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[Tim's funeral will be on]

It is with sadness to advise of the recent passing of Tim Wood, one of the stalwarts of the National Twelve class from the very late 1940s.  During the years since, Tim owned and sailed six National Twelves: Wyche & Coppock Gnome, Ian Proctor Marks 4a and 9, Phil Morrison China Doll, and two Michael Jackson Cheshire Cats before continuing in later years as an associate member of the Association.

Tim's home club was first Beeston SC and then Nottingham SC, both on the river Trent, where Tim thrived on the techniques of river sailing.  1950 saw Tim at his first open meeting continuing as these events expanded in the '60s and '70s with the Midland Area Armada Trophy series of open meetings.  Tim sailed at his first Burton Week in 1951 and continued attending Burton Week as family commitments allowed. 

Besides committee and officer positions at both sailing clubs, Tim served on the main committee of the National Twelve Owners' Association and was hon secretary and later chairman of the Midland Area.

Tim's funeral will be on Tuesday 21st May 2024 at 10.00 am,

The Vale Crematorium, Evesham Road, Fladbury, Pershore WR10 2QR

and afterwards

at The Old Chestnut Tree Inn, Pershore.

 

Members of The Nottingham Sailing Club were made aware of Tim's passing by the following, acknowledging his years of sailing and service at NSC:

Tim Wood 24^th July 1930 – 4^th May 2024

It is with sadness that 2024 sees the passing of Tim Wood, long standing and supportive member of the Club.  Tim joined in 1966 with his National Twelve, a dinghy class he had first sailed in the late '40s when sparse home leave breaks from National Service allowed, and which he continued to sail for a further forty plus years.

Tim was a river sailor to the heart.  By the early '40s Tim's parents had introduced Tim and brother Pat to sailing and the vagaries of the Trent, then without the Holme Sluice we know today. Their gaffed-rigged Broads styled dayboat Grebe was moored at Chapman's boatyard adjacent to Trent Bridge later, with the 1948 founding of Beeston SC, Grebe and the family moved their sailing to the Beeston Reach and BSC.

As with river clubs of these years the National Twelve was one of the active fleets, at BSC and NSC likewise, Tim with others in the class would enjoy competitive racing.  Sea sailing too at the national championships, when family commitment allowed, and on the Midland area circuit of open meetings.  Tim being one of the early pioneers of boat towing behind a motorbike, Jean pillion and children sidecar, undaunted by the then rough farmyard track and canal bridge approach to Trent Valley SC for their meeting.

The enjoyment of sailing never left Tim and his ability to master both current and light airs, particularly in a westerly at NSC, didn't diminish as he in time moved to a Laser and in later years a Comet.  The Laser, intended as a boat for his younger son, had soon taken favour for Thursday evening and Saturday racing, the National Twelve for Sunday.

Tim, a trustee of the Club from 1991, served as a committee member through the years 1972 to 1988, including terms as rear commodore and commodore, the latter 1985-86.  In the early '90s and with retirement Tim became part of the 'Wednesday Club', then but a fledgling group of likewise members, refencing the dinghy park being one of their early and major tasks.  In those years no riverside bench or similar timbered surface lacked woodwork attention, nor weather proofing treatment for long.

For Tim, the move from Nottingham and NSC was not borne easily, and he had retained membership as he and Jean settled in Malvern and nearer to their children.  A chance to sail in daughter Tricia's Comet soon followed, this on the Avon, Tim otherwise benefitting from a race box view of Severn SC's sailing.  It became a reminder of so many happy years at NSC where in later times he had viewed from our own race box, or that same riverside bench, with Tim's understanding and knowledgeable eye quietly following his joy of racing on the river Trent.

Our thoughts are with Jean at this sad time of Tim's passing and of their children Tricia, Duncan and Richard.

 

Michael Brookman

May 2024

 Eileen O'Reilly
It was sad to learn this week that Eileen O'Reilly, honorary secretary of NTOA 1972 to 1980, had passed away last Saturday, 13^th January 2018.
Eileen always an ardent supporter of the Class, was an enthusiastic crew with amongst others, Nigel Boschi and John Bugbee, and supported the running of the Association within the Thames area, she was at that time living in Isleworth, and then as NTOA honorary secretary.  On retirement Eileen moved to Worthing and later to Devon.  Her affection for the Class continued maintaining to the end associate membership of NTOA, always keeping in touch with Class affairs by the newsletters and circulations of Class activities.
The Class's foray to France in the mid 1960's had Eileen much involved with its pre-event NTOA organisation, as for two years a National Twelve open meeting at La Baule and then La Rochelle was held.  In 1987 Eileen presented to the Association an award, the Eileen O'Reilly Trophy, to the crew of the winner of the Inland Championship.  It was perhaps appropriate that the Association Trophy, awarded to the winning helm at La Baule and La Rochelle, later re-inscribed as the Ivor Williams Trophy, had become the trophy for the winning helm of the Inlands. 
Eileen's involvement with Burton Week evolved as honorary secretary administering NTOA activities with the host club and seeing to the detail of the shore proceedings.  It was the early days of computers too in the permutations of the final results, Eileen keen to see pen and paper laid aside as this new opportunity to finalise 130+ boats appeared.  Individual helm punched cards were the means, put into race finishing order, and driven some miles to a host club member's office having the necessary machine to compute the Week's final order.  Eileen was well pleased with the outcome.
At this time our thoughts are with Eileen's family and her son's Anthony and Simon.  The funeral service will be at Exeter and Devon Crematorium on Friday 9^th February 2018 at 3pm and afterwards at Armada Court, Topsham, Devon.  In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to Cancer Research in Eileen's memory. 
Michael Brookman