GYC May 2005 Newsletter
News
from the Rowing Section:
On
the 7th May 2005 a crew in the Great Harry are going to row to
Richmond and back! What a marathon! Most of the money raised will go to the
Centenary Fund and we will take a slice out for the RNLI.
The
Great
Harry will leave GYC for Richmond at around 0800hrs, hoping to arrive
at Richmond at around 1230hrs. Once we arrive there we’ll have a break till
1520hrs (high water Richmond) when we will start our return row, hoping to be
back at GYC by around 2000hrs.
Some
escort boats (Basra, Larnaca and Swordfish) are joining us to give
their support. Any other boats that want to come along are very welcome.
On the same date Andy Pledger has organised a fund raising
night, with entertainment which has been offered for free. Tickets are £3 each
- of which all the money will go into the Funds.
Anyone
interested in doing any rowing in this year’s Great River Race should see Damon
Rowley any Tuesday evening at the club.
If
you want more information about the Great River Race or any of the rowing
activities in the club, come to the Club on a Tuesday evening or email Damon at
damon.rowley@am-partnership.com
or phone 07815 764 152.
Hope
to see you on Saturday.
Rowing Practice Dates:
Date Time To Return
Month
|
Saturday,
7th May 2005 |
0800hrs |
Richmond |
2000hrs |
May
|
|
Sunday,
15th May 2005 |
1030hrs |
Erith |
1430hrs |
|
|
Sunday,
22nd May 2005 |
1100hrs |
London |
1530hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
28th May 2005 |
1000hrs |
Erith |
1430hrs |
|
|
Sunday,
5th June 2005 |
1100hrs |
London |
1400hrs |
June |
|
Sunday,
12th June 2005 |
1400hrs |
London |
1930hrs |
|
|
Sunday,
19th June 2005 |
0945hrs |
London |
1400hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
25th June 2005 |
1430hrs |
London |
1900hrs |
|
|
Tuesday,
28th June |
1800hrs |
London |
2000hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
2nd July 2005 |
1500hrs |
Erith |
1900hrs |
July |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday,
10th July 2005 |
1430hrs |
London |
1800hrs |
|
Tuesday, 12th July 2005 |
1700hrs |
London |
1900hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
16th July 2005 |
1230hrs |
Erith |
1630hrs |
|
|
Sunday,
24th July 2005 |
1430hrs |
London |
1830hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
30th July 2005 |
1230hrs |
Erith |
1700hrs |
|
Tuesday, 2nd August 2005 |
1800hrs |
Thamesmead |
2000hrs |
August |
|
Sunday,
7th August 2005 |
1400hrs |
London |
2000hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
13th August 2005 |
1100hrs |
Erith |
1400hrs |
|
|
Sunday,
21st August 2005 |
1530hrs |
London |
1730hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
27th August 2005 |
1127hrs |
Erith |
1530hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
3rd September 2005 |
1130hrs |
Vauxhall |
1700hrs |
September |
|
Sunday,
4th September 2005 |
1130hrs |
Vauxhall |
1800hrs |
|
|
Saturday,
10th September 2005 |
0930hrs |
Erith |
1400hrs |
|
|
Sunday,
11th September 2005 |
1000hrs |
Erith |
1430hrs |
|
|
Friday,
16th September 2005 |
Boats
to Richmond for Race day. HW Richmond Lock 1312hrs. Leave
GYC 0915hrs. LW GYC 1940hrs. |
|||
A few lines from the Bosun
We
are in the process of building a trophy cabinet at the top of the bar stairs
(behind Harry's Tuesday night seat). Beneath this will be glassed in shelving
for the Bosun's Locker. This will enable all (including visitors) to see
exactly what is available and the prices.
In
the coming few weeks I will be compiling a new order, including NEW lines
(OOOOH!). Please see me with any suggestions, apart from GYC thongs.
All
Committee Members have been asked by our Commodore to form Sub-Committees. This
involves more members in the running of the club and shares out the work load.
Richard Baker, Graham Baker, Steve Wrayford and Jim Four have kindly offered to
help me. Apart from the usual Bosun duties we will also be looking into Club
Sponsorship.
Some
members are keen to have a form of chandlery in the yard. I have reported to
committee that this will not be under the responsibilities of the Bosun
(fundamentally due to the time required to make this service worthwhile).
However if anyone wishes to take this up please do present a proposal to the
committee for discussion.
It’s
great to see members wearing the GYC badge with pride and promoting our club.
Good sailing and as I like to say 'the
barrier and beyond'.
Nick
Fossey
Bosun
Upcoming Dinghy Dates
8th
May 2005 1300hrs RNSA Trophy
22nd
May 2005 1130hrs Travellers’ Trophy
31st
May 2005 1900 hrs The Tuesday Race
26th
June 2005
Dinghy Race
The 22nd May is the 1st leg of the Travellers
Trophy at GYC, a dinghy work party is organised for Saturday 14th May at 9:00am
to get club boats up to scratch and sort out racing scales etc. Could all Helms
signed up for the TT make sure that they are around on that day, also crews and
any club members that want to help out. Saturdays 21st May would be a good day
to practise for the TT around 10:30/11 let me know if anyone’s interested. The
Mayors trophy (1st race of the season) was cancelled due to weather conditions
but will be re-run sometime this summer. Ben Harris and Roger Caygill won the
meridian trophy, Steve Wilson and Dermot won the Windas Cup to EYC. The next
race is the RSNA trophy 8th May, 1200hrs briefing, it will be nice to see all 8
club bosuns out every race or going out for a leisurely/ practice sail when
there is no racing on. Two hours before high water is an ideal time to go out,
or maybe we could try low water neap sailing/racing? Check the notice board in
the bar regulary for your duties and any change of plan. Thanks to everyone for
your continued help.
Geoff Williams
Next Work Party is Saturday 28th
May…but…the
pontoon needs
urgent repair. John Bailey has all the bits needed – timber, fixings etc. Please see him ASAP if you
are able and available to help.
Remember
all members, both full and associate,
are expected to do a minimum of two work parties per year. Work parties start
at 0900 and run until 1230, when a full English breakfast is served with a cup of tea for the bargain price
of £2.50.
Social Stuff…
The
Singaround on 23rd April
was a hoot. It went very well! Thanks to Mick Sadler for leading it and to all
those taking part. (Great to hear Tracey singing again!).
We
heard spoons, electric and acoustic guitars, a harmonica…and some lovely
voices. And Tony Norwell’s too…Thank you also to Peter Waugh, Ray Lehane, John
Bailey (for unearthing some lovely WW2/Music Hall Songsheets). And to everyone
who sang along so beautifully…
There
have been several requests already for a repeat of this – one even for a
regular slot for this kind of evening. At least two requests (to me) for another
singaround came from people who were not even there – and who had just heard
about it! See Pat Mayhew and Mick Sadler if you want another one!
(If music is the food of love –
then why don’t rabbits play banjos?)
Fund Raising Night - Saturday 7th May 8.00pm
Tickets £3.
All
moneys raised go to Centenary Fund and
RNLI. A colour TV/DVD player will be
raffled. So far (as of 3/5/05) 100 tickets have been sold. The sponsorship
money raised from the rowing event will benefit both Autistic Children and MS
research. Andy tells me there has been a total of £2000 pledged so far for the
above four causes. Well done Andy!
Quiz
Night – Saturday 4th June 7.30pm
Regatta
– 2nd and 3rd July
Courses
GMDSS
Courses at GYC
All courses start
at 0900 and are on Saturdays.
Next course: 28th May 2005 – only a few
places left on this one.
See
Ray Wheatley or Richard Baker for information any Tuesday night. Private
tuition can be arranged.
There will be two Day Skipper Courses and one
Yachtmaster Theory Course next year.
See Brian Harrisson in the club on Tuesdays for
full details. Times and dates and further details will appear in
future Newsletters.
News from the Motor Cruiser Section…
Over last Bank Holiday a group of GYC Motor Boats ventured forth upriver to Staines and had a wonderful time.
Next
Bank Holiday at the end of May we will be leaving Greenwich on the Saturday @
about 0700hrs bound for Queenborough and doing some fishing here and
there.Queenborough is where we will stop for the night.
On
the Sunday we will go over to Southend and watch the Air Show.
We
plan to return to Greenwich on the Monday. If you want to chat see me at the
Club weekends or Tuesday evenings.
Stan (Motor Cruiser Captain)
Motor
Cruisers Visit Church Island, Staines
Over the bank holiday weekend motor cruiser captain - Stan Mitchell organised a four day, three nights, trip up river from the club to Church Island at Staines. Leaving the pontoons at 1300hrs on the Friday, a fleet of ten boats, carrying 13 souls and three dogs, set off in bright sunshine for Richmond and the seven locks to be overcome before reaching Church Island the following afternoon. The first evening the fleet split temporarily with tail-enders stopping off for food, ale and sleep just above Kingston. The faster, leading pack went on to find similar respite two locks further up stream. Those at Kingston were later joined by Roxanne carrying Jim and Brenda who, having commitments, could only go part way but never the less took part and enjoyed a night on the river in company with a group of very noisy, aggressive and breeding Canada geese.
Our hosts on
Church Island were fellow GYC members, Joss Thomas and Dave Arnold who were
there to generously greet our convoy with ice cold beers and wine. All the
boats safely rafted off, looking a splendid sight against the greenery and
mixed trees of the island. Later, Saturday evening, Dave and Joss expertly
cooked a superb and much civilised BBQ meal for the whole group, washed down
with wines and more beers. The weather was perfect and the entertaining company
even better.
On Sunday morning we awoke to the
sounds of passing rowers, the calling of their coaches and Stan brushing his
teeth and scrubbing his deck. With egg and bacon consumed, most went off, for
an hour, into Staines and the local facilities, before reluctantly casting off,
again in the sunshine, for the first leg of the return trip. Later all boats
meet up and over-nighted, rafted up off the apron at Hampton Court. This left the
one lock at Teddington to be negotiated at the top of the tide on the Monday
morning, enabling the ebb to bring all safely down to Greenwich by
mid-afternoon.
Once back in the club, a drop more
ale was taken and someone took an oath not to touch any more for two weeks!!
All in all it was a simple but
great week end, well thought out and held in good company. With the exception
of an attack on one of the dogs by a goose; that same dog trying to walk on
water; and the minor dog fight (involving same animal) all passed without
incident.
All of us that participated thank
Stan for organising the visit and say a great big thank you to
Joss and Dave for their generosity and hospitality.
We all loved Church Island.
Graham Baker - Vice Commodore
(Nb My wife apologises to all for
the behaviour of HER dog).
News from the Cruiser
Section
From Lionel Willis (Cruiser Captain)…from a mate of mine… With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week. Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Cokey," died peacefully, aged 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in. And then the trouble started............ (courtesy of James Stewart, Race Officer for the Oryx Quest Race, Doha) (As
penance for this grave announcement Lionel Willis will now lead a full
rendition of the ‘Hokey Cokey’ at the next Singaround Evening.) |
The
summer season has kicked off most encouragingly, with many new Club boats
coming forward, joining us out on the River. Welcome to all the newcomers,
we're really pleased to see you out there.
April has seen the start of the Summer series
of Races, after Mick Mitchell on Ariadne sealed his grip on the winter series
so convincingly. Congratulations to Mick and his crews for a well-fought
contest throughout.
We've
held two races upstream in April; the Mayor's Trophy to Deptford Creek, and the
Meridian Trophy to round the Driftwood Barge off the Trafalgar Tavern. Despite
being early in the year, we were delighted to see so many boats out and they
enjoyed the challenge of a tricky tidal rounding off Greenwich. Although only
short courses, they reveal to newcomers the intricate subtleties of the
tideway, and the skills which were taken for granted by our river-using
forebears.
Results:
Mayor's
Trophy.
1.ELAN
RUA, 2.ZESTE,3.CAROLINE V,4.SPICE GOLD,5.FLYING FREE,6.ARIADNE
Meridian
Trophy.
1.CAROLINE
V,2.SPICE GOLD,3.ZESTE,4.FLYING FREE,5.SURPRISE,6.ELAN
RUA,7.CARIOCA,8.AMADEUS,9.STAR,10.AVOCET
The
May Day Bank Holiday weekend saw us all sailing down to Erith for the Ladies
Challenge Cup, where an all-female crew is a requirement to be in the
money. An almost complete lack of wind
being compensated by the fleet being given the first opportunity of the season
to get out the factor 15. This was won by our Commodore, with a fetchingly
decked-out crew, who, despite being awash with champagne and canapes, still
managed to challenge all-comers to a race back to the Club afterwards.
Challenging Ladies indeed.
Ladies Challenge Cup
1.STAR,
2.SANUK,3. ZESTE,4.BLUE MOON,5.SURPRISE,6.SPICE GOLD,7.TIGER LILY,8.CAROLINE V,
9.FLYING FREE
All
race result are posted on the website, thanks to Terry for this.
The
rest of this month sees a couple more races: The Winston Churchill Cup to
Greenhithe on the 15th. Followed by a run ashore (we are still
trying to work-off the GYC reputation for lively behavior at this location).
Then the Medway Cup on the 28th. This is Bank holiday weekend and a
chance to combine a bit of cruising with a longer, down river race. We race
down to the mouth of the Medway on the Saturday, have a run ashore in
Queenboro, then are free to loiter around until the Monday. In the past we have
gone up to Chatham, parked in Stangate Creek, or gone round to Harty Ferry.
(some with more terminal hangovers have stayed at Queenboro all weekend). We'll
have a briefing meeting the Tuesday before for this one.
It's
been really encouraging to see everyone out on the water, I hope you've enjoyed
yourselves and look forward to seeing you again. If you are still thinking of
trying it out, you will be very welcome.
Races coming up: 15/5/05 – Winston Churchill Cup 0830 – Greenhithe
28/5/05 – Medway Cup and Cruise 0600
5/6/05 – Bob Walker Cup 1030
19/6/05 – RNSA Trophy
1030
2nd
and 3rd July Regatta
17/7/05 – Westerly Challenge Cup 1030 (GYC-Gravesend-GYC)
21/8/05 – Open Day Sailing
27/8/05-29/8/05 Sea Reach
Trophy
11/9/05 – Ovens Trophy 0630
25/9/05 – Thurrock Trophy 0830
2/9/05 – Open Day Sailing
23/10/05-Ladies’ Cup (GYC-Erith-GYC)
Sailathon
Sailathon leaving for Lowestoft Fish Fair (part
of UK Relay from GYC).
Please contact Paul or Don Duane asap. Free
berthing/hospitality etc etc. Also BBQ Buffet event at St Kats for AUGUST 27th
1200hrs to 1500hrs. A great event for the club for publicity etc. Come along
and meet Sir Robin KJ/ Dave Bedford/ Camilla Satchi/ etc Music/entertainment
etc sponsored by Youngs Seafoods and Sainsburys (tickets £10 only) !!!
Paul Woodhead. A GREAT DAY
IN TOWN for the GYC !
East Coast Cruise 2005 -
30/7/05-7/8/05
What odd shaped buoyancy
aids…or…
…Is this the
way…
to Amarillo?…
…Look at that windward leeboard! Could it double as an extra sail?…
Motor boats and sail boats
are all welcome.
For
details (if you missed the meeting on the 26th April) - phone Ray Sharp on 020 7732 7493.
Hiring the
Club house
Don’t
forget full members can now hire the club house on Friday or Saturday evenings,
for private functions specifically to do with you or your partners, for a flat
fee of £200. See John Catchpole for details.
Getting Out
on the Water Julie Coleclough writes:
I'm
arranging the following charters which may be of interest to GYC members who are not boat owners or who wish
to try a different sailing area. To register your interest, drop me an email (julie_coleclough@hotmail.com)or see me at
the club.
Cheers,
Julie.
July 30th East Coast Cruise
Details
to follow later. There is a GYC East Coast Cruise this year, so maybe we can
tie in with this event.
August 26-29 X-Channel West
Country towards Brittany Cruise - departing Dartmouth
X-Channel
cruise starting from Falmouth or Dartmouth (depending on where the yacht is
chartered from) and sailing overnight towards the coast of Brittany depending
on wind direction. Join the yacht early
evening
on Fri 26 August and return to base mid afternoon Mon 29 August. Expected costs
to be £250 including all meals on board. Extra costs: any landbased meals,
visits to the pub, fuel. If there is
sufficient
interest, then 2 yachts will be chartered. Suitable for all levels.
September 16-18 Boat
Handling Weekend – Solent
Another
chance to improve your sailing skills. Join the yacht early evening on Fri16
September and return to base mid afternoon Sun 18 September. Expected costs to
be £200 including all meals on board.
Extra
costs: any landbased meals, visits to the pub, fuel Suitable for all levels.
The GYC
Forum
The GYC forum is a Yahoogroup which has been created for club members to use for whatever purposes the members feel will be beneficial for the club. A Yahoogroup is a free Forum service offered by Yahoo that enables people to share information with others who have the same interest. There is no charge for the service although commercials are added to the bottom of emails.It was set up at the end of April 04 by Terry Naude to help improve communications between club members by providing a space on the internet for posting views, asking questions and sharing information (e.g. race results) including pictures. It’s an ideal way of keeping in touch when away from the Clubhouse. Terry (terry.home@home-it.com) is the owner and moderator of the GYC Forum. He will answer any queries you have about joining the GYC Forum and will ensure that any content posted to the forum is in keeping with the purpose stated above. Other trusted members of the GYC Forum will be allocated moderator privileges to allow them to co-moderate in Terry’s absence. Membership of the GYC forum is not automatic. It’s your choice and we recommend that you take advantage of this facility. To join the GYC Forum click on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GreenwichYC whilst connected to the internet. You can also join by sending a blank email to GreenwichYC-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Follow the on screen instructions to join. If you are not already a member of Yahoo, you will need to register with Yahoo first before signing up to the GYC forum. Note it is important to remember your password as you will not get in if you forget this. Any mails sent to the GYC Forum will automatically be distributed to all the people who have joined the group.If you know of other members of the club who are not included on the distribution list for this e-newsletter, then please send them
the instructions to join the group and let us know their email address.
Julie Coleclough
The Trot Boat Iverna
Harry and Phil are now
regularly operating the trot boat – the Iverna. They could do with help
from time to time and would welcome volunteers. They would also like to remind everyone
using the trot boat service that you must wear a buoyancy aid or
lifejacket on board.
For Sale
The economical way to go
sailing! I am reluctantly selling my share in a 30 foot Macwester Wight. If
you’re interested contact me, Mike Bell on 013224 32553
Open House Sailing Sunday 8th May
2005 1230 hrs
Skippers/owners please be at the pontoon at around midday.
Trident
Help! I am still looking for members who would be
willing to take on a share of the work involved in the publication of Trident. I’ve got some volunteers but I
need more. Please call me on 020 7732 7493 or email on ray_carol@tiscali.co.uk.
Carol
O’Shea
Thanks to everyone (including Carol) who helped me put this together.
Tony Norwell