| The Sporades Flotilla A detailed account of the Sailing Holidays Flotilla that 4 club members enjoyed on board a Beneteau 361, in September 2022. Presented by Terry Branston with the aid of numerous photos taken over the two weeks. |
The Talk will be given at the RNA Welwyn Garden City on Thursday 13th April at 7:30pm prompt.
SOCA 2023 Annual Review & AGM was held on
Thursday 10th March at RNA Welwyn Garden City
Despite the atrocious weather the club managed to successfully hold the 2023 AGM which was a relaxed, social evening which gave the retiring Commodore the chance to look back at the past year and for the new Commodore to discuss plans for the next season.
The meeting commenced with the Commodore’s review of the past year followed by the presentation of the club’s trophies.
Below are extracts from f the slides used by the Commodore for his review of the year.
“Talks / Presentations”
A retro talk using SLIDES of a trip from Portugal to Tenerife in the last century (1990s).
.
“Social Events & Quiz Events”
“Sailing in Company”
SOCA Barbecue at Hythe
“Other Events”
“Paul Redd”
The 2022 Trophy Awards were as follows
AstrolableThe Astrolabe Trophy (donated to the club by Roy Maynard) for a member’s presentation at a club evening.
Awarded to Ashley Cato, Barton Turf Adventure Centre for the best attended presentation of the year.
See the relevant post by clicking here.
Kelphil Bell 
The Kelphil Bell is one of the oldest awards within the club. It was awarded by the Commodore to Geff Briant, for his work on the amazing club website, club talks and assistance with technology.
Commodore’s Cup :- Awarded at the discretion of the Commodore to John Gardener, for his extensive cruising on Shrimper Skylark.
John could not attend the meeting so the cup will be presented to him by the Vice Commodore at the next opportunity.
Following the award of the Trophies, The 2022 Commodore stood down and the President, the previous Commodore, asked for nominations for the 2023 Commodore.
Andrew Davidson was appointed who chaired the rest of the AGM which started with the appointment of new officers. Then the minutes of the 2022 AGM and the Treasurer’s report were approved .
Then the officers for 2023 were elected.
The new Flag Officers for 2023
endorsed by the membership at the AGM.
2022 Commodore is Andrew (Right)
Vice Commodore is Geff (Centre)
Rea Commodore is Terry (Left)
The meeting concluded with a reminder of upcoming events.
“Future Events”
Followed by a reminder of the club’s Ruby (40 years) celebration
“Founded in 1984”
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and trust you have had a enjoyable sailing year which has certainly had its share of fine weather, lets hope we get the same next year.
The first club sailing event was the East Coast Cruise at the end of May which culminated in a dinner at Fox’s Marina Ipswich. Honfleur crewed by four SOCA members managed to make it followed by Stewart, Tanya, Paul Redd and Denise all of whom arrived by car.
25th – 28th May 2001 Cherbourg Rally
Paul had recently retired from work and had just bought a Cornish Crabber which he was looking forward to using in his retirement. This as we know was the last SOCA event Paul attended as he sadly passed away in September shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.
He was SOCA Commodore for the year 1999-2000, I think that’s Paul at the helm of what I believe is a Colvic 28.
Tom. Sarah and Baby
Paul was a past neighbour of mine for many years at Becket Hall, Welwyn and joined the club soon after me. He had two young children Tom and Sarah who I was very pleased to meet again at Paul’s funeral.
Tom was showing off his latest 3 month old addition which he is holding in the picture above with Sarah standing alongside .
The reception was fittingly arranged at Pin Mill and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Our heart felt condolences go out to Denise for this tragic curtailing of their retirement years together.
The last yachting event was the South coast cruise arranged by Martyn Reed at Hythe Marina. This was a very successful event with 5 yachts all helped along by Martyn and Sean’s hospitality and the particularly fine weather.
Just to remind everyone the next meeting is on the 12 January 2023.
Tanya will be giving a talk on her experiences diving on the scuttled German warships in the freezing cold waters of Scapa Flow.
Commodore Alex Nicholas
The December meeting was held on the 8th of December and was well attended despite the weather conditions. This was the annual nautical themed photo contest which included the opportunity for a pre-Christmas social.
Nearly 120 photos from over 20 members were submitted into the competition, this made the voting very close with ties-breaking decisions having to be made in 4 of the categories.
The winners in the 2022 Photo Competition
Above are the six winners in the 2022 photo competition.
From left to right :-
Terry, George (at front), Paul, Tanya, Stewart & Geff
The competition for best photo was broken into six different Categories:-
1) Club People since the club was formed.
2) Seascapes
3) Artistic (with a nautical flavour)
4) Boats
5) Weather and Sunsets
6) Sailing Holiday
Below are the winning photos from the 2022 Photo Competition.
Categories for the Photo Competition:
1) Club People since the club was formed.
Club People – A very old Printed Photo that required scanning from Tanya
2) Seascapes
SEASCAPES – A photo taken by Stewart off Plymouth
3) Artistic (with a nautical flavour)
Artistic – A photo that could have been entered into (and won) many of the categories by Terry
4) Boats
BOATS – A picture from Paul from high on the mast.
5) Weather and Sunsets
Weather & Sunsets – A picture from George on the East Coast.
6) Sailing Holiday
Sailing Holiday – a picture taken on the wharf in Oban whilst Geff was on holiday in Scotland
Note a selection from the entries will form the basis of next year’s calendar 2024 which seeing the quality of this year’s entries means it will be highly desirable.
Also a raffle etc was held which made a healthy boost to the funds for the Commodores chosen charity which this year is BTAC.
The 2022 Laying Up Lunch was held at The Chequers, Bragbury End Stevenage.
The change to holding these events at lunchtime has been well received and ensured higher attendance from members.
The November meeting at the RNA W G City was given in person by Jeremy Batch from the Cruising Association.
The topic was :-
Going boldly: across, beneath and beyond the ocean by Jeremy Batch.
The meeting was very well attended and included some external guests from a local diving club.
Jeremy provided a very high tech and entertaining presentation that gave the answers to the following questions.
A Talk on the BTAC was given by Ashley at the October meeting.
Ashley gave a talk on the work of the Barton Turf Adventure Centre.
This is the charity chosen by the current and previous Commodores.
Dee and Debs presented Ashley with a donation of £350 at the meeting.This being the proceeds of their charity fund for 2020 and 2021.
See story below
BARTON TURF ADVENTURE CENTRE – A SHORT HISTORY
The story starts in the 1950’s, when the Director of Education for Hertfordshire recognised the value of outdoor activities and took groups of school children to Barton Turf during the school holidays to sail on Barton Broad. The campsite was a field rented form a local farmer and the young people had to set up the camp, including the camp kitchen around the fire pit, dig latrines and rig and launch boats.
In the 1970’s Hertfordshire decided to make the Centre more permanent and purchased the current site from Cox’s Boatyard and the Farmer, rumour has it that this was done via a compulsory purchase order!
The Centre was developed over several years, mainly by volunteers. Buildings are mostly redundant prefabricated school classrooms from Hertfordshire schools which were dismantled, transported and erected on the site. The marshland was dug out to provide jetties to moor the boats (Staithes in Norfolk) and the moorings.
Eventually, a Head of Centre was appointed, and wages paid by HCC, in line with the other outdoor Centres being developed by HCC. Schools were encouraged to use the Centre, for Sailing during the summer months and Geography Field trips at other times.
In 2003 a reorganisation of the Outdoor Centres was undertaken, at this time HCC had, I believe, 5 outdoor centres, one in Norfolk, one in Snowdonia and 3 in Hertfordshire. The review recommended that this was reduced to one centre in Hertfordshire, the centre at Barton and two in Hertfordshire to be disposed of. A campaign was started by the Hertfordshire Sailing and Canoeing Association to save Barton Turf. This was also supported by several councillors who refused to close the Centre and tasked their officers with finding a way to keep it open, at no cost to HCC.
The operation of the Centre was put out to tender. The Council Officers served the staff with redundancy notices and shut the Centre before the tender process was complete. BTAC-Services won the tender and were granted a 25-year lease. Unfortunately, this process took approximately 18 months and the lease was not agreed until mid-way through July 2005, too late for most bookings that year.
BTAC has been building up the Centre, both in terms of the activities offered, facilities and services provided for groups since taking on the Centre, although the main activity is still sailing. Boats have been improved and renewed and additional craft have been purchased. Canoeing and Powerboating have been added as additional on water activities.
The accommodation on site is in tents, these have been repaired and replaced as needed and each tent is on a concrete base with 4 beds and mattresses in each. In the past groups using the Centre have had to self-cater, BTAC is able to offer a full catering service for groups who prefer this.
Additional activities such as environmental studies can be offered, as well as teambuilding and conservation.
The latest project is to provide a drying room for clients, which is currently underway, and they are seeking funds to fit this out, for a dehumidifier so that clients can dry wet clothing overnight. The estimated cost for this is £750 to £1000.
The Donation from SOCA will go towards this purchase
Barton Turf Adventure Centre (BTAC) is a 7-acre private campsite and sailing school originally established for Hertfordshire schools’ use. Now run by Di Smith, Ashley Cato and Sheila Fishwick, its activities are open to everybody, but especially schools and youth groups.
They offer tuition for a range of adventurous (chiefly watersports) and environmental activities using Barton Broad and the 14-acre private nature reserve. The Centre has its own slipway into an arm of Barton Broad, and can launch and recover boats of up to about 6m in length, 2m beam, 0.5m draught (keels up). Wider boats have to be manhandled over the side of the quay, or launched through Cox’s Boatyard (for a fee). Boats may be moored overnight.
The camping facilities are open only to schools and other organised clubs and groups, and (subject to availability) to those booked on multi-day courses at the Centre. They have 11 permanent tents sleeping four each (in beds! but you need to bring your own sleeping bag and pillow).
Barton Broad is the second largest of the Norfolk Broads and arguably the best for sailing.
It has been subject to substantial improvement project recently undertaken by the Broads Authority aimed at restoring the silted broad to clear water. The project on the whole has been a success and Barton Broad is once again a real boating paradise.
The Broad is home to numerous wildlife, including many species of birds, fish and even otters who have returned to the Broad. The edge of the Broad is all nature reserve, and much of it is fenced off to provide fish-free areas where microlife can breed without being eaten. The Broad lies across the River Ant, and there is a certain amount of pleasureboat traffic moving through it. The Broad is about 2m deep at most. Power boats are subject to a 5mph speed limit.
SOCA held a Cruising in Company event based from Hythe Marina the home of Ariel Spirit traveling to Shepards Marina in Cowes. Martyn, Ariel Spirit’s skipper organised this event remotely from his new home in Hythe. Five craft from the SOCA fleet took part in this event all traveling from different locations to converge at Hythe. This was the largest attendance for an event like this for a while, boats and members.
Below is the story of this event as seen from each of the attending vessels starting however with a summary from Peter our guest from BOSG who gives his views on the sailing event.
I had the pleasure of being offered a berth on the Stevenage Offshore Sailing Club sailing event on the Solent. I picked up Alex, SOCA Commodore, and we arrived at Hythe Marina Village on Friday afternoon. One of the SOCA Members lives on the Marina, we had a pleasant time there with drinks and a BBQ before ‘our’ boat, a Moody 33 complete with resident dog, arrived having sailed single handed plus dog from Chatham, (see log below). We retired for a comfortable night in the Marina. The Marina has lock gates and the simplest exit is around high water, we departed 11:00 ish. An easy motorsail / sail took us to anchor in Osborne Bay, IOW. Another SOCA boat passed over provisions for a late lunch. This is only the second time I have anchored here: like the first earlier this summer, again I found it a fairly uncomfortable anchorage. We motored into Cowes and by the evening 5 ( yes, 5) SOCA boats were in the Shepards Wharf Marina.
Our, by now large, party had reservations for eats at a pub in Cowes. This all went well. The following morning we set off to sail back to Marina Village. Other SOCA boats dispersed to various locations, ‘our’ Moody was spending a few days at the Marina. Later that evening I took Alex back to Welwyn and returned home.
Good fun in good company. SOCA Members offered a particularly warm welcome to me and they expressed the wish to work with BOSG wherever appropriate. One suggestion was that we ask RYA for a special deal for small 20-30 Member clubs like BOSG & SOCA that find the RYA subscription a financial burden that could perhaps be covered by a joint deal. Hope we can have a BOSG boat or 2 next year in the Rally.
Ariel Spirit is now berthed in Hythe Marina. The journey south to her new home in the Solent is covered in the post ” Ariel Spirit Sails South to new Home May 2022“
Martyn, Sian and family hosted a very enjoyable, and filling, barbecue for the arrival of the SOCA fleet at their home berth in Hythe Marina on the Saturday evening.
The next morning they departed with the rest of the fleet from Hythe to Cowes having tide with them but without a favourable wind. For this trip she was crewed by Martyn, Sian, Phillip, Brioney & John.
Ariel Spirit stopped off at Osborne Bay for lunch with other SOCA fleet vessels, before proceeding to Cowes.
After some onboard drinks in Shepards Marina Cowes the crew joined the rest of the SOCA attendees at the Anchor Inn for dinner.
Ariel Spirit returned to Hythe Marina on Monday.
Tanya, Terry & Stew aboard Jetstream
Jetstream is berthed at Port Solent on the South Coast. Skipper Terry, and crew Tanya and Stewart travelled to Port Solent on Saturday morning.
Once Jetstream was prepared she set off just missing the 11:30 free flow period through the lock to join the rest of the fleet at Hythe.
Hythe marina was a new destination for all of the crew, Primarily a residential marina, it is quite pricey for visitors but a lovely place to overnight.
Martyn & Sian welcomed the crews to their new home and provided a splendid BBQ dinner for all the SOCA crews. Breakfast was enjoyed in the Be-Be cafe in the town, and is highly recommended.
The boats in the fleet set sail on the Sunday and anchored in Osborne Bay where they were joined by John, single handed on Saluki.
Jetstream then joined the four other SOCA boats berthed in Cowes Shephards Marina and dined at the Anchor Inn for a jolly evening.
SOCA Crews at Anchor Inn
On Monday Jetstream headed for home port at Port Solent. As usual there was plenty of activity on the Solent. We watched the activities of Lamar unloading stone, dodging hovercrafts and ferries, abseiling on Spinnaker Tower, Warrior and HMS Prince of Wales with ensigns at half mast.
Jetstream’s crew’s thanks go to the organisers and all our SOCA friends for a thoroughly enjoyable weekend’s sailing.
Saluki Skippered by John is a Hunter Pilot normally berthed at Southsea he sailed her solo from Southsea Marina to Cowes on the Sunday afternoon stopping for lunch at Osborne bay along with the majority of the fleet. She returned home from Cowes on Monday setting off at about 08:20 and motored for the first 5 miles, then sailed (light winds) until just after passing the gap in submarine fence off Portsmouth. The tide was about to turn at that point and Saluki entered Langstone Harbour just before noon.
“Morning Linda”
John listened to Southampton VTS in the Solent and several times heard the operator say “Morning Linda” which seemed unusual. He later slowed to stay out of the way of a car carrier and discovered she was named just that (see photo).
HMS Kent, note White Ensign at half mast
Just before crossing the main channel into Portsmouth, Saluki had to halt to let a Frigate pass ahead.
The accompanying SBS rib came in her direction to make sure it got no closer (see photo). John couldn’t attend all of the event but sends his thanks to Martyn for organising an enjoyable get together.
Sailing Vessel Hypertonic, a Moody 336, had been in the Solent for a while before the date of the South Coast Cruising in company event. She was relaunched at the end of June after receiving some copper coat remedial works at Suffolk Yacht Harbour Levington.
As a MDL Freedom Berthing member, and so not to incur any mooring fees, the boat was quickly moved across the River Orwell to Woolverstone to finish fitting out and a shakedown cruise up the River Stour and back was conducted.
Home Berth Chatham
Hypertonic was then sailed back back to MDL Chatham Maritime Marina.
Due to having no time constraints and as this was a single handed sailing trip Wolfie decided he would do this over 3 days stopping at anchorage’s on the River Colne and Stangate Creek on the Medway and taking full advantage of the springs flood tides to carry Wolfie and Bramble to Chatham.
First Mate Bramble
Day 1 Chatham to Ramsgate The journey was via the Medway, and the Copperas & Gore channels. Skipper Wolfie was accompanied by crew member Bramble (first mate). The wind was a South Westerly F4 allowing broad reach sailing.
Day2 Ramsgate to Dover This leg was via the Ramsgate channel. The wind was a southerly F6 requiring motoring to achieve the destination.
Eastbourne Bound
Day 3 Dover to Eastbourne
Day three of this trip meant passing Dungeness whilst en route for Eastbourne Harbour. The wind for this day was a Force 5 Southerly veering Southwesterly which required close hauled sailing.
Day 4 Eastbourne to Northney
This part of the journey was via the Looe channel, passing the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head before entering Chichester Harbour to overnight at Northney Harbour at the north of the harbour just south of the A27 where Skylark had started its Solent cruise the day before..
Wind was a Force 2 in a Southerly direction.
Motor sailing was the order of the day due to fog.
Day 5 Northney to Hythe
This was Saturday the 10th of September and this leg allowed Hypertonic to join the rest of the SOCA fleet at Hythe. The wind was a South Easterly Force 5 allowing broad reach sailing
Day 6 Hythe to Cowes via Osborne Bay
Wolfie was joined by SOCA crew members Alex & Andrew plus BOSCA crew member Peter. The wind was a F3 Southerly veering South Westerly. Sailing was close hauled with a combination of sailing and motor sailing
Day 7 Cowes to Hythe was the end of this voyage. The wind for this leg was F2/3 North Easterly allowing close reach sailing occasionally motor sailing
Skylark a Shrimper 19 Mk1 is normally berthed at North Fambridge Marina on the River Crouch and was crewed by John & Geff. Following is John’s log of the trip.
This year for a change, SOCA organized a sailing event in the Solent as well as the East Coast. attended by 5 boats including Skylark. Because of Geff’s family commitments, we could not get Skylark launched before the planned start date, so we decided to take her down on the preceding weekend so that she could be launched for the following Friday. We drove down to Northney Marina. Leaving Hemel Hempstead about 8am on a clear sunny day. Rigged Skylark and left her to be launched sometime during the week. Returned to Hemel later in the day, Geff then set off home to W G City.
The following Friday Geff and I set off for Northney Marina arriving at lunchtime. We headed off at 12:45 and as usual had a headwind!! Motoring down the Emsworth Channel to Hayling Island Sailing Club, some 3 Nautical Miles, the headwind strengthening as we went. On reaching the West Pole 1Nm beyond the Heads we turned towards the gap in the submerged Horse Sand barrier. The Head wind had significantly increased and, because we had a strong tide in our favour. Wind against tide caused the seas to increase in size hitting us just off the port bow spray continually came over the side of the boat soaking me thoroughly and Geff did not enjoy making lunch below in the cabin in those conditions!
After 5Nm we came to the gap in the barrier and decided that it would be too far to go on to Hythe Marina and so we turned into Portsmouth Harbour and settled on berthing in Haslar Marina. After a few minutes wait we were sent into an empty berth surrounded by 30ft + boats. Having covered 14Nm a hard 3 and a hours later at 16:10. We did not get rained on during the day but my Lifejacket was well soaked. On putting it in the cabin I noticed it was showing a flashing light and on investigation I found that the safety light was flashing so I opened the zip and dried the light and turned it off. I was glad it didn’t decide to inflate!!
After shutting up Skylark we caught a ferry over to Portsmouth and following a long walk arrived at a pub “The Spice Island” and had a good meal. 
Whilst waiting for the ferry at Gosport we caught a sight of the PS Waverley as she left Portsmouth Harbour. We wondered if she was following us from out trip going to the ISW in Scotland.
We both slept like logs! After a tiring day. The next morning after Breakfast we left Haslar Marina and set off for Hythe Marina at 11:00. Wind NW F3 Still on the nose. ‘Motoring yet again’. 1 hour later we had reached Stokes Bay on a calm sea. 13:06 saw us off Fawley Terminal and heading into Southampton Water.
Having covered another 5Nm in Cloudy sun but still a headwind, 13:38 found us beside Netley Great Dome and 14:30 saw us safely moored up in 
Hythe Marina berth 26C courtesy of a berth owner who lent us his as he wasn’t using it. We had traveled 14Nm
After a breakfast had by all at a local café in Hythe Village. Martyn informed us that the Marina lock gates were open and on free flow, so we quickly got ready and left our mooring at 11:20.
At last, a helpful breeze F3 ESE and 12:40 found us at the entrance to the Hamble river dodging all the weekend sailors returning home. Up until then we had been sailing jib only. When we tried to raise the mainsail, we found that the peak halyard had jammed around a shackle pin at the top of the mast so were unable to raise the main. After undoing the halyard, we were able to free it and at last get the mainsail up. By this time the tide was at full speed taking us towards the Needles.
Unbeknown to us our leader had sent a WhatsApp message that they were going to Osborne Bay, but not having any Wi-Fi we didn’t get this message and pressed on to Cowes, and Sheppard’s Marina. 14:15 found us in a berth awaiting the rest of the fleet. Come 17:00 they turned up having had a hard sail against the tide getting to Osborne Bay before anchoring for an afternoon tea stop.
Evening drinks on “Ariel Spirit” followed by a walk into Cowes for a group evening meal in a local pub.
07:30 the next morning saw us taking an early start. Only Stewart was about and helped us off on our voyage back to Northney Marina with a good wind and following tide. 08:00 found us beside Peel Buoy off Osborne Bay.
A cracking sail got us passing Horse Sand Fort at 0900 reaching West Pole outside Chichester Harbour and 11:00 found us moored up in Northney Marina having covered 14Nm in three and a half hours, waiting to be lifted out and onto our trailer.12:00 saw Skylark mast lowered and packed ready for the tow home. A quick lunch in the Marina café and we were on our way.
A really good time was had despite the adverse winds on the first 2 days. Thanks to Geff for his company on Skylark and the company of the other SOCA boats. Everyone said that they had had a really good time.
Thank also go to Martyn for his excellent organisation and hospitality.
The August 2022 SOCA Committee meeting was held on Thursday 18th August at the RNA in Welwyn Garden City.
Despite it being the peak holiday season it was a very well attended meeting with only one apology received.
All members commented that it was good to see the Commodore, Alex, in good health after his recent hip operation.
The committee discussed various topics including new requirements from our bank to stop money laundering??, the future programme of presentations and events, potential training, items for the website, and how to attract new members, plus general chit chat on sailing related topics. One of the new items on the agenda was two significant upcoming events in 2024.
2024 will mark the RNLI’s 200th birthday. It will also mark SOCA’S 40th anniversary.
Credit to RNLI
If you have any thoughts on anything to do with the running of SOCA especially on future events/presentations, training requirements or increasing the membership plus if you have any ideas or information or anecdotes on SOCA in the last 40 years the committee would like to hear your thoughts.
Please contact us using the email: commodore@socasailing.org.uk with your suggestion.
