Portland Harbour as seen from Google Streetview

We plan on staying close by at Pebble Bank Caravan park which can accommodate us in static vans sleeping 4 or 6 (no one shares a double bed unless they want to!!) or they can come in their own campervans.

We will be making use of the facilities atWeymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy for parking, launching, snacks and showers. Charges for this are £9.60 a day or, better for us, £34.30 a week. This includes the required Portland Harbour launching fee.

We have secured the loan of a number of GT31 GPS units so we can have our own daily speed competitions, divided up into various ability levels. There is also the possibilty we could arrange for a days speed training if there is enough interest. We might also be able to take the club tandem.

The club is prepared to subsidise the trip for members (conditions will apply), however the level of subsidy will depend on the number of members wishing to take part. So it would be sensible to outline the costs before the application of a subsidy so you can make you own mind up about how much it is likely to cost you.

Accommodation, approx £80 for 5 nights
Parking, launching fee £34.30
Plus food and the cost for getting there. We would like to get people to share transport if at all possible and we will make every effort to facilitate this. If you can take your own bike we could arrange a ride if we have windless days and it might be useful for getting about in the evening. If you have a bike rack that could carry other peoples bikes we’d love you to volunteer to take them. Once there the rack wouldn’t be needed of course.

We would like catering for breakfasts and evening meals to be communal and to that end we will take the club gazebo and a big barbecue. It is probable we can prepare a few big meals prior to travelling just as we did for Tiree. Or we can venture into Weymouth for a pub meal and drinks. Breakfasts will depend on the weather, ie we could do use the gazebo and do fryups or if inclement we will use the facilities in the vans.

If you are interested please get in touch by the 26th February so we can start making formal plans.Don’t forget to let us know if you would be interested in a days speed sailing training.

2. Reports and Proposals from the existing Committee

1. Chairman :- The Club Development Plan
2. Membership Sec
3. Treasurer
4. Social Sec
5. Maintenance
6. Minutes Sec
7. Website
8. Hire Gear
9. Publicity

3. Election of Committee.

1. Chairman
2. Secretary
3. Membership Sec
4. Treasurer
5. Social Sec
6. Maintenance
7. Website
8. Hire Gear
9. Publicity
10. Training
11. Health and Safety
12. Ordinary Members

4. Matters Arising

1. Lease negotiations
2. Honorary Membership Appointments

5. Any Other Business:
6. Questions from the floor ]]> http://www.trentwindsurfing.org.uk/2012/01/30/agm-agenda/feed/ 0 http://www.trentwindsurfing.org.uk/2012/01/07/agm-newsletter/ http://www.trentwindsurfing.org.uk/2012/01/07/agm-newsletter/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:34:34 +0000 hywel http://www.trentwindsurfing.org.uk/?p=2311 Continue reading →]]>

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1. We want to offer training for raw beginners. We know we turn away quite a lot of enquiries because we don’t do this.
2. We want to significantly expand the hire scheme to bring more new members into the club
3. We want to have an open day which is genuinely open to the public so that they can come down to the club and see what we offer.
4. And very importantly we want to embark on a programme of local advertising to make sure we let people know about our club and the activities we will be offering.

Cliff on the trusty old F2 Strato

I am driving a mini-bus heading south down the M6 on my way back from Tiree. We are currently just north of Carlisle, travelling at around 60 mph. This is not for any reasons of economy but it’s as fast as we can go due to the limiter, the only down side in my opinion, on what has been a very enjoyable week. However, the leisurely pace gives me plenty of time to reflect on the trip.

When the idea of going to Tiree was first suggested, to be honest I was a bit undecided whether to bother going. However, I had heard good reports about Tiree and it was on my list of places to see. So, once I got the green light from the family down my name went.

Being someone who only gets a chance to windsurf half a dozen times a year, it would only be fair to describe myself as very much a fringe club member. So the first time I met most of the other thirteen club members who were going was at the introductory meeting held to plan the trip. I must admit that I was pleased to see that there were several others going who would best be described as ‘seasoned veterans’ as it turned out that there were at least four of us the wrong side of fifty. We made introductions and it turned out to be a pleasant social evening.

Oban. Cool and damp. Never got completely dark.

We set off from Nottingham on the Thursday evening in the aforementioned mini bus with two transit vans for the kit. Taking it in turns to drive, we all arrived safely in Oban at about 4 am. It was just getting light but to be fair it had not really got that dark. Once on the ferry we all followed the more experienced travellers to the best lounge for a very welcome couple of hours sleep.

We arrived at the island at about 9 am in glorious sunshine and as we could not check in to the bunkhouse till the afternoon we decided to tour the island. They say that first impressions are everything and the memory of that first tour around Tiree’s many beaches will stay with me for a long time. Blue skies and sea, white sand, and, apart from us, no people. After settling in to the Millhouse Hostel at Cornaig, surprisingly comfortable (Ikea is a good stand-by) we couldn’t wait to get on the water.

So what was the windsurfing like?

Tiree ferry dock.

Thanks to the Gulf Stream, we are pleasantly surprised that the sea turns out to be surprisingly warm, certainly for those of us used to the North Sea that is! Tiree has 360 degrees worth of beaches so it can provide wave sailing or flat water blasting, depending on where you go. I must admit that Gott Bay was my personal favourite. Just enough waves to make it interesting but sheltered and big enough to allow good long blasts out to sea. It also had the added advantage of having the island’s only pub, which provided a welcome couple of pints at the end of a long hard day on the water. In addition to a good age range, the club also has a fair spread of abilities. However, with a bit of common sense on your choice of location, sails and board it is fair to say that Tiree offered something for everyone.

So what else did we do?

A beer after a hard day.....

I must admit that a lot of my time off the water was spent eating and drinking.We had some high quality communal meals and also a couple of polypins of Castle Rock bitter had travelled north with us to help wash it down. You can only manage so much McEwans 80/- after all. We also all went for a trip to one of the islands restaurants, The Elephants End for some excellent local seafood and steaks.

On the one day that there was no wind, a few of us went snorkelling down at the local Cornaigmore beach. The water was crystal clear and just about warm enough for those without a hood so we enjoyed a pleasant half hour pretending to be Jacques Cousteau. The only slight disappointment was the lack of largish sea life. Apart from a few small fish there were just a couple of undersize crabs that we left to grow a bit. My own theory for the lack of wildlife is that the local grey seals got there first! After we had dried off, we walked back via the seal colony, located in the rocks at the west end of Balephetrish Bay. We were able to get quite close to them but they were wary enough of us to stay in the water, watching us with interest.

Trying to get a phone signal Frank?

In the afternoon, we decided to take a walk up the local peak of Beinn Hough, which at the dizzying heights of 119 metres is the second highest point on the island. We set off through the machair, the local term for the meadow like grasslands, which covers most of the island. There was quite a wide range of wildflowers including several species of orchids. After about 3 miles or so we reached the summit where we explored the remains of a WW II U-boat detection station. There were spectacular views down the whole length of the island as well as out across the Atlantic, particularly as we were lucky enough to see one of the Tall Ships out at sea.

Sunset over the atlantic.

For those interested in birds, Tiree is home to quite a few species and most significantly has the largest UK population of corncrakes. During the walk, there was the constant sound of birdsong from corncrakes, twites, oyster catchers and lapwings. We also noticed that the island had an abundance of brown hares.

So that was our week on Tiree and I am left with a decent tan and thanks to the club photographers, quite a lot of fantastic photographs. Can’t wait to bore the wife and kids!

Cliff Seymour.

Also, the event listing in the Nottingham Post, Click Here

The Music for Maggies Listing for TWC Click Here to see more details

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Click here to see the event on facebook.