The Editor.

This month we have Midsummer’s Day and also the longest day of the year, not both on the same day. Have you heard the cuckoo at all this year? Their numbers are decreasing each year.
I heard one when I was in Sherwood Forest and one after I got back. They arrive in late April and find foster parents for their young. They throw an egg out of the nest and replace it with one of their own; they can mimic the correct colour, but not size, of the host bird’s eggs. The female can lay up to thirteen eggs, each in a different nest, a large brood reared with no effort at all by the parents. The cuckoo call is the mating call of the male only and they will now be losing their voice. The adults fly away to Africa or Southern Asia in the early part of July leaving their young behind to be fed by the unsuspecting foster parents. By early September the young are able to fly away to their wintering grounds and set off for the same destination as their parents with no guidance whatsoever. They must have an inborn ability to navigate.

 The last few days have been very summery and we did have a very dry month in May, but neither seems like the idyllic days of yesteryear. I wonder why? Maybe because I have been browsing through BSC magazines from the 1970’s, a period when there was a sequence of at least four different editors. Some of the differences were of interest. At that time there were no reports from meetings, members got to know only what was filtered out to them! Without reports today there would be no newsletter since contributions from members in some months are almost non-existent. In the early versions there were contributions of many different subjects including cookery on boats. There was also a good correspondence through the editor on all kinds of subjects. Even so there were appeals from the editors for more. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the editor as: -
One who prepares the work of others for publication.

Pat

Some notes from the General Committee Meeting of Tuesday 8th June 2010

The Commodore told the committee that recently his car has been deliberately scratched and on another occasion pounded with rocks. Dave Warren asked that any members who have damage or other unpleasant experiences in Hightown to report it to the police. There appears to be a group of children, possibly from Formby hell bent on causing damage and they must be stopped. The police will not act unless they are told.

All dinghies and trolleys should be immobilised whilst the owner is out sailing. As you will read in the Sailing Notes there was an attempt by young people to launch into the River, which could have very serious consequences. This was during half term and the longer summer holiday will be coming up soon. Don’t leave anything to chance!

The Vice Commodore

Minutes of the Sailing Committee held 1.6.10

1) Present: P Wright (In the Chair), D Wilcox, M Kennan, P Williams, I Cowell, T Roberts.
2) Apologies: C Loughran, A Bridges, A Lee-McGurk, S Markland
3) Matters Arising from Minutes of Previous Meeting:

1. Lifejackets/Flares Meeting: P Wright said that on Wednesday 19th May 2010 an excellent presentation had taken place at the Clubhouse on lifejackets and flares. There was unanimous agreement that the presentation had been most worthwhile and should perhaps be repeated every two years or so.
2.  Altmouth Cup 8th August 2010: A draft of the 2009 documentation relating to the Altmouth Cup was considered and updated. 
3.  Draft Bye-Laws Version 8(1): The members of the Sailing Committee examined version 8(1) and where appropriate made amendments to the text. This will now be forwarded for the consideration of the General Committee.
4. Race Results: Spring Bank Holiday Series: 1st R Pickard - Wren of Dunham; 2nd C Williams – Scoot; 3rd S & H Quinn – Dawn Treader.
5.  Manx Cruising Cup:A Roe – Arrow. The first BSC boat to the Isle of Man this season.
6. OOD Buoy: T Roberts is to inquire into the manufacture of two anchors for the OOD Buoy.
7. E Breen – “Josh”: Mike Kennan reported that instead of sending a Part 1 Notice then, on a separate occasion, a Part 2 Notice to E Breen he was to send a Part 1 Notice and Part 2 Notice together and have them served at E Breen’s address.

4. Yard and Berthing Master’s Report:

 Report of a Dangerous Incident When Launching a Boat - T Roberts reported that because of a shortage of manpower it was decided to secure the turning block to the hard point on the Club’s launching and recovery slipway and pull the boat and its trailer up to the lip of the slipway. Chocks were placed at the top of the slipway to prevent the trailer and boat from running down the slipway. The manual winch wire was not secured to the other end of the trailer, as is the practice with some of the heavier boats in the Club, i.e. Colour of Magic. Unfortunately, the chocks did not prevent the trailer and boat from running down the slipway once the front wheels had reached the tipping point at the lip of the roadway. Unchecked and in motion the trailer and boat ran down the slipway veered off to the right mounted a wooden sleeper and came to a sudden stop with the winch wire taking the strain. But for the fact that the boat had bracing ropes on it would have slipped off its trailer and possibly crushed a member of the launching staff. Another incident in which a strop became tangled in a turning block meant that the whole wire had to be returned to John Tiere’s because the swage had been deformed and damaged and a new eye had to be manufactured. The launching and recovery wire is now back on the winch drum. T Roberts is to issue instructions for the safe launching and recovery of boats.

The YBM will investigate the cost of the provision of another small winch to be used for safety purposes. He will also write a list of instructions for the use of winches which will be published at a later date but which will go on the notice board.

  Navigation Hazard: T Roberts also reported two 5 gallons drums had been secured to chain/rope by Alan Roe’s mooring and were a hazard to vessels
negotiating this sharp bend in the river. Moreover, the drums sink below the surface of the river in high tides. If anyone has any knowledge of these drums could they please be moved!
5. Any Other Business: In date Flares: John Wilson has reported to the Commodore
that he has a contact who maintains inflatable life rafts. When renewing the equipment in the life rafts new flares are installed and the old flares – even though they are still in date – are dispensed with! Chat to John Wilson for an update on this situation.
 Dinghy Park:  The Commodore and Vice Commodore reported an incident that took place last weekend when a gang of youths attempted to remove a dinghy from the Dinghy Park. Due to the quick-witted actions of the Commodore’s daughter the Police were summoned. The Club Captain is to inspect the dinghy’s/tenders in the Club’s Dinghy Park. Can owners of dinghy’s/tenders please ensure that together with their trailer they are locked-up when not in use. And when the tender is in use ensure that the trailer is returned to the Park and locked-up. Moreover, can owners please ensure that the name of their boat is recorded on the tender.

6. Time & Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 6th July 2010.

The Club Captain discussed what would happen about E Breen.

The O D’s Buoy is being dealt with.

There are a number of problems in the dinghy park, unnamed dinghies! All should bear names. They will all have to be removed for the work to begin on the frontage; Sefton has already carried out the survey. Before that time all unclaimed dinghies will be stacked and possibly burnt if necessary. If you own a dinghy please claim it and remove it NOW. One dinghy per boat will be the rule in future.

Colour on the River! When Mike launches his boat he will then be able to put the tops on the perches.

The O E D’s definition of a perch: A horizontal bar for a bird to rest upon, an elevated or secure position and a measure of land length ie. 5 ½ yards. Ed.

Flares There is an article in the current RYA magazine discussing the usefulness or obsolescence of flares in small boats. The RYA , the RNLI and MCA have together compiled advice that can be found on the website at www.rya.org.uk/go/carriage. The MCA has agreed to put some of the newer alternatives on trial eg laser flares and to review the requirements for carriage on boats over 13.7m in length.   Editor

Bye Laws. The General Committee discussed these and made any necessary alterations. They will come into force after they have been displayed in the clubhouse for all to read for 14 days. This means that people who use the yard and never use the clubhouse will need to come in to read them. They will go to the Annual General meeting in December. The new Bye Laws can be found on the boards at the end of the clubhouse where the photographs are usually displayed. Please note the alterations to the ones in the diary.   Ed.

The Rear Commodore. Charles said that the grass will be cut and other maintenance will be carried out before the RNLI Day.

Sefton Council will come to inspect the required paper work for Food safety in the next weeks. All kitchen alterations are completed.

The beer cellar and floor will be painted and the wooden floor in the clubhouse will be restored after the RNLI Day and the Barbecue evening have taken place.

A review of our beer suppliers has shown that a change will save a considerable amount of money.

The gate in the Driveway has a new lock, the number will remain the same but there is a button underneath to be pressed to open the lock. There will be a new lock on the Black Hut that will work in the same way but the number will be changed. Please ask anyone on the Committees or behind the bar for the new number.

FOUND on the clubhouse lawn three keys on a ring. To claim get in touch with Bob Chamberlain.

The Hon Treasurer reported that the Club finances are in a healthy state at the moment.

The Hon Secretary reported that he has passed on all correspondence to the appropriate places and has put notices on the board.

Planning permission has been given for the land at the bottom of the slip. More about that later.

Please do not remove notices from the relevant boards or put new ones up. There are boards in the entrance for the use of members.

The Membership Secretary proposed a new House Member and the Committee agreed unanimously. He is Mr S J Cleary of Hightown. Please welcome him to the club. There are proposals for two more members on the Secretary’s board.

There is still some difficulty with unpaid subs. Some people will be deemed ex members. Look at the board for names.

Mr Anthony Glynn Jones has resigned because of ill health and John Seagraves has also resigned.

Some members have changed their type of membership and Dave Flynn’s brother has been invited to become an honorary member for the duration of his stay here from Australia.

Social Notes. The Nautical Fancy Dress Evening was very enjoyable with quite a good number of people in fancy costumes.

Claire’s Quiz Night was extremely successful with about 86 people in attendance. Claire would like to thank everybody who contributed in any way, she is so grateful. £957 20 was raised after expenses and she still has some donations to add to that. Claire said that the money will be spent on what is needed rather than presenting the whole amount. She has in mind to pay a few months rent and school fees for the children to attend school, no free schools there. She is sending out clothing that has been bought or donated for the children and she is also taking books and equipment. However Claire has promised that she will try to keep us informed of her progress if possible. She is due to fly out next week and I’m sure that we all offer her our good wishes.

The next event will be the RNLI day on the 27th June followed by the Barbecue on the 17th July. More details later so keep an eye on the notice board.

E mail messages.

Dear Pat, here is a small contribution for the newsletter.  One of these days I'll get round to typing an extract from one of our logs!

Alt Man, the Hunter Gatherer.      

A few years ago, Joe arrived home wearing a huge grin and the unmistakeable pride of a man who is directly contributing to the family's sustenance.  He had been digging moorings in the Alt and seen something move in the water.  Quick as a flash he had his spade onto it.  It was a lovely big plaice!  I think he was quite disappointed when I refused to cook it for us. "I'm not eating anything that's been in the River Alt" - choosing instead to give it to next door's cats and worrying for the next week if I didn't see them around!

Well, Joe "topped" this bounty last week.  He put his hand into one of our side cockpit lockers where we keep bits of rope, cloths etc and pulled out four perfect duck eggs! I was amazed when, carefully cradling them in his hands, he brought them home to me.  I'm sure Jamie Oliver would have knocked up a superb omelette, but, being so used to our food coming from "Mr. Sainsbury" I have to admit that I again treated them with suspicion breaking one into a saucer and sniffing it.  They were perfectly fresh but I still passed them on to next door - this time to the pair of big black Rottweilers (a couple of softies) who, I am glad to report are still fit and healthy but we are awaiting confirmation from the vet that the bitch is expecting ducklings!   G Coady.

If you are not already aware the Hoylake Sailing School has been destroyed by a fire early this morning due to an apparent electrical fault.

For further information, please see the following URL.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/tm_headline=hoylake-sailing-school-gutted-in-early-hours-fire%26method=full%26objectid=26420569%26siteid=100252-name_page.html

Regards, Mark

          THE GALLON OF ALE RACE

Sunday 13th June, 2010

HW Alt: 1220hrs 9.0m

Start Time: 1115hrs

Race Officer: P Wright

Conditions:

1. The race will be sailed under ISAF and RYA Rules except as amended below.
2. Spinnakers may be used.

Start Time: 5 minutes before start, horn sounded and P flag displayed; 4 minutes before start, horn sounded and engine’s switched off; 1 minute before start, preparatory horn sounded; finally “go” signal, horn sounded and P flag removed.

Course: To be selected by race Officer according to prevailing weather conditions and from list on page 38 of Club Diary.

Communications: Channel 37 (M1)

WANTED URGENTLY

We need Bric a Brac for RNLI Day, please let me know if you have any and bring it on the morning. We also need prizes for the tombola stall, fancy goods, unwanted gifts and bottles of any kind will be appreciated.

LIFEBOAT DAY.

SUNDAY  27TH JUNE @ 11.00 AM.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A DAY OF FUN. SEE THE VISITING LIFEBOATS, THEY WILL ARRIVE EARLY WE HAVE AN EARLY TIDE.

BARBECUE             REFRESHMENTS BAR OPEN       TOMBOLA                 TREASURE HUNT          BRIC A BRAC RAFFLE LIFEBOAT SOUVENIR STALL

THE LIFEBOAT RACE.

The best supported race of the year.

R.N.L.I. RACE

Sunday 27th June, 2010.

HW Alt: 1226hrs 8.6m

Race Officer: Austen Bridges

Conditions:

1. The race will be sailed under ISAF and RYA Rules except as amended below.
2. A maximum of three laps may be sailed if conditions allow.
3. A contribution of £2.00 per lap will be collected towards the RNLI.
4. No spinnakers allowed.
5. Communications Channel 37 (M1)
6. The course will be from the Race Officer’s boat to buoy C14m and back.
7.  
8.  Before the completion of each lap, and within sight of the Race Officer, each competitor must throw clear astern a lifebuoy or fender and recover it. Failure to do so will invalidate the lap time.

Start Time: 1130hrs. Boats may start when they like, on or after the start time, but not before. Each lap will be recorded but only the fastest lap will be taken into account for the final position.

Please support the RNLI by taking part in this event.