WESTON SAILING CLUB to 1977

Transcription

1 THE HISTORY OF WESTON SAILING CLUB 1952 to 1977 Compiled By Barbara Hutton Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 1

2 Contents Introduction... 3 Chapter One - The Founding... 5 Chapter Two Expansion Chapter Three 505 Comings and Goings Chapter Four Home Sweet Home Chapter Four The Fleets ENTERPRISE MIRROR FLEET POLICY DECISIONS HORNET UNICORN SOLO CONTENDER LASER OPTIMIST Chapter Six Day by Day Chapter Seven The Cadet Section Chapter Eight Club Members Chapter Nine 25 Years On Appendix A Olympic, National and International Champions to Olympic Champions World Champions European Champions National Champions Appendix B Officer of the club to Appendix C Past Commodore Appendix D Subscription and fees 1952 to Appendix E Various Photographs from c1950 c2004 (Added 28 Dec. 12) Appendix F Slipway Opening Ceremony 2013 (Added 23 Sep. 13) Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 2

3 Introduction A few years ago Derek Ide suggested that I write a history of Weston Sailing Club. There had been a short outline history written for the Hampshire Magazine in 1968 by Jim Warren when he was the club Publicity Officer, but it gave few details of the development of the Club, the people involved or the successes and failures. At this time I was the club Publicity Officer and as we were almost twentyone years old, it seemed appropriate to enlarge on Jim s outline, collecting together the facts relating to the growth of the Club before memories faded or records were lost. Little did I realise what I had let myself in for. I have spent many hours reading through those records that were available and have talked to members past and present trying to piece together the story of Weston S.C. Roger Holmes kindly lent me some notes that he had written in the early 60 s on the beginnings of the Club and also his copies of 'Gybe-Ho, the club magazine from ), both of which I have quoted from extensively. Eric McGill, Bill O'Brien, Ivan and Prank Morris, Gordon Henry and Ken Andrew all wrote material for me, Larry Marks lent me his press cuttings and the Fleet Captains looked up their records. Alan Haggar read through the first very rough draft and provided more information. The 21st. year came and went without even the first draft being finished, but everyone I spoke to seemed interested and encouraged me to carry on. I have worked on it intermittently over the last three years until there is now a relatively complete record of the first 25 years. The following is therefore what seems to me to have been important in our history. I have arranged the material in subjects rather than as a straight chronological account of the growth and development of the Club, as it seemed easier to follow one theme at a time. I hope the stated facts are correct, but one must necessarily interpret what is available and if this has led to errors I apologise and hope that those who can correct them will please do so. Barbara Hutton December 1976 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 3

4 Chapter One Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 4

5 Chapter One - The Founding For some time Ivan Morris had been toying with the idea of starting a sailing club on Weston Shore, primarily to provide a base from which to work on a 32* naval cutter called "Storm" of which he was a joint owner, and to store the gear when she was hauled up on the beach. Although living locally it was still a problem transporting all the bits and pieces home. Ivan mentioned it to his co-owners, brother Prank, Don Harvey and A. McDonald and found that they approved of the idea; also a few other boat owning friends were interested. Nothing was actually done until one evening Ivan and Frank were together at Ivan's house with a newcomer to the district, Bill O'Brien, who had soon shown his enthusiasm for boats and joined the group of local working men who spent their spare time messing about in boats' on the Weston Shore. Bill had previously been an active member of several sailing clubs, both at home and abroad, and was able to provide information on the organisational side, so during that evening's chat about boats a definite decision was taken to form 'Weston Sailing Club'. A meeting was arranged for those interested and on 1l th January 1952 at the Sun Hotel, Weston Lane, and our club was formally founded '... for the encouragement of Shallow Draught, and Small Boat sailing, and Racing, at the Weston Shore, in the County Borough of Southampton. (W.S.C. Rule Book 1954 A Committee was elected with Commodore - G.W. Powell; Vice-Commodore -E. French; Rear-Commodore - Capt., T.C. Broad; Chairman - W.J. O'Brien; Hon Sec. - V.J, Harvey; Hon Treas. - L.C. Wilkinson. Ivan and Frank Morris were, of course, founder members and also the late Bert Drought, a longshoreman who was one of "Storm's" crew, the late Leo Lines, a boat builder by trade who unable to work because of ill health had time to assist with plans, Des O'Prey, Jack Allen, Harry Critchley, George Grey and Phil Cozens, skipper of a J Class racing yacht. The founding was noted in the press as 'Southampton's latest yachting venture'. With no club house..the Sun Hotel in Weston Lane was to be the temporary headquarters;... Membership was open to either boat owners or non-boat owners and new members of either sex were welcome.' (Southern Evening Echo 1952) Soon with the help of Councillors Boyle and Mitchell, Southampton Council agreed to rent a space for a pound on the shore near the old Rolling Mills. Fencing was purchased and erected by the members, and an old Anderson air-raid shelter put in the pound to store the various bits of gear and on occasion to give protection to members in bad weather. A slip-way and starting platform were made and the club could start racing. Harry Cozens was the first O.o.D. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 5

6 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 6

7 In its' first season the new club took over the organisation of the sailing events in the Woolston Regatta, this was probably the first WSC Open Meeting. The Regatta was actually sailed on 20th July 1952, a week later than scheduled, as strong winds had forced a postponement. Another possible difficulty in the first two years was that the stretch of water had to be shared with the flying boats of Aquila Airways, who used it as their runway. Alan Haggar remembers how the Harbour Master's launch would come speeding into the fleet shouting to them to get out of the way, then suddenly there would be one of the flying boats just above them, ready to land and taxi round to the pier. Two present members were working for the airline at the time, Pam Whitfield as a hostess and future husband Ron as a pilot. Ron cannot recall any near misses this end, although he was once instructed to circle round at Maderia until a race had finished. Some of the founder members were owners of Weston Sharpies, a 14' chine dinghy, carvel built. It was immediately adopted as the Club's class boat and had the second largest entry in the 1952 Woolston Regatta. Leo Lines was the designer and he built the first two, W1 named "Ivy" for Bert Drought, which Bert got going so well that he usually managed to lead the class round the marks, and in one S.V.S.A. meeting at Calshot, easily beat all the boats taking part, despite a heavy wind that deterred some helmsmen from going afloat. W2 was nicknamed "Yellow Peril", and was owned by Sid Butterworth. Daring the first few years of the Club several new members bought or built Weston Sharpies, W3 "Lily" was bought from Leo Lines by Alan Haggar, Roger Holmes had W, Les Harris W7, the only Sharpie to be made in plywood. Luke Wilkinson, a boat builder by trade made one in Mahogany and finished it beautifully. Bill O'Brien also owned a Sharpie, as well as R. Godwin, Gordon Harvey and the Kennedy brothers. W1 and W5 changed hands within the Club and were then sailed by Jack Russell and Ray Woodley. Weston Sharpies sailed well and were good stable family boats; they were usually kept on moorings as they were heavy to pull out of the water, and Ray remembers that those kept on land leaked badly and the crew had to bail for most of the race, until they took up. In those first seasons there was a great variety of boats in the Club, the Commodore and the Vice-Commodore owned cruisers, then there was the Morris brothers 1 "Storm", the naval cutter that had started it all. "Storm" became the centre of club activities, acting as rescue boat, towing dinghies to S.W.S.A. meetings and ferrying younger members on outings. Among the dinghies were a Merlin Rocket, sailed by Keith Paul, two Hornets and four Pleetwinds, one sailed by Larry Marks and his fiancée Judy. Larry remembers how he and Judy sailing the Fleetwind in an S.W.S.A. meeting at Marchwood, capsized at the mouth of the King George V dock just as the gates were opening, they had the speediest rescue he can recall and were towed away by the Harbour Master's launch. By 1954 some members were looking for a lighter boat than the Weston Sharpie, one that was a high performance dinghy that could be hauled up into the pound; but they were not satisfied that a class existed to suit the requirements and at a meeting decided that members should submit designs for a new boat. At the end of May 1954 Bill O'Brien sent in the plans of a Daring and it was subsequently accepted by the Committee. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 7

9 The Daring was a 14 3" dinghy built of plywood, beam 4 8 with a sail area of 140 sq.ft It had built-in buoyancy and a self-draining cockpit, and trapeze for the crew, although Roger Holmes commented that its flare of 6 6" maximum allowed it to be sailed without this Accessory*. It was a cheap boat, less than 80 ready to sail, easy to build and performed well particularly when planing, it... proved easier to sail than expected, except for the occasional ducking which seemed common to the class.* (Gybe-Ho 1961) It was even possible for 13 year olds to handle although their legs weren t long enough to reach the deck, admittedly they were three up and being the Morris twins and Colin Steele were no novices. Bill O Brien s D1 was bought by Keith Paul, who spent evening after evening sailing up and down the shore teaching himself the finer techniques. Larry Marks built D2, Ken Ploughman had D3, Jeff Morris DU, T. Maughan D. When Larry went into the Army he sold D2 to Wilf Cropp, who subsequently sold it to Roger Holmes. After a slow start other clubs showed interest and by 1959, 56 copies of the plans had been sold and a class Association formed and recognised by the R.Y.A. Bill gave the copyright of the plans to Weston S.C. and after protracted correspondence a written agreement was drawn up whereby royalties were charged on completed hulls, of which half went to the Daring Association and half to Weston S.C. No Darings remain in the area now, but in 1974 I had an enquiry from an owner of one in Leeds, asking who would have records of individual boats. Bill 0 Brien was also designing catamarans and in 1955 produced the Jumpahead, this was a hard chine design to suit amateur builders, 16' long, beam 7 6", and a sail area of 167 sq.ft. There was more interest in multihulls about then and in the autumn some high speed trials were held off the shore over a 1/2 mile course; Alan Haggar and Jack Russell acted as time keepers. The Jumpahead took part and also a Shearwater 11, an 18 catamaran designed and sailed by Roland and Francis Prout, a trimaran designed by Dr, Morwood (founder of the Amateur Yacht Research Society) and sailed by Ivan Morris, and a Tornado designed by Tiff a Pox. The Shearwater 11 proved to be the fastest, despite at one point the helmsman forgetting that he was 'driving* two hulls and wrapping one round a mark! Several Jumpaheads were built and the class was adopted by Weston. Unfortunately there are no records of the activity or numbers in the class until 1958 when an Open Meeting was held in the September. This became an annual fixture and was the Southern Area Championships in 1961 and '63, and the National Championships in There is a little information about the arrangements, but infuriatingly nothing on what actually happened. The class had a following of enthusiasts in the Club, reaching a peak in 1960 of a fleet of 13, from then on the class secretary had to remind members that... so far this season the Jumpahead class has shown a distinct lack of activity with the notable exception of "Moggy", J. Adams, who always seems to be disappearing in a cloud of spray, and Mr. Dempster. (Gybe-Ho 1962) Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 9

11 D. Roberts, owner of "White Rogue" was keen enough to travel from London each weekend, other active members of the fleet were Pat Dempster, R. Trowbridge and J. Morris. In 1962 the Mark 2 Jumpahead was launched, and was described as having a... most attractive appearance, and by the spray soaked crew, as - the only planing submarine - so that the claim of 18 knots and bone dry did not apply any more (Gybe-Ho 1962) The following season there was a re-think on classes and the Jumpahead as a class at Weston S.C, is not mentioned again. However, Jumpaheads remained on Southampton Water because a fleet built up at Petters S.C. By this time Bill 0 Brien was still designing Cats but had moved on to the big cruising variety. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 11

12 Chapter Two Expansion To return to 1955, the Club was in its third season, and the number of members was increasing, particularly those under 21. The Committee realised that it was necessary to adopt more classes to suit the variety of sailing abilities and asked the Sailing Committee to recommend three new classes for the 1956 season. Roger Holmes was the Sailing Secretary at the time and he wrote about the deliberations. 'We duly met and armed with many specifications, reports, photographs, also many cups of tea we set to work. The choices were narrowed down to the Yachting World G.P.1L). and the News Chronicle Enterprise for a general purpose class. Roger continued. 'Both were adopted although we felt that too many classes would be a bad thing for racing. This problem has tended to solve itself as the Enterprise seemed to appeal to more owners... For the young members it was decided to adopt the Yachting World Cadet, which has since gained international status. One of these dinghies was built by the Club for the cadets and others soon appeared. The choice of a new racing boat demanded great care and consideration. It had to fulfil important conditions, it had to be National or International, it must be rightable after a capsize and of course must be modern and fast. The eventual decision was to adopt the International 50$, then two years old, which fulfilled all the conditions. There were voices against, as no 5o5*s had been seen on Southampton Water, but Roger adds We have since been able to allay all fears. It was one thing to decide to adopt a class but quite another to bring the fleet into being. At that time it was less usual to buy a boat ready to sail, one expected to build it oneself and as several were wanted at the same time, those interested began to discuss ways and means. Bill O'Brien suggested the possibility of building a number of boats as a group scheme, this seemed feasible and had the attraction of lowering the cost per boat (which in the end came out at 55!) A meeting was called when the pros and cons of group building were thoroughly discussed, a dozen members were definitely interested in becoming 505 owners and so the Weston 505 syndicate was started. Roger was one of the syndicate and continued the story. 'We resolved to hold a further meeting at the house of Alan Haggar where a derelict building stood that might be turned into a boat shed. The problem of where to build was a major one at this time. We all repaired to Alan's the next weekend (October 1956) and over cups of tea provided by his wife Betty, we discussed the organisation and details... Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 12

14 The question of premises had to "be solved before anything could begin. I am now convinced that we were carried away by sublime optimism concerning the shed as it was to be called. This building had started life as a stable with living accommodation above but it had been gutted by fire and now stood a blackened ruin two stories high with cracked walls and gaping windows. The ground floor contained the old stalls and was four feet deep in rubble and weeds. The floor above sagged on its rotten joists and threatened to fall at any moment, the stairs were immediately the scene of an amusing incident as one of us trying to ascend fell through the first step. It was obvious that to be of any use the building would have to be gutted and some sort of roof erected. We cheerfully agreed that this could be done and returned to' the fireside to discuss the details. Money of course was needed before building could begin and after estimating costs and the time likely to elapse before completion, it was reckoned that, an amount of 15>/- per week would be necessary; those able to do so put down a sum there and then. Roger goes on 'We argued for some time on the method of building the boats and it was tentatively agreed to divide the work between us in the following way; which will allow me to introduce the members of the building association by name. Bill O'Brien was to build masts. Those living in Woolston were to build shells and to fit out the boats as the shells were finished, these were Alan Haggar, Leslie Harris, Andy Stout and his son Keith, Bob Steele and myself. The others living at the other side of Southampton, Bob and Peter Button, Reg May and Roy Ironside were to make components such as centre-boards, transoms, etc. and last but by no means least, Cliff Seale was to make fittings. Cliff was assigned this task as by trade he is an instrument maker and lives in Basing-stoke. Cliff was the only example of the cobbler at his last as the rest of us had occupations of great variety but of no connection with woodwork or small boat building.. The plan had to be modified later in the light of experience, but with this organisation our object was to build twelve shells, fitting out each one as it was completed and storing this in a store we rented until all were complete when lots would be drawn to decide the ownership of each boat. One boat was to be finished early on in 1957 and to be sold in order to cover the initial heavy expenses. One was finished, and sold to Delmar Morgan of Warsash, who immediately took it to the 05 National Championships and won. To Alan fell the job of organising delivery of moulds, ordering of veneers, timber, staple guns, (these became a rude word) staples and a hundredweight of araldite glue. We were to use over 2,000 veneers and half a million staples J Very late when most of the initial details had been settled we ended the meeting and arranged to attack the boat shed at the weekend. Work started with demolition and clearing inside the 'boat shed', followed by the construction of a roof, which according to Roger Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 14

16 Would have made Heath Robinson green with envy and after the first heavy rain needed makeshift repairs to an already makeshift Job. But nothing daunted, with one mould lent by Don Forster of Hayling Island and one bought, they started building as the -first transom arrived from the 'components group 1. Helpful advice, suggestions and cheering comments from the 505 Association kept them going in their darkest hours. After nearly two years hard work the boats were finished. Bill O'Brien's the second one completed, was 12 Ib. overweight and broke the sling when being weighed - it was a makeshift sling - he was disgusted, Keith Paul bought it eventually. Alan Haggar's was the last to be finished and by this time the syndicate builders had disappeared from the building site, with the exception of Andy and Keith " Stout, who stayed and helped. Alan also sold his boat after a short time, to Mr Gravestock, as he had less time for sailing. The rest were sailed by their original owners and founded the Weston 505 fleet. Roger, who had appointed himself overseer of all the boats, went out for his first trip, sailed past the club house, stuck his feet under the toe straps, lent back and went straight over the side - the toe straps had not been attached! Other members were interested in 5o5*s by this time, Larry Marks for one; he had just finished his military service and was ready to sail regularly. Larry bought a Fairey Marine hull and finished it himself creating "Muchacha" - K869, the first of his personal fleet. By the A.G.M "the Sailing Secretary was able to report.... with a probable 18 boats the 505 would be the largest club fleet of the class in the country, (Minute Book ) Five years later the following comments were written in Gybe-Ho The 505 building syndicate should have been long forgotten, but it seems to have a very lasting effect. Many of the syndicate who dedicated two years of hard labour to serving the rest of the syndicate, continuously bring up memories of those eventful days. Most of the boats have now changed hands several times but like the bad penny they keep on turning up. Several are now at Christchurch, and sailing regularly. Cliff Seale*s boat still looks like new, with the original coat of paint, and it's not polyester either. Roger's original 505 "Silver Blaze" is now for sale in London, still dearer than its original cost. Rumour had it that Roger is buying another 505 I have now lost count of how many boats he has had, but it must be a record. ' (Gybe-Ho 1962) From the beginning there was a high standard of racing in the 505 fleet, particularly by Keith Paul and Larry Marks, Keith usually leading and closely followed by Larry with the rest somewhere behind. These two, often supported by club mates, soon joined the 505 travellers and their successes at Open Meetings and Championships in the next few years, helped enormously to publicise Weston S.C. and 'put it on the map' of the sailing fraternity, both National and International. At the first Weston 505 Open Meeting in April Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 16

18 Chapter Three 505 Comings and Goings It is worth digressing at this point to record something of the journeyings and successes of members of the 505 fleet, those of Larry Marks and Keith Paul make impressive reading. In 1960 Keith, still in the Cadet section at Weston S.C. and in his third season of sailing 505 s, won the National Championships held at Brixham, by consistent sailing under all conditions. Also during that week there was a North v South team race, it started in an already fresh wind and the report continued... it suddenly increased to just about gale force, causing complete havoc. Two boats though of the South team - Keith Paul in "Confusion" and Larry Marks in "Muchacha" - completed a shortened course at a sometimes frightening speed on the reaching legs! (Yachts and Yachting ) The next year the Nationals were at Weymouth, with the World Championships the following week, Larry and Keith entered and also Roger Holmes and Peter Button. Larry was placed 4th in the Nationals and Keith 5th in the Worlds; Mrs. Button crewing for her husband, received a large box of chocolates for being the first lady crew home. In 1962 at Hayling Island, Keith still sailing "Confusion" - K1047, regained the title of National Champion and also became World Champion at the meeting at La Baule. It was obviously a successful season starting with the Northampton S.C. Easter meeting, when Keith was first in all the races except the last in which he was second, and Larry was second in all the races except the last which he won! In 1963 Keith and Larry and their respective crews, David Curtis and Bob Steele, were still gaining their share of successes at English events and were travelling further afield. One trip was described in Gybe-Ho by Keith How far and how much trouble should we tolerate for a sail? Larry and I decided to enter an international Regatta at Zeebrugge... Thursday night everything was packed into the boats and the outfit was securely lashed down. (They had worked out a way of carrying one boat on top of the other.) Friday evening we set off for Dover. Pour hours and one mudguard later we arrived rather wearily and started queuing for the ferry. The journey to Ostend was uncomfortable but tolerable, as we thought of the sailing we were to experience. Customs at Ostend were cleared after a short explanation of how we had left our insurance card behind on the mantelpiece. The Officers were most understanding and accepted our 100 francs most graciously. The journey from Ostend to Zeebrugge presented little trouble, apart from a rather rough twenty mile ride over a narrow cobbled road. We arrived at the small fishing harbour at five o'clock in the morning, and for a lack of better ideas, starting rigging the boats, for the first race at ten. The clubhouse was opened at eight o'clock and our kind long suffering hosts presented us with breakfast. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 18

19 We had four superb races under very tidal conditions over the weekend, and then started the whole rigmarole to get home again. Like so many events, it was worth all the effort and trouble, but we did have our doubts at times. In a fleet of 3l boats, "Confusion" and "Muchacha Two" - K1383, were the only British representatives, they finished 1st and 2nd. Later in the year they were abroad again, at Larchmont Y.C. on Long Island, for the World Championships. Keith was defending his title and seemed all set to retain it after winning the first two races, but he was disqualified after a fracas and lost his winning form. Larry was the highest placed British entry, finishing 6th. The following year Keith started sailing a Plying Dutchman and was seen a lot less in the 505 fleets. Larry too spent most of the year in F.D.*s, a year his crew described as... an experience I should not like to have missed, at times exasperating at others most satisfying; planing could seem. like sailing through a waterfall and at times I took an intense dislike to the genoa. (Gybe-Ho 196!) They still managed to enter the 505 World Championships at Cork, and but for one missing signature, would have been placed 5 th saw Larry back in 505 s full time and he had many successes at home. Then in the Autumn he teamed up with a new crew Dick Hughes, and sailing "Muchacha 111" - K2038 finished 3rd in the World Championships at Tangier. Dick lived in Birmingham, so had a long journey to the sea for any race, but the longest was in 1966 when Larry and he went round the world to compete in the World Championships at Adelaide. Larry described it as a trip of a life time. No effort was spared to make the Championships as near perfect as possible, for example there were tractors laid on to haul the boats to and fro over the sand, and a plane overhead spotting sharks. The local support and enthusiasm was just as good and firms in Adelaide had sponsored 11^ boats for foreign competitors, each one carrying an advert for the sponsor; Larry however had shipped out his own "Muchacha IV" - K2323. After some very keen racing in all sorts of weather and at times mountainous seas, Larry and Dick finished 4th to two Australians and the Dane, Paul Elvstrom. The 1967 combination of Larry, Dick and "Mu-whatsui-go-go" -K2626, also had a good season and at last Larry became National Champion, beating the Farrant brothers from Hastings S.C. who had held the title for the past four years. Larry and Derek Farrant were the acknowledged 'Kings of the 505's and were continually battling for supremacy over each other. Larry retained the title of National Champion in 1968 with a record of five firsts in six races, and was chosen to go to Buenos Aires as the British representative in the World Championships in January Dick Hughes was unable to go with him, so Vic Deschamps went as crew and, although they had only sailed together twice before, it immediately proved to be another successful combination. The fleet was smaller than at Adelaide, but competition was fierce, Larry and Vic sailed very consistently and ended with an unbeatable record of three 1sts and four 2nds. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 19

21 Later that year, back home at the National Championships at Plymouth, Larry again sailing with Dick was supported by five other Weston boats. Peter and David Buttigieg, Paul and Vic Deschamps, Colin Steele and crew Joe Sefton, Jim Wishart and crew, and George Hutchinson and crew. There were new contestants from some other top 0 fleets too, giving really strong competition; each day produced a different winner in races that were sailed generally in very light airs. The final placings made the Buttigieg brothers joint winners with Mike Arnold from Felixstowe Perry S.C., with Larry and Dick 3rd. That year too the "Solent Shower", i.e. Weston No.1 team, won the Autumn team race organised annually by Northampton S.C., this was their sixth win in ten years. In the final they beat their regular rivals "Father's Flyers", i.e. the Hastings No.1 team led by Derek Farrant. For the 1970 season Larry tuned "Muchacha V" - K3838 and again sailing with Vis Deschamps regained the title of National Champion at Torbay and the following week retained the World title, a week which produced all types of weather conditions and against a very strong entry of 80 boats representing 19 counties. This meant that Weston helmsmen had held the National title six times and the World title three times in a span of eleven years. Then Larry forsook {?05 f s once again and spent two years sailing F.D.'s. But Peter Buttigieg, who had caught the ' 05 bug 1 while a Cadet, continued carrying the Weston flag to all parts of the world. In 1971 Peter entered the European Championships at Copenhagen, taking Mike Henry as crew, because unfortunately Chris Averis, who had planned to go with him was injured in the eye by a spinnaker pole. Later in the year Peter went to Santa Cruz for the World Championships with Robin Felgate as crew, he shipped out a new Rondar prototype fibreglass boat, but it began to break up early in the week and the two of them seemed to spend all their time Aralditing bits back on; he sold it before coming home! Peter seems to have had a lot of trouble with his boats, although they have always looked superb. For the 1973 season he bought "Rustler", this time a Parker Fibreglass hull, but it had wood rot and after three weeks holes appeared in the decks, it was sent back of course and made good, until at the joint Open Meeting at Weston, "Rustler" was rammed by a Contender and badly holed. Peter was understandably very cross, as it happened just before the boat was due to be packed up and shipped out for World Championships in Hong Kong. By this time Larry was back with the 505*s and also went to Hong Kong, taking "Granny Smith" (the boat) and wife Judy; it was quite a party with Peter's wife Margaret, Robin and his wife and Larry s crew Julian Brooke-Houghton, they all enjoyed the trip very much and said that the sailing conditions were particularly good. At the beginning of the week Larry seemed to have regained his 1 touch* and after three races was leading on points, only to have two poor results, one of them owing to a capsize seconds before the start, and he finished 10th. Peter sold his boat in Hong Kong and has sailed in 505 s very little since then. Larry and another club mate, Colin McKenzie continued to travel to some Open Meetings, but Larry was not able to give as much time to sailing and found that there was a lot of new competition, making it harder to stay at the front of the Fleet. In 1975 he travelled to Bermuda for the World Championships, another enjoyable trip, and fairly successful from the sailing point of view, he finished 4th. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 21

23 Chapter Four Home Sweet Home After travelling the world with the 505 s, we now return to Weston and the problem that concerned everyone - the provision of some sort of Club premises. Following the temporary H.Q. at the Sun Hotel in Weston Lane immediately after the founding of the Club, the first real home was the pound near the old Rolling Mills with an Anderson Shelter for storing gear, but no accommodation for people. Then in 1954 the Council published a plan to develop the shore into a wonderful seaside area with football and hockey pitches, an athletics track and pavilion, a bathing pool, restaurant, bandstand, small games area, boating lake, children's play area, a woodland park, a model yacht pond and facilities for a sailing club. In preparation for this grand scheme, the Club was moved yards downstream to a site near where the Old Seaweed Hut had been. Once more a pound was fenced in and levelled using gravel from a local cemetery, 10 lorry loads of it; the lorry loaned by J.P. Marks and Sons and the muscle power provided by Frank Morris and Bert Drought and cadets D«Prince and J. Morris. During the season an old ex-army hut in Bishops Waltham was bought for about 60, dismantled and transported to Weston Shore, but on close inspection it was found to be in poor condition and the sub-committee in charge decided that it should be burnt. Frank and Bert thought it could be saved, so that winter they spent hours and hours renewing parts and preparing it for erection. Then with the help of George Gray and Andrew Stout, they laid some foundations, put up the hut and members at least had a roof over their heads. Bert Drought obtained 2 pieces of topmast from a very old J Class yacht and made a flagpole, then he and Frank Morris put a tabernacle in front of the club house, erected the flagpole and decorated the base with a compass rose. Two old cannon barrels, which had been the corner posts in the ground at the Weston Arch near the Sun Hotel, were borrowed on a long (very long) loan from Southampton Corporation and mounted on wooden carriages; these were made by Frank and Bert from a copy Frank took with the help of the Curator of the Tudor House Museum. The hut was pretty primitive, no water, no electricity, no gas, no drains or showers, and objections were made to its use until public loos were installed further down the shore, but thanks to Frank and Bert who had done the major part of the work and provided a lot of the materials themselves, it was better than nothing. But when it was apparent that the super sea-side facilities had disappeared into the Council's files, and the number of members had increased it is not surprising that there was an urge to find new premises. It happened by chance that Alan Haggar heard that Middlesex County Council, the owners of Netley Convalescent Home and grounds, wanted to sell them. Alan approached Alderman Matthews and suggested that Southampton Council bought the Home and let W.S.C. have part of the grounds for new club premises. The Council did buy it and began to Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 23

25 plan a big public development with restaurant, car parks etc. In 1959 Alan continued his campaign for W.S.C. when as the newly elected Commodore of the Club, he was made chairman of a sub-committee empowered to start negotiations with the Council. The following resume written in the summer edition of the 1961 Gybe-Ho tells us what happened Negotiations were opened with the Corporation and the situation placed before the Club who were faced with the alternatives of occupying part of a building as tenants of the Corporation or endeavouring to obtain a site and provide its own buildings. The Club was almost unanimous in its wish to provide its own buildings. After this decision further meetings took place with the Corporation and the Club's wishes were made known, and as a result the Corporation agreed to develop the area for sailing and lease a site to the Weston S.C. for the erection of a club house and boat pound and asked that the plans be developed with close consultation between the Club and the Corporation. Whilst the Corporation have not yet started planning, committees have been formed from within the Club to handle the new project and the financing thereof. As a result of the deliberations of these committees it became apparent that the Club would have to be built in several stages owing to financial limitations... The mini mum requirements would be a club with bar for counter meals and drinks, lavatories, showers, changing rooms and pound space. This would involve an estimated expenditure of some 5,000. (Gybe-Ho 1961) It was understood that the Corporation would prepare the pound, lay the drains and an access road and provide a starters 1 hut. It had been appreciated even in 1959, that negotiations and building would take some time and agreement had been reached with the Corporation to put a temporary extension onto the existing pound, also, a year later, permission was given to erect a changing hut alongside the main hut. Efforts were also made to amass a building fund by investing any surplus club funds in Premium Bonds, and running various functions such as the Cadet Christmas Party and Draws to make a profit. There was also a steady profit from the catering service and that good old stand-by a Jumble Sale. But there was disagreement among the members of the Committee (then the Council), some of the long-standing and founder members, who although not very active sailing, still wanted to keep the Club as it was, and the newer members who were keen to improve both the facilities and the sailing, particularly the dinghy racing. The result was lack of co-ordination of the efforts put into planning the future, and there was little progress to be reported to the A.G.M by the development subcommittee '... The Southampton Borough Council's provisional offer was for a one acre site, the position of which was not entirely satisfactory to the Club we would plan on being at our present site for at least two more seasons. (Minute Book ) Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 25

26 The situation remained much the same until Eric McGill, who had joined the Club in 1960, was taken along to see the possible site by Harry Smallwood. Eric was enthusiastic about the idea and made some sketches and an estimate of costs, he also allowed himself to be persuaded to stand as a candidate for the Committee to be elected at the 1962 A.G.M. That year the Committee voted in, was far more representative of the Club than ever before as it was elected by postal votes; previously nominations had been taken and voted on by the few members who were prepared to put up with the cramped conditions of an A.G.M. in the hut. In subsequent years the A.G.M. was held in a room in an hotel, hired for the evening, until the occupation of the present club house provided suitable accommodation. At the first meeting of that new Committee Eric McGill, the Vice-Chairman, was made convener of the development sub-committee because of his interest in the proposed move and his specialist knowledge. The terms of reference were To press on with all possible speed with negotiations and general plans for the proposed removal of the Club from the present site to a new site at Netley. To consider as far as possible the facilities required at the new site and the costs involved. To investigate ways and means of obtaining special grants and similar financial assistance over and above such funds as may be raised in normal ways by the Finance sub-committee.' (Minute Book ) The new Committee under the enthusiastic and able leadership of Harry Smallwood, as Chairman, supported by Les Hawkyard as Hon. Secretary, and encouraged by the Commodore Alan Haggar, soon got down to the job of planning what and how. Mac comments that at the time on the strength of the club's financial resources and income, the whole idea of a new club house was quite ludicrous. Money was of prime importance and although the usual ideas of dances, raffles, jumble sales, treasure hunts etc. were very valuable, they involved a few people in a lot of hard work and did not bring in enough, quickly enough, so Mac thought up and launched a scheme to bring in 'big money, - this was the Subscription Rebate Scheme. Members were sold registered and numbered certificates; cost 5 each, which entitled the holder to a discount of 3/9d. (or 3.75% interest) on his or her annual club subscription. The maximum permissible investment was 100. Mac comments that a surprising number of members bought the full quota, but the bulk of the money came from those buying about 5. The idea of the scheme was put over by means of special meetings, drawings and an 8-page brochure entitled 'All Together Now', which was sent to every member; it had been produced by Mac working in the evening on his firm's photo-copying machine. 'All Together Now explained the situation to members as follows The Southampton Corporation plans to extend the shore road and the promenade northwards towards Woolston and this will Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 26

27 sweep away the club's present place. However, the Corporation is being most helpful; it has offered us a fine one-acre site at the north end of Netley Park and it has undertaken to rebuild the sea wall, provide a slip-way and hard, clean up the foreshore and build a starting-box - altogether a very generous offer indeed. What we have to do ourselves is to build a new club house and put up a fence around our site. The S.R. Scheme was explained and the attractions of a beautiful new club house enumerated. '... a pleasant setting of grass and trees, better foreshore and slipway.... it (the club house) not only provides for sailing needs - it is suitable for social gatherings and there is no reason why it should not be used all the year round good changing rooms are provided and I draw your attention to the showers and lavatory accommodation, the absence of which is such a disadvantage at our present place. Hot water will be provided, so there is no reason why members should not sail after the end of the normal season - knowing that a hot shower and a warm room will be waiting for them after a sail on a cold winter day.... Finally, I am sure that the move to Netley with the better facilities which are envisaged, will result in a big increase in membership; my own opinion is that the club will quickly reach the 400 mark and may well go up to 500 members. Weston can, therefore, become a very big club and that will bring a great many advantages - larger classes, more classes, more competitions, more activity all round. (All Together Now 1963) The S.R. certificates sold slowly at first, but after more prodding and a masterly performance by Mac at the 1963 A.G.M. when he had all the answers ready to convince the doubters, members did support the scheme and nearly 3,000 was raised in this way. The idea was to set aside a sum for redemption of certificates each year from 1965 onwards, choosing which, by means of a draw. Repayments took longer than was then anticipated and it was June 1973 before the Committee minuted 'The last of the S.R. certificates has now been redeemed.' (Minute Book ) The other source of financial assistance organised by Mac was a Ministry of Education grant. This could be as much as 1 for 1 put up by the applicant if the Ministry was satisfied that the project was for a properly constituted organisation with some funds available. Mac did convince the Ministry and achieved better than 1/ 1, but it involved an enormous amount of work and letter writing. The plans had to be redesigned, the rules of the Club rewritten and passed and the Club built up generally into a viable organisation. With the plan for raising funds underway, Mac started on a publicity campaign both to attract new members, whose subscriptions Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 27

28 would "be very useful swelling club funds, and to bring the Club to the notice of the public generally. Mac wrote reports of the activities for the local newspapers, frequently mentioning the plans for new premises at Netley Castle; also the Committee accepted the offer of a free stand at the 1963 Southampton Show. The original allocation was only a small stand, but it was found that it could be expanded considerably and dinghies under full sail were displayed, a 505, an Enterprise, an OK and a Mirror, together with trophies, a plan of the sailing area and photographs. Harry Smallwood and Charlie Clifford had made the Mirror from a kit bought by the Club, during the Show it was raffled to the public by enthusiastic helpers and made quite a lot of money for the Building Fund. One side effect of having a stand at the Show was described by Gybe-Ho... Some ingenious person had written WESTON SAILING CLUB in international code flags above the stand. (Sunday*s racing was started with a shirt and a pair of trousers - it seemed to work just as effectively as the Blue Peter). (Gybe-Ho 1963) Mac commented that the publicity and money raising events certainly brought members close together and club spirits and morale improved enormously. During 1963 and 64 negotiations continued with Southampton Corporation, as Mac says... we stood high in the estimation of Southampton Corporation. Furthermore we were very fortunate in that certain members of the City Council were very keen on sailing facilities in general and Weston Sailing Club in particular.... But it was the Corporation's intention to set up, at some later date, a public pound alongside the club pound and WSC would be required to manage this on behalf of the Corporation. We readily agreed to this proposition. The idea was to have a flexible division between the two pounds until it was seen how many berths satisfied the respective demands; members probably did not realise that until 1973 when we took on the lease of the adjacent area and extended the present club pound, the proposition was always a possibility, it certainly complicated the planning. For instance, the club drainage and water supply would be dependent on the position of public lavatories, and if there was a free car park for the Corporation pound why should the Club have to pay rent for their car park area. But at the same time it brought advantages as the Corporation again generously offered to be responsible for the making of the two pounds, the slipway and a starting hut, as well as the entrance road. The new site, although belonging to Southampton, lay within the County area and nothing could be done without the approval of the various departments of Hampshire County Council; this still applies. Press cuttings tell the story of the added frustrations. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 28

29 'Because they consider the area so attractive members of the Hampshire Planning Committee decided yesterday to seek more information about Southampton Council's proposal to establish a small boat sailing centre and open space at Netley. They deferred decision on the application which includes a car park, boat pound, club house and public lavatories on 1U acres of land adjoining Netley Castle, Abbey Hill.' (Southern Evening Echo ) 'Hampshire County Planning approval is still awaited for the development of the waterfront and foreshore at Netley Castle. as a sailing centre... The whole scheme will extend sailing facilities both for the club and non-members. The only thing standing in the way is the difficulty of getting planning permission.' (Southern Evening Echo ) 'Why is it taking so long to finalise arrangements for the proposed new Netley Castle sailing centre, Councillor Mrs. L.A. Ironside asked at yesterday's meeting of Southampton City Council. Councillor J. Hardie explained that the proposed new centre was outside the city boundary and there had been many difficulties... "We have been pressing for this for a long time" he said. "But it had to be remembered that they were dealing with another authority".' (Southern Evening Echo ) By September 1965 just as most of the delaying factors had been resolved, with the whole scheme approved in. the Corporation's estimate for 1966, with a Ministry of Education grant of 3,000 promised, and club funds in a good state, the blow fell. Because of the shaky state of the national economy, the Government of the day put a 'squeeze* on both Ministry grants and capital expenditure by local authorities; the move was delayed yet again. There was nothing for it but to make the best of the very inadequate facilities at the old site. Mac wrote to the Town Clerk pointing out how there had been a steady influx of new members, (there were approximately 200 members and 80 boats in 1965) attracted by the prospect of the new premises, and to give them something reasonable for the 1966 season, he requested permission to extend the pound yet again and to put up another hut for changing, explaining that... As you know the Netley scheme has been talked about for a very long time now and ordinary members, who do not appreciate the problems involved, are becoming rather fed up with the delays. The above proposals, however, might keep them happy a little longer. ' (E. McGill - correspondence) Agreement was reached with the Corporation on terms of an annual tenancy and the pound was extended to its final size of approximately 100 x 15 yards. Mac borrowed a site hut to use as the men's changing room, which released the small hut loaned by Harry Smallwood for the ladies, giving them more room than the previous curtained-off corner, although they did have to share it with the rescue boat engine. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 29

31 Ken Andrew, one of the new 1965 members described conditions in the hut to me as follows 'The club house was approximately 28' long by 15' wide, entering through a door about halfway along. On wet and stormy days this had to be accomplished with speed and hunched shoulders for a steady stream of rainwater poured onto the steps leading to the door. Inside the brown lino covered floor was indistinguishable from the half inch or so of muddy brown water brought in by shoes and wet suits. There was a counter some 6 long, behind which the "ladies of the kitchen" served. Water was brought in from the local garage " by club members in two large wire encased plastic containers; it was heated by calor gas, washing up done in a small hand' basin, frying on a calor gas stove, with lighting also taken from a calor gas bottle... The men s changing room was another hut festooned with sails and spars inside it s roof, and muddy gravel on the floor, no heat or lighting - many used to drive home in wet suits during the frost-bites... The toilets for all were in the public block 100 yards away... Attached to the building on the seaward side was an open "bridge", the height of the eaves, supported by stanchions and entry afforded by a companionway type ladder... The Officer of the Day stood on his "Bridge" open to all weathers save that the front rails were filled in with a flag holder board, which allowed three painted boards (as flags) to be dropped or raised. The flag halyards for cloth flags were tied onto the rails nearby, they were flown from the tall crosstreed mast which defined the starting line... If the wind was offshore, those on the "Bridge" had an additional hazard during the colder months that of near suffocation by the smoke and fumes from the potbellied stove in the club house below. 0.o.D. s could get their own back some days, generally an open meeting one, by not stamping on the "Bridge" floor to give those in the club house warning of the firing of the cannons. I gather Committee members were also in danger of suffocation from the stove during winter Committee meetings and it was the duty of the first to arrive to light it; all the Committee members were expected to bring wood with them to "feed" the stove. Despite all the difficulties the Club continued to attract members, the financial resources grew, Jim Warren kept up the publicity campaign and the optimism and spirit of camaraderie did not flag; this was greatly helped by the ladies of the kitchen, who provided food and friendliness, and turned in a big profit each year. Mac continued his efforts, trying to negotiate an interim arrangement with the Corporation, and he re-opened the S.R. scheme to boost finances. In March 1966 the 'squeeze* eased and the Club was notified that the Ministry of Education grant was now available; but restrictions on local authority capital expenditure remained. Mac wrote to Horace King, (now Lord Mowbray King) then speaker of the House of Commons and M.P. for the Weston area, to enlist his help. After much correspondence, in January 1967 the development sub-committee were at last able to report that at a meeting with the Corporation Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 31

33 Public Lands committee, it was agreed in principle that the Club could proceed. In April, after much work on costing, detailed drawing, proposals and counter proposals, the Corporation approved an expenditure of 5,000 on a limited first stage of the Netley Sailing Centre, which would let the Club establish itself on the site. In May a letter was sent to all members 'Forget the disappointments of recent years; the Club is virtually on the move I... You will agree that although some improvements can possibly be made later, the standard of amenities ultimately available to members will be very largely determined by the original design and construction of the new premises. It is also obvious that the amount of money available must be known before final plans are drawn up and decided upon and the contracts placed. Your development committee feels that to have another 1,000 would considerably improve our position... (Club Records) Once again the S.R. scheme was recommended to members and on the strength of the extra s the Club would put up, Mac negotiated an increase in the Ministry of Education grant. Placing contracts and the final details, including persuading the Corporation to change the site of the club house from an area that was found to be very boggy, to the present situation, did inevitably take longer than hoped. There was 13,000 to spend and Mac found that it was impossible to get one contractor to do the whole job for that amount, so he broke it down to a number of separate contracts. His own firm negotiated with the Corporation to construct the boat pound, slip-way and entrance road, and to lay the foundations and drains of the club house on a no profit basis. The club house itself was put up by Vic Hallam Ltd., Southern Electricity Board put in the electrical installation and a local plumber the necessary plumbing, club members fitted and finished the inside. In this way the whole job was done within the amount available and at a cost to the Club of In February 1968 it was possible to say that a start had been made and club members were warned that voluntary efforts would be expected from them 1. Collecting from the beach all large stones for use in the sea wall. These big stones are dangerous for dinghies anyway. 2. Making all internal fitments in the kitchen and changing rooms - work tops, cupboards, seats, lockers, coat hooks etc., etc. 3. Internal and external painting of the club house. 4. Laying paving slabs and turves.! (Club Records) By May the foundations and main structure of the club house were Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 33

35 completed and the voluntary labour moved in. Inevitably it was a small percentage of members who did turn up regularly; Mac comments that he cannot hope to remember the names of everyone who contributed in one way or another, but there were outstanding efforts by people like Harry Smallwood, chairman since 1963 Larry Marks, Don Mould, Jim Wishart, Colin Steele, Tony Young, and Kay Button, Treasurer since 1963; Phyl Bound told me how the Ladies held a 'Sewing Bee' to make the curtains, and a group of members from the Basingstoke area, John Davies, Jim Warren, Ray Phillis and George Jones, who were not near enough to help in the evening work parties, prepared all the kitchen fittings at home as their contribution towards the club house. Most of the equipment was given and enough bits and pieces of furniture to provide the bare essentials. How many current members recognise the B.O.A.C. Melaware crockery! Needless to say there were snags during the building, work continued all summer so much so that one committee meeting ended. 'Due to shortage of members present at the meeting, as the others were working on the new club house, the meeting was declared closed.' (Minute Book ) Ken remembers an earlier meeting being held in an unheated builder s site caravan, but by the end of September it was nearly ready and the Corporation agreed that the official tenancy should start from 1st October Mac admits that he had not really foreseen in 1962 what he was letting himself in for and at times it did seem an almost impossible task, personally he says that he has derived a tremendous kick from succeeding and seeing his predictions of a thriving club of members materialise. It is certain that without his drive and persistence to go for the best possible, Weston S.C. would not have "the much admired and envied facilities that we now have on Abbey Hill; there might have been a reduced plan put into operation, or it is quite possible that the Club would have disintegrated altogether, as in 1962 it was at a low point. To complete the story of our home, work continued clearing and tidying up, bits of the old site were incorporated in the new. The cross-treed mast that had marked the starting line and came originally from a J Class yacht, is now in front of the club house by the sea wall and the club burgee is flown from it. The old flagboard that had kept some of the bad weather off the O.o.D's was turned into the shield on the front of the starters' hut, soon to be redundant again when a new, super starters' hut, is built. The Ladies changing hut was used as a Bosun's hut for storing the rescue boat engine and bits and pieces, until in 1972 it too was replaced by the present boat house, which provides covered storage for the boats and removed the rescue boat operators' task of having first to manhandle the engine (now engines) onto the boats before going afloat. The old Ship's guns and their carriages were also moved and are now under the starters' hut. The club house itself was sold to the Education Department of the Corporation and is now used by the Southampton Schools Sailing Association. At first the starters' hut at the new site was a walk-in building on the ground, then suddenly one weekend in 1971 a working party of the Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 35

37 biggest members of the Club hoisted it up onto stilts to tree top level and the 0.0.D s were back to ladder climbing to perform their duties. Development plans continued, already by 1970 car parking was becoming a problem on sunny summer weekends, and Mac once more opened negotiations with the Corporation for a bigger car park and boat pound and also for a second slipway, at the instigation this time of the committee chairman, Derek Ide. Much paperwork passed to and fro with Mac trying to obtain terms most favourable to the Club; the negotiations were eventually completed by Gordon Henry, who also 'inherited 1 the task of organising the job. This was done partly by working parties of club members and partly by contract and with the invaluable help of equipment owned by Larry Marks. Since then we have not only benefited from having more than a foot allowance between boats, but also from knowing that there will never be a public pound next to ours. 'While building the second slip-way (or beach access to give it its official name) a wash down area was added behind -the starters* hut, providing a facility enjoyed by few clubs; before it had been possible to wash the boats on the slip-way, but this tended to cause bad jams as it was the only access to and from the water, and those waiting to hose down boats queued in the water. For some years there had been discussion about the desirability of applying for a Club Registration Certificate, i.e. a bar licence; members were not keen on the idea with only one general clubroom, but when it was found possible to raise a loan from a Brewery which would enable an extension to be built onto the club house at the same time as installing a bar, approval was given. During the summer of 1973 Derek Laverick and Ted Grimmer made enquiries and negotiated a loan, and as Hon.Secretary I went through the legal procedure of applying for a Club Registration Certificate, which was granted in December In the winter following, despite a series of gales, the walls were 'pushed out and the lounge and bar added. The work was done under the supervision of Gordon Henry, who was also responsible for the plans and the negotiations for building permission; most of it was done professionally, but by club members who gave a lot of their time and professional advice free. Ian Henry was the builder, Jack White the interior fitter, Dave Smith the adviser on decor and Derek Ide re-vamped the chairs, other club members helped with the work generally. When sitting comfortably in the club house one should be grateful to Derek, because he was the one who had earlier bought the low chairs to replace the original motley collection of furniture, he raised the money by appealing for donations from club members. Fortunately, there have always been people with faith in the Club and the support was immediate when the Commodore, Tim Hockin, circulated a letter to all members. 'Due to continually rising prices during the building period, the final cost to the Club has exceeded the original estimate, so that the present financial situation forces the Committee to consider ways of raising 1,000 to carry us through the next few months... Rather than borrow expensively from outside... I appeal to those members who feel they can, to pay their Subscriptions and pound rents for 1975 now. (Circular letter ) Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 37

38 During his term of office as Rear and then Vice-Commodore with responsibility for the club house and pound, Gordon Henry gradually improved facilities by organising such things as an extractor fan in the kitchen, a sink in the men's changing room for washing wet suits (with the aim of preserving the hot water for the showers), more filling in the pound to improve the muddy berths, the shelves and pigeon-holes in the entrance hall as well as improving the appearance of the entrance with the Honours and Officers board, and now the work on a new starters' hut, which may be completed by the time this is read. Gordon carried on the work started by Mac, bringing it all to fruition and providing us with a very comfortable and practical home. We are eternally grateful to them both. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 38

40 Chapter Four The Fleets To return to the prime interest of the Club - boats and sailing. Each year during the life of the Club there has been a programme of events arranged to be sailed from Weston S.C. At first it was a mixture of races, cruises and trophy events, then fewer cruises and some novelty races, until the present pattern of Series' of class racing and Open Meetings gradually evolved. During the first years there were both cruisers and dinghies, so that for some events the cruisers would provide both rescue services and carrying capacity for family supporters, they would also have their own races. Listed in the past programmes have been such events as the "Picnic Cruise", "Cruise S.W.S.A. Calshot", "Treasure Hunt", "Sail Stretcher", "Early Bird Handicap", "Class Race Jolly Sailor", "Easter Bonnet Race", and "Seamanship Race", as well as points racing, although Colin Steele comments that several of the listed novelty races turned into normal races with no novel twists. Before the days of wet suits the season was from April to early October, this was extended in 1965 to include a Frostbite Series and in the 1970's to start in March and continue until the end of December. Yet even with an extra three months compared with 1977, "to prepare boats for the coming season, there was still the need for the annual comment such as 'Let everyone make up their minds that their boats will sail during the second half of the season. The pound doesn't need weighing down.' (Gybe-Ho 1961) In 1960 the active fleets were the 505, Enterprise and Jumpahead, with class starts also for Darings and Weston Sharpies. The successes of Larry Marks and Keith Paul in the 505 fleet have already been referred to, and there was also considerable activity among the 'home' fleet. 'In the absence of Keith Paul and Larry Marks, lesser mortals have enjoyed the heady wine of a transomless horizon. The points Series is being hotly contested between John Adams, Peter Button and the recently rejoined Roy Ironside. Bob Sutton and Ivan Phillips revel in lighter conditions and are always a force to be reckoned with. The September Open Meeting... it was noticed with pleasure, that every 00 in the Club was out racing. (Gybe-Ho 1963) ENTERPRISE In 1960 the interest in Enterprises was also growing steadily and there was a fleet of 12 when Bowen Jenkins, the Captain applied to the National Association for a Fleet number: No.47 was allocated. That same year the Enterprises held a successful open meeting in July, for which G.J. Tilling and Son (until 1972 a well-known yacht chandlers in St. Michaels Square), donated a challenge cup. Known as the Tilling Trophy it has been raced for annually since then at the Enterprise Open Meeting. In 1961 team racing was popular, for 505's v. Porchester, and for Enterprises v. Hythe S.C. and the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment S.C. The A.W.R.E. away matches were sailed on a gravel pit at Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 40

42 Burghfield and provided completely different conditions from our home waters, such as beating through a channel 20 feet wide and 100 yards long. There must be many memories of 'ghosting 1 round the islands of the gravel pit, or as in May 1961 when it was blowing hard Les Hawkyard wrote. '... I leave you to imagine what it was like sailing around and occasionally in the lee of small bush covered islands with gaps here and there making funnels for gusts and eddies. At one moment I was becalmed, another dinghy was passing me ten feet to leeward with a fair breeze and two others ten yards ahead were fighting for survival. The race only lasted forty minutes, but most of us, especially the old 'uns were exhausted... When we reached the shore after the joy of hearing the finishing bell, with only the mildest interest in our placing, we were greeted by our ladies and supporters who informed us that they had not been entertained so well for ages. Such is life! ' (Gybe-Ho 1961) Larry Marks and Keith Paul had taken part in an earlier match at A.W.R.E. having been offered the use of boats by Peter Rogers and Charlie Clifford, Keith wrote of it 'Despite the weather five boats and a crowd of supporters went. Three races were organised and courses were set around the many small islands of the gravel pit. Larry Marks and I managed a first and second in each race which must prove something. Perhaps the 505 is a good training boat for the Enterprise.' (Gybe-Ho 1961) Peter Rogers may also have been proving something when he borrowed "Confusion", Keith's 505 for the M.N.D.S.F.* race and won the pennant. There has always been a willingness to lend each other boats and friendliness between the Fleets at Weston, long may it continue. Enthusiasm in the Enterprise class was maintained with several boats regularly travelling to local Regattas in Southampton Water and Portsmouth Harbour. There were also impromptu cruises, a family weekend at Swanage and winter social get-togethers. By 1963 "the Fleet had increased to 30 and it has remained one of the larger club fleets since then with spells of great activity interspersed with times when hardly a blue sail was to be seen. Enterprise owners have played an important part in the running of the Club, Don Harvey was Hon.Sec. 1954~57 and Committee Chairman ; Leslie Hawkyard Hon.Sec ; Leslie Gardner Committee Chairman 1961 and 62, followed by Harry Smallwood As Sailing Sec. there was Don Palmer in 1962, then Denis Faithfull 1964 and 65, succeeded by Dave Edgell , and Jack Deans 1970 and 71. Ken Andrew was on the Committee from 1968, becoming Vice- Commodore in 1972 and Commodore in Other active members of the Fleet have been David and Peter Rogers, they later changed to 505's, Charlie Clifford, Roy Willis, Ray Phillis who changed to a Hornet and then a keel boat, Jim Warren, also now a keel boat sailor, Don Mould, Tony Young until he changed to a Unicorn, Dereck Laverick and Stan Hutton until he became a Horneteer. Alan Moody has been with the Fleet for all the years he has * N.M.D.S.F. - National Mission for Deep Sea Fishermen. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 42

44 been with the Club, Lea Swift joined in 1970 and Pete Seaman, a novice to racing in 1971 was keen enough to become Fleet Captain and proceeded to enthuse the other helmsmen so that he handed over an active Fleet to the new Captain, Simon Snow, in In 1964 there were two lady helmsmen racing regularly, Janet McGill and Gwen Binfield. They were both usually to be found among the leading boats and in 1976 Gwen won most of the Enterprise trophies. In 1961 the Committee was again considering the future development of the Club and the possible adoption of new classes, because as was then thought 'The Club is about to take big strides forward with the projected move to Netley Castle... The most obvious gap at the present time is at the lower end of the scale - i.e. for a boat having less performance than an Enterprise. Such a boat would be suitable for Cadets and for novices of more mature years. It might also fill the bill for older members who still want easy and fairly dry sailing. (Gybe-Ho 1961) For a few years there was a serious attempt to build up a Fleet of O.K.'s, as the boat to fill the gap, and there was discussion about forming another building syndicate under the chairmanship of John Hilton. An Open Meeting in 1963 attracted 25 entries, but in 1961 there were only 12 O.K.'s in the Club and the following year, with even fewer, they were once more in the Handicap Fleet. MIRROR It was at this time that the number of Viking red sails began to increase, several Mirror 10 s had joined the Club during the previous two years, sailing in the Handicap Fleet, so that there was a nucleus ready to take over the class start vacated by the O.K. s, and also to hold a Mirror Open Meeting on the date provisionally booked for the O.K.'s. From then on the numbers increased steadily, both in the country as a whole and at Weston, until in 1974 the Committee felt that there was a danger of the Club being inundated by Mirrors and a limit of 70 was set. Each year since, all the places have been taken early in the season and a waiting list formed, so that numerically, it is the biggest of the Club Fleets; perhaps it is a good job that they never do all take to the water at the same time. Like the Enterprises, there have been ups and downs in the activity of Mirror Fleet. The Mirror is a multi-purpose boat being suitable for racing or cruising, it is excellent for novices young or old and is an ideal 'second' boat for the keen racer of another fleet to have, to take the family for a ride now and again, so it is inevitable that the owners will expect to use their boats in a variety of ways, and there will always be a group who are keen on racing, another only wanting to potter and some who never actually get around to going afloat at all, despite good intentions. The first Fleet Captain was George Gibson, he encouraged members to get out on the water and also to take an active part in the affairs of the Club. The Mirror Open Meeting in 1966 was also the Southern Area Championships with 22 entries: it was won by George's son Richard in "Mojo" Mirror 984. After a few years George was not Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 44

45 Happy with the policy of becoming primarily a racing club and he left to sail elsewhere. During the next few years under the captaincy of Brian Masters, the standard of racing improved, Keith Thatcher and his wife doing particularly well. Three club boats entered the 1969 National Championships at Sandbanks, Poole, the Thatchers were the highest placed in the twenties out of an entry of some 150; Ken Andrews entered "Clickety Click" Mirror 66, thinking that at least he would be sailing in the oldest boat, (there were already about 18,000 Mirrors built) but he was wrong. In 1970, the Thatchers built themselves a new boat, and also moved away from Southampton, Nigel Shaw bought the old one and renamed it "Doodles". Nigel's father Ray, was persuaded to become the Fleet Captain and for four years the whole family were involved «in building up the Fleet and encouraging Weston Mirrormen to use their boats and preferably race them. They personally telephoned every member of the Fleet and then organised groups of people who lived in the same locality to improve communications; they arranged Teach-ins during the winter and practice sessions afloat in the summer, when experienced racers crewed for helmsmen new to racing. Finally they were responsible for the organisation of the Mirror Southern Area Championships of 1975 when the limited entry of 100 was easily reached. This was the biggest Open Meeting ever held at Weston and with fine weather and a good wind was enjoyed by all those on the water and also the supporters on shore. Weston is known as a good club for families, it should also be known as a club of good families, particularly in the Mirror Fleet, for following the five Shaws came the six Whites. With four children father Jack had a choice of crews when he first joined Weston, but since then there have been various combinations of crews and boats which have brought all five onto the water regularly, and with wife Freda as a well-trained 'back up on shore, Jack was obviously well qualified to take over from Ray Shaw as Fleet Captain. One of Jack's first decisions was to offer to stage the 1976 Mirror Cruise Rally for the National Association; the Club Committee approved the proposal and preparations began. It turned out to be an excellent week that proceeded without hitches, because Jack and his Committee had thought out the details thoroughly. There were cruises up and down Southampton Water, races (by request), an evening of Western and Country dancing in the field, which was nicely rounded off for the visitors by the sight of Q.E.2 sailing up to the docks with all her lights blazing. Another evening there was a disco and at the final evening's get-together, the campers spontaneously collected a donation towards a wind vane for the Club as a memento of their visit, a truly memorable week. Racing among the Mirror Fleet has always been keen, and dominance by one boat has not usually lasted more than two seasons, with the boat taking pride of place not always being a newer one. Following the Thatchers, Nigel and Judy Shaw won all the trophies until John and Ann Ward joined the Club with "Varoomshka Two", then John bought a Hornet and Ann crewed for me which was the start of "Chaos's" spell of leading the Fleet, and continued when Lisa Marks took over from Ann. John and Martin Child joined the Club in 1975 with "Childs Play" and sailed straight to the front of the Fleet in the Summer Series. Both the White family boats were usually near the front of the Fleet and it was David and Deborah in "Yellow Belly" who took the trophies for the end of the season. David then spent the winter Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 45

46 "building "Y.B.11" and in 1976 the only discussion was "who will be second?" "Y.B was also successful at Open Meetings winning at Hythe and Hardway FLEET POLICY DECISIONS When the Club moved to Abbey Hill, the Committee had to discuss not only the problem of completing the club house and pound, but also that of the future sailing policy. One major decision taken was, that winter storage would not be offered to members with keel boats as had been done at the old site. It was felt that the slipway and pound trolley ways were not adequate for heavy boats and with no off-shore moorings the opportunity was taken to make Weston S.C. a purely dinghy club. There had been a certain amount of friction each year under the old system, when the dinghies wanted the berths and the cruisers were not ready to be put back in the water. In 1962 it had been minuted that the cruiser owners were forbidden to take down the fences to improve the access, and there was always argument about who had left the rubbish in the pound. It was a logical decision but as some of the cruiser owners had been members of the Club for many years, a few having moved on from dinghies, they were very disappointed that cruisers would no longer be catered for and they left the Club with some ill feeling, and subsequently founded the Weston Cruising Club. Two founder members, Ivan Morris and Bill O'Brien, both of whom left because of this decision, comment that on hindsight it was the best solution as both groups now have the facilities that suit them. 'W.S.C. have a well-respected dinghy Club and we at W.C.C. have our mixed bag after all. Us old timers now in our leisurely time of life can potter about and leave the competitive side to the younger enthusiasts. Bill O'Brien later re-joined the Club. (Ivan Morris) But with the cruisers gone, there were still other decisions to be made. For four seasons the starts had been 505, Enterprise, Mirror and Handicap, already in November 1968 the Committee was worried that... the Handicap section was rapidly increasing which would, of course, be a detriment to the Club. A long discussion ensued on how to stop this happening with various suggestions being put forward. Finally, it was agreed that the members at the A.G.M. be allowed to air their views on this subject, it being pointed out that the view of the Committee was to encourage class racing and new members with class boats to join the Club, it was felt that a limitation should be made on new members with handicap boats but that the discretion of the Committee be used. (Minute Book November 1968) There was an airing of views at the A.G.M. and finally the points put forward by the Committee were accepted. A month later a sub-committee was formed and asked to look into the facts and figures and recommend a policy. The points which must have been discussed had been well put seven years before, in an article in Gybe-Ho when the move to new premises seemed imminent - Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 46

48 '... The sponsoring of a new class or classes of dinghy is a matter of considerable responsibility for the Committee. Some members of the Club will be encouraged to push out the boat - literally - and that pioneer must not find himself alone? he must be backed up by the arrival in the Club of other boats of the same type. The Committee, therefore, has to select very carefully so as to ensure that the new class is likely to achieve some popularity, that it is reasonably within the financial reach of a fair number of the members, and that it is a suitable boat for the Club s sailing water. The Committee must also safeguard the position of the present main classes so as to ensure a continued healthy growth in those classes. (Gybe-Ho 1961) HORNET Already in 1967 there had been a request from three members of Millbrook S.C. to provide class racing for Hornets as they were interested in joining Weston. The request was not granted but the three; Derek Ide, Mike Chalk and Paul Wills did join the Club and sailed in the Handicap class, as they were not satisfied with the racing at Millbrook, which was also in the throes of moving and deciding future policy due to the development of the Container Berths overrunning their club house. At much the same time another group of Hometeers, Peter Williams, Alan Wright, Charlie Hutton, Brian Clark and Joe Coomer, disagreed with the policy for dinghies at Warsash S.C. and also joined Weston. With such a nucleus it was an obvious choice to give the Hornets a class start and this the sub-committee recommended for the 1969 season. It was also recommended that In addition to the four classes there shall be a Handicap -or Menagerie - Class, but the number of boats in this class shall be restricted to 20% of the total number of dinghies attached to the Club... At the commencement of each year the Committee shall nominate types of dinghy in the Handicap Class as "Development Types". These shall be "types which, in the opinion of the Committee, fill any gaps in the "Club Classes" and which are likely to be popular with members... When there are 6 No. dinghies of a "Development Type" actively racing in the Handicap Class the Committee shall nominate that type as a "Club Class" and shall organise class racing for it, and the Committee shall be empowered, if the Committee so decides, to waive the 20% rule in order to facilitate this development. On the other hand, if a "Development Type 11 fails to reach the required number, the Committee may replace it by another "Development Type" in the following year. In the event of one of the "Club Classes" falling below 6 No. dinghies, or if the class should cease to be active in class racing, the Committee shall cancel its status as a "Club Class" and the remaining dinghies of that Class shall be included in the Handicap Class in the following year. (Minute Book February 1969) Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 48

49 This policy had the desired effect and since then the Club has "been primarily one for class racing. In 1972, just before the pound was extended, when there was a waiting list for class "boats it was decided not to accept any more boats into the Handicap Class, thus rescinding the 20% policy, unless they were really of the "Development Type", this proviso allowed the introduction of Lasers. Since joining the Club in 1967 the Hornet Fleet has grown steadily, but for some reason Hornets are rarely to be seen in any number on the water, despite keen racing among those who do turn out regularly. Derek Ide had a successful spell from sailing "Crassus" with Roger Crates as crew; he won most of the club Series'-and was among the leading boats at the National Championships, and he won the Corvette trophy, a knockout boat-for-boat competition run by Hayling Island S.C. Then Derek fitted out a Quarter Tonner and returned to keel boat racing. Weston helmsmen have had successes in Hornets but not when they were members of Hornet Fleet 68. Colin McKenzie was both World and National Hornet Champion, before changing to 505 s and then joining Weston S.C. Dave Pitman was the National Junior Champion in 1969, sailing Alan Wright's boat "Spartacus", with Alan as crew. Alan again lent his boat, and crew (Mike Lynch), to Dave to enter the 1974 National Championships, this was the beautiful "Great Bear", which has not only won many of the club Series*, but would also take the Prix d 1 Elegance. Of the other original Horneteers at Weston, Paul Wills won several of the National trophies, he has now teamed up with Mike Chalk to sail a 505. Charlie Button solved his crew problems by marrying Joy, but they have finished the 1976 season by selling their Hornet. Peter Williams, after some memorable sailing in "Dead Sexy" with Liz Lynch as crew, seems to spend more time up mountains than on the sea these days, and Brian Clark and Jo Coomer both moved away from the Club. The Fleet increased by both new members joining with Hornets and club members changing class and becoming Horneteers, like Stan Hutton and son Neil, who shared helming and crewing in "Shillelagh", and younger members Gareth Hardwick and recently Adrian Williams. In 1974 and 75 there was some good racing against Hornets over the Water and several members of Hythe S.C. did join Weston, so that it seemed that at last there would be large club turn outs regularly, but in a very short time they all disappeared back to Hythe. It remains to be seen whether the new Fleet Captain, Bay Youlden, can encourage Weston Horneteers to sail more often. UNICORN At the same time that the Hornets were establishing themselves, another syndicate was set up to build a new type of catamaran called a Unicorn. Four existing club members built together, and six members of Petters S.C. formed another syndicate down the road. Each group had its own ideas on how to build Unicorns and ideas were shared, but rarely accepted by the opposition. John Wright, Tony Young, Bob Button and Jock Neeson were the Weston syndicate, mainly ex-505 or Cat sailors, and Colin Mottram headed the Petters one. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 49

50 As so often happens after 18 months of building, some of the prospective helmsmen had found other attractions before the boats were completed, two had married, one emigrated, etc.; also it was necessary to have six boats sailing at Weston to merit a class start, so Colin and Graham Yolland joined the Club to help establish the Fleet. Soon new members decided to try their hand with a Unicorn and bought boats built by the syndicate, among them being Mike Lilley who became the first Fleet Captain. Although the basic Unicorn had been successfully campaigned and raced for two years before the Weston boats were on the water, the development of the rig and sails must be attributed to club members. John, Tony, Colin and Graham Hutchings experimented with a Needlespar mast with controlled bend and a Eatsey nine batten sail, these improved the Unicorn's performance and helped club members maintain the record of successes at Open Meetings and Championships that they had already established in the first two years of the Fleet; several times Weston boats finished 1st, 2nd and 3 rd shuffling the order between them. In 1971 the National Championships were held at Weston and were won by Graham in "0 Me Go", with John in "Fingers" second; Graham won again in 1975, with John taking the even years, 1972, 74 and was the one year when Weston boats did not dominate the Unicorn scene, their place being filled by Stone S.C. The second triennial European Championships were held in 1976 and were also won by John, with Colin second. John had already gained experience sailing against German helmsmen when he travelled to the Ammersee and took part in an A Class catamaran week in 1971 and won first prize; he returned the next year with Graham but was not so successful. Also in 1971 John in "Fingers", and Tony in "Sundance", took part in the "Two of a Kind" races on the Steel Company of Wales lake at Margam, which they won. Many of the newer members of the Fleet soon found that stardom rubs off the experts and in a very short time helmsmen such as Tony Kirby, Tony Saunders and Derek Birmingham have reaped the benefit of racing against Champions and have become competitive both at home and away. These successes may come as a surprise to some members who are not aware that a big proportion of the Fleet travel around together to Open Meetings, and are only conscious of the Unicorns being conspicuous at Weston by their absence on the water, so that the frequently 'empty first start is regarded by other helmsmen as an extra warning time rather than the first class start. But once accepted as a class the Club has encouraged the Fleet, and it has come a long way since the "Whoopee Float Sailors" first crossed the line seven years ago. SOLO At exactly the same time as the Unicorns, the Solos were also going through the stage of being a 'Development Type. It was probably Jim Warren who was responsible for their introduction to the Club, and backed by Ted Grimmer, he encouraged other members to buy Solos so that enough boats were sailing regularly in 1971 to merit a class start. Some of those who joined the Fleet in the first two years were Ed Butler, John Gordon, Fred Ginn, John Davies, Chris Averis, Tony Willis, Dave Smith, Nigel Tarrant, Ron Potter and Bob Greenaway. Ted was the first Fleet Captain and he organised their first Open Meeting, held jointly Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 50

52 with the Unicorns in May 1970, a time when both classes were still in the Development stage; there were many visiting "boats, some from as far as Exmouth, but it was the Weston helmsmen who took the prizes, Ed Butler 1st., Nigel Tarrant 2nd. and Bob Greenaway 3rd. Tim Hockin, a former Merlin National Champion, joined the Fleet for the 1971 season with "Puff n Go" and won most of the club series, often with Ron Potter close behind. Tim also took part in the National and World Solo Championships which were held at Hayling Island that year, he finished 5th in the Nationals and 11th in the Worlds. Tim commented that he liked sailing a Solo very much because it was a good surfing boat. In 1975 Nick Holt in "Glass Onion" had a very successful season and made almost a clean sweep of the class prizes, although Fleet Captain Bob Greenaway could beat him in heavy weather; then Nick bought a Laser and competition was open again. Since their introduction to the Club, the Solos have been a good steady club Fleet, perhaps without any great distinction but they have maintained their numbers at between 20 and 30 boats despite the competition of new single-handed classes. Anne Norfolk, the only lady helmsman in the Fleet in 1976, took over the job of Captain from Bob, and hopes to maintain or increase the interest in Solos at Weston. CONTENDER With both Unicorns and Solos promoted to class starts, the Contender was accepted as a t Development Type*. This was a relatively new boat at the time, developed more in Australia, it was not widely sailed in England, but Dave Pitman had already become one of the leading helmsmen and enthused about them so that several people in the Club decided to buy boats. Helmsmen soon found that it was not as easy as Dave made it look and it was not until Peter Mills and Dave Rate joined the two regulars, Dave Pitman and Mike Hartley, that the class really got going at Weston. Active racing encouraged a steady stream of members to persevere and discover the thrills and excitement of single-handed trapeze sailing in a monohull; the Fleet was given a class start in 197U and by the next year had built up to 15 boats in the pound. Mainly because of the standards set by Dave Pitman, the other Contender sailors at Weston were able to improve and this was reflected in the Championship and Open Meeting results of the last three years, *when invariably, to the dismay of others, they carried off the majority of the prizes. Dave had already won the National and European titles in 1971, 72 and 73, and in 197U he achieved the treble of National, European and World. Several times Dave was accompanied by club mate Mike Hartley, one of the early helmsmen who had persisted sailing this difficult boat despite a slight disability, Mike won the prize for the over U0 r s. In 1976 Geoff Whitfield, in his first complete season in Contenders after graduating from a Mirror, competed in the National Championships at Hayling Island and became the National Junior Champion, finishing 5th overall, a very good performance for a 17 year old; 1st had been Dave, with Keith Paul 2nd. Keith, who had returned to sailing at Weston after his long spell in F.D.'s, seemed to spend much of his time close behind Dave in 1975 and 76. In the 1976 season, it was the Contenders that had the lowest turn out in club racing and the Sailing Committee decided that for the Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 52

54 1977 season they would "be started in the Handicap Fleet. The low turnout was possibly due to the regular helmsmen sailing away from home a lot of the time and because several of the Fleet were building new boats. Once these are on the water the Fleet should pick up again and could then oust one of the other Club Fleets, regaining a class start. The acceptance of the Contenders as a club class in 1974 increased the number of starts to nine. It was a decision reached after much discussion in Committee and it was also agreed that nine was enough (the flagboard would not take any more), so that for the foreseeable future starts should remain as a maximum of eight classes and a Handicap. This was to leave a way open to see if any newly developed boats would be suitable for our conditions and appeal to our type of membership. LASER The introduction of the Laser is a perfect example of what can happen; it was a class growing very quickly in the country, so was given a limited number of berths in the pound. Daring 1975 and 76 it had been tried out by club members (John Haskell tried three), some found it was not the boat that they were looking for and changed classes again, but now under Mike Brimley's captaincy, there is a keen nucleus who sail very regularly and for 1977 they have been promoted to a class start because of the large proportion of the Fleet racing regularly. OPTIMIST Anyone who has been counting classes through this saga of the Weston Fleets will realise that no mention has been made of the class in the ninth start, it was of course the Optimist - yet another single-hander! There was such enthusiasm after borrowing the six boats belonging to the Optimist Class Racing Association during the first Cadet Week in 1972, that many parents decided to follow John Harrison's example and encourage their 7-15 year olds by building or buying Optimists. Throughout 1973 the Spies' were a familiar sight bobbing about performing various manoeuvres under the watchful eye of John or another Optimist parent, sedately ensconced in "Nanny Op", the rescue boat. They soon learnt to handle the boats and the tactics of racing and were ready for their own Series' and were given a class start in By the September of that year they had improved boat speed so much that ten Weston helmsmen won prizes at the National Championships out of an entry of 70+ including some boats from Club Nautique du Havre. These championships were held at Weston and were superbly organised by Marion, the Fleet Captain, and John, with Tim Hockin and the mini-fleet of the Royal Thames Y.C. motor launches in charge of the racing. Unfortunately, three of the six races had to be cancelled owing to extreme gales, but still everyone went home happy. During the summer of 1974, the Harrison family had been to the World Optimist Championships at Silvaplana, in Switzerland, and established contact with European Optimist clubs, a contact which vastly increased their knowledge about making Optimists go faster. They have generously done their best to pass on this knowledge to the rest of the Weston Fleet, by organising intensive courses at 'camps Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 54

55 and mixing instruction sessions with club races. Simon Harrison obviously benefited enormously and in 1975 was selected for the British team and sailed in the World Championships at Aarhus, Denmark. He finished 39th and then went on to win the British and Open Championships later in the season. In 1976 Simon was again chosen for the British team, with his brothers Matthew and Philip and Martin Hutchings also doing very well in the selection races, but as the World Championships were in Turkey, only the first five boats were sent; Simon finished 35th. It is not generally realised that there are over 106,000 children sailing Optimists in the world, of "these Britain has 1,600 whereas France has over 15,000 and Sweden over 111,000. That puts our Weston Fleet of approximately 30 boats in perspective and makes one appreciate the competition that the three Harrison brothers faced to win the West European Team title in 1976, they also won the National Team prize which they had previously won in 1974 The Fleet naturally fluctuates from year to year as some helmsmen become too old for the Class or decide that they are too big for the boat and move on to another class. Ian White was one of the first of the original members of the Fleet to move and after a season in a Laser, changed to a Unicorn, John Greenaway became a regular Solo sailor, and Rod Holt, after a brief try in a Solo, bought a Laser. Andrew Parkman became an active member of the Mirror Fleet and both David Walker and Penny Brabham raced Mirrors some times, and Ken and Bruce Francis intended to race regularly when the family bought a Mirror. But at the same time there is an influx of keen new helmsmen, particularly after each Cadet Week, ready to join in and compete against the 'old stages1 like Nigel Brabham, Keith White, Martin Hutchinga and the two youngest Harrisons when they are at home, all members of the Fleet since It is very necessary to have an enthusiastic parent as Captain, and it was not too difficult to persuade Robin Richards to take over from Marion, as he already had two helmsmen in the family - Mark and Ben. One hopes that in due course there will be others to take Robin's place and keep up the flow of trained young helmsmen or just to pass on the enthusiasm for sailing to those who after a try in Optimists find that they do not like being on their own, so that they can be encouraged to start crewing. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 55

57 Chapter Six Day by Day Activity afloat must of course be backed up by a sound organisation ashore, which inevitably involves a few people in a lot of hard work. Current members should be grateful to those Officers and Committee members of the past 25 years who have spent endless hours discussing points and then carrying out the decisions, until we have reached this enviable position of a happy, friendly Club with excellent facilities in a modern Club House, in pleasant surroundings -and with relatively clear water to sail in. Looking back it seems that 1961 was the decisive year, when the tussle over future development came to a head and the pattern was set for increased growth and activity rather than remaining a small club with a motley collection of boats and poor facilities; a decision that caused disagreement in the Committee and some resignations. That year more boats sailed regularly, all the class Open Meetings were well supported, Woolston Regatta had a very big entry, and a club magazine - "Gyba-Ho" was started, edited by Keith Paul. Also that year Mrs. Hawkyard took over and extended the catering services from the tea and sandwiches, and for the Woolston Regatta Mrs. Hawkyard and her helpers set up a 'Wimpey Bar', this was very well patronised and encouraged more elaborate catering for club events; they also made a profit of 43. This was really the beginning of the invaluable service that has been maintained over the years by the Ladies of the Kitchen, and is the one item in the Minute Book that has occurred regularly only to be praised 'Mr Small wood concluded his report by once again praising the catering facilities and expressed a vote of thanks to Mrs. Bound and her Ladies.' (Minute Book ) Phyl Bound had started coming to the Club while Fred and Geoffrey were sailing and being a helpful person, gave a hand with the catering. It had been forgotten that 'Ladies who were not club members, who helped with the catering were to be Honorary members for the day.' (Minute Book ) as Phyl told me, she was definitely asked for a subscription; a good job too, as then Phyl was eligible for election to the Committee and in 1966 took over as Catering Convenor from Mrs. Hawkyard, a job which she did well for 10 years helped in the kitchen by the wives, mothers and girlfriends who were not keen to sail but who did not like standing around. Prom the chatter and laughter that one hears through the hatches, they do seem to enjoy themselves too, even while cooking beef burgers on a hot day. The story of the problems concerning building and development has already been told, but at the same time the Committee had many other matters to settle. Reading through the Minute Books one is Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 57

59 struck by the way the same problems occur again and again. I made a list of them, which I am sure could "be duplicated "by any Hon.Sec. reading through the Minute Book of their Sailing Club, but it should give members an idea of what must be considered to keep a sailing club running smoothly, and should recall some meetings to committee members past and present. High on the list is the rescue boat and/or it's engine -finding a suitable boat, raising the money to purchase it, trying to find a regular and responsible operator, maintaining the hull and engine in good order, and repairing damage after misuse or an unfortunate incident such as '... the boat was ready to be launched, but she had several leaks and so was left on the water's edge to soak. During the night the wind changed and pushed the tide up, consequently flooding the engine with salt water. Due to prompt action by G. Gray, D. Harvey and L. Hawkyard no serious damage was caused, but it has delayed its date of commission even further. (Gybe-Ho 1961) George Gray was the operator of the Launch "Tim" which served the Club foribur or five years. Next on the list are the difficulties connected with the Officers of the Day: referred to in 1959 as 'this inexhaustible subject'. There is the question of ways of drawing up a duty roster, then seeing that it works, and compiling comprehensive instructions for the O.o.D. which may or may not be read. For many years the duty roster was printed in the programme of events, then for a short time it was confined to a few members who were experienced O.o.D's, no doubt this followed a few disasters. Now everyone racing regularly is expected to take a turn 'in the box and recently we were lucky to have Hilda Grimmer as a willing assistant whenever wanted, who could show a newcomer the routine. Time and time again after a race in particularly heavy weather, when the rescue service was not super-efficient, there has been discussion on a system of keeping contact between the O.o.D. and the rescue boat(s), no satisfactory solution has yet been devised, except short wave radio, and that is beyond the means and capabilities of most Clubs to maintain in working order. The boat pound can also take up a good deal of time - the berths need reorganising, or re-numbering, the fence needs repairing, or the padlocks on the gate(s) have gone missing, this happened in 1964 and 1974, what will happen in 1984? The boats themselves can be in the wrong berths or are not easily identifiable, and one year it was... reported that 55 spaces had been allocated whereas the pound was full, containing about 75 boats. The Committee then moved into the pound and carefully checked every boat. A number of unauthorised boats were recognised and their owners would be contacted. Several cases were discovered where neither pound fee nor subscription had been paid for some time, - the Secretary was instructed to write strong letters to these people.' (Minute Book ) Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 59

61 Today with over 300 boats in the pound the checking process is a long job, but it still needs to be done two or three times a year, and the 'stray boats heaved up into the car park while a letter is written to the owner, if known. Late payment of subscription and pound fees figured in the Minutes annually until pound spaces were in short supply and the waiting list of membership began to grow, this was in 1971! Since then very few subscriptions are outstanding after mid-april. The entries in the Minute Books concerning Cadets seem primarily to be complaining about their rowdiness or irresponsibility, or that the Cadet Section seemed to be disintegrating. Dealings with -the local fishermen tend to come under the heading of complaints too, relations have always been delicate, and neither side considers that the other understands its needs; in recent years there has been a better liaison when big meetings are about to take place, but it is difficult to do anything about individuals who choose to tie up to marks that are in the course selected by the O.o.D. Maintaining good relations with the Harbour Master and British Transport Docks Board is also important. The Club has always tried to co-operate, but it does happen from time to time that commercial shipping in the main channel is embarrassed by yachts and dinghies passing too close, and then all Clubs on Southampton Water are sent reminders about the need to keep clear of the channel. Other correspondence with B.T.D.B. has been about the maintenance of marks. The Club is responsible for the inshore marks and one year, some bright person decided to use up some green paint when giving 'Boundary an annual coat: this, of course, denotes a wreck - the inspectors were not amused. I have no information as to when the Woolston Regatta was started, presumably it was intended to make use of a local amenity -Southampton Water - and was organised with the backing of Southampton Corporation. As soon as the Club was founded in 1952, it took over the responsibility for running the sailing events and has done so every year since then. There is an annual Woolston Regatta Committee which is made up of three or four representatives from Weston and the same number from Southampton Rowing Club. The organisation has been remarkably trouble-free but there have inevitably been some problems. One that cropped up regularly in the early days was deciding on a date, this held up the printing of the club programme. Then there was the difficulty of choosing classes of entries that would suit all the boats sailed locally and yet not involve a long drawn out start; there has always been a start for cruisers, but it is a few years since any cruisers either entered or started. Also there have been discussions as to the financial responsibility that the organisers were expected to carry. Southampton Water Sailing Association is another local organisation which has been functioning for many years. Relations between the Club and the S.W.S.A. have not always been smooth, and although Weston has remained affiliated to the Association there have been proposals to withdraw. The first was at the A.G.M. in 1959, then there was a period from when no club team entered the S.W.S.A. events. Later there was a spell when no club racing was organised on the dates of S.W.S.A. events and Weston boats went in large numbers Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 61

63 and swamped them. We were then asked to send one team only and club racing was again in the programme, except when it was our turn to stage the event, "but helmsmen were reluctant to go away to represent the Club, sailing in a menagerie of classes, when there were Series' races at home with class starts, even claiming average points would not tempt them. In 1976 the Committee decided to encourage helmsmen to go to the S.V.S.A events in reasonable numbers, but to put on class races at home which did not count towards the Series 1 results. Perhaps this is a suitable compromise. Other items on the 'regulars' list of the Minutes have been the club trophies missing, not engraved to date, or should be revalued-. The problem is now well under control since Brenda Deans sorted them out in 1970 and 71, and instituted the Trophies Book. Internal communication is also a perennial, a club magazine was proposed as early as 1958, it came into being as Gybe-Ho in 1961 and ran for four seasons. The move to Netley set the Committee talking about starting it up again in 1968, but it wasn't until 1972 that anything was produced when John Harrison, the Publicity Officer, edited and duplicated a Newsletter, three or four times a year. In 1974 John Ward and Simon Hill took over publicity and edited a printed and illustrated W.S.C. News, this was paid for partly by adverts; now printing costs have escalated so much that Jim Norfolk, the 1976 Publicity Officer, reverted to a duplicated Newsheet. The Committee have nominated a Publicity Officer from its members for many years, although Eric McGill did combine it with his many other jobs during the development period. The object of publicising the Club was achieved mostly through local papers and all those who have done the job have found that if the reports were written regularly they were readily accepted. Editors might chop a paragraph here and there, making nonsense of parts, but at least we were pleased to see the results printed. 1970/71 was the time when Radio Solent was establishing itself and material of local interest was wanted; both John Harrison and I made short recordings for them. One last problem that may have been special to Weston S.C. has been the need to redraft the rules at frequent intervals. - it was done five times in fourteen years! However early one arrives at the Club there is always someone ahead of you, but considering the programme of activities both on and off the water perhaps it is not surprising, as it is almost a full-time job to take part in everything. Reference has already been made to some of the social events of the Club, many of which, during the 1960 s were connected with the plans for development. After the move to Netley, members appreciated the roomy club house that could be used in comfort all the year round, and the number of functions increased in both number and variety and now provides entertainment throughout the year. One can start by dancing in the New Year, watch films or slides, listen to Teach-ins or talks, play in a football match or two until the Pitting Out Supper heralds the new sailing season. There is then a full programme of racing accompanied by Discos on Open Meeting weekends, Cadet Week and holiday afternoons sunbathing or Bar Nights drinking and chatting to take one through the summer and to November, a busy month in the life of the Club, with a family Bonfire Party, the A.G.M. and some years the annual Prize-giving Dinner and Dance, the one function that cannot be accommodated in the club house. For the really keen ones there are Ted Grimmer s Keep Fit sessions through the winter, Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 63

65 providing a series of exercises specially designed for sailing muscles and no doubt they help the legs also when the time comes to dance in the New Year again. A member winning a World Championship calls for some special celebration. For Keith Paul's win in 505 s a dinner was arranged in Warsash, that was in September 1962, then in September 1970 when Larry Marks and Vic Deschamps won the 505 s World Championships, a Surprise Supper was held in the club house. It was a surprise for the celebrities, but members had made careful plans and the respective wives played their part in getting Larry and Vic down to the Club on a pretext. This idea was repeated in January 1974 "to celebrate Dave ' Pitman's win in the Contender World Championships held in Australia, and took place within, a few hours of his landing in the country. On both occasions at the club house a complete cross-section of members assembled and enjoyed a memorable evening, both times complete with a specially iced cake which was ceremonially cut. Excuses for holding a party are always welcome. Bert Drought organised one to celebrate Phil Cozens' 79th birthday, then there was the Club's own 21st birthday, which was held on midsummer night of It was subsequently found to have been a year too early, but fortunately Neptune could not count either as he, in the shape of Chris Averis, with attendants Alan Terry and John Haskell, arrived out of the water to present the Commodore with the key of the door. They were invited to be present at the cake cutting and to partake of one of Marianne Henry's super suppers, so long as they left their seaweed adornments at the door! After a party, or just a busy sailing weekend, someone has to clear up. Bert Drought was appointed Bosun in 1962 and for a few years was responsible for keeping an eye on the use of club property, then once the move had been made to Netley it was necessary to have a more definite arrangement and we were fortunate that Wilf Cropp was prepared to take on the part-time job of Bosun/Caretaker, he was followed in 1972 by Gerry Philpott as Caretaker. Both Wilf and Gerry have high standards and have helped enormously to maintain the club house in good condition, despite so much use; they both put in many hours in the early morning during the summer months, cleaning the floors, hosing down the changing rooms and clearing the kitchen ready for the day's programme, to say nothing of dealing with the mounds of property that is left. Committee members are expected to do their share too and after a Disco start on the preliminary tidying and sweeping or washing up glasses and crockery. The washing up used to be a long job when, before the Bar and lounge were built, a temporary bar was set up in the kitchen and had to be cleared away before the last person went home. One final item of information that should be recorded before it is forgotten is how we acquired our insignia. The original one of a fish on a red background had been designed for the Club by the late Elsie Sandell. During the preparations for the move to Netley it was felt that a new image was needed to go with the new premises, so a competition was started to find a suitable design. One day Angela Rocke, (now Mrs. Beckett) was looking down from the 'bridge' of the Hut onto a compass rose below, which was at the base of the flag pole. This suggested to her the black and white compass rose with the letter W in the centre, and this design was accepted at the A.G.M. of Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 65

67 Chapter Seven The Cadet Section So far all that has been said about the Cadets of the Club has been to include them in the list of problems. I am sure that each generation gets used to being grumbled at and to being expected to clear up the pound or tidy the changing rooms as a matter of course, but as a group they are neither less nor more enthusiastic to support working parties than the majority of club members, and it would give a wrong impression if nothing was said about the contribution made by the Cadets to the development of the Club. There has always been a Cadet Section in Weston Sailing Club, but like the Fleets it has had periods of great enthusiasm and activity and quite the contrary. It was in 1957 that the then Cadets decided to have a more formal organisation, a meeting was called and it was resolved to have monthly meetings, to start a library, to organise team races and to arrange functions and outings. The idea of the library was soon abandoned, but the other resolutions were implemented with varying degrees of support and success over the years, largely depending on whether anyone was prepared to put time and effort into getting something organised. During 1957 Reg Pinfield made a boat for the Section to use, appropriately one of the Cadet class. This boat had its ups and downs as it was difficult to find a means of making it available, without losing control over its use. Colin Steelewas one who did get a lot of use out of it and also helped with the painting and maintenance. But gradually it became another problem for the Committee and after much discussion it was sold in However, there has always been a keen nucleus of Cadets who have raced in the club Points Series in their own or their parents boats, often with great success. It was the Cadets of 1965 who proposed and organised the Frostbite Series to extend the season, and they have been responsible for novelty races, such as the Easter Bonnet (1966). Each year there was an event exclusively for Cadets, but this was never very well supported and in 1971 a series of races through the season was substituted for it, even so only a small number took part, despite a Section today of some 100 members. Frequent attempts have been made to increase the number of Cadets actively sailing, by introducing various forms of sail training, talks, one Cadet 'adopting a newcomer, social events to welcome and introduce new members to the Section, a personal letter to each Cadet, provision of a crew board etc., etc. One year Bert Drought was asked to 'spark some enthusiasm into them with evening meetings. (Minute Book) But by far the most successful means of arousing interest has been Cadet Week. This was an idea first thought up and organised by Zen Andrew in 1972, it was an immediate success and has been repeated each year since: it is now so popular that parents will arrange their holidays so that their children can take part in it. In the early days team racing was organised v. Millbrook S.C. and in 1963 v. Hamble Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 67

69 River S.C.; it 1967 a race v. Warsash S.C. was proposed but could not be fitted into the programme. Sheila Swift, Cadet Secretary in 1972/3 revived the idea and races were sailed against Warsash with Hamble River joining in the second year to make it a three-sided contest. The original resolution to organise functions and outings met with considerable success, the first function being the annual prize-giving dance. They ran socials, Christmas parties, barbecues and car treasure hunts. It must be remembered that until 1971 there were Junior Cadets aged 14-18, and Senior Cadets 18-21, and it was the Seniors who were active both on and off the water. Several of them were car owners - of a sort. Latest hot-rod editions include Colin Steele's Standard 8, which goes at a spanking pace despite its decrepitly and Richard Midgley's er...? Pete Rogers has sold his old Riley to Mr Knox and recently purchased a small, very small Renault, which incidentally makes just as much row... A car, apparently, is a necessity, whereas a boat is a luxury - "You see it's ten to one the girl friend won't go out in the boat, anyway one gets far more sailing by crewing, not being faced with the problem - shall I go out or shan't I.' (Gybe-Ho 1963) There seems to have been a proposal almost annually to make up a party to visit the Boat Show at Earls Court, sometimes it came off, sometimes it didn't. One year the idea of a visit to Fawley to be shown over the refinery got quite a long way, but not as far as the outing itself, maybe sitting round the stove in the old club house discussing the plans was just as satisfying. In 1963 it was minuted by the Committee that the Cadet Committee was disintegrating, yet was possibly the most active period for the Section. This was when Mary O'Brien (now Mary Hay) was Cadet Secretary for two years, and then Peter Buttigieg Cadet Chairman the third year. They organised several successful dances, including the one for the annual presentation of prizes, a float was entered in the Southampton Carnival as part of the publicity campaign, and there were functions to raise money for the club building fund. The table tennis table was bought with some of their profits. Also, as has been mentioned, it was in this period that the Cadets initiated the Frostbite Series. Peter Buttigieg was one of the promoters, he sailed a 505 with his younger brother David as crew. Now and again David became rebellious and is known to have let down the mainsail and also to have jumped overboard and threatened -to swim back to the shore. Then followed another period of comparative inactivity, until in 1972 Ken Andrew read in a yachting magazine that there was an Optimist Class Racing Association trailer of 6 Optimists which could be borrowed. Ken got the approval of the Committee to book the trailer and Cadet Week was born. Ken arranged a Series of races, 2 a day for 5 days, for Handicap or Mirror boats and the 6 O.C.R.A. Optimists were for those who otherwise would be left on the shore. John Harrison had recently built an Optimist, this was shared among Simon, Matthew and Philip, and in the middle of the week, Christopher Nevard joined in with his Optimist. It meant that everyone from 7 to Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 69

70 General Committee and the Cadet Secretary as a member of the Sailing Committee, this seems to work and communication is not such a problem. I am sure that recent Cadet Secretaries would have welcomed more response from the silent majority of the Section, as always it is the keen few who take advantage of what is offered. But looking round the pound before a race one is aware of small bodies wandering about in wet suits, preparing to go out, the number are of course increased by several of the Optimist helmsmen who are still below the age for the Cadet Section. The earlier they start the better it is for the Club, these are the future Fleet Captains and Commodores as well as Champions. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 70

72 Chapter Eight Club Members Weston S.C. was started by a few sailing enthusiasts in 1952, had some 50 members with boats in 1955; it increased to about 100 members by 1958 and 150 in 1959, reached 230 with 86 boats in 1966, introduced a waiting list in 1972 when there were 510 members and 240 boats, and in 1974 decided on a balance of approximately 500 full members and 100 Cadet members with pound spaces for 300+ boats. Those are the facts, but they tell us nothing about the actual people who joined the Club, and everyone will probably agree that membership of Weston represents a fair cross section of the community. There, have been tall ones, short ones, fat ones, thin ones, the Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestick maker, all have been welcome so long as they were interested in sailing. Some people spend most of their leisure hours at the Club, or working for it; others manage to find only a few hours a year to take advantage of their membership. It is up to each individual to give and take what he can. It would be impossible to list all those who have contributed in one way or another to the Club and mention has already been made of several individuals in the previous chapters, but I feel that this history would be incomplete without recalling a few more names and incidents. Early members may remember people like Bay Seagrave, a strong man, who once coming into the shore, pulled up the centreboard a bit too hard and pulled out the casing with it, he remained seated as the boat filled and sank. There was Colin Smith who had sailed a boat across the Atlantic with his brother, but when trying to get off a lee shore at Eling, banged into a moored boat and was told You should learn to sail that thing. Sid Butterworth, one of the Weston Sharpie enthusiasts and Hon.Treasurer for three years, was the proud owner of a real bone shaker car and Cadets of those days may remember how they were only able to stutter their thanks to Sid after he had given them a lift. Mr Fox however travelled in style, driving from Birmingham with his wife in a limousine followed by a Dormobile trailing his catamaran, and driven by his chauffeur. The chauffeur was also trained to be ready with a tray of drinks as the catamaran approached the shore. Distance does not seem to deter enthusiastic sailors, there have always been a number of members who live a long way inland; one hopes it will continue despite the increased cost of travelling. Among the local families who founded the Club were the Cozens. Phil was formerly a skipper of a J Class yacht and was the regular O.o.D. at Weston for several years, his son Harry, also a professional skipper, sailed and also his grand-daughter Peggy, who was an active Cadet and later Hon.Treasurer. Bill 0 J Brien served as the Club's first Chairman and later Rear-Commodore, while his daughter Mary was Hon.Secretary for the first six years of her married life. Bill has always been full of ideas and it was he and Alan Haggar who first suggested holding a Boat Show in Southampton. In 1965 they got the Daily Express and the Boat Builders 1 Association interested, but it was not until 1970 that the first show was held in Mayflower Park. Bill and Alan's idea had been to use the Ocean Terminal. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 72

75 Larry Marks was not quite a family founder member, but he soon got his fiancée involved with the Club and then his parents-in-law, Mr & Mrs. Witt, and in recent years there have been occasions when the name L. Marks was in both the 505 and Mirror results. The first time Larry saw it he thought someone was being funny, forgetting that he had a sailing daughter, Lisa. The Holmes family too were not founders, they joined in 1954 Roger sailing dinghies and his father was one of the cruiser owners. George Grey owned a 14 International, but was not a very keen racer, he liked taking out all the new female members of the Club and he also crewed in the Cutter (alias Storm) belonging to Ivan and Frank. Morris, and went with them when they cruised to Torquay. George also put in a lot of time running and maintaining the rescue boat for that dinghy sailor. Bert Drought was another member of the Cutter's crew, he was well known on Weston shore and was involved in several life-saving incidents. Wilf Cropp, who succeeded Bert as Bosun of the Club, had first been a member in 1955 resigned in 1959 and rejoined in 1965 While carrying out his duties Wilf also gave valuable advice to the inexperienced who wanted to get in extra practice mid-week, and once or twice was successful in dissuading them from setting out on foolhardy expeditions. Several members of Weston seem to have had the urge to cover long distances in dinghies. I was told that Dick Hughes once took part in a 505 cross channel race; I am not sure if any reached France or not. In 1962 Roger Holmes entered the 505 National Championships at Hayling Island and as Hayling Island seemed 'right next door, almost. Just 20 miles of water, or was it 30? (Gybe-Ho 1963) he and his crew, Jeff Bovis, decided to sail the boat round. They set off in a stiff breeze and planed almost continuously down Southampton Water, on past Portsmouth still going very fast, then round Langs tone Harbour they had to take the outer passage as it was low tide. By now there was a following sea, so they took down the mainsail, but as the wind was by then fresher, it did not seem to reduce their speed much. Past the Tower they ran in towards land in a madlong rush, until they found the entrance to Chichester harbour... once past the entrance calm descended and as they beached on the smooth sand at the Club a voice said "Did you break something, I see you came in under jib?" r (Gybe-Ho 1963) Some years a Long Distance race has been included in the programme. Alan Haggar recalled that in 1958 it was to the buoy Black Jack, inevitably the wind freshened during the race and there were capsizes, some of the crews Were rescued by the Isle of Wight ferry and Alan's daughter, Daren and Roger Holmes out in a Daring, were picked up by an R.A.F. launch. They were taken back to the station mess to dry off and while they were there a routine check was made of the R.A.F. craft, one was found to be missing, it was discovered a little later - sunk at its moorings. Apparently it had been like that for several days. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 75

77 In 1962 disagreement over the arrangements for the Long Distance race caused a major dispute in the Committee and the Chairman and Sailing Secretary resigned. In recent years the race has been re-introduced by request and those taking part, a relatively small number, seem to enjoy themselves although I think it has led to the breaking up of one or two crews! There always seems to have been a willingness among members to help each other. One incident was related in Gybe-Ho 'Most of the banks off Weston are reasonably hard, but Mr Hunt found a soft patch to stick his mast into. The Boat was abandoned until the evening when several figures could be seen wading about in a mixture of mud and water. The boat was hauled ashore without much trouble, but the mast was more difficult. It was buried about twelve feet in the mud with the sails still on. Pour people hauled on a rope while Mr Hunt levered and twisted the mast, but it wouldn't budge. As the tide dropped more helpers were able to set out and eventually inch by inch, we pulled it out. To everyone's delight and astonishment the mast was still straight and the sails intact.' (Gybe-Ho Summer 1962) Then I remember when Derek Ide managed to persuade enough strong men to get up early, drive to Shoreham and lift the hull of his new 1/4 tonner onto one of Larry's lorries. Derek then called in at the Club and disarmingly invited a few more who had been racing to 'Just give a hand' to get it off the lorry and into position where he would be working on it. Even moving house presents no labour problems if you ask enough Club members. Although there are no longer any cruisers at the Club, some members still combine dinghy sailing and crewing on keel boats. Derek persuaded several keen dinghy types to go out with him once he had fitted out the % tonner "Inflation", perhaps he started them gently in the Wednesday evening series on the Hamble, but he managed to train a steady supply of racing crews. Others like Jim Warren and Bay Phillis decided eventually that they had finished their racing days and transferred all their energies to cruising in keel boats. From the Club's point of view it is as well to know a few people with yachts who are happy to let them be used as Committee boat at Open Meetings. We have some very good friends like Gil and Ethel Buttigieg, members of the Club for a few years, Bob and Hazel Crates and the owners of the "Royal Thames Flotilla", Hugh and Neil Blishen and Terry Phelan, all of whom have been extremely generous in giving us their time and use of their boats. Somehow the ladies seem to have been left to the end, but as a lady helmsman myself, I feel that it should be said that Weston really welcomes women members, not just to cook the hamburgers or be decorative, but on the water and in committee too. In these days of equality it should not be abnormal, but I do not think that ladies are encouraged and helped as much in all clubs. Alan Haggar's wife, Betty, was the first lady to take office and was followed as Hon.Treasurer by others. One lady who has done a lot for the Club in recent years, through both Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 77

79 work and her personality, is Fhyl Bound. She served on the General Committee for 10 years, (and was a very regular attender) with responsibility for social functions and the Galley. Many a time when the Committee after a long discussion could find no solution for a problem, Phyl would chip in with a direct, common sense approach and show the way to solve it. One cannot name all those who have worked to make the Club what it is, putting in many hours of their leisure time (and sometimes work time too), spending hours on committee meetings or contributing in other ways. One s workday occupation is immaterial when applying for membership, but needless to say over the years advantage has been taken of particular professions or talents and the Club is grateful to those who have given professional advice or service. I have mentioned some of these members in previous chapters and I apologise to anyone who feels that their efforts have been overlooked: it is not intentional but due to lack of knowledge. Attached as appendices are a list of Officers and other factual information to date. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 79

81 Chapter Nine 25 Years On So what has Weston S.C. achieved in 25 years? It has grown from a small group of enthusiasts interested in boats and sailing, to a large group interested in boats, sailing and racing, particularly class racing. Facilities on shore have changed from an old Anderson shelter to a modern, practical club house, a separate starters' box, a large pound with good berths and slipways for the boats, and a private car park. Even the shoreline has changed, the reeds and grass which used to extend as far as the mouth of the Itchen died off once the refinery was opened, and the shingle does not go much lower than the high water line. There is now mud and just enough sand for a small child to build a small castle. The sailing season has been extended, first in 1965 to include a Frostbite series and then in 1969 an Easter series to provide a full programme of racing. There are only the months of January and February left in which to paint the boats and as the Laser Fleet do not have any painting to do, they seem to continue sailing even then. The long season only became possible, of course, following the introduction into general use of wet suits. People may still grumble about things that go wrong with the organisation of races, or an ambiguity in the sailing instructions which puts them in the wrong, but they forget how much it has developed over the past 25 years, and the greater numbers involved each weekend. Quite early on the Club earned a reputation for being able to stage a good Open Meeting and has managed to maintain it while learning to cope with anything from 6 Jumpahead entries in 1961 to 100 Mirrors in We are lucky to have benefited from the wider experience of people like Larry Marks, who got the organisers of the Open Meeting to use a Committee boat start and to set an Olympic course for the first time at Weston; and Tim Hockin an O.o.D. used to controlling Flying Dutchman races, who takes just as much trouble to see that the Optimists obey the rules and have a good race. Of course things still go wrong at times and there is always room for improvement, but we have kept up with the national and international developments and should continue to do so. We have managed to maintain a Club administration run by volunteers, and the present policy is to go on that way, as once paid assistance is introduced the character of a club changes. Fortunately there have always been some members who are prepared to spend some (or nearly all) their spare time sitting on committees and dealing with paper work, so that all can enjoy a smooth organisation. There have been some members who have served year after year and then their circumstances or their interests changed and they resigned; each time this happens everyone wonders how the Club will manage without them. This is bound to happen and makes it essential to have new people elected to the committee each year to ensure a supply of volunteers and a flow of new ideas. As the Club has grown in numbers so has the administration burden, and inflation has made the recent balance sheets seem astronomic Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 81

83 compared with the early ones. The problem has been solved by dividing up the jobs, so that now a Subscription Secretary does a lot of the routine work for the Hon. Treasurer, a Membership Secretary that for the Hon. Secretary and the bar is run by a separate committee with a chairman responsible to the General Committee. The running of the kitchen too, relies completely on voluntary help, fortunately the supply of wives and girlfriends who are happy to change from a home sink to the Club sink, has not yet dried up and members can enjoy reliable service at low prices. One area in which paid help has been introduced is maintenance, and at present we have Gerry Philpott and Steve Gillings who look after the club house and pound. They both take pride in their job and our property is well maintained. Major building jobs are also done professionally, whereas formerly if there was any repairing, painting, cleaning etc. to be done, a working party was organised. It was probably the same nucleus of people who did all the administrative jobs too, but working together physically was not a bad way of getting to know why some argue more at committee meetings. Maybe with the cost of service increasing so rapidly it will be necessary to introduce some working parties again, so be warned. Anyway all members can help a lot by just looking out for the small things, like putting road trailers in the space allocated and not just leaving them anywhere in the pound, by taking home all their belongings or helping to lock up at the end of a day or evening, it is usually the Barman who is left to do that. The aim has always been to improve facilities for members, this of course is what all good clubs should do, but plans and ideas are naturally limited by the funds available, i.e. the number of members paying subscriptions. I think most people would agree that Weston S.C. has used its money pretty well. Next time you feel like grumbling about some facility (or lack of) think back to what conditions were like in 1963 when Mac wrote "All Together Now". It was inevitable that once showers were no longer a dream, there were complaints about an inadequate supply of hot water. Complaints about electric shocks from the taps were more justified until they were chased to earth by Basil Brabham, and the Chairman could report... it was now easier to wash up and there would be a better supply of hot water, without shocks. (Minute Book A.G.M ) The present aims of the Committee are to promote class dinghy racing of a high standard, to keep up with the national trends and to continue to maintain and improve the facilities we have, particularly those used by the voluntary helpers; not only things like duplicators for the Hon. Secretary and double sinks in the kitchen, but also good reliable engines for the rescue boat operators and now a more weatherproof and roomier starters* box for the 0.o.D. s. The Forward Planning Committee recommend that all this should be possible-while keeping the Club at about its present size. Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 83

85 It is difficult to know how one promotes a happy club and it will not usually feature as an item on an agenda. However this is one of the most valuable assets that has been built up at Weston and one that should be treasured. From the evidence of letters of resignation it seems that the first twenty-five years have generally been on the right lines, members genuinely regret having to sever their connection and say how much they enjoyed the time spent at the Club. Perhaps the disgruntled do not bother to write, but it certainly reassures committee members to receive a letter after an Open Meeting such as 'How nice to come to Weston S.C., where the organisation is good, the club members friendly and the club house and pound so neat and tidy. (Club correspondence 1976) Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 85

86 Appendix A Olympic, National and International Champions to 2011 Olympic Champions Iain Percy Gold Medal Sydney 2000 Iain Percy & Andrew Simpson Gold Medal Star China 2008 World Champions Keith Paul Larry Marks Larry Marks Dave Pitman Contender 1975 Dave Pitman Contender 1976 Dave Pitman Contender 1977 Geoff Whitfield Contender (Junior) 1977 Geoff Whitfield Contender (Junior) 1979 Geoff Whitfield Contender 1980 Tony Smith Contender 1982 Tony Smith Contender 1983 Steve Daniel Contender 1988 Steve Daniel Contender 1989 Keith Paul Contender (Veteran) 1993 Graham Scott Contender 1994 Graham Scott Contender 1995 Chris Doe International Keith Paul Contender - Grandmaster 2009 European Champions Dave Pitman Contender 1971 Dave Pitman Contender 1973 Dave Pitman Contender 1974 Dave Pitman Contender 1975 John Wright Unicorn 1976 Dave Pitman Contender 1977 Geoff Whitfield Contender (Junior) 1977 Tony Smith Contender 1978 Geoff Whitfield Contender (Junior) 1978 John Wright Unicorn 1980 Geoff Whitfield Contender 1980 Tony Smith Contender 1981 Tony Smith Contender 1982 Keith Paul Contender 1983 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 86

87 Keith Paul Contender 1984 Graham Scott Contender 1992 William Lee Contender (Junior) 1992 Keith Paul Contender (Veteran) 1992 Gavin Hunt Hobie Graham Scott Contender 1995 Matt Snedker B Grant Piggott Eurocat 2002 Olly Straker Rs Grant Piggott Hurricane 5.9 SX 2007 National Champions Keith Paul Keith Paul Larry Marks Larry Marks Peter Buttigieg Dave Pitman Hornet (Junior) 1969 Larry Marks Dave Pitman Contender 1971 Larry Marks Flying Dutchman 1971 Graham Hutchings Unicorn 1971 Dave Pitman Contender 1972 John Wright Unicorn 1972 Dave Pitman Contender 1973 Keith Paul Flying Dutchman 1973 Dave Pitman Contender 1974 John Wright Unicorn 1974 Dave Pitman Contender 1975 John Armstrong Contender (Junior) 1975 Simon Harrison Optimist 1975 Graham Hutchings Unicorn 1975 Dave Pitman Contender 1976 Geoff Whitfield Contender (Junior) 1976 Dave Pitman Contender (USA) 1976 John Wright Unicorn 1976 Dave Pitman Contender 1977 Geoff Whitfield Contender (Junior) 1977 John Wright Unicorn 1977 Dave Pitman Contender 1978 Geoff Whitfield Contender (Junior) 1978 Simon Harrison Europe (Junior) 1978 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 87

88 John Wright Unicorn 1978 Simon Harrison Europe (Junior) 1979 Debbie Gorrod Ladies Single Handed 1979 Geoff Whitfield Contender 1979 Geoff Whitfield Contender 1980 Matthew Harrison Europe (Junior) 1980 Mark Richards Optimist 1980 John Wright Unicorn 1980 Tony Smith Contender 1981 John Wright Unicorn 1981 Tony Smith Contender 1982 John Wright Unicorn 1982 Tony Smith Contender 1983 John Wright Unicorn 1983 Keith Paul Contender 1984 John Wright Unicorn 1984 Simon Ingham Comet 1985 Jeremy Davey Optimist 1985 Keith Paul Contender 1986 Richard Vincent Mirror (Junior) 1987 Trevor Annels Hobie Dave Pitman Tornado 1988 John Wright Unicorn 1988 Mark Bennett Hobie Trevor & Jason Annels Hobie Steve Daniel Contender 1990 Ian Southworth & David Hay GP Graham Scott Contender 1991 Richard Vincent Contender (Junior) 1991 Dave Hiscocks & Daniel Hisc Hobie Gavin Hunt Hobie Tim Reid Hurricane Katrina Percy Ladies Youth 1991 Chris Draper Optimist (Inland) 1991 Graham Scott Contender 1992 Mike Crane Contender (Junior) 1992 Keith Paul Contender (Veteran) 1992 Gavin Hunt Hobie Chris Draper Optimist (Inland) 1992 Chris Draper Optimist (Irish) 1992 Paul Bayliss Byte 1993 Graham Scott Contender 1993 Mike Crane Contender (Junior) 1993 Keith Paul Contender (Veteran) 1993 Gavin Hunt Hobie Chris Draper Optimist 1993 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 88

89 Chris Draper Optimist (Inland) 1993 Graham Scott Contender 1994 Gavin Hunt Hobie Matt Snedker Lark 1995 Matt Snedker Lark 1996 Graham Scott Contender 1996 Graham Scott Contender 1998 Graham Scott Contender 1999 Annabel & Steve Smoker Spice 2000 Keith Paul Contender (Veteran) 2000 Bill Catt Topper (Grand Master) 2000 Matt Fitch & Steve O'Connor Shearwater 2001 Matt Causon Nacra 2001 Matt Humphreys Rs Matt Findley Byte 2004 Matt Humphreys Rs James Eynon Europe 2005 Nigel Thomas Laser Radial 2005 Grant Piggott Hurricane FX 2006 Olly Straker Rs600 (Inland) 2006 James Eynon Europe 2006 Keith Paul Contender (Veteran) 2006 Olly Stracker RS600 (Winter Champs) 2007 Olly Stracker RS600 (Winter Champs) 2008 Paul Webb Laser Grandmaster 2007 James and Kelly Henson Hobie Dragoon 2007 Andrew Sinclair & Jessica Findlay Hobie Dragoon 2008 Toby Barsley & Garth Russell Flying Dutchman 2009 James Ross RS700 Inlands 2009 Grant Piggott Tornado 2010 Grant Piggott Tornado 2011 Iain Horlock Contender (Junior) 2011 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 89

90 Appendix B Officer of the club to 1976 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 90

91 COMMODORE V- R- COMMITTEE COMMITTEE V- HONORARY Honorary HON. SAILING YEAR COMMODORE COMMODORE Chairman Chairman SECRETARY TREASURER SECRETARY 1952 G.W. Powell E. French (Japt. T.C. W.J. O'Brien V.J. Harvey L.C. Wilkinson I. Morris Broad 1953 G.W. Powell E. French Capt. T.C. Broad W.J. O'Brien V.J. Harvey L.C. Wilkinson I. Morris 1954 G.W. Powell E. French Capt. T.C. Broad W.J. O'Brien D. Harvey L.C. Wilkinson I. Morris 1955 G.W. Powell E. French Capt. T.C. Broad W.J. O'Brien D. Harvey L.C. Wilkinson I. Morris 1956 G.W. Powell E. French Capt. T.C. Broad W.J. O'Brien D. Harvey S. Butterworth R. Holmes 1957 G.W. Powell E. French R. Maughan W.J. O'Brien D. Harvey S. Butterworth R. Holmes 1958 J. White P. Cozens R. Maughan D. Harvey R. Pinfield S. Butterworth R. Holmes 1959 J. White P. Cozens W.J. O'Brien D. Harvey Office Founded R. Pinfield Mrs. B. Eaggar R. Allcorn 1960 A.A. Haggar P. Cozens W.J. O'Brien D. Harvey L. Gardner L. Hawkyard Mrs. B. Eaggar R. Allcorn 1961 A.A. Haggar P. Cozens F. Morris D. Harvey L. Gardner L. Hawkyard Miss P. Cozens R. Holmes 1962 A.A. Haggar P. Cozens F. Morris L. Gardner-6/6 H. Smallwood H. Smallwood L. Hawkyard Miss P. Cozens D. Palmer-6/6 Miss P. Cozer 1963 A.A. Haggar P. Cozens F. Morris E. Smallwood E. McGill L. Hawkyard Mrs. Z. Button H. Smallwood 1964 A.A. Haggar K. Paul L.R. Marks E. Smallwood E. McGill L. Hawkyard Mrs. Z. Button D. Faithfull 1965 A.A. Haggar Z. Paul L.R. Marks E. Smallwood E. McGill A. Millward Mrs. Z. Button D. Faithfull 1966 A.A. Haggar Z. Paul L.R. Marks E. Smallwood E. McGill Mrs. M. Eay Mrs. K. Button D. Edgell 1967 A.A. Haggar E. McGill L.R. Marks H. Smallwood D. Faithfull Mrs. M. Eay Mrs. R. Button D. Edgell 1968 A.A. Haggar E. McGill L.R. Marks H. Smallwood Z.J. Andrew Mrs. M. Eay Mrs. Z. Button D. Edgell 1969 A.A. Haggar ; E. McGill L.R. Marks E. Smallwood Z.J. Andrew Mrs. M. Eay Mrs. Z. Butler D. Edgell 1970 A.A. Haggar E. McGill L.R. Marks D.W. Ide A. Young Mrs. M. Eay Mrs. K. Butler J. Deans 1971 A.A. Haggar E. McGill L.R. Marks D.W. Ide A. Grimmer Mrs. M. Hay E.E. Grimmer J. Deans 1972 A.A. Haggar K.J. Andrew L.R. Marks T.G. Hockin A. Wright Mrs. B.P. Hutton E.E. Grimmer P. Lilley 1973 T.G. Hockin K.J. Andrew E.G. Henry Office Office Terminated Mrs. B.P. Hutton E.H. Grimmer R. Holmes Terminated 1974 T.G. Hockin K.J. Andrew E.G. Henry Mrs. B.P. Hutton E.H. Grimmer R. Holmes 1975 K.J. Andrew E.G. Henry i S.P. Hutton Mrs. B.P. Hutton E.H. Grimmer P. Wishart 1976 K.J. Andrew E.G. Henry i S.P. Hutton Mrs. P. Whitfield E.H Grimmer P.Wishart Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 91

92 Appendix C Past Commodore Commodores List 1952 to 1957 G. W. Powell 1958 to 1959 J. White 1960 to 1972 Alan Hagger 1973 to 1974 Tim Hockin 1975 to 1976 Ken Andrew 1977 to 1978 Gorden Henry 1979 to 1980 Stan Hutton 1981 to 1982 Andrew Middleton 1983 to 1984 Chris Clark 1985 to 1986 Patrick Pim 1987 to 1988 Rob Crighton 1989 to 1990 Ann Middleton 1991 to 1992 Colin Sinclair 1993 to 1994 Nigel Salmon 1995 to 1996 Phil Goddard 1997 to 1998 Keith Paul 1999 to 2000 Annabel Smoker 2001 to 2002 Peter Francis 2003 to 2004 Ralph Drew 2005 to 2005 Charles Baudouin 2006 to 2007 James Mundy 2007 to 2008 Winston Lord 2009 to 2010 Bill Catt 2011 to 2012 Gail Pussard Matthew Amiss Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 92

93 Appendix D Subscription and fees 1952 to 1976 Year Introduces Member Subscription Entrance fee Pound fee s d s d s d 1952 Gentleman Lady Cadet Gentleman & Under Lady Family Cats Cadet Cadet Fees increased 10 0 Enterprise Gentleman Under Lady Family Over Cadet Cats Cadet Gentleman Tender to Yacht Lady Under Family Over Cadet Multihull Cadet Cadet Nil 1972 p p p Single Up to 50sq.ft 3.00 Family to 80 sq.ft 3.50 Cadet Nil 80 to 110sq.ft to 140sq.ft 5.50 Multihulls Single Family Cadet Nil 1975 Single Family Cadet Single Family Cadet Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 93

94 Appendix E Various Photographs from c1950 c2004 (Added 28 Dec. 12) Figure 1 Soton Echo Sailing Article Figure 2 Talyllyn - Weston Sharpie c Figure 3 WSC 25th - Neptune - Chris Averis Figure 4 Daring - c Figure 5 Steve Daniels Grand Slam Figure 6 John Wright Grand Slam Figure 7 Mark Richards Optimist Nat Champ Figure 8 Iain Percy Optimist Southern Champ Figure 9 Pat and Norman Annels 1990 Hobie 18 National Champ Figure 10 Ian Southworth and David Hayes 1990 GP14 National Champ Figure 11 Trevor and Jason Annels 1989 Hobie 18 National Champ Figure 12 Gavin Hunt 1991 Hobie 17 National Champ Figure 13 Katrina Percy Laser Radial Youth Champ Figure 14 Howard Tear and Rachel Hoyland 1989 Mirror Southern Champ Figure 15 Dave and Daniel Hiscocks 1991 Hobie 18 Nat Champ Figure 16 Mark Bennet 1989 and 90 Hobie 14 Nat Champ Figure 17 Stuart and Moya Hawthorne 1991 Laser II Southampton Champ Figure 18 Andy and Melissa Chapman 1989 & 90 Laser II Southern Champ Figure 19 David and Danielle Pitman 1988 Tornado Nat Champ Figure 20 Tony Miller 1990 Hobie 16 Nat Champ Figure 21 Mark Ben and Adam Richards Optimist Nat Team Champs Figure 22 Larry Marks Sailing 'Golddigger' Figure 23 Mirrors Figure 24 Larry Mark 505 c Figure 25 Keith Paul 505 c Figure 26 Alex and Sarah Davies - RS800 c Figure 27 Pete Jary c Figure 28 Various Figure 29 Various Figure 30 Ben Richards 1977 Optimist Junior Champ Figure 31 Various Figure 32 Various Figure 33 Larry Marks Figure 34 WSC c Figure 35 WSC Winter Snow Figure 36 Race Box burnt down March Figure 37 Pat and Keith Paul Figure 38 Ivan Morris - Founder Member - owner of Naval Cutter 'Storm' Figure 39 Bill O'Biran Founder member - Designer of Jumpahead and Daring Figure 40 Don Harvey Founder member Figure 41 Ivan Morris and Bert Drought - First SWSA Figure 42 Keith Paul 2nd from Right Figure 43 Keith Paul Instructing Figure 44 John Wright - various Nat Champs Figure 45 Dick Hughes and Larry marks World Champs Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 94

95 Figure 46 Chris Fuller 1985 Youth Achievement award Figure 47 Tony Smith Contender champ Figure 48 Larry Marks Champ Figure 49 Geoff Whitfield contender champ Figure 50 Keith Paul Champs Figure 51 Vic Deschamps and Larry Marks World Champs Figure 52 Steve Daniels Contender World Champ Figure 53 Rob Crighton - Commodore Figure 54 Chichester Fed Regatta - Second Figure 55 WSC hosted Police sailing champs Figure 56 Steve Ingram Comet Nat Champ Figure 57 Graham Scott Contender champ Figure 58 New Roof - March Architects drawing Figure 59 WSC History Pics Moth Nationals Late 60s Figure 60 Bill O'Brian and Ray Kennedy WEston Sharpie Figure 61 Matt Gregory - Aug 2004 Laser Figure 62 The fleetwinds - Larry and Judy Marks and Alan Standwick - late 50s Figure 63 Somebody! - late 50s Figure 64 The Shed and Kieth Paul s Figure 65 Letter from the House of Commons - Mar Figure 66 Soton Echo Sailing Article Figure 67 Soton Echo Sailing Article Figure 67 Slipway Opening Ceremony June 2013, Geoff Holt (MBE) accompanied by Maggie Futcher (fund raiser) and Matthew Amiss (Commodore) Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 95

96 Figure 1 Soton Echo Sailing Article 1996 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 96

97 Figure 2 Talyllyn - Weston Sharpie c1952 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 97

98 Figure 3 WSC 25th - Neptune - Chris Averis Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 98

99 Figure 4 Daring - c1959 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 99

100 Figure 5 Steve Daniels Grand Slam Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 100

101 Figure 6 John Wright Grand Slam Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 101

102 Figure 7 Mark Richards Optimist Nat Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 102

103 Figure 8 Iain Percy Optimist Southern Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 103

104 Figure 9 Pat and Norman Annels 1990 Hobie 18 National Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 104

105 Figure 10 Ian Southworth and David Hayes 1990 GP14 National Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 105

106 Figure 11 Trevor and Jason Annels 1989 Hobie 18 National Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 106

107 Figure 12 Gavin Hunt 1991 Hobie 17 National Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 107

108 Figure 13 Katrina Percy Laser Radial Youth Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 108

109 Figure 14 Howard Tear and Rachel Hoyland 1989 Mirror Southern Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 109

110 Figure 15 Dave and Daniel Hiscocks 1991 Hobie 18 Nat Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 110

111 Figure 16 Mark Bennet 1989 and 90 Hobie 14 Nat Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 111

112 Figure 17 Stuart and Moya Hawthorne 1991 Laser II Southampton Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 112

113 Figure 18 Andy and Melissa Chapman 1989 & 90 Laser II Southern Champ Figure 19 David and Danielle Pitman 1988 Tornado Nat Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 113

114 Figure 20 Tony Miller 1990 Hobie 16 Nat Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 114

115 Figure 21 Mark Ben and Adam Richards Optimist Nat Team Champs 1978 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 115

116 Figure 22 Larry Marks Sailing 'Golddigger' Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 116

117 Figure 23 Mirrors073 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 117

118 Figure 24 Larry Mark 505 c1960 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 118

119 Figure 25 Keith Paul 505 c1960 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 119

120 Figure 26 Alex and Sarah Davies - RS800 c2008 Figure 27 Pete Jary c2005 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 120

121 Figure 28 Various Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 121

123 Figure 30 Ben Richards 1977 Optimist Junior Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 123

126 Figure 33 Larry Marks Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 126

127 Figure 34 WSC c1970 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 127

128 Figure 35 WSC Winter Snow Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 128

129 Figure 36 Race Box burnt down March 1990 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 129

130 Figure 37 Pat and Keith Paul Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 130

131 Figure 38 Ivan Morris - Founder Member - owner of Naval Cutter 'Storm' Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 131

132 Figure 39 Bill O'Biran Founder member - Designer of Jumpahead and Daring Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 132

133 Figure 40 Don Harvey Founder member Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 133

134 Figure 41 Ivan Morris and Bert Drought - First SWSA 1964 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 134

135 Figure 42 Keith Paul 2nd from Right Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 135

136 Phil Cozens Founder member and 'J' Class skipper Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 136

137 Figure 43 Keith Paul Instructing Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 137

138 Figure 44 John Wright - various Nat Champs Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 138

139 Figure 45 Dick Hughes and Larry marks World Champs Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 139

140 Figure 46 Chris Fuller 1985 Youth Achievement award Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 140

141 Figure 47 Tony Smith Contender champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 141

142 Figure 48 Larry Marks Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 142

143 Figure 49 Geoff Whitfield contender champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 143

144 Figure 50 Keith Paul Champs Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 144

145 Figure 51 Vic Deschamps and Larry Marks World Champs Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 145

146 Figure 52 Steve Daniels Contender World Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 146

147 Figure 53 Rob Crighton - Commodore Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 147

148 Figure 54 Chichester Fed Regatta - Second 1996 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 148

149 Figure 55 WSC hosted Police sailing champs 1991 Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 149

150 Figure 56 Steve Ingram Comet Nat Champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 150

151 Figure 57 Graham Scott Contender champ Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 151

152 Figure 58 New Roof - March Architects drawing Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 152

153 Figure 59 WSC History Pics Moth Nationals Late 60s Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 153

154 Figure 60 Bill O'Brian and Ray Kennedy WEston Sharpie Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 154

155 Figure 61 Matt Gregory - Aug 2004 Laser Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 155

156 Figure 62 The fleetwinds - Larry and Judy Marks and Alan Standwick - late 50s Figure 63 Somebody! - late 50s Weston Sailing Club History 1955 to 1977 Page 156