Suffolk

Changes to the Coastguard Service and How it Will Affect Us,  Jeremy Littlewood

Daytime Meeting at RHYC, Woolverstone

Jeremy Littlewood works at the Thames Coastguard station at Walton-on-the-Naze. You will know that this station is faced with closure as part of the massive shake-up of the service. Jeremy will take up a new role liaising with users of the service and explaining its new method of operation. These changes will affect all sailors and we need to be aware of them.

Meeting at RHYC, Woolverstone

Colin Penn of the Cruising Association will introduce the CA Crewing Service where skippers can make contact with potential crews, and crews with skippers.

The purpose of the day is to help Skippers find crew for the next season and for crew to find a skipper who will help them to achieve their goals (week - end sailing, mile building, coastal cruising or going foreign).

Evening Meeting at RHYC  Woolverstone.

When cruising on the West Coast of Scotland Bob Bradfield became dissatisfied with the accuracy and level of detail contained on the UKHO charts that were available. In many cases they were based on lead line surveys dating from the 19^th century, contained insufficient detail to use when seeking out a sheltered spot at the head of a loch or inlet and were sometimes downright wrong. So he taught himself to make his own surveys and charts and then how to make them available to a wider public via the internet as Antares Charts.

Evening Meeting at RHYC  Woolverstone. Joint meeting with the Ocean Cruising Club.

Jane Russell is Director of the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation. She will tell the story of the intrepid sailors who pioneered the Pilot Books that we now rely on when visiting new waters. They worked long before the advent of GPS and electronic charting system when the only written guides available were the Admiralty publications written for big ship captains. The Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation was formed to ensure that their pioneering efforts would be continued and extended to the benefit of us all.

Anchors and Anchoring – Theory and Practice, Vyv Cox

Daytime Meeting at RHYC, Woolverstone

Vyv Cox is an acknowledged expert on anchors and anchoring. He brings an engineer’s approach to the subject and conducts scientific tests on samples of anchors, chain, and associated equipment. Some of his conclusions are surprising, and some alarming. You may be able to save money on your ground tackle by spending more.

The Local Maritime Plan, Stacey Clarke

For three years, long-standing CA member Paul Heiney sailed to the depths of South America on a cruise which eventually took him round the infamous Cape Horn. It is one of sailing’s most feared, yet respected headlands. He will tell us the story of his Cape Horn adventure during which he clocked up 18,000 miles and explains why a ‘quick dash’ is the only way to do it.

A Stackie to London - the Story of the Thames Sailing Barge Dawn, by Gerard Swift

The Dawn Sailing Barge Trust was started by the late Capt. Gordon Swift. Gerard continued the restoration and the management and direction of the Trust.  Dawn is the last working example of a Thames Stack Barge built with a tiller and can still carry a cargo.

Gerard is the skipper and has tales to tell including the trip from Essex up the London River re-enacting the days of a Stackie with Griff Rys-Jones and TV crew.

Changing from Sail to Power, to Europe with Paddington V, James Littlewood

James Littlewood is well known to us as an interesting and entertaining speaker. In 2014 James and Carol exchanged their sailing yacht Paddington IV for a spacious motor cruiser, inevitably christened Paddington V.James will take us through the rewards and challenges they encountered in making the change from sail to power. These went far beyond just acquiring new boat handling skills and included their whole attitude to equipment and cruising in general.

Commander S. J. Scorer RN director of Operations at Trinity House will be "Celebrating 500 Years of Trinity House"

2014 is the 500th Anniversary of the granting if the First Royal Charter to Trinity House, by Henry Vlll on 20th May 1514. Jim Scorer will talk on past history of Trinity House, but spend more time on current issues: technology, wind farms etc. And then the Future. It will be fascinating.

Bar open 18:00, Meal at 18:45, Talk 20:00