Start Yachting

This is what I learnt from my Start Yachting Course in September.

Tides.
The tides influenced where we went, and to an extent, what time of day we sailed. Water sweeps up the English Channel and back, and our route was designed to travel with the tides rather than against them.  A table gives the time and height of low and high tide for each day of the year using universal time (which we know as GMT so add one hour in British Summer time). A series of charts show the direction and speed of the flow at high tide and at each of the six hours before and afterwards.

Sleeping.
There is a cabin in each of three of the corners of the boat with the heads (toilet) and water tanks etc in the fourth.  These cabins sleep two quite cosily if there are eight on board, or one more comfortably if there are only five, as we had. You still have to get in the bed from the head end.  The other two beds are on the bench seats either side of the table. On these you can swing your legs over the side, but have to prevail on one of the cabin occupiers to store your kit during the day.

Slip Knots.
Before we set off, the ropes that secured us to the jetty are replaced by ropes that are not tied to the dock (or slip).  Instead they are simply looped around the cleat, with both ends secured on the boat. When we are ready, one end is held and the other released, so the boat can slip away.

The Motor.
Although we came to learn to sail, there is no escape from learning to use the motor. As well as being able to get home if the wind drops, the motor is needed for navigating in and out of harbours and berths.  Sometimes the mainsail was up and pulled tight while under motor. A cone with the apex down hoisted in front of the mast indicates to other craft that the boat is under motor.

Mainsail and Topsail.
From my dinghy sailing, I am used to calling the Topsail a jib. We had a Genoa, which is similar but larger, extending beyond the line of the mast. Using the term Topsail avoided having to make this distinction. It was furled and unfurled by a pair of ropes running down the port side and cleated near the stern. These were the only ropes I could see that were cleated by hand. For the rest I needed to learn about winches.

Winches.
On my dinghy, you can cleat the jib sheet, or just hold it with one hand. This is out of the question on a larger boat with a larger sail. You can pull the sail from one side to the other by pulling it by hand, only after it is wound twice round the winch, to pull it tighter, the rope goes another two times round and into a guide that makes the fifth turn hold it tight, so that it can be turned using the winch handle.

The tricky bit to learn is winding the three extra turns. You have already pulled it hand tight, so you do not want to lose that by letting go. You wind it using one hand drawing a wide circle so your hand does not caught, and you wind each one higher than the last to avoid them crossing each other and prevent them turning.
The strenuous bit is turning the winch handle. You brace yourself with one leg either side of the inside edge of the deck, facing forward so you can see the sail. You will be on the lower side of the boat if it is heeling. Especially in a race, it needs to done quickly, but in your haste you do not want to start turning the handle before it is fully inserted.
On the next tack your job is easy, simply release the sheet so that your partner on the other side can pull the sail to his side, then wind the sheet twice round ready for the tack after that. In a narrow channel with the wind against you, the tacks come quite often, and it can be hard work.

Eight Cleats and two Winches.
On either side of the cabin hatch are one winch and four cleats holding four ropes, each of which can be tightened using the winch. I did not fathom what they all were. One was the main sheet, three were reefing lines, and three were halyards, which makes only seven.  The cleats had long handles, they needed to be lifted up and pushed forward to be open.

Steering the Boat.
I have to say I did not master this. It is different using a wheel, there is a mark to show where straight is, but I did not keep track of it very well. I tended to over steer, perhaps because the boat takes longer to respond than a dinghy, perhaps because I lost touch with where straight is. In rough sea, we had force 5 and for 6 winds, the waves and gusts meant you were continually having to correct the direction, easier with land ahead than behind. Also you had to brace yourself against the movement of the boat, using other parts of the boat, not the wheel. Unlike a dinghy, you did not have hold of the main sheet, and you were not taking action to keep the boat level and avoid capsizing.

Setting the Sails.
There was little fine tuning of the sails. Very largely they were set for the course and left for the duration. In the open water we kept the same course for long stretches and the wind direction did not vary much. We did slacken the main sail for some gusts, but I suppose the gusts just turned the boat to windward, not a problem in open water.

Stugeron.
Once you feel seasick, it is a little late to take Stugeron, and it is easier to feel yuk on deck than to go below deck to fetch it. I was fine when we were sailing, but when we went heave to I started feeling nauseous, and another crew member was sick. I joined him and one other at the second occasion we were heave to.  To Heave to, steer into the wind, when the topsail backs the other way turn fully the other way and lock the wheel. You can drift safely, but as I discovered not necessarily comfortably.
Whether I was better the next day because I was used to it, because we did not heave to in open water, because the water was calmer or because I took Stugeron the night before, I do not know.

Man Overboard Procedure.
We practised it like this. Skipper throws bucket and buoy overboard. One crew member keeps his eye on it and points towards it till it is picked up, but taking care not to be hit by the boom. Helm turns to wind and start the engine. When the engine is started the jib is furled.  The boat approaches the buoy at right angles to the wind direction, aiming to arrive just upwind (not down wind as in a dinghy) slowing the motor and using reverse if necessary.  As the boat drifts toward the buoy it is picked up using a boat hook.
A real event involves throwing a lifebelt, either one attached to the boat, which avoids the need for the manouvre if the man overboard can grab it, or the one that signals by light and radio beacon its location, and therefore the approximate location of the man overboard. Meanwhile a crew member sends a distress message on the radio, first an automatic message by holding the button in for three seconds, and second giving the same information by reading out the information from the board behind (name of vessel etc) and the instrumentation (exact position) and the nature of the distress.

Coming into Berth.
Approaching the harbour requires local knowledge, whether to keep strictly to the channel or whether you can take shortcuts when the tide is high. The channel for Lymmington begins what seems like half way across the Solent. Poole harbour has a bridge that is only opened by request at half past each hour. Once the motor is started the topsail is furled and the main sail lowered.
Then the fenders are moved into position along the side from the stern where they have been for the journey. A length of rope is loosely tied to the shroud near the centre of the boat, run to the Fairlight at the front, and then secured to the cleat using an OXO knot, round once, two diagonals and round again.  A second rope is similarly prepared at the stern end. As the boat comes in, two crew members untie the end from the shroud, step outside the rail, holding the shroud and facing into the boat. As soon as they can they step backward onto the berth and secure the rope around the cleat on the berth, simply holding it tight until they tie a knot. After this a further line is attached at the middle, but I will have to learn that next time.

Visitors' Berths.
When visiting a harbour, there may be limited space for visitors, so boats will come alongside the ones already there, and tie on to them. Unless your boat is shorter which makes it problematical, a second set of lines will pass round the first boat to reach the shore. You have to walk over the first boat to reach the jetty, and etiquette demands that you walk across their bow, never across their cabin.  At Lymmington we were the third of four, so we needed to negotiate with the fourth boat to accommodate our early start.

A Good Start.
It takes a five day course, or three two day courses to achieve the competent crew qualification. There is still much to learn, but this has been a good start. A big thank you to my colleagues you bought this taste yachting experience for me on my retirement.

Thomas Cromwell Tracy Borman

This is a very fine history book. It is well researched, and very readable. It paints an honest picture, allowing the reader to make their own judgment on the man.
Thomas Cromwell. What a man. Certainly a man of ability whom Henry VIII described as 'the most faithful servant he had ever had.' Born in obscurity his hard work and ability raised him to Royal favour, to become the most powerful man in England after the King.
He reshaped the country, making Parliament more prominent, engineered the break with Rome, released the wealth of the monasteries for the benefit of the country, and placed a Bible in English in every parish in the land. A hero of the reformation.
For our generation, brought up on the film 'A Man for All Seasons' and a sympathetic Jean Plaidy novel of Sir Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell was the enemy, a scoundrel without principles and ruthless villain.  Hilary Mantel with her 'Wolf Hall' novels and TV adaptation have given us a new equally biased perspective, and Tracy Borman's book presents the facts as they are available to us, and an opportunity to make up our own mind.
The book is clear and well written. It does not zip along like a novel, and takes a bit more commitment than a well written historical novel. Two factors contribute to this; the quotations from source documents that are necessarily of a different style; and the retention of original spellings which require a little more concentration to follow; but the book is certainly the richer for that. I did not, as is sometimes the case, lose momentum and break off to read another book before finishing it.
There are two sets of pages with colour pictures of some of the main characters, which adds to the experience of the book.
My own opinion, having read the book, is that Cromwell was not a hero of the reformation, but paved the way for it. Where religious belief was heading at his death was very finely balanced, and what he did was possibly for more pragmatic reasons.
It was he that arranged for Ann Boleyn's death on largely false charges, and for Margaret Pole's death by Act of Attainder without any trial, which subsequently did for him. It seems he helped to create the bloody times he was part of. It is sad that a lawyer should have eroded individual civil liberties, but that is observed from the luxury of the present day.
It is clear that Cromwell inspired great loyalty from his friends, and Thomas Wyatt, poet and courtier, Ralph Sadler, trustworthy helper and able administrator, stand out as faithful friends who continued to enjoy Royal favour long after Cromwell disappereard from the scene.

The Hepworth

We greatly enjoyed our visit to The Hepworth  in Wakefield.
As you cross the footbridge from the car park, the building looks stark austere and angular, made of large blocks of concrete, not broken up by many windows at all.
Once inside this impression is reversed. The galleries are laid out in a fan shape, and many have large windows, providing a light airy exhibition space, and affording marvelous views over the river Calder and its weir.  The building stands on a curve in the river, and so has river on three sides.
The exhibition space is all on the first floor, reached by stairs or lift, while all the facilities - reception, cloakroom, toilets, shop and cafe are on the ground floor.
We were particularly pleased to visit the temporary exhibition while Kettle's Yard in Cambridge is being renovated. We enjoyed our visit there, and were pleased to see again some of the exhibits we had seen before. The statues of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska had passed me by before, but this time I was drawn to their angular lines, and by contrast, a very flowing delicate figure of a dancer.
One temporary exhibition was of the painter Stanley Spencer, and a further one showed many smaller drawings and doodles by David Storey, better known for his novels, and like Hepworth hales from Wakefield.
As you would expect, there were a good few statues, including some by Barbara Hepworth and by Henry Moore.  They met at the Leeds School of Art where they both studied, and later they both studied in London at the Royal College of Art. In some ways their styles are quite similar, but the exhibition said that while Henry Moore was most known for his reclining figures, Barbara Hepworth is more associated with standing figures.
There are two galleries dedicated to Barbara Hepworth's work alone. One gave details of her career, her studios, her tools, her way of working, as well as stories about individual pieces. The other was a collection of models used to cast her pieces. Some of these were on a considerable scale, and the room was dominated by the model for Winged Figure, which stands on the side of the John Lweis building in London.
Our Tea and Cake at the cafe was very welcome, and next visit we will choose afternoon tea for two which was priced very reasonably at £15.00. As is often the way, the shop cost us more, but we have books and pictures to enjoy. Entry the the museum and all the exhibitions is free, and the car park cost £5.00.
We will certainly come again, and visit the nearby sculpture park as well.

Sounds and Sweet Airs

The Grade I listed Ullet Road Unitarian Church was a wonderful venue for the latest Liverpool Voice Concert on Friday.

Entitled "Sounds and Sweet Airs" a line from his play "The Tempest", the concert was a celebration of Shakespeare in the 400th anniversary of his death, together with a nod to two other anniversaries. Lesley Bentley, the Artistic Director, dedicated the concert at the start to the people of Nice who were caught up in the tragic events of the previous night.

The concert included some quite dramatic pieces. The most ancient was probably "The Agincourt Carol" a fifteenth century song which is features in the 1944 film of "Henry V" This had a distinct early music sound, quite different from much of the repertoire.

The Vaughan Williams Motet "Valiant for Truth" has been performed by the choir before, but this was the most crisp performance, capturing, for Pilgrim, that moment between life and death, where trumpets sounded for him on the other side.

Most dramatic of all was the powerful "Fanfare for Michaelmas Day" by Sidney Campbell. This sets part of Revelation 12 to music, and portrays the mighty battle in heaven between Michael and the Dragon.  It is spine tingling stuff.

Between each piece there was a short reading from Shakespeare's work by different members of the choir, often on a passage that had inspired the music about to be performed. Two longer passages were read not by choir members but by the church minister Philp Waldron, who proved to be quite a performer.

We enjoyed a performance by one choir member despite not understanding a word. Fede recited a poem from Don Quixote, and his son then provided the English translation. This was to mark the author, Cervantes, who like Shakespeare, died in April 1616.

The other anniversary being marked was the continuing 100 years since World War One. Erik Bichard sang two solos composed by authors who fought in the war. The programme included one other solo number, sang by Kim Ford. These, as most of the choir songs were accompanied by John McHugh on the piano.

Some of the music was by contemporaries of Shakespeare, "It was a lover and his lass" by Thomas Morley, and "Hey Ho, to the Greenwood" by William Byrd.  Others were modern songs from modern adaptations of his works.  This included "Tonight" from "West Side Story" by Bernstein, and "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed. "The Impossible Dream" was the song that followed the Don Quixote reading.

During the later rehearsals, the choir was encouraged to be less choral, some of songs needed to be more gospel, or more folk. Liverpool Voice is perhaps at its best with more choral works, and "Virga Jesse" by Anton Bruckner was an excellent expression of this.

Liverpool Voice rehearses on a Thursday night, and is available to sing at private events. The next events will be concerts at Christmas.

The Ullet Road Unitarian Church web site is Here
The Liverpool Voice Facebook page is Here

Ode to Mike

Ode to Mike
Recited by a colleague at my last day of work.

After 32 years of working, taking the pressure and at times being on the wire,
Mike has decided it's now his time to take it easy and just retire.

He's folded up his spreadsheets and packed away his data,
from now his catch phrase will be - I'll do it later!

He has done many a job in his time,
but scraping wax off the wick room floor was when he was at his prime.

His role as accountant for so many years
must have really, really bored him to tears

When Robert left after years of company devotion,
Mike sought his chance and gained that desired promotion.

Mike was elevated to his new post
company secretary a role that's mystery to most.

But Andrew and I know better than all,
his duty and diligence has protected the company from many a potential fall.

He's crossed the t's and dotted the i's, being a happy little soul,
Mike's filled his company secretary role.

We 3 have dealt with some serious stuff in the past,
but there are many happy memories of when we just had a blast.

Come sailing he said to Andrew and me,
you'll be safe, we are on a lake not out on open sea,

I had a vision of sipping wine on the deck,
but I was not the only one squashed into wet suit and left looking like a wreck.

On open water he taught us to jib, jibe and hoist up the main sail,
what my hair looked like at the end of the day, that's completely another tale!

It's not just sailing that Mike tends to like,
he's also keen to take to the roads on his bike.

I think it's a male thing and a lot of palarvour,
but him and Andrew get very competitive when comparing their strava!

We'll miss you Mike I am sure you know,
but need you to solve one final mystery before you go.

This bunch of keys you are responsible for and there's more than just a few,
have you, or any other company secretary over the last 130 years, any idea what they do?

As you are about to leave us now this week,
we want to say in axapta dimensional speak

Cand, wood, meta, wick and vest
Wish you Mike! health, happiness and all the very best!