Who's Who - the Solent Branch Committee

"Barty" Moody 40 kept at Haslar

Like many, my first contact with sailing was captivation by Arthur Ransome’s tales of messing about in boats.

At 12 years old my sister and I together with two friends built a Jack Holt Heron sailing dingy during one summer holiday and then took it on holiday towed behind a motorboat on the Thames.

I then graduated to racing a Cadet dingy on the Hertfordshire gravel pits coming 19th in the Nationals that year held at Burnham on Crouch, and after that competing in a GP14 with some success.

Sailing was then abandoned whilst my four children were young. In 1995 Joy and I bought a Beneteau 235, which was kept on Lake Windermere and then trailed to St.Mawes for the summer holidays.

White Whisper our Moody 346 was acquired in 1998. I have always wanted to muck about in boats, and I am happy racing or cruising. Joy is very happy sitting in the cockpit, Gin and Tonic in hand going nowhere – as she will readily admit.

I want to continue the MOA’s tradition of friendship, fun and comradeship with everyone feeling that they are welcome with the MOA and the MOA being interested in them.

“Dulcibella”  Moody 35  berthed at Swanwick

 I “learnt” to sail on a course in Plymouth Sound in 1971 on “Airborne 23’s”. These boats were dropped from Airsea Rescue Shackletons during WWII, so fairly robust!

While sailing in the 1974 Fireball National Championships in Llandudno, I met Lesley who had a far better sailing CV than me.  Lesley held the title of European Mirror Dingy champion for three years running and was now looking for a change.

So what with our children , and living in Solihull there wasn’t any joint sailing until a Greek flotilla holiday rekindled the passion (!).

We formed a boat partnership with two good friends with Baloo, a Moody 31.  This was an excellent, if steep learning curve for bigger boats.

Then in 2004 we bought our own Moody 35, Dulcibella. A move to the coast is unlikely at our great age, but after only a couple of years we feel very much at home among our new MOA friends.

My first sailing experiences were with my school sailing club in an ancient Enterprise, E517, with a wooden mast and cotton cruising sails, on Rickmansworth Aquadrome more than 40 years ago. 

This gentle introduction to messing about in boats led to more serious dinghy racing later. At Birmingham University I discovered that fresher lady sailors were good fodder for crews and catering – but not much else.  This unsatisfactory situation was solved by starting a ladies sailing team for the University, and campaigning the various leagues of the time with much enthusiasm and some success.

At Birmingham I teamed up with Ian and later married him.  Many friends of the era went on to become big names in sailing – but for some inexplicable reason we decided to go for conventional jobs and keep sailing for fun.

We sailed various dinghies on the open meeting circuits, taking it strictly in turns to helm, but with Ian’s results invariably better than mine - Larks, Merlin Rockets, National 12s, Graduates and Fireflies in the Midlands and the North-west.  The children’s first boat was a Cadet, built by Grandad in his dining room, before they moved on to Toppers and Lasers.

A mad friend with a Sigma on the Mersey estuary gave Ian his first taste of big boat racing, and we decided to start acquiring the RYA Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster qualifications.  Courses in the Solent and Scotland, flotillas and bareboat charters in Greece, Turkey and Croatia followed – all great fun!

The attractions of the Solent finally prevailed and we engineered a move to Hampshire in 1998.  RS200’s at Hayling Island Sailing Club were an obvious choice, and we loved the sea sailing, bigger winds and intricacies of tide in Chichester Harbour.

Then one Easter, a little after a significant birthday milestone, an over-enthusiastic gybe in a force 5 near Mill Rythe buoy in Chichester Harbour had us bobbing around in the water in drysuits, struggling to pull the asymmetric down, with several knots of tide tugging at us.  The attractions of a cruiser with a cabin, kettle and wine suddenly seemed overwhelming.  We bought Joy Elizabeth a Moody 29 shortly afterwards.

The MOA has provided many friends, some great social evenings - and introduced us to the immortal Boppit.  Last year, however, our aspirations had grown, JE was showing her age, and the opportunity to trade her in at Premier Yachts for an Elan 344 proved irresistible.  We remain staunch MOA members, and by adoption, we and Zephyr are still welcome at MOA events.  I still have hopes that in time we may acquire a centre cockpit, aft cabin Moody – but who knows.

'Freebooter' M425 berthed at Gosport Marina

Steve and Annemarie have been members of MOA for 7 years, and by comparison with most of our friends here, are relative latecomers to sailing. Although we have had boats of some type since before we were married, they were all sports motorboats.

We took up sailing when we were very active divers, doing the RYA courses and then chartering. Eventually we took the big leap and bought Freebooter! Diving sort of fell by the wayside, although there is a small compressor sitting in the garage waiting to be fitted.

Joining the MOA has brought a new dimension to our sailing, both in the Solent and further afield.