Messages

Thanks Anthony! It would be a long way to drive not to get a sail! And I am really looking forward to taking the old yot out onto the sea. The last time I sailed a clinker boat at the Burton was my China Doll N2524 "Ethelred" back in the early 1970s. Cheers, Paul

Greetings All.

The invitation to the Trent Valley Vintage & 4 Plank on Saturday 20th September 2008 will be posted elsewhere on the website but just wanted to let you all know that we have, following interest from several Admirals Cup boat owners, decided to open the meeting up to ALL N12s.
We have previously had entries of 12/13 boats, and if we have sufficient extras this year we may have two starts. It would be helpful to know who is coming along, and if you need a local crew.

It would be great to have an even bigger turnout than previously and it also gives everyone a chance to chew over the proposals for next year's Midlands Area Series, which are also included in the invitation/notice.

Please reply here or at paul@alverbanksails.co.uk

Hi Guys! Still no offers of a crew for the Burton Cup (Wednesday only) - and it's only a week away! Any volunteers?

Michael Brookman has kindly emailed some futher information from the NTOA records regarding "Christi".
Ian Saxby (probably a member of Beeston SC when he first bought the boat in 1959) sold her to a Mr WC Thomson of Sutton Passeys Crescent, Wollaton Park, Nottingham in 1961 who owned her until 1964/5 when she was sold to Barry Judge, making him her third owner.
Ownership circa: Ian Saxby 1959/60, WC Thomson 1961-4, Barry Judge 1964 to date, but she now needs a new home!

Hi Richard! Delighted to see that you are definately sailing Mr Jones at the Burton Cup, and what with Tim Gatti taking N2255 for the week, this has further inspired me to get Starfish N2020 sea worthy to join you on the Wednesday only. Tricia and Dave have offered me overnight accomodation - I just need a crew for the day! Any volunteers out there for a sedate trip round the day in the original 1962 Starfish? She is pretty much in her original racing condition as verified by her original owner, designer and builder Mike Nokes! :)RSVP

Christie is currently in Barry Judge's garage at his home in Brancaster having been kept under cover since she was last sailed in 1991. Bult by Wyche & Coppock she was originally owned by Ian Saxby and sailed at TVSC; Barry (now in his 70s) is only her second owner but would like to find a new home for her. I recently saw the boat when on the NWNW and from my limited and brief inpsection she seems to be sound with her original mast, boom, rudder and tiller; she will need some new(er) sails and the transom will require re-varnishing as the polyurethane varnish over original has gone all horrid!

Sorry guys - but what is the point of this?!? What is wrong with having the debate in one single where we all know the discussion is going on - ie on the NTOA website? Is this not a suitably 21st century forum?

Dear Mr Mutt, you seem to be (quite rightly in my view) questioning a lot of old rules so we can re-visit/chop out redundant restrictions. Are we thinking here in this thread about fully battoned sails? I sailed NWNW last year with an experimental fully battoned main that Kevan Bloor made a few years ago (measures to the old rules) - and it took some people most of the week to spot the difference. I will take them to the GILL meeting at Hunstanton for people to look at and evaluate. I am told that they last longer and hold their shape better than short battoned and I have found rumours of scary gybing, difficulties in tacking and problems de-powering on the start line unfounded - but, hey, I am not a "front of the fleet" man!

Greetings Gerry & Team UR! See you at the Jolly Sailor Friday- but MORE bratz? What have you been up to this year?

Greetings! Team Trent Valley will be there too, operating out of the Burham Mark-up as usual! I understand that Peacock & Wood will be sailing their new yot (code named "The White Elephant"?) for the first few days and I will be there again with N3157 (now back to her orginal name of "Perfect Kiss"), ably assisted by Christine Marshall, for the whole week.

This boat was originally owned by Warwick Groves and, at his request, I collected her from his garden in 2005, With only a few minor repairs she was ready to sail again. I sailed her on a number of occasions, wining the odd TVSC pot, and sold her to Max Hatch who then sold her on to Paul Hammersley. She still resides at TVSC.
Although the records show her to be amateur build (four plank stitch and tape) she was actually professionally finished/decked at Jean Gill's Yacht Supplies Breaston by the late Keith Jeffery.

This was the second Aftermath boat from David Mathews and initally she didn't measure but after the judicious use of some car body filler she was cleared by the eagle-eyed Harry Dalby. Initally she had no transom flaps as I thought she would be so stable these would be unnecessary but the retro fit was soon in place! Being of a certain colour with a tendency to nose dive, she was soon referred to locally as the "yellow submarine". Won a few pots/opens and then sold her to A N Other at Up River for £1,100, and bought N2810 (a Cheshire Cat) instead from Mike Perry (which I absolutely HATED). Heard no more of Wild Oats until Ken brought her down to TVSC in a very sorry state and she was put out of her misery.

Hope that I am not going to upset too many people, but I really don't think that our current N12 logo means anything to anyone out there - except N12 sailors! Sorry, peeps, but it's meaningless! Where's the boat? ??)

This was probably the last N12 designed and built by Mike Nokes. Using the theory that other classes with easy fore and aft lines and a flat bottom went fast off- wind, Shotgun's bottom four planks are flat(two either side of keel) with a modest rocker). The design focused on the fact that on Burton Week courses, there were two off- wind legs compared to only one to windward - down wind performance therefore being more important.  Initally she had a pram type  bow, but after a weekend sailing at Blakeney (where she was extremely fast downwind, but very wet to windward), Mike chopped 6" off the back, put on a new transom, and extended and reshaped the bow. Mike sailed her only briefly before lending her to Alan Brunton who raced her for a season at Trent Valley with reasonable success with a lightweight crew, (even though not in her ideal sailing conditions, - (river instead of open water). She was lent to a few others,before being laid up, and has not been sailed for over 30 years. She now resides in Mike's front garden awaiting minor restoration by an enthusiast.

From that horrid bit of river at Trent Valley (where only two people have had problems with the dog ban because we rent the field to the farmer who keeps sheep) may I expand on the comments in the TVSC open meeting report.
My bet it is unlikley that we will hold another two day open meeting because of the poor turnout, and because it is not fair on, (and too embarrassing to ask) the rest of the club to give up their Sunday class racing for us and I'm certainly not going to put in that amount of effort if the N12s don't want to sail here!
So maybe we go for a Saturday only, but why should we bother when this disrupts our training days from which we get our new club members? Although the club is happy to support the vintage/4 plank event in September as we get 12+ attending.
So with the inceasing cost of fuel and our need to get more people sailing 12s, why don't we have a seriously reduced open meeting year (with say only GILLs and vintage?) and concentrate on building up our club fleets?
Sorry to be grumpy but I think we have lost the plot as a class in a very competitive dinghy world - and I'm banned from sailing for six weeks coz of the knee op which means missing not only Hykeham but also the TVSC June vintage/handicap event!