From the Commodore

October 2016

From The Commodore

As we approach our last month of sea sailing we move to that time of reflection and preparation for the coming winter series. This year the weather has not been our friend and a number of races got ‘blown off’ on the sea. Let’s hope that the trend does not continue into the winter with strong winds, ice or even feet of snow.

As I write this (always at the last minute) the last WOW (Women On Water) has just taken place. There’s been a successful run of Thursday nights conducted by Penelope Duncan assisted by throttle- man Clive. Our family of events is growing with the introduction of OBOW (Old Boys On the Water) that runs Friday mornings, so maybe those women will pop-down if free and meet the Old Boys and get back on the water. It’s a bit like running a dating agency (I imagine).

There has been, and continues to be, a good run of people learning to sail or drive power- boats with courses in both currently underway. There is still plenty of space on the pond on a Saturday afternoon, so if free pop-down and get afloat.

September saw the largest fleet of club boats launched for Bart’s Bash and there were over 30 out this year. The results are on the website along with the other races held this year.

During the month the board has appointed George Cork to the position of Rear Commo- dore Seaford and he has rolled-up those sleeves and already got stuck into urinals, fenc- ing, sewage pumps etc. So the usual baptism of fire. George will put a small piece in Main- sheet next month about himself. A little further into this Mainsheet you will stumble on- to a piece about Nick Blackburn.

Both of our Rear Commodores, Nick and George will start to prepare for the traditional working party at the end of October and those members needing to complete duty points

1 will give their full commitment. This leads me back to my article last month, If you have not completed your required number of duty points by 31 December 2016 you will not be allowed to renew with the duty discount. You know who you are and so do I, there are 72 of you still in the position of owing the club and your fellow members your commitment to YOUR club. Those who have completed the required number – Thank you. And for those that have gone above and beyond the call of Duty and ex- ceeded your commitment a HUGE thank you.

We still are looking for a sailing secretary with drive, ambition and future vision to mastermind our sailing activity both racing and non-racing. We are a diverse club and a group of people who sail for different reasons. All of these reasons and require- ments need to be taken into account in our programme: racing for those who wish to race and recreational sailing for those that don’t. Maybe a day cruise along the coast to Brighton? However, without a sailing secretary with a vision for the future we will do the same old same old as we have done for the last 60+ years.

We have a thriving Cadet section with some great achievements over the last month. Weir Wood last weekend was a great success and one of the many away events this year. We’re planning a special report on what happened for next month’s Mainsheet. I would have attended myself but for the fact I spent time at the Southampton Boat show, starting that trawl for new equipment etc. to put into next year’s budget. Therefore, to open the flood gates by email only, please send your wish list to me with approximate costs so that I can gather your thoughts when budgeting for the year ahead.

And finally, we have always made boats available to hire at both Piddinghoe and Sea- ford, but there is a cost of £5.00 per day and this needs to be paid to the Rear Com- modore or the Race Officer who in turn pass it on to the Treasurer. You will receive a receipt if you ask for one. The same goes for Camping on both sites, DO NOT just turn-up and camp. Please make arrangements through the Rear Commodore of the re- spective site, as with using the site for a party there is a fee that needs to be paid to the club.

There are lots of Social things coming up, we need a minimum of 50+ for the prize giving dinner (details in this edition), Halloween, & Bonfire to name a few.

Enjoy the last sea sailing and get those duty points completed.

Stuart Ford Commodore

2 Prize Giving Dinner

This year, the Prize Giving Dinner is being held at Seaford Head Golf Club, in their recently built new clubhouse, with views over the bay to the harbour. It’s a very pleasant venue that I know many of you have been to already for other events.

The date is Saturday 3rd December, 6.30 for 7.00. Tickets are at a cost of £30 each, with black tie preferred but not essential. The full menu is still to be confirmed, but the main course will be a roast with a vegetarian roast option.

This event has been held at our clubhouse for the last few years, but we have on occasion been tight for space for the waiting staff to get round and people have had difficulty getting up for their prizes, so this year we thought we would try a venue better-suited for this type of thing. I’m sure we can count on your support. Another advantage is that it’s downhill to get home for anyone living in Seaford – handy after a night’s partying.

Tickets are strictly limited to 90, with first option given to those receiving prizes. To book a ticket, please email Rupert at vicecom- [email protected] or text on 07931 565 798. Others will be selling tickets as well, so there will be plenty of opportunity, but please book early to help with organisa- tion and to avoid disappointment.

Rupert Smith Vice Commodore

3 Met Metcalfe

In September’s Mainsheet the Commodore gave his condolences for the passing of Met Metcalfe at the good age of 92. That sad news had just been received as Mainsheet was going to press.

Being new to the club, I never knew Met but by coincidence had seen reference to his passing on the fans’ forum of Brighton and Hove Albion football club. Many Brighton fans remembered him as firm (lots of references to flying board-rubbers!), but fair, when he was their teacher. He encouraged and supported sporting activities and Duke of Edinburgh Award participation. This just shows how far and wide his influence was felt.

Ian Johnson recalls Met’s approach to his role at Piddinghoe: “My lasting and personally fond memory of Met was his reluctance to let go of the keys to the sheds and mower at Piddinghoe. He was a tenacious, hard working gentleman and a staunch support of cadets and youth activity. As commodore you would expect to have keys and access to every- thing, not always the case, you have to take into account “men and sheds” and also “men and mechanical stuff”. In my first two years I was not allowed by Met to have keys to Piddinghoe, I wasn’t the first commodore or rear commodore to experience that. Any- way when his health and mobility was failing I went to visit him as I had always got on ok, he came to the door and the first thing he said was “if you’ve come for the keys you’re not having them!”

We’ve reproduced on the next page the commendation that was made some years ago for a Lifetime Commitment Award from the RYA. That’s followed by some more pictures of Met.

Mainsheet Editor [email protected]

4 Newhaven & Seaford Sailing Club RYA Community Awards 2005 Lifetime Commitment Award Met Metcalfe

Met Metcalfe is 81 and married to Majorie, who he met when a Student with him in Brighton, in 1948. He was a Teacher of History and PE, initially in Nottingham and then Lincolnshire where he grew up, and from 1974 to 1988 was Deputy Head of a School in Brighton where he retired. Unfortunately Met has no offspring but he has dedicated his life to young people, and this one page does not do justice to his many voluntary hours.

He first became involved with the Sailing Club during the 60’s and proceeded to progress through the RYA Dingy Syllabus becoming a qualified Instructor and then a Senior In- structor and taking up the post of Principal of the Sailing School for 3 years in the early 90’s. He taught many people, but in liaison with the Director of Education for the region and a number of other Senior Instructors, schoolchildren were given regular instruction 4/5 evenings a week on around 10 Dinghies at the Club’s Inland Facility at Piddinghoe, and this started in the 70’s and lasted, although declining, to 1996 when it eventually stopped with Met retiring as Chairman of Governors.

Met was a member of the Piddinghoe Committee from 1975 until 1994 when it ceased to exist as a Committee, and during this period was involved in general maintenance activities and has been for 20 years, and still is, responsible for the Berthing at the Club (currently close on 100 dinghies). Management of the Berthing should not be underestimated in respect of making sure members put dinghies where they should, that they are fully paid up members, and that Club Byelaws are adhered to, and he has gained a somewhat fearful but fair reputation in this respect. In the early 90’s when much work was carried out on bank erosion (Lottery Grant), Met was always on hand to assist and this included liaison with Contractors to filling sacks with cement, or trawling Local Companies to obtain any excess rubber matting. In 1994 he took over the grass cutting for the Piddinghoe site which he still carries out along with numerous maintenance activities as much as he can (and of course Berth Master).

He was made a Life Member of the Club mid-90’s for his contribution. Met has managed to fit these activities in with a host of others. From 1988 to 1998 he was Course Director for Teacher and Youth Leader Courses (qualifications for Expeditions, etc.) for Sussex on behalf of the British Sport Trust and is now an Assessor not only for Sussex but also Hampshire, Kent and Berkshire.

Met became a Course Director and subsequently an Assessor for the Duke of Edinburgh scheme (and President for the Area) for which he has taken 600 people through Gold and for which he received an MBE in 1988. He started Schools Rugby in the early 50’s and rose to Chairman and is currently President of a local Club. Starting teaching School boy boxing in 1953 and arranged many inter-school, local competitions, national championships, and internationals as Technical Advisor to the Schools Boxing Association until it was stopped in 1974. He even finds time to assist his wife in the compilation of tapes for the Blind – a lifetime of commitment to not only our Club, but the Community at large.

Met Metcalfe

6 Membership Renewals 2017

The Directors met last week to discuss membership subscriptions for next year. After careful consideration it was agreed that we would raise membership subscriptions by a small amount across the board. The rationale behind the decision is, firstly there has not been an increase in subscriptions for at least six years, secondly in comparison with other clubs in our area we are the cheapest to join (see graph below) and yet we have three sites to sail from, thirdly we need to begin to raise funds to invest in replacement buildings at Seaford and Piddinghoe as well as a need to invest in renewing our training fleet.

The Cost to Join for a New Family Sailing Membership

£450.00

£400.00

£350.00

£300.00

£250.00

£200.00

£150.00

£100.00

£50.00

£0.00 NSSC Eastbourne Pevensey Bexhill Hastings Lancing Weirwood

The Directors do hope that everybody will accept that these increases are necessary and that you will renew your membership at the end of this year. The Directors are always ready to consider cases of hardship and have in the past granted concessions to individuals and families who can contribute to the club in other ways.

We have re-introduced a one off joining fee of £25 for new members, this may also be charged to renewing members who fail to renew, without a reasonable excuse by the end of March.

The membership form has been re-designed and will be on the club website and available from sometime in October. Membership renewals are due from 1st January.

We have struggled this year to fill duties and are trying to find ways to encourage people to volunteer for their duties and whilst we have increased the minimum requirement we also need to create more opportunities for people to do different duties. The non- duty supplement has also been increased as we would rather have more people volunteering to do duties and not opting out.

The table below summarises the changes to subscriptions:

Member- Proposed Mini- Seaford & So- Discount Access Current Camping ship type member- Voting mum Pid- cial Club on Train- to club membership at club and bene- ship fee rights duty dinghoe Event Hire * ing Cours- Boat fee (£) site fits (£) points Sailing s es Hire

Full Sailing 130 140 √ 20 √ √ √ √ √ √ Individual

Full Sailing 170 180 √ 30 √ √ √ √ √ √ Family Student 45 50 X 10 √ √ X √ √ √ Sailing Cadet Sail- 30 40 X 0 √ √ X √ √ √ ing Senior Ca- 30 40 X 0 √ √ X √ √ √ det Family So- 50 80 X 20 X √ √ √ X √ cial Individual 40 60 X 10 X √ √ √ X √ Social Life Mem- 0 0 √ 0 √ √ √ √ √ √ ber

Non Duty Member 100 150 √ 0 √ √ √ √ √ √ supplement

Berth 45 50

Joining Fee 0 25

Terry Jones Treasurer

8 Ponderings from the Pond By Nick Blackburn, Rear-Commodore Piddinghoe

Hi, my name is Nick Blackburn and I am now the Rear-Commodore of Piddinghoe having handed-over my role at Seaford to George Cork. Here’s just a bit about me. I learnt to windsurf at Piddinghoe when I was 11, so that’s 31 years ago and have been a member on- and-off since then. I am a self-employed carpenter and have always lived locally, so have a lot of love for the lake and many happy memories.

I have re-started the windsurfing tuition and offer refresher lessons for adults and cadets. The club has invested in new rigs this year which are going down well. Maybe next year we’ll go for new boards.

I see to spend most weekends at the pond and thought I’d let you know of some of the changes coming along:

1. We will be re- building boat racks to minimise space-usage 2. We will be starting a new berthing system with new numbering and might have to move some boats 3. There will be a major sort-out of berths, where rotten boats and those not in sailing-shape may be moved to give regular users better access to slipways 4. Old and dumped boats will be put at the camping end, and a notice served on owners where there is no record of ownership 5. There will be a clamp-down on overgrown berths: we’ll need a tree-surgeon to sort some out 6. We are planning to re-do the end slipway and get it back into proper use 7. We are reconstructing the timber edging to the pond where boats are mostly launched. Thanks are due to Simon Suter and his gang of labourers 8. We have been donated a new cooker for the galley (thanks to my parents) so maybe we’ll be able to offer roast dinners 9. There’ll be stricter control on dogs to prevent further “fouling” issues 10. We are becoming overwhelmed with rubbish. It would really help if you could take home any rubbish or re-cycling that you create as we may have to start paying for clearing

I am keen over the next year to organ- ise more family days at the pond, possi- bly with music and barbecues. Are there any events that you would like to see? Piddinghoe is one of the most beautiful places in the area so why not come along and enjoy some new club events.

I have been approached by someone wanting to join-in on cadet week offering canoeing, bush-craft and survival techniques. That might get rid of a few kids and thereby make life easier for Zoe and Jo. And that brings me on to a big thankyou to those two, all other cadet helpers, galley staff and all other helpers who make Piddinghoe such a great place to be.

As you’re aware, we’re struggling for people coming forward to do their duties. If you’re short of points, and cannot make the work parties, just approach me or e-mail me. There are always jobs that need doing and that can accrue points. If you would like to give feedback on how to improve the lake or even if you want to have a go at windsurfing please contact me on [email protected].

Nick Blackburn Rear-Commodore, Piddinghoe

Social Events

Here are the social events coming along over the next few weeks:

 Wine & Cheese evening, Friday October 7th, 6pm, Seaford. Tickets are selling fast: ask at The Galley.

 Halloween Party, Saturday October 29th, Seaford.

 Fireworks Party, Friday November 4th, Seaford.

WOW: Women On Water

Women On Water finished on Thursday 29th Sep- tember because of the lengthening nights. Every- one’s had a great time this summer with lots of new faces, some familiar faces and some faces of people not traditionally classed as “women”.

Whatever, we’ve all learnt a lot and had great fun. I’d like to thank Penelope Duncan for her leader- ship of this event and to Clive Mills-Barton for providing safety-boat support.

Mainsheet Editor [email protected]

OBOW: Calling All Men to Sail

Old Boys on the Water (OBOW) has resumed at Piddinghoe after its summer break. Come along on a Friday morning between 10 and 12 for some sailing. Advice and guidance is available from Bill Giles and a safety boat is at hand. Boats can be hired for a fiver.

July Management Meeting

The minutes of July’s management meeting are now available on the club’s website under “Members” and then “Minutes” or click here: http://www.nssc.org.uk/cms/index.php/ members/minutes

11 News From The Galley

New to our Menu New on our cake counter Homemade Lewes Castle Brown Ale & Chocolate Cake Chai Spice & Chocolate Cake

Our Winter Menu is proving popular –

Featuring sharing roasted Camembert, Winter cheese Ploughman’s with our home made Chutney as well as our usual offerings.

New to the Bar

Something for the Lager drinkers – let us know what you think!

[Editor’s note: “Pistonhead”?? Isn’t that the state in which most of us end -up after a good Friday night?]

Draught Harveys is selling well and we are looking forward to putting on a pin or two of Bonfire Boy for November.

Beer Festival

It was fun hosting the Harveys beer festival – we sold approx. 325 pints over the weekend bringing in the highest bar figures for a Sunday and second highest for a Friday evening. Thank you to all the members who helped. The Seaford Striders helped to finish off the remaining beer ensuring we broke even. Looking forward to hosting next August Bank holiday.

September in the Galley With lovely weather this month we have seen the outside deck full for lunch with members and the public. The evening sun has encouraged members to pop in for a late Harveys or glass of Wine. Pedro organised Sunday Lunch for Jack Baker (100 this year) . See next month’s Main- sheet for photos of this event. Bart’s Bash was really busy. The club was rented for a children’s party with Elsa and Arla making an appearance.

Sea Kale We have harvested some of the Sea Kale which has grown around the berths and have pickled it in Cider Vinegar.

The pickled Kale will be ready in December – think Sour Kraut in flavour. We will put it on the bar for tasting when it’s ready.

Bar Staff Volunteers The Club is looking for occasional bar staff to help behind and around the bar when the club has social events – no experience necessary we are happy to bring you up to speed.

Bring in your paperback books Do you have unwanted paperback books? Bring them in to swop, donate or buy for £1, all proceeds go to charity. We have located the Bookshelf in the corner of the Club and are already seeing members browsing. Thank you to all who brought their books in. The RNLI box is filling up.

Food during October Wednesday Evenings - eat off the menu by 8pm (or our Special) Fridays - eat off the menu by 8pm (or our Special) Saturdays – open till 10pm (steak, fish & chips, children’s menu available) Sundays – watch out for our Roasts Dates for October 1st October – Members party booking 7th October Friday - Tutored Cheese and Wine evening £4 -6.30pm (tickets at galley, email or ring, spaces limited, sorry) 29th October Saturday - Halloween Party

Events at The Galley 4th November Friday – Bonfire and Fireworks th 25 November -Sky at Night (6.30pm) Hosted by Wealden Astronomical Society with their telescopes, calling all Cadets & family (open to all members). We hope to see Orion, Seven Sisters and the Moon in detail. Bring your digital camera and get guidance on deep-space photos and maybe take photos through telescopes.

Louise

13 SLIPPER DINGHY Edited by Simon Suter Sept 2016

The original Slipper dinghy was designed by Brian Gibbs in 1932 in East- bourne. He was a keen sailing and boating enthusiast in his youth and for the Slipper he chose a clinker pram design, and the logo on the sail was in- tended to resemble Aladdin's foot- wear! They are still being used by some sailing clubs for training. NSSC still has four, originally bought for the Sailing School, berthed at Pid- dinghoe, Two are running, Art and Smart, the brightwork recently var- nished, are used as part of the hire fleet for members. H2 and H4 are looking a bit neglected but a bit of work would bring them back into use. Any members interested in adopting them?

He built the original Slipper at his parent's home in Eastbourne and kept it at the Artisan's Sailing Club (renamed the Sov- ereign Sailing Club, which later merged with Eastbourne Sailing Club).

He founded Smith and Gibbs in 1946 with Frank Smith, a friend and fellow sailing enthusiast. They built a number of wooden boats in the 1950s for the local market, of which around five were wooden clinker-built boats based on the original Slipper design. At least one was purchased by the Pevensey Bay Sailing Club, in which a young Phil Morrison first started sailing. Phil went on to become a World Champion yachtsman and world- renowned yacht designer.

After Frank Smith left the partnership in 1972, his nephew Roger joined the business, which retained the name of Smith and Gibbs for continuation. Roger put a lot of effort into developing the marine side of the business and developed trade with the local sailing clubs. The retail side of the business really took off and the early 70s were a boom time for local dinghy sailing, aided of course by the increasing profile of the Mirror Dinghy, designed by Jack Holt and Barry Bucknell.

It was shortly after 1978, following the spectacular success of the Mirror Dinghy, that the market was there for the Slipper to be reborn, this time in glassfibre. It was felt that this would be a good move to compete with the Mirror and other small family sailing dinghies. Compared with other boats of similar size and design, the Slipper offered a reduced maintenance schedule with a minimum of varnishing and some general cleaning. It also looked more aesthetically pleasing than some of its contemporaries!

The first glassfibre Slipper was built around 1982 taking the first set of mouldings from moulds which were in turn moulded from a wooden plug set made by Brian at the family home in Polegate, East Sussex. There are some pictures of the launch of the first glassfibre Slipper at Eastbourne beach.

In all around 67 sailing versions of the Slipper were built. Along the way various im- provements were introduced such as glassfibre mouldings to replace the ply fore and aft buoyancy tanks, a glassfibre gunwhale cap moulding to replace the wooden gun- whales and transom plate, a Bermudan rig to replace the Gunter Rig, glassfibre side buoyancy tanks to replace buoyancy bags and an aluminium rudder stock in place of the wooden one.

There were a number of other refinements, to satisfy the intention to produce a family sailing dinghy that was affordable, easy to sail and maintain as well as a nice boat to look at. It was aimed at those new to sailing who wanted a sturdy, well built boat that would last for years and for which off-the-shelf parts could be obtained easily in case something broke.

It was exhibited at several boat shows including Earl's Court and Southampton. In ad- dition to the sailing version, we built around 50 rowing versions which were sold to individual users as well as water companies and local leisure facilities.

Other designs were built, a smaller dinghy called the Pup (based on the Slipper) and a larger fishing boat called the Sovereign 17.

There was never an ability to devote a great deal of time to market the Slipper nation- wide although it was sold through a small number of dealers including London Dinghy Centre. Although the potential was great there were a large number of other competing classes appearing on the market and there were no facilities or the economies of scale to be really competitive on price. Others offered services such as dinghy repairs, metal racing dinghy masts and custom rigging, custom boat covers as well as the retail outlet and it was difficult to apply the time that would have been necessary to make headway. The company was also reticent to produce more boats after the European Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) was introduced, although there was no reason to believe that the Slipper would not comply.

The very last sailing Slipper was built around the early 1990s until the partnership was dissolved in 1992 and was carried on as a sole trader until the late 1990s when the business was sold on. S&G carried on until the early 2000s when the retail outlet closed and ceased trading at the site on Seaside in Eastbourne.

15 Web Crawling

I sometimes wish that more members would use our website. (And those of you sud- denly inspired to do so should go to: http://www.nssc.org.uk/cms/.) I’m asked about events, results, webcam addresses, weather forecasts and all sorts of things that are there for anyone to see. This has made me wonder whether our website needs some serious re-working. Being an unimaginative type, I thought the easiest solution would be to look at the websites of neighbouring clubs and see how we compare. So I hunted around the sites for Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings to see how they do things. My conclusion is that there is definitely more we could do, but that there’s much they could learn from us. If anyone knows of an exemplar sailing club website I’d like to know so I can take a look.

The first aspect I reviewed was “look-and-feel”. All of the other sites have a crisper, more modern and cleaner feel to them and I think we could do better. The only thing to say in our defence is that ours feels more like a club’s web-site and less like a company’s site, and that might make it more attractive. This is probably the hardest thing to change as well. We’d need to devise a new site template and house-style and migrate the data over. At the moment I don’t even know how to do that and it would need some investment in time and energy. I’m not even sure if our web tool (Joopla) would support some of these modern styles.

While we’re beating ourselves up over the site let’s pile in some other things that the other clubs do better. Some of them have a direct interface to their Facebook page on the front-page of the web-site so anything that’s posted on Face- book automatically turns-up on the web-site. I think that would definitely be a quick win for us. I’ve always been disappointed about how few people look at Facebook and this would be a way to get hot-news posts seen by more people, and would improve involvement by members. Some sites have “news” sec- tions on the front-page allowing other up-to-date information to be transmitted. Unfortunately they all suffer from the same problem: they’re never updated and refer to events in the past.

Some aspects are covered by all the sites even if in slightly different ways. So Du- tyman is there on all of them but none do what we do and show the next few weeks em- bedded into the website page which I find particularly useful. Most sites have social, racing and training calendars but only Bexhill and us put all calendars together into a single view.

Most have links to weather sites (except Eastbourne) and most, like us, put a widget into their website allowing a small-scale view of current weather. Both Bexhill and us have a webcam link. Eastbourne and Hastings don’t but I think that’s more a function of the fact they don’t have a Webcam to link to. I must find out how Bexhill manage to

16 get such a good refresh rate on their webcam; perhaps they pay a lot for a fast internet connection. And they could learn from us about putting weather links on the webcam display.

We definitely do better than all the others with respect to newsletters. No other club produces a monthly newsletter and even when they do produce them they don’t seem to put them on their websites for months afterwards. We also produce our racing results in a far more timely fashion. Eastbourne’s got nothing since August, Bexhill nothing since May, and Hastings don’t put dates on their results so it’s difficult to tell.

All sites have training pages (in fact, they all seem to offer the same courses) and it’s difficult to tease them apart except to say that ours have more detail of the courses.

And that brings me onto making subscription applications and on-line payments through the website for subscriptions and training. We do it for repeat subscriptions and cadet training but no other training. No other site takes money on-line through the web-site. Eastbourne takes the details on-line and provide their bank details for the applicant to use through on-line banking. The others require printing out of application forms.

One interesting area for review is that a couple of the other sites show fairly discreet adverts for local firms. Whether they get any money for that I don’t know, but it might be worthwhile looking at the possibilities here.

And, finally, there’s one thing every site does, and does it on the front-page: they say they’re “family friendly”.

Mainsheet Editor [email protected]

And just to remind ourselves what the first website looked like in 1992…..

17 CATZ CHAT (AUTHOR 1919) SEPT

So how did the Internet Surfing go?, you know, looking for that Catamaran on line that I mentioned in last months Mainsheet? Please talk with me or other Cat sailors. Last Wed sailing night of the season. This must have been the best of the summer months, brilliant winds, big waves and close sailing between the Fireball thingy and the Sprint15, close all the way, only to be pipped on the finishing line, but what great fun.

If you need reminding this is another reason why you should get a Cat, they are easier to launch and recover in big waves, as a single hull thingy attempted to land, found at the last minute a wave turn it sideways and the mast crashed into the beach, fortunately, all the available sailors were helping each other and within seconds it was carried clear of the waves, no damage done to the boat……………..the helm was also ok having been thrown off the stern and used their leg by mistake to protect the boat from the stones, ouch ! (boat was ok, phew)

Sunday 4th September Nothing happened – too windy !

Sunday 11th September Brighton & back Light winds saw only 2 Cats, I got pipped at the mark off Peacehaven around the first mark, the course was shortened, but we had a gentle breeze that helped us back. Yes it was Laurence to finish first of course and my Sprint 15 to follow. If you want to see how a dinghy should be sailed and I mean not just sit in one place, follow Laurence, he was up, down, tack, constantly looking at tell-tails on his main, I got exhausted just watching him, as I laid out on my comfortable trampoline to take in a few rays from the sun……….(yes, I know, more effort).

Sunday 18th September was Barts Bash Great to see the 4 Sprint 15 out and one Dart 18.

The wind was light with some small gusts at times, the all important thing was the Fireball was beaten to the line by the Dart 18 and a couple Sprint 15. Great to see many boats out including a couple of Opies and first-time Cadet sailors on the sea – well done to everyone

Second race was a “fun race” and the wind decided to drop to almost nothing, so it was a Sprint, wrong choice of words, but a one lap race, we saw three Cats close racing and two retirees due to lack of wind.

Sunday 25th September Wind, boy was there, it was adrenalin time as we launched, shore break, we laughed at it…… actually, we did not. I had Paul as crew and Rupert/Chris supporting the push off the beach, wait … wait nope the waves were still coming, eventually, it was go go go, we were only 10 meters out and I heard Chris with an expletive not to be repeated here and the bow of the Sprint 15 was heading skywards, no-one saw that one coming! It was exciting, and yet scary, but there were still 3 Cats, couple of Lasers and Fireball sailing. The wind was getting stronger, the waves higher, it was time to call it a day, we followed the other 2 Cats to the beach for early retirement. What a blast, Gybing was only one of the problems, trying to slow down was the other, well done to my crew Paul, who I think really enjoyed the experience, beats the Mirror dinghy he brought to sail on the day!

Mike G

18 Director Profile: Simon Suter What did I let myself in for ?

I came down to sail and race in 2000, as squash had given me up and tennis did not satisfy, ac- quired a Laser, and sixteen years later find myself helping to bring new participants into the sport! I had sailed with my Dad as a young- ster, but no certificates, so when refused boat hire in Cornwall, I realised it was on my doorstep, so what’s stopping me? I did the Din- ghy course with Mike Woollard in the same boats I am teaching with now.

It’s the usual story in this Club, and probably others. Do you fancy being an Instructor? You need Powerboat, oh, and Rescue, and First Aid. Now you know how the races work, you can do ARO, then RO, VHF radio, and so on. These led onto doing the Day and Coastal Skipper qualifications, ending up with gaining my Senior Instruc- tors Certificate in February.

As Rear Comm Seaford, my construction background put me in good stead with building development, and the repairs and maintenance to the club houses that old buildings need, and my teaching experience at Plumpton helps with giving confidence and competence to novices on the water.

I have had terrific fun out of this club, and now that I have grown up a bit I can put some back, and being semi-retired gives me the time. I took on the Training Director role last year, when Bill Giles became Secretary, and with Ed Hall, have increased the provision of training for the club members and for the public, with the Sailing School, tripled the turn- over last year, and hope to surpass that this year. Demand for dinghy sailing is increasing, as is powerboating, and we are well placed to service it, but our resources are wearing out, and a rolling programme of investment is required for equipment and in training to encourage younger members (and not so young!) to become Instructors and managers of the Club resources.

One of the main things I have learned is that people make the club work, and it is the effort and time given by Club Members for the benefit of others, that is such an important resource, and make this club a good place to come to. It is a good feeling to know others, and for them to know you. My view for the future is to maintain the impetus in training and getting people onto the water in dinghies, not just at the basic levels, but advanced levels too, alongside Windsurfing and perhaps rekindle the Keelboating side. We should consider paddleboarding and Canoeing as well.

The School boats we use at present are serviceable, and we can keep them going with ‘fettling’ sessions with Members, but investment in more up to date boats will go a long way to giving a good learning experience, and make it attractive to potential sailors.

This club has been active for 60 years. But, the world is changing, and if we don’t change with it we will go the way of other clubs, in a variety of sports, and not survive. We are very fortunate in owning our assets at the 2 sites, and I would like to see us develop into a renowned Training Cen- tre, with good quality facilities, offering training in watersports, in co-operation with other part- ners, and consider this to be an exciting time to be involved with the club.

Simon Suter Training Director

The good ship NSSC

Congratulations to all the cadets who went to Weir Wood recently and all the helpers. The club has a history of travelling to events and a successful squad. Cadets are rocking again and must be allowed to flourish, best turnout for many years. The club is volunteer run and officers of the club are effectively custodians of the asset, it is like a relay race and the baton gets passed on, it has to be passed on to keep things healthy and embrace change. I'm sure Usain Bolt could run all four legs of a 4 by 100m relay race but would he win and would it be fair on the his team members? I realise that some of you with young families are time poor, but this club exists for present and future generations, if you want it to be reasonably priced, embrace change, develop, and be fair and equal to all, try and make time to get involved, it's your club, it belongs to all the members.

Ian Johnson

Top Club, Big Fleets, Big Fish & Big Jim (or, The Further Adventures of Alex)

Clive continues his reminiscences taking Alex around the country:

Our second season in Sailing was a big adventure from start to finish, Alex had finished 9th at the RYA Zone Championships and along with fellow NSSC cadets Jordan Taylor and Mark Lambert squeezed into the zone squad, when we got the RYA letter offering Alex a place on the squad my perspective changed and we got totally immersed in the sailing culture. We spent the Winter training at Bewl and Island Barn in readiness for the coming season, our first National event was event at Draycott Water was eventful to say the least, putting one of the last nails in the coffin for the motor-home, after squeezing through the narrow gates at a service entrance the trees broke the aircon box on the roof, the darned thing was just too big.

The event was an eye opener compared to the couple of local events and Zone Champs that we had competed at, Alex finished 84th out a fleet of 160, which we though was pretty decent for a first event, and being only 14 months since learning to sail. Next we headed to Grafham Water for the Inland Champion- ships, the lake is as big as Seaford Bay and pretty windy that weekend which put another nail in the camper coffin when my awning ripped-off overnight in the heavy wind, the sailing was brilliant to watch and the com- bined positions of Alex along with Jordan Taylor, Preston Taylor, Mark Lambert, Jess Cox, Ella Gibbs and Kate Gibbs saw our NSSC cadets bring home the honour of the UK`s premier Topper Club.

Our second sailing week was eventful to say the least. Pad- dies Pick-nick (now the expedi- tion) had a sting in the tail when the weather turned on the way back to Seaford, firstly rescuing a mother and daughter from a sinking Mirror and then having to go back to Cuck- mere Haven to tow a broken down Ark in an ever increasing sea. My banana boat rides around the bay proved more popular than the sailing, until a clash of heads between Matt Springall and Grey Baker put a damper on it, nobody thought it as much fun below 25mph. Half way through the week the maiden voyage of a renovated French fishing boat sank, I rescued the crew, Alan Oatway on his wind surfer managed to get a line on it and my 150 HP Yammy just managed to tow it back to the

21 beach where we managed to haul it ashore with the winch, it took an hour and looked like I was being chased by a giant sail fish, can’t remember much of the sailing but it was a fun week.

But back to proper sailing, If we thought Draycott and the Inlands were big events our trip to the Nation- al Championships in Plymouth was jaw-dropping We headed down to Plymouth in the camper with the RIB on the back, full of anticipation and excitement.

About 4 miles from the venue my new bit of technology a GPS unit told me to take a left which I did half a mile down the lane it narrowed to a single car width, bearing in mind my pride and joy was 104 inches wide and 57 foot long with the RIB, it didn't bode well. As we gently eased our way down the lane cutting the tall grass on both side we came face to face with a combine harvester followed by a line of traf- fic, the driver and I stared at each other for a couple of minutes, Alex and Mark were in fits of laughter behind me. Thankfully the farmer re- lented as my 57 foot of camper and RIB was a little bigger than he, and the whole line of traf- fic reversed half a mile to let me through. With a red face I gave them the thumbs up and smiled, but the comments coming back the other way were not quite so cordial.

We eventually arrived safely parked up and launched the RIB, and got the barbie on and the beers out, the rest of our South East topper crew arrived we hoisted the flag and a good evening was had by all. The following day we wandered down to registration, 280 Toppers had migrated to the event and it was quite a sight to behold with a vast sea of colour as far as the eye could see.

The following day was pre-event training and also very entertaining watching 280 boats launch from 2 small slipways and sail off through a line of anchored yachts, I was just heading off to perform my RIB duties when the Topper chairman caught my attention, he introduced me a broad speaking Yorkshire-man and told me that I had been chosen to helm the chap around for a couple of days to give some on-water coaching to the fleet, it was coaching legend and Team GB guru Jim Saltonstall. As we headed off around the fleet I was given the instruction "this ferret needs some help driver, pull along-side", we did this some 30/40 times over the next two days, with Jim issuing micro-tuning instruction to the sailor, and on every occasion a beaming grin would flash back from the ferret under tuition. It always improved them, but then that`s why he is still a legend. It is his training programme that is still used to keep Team GB as the world’s premier sailing nation.

I was pretty awe-struck by the sailing as I hadn't really seen any high-end racing before.

22 It was so intense that on one day the gold fleet stopped a warship from going through and he had to use full reverse thrust as a line of Toppers sailed across his bow and had no intention of giving way to him. Alex had a birthday mid-way through the event. We had no wind that day and we had to tow 280 Toppers out into Plymouth Sound, as we waited for the breeze to arrive the South East Topper contingent of about 40 created a massive raft up, not a sailor was to be seen on the perimeter as they had all headed to the centre. After about 10 minutes a rousing few choruses of "Happy Birthday Alex" rang out across the water. I had a tear in the eye, god I love dinghy sailing.

After 5 hours we towed them all back again and had a massive birthday party ashore, Tessa Groves mum of RIO Nacra Olympian Nicola had baked a cake, ex NSSC commodore Ian Lambert organised the barbecue, and to cap it all the World annual fireworks competition provided us with a stunning display to round off the evening.

Other memorable moments of the week included being told to "clear orft" at gunpoint whist taking a boat-load of our Topper crew to view the submarine pens and getting too close, having to shelter Ian in my wake when his little RIB was getting waterlogged by huge waves after a trip to Wembury Bay and sitting out in Plymouth Sound with a huge 3.0mtr swell and 20nkt wind watching these little guys and gals, not just survive but actually race. Once you get out of your comfort zone and start hitting a few circuit events its amazing how quickly our little cadets start to develop, learning new techniques, making friends a gaining confidence, you really need to try it I can promise it’s worth it.

Clive Mills-Barton

New Clubhouse at Seaford

Many of you will remember from this year’s AGM Ian Johnson talking about the possibility of a new clubhouse being built at Seaford. At a previous AGM Ian showed some possible designs for a new clubhouse filling the gap between the current building and the westerly boundary of our land.

Ian is now gathering a small group together to move our thoughts further forward. There’s no commitment at this stage and no money being spent. All that’s happening is that Ian is plumbing the talents that club members have to get some conceptual and feasibility work done.

There’s a particular need to review the planning issues and these are being followed-up. Maximising grants is another area we can start to look at. At a certain point (and we haven’t reached that yet), after a conceptual stage that uses pro-bono club resources there’ll be the need for agreement to start to spend some serious money on architects, quantity sur- veyors, project planners and similar professionals. Based on their planning work, with associ- ated funding planning, we’ll then need to make the decision to go ahead (or not) with build.

Do you have particular skills in any of these areas? Ian is always looking for people with spe- cific skills to take us through the conceptual/feasibility phases. For example, do you have experience of tapping-into funding sources? Do you have estimating or quantity surveying skills in construction to help with cost forecasts? Let Ian know.

We’ll hope to keep you informed regularly of our progress and consult the membership as we move through conceptual and feasibility stages.

23 The Creature From The Black Lagoon

Am I the only one to spot the similarity between our glorious ex-commodore Ian Johnson and The Creature From the Black Lagoon?

Ian helping at the pond recently

The creature terrifying people in cinemas in the fifties

Mainsheet Editor [email protected]

24 Recorder’s Notes

The Seaford Games Tourney was due to be sailed on the August bank holiday but was cancelled on the Sunday due to the strong winds. Fortunately conditions were much better on Monday and we had a good days sailing with an offshore 2-3 breeze which dropped away just before a sea-breeze came in towards the end of the second race. Yves Horent did very well sailing his Laser but was beaten on handicap by Ed Hall sailing a Radial. My Streaker just managed to stay ahead of both but the other two Streakers had a close battle with several of the other Ra- dials. The cats had a good first race but the dying winds in the second race made conditions difficult for them. In the meantime Rupert and Chris sailing their Fireball were out in front but not far enough to beat the leading single-handers. (see results below)

We held the last of the Wednesday Evening Series on the very last day of August in quite breezy conditions with good surfing waves. 9 competitors braved the conditions. Racing was very close but James Cuxson managed to win with a 20 second corrected time margin over Rupert & Chris’s Fireball.

The Catamaran Open and the first of the Autumn Series races were yet again blown out. The following weekend we were due to sail the Brighton and Back and the Portobello races. The wind was very light so it was decided to lay a mark off Peacehaven for the slow fleet and to send the fast fleet to Portobello off Saltdean but as only two boats en- tered for the fast fleet it was decided that they would sail with the Slow fleet.

I had a good start and was first to the windward mark. Close behind was Mike Godwin sailing his Sprint 15 Sport followed closely by Nia Hall sailing a Laser Radial. The fetch to the mark off Peacehaven turned into a beat with a veering wind and falling tide. The wind dropped further soon after Mike had overtaken me but the dropping wind enabled me to take the lead again. Behind me, Ed Hall sailing his Radial was in close competition with his daughter Nia and eventually managed to overtake her to finish in second place. The race lasted between an hour and a half and two hours and due to the warm sunny weather, we had a good sized fleet.

The Bart’s Bash race was held the following weekend with a record fleet for this season of 30 boats. It turned out to be a lovely day with sunshine and an offshore F2-3 breeze gust- ing 4 occasionally. The Cats did very well with Jamie Lynch winning when using our club handicaps to calculate the results. However, when we sent them to Bart’s Bash they used their own handicap number (which differs from our club’s) and they had Howard Minto sailing his Sprint 15 Sport cat as winning. Well done Howard.