Emsworth Cruising Association

Transcription

1 Emsworth Cruising Association Commodore s Comments Easter ECA Rally report Dinghy for Sale First May Bank Holiday Rally Report Campfire Stew May 2017

2 Commodore s Comments Easter Rally and early May Bank Holiday rallies now completed so it is time to consider what next? Some I know are heading West with the objective of reaching Dartmouth if they can. There is the EYH organised rally to Haslar over the weekend of 13/14 th May to which all ECA boats are invited whether berthed in EYH or not. Since Badgie Two is almost next door to Haslar in Royal Clarence it is not worth us shaking out the creases so we shall join in the fun by car. We have our next A rally over the late May BH (27/29 th May) to Bembridge with John Strickland as OOD - details on the web. The pace continues to hot up with a cross-channel rally between 26 th May and 5 th June Dick Tyrrell can supply the details. This is a good opportunity for cross-channel virgins to obtain guidance and comfort that you will be in company with a very experienced member. The Old Gaffers are meeting at Yarmouth for their annual bash between 2 nd and 4 th June. Yarmouth becomes very busy but members may consider staying in Cowes and taking the bus or Lymington and crossing by ferry. Lastly from me on our near programme, if you are thinking of coming to Bembridge to Jazz on the Quay on 10 th /11 th June you need to do two actions very soon viz. Do TWO things **** 1. Book tickets on line from geharbour.co.uk/new s-and-events/jazzon-the-quay. They sell out quickly. **** 2. Complete the form on our website or give me a call with a few details so I can ensure you have space alongside. **** Book tickets on line from They sell out quickly. ****Complete the form on our website or give me a call with a few details so I can ensure you have space alongside. Also, don t forget that EYH is now a member of TransEurope Marinas so you can stay in the other TransEurope Marinas for up to 5 consecutive nights each year for half-price. Locally such marinas include Birdham Pool, Royal Clarence and Bucklers Hard and, further afield, the Mayflower Marina in Plymouth. If you are berthed in EYH, look in your brochure for the full list. You should have seen a warning from me about recent thefts close to home so be extra vigilant. Jane s outboard was stolen along with several others all at Dolphin Quay and at the seaward end of the jetty suggesting that they arrived and departed, with their ill-gotten gains, by water. Badgie Two and Koto have been invited to take part in SimEx. As the abbreviation suggests this is a simulated exercise of significant proportions (over 200 actors and volunteers) and importance to enable our disaster recovery services to practice and learn lessons from several major catastrophic events. Tuesday 9 th May is devoted to

3 watery problems involving sick and wounded to be recovered from Badgie Two and Koto off Langstone Harbour by life boats from Portsmouth and Hayling. Eastney beach will be the site of two life rafts overloaded with injured personnel and will be attended by emergency services including paramedics, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services and nurses (my oldest daughter among them). Many will pretend to be non-english speaking and Badgie Two s VHF will be operated by an actress who has never used the set before and she will be incomprehensible so the rescue services will be forced to use radio direction finding to get our location. It should be a lot of fun but with a serious purpose. On Wednesday there will be an earthquake and land-based activity using Fort Widley and other buildings as emergency centres. Wymering Manor is to be the centre for UN activities with actors playing diplomats and so on. It may be on the local TV news. Don t forget to look on our website and book yourselves onto a rally before yet another year passes by when you wish you had spent more time on the water! Sheila and I hope to see you at a rally soon. Derek, Badgie Two Note from Editor, don t forget to send a report and some photos of the SimEx for our own Web site and Newsletter. The ECA Easter Week Rally, Thursday th April Or 11 Little Sailors a la Agatha Christie. Five ECA boats attended this Rally during the week, coming and going according to the needs of their crews. Tringa II slipped from EYH at 12.30hrs Good Friday with a whole 4ft on the sill. We berthed in East Cowes Marina at 17.15hrs, after a long cold upwind slog in which Tringa s sailing master couldn t seem to make a good call for a tack or side of the Solent. Badgie II, Elwing II, Koto, Thalata had already made it, and after a fish & chip supper aboard our various craft, some of us had an early night. Others kept it up later, surrounded by at least two other big Rallies. 11 Little Sailors all left ECM around 12.00, Saturday and in hardly any wind, and then with the wind firmly on the nose, motored across the Solent, into the Beaulieu River and up to Bucklers Hard mid river pontoons. Here Tringa II hosted drinks and nibbles, while Badgie II hosted a communal supper. Easter Sunday morning saw the Committee meet on Badgie II after a cooked breakfast (on Tringa anyway!) to settle two urgent items and eat Crème eggs, then at broke up our rafts boat by boat and headed off for Lymington. Tringa II sailed from just off Beaulieu Spit to 1.5nm off Jack in the Basket. Most of the others did likewise, in a cold head wind gradually rising to 28/29kts, we were tacking and reefing steadily, but averaged 5/6kts most of the time hrs saw us rafted outside Thalata, with Elwing II outside us on a busy Dan Bran pontoon, Badgie II ahead of us with Koto outside them. We were glad we d booked space for the rally. Another communal evening meal took place on board Badgie II, with each boat providing a dish and more Crème eggs. From Tringa s oven came Roast shoulder of pork, roast onions and parsnips, rices by Thalata and Koto, crumble and fruit salad by Badgie II. We had drinks and nibbles afterwards to make sure everyone had hearty appetites for the main courses! Easter Monday morning saw Badgie II

4 heading off to deliver Chalky Derek, Janet and Koto s Karen back home or to work. All the Six Little Sailors left behind then shopped, tinkered and fettled their boats. Thalata hosted a chilli con carné supper and nibbles, with hot soups by Elwing II and Sue s chilli and rice and more Crème eggs! Our plans for Tuesday and Wednesday were reviewed and revised in the light of it s being ok in the sun but very cold out of it. We decided to give Newton Creek anchorage for two nights a miss, particularly the two boats with only shore powered heating! Tuesday saw Plan B in operation, we all decided to motor across a strong east going tide to Yarmouth, IoW, and up to Harold Hayles pontoons. Of course, the wind was a nice steady beam reach of about 14/15kts during the hour and a bit motor across. After a wander round town, during the afternoon, everyone helped Bev & Sue sort out what was Thalata s bimini and what was the cockpit cover. It was very much Tab A into Turnbuckle 5, Tab B into Slot Y. Tab C onto rod 4A, then zip Panel 6 to Velcro run 9. Many hands make light work and despite a false start all was resolved. Neil, now solo on Koto, served meatballs and pastas on board Koto, with a dessert left to us by Karen and another exotic Cheesecake dessert from Elwing II. Oh, and yet more Crème eggs. Wednesday, still part of this sunny but cold and windless week, saw Thalata heading back to Haslar to changeover to their permanent summer berth, while 4 Little Sailors in Tringa, Koto, and Elwing headed for Bembridge, under sail from just off Yarmouth, with a following wind, but not much of it as far as Tringa s sails were concerned. Three hours later, the tide turning, the wind on the nose again, and still only off Castle Point East Cowes, Tringa furled sails and fired up the engine to get into Bembridge that tide. Koto had preceded us, but had lost sight of Elwing II off Gilkicker Point* when they crossed tacks last. Badgie II phoned as Derek s back needed physio and they could not rejoin us on the Duver as planned. So there were only two crews, 3 Little Sailors, to eat the Rally Meal at Brading Haven YC. The remaining Crème Eggs were given a night s grace. Thursday 20 th April was our eldest son s birthday, and after sending greetings, Koto and ourselves left the Duver at 14.30hrs, cleared the Bembridge Bar, then engine off, genoa out for an unhurried crossing to Chichester Bar and into EYH. Loads of time and as usual, no wind. At 16.45, Koto and Tringa put their engines on and by were off the Eastoke Buoy, listening to Selsey Bill RNLI help a Fishing Vessel caught on a lobster pot just off the Looe Channel. Elwing II and Koto entered EYH just ahead of us well before HW at 19.24hrs. This tide was only 3.8m predicted and with the high pressure sitting over the UK might peak early or not reach full predicted height on the EYH sill. So sadly there were NO Little Sailors but 3 Crème Eggs left out on Friday 20 th April! *It transpired that Elwing had started to take water into the engine space off Gilkicker, and when Tony started pumping, the bilge pump handle socket arm broke. Tony wisely diverted into Portsmouth and sought a chandlers to get a replacement arm. Dick Tyrrell Tringa II of Hamble

5 For Sale Southern Pacific Dinghy Southern Pacific T240 Inflatable Dinghy For Sale The T240 dinghy is a lightweight (about 20Kg) inflatable dinghy easily handled by one person. It is in white strong PVC with 30cm tubes, split into two air compartments. Length is 2.4m. The floor is PVC but I have used IKEA bed slats (painted in white danboline) to give it a slatted floor when required. A moulded seat is included. It also has proper oars so can be easily rowed. It dates to 2002 but has been very lightly used and always stored out of sunlight so the PVC is in great condition apart from the odd usage scratch. There are no leaks. It can take up to 4HP, but 2HP is more than adequate. Max load is 240Kg. Pump and repair kit included. Dinghy is based in Milton Keynes but I can bring it down to Emsworth on the South Coast. Neil Fuller, Koto, <neilf39@hotmail.com>, (m) The ECA May Bank Holiday Rally to Portsmouth Harbour Clubs; Thursday 27/04/17 to Tuesday 02/05/17 This Rally was a little different to our usual ones, in that the plan was to visit two clubs, Hardway SC and Portchester SC, in Portsmouth Harbour. It was an experiment, in response to the increasing need to provide substantial deposits from Club funds when booking Solent Rallies at commercial venues. Overall a good experimental rally, lots of good information and experience gained and friendly contacts made, two good venues useful for future visits explored, shame about the weather, but Hey, it was a Bank Holiday! Thalata had offered to be Officer of the Day, whilst Alice had various commitments over the Bank Holiday weekend, so on Thursday afternoons tide, I slipped from EYH with 2.7m on the sill two hours after HW Portsmouth. During the trip, one of the IoW car ferries carried out a Damage Control exercise with Solent CG, one of those scenarios we've all endured, when, just when nothing else can possibly go wrong and you are at full stretch, they chuck in even more, and all you have left to respond with, is to pipe Hands to Prayer. Just head North until the water s gone.

6 It passed the time with 17kts of West wind on the nose until at 17.40, Tringa went through the Barrier middle gap, then joined the revised Small Boat Channel into Portsmouth (see QHM's LNTM 24/17, issued 07 April 2017) at Bar 4 Buoy and on up to Hardway SC pontoonswell and truly dried out, I couldn't get within 50m. So, Plan B, dropped back to Haslar and joined Bev & Sue for some of Sue's shepherds pie on 'Thalata'. We decided to use Tringa as our boat for the rally as their bilge keels draw more than Tringa, keel up. Friday at 12.10hrs we went back up to Hardway SC, but as the depth was 3.7m off their pontoons, on a 4.9m tide, we decided to retreat to Royal Clarence, to join up with 'Gemini' and 'Tamarisk' who were concerned at being neaped at HSC. Drinks and nibbles at 17.00hrs on Tringa followed by a walk up to Hardway SC for an excellent meal from their Galley, being 9 with me, Bev & Sue, Paul & Elaine, Derek & Sheila, Andrew and Andrew's friend Nick, who lives nearby. Saturday saw Tamarisk (Andrew solo) and Gemini (Paul & Elaine) head back to EYH ahead of the traditional BH low Dine with a splendid view pressure and depressions forecast. Our Commodore and Lady HSC pontoon dries at low water went off to attend CYC's 50 th Anniversary lunchtime Reception. After checking with Portchester SC's mooring officer, Tringa went to HSC pontoons, as PSC hosting a dinghy open on Saturday/Sunday am and pontoon will be needed if bad weather comes in. At 13.50, about 30min or so before HW, APB texted to say that there wasn't going to be enough water up at Dolphin Quay for 'Del Capo' to leave and join us today. So we were a Rally of One! Bev & Sue and I spent the afternoon in a sunny cockpit reading, then they drove back to Haslar ready to do the grandparent thing on Sunday, having collected their car earlier on. I assured them that I, as Acting OoD, could organise myself effectively for the rest of the weekend! I chatted to very friendly HSC Members and dined from their Galley, as their pontoons were getting very 'bouncy' in the strong S/SE winds and wave systems. It looked like a bumpy night ahead, and guess who was on the windward side of the pontoon??? They are a Members efforts based Club and have built and maintain an excellent Clubhouse and facilities, including two scrubbing piles and can supply power meter cards for them, which are available to non- HSC members, subject to bookings. Water is available all along their pontoon, but not power. A drear Sunday morning proved it was a bumpy night and going to be a bumpy day as well, and I ate in comfort at the Club again-the 'medium HSC breakfast'; 1 egg, 2 soss, 2 bacon, beans and two of toast, 4.95, big mug of tea, 50p. In fact, one fender popped out just before Derek & Sheila turned up at to take

7 me by car to Portchester Castle and PSC. After treating me to a audio tour of the Castle and it's history, we went round to PSC, just at 13.00hrs, the rain starting on the forecast time just as we went into the Club. A friendly welcome from all, particularly their Moorings Officer, Steve Freeman, who told us of their plans for their pontoons and premises, a chicken burger and salads lunch, (well, Derek was hungry, and there are a lot of stairs in the cold Castle) watching the keen Nine to dine Youth sailors racing in the rainy wind in their two handed plastic saucers, followed by soggy safety ribs and coach boats. Then, in the rain, we did a recce of Wicor Marine and its facilities and surrounding area. Derek & Sheila then dropped me back at HSC, which was full up for their Sunday pm Meat and 'Open the Chest' raffles. It rained from , Chimet was gusting F7, with a steady F6 Easterly in the morning, but the rain eased it down to F4, gusting F5 by After a bumpy night and lots of stairs in the Castle, I slept from to 21.40, spoke to Alice, texted Bev & Sue to see if they got home ok, refilled the oil lamp and then went back to sleep all night. By Monday morning, things had calmed down quite a lot, and so at 16.30, I set off back to EYH. The Met Office Forecast and Chimet didn't match, much quieter in real life. At 17.30, I logged a Mayday Relay, 22' yacht taking on water 60m off Langstone entrance, Portsmouth LB on scene, speedily resolved. At the Middle Gap in the Barrier, I I was too far away to attend in time. At I logged a DSC Mayday from somewhere off Lee on Solent hrs saw me and one other yacht fighting the ebb into Chi Harbour, while at 20.15hrs the 'Seelonce Fini' revealed that Lee on Solent Mayday to be a false alarm. While waiting for EYH sill, at 20.56hrs, a Pan Pan was transferred from Solent to Dover CG. All this Mayday/PanPan traffic, yet all the way back there was hardly a vessel of any sort about in Chi Harbour or the whole Eastern Solent. Tuesday 04.00hrs saw me up, by the boat was berthed in EYH and put to bed, and so was I. Shame about the weather, but it was a UK Bank Holiday and it didn t rain all the time! Dick Tyrrell & Bev & Sue Dickens Tringa II of Hamble Photos by Bev Dickens What to do with a computer? Well Nick Bates just threw his outside. What do you do? Articles for ECA Newsletter are very welcome, photos too. Next Rallies May Bembridge OoD John Strickland June -Jazz on the Quay (see Commodore s Comments) Aug Hythe Marina Lots of B rallies Look on website emsworthcruisingassociation.co.uk

8 Campfire Stew by Sheila Elsdon Those of us who embarked on the East Cowes/Beaulieu/Lymington Rally enjoyed a lot of camaraderie and, surprise surprise, a lot of food and drink!!! We revisited the friendly option of American supper style dining with all boats providing fodder, and it is amazing what can be stretched between 11 people. 5 loaves and (2 small)fishes? PAH!!! The CAMPFIRE STEW seemed to go down well and several people asked for the recipe so please find it below. 1 gammon joint (I used 750g) 2 onions chopped 1 pepper chopped 3 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons paprika 1 tin Baked Beans 1 tin chopped tomatoes 1 tin kidney beans 1 stick celery chopped 2 large carrots chopped 6-8 button mushrooms cut in half 2 tablespoons tomato puree 1 pinch chilli flakes 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce (You can basically put in any ingredient that you like) Cook in a slow cooker 1. Soak the gammon joint overnight in cold water - if necessary. I didn't find that it was required 2.Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker, stir well and switch on 3.Set the slow cooker to low setting and cook for 6-8 hours on low ( can be longer if required) 4.Check consistency of the sauce and tenderness of the meat. The meat should be starting to fall apart and the sauce thickening. You can remove the lid and cook on high to finish the meat and thicken the sauce if necessary 5.The meat should have broken up but, if not, shred it in the slow cooker with two forks and mix well before serving There is no need to add any stock or seasoning at the beginning. Wait till you have finished cooking before you taste to see if you want to season - I didn't find it necessary as the gammon provided a lot of taste on its own. You could sprinkle cheese on the top when serving if you want. Can be served with ANYTHING - but jacket potatoes and green vegetables are a good option. This can also be done in a PRESSURE COOKER 1.Soak the gammon joint overnight in cold water - if necessary 2.Add the gammon joint, onions, tin of tomatoes, garlic, paprika, celery and carrots, Worcestershire Sauce, chilli flakes, along with 150ml of water to the pressure cooker. Close the lid, turn the valve to "sealing" and cook on manual for 20 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally 3.Add the rest of the ingredients. Close the lid, turn the valve to "sealing" and cook on manual for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally 4.Check seasoning- you may need to add a little salt or hot sauce - Enjoy!- Sheila Elsdon Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the articles in this Newsletter are those of the individual only and not necessarily those of the Emsworth Cruising Association. No responsibility can be accepted for any inaccuracies or omissions.