A reasonable number of people came along to the Papercourt Clubhouse to hear of other skipper's tales of woe and anguish, but to be honest, everyone had tales to tell!!

It was a very interesting evening, with plenty of laughter. No names (well, not many) will be mentioned in the Report, which can be found if you follow this link:

Workshop How did that Happen PA 230224.pdf

Our next Talk is by Martin Bean, from Spencer Rigging regarding "Rope and Rigging - What can possibly Go Wrong?".

Tuesday 27th February 2024, usual time 20:00, usual place, and it will also be on Zoom, with a link being sent out on Sunday.

So yet another good turn-out at the Club and on Zoom - this time for a fascinating, and very well received talk on ocean Facts, Fiction and Myths.

Far too many really for me to even hint at ...... so you'd best read the Report!

Follow this link to read the Report. Click here:

Talk Report - Myths and Legends of the Oceans.pdf

Well .... it was a fairly stormy evening for those souls who braved the elements to attend this talk at the Clubhouse ...... just like a normal Summer's day on the Solent in fact!!

In spite of of this, we broke all recent records for attendance at a Winter Talk, with 52 Members in evidence including Zoom.

The Talk itself was fascinating, full of detail that could only be obtained from deep and careful investigation into each site and circumstances. It was sometimes a bit like CSI.

To read the full report, please click on this link ....

Talk Report - 6 Solent Wrecks by Maritime Archaeological Trust 230124.pdf

To help those members who need to plan many months in advance, we have today published the preliminary rally programme for Summer 2024.  We do not envisage any date or destination changes, and will update this programme with details of dining arrangements as soon as we are able.

Well there it was ..... the last Social Event of the 50th Golden Jubilee year.

Did we manage to eat and drink the Commodore out of house and home?

Who did win the key trophies?

Did the members sing Christmas Carols using candlelight to see by?

Well it was a "wrap" for the year! To find out more, and the answers to these searching questions, follow the link here .......

Commodore's Christmas Party _ Awards 121223.docx

Let me just give you a few words: Storm Olga, ARC, Maury, Galapagos, Pilot Chart, Rangiroa, Tahiti, Tonga, Medicanes, Bali, Mumbai, Salalah, Pirates.

Winds that didn’t blow, doldrums that only lasted for 45 minutes, December hurricanes that had only happened 4 times in the past century. Rain, rain, and rain, tropical storms of lightning circles – they saw it all.

To read more about the Round the World adventures, click on this link:

Talk Report - Sailing in a Changing Climate - Steve Everett.pdf

Tony has prepared the rota for the first quarter of 2024.  Please check here or on the members page for details.  The full rota will be issued early next year.

During our recent Winter Talk by Roger Brydges regarding Sailing Accidents and MAIB Investigations, he mentioned a story about one of the Clipper Round the World boats who lost a man overboard, and then flashed up a picture of a 3-way tether.

I have located that Report, which is reproduced below if you follow the link.

The findings I believe apply equally well to any instance of a tether to any fixed point. As a consequence, I have taken an action to use soft shackles (or dyneema loops) to attach safety lines to Pagetal, as these allow movements in an extremely wide range of angles without putting any unexpected angles or pressure on the metal shackle element.

Click here to read the MAIB report on Sailing shackles:

News Update - Sailing Tethers 021223.pdf

With thanks and acknowledgement to Roger Brydges.

It was misty.

We were all wearing our fancy best clothes.

We knew there would be food and drink, but who else would be there?

Was it going to be any fun?

To find out more, please click here to see the full report, and pictures!!

50th Golden Jubilee Dinner Dance 021223.pdf

So, there it was, the first Talk of the 2023-4 Winter Programme. Jeremy Batch, recently retired from the Cruising Association, managed to navigate his way out of Limehouse, London to get to Guildford Station - despite incidents "on the line", cancelled and delayed trains, and roadworks. That boded well for his talk on the topic of "Navigation through the Ages".

The assembled audience of some 32 people at the clubhouse, and another 5 on-line via Zoom, were glad that he made it, as he gave an entertaining presentation of Navigation from the earliest ages.

OK, it did start with some detail about triangles, squares, circles and such-like, but isn’t that what navigation is all about? We learnt where the word "navigation" came from …. Navis - ship and Gares …. way. And by the way, the talk wasn't dry, Jeremy dropped in lots of little snippets and worldly anecdotes, often raising laughter from the audience. And his presentation material was fascinating, with great graphics, and to my mind, especially of the incredible and numerous different instruments used to record the sun and star's position. Ingenious for each epoch of time.

A loud round of applause rounded off a very convivial evening with lots of member natter and chatter, and sets us up nicely for the next talk - from an ex MAIB inspector on recent "Sailing Investigations and Reports". Shall we see if we can get an event better attendance for this next one? What are the odds ….. and Jeremy knew the answer to that conundrum!

By Paul Armstrong - GCCC Vice Commodore