TSC Newsletter Inside this issue:

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1 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 Mardons perform for the Laying Up supper Photos from Andrew and Elizabeth Smith 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 hours on Thursday 7th January AGENDA 1. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 8th January 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 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 1

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 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. 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 Return completed form to: Del Jeffrey Hon. Secretary TSC 19 Crowthes Avenue, Yate, Bristol BS37 5SZ 2

3 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 organizing 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 preparing 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 Treasurer 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 influence what we are doing. Finally, last weekend I went to the Bristol Channel Yachting Association AGM to receive the BCYA Club of the Year award. This is a new award this year and is in recognition 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 recognition 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 Tom Sully receives BCYA award 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 Editor s Notes Thanks everyone yet again for their excellent contributions 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 sarah.brankin@tesco.net Tel: (Mobile ) 69 Hamble Close, Thornbury BS35 2DE 3

4 Laying Up Supper Bingo on the Beach 4

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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 going 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 Christmas 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 Fireball, 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 improving 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 reaching 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) 6

7 carried on into the evening and we all spent a splendid evening getting to know some of our fellow sailors and experiencing various dishes provided by one of the many small restaurants that ring the harbour. Sailing in Greece One of life's abiding pleasures is going to birthday parties even if the person's age is sometimes best tactfully forgotten. 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 50 th on the 4 th 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 60 th birthday celebration for Sarah, Rob and Paul which again saw everyone partying in fine style. With Gary and Paul celebrating memorable 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 waiting for us as we got off the bus and the rest of the afternoon and evening was spent moving in and discovering the delights of the small natural harbour, or more truthfully 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 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 Jaguar 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 Photo from Paul Chapman actually sailed on anything before! 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 Jonquille 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 announced 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 destination. 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 evening luxuriating in the warmth of late summer Greece. 7

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 inflatable 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 island 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 eponymous 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 island of Ithica. Our plan was to anchor off Spider Island for lunch but as the day progressed the weather deteriorated 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 inclement 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 tangling 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 thoroughly 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) Date Subject Speaker 21st Jan 8pm 18th Feb 8pm 18th Mar 8pm Frostbite 2010 Date HW Ht Start Sat 9 Jan Sat 23 Jan Sat 6 Feb Sun 21 Feb Sun 7 Mar Sun 21 Mar Winter Talks 2010 Voyages in a 100 year-old Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter J Class Yacht Racing BCYA sponsored event with refreshments Oldbury Power Station Replacement Jon Everett Diccon Pridie Rosemary Joy To be confirmed 8