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ROYAL VICTORIA YACHT CLUB
Established 1845
Welcome to the RVYC Spring 2015 Newsletter
Work last October
to replace the
pontoon piles
Commodore’s Address
Members, welcome to the Spring newsletter. 2014 was
an interesting year to say the least. The Pool
negotiations took up much of the Management and flag
officers time through out the year, unfortunately to the
detriment of some of the plans we had in place at the
beginning of the year. But we now have a secure 10year lease on the Pool with new piles, better located to
make full use of our pontoon facilities. Credit must be
given to the negotiating team for getting a deal the
Management Committee could accept and to Mark Way
and the Wednesday Group for their work on the
pontoon. The till system has been replaced, allowing
better reporting and integration to the back office and
accounting systems. Although we have spent a
significant amount of money on legal fees and new
piles, the Club’s finances are in pretty good shape. This
is partly due to the Pile Levy over the last two years,
generous donations, but also savings, most notably on
the Club insurance Policy and bar staffing costs, which
have been significantly reduced. I would like thank
Harrison Black, Andrew Porteous and most of all Tracy
for the many hours spent preparing the accounts.
As a club we are incredibly grateful to our sponsors and
for donations from Members, Wightlink, TST and Island
Ales all of whom deserve our thanks and gratitude.
Once again this year we must give special thanks to
Claire Turner, her mother Janice and Care Learning
Centre for their generous donations. These funds will be
wisely spent with their guidance.
The tide has finally turned and our membership is now
growing. We’ve seen a host of new members in recent
months, particularly families keen to start sailing. Our new
cadet coordinators, Becci and Mairi, have done a superb
job in organising the winter off the water activities.
This recent influx in membership is welcome, but we are
not complacent and are looking at ways in which to
generate and retain members. The past obviously has
relevance, but of much more importance is the future. Here
are some areas we should look at over the coming year:
•
The RVYC is unique on the Island in the type of club
we are and our spectrum of members. We are an all
year-round club and we serve a wide community of
island life but we need to be better at marketing
and spreading the strengths of the Club. We need
to develop the “product” of the Club for the benefit
of all to help us find and keep members.
•
We need to grow the membership of the Club. This
is to protect our finances and future security.
•
We need to find ways of encouraging greater use of
our Club facilities. This will further stabilize our
finances and keep membership costs as low as we
possibly can.
•
Volunteering is at the heart of our Club and so
many of our activities are dependent on volunteers.
We always need new volunteers and new members
are invited to help out but we do struggle to recruit
and retain volunteers in some areas of the Club
activities and we need to understand why. Just as
important is to tap into the hugely diverse range of
skills and experience that our members have.
Continued…
Continued from front…
•
•
We must make more of our RYA Training Center status
and make best use of the RYA support structure.
A few words from the editorial team
We also need to improve communication to
members. There are a lot of great activities that go
unannounced. We should celebrate and share with
all members the great work and achievements of
our membership.
Welcome to the spring newsletter and a big thank
you to all our contributors.
The 2015 sailing season is just around the corner
and the Club has been cleaned and made ready by
a wonderful band of 27 members who came in on
Saturday 14th March for the pre-season clean up.
Thank you all.
Strategic development plan or business plan, call it
what you will, the most successful organisations all
have a plan and work to it. We need to do the same
thing. The Strategic Development plan, put aside during
the pool negotiations will be revived. I propose that a
small group, drawn from the Management Committee
and membership will work on this plan, present it to
Management Committee for approval and then share it
with the whole membership. Such a plan will enable us
to set objectives for the various committees, help us to
set budgets and give the whole Club clarity about how
we want to move forwards in the near future.
In May the Club is again participating in the RYA
“Push the Boat Out” promotion. Whether you are a
regular sailor, new to the sport or simply want a
day out with the family this promotion provides the
perfect opportunity for everyone to get out on the
water and have a great day out. The RYA “Push the
Boat Out” is all about people connecting with their
local sailing club and discovering just how easy it is
to get involved in a fantastic social outdoor
sport. See RYA website
http://www.rya.org.uk/programmes/pushtheboato
ut/Pages/default.aspx For the RVYC it is on
Saturday 16th May so put it in your diary and bring
all the family and non-member friends.
The Club has to move with the times but I believe that
evolution not revolution is the way forward. I know we
will never please all the members of the Club whatever
we do but we will do our best to listen to you and to
please as many of you as we can as often as we can.
On Sunday 20th September 2015 the Andrew
Simpson Sailing Foundation charity is again holding
the Bart’s Bash, a global sailing race and
fundraising event. In 2014 the Bart’s Bash joined
together over 30,700 worldwide sailors in a race
and set a new Guinness World Record, raising over
£360,000 for the charity to inspire the next
generation and remember Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson,
Gold and Silver Olympic medallist and America’s
Cup sailor. See the Bart’s Bash website
http://www.bartsbash.co.uk/ RVYC will again take
part so put the date in your diary.
The Royal Vic is a sailing club and we never lose sight of
that but the Club is also a place for members to
socialise, meet new friends, eat, drink and have a good
time. Whether painting on Friday mornings, attending
winter talks on a Wednesday, learning or improving
skills in our RYA programmes, sailing or power boating,
volunteering in our numerous activities, helping out on
the Open Day, kayaking, racing, cruising or just
messing about in boats, young or old, the RVYC has
something for everyone.
The Club is not run by individuals, but by groups of
people all working to the common good. From the
Management Committee, the House and Sailing
Committees, the volunteers who are the core of both
the Racing and Cadet programmes, to the Wednesday
Group who do such amazing work on the fabric of our
facilities and everyone else, without them this Club
could not exist. To all Club Volunteers we salute you.
Editorial team Mark Way, Linda Wright and Carol
McDonnell
The Royal Victoria Yacht Club
welcomes new members:
Our staff are the glue that holds this club together on a day
to day basis. Their work and commitment is appreciated.
Keith, Rachel, Naomi and Rose our thanks to you.
Michael and Jean Doherty, Jon and Barbara
We must never forget that this is a Club. It is a
community of people who share a common interest in
sailing, yet within any community there will always be
different views and opinions of how such a Club should
be run and what the priorities are. The guiding principle
must be that this is an open to all Club for all the
members, whatever their special interest or their age.
With my Vice Commodore, the House and Sailing
Committees, Treasurer and Secretary, and everyone
else, I am looking forward to 2015 with renewed hope
and energy. I hope you are too.
Anderson, Malcolm and Kiran Beckett, Humphries
family, Charlie Holdstock, Scott Tarran, Howard
family, Martin Lloyd, Lorna McRobbie,
Stewart/Cullen family, Emma Jane and Daniel
Williams, Keith Hook, Webster-Dunn family, Young
family, Buckner family, Wendy Farley, Martin
Weare, Evans family, Lane family, Hesse family,
Mattinson family, Vincent and Eileen Carter,
Lawrence family, Jeremy and Maya Pocock,
Tony Pope
Commodore
Draper-Oatley family, Rob Fraser
2
Rear Commodore Sailing
Laser Fleet
Last year was disappointing in that the numbers taking part in
racing did not significantly increase on the previous year. We
want to encourage many more members to come racing. No boat?
don't worry we have a wide selection of club dinghies and 2 squibs
available for members use. Please give it a try. To encourage you
we have set aside 8 Saturdays in the fixture list for a novices race,
open sailing for those who really don't want to try racing,
kayaking and provisionally adult sailing. I say provisionally as at
present we have no volunteers to organise or help run adult
sailing. If a few people don't come forward it won't happen. You
do not need to be an instructor but some sailing knowledge would
help. On these same 8 Saturdays Martyn Squibb is running RIB
training with an emphasis on mark laying and assisting capsized
dinghies, towing etc. Let’s make the Club really buzz with activity
on Saturdays. For this year we have chosen a mixture of mornings
and afternoons to see which people prefer.
As Laser Captain I was thrilled to see that we
now have two strong groups, laser Gold and
Silver, and a fleet of 14 boats. The arrival of
the new laser sailors, all of whom showed
such potential as Optimist and Feva cadets,
will ensure that we can guarantee that the
future Sunday racing will consist of great
competition and excitement, the climax
of which will be the National Laser
Championships in September. But remember
we always have room for more budding
laser sailors!
The main racing programme is broadly similar to last year. The
season starts one week later due solely to tidal conditions. We
have dropped the Spring Regatta as it was not well supported and
aim to build up our Summer Regatta which like last year is back in
its traditional early July slot with racing over low water. This
enables visiting keel boats and cruisers to race and berth
alongside after the race to enjoy a drink in the Club. To encourage
our racing fleets of dinghies, Squibs and cruisers to support the
Bembridge and Seaview regattas there will be no club racing on
Sunday 23rd August. Responding to members’ requests there is
no club racing on Sunday 9th and 16th August due to Cowes
Week. The main summer season reverts to its traditional last race
on the second Sunday in October and the open frostbite series
finishes on Sunday 13th December with the Club prize giving.
Another season is upon us already and we
are all busy preparing the Club boats in
readiness. Our newly formed powerboat
group is well under way and we hope to have
four or five new teams on the water very
soon with, hopefully, more to follow. Some of
our existing crews would benefit greatly by
attending our training days, for instance, a
safety boat retrieving a casualty from the
water (and a live one at that!) or retrieving a
boat from the beach and still have the
propeller intact after the event. Laying
marks is another useful session along with
many more to choose from so why not
contact us. You will be made very welcome.
Enough on racing, our cadet Friday evenings are again very well
supported with several new families joining the Club specifically
for this. But it would be good to increase our overall membership
and get more people out on the water who want to race or just go
sailing or driving RIBs, Kayaking, etc. We have the boats, we need
the people to use them. In particular volunteers to assist with club
activities e.g. race officer, RIB driving and training. Please let Keith
or Rachel in the office know if you can help us make our wonderful
underused club (except on Friday evenings) buzz, ideally all the
week but I will settle for Saturdays and Sundays for now.
Emily Stone
Bosun's Corner
Could I please ask everybody that uses a club
boat to look after it, remove all your litter at
the end of a duty, make sure all your kit is
accounted for and packed away where it
belongs. If something is not working properly
or has broken, log it on your duty sheet or
better still, take the time to let me or the
office know (contact details in the office) and
we will make sure the problem is fixed.
Martyn Squibb
Good sailing and fair weather
Peter Eddis
3
Photography by Steve Baker
Cadets
Phew! what a busy winter the
RVYC cadets have had.
Optimists up and down the pool. It was a great
opportunity for beginners to learn and feel confident in
a capsize situation and for our older cadets to brush up
on their skills.
It all started with a superb Laying up Supper where we
welcomed Emily Stone as our new cadet captain. Since
her appointment, Emily has attended many Sailing
Committee meetings representing and speaking on
behalf of the cadets. Emily and the cadet organisers
feel that it is important for the cadets to have a loud
voice at the Club so please feel free to share your
views with us.
Throughout the winter period the our older cadets, with
the help of Mark and Jo Downer, have been busy
studying for their Seamanship course. As part of this
they took a night time trip on the bridge of Wightlink’s
St.Clare studying navigational techniques and also had
an evening driving ships around the Solent on the UKSA
simulator. The Cadets behaved impeccably and were a
real credit to the RVYC. A big thank you to Steve
Sheridan for organising both of these trips.
During October we were busy with Conker
Championships, guy making and Halloween where we
all had fun playing traditional games and our futures
were told by mystic Jane Lobb.
November saw the
RVYC’s spectacular
firework display which
was just as impressive
as always, followed by
the popular newspaper
hockey night.
The Christmas period
focused on the RVYC
Carol concert and the
Cadet evenings during
December were full of
tuneful practices. This
Sisters Katie and Emily Burgess at
year our cadets were very
the Cadet scrap heap challenge
fortunate to be
accompanied by the talented Grimshaw Family and friends
which added a little extra festive spirit to the occasion.
The New Year started in earnest with Boat Junk
Modelling and a traditional Burns Night organised by our
House Committee. The Club came alive with tartan and
Haggis which was enjoyed by all.
March is when we start to think about the coming
sailing season. Cadet registration was busy and
vibrant with over 80 cadets signing up to get out on
the water this year. Our aim is to get every cadet out
there sailing this year, but as we’re sure you can
appreciate, this will be no mean feat. It will be “all
hands to the pump” and we will be looking for
volunteers to help achieve this. Please come and
speak to us about how you can help.
Looking forward we have a packed calendar of
events. The RVYC is really excited to be hosting an
Optimist Open Event which is being organised by
our own Michael Hook for Saturday 30th May. It is
hoped to attract up to 50 Optimist sailors and their
families to the Club. It will be wonderful to see so many
little Optimist sails out on our local waters.
Another date for the diary is Cadet Week and this
year it will be from 24th to 28th July. With so many
cadets at the Club this should be a great spectacle
for both members and visiting boats. Everyone will
be more than welcome to be part of it and help in
many ways. Please see the RVYC website for
further details.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the water.
The Cadet Coordinators
We were also lucky to be able to hire Waterside
Swimming Pool in Ryde for the night where we practiced
capsize drills and had fun paddle racing our club
4
Optimist Fleet
Squib Fleet
I am pleased to open this section on the Optimist fleet
with the exciting news that the RVYC will be hosting an
Oppie Open Event in 2015 for the first time since 2007.
The event will be a main fleet only regatta and we
would hope to have many of the top Optimist sailors in
the UK attending. This is going to make it an exciting
opportunity for some of our top Optimist cadets to
compete against others on their home territory.
The National Squibs have been in our Club for a number
of years now and were fortunate to have a team of
people who had the vision for these keel boats and not
only persuaded the Club to invest in two of our own but
also to invest in the fleet themselves and promote them
within the Club and the Island. Bob Cheek was at the
forefront of this and not only did he and his like minded
friends promote and sail the boats but he also enabled
them to be sailed at very little cost. Bob also gave up
his own tennis court which became our Squibbery for
winter (and sometimes summer) storage. Due to his
enthusiasm and commitment our class has grown and
grown and now our very own Steve-Warren Smith is
Chairman of the National Squib Owners Association and
Chris Rickman, Rear Commodore House, is the
Treasurer putting the RVYC very firmly on the map of
the National Squib Class.
During the winter Oppie sailors have travelled near and
far to gain experience, including Paddy Lord who has
been attending the Spinnaker non zone training along
with Arthur Farley who is making his first steps on the
ladder of sailing away from RVYC. Amongst the boys,
Freya Sewell has been showing that the girls can do it
as well and has demonstrated some excellent sailing in
races at Spinnaker showing a number of the other boys
how its done! This is great to see and I hope that this
will continue to cascade to other sailors who will look to
be improving over next winter. Cameron Hook has also
been travelling regularly to both Spinnaker and Parkstone in a bid to gain new skills. The non-zone training
is a stepping stone to the RYA Zone squads and I am
sure both Paddy and Cameron will be aiming for this by
the end of the 2015 sailing season.
It goes to show how successful a class can be with
enthusiastic and committed people behind it. It also
shows how much our club members invest their time
and effort to benefit the future of the Club. From the
National Squib Class and the Club I would like to say a
very big thank you to Bob and his friends for their
foresight, loyalty and devotion to our Club and for their
dedication and commitment to the fleet.
Closer to home, we have been lucky enough to have
had training from Tom Hayes, a top flight Oppie coach
which was attended by Luke Sheridan, Felix Arthur and
Paddy. The feedback was excellent and I understand
that the skills gained were highly valuable and we hope
to be able to do this again.
Our newest and youngest Squib sailors, the 15 year old
White triplets, are competing in Cowes Week this year in
a club boat and I have no doubt they will receive media
attention. The cameras will be out which will benefit the
class and our Club. Be aware though that these boys are
hard and fast racers and will be out to do well.
The new season is going to be a busy one both at the
Club and on the Oppie circuit. With more new cadets
Optimist sailing is going through a significant growth
and I believe that we are starting to build a new fleet to
fill the shoes of some of the departed older sailors who
have moved onto new classes. Talking of departures, it
is with great sadness that we look to be losing three of
the most pleasant and helpful, not to mention very
good, Optimist sailors. Tom, Harry and Charlie White
have been excellent ambassadors for not only the class
but the Club during their Oppie days and wish them well
as they move into bigger boats at the Club.
There are many opportunities to compete in club sailing
both around the Solent and on the mainland. It is not
only great fun to sail away from home but it is good
training and experience. Travel to the mainland is
generously sponsored by Wightlink so if anyone is
interested they can approach Steve W-S to get
information about events on the National Class calendar.
The Optimist sailing at RVYC is a fabulous route into the
sport and many a great sailor has started in these
boats. It is however important to expand your horizons
with other events at different locations as part of the
IOCA calendar. A number of events on the IOCA
calendar have regatta class fleets which is an excellent
place to get extra experience of racing with other sailors
and in big fleets. However, I am keen to see the RVYC
Optimist fleet racing increase in size and, with the
introduction of regular novice races on Saturdays at the
Club, this year is a great opportunity to make the
transition to racing once you are confident sailing on a
Friday night.
Emma Baker is our Cowes Week Class Captain and she
is invaluable if you need advice, hints or tips for racing
and preparation. Jo and Mark Downer have competed in
Bembridge and Seaview regattas for many years and are
very keen to get more Squibs round there this August so
please do approach them for more information.
We have many new club members this year and there is a
general buzz of excitement around the Club at the
moment. I think the Club is in a good place and we have
committed and hardworking committees. The prophecy
and visualisation is that our Club is going to continue to be
a well attended sailing club with lots of on the water and
social activities to suit all our members. As a class we can
assist this by continuing to be friendly, welcoming and
approachable. We have another summer to look forward
to and I cannot think of a better place to spend it than at
the RVYC in our little mace coloured sail keel boats.
Overall the Oppie fleet has a lot to be excited about
from new sailors starting their journey, those dipping
their toe into their first novice races to a number of
cadets attending national events and championships.
Have a great season,
Hookie.
Do come and join us. Marney Gibson
5
Cruiser Report
H
this is the best way forward for our rallies or at least
some of them. We may not have so many boats on
each rally, but this system would offer more rallies,
more variety of destinations and consequently more
opportunities for one suitable for you to join in.
ow ready is your boat for the coming season?
Mine is booked to come out for antifouling the
week after Easter, so if the weather is fine we
should be in commission for an early start. If you have
not thought about your boat yet then I suggest that
you start making plans soon as we do sometimes get
good weather early in the season and it would be a
shame to miss out.
Last year I tried to start a crewing list data base for
crews seeking boats and skippers seeking crews. It did
not take off. I suspect that it is possibly due to people
not wanting to find they are teamed-up to go sailing
with somebody they hardly know. I would therefore like
to try a few cruiser social gatherings throughout this
sailing season. They will be quite informal with just a
time and date when we could meet up at the Club bar
and enjoy a drink and chat together. New members can
meet current members, crews could find skippers and
vice versa and the rest of us can just talk about where
we would like to go sailing. We are also hoping to get
some cruisers along for the Open Sailing sessions. The
only draw-back with the Open Sailing is that it tends to
be centred round spring tides which occur in the middle
of the day. This only gives the cruisers a short time to
be out, so rather limits our cruising area. We are
considering a couple of Cruiser Open Sailing days when
we could make use of the neap tides enabling us to go
out with the ebb and return on the flood giving us the
whole day out. We cruiser sailors do like to have a
leisurely lunch at some point!
Preparations for the Club rallies are in hand. If you are
really keen and your boat is ready, Paul Lewis is
offering a very early cruise to Lymington on
Wednesday, 15th April, returning either on the
Thursday or Friday as you wish.
By popular demand we have reinstated the Creeks of
the Solent cruise this year. To make it a little different,
a new destination has been introduced. This is Eling
which is right at the top of Southampton Water. The
passage up through the docks makes this an
interesting trip. Other destinations will include the ever
popular Ashlett Creek, Newtown Creek, Lymington,
Timbrell’s Quay (Beaulieu) and Curbridge via a stopover at Swanwick or Burseldon. Unfortunately, the tides
are not fitting in so well with our plans this year, so we
still have to do a little tweaking with the passage plans
and dates but it looks like this will take place around
the middle of July. I will announce the details once they
have been finalised. Once again thanks to Chris Turner
for helping us to sort out the tides for this venture. To
round off the season a late rally is being planned to
Bembridge in the first few weeks of September.
There are a couple of shore based activities occurring in
the next few weeks, the first is the annual Easter
Saturday Duck Race on the 4th April. The ducks have
already started training and we expect them to be in
top condition by Easter. After last year’s record
breaking race, the competition is likely to be even
fiercer this year. The board is already up on the Club
bar, so I suggest you select and back your duck before
they are all taken. Please support this event. If you
think about it you cannot lose, if your duck does not
win at least the proceeds will be going towards your
Club and our chosen charity.
Organising a fixed rally can result in quite a bit of work
for the organiser. Apart from sorting out passage plans,
moorings or anchorages for all involved have to be
reserved, meals ashore have to planned and booked
and any sailing clubs visited need to be contacted. At
the last minute if the weather turns ugly or boats pull
out for different reasons, the leader has to make
alterations or cancellations to the programme. Last
year we experimented with an ad hoc Rally and found
this to be very successful. In late September the
weather was still good so three boats with seven
onboard between us, made a cruise and overnight stay
to Ashlett Creek. This was a great way to finish the
season. An ad hoc cruise takes place when the weather
looks good and tides suitable, then somebody will
announce via the cruiser group email system their
intention to sail to a certain destination. This is likely to
only be a couple of days before the trip. If others are
available they can join in. It may just be a couple of
boats, but what is there to lose? No bookings will be
made, so this will be sorted out on arrival. I am sure
The next event on Saturday 18th April is our annual
Cruiser Group dinner. Do not be put off by the name.
This dinner is for any member of the Club who wishes
to join us. We have not held this dinner for a couple of
years so I am hoping that you will give your support to
get it started again. The format is an excellent three
course dinner, followed by a short talk from our after
dinner speaker, Nigel Gee, who will be giving us a few
6
Open day for people with disabilities
18th July 2015
anecdotes about his experiences of sailing in the
Mediterranean. There will also be the presentation of
the Cruiser Group awards and a fun nautical quiz. You
will need a bit more than seamanship knowledge to win!
Last year our members welcomed over 140 guests to
the RVYC Open Day for People with Disabilities.
Organisations from outside the Club joined in by
providing vessels able to carry wheelchairs as well as a
beautiful steam launch and two Drascombes. Our Club
members provided RIBs, speedboats, a variety of yachts
and manned the Club wayfarer and Victoria. As soon as
guests arrived they enjoyed a BBQ, plenty to eat from
Gail Force Catering, drinks, music and of course the
fantastic hospitality that only our Club can offer.
I have mentioned that all members are welcomed to
this dinner. I should extend this to say that all members
are welcomed to join the Cruiser Group. We are not a
group exclusive to cruiser owners; it is for anybody with
an interest in cruiser sailing. In fact all it is an email
circulation list that enables us to send messages and
communicate with one another without sending endless
emails to Club members who do not want to receive
them. If you wish to be included in the circulation,
please email the Cruiser Group on
[email protected] and we will add your name.
Here’s to a good sailing season with fair weather and a
steady wind (and a few less ups and downs for some of
us than last year!)
Adrian Robson, Cruiser Captain
This year we are doing it all again on the 18th of
July. To make it all happen we need 90 volunteers on
the day and I can guarantee that you will have as good
a time as our guests (and as much Minghella ice cream
as you have the time to eat!).
So please volunteer by putting your name down on the
volunteer sheets when they go up in the Club, by
emailing us on [email protected] or go to the
Open Day page on the RVYC website. Alternatively or
you can just tell Nigel, Ann or Rosie.
We look forward to your support.
Ann Capps
7
Kayak Group
H
ello to all the keen Kayak members of the RVYC.
Last year our group met up and got out on the
water where we had some interesting paddles around
the creek. I even tried some fishing from mine without
much success, maybe it will be better this year. We
intend to meet up regularly on open sailing Saturdays,
so come to the Club with your own equipment and we
can meet up and discuss where we are going to paddle
to! It's a very relaxed group, so if some of us want to
go to Woodside and some just wish to stay in the creek
that's fine. Also it's worth swapping contact details so if
the weather is good some evening paddles can be
arranged with individual members meeting up. Please
email me at [email protected] if you have any
questions or are a new member and wish to join in.
Looking forward to paddling in 2015
Sarah Holdstock
RYVC Art Group
T
he RVYC Art Group has been
running for about six years. We
meet at the Club every Friday
morning from 10am until 12. We
make a contribution of £2 each per
session to the Club and we are
currently a group of eleven but we
always welcome new members.
We all have different painting styles
and varied artistic interests and
abilities. As well as enjoying
watercolours, oils and acrylics some
of us use pen and ink, pastels,
crayon and pencil. We usually work
independently and if we do not have
an ongoing project, there is always
the lovely view of the Creek to paint.
Periodically we have a speaker who
demonstrates a particular skill, for
example Margaret Moore, Club
member, recently introduced us to
some of the mysteries of the Printing
Press and artist, Mark Langdon, also
joined us to help develop our
landscape painting skills.
For the last two years we
have held exhibitions of
our work at the Club, the
most recent to run, is
from 25th March to 3rd
April 2015.
If you would like to join
us, whatever your level of
skill or ability, just turn
up at 10am on Friday
morning and you will be
made very welcome.
Sue Gee
8
MOCRA Nationals Poole 24-26 May 2014
The story from Nitric representing RVYC
G
etting to Poole on the Friday
before the event was a
challenge in itself. I was
single-handing to Poole from
Fishbourne (IoW), the weather was
awful, but promised to get better by
the time I reached the Needles. Far
from it, and I ended up sheltering
from 35kt gusts in Yarmouth with
another competitor ‘Wandering’
Glider) waiting for things to calm
down a bit. I did see another
trimaran Humdinger going through,
well reefed, travelling very fast and
looking solid, but decided not to
follow her – she had a crew of 4.
After an hour or so of hot tea, and a
rather wet and stormy view we
reckoned things were looking better
so decided to go for it. We had
missed the tidal gate,
but by going through
the North Passage it
made little difference.
The sea off Christchurch
ledge was very rough,
and the wind still
around 30kts. The auto
helm cannot cope with
these conditions, so it
was not a lot of fun,
but once committed
there was no option
but to go on. Nitric is
not a dry boat, and by
the time I arrived at
the harbour mouth I
had a good 3” sloshing
around inside the
cabin, everything was soaking and I
already felt I had done a regatta.
Happily it was not raining, so once
alongside in Poole Quay Boat Haven
everything was hung out to dry. My
sons Richard and Andrew joined me
there and we studied the SIs and
racecourse for a couple of minutes
before going down the pub for a
meal. With 18 competitors and
winds of 18 – 20kts forecast for the
first day it promised to be a great
week-end.
Day one did not begin well, we were
completely mystified about the start
of the first race. In spite of being on
the racecourse early and listening
closely to the VHF we completely
missed the start – so had a number
of other competitors, which was a
small consolation. We had expected
clear verbal instructions on the VHF
and clear signals, we had not seen
the flags being held up by hand on
the boat. After realising that the
race was underway we joined in at
lap 2 to practice our hoists etc., but
radioed the RO to retire from the
race rather than keep everyone
waiting and get the inevitable last
place. A number of competitors gave
a few words of advice to the RO!
With no discard left after the first
race morale was low and the skipper
was feeling responsible. Having
learnt our lesson we stayed very
close to the committee boat between
races. We made an excellent start
for the second race, we even
crossed ahead of Buzz, the fastest
tri in the fleet half way up the first
beat, morale improved, then after
being the second boat to round the
windward mark we heard the RO
abandon the race as he had
more chance we have of getting a
reasonable result. Being a handicap
fleet, it is not a perfect world, and
some boats we just cannot seem to
get anywhere near on corrected time
unless the race is quick, short and
technical.
More excellent winds on day 2 and a
very enjoyable days racing. It was
particularly exciting to have a few
boats meeting at the marks,
travelling very fast whilst either
launching or dropping their
spinnakers. It was a great time to
assess our performance against the
other boats. Downwind the angles
had to be right, one of closest
competitors, ‘Wombat’ would take
advantage of any drop off in our
boat speed which kept
us pushing hard. Our
results followed the
same sort of pattern,
with us sliding down the
list if the races were
longer than an hour.
Being third overall after
day 2 restored morale,
(helped by one of the
favourites being OCS in
race 2), and we had a
good Fish and Chip
supper and an early
night. Day three and we
were hoping for a couple
of quick short races to
try and hold our
SailingScenes.com position. The first one
did not go well, light winds of about
forgotten to lay the spreader mark.
8–10kts and a race well over an
Morale reached a new low.
hour. Our only hope was that we
Unbelievable - still no result on the
were close enough to Wombat to
scorecard and it was already after
beat her. (We did by just over a
midday. Race 2 started again and
minute). Final race and we got a
we were slow off the line, the wind
cracking start, the breeze held up
was good though and we started to
and the elapsed time for the race at
enjoy being in the fleet. It was a
just under an hour gave us hope
great mix of trimarans, all but 6
rated as being faster than us, and all that we may have done well enough
to hold off our nearest rival on
wanted to show them off at their
points Wardance. Relief at least that
best. After an hour we wanted the
we had a full set of results and we
RO to shorten, but he chose not to
aimed for Poole for a quick
and we finished in about one and a
half hours. We knew we had not got turnaround. I needed to drop off my
crew and head for home
a great result, but at least we had a
immediately to catch the Needles
result at last. Race 3 started just
gate. I had a wonderful sail home,
after 1500, and we got off the line
well and in clear air – very important on the beam all the way with the
auto helm doing all the work. Overall
for us as the smallest in the fleet.
we had a really enjoyable regatta,
Getting pinned down in dirty air is
and were delighted with our 3rd
disastrous. All went well and with a
shorter race at about an hour for us, place overall and 1st in the 26ft and
under category.
we felt we had got a better result.
We know from previous regattas,
Nigel Talbot
the shorter the elapsed time the
9
Looking back to April 30th 1994
RVYC Cruise and dinner at HMS Nelson
The RVYC, until around that time, had in our rulebook
the following …
Rule 31. ‘Boats belonging to members may go
alongside the Queen’s Stairs at Portsmouth, but shall
not remain there after the company have landed.’
Donald McKay, Surgeon Captain and RVYC member,
was Principal Medical Officer of HMS Nelson which
included Portsmouth Dockyard and came up with the
idea of a Club Cruise to the base. He considered it to be
his ‘Swan Song’ just before his retirement.
The King’s Stairs (left of centre).
Latterly this was challenged by QHM and after one or
two subsequent attempts to exercise this historic right,
security constraints required us to remove it from our
rules. However, together with Alan Colville, cruiser
captain, Don persuaded the Commander to allow us to
moor in the first small dock by the King’s Stairs and
entertain us for dinner in the Wardroom of HMS Nelson.
It was inevitably destined to be the first and last of its
kind. Huge security was employed. Participants had to
be cleared by QHM.
Twenty boats signed up and an almost complete list follows. Most of the names will be
recognised by seasoned club members and many even by newer ones.
10
Amy Ellen
Barbie
Callistoga
CQuester
Cristobella
Elaine B
Elsa
Falbala
Golden Saker
Intrepid
Julie
Lopud
Mac Sea
Misty
Mousehound
Savalion
Shadowfax
Sheldrake
Sugarclaws
John and Yvette Symes
Graham Ferris and Margy Wills, Ron and Sue Holland
Robin and Shirley Mountford
Tony and Sue Thomas
John and Gloria Grindley
Other Club? Not RVYC registered
Chris and Alice Turner
Dave and Wendy Leal
Chris Matthews and Aileen Napper
Christine Byrne and Meryel Boyd
Brian, Maureen & Gary Smith, Neil & Anna Greenwood
Alistair Colville and crew
Don and Adare McKay
Brian and Tina Stone
Colin and Barbara Hume
Dave and Babs Wise
Alan and Norma Colville with Malcolm Dowinton
John and Jane Lobb
Peter and Annette Mortlock
We all marched up Queen Street to HMS Nelson where we were vetted
at the gate then shown into the dining area of the Wardroom
The dining area of the Wardroom, HMS Nelson.
Trafalgar painting (opposite wall) by Gerald Moira.
‘Temeraire’(centre) and ‘Victory’ (centre right) capturing ‘Redoutable’ and ‘Fougueux’.
Pre-prandials and a sumptuous meal and service that only the Navy can provide concluded
a never to be forgotten evening.
11
Life in the House
L
ooking out of the window, it appears that Spring
may have sprung. The sun is shining and daffodils
are launching themselves in time for Mothering
Sunday. Inevitably it makes you think ahead to the
Sailing Season we are just about to embark on. But
before we get there, it's always good to reflect on an
excellent winter at the Club, which has been
tremendous fun and wonderfully well supported by our
Members. From 'Laying-up' to 'Burns Night', with the
odd bang of a Firework, a Quiz and the odd Carol all
washed down with a lively glass of New Year's Eve, it
has been a winter of laughter illuminating the dark and
drizzly skies. There have also been the popular monthly
Ladies Lunches which are consistently well attended
with positive feedback.
The point is frequently made that it is the Members who
run the Club. It is always good to get feedback of any
kind and ideas of things people would like to do or see
to keep us moving forward. The Club is a broad church
and as House, we need to make sure that we are
catering for the demands of all groups and ages within
the Club, whether they're holding a tiller, a pint or a
paintbrush. Dropping in on a Sunday lunchtime or
Friday evening reflects the high quality of fare the Club
has on offer and the enjoyment it gives to so many
people. We really are a diverse and inclusive club,
thankfully drinking and eating record amounts.
For the future, a whole raft of events are being planned
attempting to build on the successes and what we have
learnt from the comments from previous functions.
As always, keep drinking, dining and dancing.
Chris Rickman
RVYC Rear Commodore House
By the time this goes on line we will already have had
the New Members Evening (it's good to see so many
new faces in the Club), a Quiz, our Fitting-out Supper
and a very successful Horse Racing night organised by
Cementing these functions together has been the
excellent and extremely popular Winter Talks that keep the Isaac Leal Fund. There is always at least one event
the Club buzzing on Wednesday nights. With talks on an a month, so keep an eye on the bulletin and the Club
notice board. Events do sell out, so don't miss out. As
enormous breadth of topics given by folk, who have
we look forward, we will be planning a 'Fancy Dress
clearly led a more interesting life than me, they are
Wine Tasting', Commodore’s Cocktail Party, a Midboth illuminating and fascinating. The endeavours of
summer Night Ball and Regatta Party for starters to
those presenting should be commended, but our huge
support and enhance the Club's thorough and lively
thanks go to Nigel Gee for his tireless research and coactivities on the water. These are very much in the
ordination of the talks. It means that we have a Winter
planning phase, so if you have any innovative ideas,
Talks Programme second to none.
please let us know.
We have also seen the numbers of members booking
the Club for their various functions rising steadily, which To conclude, I am incredibly grateful to the
excellent team who have worked so diligently on the
is tremendously positive and a trend we hope to
continue. One of the aims of House is to make the Club House Committee over the last six months. Andrea
Sheridan, Anna Greenwood, Babs Wise, Cath Stone,
the first choice of members planning a special event,
party, anniversary or wedding. The main reason for the Maddie Lobb, Norma Colville and Tim Blake have done a
fantastic job to deliver the quality and variety of events
success of these is the continued hard work of Rachel,
described above. This, together with the wonderful
the excellent standard of hospitality offered by Rose
and the Bar Team and high quality of food on offer from support we receive from Rachel, Rose, Gail and their
teams, make for a tremendous and committed
our top caterer, Gail Force. We live in a lovely location
combination. It takes special people to make a special
and are fortunate to have these events framed against
club. A BIG thank you to you all.
the beautiful backdrop from the RVYC balcony.
Annual Prize giving
The annual prize giving evening continues to be one of the highlights
at the end of the sailing season when club members from all the
various groups and activities come together to celebrate and recognise
each others achievements. The Clubhouse is full with anticipation as
each individual or group awaits the announcements, be it for the ‘Most
improved cadet’ or the ‘Bob on the rocks’ bent propeller.
The array of trophies is extensive and most impressive.
This years prize giving is on Sunday 13th December.
12
April - September 2015
Duck Race
Ladies Lunch
Art Group
Saturday 4th April
Third Thursday in each
month
12.30 for 1pm
Every Friday morning
between 10am and 12pm
Sponsor a duck - see the board
on the bar for more details
Club Quiz
Saturday 11th April
Last quiz night of the winter
£1 to enter
maximum 6 in a team
Cruiser Group
Dinner
Saturday 18th April
Three courses and a nautical
quiz for £22.50
Booking through Gailforce
Two courses for £10
Sign up for this enjoyable lunch
by putting your name and
choices on the list printed on
the form pinned on the
cupboard by the kitchen.
Midsummer
Night’s Ball
Saturday 20th June
Black tie - a magical evening
Details to follow
Club Regatta
Saturday 11th - Sunday
12th July
Wine Tasting
Saturday 25th April
An opportunity to come and
select some of the Club wines
for the forthcoming season with
the help of Majestic Wine
£10 per person
Excellent sailing with Regatta
Party on Saturday with stalls,
music, prize giving and regatta
Cowes Classics
and Cowes Week
Squib Dinner
Push The Boat
Out Day
Tuesday 21st July & Tuesday
11th August
Saturday 16th May
Two prestigious events Details to follow
Supporting this RYA initiative,
the Club will try and get as
many people out on the water
as we can
Commodore’s
Cocktail Party
Saturday 16th May
Cocktails and nibbles!
Price to be confirmed
Come and join this group of
friendly artists at the Club every
Friday morning
Cadet Programme
Cadets Afloat:
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
Friday
10th April
24th April
8th May
15th May
22nd May
29th May
12th June
26th June
10th July
7th August
21st August
4th September
Cadet Week
Friday 24th July Tuesday 28th July
Cadet Laying Up
Supper
Friday 18th September
Coming up in the
winter:
Laying Up Supper
Saturday 24th October
Last Night of the
Proms
Club Bonfire &
Fireworks
Saturday 12th September
Friday 6th November
Come and join us for this
traditional, flag-waving, patriotic
celebration. Screened live on
the Club's big screen
Traditional British Meal
Club Carols
13
Sunday 20th December
the Royal Victoria Yacht Club
Red prices = members
,
,
,
,
Black prices = Visitors