BRISTOL SAILING ASSOCIATION

Newsletter November 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

Gordon opened the meeting by apologising for the late start, due to our host Andy Criddle suffering a car breakdown on his way to the meeting. Gordon thanked Andy for his efforts in arriving as soon as possible to open up for us.

Future Trips

1.1Chris Watts will skipper a midweek trip on Spellbinder from Gosport on Monday to Wednesday, 10-12 December. There is now one place available for this, and will anyone who would like to take this place please contact me (Jock) and Chris (01275 851110, mob 07802 883691). Midweek sailing with Phoenix YC now costs £17 per day, payable at the time; no advance deposit is needed.

1.2Jeff Birkin will skipper a Solent-based trip on the weekend of February 22 – 24. We need one or two more to make up a full crew, and if there is greater demand we have two other skippers available for a second or even a third boat.

2.Announcements

2.1Membership renewal. Renewal forms were sent last month to all members whose membership expired on October 31st. So far about half have renewed. Will those who have yet to do so please send your completed renewal form, with the appropriate subscription, to the Treasurer, Mrs J R Jenkyn, Edgecliff, 12 Marine Parade, Clevedon, Bristol BS21 7QS, as soon as possible. It is important that we receive these before the next meeting on December 10th, as Jane will be away for some time immediately after that date.

2.2Christmas 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.

Will those who have booked please and paid the £10 deposit please send their menu choices and balance of £20 to Marion Brown as soon as possible (28 Parkstone Avenue, Horfield, Bristol BS7 0BY, tel. 0117 952 0434).

As a reminder, the menu is printed below. Menu choices have to be given to the restaurant in advance so please send them to Marion as soon as possible.

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

2.3January meeting. As most of the officers of the club will not be present in January, the meeting on Monday 14 January 2008 will be an informal evening on board Sabrina. It is hoped that dummy versions of the type of flares now available (and found on board a yacht we chartered from Plymouth in October) will be available for demonstration. 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. Jock used these when he attended a RNLI flare demonstrator course recently and hopes to obtain dummy versions of both types of flare from the RNLI.

2.4February meeting. The meeting on Monday 11th February will be our social evening with jazz band and buffet, when all the officers will be present and able to mingle the with everyone, unlike our usual monthly meetings. To help defray the cost of the band and food, there will be a charge of £3 per head.

2.5Members may like to know that each Sunday evening is Jazz Night aboard Sabrina, which is open to BSA members.

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.

There were four reports at the November meeting; reports on a Solent weekend skippered by Jeff Birkin and a midweek sail on the new Phoenix YC Elan 340, skippered by Gordon Ogden, follow. Bryan Thomas reported on a two-week catamaran charter in the Seychelles, and Peter Beasley described his Coastal Skipper training course; we don’t yet have full reports of these for the newsletter.

Trip on Kismet, skippered by Jeff Birkin

Trip on Elan, skippered by Gordon Ogden

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