SQUARE RIGGER CLUBTS ROYALIST

Big BrotherMarine Traffic

TS RoyalistThe early days

Disasters and Drills

Plus:Crew Update • TS Roylist Replacement Bosun’s Locker • Boaty Days Out

Commodore’s Annual Report 2012This will be my third and final year as Commodore and my last Newsletter Report for The Square Rigger Club.

During the course of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pageant, Royalist was moored by London’s Tower Bridge and I was fortunate to be able to go on board and present to each cadet a specially inscribed Bosun’s Call. These commemorative “whistles” were donated by the Club as lasting mementos of the occasion. I am sure that if the response from the cadets was anything to go by, then they will be much cherished for years to come.

This was a rare opportunity to spend half a day with the crew and cadets during their training. Many cadets thanked us individually for bursaries but one shy cadet in particular approached us (unprompted) and said “thank you for what you’ve done – if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here this week.” There is nothing like being amongst the cadets during their voyage on board Royalist – the high point of the sea cadet experience – to underline the work that The Square Rigger Club does.

There have been two successful charters this year – I think possibly amongst the best ever judging by the post-charter reports – and the money raised. I went to Portsmouth to see off our Square Rigger Club crew on their way to Le Havre in September and a very enthusiastic bunch they looked too!

We successfully applied for matched funding from Barclays Bank this year, which helped to boost the profits raised by the charters. Under their scheme they agreed to match any money raised up to a maximum of £750 and we were grateful to have this additional sum.

Thanks to your involvement in charters and your donations we have been able to continue to provide the bursaries. As a charity we couldn’t have done it without your extraordinary support and as many families continue to rely on us I hope that we can continue to count on you all.

My good wishes to you all for a happy and healthy 2013.

Irene AgassCommodore

Square Rigger Club October 2012

Commodore’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . 03Membership News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04Operation 360 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05TS Royalist Replacement . . . . . . . . 06-07Tales from the Bosun’s Locker . . . . . . 08Charter 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09General News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Big Brother is Watching . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Cadets’ Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13Bursary Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15Disasters and Drills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Boaty Days Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17The Early Days of TS Royalist . . . . . 18-19Membership Application Form . . . . . 22

Contents

02 03

Membership News

Acknowledgements

Once again a big thank you to Photolink Creative Group for producing this edition, especially Kevin O’Neill

for proof reading this newsletter. Thanks also to all the contributors for their pictures and articles.

INCOME: Total Income for the period £15,993

Income this year was up £5,500 mainly bolstered by charter income and donations.

Subcriptions remained steady albeit from fewer members subscribing in the year.

We have improved our bank interest at long last, although we are moving our deposits

over to Virgin Bank as they are offering a better return than our current bank, you just

have to keep shopping around these days.

EXPENSES: Total Expenses for the period £15,187

60% of our income went directly to bursaries this year, which is 5% higher than our

10 year average. Club expenses amounted to 31% this was 18% higher than average.

The steep hike in costs here were attributable to our 40th AGM anniversary in Gosport

2011 which was but the increase in donations more than paid for this exceptional cost.

Most of you will have received your AGM minutes by email, for those who do

not have an email address the minutes are enclosed. These show the accounts to

12th February and the minutes of the meeting, if in the future you would like these

emailing to you, please forward your email address to jmac@squareriggerclub.org.uk

and I will set up your account on our database. This will save the club money, additional

paper and postage, you will also receive updates and information automatically.

John MacDonald

Financial Report 25th February 2011 to 24th February 2012

Gift Aid – Act now!

he club is always trying to

generate more funds and one

that is available through the

revenue is that of Gift Aid.

We currently have 178 members

who donate via GA and this generates

some £1800 to £2000 pa in tax claims

from the revenue.

The 178 members account for

about 71% of total membership.

We will never achieve 100%

as some people are non-tax

payers, but feel we could raise more

through this method. Remember,

it does not cost you a penny.

Even if you are not sure if you

have signed in the past, you can still

fill in the form and return it back to

me at the address below. I can then

check our database to ensure we are

claiming the correct entitlement.

For further information you can look

on the Government’s official website:

www .hmrc .gov .uk/charities/gift-aid .htm

Please address all completed forms to:

John MacDonald

Square Rigger Club

146 Manchester Road

Mossley

Lancashire OL5 9BG

ALL ABOARD! Do you know any potential new members? Turn to page 21!

04 05

Operation 360

By Richard Weston

he club needs more members

to keep the good work going

into the future. We currently

have 178 members. The income from

these subscriptions is essential to provide

the funding for bursaries to get young

people away on voyages.

Our club members are long-standing

and loyal, but our age profile means

that we have very few young members.

Without new members the club will

gradually fade away, which would be

a great pity for the club and particularly

for the cadets. We are at a stage where

legacy money and bequests are keeping

us afloat. To provide new energy and

vitality to see the club go on for another

forty years, supporting the replacement

sea cadet vessels means more members

is a key ingredient.

Deaths

adly, we’ve had 4 reported deaths this year.

Geoff Norman of Oswestry died June 2012.

Jeoff Smith from Loughborough died suddenly in July 2012.

Philip John Williams died 2011 Bristol area. Left £3,714.62 in

his will to the Club.

Frederica Hilda Lambert FRGS November 2011. Left £3,131.99

in her will to the club. Frederica’s bequest came out of the

blue and was wondering if any of our older members can

throw any light on her association with the club it would be

nice to find out a little more about this “adventurous woman”

some details we knew about her was cleaned from the internet.

This realistically means having a

membership of a minimum of 360, just

as the marks on a compass. To achieve

this number and ensure the club endures,

the Committee need your ideas on the

best way of recruiting. We of course

need help with recruitment and people

who can just telephone and say hello

to new members.

To get the message out into the

wider sailing and marine community is

very difficult and not without hurdles,

but we have to start somewhere. For

example leaving leaflets in chandleries

and marinas and setting out stalls at

boat jumbles and sailing events.

So if you have any ideas or could help

in any way, please contact the Committee.

We promise not to try and recruit you to

doing things you don’t have time for.

4th May 1915 – 18th November 2011 nee Dougal (previously

married to John Conrad Wheadon).

Peacefully died 18th November 2011, aged 96 years.

Loved mother of Susan, Heather, Ruth, John, Ken, Joanna

and Rachel.

Always remembered as an adventurous and extraordinary

woman.

Profession: Secretary, Hotel Manager,

Places lived: Croydon, Guernsey, Switzerland, Newent,

Hawkes Bay – New Zealand, London,

Wookey Hole, Weston-super-Mare.

T

S

T

06 07

TS RoyalistReplacement

replacement TS Royalist is even

more important now than in

1971, because many things have

changed within society. Schools are now

very risk adverse and existing activities

after school have been discouraged by

scaremongering about health and safety

and risk aversion where all risks are

eliminated to the point where nothing

can be done safely. Computer games

and television are a very big factor in any

child’s life. It is common for cadets to

tell you that they find TS Royalist ‘better

than a computer game’. The long march

with cadets to find a telephone box for

a ten pence phone call home at the

beginning of the week or parents without

a telephone and having to phone a

neighbour are distant memories. The

Facebook generation can keep in touch

across the world, from a mobile telephone.

Some things have not changed, a child’s

need for adventure, the skill of sailing a

vessel with a team and the leadership,

courage and fortitude required to be at

sea. Children crave this more than ever,

because teenagers are most unlikely to

be able to go to sea with a father

or grandfather in our modern world.

Children still need training and jobs

as they progress to adulthood, and the

evidence of aptitude to demonstrate to

employers that they have potential to be

a good trainee and they are worth

investing in. My proudest moments are

when ex-cadets come back to TS Royalist

to explain they are

merchant navy cadets or

passed out a Raleigh for

the Royal Navy or decided

to take some other path

as a result of their sailing

experience. And of course

the training of a new

generation of adults that

will go on to work in the

UK sail training fleet.

The design of any new

ship including sailing

vessels is now strictly

regulated by international

agreement; that are then

translated in to law of the

country to which a vessel

is flagged, including

habitability and health and safety.

Because the existing TS Royalist has

been so successful for so long, in the

forty year period, many things have

changed beyond recognition in that time.

For example the provisioning of a ship

does not rely on cans and dry storage,

because of refrigeration and scientific

advances in food storage and packaging.

Effective food storage saves costs in

the long-term, when the grocery bill is

nearly £1000 a week, stuffing cadets

with calories. Water makers can provide

almost unlimited fresh water on long

voyages. Pollution is now discouraged

under the MARPOL regulations, so

putting your sewage over the side is not

allowed on new large vessels.

The new ship will have to comply with

the following mandatory and statutory

regulations and many more beside:

• Class requirements of Lloyds 100A

technical requirements, these govern

the strength of the vessel and its

construction in steel, with minimum

requirements for fire, flooding,

buoyancy and strength.

• Marine and Coastguard Agency

requirements on the number of crew

the ship must have for its given

length and operation. For example to

have a Commanding Officer and a

Sailing Master to navigate the vessel

and an engineer on board to attend

the mechanical and electrical systems.

• Maritime Labour Convention that

governs the minimum size of cabins

and usable space, and facilities such

as wash hand basins and showers,

and also the number of people that

can be squeezed into one cabin.

• Child welfare and safeguarding rules,

regarding the separation of adults

and children and privacy of children

when changing or washing. It is

easy to remember that TS Royalist

was designed for boys, and girls were

part of a separate sister organisation.

This is without all the usual

considerations of space restrictions on

equipment, safety, reliability, availability

of equipment and spares.

Expectation is also a big driver of

changes in the design, is the expectation

of parents and authorities such as social

services, schools and media. Also

designers, builders and maintainers

expect a modern vessel to last a minimum

of thirty years. Clearly the experience of

maintaining the current TS Royalist has

played a big part in the development of

the new design.

Requirements for the ship start with

a series outline specifications that set the

basic parameters of the ship. This might

seem obvious, but they are required to

explain to potential designers and

builders what kind of vessel is required.

This is even more important because the

project will be procured as a design and

build. The completion will run in two

stages with a provisional design and

indicative cost, and then detailed

negotiations to ensure the correct design

and the right cost is achieved. Basic

requirements include:

• A sailing brig under twenty four

metres load line length with a single

displacement hull. This is a small two

masted vessel that can be crewed by

staff with commercially endorsed

yachting qualifications. The vessel

needs to be constructed of steel to

provide the strength required to

endure poor weather and give a

vessel that will have a long life and

can be easily repaired.

• The vessel must be capable of

operating in Northern European

waters from March to November,

including the ability to sail far offshore

on Tall Ships races. Of course this

governs the strength of construction,

but also determines the type of

ventilation within the vessel, the type

and quantity of food storage, and

storage for first aid equipment and

navigation and radio equipment.

• The number of young people is

unchanged at twenty four, but the

number of staff is increased from the

current nine to ten. The ship initially

started off life with ten staff, but

changes over the years squeezed

more adults into the wardroom, and

also reduced the number of staff. Two

of the staff will be accommodated

forward with the cadets to ensure

better provision in terms of the child

protection regulations. In the original

design of TS Royalist four adults were

in the forepeak, to the same purpose.

Also it is required that twelve adults

can be aboard as day visitors.

Some may scoff at the importance of

child protection regulations, but their

implementation is a legal requirement,

because a sail training vessel is both a

floating dormitory and school. Children

should be afforded the same protection

and welfare at sea, the same as if they are

at school or college. The child protection

rules apply to all children, to the age of

eighteen, also strict rules apply to young

people to the age of twenty five. The

Royal Navy, as to apply these rules in just

the same way and military training

colleges and establishments are subject

to Ofsted inspection and reporting in the

same way as schools. All youth charities

including the sea cadets have the

responsibilities. Child protection is not

just about the prevention sexual

exploitation. More commonly it is about

making sure that the cadets are not

bullied by other cadets or adults. That

they are not mistreated or neglected,

for example that they are fed properly,

that they receive sufficient drinking

water or juice, and they are kept warm or

protected from sun burn. The regulations

are of particular importance to vulnerable

children, such as those that are immature

or have learning difficulties and are less

able to help themselves; or communicate

the issues at hand.

ProcurementAll ship designs are a compromise,

you have to balance the physical size

and strength of the cadets with their

ability to pull on lines and set sail and

hand sails. The details of the replacement

ship have yet to be developed.

The design will be scrutinised as part of

a two stage tender process.

The two stage tender process works

by asking suitable contractors who have

pre-qualified in terms of financial security,

specialist experience, quality, health and

safety for example. To provide an initial

design and a cost as a tender. From this

foundation, negotiations will take place

with the competitors, to achieve the best

matrix of costs and quality. Once a

preferred tender is selected the detailed

design and approval can take place.

The detailed design will be measured

against the functional requirements. For

example operational needs like sailing

performance, the ability to sleep and the

impact of light and vibration, the privacy

of accommodation and the ability to

interview children in private. Regulatory

issues such as the size of the cabins and

eye space across the cadet mess. Safety

such as the provision of the controls for

bilge pumping at deck level or the water

proofing of electrical systems.

The functional requirements will also

include an analysis of the machinery

such as generators and main engines.

Everyone accepts that cheap or poor

quality equipment will entail premature

failure and replacement, or more

expensive repairs and maintenance. The

cost of spares and fuel consumption will

also be an important issue in reducing

the long-term running costs. The paint

system is very important, especially as

ships rust from the inside. This gives a

dilemma, because the paint system is so

important the old days of the hardy

amateur happily slapping paint on a ship

in refit will be over. Modern paint systems

require professional application and

maintenance by properly trained people.

Similar issues will exist across the ships

systems and the ability of the club to get

involved in the maintenance of the

vessels will diminish.

A

By Richard Weston

From the Bosun’s LockerA summary of 2012

08 09

Diamond Jubilee Pageant, and again she

looked absolutely wonderful, not that

we’re biased or anything! When the

pageant was over, the crew hosted a

‘street party’ onboard for the cadets, and

they really got into the spirit of it, making

it a fantastic evening! In between cadet

training weeks during the summer

months, TS Royalist ventured to France,

stopping off for the Brest Festival, an

event where many tall ships from around

the globe gathered around the time of

the tall ships races for a giant festival.

I think the highlight of my year had

to be our impromptu meeting with STS

Lord Nelson in the Solent on the

departure day of her ‘round the world’

voyage. Both ships sailed together from

Calshot Spit to Gurnard Ledge, where

Royalist Saluted, before parting ways

with Lord Nelson and continuing to

Cowes. The ship looked magnificent

sailing dressed overall, and even had

the chance to give Colin Mudie three

cheers as he sailed past, a spectator for

this wonderful event!

Another winter is now upon us, work

has already started on stripping down

the mess deck for her hull inspection,

I suppose I better start moving before

the coxswain destores me for the winter!

Fair winds! Keep supporting!

Bosun – PO(SCC) Alex Coakley

become rather familiar, and it’s

definitely not been far from the truth –

working onboard ship presents new

challenges day-to-day, whether at sea

or over refit. This year the ships team

have also refurbished all the upper deck

woodwork including the ship’s wheel,

which looks fantastic!

Moving on to some of the major

events in the ships calendar this year,

the closest to home was the Royalist

Regatta, hosted in May, for which

TS Royalist was of course in prime

position, dressed overall in the Solent!

The ship also participated in the avenue

of sail on the Thames for the Queen’s

hat an incredible year! Over the

course of 2012 TS Royalist has

taken part in several particularly

special occasions, such as The Queen’s

Diamond Jubilee pageant on the River

Thames, The Brest Festival in France and

bidding the Lord Nelson ‘bon voyage’

on her round the world tour, along with

several other sail training ships in the

Solent. She has also had the privilege to

have approximately 500 cadets sail

onboard over the season, meaning she

has now taken more than 31,000 young

people to sea over the past 41 years!

Well done TS Royalist!

The winter refit period (December ‘11

to March ‘12) was a challenge for the

Sailing Master and I. We had decided

that the yards needed to be struck down

over the winter for a full refurbishment.

It took us a good three months work,

repainting the aluminium spars, replacing

their fittings, foot ropes and so on...

But rest assured, we did manage to put

it all back together! At the end of

February it took us less than a fortnight

to repeice the jigsaw puzzle, with the

whole team working together to rerig

and reinstall the yards.

Over the past two years that I’ve

worked aboard the flagship, the phrase

‘the Bosun’s work is never done!’ has

GOSPORT TO GOSPORT

Friday 17th – Monday 20th May 2013

Prices: £205 (members) £230 (non-members)

FALMOUTH TO FALMOUTH

Saturday 7th – Friday 13th September 2013

Prices: £495 (members) £520 (non-members)

For more information, contact Ed BirdCharter Secretary of the Square Rigger ClubEmail: chartersec@squareriggerclub.org.uk

Tel: 07962 698648

www.squareriggerclub.org.uk

The price of the charters is inclusive of all meals and accommodation.

W

Greetings fellow Square Riggers!

By Alex Coakley

eeping track of TS Royalist

from your front room or office

is very easy if you have a

computer linked to the internet, you

do not need any specialist equipment

or training to use the AIS system.

Automatic Identification Systems were

made compulsory in 2004 by the

International Marine Organisation for all

vessels over 299 gross tonnes.

TS Royalist and the power vessels

Jack Petchey and John Jerwood have

AIS fitted, so it is possible to monitor

their movements using a computer.

Several websites have similar facilities,

but the one I use is Marine Traffic, type

www.marinetraffic.com into your search

engine. You have to register, and to do

this you first need an email address.

Getting an email address is a free service

and the Marine Traffic registration is also

completely free of charge. The website

will send you an alert by email every time

one of the ships in your fleet departs or

arrives at a port. You can also have alert

messages sent as a text to your mobile

telephone. This does cost 15 euros per

100 texts, you buy in advance. Cheaper,

if you have a smart phone is purchasing

an application (app) for around £5 that

enables you to receive the same

information, free of charge once you

have purchased the application.

Once registered and signed on to

your Marine Traffic account you can then

add vessels to your fleet. Go to the

Services tab, and click on My Fleet,

Notifications, My Data, this will take you

to another page, at the top will be

My Fleet, this page will be blank, choose

add a new record. On the line searching

for a ship, the boxes are not very clear,

so make it easy and click on the question

mark. This will bring up a search box.

Type in TS Royalist, hopefully the search

will find the vessel, click on the line for

the vessel you require, some searches will

bring up more than one vessel with the

same name. This way you can slowly

build your fleet. You must put TS, just

Royalist comes up as a blank.

The fun part is that once you have

chosen a vessel for your fleet the web

site will send you an automatic email

every time the ship departs or arrives at

a port. You can also go on the website

and see the last reported position of

the vessel. Reported positions are usually

reliable, when a ship is within 40-60 miles

of the coast around the UK. Because the

AIS system is based on short range VHF

channels 87 and 88, information from

Big Brother is Watchingwww.marinetraffic.com

the vessels global positioning system

is transmitted to shore. Once beyond

the range of VHF, AIS will not work unless

the ship has some other method of

reporting their position.

Clicking on another page will give

you a map with the position of the

vessel. A bonus is that you can see the

vessels around TS Royalist as she makes

progress on a voyage. The colour of the

routes, is a code describing the type of

vessel, red for tankers, green for cargo

vessels and purple for yachts including

TS Royalist. You can tell she is underway,

because of the ship symbol, when she

is stationary, alongside or at anchor the

symbol becomes a square. Information

includes the speed and course of all

vessels when underway. The site has

many photographs posted by shipping

fans, so you can see TS Royalist and

also look at pictures of the vessels close

to her. Interestingly you can also get

the real-time weather information for

the area around the vessel, for example

wind strength and direction. If you are

unfamiliar with the port she is bound for,

on the same website you can look up the

port information. A very useful tool

when trying to join TS Royalist in Brest,

a very large dockyard and you want to

know what she is alongside. The same

page gives the traffic within the port

such as vessels departing or joining

Southampton on a particular day.

So get clicking, unfortunately none of

the sea cadet offshore vessels will be

operational, before March 2013, but the

site is still a lot of fun.

10 11

K

A

lways a delicate subject to broach but can be an

effective way of donating no matter how small the

bequest is.

Make a bequest to the Square Rigger Club in your will.

It can include money, land, property or stocks and shares.

The wording in your will should read:

“I give and bequeath, free of all duty and taxes, to the Square

Rigger Club for the general purposes of the Charity, the sum

of £ ….....…… , and I declare that the receipt of the

Treasurer or other proper officer for the time being

of the said Charity shall be a sufficient discharge

of the same.”

Remember us in your will

Ae are still finalising a date and location for the Annual General Meeting September 2013.

As soon as we have a confirmed date, I will send an email or letter to you to mark in your diary. We look forward to seeing you then.

Regards

John MacdonaldHonorary Treasurer

Crew Update 2012

ngie, as Captain continues to

deliver a fantastic experience to

both cadets and adults and

has now completed three seasons as

Captain. She has managed to combine

being away at sea with buying and

refurbishing a house in Brixham. Also she

is still a very active member of the

Brixham Lifeboat crew, when she is home.

Her Dad who fishes from Brixham was

able to lend the ship an enormous help,

when an anchor cable had to be let go

after a hydraulic pump failed unexpectedly.

Dad; went out and recovered the cable

and anchor with his fishing boat and

returned it to the ship and then drove

over to the suppliers to fetch a

replacement pump.

The strangest thing I have done with

Angie as Captain was lying alongside the

fish pier at St Peter’s Port, Guernsey, with

a full size Viking longship outside of us on

the way back from the Brest Festival.

Roy has now completed three

seasons as Sailing Master and continues

to enjoy developing the training

programme. My abiding memory of the

season will be Roy as relief Captain

inbound for St Helier, Jersey and in the

main channel in the dark on a night

entry with a car ferry waiting for us to

clear the channel. The port engine cuts

out just when we need it to turn in to

the harbour and would not restart. Using

one engine and the sea boat he turns

the ship and lays the ship perfectly

alongside the pontoon. The ferry was not

delayed, and the engine was soon fixed.

The shaft brake temporarily replaced by

a small crowbar to get us home.

Although everyone all needed a strong

cup of tea afterwards to recover.

Alex is working very well, still

bouncing around the rigging as Bosun.

To make sure he qualified in the eccentric

category, he went skydiving to raise

money for the club. Alex is well on the

way to completing a foundation degree

in youth work, through the Open

University. He is also helping to recruit

young people to the club, and has

reviewed the membership of the club.

Martin is still cook and we all enjoy his

meals, recently he has been used as

relief on the power vessels. We helped to

bring back 24 cadets from Cherbourg

to Poole by fastcat ferry in July, and his

wife and daughter arranged transport

from the ferry to the railway station.

Martin is also still District Officer for the

Poole area and works very hard for the

benefit of the cadets. Sadly Martin has

been tempted away from TS Royalist to

work full time on the John Jerwood.

Mike has now retired from the ship,

but not the Sea Cadets. He now manages

engineering support to all the sea cadet

offshore vessels and is regretfully office

based. In the early part of the season he

did some relief weeks to enable Kenny to

join as the new engineer. Kenny comes

from a sail training background, but has

proved very good at teaching the

evolution of stretcher evacuation because

of his experience in mountain rescue.

I got to know Kenny very well, in June

when moored in London in advance of

the Jubilee Celebrations. A pipe suddenly

became disconnected flooding the bilges

with Thames water, just as the Prince of

Wales came by on the Royal Barge. The

team spent a very busy hour pumping

bilges and plugging the leak with a

wooden bung, we did not sink of course

but it was a good team building exercise.

Aimee has been a watch officer this

year, a very good relief cook and able to

communicate in teenager she has been a

sterling part of the crew. With no previous

experience of sail training she has now

decided on a full time career in sail

training, now her year as watch officer

year has ended. She is off to Gordonstoun

School in Scotland, with ambitions to go

sailing in the Arctic next season.

Peter has now left the ship and

swanned off to join an Oyster yacht on a

round the world trip, the entire team was

green with envy over the stop offs in

Cape Town and Australia. Seduced by the

comfort and luxury of sailing with adults

in the warm is understandable, but his

skill with the cadets and cheerful

approach to life will be sadly missed on

board TS Royalist. Peter’s replacement as

coxswain is David; who started the season

as a relief cook, transferred to watch

officer and is settling in to the post of

coxswain very well. His merchant navy

experience on large commercial ships has

been of huge benefit to the ship.

My own fond memories of the ship

include the Remembrance Day Parade at

the submarine museum, with cadets and

the retired submariners of the Royal

British Legion.

John Bradnock has now been retired

five years. He holidays on the Isles of

Scilly, Alderney, and the canals of the

Midlands by hotel barge. He is in good

health, after a few running repairs to the

rigging. His local church would be lost

without his work as a server on a Sunday.

AGM 2013

W

By Richard Weston

By Richard Weston

Cadets’Corner

12 13

Bursary Report 2012

Distribution of bursaries by vessel

The yachts are usually operated as one boat for girls and

one for boys. This is reflected in the bursary applications, being

almost equal between boys and girls.

There is no evidence that the female cadets have a

greater financial need than the boys for bursaries. Boys and

girls have an equal opportunity to apply for Offshore Courses,

and they are considered equally for bursary applications.

Each application form is considered on its merits, no account

is taken of units claiming special consideration for their best

cadet for example or a cadet that would like to join the

Royal Navy. All a cadets has to have is enthusiasm and a

real desire to sail on the offshore vessels. TS Royalist did

not participate in a Tall Ships race this year so no special

funding was required.

Bursaries have a very special resonance for children

with learning difficulties, dyslexia, autism, hyperactivity and

other similar problems. It not only gives the cadet a

brilliant opportunity. It also gives the family a break from being

a parent to a frequently difficult child. No matter how well loved

a child; offspring with behaviour problems can be very

frustrating. Being able to send them away, to an environment

where they will learn in a very structured and disciplined

environment can be a huge help to Mum and Dad. This respite

is beyond value or cost, especially to be able to give

attention to other brothers and sisters living in the shadow

of these difficulties.

Looking Ahead

TS Royalist will be going to the Rouen Festival, but not

racing in a Tall Ships. It is estimated that the funding

requirement and number of bursaries will be approximately

the same in the 2013 season. The SRC bursaries continue

to make an essential difference to cadets wishing to sail on the

Offshore fleet. Without this funding, their families or sea cadet

units would not be able to send them away.

he bursary applications for the 2012 season are at an

end. The season has been very busy and all the

applications have had to demonstrate the financial

need of the cadets before they obtained approval for a bursary.

• Total number of bursaries for 2012 – 150

• Total estimated value of bursaries – £10,897

• Average bursary £68 .10

This does not include the bursary to Mark from the

Peterhead Unit for best cadet on the Tall Ships Race 2011. This

is an additional £1000 donated to the club especially for this

purpose. Mark; chose to sail on the Jubilee Sailing Trust brig,

Tenacious from Southampton to Dublin. The voyage

commenced on 10th October and ended on the 20th October.

He signed on to the Young Leaders Development programme

while on the ship.

Bursaries by vessels – number of cadets

TS Royalist and the yachts 110 bursaries, or 69%.

Power vessels 40 bursaries or 31%.

Bursaries by vessels – value of bursaries

TS Royalist and yachts £7,987 or 74% of value of bursaries.

Power vessels £2,910 or 26% of value.

Average value of bursaries

VESSEL VALUE

Yachts £81.85

Jerwood £58.10

Pechey £58.28

TS Royalist £69.60

Many cadets already have funding that comes from

other grants and bursaries. This is called match funding,

they have some funding and they require a top up. So the SRC

funds are an essential part of the match funding process.

All cadets or their families have to provide the first £50 of the

£250 voyage fee as a deposit. The deposit is necessary to

prevent abuse of the system. The sea cadet unit or the family

may simply not be able to pay the remaining £200. The family

will have a low income for example. Just as likely is; several

brothers and sisters who want to go away on offshore courses

in the same season and this is unaffordable. The cost of the

course also includes rail tickets and other travel expenses to

and from the vessels for each cadet. In the 2012 season no

cadet was refused funding. Nine cadets applied for funding and

then decided they did not need the money. This was primarily

because they could not go on the voyage, for example hospital

treatment. One or two had more funding than they required

from all bursary providers. Applications are usually made by

email, to a dedicated bursary email account for the SRC.

This email address is on the Offshore Poster so cadets and

adults in a unit can apply directly to the Club. Sometimes

the Offshore Office will refer a bursary application.

Distribution of bursaries between boys and girls

More boys than girls apply for voyages on all the vessels, so

the number of bursary applications reflects this.

14 15

T

By Richard Weston

Disasters and Drills

Boaty Days Out

16 17

uth is a very careless member

of the crew, she is the rescue

dummy and is always falling

off the topsail yards and tumbling down

the mess deck ladder. Practice and drills

are a fundamental part of the safety

systems on the ship. It is useless to have

a safe system in place if it is not used

or practiced. Some drills, such as putting

on life jackets at the beginning of a

voyage are mandatory.

This Ruth she has been found lying on

the mess deck. The red inflatable

stretcher has been slid underneath her.

Kenny the ships engineer is explaining

the need to keep the body straight in the

stretcher and line up the straps before

securing them. Ruth is not light, she

weighs 60kg (132Ib), and represents a

typical cadet. The stretcher is effectively

a large plastic bag filled with polystyrene

balls. Sucking the air out with a special

pump, makes the bag become rigid and

wraps around the casualty.

don’t know about you, but I

enjoy days out doing “boaty”

things, time spent wandering

around places such as The Maritime

Museum in Greenwich, Chatham Docks

or Portsmouth Harbour. I enjoy sailing,

on TS Royalist of course, but also on

yachts new and traditional, so perhaps

some day-sailing or a trip on a canal?

How about a trip to a classic rally with

a good pub-lunch?

I would like to organise a series of

outings for like-minded people, with a

view to raise funds for our charity and to

increase interest in membership.

To keep costs to an absolute minimum

I would like to use email only. If you’re

interested in receiving details in the

future, please send me an email with

“Boaty Days” in the subject box, let me

know the region you live in and any ideas

you might have for “BOATY DAYS OUT”.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ed Bird – Charter Secretary

chartersec@squareriggerclub.org.uk

Please note that any email addresses

sent in response to this will only be

used by me in connection with planning

future events and will not be passed to

any third party.

R I

The briefing is complete and the

person at the head takes command. With

the stretcher secured and the casualty

comfortable, Ruth is elevated. Ready to

be passed along the Burma Road.

This is the interesting part of the drill

no room to lie the casualty flat or space

for the rescue crew. Teamwork is essential

in a very confined space. Looking after

each other and keeping Ruth safe and

comfortable. Squeezing down the Burma

Road is a very demanding challenge, if

you have never done it before.

Finally Ruth is out in the fresh air,

and feeling better for being laid flat

again. With lots of help she is laid on

the emergency box, ready for a

helicopter evacuation.

The look of concentration etched on

the faces of the cadets, explains

everything. The teamwork and planning

required transferring Ruth from the mess

deck to the cockpit is something these

cadets can be very proud of.

WNew Members

elcome to our New Members

since our last news letter.

Martin Clarke Dorset

Brian Condon Kent

Jane Hughes Canada

Stephen Millisom Hampshire

Carolyn Mills Essex

Angela Morris Devon

Edward Paterson Lincolnshire

Andrew Rycroft Dorset

Rosemary Skeffington Surrey

Robert Smith Surrey

Sam Smith Wiltshire

James Sumberg Essex

John Ward Devon

Nicholas White Staffordshire

Roy Young Devon

By Richard Weston

n 1971, as a Petty officer,

SCC, RNR, rigging the new

TS Royalist from bare poles –

no rigging at all – at Groves & Gutteridge,

Isle of Wight – I could never have

imagined that the day would arrive when

she would be replaced. However, forty

two years on, we have arrived!

At the age of twelve years, I joined

the Wembley SCC with Keith Moon of

later fame as the drummer of The Who.

Keith played the bugle and I played the

drums in the SCC band.

I learned to sail at the Welsh Harp

Hendon, sailing GP 14s, Dipping Lug

Naval Whalers and I also spent much time

on the Blackwater river, Essex where I

sailed Thames barges and fishing smacks

among other boats. In those days, HMS

President, a First world war flower class

cruiser moored on the River Thames, was

the RNR London HQ and she had various

small naval boats in attendance. It was

there I learnt to row naval cutters and

whalers against the strong tidal current

of the river.

When it was decided to build

TS Royalist, Bruce Ashwood and Alfie

Smith and myself amongst thirteen

others, trained aboard the German offic-

er training ship The Gorch Fock, a 2000

ton barque – square rigged on the fore

and the main and fore n’aft on the miz-

zen. We sailed from Keel to Tunis. When

first ascending the main top yard and

told to step on the foot rope, my heart

The early days of TS Royalist and anecdotes of square rig sailing

18 19

the Square Rigger Club possesses

an unedited copy. During this time

Captain Wheeler made me Bosun. Just

after that, the wind backed 180 degrees

and we had to follow it as one has to

do in a square rigger, otherwise we

would have been caught aback, which

is dangerous for square riggers.

Rigging Royalist was an exciting

and challenging time, particularly the

first shakedown voyage to Alderney,

Channel Islands. There were only four

riggers aboard who knew about

operating a square rigged ship and

particularly a brig. These first few months

were exhausting. During this first voyage

we were constantly on watch to ensure

the smooth operation of the ship because

TS Royalist’s first Captain, John Wheeler,

Ex Queens Harbour Master Portsmouth

and other professional crew, though

experienced yachtsmen, had little

practical experience of handling a square

rigger, particularly a brig. During the

voyage I was appointed TS Royalist’s

first coxswain and was commissioned

Sub Lt SCC RNR while at sea.

Teaching the crew the manoevres

for going about and wearing, and

teaching the pin and fife rail layout,

setting sails, particularly topsails and

topgallants and stowing them, became

a time consuming task, confusing most

novices aboard.

was in my mouth and I thought, “Shall

I just let go now and get it over with?”

I was terrified. During the subse-

quent voyage, I was impressed when

watching the hardened crew running

along the yards. I wondered if I would

ever be able to do that. The main lower

top yard weighed about two tons and

it took forty men to hoist it. We slept in

hammocks slung in three tiers on chains.

Each of the eight watches comprised of

about forty men per mess deck. It was

hell trying to lash up and stow – get

dressed and fall in on the waste in about

a 5ft space. In the end, I

didn’t bother. I would just

lie in my hammock and

wait until the other thirty

men were on deck and I

took my time.

One morning, when

the rest of the mess

were on deck, the

duty PO saw me in my

hammock. When he

realised I was part

of the English contingent he, to my

surprise, let me stay there. It was

a tough voyage, designed to make or

break and men were

falling like flies. One

night, when manning

the six man wheel, the

Captain, a former U-boat

skipper, came over to me

and asked me if I knew

where we were. He was

surprised when I didn’t

know. Laughing, he said,

‘We’re on the battleground of Trafalgar’.

When subsequently rigging

TS Royalist from bare poles, we had

to bring her yards and rigging from

Portsmouth on the SCC HLD (harbour

defence launch). For posterity I took

Super 8 film of the rigging of her and

One day when in mid channel, my

tiredness really kicked in. I, being the

deck officer during the morning watch,

noted that the lights of the Decca

Navigator red, green and blue were

dimming. I thought it was the ris-

ing dawn causing the problem. I then

realised the ship’s batteries were flat and

we were lost. I thought Captain Wheeler

would keelhaul me. I gingerly knocked on

his cabin door. A gruff voice answered

“What!”. I replied, “Skipper, we are lost”.

Luckily, Wheeler was able to attain our

position because he had a sextant.

When coming alongside in Alderney,

the whole town, led by the Mayor in all

his finery, had turned out to greet us.

We were exciting news. The trouble was

that the outgoing thirty foot tide made it

difficult to moor the ship. At that time, we

knew little about ‘Cockbilling The Yards’,

using the lifts to depress the yards to

either port or starboard bringing them

with the beam of the ship – facilitating

mooring alongside in a high tideway.

Therefore, the captain decided to turn

the ship and stay out of harbour, much

to the disappointment of the town folk.

On one of the other early trips to

Cherbourg with Captain Wheeler, when

anchoring in the outer harbour, we

managed to drop the hook on a

French nuclear submarine which had not

been buoyed. We realised this when a

couple of Frenchman came running up

the sea wall, waving arms and shouting

their heads off. You can imagine us trying

to un-snag the anchor!

Another memorable occasion was

when taking dignitaries, including the

First Sea Lord, on a trip around the

Solent. Unfortunately, when returning

on a falling tide we went outside the

channel buoys. Needless to say, this

resulted in us going aground. It was

so embarrassing! Naval launches were

summoned to the rescue. I managed

to get a stern tow line across. Still, we

were still not having much success at

re-floating. I realised the dignitaries

clustered in the cockpit had to be moved

forward but unfortunately, that was not

successful. We then decided to move

the ship backwards and forwards and

side to side to loosen her. In a third

attempt to refloat the ship, I, a lowly

PO, had the pleasure of ordering the

dignitaries to run forward and aft and

side to side. It worked and we were

re-floated with the help of the HLDs

pulling us astern. The point is, this was

the only time I, a lowly PO RNR, was able

to order the First Sea Lord and the high

and mighty to do my bidding. They still

talk about it to this day!

To return to life aboard TS Royalist:

one day, Chris Daniel came aboard as

crew. He was the curator for the sundial

department of the Greenwich Maritime

Museum. It turned out that he had been

contacted by an American Company that

was building the replica of Sir Frances

Drake’s ship, The Golden Hinde. This

resulted in my being asked to rig this ship

and sail with it to San Francisco. And

what an adventure that was! Amongst

other happenings, we were nearly ship-

wrecked on the northern Californian

coast, when encountering a one hundred

and twenty mile an hour hurricane.

The Golden Hinde was rigged

with traditional natural fibre material

which meant we had to employ all the

traditional skills and arts of the Jack Tar

of Tudor period. The ship had no fridges

and navigated by the Cross Staff and

Astrolabe. After becoming becalmed

in the Pacific Ocean and subsequently

encountering a hurricane and eighty

foot waves, we arrived in San Francisco

to a tumultuous reception with three

twenty-one gun salutes. During this

voyage I learnt true seamanship skills,

rope work and sail making with a palm

and needle - the arts of the true wooden

wall sailors, which regretfully are now

disappearing.

I am just proud and very pleased

that I was part of the Royalist story and

assisted many thousands of youngsters

experience square rig life and team

building. One recollection - my real claim

to TS Royalist fame is being the first

person to be seasick aboard her!

Being a member of the SCC and

Square Rigger Club has enabled me

to associate with some great people

such as the Princess Royal and her

brothers, Sir Robin Knox Johnson, Mor-

in and Francis Scott, Colin Mudie, the

TS Royalist designer and many oth-

er wonderful people. I am currently

involved in projects to enable people

to experience deep sea sailing - another

great experience.

I

By Keith Field

Who we areTS ROYALIST, the square-rigged sail training brig of the Sea Cadets, was launched in 1971. Formed to support the ship, The Square Rigger Club provides support in men, materials and money for the Sea Cadet’s square-rigged sail training brig TS Royalist and assists the Sea Cadets with a bursary scheme.

More infoMore details on the Charter Weekends, Sea Cadets and Offshore Yachts can be found at www .squareriggerclub .org .uk

• Sail TS ROYALIST on at least two weekends each year – no previous sailing experience required!

• Plus additional week or weekend charters (dependent on the availability of the ship).

• More experienced? Sail as afterguard crew with the Sea Cadets.

• Charter one of the Sea Cadets offshore yachts.

Membership starts from just £20 per year .

The perfect gift for any would-be sailor!

It’s easy to join. Fill out the Application Form overleaf OR download it from www .squareriggerclub .org .uk (in Acrobat Reader format) and post it to the Membership Secretary: John MacDonald, 146 Manchester Road, Mossley, Lancs OL5 9BG

Join the

Interested?

20 21

Square Rigger Newsletter 2014

o you have an interesting or

amazing photograph of the

TS Royalist? Do you think it

would look great on the front cover of

the next edition of this Newsletter?

We here in the production office are

always looking for images for the next

edition of the Newsletter and would

love to be able to use one of your

photos for the front cover – or anywhere!

All we ask is that your photos are as

high resolution as your camera allows.

Please send any photos you think

would look great on the cover next year,

to jmac@squareriggerclub.org.uk and

please in the subject line add – Front

Cover images.

D

22 23

The Square Rigger Club Membership Application Form

Membership fees are due on joining the Club and on 31st March each year. In order to keep expenses to a minimum we would ask you to pay by

Bankers Standing Order. Please complete and return to:

John MacDonald, 146 Manchester Road, Mossley, Lancs OL5 9BG

If you are a tax payer please use Gift Aid . Remember it does not cost you a penny!!

Membership Details

Title

Surname

Forename(s)

Address

Postcode

Telephone number

Email

Occupation

Bank Name and Address

Postcode

Sort Code Bank Account Number

Account Name

Signed

Date

Please pay

Sort Code Bank Account Number

Account Name

Please credit the above Account NOW and on the 31st March of each year until cancelled in writing with the value below .

This cancels any previous Standing Orders made payable to The Square Rigger Club .

Value

Standing Order Mandate

Annual Membership level required

Subscription by Cheque S/Order Member £25 .00 £20 .00

Master’s Mate £35 .00 £30 .00

Rear Commodore £75 .00 £60 .00

Please sign and date the declaration below

Signature Date

Gift Aid Section

Please treat this donation as Gift Aid

Please treat all donations from 06/04/2000 and all donations I make from the date of this declaration until I notify you otherwise as G .A . Donations

Note: You can sign as long as you are at least a basic rate tax payer and the tax you pay is equal or greater than the tax element of your donation . For more info: www .hmrc .gov .uk/charities/gift_aid

Registered Charity No . 280393

Barclays Bank PlcGosport BranchHampshirePO12 1DN

20-30-89

The Square Rigger Club

60156019

Please sign and date the Mandate

Registered Charity No . 280393

How did you hear about us?

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