Beginning on Friday the 27^th May, we arrived at Hamble Point mid-to late afternoon, the sun was shining, the weather calm and for non-readers of the weather report in full optimism that the weekend was going to be warm, sunny with a reasonable wind of between force 3 and force 4. Sitting in the ketch rigger, however, and discussing matters with Jill, both our club sailing captain and organiser of the weekend, she advised us that the wind and the weather were going to be somewhat harsh.  The sun was going to disappear and things might be a bit iffy, come the Saturday morning.  Nevertheless she confirmed that quite a number of people had signed up for the event, and that those taking part were Sandy, Avi and Michael Vine on Sea Dream, Steve, Louise and Diana A on Yamma, The Neumann family on Gallivant, and the Blackstone family and friends aboard a charter Bavaria.

We had the Friday night chicken aboard Aeolus, partaking of the meal was Alison and Stanley, Jill, Robert and Bob Emanuel.

The following morning the sun failed to rise and pierce through the dim grey clouds.  We skilfully untied the boat, backed away from our mooring and ventured into the wild, wild sea.  The sea was grey and choppy, the wind was getting up a pace and the threat of rain was ever present. Robert was skippering and we headed East with wind, (lots) and tide (not so much…Neaps) for Chichester.

This boat had one disadvantage.  None of the lines

came through to the cockpit.  The main sail was controlled entirely from the mast, and consequently any reefing meant that someone, be it in a fierce gale or a tame wind, had to go up to the mast and pull in the reefs.  Not a pleasant position to be in when the wind is lashing and the sea is frothy and the rain is pelting down.  Fortunately the rain was not pelting down.  It was still, nevertheless, extremely windy and the winds rose to something like force 6 or 7 gusting to 8 and 9.

As the morning wore on it became quite clear that the sun was not going to come out the wind was not going to abate and the crew were beginning to feel increasingly edgy as to whether or not sickness was to come upon them.

Lunchtime came and went and although sandwiches were offered around, only the very brave ate them.  The boat being a solid Hallberg Rassy was clearly stable in even this very choppy sea and happily answered to the helm.  Nevertheless it could not avoid the fact that it had to go through extreme waters.  It was the Commodore’s opinion (who was on the boat too) that we should have stayed in the pub for the day.  That, however was not to be and our sailing skipper Jill was on the phone to other crews who had not yet left Port to convince them that the weather was not quite so bad and maybe they should risk taking their boat out.  Andy Blackstone and Daniel Newman, each of whom had children with them (very small children) were obviously and quite rightly unwilling to brave the seas as far as Chichester, (some 4-5 hours away) but to be fair the rest of the Club had got their boats out. Sea Dream, the lucky lot, having Chichester as their home base, had wisely decided to remain safely tied up, and explore the beauties of Chichester City on foot, returning just in time to welcome the visiting boats into the lock.

Those of us who went to Chichester on Saturday had the questionable enjoyment of surfing across the famous bar at low water albeit Neaps with 30 knots of wind behind us, and were met and greeted by Sandy, Avi, Michael and dogs Rudy and Collie. Yamma, Aeolus and Sea Dream's crew all enjoyed a most relaxed supper together at the Chichester Yacht Club.

The following day the wind decided to pick up, the sea decided to twirl around even more, but the brave lads and lassies of the Club decided it was worth a try. Being rougher and windier this led to an interesting variety of boat passage times to Beaulieu where the Neumanns, Blackstones and very game novice family friends awaited us.  Sea Dream had rigged the 3^rd reef just in time, and decided to motor sail it all the way and minimise the discomfort!

Most boats were in by 17.00, and the Neumann and Blackstone kiddies were all happily afloat in the dinghy captained by Andy and Dan. The waters of the upper Beaulieu River at Bucklers Hard are much protected from the elements, and an almost peaceful scene awaited.

Soon after, we all repaired to the Master Builder for much needed libation and sustenance. A merry time was had by all.

Dan Neumann’s daughter, Anya, had won award for her actions last summer, but had been unable to receive the award because she was not at the AGM in November.  It was therefore able to be presented to her in the pub and gratefully received with much surprise and delight on her part. All crews applauded and all thanks offered to Sailing Captain Gill for the organisation of a most successful event, even against the odds and the weather.

The following day however the sun came out, the seas were quieter, the winds had abated and at last it was deemed to be appropriate sailing weather.  However, there was a caveat given to skipper Robert.  If the rain came down we were to head straight for home at the slightest hint of wetness.  We had all been soaked enough earlier in the weekend to not want any more.  The skipper agreed and so did the sailing captain.  Later, in the middle of the Solent, and having enjoyed some excellent sailing, the rain had begun, yet despite the entreaties of the rest of the crew, an early retreat was disallowed!  There are some sailors who have this amazing tendency to ignore the conditions around them and provided they feel the boat can stay afloat, will brave all types of weather. That would be great if both officers and crew were of the same mind.  When the officers are of one mind and the crew wants to mutiny, one gets a very uncomfortable feeling.  Nevertheless the crew decided to discipline themselves and despite the wind and the wet and the storming seas (although to be fair the sea was not that stormy), the boats stayed out for another virtually full days sailing and ultimately meandered back to Hamble Point at about 4.00pm.

Sea Dream headed East back to Chichester, and with following wind and tide, had a very speedy passage indeed, and a very comfortable one, to boot.

It has to be said, certainly from the point of view on the Aeolis, that it was an experience of a weekend, the weather was awful most of the time, but the sailing for the sailors was extremely good.

It is my pleasure to report that all boats and crews returned safely, (Sea Dream was minus a set of china mugs!) all had a good time and it was yet another success to be notched up in the annals of the high seas. Thanks again to Gill for her organisation and for getting such a good turnout.

Stanley Saffer, Commodore

So spring had almost arrived the clocks hadn’t quite changed but the days were definitely getting longer and thoughts of getting on the briny were starting to awaken in the hearts of the fair weather sailing fraternity. We salute those weather beaten hardened sailors amongst club members whose knarled knuckles never let go of the frosty tillers throughout the darkened winter months. The rest of us looked forward to the launch of the season with the “Skippers and Crew” annual gathering.

A feisty presentation of an extremely full and adventurous programme was hailed to all by our new commodore Stanley.

Having cast aside his trusty wet suit from his “Hail to the chief” speech at the close of the last season the forecast for the coming season would undoubtedly be unending sunshine from March to November – and so say all of us, and so say all of us, for he’s a jolly good fellow………..

The new years programme was stuffed full of ideas to widen the interest of the club for all age groups, all abilities and wider interpretations of getting us all onto the water as well as encouraging families to join in with all the fun.

The presentation of the new calendar included events such as canal boat racing for those that find the pace of offshore racing simply too slow and sedentary. Sailing in old gaff rigged boats on the Norfolk Broads for those that find sailing within the enclosed waters of the Solent too restricting. Even a Sunday lunch for all those that found their appetites had dropped off to an unacceptable level during the winter months – unacceptable for a Jewish sailing club that needs to sail on its stomach as that well known sailor Napoleon would have it. Oh if only they had listened to his advice at Trafalgar how history would have turned. Even a sail organised on the East Coast, the very periphery of sailing civilization for the lily livered south coast sailors. That would simply be the start of the year’s programme. Stanley continued laying out a veritable cornucopia of events that left members wide eyed and breathless. Some were heard humming the Eton boating song as they hastily scribbled dates into their dairies. Shouts were heard round the hall “take hold of that sheet”, “where’s the winch handle” and “keep grinding”. One could almost taste the sea spray in the air.

The club took great pleasure in welcoming back the Honeys, Neumans and the Tuckers to boost the family events and make the club a much more rounded organization.

Phil Sugarman ran through the on-the-water training events with boat handling weekends to given at a professional standard.

Gill introduced the ever popular Club Rally, sail in company around the cans, and dinner at the Royal London Yacht Club in Cowes. This ever popular event is really one of the most popular in the club programme.

Victor presented the blue water flotilla sail that would take place in Greece this year and would allow members to spend some time in Athens to visit the sites.

The whole evening was deemed to have been a great success by all who attended and rounded off by a staggeringly good feast arranged by Sandy Riegler.

Splice the main brace and haul on those ropes! Where’ my calendar was the shout from the highest cross tree!

To see more pictures of  Steve, Louise and Yamma when they met up with HSSC members, click here.

This is an outstanding tour de force by our 2 members, and a magnificent job of co-skippering on Phil’s behalf. We are very, very proud of you both.

For posts on their progress cllick here

If you are planning a trip to the Channel Islands make sure you pack some travel insurance, because a change to the healthcare rules applying to UK visitors means you could be hit with a big bill if you are injured or fall ill. In what seems to be a costcutting exercise by the UK government, an agreement in place since the mid‑70s allowing UK travellers to get some free medical treatment is being scrapped on Tuesday 1st April 2009.

Anyone travelling to Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark or Herm after this date will be required to pay for any medical treatment, even though the islands are crown dependencies, the UK Department of Health says. As a result, UK residents visiting the islands ‘must ensure they have adequate travel insurance.”

A spokeswoman for the department says it has always recommended that Brits going to the islands take out travel cover, as even with the agreement in place, UK tourists have always been charged for some healthcare services, including GP treatment, dental care and prescribed medicines (in Jersey), A&E hospital treatment, emergency dental treatment, GP and other medical care, ambulance travel and prescribed medicines (in Guernsey).

At the moment, if someone falls ill on holiday in Jersey they would have to pay to see a GP or to get prescribed medicine – but would get free in‑pa­tient and outpatient treatment and free ambulance travel. From 1 April, the things that are currently free will have to be paid for, though if you have travel insurance cover, the insurer will pick up the tab.

Travellers cannot rely on cover from the European Health Insurance Card scheme, as the islands are not part of the EU. These cards should be checked, by anyone sailing to France or other countries in the EU, to make sure that they are still in date as a lot of the early ones were only valid for 3 years and ran out at the end of last year.

For further enquiries please contact: Richard Brown, Southern Region Secretary 02380 667 508 secretarysouthern@rya.org.uk

We made our way over to Gills beautiful home with higher hopes, and we were not disappointed as we prepared in earnest for the marauding hoards to arrive, (well the almost 40 members and guests anyway!)
The evening tuned out to be comfortably calm and warm, if somewhat less than sizzlingly hot, and a good time was had by all! Many tales were told, and old friendships happily renewed between new members and guests, and the more long-standing member variety! It was a very mellow buzzy evening and I would like to thank all the catering team for a first class spread, and also the helpers on the night. Of course, not forgetting a massive “Thank you” to Gill for offering her home so generously at the last minute after sadly, Stanley and Alison had to remain in Dublin. (Saffers we missed you!)

Sandy Riegler