The club’s Winter Walk took place yesterday and members gathered at the Hub Club before being led along the riverside via Hanging Wood to the South Hooe Tamar Valley National Landscape reserve.
This area of wetlands was developed by Pru and Jim Barnes and is dedicated to regenerating watery landscapes and supporting a range of wading birds.
Our past President, Mike Street joined the group to explain about the wetlands project.
Then it was back the boat shed to enjoy a mug of soup, bread and hot drinks and luckily before the rain set in.
Thank you to all who helped to make this such an enjoyable event!
We hear quite a lot in the news at the moment about boats being abandoned and the trouble this can cause to those left responsible for these craft.
Well, one of our past members abandoned their Hurley 22 “Buffin” on her WQSC mooring and we have been working through a number of steps, including taking legal ownership of her so that we can deal with this problem. Next up is to clean her properly and find a new owner, who will be required to take her away for renovation before any possible return to Weir Quay.
Last week, club member Tom Lamerton went out to Buffin to start her rejuvenation and spent most of the day giving her decks and superstructure a jolly good clean.
Beforeand After!
Next, she was taken to the WQ slipway using the club’s dory and a set of club volunteers careened her to scrape off many years’ growth of sea-life from the hull and to clear her cockpit drain.
This was cold and very muddy work!
They also had a go at cleaning her very grubby interior!
Buffin is now back on a WQSC mooring close to the slipway and we are actively trying to find her a suitable owner willing to take on this project boat – for a very reasonable price.
If you know of anyone looking for such a challenge, please let us know!
Members braved the ferocious Storm Bert weather yesterday to get together for the End of Season Dinner at the Bedford Hotel .
It was an enjoyable evening and as ever, the Bedford produced a top quality meal with great service.
Afterwards, there were a number of awards to be presented, including the prizes for the best photographic and art works brought along and voted for at the dinner.
These are the winners:
Commodore’s Cup – awarded at the discretion of the Commodore to the individual who has made an excellent contribution to the club – to Steve Kirby
Varley Trophy – awarded to an individual for their behind-the-scenes assistance to the club – to John Giblin
Cruising Cup – awarded for a cruise of note – to Steve Larratt (in his absence)
Jim Barnes Memorial Trophy – awarded to the winner of the Cruisers Pursuit Race – to Dick Brown
A bunch of flowers was presented to each of the outgoing Social Secretaries – Sue Coomber and Katherine Duncan (accepted by Rosie Duncan in Katherine’s absence).
The trophy for the Best Bulletin Entry went to Carol Horner for her narrative entitled “Jennycliff and Beyond”.
The engraved tumbler for the Best Artwork went to Dick Brown for his collation of images remembering Jim Barnes.
The engraved tumbler for the Best Photograph went to Steve Larratt (again, in his absence but received on his behalf by Chris Fillan).
And, finally the Minnow Trophy for an amusingly described unfortunate incident was awarded to Alison Coombs for her poetic description of getting diesel fuel into their drinking water!
We see from the above that the winner of the Cruisers Pursuit Race was, for the first time, recognised by the presentation of the new Jim Barnes Memorial Trophy.
This was designed by Chris Miller to commemorate the sad passing this year of Jim Barnes, who contributed so much to the club over his many years of membership. The fused glass was created by Wendy Bradberry and the wooden base by Harry Langworthy, both of whom have workshops at South Hooe close to where Jim lived and who both knew Jim.
Last Friday, the annual end-of-year Jelly & Ice-creams party was held for our dinghy sailors and their families at the Church Hall in Bere Ferrers.
Steve giving his annual summary of dinghy events
After the requisite quiz with its questions on wide-ranging subjects both nautical and comical, there followed Steve’s summary of the year’s dinghy activities.
Then, before eating could begin, we had the Dinghy Prize Giving as follows:
JUNIOR PRIZES
Best attendance at Friday dinghy training – Matilda 1st, Belle 2nd, Ellie 3rd
Matilda receiving her prize from the Commodore
Most Improved Sailor – Will
Here is Will receiving his prize
Best Contribution at Friday dinghy training (enthusiasm, effort, helpfulness etc.) – Belle
And Belle getting her prize
ADULT PRIZES
Best Progress – Becky
No photo as Becky was away but an engraved tumbler will soon be on the way to her.
Best Contribution at Friday dinghy training (enthusiasm, effort, helpfulness etc.) – Alan Duncan and Chris Fillan
Chris and Alan receiving their engraved tumblers from Doug
Award for Overall Progress, Effort and Contribution to Dinghy Instruction and Training – Richard Platts
No photo as Richard was away but an engraved tumbler will soon be on the way to him.
On Saturday 7th September, a group of 9 cruisers picked up our dinghy sailors and other guests and headed downriver for a day out together.
Three boats reached Barn Pool and decided to stop here, due to the light winds. Luckily for them, it was calm enough for rafting together.
The other 6 cruisers had a gentle sail to Cawsand Bay, where the rolly conditions unfortunately prevented rafting but they were able to anchor close together.
This was followed by lunch and fun in and out of the water.
Testing their rowing skills, two of the younger dinghy sailors ferried food and passengers between the anchored boats at Cawsand.
As the boats were about to head home, the heavens opened and we had a wet trip all the way back to Weir Quay. However, Anna Catherina entertained her guests with a spot of fishing to keep their spirits up!
So, despite the unwelcome rain and light winds, everyone had good day out.
Thanks to all who took part in this joint event and to our Cruising Officer, Alison, for organising it!
After several days of glorious weather, it seemed particularly cruel that the only spell of rain for some time hit Weir Quay precisely at barbecue o’clock, but the ‘Big BBQ’ last Friday evening was still a huge success, and we welcomed nearly 100 visitors from the three downriver clubs – Saltash, Tamar River, and Cargreen.
Our usual glorious riverside location for the event was abandoned in favour of shelter from wind and rain, with hasty boat park rearrangements and the loan of gazebos and an event shelter to create enough space.
The barbecues were soon roaring, and the four chefs gamely braved the rain to cook over 200 burgers and sausages.
The cake stall was crammed with delicious donations and while cold drinks for both young and over 18 went well, the last-minute addition to the menu of hot chocolate was widely welcomed by wet and chilly sailors.
This was a fantastic team event that took a massive amount of work but was still enjoyed by all despite the weather, and we raised the fabulous sum of £395.82.
And Charles and John provided lovely music that really added to the atmosphere.
Next event: Regatta on Saturday 20 July and Cruiser Pursuit Race on 21 July. Look forward to seeing you there. Hopefully in the sunshine!
Ben Williams, the supervisor at Weir Quay Boatyard has asked us to let you know that if you are in need of urgent assistance on the water near Weir Quay, he would be happy to come out to provide support at any time. This is not part of the commercial activities of the yard but a genuine offer of kind support if you need it!
We have been informed by James Platts, the organiser of the Summer Dinghy Racing series that due to insufficient take-up of places for this event, it has had to be cancelled.
This applies to racing on Sunday 2nd June and Sunday 16th June.
In future, it is important to respond promptly if you think you would like to take part in an event such as this, as it requires a lot of organisation and time from the volunteers to get off the ground!
The summer dinghy racing is almost here. Please join in and get practicing for our Regatta.
Here’s what you really need to know in order to take part in theses events:
You must be at least a level 2 sailor and able to manage your boat and return it to the shore unassisted in moderate conditions.
You take responsibility for your craft and crew and are insured as per club rules unless using a club boat.
We do not take kindly to rule bullies or ignorers. This is about light-hearted fun racing – but racing rules must be observed, sailing should be self-policing!
We are running an Average Lap race system so all craft can take part. You keep on racing until a fixed time is reached then we calculate your adjusted time.
We will award personal handicap figures to help calculate fair race results, giving slower boats a chance and encouraging new racers to take part.
The ODD (Officer Of the Day) will give a briefing before the start of each race – no question is stupid!
Most importantly our racing will run on T&C: The first boat back puts the kettle on for Tea, everyone brings a few Cakes or biscuits to share while we work out who has won!
If you are going to take part please let James know at semajplatts@gmail.com and he will send over the WQSC 2024 Notice of Race which will give more details.
Weir Quay Sailing Club 
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