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Looking up from the bottom of the ratlines, I told myself that there would be no sham e not going aloft, but then th e calm authorita tive voice of the Bosun asked me to clip my two ha rness lines to the safety line, before even rais in g a leg off the deck. I was committed to clim bing the fore mast! I was on TS Royalist through the Square Rigger Club, rais ing money for bu rs ar ies for Sea Cadets. I started to climb slowly an d steadily... Rosey Skeffington - Royalist Charte r May 2013 Read More on Pa ge 15
Contents
Commodores Welcome .......................03 Membership News ..............................04 Charters 2014 .....................................05 Welcome Aboard.................................05 Fair Winds and Calm Seas ..................05 A New TS Royalist..........................06-09 From Start to Finish.......................10-11
Cadet’s Corner ...............................12-13 The Bosun’s Locker ..............................14 TS Royalist - May 2013......................15 TS Royalist - September 2013......16-17 The Early Days Part 2...................18-19 Bursary Report ..................................20 Annual General Meeting 2014...........23
Commodore’s Welcome 2014 Dear Square Riggers, This is a very significant time for the Square Rigger Club Charity and having taken up the office of Commodore from the excellent stewardship of Irene Agass last September, I have quickly found that there is plenty to do and to think about. Of course, in many senses, it is business as usual and the SRCC continues to support TS Royalist and her cadets, but now we have the sad reality that it is the final year of TS Royalist’s deployment with the Sea Cadets. It is a particularly nostalgic time because quite a number of our members have been associated with TS Royalist since she was first conceived, and forty three years later we shall be making our farewells. Nevertheless the legacy of Morin Scott, Colin Mudie and those closely associated with the beginnings of offshore square rigged sailing, within the Sea Cadet movement will see their legacy carried forward into the new ship, which will retain many of the features developed from the original concept. A new ship is on the horizon and our charity has made a substantial donation. During this year we have launched a Royalist Replacement Appeal and any contribution you make, however small or large will be gratefully received. During this year we have the two final charters of TS Royalist and on Saturday, 20th September we will be having a rather special AGM for the Square Rigger Club Charity, which will take place at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Dockyard – please put this date in your diary and come along if you can! A special thanks this year to James Thompson for pulling this newsletter together, To Photolink Creative Group for their generous sponsorship and printing, to Rosey Skeffington for her helpful editorial assistance and to all the contributors for their photographs and articles. My best wishes to you all.
Hugh Illingworth Commodore
Square Rigger Club Charity April 2014
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Membership News & Financial Report
This is an overview on the financial health of the club, a more detailed report can be found in my AGM report of September 2013. Income: This year turned out to be a good year for the club financially, with total funds received of £22,958 All income areas were buoyant this period, which included bequeaths of £6,847. Subscriptions were also up to a record level, 3% up on the previous year.
Expenditure: The expenses of running the Club were stable and as you can see from the chart, 71% of our outgoings went to help in bursaries for Cadets, reflecting the Clubs commitment to this vital cause Club Reserves Feb 13 The Clubs Net Assets at the year ending 24th February 2013 totalled £62,409. This is mainly cash on deposit. This has left the Club in a strong enough position for the Committee, on your behalf, to pledge £50,000 towards the building of the new vessel, which will replace T.S Royalist in 2015 We have also opened up a Just Giving appeal to help raise a further £50,000 which is fully explained on our website, www.squareriggerclub.org.uk Despite a mail out to members as well as advertising the appeal on social media websites and on our own website, the response has been slow to gain any momentum, which to-date has raised a further £2,800. We are currently looking at other avenues of appeal awareness to help bolster our mission to reach our target. Membership News Since my last report our current membership stands at 223 paying and 10 honorary members, the paying members are further broken down into the following categories. 39 Rear Commodores £60 43 Masters Mate £30 141 Members £20
It has long been known that we have an ageing membership and numbers have been dropping off for one reason or another. Despite this, our revenue is stable, partly explained by the new members who join and tend to contribute a higher level of subscriptions compared to those who do not renew or have not updated their original payment to us. Some members who pay by Standing Order have not updated their subscription and still pay from £5 to £15 per year. Despite attempts to encourage them to change the S/O, it has proven difficult to convert or even get response. We are currently looking at a new database which will be more flexible and accessible using cloud based technology (basically the database base sits on a remote computer) so watch this space for further developments . John MacDonald, Hon. Treasurer Page 4
Charters 2014 Twice a year the SRCC offer charters aboard TS Royalist. This provides two essential elements for the club, great camaraderie and secondly a great source of income. In recent years our membership has been fairly static and the exciting future opportunity is to increase the number of enthusiasts, who will take an interest in the building and commissioning of the new ship and its service with the Sea Cadets in the years to come. Our charters for 2014 will follow the usual pattern and will be exciting, instructional and a touch nostalgic since they will be the two final charters of TS Royalist by the Square Rigger Club Charity. At the time of going to press, there are only a very few places available for the May charter but the September charter still has a number of available berths. It will be a most memorable charter for anyone, who would like to take part in a voyage, down the Thames estuary, into the English Channel and a sail against the prevailing winds to Honfleur. There will be interesting ports to visit and plenty of tacking and wearing, so a very interesting week is promised. Once in Honfleur and with a farewell meal ashore, we will take transport to Le Havre and an overnight ferry to Portsmouth. Do please spread the word since it would be a disappointment if we cannot raise a full crew – I am sure we shall be able to do so!
Welcome Aboard A big welcome to our New Members since our last newsletter Peter Lee Rui Nunes Roy Westlake Martin Robinson William Partridge
West Sussex Portugal Lincoln Cheshire Oxfordshire
Philip Wadey Angela Hutcheson Simon Hutcheson James Thompson
Wiltshire Cornwall Australia London
James Thompson has kindly stepped in to produce this edition, due to problems in production timings so a big thank-you from the club
Fair Winds and Calm Seas We have one reported Death since the last Newsletter,
Bernard Fox Bernard was a long and much respected member of the club, who died suddenly on the 2nd of June 2013 aged 77. Bernard was a regular at our clubs AGMs and always contributed to the meetings in advice and help. At his funeral service the coffin was draped with the clubs burgee which was very apt and emotional. Donations to the club as requested by his family raised £368
Gift Aid – Time To Act! The club is always trying to generate more funds and one that is available through the revenue is that of Gift Aid. We currently have 172 members who donate via GA and this generates some £1800 to £2000 pa in tax claims from the revenue. The 172 members account for about 76% of total membership. We will never achieve 100% as some people are non-tax payers, but feel we could raise more through this method. Remember, it does not cost you a penny. Even if you are not sure if you have signed in the past, you can still fill in the form and return it back to me at the address below. I can then check our database to ensure we are claiming the correct entitlement. For further information you can look on the Government’s official website: www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift-aid.htm Please address all completed forms to: John MacDonald, Square Rigger Club Charity, 146 Manchester Road, Mossley, Lancashire, OL5 9BG
Thank You!
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A New TS Royalist
By Rosey Skeffington
NEW SHIP! Keel Laying 10th April 2014
Why is a New Ship Needed? Since 1971 times have changed in our society, but children and young people still need training and jobs as they progress to adulthood and the evidence of aptitude to demonstrate to employers that they have potential to be a good trainee and they are worth investing in. Schools are risk averse and after school activities are discouraged by scaremongering about health and safety. Computer games and television play a large part in young people’s lives, so they need adventure, developed with the skill of sailing a vessel with a team and the leadership, courage and fortitude required to be at sea. Because Royalist has been around for so long, many things have changed - there are now new techniques in refrigeration and scientific advances in food storage and packaging. Water makers can provide unlimited fresh water on long voyages. Pollution is discouraged - very little is allowed to go over the side. So the new ship must be strictly regulated by international agreements that are then translated into the law of the country to which a vessel is flagged, including habitability and health and safety.
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The new ship must be: • A sailing brig under 24 metres • Able to be crewed by staff with commercially endorsed yachting qualifications. • Constructed to endure poor weather and give long life and easy maintenance. • Able to provide good ventilation, food storage facilities, and other equipment space. • Able to carry an increased number of staff, essential for increased child protection.
TS Royalist has been the flagship for the Sea Cadets for over 43 years, taking cadets out to sea and putting their skills to the test, developing teamwork and selfconfidence, enabling them to face challenges in an exhilarating environment, and by the way, having bags of fun at the same time!
MEN MATERIAL AND MONEY……. The Square Rigger Club Charity (known as SRCC) has been an integral part of the life of TS Royalist for many years. Perhaps the most important element of the Club’s work is providing bursaries for Sea Cadets, to enable them to experience life at sea. The SRCC fund approximately 150 cadets each year, all of whom must demonstrate a financial need for the bursary. In addition to this, the charity provides money to buy useful items of equipment for the ship. The SRCC also provides “men” well, more precisely, people in every shape and form, to help provide adults to be relief crew for Royalist. This gives ordinary people, those who are interested in sailing on a square rig ship and those who have been a Sea Cadet, or sailed in Royalist, the chance to give something back.
As a club, it was decided to donate £50,000 towards the appeal for the new ship. Overall more than £4.5m was needed to design and build the vessel. We decided to donate this money to show our commitment to the importance of keeping the spirit of TS Royalist, which provides such worthwhile opportunities for our young cadets. The club had sufficient funds in its reserves and a cheque was recently presented to Martin Coles, CEO of the MSSC. This large donation will secure an important item of equipment such as the ship’s wheel (and associated technology!) and we hope that the Square Rigger Club Charity will be acknowledged. Our own Appeal, launched in autumn 2013 is aimed at replacing our reserves and ensuring that our primary function of giving bursaries for TS Royalist will continue whatever the economic situation, and will provide extra equipment as might be needed . After the September 2013 AGM, one of our members, Bernard Atkinson wrote to the Club, offering his thoughts on how members of the Club could successfully raise a good sum of money and his letter is reproduced below. If many of us can try to give so generously it will make our Appeal the success that we hope it will be! There are a number of fundraising initiatives under way, please donate using the form at the end of this article or online at: www.justgiving. com/squareriggerclub.
Please give generously if you can to support our good cause!
The ship is crewed by a permanent staff of 9 and these folk need a holiday, so after a training period, members of the Square Rigger club can stand in on any position from Cookie to Captain! It is demanding, tiring and you have to give your all, keep smiling, be endlessly patient, upbeat and always happy, but the satisfaction and enjoyment are enormous.
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The Marine Society and Sea Cadets have been fundraising for two years to raise the money for the new ship. The contract was awarded last year to the Spanish firm Astilleros Gondan. This was after tenders to several ship building yards, a great deal of discussion and consultation. The latest news is that the final design work continues with tank and wind tunnel testing of a scale model. The Project Co-ordinator and Project Manager have been poring over drawings and specifications together with monthly visits to Astilleros Gondon in Spain. Keel laying is now scheduled for 10th April, and the launch is currently scheduled for December with delivery in early 2015.
Model of the New Ship being Prepared for Testing
ESS OP PR
ST
An Update from the MSSC Chief Executive Officer, Martin Coles
• Fundraising currently stands at £4.447m received/pledged of the £4.8m required • Steel cutting commenced 13 March 14 (4 days ahead of schedule) and runs for 1 month • Keel laying confirmed for 10 April 14 with the ceremony being led by the 6 Navy Board Cadets (top Sea Cadet from each of our 6 Areas) • Structure due to be complete 30 June 14 • Installation of engines scheduled for July 14 • Launch due 02 December 14 • Sea trials 22 Jan to 31 Jan 15 • Handover of vessel due 31 Jan 15 • Flagship operational Mar 15
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Testing Commences on the Model of the New Ship Alan Berrill and Bill Fairbairn, Project Coordinator and Project Manager respectively, present for the start of the Steel Cutting process at Astilleros Gondon in Spain.
! !
SQUARE RIGGER CLUB CHARITY!
!
An appeal to raise funds for the ! new vessel to replace TS Royalist !
Full Name ………………………………………………………….………! Address ……………………………………………………………………! …………………………………………………… Postcode …………….! Tel. No ……………………………….…………………………………….! Email ………………………………….……………………………………!
!
I / We wish to make a donation of £…………… to the Square Rigger Club Appeal for the TS Royalist replacement vessel by the ! following method (please indicate):!
!
◻ ️! Cheque made out to Square Rigger Club Charity!
!
! Electronic transfer to the Square Rigger Club Charity ! ◻ ️! account at Barclays Bank! ! Account No. 6015019 Sort Code: 20-30-89!
!
! By Standing Order to the Square Rigger Club Charity! ◻ ️ !account for £………… per month/quarter! ! from ……………….. (date) until ……………….. (date)!
! ◻ ️! Online at www.justgiving.com/squareriggerclub! !
Gift Aid: ! Yes ◻ ️! ◻ No️! If yes, complete the following (UK tax payers only)! “I would like all donations I make from (this date) ……………… to be treated as Gift Aid donations from today until further notice.”! (If you cease paying tax please inform the Square Rigger Club to cancel this declaration.)!
!
Signature: ………………..…………………… Date: ……………………! PLEASE SEND THIS FORM BY EMAIL OR POST TO THE HON. TREASURER:! John MacDonald, 146 Manchester Road, Mossley, Lancs. O15 9BG! Tel: 01457 834018 E: john.m@squareriggerclub.org.uk! Registered Charity No. 280393!
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From Start to Finish with TS Royalist By Rosey Skeffington
Back in 1973, the Daily Mirror ran a competition for ten girls to win a sailing experience aboard TS Royalist, to be assisted by ten girls from the then Girls Nautical Training Corps and I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the GN’s. It was rather a special voyage as it was the first all girls trip aboard Royalist, although we were assisted by some strong able crewmen, not forgetting our wonderful Captain John Wheeler.
I thought you might be interested in seeing the kit list, and note the inclusion of “a pretty dress, The crew mustered much as now at HMS Dolphin for going ashore”! Other instructions were “Don’t (Fort Blockhouse), and I can remember the huge be a chattering clara nor a dreary dora”. excitement changing to great apprehension as the girls started to gather. As soon as we How times have changed! Finally we had done all arrived we were shown round the ship, mustered our duties and returned our VIP’s to Portsmouth into watches and pointed in the direction of our and we could set sail properly. That night we bunks. By 4pm we were in the Solent with the anchored off the Isle of Wight and had our first square sails set! And we had all been up on taste of the anchor watch. It was great fun to be the yardarms. You may be interested to see the woken up and feel the responsibility for one’s picture below with the harnesses we used. A far cry from those of today! After anchoring off, we returned to Portsmouth to pick up some officials from the Daily Mirror - including Felicity Green and Marge Proops who were well known Journalists at the time. They were the people that had sponsored the competition and were very interested in the voyage. We came out from Portsmouth harbour and soon had the square sails set. It was a fairly stiff breeze, a taste of what was to come later in the week
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sleeping shipmates. The next morning, there was huge excitement when we were told we were going to Alderney. The watches soon settled in and became adept at raising and lowering the sails, tacking and wearing. Of course there was also the galley crew, and everyday there was washing up and table laying duties. There were always potatoes to be peeled and I can remember one time when we had painstakingly peeled the potatoes, and one of the team threw the bucket of slops overboard (we were allowed to then!) only to find she had kept the peelings and thrown the spuds out! Not a popular young lady!
to get to my goose, but it was quite frightening trying to climb back up, unclipping the harness to go over a joint and then clipping back on as soon as possible. My childhood diary which I found unexpectedly the other day records that it was a Force 9. Once we were back in the safety of the cockpit, we were rewarded with a milky hot chocolate. It was such a treat and made all the fear and cold, but yet exhilaration, worth it.
On the Wednesday morning we were greeted with blue skies and racing clouds. Tacking up the Solent was both exhilarating and hard work. We stopped at Yarmouth for dinner and continued our journey in the dark up to Cowes, In my mind there was a bit of them and us. The where we anchored up the river Medway. The GN’s had been lucky enough to be taught ways sea boat transported the crew into Cowes where at sea, and teamwork, but for the competition the permanent crew took some of us to the pub winners, it was another world completely. One as it was my birthday. It was the first time I had small early problem was that the girls all decided been in a pub without the parents so made quite to wash their hair, thus using up nearly all the an impression on me. I think I rather daringly water, so water then had to be rationed. At the ordered a bitter lemon! time we were all so cross, but looking back it was really rather funny! However it did mean no Looking back on my time on Royalist, I believe showers, which was a bit of a problem as shore that I joined the crew as a young girl and facilities didn’t exist as they do now. 20 smelly came back a young woman. I learnt about girls!! teamwork, courage, fortitude, and it gave me the confidence to believe in myself. It will be We reached Alderney in glorious sunshine and with mixed emotions when I join the last voyage were all so thrilled to be allowed ashore, with on the current ship with the Square Rigger Club. strict instructions to be back on the quay at a certain time. A crowd of us went for a walk and ended up on the hill overlooking the bay marvelling at our beautiful ship anchored off. As Always a delicate subject to broach but can we admired her, I suddenly noticed that there be an effective way of donating no matter how was a different flag flying from the masthead, small the bequest is. and between us we worked out that it was the general recall flag. We, (well those in the know) hurried back to the ship, while the crew scoured Make a bequest to the Square Rigger Club in the island for those who didn’t! Once all the your will. It can include money, land, property crew were back on board we had to make a or stocks and shares. The wording in your will hurried departure as the wind was increasing should read: and making our anchorage untenable. We put the sails up and set off back for Cowes. During the night the wind increased and it was deemed “I give and bequeath, free of all duty and that sails should be secured aloft and volunteers taxes, to the Square Rigger Club Charity for were called for to do the work. Most of the GN’s the general purposes of the Charity, the sum agreed to climb the mast and I can still remember of £ .............. , and I declare that the receipt the feeling of the ship climbing through the of the Treasurer or other proper officer for waves, the rain beating on us, the wind fighting the time being of the said Charity shall be a in our faces as we tried to stuff the canvas into a reasonable roll and secure it. It wasn’t on not to sufficient discharge of the same.” do a neat job. As the wind was a northeasterly, I had the easy job of sliding down the yardarm
Forget Me Knot...
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Cadets Corner
S Royalist T n o y a w ave to go a ber, you g soring me o t n c o p O s h r t fo 4 nds very much h September to the lifelong frie I y n a t m Thank you 8 e 2 d a from the I have m d heights, e d lu c in h for a week unity of a lifetime. whic ). Our port ars, one ery scary v s a w me the op onquering many fe it As well as d (even if . r s c a a m y a ll h t e ix rs w r fi B s a the of ed at to climb to and finish alcombe. We did lots h t u o m managed rt a o rted at D nights in S er was predicted t ta e s h t e f g o a e y vo eath nt on ion day the w es we spe good decis e h t e d these plac owever, on the last a m ,h he skipper day sa iling orms – thankfully t r st be thunde then it sa iling. Brixham, d n u to not go ro a ed ce to look staff onboard decid n a h c e h t got . The p the rning we ck on ship cluded how to set u m. a b t n e In the mo w a stor hese in iling so we cedures, t re the windows for ro p started ha y c rse n e s emerg to secu on the cou w ’t o n h e r d e n w a to teach u y ad the b ilge pump ings to learn as the outh we h the m rt h a t emergency l D u f in e oored round e very us t. Whilst m olphins swimming a ide to u o These wer d n fi o the t and d ting t a iting for but interes rtunity to see seals w d t s il h W . his include ight ppo T s o . g g s u in in z r z a a fo m m a na te day dly I his was a ated a pira es for the best, sa e r c ff harbour, t ta s inning priz lcombe the turn in Sa and patches and w the whole day! r ts at laugh fo e making ha r g a s a but w ience! didn’t win time exper e lif a in e is onc ga in for th a u o y k n Tha adam
M Dear Sir/
sling Amelia Ru
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From The Bosun’s Locker, My Final Report Dear fellow Square Riggers, I first posted my story in the 2010 newsletter, when I had just received what I still perceive to be one of the best jobs one could have within the Marine Society and Sea Cadets. It is with a fond farewell I now say goodbye to being Bosun on Royalist. This was a very difficult decision to make as Royalist has been an integral part of my development and I have loved sailing with hundreds of young people, providing them with experiences that I too experienced as a young person. However all is not lost, I will still sail as a relief Bosun and hopefully relief Sailing Master in the near future. I will also remain the Membership Secretary for the Square Rigger Club for the foreseeable future. I handed over to my successor: Mr. Gareth Middlehurst in October 2013, and I hear by now he has settled in well to the position. I have taken up a new position with the Morning Star Trust as the Youth Development Worker and Skipper. So what did we get up to during my last year onboard Royalist? In May, we had the Royalist Regatta, where I was fortunate enough to attend the evening reception onboard HMS Warrior. The event was a huge success, including many young sea cadets participating in the sailing regatta alongside other sponsoring companies. Royalist then set off on her yearly travels, first to the west country then up the west coast to Oban via Ireland. Several weeks saw Royalist with all her sail up trying to sail with very light winds. The voyages back from the north towards the West Country were slightly breezier with better cruising winds to get Royalist sailing, as she should! When the vessel arrived in Dartmouth, it was my time to move on. After I had left her and the rest of the crew for the final time, she then went on towards Torbay, Weymouth then finally reaching her homeport of Gosport in the Solent in September. I believe that Royalist’s final refit has been going very well, with little work needed to pass Lloyds Register’s annual surveys. All things come to an end, and it is only fitting that I post my final ‘From the Bosun’s Locker’ in the last Square Rigger Club newsletter of Royalist’s reign. There is more in this newsletter about Royalist’s replacement, but for now we bid her and the crew fair winds and safe passage this year, and we thank everyone from the past 42 years for making Royalist the pinnacle Sea Cadet experience that she is today. Yours Aye PO (SCC) Alex Coakley Bosun Emeritus
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Square Rigger Club Charter - May 2013 By Rosey Skeffington
Looking up from the bottom of the Ratlines, I told myself that there would be no shame not going aloft, but then the calm authoritative voice of the Bosun asked me to clip my two harness lines to the safety line, before even raising a leg off the deck. I was committed to climbing the foremast!
I was on TS Royalist through the Square Rigger Club, raising money for bursaries for Sea Cadets. I started to climb slowly and steadily. All was fine until I reached the overhang and the fear crept in again but praise and instructions from above on where to clip, where to put my feet and hands, and before I knew it I had done it and was on the platform. The view of the Hamble River was fantastic, scudding white clouds in a blue sky and a great sense of achievement. We left from Gunwharf Quay having been divided into port and starboard watches. Comprehensive safety briefings, as well as an introduction to sailing a Square Rigged ship were delivered clearly and efficiently. Everyone is encouraged to join in and I was thrilled to be asked to helm the ship away from the Quay. Confessing to little anxiety, back came the reply, that this is a training ship so don’t worry. To me that was such an important message. It told me I could safely have a go at anything, and there was no failure, only learning. This patience from the crew pervaded the whole voyage.
or roundly, slowly or quickly! All evolutions were called by the sailing master so each of the four teams knew what to do and when. Cookie’s bacon sandwiches were very welcome. Back to work learning to set the sails. A completely new set of ropes - clewlines, leechlines and buntlines - these control the square sails. The permanent crew were available to advise if the instructions became overwhelming. Now we were ready to start sailing properly. Using a beautiful model of Royalist the Bosun taught us the basics of sailing and time to try out new knowledge. Now we were sailing our 90 ft vessel down the Eastern Solent. There was enough wind to get her going, but not so much to frighten the novice crew! That nights berth was the Beaulieu River, a magical experience with the majesty of the ship and the beauty of the river. The evening was passed dressed as pirates, with sea shanties and much laughter. Too soon, time to catch the tide. Coming out we saw Stavros Niarcos at anchor so all sails were set to sail round her. We gave three cheers and a Mexican wave down the starboard side. More teamwork and lots of fun! Returning to Portsmouth we saw HMS Ark Royal depart Portsmouth for the final time, and after cleaning the ship we left having had an exhilarating, exciting weekend that gave a great sense of achievement.
The amount of rope on Royalist is unbelievable. Every job - hoisting the sails, bracing the yardarms, getting the ships boat out of the water is done by teamwork and manpower. Time to put theory into practice. The port side let off ropes while the starboard side pulled in, either handsomely Page 15
TS Royalist - September 2013
By Hugh Illingworth
The first thing I noticed when I joined TS Royalist having arrived late (due to train delays) on a Saturday afternoon in Falmouth and in the middle of an initial briefing was that the ship’s crew had been populated by attractive young ladies. No blond bombshells or airheads here but keen efficient bosuns, bosun’s mates and watch ladies in addition to three ladies in the crew! Usual SRCC charters tend to be populated by rather grizzled males of a certain age – with of course some exception so my apologies to anyone out there who feels aggrieved by my stereotyping!
After consideration, it was decided to arouse the professional crew, up-anchor and move to a new anchorage whilst the remainder of the crew slumbered on. Thus began an hour or so of motoring through driving rain and squally conditions to a new anchorage in the mouth of the Helford River. It all calmed down after that, I returned to my bunk and we woke up to a pleasant brisk morning. After a good breakfast we got under weigh and spent a few hours of tacking and wearing before going into Falmouth in blustery conditions. We managed this at the second attempt after having stirred up the mud and spent an hour or so at anchor whilst awaiting the tide to rise.
A pub session was assured in the evening and the following morning arrived with bright fresh conditions and Royalist slightly pinned to the quay. Slight excitement ensued as we reversed away from the quay with Royalist’s bowsprit neatly placed between two lights at the end of the quay and we sailed away from Falmouth to a very fine five hours under fore An initial foray ashore in the evening found us in the and aft sails to Fowey. This was an enjoyable steady sail in f4 Falmouth hostelries and then back to our spartan sleeping and so smooth was it that Sailing Master provided a lecture on accommodation. Most of the volunteer crew complained of weather and then Harry, one of our watch leaders, provided lack of sleep but it was a quiet night spent alongside in the expert instruction on eye splices and the crew seemed to get marina and with relative silence with absence of the generator the hang of it pretty well. due to shore power which made the night peaceful apart from some pitter patter of the rain. Arriving at Fowey, we added interest to the pretty vista by mooring between two buoys in the middle of the river to The first day started leisurely and after some spud bashing provide spectators with we motored away from Falmouth for some gentle sailing and a lovely sight of the ship. anchored in a small bay at Porthallow. Safely anchored for Several including me the night and after a good meal on board, several decided went ashore, checked to find the pub ashore and try the local beer. For no reason local hostelries for other than tiredness, I decided to abstain and take to my bunk later but yours truly early, knowing that I was volunteered for anchor watch at ended up doing no 0100. I was duly woken up at the hour and how glad I was more wanderlust than that I hadn’t imbibed earlier because I arrived at the chart enjoying a delicious table to find our sailing master, Big Richard, summoning the Cornish cream tea. Arriving back at Royalist by water taxi, it Captain (Angie Morris). The wind had become cyclonic and was disconcerting to hear that Nigel, the cook wasn’t feeling was presenting Royalist with a lee shore. too well and Kennie, the Engineer had taken over. Anyway, the meal was fine amid the jocularity and afterwards several people went ashore for a quiet pint in the pub (this sounds a bit repetitive!).
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The following day was a tad frustrating as weather and spring tides had ruled out the possibility of going to Mevagissey. The sailing master organised lectures in the morning and after lunch most people went ashore to explore. For my part, I went to Fowey’s Parish Church and discovered Family surnames
from the 19th century that need following up and then a visit to the local museum revealed much interest of Fowey’s past. In the late afternoon, back on board there was much preparations for a Pirate Party in the evening with much OoohsAaahrs but precious little other pirate language (we need to learn it) and then we took to the boats for a raid ashore for raping and pillaging but these thoughts were soon quelled by the taking of good beer at the Galleria restaurant. A somewhat rowdy presence of twenty plus pirates caused amusement and bonhomie amongst the locals but the pirates exercised sufficient decorum not to be thrown out! The following morning provided a few sleepy heads but after yet another substantial full breakfast we set fore and aft sails and staysails for a drizzly passage back to Falmouth for which the engines did much more work than the sails. Around midday we spent an hour engaged in launching and retrieving a man overboard victim with instruction of the sailing master. Several volunteers took the wheel to be guided downwind and then on a reach to pick up the unfortunate victim (a buoy and bucket). Having got back to Falmouth the crew were put to cleaning stations and assiduously instruction by bosun and coxswains in the art of brassing the bell and scrubbing the decks. The chef, Nigel prepared a very hearty meal and by this time you will have guessed the next event – once more ashore to test the pubs and drink the local beers. This was a happy farewell evening and watch leader trainee Matt took us on to a late night dive where merriment continued until the small hours. Needleless to say some crew members were a little shaky at the start of the following day. Farewells were said and we all dispersed for our journey home by various means of car, bus or train.
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The early days of TS Royalist By Keith Smeaton
Further to my article in last year’s Square Rigger Club magazine about the early days of TS Royalist, I would like to put some more flesh on the bones about specific events that occurred.
a rigging plan, heaps of blocks and miles of cordage and wire rope etc. which was initially very confusing. Her sails were piled high on several pallets located around the Grove & Gutteridge workshop. The skipper, Commander Wheeler, looked at it all and with a very confused look took a deep breath and said ‘Smeaton - you are the official bosun and I want the ship rigged a.s.a.p because Princess Anne will be here shortly for the launching and naming ceremony’. With that he turned and walked Prior to the decision to build TS away leaving me holding the baby! Royalist, in 1970, the Sea Cadet Corp’s only offshore vessel was a Colin Archer We had about a week to understand designed Ketch named Larvik. She this rigging plan. About an hour was moored at Portsmouth’s HMS later, Morin Scott arrived with his son Dolphin, the Navy’s Submarine station. Francis, who was just about to enter I recall that she was broad in the beam the navy. We all started to put our with a significant draft resulting in an heads together to establish an action uncomfortable motion and furling her plan. The main problem was there mizzen, which hung out over the stern were no ratlines rigged on the shrouds. in a high sea was quite a handful. One Therefore getting aloft to rig halyard day we were caught in a blizzard and blocks etc. was difficult. The only way ran for cover. To make the jetty we up was to climb the shrouds, which we were punching into wind and sea and did to my amazement. could not get alongside so we had to Subsequently, Morin use the ship’s boat to take a mooring decided that the ratlines line to the key, which was quite hairy. should be made of a composite of steel and On one occasion, we had to go to the wood as opposed to Isle of Wight to rig the brand new TS traditional rope which Royalist. Portsmouth SCC had an was novel. Once the HLD (Harbour Defence Launch) - a halyard blocks were wonderful vessel used to transport attached, we were able Royalist’s spars from Portsmouth to rig bosun’s chairs Dockyard to Groves & Gutteridge with a bucket attached Ltd. where Royalist was moored. to carry rigging tools and other items aloft. Soon As I said in my previous article, when the deck was a mass of rope sneaking visiting Royalist for the first time there their way aloft. An onlooker would have was no rigging on her save for her been very confused as to what was masts shrouds. I was presented with going on. Luckily the work progressed Page 18
well and before we knew it, the complete running rigging was working and all the sails were bent on. We were all eagerly waiting for Princess Anne to attend. That day was exciting. We had to dress the ship overall and the crew manned the rigging, standing on the yards while Captain Wheeler conducted the Princess on a tour of the ship. The crowds gathered to see the naming ceremony of the first British square rigged sailing ship to be launched for almost a hundred years. In my previous article, I discussed Royalist’s maiden shake down voyage but I omitted to disclose that when entering the Solent we were met by both the new ocean liner ‘France’, which passed from astern and very close to us and a naval helicopter troop carrier, which hovered low above us. The noise was immense and the sea churned. It was very impressive occasion. Once the exercise was completed, we settled down to a proper sea routine on passage to Cherbourg. It has a large outer harbour in which the Skipper decided to anchor. We stowed sail and gingerly dropped the
hook. A short time later, a Frenchman came running up the hard towards us waving his arms and yelling. ‘What the devil is that fool doing’
said the Captain. Well it turned out we had dropped our anchor on a nuclear submarine, which the French had not buoyed! Naturally, our anchor was fouled on it and we had quite a job to stow it.
announced that we were sailing in. All the crowds rushed to the ships sides to get a glimpse of Royalist entering harbour, going through sail stowing. Just as we started this operation, a frigate was steaming out to sea and we were After returning on our first passage from crossing her bows. Because power gives Cherbourg, to Portsmouth it happened way to sail I could see the commander that Portsmouth Navy Days were in full on the frigate’s bridge slamming on all swing. As you can imagine Portsmouth brakes yelling ‘full astern’! She came to harbour was quite busy with various screaming to a halt, much to the delight naval and civilian vessels both entering of the civil crowds that surrounded and leaving harbour. Her majesty’s us. It was quite a memorable tattoo. ships were moored to the quayside and packed with people and it was publicly During those early days we discovered
various teething problems affecting both the rig e.g. Getting the foresail to set properly and the back draft from the oven’s flue kept blowing out the galley stove’s burners to the intense annoyance of the naval cook aboard. Finding stowage for spare canvas spare rigging, and deck equipment was also a problem. Design and practicality sometimes contradict each other. I always remember a run ashore for a pint in the ship’s boat, getting soaked from the wind and spray; however the pint was worth it!
Bursary Report 2013 By Richard Weston
In total for 2013 there was; 102 bursary applications and 93 bursaries awarded.
In total £8,703 was distributed for the season. There were only two applications for the power vessels and they were later cancelled. In total seven Royalist bursaries were also cancelled. Cancellations were all to do with availability of the cadets and illness, no cadet cancelled because of a lack of funding. Chart showing the allocation of Bursary Funds in 2013
Chart
showing
the breakdown Applications
of
Bursary
The average bursary for boys is £91.75 and for girls is £96.35, so the girls request less bursaries; but get a slightly larger share of the pot per cadet. The overall average is £93.58 per cadet
Content Submission Do you have an article you think our members may be interested in? Are your albums full of interesting photos that you would like to share? Email them to newsletter@squareriggerclub.org.uk and they could feature in our next newsletter! Page 19
Sail ! s r e t r TS ROYALIST a h c l a n with the i ef
h t n Joi
SQUARE RIGGER CLUB CHARITY
Gosport to Gosport
Sat 3rd May - Tues 6th May 2014 Prices: £225 (members) £250 (non-members)
London to Honfleur
Sat 27th Sept - Thurs 2nd Oct 2014 Prices: £495 (members) £525 (non-members)
For more information, contact Miss Sam Smith, Charter Secretary of the Square Rigger Club Charity Email: chartersec@squareriggerclub.org.uk Tel: 07708 038 971 www.squareriggerclub.org.uk The price of the charters is inclusive of all meals & accommodation.
Join the
• Sail TS ROYALIST on at least two weekends each year – no previous sailing experience required! • Plus additional week or weekend charters (dependent on the availability of the ship). • More experienced? Sail as afterguard crew with the Sea Cadets. • Charter one of the Sea Cadets offshore yachts. Membership starts from just £20 per year. The perfect gift for any would-be sailor!
Who we are
TS ROYALIST, the square-rigged sail training brig of the Sea Cadets, was launched in 1971. Formed to support the ship, The Square Rigger Club provides support in men, materials and money for the Sea Cadet’s square-rigged sail training brig TS Royalist and assists the Sea Cadets with a bursary scheme. More info
Interested?
More details on the Charter Weekends, Sea Cadets and Offshore Yachts can be found at www.squareriggerclub.org.uk
It’s easy to join. Fill out the Application Form overleaf OR download it from www.squareriggerclub.org.uk (in Acrobat Reader format) and post it to the Membership Secretary: John MacDonald, 146 Manchester Road, Mossley, Lancs OL5 9BG Page 21
The Square Rigger Club Membership Application Form Membership fees are due on joining the Club and on 31st March each year. In order to keep expenses to a minimum we would ask you to pay by Bankers Standing Order. Please complete and return to: John MacDonald. 146 Manchester Road, Mossley, Lancs OL5 9BG If you are a Tax payer Please use Gift Aid Remember it does not cost you a penny!! How did you hear about us?
Membership Details
Friend
Title
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RNLI
Cadets
Annual Membership level required
Quayside
Cheque ÂŁ
Other ...............................................................................
Forename(s) Address
Subscription by : S/Order ÂŁ
Member
25.00
20.00
Master's Mate
35.00
30.00
Rear Commodore 75.00
60.00
Gift Aid Section Please treat this donation as Gift Aid Please treat All donations from 06/04/2000 and all donations I make from the date of this declaration until I notify you otherwise as G.A. Donations Note: You can sign as long as you are at least a basic rate tax payer and the tax you pay is equal or greater than the tax element of your donation. For More Info: www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift-aid.
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Registered Charity No. 280393
Please sign and date the declaration below Signature Date
Occupation
Standing Order Mandate
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Please Pay
Barclays Bank Plc Gosport Branch Hampshire PO12 1DN Sort Code
20 - 30 - 89 Post Code Sort Code Account Name
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60156019
The Square Rigger Club Please credit the above Account Now and on the 31st March of each year until cancelled in writing with the value below This cancels any previous Standing Orders made payable to the Square Rigger Club
Please sign and date the Mandate Registered Charity No. 280393
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Value
Annual General Meeting Saturday, 20th September 2014 11.30am
Portsmouth Naval Dockyard
Come and join us for our annual meeting to be held in the National Museum of the Royal Navy followed by visits to the well known sites, including the Mary Rose, HMS Warrior, Harbour Tours, HMS Victory and much more.
Ticket prices
Meeting only £20, Meeting plus 1 day pass £33.00, Meeting plus 2 day pass £35.00. (A pass provides entry to all Museums, Ships and Harbour Tours.) Please make a note of the date in your diary, a formal notice of the AGM will be mailed out closer to the time.
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