Up the CreekShakedown Cruise to Bradwell This all seems so long ago now! Our boats are tied up all...

Up the Creek...

Volume 17 no. 2 Summer 2012

Contents Former Commodore Weds…...……..p.1

Commodore’s Corner......……….......p.2

Editor’s Message……...………….....p.2

Racing Round up…....………………p.3

Cruising Update……………..……....p.4

Cruising Programme………………..p. 5

TCC at the Calais Rally (almost).…..p. 6

Same Cruise, Different Viewpoint.…p. 8

Where Did You Get That Hat?...........p. 9

Take to the Boats!..............................p.10

Edited by:

Hilary Morgan

Published by:

Tollesbury Cruising Club, Tollesbury

Marina, Tollesbury, Essex, CM9 8ST

Strong winds, continuous torrential

rain, much reduced temperatures –

not the best weather for a late April

wedding but believe me, this was a

truly wonderful day. A large gather-

ing of current and former Sailing and

Cruising Club members joined fami-

ly and friends to fill St Mary’s

Church to bursting point on 28th

April to celebrate the wedding of for-

mer TCC Commodore Andy Hobden

to Philippa Matthews.

The usual photos at the church door

had to be abandoned as we all dashed

to the Parish Rooms for refreshments

and thence back to the clubhouse for

a hearty

meal pre-

pared and

served by

Jane and

her staff

followed

by danc-

ing to

‘Legacy’

and gen-

eral party-

ing in true

Tollesbury

tradition.

It was wonderful to catch up with

past members who we hadn’t seen

for a while and it was just like old

times with the clubhouse full to

bursting. A wonderful 4 tiered wed-

ding cake bedecked with signal flags

spelling out an appropriate greeting

and made by Andy’s daughter Clare

dominated the restaurant area.

The

weather

became

totally

irrelevant

as we

basked in

the

warmth

of the

assem-

bled com-

pany –

that is

until the

power

failed! But the only casualty was the

band who were forced to pack up a

few minutes early. Candles from the

tables were set up on the bar and the

party continued. Julian and Louise

deserve medals for their support and

hard work in making the party come

together in such a special way and

particularly for soldiering on through

the black out!

Andy and Philippa are on an extend-

ed honeymoon, planning to spend

two seasons on a circumnavigation of

The British Isles. As I write they

have reached Peterhead in north east

Scotland. Keep a lookout on Face-

book for further updates.

Hilary Morgan

Quicksilver

(photos of the happy couple by Debbie

Apthorp—Ed)

Former Commodore Weds

Tollesbury Cruising Club Up the Creek...2

Shakedown Cruise to Bradwell This all seems so long ago now!

Our boats are tied up all winter like

mine or, for those who can afford it,

lying ashore in relative safety.

Shakedown cruises seem to be a sim-

ple notion at the start of the season

but don’t underestimate how im-

portant they can be. Those of us who

went on the cruise will no doubt re-

call having problems. I had trouble

getting hold of in what order and

which rope to pull first to get my

mainsail up! I appreciate how quick-

ly it all comes back to me. I think it

seems much safer to start with a

small cruise then, having tuned your

skills, move on to the larger cruises.

However, when I tried to do just this

later in the season, I had yet further

problems. I had planned to take part

in the Gravelines trip but this was

obviously not meant to be! My run-

ning backstay went and I stayed to do

the necessary repairs. By this time I

had become gale bound and when the

wind died down, it was coming

straight at me from the Gravelines

direction – so I went to Ipswich in-

stead!!!!!

RYA Active Marinas I hope members read all the publicity

about these great activity days which

we have been running with the RYA.

Most people seemed to get a great

deal of help from this, even if it was

only to confirm that what you had

been doing all this time turned out to

be correct. (See article page 10) This

of course excluded my own personal

disaster whilst under the strict tutor-

age of an RYA instructor during the

boat handling session. I was asked to

put my boat in forward gear with the

engine flat out for two or three se-

conds. However, during these two or

three seconds my throttle cable

snapped with my boat still flat out in

reverse! OOPS! Very sorry Nigel

and Heidi whose boat took the brunt

of my mishap. For those of you who

have not yet booked an activity day

just give Louise a ring and she will

make a booking for you. It was great

fun and everyone seemed to gain by

their experience.

Goodbye Codan It seems to be that time again when

one is ready to move on with regard

to one’s own boat. I have almost

completed the sale of Codan and

hope to start negotiating for my next

boat soon. So am I likely to be

‘boatless’ for a little while. Any of-

fers to bring my Commodore’s flag

aboard to help keep me afloat?

Peter Philpot

Commodore

Codan

Commodore’s Corner

Editor’s Message

Well as if we didn’t know, its now official. It’s the wettest June since records began in 1910, yet as I write in

soggy Hertfordshire, we have a drought order in place and a hosepipe ban being enforced! However, like the

South East’s ground water supplies, it would seem that members’ contributions to Up the Creek are in danger

of drying up too. So please get writing and send your musings in now—don’t wait for the deadline date (see

below). You don’t have to write a big article—just a few notes or a couple of photos would give me something

to work with. Positive feedback would suggest that this newsletter is well received but it won’t happen with-

out your input. So please keep your articles and photos coming to prevent the whole thing folding. You can

email, post, text or even phone me. If in doubt, come and pay us a visit on D9 in the marina. (Quicksilver)

Deadline for Autumn 2012 November 9th

Codan in the Shakedown cruise


Racing Round-up

With three races completed so far

this year we have three different tro-

phy winners, will this trend continue?

The Howlett Trophy took place on

Friday, 6th April at the start of the

Easter Cruise with eight boats taking

part.. The forecast was for light

winds from the North West, occa-

sionally variable. Mostly variable

was the order of the day which kept

everyone on their toes hoisting spin-

nakers and cruising chutes before

rapidly (or not so rapidly) dropping

them as the wind shifted. Polo IV

had a cunning plan; start at the back

of the fleet without their spinnaker

prepared so that when mayhem en-

sued with the initial wind shift they

were able to sail past several boats

who were trying to drop spinnakers

and return to white sails. They were

then prepared in the middle part of

the race to launch a spinnaker run

which saw them overtake boats to

finish third over the line, taking the

race win on handicap. Line honours

went to Kahuna who finished second

on handicap with Moonshine third.

The Pursuit Race saw stronger, con-

sistent winds from the North East

which resulted in testing wind

against tide conditions in the Wallet.

Eleven boats made it to the start line

with all but one completing the occa-

sionally demanding course. As usual

Dionysus and Mimosa were engaged

in a close battle with first one, and

then the other taking the lead after

they had passed the early starters.

Unfortunately for both of them

Moonshine eventually overhauled

them to take the win with Dionysus

second and Hiawatha taking third

just one and a half minutes ahead of

Mimosa.

Unusually for the Goldie Challenge

the wind was again from the North

East creating a beat to the Spitway

and a run up the Crouch. The moder-

ate breeze gave a comfortable beat

out with Moonshine establishing a

substantial lead by the Spitway mak-

ing many believe the race was al-

ready won. However, a spirited fight

back under spinnaker by Team Dio-

nysus (there is a rumour he was as-

sisted by mermaids) saw them take

the win with Moonshine taking se-

cond place and Mimosa third.

The Steve Rix Race was due to take

place at the start of the Jubilee week-

end but was cancelled due to boats

wanting the freedom of choice of

when to set out for Ramsgate and

Gravelines. It will be rearranged to a

later date. Eight boats eventually

arrived in Gravelines which became a

very pleasant social event despite

what has become the normal change-

able weather. I won't go into any

detail as I believe the editor is plan-

ning separate write-ups of this trip.

(see pages 6—8) Three races have

now been completed and, as prom-

ised, there will be a personal handi-

cap adjustment for those who have

taken part in all three. By the time

this goes to press details should be on

the website. So, it just remains for

me to say thank you to all those who

have taken part and have given me a

relatively grief-free passage so

far............ hmm, so far!

Paul Noyland

Rear Commodore (Racing)

Moonshine

Remaining

Racing

Programme

August 18th Kings Head Cup

Round OseaOsea Island Race

September 29th

Spare Race Day for any races that

have beenbeen postponed

December 1st Frostbite Race

to join Christmas Cruise to

Bradwell

Kahuna in the Wallet

(Howlett Trophy)

Scallywag on a beat


Sunshine for the Shakedown Sunshine and a fair breeze greeted ten

boats on the Shakedown cruise to

Bradwell. The traditional pontoon

party was followed by a warm wel-

come and an excellent meal in the

Green Man for the 16 diners. If only

the weather had stayed like that for the

rest of the season !

Heavy Weather gear for the

Deben On Good Friday thirteen boats headed

for Shotley in what turned out to be

the best weather of the Bank Holiday.

Once there, the Shipwreck served an

excellent dinner for 32. On a grey

Saturday we set off for the Deben.

This traditionally idyllic river looked a

little less so through the wind, rain and

even sleet that greeted us on our ap-

proach to Woodbridge. A warm wel-

come and much appreciated shelter

awaited us at the Tidemill Marina and

a pleasant evening was had by all in

various establishments around the

town. With brisk conditions on the

Sunday, many made a dash out of the

Deben directly to Tollesbury, Pyefleet

or the Orwell. Those with a bit more

time enjoyed the shelter of Wood-

bridge for a little longer.

Safari Supper Relocated Due to concerns over access to the

Backwaters at low tide and a poor

forecast, the venue was changed to

Suffolk Yacht Harbour. Twenty four

diners enjoyed wonderful cuisine and

hospitality across the ten boats taking

part. The revised location worked

well but we do hope to return to Ham-

ford water next year.

Union Jack hoisted in Gravelines

for the Jubilee Seven boats left Tollesbury for

France over the Jubilee weekend, ei-

ther directly or via Ramsgate or Cal-

ais. Those making the journey were

rewarded with the delights of this en-

dearing harbour town – the ambience ,

great food, coffee in local cafes, a visit

to the local market and of course the

opportunity to stock the boat with liq-

uid provisions at bargain prices from

the nearby Lidl! The highlight of the

weekend was when the fleet practical-

ly took over the famous La Sym-

phonie restaurant for a wonderful din-

ner on the Sunday night.

On Monday morning a storm swept

through the marina forcing rapid ad-

justments to the mooring lines and

emergency additions to fenders as the

rafts started to sway in the wind. Di-

ana II and Summertime had to delay

their planned departure until the even-

ing when the weather had eased, but

were rewarded with the sight of phos-

phorescence in the Gravelines channel

and a moonlit passage home. With

bad weather forecast later in the week,

the rest of the fleet left Gravelines on

the Tuesday to return to Tollesbury

via Ramsgate and Brightlingsea.

Nigel Seary

Rear Commodore Cruising

Diana II

Cruising Update

Robin Kemp (Polo IV) keeps the flag

flying whatever the weather!

(Photo Hilary Morgan)

Pearl Fisher in the Shakedown

Cruise

French Fender Fest ( Gravelines)


Forthcoming Cruising Events

Family Fun Day This popular event will be held at Mersea Stone – hopefully with good weather. We will be anchoring off the

beach and enjoying a BBQ and other beach and boat activities.

The Buxey Ashes We are aiming to play the traditional cricket match against Maldon Little Ships Club on the Buxey Sands. Berths

have been booked at Brightlingsea and a meal arranged at the Colne Yacht Club after the match . Please support

this event and help us retain the Ashes !

Summer Cruise Following the ‘Push the Boat Out’ weekend there are plans for a cruise to South Coast and on to France.

Late August Bank Holiday Cruise A great opportunity to cruise in company to Lowestoft and then back via Southwold and the Ore.

Colne Yacht Club – Fireworks Party

Christmas Cruise to Bradwell Watch out for more details on the Forum . Enjoy the rest of your sailing season and let’s hope for some better

weather.

.

Don’t forget the Laying Up Supper on Saturday 27th October

with the AGM the following morning (Sunday 28th October)

Keep an eye on the Forum for updates, changes and discussions

about events

Log on to the TCC website at

www.tollesburycc.co.uk

Summertime returns home from Gravelines


Good Intentions The club event for the June half term

was a trip to Gravelines. I wanted to

do this and since my family wasn’t

interested, I decided to do it with

friends. Last summer I took Scally-

wag to Holland, but this was going to

be my first trip to France. I didn’t

fancy going straight to Gravelines.

High water there was around 11pm

and I didn’t want my first entrance to

Gravelines to happen in the dark. Nor

did I want the stress of having to get

there by a specific time. Calais

seemed a more appealing option to

me: easy entrance and no tide con-

straints. Also, my friend Chris Nash

was going to take the train to Calais to

join Scallywag on the Saturday night,

so it seemed nice to spend the night

there and spare him the taxi ride to

Gravelines. Then I heard from fellow

club members that the Calais Rally

was that weekend. I had heard of the

Calais Rally, but never been. It

sounded like a great idea, so I decided

to be the sole representative of Tolles-

bury Cruising Club in 2012.

My crew for the crossing was my

friend Chris Wilson. We left Tolles-

bury on Friday evening and picked up

a buoy at West Mersea in order to be

able to leave a few hours before high

water the next morning. When we

arrived at West Mersea there was just

enough light to see the buoys. By the

time we settled down it was pitch

black. We sat in the cockpit drinking

beer and looking at the passing nav

lights of the Tollesbury boats that

were going to Gravelines overnight.

A Promising Start The next morning we motored out of

the Blackwater, against wind and

tide—soul-destroying. At the Spitway

we could finally start sailing, with a

fresh wind on the port bow. We soon

had two reefs in. We only needed two

pairs of tacks, one to avoid hitting

East Barrow and the other to line up

Fisherman’s Gat. Other than that it

was one long fine reach from the Spit-

way to Calais. It was exhilarating

sailing: great wind and big blue waves

under a clear sky.

Locked Out? We got to Calais in about twelve

hours. We arrived between the times

of the first and second scheduled

bridge openings, so we picked up a

buoy in the Avant Port and waited.

Ten minutes before the scheduled

time for the second bridge opening,

the light went amber so we got ready

to go in, but ten minutes later the light

went back to red. Nothing else hap-

pened. The bridge did not move. We

didn’t know what was going on and

were too exhausted to try to find out.

A few boats on the other buoys were

also hoping to get in and were equally

confused. Chris Nash was ashore,

TOLLESBURY CRUISING

CLUB AT THE 2012 CALAIS

RALLY (ALMOST)

Jose and his crew try to fly the flag for Tollesbury

at the Calais Rally.

The Tollesbury Fleet in Gravelines

Photo Paul Noyland


waiting to come on board. Since we

didn’t know what was going to hap-

pen, we decided to inflate the dinghy

and row ashore to get him. We were

very tired and everything seemed dif-

ficult. The padlock for the dinghy had

corroded and wouldn’t open so we had

to use the bolt croppers to free it.

With Chris Nash on board, we saw the

bridge light go amber a couple of

times more, again with no movement

of the bridge. By this time tiredness

had made the thought of pontoon par-

ties lose its appeal, so we settled down

for a night in the Avant Port.

The next morning, after a long wait for

ferries and dredgers to go in and out,

we left Calais for Gravelines. The

wind was weak and on the nose; the

waves were big and visibility was

poor. We motored for an hour or two.

The entrance to Gravelines is majestic,

like a flooded Parisian boulevard. I

throttled back to make the moment last

a bit longer. In the Gravelines marina

we joined the rest of the Tollesbury

fleet, which had arrived the day be-

fore.

Our plan was to leave for Dunkirk the

next day, but an unscheduled gale

made this impossible, so we spent two

days in Gravelines. We didn’t mind.

Walking around the town was very

pleasant. The sculptures by Charles

Gadenne were excellent. We walked

to the end of one of the piers in the

middle of the gale, to see the wind-

surfers and kite surfers at play in water

that looked like a bowl of shaving

lather. We ate well. My favourite

meal was in the pub on the square

(The Queen Ann?): gizzards, salad and

potje, a local delicacy. Honestly, I

dare you to find a restaurant this side

of the North Sea (other than St John in

London) prepared to serve you a giz-

zards dish! Dinner at La Symphonie

was also OK, but not great. I thought

they punched above their weight. For

the sake of unbiased reporting, I have

to add that our third meal in Grave-

lines, in the hotel on the square, was

not very good at all. However, the

evening was made enjoyable by the

waitress’s delight in Chris Wilson’s

brave but inept attempts to talk to her

in French. As soon as he opened his

mouth she started giggling uncontrol-

lably.

Summertime and Diana II left for

Tollesbury that evening. The rest of

us left the following morning, bound

for Ramsgate. The wind died after a

couple of hours and we motored the

rest of the way. In Ramsgate the

weather was awful. Everything was

grey, wet and unappealing. We ate in

a new fish restaurant on the water-

front. My sea bream with ratatouille

was actually very well cooked. We

left Ramsgate the next morning at six,

motored to North Foreland and had a

great sail home from there.

Jose Zalabardo

Scallywag

‘Le Port de Gravelines’ by Georges Seurat

Group of Women by Paul Gadenne

Photo : F Lamiot via Wikimedia


The forecast was for light winds from

the north east, sea state slight. Hard-

ened sailors were downhearted and a

motor was on the cards for the over-

night crossing to Gravelines. Music to

my ears! As many already know, I am

very much a fair weather sailor and a

12 hour motor in light winds was fine

by me thank you.

Jim and I have made several aborted

attempts to reach France since 1999

when we made it to the “Calee Rallee”

in our previous boat Lionheart, a

Moody 31. It always seems to be bad

weather – wind on the nose, wind over

tide in the Estuary – need I say more?

I’m feeling sick just thinking about it!

No, a calm motor was just fine to al-

low me to lay my French demons to

rest.

Jim was to take the first watch and

leave me to rest for the first few hours

– the dodgy bit through the Spitway

and out to the SW Sunk. So I dutiful-

ly went below and settled down as the

wind increased and came round onto

the nose. After a brief foray on deck

to read out waypoints by torchlight

that had not repeated from the

chartplotter below to the one on deck,

I was beginning to turn green. I re-

turned to my haven in the saloon and

there I remained for the rest of the trip

as the boat crashed and slammed into

the waves. A brief period under sail

allowed me to sleep before the wind

came round yet again and the engine

went back on.

I finally crawled out of my pit about

five miles off Gravelines. We thought

we were too early for the tide but Jim

called to me that he could see yachts

coming out of the entrance. Out came

the almanac and we tried to reassess

our timings. Do you add two hours to

the tide tables? One for BST and one

for French Summer Time? At least

that’s how I remember doing it in

Yachmaster exercises. Then we no-

ticed the small print at the top of the

page – the tables were in French

Standard Time not UTC. Now, in our

sleepless confusion, we were com-

pletely baffled! So as not to broadcast

our ignorance, I called Gravelines on

the mobile phone but got no reply so

in the end I radioed (in French so the

rest of the Tollesbury lot following

behind would not hear me!) and was

told that it was about

an hour before HW.

Perfect. Up went the

revs and on arrival we

received a warm wel-

come from Robin and

Jean (Polo IV) and the

Harbour Master. The

other boats (Dionysus,

Summertime, Rose Ty-

ler and Diana II) fol-

lowed closely behind

with Moonshine arriv-

ing on the evening tide

and Scallywag the next

day.

It was the Jubilee weekend and out

came the bunting until the rising wind

made it sound like rain pattering on

the deck – most disconcerting. Plans

to dress the boats were abandoned as

the rain and fog swirled around the

marina. Hatches were battened down

and coffee was brewed. We did make

it out on the Sunday evening to La

Symphonie restaurant for an im-

promptu dinner. The restaurant did us

proud and we had a lovely meal. Af-

ter some persuasion, the staff agreed

to make the bills up by boat name and

they deserve a medal for the way they

handled our unscheduled invasion.

The plan for some was to press on to

Boulogne on the Monday midday tide;

others were to return to Tollesbury.

There had been much looking at

weather forecasts and each skipper

had their own interpretation. Jim and

I were in Lidl when a message pinged

Same Cruise, Different viewpoint Quicksilver Makes It to France for the First Time

Above and below - Cruising Club

diners enjoying dinner ‘A la française’

Gravelines Channel (not quite Georges Seurat but the

next best thing)


on my phone. Betty advised that her

Navtex was showing a gale 9 – immi-

nent! We emerged from the checkout

to find it had already hit! Bunting

came back in, every fender from every

boat was deployed and hatches were

battened down. Plans to leave were

abandoned.

It was quite short lived but took a

while to die down. Nevertheless, Di-

ana II and Summertime left on the

evening tide for another overnight

crossing. The rest of the fleet crossed

to Ramsgate the following day and,

having weathered an overnight storm,

had a lovely sunny sail to Bright-

lingsea on the Wednesday. I think

most of us had returned to Tollesbury

by the Thursday, reaching a safe ha-

ven before the next storm rolled in.

I had a soggy but enjoyable day in

Colchester with Jane (Nimrodel) be-

fore returning home to St Albans – to

my house which didn’t creak or groan,

to my bed which didn’t move and –

joy of joys – to my flush toilet!

(Don’t you get sick of pumping?)

Hilary Morgan

Quicksilver Gravelines Channel—Old Lifeboat

Station (I presume?)

Have you got a Hat? Not an Ascot

fascinator or a smart Panama, but a

simple, versatile ‘titfer tat’. Silver

Morning is equipped with what we

affectionately call ‘The Hat’, a mini

tent for covering the fore hatch. It is

tied with a string at each corner and

the centre is hoisted on a halyard, or

tied off on the baby stay. It folds up

into a small roll when not required.

We have made a Hat for all the boats

we have owned and wouldn’t be with-

out it. You can open the hatch to ven-

tilate the cabin as little or as much as

you want, to control humidity and

temperature and it does not matter if it

pours with rain; the fore cabin re-

mains perfectly dry. It makes sleep-

ing very much more comfortable and

also acts a blind, keeping the sun out

in the early morning.

Making a hat is simplicity itself. On

our previous boats the hat consisted of

nothing more than a flat rectangular

piece of waterproof material with a

25mm hem all-round with a small

strengthening

patch in the middle

and brass eyelets

fitted in the centre

and the four cor-

ners. On our cur-

rent boat the ge-

ometry of the

hatch is a little

more complex be-

cause the fore

hatch is at an angle

and the tying off

strings at the back

are narrower than

the front, but a

couple of darts

takes up the surplus

cloth.

To ensure you keep dry in rain with a

strong driving wind, the Hat’s fin-

ished dimensions need to be at least

the same size as the hatch cover plus

an additional overlap of 75mm to

100mm on all four sides. Larger

boats could quite easily use 150mm.

This very simple gadget can be made

in an hour or so by anybody with a

domestic sewing machine and will

add a great deal to comfort on-board.

John Whitehead

Silver Morning

Where Did You Get That Hat?

If You Want to Get Ahead, Get a Hat.

‘The Hat’ in situ over Silver Morning’s fore peak hatch


Why is it that most boats are taken into

their marina berth by men? When a boat

is crewed by a couple it is invariably the

husband/male partner who will do the

close quarters manoeuvring. Why?

For my part I believe it is lack of confi-

dence and lack of practice. I always tend

to hand the wheel back to Jim if I feel the

slightest bit pressured or unsure of my-

self. Sometimes, I confess, it’s a cop out

and a fear of recriminations if something

goes wrong. Though we joint own the

boat and maintain her together, our roles

aboard are clearly defined according to

our skills and aptitude but bringing

Quicksilver into the marina has always

fallen on Jim’s shoulders.

In former days we had Lionheart, a

Moody 31 and I would sometimes take

her out on my own with friends or to do

the Boudicca or Teapot races but Quick-

silver is so much bigger and my spatial

awareness is suspect. We are all familiar,

I am sure, with the ‘Captain Bligh’ syn-

drome. You are doing just fine, chugging

along nicely, when he either shouts blue

bloody murders at you or wrenches the

wheel from your clasp! Not very encour-

aging and how on earth are you to learn if

you don’t make mistakes? The trouble is,

they can be so costly. So I jumped at the

opportunity to have an RYA instructor

talk me through it calmly and gently.

Enter the Active Marinas programme

which launched on a showery April week-

end. I signed up for the Boat Handling

Workshop on the Saturday and the practi-

cal aboard our own boat on the Sunday.

Jim decided to tag along “so he didn’t

contradict what the instructor had told me

to do”. I was a bit reticent about the

workshop at first. After all I have been

sailing for some fourteen years now and

know how to coil a rope, tie a fender etc

but I went into the weekend with the atti-

tude that there is always something new

to learn. And I did learn some new things

and was pleased to receive confirmation

that I had more or less been doing it right

all along which was comforting in itself.

However, I did learn a lot about how the

prop and rudder interact in different cir-

cumstances and this was invaluable

when we came to doing it ourselves the

following day.

Fuelled with coffee and a bacon butty

provided by the club, we set off for the

pontoons. Nimrodel was to be demon-

stration boat and we gathered around her

berth with Martin, our instructor. The

session was relaxed and interactive. An-

ecdotes served to illustrate various points

and we generally had a good time and

made some new friends.

Sunday’s practical had had me worrying

for days in advance but the relaxed atmos-

phere put me at my ease and several of us

took it in turns to bring the boat in under

expert instruction. I now understand why

Jim makes the turn into the berth the way

he does. To me, standing on the deck,

rope in hand, ready to step down or jump

onto the pontoon, it has always looked

like he has turned too late or that he is

ramming the finger with the bow. Of

course it looks totally different from the

wheel. The day also gave him an oppor-

tunity to see it from my usual position and

we have talked it all through at length

since our session.

I have gone over the whole procedure in

slow motion since the training day – omi-

nously, like you do when you’ve had an

accident of some kind. But I am now

eager to take Quicksilver in and out of her

berth to gain confidence. However, I am

sure I will be handing back over if it’s

windy, the marina is congested or there’s

someone in our berth when we get back!

We really need to take it in turns and

learn each other’s jobs.

So to all you timid boat handlers out there

– get booked up on one of these courses!

It is really a unique opportunity to have

an instructor aboard your own boat and fit

the day round your own needs. It was

good to go on other people’s boats and

see other problems resolved. I learned

things about our boat too – mainly that

her size can be overcome by careful han-

dling, that she will do what you want her

to, and that slow and steady is the name

of the game! Until the wind blows from

the east that is! That’s when I hand back

over to Jim!!!

Hilary Morgan

Quicksilver

Take to the Boats! The RYA Active Marinas Programme Kicked Off

in April With a Boat Handling Weekend

RYA instructor Martin gives expert ad-

vice to participants of the boat handling

practical

Nigel and Heidi Seary get to grips with

Diana II’s long keel

Up the CreekShakedown Cruise to Bradwell This all seems so long ago now! Our boats are tied up all...

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Transcript of Up the CreekShakedown Cruise to Bradwell This all seems so long ago now! Our boats are tied up all...