Weymouth
Sailing
Club

A big thank you to Richard Woof for his very professional replacement of a large area of deck on the port side, and some filling and re-glassing on the starboard side. The underlying ply had rotted because of water ingress through poorly constructed lockers on each side, and through the access hatch to the bilge pump which was, bizarrely, situated under the middle of the floor. The pump has now been re-sited above deck at the stern. The whole floor needs re-coating with deck paint, anyone willing to help please contact Simon Vines.

The WSC walk on Sunday was from Milton Abbas up Green Hill via Horse Park Plantation, down to Hilton and back along the valley to Milton Abbey School. With 40+ knots of wind we were glad to be well inland and relieved that no trees blew over on us although we did have to shelter from a hail storm. The Hambro Arms produced an excellent Sunday lunch with Fawlty Towers billing thrown in for interest.

Just another Saturday in March at Weymouth Sailing Club - or was it?

Rear Commodore (Moorings and Yard) Nick Munson had gathered a team of club members together to start the preparation works for laying the new moorings off the rowing clubs pontoon.

Well done to all the WSC members who worked hard over the long winter evenings and successfully passed their RYA Day Skipper Shore-based course. This year we had 22 students, receiving tuition from Euan McNair (Principal of WSC RYA Centre) and Kathy Claydon (Instructor). Congratulations to the first 10 of Kathy’s students who successfully completed the course last week. The rest will finish their course later in March. Seven of the students were from Weymouth Rowing Club.

Join us to celebrate Mothering Sunday at the Club on Sunday 31st March.
Amanda has prepared a 2 course menu with coffee for £15.00 per person
Lunch will be served at 12.30
Please see the link to book your menu and table
www.wsc.org.uk/mothersday
(Bookings Close 23/03/19)

Royal Navy in Dorset
by Stuart Morris
Join us to continue the winter talks programme at the club on Friday 22nd February 7.30pm
Stuart tells the story of Dorset's maritime involvement from Henry VIII's time, through the Armada and Dutch battles off Portland. Confronting France, Trafalgar, sail to steam, the ironclads. The Formation of Portland Harbour and breakwaters, the advent of torpedoes. The first flight from a moving ship, the First World War WW1 and the early 20th century.

Just a reminder that the next stop on the world tour of my presentation about Cherbourg breakwater will be at WSC on Friday 8th March at 7.30pm. After that you'll have to travel to Cherbourg to catch it in the French version later this year. If you're already planning to join the Cherbourg rally in June, of course, this is a chance to 'get some knowledge in' before you go!

Jill and Simon Vines took 17 of us on a seven-mile ramble on Sunday, starting and finishing at the excellent Saxon Arms in Stratton (just north of Dorchester). The rain stopped promptly for the start at 10am and the weather improved so we finished the walk in sunshine. The picture shows the group in front of Forcey’s Tower, a bell tower built in 2014 to mark the centenary of the Forcey family leaving their nearby farmhouse.

Over one hundred members of WSC and their guests celebrated the club’s annual prize giving with a dinner and dance held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

I shall be presenting some of the fruits of my Cherbourg research at 7.30pm on Saturday 2 February at the Royal Dorset Yacht Club, Custom House Quay, Weymouth – for those of you who aren’t watching the rugby, of course!

The bizarre science-fiction world of Ancien Regime inventors and engineers is the setting for this richly illustrated account of the building of the Cherbourg breakwater.