ONA Update
Join us on Facebook There are plenty of Old Novos Facebook groups around, but we have our own group. Join us by becoming a fan of the Old Novocastrians Association page on Facebook.
More Old Novos Around the World By Brian Lowrie (54-65) Well done Ian Gatenby (50-61) and his wife on their circumnavigation under sail. They started before us and finished after, does it matter who was first, or maybe there are other longdistance sailors out there? My wife Anne and I bought our 42ft Hallberg Rassy sailing boat in 2001, left work in September and left UK in October crossing the Bay of Biscay to Spain, then on to Madeira, the Canaries and the trade wind route to the Caribbean, arriving there in time for Christmas. We soon tired of the tourist filled palm-fringed beaches but spent more time travelling to Venezuela, the ABC Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba on to the Yucatan, Mexico, Belize and holed up for the hurricane season in the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. The following season saw us sailing down to Panama, exploring the stunning San Blas Islands before transiting the Panama Canal. Anchored overnight the boat was struck by a bolt of lightning with severe consequences, destroying all our electronic equipment and most of the electrics. We limped in to Panama where we spent the next ten weeks working 12 hours a day to repair the damage. In 2003 we were (nearly) ready and set off into the Pacific Ocean to visit the Galapagos – just amazing – on to the Marquesas followed by the Tuamotos then to Tahiti and Polynesia. After a brief return home we returned to the delights of the South Pacific – Samoa, Tonga and Fiji, then down to New Zealand for a re-fit, particularly needed as we lost the rudder 100 miles out. In 2004 we set off homewards via Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea then across the barren north of Australia to
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Darwin. There we faced the big decision – should we go the shorter route via the Suez Canal with the risks of pirate attack, or the longer, rougher Indian Ocean? We chose the latter and set off for Cocos Keeling and a boisterous 3,000 miles to Durban, South Africa, via Mauritius and Reunion, then worked our way down the coast to Cape Town. In 2005 we entered the South Atlantic, visited St Helena and arrived in Brazil in time for carnival, staying for a month before making the long fetch home via the Azores. In all 40,000 miles, 40 countries and a wonderful experience. Unlike Ian Gatenby we experienced some severe winds in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans but the boat stood up to them. We sold that boat, but being boatless was not for us so we now keep another, Spirit of Zoya, on the far North West coast of Scotland, the best cruising ground in the world – if not always the best weather!
ON Luncheon Club The ON Luncheon Club still functions, meeting on the last Friday of every month (except July, August and December), in the very pleasant and civilised surroundings of the Northern Counties Club, on Hood Street. The contact is Peter Magnay (55-66) 0191 488 7459, who will be delighted to hear from you.
ONA – Old Novocastrians Association Magazine Autumn 2012
Promenade Concert The 2012 Jesmond Community Festival began with a Promenade Concert at the RGS Performing Arts Centre, moving to the School Main Hall. The concert opened with Puccini’s Crisantemi, followed by Handel’s Water Music. The second part was an ambitious performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, notable for the School Choir of more than fifty accompanied by Brian Varley (5563) playing the school organ, which is benefiting from an ongoing programme of refurbishment. Many ONs will recall this iconic instrument in daily use throughout their school years and it is due to the persistence and passion of Mike Barlow (53-64) that the organ was ready for this performance. The whole evening was a magnificent swan song for Neal Parker, Head of Performing Arts and Director of Music since 1999. After almost 13 years, Neal has moved on to take up a deputy head role at the Grammar School at Leeds.
