Tuesday evenings
These have now halted completely at CCSC, primarily because of the Government restrictions under Covid-19, enforced by CCSC. It was also apparent that many members were wary of attending any sort of meeting, to minimise the risk of catching the virus. It is a shame because many clubs are held together by social meetings at a clubhouse or venue, and ours, with our normal Winter talks programme was exceptional in this respect. Your committee are well aware of this, and are seriously investigating whether we can have talks or social events via Zoom. Some of you will have participated in the Zoom talks we had during the summer, so it is just a matter of finding a speaker (or speakers) willing to do this. Keep a watchful eye out for emails promoting these. If you haven't used Zoom yet, then download it from the Zoom website onto your tablet or pc (camera facility an advantage but not essential) and familarise yourself with it. If you need help, contact either Peter Anderson, Chris Reid, Sara Lloyd, Martyn Simmons or myself who will be able to offer advice and/or do a trial run with you.
Cruiser magazine
Hopefully you will now have received the recent copy of our Cruiser magazine, expertly edited and produced by Jim Long. Jim does a fantastic job with Cruiser, and we should all thank him for his efforts. If anyone hasn't received a copy then send a reply to this email and I will ensure it gets to Jim, who will undoubtedly resolve the problem.
On the Water - Cruising
We are all aware that events on the water have been going ahead during the Summer thanks to the hard work by Chris Reid and Peter Rigby, our cruising officers. The events had to be somewhat limited since going abroad was out of the question, and staying on our boats overnight was banned. It was such a shame because the weather this year was one of the best in recent times. If you have ventured out, and would like to share the experience (not the wet bit) then let me know and I will inlcude next time.
On the water - Seaweed farming
We recently had notification that a licence was about to be granted for a trial seaweed farm in Portland Harbour. First thoughts were that it sounded like a good idea until those of us with moorings started to have misgivings. A few years ago when the trial mussel farm was installed, those of us with moorings found that within 2 years our mooring chains became encrusted with baby mussels. This might at first seem a blessing - moule et frites for supper on board? Unfortunately the mussels were miniscule and all they did was make annual inspections very difficult. Measuring the wear on the risers could not be done until the mussels had been removed, and that was not an easy job. We are now concerned that our moorings might become an extension of the seaweed farm, as a result of the spores travelling throughout the harbour in the same way as he mussels did. Kelp et frites does not have the same appeal as the mussel version. More seriously, if the seaweed did spread to our moorings, it would not only hinder the inspections, but if large fronds of kelp were to hang around the moorings it might cause some problems with propellers and rudders when coming in to moor up. Mooring up to a swinging mooring is frequently good sport for Gonglers, add to that the prospect of getting a kelp wrap around a prop, and and it could turn into a major sporting event. We are on the case and have raised our concerns with the relevant authority.
Website
Peter Anderson has done a fantastic job on our website, but how many of use it or even know what it contains? Here are a few links you might like to try.
In the members section you will need to have registered and have log-in details, which can be requested via the site if you haven't previously registered. You should also be able to download the latest Fleet and Boat lists. Any problems, best to contact Peter (membership.wpca.org@gmail.com or phone 01-929 401046)
Boat Jumble
You will be aware that because of Covid-19 restrictions we couldn't hold our boat jumble this year, either in the spring or the Autumn. We obviously hope that we might be able to hold it in March next year . . but there is nothing certain in that. If you have any sailing gear that you were hoping to 'jumble' don't forget that in the forum section of the website there is an area where you can advertise items for sale. I believe it is simply a question of going into the site, or you can jump straight to the section via the following URL:
Snippets
From Peter Anderson
Some friends are keeping their 39 foot Sweden yacht on the Vilaine River in southern Brittany. The mooring is non-tidal and is mid-river, but the deal gives them almost unlimited free access to marinas in that area. And of course access to a waiting pontoon for water and re-victualling. All for £1500 per annum! (If that inlcudes the mooring tackle and all the maintenance then it is truly a bargain Ed)
From John Atkinson
Below are some words of wisdom bestowed on a friend of my daughter, who wanted to know how to join a yacht club.
DO
- Grow a beard for that Captain Birdseye look
- Buy pink trousers
- Produce a genealogy chart to show you are directly related to Nelson
- Talk knowledgeably about the benefits of Slovakian pickled herring oil, to polish your binnacles
- Wear Dubarrys to bed
- Profess an addiction to the smell of antifouling especially by helping others
- Be prepared to climb masts on your own indemnity insurance.
- Know the formulae for pink gin
- Have your double breasted blazer embossed with the Monaco Sailing Club logo
- Crew till you bleed
DO Not
- Refer to the Commodore as " Squire" "Mate" or "Gov"
- Profess powerboats to be the work of other than the devil (unless the Commodore has one)
- Use terms such as "pointy bit" (bow) "flappy things" (sails) "string" (ropes) "park" (moor)
- Hoist a protest flag if you have a suspicion the Commodore is in the other boat.
Armed with these simple guidelines you will be on the Committee in no time at all!
From Martyn Simmons
We have a new Weymouth Harbour Master. For more information click HERE
LNTM's
LNTM's or Portland Harbour 'Local Notices To Mariners' are issued on a semi-regular basis to keep boat owners up to date with any local navigation changes. They are available on the Portland Port Website, but are not particularly easy to find. They can be directly accessed via the following link: LNTM's
Well fellow sailors, that is it for the moment. It has turned out about 3x longer than I expected, and I will try to get another one out in time for Christmas. If you have any ideas, or snippets please send them to me and I will do my best to incorporate them. Any ideas on improvements would be very welcome as well
Fair winds, calm seas and good luck with your antifouling
Michael
WPCA Mooring Officer
01-305 889165
07832-560043
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