As the sailing season has drawn to aclose for even the hardiest sailors,social events and working parties willkeep you in touch with your friends atMNSC. Currently the working party pro-gramme is making good progress.There is a lot to be done to get the clubshipshape for the season and every-body is invited to come and help at theweekends.

This is also a good opportunity to say awhole-hearted 'Thank You' to Steveand Ann Yallop (plus their intrepidhelpers) for all those delicious mealsand refreshing cups of tea and coffeethey have spoilt us with over recentyears. Steve and Ann have decided totake it a bit easier and resign from gal-ley duties. Kim Hall, Head of the HouseCommittee is looking forward to wel-coming volunteers to help with runningthe galley.

Ann and Steve 'on duty'.

This, the second edition of 'MNSCroundup', contains a review of someevents from last year's season plus ahost of new ideas and inspirationsfor this year. Like all newsletters, wegreatly depend on members' contri-butions and everyone's words andpictures are always welcome! Let usknow about your club experiences,open meeting awaydays, sailing holi-days or technical tips.

Happy sailing!

Wilf

MNSC roundupNewsletter of Middle Nene Sailing ClubMeadow Lane, Thrapston, Kettering NN14 4QL, Tel. 01832 732871www.middlenenesc.co.uk January 2014

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Time for hibernation?Not quite!

2014: Important dates(Not all racing and social dates have been finalisedat the time of going to press and are subject tochange. Please check regularly in the clubhouse orat www.middlenenesc.co.uk)

FebruarySat. 8th First Aid course 1Sun 9th First Aid course 2

MarchSun. 16th Sunday Series starts

AprilSat. 5th Enterprise Open and

Fitting Out mealSun 6th Enterprise OpenSat. 19th AWS Youth Regatta

MaySun. 4th Charity RegattaMon. 5th Open DaySat. 10th RYA Training 1

Level 1/2Sat. 17th RYA Training 1

Level 1/2Sun. 18th Asymmetric Open and

Sunday SeriesSat. 24th New Members' DayMon. 26th Camp Week Fun

JuneSat. 7th Sea Cadets EventSat. 14th RYA Training 2

Level 1/2Sat. 21st RYA Training 2

Level 1/2Sat. 21st Ladies' Race Day and

Race NightSun. 22nd Over 60s Race and

Sunday Series

JulySat. 5th Picnic in the ParkSat. 19th Sail for Fun Day

AugustSat. 30 th RYA Training 3

Level 1/2

SeptemberSat. 6th RYA Training 3 -

Level 1/2Sun. 28th AGM

OctoberSat. 4th Flying 15 OpenSun 5th Flying 15 Open (AM) and

Sunday Series (PM)Sat. 18th Autumn Dinner

NovemberSat. 1st Bonfire Party

DecemberSat. 6th Childrens' Christmas PartySat. 13th ExtravaganzaSun. 21st Past Sailors' Punch Party

January 2015Sat. 24th Prize Giving Dinner

All Boat Owners:

Please take note - and then take some action!

THIS IS IN YOUR OWN INTEREST!Bye-law 5 states that all boats on site should be securely tied down.This has been so for many years, but of late, the majority are not so tied.As a result, at least one boat has been terminally wrecked (Mr Winspear,E18480). Not all may be aware that insurance could be invalidated if theboat is not secured.

If a nearby boat is damaged by an unsecured neighbour, insurance andmoral liability raises its head!

Bye-law 4 states that all moorings are allocated by the Harbourmaster,and there is no prescriptive right to any particular berth. So just turning upand dumping a boat is not on!

Bye-law 3 states that all boats should be registered with the harbourmas-ter. Not necessary for existing members/boats, except when a boat isbought or sold. The Harbourmaster does need to know about boats newto the club.

Trailers Again, in your own interests, make sure your trailer is clearlymarked with your name and sail no. Many trailers look alike, and withoutsome identification, tracking yours down could be impossible!

After the end of May, unidentified trailers will be sold or scrapped.

General Committee

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On 9th January 2014, in a well attendedSailing Committee meeting which wasopen to all members, our RearCommodore - Sailing Matt Yallop and histeam presented an analysis of last year'ssailing activities.

In summary, only 8 helms did 20 or moreraces and just 7 helms participated in 10to 20 races. Yardstick and personalhandicap issues were discussed indetail.

Some of the recommendations based onthe statistics were: try to increase thenumber of helms who do more races perseason; the top five fleets (RS200, FF,Solo, RS Vareo and Enterprise) shouldbe in the focus of racing activities; andthe slow handicap fleet (e.g. Topper, RSTera Sport/Pro) should be encouraged.

One main new feature in the 2014 sail-ing calendar will be the introduction ofTUESDAY 'All Comers' evening racing inthe months of June, July and August.The start time will be 7.15 as onThursdays. The race will be run by vol-unteers who can enter their names onan entry sheet in the clubhouse.

Several training events are scheduled for2014 and many are listed on page 1 ofthis issue. Other sessions are under con-sideration, including a Flying 15 'TuningDay', a race management course andtraining for operation of the Beaver(details to follow).

Official courses are sail andpowerboat/safety boat training (see sep-arate box), starting with a First Aidcourse on 9th February.

Since several of the dates have not yetbeen finalised, any changes will be publi-cised in the clubhouse, on the club web-site and in e-mail updates.

The Sailing Committee Open Forum

Review of 2013 and outlook on the new season

80% of all races in 2013 were covered by five fleets:three two-handed, two single-handed.

Total of boats on waterAll races(2013 season)

Keep in touch

Don't forget that MNSC has a livelycommunication base in our ownFacebook Group, and once you

join you have instant access to lotsof news about the social life in the

club. And if youhave a question - just post it!

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roundup is the newsletter ofMiddle Nene SC and comple-ments all our other communi-cations, including the club'swebsitewww.middlenenesc.co.uk, theFacebook Group and the regu-lar e-mail bulletins. roundupwill bring a (roughly) quarterlyreview of what has happenedin the club, and of what mighthave passed you by in theday-to-day events. So pleasesend in your news, letters,comments, adverts, holidayexperiences and anyythingelse you want to let othermembers know.

Contact me at:wilf.kunze@gmail.com or tel.01536 484 905, or just see meat the club (FF 2213). I lookforward to hearing from you!

Club securityIt is an old issue, but as current as ever: please lock the com-pound gates every time you come through - this prevents notonly theft, but also dogs fouling and all sorts of other issues.

And for the main gate - please keep that locked or arrange withthe car in front of/behind you who will lock up. This is essentialto prevent our club property becoming a public car park. We allknow that warning signs don't help. So please keep the maingate locked. If there is, however, one of those rare occasions

where we need to leave the gate open, always fix the padlock tothe eye provided. Don't let it just dangle from its chain!

It's in our own interest, so thanks for locking up!

The meeting is for everyone whoowns, crews in, sails in, pottersabout in, or has an interest inFlying Fifteens, whether you havebeen able to sail yours in the lastyear or not. (if you're in that lastgroup, you will find the meetingparticularly useful).

There is no fixed agenda, we canchat about anything you like and NOsubject club related will be consid-ered too trivial.

We will cover:-

the sailing season as laid on by

the Sailing committee, so you can

update your diaries

what sort of help you would like

from other F15 sailors during the

coming season

our new handicap numbers (for

those of you who prefer to race)

and if, there is both time and

interest, basic boat set up and trim-

ming the sails.

This is your opportunity to chat and

plan how to get the best out of our

fantastic hobby, however you partake

of it, and let your thoughts be known

to the sailing committee, on which I

am your representative.

DON'T MISS THIS GOLDEN

OPPORTUNITY

There will be free tea, coffee, and nib-

bles available, and the bar will be open.

Mike Moore, F15 Fleet Captain

F15 Fleet MeetingF15 Fleet Meeting

Saturday, 8th MarchSaturday, 8th March4 to 5:30 pm, in the bar at MNSC4 to 5:30 pm, in the bar at MNSC

Planned Ladies' Training sessions 201426th April - Back on the water / or In-a-boat-first-stages

31st May - A bit more confident , possibly a bit of racing

21st June - Ladies' Race

5th July - Improving boat skills and a bit more boat speed

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Why not try out a club boat?There are many reasons for members wanting to try out a boat - newcomers might want to find out what suits thembest, existing boat owners might want to see how another boat of their own class handles, or they might be lookingfor a completely different type of boat altogether. This is where MNSC can help with its fleet of club-owned boatswhich are available to members. Currently, the fleet consists of:

1 Wayfarer 1 Solo1 GP14 1 Laser2 420s 4 Toppers

The boats can be booked for anything from half a day or a weekend to a race series, depending on availability, allon a first-come-first-serve basis. There is no cost for one-off borrowing, but you may be invited to contribute to therunning expenses for longer-term use.

To find out what's available, just contact the Training Secretary Dave Boyers (training@middlenesc.co.uk) and hewill help you find the right boat.

New training boatsIn April last year we took delivery of two new boats (an RS Venture and an RS Feva) to expand our Sport Englandfunded training fleet. However, as a condition of the grants, these boats can only be used for 'official' training cours-es for three years, before they can be transferred to the club fleet, and this is subject to annual reporting against a3-year rolling programme, introducing new people to the sport being the main aim. But after that they will be avail-able for general use as club boats. This is a very important addition to our fleet of club-owned boats, which nowinclude some of the latest technology available and both dinghies have seen intensive use throughout the season.

...and a full refurbishmentIn Spring the large GRP rescue boat also received an overhaul. Special thanks go to our helpers Zack McGrady andOllie Deery from our neighbouring Sea Cadets, as well as Becky Fargher who did a lot of the paintwork and DaveBoyers who made sure everything was done to a perfect standard.

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Letter to the editor

One of the realy great things about our club is its ver-satility, both in sailing variety and in its social life. Butwe should remember that we are actually a sailingclub, and that means racing.

Now we would all acknowledge that circumstances inthe world and workplace have put greater pressure onpeople's time over recent years, and many clubs, likeours, have felt the pinch with falling membership andattendance. However if we don't get our boats on thewater, we run the very serious risk of becoming a train-ing establishment for young people to learn sailing, anda caravan park.

No, I don't have anything against caravans, I bringmine occasionally, and our training team are fantastic.

But there must be something odd about having morecaravans in the field than we have boats racing? Weare unique in offering racing on a Saturday, which hasat the peak of its popularity even exceeded the allcom-ers' numbers on Sundays. At the moment though theattendance has dropped to one or two sometimes. Thisyear has been a failure, what with lack of wind (3Sats.), other events impinging (4 events) and no takersexcept Yours Truly (4 Sats).

The sailing committee has allowed us to keep Saturdayracing going for a limited season, where they mighthave been justified in closing it down altogther. NowSaturday racing is, as I said, unique in our club in thisdistrict, and as such is to be promoted. It also givestwo races for all classes of boat with a short break in-between, ideal for those who like a coffee break. Thereis no pressure to be experienced, in fact it is the besttime to learn to race, for the more skilled helms will notshout at the less experienced, and will encourageothers.

Why race at all? Well, racing does two things. Firstly, itteaches us how to control a boat much much quickerthan just mooching about, because we have to getfrom one point to another, and secondly, it makes ussafer in our boat, because we gain experience so muchquicker. I learnt to sail by following the guy in front ofme! Why don't you come and have a go?

If you're a bit unsure about having a go at racing, comeout with me or one of the others that (I hope) are goingto be there next season. I have also seen regularsailors down on a Saturday with their boats on dryland. Come on, guys, if we don't support this uniqueopportunity, we are going to lose it, and that would bea tragic loss to our club. If you have any ideas how toimprove Saturday sailing, get in touch, and I will jotanother article.

FF2647 Mike M

2014 Officers of the ClubAt the AGM in September the Committees for the next yearwere elected, and the Officers of the Club are:

President Tony WattsCommodore Mike FargherVice Commodore Julia SmithRear Commodore - Sailing Matt YallopRear Commodore - House Kim HallRear Commodore - Training Dave BoyersImmediate Past Commodore Richard BorleySecretary Emma BrownTreasurer Terry HallMembership Secretary Ken LongSailing Secretary Iain SmithRace Secretary Ian BurnsTraining Secretary Dave BoyersHouse Secretary Anne JarvisPast Commodores

General CommitteeChairman Mike FargherGeneral Secretary Emma BrownMembership Secretary Ken LongTreasurer Terry HallElected Member Jack MeadElected Member Chris ReddenElected Member David BrownHarbour Master Roger LewisLake Maintenance(co-opted) Gary Curtis

Sailing CommitteeChairman Matt YallopSailing Secretary Iain SmithRace Secretary Ian BurnsPublic Relations Secretary Wilf KunzeElected Member Ray GreerElected Member Dave JarvisElected Member Gary CurtisFleet Captains All Fleet CaptainsCo-opted Member Ken Long

Training CommitteeChairman Dave BoyersTraining Secretary Dave BoyersElected Member Chris ReddenElected Member Emma Brown

House CommitteeChairman Kim HallHouse Secretary Anne JarvisElected Member Lynne GreerElected Member Marion VesseyElected Member Steve Yallop

Fleet CaptainsENTERPRISE Jack MeadRS 200 Mark HatsellSOLO Ian BurnsLASER Richard WrightMENAGERIE Richard WrightFLYING 15 Mike Moore

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How and why

and when the

Race Officer's

Box was builtIn the early days of sailing on theGravel Pit (it didn't become the Lakeuntil we bought it!), while it was still anindustrial site, there were no treesaround the water, and before thegravel spit adjacent to the pump-house was built, it was normal to raceto "Bridge" mark which was laid veryclose to the footbridge. The water wasvery deep there, around 14-16 feet, toallow passage of gravel barges.These carried 100+ tons of spoil, and drew about 10ft. of water. They were moved by pusher tugs, either "Bantam17", or " Bantam 43", up to the gravel works in Bridge St., where the new housing estate now stands.

Excavation of gravel ceased in the late sixties, trees growing reduced wind near the bridge, and later use of theopen water above the footbridge as a settling pond for waste from gravel works across the river caused that area tobecome very shallow. Yes it really was open water where the causeway is, all the way to Bridge St!

Accordingly, plans were drawn up for a Race Officer's box which would give more of a beat against prevailing sum-mer winds, and a clearer start line. The design was produced by John Lister, a civil engineer, and good National 12builder and helmsman. The final position of the box was dictated by our (then) northern boundary.

Scaffolding was built in the selected position, on specially made base plates, which prevented it sinking in the mud.The main support legs were surveyed in, then driven down into the lake bed by a simple human-powered pulley andweight system, attached in turn to the top of each leg. Once in place, each leg was filled with vibrated concrete (thisprocess made sure that there would be no air pockets inside the legs).

Now came the most difficult part of the whole job! How to move 4 large (9") steel girders, about 20 ft. long, from dryland, across 200yds of winter water, into place on the support legs, 6ft. or so above the water! The solution; 10 or12 men, in 2 lines, with a girder between them standing on the rescue boat, (at the time an ex-U.S. Army pontoontug). This raised the centre of gravity of the launch to about 5ft. high. If anyone had sneezed, a disaster would havefollowed. But it didn't! The girders were put in place, after heavy lifts, and much wobbling, followed by a huge sigh ofrelief.

Timber bearers for the platform followed, and handrails from Stewarts and Lloyds of Corby. The box itself was con-structed strongly; the original intention was that the roof should be fitted with access, and handrails, for use as anobservation platform.

Later additions; what is now the boathouse underneathwas fitted out quite recently, by practical people, nearly allof whom have sadly left the club. The crow's nest wasadded to make access to masts and spreaders easy.Now, after 44 years, the slatted platform is being replacedwith G.R.P. gratings, to reduce future maintenance andprovide a better surface.

The original construction involved 20 to 40 members, overthe autumn and winter, and into the sailing season to 'getthe job done'. Probably the 2nd or 3rd most complex taskwe have ever attempted! More on the others later.

M.S. These steel girders were heavy!!!

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Winter Works-

Request forVolunteers

Roger Lewis, our HarbourMaster, is hoping that youcan spare some time to helporganise the refurbishmentprojects or join the workingparties.

Fortunately we have madegood progress in the first fewweeks of this year, with re-staining the veranda trestletables and collecting/cleaningall course marks.

However, these are some ofthe remaining jobs we’veidentified – this list is notexhaustive, but the jobs aremany and varied, and yourtalents will fit in somewhere:

Re-decking and paintingthe interior of the race box(and possibly the outside,depending on the paint andenthusiasm remaining!)

Re-furbishing the commit-tee boat

Repairing landing stageswith new decking and tyrefenders

Assisting with tree felling –Saturdays

If you are able to help,please contact Roger or oneof the other Committee mem-bers for more information.

Everybody is welcome!

Work in progress...A lot has been happening in and around the club in recent weeks, and moreremains to be done. But all is important to get the club shipshape for thecoming season.

Improvements to the Race Officer's BoxNew decking is being fitted aspart of the ongoing workingparty programme, making thebox safer and the outsidedecks non-slip.

Also, the box has been fittedwith a brand new weatherstation which you can evenaccess from home via theclub's website (go towww.middlenenesc.co.uk andclick on 'Weather Station').

The new weather station and what its output looks like on the club website.

But there is action everywhere - in the woodland around the lake as well ason the verandah. And once the water level has dropped sufficiently, workcan go on with re-decking the jetties.

Lymington (01:02:28) and HarrisonFaull (14) from Poole (00:59:80)became 2013 Honda RYA Youth RIB

Champions in challenging conditions,beating 26 other contestants.

As prizes a Honwave T40 RIB with aHonda BF20 engine was received byRoyal Lymington YC and a Ribcraft4.8m RIB with a Honda BF60 enginewent to the Royal Motor YC, Poole.As for our regional heat, Contestants,organisers and helpers very muchenjoyed this exciting competitionwhich firmly put MNSC on thenational map* but also gave ussome very able boathandlers -something that will be much appreci-ated when it comes to rescue duties! 8

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RYAHondaYouth RibChampion-shipsOn 17th July last year MNSC hostedthe East Midlands regional heat forthe Honda Youth Rib Championshipfor the first time, which turned out tobe a very successful event indeed.And all those who were ready tomoan about a loud horde of kidsscreaming across the lake in ribsand scaring the birds were bitterlydisappointed: a group of most disci-plined and skilful youngsters fol-lowed the tricky course which evenour highly experienced boat handlerswould find a challenge.

In all we had 11 participants from theEast Midlands Region, including fiveentrants from MNSC and our next-door neighbours, the Sea Cadets.Out our MNSC team achieved 4th,5th and 7th place. Not bad for a firstattempt. The course involved a seriesof exercises and all had threechances to improve their perfor-mance. The winners were determinedfrom a combination of fault points andtime spent for completing the course.

Following all the regional heats, thefinals were held on 15th Septemberat the Southampton Boat Show.William Hancock (12) from

Well done everyone and thanks toall those who gave their time in mak-ing this event such a success for us.Thisyear's RYA Honda Youth RibChallenge East Midlands regionalheat will be held on 17th May atBurton SC, Milton Nr. Derby.Potential MNSC entrants please letDave Boyers know so that trainingcan be arranged.

Further details are available from:http://www.rya.org.uk/programmes/hondaryayouthrib/Pages/default.aspx

*Apart from MNSC, the following clubs wererunning regional heats:- South Staffordshire Sailing Club, Penkridge- Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre,

London- East Antrim Boat Club, Larne- Bewl Valley Sailing Club, Lamberhurst- Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell- Guernsey Yacht Club, St Peter Port- Offshore Sea School, Pwllheli- Fishers Green Sailing Club, Waltham Abbey- West Riding Sailing Club, Wintersett- Lancaster Powerboat Racing Club, St

Helens- Royal Lymington Yacht Club, Lymington- Royal Plymouth Corinthian YC and

Plymouth/Devon Schools SA, Plymouth- Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club, Blanchland

Honda Youth Rib participants at the 2013 regional heat (from left) - back row: HarryFountaine, Tom Calbman, Jessica Fargher, Myler Chew, Alex Rukaber; front row: LouisDobson, Jack Oakley, George Baxter, Mark Sears, Max Toby, Adam Roach.

RegionalHeatResults

8-12 years age group:1st - George Baxter, Girton SC2nd -Jack Oakley, MNSC3rd - Louis Dobson, Notts. County SC4th - Alex Rukaber, MNSC

13-16 years age group:1st - Mark Sears, Notts. County SC2nd -Max Toby, Girton SC3rd - Adam Roach, MNSC

(Rushden Sea Cadets)4th - Harry Fountaine, Rutland SC5th - Tom Calbman, Burton SC6th - Jessica Fargher, MNSC7th - Miles Chew, MNSC

(Kettering Sea Cadets)

The competition course involved variousstages, with both precision and speed beingjudged. The best time at MNSC was justabout 1 minute 45 seconds.

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Various types of boat are availablefor hire, normally from Bowness,including day sailers and cabin cruis-ers from 27 to 30+ feet (larger boatsare not available for charter on otherlakes in the area).

Accommodation is plentiful on all lev-els, with launching/boat parking facili-ties at caravan-/campsites if you bringyour own boat, the famous YouthHostel near Ambleside plus an end-less choice of holiday flats and hotels.Staying on board a chartered yacht isanother option and this has its owncharm, because the boat owners havetheir private moorings at some beauti-ful, tranquil locations, away from allthe hustle and bustle in the touristtowns (even on a summer bank holi-day the lake is virtually empty, whilstthere is no standing space on thepavements in town). Most of theyachts have gas heating, so the sea-son starts from early spring andextends well beyond October - wehad some most enjoyable weekends

in early March. Private parking isoften included with the boat charter.

As a sailing location, Windermere isjust perfect, with many quiet anchor-ages or mooring buoys and nicehotels with their own jetty at strategiclocations (sailors who dine at therestaurant are normally allowed a freeovernight stay on the jetty). Plusthere are tourist spots with their ownmooring, including the nature reserveand the steamboat museum. Theyacht's tender also gives access to

the islands for the perfect Swallowsand Amazons experience - chasingrabbits and discovering secret pas-sages (not on the main island BelleIsle, though - the owners are a bittouchy about non-paying visitors).Public jetties come in handy for shop-ping for groceries. Replenishing or

discharging the on-board liquids(water, fuel, waste) is normally doneat the charter base.

Navigation on the lake is extremelystraightforward and all rocks andshallows are clearly marked withlarge orange buoys. Normally thewind blows either up or down thelake, so it's a beat up until lunchtimeand then a run all the way home inthe afternoon. There is never toomuch traffic on the lake and the skip-pers of the passenger ferries tend tobe forgiving when they see a charterboat. A sailing licence is not requiredand if you're unsure about handlinganything larger than a dinghy, thecharter firm will bring you up to speedin two or three hours. But note: char-ter boats being out on the lake aftersunset is very much frowned uponand none of the yachts we ever hadwere equipped with navigation lights.

The water police is based half-waydown the lake and keeps a goodlookout, because they know their cus-tomers!

If you would like to know more aboutsailing in the Lake District, contactwww.golakes.co.uk, who will alsopoint you in the right direction forsailing clubs, boat hire and yachtcharter or they can give you detailsabout bringing your own boat andfinding accommodation. Some sailingcontacts at Lake Windermere arewww.sailingexperiencewindermere.co.uk;www.outrunsailing.co.uk;www.obsailing.co.uk; http://english-lakes.co.uk/watersports/sailing-lake-windermere.aspx (Low Wood BayWatersports Centre)

Wilf

Holiday sailing destinations

Lake Windermere

Are you already planning for next year's holiday season? Britain is ofcourse a paradise for both sea and lake sailing, but when it comes tocombining sailing with a bit of culture and beauty, very few placescome close to the Lake District. My personal favourite remains LakeWindermere where we spent many enjoyable days as a family, hiringboats and thus avoiding a 5 hour trek with a trailer up the M6.

Photo: www.visitcumbria.com

Bring your own dinghy or hire one.

Come in August and see the quirky steamboatfestival.