Author Archives: MasterAdmin

SOCA 2025  Calendars

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SOCA 2025 Calendar Orders required by 30th November 

Our 2025 calendar features some of the photographs which were entered into last year’s photo competition by SOCA members. 

Please be generous with your ordering so that we can make a good profit for the Commodore’s Charity. 

Perhaps you have family and friends who would like to place an order.

£6 A5 Small calendars      £10 A4 Medium calendars    £18 A3 Large calendars

We will be printing to order so please reserve your calendars today. 

Email your order to: socasailing@me.com

Your calendars will be available at the 12th December meeting
or  Stevenage collection 
or posted. (We will need to cover costs on orders that require p&p).

Direct transfer to SOCA bank account preferred, or cash on collection.

Bank details will be sent with order confirmation.

Laying Up Lunch Saturday 9th November 2024

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SOCA held its Laying Up Lunch at the Cowper Arms in Welwyn North.
Eighteen members were in attendance for a very enjoyable and convivial meal.

The autumn gathering followed the recent, successful, practice of holding the event at lunchtime rather than in the evening as this suits the majority of the members. In addition the Cowper Arms has the advantage of being very close to Welwyn North Station for those who wish to arrive by train.



This is the same location that SOCA held its 40th Anniversary Lunch earlier this year in April.

October 2024 Meeting Thursday 17th October

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This was a talk in person  by Jeremy Batch. 
A synopsis of the presentation is given below.

Swinging, Spinning and Wobbling: pendulums, gyroscopes and Inertial
Navigation – a talk by Jeremy Batch

 
“I can dive off the eastern coast of the United States and surface again in the Mediterranean within five hundred yards of where I expect to be,” says Rock Hudson to Patrick McGoohan in Ice Station Zebra. We would take that for granted today, but how was it even imaginable in 1963 when Alistair Maclean wrote the book, and was the captain (or the author) exaggerating?
 
Our world is round (sort-of) and takes 24 hours (almost) to revolve. The roundness was
obvious to sailors for centuries, but the size of the sphere (if, indeed, it was a sphere) was a matter of guesswork and its rotation was once a dangerous heresy. The tilt, wobble and lumpy shape were all puzzling, but eventually undeniable.
 
We shall meet: Léon Foucault, demonstrating the Earth’s rotation with pendulums and gyroscopes which stay fixed relative to the universe; Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe, using the rotation to align his gyrocompass, and Elmer Sperry (allegedly) copying his ideas; leading to Charles Stark Draper and his rivals developing inertial navigation for ships, submarines, missiles, aircraft, spacecraft and cars, allowing us to travel confidently to the Moon and across its surface and (more daringly) beneath the North Polar icecap and through the Limehouse Link tunnel.
 
And as the Royal Navy tests Birmingham University’s quantum inertial navigation system on XV Patrick Blackett, ready for when GPS says “0 satellites available”, should we be saving our pennies or polishing our sextants?
 

This was a well attended meeting and the audience look forward to seeing future presentations from Jeremy. We will try to book Jeremy for a future presentation in 2025.

Presentation of SOCA Donations to RNLI.

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This event was scheduled so we could celebrate that  March 2024 was both the 200th anniversary of RNLI’s  formation and the 40th anniversary of SOCA being formed. The planned presentation on the RNLI had to be delayed to another time due to the presenter being ill, (he has offered to conduct his presentation at a later time). However in its place SOCA held a RNLI themed evening for its September meeting, including showing some videos available on the RNLI website  and a few group quizzes,

The main part of the evening was a presentation of a cheque to the Chairman of the RNLI Hitchin & District Branch of the RNLI, John Pearce.
The majority of the £260 that was donated was from donations from individual members with a top up from the Commodore’s charity fund.
After the actual cheque, (rather than the one in the picture) was handed over John gave a quick speech to the audience highlighting the difficulties that the local branches of the RNLI have had in recent years with falling numbers of people able to organise events that can be used for collecting donations. He made a plea for anyone who is interested and can help to contact him. (pearcej53@virginmedia.com).

‘Whoever we are, wherever we are from, we are one crew, ready to save lives. We’re powered by passion, talent and kindness, like generations of selfless lifesavers before us“

Mark Dowie 200th anniversary interview
Audio of RNLI previous Chief Executive Mark Dowie speaking about the RNLI’s 200th anniversary.

This page on the RNLI Website is worth a visit

Various videos were shown during the meeting. If you click on the images below you should be taken to the Youtube website where the video can be seen

RNLI_200th_Timeline_Film
200 years in 200 seconds, a brief history of the RNLI.
A video from 1924 The 100th Anniversary of the RNLI
Saved by a motor life-boat – Film made to celebrate the RNLI’s centenary in 1924. Featuring Whitby and Staithes & Runswick lifeboat stations. Youtube version.

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The Tradition of the Lifeboat Service – a cinema appeal
Archive footage – from the 1940s? – of the RNLI service. Includes launch footage from the Mumbles down a slipway, and the Robert and Ellen Robson at Whitby being drawn through the streets

A simple Refresher Quiz on the RNLI which you should get 10/10 if you have visited the RNLI website

1. How many times were lifeboats launched in 2010?

  1. 223
  2. 3,223
  3. 9,223
  4. 17,223

2. RNLI crew members are all …….

  1. fishermen
  2. men
  3. very tall
  4. volunteers

3. How many crew members are there in the RNLI?

  1. Over 500
  2. Over 5,000
  3. Over 50,000
  4. Over 5 million

4. Where are the RNLI Headquarters located?

  1. Blackpool
  2. Goole
  3. Liverpool
  4. Poole

5. The RNLI was founded by Sir William Hillary in which year?

  1. 1724
  2. 1824
  3. 1924
  4. 2004
  1. What is the person in charge of the lifeboat at sea called?
  1. Boat Boss
  2. Captain
  3. Coxswain
  4. Mechanic
  1. The RNLI`s newest class of lifeboat is called what?
  1. Severn
  2. Shannon
  3. Trent
  4. Tyne
  1. How many lives has the RNLI saved since its foundation?
  1. Over 1,400
  2. Over 14,000
  3. Over 140,000
  4. Over 1,400,000
  1. The RNLI`s purpose is to do what?
  1. Paint boats orange
  2. Recruit volunteers
  3. Rescue people
  4. Save lives at sea
  1. The RNLI have how many lifeboat stations around the coast?
  1. Over 20
  2. Over 200
  3. Over 2,000
  4. Over 20,000

This quiz was written by  Mr Adrian Boyd from the RNLI.

Answers for those who need them are posted here.

Answers to RNLI Refresher Quiz

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1.(c) 9,223

2.(d) volunteers

3.(b) Over 5000 One eighth of the lifeboat crew members are women

4.(d)  Poole  Specialist training facilities include a wave and capsize pool, a fire simulator,
a bridge simulator and a live engineering workshop

5.(b) 1824   He witnessed the destruction of dozens of ships from his home on the Isle of Man and got involved in rescue attempts himself

6.(b) Coxswain

7.(b) Shannon  The 13.6 metre lifeboat has a range of 460 km and can reach 25 knots with a crew of 6

8.(d) Over 140,000

9.(d) Save lives at sea

10.(b) Over 200

East Coast Cruising In Company (CIC) August 2024

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Four yachts from the extended SOCA fleet meet up at Levington marina on the river Orwell in August 2024. This was the CIC event that was originally planned for late May but was rescheduled due to other commitments.

The yachts involved were  Honfleur, Missbehaving, Skylark and Just Fleur.

 

Honfleur under sail

Just Fleur on the river Orwell

 

 

 

The crews of all 4 yachts meet at Lightship Bar, home of the Haven Ports Yacht Club, where a nourishing meal and a few drinks helped to generate a very convivial atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

All crew members present were looking forward to the next time we can all sail together.

Message from Hitchin Branch of RNLI

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Message from Hitchin RNLI Facebook Page

“We are holding our annual RNLI Flag Day  in Hitchin Town Centre on
Saturday the 21st September from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm.

This is traditionally our biggest fundraising event of the year and this year will be extra special as we celebrate two hundred years since the founding of the RNLI.
We would really like to make this year special and as usual we shall have stalls in the Market Square selling a range of RNLI branded merchandise including our ever popular Christmas Cards, Diaries and Calendars as well as bric a brac.

We hope very much to see you there. This year we are hoping to place as many street collectors around the town as possible during the day and if you are able to spare an hour or longer holding a collection bucket please let us know your preferred time and I will put together a rota with full details closer to the time. If you prefer to help on a stall, please also let us know as we may have need of a little help during the day.”

If you wish to volunteer and help raise funds for the RNLI to help please get in touch with Phil Underhill, stating your availability (morning or afternoon), on 01462 436973 or at phillipj_underhill@yahoo.co.uk.

Thursday 25th July Dingy Sailing & BBQ

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In the summer holidays SOCA normally organise a BBQ at a members house. This year it has been decided that we would instead join the BBQ and dingy sailing event being organised by at Paxton Lakes Sailing  Club, see report from Peter below.

BBQ/ Dinghy Sailing.
Our BBQ & Dingy Sailing , Paxton Lakes Sailing Club, Thursday , 25 July, enjoyed good weather and with some wind for our sailors.Very good turnout with SOCA Members, BOSG Members, Members children and grandchildren.  Lovely evening.  Simon ( Bob’s son) did a great job getting boats ready & packed away, BBQ organised and all the admin –  thank you again Simon.

Peter Sackett Commodore BOSG 2024

!!!!! SOCA was FORTY on the 8th March 2024 !!!!!

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SOCA held a celebration lunch on Saturday the 13th of April 2024
to mark the 40th Anniversary of its inception.
The event was held at the  Cowper Arms which is close to Welwyn North railway station.

This also served as the 2024 Fitting Out Lunch.

Over 50% of the commodores from SOCA’s history attended.
A full list of all the Commodores over SOCA’s existence is shown in our History section

A selection of other pictures from the event is shown below.

SOCA Burgees available at special price of £45

Also on sale at the lunch, at a special price of £45, were SOCA burgees the ideal addition to your Starboard spreader. These are still available. Contact commodore@socasailing.org.uk  

Antarctica and the Falkland Islands

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The topic for the April meeting was titled Antarctica and the Falkland Islands. 
This was, a very informative and enjoyable presentation about a trip to Antarctica and the Falkland Islands,  the talk complemented Dave’s talk last year that was based on a visit to the other end of the earth In Search of the Northern Lights, will confirm. The presentation included some stunning photographs from the Southern Ocean. a couple of examples are shown below,

Antarctica and the Falkland Islands.

In February 2023, keen photographers Liz and Dave Arnold went on a cruise to Antarctica and the Falkland Islands.
With stunning landscapes, unique wildlife and historic locations, Dave will present the best from the voyage, together with information about the geography, and some of the major events and politics which have kept Antarctica in its pristine wilderness state.