TOPS’L The Magazine of the Topsham Sailing Club

Spring 2019

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Ahoy and welcome to the spring edition of

Tops’l. It seems no time at all since our

Editor was chasing me for winter copy and

the boats were barely dry from hauling out!

By the time you read this the new committee

will be in place with several new faces. Jean

and Neal have stepped down from their

roles as Social Secretary and Cruiser

Captain respectively. Between them, they

have served the club for over 20 years in

varying capacities, a very commendable

achievement - thank you. Brian and Peter

have also handed over their responsibilities

as Dinghy and Yawl Captains, albeit with

less years’ service but nevertheless both

making significant contributions to the club

and their respective fleets.

Debbie Ricketts and Kate Grant are now

sharing the Social Secretary role and, whilst

they will be retaining many old favourites

in the social calendar, new ideas are always

welcome. It’s your club so please let them

know of any ideas or suggestions to add to

our club activities.

Contents

Commodore’s Column 2

Social Diary 3

The Editor writes … 4

Yard Marshal 5

Membership Matters 5

Cruiser Captain 6

Yawl Captain 7

Dinghy Captain 8

Top Toppers of TSC 9

Skittles News 9

TSC’s Environmental Policy 10

The Sail Batten 11

A Yawl in Stained Glass 13

Dinner Dance 2019 14

Kate’s Atlantic Adventure 17

Odd Mods 22

Holly Blue goes West and East 24

Commodore’s Column

Please note that the views expressed by contributors are not to be seen as those of the TSC committee. TSC does not endorse any prod-uct or service advertised.

Cover: Bill Hattersley

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Editor: Miranda Row 01392 877975 editor@topsham-sc.org.uk

Design & Typesetting: Noel Harrison 01392 877425 r.n.c.harrison@gmail.com

The 2019 sailing programme offers another

full and varied calendar of sailing events,

which I hope you will fully support and enjoy.

The Exe Regatta will take place in June and I

hope that TSC can turn out in force this year

and support this event both on and off the

water. Starcross are the hosts and will oversee

the sailing, and Lympstone are in charge of

the Saturday night party - it’s shaping up to be

a great weekend.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and works at TSC

usually take a good deal longer, but no one

can deny that we don’t think things through!

Graham started internal refurbishment works

with the magnificent new galley and bar! The

Rear Commodore and his team have under-

taken a great deal of work and research in

planning the next phase which will see a

refurbishment of both Ladies and Gents

toilets. I am hopeful that we can get work

started fairly soon and we will then look to

work our way back to the clubroom.

On a personal note, I can report that Shimera

has returned to Pembrokeshire, to waters she

sailed 23 years ago – after three years ashore

in my garden I finally gave in to pressure to

only own one cruiser.

The new season is nearly upon us, so I wish

you all well in your preparations and hope

for fair winds and favourable tides for this

season’s sailing.

Peter Williams

Social Diary

March 29th Deal or No Deal! Brexit Party!

April 6th

RNLI Fundraiser

May 25th

Family BBQ with the Dinghy

mini-series

June 8th—9th Exe Regatta Starcross—Lympstone

June 22nd Mid-summer Party

July 6th Sandbank Party or Club Fun Day

Kate and I are beginning to get the events lined up for this year and below is the current plan. Please note that some dates are provisional, so keep an eye on the Club Noticeboard, the TSC Website and Facebook.

We’re both looking forward to being your Social Secretaries, but we can’t do it all! If you want to run an event or have an idea, please speak to us. We’d like TSC events to cater for all tastes and purses.

Janice Randall Vining would like

to thank all the TSC members for

attending Tony’s funeral, their

cards and sympathy. The donations for the

Exmouth Lifeboat Fund raised the superb

amount of over £1000

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First off, thanks to Bill Hattersley for providing his brother Andrew with a lovely stained glass window, and us with an excellent cover of a yawl in full flight.

Brownie points to Kate Brodie for providing both copy & photos of her Atlantic crossing last November. Signing up to participate in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC 2018), aboard Challenger Four - a Challenger 72, and covering over 3000 sea miles, her description – fantastic, exhilarating and unforgettable - says it all. Maybe part two could be The Grounding in the Grenadines?

Thanks to Michael MacDonnell for coming up with an extended ODD MODS article about the re-biffing of his ship’s wood burning stove. New Dawn is suddenly looking very attractive for a post Skerries Race ‘defrosting’ party – bring your own Marigolds. (Don’t panic Alison – I’m joking!) Keep these items coming please, it’s interesting to hear what other people have been up to, and it’s really not an onerous task.

Captain Baynes has shared his extensive single handed cruise last summer in his

Elizabethan 23 - Holly Blue. Going West first as far as Scilly, and later East as far as West Sussex, a total of over 800 nautical miles, I think he proves beyond doubt that size is not everything. Gastronomic delights onboard Holly Blue seem to be largely of the liquid variety, with daily tots of Malbec and whisky involved, unless his friend Betty Stogs has come to visit. Attempts to progress to ‘solids’ seem to be a bit of a lottery, although he certainly looks very well on it.

And finally, Bill Ricketts may have to be sworn in as an Honorary Sub Editor, based on the wealth of information he sends me. This issue includes a short explanation of the sail batten which adorns the club ceiling – interesting for those of us who have wondered both what it is, and where on earth it came from.

Any suggestions for - TSC CADETS – Where are they now? – gratefully received.

Please keep sending in the articles – Tops’l will only ever be as good as you make it.

Miranda Row

The Editor writes …..

The internal skittles match on 13 February featured the Commodore’s team, the Hornets v the Luggers. Unusually Peter decided to make it an all ex-commodores

team for one match only – aptly named A Commotion of Commodores.

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With the evenings pulling out it is now time to think of summer! Application lists for summer storage of punts, inflatables and outboards will be on the club notice board from mid February until 31st March. Signing up on the list confirms a willingness to pay the dues on any allotted space. Please ensure that ALL of your gear is clearly identified with your name or boat name. This is a condition of storage – and is NOT optional! For dinghy sailors the Dinghy Secretary is ahead of the game and his lists are already displayed.

Cruiser launching will be programmed from 18th–26th March, subject to the usual constraints of ambient weather conditions, with the aim of having the yard ready for the canopy erectors and the dinghy sailors from 1st April.

Yard Marshal

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MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

Even in the quiet of the winter months we gather new members whom we’d like to welcome here - Rachel Knowles, Judy Baldwin, Jenny Dickinson and Amy Cocker. As of January 2019, this brings the TSC membership to 367 adult members and 31 cadets, totalling 398. The same time last year we had 362 + 31 = 393, so we are going in the right direction!

However, if your non-member husband, wife, significant other, children or grandchildren are using the club’s 12 free visits rule to get in some sailing, kayaking or paddle boarding, why not consider joining them up for the amazingly low annual rate of £20, with no additional joining fee.

The ability to pay fees and subs by BACS was a great success with just over half paying that way in the first year. With the bank closure, it does make life easier for your treasurer

Tim Baker Hon. Membership Secretary

Bill Ricketts Yard Marshal

For those who launch other craft over the slip, a reminder that there is a charge made for use of the slip. Whilst most make suitable arrangements, a few manage to literally slip in un-noticed with the result that they escape the charge. Since the income from the yard represents a fair chunk of the club’s overall income, it does need to be collected for the benefit of us all. On this point there is still one un-identified punt on the yard which has been left here over winter!

Anyone fitting out on the club, please remember that all hazardous waste (e.g. paint or oil) must be removed from the club for your own disposal arrangements, and must NOT be put in the club bins. Finally, for those addicted to lifting railway sleepers the club has purchased some lifters to assist with this task, and you are invited to use them whenever possible to avoid unnecessary back strain.

Happy sailing!

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Cruiser Captain

Well, it being the winter, there isn’t much

to report, so it’ll be a short backward looking

report! In 1998 I took on the Cruiser Fleet

Captain role and I’ve served on committee

ever since. Of those 21 years, I was fleet

captain for 14, with a gap whilst flag

officering as Vice Commodore for two, and

Commodore for 3, before stepping back as

Flag Captain for three years. When I took

on the role, I sailed Lazy-B, a yellow and

black Sadler 25, which set us on our way,

winning the Norton Cup, racing at Dart-

mouth and completing three cross channel

trips. In 1999 we moved on to our Westerly

Fulmar, Mew Gull, in which we have done a

further 10 trips across the channel, won our

class at Dartmouth Regatta and completed

three 3-Peaks Yacht races to Fort William.

Mew Gull has also taken us to the Isles of

Scilly and the east coast of Ireland.

21 years is a long time on committee. It’s a

lot of Monday evenings, not to mention the

other work involved. Of current committee

members, only your Bar Manager - Richard

Cridland, and Yard Marshal / Bar Secretary -

Bill Ricketts, have served longer – back in

1998, they were Dinghy Captain and Flag

Captain respectively. So as the 2019 season

approaches, Kate Grant and Deb have been

proposed to act as joint Social Secretaries,

and I have taken the opportunity to step

aside so Deb can enjoy a Monday evening

of committee business. I am fortunate in

finding a willing successor in Michael

MacDonnell, whom I hope you will show

the same level of support I have received

over the years.

The role of fleet captain has been made so

much easier by others who have actively

contributed. Over the years I have been

fortunate to have Godfrey recording most

of the fleet’s meetings and arranging

recent sponsored races, Graham has

arranged many Final Flings and Peter Wil-

liams took on the evening race handicap-

ping for some years. Red Herring, and

previously Reward, have done more start

duties than any other boat, and I’m partic-

ularly grateful to various combinations of

Peter Dunsford, Clive Jacobs, Ian Gardner,

Chris Miller and Trevor Greenslade who

for many years have started virtually all of

our cruiser fleet spring and autumn series

racing, our sponsored race and the all-

fleets events. They deserve special thanks

from us all.

That’s about it – with all the spare time I

now have, I should be able to build another

as appropriate! Best wishes for the coming

season. May we all have good weather and

fair winds - force 4 or 5 please.

Neal Ricketts Former Fleet Captain

Your new Cruiser Captain!

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Yawl Captain

Yawl racing for 2018 ended on 17th November

with the last Bottoms Cup race. All the yawls

are now out of the water being pampered,

tweaked and repaired by their owners, with

at least three bowsprits being replaced this

winter after a number of breakages during

the season.

2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the

class and the launch of DY1, which like all

Devon Yawls up until two years ago, were

built from the same set of moulds taken

from a Salcombe Yawl in 1968! Overall the

anniversary year was an active one for the

Topsham fleet, with 18 yawls out on the

water last year, of which eight made the trip

to Newton Ferrers for the 21st National

Championships. No one in the fleet was

more active than Ed Williams-Hawkes in

Y’All White, who won every available

Topsham Yawl trophy in 2018! Tim Coombe

crewed Y’All White for the Tom Blanks

Trophy with Shane Buckley crewing for Ed

in the Bottoms Cup.

The fleet’s racing benefited from input from

Iain Cook, who had a successful first year

sailing yawls, and from Richard Babbage,

who was back on the water after a recent

absence. Richard Watsham is now stationed

a lot nearer to home, so we hope to see

more of him and Nigel on the water in 2019,

as his new family commitments allow. A

significant event at the end of 2018 was Liz

Stanley ending her 10-year association with

the Topsham Yawl fleet, and passing her

yawl Blackbird on to John Bradley, who will

be sharing it with David Hayler for the 2019

season.

The dinghy racing at the Exe Regatta will be

sailed off Starcross in early June 2019, in the

better water on the west side of the estuary,

with the event being held three weeks

before the Yawl National Championships at

Brixham at last, instead of clashing with

them. Our Commodore has laid down a

challenge to the fleet – that if 10 yawls take

part in the regatta, a separate yawl start will

be provided, instead of the yawls sharing

the start line with other dinghies. That gives

the fleet a target to aim for!

Finally, this will be my last Tops’l article as

Yawl Fleet Captain. I will be retiring at the

AGM, after three years in the role, and Don

Macrae has agreed to take over from me.

Peter Gray Former Fleet Captain

Your new Yawl Captain!

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I’m not quite sure how it happened, but I

seem to have volunteered to take over as

Dinghy Captain from Brian Woodward – I

knew I should never have let him buy me that

beer! I’m sure all dinghy sailors will want to

join with me in thanking Brian for looking

after the dinghy fleet over the preceding

seasons; scheduling races, organising safety

boat cover and race officers, and supporting

the Cadet training programme. Importantly

he has helped maintain the fun, friendly and

welcoming nature of the dinghy fleet. So, a

big thank you to Brian from all of us!

For some time now, with the exception of

the Maidment and the Brick & Balloon

Races, the only races open to dinghy sailors

at Topsham have been those that formed

the Godfrey Cup series. This is a long series,

stretching as it does from the very begin-

ning to the very end of the sailing season,

and family or work commitments can make

it difficult for some to take part in enough

races to qualify for a place at the end. With

this in mind, I would like to try introducing

two weekend-long mini-series into the

dinghy programme. Each would be made up

of just four races, with the best three to

count, and each series would have its own

trophy. I hope that this might encourage

dinghy owners who don’t at present race

with us to have a go, and to find out that it’s

a lot of fun and that we don’t take things too

seriously. It might even be that sailors from

the cruiser or yawl fleet could be cajoled

into borrowing a dinghy for the weekend

and taking part.

Of course, an essential element of the dinghy

programme is Cadet training; introducing

youngsters to sailing and bringing new

families into the club, it is important for

Topsham and for the future of the sport.

Numbers wanting to join the Cadets have

been growing steadily due to James Falle’s

leadership and Luke’s excellent instruction.

I very much hope we can continue this trend

and that we can find ways of moving the

more confident Cadets on to the dinghy

racing programme. The proposed mini-

series might provide ideal opportunities.

Kate Brodie has proposed that next season

we have a Dinghy Ladder, along the lines of

a tennis ladder. It’s a wonderfully fun idea

and could lead to the youngest Cadet

challenging the Commodore - and should

make for fine spectator sport!

So, hoping to see all the covers coming off

dinghies on race days this year and lots of

dinghies on the start line, and don’t forget –

the sign-up sheet for dinghies is on the

notice board and will be taken down at the

end of February - if you want to keep a

dinghy in the yard, you must have signed up.

Chris Speyer Dinghy Captain

Dinghy Captain

Your new Dinghy Captain!

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With only four matches left to play in the TSC Internal league the Optimists and Smacks have

both won three, the Toppers and Yawls two, the Hornets one and the Luggers none – so

there could still be a three-way playoff. Top scorers are Ed Williams and Warren Pickle with

59, Tim Coombe 55, and John Bradley, Neal Ricketts and Graham with 54. Top lady was Julia

Pickle with 50, followed by Miranda Row with 49. There were four people – no names - who

failed to reach 30!

Topsham has four matches to play in the Exe Estuary League. Currently we've won five and

lost four, having started well and then lost three in a row! Currently, Lympstone Dolphins

are ahead with seven wins and three to play, but are likely to be overtaken by SFCC Men

who have six wins and seven to play. Highest scores are Jan Morrison from Exe Ladies with

63, and Vic Smythe from Lympstone Lympets with 70. Our best scorers are Graham Pateman

with 57 (twice) and Miranda Row with 50. Final results won't be known until the end of March.

Skittles News

Bridget Ricketts

I have been working on a new competition to entertain the

club and it seems to be gaining traction. I propose we hold

a Sailing Ladder along the same lines as a Squash or Tennis

Ladder. All interested sailors from dinghy yawl and cruiser

fleets declare their intention by April 1st and I will create a

random ladder of names. Rules* will be drawn up proposing you can

challenge a person above you on the ladder to a race. This must be held

within a week of the challenge or you win by default. If you win you

move up to their place and they drop down one place. Races will be

held in the club Toppers on a course to be agreed by the Vice

Commodore and myself and intended to be short and visible from

the clubhouse where spectators will be encouraged.

I will come along to the fleet meetings if possible to explain

further and to take names of interested sailors. At the very least it will

be entertaining and at best we will find out who is the best sailor in

the Club (terms and conditions apply).

*Rules still being negotiated .

Could you be the Top Topper of Topsham Sailing Club?

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Kate Brodie

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In support of the RYA 's environmental Initiative The Green Blue the Club has recently adopted an Environmental Policy which is set out as follows:

Topsham Sailing Club is committed to minimising the impact of its activities on the environ-ment. The actions below set out how we will work towards achieving this objective.

• We will minimise the use of electricity and gas in all of our activities. For exam-ple; using energy efficient fittings/equipment and turning off lights and heating when not required.

• We will minimise the use of water in all of our activities. For example; repairing leaks, fitting hoses with automatic trigger nozzles and turning off taps when not in use.

• We will minimise the creation of waste and ensure waste is managed correctly. Waste management procedures are detailed in the Club Byelaws.

• Where possible, we will use email and text and our web site rather than printed materials to communicate and promote our activities.

• We will encourage members to avoid creation of dust when antifouling boats. Any scrapings should be collected and disposed of as hazardous waste.

• We will endeavour to take a sustainable approach to running events.

• Refuelling of club boats will be carried out ashore where possible and care should be taken to avoid spillage.

• We will promote relevant local environmental information to our members such as the location of voluntary no anchor zones, sensitive habitats/species.

• We will publicise our environmental commitment and promote sustainability amongst our members and visitors on our website and club notice boards.

• We will measure our progress and review this policy on an annual basis.

It is envisaged this will simply encourage all to act in an environmentally friendly manner when taking part in day to day sailing activities.

Dave Rochester TSC Rep - Estuary Matters

TSC is now Environmentally Friendly!

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The Sail Batten Bill Ricketts

sail area – they would normally peak at a

little over 12 knots, according to Naval

Architect John Leather.

So what about Yankee. She was built in

1930 by Lawley and Sons to a design by

Frank Paine, with the hull constructed in

Tobin bronze. She was 125ft overall on

an 84ft waterline, with a spruce mast

approaching 160ft over deck with

remarkably only two sets of

spreaders. She was not selected

for the America’s Cup in either

1930 or 1934. However, with

a change in ownership in

1935 she became the only

American J of that period

I have occasionally been asked why is there

a sail batten on the beam in the clubhouse?

The only recorded facts are that it was given

to the club by Mr E Newman sometime after

the present clubhouse was built, and the

batten came from the American J Class yacht

- J US 2 - Yankee. How or why I cannot say,

there was no presentation and no detail as

to how Mr Newman acquired it. However it

appears there was a family connection with

the Litton’s from Exmouth and Skipper Litton

had been a professional sailor who had

sailed on the J Class yachts…. so who knows?

Big class racing yachts were sailing from the

early 1800’s, but an organised programme

of coastal regattas around the UK became a

feature from about 1840 onwards. Generally,

the boats were gaff topsail cutters or

schooners up to about 140ft long and

setting up to 20,000 sq ft of canvas once their

spinnakers were deployed. Foredeck hands

may note that spinnaker poles might have

been up to about 90ft long! These huge

yachts displacing about 125 tons were often

clocked at 14 - 16 knots when racing! The

final fling for the big class yachts was in the

1930’s, and all racing ceased after 1937.

These boats were of course the beautiful J

Class yachts, probably the pinnacle of classic

yacht design. A little shorter than the previ-

ous big boats and carrying about half the

Yankee—1935

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unfortunately dismasted in a squall whilst

competing at Dartmouth. Overall through-

out the 1935 summer series she had

entered 32 races and won eight of them

with four seconds and two thirds.

On return to America she was re–rigged

with a new steel mast and raced until the

end of the 1937 season, when along with all

her American sisters she was laid up. In

1941 she was broken up and the owner, Mr

Gerard B Lambert, donated the proceeds of

the scrap to UK charities. At the time it was

believed that the J Class would never again

be seen racing, but against all odds some of

the British boats survived and have been

rebuilt and other new boats have joined

the fleet including one based on a 1935

design by Frank Paine…. but that would be

another story!

REMINDER Items for the next edition of Tops’l should reach the Editor by 11 June 2019

to sail across the Atlantic to the UK to take

part in the regattas around the South Coast.

The transatlantic crossing would have been

made under a reduced yawl rig, arriving

here on 13th May after an 18-day crossing.

That season she raced at Southend, Dover,

Yarmouth IOW and Lymington before com-

ing down to Fowey and Falmouth in late

June, and Plymouth on 3rd & 4th July where

she was credited with two first places,

beating Endeavour in the second race by

only 1 min 33 secs over a 36 mile course.

There followed a brief trip to France followed

by more racing in the Solent between late

July and mid August. On 30th July the fleet

had all 8 J’s racing! Returning to the south-

west in late August, Yankee raced at

Paignton, Brixham and Torquay where on

27th she gained a first place against five

British J’s. Then on 31st August she was

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Enthused by a couple of one day courses

and already enrolled in an evening class, I

longed to produce a proper stained glass

window, albeit using modern techniques.

Like all struggling art students, what I really

needed was a patron… and who better than

my Big Brother who had expressed polite

interest in my new hobby and encouraged me

with a Christmas gift of tools and materials?

To ensnare him I created sketches of typical

Topsham scenes, including the classic Devon

Yawl, sailed so enthusiastically at Topsham

Sailing Club. Designing in stained glass is its

own art form as the lead between the panes

needs to form part of the design, and the

glass shapes between have to be physically

possible to cut in glass - any internal curve

is difficult and sharp internal angles are

impossible. The yawl however is a wonder-

ful distinctive shape with its rear mizzen,

and the boat heeling over implied wind and

speed, which in turn allowed for a rough sea

and dramatic sunset to complete the design.

Well, Big Bother came through for me. He

persuaded his friend, the Saintly Susan, that

her new house would benefit from some

colour and we all met up at the Creative

Glass Guild shop in Bristol. Susan helped

chose the glass and paid for it. Andrew paid

for an excellent Italian meal. Thrilled with

my Patrons’ generosity I headed back to my

evening class and set to work. Much of the

glass selected included swirly patterns and

or graduated colours, allowing satisfying

selection to get the exact pattern or shade

variation required. This wasn’t the most

economical use of glass, but then I wasn’t

paying! I tried to keep my Patrons on board

with photographic updates as each piece

was laboriously cut, and finally a full six

months and two evening class terms later, I

returned to Topsham to install it in Saintly

Susan’s upstairs window!

The completed stained glass work is

reproduced on the front cover

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A Devon Yawl in Stained Glass Bill Hattersley

Photo Competition I’ll kick off with - “Waiting for an Act of God!”

Please send your entries to editor@topsham-sc.org.uk

mailto:editor@topsham-sc.org.uk

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Another splendid time was had by the 70 or

so TSC members who attended the Annual

Dinner Dance on 26th January, held for the

third time at the Manor Hotel in Exmouth.

With much of the hotel refurbishment

programme now complete, combined with

excellent food, the slight drop in numbers

attending did nothing to mar the enjoyment

of an excellent prize giving event.

Once again there was a wide spread of prize

winners, from young to old, and from a single

prize to a large haul, with no less than 46

different names on the Prize Winners list.

Special mention for Ed Williams-Hawkes in

Y’All White who triumphed in 2018, coming

first in all the yawl events – Tom Blanks

Trophy, Spring Series, Macpherson Cup, and

the Bottoms Cup, with crew Tim Coombe in

the Tom Blanks Trophy, and Shane Buckley

in the Bottoms Cup.

In the cruising fleet Neal Ricketts took 1st in

the Turf Trophy and the Taylor Trophy,

whilst Pete and James Fellows took 1st in

both the Roberts Cup and the Jacobs Plate.

For the dinghies Ming Speyer retained her

title coming 1st in the Passage House Trophy

for the second year, and moved up to 2nd

place in the Godfrey Cup, beaten only by dad

Chris Speyer as winner.

Miranda Row

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TSC DINNER DANCE

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Whether it be stately as a galleon we sail across to Turf or, if of slimmer

build, we zealously patrol the wildlife refuges in our kayaks, may we

celebrate together at this our Annual Dinner a successfully completed

regatta year enjoyed with our friends from fellow clubs along the Estuary.

And in the sharing of this meal tonight let us express and make manifest

the spirit of our club, as we face, twixt tide and mud, whatever choppy

waters that might now lie ahead. Be it when afloat upon our home waters

with our backstays or if ashore when being skippered by the hands and

within the political wisdom of others with their backstops. For whom we

may pray in aid such skills of navigation with chart and compass that are

gifted to the sailing community, within which Topsham Sailing Club

might stand tonight, if I may humbly suggest, in modesty proud.

Amen

Tom Epton

THE GRACE

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How was it? Were you scared? What was the

best bit? These are some of the questions I

had to answer on my return from the Atlantic

Rally for Cruisers sailing from Gran Canaria

to St Lucia in November 2018 aboard

Challenger Four.

I had signed up with First Class Sailing in

Southampton that charters the Challenger

72 yachts which used to be part of the British

Steel - BT Challenge fleet and were sold off

to the Tall Ships Youth Trust in 2006. These

boats weigh 50 tons and are designed to

cope with sailing the Southern Ocean. I met

my fellow crew members for a windy wet

training weekend in the Solent and loved

steering in 40 knots feeling very safe. The

crew were mostly mature experienced sailors,

7 men and 5 women with four professional

sailors to look after us. Our Captain Ricky

Chalmers usually skippers Gypsy Moth and

has sailed the Global Challenge and crossed

the Atlantic many times. We slept in the

pipe cots and practised cooking at sea and

got to know each other in Yarmouth.

I flew out to Las Palmas excited to join the

boat and help prepare her for sea. We had to

wash and stow the fruit and veg in nets, and

hank on the huge and heavy sails we would

be racing with. No furlers or autopilot for us.

We explored the town and the bars in

between safety training sessions. The start

was in light airs on Sunday 25th November

outside the harbour. We gybed on the line as

the gun fired and headed south to catch the

trade winds.

We hand steered all the way on a watch

system, quickly dubbed Baywatch and

Crimewatch. I started on Baywatch. The

watches ran for 6+6 hours by day, then 4 + 4

+ 4 overnight. Every sixth day we took a

turn on Motherwatch to cook and clean then

switched to the other team.

Midnight on the first night out the skipper

discovered the floors awash and the bilges

full of water. Rapid investigation revealed

the generator was leaking from the raw

water intake pipe and a new hose clip

Kate’s Atlantic Adventure 2018 “Apart from the near sinking, the galley fire & the grounding not much happened!”

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applied but “for a few minutes we were technically sinking” he said. Bev in her bunk

nearby was startled to be woken by a jet of

cold water in her face. Over the next few

days we settled into the ship’s routine and

enjoyed some splendid meals prepared by

Motherwatch. On Day Four the cooks man-

aged to ignite a pan of oil but the fire blan-

ket dealt with it and prevented serious

damage. The skipper pronounced the water-

maker was working well enough that we

could now have showers!

All this time we were storming downwind in

the trade winds we had picked up going

South. Our westerly course was along the

Great Circle Route watching for wind shifts.

We started gybing on shifts which at first

took the watch nearly an hour to complete.

This would improve with practice. Late in

the night there was an accidental gybe. This

broke some battens and damaged a luff car.

Our brave skipper climbed the mast and

made repairs but we were lucky to escape

worse damage.

A day later and we were celebrating the half

way point. The Skipper announced a double

hour change to GMT +2 and a Fancy Dress

party. Pirates and maidens, a policeman and

a footballer and even a large pink squid ap-

peared on deck. We were given a ration

of beer and champagne which was a big deal

on a dry boat! 1500 miles done and the same

again to go.

We pressed on downwind with the yankee

jib poled out and a preventer on the main-

sail. Gybing involved a complex series of

actions including dropping the staysail,

letting off the running backstay and

removing the preventer, hauling in the

mainsail to the centreline and pulling

the yankee across to the opposite

side then gybing the main and re-

versing all the early steps on the

other gybe. The spinnaker pole

was as long as my boat and took

18

19

rain for 30 minutes before tropical sunshine

was restored. We were all sailing in T shirts

and shorts by now as it was 30 degrees.

At this stage the fruit was running out and

all the bananas had ripened and been con-

sumed. I made a lot of banana bread! I had

been recruited to run a fruit experiment

comparing fruit kept in the open with fruit

stored in fancy green ecobags. The premise

was that the fruit would keep longer as the

bag would absorb the ripening chemicals.

Early on it seemed fruit went off quicker in

the bags without air circulating but later

ripening fruit seemed to stay plumper and

better hydrated in the bags. The worst part

of this experiment was trying to weigh the

fruit on a digital scale while the boat was

rolling. In the end we had to give up as we

were cross eyed and nauseous. After this we

ate all the experimental fruit.

During the crossing we saw few boats. We

crossed tacks with a handful of yachts and

saw a tanker on the last day but in the main

two to carry it. Each sail drop needed 3 crew

on the foredeck to flake the sail as it came

down.

On December 6th we celebrated Finland

Independence Day with Mikko our Finnish

crewmate and tasted black vodka. We saw a

20ft whale that followed the boat for about

6 hours, which we later established was

probably a minke whale. The wind was get-

ting stronger and cooking bacon and eggs

for breakfast was a circus act juggling sharp

knives naked flames and boiling water. Eat-

ing and drinking took concentration to

avoid showering the downhill tablemates

with food. By the next day we had a full gale

and steering became quite demanding as we

were all afraid of another gybe. Overnight

the skipper and mate took over as the crew

were struggling but by breakfast the weath-

er had moderated and we were steering

again dodging squalls - or washing our hair

if they caught us! Towards the end of the

trip the train of cumulus clouds had become

black and menacing and brought wind and

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20

it was an empty ocean with a vivid indigo

blue colour. We saw fewer dolphins than we

usually see off South Devon and our keen

fishermen caught only seaweed! When off

watch we mainly ate and slept but there was

some time for reading or watching the

waves or writing the blog. Increasingly we

were looking for land and the mountains of

St Lucia. As we approached the finish we

were increasingly excited. We saw the

photographer’s launch coming towards us

just as the skipper called for a reef in the

main. Much multitasking ensued as we

rounded up past Pigeon Island and looked

for the finishing line. We finished at 1135 on

Dec 10th after 15 days at sea in 22nd place

overall and 5th in class.

To answer my original questions: It was

fantastic exhilarating and unforgettable and

I made some lovely friends. Yes, I was terri-

fied especially when below in the gale or

when helming on a dead run trying not to

gybe. The best bit? Landing in the Rodney

Bay marina and drinking a glass of rum

punch then jumping into the harbour with

the rest of the crew!

Kate Brodie

On a yacht named Challenger Four

Was a crew that you’d grow to adore

Some tall and some small

Enthusiasts all

But one had a really loud snore!

20

Footnote - The grounding happened after the race when we were cruising in the Grenadines

and there was less water over the coral than expected. We reversed off guiltily!

21

Racing Sails

Cruising Sails

Dinghy Sails

Sail & Canvas Repairs

Sprayhoods & Enclosures

Sail Covers & Dodgers

Exe Sails & Covers

Exe Sails & Covers Ltd

1 Topsham Units

Dart Business Park

01392 874449

info@exesails.com

Sam Woolner - Pete Handscomb

Mark ’Spoons’ Jenkins - Ned Taylor

Your Local Sailmaker

Industrial sewing repairs and alterations 21

22

26

Back in the late '70's my father ordered a

green enamel Jotul 602 for installation on

his new boat. It’s fair to say that weight

saving was not the most important criteria

when building New Dawn. Wood burning

stoves were obviously a lot less popular

then as the only Jotul dealer in the UK was

in Aberdeen!

So, where does one fit a wood burning stove

on a yacht? On New Dawn the single berth

on the port side of the saloon is deliberately

shorter, so that a stove could be installed

between the berth and the midships bulk-

head. With the exception of a brief removal

for a trip to warmer climes the stove has

remained in position for 40 years. Living in

a salty environment had left it in a barely

usable condition, with a crack in the door and

a split in the front casting (one of us was

heard to express fears that it might explode).

Although possible to buy both second hand

and new versions of our stove, a trip up to

the north of England (Gloucestershire) to

look a couple of second hand ones, left us

disappointed that £350 would secure us a

stove that in a very few years, would be in

the same condition as the one we had. Ever

the typically awkward child (speak to either

Odd Mods Rekindling an old Jotul Michael MacDonnell

New Door

Your new Cruiser Captain! Prepared Assembling

23

of my parents for details), having dismissed all of the alternatives, including buying a

new stove, we were left with the option

recommended by my father in the first place

- refurbishing the existing one.

The stove is mounted on a slab of

Cumberland slate, a similar green colour to

the stove, into which the base of the stove is

bolted. Apparently, the slate came from an

Undertakers that Dad was auditing but he

assures me no impropriety took place. After

removing the baffles, the stove unbolted

into separate castings. We found that 120

grit sandpaper would abrade the enamel

sufficiently to get a key for re painting. The

beautiful lions and ridges decoration on the

sides of the stove (that can’t be seen when

the stove’s in position) proved challenging

but not unsurmountable. Then the old stove

cement was chipped off with a screwdriver

so that the metal was ready for painting. The

castings were given two coats of black gloss

enamel stove paint and allowed to dry.

Doing a dry run reassembling the stove, we

realised there was confusion between the

nuts for some original bolts and those that

had been replaced by ¼” Whitworth. Even

Dad might have to admit that he backed the

losing side by building New Dawn with im-

perial fixings! Fire cement is both something

that shouldn’t come in contact with the skin

and devilishly sticky (to anything apart from

stoves). After experimentation an old knife

proved the most effective way of laying a

bead to bed the castings on reassembly. The

ancillaries were then also cemented in, with

excess cement removed using a wet wipe

(we have plenty of those). The paint

requires being heated to cure so we lit the

stove on the drive at home which, without a

chimbley, wasn’t a great success but was

enough to stabilise the paint.

Thankfully, we managed to hoist the stove

back on board and install in position with-

out damaging the paint. Polishing and

reattaching the chimney (which Dad, still

with a sense of choked disbelief in his voice,

declares is the most expensive chimney in

the western hemisphere) was the final

touch. In our opinion the black gloss enamel

and stainless steel combination looks even

better than the original. The paint isn’t

properly cured yet as our neighbours on the

quay are Moody so we won’t be putting wood

in the stove anytime soon to cure the paint.

We are looking forward to early Spring getaways more than ever this year. Our thanks go to my father for both his help with the refurbishment, and his advice - which we did eventually take.

23

The Finished Stove

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mince mixed with peas, carrots, potatoes, or

rice as a treat – all washed down with a

glass of Malbec and a bed-time whisky!

And so to my cruise. The weather smiled on

me in 2018 - sun, heat and little rain – but

more than that, the grass didn't grow. No

call to go home to mow the lawn! I started

westbound in late June, with a week in

Torquay Town Marina to complete un-

finished winter jobs – excellent value at

less than £60 for a week. I intended to go

as far west as weather and commitments

would allow before turning back and going

eastwards to the Solent for the annual

Elizabethan Raleigh!

Salcombe was my starting point to cross to

the Helford, some 55nm distance. Leaving

early in the morning I motor sailed against a

light NE wind, passing close south of the

Eddystone, arriving late afternoon after 11

uneventful hours at sea. The next day I

inflated my tiny one-man dinghy and went

ashore to dispose of rubbish and have lunch

in the Ferryboat Inn – recommended. I was

Holly Blue is an Elizabethan 23, designed by

Peter Webster and David Thomas and built

in Lymington in 1970. A beautiful yacht –

looking much larger than her 23 feet, until

seen with someone in the cockpit! She was

designed for fast sailing and good sea keep-

ing qualities, rather than comfortable living

in port.

My previous Elizabethan 23 – Lizzie B – I

sailed offshore with a pal from Exmouth,

who has sadly been grounded for health

reasons, so this year it was all single handed.

One disadvantage of this is the danger of

over tiredness, so I therefore restrict

passages to what can reasonably be

achieved in 12 hours, which at about 4/5

knots is 55-60 nm with a couple of cans of

'Red Bull' as emergency back-up! If necessary,

she does heave-to very comfortably allowing

me to navigate or cook, on which subject my

daily menus would hardly excite the

lowliest cook book. Breakfast - a pot of

instant porridge with honey and a cup of

tea, and dinner - a tin of meat, curry or

Holly Blue goes West and East John Baynes

25

furled genoa, but in Newlyn reduced the size

of reefing line – and thereafter no problems.

Reviewed my commitments at home and

decided to get on with it and go across to the

Isles of Scilly, even if only for a few days.

Inshore Waters forecast on 21st June gave N

F4/5 = great, let's go! I took 1 slab in the main

and five rolls on the genoa and flew along

the Cornish coast to Land’s End. Seas

around the Runnel Stone were decidedly

boisterous and they stayed that way until

St Mary's Sound. The forecast was fairly

accurate, although it failed to mention

lengthy gusts of F6. However, Holly Blue took

them in her stride with only the occasional

wave breaking on board. I was joined half

way across by a pod of dolphins who played

with me for the best part of five minutes –

quite something when I looked up to see a

dolphin frolicking in a wave above my deck

level whilst I was in a trough! Apart from an

invigorating sail, averaging sixknots from

Newlyn to St Mary's Pool, the antics

required to respond to calls of nature whilst

trying to steer and balance myself against an

irregular and turbulent movement would

have even impressed a yoga expert!

Jerry and Miranda Row in Chapter Four

followed me into St Mary's Pool - the start of

going to return for dinner but with a rising

NE wind, I was wary about my ability to row

back to Holly Blue without being blown

down the river towards Gweek so had to

settle for a chilli con carne on board instead.

The plastic oars on these small inflatables

are quite useless in anything above F1 and

flat sea!

Rather than sail on direct to Newlyn, I back-

tracked to Falmouth for a couple of

modifications, just missing Andy and Jane

Graham Cummings in Feronia on their way

back to the Exe. Thence off to Newlyn - wind

F3/4, S/W, with much motor sailing involved.

Found a small, helpful back eddy off Black

Head, which corresponded to a short area of

overfall on my return trip - interesting but

nothing alarming. Gave the Lizard a good

three miles offing, but still had quite bump-

tious seas, not helpful when I had to go

forward to fix a fault in the Plastimo genoa

furling gear where the reefing line was in

danger of jumping off the drum and winding

itself around the forestay. Unable to fix it, I

had to complete this leg with a slightly

Fine Dining

26

Headed back to Falmouth with nothing

notable except the minor overfalls off Black

Head and a further delightful pod of

dolphins laughing and smiling at me. I had

hoped to spend a night in Mevagissey but

with an easterly forecast I was warned off

and went straight to Fowey and thence to

Plymouth. There I met up with my son and

his family, and confirmed that Jolly Jacks

Cafe in the Mayflower Marina is still as good

as my memory paints it! Returned to

Dartmouth through almost continual rain,

with the only interest, apart from getting

soaked, being passing a submarine on the

surface fairly close too – they are evil look-

ing beasts! Having seen a photo Jerry took of

Holly Blue in Scilly, the mast rake aft is

clearly excessive so reduced the forestay

length by some 3” – easily done with the

Plastimo system - and this improved her

considerably. Normal excellent breakfast in

Alf Fresco before returning to TSC on 2nd July.

Part two of my 2018 cruise was eastbound

to the Solent for the 2018 Elizabethan

Raleigh in Hayling Island at the end of July.

Having done this trip before in Lizzie B,

following her well-travelled path was plain

sailing for Holly Blue. Leave TSC, take the

inside passage around Portland Bill and into

the Cove at Weymouth. Total distance about

50nm taking 10.5 hours with most of the

trip being motor sailing in light airs. Thence

into the Solent via a comfortable night at

anchor in Studland Bay, the North passage

quite a fleet from TSC. This being my first

visit to Scilly I was not familiar with the

local brewery and took at face value the

request of a fellow Elizabethan owner to

give his regards to Betty Stogs. The fact that

this is the local beverage, occurred only

after enquiring after the landlady's health -

oh well, you live and learn! Tight on time in

Scilly, I left Holly Blue on a mooring and took

a trip around St Agnes, Tresco and Bryher

on Calypso a local tripper boat, much

recommended to others similarly short of

time. On Tresco, alongside the path to

Cromwell’s Castle, there is a memorial to the

men in WWII who sailed converted fishing

vessels on clandestine trips to Brittany. Now

sadly overgrown by bracken - I think the

memory of these men deserve a little more.

After 3 days I had run out of time and had to

turn homewards, but with wind falling to

F2/3 E, I had to motor sail back to Newlyn.

Unable to book a table in the pub, I went to

the local Co-op and feeling adventurous

bought a chilled lasagne, in the belief that

although I had neither micro-wave nor oven,

I could surely empty it into saucepan and

cook it on my stove - I couldn't! Whilst in

Newlyn I also spent a salutary half hour in

the RNLI station with the photos and

memories of the Penlee disaster. We do

have to remind ourselves from time to time

that these volunteers put their lives at risk for

all sailors, and this is a potent place to start.

Portland Bill

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Island Harbour is the wreck of the paddle

steamer Ryde. I remember when Island

Harbour was new and she was a vibrant

night club, the machinery burnished and

shining and the saloon decks polished to a

formidable dance floor. The ship may no

longer be alive but the memories remain.

Having indulged in memory lane, I then left

the Solent just as Cowes Week was starting,

feeling rather like a salmon swimming

against the tide of craft arriving. Anchored

again in Studland Bay and then returned to

Weymouth, where I met up with Gill

Desforges, who used to live and sail in

Topsham. We had an excellent relaxed lunch

in the Royal Weymouth Yacht Club - a

Sunday roast which I would recommend to

any others passing through over a weekend.

In the past I would have gone direct from

Weymouth to the Exe, but with the tide

times on the day, this would have meant

rounding the Bill in the dark, so delayed

departure to go around with reasonable

light to see any badly marked lobster pots.

Headed to Torquay, from where I could

leave to get into the Exe and up to TSC with

the flooding tide the next day. Back to TSC

on 8th August with some 800nm on the log.

Now to plan for 2019!

into Hurst narrows, and into Lymington for

the night. Then a quick passage to the Folly

Inn up the River Medina from Cowes for the

night. Next, off to Bembridge where the

marina is more a long pontoon than a marina,

but nonetheless very friendly and the town

has plenty of hostelries. The only sad bit is

that so few of the old MTBs and MGBs,

which as houseboats used to line the

foreshore remain, and those have their days

numbered at the rate at which they are

deteriorating – British naval history

disappearing in front of our eyes.

Reached Sparks Marina in Hayling Island

on the Friday and, after a bit of lively

discussion, was given a berth for the

weekend. Although the marina was safe and

the facilities were satisfactory, I cannot say

the staff were particularly helpful and it is

not somewhere I shall visit again. Only a

small number of Elizabethans this year –

four compared to ten when I first went to a

Raleigh in 2000, but since this was the

weekend of the ‘Great Gale’ with F10 winds,

some may have been deterred! The next day

I went up to Chichester Marina to wait for

the Solent to quieten down a little, then back

to the Folly Inn on the Medina for a couple

of days, and a walk along the river bank into

Newport. A very sad sight just outside

Bembridge Marina

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