Sussex Sailing Banter

Aidan

Following your suggestion I've sent a follow-up email to the port authority suggesting that for next year it might be good PR, if nothing else, if the authority was to consult with the SYC before setting the charge. I've also suggested that maybe the users who've possibly created the need for extra patrols - i.e  those with personal water craft or large-engined motor boats - should pay their share of the cost. I'd be annoyed if the charge for my 6m Hurley was higher than for one of those 90hp water-sportscar things that burn up and down the river whenever they think they can get away with it.  

Regards

John

Agreed - it's an increase many times in excess of inflation. Furthermore I can't see anything which might prevent the port authority from doubling or trebling the charges next year. From various conversations I'd gained the impression that the SYC had some sort of channel of communication with the authority and so was slightly surprised that we hadn't been at least forewarned of the increase via Wavelength or some similar medium. Even better would be a high visibility attempt by the SYC to influence the authority in this area.

Let me know if anyone thinks that writing personal letters would be at all useful - I'm happy to fire one off.

John

I've just received my copy of Wavelength with the pull-out 2010 Fixtures List and I'd like to offer the comment that this is an excellent format in which to publish the list: no more staring at a bit of card with a magnifying glass! Congratulations to whoever came up with this idea.

I notice there's a series of lectures listed in the sailing section column - starting mid January. I've had a scout around the SYC website to no avail but am prepared to accept that I missed something in a previous Wavelength: whatever the case, I'd be grateful if someone could let me know what these lectures are all about - point me at the correct piece of documentation.

Thanks

John Crix

I live in Shoreham and would like to do some keel boat crewing this autumn/winter. My sailing CV follows. Please email me if you have a vacancy and are interested.

Thanks

John Crix

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JOHN CRIX - SAILING CV (SEPTEMBER 2007)

I'm 52 and married with 3 children from my previous marriage.

In 2000 I was fortunate to obtain a severance deal from my employer, Lloyds TSB Bank, where I was a senior manager in the IT division. This early release enabled my wife and I to experience the live-aboard life in our Rustler 31 for a few years: we lived on the Rustler in Amsterdam, Lisbon and Santa Cruz de Tenerife before returning to the UK last year (2006) and selling our boat.

To some extent the sale of the Rustler marked the end of my fanaticism for sailing, but I still keep a Hurley 20 on a mooring on the River Adur - I'm slowly restoring this boat. And recently I've started to think about getting involved in the local yacht racing scene, offering myself as crew in an arena which is relatively unfamiliar to me.

Experience

I was a keen rock climber and Alpine mountaineer in the 80s. Moving on from this I bought a dinghy in 1991 and sailed this in various places such as the Lake District and Scottish lochs until 1993 when we bought our first keel boat, an Albin Vega. I also crewed on a friend's Moody 33, which he kept on the West Coast of Scotland. We kept the Albin Vega at Holyhead and made numerous crossings of the Irish Sea (in all weathers) to Howth etc. and also made various holiday cruises along the North Wales coast, up to the Isle of Man and down to the South Coast of Ireland.

In 1996 I obtained some sponsorship from Lloyds TSB and entered the Albin Vega in the Three Peaks Yacht Race. Lloyds TSB also provided a few other opportunities for yacht racing of a more normal sort: round-the-cans corporate racing weekends in the Solent. This, however, is about the limit of my yacht racing experience.

We moved up to our current Rustler 31 in 1997. Before heading off on our live-aboard adventure we sailed this boat along the South Coast and across the Channel many times.

I have crewed on a number of yacht deliveries, including one transatlantic passage.

Skills

I have no formal RYA-type qualifications. But in addition to making several fairly long short-handed passages I have single-handed the Rustler 31 on many occasions, my longest solo trip being from Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Ponta Delgada (island of Sao Miguel in the Azores).

I have only been sea-sick once - one night when returning single-handed from Cherbourg in a F7. Even then it was a case of throw up and carry on - such are the disciplines of single-handed sailing! I'm a reasonable cook, can produce something hot in most sea states  - although I tend more to quick one-pot concoctions rather than anything of a gourmet nature.

I do a good percentage of boat maintenance myself. In addition to the regular engine servicing and endless small maintenance jobs on the Rustler, I installed a new Lavac, replaced the engine sound insulation, fitted dorade ventilators, replaced the forehatch and used my moderate carpentry skills to increase the locker space in the boat. My IT technical support background makes me happy with boat electronics - eg. their installation - although I don't claim to be able to repair these.