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The Dog WatchFor the Sea Dogs of Devon and Cornwall
Area President:Gill Hayward01803 [email protected]
Life Vice-President:Mike Lucas
Secretary:Geoff Skinner01395 267786
Treasurer:Alan Miller-Williams01548 830039
Membership Secretary:Peter Crook
Handicapping Officer:Peter [email protected]
Trophy Officer:Mike [email protected]
Commodore:Julian Biggs
Auditor:David Lovelock01935 [email protected]
Regalia Sales:Pat Cassidy01548 [email protected]
Dog Watch Editor:John Gallagher01822 [email protected]
Committee Members:Gil HaywardMike LucasGeoff SkinnerAlan Miller-WilliamsPat CassidyJohn GallagherFleur Lewis01803 [email protected] Bewick01548 [email protected] Crook01548 [email protected] Macfarlane01548 [email protected]
Cornwall Representative:Don Garman01326 [email protected]
OGA Web Site:www.oga.org.uk
DogsBody:Peter Crook01548 [email protected]
Issue No.21 September 2015
Welcome
This has not been our best sailing season. It seems that since the schools broke up in July the jetstream moved over us to create havoc with our summer weather. Now the schools have started
again it has moved off. This is perversity indeed which has also resulted in some grumpy oldsailors, me included.
But it hasn’t all been frustration and gloom as from the following pages you will see that despiteadversity a lot of fun has been had. So whilst all sailing activity organised for Plymouth Classics hadto be cancelled the resulting compensatory increased social activity stimulated a very jovial spirit withcolourful yarns and spirited singing. It seemed that those that made it certainly enjoyed the event.
Whilst we are getting well into Autumn the fine break in the weather is set to continue to allowus a flurry of activity before laying up. So we hope a certain contentment may be palpable at ourLaying Up Lunch which is our next event with the AGM. To keep South West Gaffers goingwe are going to need new blood not just to maintain but to invigorate and develop this fineorganisation. Several posts are coming up so if you are willing to bring energy and enthusiasm whynot help us in running South West Gaffers.
South WestGaffers
The South West Area of The OGA
Promoting Gaff Rig in Devonand Cornwall
www.SouthWestGaffers.org.uk
The Next EventLaying up Lunch Saturday 14th November
The Abbey Inn, Buckfastleigh at 12.30.
Recent Events
Whilst the boats were gathering to go to theRally so were the storm clouds. Strong
easterly winds and rain rising to gale force wereforecast not only for the start but were expectedto last well into the following week. But theweather seemed quite difficult to predict withdifferent forecasters giving sometimes widelydifferent predictions. So not surprisingly manyboats cancelled at the last minute.
But we still had a remarkable array ofancient fishing boats and others over a centuryold as well as Grayhound and Shamrock andTectona and Pegasus from Island Trust. Almosta third fewer eventually came. Whilst we hadscattered moments when the wind abated and norain fell and a bleary sun tried to smile on usSaturday was the only pretty good day when thesun really made it. So we had a street party onthe pontoon with music from Doc.
During the Rally Bugler a 6ton Hilliardbuilt in 1953 was raffled and raised over £1000
for the MorvaghSailing Projectwhich givess a i l i n gopportunities toyoung people aswell as sailtraining. Theboat had beengifted to the
Project by one of the Sutton Restaurant owners.It needed a little work !
Sadly the racing in the Sound had to becancelled on both days as did the feeder race toFowey Classics. The parade of sail was anothervictim of adversity. So much of the time wasspent hunkered down in others boats and evenin public houses ! The evening events were wellattended and very jolly with some excellentsinging and with racing cancelled the prize givingstimulated some ingenious awards. Overall thesocial side of events made up a lot for thedisappointment regarding the weather and agood time was had by most.
Leaving after the Rally posed someproblems too with a weather window notavailable until a few days later. Then the hero ofthe moment, Bob Reid the Dep. Harbourmasterat Sutton, organised token-cost mooring for theextra days needed. Naturally he was given theSalty Saviour Award whilst Peter Crook receivedthe Redundant Handicapper Award, ChrisLeopold the Pluvial Award for the biggesttarpaulin and young Tom Dixon the TopmastAward for high level retrieval of Matanga’sjammed halyard.
But this was the only time in my memorywe have had to cancel the racing and in the lastseveral years we have got away with quitebrilliant weather. After all this is England !
John Gallagher
Plymouth Classic Boat Rally24th to 27th July
More pictures on page 3
2
River Dart Rally8th to 9th August
Gentle racing on the Dart- photo Mark Darley
This year saw the second OGA Rally to be held on the RiverDart as part of the Dittisham Regatta. Many of those who
attended were Trailer Section members and they mostly arrivedon the Friday afternoon and were very happy to take up theirvery privileged positions in the Ham car park in their campervans (camping is not normally allowed there – we had specialpermission from the Parish Council to do so for this event).Festivities began on the Friday evening with a drinks receptionin Gil and Carolyn Hayward’s beautiful garden overlooking theriver. Those who managed the stiff climb up the slope from thesailing club were rewarded with the “free” beer that had beengenerously provided by Brian Budden.
Saturday, the race day,dawned as a near perfect Englishsummer’s day – the only problemwas an almost complete lack ofwind! The fleet launched, more inhope than expectation, and spentthe next hour or so drifting around,or moored up, in the vicinity of theDSC committee boat, Nikita. Theirpatience was rewarded, though, asa weak breeze gradually came infrom the east, sufficient for theRace Officer to get proceedingsunderway. The breeze builtgradually through the race into afine sailing wind for small boats –sufficient in fact for John Haywoodto lose his rig very close to thefinish when the mast partner of hislovely Catspaw dinghyunfortunately gave way. There wasa very diverse fleet of boats on thewater ranging from the normal“tiddlers” of the Trailer Section up to far more serious cruiserslike the Cornish Yawl Annabelle. However, there was plenty ofroom for everyone and I think we all managed to find someoneto race against.
After the race, the fleet assembled for a parade of sail pastthe “epicentre” of the Regatta festivities on the pontoon by theFerry Boat Inn. This year, we managed to conduct ourselves ina rather more orderly fashion than previously and were rewardedwith a commentary that identified the members of the fleet moreor less correctly for the benefit of the onlookers. On returningto the dinghy park, one of stalwarts of the Trailer Section (whoshall remain nameless) was heard to complain that the only
problem with the day up to that point was that the total timetaken from launch to recovery represented far more than a singlebladder-full!
During the Saturday afternoon, we all enjoyed watchingthe rest of the regatta events in the sunshine, aided by the goodfood and drink that was on offer. Those of us “in the know”,though, were careful to save ourselves for what we knew was tocome later. In the evening, a Sailor’s Supper was held atDittisham Sailing Club. This was a very convivial affair and thefood, in the form of Philip Watts’s famous fish bourride, wassimply stunning. It really was hard to imagine how a fish stewcould be that good! As is the norm at such events, prizes were
awarded to those who had excelledthemselves earlier.
Sunday began in a verypromising way with a fine “fullEnglish” breakfast at the Red Lionin Dittisham. For those of you whodon’t know it, this is a truly “wacky”place – part pub, part restaurant,part Post Office and part villageshop with no real demarcationbetween the component parts. Bethat as it may, they certainly knowhow to produce a plate of food toget sailors going again on a Sundaymorning. After such a glorious dayon Saturday, the weather onSunday was a bit of adisappointment being rathercloudy and cool with a stiffer windblowing down the river this time.The plan was for us to sail up theriver “in company” and to gettogether later in Stoke Gabriel for
a light lunch (at least, for those who could manage it after theirbreakfast!). Some set off for Tuckenhay but I am not sure if anyof them got all the way there. In Aberrare, we went up the riveras far as we could get without using any auxiliary power and wefinally turned back near Sharpham. Back at Stoke Gabriel wepulled up on the beach and had our refreshments and a goodnatter at the River Shack café. After a brisk sail back toDittisham, we recovered our boats and said our farewells. I thinkit is fair to say that a good time was had by all and I know thatmany of the participants left looking forward to the opportunityto come back and do something similar in the future.
David Bewick
Prize for the youngest sailor - Windy’screw Mila Coxon, aged 7
Peter Crook and Elspeth won the Grog Trophy and John Wynnwon the Wynn Trophy. Line honours went to Gil Hayward
3
ResultsOverall Series (judged on overall handicap): 1st Alliance Building Society Trophy (big cup) Ripple 2nd Poly Rose Trophy Kelpie 3rd J McKillop Trophy WenderSunday Race 1 1st in Class I - Winners Mug Kelpie 1st in Class 2 - Winners Mug Ripple 1st in Class 3 - Winners Mug Mary HaySunday Race 2 1st in Class 1. Alliance Building Society Shield Kelpie 1st in Class 2 Old Gaffers Tankard Ripple 1st in Class 3 Old Gaffers Goblet Mary Hay
South West Gaffers has been around for over 40 years. Formany years, apart from the annual Start Bay Race in June,
the main event was gaffer racing at Dartmouth Regatta at theend of August. A large fleet was attracted to the event withgaffers based in the Solent and Cornwall taking part.Inevitably over the years events change. The crowds still cometo Dartmouth Regatta but many come for the air displaysrather than the sailing or rowing and the gaffer fleet dwindledto two boats.
This year South West Gaffers were advised by DartmouthRegatta that the gaffer class would be dropped unless we couldguarantee at least five entrants.We explained that many gafferswere put off by having to share astart line with modernperformance racing boats andthat four consecutive days ofracing was too much of acommitment for many. JamesDodd, Chairman of the JointRegatta Sailing Committee, wasvery accommodating and 2015found the gaffers with their ownstart line and course on the lasttwo days of the regatta. TheSunday had always beensignificant for the gaffers at Dartmouth Regatta and a surprisingnumber of trophies had been accumulated to be awarded for thevarious classes on that day. Janie Harford found these trophieshidden away in a cupboard in the ladies’ loo at RDYC.
South West Gaffers decided to have a final attempt atre-introducing Dartmouth Regatta as a significant date in thegaffer calendar. We agreed to pay the entry fees for the first tenboats entering the two-day event. We were encouraged that 14boats entered. In the event for various reasons only 9 boatsturned out for the start of the Saturday race. The weather godsconspired against us and after delaying the start for 2 hours, all
Dartmouth Regatta racing was cancelled on the Saturday for lackof any wind.
Sunday dawned calm and wet so it is possibly notsurprising that even fewer turned out for the start. In the eventthere was a reasonable breeze and the gaffer course worked well.Sadly this was only enjoyed by Kelpie, Trasnagh, Ripple,Wender, Annie Kay and Mary Hay. Keen for us to have a seriesevent, notwithstanding Saturday’s cancellation, a second racefollowed on after the first but by then some of the crews were coldand wet so only 4 boats completed the second race.
Dartmouth Regatta’s organisation then failed so it wasrather embarrassing whenincorrect results were posted andprizes were wrongly awarded.Apparently the results for Kelpieand Mary Hay were transposed.You may wonder how this couldhappen with 2 such differentboats and after we had gone tothe trouble of giving theorganisers details and photos ofall the boats. Indeed what dothey have in common apart froma gaff rig? Answer - both havenumber ‘2’ on their mainsail!However in true gaffer style
wrongs were put right and the results were as shown.It remains to be seen whether Dartmouth Regatta thinks
the effort to give the gaffers a separate start line, committee boatand officers was worthwhile. South West Gaffers may bepersuaded to offer some incentive in 2016 but will not pay thewhole entry fee next year. You must let us know if you willsupport this event. Do not underestimate the time and effort putin by your committee organising events. Whilst a number of ‘noshows’ this year had perfectly understandable reasons and senttheir apologies, it was disappointing that notwithstanding SouthWest Gaffers paying the entry fees some boats just did not show.
Gil Hayward
Mast-climber Tom and dad Rob Dixon at PlymouthClassics
Bugler – ready for the Plymouth Classic’s raffle
Dartmouth Royal Regatta Gaffers’ Races29th to 30th August
4
It seems nowadays that you cannotpoke your bowsprit inside any headlandwithout the harbour master's rib roaring upand him demanding money just for gettingyour anchor muddy. And as for going ontoa pontoon then a serious delve into yourwallet is required, particularly if it’s in amarina.
But not so everywhere, particularlyin Zeeland from where I have just returnedafter seven weeks of relaxed sailing, albeitwith much the same weather as the SouthWest. You may remember the massiveflooding in the Netherlands in 1953. Manyislands south of Rotterdam were decimatedand thousands lost their lives. Soeffectively the Government built four dams
between five islands two of which werebuilt with locks for access to the North Sea.The result was four inland seas, one offresh water and three of brackish watercreating a virtual water playground. Thereare some commercial activities on the routebetween Rotterdam and Antwerp it is trueand one has to be careful at times but inthe main boaters, of which there are tensof thousands, have the run of the area.
Now I mentioned free mooring.Well in the Veersmeer, a complete inlandsea, there are a number of islands andinlets all with fixed jetties to which you canmoor for the night completely free ofcharge. Also the islands have mowedareas with picnic tables and toilets.
In the Grevilingenmeer, anotherclosed area, you do unfortunately have topay but only twelve euros for a completeweek. And some of the islands here havebeaches. At not much more than a pounda night it is little more than the odd change
in your pocket. You don’t have to go to theCamargue to see herds of wild horses.They roam some of the islands here inwhat is a protected nature reserve. Andwith marinas and lovely little towns everyfew miles you can just pop in after a sail,take on a drop of fuel, water up, do someshopping and off you go again.
If you want a shower or some powerovernight, for the hair drier or just heat ona chilly night, then marina charges for athirty foot boat are around eighteen eurosa night with everything included. That’shardly bending you card. If you have a littleproblem aloft and need someone to get upthe mast as I had in Brouvershaven withArriana I was charged only thirty five euros.That’s good value.
Now I haven’t told you how much itcosts to keep your boat there for a year.Well I am afraid you will have to ask someof the Dutch Gaffers or possibly the EastCoast Gaffers.
Free Mooring?By Mike Forward
This is my third year of sailing withEdna (a Golant Gaffer) and the first yearbased in the Yealm. Previously I wasmoored seven miles up the Tamar at WeirQuay, which despite being a lovely spotwhere I felt very supported by the boatyardand other berth holders, was an hour anda half from the Sound. But now I am sohappy on my new mooring, at the top ofThorn Pool. It is very quiet, set betweenbanks of ancient oak woodland with egrets,
herons, kingfishers, geese overhead andhuge silver sea bass under the boat.
I have managed several sailingforays this year so far, mostly with crewand sometimes solo. The longest
(10 days) in June took us as far as Gweek,up the Helford River and back taking in theFalmouth Classics and South WestGaffers meet in the Helford. With fourchanges of crew along the way there wasplenty of time for socialising as well somelovely sailing. Perhaps the mostmemorable hour was rounding theDodman as the sun fell below the boomwith the wind on the port quarter in a smallswell, making only 2-3 knots, with anothergaffer close by and my daughter’sboyfriend playing gentle guitar music. Icouldn’t imagine anywhere else I wouldrather be. Later on the return trip we hadperfect wind and cut along at 5 knots or so
and were visited by a small podof dolphins, some coming veryclose alongside.
Other outings weremore challenging. On returnfrom a solo visit to Salcombein May which started in foggyconditions I could initially seethe breaking water at the baseof the cliffs and on Ham stone,although the headland was lostto view. Halfway to Bolt Tailthe fog came down like acurtain and nothing was visibleat all. The waves picked up
and were coming over the port bow.Occasionally a bucketful landed in thecockpit. I was being thrown about a bit soI clipped on. I knew the boat would bemuch more stable with sail up but the wind
was probably force 6 and more than I felt Imight manage single handed. I continuedmotoring with an eye on the Navionicschart on my i-pad. When this shut down Icontinued with an eye on the compassthinking I would probably pick up sight ofthe coast soon. When it failed to turn up Imanaged to get my Navionics back up toshow me heading directly towards andwithin a cable of Burgh island, although itwas still totally invisible. A sharp turn toport was hastily made and a new courseset me along Bigbury Bay following thedepth sounder until the fog cleared and thesun eventually broke through. It was agreat relief to reach the sanctuary of mymooring in the Yealm!
Tales from EdnaBy Vic Love
Sailing Stories from Our Members
5
Maggie B -the Resurrection
…almost concludedby John Gallagher and Pete Sharp
For those who have been following the previous articleson our restoration of this Heard 28 Falmouth Working Boat wethought you might be interested to see the “virtually completed”vessel. We launched her officially on 7th August at Mayflower
The discerning will notice that she lacks a few detailslike taps for the galley and toilet sinks, hardwood trim edgingalong the shelves above the lockers, cushions, folding table,lights etc. However, she is spacious with over six feetheadroom, light and airy with masses of storage
6 Maggie B - moored at Cargreen
She has two cabins with two 6'2" bunks in the forecabinand we have made 12" wide lockers in there either side on thefore bulkhead.
We made a heads cubicle inside the main cabin withsink but again it’s unfinished.
Externally she is all there. The underwater hull hasbeen treated with an acrylic microporus copper coating withadded bio inhibiter developed by Reactive Resins, Bodmin.She still has the deep roomy cockpit and on the foredeck weadded a Sampson post as well as a brass hatch from Toplicht.Pete engineered brass fairleads for mooring warps and afterproblems with the former Bukh engine he replaced it with a 30HP Lister with heat exchanger. Also the prop shaft was notsufficiently supported for its length causing whipping so he setin a mid- shaft bearing.
The headsails are both now on Wykeham Martin furlersand set well. We have tested her and she sails like a dream.So look out for her now in those races, see her surge ahead !
7
Boats For Sale and WantedBALLON
1959 Waterbug
Built by Jack Holman for himself, prototype of theNorth Sea/Twister
24' LOA 8'3" beam 4'6" draughtVery fast in her day – winner Famous Grouse
Guernsey to Jersey Race. Good sea boatRestoration project FREE to keen enthusiast
Mast, boom, bowsprit, s/s rigging, full set of sails, all in verygood condition + brand new Lewmar winches, specially made
s/s fittings open to negotiation
Contact Dave Bisson 01326 [email protected]
PEGASUS
A 30ft ferro-cement gaff riggedsmack. Hull cast by FerroMarine Services of Burnhamon Crouch to a John Frenchdesign in 1979. She was notfitted out and launched untilaround 1991 and is currently inher third ownership and lyingashore at Voyager Boatyard,Millbrook. She has 4 berths, agalley with burners, grill andoven, a large hot water tankand heads with basin andshower. There is full standingheadroom in the main saloon.In all a very comfortablecruising boat with a very fullset of sails including topsail,water sail and trisail.She had new mast andbowsprit in 2011 and was lastsailed in September 2012. She was then put on loan but this went wrongafter the loanee removed the engine and gearbox then abandoned theboat. She was transported by road to Millbrook where she has remainedout of the water since. The gearbox has been refurbished by LancingMarine and the engine is currently being stripped for rebuild – theengine is a marinised Ford 1800 diesel (ex 1988 Fiesta van).I have failed to find anyone in the area to put her back together for meand carry out some basic maintenance work on the hull, bulwarks andcappings plus redo the copper coat antifouling (or just paint over withantifoul) so I am offering her for sale as a project and am open to offers.Alternatively is there anyone out there who can do the work for me ata reasonable rate as it would be fun to have her back in the water fornext season. Whichever way, she has sat there for 2 years going to wasteand I don’t want this to continue.
Anyone interested in either buying her or doing the work for me thenplease either email me at [email protected] or ring me on07767 411741. Thanks, Andrea Sandford
20' Gunter Ketch BOTO
LOA 20'0" Beam 7'6" Draft 2'6"A charming traditional one-off larch on oak day sailer with
cast-iron centreboard that makes a perfect family day boat forestuary and coastal cruising.
Varnished cabin with two single berths, sea toilet and saloontable giving seating for eight.
Spacious cockpit which can comfortably fit a large family.New Beta 16hp two-cylinder diesel engine fitted in 2014.Lovingly maintained for the past 8 years by the present
owner.Boto was built by Trout & Sons, Topsham, Devon and herbuilding was featured in Classic Boat Jan/Feb 1988 (p62).
For more details contact James Barrett01803 269039/07973 776951
WANTED
Cornish Crabber 24
We are looking for a Crabber 24 to buy for use in 2016. Condition
more important than age and naturally gaff rigged.
Living in the Cotswolds we can travel in any direction to view.
Please contact Stephen and Christine Rear on 01242 621202 or
email [email protected]
Crabber 26 Summer Breeze owned by our Commodore JulianBiggs
8
RegaliaWe are currently reviewing our regalia but if you have any specific requirements please get in touch with Pat Cassidy at
[email protected] or ring o1548 550711. Amongst other things she is currently able to supply the blueburgee in both 15 x 10 and 18 x 12 inch versions.
A lot of the information we hold on our members, their ownand other boats, and our trophies is available in the form
of a Year Book, listing members names, addresses and boats;a Boat Register with details (including photos where available)of members’ and others’ boats; and a Trophy Register listing
(again with photos) our splendid trophies and showing whichboats have won them.
An order form for the various publications is enclosed -the booklets will be printed on demand so will be up-to-datewhen you receive them.
Publications
Our events are also listed on our website at www.southwestgaffers.org.uk where you can download further(and possibly more up to date) copies.
Don Garman is planning a winter get-together in Falmouth with a visit to a Sailmaker in late January or early February.Expected dates for other events are as follows:
Saturday 16th April Fitting-out Lunch with speaker Royal Western Yacht Club, Plymouth
28th - 29th May Brixham Heritage Sailing Regatta Brixham
17th - 19th June Falmouth Classics Falmouth
20th - 22nd June Helford River Rally Port Navas Yacht Club
1st - 3rd July Start Bay Rally & Race Dartmouth
29th July - 2nd August Plymouth Classics Sutton Harbour, Plymouth
2nd - 5th August Fowey Classics Fowey
12th 14th August River Dart Rally Dittisham, River Dart
27th - 28th August Dartmouth Regatta Dartmouth
Saturday 17th September Brixham Heritage Rally Brixham
Saturday 12th November Laying-up Lunch and AGM The Abbey Inn, Buckfastleigh
Other Events for 2016
The first of these is to be held in Plymouth in early January - the date is yet to be confirmed. There will also be ones onThursday 21st January at The Floating Bridge Inn in Dartmouth and Thursday 25th February at The Lighter on the Quay,
Topsham. Remember you can always plan your own near you - just let us know you’ll be at a hostelry on a certain date and we’llcirculate the members so others can join you.
Informal Get-togethers
Once again our Laying-up event is at lunch-time at the Abbey Inn where we have always received good service. The AGM willbe especially significant this year so we are hoping for a good attendance. A booking from is enclosed with this Dog Watch.
One of the main items on the agenda will be to elect a new Area President. Gil has said that he feels his other commitmentsare making it particularly difficult for him to fulfil this role and he will be standing down at the AGM. Peter Crook has allowed hisarm to be twisted to be nominated for this but other nominations would be gratefully received!
We shall also be electing the committee for the coming year and hope that some of you will agree to join. Mike Lucas, GeoffSkinner and Fleur Lewis have all said that they do not wish to continue as committee members and although we managed to co-optPaul Jolley for our last meeting it would be good to have some more new blood. Please let us know, either at the meeting or before,if you would like to help in this way. Our meetings are few and at a pub so are always combined with an enjoyable night out!
The Area Officers, other than President, are elected at the first committee meeting after the AGM. Both our current AreaSecretary (Geoff Skinner) and Treasurer (Alan Miller-Williams) wish to hand over their roles so we shall need members of thecommittee to take these on. Of our current committee members David Bewick and Elspeth Macfarlane have agreed to take over asSecretary and Treasurer respectively if they are re-elected to the committee but if you would be interested in either of these, eithernow or in the future, please put yourself forward for election.
Laying-up Lunch & AGM, The Abbey Inn, BuckfastleighSaturday 14th November at 1230
Forthcoming Events
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