The Extraordinary Voyage of Mary Bryant

John Apps

The events that led Mary Bryant to sail from Sydney to West Timor in an open boat in 1790 provide an insight to the harsh conditions in the Australian settlements then. The Royal Navy’s response and how Mary subsequently became a celebrity in England is a little-known but remarkable story. John will explain both the legend and the facts.  More details

Travels with Tilman

Bob Comlay

Bill Tilman's achievements rank amongst the greatest in twentieth century mountaineering and high latitude sailing. Bob Comlay crewed on two of Tilman’s high latitude voyages, earning a level of trust that gives him unique insight into the character of this self-effacing legend of twentieth century exploration.   More details

Boats, Planes (and Trains)

Alastair Fischbacher

What do dinghy sailing, going to sea as a cadet and ships officer, a flying instructor, coal mining and big bulk carriers have in common? Alastair links them through his experiences, career and other events. He is now co-Chair of the Sustainable Shipping Company.   More details

High Latitude Adventures

Steve Brown

Steve Brown will tell us about his sailing and climbing expeditions to South Georgia and Antarctica undertaken during his 33,000nm circumnavigation of the Americas that began with a successful transit of the North West Passage in 2014. More details

Walking the Coasts of England and Wales

Chris O’Grady

Chris walked the coasts of England and Wales over a period from 2002 through to 2017 – including a lot of time looking at the sea! We will learn about his experiences and the sights, sites and insights he encountered. More details

Teaching Oceanography in South Africa

Isabel Ansorge

Prof Ansorge (head of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Cape Town) makes a return visit to entertain us again with her recent exploits, focussing on the SEAmester programme to teach and inspire interest in oceanography, marine life and climate change near South Africa.  More details

The Dutch Raid on the Medway

Chris Tarratt

The Medway raid in 1667 saw a Dutch fleet sail into the Thames and attack the British fleet at anchor in the Medway, causing a panic in London and winning a victory that helped bring the second Anglo-Dutch war to an end. But the peace only lasted for a few years…   More details

The Excavation of the Mary Rose

Dawn Perrier

Dawn worked as a diver on the excavation and salvage of the wreck of the Mary Rose. She will give us a fascinating insight into how the historic objects were recovered and tell us about the recently improved Mary Rose exhibition and the work of the Mary Rose Trust.  More details

Sørlandet Tall Ship

Knut Arne Gjertsen

Sørlandet is the world's oldest and most authentic fully-rigged ship still in active service and is operated by a non-profit foundation in Norway. Knut will tell us about the history of Sørlandet, her cruises, the management of Sailing Ventures, and the opportunities to join Sørlandet for voyages. More details

Cast off for Christmas

For GXSA members and their guests, the usual mix of short presentations about sailing incidents, photo competition, quiz and festive entertainment.