Club News

A list of forthcoming events can be viewed on the COMING EVENTS page. Start times and other details of open meetings and club points and handicap races are also listed on the PROGRAMME page.

This is what the Tamesis Clubhouse looked like in 1890, five years after the club separated from Thames SC and set up a new base on the Teddington reach. The picture was discovered by Vice Commodore Stewart Colley in The Boaters Inn at Kingston. Tamesis was originally based at Burgoines boatyard near Hampton Wick Railway Bridge before moving to its present site in 1901. Please also see HISTORY page.

It’s a convoluted story but it goes like this. In 1930 Uffa Fox built a boat called Vigilant to the Swedish 22 sq metre rule. He sailed her to the Stockholm Archipelago to compete in a metre regatta. Andrew Thornhill, a long term member of Tamesis found her derelict, restored her and now bases her in Plymouth. This summer to commemorate Uffa’s remarkable voyage 80 years on Andrew set up a challenge for British metre boats to make that same voyage. The sole starter from Cowes on 20July 2010 was Vixen skippered by Luke Yeates and crewed by friends Jack Gifford and Will Shepherd. After 12 days they arrived in the Archipelago to coincide with the Swedish National Metre Rule Championships for 22s, 25s and 30s, and the Tullgarn Royal Regatta hosted by the Scandinavian Classic Yacht Trust in Trosa. Luke’s crew had to return home, leaving him to receive the accolades which were well and truly deserved, but also crewless for the regattas.

He recruited Irishman Rorke Bryan. The Irishman, in awe of Luke, thought that Luke could walk on water, and that because of his association with him, thought that he could too. Rorke tried it twice while manoeuvring Vixen at the dock, the latter outside the Royal Palace at Tullgarn. He was left holding on by his finger tips while floating chest high in the water.

So how come Uffa Spoon Two – well Uffa is a folk hero in Swedish sailors' minds and as Jeremy Vines was the only person at the regatta to have met Uffa, he was asked to say a few words at the opening ceremony. And so the idea of producing an Uffa Spoon for the person who did the most surprising thing at the regatta was spawned. After a visit to a hotel kitchen and an antique shop a large copper ladle was procured and given to the organising committee. The whole idea definitely seemed to tickle the Swedish sense of humour. The Prize Giving was a grand affair with lots of splendid silver trophies, and here it was that the Uffa Spoon was presented.

Oh by the way, we forgot to say why Jeremy and Max Vines were there at all. They had been invited by Andrew Thornhill. He has two 22 sq metre boats Vigilant and Patriot. Both were trailed to Sweden and Jeremy and Max raced Patriot in both the 22 sq metre Regatta and the Tullgarn Royal Regatta. The latter entailed a two hour sail to a start line just off the Royal Palace, a 15 mile pursuit race with about 75 classic yachts around several islands finally finishing back at the palace. It is hoped that the presentation of the Uffa Spoon Two will become a regular feature of this regatta.

The Swedish hosts were very pleased to see British representation at the regattas, displaying very generous hospitality, although it was probably just as well that the Brits didn’t walk away with any of the trophies! (Report by Jeremy and Max Vines)

The new spoon was presented by Jeremy and Max to Olle Appelberg, the Regatta organiser

Ted Neal and Ron Humphrey performed an amazing rescue during racing on Thursday 5 August after Chris Ledger's Merlin GBH (1193) capsized on the bank near the Clubhouse lawn. They towed the boat out into the river calling on the helmsman to pull down the centreboard. Unfortunately, Chris, sailing single-handed, was underneath the boat and unable to hear them. The matter has been referred to Vice Commodore Stewart Colley as a potential Uffa Spoon nomination.

Ron instructs Chris to get on the centreboard to right the boat (Photo: Sue Katz)

The Tamesis Bridge group treated themselves to a 27-strong fish and chip supper at the Club on Wednesday 4 August with wine supplied by Peggy Morris, who was celebrating her birthday.

The Bridge Group which meets regularly at 7.30 pm on Wednesday evenings has now been running for 20 years. Amongst the Group’s traditions are that members celebrating birthdays provide Wednesday evening wine, and also that the first person on any evening who calls and makes a slam receives a bottle of wine. Both traditions are very popular.

In addition to the weekly meetings the Group runs two or three bridge drives a year and has particularly supported the Hampton-based “Shooting Star” children’s hospice, having raised more than £7,000 for this charity. Visitors to these drives and to the weekly Wednesday evening meetings are always welcome. (Report by Vivian Burchill).

The Management and Sailing Committees of Tamesis Club have agreed to introduce a new points system for the allocation of undercover boat storage places in the boat sheds and the "chicken and turkey runs" in the dinghy park. Details can be downloaded from the following link: Tamesis Undercover Storage Policy.doc
An application form can be printed from the following link: Undercover Storage.doc

Members are requested to view the following two photos taken at Salcombe Merlin Week by Richard Mourant and to send suggested captions to the Vice Commodore for judging at the next Vice Commodore's Dinner.

Stornaway could be described as Stormaway, reports Anne Bayne from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides on Saturday 3 July. Tilting at Windmills (an Australian ocean racer owned by a friend) and crew are snugly tucked up in the delightful fishing harbour along with a large number of fishing boats as the gales lash this island. We hear of the heat in London with some envy. It is certainly not here.

However, we have had some great sails in this delightful cruising area and are pleased to have crossed The Minch before the low pressure set in. From Ullapool we explored the beautiful Summer Isles and anchored at the head of Loch Ewe where we were able to scramble ashore from our dinghy to enjoy the sub-tropical gardens of Inverewe. The Gulf Stream most certainly encourages the growing of glorious plants, which were at their peak I think. The scent and the colour were quite overpowering.

A day was spent sheltering under the lee of some gentle hills covered in sheep grazing with the occasional croft in sight while we awaited the next window to move on. As the winds were strongly from the south we decided against sailing to Skye and ran north to Lochinver where we moored under the spectacular mountains and were surprised as we watched a very modern Norwegian fishing boat disgorge a hundred tons of farmed salmon along stainless steel pipes to be stunned, bled and packed into refrigerated lorries for their trips south, some as far as Spain. It was a remarkably modern set up for what had looked like derelict piers and sheds.

A 3 am call for departure was no problem as the brief night had already passed and we set sail as the sun rose. A large pod of dolphins which has been reported in the news provided some entertainment as we flew across the Minch in the freshening southerly. The forecast encouraged us to find shelter in the port of Stornaway and we were pleased to find a space against the rusting hulk of an old fishing boat despite the fact that every time we go ashore we have to clamber up the sheer hull, avoiding sharp rusting metal. Exploring these islands has been a joy, albeit on foot and by car, and we are hoping the gales will abate over the next 24 hours to allow us to move on.

Laser Ramblers name waterfall after Henry Defries

The Laser Ramble was attended by a smaller number of members than usual on Saturday 3 July but an enjoyable lunch at the Stephan Langton pub in the secluded hamlet of Friday Street provided some welcome relief on a hot, sunny day for the happy hikers and two members of the motor section. Organised by Donald Forbes, with the help of his wife, Cherry, the ramble explored some of the more remote places in the Surrey Hills and discovered a refreshingly cool waterfall that the others have named after Henry Defries. Something to do with certain Lasers making a splash!

John Dunkley, Henry and Jenny Defries, Cherry and Donald Forbes and Rita Dunkley at the historic Stephan Langton pub

Henry's waterfall

The Tamesis Club Bridge Group held a bridge drive on Sunday 20 June to raise funds for the Shooting Star Children's Hospice in Hampton. This was the tenth drive the group has run for the Shooting Star, and it raised £667, bringing the overall total to £7,141. Other charities supported by the group include the Jubilee Sailing Trust and the Tsunami Appeal. The group meets at the Club on Wednesday evenings at 7.30 pm and always welcomes new members.

The early years of Tamesis Club were colourfully revived at a125th Anniversary Ball in Edwardian dress attended by 120 members and guests on Saturday 12 June. They were welcomed by Commodore John Adams, tophatted but not tailed, and his wife Lesley, and after a glass of champagne in the warm sunshine were given their directions for the evening by Vice Commodore Stewart Colley, tailed but not tophatted, who later ushered them into a massive marquee erected on the club lawn. Inside, they found tables laid for a feast and the canvas walls decorated with signal flags and illuminated by sparkling fairy lights. A display of archive film was projected on to the ceiling by a state of the art 21st century computer projector and this memory lane of imagery, ranging from 1885 to the 1970s, had many of the older members straining their necks alongside decorative balloons to see what they had looked like 40 to 50 years ago. Some of those present were renewing friendships that dated back to 1960.

The delicious three course dinner was prepared by Rear Commodore (House) Steve Katz and a group of helpers and served as the setting sun was slowly replaced by twilight and candlelight to enhance the glow from the fairy lights.

Games and competitions interspersed the courses. Brian Southcott won the prize for the best men's fancy dress and Margaret Stokes won the ladies' prize. The prize for the best beard went to Paul Jamieson and Joe Woods won the prize for the best recently grown sideburns. Judging of the bearded men was done by Club Captain Phil England with help from former Vice Commodore Chris Morris and Brian Southcott, and of the fancy dress competition by Lesley Adams aided and abetted by Moyra Webb and Ronnie Fox. A hectic game of heads and tails produced roars of laughter as Vice Commodore Colley kept contestants frozen in their positions as he retrieved the tossed tupenny coin from the floor. Even the engines of overflying aircraft and passing river steamers were muted by the laughter and popping of champagne corks.

Afterwards there was dancing in the white-draped Clubhouse to the music of Out of the Blue, a four piece rock band led by Peter Bell.

Commodore John Adams thanked Stewart Colley, his wife Nicola, and the members of his planning committee for all their work in organising the event. Stewart himself gave particular thanks to Barbara Adams, Mary Smith, Bonnie Green, Sue Harris, Philipa Morris, Anne Bayne, Paul Jamieson and ex-Commodore Peter Mason, for helping Steve Katz to prepare the food, and to Harbour Master Chris Pollard for designing and printing the menus. He also thanked the members of the Wednesday Morning Working Party and Brian Harper Lewis and Liz James for preparing the gardens and lawn. Former Commodore Jim Green provided the footage of sailing from the 1930s to the1980s,and Camilla Colley prepared the selection of still photographs projected by Rear Commodore (Sailing) Carolyne Vines. The wines were selected by former Commodore David Baker and the bar team included Jim Green and Claudia Fletcher. Charles Fox arranged the lighting and balloons and Ronnie Fox organised all the decorations and provided the floral decorations on the tables. Chris Ledger, wearing a full tail dress suit, and Peter Mason operated the ferry across to the Kingston bank in the Club launch.

Wandering Dream circumnavigators Ed (second from left) and Genie Webb (right) meet old friends

Colin Stokes, Stewart Colley, Robert Harris and John Harris (Photo: Camilla Colley)

Adrian and Jane Fearnley who collided with a whale while crossing the Atlantic in their yacht

The pictures of sailing at Tamesis in the early years from 1885 onwards can be viewed by clicking on the following link created by Carolyne Vines from old photographs copied by Camilla Colley: 2010-05-31 very old tamesis pictures

James Fox cycled the 887 miles from Land's End to John o' Groats in eight days between Monday 19 April and Tuesday 27 April. A full account of his journey, with pictures, can be seen on the following website: http://www.flyingshingle.co.uk/Fox LE to JOG.html

to view 110 photos of the racing in warm sunshine and light winds taken by Michael Colley. That assumes, of course, that they have access to a computer with an Internet connection. Their plight was discussed by members enjoying the sun on the veranda. (See photo below taken by Richard Howells.) Among the locations involved were Lanzarote, Macau, Poland and Portugal. No names will be given here. They know who they are!

Sixty Tamesis members and guests tested their nautical knowledge at the Laser Quiz on Saturday 17 April with a range of questions about the oceans, shipping forecast areas, famous mariners, politics, sailing places, and the names of nearby islands on the River Tames (on which many teams played their jokers for double points and some wished they hadn't!). The winning table led by former Commodores David Baker and Jim Green had the advantage of David's extensive knowledge of the wine trade when the questions extended to the products of vineyards as far afield as Austria, Australia, America, Chile, France, South Africa and New Zealand. Their prize was four bottles of white and four of red, all of David's choosing. Vivian Burchill won the raffle. Carolyne Vines, Rear Commodore Sailing, thanked Laser Class Captain Peter Johnson and his wife, Nicky, for organising the event, and presented Nicky with a bunch of flowers to show the club's appreciation for cooking the supper as well with help from her family.

Nicky Johnson, Jill Lamb, Peter Johnson and Penny Morgan preparing supper

Fifty one members attended the Merlin Rocket Supper at Tamesis on Saturday 10 April and enjoyed a three-course Italian supper followed by a poker contest. The winner on each table - with the most chips - won a bottle of wine and a cheeseboard/chopping board with a Tamesis logo beautifully designed by Tim Leaversuch. Tim also made special Merlin chips for the poker. The event was organised by Merlin Class Captain Chris Balmbro and his wife, Suzy, with help from Tim and Frankie Leaversuch, Rear Commodore Social Steve Katz, ex-Commodore Peter Mason and Margaret Stokes.

The litigation that preceded the 2010 America's Cup races off the Mediterranean coast of Valencia, Spain, in February cost an estimated $400 million, Bertie de Speville, Reserve Juror, told Tamesis members when he gave a talk on "Sport in the Court" - the legal wrangles behind the 33rd America's Cup on Thursday 8 April. He said the victory claimed by Larry Ellison the owner of the wingsail rigged trimaran USA BMW Oracle might be challenged by Ernesto Berterelli, the Swiss owner of the competing catamaran Alinghi, on the grounds that its central hull was an inch too long. One welcome outcome was that Larry Ellison had indicated that he would like to see the contest return to the previous system in which challenges were accepted from yacht clubs around the world and a challenger and defender were selected as a result of match racing between comparable yachts.

The warm spring weather towards the end of March brought some welcome colour to the club's flowerbeds. Liz James (below) proudly shows the outcome of her work on the border adjacent to the club car park. The violent change in the weather days later, with flooding, severe gales and more snow in the north, warned us all that we might yet face a barbecue summer like that of last year. Photo by Richard Howells.

The Tamesis Ski Group (pictured below) gathered for an informal prizegiving at the end of a week's skiing at Val d'Isere in March. Vice Commodore Stewart Colley won a bottle of champagne as "wipeout of the week" after knocking himself out and arriving back at Val in the blood wagon. "Daredevil" Barbara Adams won a prize for sheer style on the slopes, and "look out I'm coming" Charles Fox crashed into everyone in the group, among others, according to Stewart..

The story according to Charles, was somewhat different. He described Stewart as the Kamikaze Kid of the intermediate group after falling over on an easy green run and "making us all think of the dangers of skiing".

"Being carried off down the slopes in a blood wagon and recovering to ski the next day with me is definitely one for the Uffa Spoon Trophy for 2010, a truly rough tough Tamesis Laser sailor! Just to put the record straight, I cannot remember wiping anyone out all week, except helping to wipe Martin Adams out on the chairlift when others moved across to take my seat and two people sat on my lap; unfortunately Martin was on top. I definitely have the bruises to show for that as well as from being wiped out twice by out of control boarders!

"We had an amazing time. Many thanks to Barbara for organising a memorable week, with fantastic weather to boot."

Martin Adams, Pete (one of the hosts), Stewart Colley, Charles Fox, Barbara Adams, and Lisa (another host)

Three new flag officers were elected at the annual general meeting of Tamesis Club, which was attended by nearly 70 members on Sunday 21 February. John Adams, former Rear Commodore Sailing, succeeds Peter Mason as Commodore; Stewart Colley succeeds Chris Morris as Vice Commodore; and Carolyne Vines follows John Adams as Rear Commodore Sailing. Peter Johnson succeeds Henry Defries as Laser Class Captain and Jeremy Evans takes over from Brian Timbrell as Cadet Class Captain.

Suzy Balmbro, Hugh McLaughlin and Johannes Wagner were elected to the Management Committee, Peter Johnson, Jeremy Evans and Brian Timbrell to the Sailing Committee, and Anne Bayne, Sue Harris, Philipa Morris, Leonie Steer, Kate Barnes, Nicky Chavasse and Peter Mason to the House Committee. All other officers, committee members and class captains continue from the previous year.

Retiring Commodore Peter Mason told the meeting that there had been unforeseen delays in achieving Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) status but he hoped the latest application would prove successful. Graeme Lythe, the Hon. Treasurer, said that there had been a big improvement in the loss on catering and bar sales. The £145,000 redevelopment of the clubhouse had been funded from cash resources, members' donations and loans and the current financial situation was good.

Club Captain Phil England thanked Peter Mason and the other retiring officers for their outstanding contribution to the leadership and management of the Club during the major redevelopment of the premises over the past two years. Phil also thanked all those members who donated their time and energy to a wide range of projects and events which helped make the club the success it is. He was sorry that Steve Katz, the Rear Commodore House, had said he would retire next year, and thanked him for the excellent roast lunch he had cooked before the meeting. All the retiring officers were loudly applauded.

John Adams presented recommendations from the Sailing and Management Committees for clarifying the allocation of undercover storage, and for building a third undercover store to increase the number of available spaces. Phil Plumtree and Rob Wilder expressed concern about the adequacy of undercover storage for wooden boats and the criteria for allocating spaces. John said new rules governing the allocation of undercover spaces would be published before the winter season of 2010 and 2011 and would take the various concerns expressed by the members into consideration. Harbour Masters Richard Howells and Chris Pollard said identification stickers would be sent to all members for use in cars in the club car park and on boat masts. A boat bits sale would be arranged to dispose of unidentified or unwanted launching trolleys and trailers, masts and other equipment.

The meeting began with a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday" to the new Vice Commodore, Stewart Colley, who had generously bought celebratory drinks for many of those at the meeting.

Vintage Vice Commodore's Dinner nets numerous nominations for Uffa's Spoon

The 2010 Vice Commodore's Dinner will go down in the annals as one of the best ever, with a profusion of nominations for the award of Uffa's Spoon, the old silver serving spoon presented by Uffa Fox in 1932 for the biggest blunder of Tamesis Club's sailing year. But none could match the folly of Richard Howells, Class Captain of the National 18s. He lost a trailer wheel on the M3 while towing his boat to the 2009 National Championship at Portland in August and, unable to find it, had to leave his car, trailer and boat on the hard shoulder while he was driven by a crew member in a following car to buy a new one. He admitted to unwittingly having fitted the lost wheel with the bolts on the wrong side.

If that was not folly enough, he also owned up to having left his his boat's wooden centreboard behind at Tamesis, driving back from Portland in the middle of the night to fetch it from the boatshed and then back to Dorset in time for the following day's race! Having briefly set the scene, Vice Commodore Chris Morris called on Richard to tell his story in his own words and Uffa's Spoon was then presented to him by Commodore Peter Mason, who was last year's winner.

The Seacock Trophy, awarded for the biggest cock-up by a member of the Tamesis Offshore Group, was presented by John Dunkley, the previous winner, to Tony Steer who drove to Gosport during the January snowfalls to work on his boat, ignoring the advice of his wife that the Met Office had issued a severe weather warning. His car wheels started to spin on frozen snow on a sloping roundabout near Horndean on the A3 and he had to abandon his car and seek shelter in a nearby pub where he and nine other stranded motorists slept overnight on the bar floor.

Among other notable Uffa Spoon nominees were John Harris and Colin Stokes who lost a credit card by inserting it in the slot for receipts at a petrol station in Florida during a golfing holiday, Ken Duffell who broke his Merlin's carbon fibre mast into three pieces so it would fit into his car, John Dunkley who got the mast of his Laser stuck under Hampton Wick Railway Bridge in the Up-river Race, and Angela Norris who put her money in the gravy jug instead of an empty beer mug at a club supper and then poured the money and gravy on to the table when a fellow diner was seeking change.

About 75 members attended the three-course dinner which was prepared and cooked by Rear Commodore (House) Steve Katz and his support team who, with Vice Commodore Chris Morris, were thanked by the Commodore and applauded by the guests for their contribution to to a memorable evening.

Chris Morris consoles Richard Howells as he receives Uffa's Spoon from Peter Mason (Photo: Michael Colley)

Richard Howells tells the tale of the flying trailer wheel (Photo: Michael Colley)

Tony Steer raises a protest flag after being presented with the Seacock Trophy (Photo: Michael Colley)

All of Michael Colley's photos from the Dinner can be viewed by clicking on the following link