EXTRACTS FROM THE GENERAL COMMITTEE 08 03 05

There was an apology for non-attendance; Kieron Riley is fishing in the Antipodes. The Commodore opened the meeting and after the usual business with the meeting gave his report. Dave will attend the Ribble Cruising Club event this weekend. Sadly the Quiz and Italian night had to be cancelled, (see Social Notes) later.

Dave told the meeting that it would be preferable if anyone has any business to conduct that they would do it either through the committee or through him. Anything of a contentious nature could then be settled amicably.

We were given a reminder that any event involving the public using the clubhouse will need extra insurance, as for instance the Lifeboat Day. Under normal club use members and their guests are covered by the club insurance.

The lease for the club is still being worked on because new club Trustees are required.

The Vice Commodore told the meeting that the emergency mooring had not yet been inspected. The plan of the services in the yard is pending.

Cyril Porter has given the club a large buoy, which will go at the River Mouth and some scaffold fittings. Thanks were expressed to Cyril.

The Sailing Secretary hopes to encourage more members to race, new members can compete for the Stevenson Trophy (Best newcomer to racing) and it is proposed to set up competition for the Caprice Trophy to be entered by boats of 18'6” and under.

There is a suggestion that a cruise up river to Tranmere could be substituted for one of the day cruises, should there be adverse weather. It would be necessary to arrange this with Tranmere SC and RLYC for use of their moorings if needed.

The list of current boats with the insurance and launch checklist was presented and will be posted on the notice boards in the clubhouse and in the yard. The list will carry a warning of disciplinary action by the General Committee should a boat launch without the presentation of a valid insurance declaration to the YBM.

The date of the Commodore's Cruise has not yet been fixed.

All boat owners should have received the letter, advising members to tidy their area of the yard

The Club Captain said that any raised metal etc at the bottom of the slip will be cut off and repairs carried out in the Spring working party to be held on 16 th April . A proposal for the repairs/improvements to the slip will be prepared for presentation to the General Committee in September.

2 x Red and 2 x Green perches are to be prepared by D Ward for use on the South Reach. A Roe will survey the north end and assess the need for further perching.

A Roe had recovered a scaffold pole that had been bent, from the beach and had left it by the black hut. Vandals have used Poles to damage the hut in the past; DW will move the pole either into an area where it is unlikely to be found or to the boat yard,

AR reported that Cirrus had been broken into and a number of items stolen and that a window on Capsicum had also been broken.

A letter was received from Alistair Soame of LYC advising the start of the Clipper race on 8/9/05, further advising that the crews of the competing boats would be in the city for a few days prior to the start, and asking whether the club would be prepared to act as host to one of these crew's. The committee thought this a good idea and will be proposed to the General Committee for reply . This was confirmed at the General Committee Meeting.

The next meeting will be at 20:00 on Tuesday, 5 April at the clubhouse.

The Rear Commodore told the meeting that the work behind the bar is ongoing. Some of it has been held up because George Williams has been very ill and needs time to recover.

The Gen Committee agreed that the Sunday opening time could be extended to 8.00pm for a trial period.

We have a new person behind the bar. Welcome to Philip Blundell who is learning the ropes quickly. Philip lives in Hightown, is studying for his A levels. As he is new to bar work Mark asks members to be patient.

More quotes are awaited for the Central Heating and it is hoped that the Snug area can be upgraded at the same time that heating is installed. The metal security panel by the bar is badly corroded and bricks will soon fill in the space. The plasterboard around the new cupboard in the rear entrance will be plastered, ready for painting. The lock is giving a problem and it may be necessary to replace it.

The House Committee thank Paul Wren for the donation of a splendid Stereo Cabinet, John Newton for a ship's compass and Kathrine Hogarth for the gift of a vacuum cleaner. A ladder, guttering and drainpipes have been purchased.

The lack of secure storage space has become a big problem. The remedy this, the General Committee have accepted the gift of a small container 8'w x 8'h x 10'l. This will be delivered and placed at the side of the Black Hut free of charge. It will then be painted black to blend in with the Black Hut.

The Wednesday talk by the RNLI visitor was well supported and received. As a result of that evening members can have a safety at sea check on their boat's equipment, free of charge and by prior arrangement. See Mark about it.

There is another evening arranged for Wednesday 23 rd March. The talk is about the ships, Hood and Bismarck. This will be at 8.30 pm .

When Mark arranges these evenings he goes to a great deal of trouble and has to transport his own television set.

has anybody got a spare tv set that they could give to the club for use on the talk evenings only?

it would need to be at least 21 inches

please see Mark.

2005 Race Dates

200 club member's draw in february.

1 st prize g.cragg £30.00

2 nd prize M Williams £20.00

3 rd prize J Lorenz £15.00

Why not join now? see Mark Meadows .

A final plea about the building Please use the notice boards provided. Do NOT stick, pin or blue tack posters

directly to the walls as they damage the décor.

The Clubhouse will be used on 16 th July for Hightown's Summer Festival.

The Hon Secretary reported that he has been liasing about the new lease for the Clubhouse. The lease for the moorings has been received.

Letters of thanks for hospitality shown at the Fitting Out Dinner have been received and will be displayed on the board.

DEFRA have sent us a poster concerning dogs and rabies with a request that it should go on display.

Martin will attend a police seminar on Saturday concerning Boat Crime and Terrorist Threats (Terrorists landing by boat). I'm sure we will all look forward to hearing what he learns.

Martin will write a letter inviting the Lifeboats to attend the club on the day of the RNLI Race and Fund Raising 26 th June.

A letter has been received from the RYA concerning the erection of 100, 2metre high statues on Crosby foreshore; they will remain there for 20 months. Some of them will be in the water and may be submerged thus constituting a hazard. Objections have to be made before 20 th March. A letter will be sent asking for a plan and requesting that warnings will be posted.

The Hon Treasurer gave out spreadsheets to the members of the committee showing all the ins and outs of the club finances. Dave is doing a great job of scrutinising the outs!!

The Hon Membership Secretary said that subs are coming in but there are still a lot outstanding. There is little to report on the new member front there is one potential full member in the offing.

The Social Chairman Trevor expressed great disappointment concerning the cancellation of the Quiz and Italian evening. This was due to lack of support by the members.

The Next Social Event will be CURRY WITH THE COMMODORE on the evening of the 30 th April. This is instead of a cocktail party. There will be MORE details in the next newsletter and on the notice boards in the clubhouse.

In view of the lack of communication and information the future social dates will have to be revised after the 30 th April except for the Lifeboat Day which is fixed.

I have been asked to publish the following letter from the Commodore and from Trevor Mayers.

May we start by thanking the 18 members who tried to support our quiz and Italian Supper and also say how sorry we were that it was cancelled due to the lack of interest .We are both at a loss as to why.

The effort put into organising events is quite time consuming, we both feel that support for our social events is imperative if we are to continue to make improvements to the clubhouse and sailing facilities for all to enjoy.

We are indebted to the caterers for not charging us a cancellation fee and have both thanked them.

Hopefully this blip in our social calendar will not be repeated, so please keep your eyes on the notice boards, in the newsletters and club diaries for our next social event.

Kind regards

David and Trevor.

The Occasional alphabet

F is for FOXTROT. Use a white code flag with a red diamond. Morse dot dot dash dotUsed as a single letter signal. “I am disabled, communicate with me”

Fitting Out - Series of maintenance tasks performed on boats ashore during good-weather weekends in spring and summer months ready to make them ready for winter storage.

Fix - 1.The estimated position of a boat 2.The true position a boat and its crew are in most of the time.

Flag - Any of a number of signalling pennants or ensigns, designed to be flown upside down in the wrong place, in the wrong order, or at an inappropriate time.

Flashlight - Tubular metal container used on shipboard for storing dead batteries prior to their disposal.

Flotsam - Anything floating in the water from which there is no response when an offer of a drink is made.

Fluke - The portion of an anchor that digs securely onto the bottom, holding the boat in place; also, any occasion when this occurs on first try.

Fog - Condition of greatly reduced visibility that occurs when the air temperature approaches the dew point or the boat approaches the harbour.

Foul-weather gear - Type of waterproof clothing usually needed only in the autumn, spring, winter and summer months.

Furl - To make a futile attempt to gather, fold and tie down several hundred square feet of stiff, wet Dacron sailcloth to a horizontal pole in a tight, trim, shipshape bundle that does not strongly resemble a mummy

strapped to a railing.

My thanks to Simon.

THE MERSEY RIVER FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

TO MARK THE SILVER JUBILEE PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE BEING INVITED TO CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF THE MERSEY RIVER FESTIVAL. THE THEME IS SEA LIVERPOOL 2005 AND THERE ARE SEVERAL CATEGORIES . THE WINNING PICTURES WILL BE ON DISPLAY IN THE ALBERT DOCK FROM JUNE 11 TH TO JUNE 26 TH .

TO GET MORE INFORMATION RING OR ENTRY FORMS RING 0151 707 2566 OR E MAIL lisa@healthstart.co.uk

THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES IS FRIDAY MAY 6 TH . GOOD LUCK.

THE SPRING WORKING PARTY FOR ALL
WILL BE HELD ON 16 TH APRIL.

Don't Panic-Write a Report

The following report from a ship's Master is reproduced by kind permission of the anonymous author who appears to be gifted with remarkable sang-froid'.

“ It is with regret and haste that I write this letter to you, regret that such a small misunder­standing could lead to the following circumstances, and haste in order that you will get this, ~ report before you form your own pre-conceived opinions from reports in the world press, for I am sure that they will tend to overdramatise the affair.

We had lust picked up the pilot, and the apprentice had returned from changing the “G “flag for the “H” and it being his first trip, was having difficulty in rolling the “C” flag up. I therefore proceeded to show him how. Coming to the last part, I told him to “let go”. The lad, a/though willing, is not too bright, necessitating my having to repeat the order in a sharper tone.

At this moment the Chief Of­7cer appeared from the Chart-room, having been plotting the vessel's progress, and, thinking that it was the anchors that were being referred to, repeated the “let go” to the Third Officer n the forecastle. The port anchor, having been cleared away but not walked out, was promptly let go. The effect of letting the anchor drop from the”pipe”while the vessel was proceeding at full harbour speed proved too much for the windlass brake, and the entire length of the port cable was pulled out “by the roots”. I fear that the damage to the chain locker may be extensive. The braking effect of the port anchor naturally caused the vessel to sheer in that direction, right towards the wing bridge that spans a tributary to the river up which we were proceeding.

The swing bridge operator showed great presence of mind by opening the bridge for my vessel. Unfortunately, he did not think to stop the vehicular traffic, the result being that the bridge partly opened and deposited a Volkswagen, two cyclists, and a cattle truck on the foredeck. My ship's company is at present rounding up the contents of the latter, which from the noise I would say were pigs. In his ef­forts to stop the progress of the vessel, the Third Officer dropped the starboard anchor, too late to be of practical use, for it fell on the swing bridge operator's con­trol cabin.

After the port anchor was let go and the vessel started to sheer, I gave a double ring Full Astern on the Engine Room Telegraph and personally rang the Engine Room to order max­imum astern revolutions. I was informed that the sea temperature was 53degrees and asked if there was a film tonight; my reply would not add construc­tively to this report.

Up to now I have confined my report to the activities at the for­ward end of the vessel. Down aft they were having their own problems.

At the moment the port anchor was let go, the Second Officer was supervising the mak­ing fast of the after tug and was lowering the ship's towing spring down onto the tug.

The sudden braking effect on the port anchor caused the tug to “run in under” the stern of my vessel, just at the moment when the propeller was answering my double ring Full Astern. The prompt action of the Second Of­ficer in securing the inboard end of the towing spring delayed the sinking of the tug by some minutes, thereby allowing the safe abandoning of that vessel.

It/s strange, but at the very same moment of letting go the port anchor there was a power cut ashore. The fact that we were passing over a ‘cable area” at that time might suggest that we may have touched something on the riverbed. It is perhaps lucky that the high-tension cables brought down by the foremast were not live, pos­sibly being replaced by the underwater cable, but owing to the shore it is impossible to say where the pylon fell.

It never fails to amaze me, the actions and behaviour of foreigners during moments of minor crisis. The pilot, for in­stance, is at this moment huddled in the corner of my day cabin, alternately crooning to himself and crying after having consumed a bottle of gin in a time that is worthy of inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records. The tug captain, on the other hand reacted violently and had to be forcibly restrained by the Steward, who has him hand­cuffed in the ship's hospital, where he is telling me to do im­possible things with my ship and my crew.

I enclose the names and ad­dresses of the drivers and in­surance companies of the vehi­cles on my foredeck, which the Third Officer collected after his somewhat hurried evacuation of the forecastle. These particulars will enable you to c/aim for the damage that they did to the rail­ings of the No. I hold.

I am closing this preliminary report for I am finding it difficult to concentrate with the sound of police sirens and their flashing lights.

It is sad to think that had the apprentice realized that there is no need to fly pilot flags after dark none of this would have happened.

For weekly Accountability Report I will assign the following Casualty Numbers T/750 10 1 to T/750 199 inclusive.

Yours truly. Master

I am grateful to Eric Wilkinson for this very funny story. Pat.

EASTER
CLUBHOUSE OPENING TIMES

Friday 25 th March (Good Friday) 6.30 till 11.00 pm

Sunday 27 th March (Easter Sunday) 3.30 till 8.00pm

Monday 28 th March (Easter Monday) 3.30 till 7.00pm

? ? ? ? THE CENTENARY MYSTERY ? ? ? ?

Old Field Cottage. Gwel An Scol,
Feock, Truro, Cornwall. TR3 6RX

Letter to the Editor B.S.C. Newsletter .

Dear Pat,

The title page of the club diary used to be headed ~‘Established 1914

In an article entitled ‘We Missed Our Centenary ' published in the club newsletter some years ago I proved that the Blundellsands Sailing Club was started about 1888/9. This fact has since been confirmed in a report in the Bootle Times of 1891.

The diary entry then changed to “ Established 1907”
What is the significance of 1907? There is no possible doubt that the Blundellsands Sailing Club was founded in 1888/9. Maybe one of our officers will give a satisfactory explanation.

Mark Miller. Honorary Archivist.

The above letter was received today 09 03 05. Quite a mystery, can anybody enlighten us?

The following also came in the same mail. To the Yardstick/Handicap Officer There were no PY numbers in this edition because the information had not been received from the RYA. When it arrived this afternoon surprise, surprise they have gone digital. The information is now on a CD and will be published in next month's newsletter.

A Little Food for Thought.

The Lord's Prayer contains 56 words, the Ten Commandments 297, the American Declaration of Independence 300. The European Community Directive on the Export of Duck Eggs contains 26,911 words.

Rupert Hart-Davis.