Cover Doc 2018.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2018 18:20 Page 1 mollietteThe annual journal of the WEST MERSEA YACHT CLUB Founded 1899 December 2018 West Mersea Yacht Club, 116 Coast Road, West Mersea, Essex CO5 8PB tel: (01206) 382947 (office) (01206) 384463 (restaurant) fax: (01206) 386261 email: [email protected] website: www.wmyc.org.uk launchman mobile phone: 07752 309435 Designed by: DBA Graphic Design Tel: 07980 195713 email: [email protected] Printed by Printwize Witham Cover Doc 2018.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2018 18:20 Page 2 Contents Page From the Commodore 1 Golden Fleece brings back the Goblets 2 A load of Goblets! 6 Still in the Baltic with Colette 8 From mud to Med 12 Mersea Life Boat 16 Racing Roundup 18 Cadet Week 22 Mersea Week DVD 26 40 years of Mersea Week 28 How not to do it 31 Dorothy at Rest 32 National 18s race at Mersea (and party!) 34 House Notes 36 Yet more changes 37 I'm Not a Racing Man, But... 38 Atlantic Crossing 40 Club Cruises 44 Amazon Journey 50 Lawn Life 53 Committee Members 2018 54 In Memorium 54 New Members 2018 55 Sailing Honours 2018 56 Front cover: Kismet making a splash in the Med Inside back: A Mersea Week coming together. Pcture by Chrissie Westgate Inside front: Becalmed brig. Picture by Chrissie Westgate Back cover: Salcott scene . Picture by John Davison Molliette edited by: John Davison Cover Doc 2018.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2018 18:20 Page 1 mollietteThe annual journal of the WEST MERSEA YACHT CLUB Founded 1899 December 2018 West Mersea Yacht Club, 116 Coast Road, West Mersea, Essex CO5 8PB tel: (01206) 382947 (office) (01206) 384463 (restaurant) fax: (01206) 386261 email: [email protected] website: www.wmyc.org.uk launchman mobile phone: 07752 309435 Designed by: DBA Graphic Design Tel: 07980 195713 email: [email protected] Printed by Printwize Witham Cover Doc 2018.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2018 18:20 Page 2 Contents Page From the Commodore 1 Golden Fleece brings back the Goblets 2 A load of Goblets! 6 Still in the Baltic with Colette 8 From mud to Med 12 Mersea Life Boat 16 Racing Roundup 18 Cadet Week 22 Mersea Week DVD 26 40 years of Mersea Week 28 How not to do it 31 Dorothy at Rest 32 National 18s race at Mersea (and party!) 34 House Notes 36 Yet more changes 37 I'm Not a Racing Man, But... 38 Atlantic Crossing 40 Club Cruises 44 Amazon Journey 50 Lawn Life 53 Committee Members 2018 54 In Memorium 54 New Members 2018 55 Sailing Honours 2018 56 Front cover: Kismet making a splash in the Med Inside back: A Mersea Week coming together. Pcture by Chrissie Westgate Inside front: Becalmed brig. Picture by Chrissie Westgate Back cover: Salcott scene . Picture by John Davison Molliette edited by: John Davison Molliette Inner Pages 2018.qxp_Layout 1 30/11/2018 12:33 Page 1 From the Commodore By Ian Shay Kevin Edwards Photography Kevin Edwards he outstanding feature of my conditions were challenging for the part-time launchmen to support the first year as Commodore has race officers and competitors alike. full-time staff in this endeavour has, been the amount of sunshine Eventually the sun did shine, leading to however, proved challenging. gracing both the water and the the pleasant sight of happy sailors on Tclub lawn. While I can obviously take the club lawn. The brig fleet enjoyed a Over the winter months a small team no credit for that, it has certainly made record number of entries, racing assisted by outside consultants my job easier and more enjoyable as around 34 boats each day. completely redesigned the club increasing numbers of members and website. I believe we now have a high guests have used the club’s enviable In an effort to change things around quality and useful site which will last us facilities. and refresh the event, the RNLI Pennant for many years to come. At the same Race was held on the Wednesday of time the less glamorous but important Early in the summer we held a very Mersea Week, rather than on a stand- task of writing the club’s data successful National 18s Championship, alone date. This idea led to far more protection policies to comply with marking its 80th anniversary as a class. entries than last year. Some 28 cruisers extensive new legislation has been Entries came from England, Scotland, and 20 dinghies and brigs turned out completed. Ireland, the Isle of Man and France. We on the day despite heavy rain in the provided a full week of racing despite morning. Over £1,200 was raised for The year’s activities have been ably some challenging combinations of our local lifeboat. supported by the flag officers and wind and tides. Ashore the entrants general committee, all of whom have enjoyed a full social programme, which Cruiser racing throughout the season worked tirelessly to bring us high taxed our house staff to the full. Boy do did not always produce the number of quality events both on and off the the Irish know how to party! entries to make for proper competitive water. sailing, especially in the local handicap This year there was also notable success fleet. Changes are being finalised for Very many thanks are also due to all for the club in EAORA events. Golden next year to try and encourage larger our staff in the office, in the kitchen Fleece, skippered by Michael Wheeler, fleets. and front of house and on the water. won the Houghton Cup and the They have all done their absolute best Buckley Goblets outright. Congrat- The good summer weather has meant to give members an enjoyable time ulations to Michael and his crew. that full use has been made of the lawn whenever they visit the club. and bar takings are up on last year as a Early in August we had our Cadet result. Turnover is also up on the In conclusion I would invite you to Week, this year themed ‘We shall restaurant side. reflect for a moment on how lucky we remember them’. Once again there are to belong to a prestigious yacht were some testing conditions for our The Midsummer party proved to be a club in a superb location. The WMYC youngest sailors, but the encourage- successful and inexpensive replacement continues to attract new members at a ment and assistance they received from for the traditional summer ball this year. healthy rate at a time when some other an army of volunteers was much clubs are failing. For the moment at appreciated. The Moorings and Boatyard team have least we remain viable, despite the been able to let virtually all our rather uncertain economic outlook. Mersea Week started the wrong way, moorings and the City Road winter Long may it continue. with all racing cancelled on the Sunday storage facility will be full again this because of high winds. Things did year. The late night launch service has A very Happy Christmas and great settle down later in the week, but again proved to be popular. Employing sailing in 2019 to you all. MOLLIETTE 1 Molliette Inner Pages 2018.qxp_Layout 1 30/11/2018 12:33 Page 2 Golden Fleece brings By Michael Wheeler Buckley Goblets winning crew at Ostend ast year we entered Golden enough allowance made for the tide Fleece in a few East Anglian (impatient!), another crash tack just Offshore Racing Association kept us off the buoy but allowed our (EAORA) races to stretch her rival Fiskardo to overhaul us. We Llegs, do what she does best and what clawed our way back on the leg to the Olin Stephens designed her for – long Wallet Spitway and carried our offshore racing. Having enjoyed some spinnaker through the Spitway at eight of a four hour beat to windward satisfactory results I sat down with our knots which set us up to win our class. followed by a spinnaker run back to core crew and WMYC members the RBYC line. A nine inch rip in our Malcolm Clark, Philip Woods, Mike The next day was the Ralph Herring genoa suffered at the start fortunately Berry, Julian French, Richard Sharpe Trophy from Mersea back to Burnham. held until the windward mark but by (Ricardo) and Nick Reay and we With no wind and a delayed start we the time we reached Barrow No. 4 it decided to get a bit more serious drifted over the line backwards at the was 30 inches long and fraying badly. about it for 2018. I knew that we gun! Eventually the sea breeze kicked in Once we had turned the corner we could not compete in the entire but it was light and did not last. At 55 breathed a sigh of relief and flew the EAORA series as I wanted to do miles the course was too long for the kite all the way home over a fast Panerai British Classic Week in Cowes conditions and was not shortened. At flowing ebb tide with Philip navigating as well but we decided to give our 2030 we found ourselves still eight miles to keep us in the shallows but off the best shot to those races that we could from the finish proceeding at 1.5kts over mud! We were overhauled for a while sign up for. Here is how the year the ground against the ebb and so we by Lyra of London but managed to played out. traded in the sails for the machinery take the lead again at the entrance to which enabled us to get to the bar at the Crouch and held it all the way First up was the Pattinson Cup on 5th the Royal Burnham before it closed! home ahead of Woozle Hunter to the May from Burnham to Mersea and RBYC line to take line honours, 1st in Jason (our son) and Richard Fuller We missed the North Sea Race and so class and 1st overall by four minutes (Dickie) joined us for this.