COMMENT This is a busy time around the Alt and in the clubhouse. Boats are being hauled out, somebody is planning to go in, races are cancelled and replacement races are also cancelled due to the weather. I suppose that we should be grateful not to have hurricanes. Small working parties are taking place and a big working party is being planned when all are expected to lend a hand.

In the clubhouse a very happy Italian evening was held which I was sorry to miss and the next social event will be a hotpot supper. The extra space makes a crowded evening much more comfortable. Now that most members are back from holiday and settling down for autumn we see more people when the club is open, which is good from all points of view. The forthcoming changes of officers gives rise to speculation, rumour and counter rumour.

I am awaiting the arrival of the pink footed geese, has anybody seen or heard them yet? Maybe the northerly winds will help them along; they are a sure sign that autumn is upon us. The wind has also brought a few unusual birds this year. There are quite a lot of redstarts at the mouth of the Alt. Sefton's summer edition of Coastlines was exceptionally good, informative and colourful with pictures of the local plants and insects, some rare. There are a few around the clubhouse and they are still available free, from your local library. This week is National Red Squirrel week and in order to preserve the local red squirrels Southport is having a cull of grey squirrels in the local parks.

NOTES FROM THE GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING

Apologies were received from Stan Warren and Alan Roe who are on holiday.

THE COMMODORE welcomed members and opened the meeting by telling us that the new lease for the clubhouse etc is being dealt with and he will have it soon.

THE VICE COMMODORE reported to the committee on the Sailing Committee meeting. The Stevenson's cross repairs are in hand. Three lengths of chain are needed for the emergency mooring; they need to be at least 8ft long. Has anybody got any unwanted pieces?

The messy and muddy bit of ground at the end of the slipway has been filled in and seems to be holding. The number of boats not launched this season has been very disappointing. As the present arrangements for dealing with the owners are not working it was agreed that more stringent penalties will have to be applied. There are good reasons of course why some boats are not put in the water but it was pointed out that the yard is not for storage. Fifty-one boats need to be in the yard this winter and unused boats are preventing new members from having space.

CARS IN THE DINGHY PARK

The committee has previously asked everyone not to park cars in the Dinghy Park. This is for two reasons.

1. A clear way must be left for emergency vehicles to access the beach.
2. Members must be able to get their dinghies out unimpeded by cars.
Members with inflatable dinghies like to blow them up on the grass. This is quite understandable, and clearly it makes life a little easier to drive into the dinghy park to do it.
You are however asked not to leave your car unattended in the dinghy park. It only takes a minute to remove it to the car park. In this way frayed tempers and the possibility of damage to cars will be alleviated.

A notice has been put on the dinghy park gates to remind everyone
Thanks for your co-operation

THE REAR COMMODORE Carole wishes to thank Paul Wren for all his valiant work in the clubhouse. He has fitted a new fire alarm and an alarm bell. . He has also repaired the bottle cooler.
The brewery will install new equipment in the beer cellar.
The untidiness of the Black Hut (recently repaired by Kieran Riley) caused quite a discussion at the House committee meeting. Primarily used for sailing equipment and later for chair storage as well it now seems to be the dumping ground for unwanted rubbish, which will be thrown out along with other redundant articles. If you use the Black Hut please put objects well away from the door it doesn't take more than seconds longer. Carole will form a small working party to do this work and Phil Wright will organise a general working party soon.
The will be new contracts drawn up soon concerning the hire of the club. There will be more about that later.
D Warren has arranged the catering for prize giving and will publish the menu and cost later (the date is 13th November).

THE HON SECRETARY told the meeting that the 200 club prizes for August were won by N Corns, who won the 1st prize and The Roofer won the 2nd and 3rd prizes. The Roofer's winnings go to the club funds.
Mark is still waiting for a reply from the coastguard concerning the club visit.
Mark and the Commodore sailed in the Commodore's Cup race at Liverpool Yacht Club. The Commodore said that it was a good event and the visitors were made very welcome. Their place was seventh.
In the absence of the Hon Membership Secretary Mark organised the ballot for three new members of the club. All were unanimously accepted and we welcome Mr M Kimball Smith as a family member.
Secondly Chris Williams will become a House member and thirdly D Forsythe will become a full member. We hope that they will enjoy their membership.

THE HON TREASURER reported that he has finally sorted out the money from the RNLI Day and £299 has gone to Dave Flynn and £100 to Southport Lifeboat who have sent a letter of thanks.

THE SOCIAL COMMITTEE. Maggie reported on the great success of the Italian Evening last Saturday and thanks all who helped to make it such a success especially Trevor Mayers. The next event in the diary is a Hot Pot Supper on 16th October.

The Commodore closed the meeting.

THE COAST GUARD'S OPEN DAY.
By PR Williams.

To the small craft drifting in a calm sea, it began as a gentle whisper, and as the yachtsman looked toward the Southern horizon a silver shape appeared, growing steadily in size with the engine noise swelling to a roar. The rescue plane swooped down over the wavelets, banked sharply to port and climbed swiftly with an ear shattering blast of power as the Nimrod pilot engaged his afterburners on the four powerful jet engines and then he was gone, disappearing in the distant clouds.

This was the climax of the open day at HM Coastguard Station Crosby, where more than 4000 visitors enjoyed a sunny Saturday afternoon watching three inshore lifeboats combining in a series of rescue procedures, with orange smoke flares a-plenty.

For our part Blundellsands Sailing Club gave the assembled crowds a sail-past of nine yachts with sails of red white and blue, coming as close inshore as we dared. Two boats actually sailed to landward of the large wooden measured mile marker. Ashore the public were allowed a peek at the coastguards at their consoles performing their normal work whilst outside various stalls showed the varied duties our coastal guardians perform. The events were blessed with a sunny day, blue skies, a high tide and a gentle sailing breeze. "We counted all our boats out and we counted them all home".
PRW

TROPHY HOLDERS AND LOGS

Will all trophy holders from 2003 please return them to Pat or John Heyworth, or leave behind the bar for collection. It will soon be time for preparations for 2004 Prize Giving on 13th November.

Logs for the Travellers Trophy and the Cruising Cup 2004 must be in by 1st October. The criteria for these are on the notice board but more information can be obtained from the Hon Sailing Secretary or Vice Commodore.

RNLI

Dave Flynn is holding a coffee morning on Wed 20th October

In St Nicholas Church Hall Crosby. 10.30 to 12.00 am.

Tickets incl coffee and biscuits £1.00 each from Dave.

There will be various stalls

Dave asks if anybody could provide home made cakes or produce.

Please contact him

THE RIVER ALT

Do we ever give any thought to how much we owe to the River Alt?
For many years no one seemed to have a good word to say about the river. When I first joined BSC I knew next to nothing about the water that was to play a large part in our lives over the coming years.
I learned more in the 1ate nineteen seventies and the eighties as I took parties of school children to the source of the Alt and to follow it through to the mouth. To do this I had to do some research.
At that time the numbers of prams, supermarket trolleys and unimaginable rubbish that we found, except in Croxteth Park where the estate kept the river clean, impressed us. The detritus of everyday life added to industrial and agricultural pollution was considered not only to be an eyesore but also a health hazard.

The River Alt rises to the east of Liverpool in Huyton and flows in a northwesterly direction towards Formby where it turns south towards Hightown and the sea. After emerging from the sand dunes south of the Altcar Rifle Range it then runs South West along the foreshore up the Mersey estuary and is deflected by the Crosby Groyne into the Crosby Channel. The upper part of the catchment is urban but the lower part is mostly rural in character. The total cathchment is an area of 89 square miles and within that there are some 20 square miles of rich agricultural fenland to the east of Formby and Hightown which could be ruined by high tides and thus needed special attention to be given to the drainage.

It is not known exactly when this lowland area was won from the sea, but it is believed that local monks carried out some work in the 13th century and the Dutch did some in the 17th century. The earliest written records are dated 1779, when an Act was passed for: Draining, Improving and Preserving the Low Lands in the Parishes of Altcar, Sefton, Halsall and Walton upon the Hill in the County Palatine of Lancaster.

It was recorded that in 1779 The River Alt Commissioners built some new tidal gates 800 yards downstream of the then existing gates. It was also recorded that a little higher up there are traces that more ancient floodgates existed but of which there are now no records extant.

It seems that the drainage of the River Alt catchment area has been a difficult problem. An 18th century description says. "The village of Sephton* is placed on a range of fine meadows, reaching almost to the sea and in a great measure supply Liverpool with hay. It is watered by the Alt, a small trout stream, which empties itself into the sea near Formby, but, for want of a sufficient outfall to carry off its waters, its banks remain inundated for the whole of the season after the first floods" Hay was of course a necessary feed at that time and there was cause of short supplies. The Sephton meadows at that time were described as being a continual sheet of ice in the winter sometimes used for skaiting* as a result of the earlier floods. Roads were often impassable as a consequence of which, the villagers used boats to go about and to visit their neighbours.

Today there is less flooding than in the past, but the flooding today can be much more serious, in that there is now much more intensive farming of the lowland areas. It is not merely the loss of a hay crop but the threat is to many acres of valuable corn, vegetables and root crops.

The gates of 1779 gradually fell into disrepair until in 1830 there was a 'blow-out' under the foundations and a new structure was then built downstream. This lasted until 1933 when it was extended by the addition of three smaller gates, which in turn were replaced by the pumping station. The replacement of gates gave rise to many difficulties. It was impossible to go as low as the builders wished, due to the ground conditions. In 1830 it was written that "there had been great trouble and difficulty in getting in the foundation for these gates, which are laid upon a platform of timber, on a thick stratum of clay on a deep quicksand, and were several time blown up and re-laid before they could be got firm"

In 1934 the River Alt Catchment Board and the Borough of Crosby, jointly, constructed a groyne downstream of Fort Crosby, which halved the length of the outfall channel and diverted the River Alt westward into the main Crosby channel of the River Mersey. The eventual result of this work was a reduction of the low water level at the tidal gates by some five feet.

Keeping the sea out by means of the tidal gates was, of course only one part of the task. The water draining from the higher land in the upper catchment had to be carried safely across the fenland where the lowest ground levels were as much as 15ft below the highest tide level. Through the centuries a system of river embankments has been provided and continually improved. Drainage of the fenland itself has been similarly improved by the introduction of pumping stations which discharge into the embanked river channels. As far as is known the Earl of Sefton installed the first pump at Altcar, it was a scoop driven by a windmill. A steam driven pump replaced this in 1842.

In the 1950's it became clear that further major works were required to maintain and improve the outfall of the river Alt. Increasing urban development was causing more rapid run off. River levels were rising progressively at times of coinciding heavy rainfall and high tide thereby increasing the risk of the embankment overtopping and breaching. The gates at Hightown were giving increasing cause for concern and it became clear that a completely new structure was urgently needed.

From that time many plans were put forward and changed or scrapped. To arrive at what is now in use took many years of planning, channel widening, bridge building and the overcoming of many obstacles, remembering that this small but important river flows under several roads, railway bridges and a canal. Underpinning of the main Liverpool to Southport railway line was completed in 1970 and was carried out without affecting traffic on the line in any way. During this work a cofferdam was driven under the bridge and the river passed along the side of the cofferdam during dry weather conditions Several times the work had to be suspended due to flooding of the dam in poor weather.

During the excavation within the cofferdam a number of animal bones were discovered in the Downholland Silt. Investigations carried out by Liverpool University suggested that they were the remains of a dolphin, which had been cooked and eaten at some date between 5000 and 4000 BC.

Today, as we are served by modern pumps and different technology it is easy to overlook the past, how the river has affected the lives of many people and still plays a part in our lives beyond the normal functions of a river. Our moorings depend on it. The mouth of the Alt is a place of special scientific interest and we can find many unusual and rare plants. To find more about these read The Sands of Time by Philip H Smith.

What changes will the future bring? The new philosophy is to go back to nature. Perhaps we shall see floods controlled by the development of wetlands and water meadows with reed beds, yellow iris and similar plants that purify the water and so provide a clearer and steadier flow of the waters of the River Alt. The cleansing of the river has already made great progress. Proof of this is seen in the anglers who are now catching a variety of estuary fish. Upriver also there is much more life, fish, bird, plant and aquatic insect. The river is alive now. It used to be a river of pollution that people were fearful of falling into. The thought of people swimming in the Alt at Hightown is not so far fetched, is it?

· *These spellings are those of the time written about.
· I am indebted to Dave Wilcox for background information to enable me to write this. PH.

ACCESS TO THE SHORE

There will be an access strategy meeting in the Alt Centre on Tuesday 21st September from 7 to 9 pm. It is felt that the club should have representation at this meeting. Phil Wright would like others to join him. If you can spare the time please speak to Phil. It is quite important that the club have some input in this strategy. Last week two jet skiers came up the River Alt as far as the pumping station presumably gaining entry from somewhere near the coastguard. We may find that there are many implications for the club in this planning. David Warren will represent the Hightown Parish Council who want disabled access from near the boatyard.

AN OCCASIONAL ALPHABET

A is for Alpha Morse dot dash

It is a white and blue swallow tailed code flag which used as a single letter means I have a diver down, keep well clear at slow speed

AHOY The first in a series of four-letter words commonly exchanged by skippers as their boats approach one another.

ANCHOR Any number of heavy hook shaped devices that are dropped over the side of the boat on the end of a length of rope and/or chain, and which are designed to hold a vessel securely in place until:

ANCHORING Aprocess during which the anchor is lowered and rancour is raised.

AUXILIARY Any object, animate or inanimate, which in the way when it is not needed and missing or broken when it is.

REBUILDING THE NORTH END

The following three pictures tell the story, from the demolition of the North end of the club to the enjoyment of members when it was finished. You may also have a rare view of the men's facilities!

Many thanks to all involved in whatever way. John Myerscough attended the site and over fifty nine days he made eighty one visits and ensured that the work was done to standard and was completed on time.

Early Days		The end
	L' urinoir

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