Programme Spring 2019

Talks begin at 8.15pm, bar and coffee open from 7.30pm

	Oceanography and Climate Change in the Arctic Dr Simon Boxall Simon is Principal Teaching Fellow in Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre at the University of Southampton. He heads up the science on the Cape Farewell programme focusing on the impact of climate change. More details
	`Allo, ‘Allo: the Story of Communications Jeremy Batch Jeremy will tell us how a combination of sums, soldering and stubbornness enabled Maxwell, Hertz, Marconi, Arthur C. Clarke, Julius Caesar and others to predict, prove, build and strengthen the communication systems we now take for granted, bringing us from flags and flares to VHF, SSB, G&T and GMDSS, and allowing you to see and speak with people on the other side of the world. More details
	Five days immersed in the Java Sea Erik Vischer Erik tells the story of his Dutch sea-faring family and their experiences during WW2 in the Dutch East Indies. His father, a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Dutch Marine Reserves, escaped from the Japanese in a small boat but was recaptured. The whole family was incarcerated in Japanese POW camps - Erik will recount how the sea shaped their experiences. More details
	Sailing to Svalbard Frances and Gareth Watkins In 2014, Gareth and Frances decided to sail from the UK to Svalbard, a remote archipelago 600 nautical miles from the North Pole. The first step was to buy a boat. By mid 2015 they had achieved their ambition and were sailing their Hallberg Rassy 352 amongst the icebergs. More details
	Clipper Race - Australia to Seattle Phil Haigh At the end of January 2018 Phil joined Clipper Round the World yacht ‘Visit Seattle’ in Airlie Beach to crew on two legs of the 17/18 race. Three months later he arrived in Seattle with wider shoulders, 30 days growth of beard and a strong desire never to see another Chinese sausage again. Join him as he talks about sail repair with a hammer and a hacksaw, surfing downwind on helm at over 20kt and tying bowlines on the foredeck in 80kt of wind. More details
	Man Overboard - Could you deal with it? Jonty Pearce Jonty, a retired GP and ex commodore of The Penguin Cruising Club, sails his Southerly 105 with his wife Carol from Milford Haven, and has a particular interest in MOB recovery. They contributed to a Cruising Association MOB seminar following a Yachting Monthly article ‘How an 8st woman recovers a 20st man’ and have given several lectures to sailing clubs on the subject as a result. Mor e d etails
	Forgotten Craft Diggory Rose Diggory will talk about Boathouse 4 and the Forgotten Craft collection in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. He will detail the work of the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust, the boats in the collection and the development plans for the next few years including the restoration of the Motor Gunboat 81 and the Armed Steam Cutter 26 as well as the construction of a replica of CMB4, a First World War torpedo boat. More details
	Admiral Lord Cochrane John Apps Remarkable story of a British Naval hero who was admired by Napoleon and was the basis for the fictional heroes in "Hornblower" and "Master and Commander". More details Storms in the Caribbean Bernie Smallman Bernie will describe weather events in the Caribbean, particularly the British Virgin Islands. She will cover how she and John first visited the islands, the story of the Wreck of the Rhone and (more recently) Hurricane Irma. More details
	Boat Surveys Guy Nicholls Marine surveyor Guy Nicholls will talk about his work on yachts, what to look for when buying a boat, how to pre-empt a full survey by looking at some key items before making an offer and how to hide blemishes when selling. He will discuss the most frequent problems experienced, with a few examples of specific boat types and general problems that occur; mostly, how we can look after our own boats better! More details
	AGM, followed by Review of the Year and a look forward to the coming sailing season and events.