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ABC NEWSLETTER July 2009
Editor: Peter Drumm
Commodore’s Comment
I am writing this on Sulasgeir (Hebe’s elder sister) in Loch Laxford a few miles south of Cape Wrath. We had landed and met again John Ridgeway and his wife. I spent a week at his Adventure School in 1976 and it was amazing to see again the open dory that he rowed the Atlantic with Chay Blyth. 92 days. Up on a slipway was English Rose VI that he has sailed three times round the world. It’s for sale if any member fancies a longer cruise next year. Meanwhile….back to Aberdour! The two work parties in the spring were amazingly effective. Masterminded by Steve, as usual, and boosted by a superb al fresco breakfast conducted by Charbel, the teams managed to completely repaint both the inside and the outside of the Clubhouse. And now the ‘Hanging Committee’ is putting back some of the pictures and leaving room for the great pictures and photo’s of the future. So thank you to all those who ‘volunteered’ for these two days. With the Clubhouse and the Rescue boat brought up to good condition, we intend to look at the state of the Middle Shed and what is needed to maintain its life indefinitely. On the sailing front it was good to see good turnouts for the Evening Series in just its second year. Especially from the younger members – well it’s all relative. The winds were fickle as often. Other races have gone well though it was disappointing that the joint race with Cramond, the Gunner Trophy, had 3 entries from Cramond and none from ABC. One of their members won! But there is still plenty left of the season and time to join the races or the cruises mentioned in this Newsletter and in the Handbook. Those on email - almost all of you now – will receive reminders as usual. On a less happy note there has been some vandalism in the dinghy park. Those with boats or trailers there please check that yours are OK. If any member feels that some of the dinghies and canoes are now beyond repair or use – please remove them before our autumn clear up.
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To the Vice’s Squads
What an achievement by the last two work parties in completing so many jobs. Thank you very much for all the effort put in by the attending members. I am not going to mention any one in particular, that would be unfair as everyone that attended did their bit. What I should mention is the huge amount of work we did get through over the winter and by the work parties of May and June.
So let me enlighten you all:-
In fact it has been such a productive several months that even I am lost for words (as you know that is near on impossible!!) So thank you all once again. Steve Boxall.
Projecting Our Image Our revered Commodore thought we were too shy and retiring - hence the large black ABC letters on the seaward side of the Clubhouse, and the Club burgee alongside the door. (To those who say this is wrong, it isn’t; it is unfinished.) While on the subject, Howard Williams has assumed responsibility for the Club website from Andy Johnston, to whom many thanks for his work over the past few years.
Still To Come Sailing events have so far been fairly well supported despite early season weather having been what might politely be described as “fickle”. Members are reminded that still to come are half a dozen or so events including the ever-popular Old Chair Pier Cruise, the Cruise-cum-BBQ (destination to be decided), and, of course, the Regatta. Full details are given in the Sailing Secretary’s report.
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Looking Further Ahead Sorry to strike a sadder note, but it has to be done, if only because the Committee does not meet again until early September. Space in the dinghy park for winter lay-up is limited, and applications for storage of ABC boats should be made by mid-August to Steve Boxall. Specific slots will be allocated, and members are asked to make sure they follow the plan to leave - jamming boats in any old way makes life difficult for everybody. Beyond the Blue Horizon A number of our resident boats, including “Markate”, “Maisie”, “Rozisrival”, “Vennine”, “Valka”, “Ol’ Swell” and little “Tonik”, have all been absent from their moorings in recent times, boldly exploring the world beyond Aberdour. Commodore Colin Whimster and Howard Williams have also been on the move, taking their west coast-based vessels to the far north- west and Guinness-land respectively. Exactly where they have all been and what adventures (and misadventures) they might have had are so far largely unknown, but hopefully their skippers will reveal all by submitting entries for the annual Best Log Competition.
Rescue Boat Action Early on the afternoon of June 25 Hannah Norman’s Tracer broke free from her mooring and grounded in the east end of Barnhill Bay. A first attempt to retrieve her by PD, Jim Forrest, Ian Owers and Pat Blakeman failed due to the awkward situation of the Tracer (a narrow gap between two nasty reefs), a big swell and a Force 5-6 easterly. The rising tide and a slight easing in conditions two hours later allowed PD and Trevor Mann to succeed in getting her off and towed safely back to the harbour. Happily, damage was limited to scuffs and scrapes. Loss of a shackle pin appears to have been the cause of the incident.
Limekilns Cruise 20/21June 2009
Four boats from the Club joined in this Cruise - Somerled, Rozisrival, Whispers and Valka. Variety’s crew had jumped ship and joined Rosisrival. With a minimum of scuttering about (to use a good Aberdonian [?] expression!) we set off with the tide at 11.15, beating up Mortimer’s Deep into a force 4 wind. However, by the time we were nearing the bridges, the wind had dropped away and engines were needed. Then, the wind swung to the north and for a short while we enjoyed a reach under the bridges. It didn’t last and the passage was completed under power. Everyone was safely on the pontoons at Limekilns by about 14.30pm., including Somerled who had gone into N Queensferry to pick up crew. Meanwhile FCC at Limekilns had completed their racing (drifting?) for the day, and a barbecue was in full swing, with the bar in their excellent premises open. We were invited to make use of the facilities - which we did (including the bar!). In the evening some of us had our own quayside BBQ, while others, having had a surfeit of BBQs, opted for a Rosyth cairry-oot. [That’s a hell of a walk, or is there something you aren’t telling us? Ed.] As soon as we had enough water on Sunday morning, we cast off (about 11.00). The wind meantime had swung round so once again we had to beat eastwards. Once under the bridges, the wind dropped away again and some of us resorted to motoring home. Whispers completed the course ahead of the rest under sail! It was good to see Whispers and Somerled with a full complement of young sailors! The weather throughout was very pleasant and all agreed it had been a good trip, thanks in no small way to the hospitality given by FCC at Limekilns. Doug Fraser.
3. Just Hanging About The difficult task of selecting what should go back on the Clubhouse walls after the re-decoration was concluded by a team with impeccable taste (PD, Rosemary Graham, Jo Hannah and John Taylor), and as is evident the re-hanging is almost complete. However, a new venture is proposed – a Members’ Pix Board. Quite a few of you take photographs during (and out of) the season and the idea is to provide a space where you can put them on display, probably for a limited period as space will be limited. If there is a poor response we will have to fill that bit of the wall with portraits of the ABC and Pier and Harbour Committees! The dog’s breakfast of advertising fliers, business cards and personal recommendations has been removed from the back of the main door, and consolidated in a small folder marked “Services and Supplies” on top of the book case.
Sailing in the City On Wednesday August 5th from 11.00 hrs, the Club will again be hosting the RYA’s Sailing in the City team. This will be the third year of them bringing their fleet of dinghies to the Black Sands and teaching children aged 8-14 years how to sail. Bookings are through the Aberdour Festival booking office as usual and cost £10 per session. This is great opportunity to pay to have your child or grandchild taught by professionals. Responsible giving!
Sailing Secretary’s ReportThe first half of the sailing season has been good with some excellent sailing conditions, both on the Forth and further afield. However, 9th May was a very wet, cold and blustery day for the four participants in our opening race, the Corriemar Plate. The race was won by Harmony (Mark Maylin) with Ommadawn (Pat Heneghan) second. On Saturday 23rd May five boats (Point Blank, Aquarius, Vaago, Aquarius and Vennine) set out from Aberdour for North Queensferry, ably lead by Trevor Mann. Refreshments were had in NQ, but only two cunning old men found space in the Albert among a horde of charity “athletes”. Seven yachts set out in a F3 Easterly at intervals according to their handicap in the Jubilee Stern Chase on 30 May. They sailed a 25 nautical mile course around Inchkeith, Inchmickery and Inchcolm. No boat was able to catch Harmony (Mark Maylin) and she won the race, followed in by Markate (Andy Carnduff), Moonshadow (John Hull), Tuesdays Child (David Woodall), Vennine (Trevor Mann) and Aquarius (Harry Ward). On Saturday 13 June, ABC ran the Gunner Trophy, a joint race with Crammond Boat Club. No Aberdour boats entered and the race was won by Talisker (D. Jamieson) with Lafter (E. McBride) second. Aberdour also ran the Over One Tide Race this year, on 27 June, but disappointingly there were no entries for this race. Happily we had warm sunshine on 4 July for the Bay sprints; only two of the races were completed - the third being abandoned due to lack of wind. The overall winner was Harmony (Mark Maylin) with Maisie (Jack Francis) second and Addiction (Derek Campbell) and Whispers (Andrew Aitchison) joint third. After the racing a very enjoyable BBQ was prepared by Charbel and Stevie on the middle slip. The Dhu Craig race was run on 18 July in a brisk westerly with five boats lining up for the start. The race was won by Karina (Richard Luxmoore) with Iris (John Henderson) second. This year the evening series is being run on fourTuesdays in June and July. The first and third races were abandoned due to lack of wind and only the second race was
4. completed. There has been a really good turnout for these races and the results of the series will be available after the last race scheduled for 28 July. Many thanks to all those who attended the OOD instruction session on 3 May and also to all those who have subsequently volunteered to do OOD duties or act as cruise leader. Without their help the sailing committee would be struggling to run all the club events. Annie Welch Reminder of ABC races/cruises still to come 2 August Old Chain Pier Cruise 8 August ABC Regatta 15 August Anstruther Muster 23 August BAD cup 6 September Club Cruise/BBQ 19 September End of Season Raft-up
Membership News Club membership now stands at 108 with 2 applications pending. Eighty –eight members are now on the club e-mailing list, but for those who are not contacted electronically, posters of forth-coming events are displayed in the clubhouse. As always, please let me know of any changes to your details, so that I can keep the club data base up to date. If anyone knows Kenny Nicolson’s new address in Inverness, could you please let me have it, so I can keep him up to date with club news? Cam Welch’s e-mails are no longer being delivered. Does anyone have a new e-mail address for him? Due to ill-health, Rodger Dalton has handed over responsibility for ‘Variety’ to his son-in-law, Eric Hill. Paul Whitwell (Breeze) has rejoined the club. Our youngest sailing members, the Maylin twins, at three and a half months, have already had two practice sails and taken part in their first race, with Dad and Mum, Mark and Heloise. Mark complains that, at present, they tend to sleep, rather than actively crew, but he is hopeful this will soon change……! Kathleen Marrian
Harbour Races (8th August) I would welcome volunteers to help with the organising and running of the popular Rowing, Canoeing and Novelty Races for youngsters between the ages of 9 and 16. Racing will start at 1500. Anyone interested in helping please contact me by phone, as my computer is out of commission, on 01383 860029. Kathleen Marrian
Regatta Teas Thanks to all who have already ‘volunteered’ to bake for and/help to prepare and serve the hugely popular Regatta Teas. If you have not already been approached and feel you would like to help with either baking and/or serving, please contact Kathleen Marrian (01383 860029)
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