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Merry Christmas!Merry Christmas!Merry Christmas!Merry Christmas!
Winter 2009 T h o r n b u r y S a i l i n g C l u b
TSC Newsletter Inside this issue:
BCYA award goes to...Thornbury SC! 3
Life’s a Beach - Laying Up supper photos 4
Barry Smith talks about the fast handicaps 6
Chapmans Greek sailing holiday 7
Dates for Frostbite series and Winter talks 8
Thornbury Sailing Club—Notice of Annual General Meeting
In accordance with rule 6.1 notice is given that the Annual General Meeting of the club will be held at the Clubhouse,
Oldbury on Severn commencing at 20.00 hours on Thursday 7th January 2010.
AGENDA
1. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 8th January 2009
2. Commodore’s report
3. Treasurer’s report
4. Hon Secretary’s report
5. Membership Secretary’s report
6. Election of President and Vice President
7. Election of Honorary Members
8. Election of Officers
9. Election of Committee
10. Election of Independent Examiner
11. Any other business notified to the Hon Secretary at least 48 hours before the start of the meeting
The January General Meeting will follow the Annual General Meeting.
Del Jeffrey
Hon. Secretary Encl. Nomination Form
Mardons ‘perform’ for the Laying Up supper Photos from Andrew and Elizabeth Smith
2
THORNBURY SAILING CLUB Nominations for Election at the Annual General Meeting
Thursday 7th January 2010
Nominations must be submitted to and reach the Honorary Secretary forty-eight hours before the start of the Annual
General Meeting. That is by 8.15 p.m. on Tuesday 5th January 2010. Nominees must have signified their willingness to
serve and all nominees, proposers and seconders must be fully paid-up Full or Family Members. Members are reminded
that subscriptions became due on 1st October and that if they are not paid by 1st January [rule 5.4] membership may be
terminated.
Return completed form to: Del Jeffrey
Hon. Secretary TSC
19 Crowthes Avenue, Yate, Bristol BS37 5SZ
Position Nominee Proposer Seconder
President
Vice President
Commodore
Vice Commodore
Honorary Secretary
Membership Secretary
Honorary Treasurer
Berthing Officer
Sailing Secretary
Sail Training Officer
Social Secretary
Safety Boat Officer
Bosun
Bar Steward
Committee
Committee
Committee
Committee
Committee
Committee
3
Editor’s Notes
Thanks everyone yet again for their excellent contribu-
tions to the TSC Newsletter. I didn’t receive any photos
of the Dinner Dance—please keep sending things in and
don’t assume someone else will!
The next issue is due in March and articles, photos etc are
welcome at any time.
Wishing you a very happy Christmas, hope to see you all
at the AGM.
Editor
Tel: 01454 850054 (Mobile 07967 100 373)
69 Hamble Close, Thornbury BS35 2DE
Commodore’s Report The last few months of the year are always a busy time of
year for social events. Last month we had an excellent
Dinner & Dance, Julie and Mo did an excellent job orga-
nizing the event and Inky managed to get all the trophies
in and engraved. However they were not very happy with
the venue and have spent some time looking for a new
one. Next year we will be going to Eastwood Park which
should provide a much better setting whilst keeping the
cost as low as possible.
As soon as that event is over the social team start prepar-
ing for the laying up supper coming this weekend, making
sure that Father Christmas is available to come and visit
the club with gifts on December the 12th. We also have
the Christmas Card evening on Sat 19th December. And
finally why not come down to the club after Christmas for
the freezer on Sunday 27th either to work off all the
Christmas food going out for a sail or just to come and
have a chat.
The AGM will be taking place on January 7th, we have
people to fill the major posts on the committee however
we are still looking for someone to take on the Treas-
urer’s job. Also there are spaces for people to join as
committee members since several committee members
from this year are taking on other posts.
If you would be interested in joining the committee and
would like to find out what is involved then please don’t
hesitate to get in touch. As well as helping to contribute to
the running of your club it will give you a chance to influ-
ence what we are doing.
Finally, last weekend I went to the Bristol Channel Yacht-
ing Association AGM to receive the BCYA Club of the
Year award. This is a new award this year and is in recog-
nition of all the great work that the club does training and
encouraging people to sail, particularly the juniors. So
thank you to everyone who has helped in any way with all
the events that we organize.
At the same time they awarded the BCYA yachtsmen of
the year award which was presented to Tom Sully in rec-
ognition of his excellent results in the Topper events this
year. He came 6th at the Nationals out of approximately
350 people and he won the SW Topper Travellers series
in which over 140 people took part.
I hope you all have a Happy Christmas
John
TSC Christmas Card Social Evening
Sat 19th December—8 o’clock onwards Everyone welcome
Bring along your cards on the night
or post in postbox in clubhouse
Light refreshments and bar
Tom Sully receives BCYA award
4
Laying Up Supper—Bingo on the Beach
5
6
Social Secretaries’ Report
First A big Thank you to everyone that has helped us this
year. The Dinner and Dance has been and gone, not the
best of venues for many reasons, Next Year we are go-
ing to Eastwood Park, date will be in the dairy.
We have Father Christmas and the Card Evening coming
Up.
I think that is it.
The only thing left is to Wish Everyone a Merry Christ-
mas and a Happy New Year!
Julie and Mo
Late News! Father Christmas will be arriving by boat
after sailing this Saturday (December 12th). There will
be hot dogs served in the galley afterwards.
Card evening Saturday 19th December at 8pm.
Is it Time for change for the Fast Handicap
Over the last two or three seasons sailing my Fireball in
the fast handicap, the fleet has been very small and I have
gone back to sailing a Miracle to get bigger fleet racing.
I think it’s time we took a good a look at the boats we sail
at Thornbury S.C. and group them better.
At the present, with the fast Cats, RS 700 & 800 and Fire-
ball, the speed difference is too big and it is hard work for
the OOD to set a course to suit all Cats and boats, and the
time difference between first and last is too big.
Is it time we went back to Fleet racing? With the Laser
and Topper fleets getting bigger should they have their
own start and a course which suits them?
I sailed over the winter at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club
and they seem to be very big on fleet racing, with 5-fleet
racing using 6min-3min-go starting so fleets were starting
every 3mins. We had a good racing with 3 to 4 Fireballs
most of the time.
Over a season you are not going to have fleets sailing all
the time but when there are 4 or more Lasers and Toppers
the OOD must set a course for them and run three fleets,
for one thing you cannot beat fleet racing for fun and im-
proving sailing.
As for the rest, we need to group them around their Cat
and Dinghy boat speed plus their Handicap, and which
courses they enjoy sailing.
For example, the Fireballs and Darts enjoy two-sail reach-
ing plus a 3-sail reach and a good beat, the RS700, RS800
and fast Cats do not like tacking too much and enjoy
blasting down-wind with big kites.
Sailing is about having fun and at times over the past 3
years it has been boring with RS and Fast Cats sailing
with their big boring course which is great for them.
We need to group boats like the Scorpion, Fireball, Laser
2, Laser 2000 and Flying Fifteen and other boat speed
boats and Cats together so that we get closer racing and
good racing.
If this means getting all Cats and Dinghies together on
Sunday and doing some hard talking so be it.
Barry Smith (Fireball and Miracle sailor)
7
Sailing in Greece
One of life's abiding pleasures is going to birthday parties
even if the person's age is sometimes best tactfully forgot-
ten. However at TSC tact is not high on the list of the
many talents the club can boast and so September saw a
flood of memorable birthdays being celebrated in some
style. First there was Gary Chapman's 50th on the 4th
which involved treading a careful line between marking
the occasion with due enthusiasm and being fit enough to
take part in the PCC Holms race the next day.
The next weekend saw the triple 60th birthday celebration
for Sarah, Rob and Paul which again saw everyone party-
ing in fine style. With Gary and Paul celebrating memora-
ble birthdays in the same month Caroline had decided that
a fitting way to mark the occasion would be to organize a
mass flotilla holiday to Greece and the next weekend saw
a fine body of people assembling at the Mercure hotel at
Gatwick in order to make the early morning flight to
Preveza.
The coach journey from the airport to our flotilla base at
Sivota took about an hour and interestingly was reached
by crossing a bridge formed by a permanently moored
boat which enables Lefkas to still maintain its status as an
island as far as the EU is concerned. Our boats were wait-
ing for us as we got off the bus and the rest of the after-
noon and evening was spent moving in and discovering
the delights of the small natural harbour, or more truth-
fully discovering the delights of the local Yacht Club Bar
and watching Man U v Man City on Skysport, well we
were on holiday after all. The lovely afternoon warmth
carried on into the evening and
we all spent a splendid evening
getting to know some of our fel-
low sailors and experiencing vari-
ous dishes provided by one of the
many small restaurants that ring
the harbour.
Our flotilla had been booked
through Sailingholidays.com who
take quite a relaxed view on
cruising in company and our
party of 19 was accommodated
on three Beneteau 331 and a Jag-
uar 27. Quite a few of the party
had been to Greece before but for
many of us this was our first taste
of sailing in the clear blue waters
of the Ionian Sea and at least one
person, my wife, who had never
actually sailed on anything be-
fore! The 331 can comfortably accommodate six people
for a weeks cruising and, our crew consisting of me and
Michele, Gary and Caroline, Caroline's colleague Jon-
quille and Gary and Caroline's son Aran, were far from
cramped.
Before the first days sailing a comprehensive briefing
took place where, amongst other things, the wonders of in
mast furling were explained and our destination an-
nounced and at just after 10 o'clock our fledgling flotilla
weighed anchor and headed north up the Meganisy Strait
and then east for a couple of miles to the north end of a
small bay that lead to the small port of 'Little' Vathy. A
grand distance of about 9 miles! The TSC contingent had
anchored next to a small island for lunch and a swim and
then allowed the gentle breeze to waft us to our destina-
tion. The arrival gave me the first chance to experience
'stern to' mooring which, with a bit of judicious direction
from James our flotilla skipper on the quayside and some
gentle speed adjustments from Gary, was accomplished
without mishap. Paul and Sheila Chapman ably assisted
by Josie and their non sailing friends Tony and Ester were
in next and then it was the turn of the boys' boat skippered
by Tony Page and Dave Cushing to show us and their
passenger for the afternoon Joy just how it should be
done.
Greek harbours are wonderfully compact and whilst the
ladies went for a shower located a quarter of a mile to the
north of our mooring the men departed to the local tavern
to check it would meet our exacting standards i.e. had a
good supply of wine and beer. Needless to say everything
was in good order and the party enjoyed an excellent eve-
ning luxuriating in the warmth of late summer Greece.
Photo from Paul Chapman
8
A race between ourselves and another Sailing Holidays
flotilla was planned for the next day with the start line
exotically situated off Scorpios, the island owned by the
Onassis dynasty. I made the day more difficult than it
needed to be, a navigation error meaning we didn't arrive
at the start line in time for a leisurely lunch, (that'll teach
me to keep my conventional navigation skills up to
scratch). However in the event only four boats from our
flotilla made the start in a light fluky breeze. The lead
boat, which shepherds the flotilla throughout the week,
won (it was the only boat with a proper rig and sails) with
our boat second and Tony and Dave assisted by cousins
Josh and Lucas Chapman and their friend Jack following
a close third. They may have done better had they not
been distracted by their sunbathing passenger Joy, who
had joined them from Paul’s boat for the day.
After the days exertions we sailed a mere five miles west
to the jellyfish infested Vliho Bay where we anchored for
the evening. Luckily it was only a short pram trip to the
taverne as my wife Michele discovered that small inflat-
able boats are an aspect of sailing she isn't too keen on.
Still the journeys to and fro were accomplished without
mishap and a pleasant meal was followed by a peaceful
night’s sleep that left us ready and raring to go in the
morning, for the longest leg of the week, to the small is-
land of Kalimos (about 18 miles).
The weather was fine but the early morning breeze soon
died and we motored east to our lunch rendezvous on the
north of Kalimos with Jonquille at the helm. After lunch
we pottered on to our overnight stop at the small epony-
mous harbour. A Sunsail flotilla was already in residence
so it was quite a squeeze getting in for the night with
boats rafted up three or four abreast.
Sunrise the next day saw us set sail for the legendary is-
land of Ithica. Our plan was to anchor off Spider Island
for lunch but as the day progressed the weather deterio-
rated and we pressed on to the picturesque port of Vathy
and the shelter offered by its surrounding hills. This was
the biggest town we visited during our weeks cruising and
it was nice to be able to replenish our water tanks, have a
walk into town and raid the local cash machines (don't
rely on credit cards when visiting small Greek islands).
Our penultimate day saw the wind still blowing a good
force four and the seven miles to the tiny harbour of
Frikes was covered in short order. Unfortunately the in-
clement weather meant that the small port was already
packed and the only option was to raft up onto boats that
were already rafted up three deep. I was glad it wasn't my
boat on the inside!
Most of us took the opportunity to go for another walk
and for the first time that week we ate in a proper taverne
with four walls to get out of the wind and rain. Overnight
the wind increased and changed direction and at about six
in the morning with stanchions breaking and shrouds tan-
gling we decided enough was enough and made a hasty
exit north towards our home port on Lefkas. Half way to
our destination the wind freshened to an easterly force six
and we motored as fast as we could go into the shelter
afforded by the natural harbour of Sivota. An exciting end
to a great week, if you’re thinking of going I can thor-
oughly recommend it.
The harbours visited in the week were:
Sunday Sivota
Monday Little Vathi (Meganisy)
Tuesday Vliho Bay (Lefkas)
Wednesday Kalimos (Kalimos Island)
Thursday Vathi (Ithica)
Friday Frikes (Ithica)
Saturday Sivota (Lefkas)
Jon Everett
Date Subject Speaker
21st Jan
8pm
Voyages in a 100 year-old
Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter
Diccon Pridie
18th Feb
8pm
J Class Yacht Racing
BCYA sponsored event with
refreshments
Rosemary Joy
18th Mar
8pm
Oldbury Power Station
Replacement
To be confirmed
Frostbite 2010
Sat 9 Jan 14.16 6.1 12.45
Sat 23 Jan 12.01 6.4 10.30
Sat 6 Feb 12.17 6.7 10.45
Sun 21 Feb 11.33 6.7 10.00
Sun 7 Mar 11.40 6.5 10.10
Sun 21 Mar 10.36 7.5 09.00
Date HW Ht Start
Winter Talks 2010