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I asked
the Commodore about writing a Windsor Yacht Club History. I have taken a
chance on compiling this history of the Yacht Club.
Why a chance?
1) The history might prove to be too boring to read –
So to combat this I have made a précis of the 1,000 plus Club events run
for the past thirty years.
I have put in some extra relevant information.
Where there are some years with not much written about them IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT NOTHING HAPPENED.
It just means that already the records are incomplete or destroyed.
The Commodores, Flag Officers, General and Social Committee worked just as hard in those years as in any other year.
2) Another problem was that I can’t mention everybody
for example:
The Club Dinners were at first were cooked by a husband
and wife team for 24 in the caravan. Then two couples got together to cook
for 40 in the new
Clubhouse.
Then the volunteers who cooked with the help
of the social committee for 60 members and so on.
These functions have produced about a third of our income necessary to pay off our debts.
The Committee members who run the bar voluntarily. They
could have been at home. Without them we again would not have had a third
of our income to
pay off our debts.
However the most important are YOU the members, without you the efforts would be pointless. You turn up to events, sometimes in adverse weather conditions.
You have helped in preparing for some events and clearing up afterwards. You have not only enjoyed yourselves, but help others to enjoy the occasions as well.
You have also, by being a member of
The Windsor Yacht Club contributed the last third of our income to enable
us to go on and improve the Club facilities
for YOU.
The
information I have gathered is from the minutes when I was a committee
member and Trustee, some Newsletters, personal experience, friends in and
out
of the Club and Past Commodores.
This is the
“The
Heritage of one of the best Clubs on the River” and it should be
handed down to members. The Club is enjoying just as much fun and boating,
as we did in the early days,
so hopefully the “History” will
be added onto year by year and recorded until we are over a hundred years
old.
Trevor Williams
Trevor & Vedantee
alongside Vedantee (the Boat)
THE WINDSOR YACHT CLUB
1976 –1977 Commodore Jack Berman
Sunday
the 29th of February 1976 was a cold day, snow was in the air.
Five berth holders called a meeting of all berth holders in the Windsor
Marina.
It was held in the black shed by the slipway and 131 people
attended, some of them decided to form The Windsor Yacht Club.
Jack Berman
was our first Commodore, with Sue his wife, as Secretary. Alf Stuart was
nominated as Vice Commodore with Neville Storton as Rear Commodore.
You
will meet Neville, Tom Ehrhart and John Henley with their wives attending
Club functions.
The
aims of the club were to go boating, exchange boating knowledge and hold
social events to enjoy each others company.
Club burgee was designed by
one of Neville’s sons and so The Windsor Yacht Club was born with a
membership fee of £1.
On the 1st of June 1976 JG Meakes sold
Windsor Marina to Penton Hook Marina and a nice couple were appointed as
the new Harbour Masters.
Welcome Harry & Hilda Chessun.
1978 – Commodore Alf Stuart
Alf,Dot & Caravan
The Club met and held functions in various
village and Church Halls. Bray village hall was used mainly until a
holiday caravan was purchased.
It was sited under the trees between the
crane road and the Willows Caravan Park. All the bedroom walls were ripped
out, but left the kitchen. This enabled us to cook and serve dinners for
24 members. Many other money raising schemes enabled us to improve this
clubhouse.
We even purchased our own personal red plastic chair to sit on.
It was not licensed for the sale of alcohol so on a Saturday and Sunday
you could see several people
making their way towards the caravan carrying bottles of booze. One night
we invited Penton Hook Yacht Club for a social. When the evening was in
full swing and everyone was dancing, a casual glance under the caravan
showed the floor to be flexing to
quite alarming angles. The caravan would
have to be replaced.
1979 – Commodore Alf Stuart
Membership rose to 41 boats and 91 members.
Social events were held including a
Pyjama Party in the depths of winter.
Fancy dress dinners have proved
extremely popular then and over the following years. Unfortunately I haven’t got a photo of
the Pyjama Party, with all
the baby doll and Wee Willy Winkie outfits, but there is this one (A few
years later in the New Clubhouse) of our “School Days”
We held our
first Tidal Club cruise to Rochester Cruising Club with 5 boats. This
started a very good relationship with Rochester throughout the coming
years. “The Chessun Trophy” was presented by Harry Chessun for the
best kept boat and is awarded at the Sail Past. John Goulding has won it
twice.
Alf presented “The Triton Cup” a trophy to be awarded to the
best placed boat with either twin or single engines in our boat
handling
competitions.
1980 – Commodore Ron Young & Tom Ehrhart
A
workman’s site hut from Heathrow was purchased by Alf Stuart for £1,200,
he appreciated the Club hadn’t got the funds yet, but we needed a more
permanent structure with more space. It was bought from Alex Weltrowski,
the overall site manager at Heathrow. Alex later on moored at Windsor and
became a Club member.
What a quirk of Fate. We didn’t have this huge
amount of money to pay Alf back. So the Club member’s were asked to buy
£50 bonds.
These would be repayable in 5 years interest free. This bond
entitled the member to a 20% reduction in their membership fee until they
were repaid.
At the Annual Dinner Dance for the next 5 years, there was a
draw to see who would get their money. A high percentage of the Bond
Holders, instead of taking
their money back, donated it to the Club.
Because of his wife’s ill health, Ron Young had to vacate the office of
Commodore and handed over for the rest of the
year to Tom Ehrhart.
“The
Challenge Trophy” was introduced to be competed for in a boat handling
competition between Windsor and Racecourse Yacht Basin Cruiser Club.
“The
Langeline Trophy” was put up by Brian Goodfellow. (Manager at
Penton Hook) This was in the form of a broken propeller that came from his
boat when
unfortunately he hit the rocks outside Urk in Holland. The Dutch
are extremely religious there and don’t work on Sundays, but as the boat
was sinking they
went out and towed it ashore.
The winner of this trophy
has to be the most accurate to predict their speed up and down the tideway
at the measured mile near Dartford. John Chiswell
(Managing Director of
Penton Hook Marina) presented a trophy to be competed for the highest
scoring single propelled boat in our competitions. Seeing he
had
only one arm this trophy was very appropriate.
1981 –Commodore Tom Ehrhart
Our
Honorary Secretary John Scutt resigned, but John Anderson picked up the
baton to carry us on. Harry Chessun held some instruction on boat handling
and Navigation. In February Planning Permission was granted for the new
Clubhouse. Somehow Tom managed to persuade the authorities that it
needn’t be
built on stilts. Next he had to persuade John Chiswell,
(Managing Director PHM) and the Council that the very best place for The
Clubhouse was where it is now.
Then he had to negotiate the terms of the
lease. The final outcome was: - 20 year Lease – Renewable every 5 years
– The first term was £500 pa. However
with further negotiation, between
John Chiswell and Tom Ehrhart, we got the first year rent free and £100
off the next 4 years. To cement the deal on a very
friendly basis, Tom
asked John Chiswell and his wife to be his Guest of Honour at our Annual
Dinner Dance. At the Dinner John Chiswell presented Tom with a
cheque for
£400 to cover the second years rent. At
last we were lucky to have Alan Waller to head up a team of club members
to lay the foundation and start
erecting the workman’s hut. It had been
laying on the ground for over a year. We also managed to find time to
cruise Bourne End Cruiser Club and Penton Hook
Yacht Club and have
various tidal cruises.
The Commodore presented “The Salam Perpetual
Ladies Trophy” to be awarded to the best Lady Skipper at our own boat handling competitions. Bert Blackborough (pictured here) presented “The
Ellesay Trophy” .A trophy to be awarded to the best twin engine boat in
our own competitions and it was won by the Commodore.
1982 – Commodore Tom Ehrhart
We
needed more money to carry on building the Clubhouse, so we asked members
for more interest free loans. This time the response only produced £700.
We sold the Club Caravan to Bray Cruiser Club for £200. There it slowly
disintegrated culminating in the roof blowing off. It looked like our
dream new
Clubhouse might be going the same way. However three enthusiastic Club Members came to the rescue with an offer of £1,000
interest free loans from each
of them. This enabled us to finish and fit
out the Clubhouse by May 1982. After all that hard work, it was decided to
enjoy the summer on our boats before
even thinking of an official opening.
In
September 1982 we held the official opening of the new Clubhouse. Robin
Aisher (Chairman of Marina Developments Ltd) arrived in a helicopter. He
was
greeted by our Flag Officers and Members. Also there were
Representatives of many of the Clubs on the Thames to witness this Grand
Opening.
Tom
organized a cruise to Brentford Dock Marina. Next day, two boats full of
Club Members moored alongside “The Belfast” in the Pool of London, we
had
lunch in the officer’s Mess. The members of TWYC climbing up and
down the sides of the Belfast on a rope ladder were a sight for sore eyes.
1983- Commodore John Henley
Buy
your Boat Name” was a new idea to raise money to pay off our debts. If
you didn’t buy it someone else could. The winner was drawn in a lottery
and they
got a percentage of the kitty. A big thank you to “The Members”. They not only loaned their money, gave up their spare time to
physically help Alan Waller,
but they were still spending money on a
lottery. John Henley was a
very keen competitor in boat handling. It was not so much that he liked
it, but he learnt a
lot from it. (As we all do) He was always pleased to
pass onto others any tips. He also introduced “The Seek & Find
Trophy”, which was a fun way of discovering
more of the River Thames. A
new introduction was a weekend on the islands at Cliveden with the magnificent view of Cliveden House. One upstream cruise he
organised was
after the locks were closed. He managed to squeeze 6 Windsor boats into
Bray Lock by putting them at 45 degrees, then wind the sluice gates
to let the water in. Yes, you had to wind the locks when out of hours in
those days. Six boats in Bray ? Perhaps the boats were smaller then.
1984 – Commodore John Henley
Can
you throw a rope that far? John Henley competing
This year it was decided to have a great social
event with the four clubs that are our nearest neighbours.
John was instrumental in setting this up. It also enabled us to hold our inter club
boat handling competitions at one go.
So the Five Club’s Rally was
started, with Bourne End CYC, Bray CC, Harleyford MYC, Racecourse YBCC
and
TWYC. (Or The Windsor Yacht Club as it was known in those days.) One of
the early rallies was in a
field of wet uncut grass at Henley, in which we
had held a Country Western Dance. Most of the people wore Wellingtons
Boots.
Have you ever seen people with Wellington Boots trying to dance
the
“do-si-do” in thick grass? It is a fun time and enables us to
meet
and become friends with members from our nearby Clubs. As they say you can
never make enough friends on the river.
1985 – Commodore Trevor Williams
We
were concerned about some rotting woodwork on the outside of our converted
wooden workman’s hut. Therefore it was decided, that after making the
damage sound, we would cover the outside of the Clubhouse in plastic
cladding. The members sponsored a boat race to raise money for the
cladding. The Men
versus The Women of The Windsor Yacht Club. The rowing
boats were kindly provided by the Windsor Sea Cadets. As a male, I am too
embarrassed to
report the outcome.
The Five Club Rally had another successful year
with David Maurice organising a cricket match in fancy dress. Men
wore
white tights and rabbit’s ears as they were the “Windsor
Rabbits” and we had our own “cheer” leaders dressed in white tops
and mini skirts. Amongst other events, I had an upstream cruise to
Pangbourne. On the way back three boats stopped off at
“The Compleat
Angler” for tea. Luckily the restaurant was fully booked for the evening
dinner. Not only would it have cost us
two arms and two legs, but we would
also have had to wear “Black Tie”.
There was also a cruise to St.
Katherine’s Dock. I
presented “The Knight Williams Shield” to be
competed for between
Bourne End CC and the Windsor yacht Club. I was asked to speak at other Club’s Annual dinners, which is a compliment
to the
Club, as I felt it was being recognised as one of the “leading clubs”
of the river.
1986. – Commodore David Maurice
The 10th Anniversary.
The social committee (The unsung heroes) rose to the occasion again,
preparing food for an unknown number of people. There was a
pig roast
amongst many other attractions. The Present and Past Commodores reviewed
the fleet from an old Andrews slipper launch and the Sea Cadets gave
a
marching display The Five
Club Rally attracted 84 boats from the 5 clubs. We not only did the
catering and ran the bar but managed to win two boat
handling trophies
against Bourne End and Racecourse.
The
A.T.Y.C. Rally this year was held at the T.M.Y.C Hampton Court The Club
were represented
by John Henley and Fred Newton. The Commodore was invited
by Admiral Sir D Halifax to attend
the inauguration of the Windsor &
Eton Sea Cadet Corp’s new building. This started a long association
with
The Windsor Sea Cadets. John Fruin put up an Electric Light Bulb Trophy to
be competed for
the best illuminated boat on the illuminated cruise past
the clubhouse.
It was the biggest electric light bulb I have ever seen.
1987. – Commodore John Fruin
A
kitchen refurbishment with a new cooker, freezer, microwave and sink unit
was completed. Carpeting and some easy chairs and tables were obtained by
David
Maurice at a very agreeable price thus improving the Clubhouse.
Sagging of the Clubhouse roof was examined. It was decided not to issue
hard hats to everyone,
as it was a matter that could be dealt with. John
Henley volunteered to temporarily fill the gap of Rear as Mark Cooper was
standing down. It was noticed that
the smaller boats didn’t seem to want
to go on club cruises upstream and the larger sea going boats were doing
both. So a comprehensive survey of member’s
wishes was held by the Vice
Commodore and was very informative on club opening times, popular events,
popular cruises and members wanting more boat handling
instruction. John
Fruin presented a Trophy to be competed for annually at a darts match
between Bray CC and the Windsor Yacht Club.
We
again took up our responsibilities at the 5 Club Rally of running the bar,
doing the Marquee and a fancy dress cricket match complete with cheer
leaders.
Also we still had time to win three boat handling trophies this
year. This Easter there was an up river cruise to Henley as well as the
cruise to Rochester. The
Club was represented at the RNLI Regatta at Kingston. Seven boats went to the ATYC Rally and The Windsor Yacht Club
won the position of 9th Club in the
premier boat handling
contest on the Thames. John Henley introduced a Treasure Hunt by car to
find the clues. John Fruin for one of his cruises, took the
Club to
Cookham. At the Two Roses they all had a very nice roast lunch in the
courtyard drenched in nice warm sunshine. Members attended the Henley Town
Regatta, which included the Music Festival. It was absolutely perfect. You
tied to the centre boom in the middle of the Thames, sipping champagne,
listening to
the music on a warm summers night until a firework display
brings the evening to a closing climax.
1988 – Commodore David Griffiths
Concern
had been expressed on the number of members leaving the Club, so I
compiled a promotional brochure to distribute around the marina. The
design of
the Club’s Logo was changed. The Commodore expressed his
desire to run cruises abroad for experienced skippers, and the necessary
experience can be gained
on our regular annual cruise to Rochester.
The
navigation class run by David Griffiths were also subject to a practical
test of their Navigational skills on David Harry and Tom Ehrhart’s
boats. Gus Ives
proving to be the most accurate navigator. They had to
plan and carry out a trip from Rochester to Southend and back across the
tideway.
This
year at the annual Five Club Quiz held at Bourne End, we managed to win
again. The Club was not only asked to run the Five Club Rally bar, but at
the
ATYC Rally as well. Tom Ehrhart was asked to head up this task.
Volunteers to man our Club bar were called for, if the bar is still to
open on Saturdays and
Sundays. The task seems to be falling more and more
onto the same few members.
A gathering of the tidal cruise.
A
gathering opposite the Racecourse
A
“Junior Trophy” was introduced on our Juniors Day. The proposed cruise
to
Oostende had to be curtailed at Ramsgate because of bad weather.
Rochester C.C.
came to visit with 12 boats
and we were pleased to make
them welcome at the Bar.
It gave us a chance to reciprocate as they always
make us very welcome at Easter.
The Club did very well at the ATYC. Fred
Newton skippered Oceanova to win the
“Lady Lou Trophy” and with Eric
Baverstock in Patsy Girl, we won 2nd Club overall for the “Dorothy Maureen Trophy”. This I
think is the very best position for two TWYC boats to have attained. Fred
Newton was extremely keen on competitions, and
meticulous in preparation
of ropes etc. Most Thursdays you could see him and his crew of Tom Ehrhart
and David Griffiths practising boat handling skills.
The illuminated
cruise was well attended with 9 boats dressed overall in lights, but the
best show was Colin Sales with his firework display onboard Vagabond.
For
the first time the Annual Dinner Dance was no longer held at the Ship
Hotel at Weybridge. It was felt we needed more space, so we went to the
Bellhouse
Hotel, Beaconsfield.
1989 – Commodore David Griffiths
As
always another very successful Bring & Buy was organised by Hilda
Chessun along with auctioneer Jerry Bartley. A Bar steward was appointed
on a majority
vote by the Committee. A start was made on the extension to
the clubhouse for toilets and extra space, under the guidance of Fred
Newton. I have never seen a
workman dressed in an immaculate, shirt, tie
and a freshly laundered boiler suit, but boy could Tim Dickerson make that
wheelbarrow move. A brilliant video of
Club events was produced by Bob
Angell and John Hybert.
At The Five Club Rally TWYC came 2nd.
The Easter cruise to Rochester started with 17
boats, but bad weather caused us to abort at Crayfordness. Those members
who put into St. Kats had a coach laid on by Mike McCausland to take us to
Rochester C.C. John Henley did another Treasure
Hunt by car and not only
was it good fun, but you learnt a lot more about the countryside we boat
in. David presented the
“Blue Fox Chalice” to be awarded for an act of
outstanding seamanship. David led a cruise of twelve boats for the first
time
along the East Coast. Eleven boats attended the Penton Hook Regatta.
Twelve boats attended the Cliveden Cruise. It was nice to see the cruises
being so well attended. Rochester C.C. and
Bourne End C.C. visited us with their cruises this year. Vedantee and Oceanova gained the Club 7th
place in the ATYC.
A
survey of members to see if they wanted RYA Courses was carried out by
Vedantee with encouraging results. She wrote to the RYA and registered the
Club
as an RYA approved teaching establishment with examinations for RYA
Certificates.
1990 – Commodore Vedantee Willliams
This
year broke new grounds with our first Lady Commodore being elected. Up to
then, I believe there has only been one Lady Commodore on the whole of
the
non-tidal Thames. An RYA approved tutor from Bracknell College was
employed to hold 14 Friday nights instruction, culminating in 11 members
passing
their Day Skipper’s Certificate. A Duty Officer list was drawn
up, so that there would be a member of the committee available every
time the Bar Steward
opened the Club Bar. The Club faced an
increase in Council rates by some 40%, because it would now be charged at
a business rate. Clubhouse functions were
extremely difficult to hold
because the extension for the toilet meant access to the kitchen sink was
through a hole in the wall. To cancel social events would
have grave
consequences on our budget, but somehow the Social Committee got on and
coped with all the social events, including A Summer Ball & BBQ.
A
clubhouse telephone for members use was installed by Tim Dickerson. MDL
had taken over the Marina from Penton Hook a few years back, but now
disclosed
that they had plans to demolish the clubhouse and build a larger
building incorporating a bar and restaurant. As we only lease the land
from MDL it was very
serious. It would appear that all they would offer us
was a small room for Committee meetings and we could run their bar full
time. However Planning was
rejected by the localauthority, but would be
put forward to the District Committee. We were running into difficulties
with the amount of power supply to the
Club house. There was an alarming
drop in the bar profits and Tom Ehrhart (as he originally set up the bar)
was asked to assist the present bar committee.
The Rear Commodore resigned
as he was taking his boat out of the Marina, but would assist as much as
he could. The Upper Thames MYC was invited as
guests to the Five Club
Rally. Harry and Hilda Chessun 
were retiring from
the position of Harbour Master. The Club were very indebted to
their support
throughout the years. So a retirement party was organised to
pay tribute to them. John Chiswell (Managing Director of Penton Hook
Marina mentioned earlier) was asked to do the farewell speech, presenting
gifts and a cheque for £400 from the members.
Harry & Hilda have
cruised extensively in Goose of Hamble. Harry is an encyclopaedia of
boating Knowledge.
He has encouraged many people to join the club, as well as helping many
members to go tidal.
The Club attended The Dunkirk Anniversary with 9
boats. Some of our members were invited
on board the “Alacrity” to
view the Supporting Boats, the fly past and the dropping of the
wreath.
The Summer Ball was a great success with over 100 people attending. The
sail past
this year was a real success with 28 boats sailing past the Clubhouse to honour the
Commodore and The Club. We did manage, as well
this year, to do 4 Upstream Cruises,
4 Tidal Cruises and the completed
Cruise abroad to Oostende. In 1990 there have been
numerous new events
including a Past Commodore’s Dinner and a Sea Cadet Charity
Dinner.
A
day shopping in France with a visit to a Chateau for tea. The coach was provided free
of charge by Mike & Chantelle McCausland, but a donation
towards the trip was sent to the
RNLI. In winter on Friday nights there
were talks about the Thames, flares, drugs and Crime
Prevention. All proved to be quite a success.
1991 –Commodore Vedantee Williams
A
bad start to the year. John
Anderson, our very loyal and long standing Hon. Secretary for 10 years,
passed away. The rear Commodore Jeff Gaines agreed
to take on the duties
of Hon. Secretary as well, but on a temporary basis. The deteriorating
profits from the bar were still of great concern. It was felt that
a bar
steward was a luxury we could not afford, so the Committee were asked to
do bar duties instead of being a duty officer for the weekend.
Consequently
the problem in the bar seems to be sorted out now. The Club
house extension work was getting better support instead of relying on the
4 regulars. An engine
maintenance class was held. Fred Newton completely
reclad the exterior of the Clubhouse with plastic cladding. Whoopee no
more maintenance. We won the
Games Night and The Five Club’s Quiz held
at Upper Thames S.C. “The Novice Ladies Skipper Rose Bowl” was presented by
Vedantee for the best first time
entry of a Lady Skipper in
our boat handling competitions. We
received a letter from Rochester C.C. stating that from now, they would have to charge a
mooring
fee as they felt they could not cruise to us
because of the new N.R.A’s charging policy for visitors to the Thames.
The Weybridge Mariners visited us on
their Summer Cruise and invited us to
their event in September.
T.W.Y.C THE
OVERALL WINNERS OF THE FIVE CLUB RALLY
Thanks to:
- Karadesa ll, (John&Sylvia Henley, Terry Best) Musetta,
(Richard Green, Jeff Gaines, Chris Turner,) Oceanova,
(Fred Newton, John Fruin,
Tom Ehrhart) Gardener’s
Buoy (Ben, Linda &Helen Turner) Ben winning the cadet trophy,
reminded me that he also won the Cadet trophy at a previous 5 Club
rally when he was only 14. (His dad must have taught him well.)
Our
boat handling competition this year was based on the International
Certificate of Competence.
For once a well attended
competition, many
members were awarded their International Certificates of Competence.
The 15th Anniversary
week end had been a great success, 42 boats from 8 visiting clubs
attended. We had a Pig roast done
in the traditional way on a spit. Cream
Teas were served on the lawns with music by Norman Cowan’s jazz band. We
held a
contest for The Windsor Carnival Beauty Queen. A sail past was also
held with Past Commodores taking the salute from a grand
old wooden
cruiser “ Lady Ellesay”. Thanks were given to Tom Ehrhart and all the
helpers, also to John Hybert and the
Commodore for producing a quality
souvenir booklet of The Club’s 15
years.
Eleven
boats enjoyed the St Kats Cruise and 6 went onto compete for the Langeline
trophy. The only trouble was Ron Woodman broke a throttle cable, but
Trevor towed him all the way back to Windsor. We never leave
a boat behind, if it can be avoided. The Casino night was a success;
unfortunately I can’t find
any pictures of the girls in their riverboat
croupier outfits. Members had a surprise at the Christmas Party when a
pantomime was produced for the Club.
The
Windsor yacht Club’s Pantomime
Now nearing the end of the year despite all the
members best efforts, the worst was about to hit us again. The Club
hadn’t
got enough money to complete the toilet extension. The members
responded magnificently and they parted with their money
as a loan on the
promise that the Club would pay them back. No! As tempting as it
was the Committee and Social Committee
didn’t pack their bags for the
Bahamas, but again knuckled down to see how we could pay back these loans
as quickly as
possible. Peter Elcome resigned as
Vice Commodore, because
of business commitments. So Jeff Gaines had a rocket ride
from Rear Commodore to Commodore in a
year. That’s what you call a quick promotion.
1992 – Commodore Jeff Gaines
Stan
Courtman (a founder member) after many years of outstanding service
thought it about time to retire from the post of Treasurer and Trustee. He
was
awarded Honorary Membership to The Windsor Yacht Club for his
services. The toilet extension, bar store room, cladding, fencing and
other work now totals
£18.000 but the work is nearly finished. The
Bavarian Night was most popular with lots of leather shorts and yodelling.
An Open Day was held to introduce
the Club to other boat owners in the
Marina, with no less than seven stalls, a BBQ and film show. The Five Club
Rally is now called The Thames
Valley Rally,
as two of the original clubs no longer exist and The
Windsor yacht Club is now known as T.W.Y.C.
The
upriver cruise this year went as far as Dorchester. The Rochester cruise
was not uneventful this year. The Commodore with two other boats turned
back
to Hampton Court, but the six remaining boats completed the cruise.
Although Sands had engine trouble and Lola caught a plastic sheet. The BBQ
on Cookham
Island and the Penton Hook cruises were both enjoyed.
1993 – Commodore Ron Woodman
The
Clubhouse extension was now finished. Great thanks were expressed to Fred
Newton, who showed such a great dedication to the job, also all the
volunteers.
Thankfully Mike Turner and Alan Jones agreed to take over
looking after Club maintenance, and they built a store enclosure outside
the clubhouse, so that there
was no unsightly rubbish to be seen. A fan
for the kitchen was fitted as the heat was getting a problem and we
didn’t want the old motto to become true. “If you
can’t stand the
heat in the kitchen, you better get out”. We really do need and
appreciate the ladies of the Club who look after us so well. As we can’t
afford a
filtering unit to clear the air of tobacco smoke at the moment, a
fan was fitted in the clubhouse ceiling to try and clear the air. It
wasn’t realised until later
that all we are doing is filling up the roof
with tobacco smoke. That
should cure any woodworm. A canopy to cover the Clubhouse entrance
was donated by MDL.
In the winter an Australian night had proved very
popular. John Henley presented “The Karadesa Cleat” to be awarded for
the best crew person usually judged
on an upriver cruise.
Ron
Woodman
The
up river cruise to Sonning and dinner at the theatre got as far as Henley.
The strong flood water had made it a journey to remember for the
14 boats. Eileen Woodman managed to get a coach to take the cruise the rest of the
way to the theatre. At the ATYC Rally John Henley
(Karadesa II) won the
Bonnie Cup for being 5th overall and Ben Turner won the Cadet
trophy. (First time for one
of our Cadets)
This
year a real change of venue for the Annual Dinner Dance. It was held at
the Cliff End Hotel Bournemouth, which was owned by Bob Angell
(a member). It was a long way to go, but Bob had laid on a full week end of
entertainment for a very reasonable price and it was a fantastic
weekend.
1994 – Commodore Chris Turner
Roy
Capper donated a television, Chris Turner a video player and I donated
educational videos on how to safely cross the channel to popular places.
As our Club’s
Teaching Principle, I reminded the Commodore on how
important it was that the Club hold RYA training courses to maintain our
status as a RYA teaching
establishment. John Henley produced a programme
of training events and Trevor held an introduction to navigation for 14
members. The RNLI Dinner produced
£305 this year. A visit from the Fire
Officer suggested we change the nicely padded and buttoned front of the
bar also fireproof the curtains. Mike Turner
attended to all the fire
officers requirements for the Club, thereby saving the Bar Licence and
Eric Calnan went on a course of Fire fighting and prevention.
Other than
that carry on as before, but mind your BBQ’s. Unfortunately our
Treasurer cannot carry on, but Gus Ives volunteered to step in. Also our
Vice
Commodore cannot continue, but Eileen Woodman would be advanced from
Rear to Vice Commodore. The Club bought a powerful generator to provide
electricity
for events away from the Clubhouse. The Club Rule book was
bought up to date. It was pointed out by our Training Officer, especially
when attending Rallies
ensigns should be taken down at sunset and hoisted
the next day. NOT left out all night. Purley Cruising Club joined the
Thames Valley Rally. Another first was a
Dogs Day, (CANINE, not Female) which was organised by Daphne Baverstock. Despite the
efforts of the Chairman of the Sea Cadets (David Maurice), Lord
Halifax
and our local MP, the chance to become The Royal Windsor Yacht Club or
have The Royal Warrant to fly The Blue Ensign came to nothing. Never mind
this is only the second attempt. Third time lucky. The long awaited visit
to the Club by The Duke of Edinburgh did not take place as he had to meet
a delegation
of Russians. This year our guests for the Fitting Out Dinner
were Lord and Lady Palmer. Not Gordon & Joan, although they have done many years of supporting
the Club.
The
annual cruise to Rochester CC. did not take place this year because of bad
weather. However the upstream cruise took place to Sonning passing through
the
newly completed Hambledon Lock. John Miller rescued a couple of
canoeists in difficulty with the strong current. Another first was the
PHAB Cruise for the
disabled. Ten Club boats loaded them and their helpers
along with 5 wheel chairs to cruise past their President Rolf Harris at
Maidenhead. Harleyford CC had
a cruise down to us and joined us for a
Caribbean Night. A Cruise to Cookham Island with a BBQ had proved popular
with 14 boats attending. Neville Storton
presented “The Storton Rose
Bowl” to be awarded to the club with the best table decoration at the
Thames Valley Rally. Ten boats attended the ATYC Rally at
Henley. The
Speed limit on the Thames is now largely adhered to apart from one boat
that is now banned for 5 years. I hasten to add this not A TWYC boat.
1995 – Commodore Chris Turner
This
year was the Centenary of Boulter’s Lock and was marked with a
re-enactment of the famous painting. Purley CC resigned, but The Oxford
Ditch Cruiser Club
joined The Thames Valley Rally. The Club maintenance
week end produced more than a redecorate this year, as all the tables were
French polished by Brian
Saunders. Mike Turner put forward a list of jobs
to be accomplished by him and club members. This included Calor Gas
cooking facilities along with central
heating. This should result in lower
running costs and less strain on the electricity supply. The wooden
windows were deteriorating and were replaced with plastic.
Roof repairs
were carried out including 20’ wooden beams to support and tie in the roof to the outside walls. A special Rhino floor was laid in the kitchen
and
toilets for Health & Safety reasons. A pool table was donated to
the Club by Mike Turner. There
was a new trophy presented by Christine Rowe. It was to be
called “The
Ted Rowe Memorial Trophy” and it was to be awarded to the Club Member
that made the most outstanding contribution to The Windsor Yacht Club.
We
decided to revisit The Ship Hotel for our Annual Dinner Dance.
1996 – Commodore Eileen Woodman
We
again saw the year in with a Lady Commodore. Her Commodore’s Address at
the AGM gave an excellent resume of Club activities, which enabled me in
one
glance to get all the information for 1996. Again Diesel engine and
VHF courses were held. We now have Pat & Peter Charman to do the
washing up after events,
which relieves the social committee of a real
burden. The remaining loans to the Club by members have now been repaid.
Hooray, uncross your legs the new
toilets are open. It was agreed that new
members joining would only now be asked for payment for the number of
months that were left in the year. This
replaces having to pay for a whole
year should you be unlucky enough to join say in August. John & Alice
Peet made a generous donation to enable the Windsor
Cadets to purchase instruments to form their Cadet Band. They now not only win many Cadet
Band Trophies, but also play nautical tunes during our Sail Pasts
and at
the TVR. Our treasurer reported, that as a non profit making organisation
and with our charity work, we could be eligible for a 90% reduction in our
rates. However the Council refused. Martin Partridge carried on looking
after the junior element in the Club. Indeed he started The Windsor
Cygnets Club.
At the illuminated cruise, we were honoured this year to
have as guests the surviving members of the wartime destroyer HMS Windsor.
Our return to the Ship
Hotel for our Annual Dinner Dance in 1995 proved
that we had outgrown it; therefore the Castle Hotel in Windsor was booked
for this year. John
Martin was
persuaded to mastermind another Pied Piper weekend. I believe
our members went through
Boveney lock in attire such as this on a secret mission behind enemy
lines.
The NRA remembered the fairies of Windsor for a long time.
At the TVR our two boats Blue Largo and La
Mystique came joint 3rd. Proper heating and a limited supply of
electrics for the TVR Marquee were obtained. As there were quite a few members
with boats on the Solent, a
new event was a week end on the Solent. John
Peet organised a hotel, a dinner and a boat trip on member’s
boats
to
Cowes. A really super boating weekend in waters we might not have seen
before.
1997 – Commodore John Peet
We
were unfortunate in losing the loyal services of Founder members, John
& Sylvia Henley. John was also the Bar Convenor, a Past Commodore and
Training
Officer, whilst Sylvia had been a Hon. Secretary. No couple can
have done more over their 21 years. Neville Storton presented to John
& Sylvia “The Storton
Oar” made by one of Neville’s sons and awarded for our best single engine boat at the ATYC. It would remind them
of their years with TWYC. They had also
won it many more times than
anybody else. Thanks from the Club are due to you. It was agreed that the
Clubhouse could be used by a member; also any other
inter club activities
and activities connected with boating. However the Club must have notice
in advance of any occasion and it had to be approved by the
Committee. If
any events were granted they should be held out of Club opening times and
a donation for electrics, heating etc would be more than
acceptable.
Mike Turner
assisted by Rod Bailey have taken on running the bar. He advised us
because of EU regulations a glass washing machine must be installed, which
he
did. Club expenditure went up by 48%. This was partly due to a new 20
year lease, with a 5 yearly review. The legal costs amounted to a £1000. The rent is
now £1500 per annum. Six months notice must be given to us
before MDL can redevelop our site and they must now offer us premises of
similar size and status.
Thanks to Chris Turner for his help in this
matter. As part of our winter entertainments Tom Ehrhart gave an
illustrated talk on cruising the Rhine and an
introduction to France was
given by David Maurice. Martin Partridge donated a fridge and a freezer
for the Club. Again John Fruin was persuaded to be our
Toastmaster at the
Annual Dinner Dance. What humour this man had. John Peet re-established
our Club for RYA teaching purposes as it had been allowed to
lapse and
Richard Mansfield was our Principal.
A
Patio & porch was added to the Clubhouse
At Easter we cruised to Rochester, despite a
forecast of winds in the region of force 6 but as they say it all depends
on
whether it is going with the tide or against. As a departure from
normally eating in the Rochester Clubhouse, we dined at
the Old Inner
Dowsing Lightship on Saturday night. The Thames Valley Rally, this year
moved over to the Coppa’s
meadows
at Henley. Twenty eight Club boats attended and Blue Largo (Ron
Woodman) won 2nd place in the competition.
He also
produced a stunning bank side illumination of The Windsor Castle. There was an
up river cruise, which 6 Club
boats took
part in at various times. Keith
Clarke was due to lead a cruse to St Katherine’s Dock on Friday the
5th
September, when it was found out, that Princess Diane’s Funeral was on
the Saturday. After some debate, it was decided that as it was not going
to be a state
mourning, then it would be alright to continue with the
Cruise. However two boats decided to cancel. Gus & Mary Ives (Water
Silk) and Keith set sail from
Teddington. They passed under Westminster Bridge as the Cortege left Westminster Abbey.
John Peet led the tidal cruise of three boats to Dunkirk and
then via inland waterways to Oostende.
David Maurice presented “The June Celebration Plate” for the winner of
a boat handling competition between
Harleyford MYC and Windsor. Following
an accident at a Club Cruise to Boveney, Martin Partridge proposed a code
of Safety and a Safety Officer be
appointed and Alan Jones volunteered. The 21st Anniversary Celebration
weekend was an outstanding success. We had a Jazz Band, an auction, cream
teas
and stalls. 140 people sat down to eat in the Marquee on Saturday night,
whilst “Two in a Bar” provided the evenings music. No less than 100
enjoyed a cooked
breakfast on Sunday. We were indebted to MDL for their
support and sponsorship. Did
you wonder why Windsor Bridge was now closed to road traffic; well
evidently it was beginning to sink because of the weight of all the
traffic. The NRA officially disbanded and is now reformed as the Environment Agency.
The EA intended to put on an automatic increase in
licence fees for the next three years. This increase is supposedly to pay
for bigger locks at our bottle
necks, namely Boveney and Bray. The Bray
water works turning the Thames water into fresh drinking water is now
completed.
1998 – Commodore John Miller
The Treasurer Gus Ives worked hard to set up a loan
scheme under which the repayment of the interest free loans was determined
by an annual draw. The scheme
was generously supported by the members.
After 18 years, I had to resign as a Committee member, RYA examiner and
Trustee, because of work commitments. A
survey this year of member’s requirements showed interest in a first aid course and VHF radio
instruction. Richard Mansfield organised these as well as an
introduction
to Navigation courses. He also awarded Certificates of International
Competence to Gus Ives and Eric Wilson on the Easter cruise to Rochester.
The Easter cruise to Rochester was not without a problem as La Mystique caught a rope at Woolwich and was towed into Gallions Point Marina by
Sands duly
escorted by a police boat dispatched by Woolwich radio. At
Gallions a diver cut off the rope and John Miller and Richard were able to
rejoin the cruise. At the
TVR Rally the Club‘s table decorations this
year surpassed itself again with a model of the Royal Yacht
“Britannia” made by Ron Woodman.
Jake Cavanagh, ex Lock Keeper and now editor of The Motor Boat Monthly, was the main speaker at our Annual Dinner Dance, which was held at The Castle Hotel Windsor.
1999 – Commodore Paul Spratley
Mike Turner produced a folder explaining what the duty
bar persons would have to do to run the bar. Since we lost so much money
with a bar steward, this is
always done by a member of the committee now.
A sub committee was set up to plan the celebration of the millennium at
the Clubhouse. Richard Mansfield
arranged for a demonstration of life
jackets and liferafts in David Brook’s swimming pool. Membership has
risen to 162. This might mean extending the
Clubhouse more towards the
river. The estimated cost was £10,000, so we will have to ask members for
a loan. Mike Turner agreed to head up a building team
and it was finished
before the New Year. Well done everybody. It was proving difficult to find
committee members willing to do bar duty at the clubhouse on
the TVR and
August bank holidays, so it was agreed to close the club on those dates. A
new event was the Port and Stilton night organized by Colin & Peggy
Ferrier. There had been a nasty accident when Mel Evans had been tarring
the Clubhouse roof. The boiling pot of tar had slipped and very badly
scalded his
arm and hand. He was rushed to hospital and has now recovered,
we have been very lucky with hardly any accidents.
David Maurice organized A 100 year Anniversary for The
Windsor & Eton Sea Cadets. A traditional Thames Sailing Barge was
brought up the Thames to moor
at Windsor. The members of TWYC were invited
to a formal dinner on board in the week. On the Saturday the Queen
inspected the Cadets and went on board to
see the exhibition of the Cadets activities. At Easter twelve Club Boats stopped overnight at South Dock
then continued for the Easter cruise to Rochester.
During the weekend they
dined at the Inner Dowsing Light Ship. The TVR had some real Summer like
weather and the sun really shone when Pure Genius won the
Top Boat
in the boat handling competition. Tim King later presented the
“Pure
Genius Trophy” for the best first time entry in our competitions. A new
TVR
competition appeared “The Concourse D’ Elegance” and it was for
the best turned out boat and crew. There was a cruise to St Kats and the
British Motor Yacht
Club at Teddington hosted us to a supper on our way
back.
2000 – Commodore Keith Clarke
The
Millennium 2000 Evening
was a great success and great credit was due to the committees. Mike
Turner even managed to get some special Millennium 2000
Champagne Glasses,
which were presented to the Ladies. A new event was the Western Evening
with the Black Jack dancers
demonstrating and teaching line dancing.
Another first was Burns Night. Warwick Morgan found a poet and a piper,
who has appeared
in several films including Four Weddings and a Funeral.
This and plenty of whisky made a very good night. Chris Turner was invited
to
be a Vice Chairman of the ATYC. Gordon Palmer took on the heavy mantle
of producing the Club’s Nautical Notes and did it very
successfully
indeed for quite a few years to come.
At the ATYC Rally Chris Turner (Silver Sceptre), crewed
only by Ben Turner won the Bonnie Cup being 5th overall. Quite
an
achievement for two people at the premier boat handling competition
held on the Thames. They were also awarded the ATYC Bowl
for the best
family performance.
The cruise to the QE II Bridge was new and the club
found the staff on Chiswick Pier very helpful. The Dunkirk cruise was
attended by 5 boats and they
met up with the QE II cruise at Limehouse. On
the way back to Windsor they called at Weybridge Mariners and were warmly
welcomed. The Up River Cruise
joined Oxford Ditch on the grounds of
Byron’s house and it went very well for a first time visit. The Dinner
at Shillingford Bridge Hotel was an excellent venue
and excellent value.
The Illuminated Cruise, of 10 boats, this year was won by John Donovan as
an illuminated Father Christmas. Seven boats participated in our
own boat
handling Competition and as usual the trophies will be handed out at the
Dinner Dance. The main speaker this year will be Sir Alan Rudge.
2001 – Commodore Richard Mansfield
The New Years Eve Party was a great event, with the
social Committee providing an evening meal. Then Carol Bailey organised a
Quiz, which Michelle Lee won.
After midnight Auld Lang Syne had been sung,
a buffet was laid on for our further enjoyment. Furthermore next day an
English breakfast in the Clubhouse
started the New Year. It was felt for
sometime that the Secretary had enough work to do, so now we have a
Membership Secretary. Colin & Peggy Ferrier
obtained genuine Scotch
Haggis for Burns Night. It was decided to turn the tented patio area into
a more permanent extension and Rod Bailey with Mike Turner
would organize
it. A diesel engine course with a RYA certificate was arranged. The
Rochester CC requires a copy of visiting boats Insurance just in case of
damage to their own member’s boats.
Richard and Kathy Mansfield organised
A
25th Anniversary Ball. Nearly
100 members sat down to the Celebration Dinner complete with a band. Cathy
and Mike
Turner headed up a team that worked tirelessly the whole weekend.
The Annual dinner Dance this year was held at the newly refurbished
Windsor Racecourse
Banqueting Suite.
The Final Extension?
The
TVR Rally was held this year at Bray Marina because of the foot &
mouth disease problem. WE DID
WIN THE TOP TEAM TROPHY. Richard & Kathy
introduced the up river cruise to a “Happy Hour” This is when two different boats are
nominated each day at 6pm to provide nibbles and drinks. The ATYC rally
was at Queen’s Promenade Kingston. We should be aware that at the ATYC
Rally their burgee should be flown and ours should be below it on the
starboard yard
arm. Richard led he cruise abroad, but only 3 boats went to Boulogne, Dieppe and St Valery Sur Somme. It was a good trip. The
intention was to take a lot of first
time boats abroad, but nobody availed
themselves of the opportunity.
2002 – Commodore Warwick Morgan
It
was reported that there seems to be almost universal approval of the
Copthorne Hotel as being a very satisfactory venue for our Dinner Dance,.
Many thanks
to Tony Potter for organising it. Gill Sliney has hit upon a
new idea of helping the Club funds, by guessing the bonus ball of the
lottery. Central heating running on
calor gas was to be installed in the
club, thereby hopefully reducing our electricity bill. Richard Mansfield
our RYA training School Principal is resigning.
In future a flag officer
or Training officer would organize the RYA courses, but not necessarily
have to teach. The RNLI came to the Club and 10 Boats availed
themselves
of this unique opportunity to have their boats checked for safety without obligation.
The Jubilee Summer Ball
was really enjoyed by 85 members
dressed up in their fineries, Thanks to
Tony Potter and others for the catering on this big event. Thirty children
were at our Windsor Cygnet’s Xmas Party.
I didn’t know we had that
many children. Peter and
Janet Duffy are establishing a Club website on www.twyc.co.uk
The Star Craft Club joined us for the TVR and
their wooden boats were much admired. Twenty six of our boats attended the
TVR. To mark the Queen’s Golden
Jubilee, Warwick organised a sail past
of nearly all the 72 boats attending the Rally, whilst the Sea
Cadets played Nautical Tunes. Warwick must be congratulated for carrying out this
spectacular first
time event. Eileen McKeiver of the Environment
Agency,
Dr Mark Warner and Brian Shillito as well as
our Commodore with his good
Lady took the salute. Fifteen Club boats went on the Cookham BBQ trip.
12
boats went to Sonning and enjoyed an evening with Acker Bilk at the theatre. Four Club boats crossed
the channel for a three week cruise
touring the inland waterways and they saw The Bruges Festival, which
is
quite a spectacular event.
The
Queen’s Jubilee Cruise to St.Kats
There were 16 boats for the Queen’s Jubilee
Cruise to St Katherine’s Dock. The dock was full with many boats
dressing
overall. Saturday evening we had “Supper on the Boards” each
boat supplied a dish, which we all consumed of course with a
generous
helping of wine on the pontoon. Monday and Tuesday when the main events
were held, we dispersed to many
advantage points to view them. I must say
the fireworks display and fly over were spectacular.
It
was reported that MMS had closed at Shepperton as with rising costs it was
no longer viable. We have new neighbours
with the Excelsior Rowing Club
and Mel Evans is liaising with them so that we don’t cause annoyance to
each other.
2003 – Commodore Mel Evans
Chris
Turner (Silver Sceptre) was asked to take up the post of Deputy Chairman
of the ATYC. The Charity weekend produced £1000 for the Parkinson’s
disease
Charity. This was due to your generosity at the auction run by
Glen Foy and Mel’s daughter, whose services were given free of charge
for the excellent Buffet.
The
Easter cruise to Rochester was led by Harry Chessun. On the way down the
conditions were quite lively but 14 boats went and gained some experience
of tidal
work without going into the English Channel. Two boats were not
without problems, namely Harlequin blew a head gasket and Curacaon broke a
camshaft belt.
No harm happened to them as they both had twin engines. Mel
Evans did an excellent job of leading our boats into Chatham and then on
the following day he took
the rest of the cruise in better weather back to
Windsor. He even went back by car in the week to repair the two boats that
broke down and led them back to
Windsor. What dedication. The Easter
Cruise is not always interesting, but is invaluable in sorting out any
boat problems before you do any sea work.
Marina
Developments Limited had their first Open Day at Windsor and the Harbour
Master (Roy) slaved all day over a BBQ. We did have the Club open for
thirsty visitors. Code numbers for the Marina gate are no longer
available. Non Berth Holders get a card on a £10 deposit to attend
functions at the Clubhouse.
I have forgotten mine three times already and
cannot remember the telephone number of the Clubhouse. If you see me out
there gazing in, please let me in.
2004 – Commodore David Brooks
The
Club again tried for a 90% rates rebate. The Treasurer (Keith Clarke)
after lengthy negotiations did get the reduction. Partly due to our
charity work,
youth activities and support of the Sea Cadets, we had a
successful conclusion at last. Neville & Audrey Storton were elected
to be Honorary Members in
recognition of their being founder members also
their years of hard work supporting the club. I can remember them standing
on the cold wet grass at a 5 Club
Rally for three days selling crabsticks
and other fishy morsels to produce an income for TWYC. Mel & Bob
completed the store cupboard in the Clubhouse and it
certainly looks a lot
tidier. Mike Turner retired from being Bar Convenor. Rob Masters took
over. Thanks Mike for all your hard work. The Committee have some
extra
help from not only the Membership Secretary but now a Book Keeper. Some of
our members took a Food Hygiene Course and passed with flying colours,
gaining Certificates for the Club for 5 Years
At
the TVR Rally WE WON TOP TEAM
TROPHY. Some comments were heard that the tests were too difficult
to encourage people to participate, but WE did
it. Competing for
the Zoda Cup against Penton Hook our boats won the TOP THREE
PLACES with STEORRA coming first. At the ATYC the premier Boat
Handling
event of the year, Bob Mercer came 6th and TWYC
came 3rd. Our own internal boat handling competitions
produced success for the Donovans. John won twin
screw and best overall, Janet best crew and Matthew won the Cadet Trophy.
The Thames Motor Yacht Club will now charge £10 per night for overnight moorings.
2005 – Commodore Alan Jones
The
Club was in a healthy position this year due to an increase in members
using the facilities more, but this was offset by the decision to use
outside caterers
and entertainers more. Tony Deamer has helped the Club
with a supply of Calor Gas at a reasonable rate. The Club made a
contribution to two charities this
year: - Orchyd and Tsunami. David
Griffiths and Richard Mansfield ran International Certificate of
Competence and Radio courses. Chris Turner wished to
stand down from the
TWYC committee after 14 years of service. Thank you Chris. Patrick
Finnigan has been a great help in maintaining and getting our
electrical
system certificated. Alan organised a Clubhouse Safety Check by MDL’s
safety officer and quite a few points were taken on board and rectified.
At Easter Alan lead the up river cruise. In 4
years, he lead four cruises, which were all thoroughly enjoyed. This time
he headed for The
Bell & Dragon at Reading. The down river cruise went
to MDL’s Marina at Chatham. Colin & Jayne Law put on a masterful
display to win
most of our internal boat handling cups.
Well done. Oxford
ditch cruised down to see us and were entertained with a Hawaiian Evening.
Garlands where handed out for everyone to wear. This made a great
atmosphere for the dinner. Alan & Sandra hosted a terrific weekend.
Eight
Boats went on the Dunkirk Anniversary trip, but the weather was not good
enough to hold the ceremony at sea. So it was held inside
the dock. The
Club has been to every Anniversary
since 1980. It is held every 5 years. We entertained the EA and RNLI for
their
"Go Boating Rally" in June.
2006/07 – Commodore Sheila Masters
Chris Turner was elected to become only the 5th
Chairman of the ATYC. The Association has been running for 57 years. Keith
Clarke was also
asked be an auditor. The ATYC represents some 52 clubs on
the Thames, so it is some achievement and honour to have two members of
The
Windsor Yacht Club appointed. Chris Turner was also asked by The RYA
to chair their Inland Waterways Working Group, and to be a
member of their
Legal and Government Affairs Committee. Mel Evans as training officer
organised boat handling, radio and diesel engine
courses. The Past
Commodore’s Dinner came back into the Clubhouse since its first year in
1990 and was combined with the Sea Cadet Dinner.
After 17 years of service
to the Club, Alan Jones thought it about time to retire from committees.
Thanks Alan for all you did and still do.
Fred & Barbara Conners
organized the children’s Xmas Party and thanks are due to them and Tony
Andrews for a Santa’s Grotto. It was
something to behold, as it would
have done credit to Harrods or any of the other big stores. Barbara has
for many years managed to get some
very good prizes for the raffles. The
Thames Valley Rally attracted 16 Windsor Yacht Club boats and Alan Jones
was appointed Chairman of the Rally. In the
boat handling competition Rob
& Sheila Masters came 3rd with Keith Clarke winning the
family trophy. In case you think, as a lot of people do, competition
judges don’t know anything. The judges went out SINGLE HANDED and did
the tests to perfection. On June 3rd a procession of our boats
led by the
Commodore with a piper came back from Bray. They had spent some
months away whilst MDL replaced the moorings in Windsor Marina to
accommodate larger
boats. Mike Gates and the press were in attendance to
mark the occasion. At the ATYC Bob Mercer won THIRD PLACE. A
position I don’t think The Windsor
Yacht Club have ever achieved before
in the premier boat handling competition on the Thames. “The Masters
Trophy” was presented by Sheila Masters for the
top marks obtained by a
dinghy or RIB.
The
Environment Agency seems intent on implementing their scheme of raising by
12% every year for the next three years the cost of a river licence. They
say
that there is a £12M shortfall from 2005 to make up.
Well that took us up to 2007. I must stop now and get
this into the TWYC’s web site and booklet, otherwise many more years
will roll past and it will be a
continuous process of trying to catch up,
and nobody will see our History.
Ken Richardson Our Commodore 2008
BOATING
BOAT HANDLING
FORMAL EVENTS
FANCY DRESS EVENTS
RYA TRAINING COURSES
WE TRY AND ENCOMPASS IT ALL
|
|
1976 |
1982 |
|
COMMODORE |
JACK BERMAN |
TOM EHRHART |
|
Vice Commodore |
Alf Stuart |
John Henley |
|
Rear Commodore |
Neville Storton |
Harry Chessun |