This year our AGM was held at the Rivergarden in Thorpe, where we had use of the upstairs room before moving down to the bar for a meal and quiz.
After opening proceedings, Bill Clark proceeded to give his Commodore’s report, as follows:
”2023 ended with ice on the decks on a dank misty December morning for the annual Turkey Race. A credible six boats turned out to compete for the bird. Light wind and adverse tide snared Vixen who won the Pakso trophy, while Alice Rose demonstrated her superiority in an exciting race. 30 people sat down to enjoy the excellent food and hospitality of the Surlingham Pub.
The annual dinner and Prizegiving at the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club took place on a mild and balmy evening. 35 members enjoyed an excellent meal and a memorable social occasion.
The rigging out supper was held once again at the Blackfriars in Great Yarmouth and this proved very successful. Julia put on a quiz which sorted out the wheat from the Chaff…. I think I was in the latter set.
The sailing year began with the Spring Cruise which started at Reedham this year on a cold day with rain and mist. It finished at the Loddon Basin with five boats, where the competition was for the Crews Cocktail Shaker. There was, I am informed, one clear winner. The recipe of the winning cocktail is, I am afraid, Classified information but I am reliably informed that it was not the one which included gin mixed with mouthwash and a splash of Brasso. (that one came second).
8 boats turned out for the Perryman Race. I must inform you that the committee are going to review the course for the coming year as sadly we have concluded that the Waveney above Burgh St Peter is no longer a practical place to hold a sailing race.
The morning of the Race was very cold with a persistent heavy drizzle and light variable wind. One boat elected not to start and three boats did not finish. Modwena finished in a show of admirable determination against the conditions. The race was won by Farthing. Thanks to Beccles ASC for finishing the fleet and providing excellent sausage rolls. To Chris Dowsett for providing the committee boat and everyone who made this event work in the most difficult conditions.
The weather continued to dominate the year. The Spring regatta was moved to Rockland despite the Pub being closed; however, Julia, our ever resourceful secretary, sourced two pins of excellent beer which was dispensed by the Vice Commodore in a Gazebo. Club funds benefited from the event. Claims for compensation closed some time ago, but fair to say Tony sold rather more beer than we had purchased. Rain and hail greeted those who raised their sails and at one point lightning. All in all it was agreed that the YSC was on top form when it came to innovating and defeating the adverse conditions.
Once again the Club challenge event between ourselves and Coldham Hall proved an excellent event. Initially balancing the numbers sailing on each side was a problem as one boat found itself short of a crew. Fortunately Jeni Barnacle stepped up and crewed for Bob Branscombe on Anna and the race went ahead with even numbers. Thanks to an excellent performance from Wandering Rose we retained the trophy.
The next event on our calendar was Cantley Regatta and once again the weather proved Challenging. A broken gaff, crossstrees downed on Flight and retirements dogged the weekend. That said, Vixen won the event despite the challenging conditions. Pan won the Vixen trophy for the slowest boat….. it was all about Vixen.
With a steady wind and a wonderful turn out of yachts, Breydon was a refreshing change in a difficult year. Thanks once again to Goodchild Marine for their marvelous moorings and facilities. The passage race on Sunday saw the newly launched Sparklet win the Greyhound Trophy for the fastest passage and the overall passage race trophy in true Edwardian style, but the weekend overall went to Skylark and her relatively young crew. The weekend also saw success for another young crew in Harrier.
The Autumn Regatta began with the race for helms under 30. Six finishers, with the first two separated by only 13 seconds on corrected time. Saturday afternoon was the annual pursuit race. It proved very exciting with Jessie May and Morning Calm overtaking Farthing on the final beat, but they were not fast enough to catch Alice Rose which was just pipped by Ladybird to the finish. Sunday saw Ladybird and Starlight Lady take the honors in light winds which made the course challenging for smaller rigs. This was the final event of the Autumn Challenge Event which was comfortably won by Farthing with Jessie May in second place. The event was followed by a presentation of trophies for the Regatta and the Autumn challenge series.
All in all a very exciting year where despite the weather the club saw brilliant competition, innovation and some new boats to our events.
My thanks to the Committee who have supported me and the club… to all the people who have stepped up and managed our events, sometimes at very short notice and in particular to Julia our Secretary who keeps us all in order.”
The rest of the business passed swiftly, apart from some discussion around the logistics for boats wishing to compete in the three YACS events, due to the YNR being held in October this year. Bill agreed the committee would look into this.
Notably this year, none of our members have died (well done, everyone!) and it was also encouraging to see many of our recently joined members at the AGM.
After an enjoyable meal, Glen, the landlord, ran a quiz consisting of twenty tricky questions on nautical subjects and others. We now all know what a pig stick is and, indeed, many of us have been using one for years without knowing what it was called! The scores were close, with one team on 12 points and the other two tying on 13. A tie-breaker, based on the cricket score of the current England game in progress (!) saw Team Wandering Rose collect the prize t-shirts.
Another excellent evening all round.
