Instructors Conference and Winter Thoughts

I spent an interesting weekend at Bournemouth at the RYA Yachtmaster Instructor Conference.  It was very well attended with participants from all over the world, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, Belgium etc. etc..  A particularly interesting session led by Tom Cunliffe looked at how to link up the RYA training scheme with National Historic Ships: the publicly funded organisation promoting and protecting out maritime heritage.  It looks as though NHS (not the best acronym really) will endorse traditional boats and trainers, so that a special stamp can go in your RYA logbook to say you've done your Competent Crew, Day Skipper, etc. in a traditional setting.  The scheme is not quite ready to go yet, but it all looks very promising.

Here's a link to National Historic ships to find out more about their work: http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/

Other sessions included a presentation by Sir Alan Massey, head of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (and former Second Sea Lord).  He talked quite a lot about safety issues, and explained the plan to reduce the number of coastguard bases, but make them more resillient and focussed on rescue coordination.  He gave some stats about accidents: it would appear the fishing industry is by far the most dangerous of any occupation in the UK.  Then there was Captail Andrew Moll, Deputy Director of the Marine Accidents Investigation Branch, who talked about various interesting accidents, including a tanker that got kebabed on the leg of a drilling platform that had come adrift and got stuck point up in the middle of a shipping lane.  Andrew is a Memory owner and a keen sailor of small gaffers.

I am studying virtually full time at Southampton University for the next few months, but I am looking forward to a long weekend cruise at Easter, and the Yarmouth Old Gaffers Festival in May.  I hope to do a few more weekends as well: then some longer cruising in July and August.  Meanwhile Toucando is my home base while I'm in the south.  The diesel stove is getting plenty of use!

Finally, here's a plug for Steve Gravells and Technical Recreational Coaching.  Steve helped sail Toucando back from Ireland to Southampton last spring.  He is a very experienced sailor and trainer, having been in charge of Southampton Water Actrivities Centre (SWAC) for many years.  I did all my shore-based training with him and would recommend his courses very strongly. http://www.technical-recreational-coaching.co.uk/

Colour supplement

First of all: Happy New Year to all crew and followers.  Thank you for making 2011 such a success.  I am looking forward to the new sailing season with great enthusiasm.  I hope we will be undertaking some longer passages.  The first is likely to be over the Easter weekend, probably along the coast to Weymouth with stops in Poole and Yarmouth or Lymington.  Meanwhile here are some pictures from the autumn.  First the jib following "hurricane" damage.  It is now expertly repaired and I can barely see how it was done.

Sarah and Michele on a trip which included a stop in Hamble: 

Here we are in Cowes: 

Jean and Roger on a very pleasant day in the eastern Solent: 

Penny, Hugh and Stephen on an autumn trip to Yarmouth:

A view from the foredeck:

Jolie Brise - a very famous old boat: