Obituaries

Alan Cassels

Former CCC Dinghy Section Captain and CCC Rear Commodore 1951 – 2021

Alan Cassels died on the 13 June 2021 after a battle with cancer. He had been a member of the Clyde Cruising Club Dinghy Section since the late 1980s.

Alan was introduced to sailing by a work colleague when he was asked to crew for him. From that first experience Alan was hooked on sailing. Keen to share his new-found sport with his three girls they joined the CCC Dinghy Section.

The Dinghy Section at that time had a children’s sail training programme based on the International Optimist Class Association system, with some well used Oppies and hands-on help from parents. This enabled Alan to become involved with teaching his own children to sail, first in club Oppies and then by acquiring an Oppie for each of them. He expanded their horizons by taking them to traveller events and national championships. Alan, his wife Caroline, and the girls made many lasting friendships at these events.

He was keen to help more children and adults to learn to sail and wholeheartedly supported the transition to adopting the RYA coaching scheme in the 1990s, becoming a Senior Instructor and taking responsibility for Friday evening sailing classes for over twenty years. He was also keen to ensure the future of the Dinghy Section and RYA training at Bardowie by organising and developing new Dinghy and Senior Instructors.

Many of the young people that Alan trained went on to perform at a high level in the National and Scottish youth squads.

Alan had a gift of getting everyone involved in the Club activities. He ensured that every member was aware that the Club was theirs and encouraged them to take ownership and participate. He led by example by taking on tasks to maintain the fabric of the Club. He could always be heard saying ‘he knew a wee man’ that could do the job.

A number of parents, who delivered their kids on a Friday night and waited on the shore for classes to finish, ended up being encouraged to take to the water themselves and learn to sail. Many of those parents still sail at the Club even though their own children have grown up and moved on.

It was the success of this, the other evening classes and the summer school which helped the Club make a successful bid for lottery funding to not only build a new clubhouse but acquire a wider range of boats for teaching.

Alan served on the Dinghy Section committee from the late 1990s until 2012. He was Dinghy Section Captain 2000-2003 and continued to serve on the committee in the role of Treasurer from 2006-2012.

He was Rear Commodore of the CCC and served from 2013-2014 where he took the chair of the regatta committee ensuring club racing continued through the years.

His contribution to the Club did not stop there, he helped with the weekly racing at Bardowie which enabled him to obtain accreditation as a National Qualified Race Officer and run some of the major yacht races on the Clyde as well as the Club’s domestic events. He also became a Race Umpire for Team Racing and was regularly involved with the British and Scottish University Sailing Associations for a number of years.

Alan became heavily involved with the Scottish Series around 2000, starting as a mark layer before moving on to the committee boats and taking on various roles until becoming the Race Officer around 2008 for various classes, eventually running the one design fleet until 2017 when he retired. In 2018 he was awarded the Valhalla of Ashton Salver for his outstanding volunteering at the Scottish Series. He missed the event, so in 2019 he returned to take charge of the finish boat in the One Design fleet.

Alan’s bought his first big boat, Jupiter, in 2012 which he and his family enjoyed sailing in the Clyde and around the West Coast. Alan enjoyed sailing with other people regardless of their ability. In particular, he introduced many of his work colleagues at Thales, through the Barr and Stroud Sailing Club, to the joys of sailing. Many went on to become very keen sailors and joined the CCC. He also took part in the Thales annual racing events in France with work colleagues putting in very respectable performances.

Alan was essentially a family man and loved nothing better than to be messing about in Jupiter and sailing with his wife Caroline and their three girls, their sons-in-law and seven grandchildren.

Alan is missed, not just by his family, but by his many friends and Club members who have sailed, socialised, and worked with him over the years.

Uel Torbet

Ian M W Taggart TD MBE

1932 – 2021 Former Vice Commodore

Ian had an almost lifelong association with yachting and an enthusiasm that carried him into countless adventures with his family, friends, colleagues and many others that he encouraged into the sport along the way.

His early expeditions with Robin Taylor on Kyra II led into dinghy cruising on Loch Lomond in the 1960s on his Felicity day-sailer Restless with his wife Aileen and sons Kenneth and Michael. He was a proud participant in the sail past fleet in 1971 when HM The Queen visited Loch Lomond.

Then the call of the Firth of Clyde and further afield beckoned and Ian took ownership of Venture, an Albert Strange designed yawl. His log of 1973 records the family’s excitement at their entry in the CCC Tobermory Race to start their summer holiday. A retiral in the first leg due to too little wind was followed by a retiral in the second leg due to too much wind.

More cruising than racing followed in the 1980s with participation in many CCC musters around the Clyde and visits to the Hebrides. Ian enjoyed cruising-in-company with fellow club members such as the Mowats, the Bairds and the Gills. A three week cruise in 1982 took the family round Skye for which Ian was awarded the Club’s Murray Blair Trophy. In 1984 Ian was instrumental in organising a muster held in Strangford Lough for the newly formed Albert Strange Association and he was delighted to be able to sail Venture back to Ireland and make contact with some of her owners of earlier years.

Ian took an active interest in visiting some of the traditional leading marks at various anchorages, making sure that they were freshly painted and still visible as referred to in the ‘Blue Book’ CCC Sailing Directions. Perches were procured and assembly teams were mobilised as enjoyable expeditions for all involved. For Ian, there was so much more to being a cruising man than just going sailing.

In 1985 Ian was Rear Commodore of the Club and enjoyed taking his part in helping with the arrangements with the cruise-in-company to celebrate the Club’s 75th anniversary. This included sending the six-strong fleet of Optimist dinghies by road and ferry to accompany the fleet. This investment had been initiated with the support of the CCC Seamanship & Pilotage Trust and enabled taster training sessions to be arranged for local children at the stop-overs at Tobermory and Castlebay, Barra.

Ian then moved to take up the post of Captain of the Dinghy Section at Bardowie which he held from 1988 to 1990. He contributed to make improvements to the facilities at Bardowie, harnessing the opportunities to use the Optimist fleet for the younger members and beginning

Princess Anne with Ian Taggart

an involvement in sailed for the disabled. His contributions over the next few years included supporting the Optimist Open National Championships at Largs in 1988 and 1993.

The development of the Challenger trimaran fleet for disabled sailors was perhaps one of his most enthusiastic projects and one that gave him immense joy at being able to work alongside the many sailors, families and supporters who took part. Ian encouraged a huge range of activities and events for the group that became a year-round operation: parties and social gatherings, fleet maintenance, fund-raising projects, Traveller events. Ian’s phone, typewriter and fax machine were constantly in use as he helped the teams of organisers.

After Aileen died, Ian re-married in 1991 and he and Eileen worked tirelessly through the 1990s to support sailing for the disabled. In 1998, they were both elected Honorary Members of Clyde Cruising Club.

Ian’s brother Sandy was involved with the Jubilee Sailing Trust. Ian joined in supporting the work of the Trust and he took part in voyages on the JST training ship STS Lord Nelson, along with members of the CCC Challenger group. Ian was awarded the MBE for his work in supporting sailing for the disabled.

Ian always enjoyed keeping a log of his sailing adventures. His detailed narratives were frequently found in the Journals of the Clyde Cruising Club, Roving Commissions of the Royal Cruising Club, newsletters of the Albert Strange Association, or in Yachting Life magazines. He included detailed navigation notes, but significantly he also mentions many sociable encounters with the crews of other yachts in anchorages visited, where he and Eileen would invite folks on board Venture to share stories of their adventures.

One of Ian’s last cruises was in 2010 when he joined with his family on a charter to take part in the Club’s Centenary Cruise. After a crew change mid-cruise, some of his friends joined him and his grandson Jamie. Ian relished his role as skipper once more as they made their way from Arisaig to Vatersay, and then the return to Craobh.

He endured his condition of dementia in recent years and he started an interest in painting. Some of his best creations were of lighthouses, no doubt emerging from his memories held dear of all the happy adventures afloat and cruises around the West Coast.

In August, his family and friends gathered after his funeral service at his home at Tannoch Loch in Milngavie. The CCC burgee was flying at the flagpole. His leading marks for the channel to his jetty were in place. It was just the sort of gathering that Ian encouraged and enjoyed and a fine celebration of his life of adventure and service.

Ken Taggart

Ian with June in a Challenger

Tribute to Ian Taggart MBE TD

Ian Taggart always encouraged those less able to sail.

He raised funds for new Challenger, 15ft trimaran dinghies. These are designed especially to make sailing easy, exciting and safe for disabled sailors to enjoy the open water solo and give the freedom that able bodied sailors enjoy.

He organised training expeditions and National Class Regattas which took place in Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.

He would personally go and collect the less able from homes and institutions so that they had the experience of sailing and found the fun, freedom and independence that it gave them when sailing Challengers. He would also get them home safely again.

Several sailors went on to become Gold Class National Challenger Champions many times over, not least Graham Ritchie, a CCC member, who was a wheelchair user with cystic fibrosis. He won the Bronze British Open Challenger Championship no less than eight times.

Ian won the Caring Cup Award for the CCC against many worthy charitable competitors, and we were all treated to a celebration at the Glasgow City Chambers hosted by Glasgow City Council and the Evening Times.

Ian got me involved with Challengers in 1989 when I made a general enquiry about sailing and asked him if he knew of anyone who might require crew. I ended up buddy sailing Challengers with the less able and travelling all over the country to the different regattas with him, all organized in military style. We had a great deal of fun.

I have photo albums full of happy memories of smiling faces, laughter, music, pipe bands, parties, power boat rides, BBQs, all sorts of celebrations and fun.

Ian’s philosophy was for ‘extremely caring sailing along with a great deal of help for further enjoyment in sailing both recreationally and competitively with a huge bundle of fun thrown in’.

Ian was awarded the MBE for his work with Challengers and enabling the less able to sail. Ian’s dedication to enabling those less able to sail, training them to RYA standards, and producing national champions is highly commendable. He will be remembered most for the fun, freedom, sheer joy and sense of independence he gave to those less able which is priceless.

He was a very special person who made things happen and brought much pleasure to a great many people along the way.

Dorothy Bennett

Trustee, Sailability Scotland

Andrew Ritchie

1928 – 2021 Honorary Member

Andrew ‘Drew’ Ritchie was born on 17 June 1928. He and his wife Bette were married for 70 years, much of which they spent afloat on the Clyde on their various yachts – first Moja, then Maremanda and then Lizandee I and finally Lizandee II, the latter three all Grand Banks motor yachts.

Drew and Bette always had a connection with the CCC, but not long after purchasing Maremanda in 1985, and before they even launched her, their lifelong friend John Mill asked if they would help serve as a committee vessel in the then named Tomatin Series, later to become the Scottish Series. So began a 20 year relationship as one of the main committee vessels of this well-known CCC event.

A familiar presence at the races and always on the finish line, Lizandee, Drew and Bette will be known by many in the club. Drew was an experienced sailor, and a stickler for never missing an event regardless of weather. Drew and Bette were made Honorary Members of the Club in 1995. Drew is survived by his wife Bette, three children and their spouses, seven grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren, who will all miss him dearly. Bette would like to thank the Club for all the years of fun and friendship.

Peter Ritchie

Other Members

Alan Dundas Ordinary member, Rhu

Ross MacDonald Ordinary member, Spain Angela Matheson Ordinary member, Dunlop

Alexander Weatherhead OBE Life member, Glasgow

Trophies, prizes and awards