Programme Autumn 2021

Chesapeake Bay and Recovering Crashed Aircraft

Brian Deacon

Sailing in Chesapeake Bay was on Brian’s bucket list, and he managed to cross this off in 2017.  Separately, his career in aviation led him into aircraft recovery; not what he planned but an interesting subject.  Don’t worry if you are not a keen flyer, nor is he!  More details

The Saxon Ship Project

Joe Startin

The 625 AD ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk is important in North European maritime history. A digital reconstruction has been made and a reconstruction of the ship is now being built next to the River Deben to explore some of the purposes of the ship.  More details

Round Britain in Vela

Jill Rogers

Jill is a serving Army Officer who decided to take a break from “green camouflage” for 6 months and sail her Sadler 25 - Vela around Britain in 2019, doing most of it single-handed. Prior to the trip, she had only sailed alone occasionally…. More details

Phoenicians were in America before Columbus

Philip Beale

Adventurer and Sailor, Philip Beale FRGS, will describe his journey sailing a Phoenician galley, the Phoenicia, on a 6000 mile voyage from Carthage to the Americas in 2019-20. One of the most interesting and important historic replica ship voyages of recent times.  More details

The Isle of Wight, England in Miniature

Graham Horn

Graham (a blue badge guide) visits the island frequently and has an extensive knowledge of its attractions, history and geography. Some of us know the island well and the talk will bring back memories, but most people listening also say “Well, I didn’t know that.”  More details

Rowing the Thames

Tony Ayton and Isabel van der Ven

Join Tony, Isabel and their double sculled, hand-crafted boat Papillon as they rowed 125 miles down the Thames from Lechdale to Teddington Lock in 2018. They will tell us about their boat (which they plan to bring with them!..) and what they enjoyed. More details

Resurrecting Dr John Snipe

Jane Bowden-Dan

When Nelson re-boarded Victory in 1805, he wrote to the Admiralty to commend the services of Dr John Snipe (Physician to the Fleet) to negotiate a supply of lemon juice for the Navy. We shall hear of his importance to the Mediterranean Fleet’s success.  More details

Mayflower Autonomous Ship

Bert Phaneuf

With no human captain or onboard crew, the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) uses Artificial Intelligence and energy from the sun to travel further and reveal more about the ocean. We will hear about this and other innovative projects run by the ProMare company.  More details

Cruising in Indonesia

Norma and Phil Heaton

In 2009 Norma and Phil embarked on a seven-year circumnavigation in Minnie B, including lengthy visits to Indonesia and Malaysia starting in 2014. Their talk will cover weather, anchorages, culture, people, provisioning, landscapes and hazards....  More details

Cast Off for Christmas

For GXSA members, the usual mix of short presentations about sailing incidents, photo competition, quiz and festive entertainment. There will be no Zoom for Cast Off, so please sign up to attend (either on the notice in the hall or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).   It is time to get your photos ready, even if you are not attending in person. Maximum one photo per category, per person. More details soon on how to submit your photos.