Category: Lecture Summary

Wednesday 4th March Ken Endean Four Men in a Boat           The story of some remarkable yachting in peace and war. Ken Endean has published books and written for the yachting press for many years and he is also interested in maritime history. This talk presents a fascinating true story with the action shifting from sailing to all-out…

Wednesday 25th February Simon Fraser The Grand Tour           How Simon took his 43ft Hallberg Rassy from Chatham to Denmark through the inland waterways of Belgium and the Netherlands, all with the mast up. An enjoyable journey through picturesque towns of Bruges, Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp.  Over 1000 miles through the waterways of Europe to the…

Wednesday 18th February Terry Corner RNLI top tips for boaters and rescues from Harwich Terry Corner keeps his boat at Shotley marina on the River Orwell. He is also RNLI safety team leader at Harwich lifeboat station. He will update us on current RNLI guidance and show us some of the more interesting and unusual…

Wednesday 11th February John Apps The Glory of the Ride           He’s back, after 2 years and 26,000 Miles in his Rival 34. True to his motto “Passage Plans rarely survive the first Gale”, John Apps has sailed to Greenland, Brazil, Cape Town (twice..) the Southern Ocean, St Helena, Ascension Island and the Azores.    …

Wednesday 4th February James Littlewood River Cruising in Western Europe       After 60,000 adventurous sea miles, James Littlewood has replaced his yacht with a 13m steel motor boat. He expected the change from sailing to provide a relaxing time on the inland waterways of Europe. He now considers “worse things happen at sea” to be…

Wednesday 28th January Colin Gent World War 2 Destroyers       Former GXSA member Colin will tell us about the marine engineering and weaponry of the CA class of Destroyers and their roles in escorting Arctic Convoys, Monster Escorting of troop ships in the Western Approaches and mopping up Operations in the Far East. This is backed…

Wednesday 21st January Rob Johnstone Remember to turn left this time    We last heard about Vagabond when GXSA member Rob Johnstone left her at Balvicar after part 1 of his single handed circumnavigation of Britain. He returns to tell us the rest of the tale that includes a near capsize off Wells, confusion off Aberdeen,…

Wednesday 7th January Captain Bill Sadler Trinity House 500th anniversary year As Master of the Trinity House flagship Patricia, Bill works around our coast maintaining navigation aids, managing wreck locations and many other duties. Learn how all this is done and how Trinity House maintains the safety of shipping and the well-being of seafarers.  …

Gil Sharp     Clipper Round the World Yacht Race  –  A Grandmother realises her racing dreams   Proving that age is no barrier,  Gil (a retired professional musician) will share her elations, joys, depressions and the deprivations of being a member of a racing crew in the 2013-14 Clipper Race. She took on the challenge of…