BRISTOL SAILING ASSOCIATION

Newsletter October 2007

Contacts:Gordon Ogden (Commodore)01275 462473

Jock Playle (Secretary)0117 973 8855

Jane Jenkyn (Treasurer) 01275 880318

Marion Brown (Social Secretary)0117 952 0434

We welcomed new member Nigel Buck at the meeting.

Future Trips

1.1Gordon Ogden is skippering a midweek trip from Gosport on Monday to Wednesday, 5-7 November. This was planned for the PYC boat Enchantress, but Enchantress has been replaced by a new Elan 341. Gordon has been able to have the PYC skippers’ training upgrade, so it will be on the new boat. This is fully booked, and details have been sent to all going.

1.2Dave Price is skippering a midweek trip on the PYC yacht Spellbinder on Monday November 19th - Wed 21st. This is now fully booked. No advance deposit is needed.

1.3Chris Watts will skipper a ‘midweek’ trip on Spellbinder on Monday to Wednesday, 10-12 December. This is now fully booked, with all places being taken during the meeting.

2.Announcements

2.1Christmas Dinner. After last year’s excellent dinner at the Lockside restaurant, we shall again hold our dinner there this year on Saturday 8 December at 7.30 pm.

It will cost £30 per person (which includes the obligatory service charge for groups). Drinks will be on the same basis as last year, when the restaurant ran an individual tab system.

Names and a £10 deposit to Marion (0117 952 0434) a soon as possible, please.

The menu is printed below. Menu choices will have to be given to the restaurant in advance and should be with Marion at the November meeting or very soon after.

Starters

Leek & potato soup

Spinach, ricotta &sun dried tomato tartlet

Smoked salmon with red chard, capers & horseradish crème fraiche

Marinated rare beef on rocket with parmesan

Main

Confit of duck leg, puréed swede & plum sauce

Baked sea bass fillet on a Sicilian vegetable ragout

Winter root vegetable tagine with apricots dates and almonds

Roast turkey breast with all the trimmings

(all with roast carrots and parsnips, garlic and rosemary potatoes)

Puds

Christmas pudding & brandy sauce

Sticky toffee pudding & cream

Cheddar & brie cheese plate, onion marmalade, fresh pear

Rich chocolate torte & cream

2.2Social evening. Our social evening with jazz band and buffet will be held on the date of the February meeting, 11 February 2008. To help defray the cost of the band and food there will be a charge of £3 per head.

It was decided at the meeting that, as the officers of the club will not be present in January, the meeting on Monday 14 January 2008, will comprise an informal evening on board Sabrina. It was suggested that we might invite an outside speaker to the January meeting. If anyone has any ideas and would like to pursue this, please let Jock know. One possibility is an update on flares. The type of flare which used to be available, and which many members practised firing at our demonstrations at Portishead, has been withdrawn. The ones now available have a totally different firing method. We came across this type on board the yacht we chartered from Plymouth on October 1st. Jock used these when he attended a RNLI flare demonstrator course recently. Unexpectedly, Jock will now be at the January meeting, as, following his accident, he will not now be allowed to clamber over ice floes in Antarctica as planned. He hopes to obtain dummy versions of both types of flare from the RNLI which could be demonstrated at the January meeting.

2.3New RYA 2-day course. At the last meeting we mentioned a new RYA 2-day Navigation and Safety shorebased course. Jill Hunter has been in touch with Martin Palmer at Brunel College, who advises that this course is for absolute beginners who have never been on a boat. However, he would put on a course just for us on navigation and safety, for those with some experience who would like a refresher. It would cost about £200 total, divided up among those attending, and would be tailored to our requirements. There was no interest in this at the meeting, and it was suggested that we could do this ourselves, given the number of qualified and experienced skippers we have, including RYA Cruising Instructors. If members would like this, please let us know.

2.4The next meeting will be on Monday November 12th. Subscriptions for 2007/8 will be due by then, and renewal notices have been sent out. Please return these with contact details updated if necessary, with your payment, to the Treasurer, or bring it to the November meeting.

3.Recent Trips

A summary of all trips reported at meetings is given here, or a full report, if available. Members reporting at a meeting are reminded that a full version of the report should be provided, either written or emailed. If this isn’t available, then only a short summary will be given in the newsletter. Full reports will be included with the next newsletter following receipt.

Trip on Dizzy B, skippered by Jeff Birkin

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Trip on Tamarisk, skippered by Gordon Ogden

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Trip on Lady Emma, skippered by Becca Hayward

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Trip on Bertie, skippered by Bob Buchanan

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Trip on Sunsail Odyssey 45.2, skippered by

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