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Inauguration of the Club
The inaugural Meeting of the Club was held on 9 September 1991 at the Yateley Centre Club attended by 41 people following an initiative by Malcolm Cross and a number of others who had completed the RYA Yachtmasters course held at Yateley Centre under the tutorship of Peter Mayley.
It was decided that the name would be “Yateley Offshore Sailing Club” and would hold formal Meetings on the first Monday of each month in Room A.1.8 of the Yateley Centre.
A Steering Committee was elected consisting of Malcolm Cross as Commodore, Robert Hughes as Treasurer, Rosemary Bateman as Social Secretary, Pauline Hooker as Assistant Social Secretary, Jackie Cross as General Secretary, Keith Watts as Sailing Secretary, Peter Mayley and John Vahgatsi as Committee Members.
An Extraordinary Meeting was held on 18 November 1991 to formalise the Club including approval of the Club Rules, appointment of Honorary Auditors, approval of the budget, approval of the membership fees and ratification of the Club Officers and Committee.
Past Commodores
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Commodore
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From
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To
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Malcolm Cross
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9 September 1991
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6 February 1995
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Rosemary Bateman
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6 February 1995
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3 February 1997
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John Weale
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3 February 1997
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2 November 1998
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Terry Hurrell
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2 November 1998
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6 November 2000
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Pauline Hooker
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6 November 2000
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4 November 2002
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Richard Magnay
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4 November 2002
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1 November 2004
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Paul Moggridge
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1 November 2004
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6 November 2006
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Bill Boyd
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6 November 2006
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Annual Highlights of Club Events
1992
During our first full year, there were some interesting meetings on a range of subjects including seamanship, rigging, weather, ropes, racing techniques, the Mary Rose, marine archaeology and an open Meeting with 170 attending a presentation by the Coastguard and Air Sea Rescue in Yateley School. Some practical demonstrations were organised including the operation of life rafts in Yateley Pool and hands-on use of flares. Sailing events included rallies to Southampton, St. Vaast, Cowes, Weymouth, Poole and Cherbourg The design of the YOSC Burgee was decided following submissions of ideas by Club Members
1993
Our First AGM was held on 2 February 1993 after the Club had been running for 15 months Robert Hughes was elected as our first Honorary Member in recognition of his work in establishing a firm financial basis for the Club We raised £600 through various activities with a view to sponsoring a local disabled person to sail on the Lord Nelson. Despite our best efforts, no suitable volunteers could be found locally so we presented the fund to the Jubilee Sailing Trust, operators of the Lord Nelson The beginnings of a Members Library was established with a collection of books, charts, videos, tools and other useful items for the benefit of our Members Sailing events included a rally to Honfleur, a “Highline” demonstration by the SAR helicopter “India Juliet” in the Solent, a race training weekend for honing our racing techniques and a rally to Weymouth with crew changes at Weymouth and Poole
1994
At the AGM in February, Peter Mayley was elected as our second Honorary Member in recognition of his inspiration and and as a catalyst for starting the Club Five YOSC boats participated in the ISC “Round The Island” race and it was decided to present a new Cup to be called “The YOSC Island Cup” to the YOSC boat with the fastest corrected time on handicap. The winner of the 1994 race and first holder of the Cup was “Adagio of Wight” a Westerly Centaur owned by John Weale & Dai Evans The first Cheese and Wine party was organised by John Vahgatsi and proved to be so popular that it was to become an annual Club event
1995
At the AGM, Malcolm Cross retired as out first Commodore and was elected as our third Honorary Member in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the successful establishment of the Club. He was presented with an engraved tankard and in turn presented the Club with a cup which he asked to be called “The Commodore’s Cup” to be presented annually “to the Member who had achieved a significant or meritorious sailing activity”. The first recipient was designated by Malcolm and the cup presented to Eric Meighen Rosemary Bateman was elected as our second Commodore The first annual Summer Cruise had 7 YOSC boats sailing in company around the Baie de Seine visiting Le Havre, Deauville, Dives-sur-Mer, Ouistreham, Caen, Arromanches and Carentan The first Summer Barbecue was held in the garden of Malcolm and Jackie Cross and proved to be so popular that it was to become an annual Club event We had some interesting speakers on various subjects including spritsail barges, British Steel Challenge and one on VHF radio by Member and “Radio Ham” Bill Boyd,
1996
The Commodore’s Cup was presented to Pauline Hooker at the AGM to mark her first Channel crossing in adverse weather The Social scene continued to provide interesting speakers on diverse subjects including Adrian Seligman on his wartime experiences in Greece and other speakers on navigation and weather with some drawn from within the Club Sailing events were well attended with rallies to Southampton, Cherbourg, Bembridge, the Folly Inn and Poole. The Summer Cruises was in the Channel Islands
1997
At the February AGM, Rosemary Bateman retired as Commodore and John Weale was elected as our third Commodore The Commodore’s Cup was presented to Val Bransby and the Island Cup to Keith Watts It was decided to change the date of the AGM from February to November to enable the incoming Committee to organise the events for the following season Some outstanding speakers this year included Commander Chapman Andrews, Queen’s Harbourmaster of Portsmouth, Alan Toone, ex SAS with tales of some of his adventures, Two YOSC Members gave talks - Richard Magnay on engine maintenance and Dai Evans on his experiences of sailing a Dutch barge in the Ijsselmeer Sailing events included the “usual” Solent and South Coast rallies and the Summer Cruise to the Channel Islands and North Brittany The Club organised a joint sailing holiday with Grebe Lake Sailing Club to charter 4 yachts in the Ionian Islands At the November AGM, the Commodore’s Cup was presented to Terry Hurrell for his enthusiasm and commitment in encouraging Members participation in Club sailing events
1998
Editing and production of the Club Newsletter and Offshore Magazine was entrusted to Richard Godden who has taken on this important and onerous task to ensure that all of our Members are kept up-to-date Return visits by popular request of speakers this year including SAS man - Alan Toone, author Adrian Seligman, YOSC Members, Dai Evans and Richard Magnay We had the use of Hawley Lake Sail Training Centre and the fleet of Bosun dinghies for a Family Fun day on the water including raft building, round-the-cans racing followed by a BBQ The usual Sailing events around the Solent, South Coast and Cherbourg At the AGM, the Commodore’s Cup was presented to Trevor Nicholson and the Island Cup to Donal McDonnell in Setanta The “first time” contested position of Vice-Commodore went to Pauline Hooker after a close contest by secret ballot John Weale retired as Commodore and Terry Hurrell was elected as our fourth Commodore
1999
More outstanding speakers including Rosemary Joy with some vintage film of J Class yachts, a return visit from Alan Toone, talks on knot tying, deck fittings, sails, security and flags aka vexillology. Two YOSC Members - Richard Magnay on engine maintenance and Alan Bew on boat electrics The summer BBQ was hosted by Alan & Sue Goodwin Sailing events included St. Vaast, Solent ports, the Great Lobster Race at the RVYC Fishbourne, sailing on Hawley Lake and the Summer Cruise to Normandy The date of 11 August 1999 was one of the rare occasions to see the total eclipse of the sun from the UK. Four YOSC boats rallied in mid-channel in the path of totality to witness the eclipse The YOSC Web Page was started by John Weale with a description of the Club, the Sailing and Social Programmes and arrangements for Membership At the AGM, the Commodore’s Cup was presented to Richard Godden for outstanding work on the Newsletter and Offshore and the Island Cup to Dai Evans and Mygal
2000
Speakers on diverse subjects including Solent Coastguard, Southampton VTS, weather ships, whales & dolphins, marine electronics, a return visit from Rosemary Joy and YOSC Member Ian Diaper on the 1999 Fastnet Race Sailing events included Alderney, Solent ports, a RTI rally, dinghy sailing at Hawley lake and the summer cruise to North Brittany The date of May 1 was significant to all Navigators when the GPS degrading signal was removed and the accuracy improved to positioning within a few metres At the AGM, the Island Cup was presented to Chris Stafford and Memphis Mist Terry Hurrell retired as Commodore and Pauline Hooker was elected as our fifth Commodore
2001
Speakers included flotilla sailing in Greece, sound insulation, clocks & barometers, Sam Bayliss on his experiences in the Baltic, the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s new ship “Tenacious”, YOSC Members Neville Evans on the East Indies and Dai Bransby on operations in BIG ships and cruising to the Azores in his Oyster 39 Additional social events included an auction of Members surplus boat bits, BBQ at Trevor & Jill Nicholson’s garden and Southampton VTS arranged for us to visit their Port Control facility Reading Offshore Club hosted the first inter-club Quiz at the UTMYC at Sonning Mill which was won by ROC. This proved to be so popular that it was to become an annual Club event Our 10th Anniversary dinner was held at the prestigious premises of the Royal Naval and Royal Albert Yacht Club in Portsmouth where we had a record turnout of Members to celebrate the first ten years of the Club Sailing events included the 10th Anniversary Rally to St. Vaast, a joint rally with ROC to Newtown River, various Solent ports and the summer cruise to the West Country At the AGM, the Commodore’s Cup was presented to Richard Godden for his continuing excellence as Editor and the the Island Cup to Donal McDonnell in Setanta A new award was introduced to mark our 10th Anniversary to be presented to the best Log or account of a sailing activity. The first presentation to be made at the 2002 AGM
2002
An interesting mix of speakers including Commodore Melson of Trinity House Lighthouse Service, Andrew Cleave on Coastal Sea-Life of the British Isles, Chris Beer about whale & dolphins in the Azores, Kathryn Burnett of the RYA on Cruising, Eleanor Tims on Sailing up the Gambia River, David Pitman enlightened us about Sail and Rig Tuning, Paul Burns told us about his experiences "Sailing Round the World" and YOSC Member Paul Moggridge with some recollections of the YOSC 2001 sailing season Additional social events included the Spring dance at St. Swithun’s and Quiz Night at ROC at UTMYC Sonning Sailing events included Cherbourg, the usual Solent ports, a joint rally with ROC and the summer cruise to North Brittany. The sailing events were well attended this year with an average of six boats at each event The Royal Naval & Royal Albert Yacht Club invited YOSC to become an Affiliate Club and to make use of their facilities in Old Portsmouth At the AGM, the Commodore’s Cup was presented to Malcolm Cross for his first transatlantic crossing, the Island Cup to Barry Mead and Footprint and the Best Log award jointly to Terry Paynter, Alex Phipps and William McDonnell for their contributions in Offshore Pauline Hooker retired as Commodore and Richard Magnay was elected as our sixth Commodore
2003
Speakers on various subjects including the Hydestyle Wildlife Hospital accompanied by some live "patients" St. Dunstan’s Hospital, DGMSS radios, radar reflectors, wind generators, Malcolm Cross on his transatlantic crossing, the work of the Royal National Mission To Deep Sea Fishermen Additional social events included a return Quiz contest hosted by YOSC where our teams narrowly beat ROC with questions set by Quizmaster John Weale, the Spring Dance at the popular venue at St. Swithun's Parish Centre, Yateley - dancing to jazz and swing music plus entertainment by Otis B Driftwood and the Cheese and Wine hosted this year by Barry & Chris Mead at their home in Crondall Sailing events had an interesting mix of Solent and South Coast events and St. Vaast, with a few events to test the Members anchoring skills including a mystery event in Keyhaven, Newtown River, Poole harbour and a family fun event at east Head in Chichester harbour. The Summer Cruise was to the Channel Islands, Isles Chausey, St. Malo and the Rance At the AGM, the Commodore’s Cup was presented to David Dray, the Island Cup to Ed Essary and the Best Log award to Robert Hughes for his article in Offshore
2004
Another interesting mix of speakers including Eleanor Tims on her trip to The Gambia, Simon Curwen on Transat 2001, Carol Clarke on Brooklands, Tony Ellis on the Thames Barge “Cumbria”, Trevor Skeetes on the JST ship “Tenacious”, John Sharp of the RYA on sail trimming, Guy Addington of the RNLI with a demo of flares and Derek Belsey on Birds Around Surrey Other social activities included the Spring Dance at St. Swithun’s again with Otis B Driftwood, Quiz Night with ROC at The Tythings which YOSC won again and the Cheese & Wine at The Tythings Sailing activities included a few interesting variants on the Solent and South Coast venues including a Review of the YOSC Fleet by the Commodore in Osborne Bay, a “Crew Mix” weekend to Poole, a night passage to Fécamp, an eastward cruise to Brighton & Littlehampton and exploring some of the lesser known Solent creeks. The summer cruise was in Normandy At the AGM, the Commodore’s Cup was presented to Jill Mayhew for her outstanding work in assisting the Social Secretary, the Island Cup to Ed Essary and the Best Log award to Dai Bransby for his account of sailing to Spain and Portugal A major change to the Rules was ratified by the Members to improve the layout and clarity, to reflect current practices and to define more clearly, the Management Committee responsibilities Richard Magnay retired as Commodore and Paul Moggridge was elected as our seventh Commodore
2005
A varied and interesting mix of speakers this year included Roger Oliver on his experiences in sailing around the British Isles, Robin Higgs about the Basingstoke Canal, Neil Stewart on Swimming with Sharks, Sam Bayliss on sailing across the Atlantic, John Sharp with some more about sailing skills, Flag Man, Commander Nicholls on the Bicentenary of Trafalgar and Philip Littlejohn told us about his grandfather, Alexander Littlejohn who was a survivor of the Titanic disaster Some of our own Members gave talks - Ed Essery, holder of the YOSC Island Cup, about "Racing and Refitting Your Boat" and Dai Evans and Richard Magnay on their experiences in their DIY renewal of the gel coat of their yacht “Mygal” Additional social events included the Spring Dance at St. Swithun’s, Quiz Night at UTMYC Sonning with ROC, the Summer Barbecue at Robert and Carole Hughes garden in Camberley, skittles at the Jolly Millar and the Cheese & Wine party at Barry & Chris Meads home in Crondall Sailing events in the 2005 sailing season were somewhat curtailed and interrupted due to the weather and major celebrations of Trafalgar in the Solent during June and July. Various events through the season were either canceled or not particularly well attended but everyone enjoyed them that did participate and included Cherbourg & Dielette, the usual Solent ports, a timed Rally and the summer cruise to the Channel Island and Brittany At the AGM, the Commodore’s Cup was presented to John Weale for his efforts in maintaining the Web Site, the Best Log award to Alex Phipps and the Island Cup again went to Ed Essery. Dai Evans stood down as Vice Commodore and Trevor Nicholson as Sailing Secretary. Bill Boyd was elected as our new Vice Commodore but there were no volunteers for the important post of Sailing Secretary. Paul Moggridge agreed to take on this role with assistance from other participating Club Members
2006
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