The 2009 inaugural Michael Doctors Memorial Lecture
featuring
Tom Cunliffe
The day of the first Michael Doctors lecture was drawing close and the participation numbers were looking really good.
It was clear that the renowned mariner Cunliffe was proving exactly the exciting attraction that the club had hoped for. Current and past members alike together with friends and family of the late Michael Doctors were due to meet for this auspicious occasion… and then…down came the SNOW********. Tons and tons of the white fluffy stuff! Very pretty; but then the reality began to slowly dawn upon me. “This is not good; this definitely doesn’t bode well for keeping up attendances”, and sure enough a few worrying calls and e-mails began to arrive.
However, all was not lost. Being good mariners, we sought solace from the weather reports. We checked them all, hour by hour and found a definite uniformity amongst the forecasts for the following day, that of the lecture. It looked as if the snow would stop, the temperature would rise a little and remain so for at least 24 hours providing just enough of a window to allow Transport for London to sort their act out, and for the main roads to be cleared. Our famous speaker concurred having made his own investigations that there would indeed be a weather window, and was very much still of a mind to go ahead. With renewed vigour we tried to reassure as many people as possible that it would really be all right on the night, and then we just prayed.
In due course the hour of judgement arrived and I had asked myself the same question over and over again. “Would anyone really come?” The answer was soon apparent “Yes”! Many, many people made it and the hall began to fill. Soon a hubbub of animated chatter started to rise and fall and still more of our expected attendees arrived. Guests tucked into the bagels and sandwiches, reinforcing our belief that we sail on our stomachs whilst Mr Tom Cunliffe was safely installed before a stubborn laptop and projector, which soon became the biggest concern. Then, magically, a new projector arrived and we were off.
With a spirited start, Tom provided us with 90 minutes of entertainment, witty repartee, anecdotes and real mariner’s experiences as he explained how we used to find our way at sea, how he has done it and how satellites and electronics have influenced how we do it now. The audience was completely absorbed in his stories of navigational nightmares of the Atlantic kind, when, in the 1960s, having lost chronometer, and with no more than a chart and sextant he managed to navigate from Brazil to Barbados, and made it by hitting the required latitude and turning left! Well, he made it sound just that simple.
With precisely the right blend of humour, information and technical whatsnames, and an informality rarely experienced with such a star speaker, the evening finished on a real high.
Annie Doctors gave a short but moving tribute to Michael and a perfect vote of thanks to Tom. With ample time for coffee, cakes and a good chinwag with our mates, the HSSC year kicked off to a brilliant start despite the best intentions of the elements. Now where have I heard that one before!
I offer my thanks to all those who made such an effort to be there and make the event such a success with a particular mention for Arnold Bennett who suggested Tom Cunliffe as our speaker.
Any ideas and suggestions for future key speakers will be most welcome.
Sandy Riegler
Commodore