Were the young sailors on this journey spies or just holidaymakers in German waters? Julia Jones will explain, using the recently discovered diaries & photos of her father, George Jones, the skipper on this cruise.
The cruise was, on the surface, by four young men, together with a more experienced skipper, who travelled 1300 miles in three weeks: a formidable cruise even in Naromis, a 37’ motor sailer with powerful engines.
George Jones was an experienced East Coast sailor who had spent his childhood enjoying the River Deben. By August 1939 he was no longer a child but a nascent stockbroker. He had been approached to join a banker, another stockbroker, a barrister and a medical student for a cruise in the Baltic. Europe was already on edge – Czechoslovakia had been invaded by the German Army and there were demands that Danzig be returned to the Reich, yet the book reads like a normal cruising log. There is plenty of information about weather, sailing conditions, sights seen, courses steered, berthing difficulties and even a grounding. The crew make friends over drinks with other sailors – Dutch, German and Scandinavian.
The book of the tale is available for members to borrow on loan from the CA Library and the book review of it is available here.
Date: Saturday 12 October 2019
Time: Talk starts promptly at 20:00. Bar open from 18:00, supper 18:45.
Venue: Royal Harwich Yacht Club
Bookings: Royal Harwich Yacht Club
Cost: £14.00 (talk & supper), £5.00 (talk only)