The 2005 AGM
There was an excellent turn out for the Club's Annual General Meeting and prize giving at The Pwll Gwyn Hotel on Friday 11 November 2005. After a home cooked meal, the club members sat back to hear Geoff Ravenscroft, the 2004/2005 Commodore, who took the opportunity of wishing those members who were not in the best of health a speedy return to normal and reported that the year had been a successful one. He reported that membership was continuing to grow and that the club had enjoyed a slight increase in membership over the 2004 season and it was pleasing that we have 34 persons sailing with us for the first time as a result of family or single subscriptions. He noted that Chief Inspector Richard Hughes, who is responsible for the Brenig area, had said that were doing everything we could to prevent the needless vandalism experienced during the year ; but neither the committee, professional advisors nor the Police believe that there is a single solution which will prevent future vandalism. Geoff emphasised that members shouldn't leave paddles around and that all boats should be locked to a ground anchor (approx £10) and as you would with your own home or car ‘Lock it or loose it’.
The committee were mindful of the long time that John Vinicombe has been in the club and with the views of many members in mind; the committee welcomed John as an Honorary Member. John has worked very hard for the club over many years using his skills at fashioning most things from wood, from a gavel to an electricity cupboard. He’s also managed to get some sailing in too. A special certificate for John was displayed to acknowledge all of John’s hard work which Geoff intended to deliver to John to acknowledge his new membership status.
Regarding training, the training team under the able and hard working direction of Jeff Morgan reported that we had anther enjoyable years training, with twelve trainees successfully obtaining Level 1 adult or Stage 1 junior certificates. The benefits of working closely with the Scout Association was now paying off in that some, as club members, have progressed to the advanced course run in September. Geoff and Jeff thanked the Instructors and Assistant Instructors who volunteered to help run these courses this year. Early in the year, Jeff put in an application for a Community Chest grant application to Sportlot and the club was rewarded by obtaining a £750 grant this year. The grant enabled Amy Pearson and David Ravenscroft to attend Plas Menai to complete the Instructor Pre-entry course. In August, David returned to Plas Menai where he was successful in becoming an RYA Instructor. The club always welcomes more assistance on training courses and if you are an experienced sailor – young or not so young - and are interested in becoming an Assistant Instructor please let Jeff know.
In July, the Club was inspected by the RYA in order for the club to continue to deliver RYA Recognised training courses. The purpose of the inspections is to help Clubs identify any weaknesses in their courses or delivery and agree an Action Plan for improvement. Some small administrative changes were agreed.
The pictures below show some of the lucky winners of trophies for the 2005 season. A large profit was made from the raffle and the cake competition and the committee would like to thank those members who made donations to the prizes.
Geoff Ravenscroft
The list of trophy winners is shown in the table below:-
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Name of trophy |
Winners |
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April Fool trophy - first Sunday in April of the season Easter Egg trophy - Easter Regatta Halifax trophy series - 11 races out of 27 to qualify Derbyshire Handicap trophy - 4 races out of 7 to qualify Spring Pursuit series - 4 races out of 7 to qualify Summer Handicap series - 5 races out of 12 to qualify Brenig Handicap bowl - 5 races out of 12 to qualify Autumn Handicap series - 4 races out of 8 to qualify Joe Garside Pursuit series - 4 races out of 8 to qualify Admiral of the Dee - First Brenig boat - Llyn Brenig Regatta First Brenig Junior in the Autumn Regatta 2004 Wilson Icicle trophy - 4 races out of 8 to qualify Ladies Rose Bowl trophy - best lady sailor Under 18 trophy - best 10 races to qualify Masters Trophy - Over 50's - 10 races to qualify Tatania Flying Fifteen trophy – best 15 races to count Most improved Junior Trophy Bill O’Brien cup – 2 races out of 2 to qualify Commodores cup – member(s) working hardest for the club |
Brian Johnson & Selwyn Jones Paul Oliver & Mike Hardie Peter Davies Brian Johnson & Selwyn Jones Brian Johnson & Selwyn Jones Brian Johnson & Selwyn Jones Brian Johnson & Selwyn Jones Brian Johnson & Selwyn Jones Brian Johnson & Selwyn Jones Paul Oliver & Mike Hardie David Ravenscroft Paul Oliver & Mike Hardie Margaret Morris David Ravenscroft Brian Johnson & Selwyn Jones Brian McNutt & Arthur Hannah James Cragg Tom & Jane Harries Heather Ravenscroft & Margaret Morris |
Some of our 2005 winners
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Selwyn Jones and Brian Johnson receiving one of their many well deserved shields, cups and wine |
Jane and Tom Harries receiving the Bill O’Brien Cup for cruiser racing |
David Ravenscroft receiving the First Junior Shield in the Brenig Autumn Regatta |
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Peter Davies receiving the Halifax Trophy Series Cup |
Margaret Morris and Heather Ravenscroft jointly receiving the Commodore’s Cup |
Margaret Morris receiving the Ladies Rose Bowl Trophy |
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Paul Oliver (with Mike Hardie) receiving the Easter Trophy |
Selwyn Jones & Brian Johnson receiving the Brenig Bowl |
Marian Billington won the "Guess the weight of the cake" competition |
The pot bellied stove
Of all the facilities belonging to the various clubs I have been a member of, the best was the pot bellied stove, installed in the club where I first started my sailing, back in the mid 1960’s.The stove had been acquired by somewhat dubious means in the early 1950’s (I believe it was ‘liberated’, or stolen depending on your point of view, from someone’s place of work). It stood in stately splendour in the middle of the clubhouse and when I say stood, that’s exactly what I mean as it was at least 6 foot tall and about 3 foot square. Not surprisingly this wonderful device became the heart of the club, particularly during the winter months, when after sailing (we sailed every Saturday except Christmas day) we would congregate around the fire to firstly thaw out and then to socialise as the afternoon / evening (and sometimes night & early morning) passed.
The first task of the Officer of the Day wasn’t to launch rescue boats, set courses or put the kettle on, but to light the fire. Indeed a good Officer would arrive early to ensure that the clubhouse was warm by the time the members arrived. The stove burnt coal at a phenomenal rate when going well, but like most coal fires smoked alarmingly when first lit. This being particularly true with the cheap coal we bought in an attempt to keep costs down, this false economy occasionally led to great confusion on the start line if the wind was in the wrong direction and the fire lit late. Great clouds of acrid black smoke would drift across the water, obscuring the line and inducing coughing fits in those unwise enough to attempt breathing whilst sailing through this smoke screen.
Once going the fire would sit in the middle of the clubhouse glowing with warmth (it was possible with over eager stoking, to get it too glow a fetching shade of cherry red) waiting for us to return from the water. Apart from warming the clubhouse, it had many other uses, an almost instant cure for hypothermia, clothes dryer, food warmer and rubbish disposal unit all in one. Its greatest strength however, was its effect on the members, as nobody wanted to leave the sanctuary of the clubhouse in the depths of winter to go home (winter’s being far colder then, before the advent of global warming). Consequently, it became the centre of the club’s social life. Once sailing had finished, boats recovered and everybody changed and thawed out; we would gather around the fire and discuss the events of the day, drinks in hand. At about 6 o’clock, someone would be detailed to go to the local fish and chip shop for a bulk order. These would then be consumed in front of the fire straight from the paper and the remains/wrappings disposed of in the ever hungry fire.
After dinner, we would settle down to the serious business (sailing was only a means of escaping shopping for most of the members!!) of playing cards around a huge circular boardroom table (which was also acquired by slightly illegal means, but that’s another story). This magnificent piece of furniture could comfortably seat 16 people (the chairs had also been acquired and were of similar quality, properly upholstered and extremely comfortable, no cold plastic for us soft southerners). This was where I learnt all the games to which some off you have been introduced (Spoons, Blackjack, Chase the ace, Sevens, Napoleon, Pontoon, Fraz and many more besides). These games would be played passionately and with great enthusiasm for small stakes, the maximum stake per card being set at the princely sum of 2 pence. Those who didn’t play cards were kept entertained by offering advice (sometimes not well received) and condolences to the players in equal measure
For others, the game of choice was darts, and many a hard fought match took place in the glow of the fire. Again we played many different and often complicated games, some of which I can remember, like Cricket and Full house. Scoring and aiming became more erratic as the night wore on and the effects of the alcohol started to kick in. This affected players in different ways, as some became better the more relaxed they became (up to a point) and others became a danger to themselves and others as their aim became less focussed and vision more confused. Many lasting friendships were forged around the fire and old members always receive a warm welcome when revisiting the club, as we all do whenever we are in London.
Copy date for the June 2006 Newsletter is 15 May 2006. Could members send their copy (electronic contributions preferably) to:-
Email: geoff@geoffravenscroft.plus.com
Editor: Geoff Ravenscroft
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