat.

Dropping the mooring at around 1430 we set off at what was to become our usual 22 knots, to arrive at Knoydart at about 1530. We picked up a mooring, launched the dinghy, went ashore and had a very nice pint in the sunshine, before getting back on board to go ‘round the corner’ to Mallaig.

A busy fishing port and tourist centre, the pontoons are very good and the new showers and toilets really add to the experience especially as they were not busy.

We enjoyed another excellent meal ashore at the Steam Inn and a glass on

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CRUISING

Above: Skye Bridge approached from Kyle of Lochalsh.

Right: The Old Forge at Knoydart.

Below: Plockton.

board before retiring a bit earlier than the previous night.

A fine morning greeted us as we breakfasted and showered, before going to find the Chandlers to arrange fuel. This was delivered at the fuelling point via a large filling nozzle which latched open, causing a bit of a spillage, however all was well and we set off up the Sound of Sleat over a slight chop which was following us as the southerly wind acted against the south flowing ebb.

The narrow entrance to Kyle Rea was interesting as there was a 6-knot tide against us, not to mention eddies and whirlpools. The rest of the run up to Kyle of Lochalsh was scenic and easy in flat seas. We pulled into the pontoons and went ashore for a ‘trucker brunch’ at Hector’s Bothy.

There’s really not a lot of interest at Kyle of Lochalsh, so we then motored onward, under the Skye Bridge and around to Plockton where we again picked up a mooring, deciding to stay the night amongst the palm trees.

That afternoon we were joined by the rather grand ketch owned by Gordonstoun School which bases itself at Plockton for part of the season.

We went ashore and discovered that there was a wedding in progress, one of three that day we were told.

Again another terrific meal, this time at the Plockton Inn and an earlier night.

The forecast was for a fresh southerly gusting to Bf7 in the morning, veering westerly around lunchtime and reducing to Bf4/5.

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THE LITTLE SHIP

The next morning arrived calm with an astounding sun rise, and since we had to get back around Ardnamurchan Point we decided to get away immediately in the hope that we would be far enough down before the ebb set in against the stronger southerly. (It was spring tides that day!)

We went down through Kyle Rea at just about slack water which meant that by the time we were a few miles north of Mallaig the wind against tide chop had well and truly developed from the south east, and once exposed to the Atlantic swell which was 1 – 1½ metres from the south west, the seas were very confused and very uncomfortable.

We decided to go into Mallaig again to wait to see if the wind did indeed shift and moderate and for the ebb tide to turn.

We arrived in Mallaig at about 0900 in a rather dreich morning which was disappointing given the sun rise.

After showers we bought the Sunday papers and had a leisurely morning, going up to the seaward side of the town later on to see how the weather was developing.

As things appeared to be moderating, we decided to leave at 1315, about half an hour before low water.

After a light lunch on board, we did indeed set off, with the strategy of keeping away from the Ardnamurchan peninsular as far as possible by keeping close to Eigg and Muck, this also gave us a couple of ‘bolt holes’ if we needed them. We set off at 22 knots diagonally across the Sound of Sleat, turned and continued as planned southwards but staying close to the Island’s side as we looked to get around Ardnamurchan.

The seas had abated and we made good progress for just under an hour, however just as we were passing the gap between Eigg and Muck we had to slow to 16 knots, and then for a short time 10–12 knots.

CRUISING

Left: Beautiful morning at Fort William.

Above: Round Kirk on Canna.

The seas continued to moderate and by about 1445 we were in relatively calmer waters at the entrance to the Sound of Mull and we made good progress until we were skimming over flat water, arriving at Tobermory at 1515. We went straight to the fuel jetty and one of us walked up to McKay’s garage so that they could fill us up at the fuel pontoon. Since the man was on his own, he gave us the keys and the password and left us to fuel up, recording the quantity, and going back to the garage to pay.

Payment made, we again set off at 1610 going down the Sound of Mull, turning up Loch Linnhe towards Fort William, getting a boost from the tide through the Corran Narrows, arriving off the town at around 1800.

We tied up to the new pontoon at Fort William to discover that it is only for loading and unloading and not for overnight stays. We wanted to go ashore for a meal and so we phoned the mobile numbers on the notice board and were told that overnight stays were not recommended as Canna Harbour.

there was only 1 metre of water at low tide.

We were advised to take one of the moorings on the end of the pontoon.

We decided to check out the waiting pontoon at Corpach and on discovering that it was occupied returned to Fort William and picked up mooring No.26 which is just off the end of the pontoon.

After an excellent meal at the Ben Nevis Inn, we had a very peaceful night, the following morning dawning reasonably bright with mist on the hills.

After breakfast we called up Corpach sea lock on the dot of 0830 and were told to come straight away. We dropped the mooring and motored over to find the gate open and everything ready for us.

We were told that there was a down locking underway on Neptune’s staircase, and that along with a fishing boat, we would have to wait for about an hour, which was fine as it gave us a chance to top up with fuel for a final time. We reached the top of the staircase at 1155, Stephen then set off for home whilst I followed the fishing boat along the canal to Gairlochy.

We arrived at lock keepers lunch time and had to wait until 1345 to go forward and lock up. I was clear of the lock and entering Loch Lochy at 1415, and after a swift run up the Loch arrived at Laggan locks at 1440 with the chamber flooded down ready to take me up. I arrived at my pontoon at Laggan Avenue at 1515.

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. n

Just a thought or two...

On reading back through this it might appear to have been a bit hectic, but in fact with travelling at about 22 knots the trips between ports were quite relaxed, and the time spent in port was also relaxed. We had some very good sea food everywhere, but when we got to Fort William we both felt we needed some meat.

The boat performed very well and we were both very impressed by the rough sea performance.

For a trip like this in a fast motor cruiser, one has to plan around the diesel pumps, whereas in a sailing boat tides become more important.

One thought?

Try Ardnamurchan at neaps next time – and another – diesel is not readily available at the weekend, especially on a Sunday.

Distance travelled – 294nm Engine hours – 24

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BOOKS The Club library receives books from publishers who specialise in marine and yachting. Some of our recent arrivals are reviewed on these pages, more reviews are on the Club website and some books are in our library awaiting a review.

For more information about recent book donations and how you can become a book reviewer turn to page 10. the secret anchorage and the purple mountain; and, even years later, recalls your travels, white sands, alluring distilleries and ruined castles open on your knees before you.

The Companion’s depiction of Castle Tioram drew me to Loch Moidart, “something of a pilotage challenge” it says, and the Sailing Directions guided me in past seals reclining on the rocks only feet away.

Amazing Sailing Stories Dick Durham Fernhurst Books ISBN: 9781909911505 Dick Durham has gathered a wide variety of sailing stories from the annals of the last two centuries covering tragedy, seamanship skills and exploiting good fortune. Many of the stories are covered in more detail, elsewhere, but the compilation is captivating and an absorbing read.

The tragic story of the “General Grant”, a three mast barque, swallowed by a cave on the Auckland Islands in windless conditions is indeed tragic. A novice’s navigation error led to a sailor reaching Brazil rather than Antigua. Stories of human endeavour amongst the sailing fraternity show man’s resourcefulness and ingenuity at surviving gale-whipped headlands, tempestuous seas and yet enjoying the delights of cruising among tropical islands. The author’s experiences on a Fastnet race may appeal to those who have themselves considered participating. A wonderful collection of sailing stories from across the centuries and around the world.

MJG

Cruising Scotland – A Companion to the Clyde Cruising Club Sailing Directions – Clyde to Cape Wrath, (2nd edition) Mike Balmforth & Edward Mason Imray, Laurie, Norie & Wilson Ltd, 2015 ISBN: 9781846236976 If the CCC Sailing Directions are the main course of Scottish cruising under sail, this Companion is both the tantalising G&T and the reflective single malt digestif. The Companion offers the prospect of

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THE LITTLE SHIP

The general cruising advice on anchoring, passage planning and communications; the notes on local history and geology, on flora and fauna; and the often lyrical writings of previous generations of sailors exploring the west of Scotland combine to make this new edition a book for both the boat and the armchair – accompanied by that single malt.

MT

The Cruise of Naromis: August in the Baltic 1939 G A Jones Golden Duck UK Ltd, 2017 (paperback only), £8.99 ISBN: 9781899262335 This is far from a straightforward cruise log: part diary, part biography, part naval history. The timing may be unique: having sailed up the German coast and passed through the Kiel Canal, the heroine ends her threeweek voyage at Grimsby on Saturday 2 September 1939, the day before the Second World War began.

Lt. Cdr. Jones’ call-up papers were waiting for him and he wrote his account of exploring the Baltic with four friends two years later while serving on the West Africa Station at Freetown. After a successful war as an RNVR officer, he became a boat builder on his beloved River Deben and, in retirement, the owner of Arthur Ransome’s Peter Duck.

Naromis was a traditional gentleman’s motor cruiser designed

by Higley Halliday, a prominent engineer and naval architect and founding member of the Club. The text is illuminated with a lines drawing supplied by Colin Davis, now a Club member and keen student of Halliday’s works; there are also photographs from the cruise, some of

which were passed to the Director of Naval Intelligence at the beginning of George Jones’ service. His daughter Julia, a well-known author, has done an excellent job of rounding off the story with both family background material and the wider historical context.

All of this, though, misses the crucial point, which is the narrative tension created by the political atmosphere.

Ominous news headlines stand in stark contrast to the homely vignettes which are the stuff of a foreign cruise: Germany and Russia sign a Non-Aggression Pact while it rains in the Skagerrak; German youths sing the Horst Wessel Lied while a Danish grocer digs for potatoes in the dark to keep the British lads fed. This short but enthralling book is a worthy successor to ‘The Riddle of the Sands’. An overstatement? Read it and judge for yourself.

IS

HMS Victory Pocket Manual 1805 Peter Goodwin Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015 ISBN: 9781844862603 This very comprehensive, literally pocket sized book is a record of perhaps the most famous ship of the period in the world. It covers her building and sea service of course, but also the men, both officers and seamen, their conditions of service, training, punishment and much more. The book gives details of her guns, boats, anchors and how these were used. There is a guide to the sick bay and the surgeon, the role of the Royal Marines, plus an extensive account of the Battle of Trafalgar and a potted biography of Nelson.

Always in the thick of it and always a flagship, the list of the famous admirals who used her as such reads like a who’s who of the period – Keppel, Howe, Parker, Hood, Jervis, Saumarez and of course Nelson. The appendices even review Victory’s sailing qualities, the watch system and the casualties in the various battles the ship was involved in. All in all, it is a very well researched and readable account of this great ship and thoroughly recommended.

PJN

Swinging the Lamp – Thames Estuary Tidal Tales Nick Ardley Fonthill Media, 2016 I first came across Nick Ardley’s books a couple of years ago, courtesy of my sister. ‘Swinging the Lamp’ is his latest publication and continues his pleasingly unique view of the Thames, Medway and East Coast. He gives an insightful glimpse into the history – both on and by the water – of these remote areas, with a relaxed prose and a knowledgeable background, especially concerning Thames sailing barges – Nick was brought up on SB May Flower –and all accompanied by many photographs spanning the decades.

‘Swinging the Lamp’ continues his gently drifting and very readable style into the remote creeks and inlets of the vast Thames Estuary which encompasses the Kent, Essex and Suffolk coastlines. A delightful book for those summer evenings anchored in a quiet creek, or for the winter nights in front of a roaring fire – whisky to hand – dreaming of the coming season’s adventures. A thoroughly good read.

RTK

Chasing Conrad Simon J Hall Whittles Publishing, 2015, £16.99 ISBN: 9781849951555 An interesting memoir of life on general cargo ships in the 1970s sailing mainly in the Far East. It reflects a bygone life working at sea before the introduction of containerisation when ships were in port for longer periods and the crews could experience the local life in depth. It was also before routine use of SatNavs when the noon sight and day’s run had key significance.

Hall admits to great admiration for Joseph Conrad and his works, hence the book title. He also enjoyed sailing in the inner seas of the Indonesian archipelago “Conrad country” as he calls it.

A pleasant bunkside read.

MSM

BOOKS for a circumnavigation under sail, points of sail, a diagram of the boat.

This is a great book to read on a long passage, or alternatively tucked up in the warmth in the middle of winter, with the wind howling outside.

SL

The First Indian: The First Indian Solo Circumnavigation Under Sail Dilip Donde Fernhurst Books ISBN: 9781909911499 This book is a delight to read.

Commander Dilip Donde’s story of volunteering to sail solo round the world, under the auspices of the Indian navy is an inspiration. The novel covers the project, Sagar Parikrama, from its inception, through every single step, from finding a boatyard in India capable of building a yacht of this nature, to drafting design and building contracts, to actually building the boat, through its sea trials, to its departure and adventures through the Southern Ocean, round the Horn and his successful return. Part of the charm of the book lies in Donde’s struggles with Indian bureaucracy; some of the exchanges quoted verbatim are almost farcical. His initial naivete and ignorance of the problems facing him soon give way to a determination to overcome all obstacles. His patience, persistence and, above all, his humour are apparent throughout. There are plenty of incidents en route with failures of equipment and descriptions of the innovative means of overcoming them to satisfy the adventurous mind. The evocative descriptions of towering waves, and deep troughs, of shredded sails, and calmer, sunny days with exhilarating sailing grip the reader throughout.

The warmth of his on-shore receptions during the stops, in Fremantle, Littleton (NZ), Port Stanley and Cape Town illustrate the warmth of Dilip Donde’s personality.

He is generous in his praise for all his team and particularly his mentor, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. To him it was a team effort.

The book contains a number of colour photos, which add much to the descriptions. One of these is of the chart showing the route. There is a glossary of nautical terms included, plus certain basic sailing information, i.e. wind directions, the accepted norms

Simple Boat Maintenance Pat Manley Fernhurst Books, 2014 ISBN: 9781909911130 DIY maintenance seems to be a dying art these days and most Marine ‘Engineers’ offering repairs are at best replacement componentonly artists, ask them about fine and coarse Metric screw threads and you are likely to be met with a blank expression let alone mention BSF, BSW, BA etc.

The author has covered quite a wide range of subjects and the pictures tell a thousand words but what would be easy tasks to some will be difficult if not impossible to fathom out for others. I did note reference to CORGI in the gas section and the CORGI gas fitters register scheme has been replaced by the Gas Safety Register some years now. However this should not put off anybody buying this book and setting out to keep their pride and joy in tip top condition and it contains a lot of very useful and practical information.

I was pleased to see no recommendation on changing engine oil every year for fear the oil will go acidic and rot the internals away. This particular old wives tale should have been consigned to the archives many years ago but the yachting magazines (if anybody is still buying and reading them) to their discredit continue to propagate this fallacy.

BGH

Solent Cruising Companion Derek Aslett John Wiley and Sons Ltd ISBN: 9780470988282 Most Solent sailors have their favourite offwater haunts and this book does a good job of recommending such establishments in popular and out of the way places.

I enjoyed reading it and found several of my favourite haunts. The layout is clear and content good.

It does suffer from the problem all

printed Almanacs and Pilot books have, in that they are out of date as soon as they have been written let alone published. I found one or two places where the establishment has changed hands and names since publication.

However, still a good book to browse through on a wild and wet day stuck on your berth planning for the next voyage across the open water to the wild and exotic towns and creeks of the Solent.

BGH

Hand, Reef and Steer – Traditional Skills for Classic Boats, (2nd edition) Tom Cunliffe Adlard Coles Nautical, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016 ISBN: 9781472925220 Tom Cunliffe and I share one thing; like Tom’s dad, my dad shoved me into a sailing boat on the Norfolk Broads when I had just entered my teens. As Tom has observed, you either learnt fast or came to grief.

Neither of us came to grief, but to Tom, traditional boats became a lifetime passion. With his wife, he has sailed “gaffers” all over the Atlantic, and from the Caribbean to Russia. But Tom does more than sail “gaffers”; he is a prolific author, and has written numerous sailing books from ‘The Complete Ocean Skipper to Inshore Navigation’. So, when a much needed second edition of ‘Hand, Reef and Steer – Traditional Skills for Classic Boats’ is published, all serious sailors should take note.

Of course, this is a book about the skills needed for sailing and looking after classic boats. But if your boat is not wooden, does not have tan sails and lacks a gaff, there is still a pile of information here for everyone.

Tom covers masts and spars, standing and running rigging, and sails of all types. He gives very practical advice on the choices, how to set up rigging, how to handle ropes, a lot more crucial to a traditional sailor, and the management of sails, from hoisting, making the rig work and shortening.

He deals with light and heavy weather sailing, and practical manoeuvring. As he explains, the heavier displacement, the position of the main mast, and the other features of a traditional boat, can make a number of manoeuvres, such as anchoring, and heaving up the anchor, a lot easier than the more

modern and lighter boat. The book is very fully illustrated with photographs and diagrams throughout making the textual guidance clear to follow.

In the last part of the book there is a lot of useful information on materials and products, preservation methods, and tips for the content of the ditty bag, which any sailor will find useful.

What is the best grease for galvanised shackle threads, how do you maintain galvanised wire, and whether or not to serve splices, are all questions fully answered, and more.

Tom Cunliffe is a far more experienced and knowledgeable sailor than most of us will ever be.

He is also an extremely good writer. I learnt a lot reading this book, and I can thoroughly recommend to it to both traditional boat sailors and others.

BDG

East Coast Rivers – Cruising Companion, (20th edition) Janet Harber Fernhurst Books, 2016 ISBN: 9781909911512 This is the 20th edition of a classic and well-established cruising companion. It provides navigation information and a comprehensive pilot guide to the ports and rivers of the east coast of the UK from Lowestoft in Suffolk to Ramsgate in Kent, including the Thames as far west as Tower Bridge.

Navigation chartlets are combined with commentary and photographs to guide the sailor through the approaches to marinas and moorings. The aerial views of rivers, as well as being picturesque, help to visually describe the terrain and illustrate the shallows and sandbanks which are a strong feature and hazard of this area.

Unlike other more concise, but nonethe-less similarly comprehensive, pilot guides, in this publication essential information is complemented by quotes, local history, family history and additional photographs to provide the reader with a greater insight into the nature of this cruising area – all compiled over the 60 years since the first edition of this book was written by the current author’s father.

SC

SPRING 2017

35

HPO NEWS Anne Le Verrier Bizzey reports on the Honorary Port Officers’ Dinner that was held at the Club on 10 January and encourages all members to make contact with HPOs when they are sailing.

A good get together at the Club ANOTHER YEAR HAS flown past. The Commodore, staff officers, Honorary Port Officers, guests and members all gathered at the Club for the annual Honorary Port Officers’ Dinner. Grace was said by the Rev. Andrew Wright in Latin, which completely floored everyone and caused much amusement. This first class event begins the year and with the room gaily decorated with flags and bunting there was a happy buzz in the atmosphere.

After an excellent dinner finishing with a glass of port to toast the Queen, in my capacity as HPO Liaison Officer, I welcomed all our HPOs who had flown or travelled from the States, Ireland, Scotland, France, Turkey, River Fal in UK, Mallorca South, Monaco and Greece.

There were apologies from several overseas HPOs who had had to cancel due to inclement weather and illness.

The Commodore presented HPO pennants and certificates to two new HPOs, Pete Hampson for Brightlingsea, Essex and John Murphy for Greystones, Republic of Ireland.

As most of you know, during the 90th Anniversary Channel Island Cruise there were eight HPOs present and all said how good it was to join in and meet LSC members. I thanked Keith Martin, HPO North Brittany, who had assisted an LSC member and his wife whilst in St Malo, who was hospitalised for several days and this is a

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Commodore presents pennants and certificates to new HPOs Peter Hampson and John Murphy.

very good example of what can suddenly happen and of the personal assistance and assurance that can be offered at such a stressful time.

I mentioned that I go to a lot of trouble to find new HPOs and I am very disappointed by the little effort that is made on members’ part to participate. Please remember all current HPO details can be found on the back page of the magazine and at the back of the new handbook – keep a copy on you boat. You all have no

excuse! I had primed several friends to say “….Yes! Anne darling!”

In the article on flags in the Little Ship, Winter 2016 the wrong HPO pennant was displayed. I held up the rectangular flag with white border and blue insert with LSC logo – being the correct flag for recognition.

A mention was made about the forthcoming BVI Rally and she brought our attention to the fact that we have an HPO in Tortola, Brian Gandey who is also the

owner of Conch Charters.

Sunsail is the preferred charterer but Conch Charters are also available for contact by members as an alternative.

It was time to ask some of the HPOs to speak about their areas and first to speak was Norman Hummerstone on behalf of Jean Planke, who has been HPO Calais for 50 years. Jean is now confined to a home and unable to walk but with the Calais Rally early this year Norman mentioned that the harbour had been strengthened, lift gates repaired, there is a restaurant and chandlers nearby and that LSC is the only club to hold a rally in Calais.

Angus Annan, HPO Loch Lomond, talked about heritage and sailing, steamer days out, wonderful scenery, the Iona community and theft of the Stone of Destiny.

Larry Blount, Annapolis said that the Corinthian Rally in 2018 will be held on 2–9 June in northern Chesapeake Bay and will include visits to Baltimore, Port McHenry, so please sign up early.

Cairns Birrell, Anstruther, East Coast, mentioned that there were 1,500 new berths available in Scotland.

Keith Martin, North Brittany joined Keith Irons and enjoyed the North Brittany Rally. He passed on apologies from Jean Michel Gaigne – St Quay. He mentioned that St Cast newsletter mentions a new ferry linking St Cast and Dinard.

HPO NEWS Tim Ryan, Waterford, Republic of Ireland, is organising the Rally in Venice and looks forward to hearing from members joining it. He said Waterford is quiet during the winter months.

Ulla Kite, Monaco, actually had some visitors, Martin Roberts and Sue Lyons plus two other couples. A new tower block has been built in front of her block and she has therefore sold her apartment. Ulla is resigning but said it has been an honour to be our HPO. Mark Grzegorczyk, Mallorca South, keeps his boat in Andrax, laid up at the moment but relaunching in April. He recommended the Columbretes Islands 30 miles offshore from Valencia – a good round trip. Last year he organised a rally for the Bembridge Sailing Club, chartered boats and suggested LSC rally for future.

Bill Thomas, Philadelphia said that there was wonderful history and a waterfront and invited members to visit and get in touch.

John Murphy, Greystones, Republic of Ireland is situated on the east coast below Dun Laoghaire, a new marina with 200 berths available, everyone is welcome.

HPOs present in Guernsey during the Corinthian Cruise.

Hasan Kaçmas, Turkey, said the weather had been dreadful and chaotic with snow.

He wished for a more peaceful time and looks forward to the proposed future rally to the Marmara Sea. He had brought as guests other representatives from new marinas.

Tom Davey, Burnham on Crouch and Greece, always has the last speaking slot and this year he has been back to Corfu, Corsica, Sardinia and spoke of the beauty of the area and the HPO Dimitrios Koutsodontis would welcome all to “come to Corfu”.

To finish my speech, as the Club is holding a lecture on Weather Forecasting, I had found some Weather Lore Rhymes of the Ancient Mariner,

which still hold true today: l When at sea with falling glass, soundly sleeps the careless ass. Only when it is high and rising, soundly sleeps the truly wise one. l The evening red and the morning grey, sure signs of another fine day. But the evening grey and the morning red, makes the sailor shake his head. l Mackerel sky and mares tails, make lofty ships carry low sails. l When the wind backs against the sun, trust it not, for back it will run. l First rise after a low, sure sign of a stronger blow. l Under a dark cloud flying low, a stronger breeze is sure to blow.

It was a lovely evening and a chance to catch up with old friends. I finished by saying a very big “thank you” to all our HPOs, guests and members who had made long journeys to join us.

Remember: do make contact with our HPOs whenever you are visiting their destinations, either on holiday or sailing as they need to meet members. We need to keep this wonderful facility of personal contact worldwide in operation.

Fair winds, good sailing and keep safe. n

Get in touch For any information about the Club’s HPOs please contact Anne, HPO Liaison hpo-officer@littleshipclub.co.uk Any amendments to personal contact details should be sent directly to Anne and copied to Judy Brown in the Club office, judybrown@ littleshipclub.co.uk in order to keep the database up-to-date.

Unfortunately, the HPO website is in need of some renovation and refurbishment.

Our HPO liaison officer is Anne Le Verrier Bizzey hpo-officer@littleshipclub.co.uk

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SPRING 2017

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OBITUARY Leslie Burgess 1924–2017 Leslie Burgess of Grayshott in Surrey passed away on Sunday 5 February aged 92. He had been with the Club for more than 60 years and was an honorary life member. He joined in 1955 when the Club was based in Beaver Hall. Subsequently a vice president, jointly in charge of running the Club prior to the roles being changed to Commodore.

One evening in the late 1950s he and a good sailing friend Alan Eayres were in the Club looking at details of possible yachts to buy when they were approached by another member, Hugh Orr, who had a boat under construction at Moodys.

This being a 36 foot wooden Robert Clark designed yacht called Orthops which was shown at the 1959 Boat Show. They were asked if they would like to crew and this led to a 10-year association whereby Leslie effectively acted as skipper, both on annual cruises to France and weekend racing in the Solent.

Subsequently Leslie and Alan bought their own yachts, firstly an Alan Buchanan wooden 27 foot Bermuda sloop named Surian in 1970 and then in 1983 a 32 foot wooden sloop named Tuppitoo and built in 1965, which they kept in impeccable condition and sailed well into the 2000s. Leslie was a skipper who would go out in most conditions, and in the spirit of LSC would be supportive to all who sailed with him. Leslie also organized many club rallies and was a good friend of Commander Quill the Club secretary who could always rely on him to turn up no matter what the weather.

After Tuppitoo was sold Leslie continued as crew supporting many other LSC members, which included cruises and club rallies to France, Turkey, through the Suez canal and in Maine, USA.

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As well as participating in two Eastern Mediterranean Cruises in Periwinkle, he liked to cross the Channel to attend the International Festival of the Sea held in Brest every four years, which he did in Tuppitoo and in A Day at the Races. He had many tales of racing around the

Leslie Burgess Below: Leslie’s photograph taken at the start of a Hook of Holland race that was published on the cover of Yachting Monthly.

Channel and the North Sea against boats that are now being restored and appearing again in the various Classic Regattas on the south and east coasts.

A keen photographer he was particularly proud of a photo he took at the start of one Hook of

Holland race organised by RORC in Orthops which made it to the front cover of Yachting Monthly.

This captures not only the intense excitement at the start of a long race but the state of the art oilskins of the time!

Mike Gill and Barrie Martin

LITTLE SHIP CLUB HONORARY PORT OFFICERS UNITED KINGDOM +44 SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND CHICHESTER HARBOUR: Brian Humber, 7 Stockbridge Gardens, Donnington, Chichester PO19 8RL. Mob: 07801 211658 brian_humber@hotmail.com EASTBOURNE: Ewen Summers, Swallows, 6A Denton Road, Eastbourne BN20 7SU. Tel: 01323 735257 Mob: 07785 953734 ewensummers@hotmail.com SHOREHAM: Gordon Line, 12 Riverside Road, Shoreham By Sea, West Sussex BN43 5RB. Tel: 01273 453629 Mob: 07879 025666 gordon.line@talktalk.net RIVER DART: David Clements, Southernhay, High Street, Hinton St George TA17 8SE. Tel: 01460 77214 Mob: 07802 151538 mail@clemhinton.com FALMOUTH: Rodney Bennett, Cowlands Hill, Cowlands, Truro TR3 6AT Tel: 01872 278950. advice@alexinvest.f9.co.uk WEST COAST OF ENGLAND BRISTOL: Michael Roberts, 4 Beechcroft, Dundry BS41 8LE. Tel: 0117 964 6667 michael.winroberts@gmail.com NORTH DEVON COAST: Capt David Ganniclifft, The Old School House, Westleigh, Bideford EX39 4NW. Tel: 01271 861439 david@ganniclifft.eclipse.co.uk EAST COAST OF ENGLAND BENFLEET: Terry Pond, Flat 4, Estuary Lodge, 230 Eastern Esplanade, Thorpe Bay, SS1 3AE. Tel: 01702 588910 tpond@btinternet.com BRIGHTLINGSEA: Pete Hampson, 27 Great Lawn, Chipping Ongar, Essex CM5 0AA. Tel: 01992 614213 petehampson@gmail.com RIVER CROUCH and GREECE: Tom Davey, 181 Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0NN. Tel: 020 8445 2078 pembury@tomdavey.freeserve.co.uk RIVER DEBEN: Tony Ratcliffe MBE, Old Bakery Cottage, 29 The Street, Bawdsey, Woodbridge IP12 3AH. Tel: 01394 411461 Mob: 07549 989670 anthonyjratcliffe@hotmail.com CHATHAM: Tracie Lanaghan, Chatham Maritime Marina, Lock Buildings, Leviathan Way, Chatham, ME4 4LP. (Tel: 01634 899200) Mob: 07904 546470 t.lanaghan@mdlmarinas.co.uk RIVERS ORWELL, STOUR, ALDE & ORE: Bill Hughes, Timbers, Cliff Rd, Waldringfield, Woodbridge,Suffolk, IP12 4QL. Tel: 01473 736 479, Mob: 07917 797578 bill@livia.org.uk RAMSGATE: Dr Rodney Pell, Minster Court, 23 Tothill Street, Minster, Kent CT12 4AG. Mob: 07771 764169 rodneypell@hotmail.com WEST MERSEA AND RIVER BLACKWATER: John Davison, 68 High Street, West Mersea, Colchester, Essex, CO5 8JE. Tel: 01206 621843 jhdavison@hotmail.co.uk

SCOTLAND EAST COAST: Cairns Birrell, The White House, 1 Shore, Anstruther Fife KY10 3DY. Tel: 01333 313492 Mob: 07710 451779 cairns@enpd.co.uk LARGS: Charles Harrigan, 2/7, 23 Blackfriars St Merchant City, Glasgow G1 1BL. Tel: 01475 686638 Mob: 07702 555373 charlieharrigan@aol.com LOCH LOMOND: Angus Annan, Easter Cottage, Blair Logie, Stirling FX9 5PX. Tel: 01259 761281 Mob: 07785 523540 angusannan01@btinternet.com ISLE OF MAN Wendy Horn, Dove Cottage, New Road, Laxey IM4 7BQ. Tel: 01624 862000 Mob: 07762 926600 rhinoman@manx.net CHANNEL ISLANDS +44 ALDERNEY: Doug White, Clos Carre Cottage, Les Mouriaux Alderney GY9 3UH. Tel: 1481 824149 Mob: 7781 137875 mail@dougwhite.eu JERSEY: Brian Alderson, 4 Le Clos du Petit Pont, La Rue du Craslin, St Peter JE3 7BU. Tel: 01534 866846 Mob: 07700 866846 brianalderson@mac.com GUERNSEY: St Peter Port David Mitchison, Winchester House, Grand Douit Road, St Sampson, GY2 4WG. Tel: 01481 254478 mitchison@cwgsy.net

NORTHERN EUROPE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND +353 BALTIMORE/WEST CORK/ FASTNET: Dominic O’Flynn, Journeys End, The Cove, Baltimore, County Cork. Mob: 86 255 9206 dominic.oflynn@gmail.com CROSSHAVEN: Wietse Buwalda, Salve Marine, Crosshaven County Cork. Tel: 21 483 709 Mob: 872 601 755 salvemarine@eircom.net DUN LAOGHAIRE: Ronan Beirne, 5 Doonanore Park, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Mob: 862 543 866 ronanmbeirne@gmail.com GREYSTONES: John Murphy, 34 The Court, Station Road, Killiney, Co. Dublin. Tel: 86 810 1263 Mob: +44(0) 778 740 5675 John.Murphy@arkphire.com WATERFORD: Gabbie and Tim Ryan, 3 Priory Street, New Ross, County Wexford. Tel: 51 422543 Mob: 86 1638601 gabriellecryan@hotmail.com ESTONIA +372 Ado Tikerpäe, c/o Kalev Jahtklubi MTÜ (Kalev Yacht Club), Pirita tee 17, Tallinn 11911. Tel: 53 010 450 sadam@kjk.ee FRANCE +33 ANTIBES: David Lakeman, 26 Montee de la Bourgade, Haute de Cages, Cagnes sur Mer, 06800.

Tel: 06792 18076 UK mob: 07528 479770 davidtlakeman@gmail.com CHERBOURG: Magali Hamon, Port Chantereyne, 50 100 CherbourgOcteville, France. Mob: 687 710 941 magali.hamon@ville-cherbourg.fr

NORTH BRITTANY: Keith Martin, Le Logis 35190, Sant Thaul. Tel: 299 668 228 cormoran35@orange.fr ST-QUAY PORT D’ARMOR: JeanMichel Gaigne, Director, 22410 SaintQuay-Portrieux. Mob: 0682 112524 jmg-port@orange.fr ICELAND +354 Egill Kolbeinsson, Hjallabraut 64 Hafnarfjördur, 220 Iceland.

Tel: 565 4066 Mob: 898 5181 egill@navi.is NETHERLANDS +31 AMSTERDAM: Gabe Langerak, Singel 188 - III, 1016 AA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Mob: 645789923 gglangerak@yahoo.co.uk ROTTERDAM–ANTWERP (also Belgian ports): Hans Buskop, Dr H Colijnlaan 6/167, Rijswijk NL-2283.

Tel: 70 394 41 38 hansbuskop@ziggo.nl SPAIN +34 LA MANGA: Tony Canham, Treize, Poplar Avenue, Norwich NR4 7LB. Tel: 01603 259813 Mob: 07710 140550 arbitrator@tonycanham.com

MEDITERRANEAN BALEARIC ISLANDS +34 IBIZA: John Cardwell, Apartado 349, San Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza 7820.

Tel: 971 34 24 15 johncardwellibiza@yahoo.co.uk MALLORCA (NORTH): Ian Foster, Casa Oceania, c/Alcanada 50, Pto Alcudia 7410. Tel: 971 54 69 98 ianandtessa@gmail.com MALLORCA (SOUTH): Mark Grzegorczyk, Boya No.45, Arda.Gabriel Roca 27, 07157, Puerto De Andrax. UK mob: 07774 118804 grzego@aol.com MENORCA: Christopher Collman, Apartado 551, Mahon 07701.

Mob: 696 43 47 87 collman@infotelecom.es GREECE +30 CORFU & IONIAN SEA: Dimitrios Koutsodontis, Gouvia Marina PO Box 60, 49083 Tzavros, Corfu.

Tel: 2 661 090786 mimisgouvia@yahoo.gr PAROS: Dr Robin Brown, 10 La Vigne Au Chat, 1220 Sauverny, Divonne Les Bains, France.

Tel: +33 450 411717 di-robin@fsmail.net TURKEY +90 FETHIYE: Stuart Aikman, 2 Karagozler, 18 Ordu Caddesi, Sok No 40, Fethiye, 48300 Mugla. Tel: 252 612 3996 Mob: 535 599 8538 scaikman@hotmail.com LYCIAN COAST: Hasan Kaçmas, Fener Mahallesi 1964 Sokak No9, Alanya Marina, Antalya 7160. Tel: 90 242 323 66 80 hasan@east-med.com IZMIR: Chris Haire, No 9 Ozel IV 6345 Sokak, Bostanli, Izmir.

Tel: 232 334 0944 Mob: 535 339 5501 hairechris@hotmail.com

International country dialling codes follow country name. Home telephone number, (Business telephone number or fax in brackets). Last updated 13/3/2017

AFRICA REP OF SOUTH AFRICA +27 KNYSNA: Colin Brown, PO Box 1367, Plettenburg Bay, SA6600.

Tel: 44 533 1037 Mob: 84 679 7854 chbbrown@telkomsa.net

MIDDLE EAST YEMEN +967 ADEN: Capt Roy Facey, Tel: 220 3521 Postal address: 8 Main Street, St Mary’s Island, Chatham, Kent ME4 3SF. royafacey@yahoo.co.uk

AUSTRALASIA AUSTRALIA +61 MELBOURNE: Graham Cunningham, 2501/26 Southgate Avenue, Southbank, Victoria 3006.

Tel: 3 9696 7645 Mob: 412 151 944 graham@paradigmadvisory.com SYDNEY: Michael Wynter, 23 Gale St, Woolwich Sydney 2110.

Mob: 409 833 350 mwynter@mccullough.com.au

NEW JERSEY (Sandy Hook to Cape May): Steve Tyler, 54 Bayside Drive, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716. Tel: 732 291 0963 Mob: 732 673 8631 sat5065@gmail.com NEW YORK (PORT): George Milne, 110 Summit Street, Englewood, NJ 07631. Tel: 201 567 0579 Mob: 201 960 4491 ghfm26@aol.com NORTH CAROLINA: James Smart, 153 Riverboat Drive, Washington, N Carolina 27889. Tel: 252 975 1014 Mob: 252 402 5955 jorob2@suddenlink.net PHILADELPHIA: Bill Thomas, 31 West Old Gulph Road, Gladwyne Clovelly Falls, Pennsylvania PA 19035 3324. Tel: 610 668 1177 Mob: 610 416 0548 wmpthomas@aol.com TURKS & CAICOS Is +1 649 David Blackburn, C/o Micky Shoulak, PO Box 274, Providenciales, T&C Isles.

Mob: 231 4479 mickys@tciway.tc

NEW ZEALAND +64 AUCKLAND: Steve Burrett, PO Box 712 Warkworth, Auckland 941.

Tel: 9425 9191 Mob: 21 942 732 jsteveburrett@gmail.com BAY OF ISLANDS: Sarah Fountain, PO Box 292, Mangonui 557.

Tel: 9 406 7766 watchman@xtra.co.nz

USA +1 (WEST COAST) SAN DIEGO: Simon Clark, 22256 Baxter Canyon Road, Vista, CA 92081. Mob: 760 415 2345 simon@sdfinancial.com SAN FRANCISCO BAY: John C Colver, 250 Beach Road, Belvedere, CA 94920. Tel: 415 435 4024 Mob: 415 730 6462 rjcyc@aol.com WEST COAST: Capt Robert G Moore USCG (Retd), 27703 94th Ave SW, Vashon, Washington, 98070-8609.

Tel: 206 463 2109 coastwatch@comcast.net HONOLULU: Dr Ed Lott, 275 Makaweli Place, Honolulu, Hawaii 96825. Tel: 808 396 9073 yachtshi@lava.net

AMERICAS

ATLANTIC

CANADA +1 TORONTO : David W Brisco, 2551 Flannery Drive, Ottawa K1V 9R5 Tel: 613 521 0741 reiver1542@icloud.com VANCOUVER: Michael D Trundle, #902 Villa Maris, 2222 Bellevue Avenue, West Vancouver, BC V7V 1C7 Tel: 604 926 2925 miketrundle1@gmail.com

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS +1 284 Brian Gandey, PO Box 920, Road Town, Tortola, BVI. Tel:+1 284 494 48 brian@conchcharters.com

FIJI +679 Bruce Phillips, PO Box 70, Denarau, Fiji. Tel: 6751 222 Mob: 9998 332 daisychain@connect.com.fj

USA +1 (EAST COAST) ANNAPOLIS: Larry Blount, 317 Quail Run Drive, Centreville, Maryland, 21617-2302, USA. Tel: 410 758 3502. Mob: 410 490 4412 larryblount@verizon.net BOSTON TO CAPE ANN: Ernest Hardy, 47 Bartlett Parkway, Winthrop, Massachusetts MA 02152.

Tel: 617 846 6320 eehardy@comcast.net FLORIDA & BAHAMAS: David Blackburn c/o C Banack, Banyan Manor, 1001 South Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce FL 34950. mickys@tciway.tc FLORIDA (JACKSONVILLE): Darryl Currie, 4277 St Francis Circle, Jacksonville FL 32210-7305. Tel: 904 777 1972 Mob: 904 735 4639 wildebeest3@yahoo.com GULF OF MAINE: Clint Springer, 98 Cranfield Street, Box 288, New Castle, NH. 03854-0288. Tel: 603 436 8458 clint_springer@alum.mit.edu

CARIBBEAN +1 649 Don Street, Rock Cottage, Glandore, Ireland. Tel: 353 028 33143 streetiolaire@hotmail.com ST MAARTEN +1 721 Jane Harrison, Mega Yacht Services, Plaza Del Lago, Airport Rd, Simpson Bay, St Maarten. Tel: 544 4440 harrison@megayachtservice.com TRINIDAD & TOBAGO +1 868 Reg Potter, 50 The Park Glencoe, Port of Spain. Tel: 649 1160 Mob: 775 0285 rgpotter@tstt.net.tt BRASIL +55 RIO de JANEIRO: Snr Ricardo de Vasconcellos, Rua Iposeira 1205 Conrado CEP 22610 380, Rio de Janeiro. Tel: 21 2259 9899 Mob: 21 9995 1161 ricardo@rjpropaganda.com CUBA +53 HAVANA: Comm José Escrich, Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba, 5ta Ave y 248, Santa Fé, Playa, Cuidad de La Habana.

Tel: 7 204 1689 yachtclub@cnih.mh.tur.cu

HPO liaison officer, Anne Le Verrier Bizzey: hpo-officer@littleshipclub.co.uk. Little Ship Club & Honorary Port Officers on the web. www.littleshipclub.co.uk