The ‘Barnacle’
November 2021
Welcome to this month’s edition of ‘The Barnacle’. You will find within hopefully some useful information but also the first account of a passage to France by three of our long standing members. If you have stories, photos or anything that you think may be of interest, we would love to hear from you….
For minutes of the club’s monthly general committee meetings, please see our website: www.wbyc.co.uk
Commodore’s Report
It may be November and today maybe freezing cold but activities at the club continue at the same level as the summer months. We have seen boats out on the water with crews basking in the sunshine, work parties on the river laying moorings and a full house at the laying up supper singing their hearts out to a great evening of shanties and popular songs from years gone by. By joining in with the club activities a good time is being had by all.
Talking to other clubs in the south west they too are experiencing renewed activity with many people returning to boating of all types along with taking the opportunity to renew their social lives after such long periods of Covid restrictions. I appreciate we are not out of the woods yet, but when you are ready a warm welcome awaits you at the clubhouse on a Friday night. For anyone preferring isolation why not join us on the water. There is always room on the boats taking part in the winter series. Some are even known to have heating and serve hot rum flavoured coffee to their crew. Whatever you are doing this month stay warm, safe and enjoy your Christmas preparations.
Commodore Mark Breakey
Sailing News
Action from the winter series..
Folks,
Stuck for something to give the much-beloved for Christmas? Then I have the perfect answer.
At a very reasonable price, the pocket -sized RYA Racing Rules of Sailing 2021-2024 (WATERPROOF) is an ideal stocking filler.
However, I must warn you that it can be controversial!
For example
p24 20 ROOM TO TACK AT AN OBSTRUCTION
20.1 Hailing
A boat may hail for room to tack and avoid a boat on the same tack. However, SHE shall not hail unless……
In the year gender definition is becoming increasingly difficult, concerns should be raised regarding genderisation and its usage. Why are boats referred to as “she?”
I quote Solentcharter.co.uk
A ship is called “She” because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; it takes a lot of paint to keep her looking good; it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it’s the upkeep; it takes an experienced skipper to handle her correctly without which she is absolutely uncontrollable.
I hasten to add.. THESE ARE NOT MY WORDS!!
However, in the year when the prestigious Brit Awards have decided to be gender neutral, should the august body that is the RYA look to address this growing issue? I know plenty of people who classify themselves as “He” (especially if you happen to watch the reality TV rubbish) that fit this description.
Sailing…….., ah yes, it’s happening when weather permits. Dauncey has been sorted (again!), watch out for Thetis (she’s quick) and look forward to seeing you on the water!
Cheers
Rob
PS No, I’m not having a go at reality TV!
A blistering spinnaker run from Mirage!!
Three old men and a concrete boat
By Bob Godbold
Chapter 1
The beginning.
All good tales have a chapter that sets the scene of the unfolding adventure. So!!
It is a cold, wet and miserable day on Uphill Wharf. The tide is out and it is wet and muddy underfoot. Several souls, who well past their use by date, are gathering upon ‘KRA’ a 42 foot, concrete, Endeavour design, cutter rigged Ketch. She is cradled in her winter mud birth looking slightly sorry for herself, as most boats do at this time of the season. It is about 10:30 in the morning, so the prospect of a hot cup of coffee and a yarn upon the ‘flagship’ of Uphill Wharf is eagerly anticipated. The Skipper and owner of this vessel is Terry Millier, a yachtsman of many years and long serving member of Weston Bay Yacht Club. He is a good host for this daily ritual for those seeking sustenance and warmth, as a relief from working on their boats and yachts on the Wharf and in the adjacent Uphill Boatyard.
Uphill Wharf
This day the gathering consisted of several hardy souls both past and present but, included most importantly, Ray ‘Sooty’ and Bob Godbold. Both who were, and are, experienced sailors, but better known for being cheery old souls who have been known to swallow the odd glass of beer or cider. During our daily ritual of telling unlikely sailing stories, that got better with each telling, attention turned to the forthcoming sailing season and what we might do. Terry, Sooty and I had sailed together, both on KRA and other boats several times before, so we knew each other well. So a sail together during the summer season seemed a good idea. Where and when do we go?. We were all retired, so the ‘when’ was just one picking a time of the year when the weather was likely to be reasonable. Late June, early July was chosen for its long days and the probability of acceptable weather.(Not a good choice as it turned out.) So where? After much discussion and deliberation, the Southern Brittany coast was a place of beauty and navigational challenge worthy of a summer cruise. We had the start of a plan.
Now a little about KRA. KRA was an Endeavour 42, not surprisingly 42 ft long, she was ketch rigged and had a long keel. Her hull was concrete on a reinforced steel armature and displaced just under 20 tons. A big old beast. She was trimmed and decked in teak both internally and externally. She was a cutter rigged ketch, with a genoa and self-tacking staysail, a large and heavy mainsail and a spanker at the back. The engine was a 6 cylinder ‘Cummins’ diesel with a fixed 3 bladed propeller. There were 3 cabins and large Saloon with the galley at one end. A large chart table was located to the port side of the saloon. The vessel was wheel steered with a good auto pilot. The boat had sailed to the Caribbean and back so was well tested. She was a good looking boat and when at full sail she could have starred in any Hollywood pirate film. However, she was passed her best and had a litany of faults, that kept everybody who sailed in her permanently occupied in keeping her afloat, in approximately the right place(geographically) and under way. So it was decided that during the coming months, we would put right as many of the problems and known faults as we could, and get the vessel into as reasonable a state of seaworthiness as possible. (You will notice I say known faults, some we never solved!).
Terry Millier and ‘Kra’
Some of the issues tackled were: a tendency of the house batteries to lose their charge. KRA had a house battery bank of 6 x 110 ampere hours so more than enough to meet the needs of the vessel, (fault never solved). It consumed Cutlass bearings and loosened the gearbox to prop shaft coupling bolts on a regular basis. (never solved). Had lack of reliable electronic navigation. Both Terry and Sooty acquired laptop computers with obscure software packages, that no one knew how to use, and both which failed due to charging problems with the first few days. We did however have a GPS receiver that had a mind of its own and would give a position if you talked to it nicely. (never solved, but we did have ample paper charts and a good compass). A leaking foredeck(solved en route). The standing and running rigging appeared to be in reasonable condition (the standing rigging failed in the middle of the English channel). It would be churlish go on but by WBYC standards at the time she was a well-found vessel!!
The Passage Plan was to sail down the Bristol Channel stopping at Ilfracombe and Padstow, then round Lands End to Newlyn. The next stage would be to cross the English Channel to L’Aber Wrach, on the Brittany coast. Then down the Chenal du Four and on into the Rade de Brest and on to Brest. We would then spend a week exploring the ports and sailing areas in the Rade de Brest. The return voyage would follow the same route but in reverse.
We had a boat, a date, a destination and an intrepid crew of 3 experienced sailors (with a collective age of 220 years). What could possibly go wrong???
Chapter 2, ‘We are off’, will follow in the next edition of the Barnacle.
RYA Affiliated Clubs Conference 2021
This year’s conferences both online and face to face were aimed at exploring how clubs can build a secure future. Many presentations were delivered looking at how many clubs are capitalising on an influx of new members and what we can learn from them. Things that we may like to consider as a club include:
- Improving our facilities to meet member’s needs
- Reaching out to other water sports enthusiasts in Weston Bay to increase membership and club use
- ‘Nursing’ new members through their first year until they feel part of the ‘family’
- Offering training and crewing opportunities to beginners or those wanting to develop their skills
- Attracting people onto the committee who can help take the club forward
- Setting out a plan to meet our agreed objectives and regularly reviewing it to keep us on track
If you have ideas regarding any of the above or have skills or knowledge that may be useful, please make yourself known either at the club on a Friday night or by emailing me at the address below.
Mooring News
We are planning on refurbishing the walkway down to the pontoons very soon.
I have taken delivery of new timber decking which will be fitted with GRP non slip strips. We also intend to upgrade linkages between walkway sections to level up and make more secure.
We will be organising work parties very soon but unfortunately due to having 2 family members come down with Covid, I have been isolating but look forward to getting on with it soon. This will be a team effort and assuming we get plenty of support we can start thinking about Stage 2(upgrading the pontoons themselves)
Kind Regards
Stuart Harvey
Tel or WhatsApp: 07519804588
Bar and Social
Following the success of our laying up supper, our attention is now turned to the final social event of the year, the Christmas party on Saturday 11th December from 7pm. It will feature John Tyson’s disco and karaoke show so practice those party songs and don’t be shy! Please bring along your own food as due to recent Covid concerns, we will not be having a sharing buffet. It should be pre-cooked and ready to eat as the oven will not be in use. There will also be a Christmas raffle so any prizes will be much appreciated
This is a free event but it is important that we know how many people are coming. Our current capacity is 60 so please add your name to the list behind the bar if you would like to secure your place. Alternatively you can email me at steve_caiger@yahoo.co.uk or WhatsApp 07813 111592 and I will add you to the guest list.
Diary dates/useful information
Saturday 11th December: Christmas Party (Free entry)
WINTER SERIES RACING
|
RACE |
DAY |
DATE |
HW |
HT |
START |
1/2TIDE |
|
1 |
SUN |
03 OCT |
1734 |
10.25 |
1600 |
1 |
|
2 |
SUN |
10 OCT |
1005 |
12.04 |
O800 |
1 |
|
3 |
SUN |
17 OCT |
1737 |
10.8 |
1600 |
1 |
|
4 |
SUN |
24 OCT |
O927 |
11.17 |
O900 |
2 |
|
5 |
SUN |
07 NOV |
O804 |
12.57 |
O630 |
1 |
|
6 |
SUN |
14 NOV |
1512 |
9.86 |
1400 |
1 |
|
7 |
SUN |
28 NOV |
1227 |
9.08 |
1100 |
1 |
|
8 |
SUN |
12 DEC |
1327 |
9.53 |
1200 |
1 |
|
9 |
SUN |
09 JAN |
1128 |
10.36 |
1000 |
1 |
|
10 |
SUN |
23 JAN |
O959 |
11.04 |
O830 |
1 |
|
11 |
SUN |
06 FEB |
1012 |
11.49 |
O900 |
1 |
|
12 |
SUN |
13 FEB |
1650 |
O9.54 |
1500 |
1 |
|
13 |
SUN |
27 FEB |
1614 |
O953 |
1500 |
1 |
Moorings: Email stu.harv1@gmail.com
Tel or WhatsApp: 07519804588
Beach Gate Key: (Full members only) Behind the bar (£20 deposit)
Parking Permit: Behind the bar
Club access/membership cards: Available in club or Email: markbreakey@live.com
To contribute or for further information please email:
Tel: 07813 111592