Exe News Spring 2005
0 Exe News Spring 2005 Contents Club Officers 2005...... 2 Commodore’s Notes ...... 3 From the Editors...... 5 Membership Report ...... 6 Dinghy News...... 7 The Cadet Scene ...... 9 Wot, no rudder?...... 12 Junior News ...... 15 From Exe Cadet to Olympic Silver…...... 18 Cruiser Report...... 20 The Wine Run 2005...... 22 Club Finances...... 23 House News ...... 26 Estuary Matters...... 27 The Soc ial Scene...... 33 2004 Prize Winners ...... 35
Exe News is the magazine of Exe Sailing Club, Tornado, Shelley Road, Exmouth, Devon, EX8 1EG Tel: 01395 264607 www.exe-sailing-club.org Exe News is edited by: Mike Rice Julia Cornish 01395 445078 01395 442678 [email protected] [email protected] and printed by: Speed Print Unit 29, Dinan Way Trading Estate, Exmouth EX8 4RS 01395 263831
1 Exe News Spring 2005 Club Officers 2005
Admiral: Mrs D B Williams, Flat 11, 7 Louisa Terrace, Exmouth EX8 2AO 264306 Vice-Admiral: R. A. Lee, 33 Ashleigh Road, Exmouth EX8 2JY 266674 Commodore: H C J Saunders, Dulvers, 38 Halsdon Avenue, Exmouth EX8 3DW 279821 Vice-Commodore: S. C. Garratt, 2 Cheriswood Avenue, Exmouth EX8 4HG 224194 Rear Commodore Snr: Mrs E Underhill, 31 St. Johns Road, Exmouth EX8 4DD 269951 Rear Commodore Jnr: R S Newcombe, 26 Capel Lane, Littleham, Exmouth EX8 2QZ 271713 Hon Secretary: I J Wilkinson, Chelston, 2 Colvin Close, Exmouth EX8 2HN 265455 Membership Sec: M J Hill, Highfield, 25 Gussiford Lane, Exmouth EX8 2SF 269730 Hon Treasurer: B C W Jennings, Mariners, 21 Portland Avenue, Exmouth EX8 1SQ 279545 Flag Captain: Ms J Morrison, Flat 4, 8 Morton Crescent, Exmouth EX8 1BE 276740 Results Secretary: D A S Rose, 2 St. Anthonys Close, Ottery St. Mary EX11 1EN 01404 813081 Cruiser Captain: M G Harland, Driftwood, 2d Moorlands Rd, Budleigh Salterton EX9 6BS 445665 Dinghy Captain: L R Arscott, 114 Pound Lane, Exmouth EX8 4NR 265511 Sailboard Captain: M Walbank, 2 Cutters Wharf, Shelly Road, Exmouth EX8 1XS 227173 Junior Captain: Mrs S P Blick, 24 Ryll Grove, Exmouth EX8 1TU 268772 House Manager: D M Palfreman, 5 Dolforgan Court, Louisa Terrace, Exmouth EX8 2AQ 275582 Berth Marshall: I J Wilkinson, Chelston, 2 Colvin Close, Exmouth EX8 2HN 265455 Minutes Secretary: Mrs A Wilkinson, Chelston, 2 Colvin Close, Exmouth EX8 2HN 265455 Sailing Secretary: Ms F Cameron-Jones, Anchoring Farm, Ottery St. Otterton 567198 Social Secretary: Mrs D Jennings, Mariners, 21 Portland Avenue, Exmouth EX8 1SQ 279545 Webmaster/Press Officer M A Rice, 10 Copp Hill Lane, Budleigh Salterton EX9 6DT 445078 Committee: D Palfreman, 5 Dolforgan Court, Louisa Terrace, Exmouth EX8 2AQ 275582 M Morgan, 80 St Andrews Road, Exmouth EX8 1AS 222872 Mrs D Jennings Mariners, 21 Portland Avenue, Exmouth EX8 1SQ 279545 Mrs J Cornish, Parkholme, 14 West Hill, Budleigh Salterton EX9 6BS 442678 Mrs F Cameron-Jones, Anchoring Farm, Ottery St. Otterton 567198
2 Exe News Spring 2005 Commodore’s Notes
Another season begins and the Club is more vibrant than ever! Just a month ago we had the largest number at a Dinner and Dance that I can remember. Thanks to Gillie and her helpers. We are now a recognised RYA teaching centre thanks to Rick and his helpers. What would we do without the Newcombes? I have been asked if we really need a c onstant increase in subscriptions . It seems that s ome members understood that we had a large surplus of funds available - if only that were true. Those of us who loaned the Club money could then have it back. Your treasurer, Ben (who is one of those owed a large sum of money by the Club) makes a splendid job of explaining the Club finances later in this issue. I constantly wonder if we are making a good job of managing the Club economically. I tend to look at all expenditure in terms of how many members’ annual subscriptions we are s pending. By the time you read this we will have spent around 250 annual subsc riptions on one project. The sleeper wall for the dinghy park was on the point of collapse and we needed to carry out the work on it before the planning permission needed to be renewed. I well remember, as Sailing Secretary, minuting the discussions on whether we c ould afford to have a CB radio at the race box and another in the launch. We never could afford it. In those days the Commodore sometimes had to write personal c heques to bail out the Club in times of crisis . T hanks Steve! T hese days the management would be thought negligent if we did not have sufficient rescue boats , all with VHF radios .
3 Exe News Spring 2005
I do think that sometimes we spend more than we should. I always speak against spending £400 for a disco at New Year, to the extent where I had to run the disco myself two years ago. It was said that I was responsible for the poor attendance at that function! However last time only about 40 people turned up with a £400 professional disco. I feel that every function s hould pay for itself but I am always caught out by my other opinion that the Club bar should always be open to members no matter what function is being held. Am I wrong? Let me know your views, [email protected] or letters please, no telephone calls thank you. We were expec ting to run a championship this year but the class we were expecting has decided not to come, so we will have less income than expected. Your committee feels that it is important to keep hosting champions hips . In the pas t they were the principal fund raising opportunities although recently we have had more social functions for fund raising. It does remain important to host championships even though they are an interruption to the normal running of the Club. By doing s o we maintain a high profile nationally and if we should need a grant at any time in the future our standing in the sport will count. This year we are hosting the River Exe Regatta for the second time, on the 16th and 17th of July. This will also involve dis ruption at the club but is a splendid event which all Club members mus t take part in. P leas e come along yourselves and ask your friends from other clubs . We would like to offer yachts from the upriver clubs moorings for the night of 16th so if you might be away that night or would be prepared to double up on your mooring please let me know (delphin@ec lipse.co.uk or letters please). The event is open to all, is free, and all involved in racing, offic iating or helping will have free entries to a draw (but you have to be at the prize giving to win! ). Draw prizes amount to thousands of pounds. There are races for c ruisers, dinghies , sailboards , a kiteboard demons tration and a powerboat rally. T here may be rowing races if someone will organise them and how about swimming? We are also hoping to have a famous celebrity to present the prizes . Make this the best River Exe Regatta yet, join in and bring your friends! I hope to see you all on the water this year, Best wishes for a wonderful sailing season in 2005. Hedley Saunders Commodore
4 Exe News Spring 2005 From the Editors
After 10 years and 25 issues , E ileen Underhill has finished her watc h as editor of Exe News. During that time, Eileen has steered Exe News from a mainly type-and-photocopy newsletter to a very smart, des ktop-published magazine – all without even a frac tion of the fuss the Times made when they moved to Wapping. Exe News is now both an excellent read and a good looking magazine. Thank you Eileen – yours will be a very hard act to follow – s o hard, in fac t, that it will take two of us to do it! I could see a certain logic in combining the Exe News job with that of club Webmaster, but I thought the editorship of the magazine needed someone who was far more visible at the club, and accessible, than I was able to be. My day job continues to take me away from home (I am editing this in my room at the Europa Hotel, Belfast) and the growing photography business fills a lot of my “spare” time with visits to major events at other sailing clubs . But your widely talented, multi-disciplinary management committee had a cunning plan! If we could find someone to chase up copy and sniff out interesting stories , they thought, maybe we could persuade Mike to do the technical bit The “someone” is Julia Cornis h. We haven’t yet worked out exactly how we will divide up the work, but it will be something along the lines of me putting the magazine together while Julia chases people to ens ure we have something worth putting in it. I f there’s something you would like to see in the magazine, tell me or Julia about it. I f you have a view you would like to share with others, write us a letter (or drop us an email) to be published in the magazine. O ne new feature we have introduced is a regular dip into the archives, to appear on the last page under the heading of… looking aft? That’s the working title, until someone comes up with a better suggestion. With 25 year’s worth of material (Issue 1 was June 1980), this should be a good pot-boiler. Julia and I would like to thank Eileen, on behalf of the whole club, for giving us a fantastic magazine for the last 10 years and wis h her all the best in her “retirement”. The “co-eds” – Mike and Julia
5 Exe News Spring 2005 Membership Report
The speed of renewals this year has been very good with the majority of them being received before the cut-off date of 28th Feb. This is good because we have 50 applications for new members to consider. Thos e members who have sent their renewals in after the 28th Feb may well be placed on the waiting list once the membership reaches 500. The quality of the returns was also very acceptable. Each year I try to modify the form to make it eas ier to fill in. If all the information including your club card numbers are in the correct box it makes processing the forms muc h quicker, and when you have 500 of them to do it can make a difference. Please remember that if you ask for either a new or replacement barrier card/smart card then they will always be left behind the bar for collection. The smart bar cards are now capable of having credit put on them – all you have to do is hand over £x with you card and ask the bar s taff to credit the card. Please ens ure that you always have enough credit before you purchase a drink; should you not have enough credit and no cash to top up your card, then the card will be held behind the bar until the debt is cleared. I f your card is refused after the 28th Feb, it will mean that your renewal was rec eived late and might not have been processed. Finally I would like to thank Malcolm and Dorothy Elliott along with Anne Wilkinson for helping me process the membership renewals so smoothly. I hope you all have a good season. Mike Hill Membership Secretary
Stop Press – membership is filling up rapidly and the waiting list has been re-opened for new applications
6 Exe News Spring 2005 Dinghy News First King Cup 28th March The new season is upon us and with Easter being early the first King Cup race is on 28th March. I hope we get a good turnout for this and that we have all improved our performances to present more of a c hallenge this year to Andrew and Caroline McAusland. T his is likely to be a difficult task, es pecially as they have a new boat for this season. Farewell Eeyore, welcome, er, Piglet?
Andrew and Caroline at speed in the ’04 River Exe Regatta 2005 P rogramme There are few changes to the sailing programme from last year. We intend to start the handicap class first, then the Trios, to help congestion in the boat park and to let the junior fleet off earlier. The new 2005 rules are out – I have not yet seen them myself but I am reliably told there are no s ignificant rules c hanges this time, unlike in the 2000-2004 version. Major events The Laser 2000s have pulled out from having their championships at Exe and therefore we have no major events this year outside
7 Exe News Spring 2005 hosting the Exe Regatta in July, T rio and Laser opens in June and Cadet and RS200 opens in September. Your help with any of these events would be very welcome. Duty Rota Most regular dinghy racers should find themselves on the race duty rota. Please arrange a swap if you cannot do your duty on the allocated date. I would like to thank the non-racers who regularly help us with crewing and driving the rescue boats . This is a great service to the dinghy section as it lets us race more often rather than doing more frequent duties . Many thanks to all those volunteers, and those who have had their arms twisted a bit! Any members who would like to crew or drive the rescue boat who I have not yet used please let me know and I will include you in the next rota. The work party The dinghy park preparation working party is on Saturday 9th April, so do come along and help from 10 am, especially if you already have your boat in the park at this time. It would be better to move your own boat than to have others move it for you. I look forward to a competitive and exc iting seas on with continued strong turnouts throughout the year.
Les Arscott Dinghy Captain
8 Exe News Spring 2005 The Cadet Scene More silverware! The four Exe Cadets had a good season last year as highlighted in the last Exe News. In the Autumn, Ben Cornish and Sam Matson took home more silverware when they won the Parkstone Open. Ben and Sam plus Tom and Emily Kinver went on to be chosen for the Cadet National Squad. T hey have been training all Winter in various parts of the country, coached by members of the RYA, including an intense training few days with Olympic coaches , nutritionists The Cadet Charter and others at Hayling Island SC, funded by the RYA . Jess Blick and James Turl made this year’s South Wes t Zone Squad and are also busy doing a Winter training programme. Spain next stop Des pite not having a regular crew, Ali Langdon also attended the Inland Championships at Rutland and the Nationals at Weymouth. He intends to go to the Promotional World Championships at Pontevedra in Spain, together with the other 3 boats in July this year. Qualifying Indicator Events have to be completed between March and June to pick the final team for Spain. All four boats have worked very hard to have ac hieved so much in a short time. It is sad that we do not at present have more children from our enormous Junior Section to learn from the current group of c adets . We need more of you to buy your kids a boat and get cadetting! Ben & Sam at the ’04 Nationals
9 Exe News Spring 2005
More Cadets needed! We have two c lub Cadet boats that have been used for the past three years but real progress can only be made when the kids have their own boats . Cadetting is great fun. T he kids make loads of new friends and get to sail at some brilliant venues – this year we are off to Spain Even the parents get involved and have a great social time at thes e events . We meet people from all over the world and the kids have friends and contacts for life. If you don’t believe me, read Joe Glanfield’s letter on page 18! Exe used to have the larges t fleet of cadets in the UK, going back to the original formation of No 33 Squadron (Exe Sailing Club) in 1959 . Some of the best sailors this club has produced – best in the world, in fact, started out in Cadets :
Conrad Humphreys , winner of the BT Global Challenge and recently finished 7th in the Vendee Globe, despite a damaged boat;
Joe Glanfield, winner of the silver medal in the 470 class at the Athens Olympics;
Stevie M orrison and Ben Rhodes , top 49er sailors and recently plac ed sec ond in the International 14 World Championships. All of these people will tell you that the high standards of sailing they have reached today came from learning on the Exe in their Cadets and at the many Cadet events, national and international, they were taken to by their Stevie & Ben on their way to 2nd place at parents. If you speak the ‘04 Fireball Nationals to me or any of the Cadet parents past and present, they will tell you what a great time they had. So who were they? From the top (where else?) – H edley, our c urrent commodore, sailed a Cadet, as did former commodore Ben Jennings and vice-
10 Exe News Spring 2005 commodore Symon Garratt. Then you have the Rowsells, Jan Morrison and Mike Sydenham, who handed his talents down to his sons and is now endeavouring to get a Cadet in trim for his new granddaughter. Chris and Kay Rhodes, Sharky and Mickey Ward are also past Cadet parents . Also Phil Morris on, world-renowned designer of boats , including the club’s currently most popular class , the Comet Trio. With that sort of pedigree, who wouldn’t want to be part of it? Bob Cornish
Advance News! Old, famous (or otherwis e) Cadet s ailors wanted for a Cadet Fun Sail later this year. Watch the notice board and web for details .
Howard Tucker and Chris Reeve in “Bees Nees” – from Exe News Issue 1, June 1980
11 Exe News Spring 2005 Wot, no rudder? …or the Valentine’s week dinghy instructor course and RYA inspection On Valentine’s Day you may recall the wind was a brisk North Easter, the sky was grey and the temperature was absolutely peris hing cold. Not really a great day for romance and certainly not the best start for the 8 candidates on the RYA Dinghy Instructor Training course at the Exe Sailing Club. There was definitely a feeling of trepidation early in the week as Richard Beardsley, a visiting coach from Oxford sailing club, and myself put the students through their paces . T he goal of the week was to teac h the candidates how to teach, both on land and in a boat. To this end there were many s hore-based presentations on subjec ts from “what to wear” to “meteorology”. This had the effect of improving confidence, communication skills and teac hing styles . We worked in Bos uns all week. This threw the performance sailors into a challenging new arena of slow and steady sailing in a well- reefed boat. Us ing the hove-to position we broke up our on water activities and made sure that our students had plenty of time to
12 Exe News Spring 2005 digest the information they were being given. How do you eat an elephant? A mouthful at a time… sorry guys , couldn’t resist it. On Wednesday Graham Manc hester, the South Wes t regional Development O fficer, visited us to carry out the centre inspection. This was a thorough look at all areas of the dinghy sailing provision offered by the club. As part of the ins pection graham reviewed the safety fleet, the club facilities, s taffing levels and qualifications , equipment management and a huge amount of underpinning paperwork. As ever Rick Newcombe had done a great job of getting it all together supported by Mark Jones with the safety fleet in mind. The end result… we passed!! A few more tweaks with the paperwork still to do but by the time of going to press all this will be complete. Well done ESC we can now fly the RYA flag as a shorebased and on-water Training Centre.
Look – no rudder! (photo Rick Newcombe)
Thursday’s really big moment was an hour of rudderless sailing, backlit by a truly breathtaking s uns et. It really was a eureka moment with several of the team highlighting it as the best bit of the week. T o the un-initiated it seems like a black art, but with a bit of practice you can balance the jib agains t the main, throw in a bit of underwater boat shape and steer quite happily without a
13 Exe News Spring 2005 rudder. The knock on effect being that now the racers will use less rudder when in performance mode and thus sail faster round the corners! There was no wind on Friday morning. Thankfully, Richard is the undis puted king of energising games and songs for teaching youth groups . The afternoon brought a light breeze and a long and cold session afloat, with the students taking it in turns to teach us the RYA method. O f the 8 candidates , 6 were successful with two having ac hieved Assistant Ins tructor status and with action plans to graduate at the end of the summer. Well done all! We mus t say a big thank you to the Royal Marines , Dave and Chris from the boat store supplied the kit and looked after us wonderfully. Mark and Fiona Jones gave Richard a bed and breakfast for the week free of c harge, thank you folks . Rosie Sands made up the numbers and helped a lot and David Blight lent us his powerboat for whic h we were grateful. And so now to the future… we will be able to offer certificated courses from the RYA scheme. To do this we must work within the RYA ratios of 1 :3 (instructor to students ) in a double handed boat and 1 :6 in s ingle handers. All instruction must be from a dinghy instructor or assistant instructor and designated safety cover must be present in the correct ratios too. Clearly this will affec t the way we deliver some of our activities. The main hope is that we can now offer some goals for those who want to try and ac hieve them as well as fun and enjoyment. Read on for Rick’s announcement on how, when and where…. Jonathan Davis JM-FIBRELINE fibreglass specialist
high quality repairs to GRP or wooden dinghies windsurfer, kite and surfboard repairs prototypes and modifications renovation, respray and revarnish service on-site yacht repairs Contact JEREMY on 07966 599028 or 01395 224022
14 Exe News Spring 2005 Junior News
Around the mother ship – R Exe Junior Series ‘04 To begin, on behalf of all the participants I would like to thank John and Richard for their efforts in running the instructors’ c ourse. It mus t have been very cold sitting in the RIB and the Bosuns watching us all enjoying ourselves . It was a great week, and even Bob (Horlock) did not whinge too much about the cold (even after he managed the only capsize of the week). Jonathan’s article will have informed you that the c lub is now regis tered with the RYA as a training centre. What Jon does not add is that this has largely been made possible by his willingness to join with us in a partnership that has enabled us to apply for and obtain that registration. Over the coming year we aim to develop the scale and range of the training we can offer. The instructor course was the fis t s tep. We now have a great new instructing team. The wrinklies first: Racing coaches - Rick Newcombe, Chris Rhodes , Martin Lilly, and Les Arscott. Senior Instruc tors - Noel Davis and Jonathan Davis Dinghy instructors - Rick Newcombe, Bob Horlock, Dave Preston. Next the young pretenders: Jess Blick, Karen Greenslade, Sam Panter, Rosie Sands , E lizabeth Sands , Paddy Blight, Mike Matson and Sarah Hickman. I should add it was a great pleas ure to be on the same course as these young people - they really are a credit to the club. (Little do they know they will be working for us voluntarily for the next 40 years!)
15 Exe News Spring 2005
Las t but not least, Powerboat (Petrol Heads ) instructors - Mark Cameron Jones and Nigel Dickenson. You will see from the sailing programme that there is a full racing and junior programme in place. Junior Racing and Coaching New for this year is a Junior rac ing/coac hing programme for Thursday evenings . First evening 7th April. O ur programme is aimed at all the juniors who are currently racing and any who feel they are ready to venture onto the race course for the first time. We are very happy to invite any interes ted adults to join us, provided of course they are well behaved. Run by our racing coac hes , the coaching will be fun and friendly and the races short, with the emphasis on gaining knowledge and skill rather than winning. If you are able to sail a triangular course in a range of wind strengths then this is for you - contac t me. Friday Nights In reviewing last year’s Friday evening sessions we became conscious that although we managed to get a record number of kids onto the water, we had struggled to provide the structure and quality of ins truction needed to allow our “intermediate level” sailors to progress. T his is the group who were sailing single handed, or with friends. T his year we a propos ing some changes to the Friday format. Firstly, sailing is about having fun and we want to continue to encourage as many kids onto the water as possible. But we also want to offer a structured training programme for those who are ready and want to progress . We have learned that we cannot ac hieve both these ambitions on the same evening. Our plan for the 2005 season is to hold an open informal session on alternate Fridays with a more structured training session on the other Friday. The training evening will be for those who have signed-up for a training course and for those who can already sail but are ready to learn more. The course on offer for our beginners will be the RYA Youth level Stage one and two and for the intermediate group stages three and possibly four. We als o hope to offer the start racing programme from the National Sailing Scheme through the T hursday evening coac hing / racing sessions . It will be necessary to charge for formal courses , to cover the cost of “buying in” the Senior I nstructors and to meet the running costs .
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However, with the help of our volunteers we will keep the cost to a minimum. We will have approximately 15 places for the stage 1 and 2 and 12-15 (this will depend on how many will have their own boats ) for the intermediates . If all the places are taken up we hope the courses will cost in region of £50 . The level 1 & 2 course will consist of 10 Friday evening sessions with additional weekend days as required. The junior regis tration evening is set for FRIDAY APRIL 22nd where we will confirm course places and advis e the final cost. If you are interested in the training programme please call me 01395 271713. Plac es can be booked in advance by c ontacting me. Preferably by email (so I don’t lose your booking) ric hard@newcombe26 .eclipse.co.uk In addition to the junior training programme we will be happy to consider running adult training courses or courses to inc lude all the family. We have an outline plan to offer a three week programme in the summer from late July into August probable dates 25th July - 12th August. Other news Many thanks to Tony Blackmore of Sailsport (the Online Chandler, do not go anywhere near his van if you have you credit card on you! ) who has spons ored the club Cadet Dinghies . The dates for this year’s River Exe Junior Series are in the programme, but so you don’t forget, they are: are Saturday 21st May Topsham, 2nd July Starcross , and 24th September Lympstone. There will also be a Junior class and a fun sail event in the River Exe regatta 16/17 July. I shall look forward to seeing you all again on the 22nd. Rick Newcombe
17 Exe News Spring 2005 From Exe Cadet to Olympic Silver…. In this letter to the Exe Juniors, 470 Silver Medallist Joe Glanfield goes back to his roots with the Exe Cadet fleet
Hi, I started sailing on the Exe when I was about 8 years old. Like many of the children who belonged to the sailing club, we had a Cadet. At that time because we had such a good fleet of Cadets, quite a few of the kids did well and we had at least 5 Cadets that were amongst the best in the UK. I sailed with my brother Tom, crewing at first. When I was about 12 I started helming in my Cadet (7202 Legend.) My sailing improved and in 1993 I won the B Fleet at the Nationals, followed by a win in the A fleet in 1995. I then qualified for the Windward mark action in Athens World Cadet event held in Palma Majorca, where we came 9th, sailing my next boat, 8547 Art Attack. I moved on from Cadets when I was about 15-16 and crewed in a 420 with Stevie Morrison, who had also been in Cadets but was a bit older than me. When Stevie moved up to another class of boat I stayed in the 420 until I was 18. Sailing with Graham Vials, we won the 420 Youth Nationals in Wales, then came 2nd in the 420 Youth Worlds in Japan and also won the 420 UK Nationals. I then made the big decision - I wanted to do sailing full time. I opted to go into 470 next, sailing as crew with Nick Rogers. We were helped with lottery funding and started competing in the 470 international circuit as well as continuing to train regularly.
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We qualified for the Olympics in Sydney in 2000 when we came 4th. We were pleased with that result as we had not won any major event in the 470 up to that point. So we decided to stick with the 470 and keep going. It seemed to pay off as we then had some good results; 2nd in Worlds in Slovenia, 2001 then 3rd in the Europeans in Estonia 2002. In 2003 we were 2nd in the Pre-Olympics in Athens, good enough to get the GBR 470 place at the 2004 Olympics. During our build-up to the Olympics in 2004 we were 1st in the Europeans in Germany, 3rd in the Worlds in Croatia and also won the Princess Sofia Olympic classes regatta in Palma, Majorca. In the Athens Olympic regatta itself we took second place behind the US team, to come home with our Silver medal. The result was Nick and Joe with the Silver! decided in the last race of the regatta. So - anything is possible - you just have to get started! We were lucky to have so many friends on the Exe with Cadet boats. That meant we didn’t have to travel too much and we could train and race against each other. I never thought it much fun competing against different types of boat, because the handicap system meant you never really knew where you were coming till it was all over. Now there are lots of Juniors at Exe again you should think about getting a Cadet. It is a great boat to learn in and the more of you there are, the better the competition and the more fun you will have. With our access to both to the sea and to the flatter water and tide of the estuary, Exe is a great place to learn all the skills you’ll need to be a great sailor. Have a great season! With best wishes
Joe Glanfield (photos supplied by Joe Glanfield)
19 Exe News Spring 2005 Cruiser Report I hope you have all had a res tful winter and are now well into all those tasks which need to be done before launch day. Some owners were seen anti-fouling in early February! Provisional “Lift In” & Lift Out dates for 2005
Lift in at dock: Saturday 2 April
Lift in over wall: Thursday 7 April Briefing Meeting for Lift In: Thursday 24 March – 8pm. I am organising a Security Duty Roster and some of you have already phoned me to volunteer. We plan to have two cruiser members on duty each night from Saturday 26 March.
Lift out over wall: Monday 19 September
Lift out at dock: Friday 30 September Cruiser Programme 2005 Evening C ruiser Pursuit Racing: Hedley Saunders has organised these events as usual (see Sailing Programme)
Wine Run: Weekend 11 /12 June. Setting off Thurs. 9 June?
Exe Regatta, Exe SC hos ting: Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 July
Fulfords Champagne Challenge: Saturday 10 September Has Brixham Maritime and Coastguard Agency got an up to date Safety I dentification Scheme (CG66) Form for your boat? This needs to be renewed every 2 years. You can get forms from MCA by telephoning 01703 329100 or on the web at: www.mc ga.gov.uk Small Ship Register Online: Boat Bow Creek (photo – Mike owners c an also register their Harland) vessel online via the above MCA website. Regis tration of UK vessels less than 24m on the Small Ships Register acts as a passport, proving the nationality of the vessel.
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Cruiser Winter Parking for 2005-06. Application forms will be available from Wednes day 1 June and must be in by Friday 1 July. I would like to wish you all a great seasons sailing - let’s hope the weather is kind to us this season. If you are cruising in loc al waters, es pecially if you are single handed, please stay in VHF contact with other club members. We can give eac h other advice and minor assistance if necessary. Contac t on Ch 16 and then go to Ch 72 . Finally your reports and photographs of your sailing exploits will be gratefully received for the autumn copy of Exe News so please make a few notes as you sail along. Mike Harland Cruiser Captain
Fly the flag!
Just in case you missed it at the AGM, Keith Graham reminded members that they would avoid berthing fees for us e of the marina entrance pontoon if they were flying the Exe burgee. Failure to do s o will cost you £10. Burgees are on sale at the bar!
The club pays an annual fee for this facility. Pleas e use it sensibly.
21 Exe News Spring 2005 The Wine Run 2005
change of date… It has been decided to amend the date for this year’s Wine Run to avoid clas hing with Topsham Sailing Club’s Race to Dartmouth (Saturday 11th June) Our Wine Run is now sc heduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday 19th June. All other details remain as announced earlier: Yacht crews from all clubs on the Exe are welcome to join us . Likely destination is Cherbourg due to its ease of access but both destination and timing will be subject to confirmation dependant on weather conditions . You are free to either arrange to cruise in company or individually. This is not a race and there is no set departure time. We aim to offer a ‘fun’ event and the opportunity to enjoy good company, wine and dining. For those wis hing to extend their trip we are proposing to hold our us ual wine tasting competition some ten days after the ac tual wine run, sometime during week commencing 27th June (date to be confirmed). To regis ter your interes t and ens ure you are notified of the pre-trip briefing please contact: David Palfreman (yac ht ‘Speculator 2’) Tel: 01395-275582 Mob: 07989-431414 E-mail: [email protected]
22 Exe News Spring 2005 Club Finances “Sing a song of Sixpence…” Not all of us can read the annual report of accounts and understand the underlying messages . Generally, accountancy is for most of us a black art, a mys terious jumble of figures that can be interpreted in many ways . It is perhaps not s urpris ing that misinterpretations occ ur. A recent rumour circulating at the bar has been that the club is inc redibly flus h with liquid assets exceeding £200,000 and had no need to raise annual subscriptions. If only we were in such a fortunate position! The purpose of these scribblings is to set the record straight and hopefully give club members a better understanding of where the pennies go. Some of you will have attended the Annual General Meeting so will have already heard and seen some of the comments before, however, only about 20% of the membership attends the AGM so to many this will be new news. The balance s heet INCOME as at 30 September 2004 Franchise, Other, showed the net Social, £3,063 £4,178 £3,766 assets of the c lub Car Park, standing at £7,951 £229,775. This, however, includes Cruiser Storage, the freehold £7,090 property, the starting box Dinghy Park, (residual value) the Subscriptions, £11,244 £45,736 rescue boats plus fixtures and fittings together with bar stock and cash at the bank or in hand. You need to understand that capital or fixed assets are held at historic cost. For example, the c lubhouse is an appreciating asset and probably worth over £1 million but we do not revalue as if we did we would end up paying tax on the gain in value. The main inc ome of the club is made up of subscription income generally received in January, February and M arch whereas expenditure occurs throughout the year. To help explain this , I have reproduced here the income and expenditure s lides s hown at the
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AGM. Last year the club had an operational surplus of £4 ,860 on a turnover of £134 ,069 As with any business , there needs to be “working capital” from whic h to pay staff s alaries , meet maintenance cos ts and s ervices other cos ts of running the club. T he liquid cas h reserves as at 31 September 2004 stood at £62,703. Of this, some £13,000 was required to keep the club running till subscription income starts to flow in the spring. There is then the cos t of repairing the s leeper wall, sea defence protection of our dinghy park, currently estimated at £24,000 plus other items of approved expenditure such as the laptop c omputer and projector for T hursday evening talks £3 ,000 various essential maintenance on the club house £4,000 and retubing the older RIB £6,000 . Thus , the actual unallocated reserve is only of the order of £10,000 which is a relatively modest sum for a club of this size. Also, to be taken into account are the Expenditure liabilities of Members and Barclays loans totalling £49 ,702 whic h were raised to Bar pay for the building Sailing 5% alterations . T hese 21% do, of course, have to be repaid. In terms of financial policy it is the Club intention of the 74% management committee to ens ure the club lives within its means , maintains a modes t reserve against the inevitable rainy day and only seeks to build a large reserve should a partic ular project warrant that. A fact of life is that money loses its value with inflation and it has been my rec ommendation to the AGM that our main income streams are inc reased in line with the Retail Price Index rather than run the risk of an operational loss at year end. In my view, members get a very good deal from the subscriptions they pay. Exe Sailing Club is the premier club on the River with family membership still only about £2 a week. Somewhat less than the price of a pint of beer.
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I hope that I have been able to give you some reassurance that the Management Committee run a tight ship and to allay my sugges tion that we are sitting on a pot of gold. I f we have any gold it is the enthusiasm of our members for sailing – long may that continue. Ben Jennings Hon Treasurer
Official www.fotoboat.com photographers 2005 dinghy sailing images Fireball Worlds
For enquiries, event bookings or commissions contact Mike Rice Tel 01395 442013 Mob 07774 946930 email [email protected]
Ben and Liz at the ’04 Merlin Nationals, at Looe
25 Exe News Spring 2005 House News
Many of the jobs dealt with by members of the House Committee are often not noticed. T his includes repairs to plasterwork, touch- up painting, replac ing faulty fittings etc.. We have a never ending list of these. Projects which are likely to be noticed inc lude:-
the replacement of the sleeper wall at the west end of the dinghy park,
the levelling of the surface of the Car Park occupied, at present, by the cruisers. We would ask all members to remember that there is a book on the chart table, in the Bar area, for noting any faults you may find. T he list is consulted eac h week and jobs are done as soon as possible, from broken light bulbs to screwing fittings back on the walls etc .
Members’ kitchen The downstairs kitchen is for use of all members for making hot or cold drinks . We ask that you either WASH YOUR MUG or RINSE AND PLACE IN THE DISHWASHER when you have finis hed using it. I f you have used tea/coffee/milk and/or s ugar from the kitchen we ask for a small donation just to cover the cos ts please. Having a dirty, untidy kitc hen is a health hazard which may well lead to closure of this facility if the health and safety inspec tors happen to be around. P lease do not leave clothes ‘hung’ on the floor. They will be ‘binned’! Many of us enjoy having the use of the downs tairs kitchen. Please leave it as you would like to find it.
Eileen Underhill Chairman of House Committee
26 Exe News Spring 2005 Estuary Matters
Hon Secretary Ivan reports on the latest developments over access to the water at Exmouth Las t Summer I was involved in a forum set up by East Devon Dis trict Council to examine the application of the byelaws relating to the beaches in Exmouth. This group concluded that the root problem was not the inadequacies of the byelaws or their application, but the lack of adequate facilities for boats . The EDDC Corporate Director for the E nvironment subsequently asked John Pascoe-Watson of the Residents Association and me to prepare a paper on the subjec t. I presented a paper to a joint meeting of the Environment and Economy Overview committees of EDDC, whic h was also attended a wide range of interested parties . The proposals were accepted unanimous ly. I thought that some members would be interested in reading a synopsis of the report. Boat Access and Essential Inf rastructure at Exmouth Exmouth is the main centre for water-based recreation on the es tuary. Over the las t several decades there has been inc reas ing interes t in a wide variety of water s ports , combined with pressure on estuary-s ide land for redevelopment. T he open s pace once provided in and around Exmouth Marina has been re-developed and, whils t it has accommodated s ome additional facilities , other ac tivities have been dis placed.
27 Exe News Spring 2005
Current and Future Boat Access Requirements The underlying issue is how to cope with multiple activities and manage the clash of interests on the water, on the shoreline, on the beac h, on the slipways and on the highway. There is no overall plan to integrate or separate conflicting activities. The serious lack of adequate facilities is the underlying cause of many of today’s problems and fric tion between us ers. Demand In recent years there has been a tremendous growth in demand for water recreation, evident by:
the Marina being full, with some 150 applic ants on its waiting list. the Exe Sailing Club has a similarly over-stretc hed demand for boat parking and has been forced to close its membership lis t (it has space for 243 dinghies in the summer.) There are more and more power boats seeking access to the water. There is a continual growth in fast water craft such as winds urfers, kitesurfers, catamarans and hydrofoil dinghies . New c raft are c ontinuously being developed e.g. jet s kis and hovpods . Issues Need for better facilities : EDDC have accepted that increased use of local water rec reational facilities is desirable and have supported in principle the concept for a new Waterside Centre. T his will provide some facilities but many are outside the concept of the centre. Boat Storage: Exmouth and the Exe are magnificent places to sail but there is nowhere for visitors to keep their boats ashore at Exmouth. T wenty years ago fleets of over 100 dinghies were
28 Exe News Spring 2005 accommodated and enjoyed some of the best s ailing in England whic h also boosted the local economy. Car and Trailer Parking: Now there are only 20 boat parking places for boats owned by the public on the beac h for Exmouth residents . The majority of owners have to tow their boats to as near the es tuary as possible rig and launc h and then hunt for somewhere to “loose” their car and trailer. Slipways and Driving on the fores hore: The public seek access to the estuary with boats on trailers us ually hauled by c ars over the foreshore or down slipways . The present slipways are totally inadequate. Most of them do not reach the water even at high tide. Large areas of parking are needed adjacent to launch sites to accommodate trailers and 4x4 vehicles . Dinghy sailors need space to rig their boats before launc hing Exis ting slipways and ramps are either very limited in their capacity for nearby parking and/or dangerous or not suitable for access to deep water:-
Mamhead – deep water access but often dangerous due to fast currents and proximity to main navigation channel, limited nearby parking. A source of major traffic congestion. Belshers - too narrow/obstruc ted, dangerous in prevailing winds , limited deep water access (mainly ac ross fores hore), no fac ilities ; Trinity Buoy Store – awkward approac h, on private land but with a public right of way, no parking. I mperial – good slipway with ample parking but very limited deep water access . None of the existing slipways reac h to water on low water spring tides . The number of vehicles driving on the fores hore is therefore likely to inc reas e unless controls and/or proper facilities are provided. Having several launch sites makes it more difficult to control access. A single (main) access could bring the situation under control if adequate facilities were provided. I t would als o provide the opportunity for informing water users about local conditions , fac ilities and agreements to improve behaviour on the water (Note: the police launch has stopped approx. 200 craft and warned the us ers about their behaviour this year). Controlled access could reduce this problem.
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This report concludes that the principal issue is not observance of existing local bye laws but the provis ion of fac ilities to meet the needs of boat users without conflic t with beac h users and highway us ers. T he solution of these problems would overcome many of today’s problems and prevent the need for new legislation (byelaws). A Solution A potential solution to the problem has been identified by the authors of this report and disc ussed at the Exe Estuary Forum last October. Assuming it is not possible to develop the remaining land alongside the marina basin, there appears to be only one site left that could be sympathetically developed to provide a solution to all the failings of the present situation. That is to create a deep water basin and build a “Town Quay” at Camperdown Creek. The proposal is for a new public slipway and craning quay to launc h and recover boats up to about 40 feet long from a deep water basin. This would also provide:-
A base for marine based services , A base for a sailing/power boat school. Facilities for Sea Scouts and Sea Cadets . A site for boat maintenance, A focus for marine related activities , Somewhere for the public to enjoy watc hing boating activities . Nearby parking facilities and toilets . There is s pace nearby at Camperdown depot and around I mperial Rec reation Ground to accommodate boat storage, a boat rack, boat maintenance (e.g. sc rub-down) facilities , waste recycling/dis posal and re-fuelling facilities etc . Provide an alternative site to launc hing yachts into the marina basin which requires a crane. The major constraint with this site is the distance to deep water at low tide. It is proposed that in c ombination with the above provision of facilities an access channel be created, for example by:
Sheet piling and dredging ‘the gut’ (Camperdown Creek) – possibly on the northern side only. Create a new channel from the northern side of the gut to a point north of Bels hers Slipway i.e. to deep water at low spring tides . T he channel could be 6- 8 ft deep at the gut at lowest tides , 60ft wide at beach level and 30 ft wide at the bottom. It could be lined with a sloping wall.
30 Exe News Spring 2005
Create a new slipway facing straight down into the channel.
Form a ‘Town Quay’ on the north side of ‘the Gut’
Block off Mamhead, Belshers and Trinity Buoy slipways to all but pedestrians thereby providing the facility to control access to the estuary. Advantages
Single point access to the water at all tide states . Plenty of parking for trailers and towing cars. Space for parking boats in the winter. Interest ac tivity for public to watch launches . Proximity to proposed Interpretation Centre. Disadvantages
Extensive cons truction work required including capital dredging. Channel may not be self-flushing but may require maintenance dredging. Some dog walkers would be unable to walk far out onto Shelly Beach. English Nature have been consulted about the proposed project whic h they believe is likely to have a significant impact on the features of the Exe Estuary Special Protection Area due to the amount of dredging required. Particular c oncerns and s uggested requirements to progress the proposal inc lude:
Possibility of contaminated sediment in Camperdown Creek (‘the gut’) e.g. TBT . Costs of dredging are high, especially if it is contaminated and has to be dis posed of to a special landfill site. A full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would be required (through the planning process ). A hydrological survey and study (possibly including modelling) would be required for its wider impact on the estuarine mud and sand-flats . T his should be conducted by a reputable firm with relevant experience. EDDC would have to promote the sc heme (or a private developer). English Nature would only advise on the scheme. A decision about it would be the responsibility of DEFRA. T he development could be pursued in combination with the necessary (£1 .5M) required to re- cap the existing landfill beneath Imperial Rec reation Ground.
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This is a radical proposal to deal in a positive manner with a problem which will only get worse as use of the estuary increases . This is an opportunity to overcome serious dangers and shortcomings and provide much needed facilities for large number of residents and visitors. It should be noted that this does not affect the proposal to provide a pontoon off the North jetty to reduce congestion at the entrance to the marina. The meeting were advised that major engineering works were already being planned around the “Gut” to eliminate contamination from the old dump and antifouling. This in itself would create a basin on the site of the Town Quay. The presentation of the paper was timed to coinc ide with discussion on Regeneration of Exmouth proposals and developing the concept for the Wildlife Interpretation Centre. T his should broaden the discussion.
RYA wins the accident reporting battle Finally, you will recall in the last issue of Exe News I reported that a stupid regulation had been introduced which required all “incidents ” on the water to be reported. T hese inc lude capsizes , groundings , hitting a buoy or touching another boat. Dinghy sailing would never be the same again - failure to report inc idents could cost £5 ,000 or a term in jail! Under pressure from the RYA and action in the High Court the Government have seen sense and the Regulation has been withdrawn.
Ivan Wilkinson Hon Secretary
32 Exe News Spring 2005 The Social Scene An action packed year ahead ! First I would like to introduce your social committee for 2005.
Symon Garratt – Chairman Deirdre Jennings – Secretary Hedley Saunders – I think you may all know this man! Colin Broady Pam Burfoot Jacqui Gale Jane Hill Sue Morgan Gillie Newcombe Keith & Lorna Nichols Ros ie Sands Fred Woodcock
I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to join what was already a very s uccessful committee who between them have ac hieved so much over the las t year or so helping to make our club what it is today. T he recent pas t club social events have set a new high standard for this year’s committee to follow. As a virgin to the social committee of the Exe Sailing Club I am extremely fortunate to have such a great bunch of enthusiastic guys and girls to work with. We have already had our first social meeting of the year and set out our programme that includes the hosting again of the fifth River Exe Regatta (Is it really four years since we last hos ted the first Regatta here at Exe – where does time go?). We have already had one of our main events of the year that was the Annual Dinner Dance & Prizegiving at Exmouth Pavilion. This was a huge success with a record turnout and partic ular thanks must go to Gillie Newcombe, Sue Morgan and Pam Burfoot for all their hard work including the decoration of the tables and room that looked absolutely superb. So this is what we have lined up for the rest of the year: Saturday 9th April – Start of Season Supper
33 Exe News Spring 2005
Saturday 23rd April – River Cruise with live music provided by “Blurred Vision” Sunday 8th May – New members welcome reception (Lunc htime). Saturday 18th June – Evening Entertainment for Laser/Trio Open Meeting Saturday & Sunday 16th/17th July – River Exe Regatta including live band “Barnaby” on Sat evening and prize giving on Sunday. Saturday 6th August – Inter Section Race. Past Cadet race in front of the club! Saturday 24th September – RS200 /Asymetric training evening event. Friday 21st October – Trafalgar Night 200th Anniversary Sunday 18th December – Christmas Carols and Father Christmas For further details of any of the above keep an eye on the c lub notice board or visit our web site www.exe-sailing-club.org Apart from having fun and providing entertainment the s ocial committees other objective this year is to raise money to purchase a removable awning that could provide additional undercover shelter in front of the balc ony for future events when required. The event on the 6th August will also be for helping to raise funds to send our cadets to the World Champions hips and will feature a race in Cadet Dinghies for all our past Cadet sailors. This could be interes ting with hopefully people like Hedley, Ben, Spud, Les , myself and others taking to the water! I wish everyone a happy and successful 2005 . Symon C Garratt – Vice Commodore Tel 01395 224194 or e-mail symon@pennys .net
34 Exe News Spring 2005 2004 Prize Winners
2004 prize winners gather at The Pavilion – congratulations to all! (Photo Rick Newcombe)
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25 Years ago… Olympic Games held in Moscow. Coe and Ovett win gold on the track, but in yachting, GBR “nul points”, mainly because we didn’t enter a team. Had we done so, Spud Rowsell would have been hot favourite to helm our Soling entry. Meanwhile, back in Exmouth, Editor M ike Saunders puts together Issue 1 of Exe News, printed by Leslie Fulford & Son. T he commodore’s message comes from Ron Lavis , and cruiser news is presented by Mark Gatehouse, who was in the process of building a trimaran for the 1981 trans-atlantic rac e. The dinghy scene is dominated by Merlin Rockets , with some epic clashes between Ben Jennings and the McAuslands , who win the Easter series . N o change there, then. Merlin representative is Stuart Hills. Symon Garratt joins the Cadet fleet, sailing Spud’s “Scud” with Guy Rowsell. 20 Years ago… During the Fastnet race, the keel falls off Simon Le Bon’s maxi-yac ht “Drum”, whic h then turtled (as they do…) Merlin Rocket fortunes on the wane – Andrew McAusland reports in Exe News that the fleet has dwindled, with “local interest negligible”. What happened in jus t 5 years? Guy Mogridge, Jonathan Rowsell, Warwick Greenfield and Conrad Humphreys are welcomed to the Cadet fleet.
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