The PRESIDENT and OFFICERS give notice of the 30th
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING at 1845 hrs Friday 14th January 2005
AND DINNER (1900 hrs for 1930hrs) at the East India Club, St James's Square, London.
AGENDA:- 1. Apologies for absence.
2. Minutes of the 28th AGM held on the 10th Jan. 2003.
3. President's Report.
4. Accounts.
5. Election of Officers.
6. Dates for Activities.
7. Any other business.
PRESIDENT MRS JANE ASHE
Hon. Sec. David Jones Hon. Treas. Marjorie Selby
17 West Mount 14 Lodge Rd.
The Mount Maldon
Guidford. Surrey GU2 4HL Essex CM9 6HW
01483 505 140 01621 852516
AREA VICE PRESIDENTS
SOUTH COAST – Barry Thunder (01793 826697) dial#barrythunder.freeserve.co.uk
EAST COAST – Eric Orme (01394 386511) ericorme#audience.co.uk
WEST COUNTRY – Michael Smith (01684 772128) michael#msmithassociates.co.uk
IRISH SEA – Ramsay Ellerton (0151 625 6928) ramsay.ellerton#dsl.pipex.com
SCOTLAND – Les Morison (01369 703323) les.morison#lineone.net
NETHERLANDS – Wop Siedsma (0031 566157) siedsma#supermail.nl
BELGIUM – Robert Reyniers robert.reyniers#skynet.be
NORTH AMERICA – George Martin exsearch#ComCAT.com
WEB MASTER – Andrew Gardener webmaster#rivalowners.org.uk
Web Site www.rivalowners.org.uk
Dear Member
I have been Honorary Secretary of the Association for 10 years now. I have enjoyed my stint and we have made many friends through the Association. However the time has come for some new blood with a liking and knowledge of IT to take on the job. I would like to hand over in the New Year so please can we have a volunteer or volunteers for the position? (the work could be split into Membership and the rest). If you are interested please phone to find out what is involved on 01483 505140.
Barry Thunder our South Coast VP wishes to retire so a replacement is needed there too. Please contact him as per the top of the page.
However let us welcome new member Ramsay Ellerton who has volunteered to be the Irish Sea V.P. Ramsay sails R32 FOULA out of Beaumaris.
This has been a very busy autumn for us. Hence the missing September Newsletter. I hope this has not caused painful withdrawal symptoms!
We completed our Scandinavian cruise this last season by covering old ground and laying up back on the Clyde. The season started by crossing the Skaggerak via the island of Laeso to Gothenberg. This is normally an easy passage but we were gale bound on Laeso in 50 kts of wind and blue skies as a low and a high brushed past each other.
The Lille Bomen Marina in Gothenberg is very convenient for the bus station and Ryanair flights, and also very reasonable at £47 for a fortnight. I went home from there to give away second daughter at the end of May. With a new crew we had good sailing north up the Swedish West Coast, again visiting old haunts. Facilities had improved since we sailed out of Oslo in the 1980s and mooring costs had risen to match.
A brisk sail across the outer reaches of Oslo Fjord brought us to the old whaling port of Sandefjord and Ryanair’s “Oslo” airport. This is another very convenient place for a crew change. A Norwegian friend joined me for his first sail, south down the Skjergaard. (litteraly “stone farm” ) to Kristiansand. I waited three days for Barbara to arrive on the ferry from Newcastle. We set off west around Lindesness, day sailing to Tananger, a convenient departure point for the Shetlands. We actually shortened the passage distance by visiting off-lying islands, and left from Utsire, of shipping forecast fame.
After a fairly quiet two day passage and a heading wind we made our landfall at Balta sound on the Island of Unst. The pier had been extended and a new sheltered pontoon installed since our last visit. £6.99 for four nights suited me fine! Leaving there we rounded Muckle Fluuga in a flat calm amid thousands of gannets to tie up at Culli Voe on Yell. Here we found a new quay but no pontoon and no charge. Visits to various other anchorages brought us to Lerwick on the 15th July, where they have at last placed pontoons along the harbour wall. We had seen some Danish and Norwegian boats but no cruising Brits. I think the strong northerly winds we experienced the whole time we were in Shetland had held the southerners back.
Visits to Fair Isle, and the Orkneys saw us just hold a fair wind around Cape Wrath and into Kinlochbervie before the forecasted SWlies set in. We made it the next day to Loch Inver where we were gale bound for two days. Progress was made south around the west side of Skye, stopping where possible at new anchorages. The weather was generally quiet. After a visit to the island of Soay, where Gavin Maxwell ran his shark oil enterprise in the early 1950s, it was on to Moidart North Channel seeing three minke whales on the way. A first visit to Tiree and a landing on the Dutchman’s Cap took us to Tobermory. On the way to the Mull of Kintyre we visited Oban to find the council mooring buoys off the town had gone leaving nowhere really convenient to moor in this West Coast centre. However Tristan Mortimer (R31 RIVAL LADY) the repairs manager at Kerrara Yacht Services on the other side of the bay is very welcoming. They have put in extensive new pontoons and relaid all the moorings. They run a frequent ferry service across the bay to Oban.
It was also good to meet RIVAL owners Ken Scaife and Diana (R36 RAIN GOOSE) in Loch Melfort and John McInnes (R34 STROLLA) in Tayvallich. John is the rigger at Ardfern Yacht Marina and has rescued STROLLA from Tobermory (see below). So round the Mull to visit Les Morison our Scottish VP at Dunoon. He and his little dog Tess are busy clearing a building site prior to building a new house next to his old one. And on to laying up once again at Rhu Marina. The year’s distance was 1948 nm with mooring fees £420.
Yours,
David Jones
RIVAL ROUNDUP 2004 ?
I'm sorry, you are not dreaming and your postman has not been grossly inefficient - you have not received a Rival Round-up this year, because it has not been published. Although we had some articles (and a winner of the Trophy, Klaus Wernsdorf) the process of readying for the printers took longer than normal and then the final stages buried themselves under a heap on my desk for a disgraceful length of time. So long, indeed, that I decided it would be more economical to produce a combined bumper publication for 2004/5 in the New Year. This will save printing and postage, and avoid slipping later and later each year. It will need some more articles to be a "bumper" edition, so I do hope you will not be discouraged by this "Gap Year", and continue to send me your writings as soon as possible. It doesn't have to be a unique or adventurous voyage. Readers enjoy recommendations of anchorages & harbours, funny incidents, and technical ideas too. Many thanks for your patience and many apologies once again – Jane Ashe
While chartering in British Columbia Jane took the opportunity to present a Peter Brett Trophy Winner’s Plaque to Klaus and Carol Wernsdorf for the log of a cruise in B.C. We visited their Home Port of Maple Bay and had a pleasant evening visiting R32 LINOSA. Klaus intends to make a single handed trip to Hawaii in 2005.
The Association welcomes the following new members:-
Barry Butler R32 AINE Portsmouth
Malcolm Denham R34 LIBERTE Gosport
Ramsay Ellerton R32 FOULA Beaumaris
R.J.W. Krijthe R38 HOUTEKIET Hook van Holland
Bram & Chantat van’t Loo R34 SALOAME Amsterdam
Graham Merrick R34 COMET Largs
Ronald Riley R34 TEINE River Bann N.I.
Nick Fox R41 CUCHULAINN Plymouth
Gary Marshall R38 JACOBUS Strangford Lough
John Golden R34 MEIWAH Scotland
Dave & Alex Andrews R32 MUGGINS Plymouth
Stuart Morton & Steph Webb R41 MATADOR of HAMBLE Poole
Johnathan Rees & Steve Chatler R36 CROWN BIRD Fareham
Robin White R34 NINA Aberdovey
Peter Gillespie R34 TOGGS III Chichester
Ian Binnie R34 LORN RIVAL Dunstaffnage
Jim Newman R34 RIBZAND Brighton
John Leah R41 XAVANTES Dun Laoghaire
Ian Broad R34 BLUE DOVE of RYE Plymouth
Jim McWhir R34 RONA of MELFORT Troon
Chris & Helen Gaches R32 FLOSSIE Cowes
GABRIAL CLAY (1912 – 2004)
It is with sadness that I have to report the death this summer of Gabriel Clay, who was an Honorary Life Member of the ROA, and the owner, from her launch in 1974, of the first Rival 41, ‘Fubbs’. (‘Fubbs’ was named after a royal yacht of King Charles II, which was in turn named after one of his mistresses, the Duchess of Portsmouth, whose nickname was Fubbs!)
Peter Brett and Gabriel had been friends for many years. Gabriel was an engineer for The Metal Box Company, and is credited with having invented the “ring-pull”. When he retired, he asked Peter if he had thought of designing a larger Rival, which he had! Gabriel, as the first potential owner of the then Rival 40, put his own ideas for the perfect boat into the plans, and was delighted with the result. Having taken delivery of “Fubbs”, he sailed straight off to Norway and came back six weeks later with no problems to report. The next season, her unique fibreglass doghouse appeared, which kept the skipper drier, and had the advantage that you could stand on it.
Every year from then on until he was into his 80’s, he planned and completed long-distance cruises, always with a good strong crew (of which I as a member three times). He went to Spain (twice), the West Coast of Scotland (a favourite where he and his wife Peggie returned several times), the Azores, Gibraltar, south-west Ireland, and three more trips to Norway. He was immensely proud of his trip to the North Cape of Norway in 1980 (during which I met my husband David in the crew). He was a great skipper, decisive, quiet, steady and reliable and with a very dry but twinkling sense of humour. He passed his experience on to the many people who crewed for him. Arriving in many far and exciting anchorages, we (being young!) found it surprising that he was quite happy to stay on board “Fubbs” while the crew explored – for him the purpose of the cruise was the achievement of the arrival and the sailing itself, and finding the exciting anchorages!
He certainly believed in setting himself challenges and was still sailing regularly in the Solent until a week before he died, very shortly after a massive stroke – what a way to go, and what a sailing career! He will be greatly missed by a large and loving family and many friends. Jane Ashe.
Rival owners passing through Tobermory a few years back may have been saddened, as we were, by the sight of Rival 34 STROLLA lying abandoned and unloved on a mooring. Towards the end of this period she was only prevented from sinking by the local fire brigade who practised emergency pump out drills on her at regular intervals. Her owner seemed to have lost all interest in her.
Then five years ago along came John MacInnis from Tayvallich. He persuaded the owner to part with Strolla and had her towed to Dunstaffnage where she was hauled out. There was a gruesome crop of kelp up to one metre long hanging from the bottom. Fortunately the hull had been painted with epoxy and there was virtually no osmosis. Below decks there was a shambles of gear and personal effects scattered everywhere and sodden with repeated inundations of seawater.
John and his wife Jane set about clearing everything out, pressure washing and repainting the hull inside and out. Determined not to miss a season’s sailing they refitted and refurbished her over the eight winter months. I have not had the pleasure of seeing her in the flesh but from photos John shown me when we were in Tayvallich this summer he and Jane have done a wonderful job on her.
Ian and Viv Addis have completed their Atlantic circuit after a rough trip to Bermuda.
They were stalked by a tropical depression and broke their spinnaker pole. Bermuda was lovely but the Azores cold and blustery. They hit a whale 100nm north of Horta in the middle of the night and didn’t know who was more shocked! No damage done. They are now in the Menai and hope to continue cruising in the spring.
R34 WAIMUNGU
Malcolm has kept us fully informed (as usual) of his cruising in the Mediterranean. He has cruised both coasts of the Adriatic but although he found it very attractive the costs were high. He has sold his charts of the area and laid up on the Ionian Coast.
George and Jill Martin our North American V Ps have sold R41 AEOLIA to Eric Orme our East Coast V.P. It is nice that she is being kept in the “family”.
ANNUAL DINNER
THE PRESIDENT and OFFICERS of THE RIVAL OWNERS ASSOCIATION
Request the pleasure of your company at the ANNUAL DINNER to be held as usual at the EAST INDIA CLUB in the CANADIAN ROOM, on Friday 14th January 2005 at 1900 for 1930.
Tickets (including table wine) are £35 for each member and one partner. Additional guests £37 each. Dress - Jacket and tie/ Skirt.
Please return the reply slip to the President by Monday 10th January 2005, which is the final cut-off date for the number of diners.
Mrs Jane Ashe Penhale Cottage, Shoe Lane, Upham, SOUTHAMPTON SO32 1JJ Tel 01489 860396
ANNUAL DINNER
PLEASE RESERVE........MEMBER PLACES for the Rival Association Dinner at the EAST INDIA CLUB on the 9th January 2004 at £35.00 each and ......... GUEST PLACES at £37 each.
I enclose my cheque for £............ (Payable to the Rival Owner's Association)
From.........................................................Address..........................................................
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………………………………………………...........................Tel..................……….