Committee Work

The work of the committee during the early months of 1921 was summarised by Mr. Hownam Meek, the new Commodore-elect, at the A.G.M. as follows:-
[1] Re-classification of club boats. Class A: Larger and faster boats. Class B: Light class of fast boats. Class C: Slower and smaller boats.
[2] Club Course. To remain as at present, but the O.D. to decide in which direction it be taken in order to give a beat to windward on one leg.
[3] Handicapping. [Racing rule 4] to be altered to reduce adjustment units from 30 secs. to 15.
[4] Challenge Cups. Hambro Cup:- Class A ; Huxtable Rose Bowl:- Class B; Rink Cup:- Class C; Franklin Smith Cup:- Special all-in-race.
[5] Miniature Cups to be presented to holders of challenge cups on their return at the end of the season. [By arrangement with Mr. J. Taylor of Vincent’s].
[6] Lifebuoys. Whilst the Y.R.A. rule requiring these to be carried would not be made compulsory, it was very necessary that some form of life-saving apparatus should be carried in each boat.

On the subject of the new B class the Commodore referred to the lighter and speedier class of boats being introduced into the club, and expressed his appreciation of the sporting spirit of those who had provided them. Captain Cooke [the harbour master] promised to do his best to arrange for moorings for club boats whilst dredging operations were being carried on; and the thanks of the meeting were accorded to the Commodore and Mr. Bond for their generous offer of spoons to winners of races in the contests for challenge cups.

In the election of officers, Mr. Pitcher was promoted to Vice-Commodore and Mr. Bond took his place as Treasurer, whilst Mr. Donnelly was appointed official time-keeper and Mr. Hillier was elected to a seat on the committee. The accounts showed a balance of £20 which was considered highly satisfactory.

The ‘lighter and speedier boats’ included four newcomers in the revised B class, viz. Mr. Homes’ lugger ‘Ripple’, Mr. Stancombe’s ‘Scrap’, Mr. Bussell’s newly-built dinghy ‘Sonia’, named after his grand-daughter, and Mr. Bond’s ‘Wendy’ [replacing ‘Bunty II’]. The remaining boats in this class were our old friends ‘Kelpie’ and ‘Albatross’. Mr. Byles also acquired a new lugger ‘Puffin’, in place of ‘Redwing’, in class A; while C class included three notable new arrivals – ‘Saucy Polly’ [Taylor and Hedges] ‘Tom Tit’ [C. E. Phillips] and ‘Young Feller’, skippered by the club’s second lady member, Mrs. Hownam Meek. These additions brought the fleet up to a total of 28, of which ‘Saucy Polly’ still survives and is going strong at Castle Cove.

The programme of seven trophy races was supplemented by a Town Regatta [at last!], the R.D.Y.C. regatta [club race] and an extra series of three races for trophies presented by Mrs. Hownam Meek and Mr. Pitcher [two special classes]. The formality of the ‘opening cruise’ was quietly allowed to lapse.

Committee meetings were now usually held at the Cove Inn and in the minutes of one of these we read that ‘Mr. Byles expressed the opinion that it would be a great convenience if the club had a headquarters of its own, and proposed that the Secretary write to the O.C., R.A.S.C. to see if their shed on the quay might be leased to the club.’ Nothing came of this particular enquiry, but it started people thinking along the right lines.

A Fine Summer

The summer of 1921, as some will remember, was brilliantly fine, and all the racing events were keenly contested. The Hambro Cup [A class] was won by Mr. Twitchett’s ‘Hirondelle’ and the Rink Cup [C class] was happily carried off by Mr. Wakefield in ‘Reliance’. Competition for the Rose Bowl in the newly-constituted B class was so keen that it resulted in a tie between Mr. Bond’s ‘Wendy’ and Mr. Stancombe’s ‘Scrap’. The deciding duel between these two was sailed off in a strong wind [force 4-5], in which ‘Wendy’ scored a thrilling victory by 12 seconds nett time.

The R.D.Y.C. regatta was also sailed in a high wind, so strong that ‘Margot’ lost her mast, and ‘Jose II’ and ‘Hirondelle’ also gave up with damaged rigging. Winners in the two classes were ‘Ripple’ and ‘Fifi’.

The Town regatta on the other hand, was sailed in a very light breeze. Its programme included a race for professional boatmen, among whom we observe our old friend Mr. Percy Rule [‘Shamrock’] and two classes [A and B] for amateurs in Weymouth and Portland.

The Dorset Daily Press put up a cup for the A class and this was won by Mr. Bond’s champion, ‘Wendy’; with ‘Scrap’ second and ‘Dolphin’ third. The B class winner was none other than ‘Young Feller’ thus putting a large feather in the cap of Mrs. Hownam Meek, who in her own words ‘would not have changed places with anyone else in the world.’

Mrs. Hownam Meek’s promised trophy for the supplementary race was a silver cigarette box, and this was won by the peerless ‘Wendy’ [two firsts] while the corresponding Pitcher Cup [B class] went to ‘Saucy Polly’.

The Franklin Smith Cup took place in a hard sou’wester and was won by Mr. Pitcher’s ‘Dolphin’. The report mentions that ‘one of the yachts capsized in proceeding to its moorings, the two occupants being thrown into the water, from which they were rescued without much difficulty’ – the withholding of the identity of the victims speaks well for Mr. Wakefield’s discretion.

A last final race ‘specially designed to give non-prizewinners some slight souvenir of their season’s racing’ was sailed on Sept. 21st and was won by Mr. Bussell’s ‘Sonia’ [class A] and Mr. Phillips ‘Tom Tit’ [B] four boats entering for each race.

Annual Dinner

The brilliant season was wound up with a prize giving [stag] dinner at the Crown Hotel on Oct. 15th, attended by 30 members and a number of honoured guests, including the Town Clerk, the Hon. timekeeper [Mr. Donnelly] and the editor of the Dorset Daily Press, a certain Capt. A. E. Brown. The D.D.P. report tells that a ‘feature of the table was the menu cards showing photos of various club boats with their racing flags, principally the work of Mr. Hownam Meek and Mr. Bond. During the business of the evening Mr. Donnelly and Mr. Wakefield were enthusiastically elected ex-officio honorary members of the club. The prizes, which included ten spoons for first places, were presented by Mrs. Hownam Meek, to whom Mr. Bond proposed a vote of thanks in which he expressed the hope that ‘in the lovely bay Weymouth possesses there might be a Ladies’ Race in the future.’ At this point we read that Mr. Home, who rose to second, ‘was scarcely heard owing to the enthusiastic reception of the proposal.’

Capt. Brown, in proposing the health of the club, said that the Cup put up by the Dorset Daily Press for the Town Regatta would gladly be replaced if won outright and commented favourably on the idea of a Ladies Cup. The Commodore, replying, ‘expressed his delight at the successful season just concluded. No race had to be postponed on account of the weather, there had been no friction in the club, no protests, and he had had the pleasure of welcoming a number of newcomers and new boats.’

The Hon. Secretary reported that there were 23 boats sailing regularly in the club races, and 40 subscribing members; and Capt. Brown, rising again in response to a vote of thanks from Mr. Bond for the D.P.D cup, ‘promised that in the event of a Ladies’ Race being sailed, the firm [or he personally] would present a cup for the occasion,’ thus foreshadowing the Dorset Daily Echo Cup, now such a feature of our traditional Ladies’ races. ‘The evening concluded,’ we read ‘by drinking the health of the Commodore and Mrs. Hownam Meek with musical honours’. [ – ‘Jolly Young Fellers’?].

Mr. Bond Departs

At times of elation, Fate often provides a sobering corrective, and this occurred at the end of 1921 in the unexpected transfer of Mr. Bond to Falmouth, necessitating his resignation as Treasurer [and leading sportsman] of the club. Mr. Meek is reported as saying at the time that ‘in losing Mr. Bond the club would sustain a serious loss; he had provided a first class boat [‘Wendy’] and had always raced her in a sporting manner.’ Thus Mr. Bond – and ‘Wendy’ – pass from the annals of the club leaving behind them a glowing reputation and a large gap.

Fewer Boats

In the course of the ensuing winter the club lost several other members besides Mr. Bond, with a resulting depletion in boats for the 1922 season, particularly in the successful new B class. ‘Wendy’ had gone to Falmouth, and now her sparring-partner ‘Scrap’ dropped out through the departure of Mr. Stancombe while Mrs. MacKenzie-Grieve gave up ‘Kelpie’ and Mr. Bussell sold ‘Sonia’ for a new A class boat [‘Yvette’]. The three last named defaulters ultimately returned to the fold under new ownership, but at present only ‘Ripple’ and ‘Albatross’ remained out of the original six, so the committee proposed that B class be suspended.

This set-back was partly compensated for by the addition to A class of two large cabin cruisers, Mr. Hownam Meek’s ‘Idler’ and Mr. Pitcher’s ‘Windflower’, both of which were destined to be familiar sights in local waters for many years to come. ‘Windflower’, converted from gaff to Bermudan rig and now over 60 years old, has remained in the club ever since, earning the affectionate nickname of ‘Cauliflower’ with a suit of green sails.

Mr. Pitcher’s ‘Dolphin’ was bought by a club member, Mr. Oliver Walford; but Mr. Meek’s ‘Saracen’ was sold ‘down the river,’ as also were ‘Hirondelle’ and ‘Black Arrow’, whose owners departed. Moreover the R.A. Mess at Red Barracks was dissolved, so ‘Sprig’ ceased to function; the Inniskilling Fusiliers had departed, taking ‘St. Barbara’ away; and ‘Margot’s’ owner, Major Foster, was posted abroad. Thus the A class ‘felt the draught’ as well, and the season began with only 17 boats – 10 in A class and 7 in C.

Officers Re-elected

At the Annual General Meeting all the existing officers and committee men were re-elected, Mr. Bond’s place as Treasurer being taken by Mr. Home. Mr. Pitcher [temporary acting Hon. Treasurer] explained that a drop of £5 in the year’s trading represented a donation to the Town regatta, and the balance in hand of £14 was considered satisfactory. A letter from the Weymouth Hospital inviting the club to take part in a Carnival was read ‘and ordered to lie on the table, as it could not be clearly seen how the club as a body could take part.’ – A gaff-rigged lorry perhaps?

The proposal to suspend B class having been confirmed, it was agreed that the Rink Cup, thus rendered spare, should be used for a special race to be defined later. Mr. Hownam Meek, in returning thanks for his re-election as Commodore said that ‘the innovation of a beat to windward in every race had produced a much more reliable average of results. Some boats had gone away from the club, but he hoped to get ‘Sonia’ back, as her type was essentially suitable and might be regarded as a future standard. He further suggested that, ‘in view of the number of members living around the old Castle, there might be one race held in Portland Harbour this year.’ This suggestion was unanimously approved.

Two Innovations

At the A.G.M. the Hon. Secretary was instructed to ask the editor of the Dorset Daily Press his intentions in regard to the suggested Ladies’ Cup, and to this Capt. Brown came back with the promise of a cup, value £2. 2s., to be sailed for by ladies and to be won outright. In accepting this offer the committee ruled that all boats taking part must belong to members of the club, and that ‘none but ladies might handle the tiller,’

The 1922 fixture list of eleven trophy races included a race in Portland Harbour on July 8th and a Ladies race on Aug. 9th, two innovations constituting milestones in the club’s history, and therefore worthy of special attention in this chronicle.

The First Portland Harbour Race

‘The race arranged to be sailed in Portland Harbour on July 8th’ records Mr. Wakefield ‘was found to be impossible owing to one of the heaviest gales of recent years, the force of wind for the district being officially returned as 57m.p.h. There being no race, the Commodore and Mrs. Hownam Meek very kindly entertained the members to tea at the Rambler Tea Rooms [Old Castle Road].’ The postponed race was sailed on Saturday Aug. 19th ‘starting from Castle Cove with the 2,OOOyd. Torpedo Raft as first mark and North Entrance Buoy as the second.’ The class A race was won by Mr. Bussell in ‘Yvette’, with eight competitors, and in C class ‘Young Feller’ [Mrs. H. Meek] beat her only rival, ‘Saucy Polly’, on handicap allowances.

The First Ladies’ Race

In the meantime the eagerly-awaited Ladies’ race was sailed on Aug. 9th by nine entrants in rather severe weather conditions: ‘wind force 3-4 varying W. to N. with squalls and showers.’ With the exception of Mrs. Hownam Meek these competitors were not members of the club, any friends or relations of members being apparently permitted to enter. Their names were: Miss J. Carter [of the D.D.P.], Miss Hillier, Mrs. Adams, Miss Broomfield, Mrs. Barnes, Miss Hedges, Miss Janet Byles and Mrs. Campbell. Mrs. Hownam Meek won the race in ‘Young Feller’ on corrected time, the others being placed in the above listed order.

The Dorset Daily Press not only gave this race a glowing ‘write up’ but actually entered its representative as one of the competitors, in Mr. Wakefield’s ‘Reliance’. The report [of which a cutting is preserved] says: ‘Considering that some of the ladies had not had any practice, they did very well indeed and sailed a very good race. A D.D.P. reporter who is quite a novice can bear testimony to the strain put on the helmswomen and the splendid manner in which they bore it. The Cup was well won, and congratulations are due to Mrs. Hownam Meek on becoming the first holder. Mrs. Meek is the only lady who sails regularly in club races and … has always shown a sporting spirit.’

The Regattas

The R.D.Y.C. Regatta was a poor affair this year, the only event being that provided by the W.S.C. [9 boats] ‘Jose II’ won the A class race and ‘Saucy Polly’ the other [B] in such light airs that it took three hours for the leading boats to complete one circuit of the course. Two sets of handicaps had been prepared for this race – ‘wind below force 3’ and ‘force 3 or over.’

By contrast, the Town Regatta was held in brilliant weather [Aug 23rd] and is reported as ‘one of the jolliest holiday festivals in the town’s history.’ In the race for professional boatmen, sponsored by the Sailing Club [£5-5s. in prizes], we note the familiar names of the three Browns [Harold, Albert and Frank], F. Glover and Percy Rule [who was disqualified.]

The amateur race for the D.D.P. Cup was won by Mr. Bussell in ‘Yvette’, with Mr. J. Vine’s ‘Grace’ second. The other club winners were ‘Saucy Polly’ and ‘Lena’.

Races, Rescues and Ties

The season’s trophy races resulted in the Hambro Cup [A class] going to Mr. Byles [‘Puffin’] and the Rose Bowl [C class] to Messrs. Taylor and Hedges [‘Saucy Polly’]. The two spare trophies – Franklin Smith and Rink Cups – were competed for in a series of three consolation races [A and C classes], and a further series of three special races were scheduled for cash prizes put up by Mrs. Meek and Mr. Pitcher [the Vice-Commodore] .

These latter races got badly disorganised by the weather, which broke early this year, causing frequent postponements and abandonments. The most eventful of them was the second Cup race, which was sailed [after two cancellations] in a howling gale [force 6-8] on Sept. 16th, and ended [as Mr. Wakefield mildly put it] ‘in a very indeterminate manner.’ His report records that ‘Fifi’ capsized in rounding the first mark and her occupants were picked up by Mr. Hillier in ‘Albatross’ while ‘Yvette’ [Mr. Bussell] left the A class race to take the wreck in tow. Meanwhile four beach boats, being rapidly blown out to sea, attracted the attention of Mr. Hownam Meek in ‘Idler’, who also dropped out on rescue work; leaving ‘Windflower’ and ‘Jose II’ to battle on round the course, which they completed to score a tie, their nett times working out identical to a second!

In a deciding duel on Sept. 30th the Franklin Smith Cup was finally won by Mr. Pitcher [‘Windflower’], while the Rink Cup was awarded to Mr. Hillier [‘Albatross’] ex gratia, with a letter expressing appreciation of his ‘promptness and ability in picking up the crew of ‘Fifi’ under difficult circumstances.’ The old rivals ‘Windflower’ and ‘Jose II’ also tied for the only two races sailed in the cash prize series, but as the weather was now hopelessly stormy no attempt was made at another sail-off, Mr. Pitcher and Mr. Miles agreeing to divide Mrs. Hownam Meek’s cheque between them. Mr. Pitcher’s cheque was won by Mr. Hillier.

A new method of handicapping by a percentage ‘time on time’ system attributed to the Singapore Yacht Club, is described in the minute book and was suggested for use in the special series races, but ‘was not employed, the existing method proving quite effective’ – witness ‘Windflower” and ‘Jose II’! The method has since been adopted in principle for all handicap allowances.

Annual Dinner

The prizegiving dinner again took place at the Crown Hotel, and this time the table decorations were ’embellished with model yachts made by the two Commodores and Messrs. Bussell and Byles.’ Mrs. Hownam Meek again came in to distribute the prizes, and Mr. Donnelly, the timekeeper, was presented with a souvenir napkin ring. Mr. Haines, in proposing the toast of ‘The Club’, said that it ‘set up a standard that many others would do well to emulate. He had crewed in one particular boat all the season and was struck by the skill and sportsmanship shown by all concerned.’
The Commodore, in summarising, said ‘the strength of the club lay in the team spirit of individual members,’ and the Hon. Secretary concluded with a tribute to the Commodore’s ‘genial personality which made him welcome wherever he went.’

Projected Sports Club

As a final note on the year 1922, the minute book contains a cutting from The Southern Times of Oct. 28th eulogising the club and favouring a current scheme for the formation of a united sporting club. It runs:

‘The success of the Weymouth Sailing Club is highly gratifying, especially when contrasted with the dolorous plight of other aquatic organisations. The sailing competitions held regularly during the summer are a most picturesque feature of the season …. The club is fortunate in having at its head men to whom sailing is a passion, and who know nearly all there is to know about it .. . At the convivial gathering which terminated the season, advantage was taken of the opportunity to discuss the proposal to establish an Amalgamated Sports Club, and the provision of a club-house which would be the central rendezvous for sailing and rowing men, swimmers and sportsmen generally. It is an admirable proposal, and we hope it will materialize.’

As a rejoinder to these sentiments one is tempted to remark that ‘others have contrary opinions!’

The Social Side

The projected Amalgamated Sports Club did not materialise, but the dream of a permanent headquarters for the Weymouth Sailing Club did, and the story of its acquisition opens a new chapter in our history.

In the early months of 1923 we note a growing interest in the social side of the club, manifest in the holding of informal meetings and suppers at the Crown Hotel, and the appointment of Mr. Miles, who had once been a Naval Steward, as social organiser with the official title of ‘Toastmaster’, in undertaking which he is reported to have ‘shown his keenness in a very practical manner.’

This development of social activities stressed the need for a permanent clubroom, but came in for some spirited criticism from Mr. Byles, who opposed the project of including a dinner with the A.G.M. and deplored the appointment of a ‘Toast-master as a ‘retrograde step since it was departing from the club’s policy to be solely a sailing club.’ In both these objections he was over-ruled, however, on the rather question-begging grounds that social attractions were a means of recruiting new members.

On the subject of new members it is worth digressing to note, among those elected this season, the familiar names of Capt. F. W. Hamblin, R.N. who, as Treasurer [1924] immediately took a leading part in the club’s organisation and remained an active member until his death in 1948, Mr. F. W. Bratby [father of three members-to-be – Reginald, Herbert and Freda], Lieut.Cmdr. Mayo [better known as Capt. Mayo, O.B.E.], Capt. Masters [an experienced mercantile mariner, whose death occurred recently at Swanage], Capt. Cooke – the Harbourmaster – and the late lamented Engineer Rear Admiral Hoare.

New Boats

New members bring new boats, and in this connection we observe the re-instatement of class B, with the return of ‘Sonia’ [Capt. F. W. Harnblin, R.N.], ‘Sprig’ [Mr. Bratby] and ‘Colleen’ [Mr. A. Warren], and the addition of ‘Heroine’ [Major Foster], the others allocated to this class being ‘Puffin’, ‘Ripple’, ‘Reliance’ and ‘Saucy Polly’. In A class, ‘Hirondelle’ reappears in the hands of Col. Baldwin, and C class gains Lt. Cmdr. Mayo’s ‘Old Bean’, but loses ‘Young Feller’, Mrs. Hownam Meek now taking over ‘Bumble Bee’ from Col. Rudyerd – an old foundation member who died at the end of this year [1923].

Further additions came from naval units at Portland, which were invited to enter boats in club races at the suggestion of Capt. Hamblin, and contributed a skiff from H.M.S. Badminton and whalers from H.M. Ships ‘Lucia’, ‘Cyclops’ and P.C.73, bringing the total up to 28. The fixture-list included eight trophy races, of which four [Saturdays] were now scheduled for Portland harbour and five special races, comprising the now established Ladies’ Race [for which the Daily Press gave another cup], the Franklin Smith Race, and a series of three consolation races for which Mr. Donnelly provided a cup to be won outright.

The points system was revised this year to give the winner of each race 10 points, second 9, and so on, PLUS one point for each boat beaten – a nice bonus to winners of big races, but liable to abuse by pot-hunters and fair-weather sailors.

Mr. Bussell’s Offer

Returning to the subject of the clubhouse, records show that the quest for a permanent headquarters – now adopted as a definite policy – was rapidly brought to fulfilment through the agency and good offices of Mr. Bussell, who, with at least one eye on the club, put through a private business deal, sounded the committee on his plan, and set the ball rolling at the A.G.M. which took place, complete with dinner, on 21st April.

At this function it is recorded that Mr. Hownam Meek, rising to return thanks for his second re-election as Commodore, ‘referred to the general desire amongst members to possess a clubhouse, and asked for an expression of opinion as to the desirability of taking over premises supposing they became available’; whereupon Mr. Bussell ‘mentioned that he had recently acquired some Coastguard property on the quay, part of which might be suitable for the club’s requirements.’ Mr. Pitcher [Vice-Commodore] supported the idea by saying that they would have a long way to go to secure equally suitable premises, and the meeting enthusiastically agreed to give the committee full power to act as necessary in following up this very promising offer.

The new committee – elected en masse by ballot with power to appoint its own officers – held its first meeting five days later [April 26th] and promptly agreed to ask Mr. Bussell’s permission to inspect his new premises with a view to renting them. This visit was made on April 28th by a party consisting of the Commodore, Capt. Hamblin [Hon. Treasurer], Capt. Cooke, Messrs. Pitcher, Wakefield, Taylor and Hillier, and Mrs. Mackenzie-Grieve who ‘expressed her appreciation of the situation of the premises and offered, if they were taken over, to provide curtains for the windows.’ The inspection produced unanimous approval, for it is recorded that ‘after viewing the premises all present agreed that the situation was ideal, and that little more remained than to make the necessary agreement.’

Accordingly a valuation was carried out by the Admiralty Surveyor, Mr. A. J. Hoare, and this resulted in an offer from Mr. Bussell to lease the two upstairs rooms to the club at a rental of £10 per annum, which the committee accepted on the following terms:-
[1] That the premises be taken over for three years with the option of renewing for a further seven years on the same terms.
[2] That the club have the sole right to the two upstairs rooms, staircase and outhouses.
[3] The right to install water, gas and/or electric light.
[4] The club to have the first refusal of the lower premises in the event of their being to let.
[5] The lavatory to be put in proper condition.
[6] The landlord to do outside repairs, the club the inside repairs necessary.
[7] The tenancy to be dated from 17th May.
[8] A flagstaff to be erected.
[9] The club to be responsible for rates.

The House Committee Gets Busy

To all these conditions Mr. Bussell readily agreed, so without more ado the club took over and the committee held its first meeting in its new permanent headquarters on May 23rd. Here in a bare and dusty room, they at once appointed a house committee consisting of Mr. Pitcher, Mr. Miles and Capt. Hamblin, with instructions to ‘take steps to install gas and water, clean walls and ceiling, lay linoleum and get such furniture as they were able out of a sum of £25 to be placed at their disposal.’

A pane of glass in one of the windows had an inscription scratched on it by a byegone tidewatcher [dated 1839] and this is preserved to this day.

Second only to the need for furniture was the need for drinks, and this was dealt with at a special meeting on May 25th, when the Secretary submitted a licence application form, received from Col. Symes, which it was agreed to fill in and forward to the Clerk of the Magistrates with a fee of 5s and a copy of the club rules.

Meanwhile the house committee set about their duties and reported [on June 4th] that the cost of gas, water, linoleum, a table, chairs [nine], and crockery would amount to £54. As this quotation was more than twice the figure allowed it was agreed to cut out the gas item [£8.18s.] for the moment and to limit the chairs to six at £1 each which with the table and £1 for sundries would bring the cost down to the original £25. The extra £30 odd would have to be found soon, and among suggestions for raising this were an entry fee for all future members and a levy of 10s on all existing members.

These suggestions were put to a general meeting on June 22nd, when Mr. Pitcher reported that the mahogany table now in the room had been bought for £6-10s., linoleum was ready for laying [£13], water had been laid on with sink and drain [£9], the room had been white-washed and distempered [£2] and the committee had been offered 10 mahogany chairs, once the property of the County Club, at a cost of £11.10s. which with crockery etc. would come to about £45, with no provision for lighting and heating. After discussing various methods of raising funds it was agreed to open a subscription list limited to 10s per head, and to charge an entrance fee of 10s on all new members. It was also agreed to rent lockers to members at 10s per annum, and to fit a snap lock to the club door for which keys would be available to members on a deposit of 2s-6d.

The draft application for a licence was duly approved and Capt. Hamblin suggested a permanent steward for the bar remarking that ‘a senior scout might be obtained for about £1 per week’; but Mr. Miles advocated a conservative policy, with a key of the wine locker for each member of house committee, and a woman to clean out the rooms periodically.’ This last remark resulted in the arrival on the scene of our good friend Mrs. Skillman who has ‘cleaned out the rooms periodically’ ever since [until 1951].

With the financial problems thus settled, the final arrangements were made and the club room was formally opened at a special general meeting on July 1st. Here ‘general satisfaction was expressed at the work of the house committee. Water had been laid on, linoleum laid, a good table and a number of chairs had been provided and the place had been thoroughly cleaned and distempered.’ The chief business at this meeting was the tightening up of the election of members by stipulating the display of proposal forms on the notice board for seven days before being placed before the committee. The Commodore and Mr. Donnelly each offered to contribute 1s per week towards providing newspapers for the club; and Mr. Hunt subsequently presented two pictures, a notice board, a letter box and various articles of stationery. Thus within the brief space of two months the bare and deserted coastguard quarters were transferred into the happy home of a flourishing sailing club.

Races

The weather was not good for sailing this year, and both Regattas [R.D.Y.C. and Town] had to be cancelled owing to high winds, though the Sailing Club resolutely went through with their Town events which included an open race ‘notable for the close competition between the amateurs and professional boatmen, conducted with the best of goodwill on both sides.’

The Ladies’ race, after being postponed twice for bad weather was finally sailed in a hard blow, reported ‘as a very severe test for a lady and all are to be congratulated on the way they have acquitted themselves, especially a young lady of 12’ – this was Janet Byles whose sister Elsa won the Daily Press cup in ‘Sprig’ against eight competitors including Mrs. Pitcher and Mrs. Foster. The Hownam Meeks were at Cowes, so ‘Bumble Bee’ did not compete. The preparations that went into this race were indicated by the Commodore at the Prizegiving Dinner when he said ‘if anyone had any doubts about the Ladies’ Cup they had only to attend a teafight weeks beforehand to realize how popular it was.’

The press-report of the Prizegiving Dinner provides as usual, a good summary of the season’s activities, and this year each class seems to have been dominated by one skipper. Thus Mrs. Hownam Meek [‘Bumble Bee’] won the Rink Cup with five first out of eight races; Mr. Byles [‘Puffin’] won the Hambro Cup again with six first out of eight and Mr. Miles [‘Jose II’] put up an all-time record by winning the Rose Bowl with a first in each of the seven races for which he entered!

In referring to this remarkable feat, the Commodore said ‘the fact that ‘Jose II’ was for sale would evoke a heartfelt hope that she would not be lost to the club, as her stem would be very much missed!’ ‘Jose II’ also won the special Donnelly Cup, and one cannot help feeling it was a pity that her old rival ‘Puffin’ had been put in another class.

In acknowledging his prizes Mr. Miles said that the sport of winning them was the best part, and Mr. Byles remarked that ‘they had run the club for ten years now and it was the most sporting little club Weymouth had ever seen. The club-house naturally came in for frequent mention at the dinner, notably from a Mr. Lambert who said ‘it was a wise move to acquire such nice little premises over the harbour, and another thing which struck him was the enthusiasm shown and work taken on by the younger members.’ Mr. Wakefield, who Mr. Lambert described as ‘a wonderful man and a safe pilot worthy of Reliance’ reported a membership of 65 and 29 boats sailing in races.

Winter Activities

The club-house meanwhile had been embellished with two basket chairs from Capt. Hamblin, some old-time prints from Mr. Burt, a set of bound volumes of Yachting Monthly from Mr. P. Simpson, and a set of curtains [as promised] from Mrs. MacKenzie Grieve [who was elected an Honorary member]. The venture had been a great success so far:- the question now arose ‘what to do in the winter?’

In order to keep the club-house open it would be necessary to press on with electric light, which, with a heater, would cost about £11; but as the furniture fund stood at £16 and the bar had taken £48 in less than three months, the club now had a balance of £17 which would easily cover the electric installation. The Treasurer in reporting this, hoped the club would remain open all the year round, and suggested lectures, whist drives, chess tournaments, etc., to justify the overhead charges of rent, rates and upkeep. The worthy Mr. Byles expressed himself in favour of the installation of electricity, but ‘was desperately opposed to bringing in a man who was not a sailing member with the idea of turning the club into a card-playing room.’ On this point the Commodore reassured him that there was very little fear of the club being abused, and the electric light plan went through. Capt. Hamblin’s idea of lectures took on at once, and the programme, arranged by Mr. Wakefield included such interesting topics as ‘The Battle of CoroneI’ [Mr. Hownam Meek], ‘Tides’ [Mr. Pitcher], ‘Memories of the Navy’ [Mr. Miles], ‘The Evolution of Sails’ [Mr. Haines] , ‘The Norfolk Broads’ [Mr. Byles] and ‘Resuscitation of the Apparently Drowned’ [Dr. Gerrard Pearse]. Judging by Mr. Wakefield’s graphic reports, these lectures set a very high standard. Mr. Miles’ talk in particular, must have been very illuminating, for in it we read he described the type of ship in the Royal Navy in 1880. Each ship was fully rigged, steam was only an auxiliary, the idea of naval officers being that sail power was necessary to keep a crew smart. The guns were all muzzle loaders. Mr. Miles described his own experiences in H.M.S. ‘Condor’ during the bombardment of Alexandria, when they received the signal ‘Well done Condor.’ This talk was rounded off by sandwiches thoughtfully provided by the ex-messman lecturer.

Other more specialized subjects included ‘Internal Combustion Engines’ [Capt. Hamblin]; ‘The Blood of the Grape’ [Mr. Bratby] which was concluded by all present sampling a bottle of excellent Madeira wine, and ‘Tanks’ by Capt. Hooper, R. T.C., with special reference to the battle of Cambrai, ‘the first occasion in which tanks took a leading part – described with a lucidity which could only come from one who had taken part in it himself.’

Concurrently with these lectures, a series of nine lessons in navigation was conducted by Capt. Masters, O.B.E., to the great interest and benefit of his eager class.

Junior Members

Another innovation this winter was the introduction of Cadets, or ‘Junior Members’ as they were called. This was effected by the inclusion of a new rule [10] [still valid] which reads:-
‘Junior Members up to the age of 18 may be admitted at a subscription of 5s without entrance fee, but shall not be eligible to become officers of the club or to vote at the club meetings, or to visit the club-house, unless accompanied by a member.’

The idea was sponsored by Capt. Hamblin who offered a prize ‘to be sailed for by Junior Members under similar conditions to those under which the Ladies Race is sailed.’

Among the first Junior members elected were Richard Hownam Meek, Reginald Bratby, Herbert Bratby, Robert Hamblin, Duncan Warren; and to these were soon added two girls – Janet Byles and Joan Walford, both of whom outclassed the boys in the first race.

The Burgee

In the spring of 1924 the design of a cap-badge was discussed and also a modification to the existing device on the burgee because ‘when flying, the yards of the ship showed crossed, thus confusing the appearance.’ A cap-badge submitted by Messrs. Formin & Sons was finally recommended for adoption at the forthcoming A.G.M., and as regards the burgee it was at first mooted that the device be omitted altogether, but at the A.G.M. Mr. Byles got a ruling that ‘instead of the device used at present, one showing the ship stencilled in black should be adopted.’ This is the present marking, commonly known as the ‘stoker’s sneeze,’

Mr. Wakefield Resigns

The strain of administering an all-the-year-round programme, consequent on the acquisition of the club-house, was beginning to tell on the hard-working Hon. Secretary, and at the A.G.M. Mr. Wakefield tendered his resignation from office on the plea that he ‘would like to rest for a bit.’ At this Mr. Pitcher ‘voiced the general feeling of regret at this retirement and the extreme gratitude they felt for all that he had done and the very successful way in which he had carried them through a very trying nine years, leaving them now in such a prosperous state and with such a large membership. ‘

At a later date Mr. Wakefield was presented with a ‘Smoker’s Cabinet’ as a mark of appreciation from his many friends, in accepting which he paid a tribute to the good fellowship which formed the basis of the club’s success. Meanwhile the office of Hon. Secretary was entrusted to Mr. C. E . Haines, a recent but active non-sailing member, with Mr. Miles as his assistant.

Mr. Hownam Meek was elected Commodore for the fourth time, and in returning thanks said that the club had advanced considerably by the acquisition of premises so delightfully and conveniently situated.

Capt. Hamblin’s [Treasurer’s] report showed a credit balance, even after furnishing the club-house out of income [thanks to the efforts of the House Committee], and this first A.G.M. in the new headquarters was concluded by a buffet supper provided by the resourceful ‘toastmaster’ Mr. Miles.

FRANKLIN SAILING CLUB

Commodore	Mr. Franklin Smith
Hon. Secretary	Mr. P. T. Rule
Hon. Treasurer	Mr. H. W. Gill

Programme of the First Club Race

Programme of Handicap Sailing Match

for open boats not exceeding 15 feet in length, to be held in Weymouth Bay on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th, at 3 p.m.

The 1st Prize, a Silver Cup presented by H. Marsh, Esq., will be presented to the Winner on Weymouth Beach at the conclusion of the race.

Course – An imaginary line drawn between a boat moored off the Jubilee Clock, then to a mark boat off Greenhill, and then to a boat moored off to sea. Twice round. All marks to be left on the Starboard hand.

OFFICIAL TIMEKEEPER, … MR. F. G. GILL.
OFFICIAL STARTER, MR. J. R LE, late R.N.

Preparatory Gun fired 5 minutes before starting time.

Time allowance one minute per foot open boats (the half decked boat permitted to enter, will be handicapped two minutes per foot)

Boat	Owner	Length
l. Seaflower	Mr. H. W. Gill	12ft. 3in.
2. Shamrock	Mr. Franklin Smith	12ft.
3. Mercedes	Mr. J.Taylor	13ft.
4. Florence	Mr. R. Turner	13ft.
5. Albatross	Mr. W. Ashby	13ft. 9in.
6. Doris	Mr. F. Hillier	14ft.
7. Buntv	Mr. Roberts	14ft. 6in. half decked
8. Mallsgate	Mr. W. Wallace	14ft. 9in.
9. Cicero	Mr. A. Blinn	13ft.
10. Corona	Mr. V. Bull	13ft. 3in.
11. Sunstar	Mr. Wakefield	12ft. 9in.

The decision of the Timekeeper and Starter shall be accepted as final.
PRICE 1d.

The One-design Project

On September 2nd, 1926 the committee met to consider a motion tabled jointly by Capt. Hamblin and Mr. Pitcher ‘that the club should lay down two or more boats of a one-design class, for sale to members [and others] on any reasonable terms of payment. If built locally, the builder should be restricted to build no further boats on spec. for two years or until the first batch were disposed of.’ The Vice-Commodore [Mr. Pitcher] ‘spoke at some length on the suggestion,’ and after discussion he proposed and Hon. Treasurer [Capt. Hamblin] seconded that the principle contained in his suggestion be adopted and that the necessary financial backing be provided by the club. The motion was carried unanimously.

Mr. Bussell’s Blueprint

The sub-committee appointed to carry out this resolution consisted of the two protagonists and Mr. J. Taylor. Their first step was, naturally, to consult Mr. Bussell, who, in turn, lost no time in producing plans [if indeed they were not already up his sleeve]. Three weeks later [Sept. 24th] a set of blueprints for a projected one-design sailing dinghy was exhibited on the club room walls, and these received special mention at the annual dinner a month later [Oct. 23rd] by the Commodore who is reported to have said:-

‘The committee has long been of the opinion that a one-design class was essential, but until quite recently they had not felt that they were in a position to back the project in the way they would like. They were agreed that the time had now arrived when the question must be faced … and as a result Mr. Bussell had designed a boat which in their opinion fulfilled local requirements, viz. a fairly speedy boat 16ft. long and possessing a modem yet moderate sail plan of the familiar Bermuda type. It was fully realized that owners required a boat which, when not racing, possessed qualities of a robust enough nature to render her suitable for ordinary cruising needs.’

Adoption of Local Class

The club was now able to ‘back the project’ to the tune of £120 and it only remained for the committee to make sure that the design on view was popular enough to justify their embarking on production. This far-reaching decision did not remain long in doubt and, at a committee meeting on the evening of Armistice Day, 1926, Mr. Pitcher proposed ‘the formal adoption by the club of the one-design class and specification according to the boat now built by Mr. W. L. Bussell; and that the class be called the Weymouth Falcons,’seconded by Col. Saunders and carried.

Orders Come In

Mr. Bussell had evidently chanced his arm by building the prototype model [‘Sparrowhawk’] as soon as the plans were out. and this act of faith was now justified by an order from the club, on Nov.25th, for four Falcons at a price of £40 each. The committee at first limited club expenditure on Falcons to £60, but as soon as orders started coming in they decided [Dec. 7th] to go the whole hog and raised the limit to the sky of the club’s resources, £135, at the same time asking Mr. Ridge to draw up a hire-purchase agreement. The next two orders came from Syndicates, the Commodore’s [Meek, Barnes and Mountain] and Vice-Commodore’s [Pitcher, Ridge, Gallop and Webb], both on hire-purchase terms. Two extra boats were accordingly ordered by the club, which undertook to pay £20 down on delivery of each, with the remaining £20 each in one year’s time; and on Jan. 7th 1927, Mr.Bussell undertook to produce five Falcons by the first week in May.

On this date also the committee approved a draft hire-purchase agreement drawn up by Mr. Ridge, who was co-opted onto the Falcon sub-committee.

The Committee’s Report

The next mention of Falcon progress occurs in the ‘Committee’s report’ on the balance sheet leaflet issued for the first time at the AG.M. on April 2nd. Here we read: ‘Falcon One-Design Class: In view of the continued prosperity of the club, the committee has at length decided to embark on a scheme which has been under discussion for several years. This decision has been amply justified by the enthusiastic manner in which it has been received. No fewer than six boats have been ordered, the names and owners being as follows:-

No 1	Sparrowhawk	Dr. H . Ll. Pridham.
No 2	Osprey	Mr. W. L. Bussell.
No 3	Merlin	Mr. F. W. Bratby
No 4	Kestrel	Commodore’s syndicate
No 5	Kite	Mr. Gallop’s syndicate
No 6	Buzzard	Lt.Cmdr. Burton, R.N.

This leaflet also supplies some interesting information about the club’s winter activities, notably [1] that nine lectures were held, including ‘Criminology’ by Mr. Ridge, ‘The Truth About China’ by Dr. Ll. Pridham, and ‘Early Aviation on the Coast of Palestine’ by Capt. Chris. Smith and [2] that Capt. Hamblin started the idea of club suppers by inviting members to sup with him one evening in the club-room. ‘This innovation proved so popular that it was followed by two further suppers, the committee being hosts on the first occasion, and the members returning the compliment on the second.’

The balance sheet showed £138 in hand, and in this connection the meeting approved a new rule, 5A, vesting the affairs of the club in two trustees, Mr. Hownam Meek and Capt. Hamblin ‘with powers to invest money and adopt such measures as shall appear to them necessary in the interests of the club, subject to the approval of the committee.’

The officers of the club were all re-elected. the only change being that Mr. Pitcher, declining to stand again as flag officer, was elected Treasurer, thus exchanging offices with Capt. Hamblin who became Vice-Commodore. Mr. Hownam Meek agreed with Mr. Pitcher that an infusion of new blood was a good thing and offered to stand down, but he was nevertheless re-elected for the seventh, and final time.
A scheme to enable boat owners to insure against damage or loss was put forward and accepted in principle, but a committee of investigation subsequently turned it down ‘on account of the large risk to which the club would be exposed financially’ and the idea was accordingly dropped. An alternative scheme to cover winter storage was recommended as being sufficient to satisfy members’ demands.

Plans for 1927

Referring to the coming season, the aforesaid committee’s report observes: ‘with the advent of the One-design class, the 1927 season promises to be one of considerable interest as, in addition to ordinary club races [Weds. and Sat. afternoons] it is proposed to organize a series of evening matches [for Falcons] when ‘in order to provide variety it is proposed to establish a fixed mark in Redcliff Bay and a second in Bowleaze Cove, giving a run out and a beat back, alternative to the usual triangular courses.’

Among new members elected this year were Lieut.Cmdr. Burton,
W. [Bill] Fisher, Cmdr. F. P. Saunders and a white haired Irishman named Michael Gallagher. Dr. Llewellyn Pridham at this time had the good fortune to acquire not only a Falcon but also a wife, and Mrs. Kitty Pridham became the club’s fourth lady member. The cadets were also augmented by Freda Bratby and Doreen Breach.

For starting purposes it had been the custom for some years to designate the classes A, B and C by the flags X, Y and Z respectively.

With the arrival of the new class it was now decided to incorporate C class with B, using the X flag, thus freed, to designate Falcons.

Falcon racing was regulated by a new Racing Rule 8, the stipulations of which included: no ballast, no spinnakers, crew not less than two or more than three, buoyancy tanks of 12 gallons minimum, anchor 12lbs. with 15ft. of approved rope.

The idea of distinguishing marks on Falcon sails seems to have been initiated by Mr. Gallop who embellished ‘Kite’s’ sail with a square. In 1928 Dr. Pridham followed suit by giving ‘Sparrowhawk’ the medical trade mark of a red cross, and other devices followed [‘Hobby’ – circle, ‘Osprey’ – triangle, ‘Merlin’ – X], to produce a feature unique to the Falcon class. Falcons were supplied complete with one suit of sails but anchor cable, topping lift and claw were 50s. extra making the inclusive price £42. 10s. This low cost was made possible by the elimination of decking and all superfluous frills, one of the objects of the design being to produce a boat within the reach of all pockets. The Falcon was, and still is [1955], the cheapest 0-D boat on the market.

Racing

The first five Falcons [‘Sparrowhawk’, ‘Merlin’, ‘Kestrel’, ‘Kite’ and ‘Buzzard’] were launched before an admiring crowd in May; and these boats, together with ‘Cuckoo’, made their first official appearance in the Bussell Cup match v. Lyme Regis on June 20th, when the home team [Hamblin, Burton and Pitcher] successfully defended the trophy by 25 points to 15. Bussell Cup matches were also held against West Bay and Parkstone with equal success, although a match against the officers of
H.M.S. ‘Revenge’ was lost by two points and friendly matches at Bridport and Lyme Regis were lost by six and sixteen points respectively.

The first challenge cup for Falcons was put up by Col. Saunders and was won by Lt. Cmdr. Burton in ‘Buzzard’ in the first official Falcon race, on Aug. 12th, 1927. A second Falcon cup put up by Mr. Hownam Meek was competed for in a series of Thursday evening races beginning on June 9th, and this was finally won by Mr. Gallop in ‘Kite’.

The Ladies’ Race, for which the Dorset Daily Echo now presented a perpetual challenge cup, was sailed in Falcons, in two heats of five, on Aug. 13th and was won in the final by Mrs. Saunderson in ‘Buzzard’. Mr. G. Stevens, editor of the Echo was elected an honorary member as a mark of appreciation of his interest in the Club.

The Cadets’ race was also sailed in Falcons, in three heats of three, on Sept. 3rd, and was won by Miss Breach.

Meanwhile competition in the A and B classes was so keen that ties occurred in no less than three cases – the Baldwin, Club and Franklin Smith Cup series. These ties were sailed off between the three pairs of skippers concerned in two Falcons – ‘Buzzard’ and ‘Kite’ – on Sept. 30th and were won in each case by the skipper who drew ‘Kite’, in three very exciting races which resulted as follows:-

Baldwin Cup: T. W. Graham beat T. R. Wakefield by seven seconds;

Franklin Smith Cup: A. H . Warren trounced Capt. Hamblin by five minutes;

Club Cup: S. G. Gallop beat Lt.Cmdr. Burton by 13 seconds; – there were evidently no weeds on ‘Kite’!

As a footnote to the season’s activities it is interesting to note that the headgear favoured by members for sailing was a stocking cap knitted in club colours – a fashion which lasted until the early thirties.

The Falcons Take their Bow

Commenting on the season’s activities in his speech after the annual dinner at the Gloucester Hotel, Mr. Hownam Meek said ‘the new Falcons had taken most of the limelight. They had proved a wonderful success; their speed and seaworthiness were remarkable and the Thursday evening races had been the most popular series of the season.’

The Mayor, Councillor P. J. A’Court, who presented the prizes, said that ‘he could not recollect any function in which he gave away so many prizes in one night’ – there were 15 cups, 9 replica cups and 31 spoons. He might have added ‘or listened to so many speeches’ since five toasts and seven responses, a total of twelve, are listed on the programme!

In proposing the vote of thanks to the Mayor, Capt. Hamblin pointed out the great advantages of Weymouth Bay for small boat sailing, saying that ‘races held in other places put a handicap on strangers owing to their lack of knowledge of tidal currents, etc.’ Mr. Mowlam, of Parkstone, referred to his early association with Franklin Smith ‘who was practically the founder of the Weymouth Sailing Club’ and added his tribute to the Falcons by saying ‘the club had taken the right step in instituting a one-design class.’

Thus the Falcons took their bow, the success of the new venture was sealed and another long-standing ambition had been fulfilled.

Club Moorings

The instant success of the Falcons and the prospect of more to come raised the vital question of extending the already congested club moorings. The Committee’s deliberations on this subject during the winter 1927-28 resulted in a bold application to the Harbour Committee for a group of seventeen berths opposite the Club-house in exchange for eleven existing club berths in the lower harbour, and this was followed up by Capt. [Councillor] Hamblin undertaking to interview the Town Clerk on the Club’s behalf. The result of his diplomacy was a letter from Capt. Cooke, the Harbour Master, on March 6th, ‘announcing that the Harbour Committee have approved the plan submitted to them in full.’ Capt. Cooke was thanked for helping to put the matter through, and the Club thus happily acquired a piece of the harbour right under its windows all to itself.

The next job was to procure and lay the necessary mooring tackle, including a considerable quantity of chain. For this the Committee accepted a tender from the Edison Steam Roller Co. for 280ft of chain [5cwt.] at 3d. per lb., and the responsibility of laying it was entrusted to a moorings committee consisting of Messrs. Bussell, Warren, Pitcher and R. C. Flisher. Finally Capt. Masters was elected at the A.G.M. to the new office of Berthing Master.

The X-Class

Smitten no doubt by the allure of one-design racing, certain senior members of the Club now turned their minds to initiating a class of larger O-D craft, and placed orders with Newman’s of Poole for yachts of the National X class, a deep-keeled 18ft Bermudan dayboat already popular with the Parkstone Sailing Club.

The arrivals of these smart little yachts, making the passage from Poole under sail [no engines were fitted], must have been a cause of great interest to club members in the early weeks of the season. The four boats constituting the class in its first season were Mr. Pitcher’s ‘Betty’, Mr. Graham’s ‘Ceyx’ [pronounced ‘Seeks’], Major Foster’s ‘Mersa’, and Capt. Brocklebank’s ‘Ariel’.

X-class racing started on July 11th and continued twice weekly in two series for cups put up respectively by Mr. Graham and Mr. McDwaine. A big thrill was provided for the cadets in August, when it was decided to let them sail their annual race for Capt. Hamblin’s Cup in the new class. This race was sailed in four heats by sixteen entrants, and was won by Capt. Brocklebank’s daughter in ‘Ariel’. T. Pitcher was disqualified.

Oxford and Cambridge Sailing Matches

Bright as was the spotlight on the X boats, it paled before the beam which now illuminated the Falcons, singling them out from all other one-designs [in the second season of their career] for two sporting events of national interest, to the lasting pride and credit of the Club. These were the Oxford v. Cambridge Inter-University Sailing Match, and the Cambridge University Cruising Club’s Marine Week, held successively at the end of June and beginning of July, 1928 and both sailed in four Falcons in Weymouth Bay. The ball was set rolling in February by a letter from the secretary of the Cambridge University Cruising Club [Hounsell-Damers] ‘concerning the proposed holding of the C.U.C.C.’s sailing matches at Weymouth, and the use of the Falcon boats.’ The owners of ‘Sparrowhawk’, ‘Kestrel’, ‘Buzzard’ and ‘Kite’ readily volunteering to lend their boats, a reply was made in the affirmative, and this gave rise to a further enquiry re the Oxford and Cambridge match. The second proposal being welcomed on the same terms, dates were fixed, the races were sailed under the burgee of the C.U.C.C. and the Falcons came through with flying colours.

The Inter-‘Varsity match was sailed off in six races in high winds on 29th and 30th June and was reported in a Cambridge paper as follows:- ‘The annual match with Oxford University Sailing Club was this year sailed at Weymouth in four boats of the Falcon class, 16ft. sloops, kindly lent by members of the Weymouth Sailing Club. The match has never been sailed so far west, but Weymouth Bay, beautiful and sheltered, is an ideal place for small boat sailing, and six races were sailed successfully on the last two days in June, when regattas all round our coasts were being held up by stress of weather, Cambridge winning decisively by 38½ points.’ Odd numbers raced against even with alternate change-over of teams, ‘but,’ says the report, ‘unfortunately No 1 [‘Sparrowhawk’] and No 6 [‘Buzzard’] were distinctly better than No 4 [‘Kestrel’] and No 5 [‘Kite’] and the even numbers rather better than the odd.’

In the third race ‘at the first buoy No 4 to avoid a collision with No 5, was driven on to No 1, and protest flags were soon flying … These protests might have resulted in both boats being disqualified, but at the last moment it was found that both were invalid, each protestant having failed to comply with the necessary conditions.’

The C.U.C.C.’s Marine Week which followed, put through a full programme in the same Falcons. Race A was won by No 6, and in race B No 6 was again leading at the end of the first round, when ‘rain began to fall heavily, and the other boats discovered reasons for retiring.’ As no 6 [‘Buzzard’] won every race she entered she was later left out. On the Thursday evening ‘a match was sailed with the Weymouth Sailing Club which the latter won easily.’ On the last day, after five heats and two semi-finals in which No 1 proved slightly faster than No 6, ‘the final should have produced a fine race, but unfortunately No 1 was over the line at the start, thus losing one minute. After three rounds No 6 won by 25 seconds, a happy close to a successful season.’ In the evening a well-attended dinner was held at the Victoria Hotel, at which officers and several members of the Weymouth Sailing Club were present.

The Committee’s report on this week, on the A.G.M . balance sheet, ended thus: ‘An outstanding feature of these matches, was the seaworthiness of the Falcons, which received an intense gruelling under the hands of the enthusiastic contestants.’

A New Commodore

This year also marks the retirement from flag office of Mr. Hownam Meek, after a tenure of seven formative and eventful years. In proposing a vote of thanks [at the A.G.M. on 3rd. April] Mr. H. G. Pitcher, the new Commodore-elect referred to ‘all the unselfish work Mr. Hownam Meek had done on their behalf, and to the undoubted success of the Club due to his untiring and unremitting attention.’

Other officers elected at this meeting were Capt. Hamblin, Vice-Commodore, and Mr. S. J. Gallop, Hon. Treasurer. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. A. E. Clayton for auditing the books in an honorary capacity for the past four years, and he was now elected Club Auditor at a fee of £2. 2s. annually.

Club Racing

For signalling purposes the X code flag [recently allocated to Falcons] was now wanted for the new X class, and this led to a revision of class names to bring them into line with their flags. Thus C class [re-instated with five boats] became Y class, B class [ten boats] became W class and A class [five boats] became Z class, the Falcons being designated by the F code flag.

Two new Falcons were launched this season [1928], ‘Hobby’ [No 7] for Messrs. Pitcher, Wallace and Brown, and ‘Osprey’ [No 2], the last of the original order which the club sold to Mr. Bill Flisher in part exchange for his W class boat ‘Sonia’. Both these boats took part in the Bussell Cup races v. Lyme Regis, Parkstone and Bridport, each of which the Club won by a rather narrow margin.

Y class was allocated a new series race cup presented to the Club by Messrs. John Groves & Sons, and the fixture list waxed full. In addition to the numerous series races for the Club’s five classes and the matches afore-mentioned, racing events included Town and R.D.Y.C. Regattas, the ladies’ race [won by Mrs. Gallop in ‘Kite’] and an all-in handicap long-course single-banded race which was won by Capt. Brocklebank in ‘Ariel’.

The Committee’s Report referred to ‘keen sailing in inter-port racing, the Club retaining the Bussell Cup against the challenges of West Bay, Parkstone and Lyme Regis.’ Also the ‘Falcon O.D. class, as anticipated, provided the best sport of the season. Mr. Bussell, the designer and builder is to be congratulated on evolving a type of boat both seaworthy and dry, and capable of a good turn of speed.’

Torpedoing of ‘Merlin’

A sombre note was sounded early in this season by a regrettable mishap. Early in June Mr. Bratby, who had been forbidden to race by his doctor, was out sailing his Falcon [‘Merlin’] with his daughter Freda [now Mrs. D. Jacobs] at the helm, when a runaway torpedo from Whitehead’s firing range suddenly surfaced under his bows lifting them out of the water, swamping the boat with backwash, and staving in two planks near the waterline. A Torpedo Recovery Vessel soon took them in tow, and Mrs. Jacobs says she was none the worse for her experience, but her father, being for’ard at the time of impact, sustained a severe nervous shock, and never sailed again. The Committee wrote him a letter of sympathy, and took up the question of adequate warning signals with Whitehead’s, to prevent recurrences of the accident.

‘Buzzard’s’ Secret

The secret of ‘Buzzard’s’ success in the ‘Varsity matches and elsewhere came literally to light when she was lifted out and turned over at the end of the season, disclosing under-water planking with beautifully rounded edges. Taxed with effecting this unorthodox refinement Lt.Cmdr. Burton admitted responsibility and offered to make amends by [a] bearing the cost of similar treatment to all other Falcons, or [b] withdrawing the boat from all future racing. Declining both these offers the Committee decided to penalise the culprit by asking Mr. Bussell to cut a six-inch strip off the foot of his mainsail. This was not done, however, because in the following season Lt.Cmdr. Burton withdrew the boat from racing [alternative b], and bought ‘Sparrowhawk’ from Dr. Llewellyn Pridharn, who was now reluctantly obliged to abandon sailing through ill health. This incident had a sequel the following autumn [November 1929] when the Committee, at the recommendation of a Falcon-owners meeting, finally ruled that ‘Buzzard’ be allowed to sail in F class without penalty; the other members of the class to be allowed to make the same alterations to the edges of the planking. So far as is known no Falcon owner took advantage of this concession, and in 1932 the practice was finally forbidden.

Extension of Premises

Membership having now risen to 150, some addition to the two small upstairs rooms constituting the Club-house was becoming a pressing necessity. The downstairs rooms were still nominally requisitioned by the War Department, and the Committee [at the instigation of the House Committee] now asked Mr. Bussell to expedite their vacation by the end of the year, and to grant the Club a lease for the whole of the premises, subject to agreement as to alterations. In this Mr. Bussell agreed for an extra annual rental of £10, and subject to Club members undertaking all necessary alterations themselves, except putting in the front window. These alterations were put in hand during the winter of 1928-1929, and are summarised in the Committee’s report at the A.G.M . of February 1929 as follows:-

‘Owing to the growth of the Club, and opportunity favouring, the lower floor of the Club has been taken over. When finished the front portion will form a Corrunittee Room and secretary’s office, and the rear portion a spacious changing room with a wash-basin and seat lockers. In the upstairs sitting room all lockers have been removed, and two large settees provided, greatly improving the comfort and accommodation. A very fine oak sideboard, once the property of his late Majesty King Edward VII, and installed in his yacht ‘Formosa’ has been very generously presented by G. Spooner Esq. It will be a great asset.’

A subscription list was opened to alleviate the Club’s expenses in these improvements, of which the cost to date was £64. The work involved must have provided plenty of winter occupation for Club members, and the new rooms they made were a valuable heritage to posterity.

To complete the story it is necessary to quote from the Committee’s report on the following year, 1929:-

‘The enlargement of the premises – thus leaving the upper room solely for recreation and the back one for use as a bar and kitchen – has more than justified the expense incurred. The removal of the bunks from the reading room has enormously increased its comfort, especially since a modern gas fire has been substituted for the ancient arrangement for burning coal. Great credit is due to those members who actually assisted in making the alterations, and to those who subscribed towards the cost enabling the improvements to be carried out without touching Club funds.’

The Phillipson Shield

Among the resolutions passed at the aforementioned A.G.M. was ‘a vote of thanks to Mr. Phillipson, Commodore of the Parkstone Sailing Club, for putting up a cup for the X-class for races between the Parkstone and Weymouth Clubs.’

This enterprising project, with its implication of weathering St. Alban’s Head, was calculated to stimulate interest in the seagoing as well as the racing qualities of a class common to the two neighbouring clubs, between whom cordial relations had grown up since the inception of the Bussell Cup races in 1926. The conditions laid down for the new contest were: ‘Tb be open to all X-class boats of the Parkstone and Weymouth Sailing Clubs; to be sailed for annually and alternately in Poole Harbour and Weymouth Bay; to become the property of any owner [of boat] winning three races.’

At a conference between representatives of the two clubs it was agreed to hold the first contest at Weymouth, and this was later made the focal point of an extensive five-day programme for the entertainment of the visiting club. This included a two-club X-class race in the ‘Town Regatta [nine entrants]; and official Dinner at the Burdon Hotel; a three-round match for the Phillipson Shield; the usual two-round match for the Busse1l Cup in Falcons; and finally a ‘straight’ X-class race to finish up.

The Phillipson Match resulted in the visitors ‘sailing away with their Commodore’s shield under their arms’ [to quote Mr. Pitcher], having won it by 44 points to 37 in three hard-fought rounds the last of which went to Weymouth by one point in a wind logged as ‘force 4-5.’ Mr. Phillipson, who himself sailed one of the three Parkstone X-boats, ‘Jewel’], referring to the race at our next annual dinner, said how glad he was that the first race for his trophy should have taken place in the open waters of Weymouth, and that personally he had never enjoyed a race more in his life.

For the next three seasons Parkstone successfully defended the Shield in their own tricky waters, their victories becoming increasingly decisive as the Weymouth X-class regrettably languished and dwindled until finally, in 1935, it vanished altogether. The last Phillipson Shield Match took place in 1933.

The decline of the X-class was probably due in some measure to the great financial depression of the early thirties and is summarized in the committee’s report for 1934 as follows:-

‘X-class has unfortunately almost disappeared. This is a matter for very great regret, as the X is a fine class of O.D. boat. The committee did everything possible to help the class but for various causes it dwindled until in 1934 there were only two boats left. As ‘Pixie’ has now been sold there is little chance of an X programme next season. The Commodore of the Parkstone S.C., however, has expressed a wish that competition for the Phillipson Shield shall still go on. His suggestion is that we should send a team to race at Parkstone in their X boats, in the same manner as … for the Bussell Cup.’ This offer was accepted but not fulfilled.

The Bussell Cup Lost and Re-gained

Turning to the great five-day Parkstone visit of 1929, the Bussell Cup match which followed the Phillipson races provided considerable excitement by ending in a draw. In the re-sail a week later the home team [Cmdr. Burton, S. G. Gallop and Bill Fisher] saved the situation with a win by 24 points to 18, and the other challengers [Lyme and Bridport] were similarly repulsed. But Parkstone were getting our measure: in the following year [1930] their match again produced a draw, and this time the re-sail resulted in the loss of the Cup by I5 points to 27.

Five years were to elapse before the precious trophy was recovered, and this entailed four Club visits to Parkstone S.C. for matches in their Dolphin O.D. boats in the fickle estuary waters. These visits, coupled with similar trips for the X-class matches, brought the two clubs into close contact, the resulting friendliness being epitomised by Capt. Mowlam at the 1931 Dinner when he ‘referred to some of the exciting events which had taken place between the Weymouth and Parkstone Sailing Clubs. The meetings between them were always eagerly awaited, and he endorsed the excellent feelings which existed between the two clubs.’
The ultimate recovery of the Cup in 1934 is described in the relevant committee’s report thus:-

‘The outstanding feature of the season’s racing was the return of the Bussell Cup. Our efforts to recover this during the past four years were unsuccessful and some of us had begun to despair. However, Cmdr. Burton, Mr. D. Pitcher and Mr. T. Pitcher did the trick.’

This must have been a very proud day for the club, for Cmdr. Burton, and – especially – for David and Tommy Pitcher both of whom had but recently graduated from the cadets.

‘Buzzard ‘s’ Exploit

Another interesting bit of rivalry arose from an argument between Mr. Pitcher and Capt.. Mowlam at the annual dinner of 1928. Mr. Pitcher maintained that a Falcon was better than a Dolphin any day, and to prove his point undertook to sail one round to Parkstone the following season and enter it in a Dolphin race.

This he duly did, with the aid of Mr. Charles Flisher, on June 6th, 1929. The boat selected was the peerless ‘Buzzard’, and the operation – planned with military thoroughness – included lifting the boat out for two days preparation and drying at Poole. For this purpose the voyagers were met on arrival by Messrs. Gallop and Bussell, who were to be skipper and mate in the race, and much tuning-up ensued. ‘Buzzard’ met her opponents in a high wind, with Mr. H. G. Pitcher as third man, and the result left no doubt as to Mr. Pitcher’s contentions, the Falcon sailing gaily through the entire fleet of Dolphins to win easily and thus vindicate the claims of the proud sponsor of her class.

At the next Annual Dinner [1929] Capt. Mowlam gracefully presented Mr. Gallop with a ‘handsome framed photograph’ in appreciation of this remarkable achievement.’

Change-Over races

The enlarged club premises combined with an unusually fine Summer to give fresh impetus to sailing in 1929, the membership rising from 145 to 163. Two more Falcons were launched, Col. Adam’s ‘Tiercel’ [No.8] and Mr. Pitcher’s ‘Peregrine’ [No.9]; and over a hundred races were organised, including a friendly match with the U.S. Training Ship ‘Arkansas’, a Ladies’ Race in X boats, and the club’s first change-over races. The X-class change-over race was for a cup put up by Capt. Brocklebank, and Lt.Cmdr. Burton provided a cup for the Falcon race. Neither of these were Challenge trophies, but the Falcon change-over race has remained a popular club feature ever since.

Also put up this year was Mr. Spooner’s trophy – a beautiful silver falcon – for the Falcon’s Long Distance race, the second edition of which is still competed for today.

The Mayoral Commodore

After two eventful years under the guidance of Mr. Pitcher the club began the ‘thirties with a re-constituted executive team, led by Engineer-Captain F. W. Hamblin R.N. [retd]. This dynamic gentleman had the unique distinction of combining the offices of Commodore and Mayor, being elected to the latter eminence in November, 1930, and re-elected the two following years.

The retiring Commodore, Mr. Pitcher was elected to the hitherto vacant office of Rear-Commodore – a precedent suggested by Mr. Bussell; while the office of Vice-Commodore was voted to Mr. Hownam Meek, who, during his two years out of office, had started the Castle Cove Sailing Club. Mr.Charles Flisher became Mr. Haines’ assistant secretary in place of Mr. Bames [retiring], and Mr. R. Wilkinson took over the treasurership when Mr. Gallop bid a reluctant farewell in April. The general committee [increased from six to nine] included Capt. Masters, Capt. Cooke and Messrs. Bussell, Ridge, Spooner; Faller; Barnes and Gallagher. All the officers and committee were re-elected the following year, and through their labours the club acquired two valuable additions – the Stone Pier Starting Base and the Ladies Changing Hut.

The New Starting Base

Club races had so far always been started from the end of the wooden pier, where the absence of any shelter from the elements made heavy demands upon the endurance and self-sacrifice of the Officers-of-the-day. One of the first jobs of the new committee was to approach the Town Council’s Harbour Committee and Borough Surveyor for permission to enclose a small area on the stone pier, with a view to erecting on it a sectional hut and two flagstaffs. Thanks to the good offices and influence of the Commodore, permission was readily forthcoming, and a special hut was purchased from Messrs. Betts & Co. The new starting hut, which was ready in time for the 1930 season, added greatly to the comfort of the shore parties and gave a less blanketed starting line, despite an enduring element of doubt as to how to cross it!
Other innovations were the employment of a paid Time-Keeper – Mr. Rudd – at 2s-6d per racing day, and the purchase of a pair of cannon, subscribed to by Major Haines, Mr. Haines [Hon. Secretary], the Commodore and Mr. Byles. The design of the mark buoys was also improved, the word ‘Chemmers’ entered the club’s vocabulary to denote the permanent mark now laid by the seine-net fishermen, or chemmers, as the northern limit of the sandy bottom suitable for their nets. The Brunswick mark was introduced the following year [’31] to provide an inshore [D] course for the new Monday night Falcon races. From this period also dates the two-gun abandonment signal. the red and green course direction flags [in lieu of the black baIl], and the flag-pole in the club-house window.

Motor-boat Races

One of the first races to be regulated from the new base reflects the engineering proclivities of the new Commodore, but it must have caused some head-shaking among the die-hards when it became known that the club was to sponsor races for Power Craft! Records on the subject are few and bashful but it appears that three of these marine juggernauts were timed twice round a club course on June 6th ‘in a light wind.’ This breach of taste was followed by a series of races for ‘speed boats’ in June and August; but, although a cup was offered for ‘a motor boat section’ the next season, the sacrilegious idea did not catch on.

The Ladies’ Changing-Hut

Although the membership list included an increasing number of ladies, the club-house was, by an unwritten law, still reserved exclusively for men. This tendency to regard the ladies as a decorative appendage was all very well in the days when they wore trailing skirts and were vouchsafed one indulgent race a year; but when their emancipation led to a serious interest in sailing and the wearing of slacks, there arose an urgent [not to say embarrassing] need for a suitable changing room.

The voicing of this need at the A.G.M. of 1931 led to plans for an extension being drawn up by Mr. Warren [the club architect]; but in view of the cost and ‘the unsettled financial state of the country,’ no further action was taken until the following winter when ‘the financial state of the country and the club giving no immediate cause for alarm’ the new extensions [ changing hut and modem conveniences] were carried out ‘by direct labour under the supervision of Major McSweeney’ in time for the 1932 season, which opened under the aegis of a new Commodore, Mr. G. T. Ridge.

The acquisition of their ‘Hen House’ gave the ladies a new zest for sailing, with a marked rise in their membership and record entries in the two Lady Members’ Races, as well as much crewing in ordinary events.

Lady members were in fact, becoming an integral part of the club, and at the end of the season Capt. Hamblin suggested that the time had come to admit them to the club’s annual dinners. This controversial suggestion was shelved until the A.G.M. of 1933 when it was raised as a proposition from the chair, supported and opposed by impassioned speeches, and lost by 32 votes to 12.

Falcon Migrations

The decline of the X class was offset by a steady increase in the number of Falcons, which rose to 13 in 1931 with the addition of ‘Faller’ [A.J. Faller], ‘Glebe’ [M. J. Gallagher], ‘Hawk’ [R. C. Flisher] and ‘Harrier’ [Cmdr. Saunders]; to 17 in 1932 with ‘Honeybuzzard’ [Capt. Stayner], ‘Goshawk’ [Major Peel-Yates] ‘Eagle’ [G. T. Ridge] and ‘Aquila’ [H. W. Pangbourne]; and to 20 in 1933 with ‘Katabella’ [G. R. Pocock], ‘Windhover’ [Cole & McKissick] and ‘Erne’ [Dr. W. G. Gallagher].

The sails of these boats all upheld the tradition of distinctive devices, and bore recall numbers in order from 10 to 21, omitting the unlucky 13. It will be observed that Mr. Faller named his boat after himself. This was an inversion of the then current club practice whereby owners were nicknamed after their boats. A survival of this custom derives from the fact that the present Hon. Secretary’s first boat was called ‘Kaista’ – the only name to stick.

In 1934 three of the first flight of Falcons – ‘Kestrel’, ‘Kite’ and ‘Buzzard’ were sold out of the Club. ‘Kestrel’ [with a bright blue hull] only went round the corner to Castle Cove, whence she raced in the Y class with a slightly altered rig, ultimately returning to the fold [or eyrie] in 1946 under the ownership of Dr. Llewellyn Pridham’s daughter Diana [now Mrs.Jolm Robb] who embellished her sail with an eagle’s head. ‘Kite’ went to Poole; and ‘Buzzard’ went to Bridport, finally finding her way to the Channel Islands [St. Helier Yacht Club] where, with a half-deck and altered sail plan, she became the first of the Channel Islands Restricted Class, to which several of her sisters have subsequently gravitated.

‘Honeybuzzard’ followed ‘Kite’ to Poole the same year, and remained there until the resumption of sailing in 1946 when Dr. Ricks and Mr. Sansom reinstated her under the name of ‘Merlin’ [11], rechristened to distinguish her from Mr. Charles Flisher’s new ‘Honeybuzzard’ [1938]. The original ‘Merlin’ had just gone west with Mrs. Cloudsley-Smith, who sold her to Jersey in 1946. The new ‘Merlin’ retained her old recall number [15] however, although it had been taken in the interim by a new ‘Buzzard’ [1935], so that since the War there have been two 15’s in the class.

The practice of taking up back numbers for sails, very prevalent at this time, destroys their value in indicating the age of the boats concerned and is therefore deprecated.

Team racing

The 16 Falcons of 1932 were divided into two sections for their Monday night races, A section for the Saunders Cup and B section for a cup presented this year by Mrs. A. F. Masters. This season also saw the introduction of Team Races with two cups for inter-class teams:- Col. Boulton’s Cup for the X class v. Falcons in Falcons, and Mr. Maudsley’s Cup for X class v. Falcons in X class.

The 20 Falcons of 1933 sailed in two sections on Wednesdays as well as Mondays, and were further divided into four groups for a series of three change-over Team Matches, with a prize to each of the winning skippers of one of the newly introduced club neckties. These Falcon team races, regulated by a set of seven rules, became a regular part of the club’s programme and bore fruit the following year in the recapture of the Bussell Cup, as already described.

Death of Mr. Haines

The annual report on the balance sheet for 1933 opens with these words: ‘The committee regret to record the death on 23rd Jan. 1933, of Mr. Charles E. Haines, Hon. Secretary since April. 1924, during which time he has discharged the duties of his office with great keenness and efficiency; while his tact and ready wit endeared him to all who were fortunate enough to be associated with him in the management of the club.’

Mr: Haines’ record of nine busy and fruitful years is a fine example of devotion to the club. He had been in poor health for some time, during which his work was done by Mr. Bames and latterly by Mr. Charles Flisher. His office was now taken over by Major Griffin with two assistants – Lt.Cmdr. Burton and Lieut. [now Capt.] Knight, R.E., elected at the A.G.M.

Mr. Ridge – the solicitor-Commodore – was elected to a second year of office, with Mr. R. Wilkinson Vice-Commodore. The new committee included two promising new club members, Messrs. G. Cox and H. W. Pangbourne, both destined for flag rank in the near future. Mr. H. G. Pitcher – the banker-treasurer – was re-elected to an office which he was to hold for seven years [1932-9].

The Phillipson Cup

The main event of 1933 was the introduction of the end-of-season handicap race for the newly acquired Phillipson Cup. On this first occasion, Sept. 23rd, 1933, it was sailed in two sections:- A, Falcons; and B, all other classes. The presentation of this cup by the Parkstone Commodore provided yet another link between the two clubs, and this all-in ‘grand finale’ race has since become one of our enduring traditions.
Other matters of note were the employment of Mr. Arundel as official timekeeper; and the construction of a pontoon raft at the foot of the quay-wall opposite the main club-moorings. This raft survived until quite recently, but in its latter years its failing buoyancy became a source of peril, especially under the club’s more corpulent members.

The Prizegiving Tea

The Commodore for 1934 was Mr. Reginald Wilkinson, a young bachelor solicitor with conservative views, particularly in regard to the presence of women at the annual dinner, the vexed question of which again arose at the A.G.M. of this year. This time the ‘stag’ majority fell to the perilous margin of two votes, and when it came to the point the issue was tactfully evaded by the compromise of a Prizegiving Tea at the Clinton restaurant, to which the ladies were admitted without loss of face to the die-hards. The function was not a success, but the break with tradition was a moral victory to the fair sex and provided the necessary transition to the now highly popular Dinner and Dance which started the following year.

Sailing events this sunny summer included the timing-in of the Island Sailing Club’s Cowes-to-Weymouth race, and a promising new contact in the form of a friendly match with the Christchurch Sailing Club. The meeting with this club made such a good impression that they were invited to enter for future Bussell Cup Matches which would now once more be sailed in Weymouth Bay, thanks to Lt.Cmdr. Burton and the brothers Pitcher whose final victory over Parkstone made 1934 a red letter year and began another chapter in the club’s history.

The New Secretary

In the Autumn of 1934 Major Griffin was transferred to Gosport and was therefore obliged to resign the secretaryship, which he had taken over on the death of Mr. Haines. As Capt. Knight, the assistant hon. secretary, did not see his way to handling the full duties, the committee asked Mr. Gallagher to take over until the end of the financial year. That was eighteen years ago, and Mr. G. has served the club faithfully in the same capacity until the present day.

Soon after the transfer of Major Griffin, the Club lost another valuable member in the departure of Cmdr. Burton, who sold ‘Sparrowhawk’ to Lieut. H. Mead and went to live in Devon. One of the new Hon. Secretary’s first duties was to write the commander a letter of appreciation for the very considerable work he had done for the club, which indeed owed much to his energy, enthusiasm and racing skill.

The Commodore for the next two years [1935-1937] was Mr. George Cox, under whose flag the club experienced a fresh wave of prosperity with new boats, new trophies and no less than eighty new members, a rate of expansion which called for a material enlargement of the club premises.

New Boats

Z class, augmented by the two X survivors, ‘Ceyx’ and ‘Pixie II’, had recently enlisted ‘Quest’ [Col. Adams] and ‘Felicity’ [E. L. Pope] and was now joined by ‘Ultimus’ [W Flower Symonds], bringing the total, with our old friends ‘Windflower’, ‘Idler’ and ‘Lapwing’, up to eight. Y class, gaining Mr. K. T. Moyes’ 12 footer ‘Gull’ and Dr. Gerrard Pearse’s ‘Antelope’, mustered 14 boats; and the Falcons gained four additions, bringing their total in 1935 up to 20.

The new Falcons were ‘Gyrfalcon’ [F. R. Hillier], ‘Lanner’ [Dr. Harvey], ‘Buzzard’ [11] [Vl L. Bussell], and ‘Hobby’ [11] [G. Cox], the latter being a replacement for the Commodore’s existing ‘Hobby’ which he sold to Bridport. A fifth boat was ordered for the club’s first lady Falcon-owner, Miss Diana Stone, and this was met by selling her Mr. Bussell’s newly built Falcon, whose sail Miss Stone embellished with the Arabic figure 4. In July 1935 a further order was met by selling the new ‘Buzzard’ to Mr. C. R. Wrey, and Mr. Bussell – still boat-less – finally supplied his want by importing the old-timer ‘Kite’ from Poole, in exchange for Capt. Stayner’s ‘Honeybuzzard’ whose sail number [15] was bestowed on the new ‘Buzzard’.

In 1936 Mr.Gallagher bought a new ‘Glede’, disposing of the original to Tynmouth, and Mr. H. G. Rose made his debut in ‘Tarse’.

New Trophies

In April 1935 a letter was received from the Whitehead Torpedo Co, offering a cup to be competed for by Falcons in the Town Regatta, and to become the property of the member winning it three years running in the same boat. The company also offered £25 in Regatta prize money to be divided between the club’s three classes. These generous offers were accepted with the club’s best thanks and the Commodore wrote a personal letter of thanks to Mr. J. P. Davison the managing director, who was invited to become an honorary member of the club.

This public spirited firm had put up a cup for X-class boats in the 1934 Regatta, and this had been won by ‘Minnikin’ of Parkstone. The present trophy was of truly noble proportions, standing some 3ft. high and lavishly decorated. It is now in the possession of Mr. David Pitcher, who pulled off the hat-trick in ‘Peregrine’ with the aid of the whites of several dozen eggs!

A similar condition was attached to the Spooner trophy and David Pitcher carried this off also with three successive Whitsun Long Distance Race wins. Mr. Spooner replaced the Silver Falcon with a new and similar one [1936] and Messrs. Whiteheads likewise replaced their giant cup with another of equally embarrassing proportions [1939].

In this year also the Falcon Friday Trophy – a Silver salver -was presented by Dr. W G. Gallagher, a new committee member and owner of Erne. A series of six races on Friday evenings was specified, to end by July 1st, and at Mr. Pitcher’s suggestion the venue was a new dog-leg course [C] round the Middle and Bincleaves buoys.

The first season’s result of this series gave credence to the nautical superstition about not sailing on Fridays, since only two of the nine dates allocated produced any result, and these were each determined on one round!

Lady members were given a series of three races, the prizes [for the first four places on aggregate points] being the Echo Cup, Col. Boulton’s Cup [originally for Falcons v. X-class] and cash prizes by Messrs. Ridge and Wilkiinson.

The Cadet’s races were run on similar lines.

Mr. T. W. Graham [whose ‘Ceyx’ now raced in Z class] offered a trophy for a projected series of Long Distance races for Z class on Sundays, but this the committee declined with regret ‘in view of the club’s accepted practice of not racing on Sundays.’

This being the Jubilee year of King George V, the season opened with a special all-in handicap ‘Jubilee Race’ for a prize provided by the club.

Extensions

In order to deal with the flood of new members, special committee meetings were held every Saturday evening for the sole purpose of confirming the applications as they became due. Forty-eight new members were elected in 1935, as a result of which there was little more than standing room in the club on race nights, and when the autumn came the monthly suppers had to be limited to 30 through lack of space. In fact the club was once more getting too big for its boots, and something would have to be done.

In December the committee, deciding that a bold step was required, investigated the possibility of buying-in the club premises and the Long-Shed for which they offered Mr. Bussell £750. This offer was declined [the price asked was £900] but the benevolent landlord, after a conversation with Mr. S. Tewson [a committee member, architect and surveyor], suggested an alternative scheme. This was a plan for extending the club over the Long Shed, the cost of which Mr. Bussell undertook to bear himself conditional on an increase in rental of 6 per cent. on his capital expenditure.

This very co-operative offer was at once accepted and the position was put clearly to the A.G.M. in the committee’s report as follows:-

‘By reason of the growing membership of the club it has been thought advisable to increase the accommodation. It has been decided to extend over the adjoining building known as the Long Shed, in the form of one large room facing the harbour and three small rooms behind; forming bar, office and kitchen. The present bar will be converted into further accommodation for Lady Members, and the present office will be added to the Men’s Dressing Room.’

‘The extension will be covered by a flat roof from which a very fine view of races and surroundings can be obtained.’

A later resolution to the effect that, on completion of the extension., the existing club-room should be reserved for men, carries the implication that ladies were now admitted to the club premises without let or hindrance.

Building. to Mr. Tewson’s plans, proceeded throughout the early summer and in August the club took over the new premises for furnishing and decoration. Embellishments included charts and constructional models provided by Mr. Bussell and a board bearing the names of past Commodores [including the Franklin Club] presented by Mr. Pangbourne.

The official opening, on Oct 8th, 1936, was performed by the Mayor at a party with refreshments provided by the Commodore’s lady, Mrs.Cox, with the help of Mrs. Pangbourne and Mrs. Bennett,

This adoption by lady members of the role of hostesses began a tradition which revolutionized the organisation of social events such as inter-club races, and earned official commendation in the 1937 report thus:-

‘The lady members have helped greatly during the year. They were most useful as hostesses when other clubs visited us, and a number of them have done noble work in making cushions and mats. The Committee wish to thank these ladies.’ The delivery of this verbal bouquet may be regarded as the final recognition of ladies as potentially useful members of the club.

The Balance Sheet for 1936 showed that the committee’s faith in the club’s continued prosperity was well founded, their official comment being:-

‘The increase in receipts under all headings, due to the still rapidly increasing membership, has resulted in a gratifying surplus on the year’s working and indicates that there will be no question of raising member’s subscription to meet the additional expenses which will necessarily arise out of the extension of club premises.’

Special donations by members towards the furnishing fund totalled nearly £40, and House Committee sales showed an all-time record of £76-8s.

It needed a full working season to set the final seal of success to the venture, and this was recorded in the Report of the following year in these words: ‘1937 was the first complete sailing season since the premises were extended, and the result fully justifies the enterprise. The new rooms are found very useful and there is an excellent view from the roof.’

Feasts gastronomic and intellectual

The first annual Prizegiving Dinner and Dance was held in November, 1935, at the Burdon Hotel. It was a great success, but numbers had to be limited for this and the 1936 dance because only a small room was used, [the dining room]. In 1937 the annual report tells us ‘The Dinner and Dance was again highly successful: owing to using a larger room at the Hotel Burdon [the Hall], it was not necessary to limit numbers and the happy feeling which distinguishes the club generally was very apparent at the jolly affair on November 4th.’

‘Several members were unable to be present as the dance was not held in the week-end, and it is suggested that it be held on a Friday in 1938 instead of Thursday as heretofore.’ This was done, and the Sailing Club dance became a high-spot of the year.

Although the feminine element had now established itself in the club-house and at the Prizegivings, the men still retained a last stronghold in their Suppers. Held regularly on the second Thursday of each month throughout the winter season, their success was largely attributed to ‘the enormous work put in by Mr. Charles Flisher and the excellent cooking of Mrs. Skillman. ‘Favourite menus in those days of plenty included roast turkey, goose, duck and pork, pigeon pie, rabbit pie, jugged hare and ‘Frills’ or Weymouth Escallops boiled in milk.

In addition to the suppers there were ‘intellectual feasts’ – usually on the fourth Thursdays – in the form of talks by such authorities as Capt. Hamblin, Col. Sandes, and Messrs. H.A.G.Stevens, O.C.Vidler and A.M.Gill. The idea of combining the two types of feast is a post-war innovation.

One supper, held some years later, deserves mention because it commemorated a centenary. This took place in January 1939, and is recorded in the Annual Report of that year as follows:-

‘Members appreciate greatly the increased amenities made possible by the extension of the premises, but some … still have great affection for the old room, which was at one time Weymouth’s Custom House. On a window pane in this room a hundred years ago a loyal tide-waiter scratched with a diamond “God Save the Queen. E.Shearn T.W. 2/1/39.” The committee decided to dedicate the January supper to the commemoration of the centenary of this loyal sentiment and the idea – with other good things – ‘went down’ very well!

A contemporary letter from Comdr. Burton covering his subscription reads:- ‘I am very glad to see that the window pane had lasted out its century. I had always had a misgiving some ass would unstep his mast through it !’ The envisaged calamity is cleverly illustrated on the back of the letter.

Coronation Year

The death of King George V, the ‘sanctions’ of the Abbysinian War, and the abdication of Edward VIII, cast a slight gloom over the otherwise prosperous and happy middle ‘thirties; but with the coronation of King George VI in 1937, followed by a royal Review of the Fleet in Weymouth Bay in 1938, spirits rose to a new high level, and the club shared in a nation-wide Indian summer of peace and plenty before the onset of an undreamed-of winter.

On the continent of Europe events were already taking a turn for the worse, in fact Hitler and his Nazis were behaving so badly that ‘Aquila’ changed her swastika into a quartered square!

‘Aquila’s’ owner, Mr.H.W.Pangbourne, had just been elected Commodore, an office he was to retain for the record if interrupted period of fourteen years. The only other changes in the administration were that Dr. Gallagher became Vice-Commodore and Mr. Harry Pratt was elected assistant Hon. Secretary with special duties connected with the bar.

One of the first duties of the new committee was to make arrangements for the festivities in connection with the Coronation on May 12th, 1937. Mr.F.R.Jakeman was put in charge of ‘illuminations’, and members were recommended to decorate their boats with ‘flaglets’, specimens of which were exhibited in the club. Materials for decorations were also lent by Mr. Bussell, and the club, in common with the rest of the community decked itself out in a blaze of fluttering colour.

On the afternoon of Coronation Day – a national holiday – the club opened its season with a Long-Distance Coronation Race, with £10 in prize-money subscribed by the Corporation and three Coronation medals provided by the club, one for each class.

One fine day in June Reginald Wilkinson sailed his Falcon ‘Tiercel’ over to Swanage where, receiving a favourable offer, he sold her on the beach and came home by train. A new ‘Tiercel’ was launched for him on his return, but the following year he bought the old one back again, selling his new acquisition to Major Stayner and Mr. Woodhouse, who re-christened it ‘Honeybuzzard’ [after their original boat which had gone to Poole in 1935], changing the sail mark [a sword] into an anchor.

The only other new Falcon launched this year was ‘Shaheen’ [Arabic for hawk] built for Mr.John Robb, a keen yachtsman from Belfast, as a present to his son John, then a cadet member. Mr. Robb took a great interest in club activities and now presented two cups for single-banded races, one for Falcons and one for Z class. A third cup was presented by Mr. Pratt for the Y c1ass August Bank-holiday race.

Falcon Fever

Falcon-racing enthusiasm at this time ran feverishly high and protests were an almost weekly occurrence. No race was missed that could humanly be sailed. and third men were shanghaied into service whenever the whitecaps foamed. David Pitcher in ‘Peregrine’ was the accepted ace, but ‘Hawk’ [Charles Flisher], ‘Hobby’ [Tony and John Bennett], ‘Buzzard’ [Billy Butler], ‘Tarse’ [G. H. Rose], ‘Eagle’ [M. T. Davey] and ‘Sparrowhawk’ [Bratby and Hayes] were usually in the forefront and rarely missed a race. No rain was too heavy, no fog too impenetrable and few winds too strong for these intrepid mariners. Small wonder if they sometimes capsized. as ‘Sparrowhawk’ and ‘Tiercel’ did in 1937, also ‘Erne’ and ‘Katabella’ in 1938.

The Monday A section series of 1937 resulted in a tie between ‘Peregrine’ and ‘Sparrowhawk’, the sail-off of which provided an exciting win for Reg Bratby [‘Sparrowhawk’] by eleven seconds, reminiscent of the Scrap-Wendy duel of 1921. Handicap racing paled before the incomparable thrills of one-design dinghy tactics, and the club made no apology for concentrating on its Falcon class.

Loss of the Bussell Cup

Inter-port matches against Lyme Regis, Bridport, Hamworthy, Parkstone and Christchurch again resulted favourably in 1937, the last named being sailed in a thunderstorm, to which two boats succumbed. In 1938, however, our old rival Parkstone captured the Cup once more, with a decisive 25 to 17 point win from a team composed of David Pitcher, Charles Flisher and Billy Butler. With a view to its early recovery, Mr. David Pitcher was appointed to the new office of Sailing Master with the duty of training the Bussell Cup team. But this was in 1939 under the shadow of Munich, and there were soon to be other more urgent calls for training.

Three Bereavements

Losses more personal and irrecoverable were suffered in the deaths of three staunch members in this period. Mr. John Robb, ‘a most popular member who did much useful work in the club during the past three years,’ died suddenly before he could see his new Cups awarded; and Mr.H.N.Byles, one of the founder members, passed away at the age of 70.

In the following year [1938] the annual report records:

‘The club suffered a great loss in the death of Mr. H. G. Pitcher who was a Founder Member of the club, Commodore for two years and Hon. Treasurer for eighteen [including the ’14-18 war]. The work he did for the club outside his official duties will never be realized except by a very few, and we greatly miss his presence and good fellowship. As a tribute to his memory his friends have subscribed to a Barograph which has been placed at the west end of the Common Room.’

Service Membership

Membership continued to rise steadily, topping the 300 mark in 1938 and extending portentously in 1939 to the inclusion of three Mess subscriptions, one for each of the fighting services – the Depot Dorset Regiment, H.M.S. Osprey, and Woodsford Bomber Command [RAF]. Only the new rooms made this influx possible, and the increased rental was thus more than justified.

Service members accounted for two of the four new Falcons launched in 1939, Capt. Hamblin’s son Bob [now Col. S.R.M.Hamblin], returning from India, named his Falcon ‘Chhil’, the Hindustani word for Kite, while Col. Bushell and Col. Sackville Hamilton jointly purchased Condor. The third was built for Drs. Gallagher and Whittaker with the Irish name of ‘Iolaire’ [‘Yoolery’]; and the fourth ‘Ringtail’, was ordered by Mr. Pratt for his wife, who sailed her for one last glorious season under the sign of the ace of spades. These were destined to be Mr. Bussell’s last Falcons and brought the firm’s total output up to 36, excluding a batch of four built for Jersey in 1938 with half-decks, short booms and 25ft. masts. Ten years were to elapse before any more were built, by which time Mr. Bussell had passed on, the firm being taken over by Mr. E. Wright, his boat builder since 1932.

Handicap Classes

Additions to Z class included the Meech family’s ‘Seaway’ [1937], ‘Viking’ [J.H.Bulkley] and ‘Faraway’ [Dr. Bulman] in 1938; and ‘Wenda’ [Maj. Peel Yates], ‘Uvadalia’ [Mrs. Udal], ‘Marie Celeste’ [C. K. Dowrnan], and ‘Saki’ [O. Walford, an ex-member] in 1939. Of the 20 listed boats only half a dozen entered for club races, with ‘Idler’, ‘Windflower’ and ‘Sibindi’ as the regular customers.

Most of the Y class boats owed first allegiance to the Castle Cove Sailing Club; and again only half a dozen of the 18 registered turned out for Weymouth races. In 1938 this class was extended to include the Island Class O-D dinghies of the newly formed branch of the Royal Naval Sailing Association.

The provision of moorings for the new club boats [as distinct from those moored in Castle Cove] presented quite a problem; but thanks to the strenuous labours of Mr. Pratt and the brothers Jakeman, none were ever turned away.

The Portland Races, initiated in 1922, had become a perennial feature, the now accepted custom being to sandwich them with Weymouth races on alternate Saturdays. A special time-keeper, Mr. Chas. Rose, was employed to start them from Castle Cove, quite independent of the local club. Since many of the Y and Z class boats were registered with both clubs however, it was agreed in 1938 that henceforward ‘on Saturdays all handicap boats of both clubs should race together and competitors who are members of both clubs should be considered as competing in two races.’ Thus the two clubs shared the organization of Saturday races, each being responsible for combined races in their own waters on alternate weeks. The Falcons sailed in both.

The outstanding event of 1938 – apart from the vast concourse of warships which assembled in the bay for the Royal Review on June 21st – was the holding at Weymouth of the Royal Thames Yacht Club Regatta. Turnouts were good [including 18 Falcons] but results were marred by lack of wind. The proposal to hold the Prince of Wales Cup 14ft. National Dinghy races at Weymouth this year did not materialize.

The Last Season

At the AG.M. of 1939 the office of Hon. Treasurer [taken on pro tem by W. G. Butler] was filled by Capt.F.W.Hamblin, and the committee again included Mr.J.P.Dunphy, whose many contributions to the club’s welfare now extended to making a new and better Brunswick Mark.

The transfer of the clubroom bar and the installation of a mahogany counter was effected at a cost of £20, and the games room [now ladies cloak-room] was redecorated. The clubroom was put at the disposal of the R.N. Volunteer Service Reserve for their weekly lectures.

Despite the appeasement policy of the government, the Navy was not unmindful of the trend of events in Germany, and an early danger-sign came in May with the closing of the Eastern Harbour Entrance by a boom.

This necessitated a change in the course of the Whitsun Long-distance Race, but apart from this inconvenience the season followed its familiar pattern undisturbed. A series of four Ladies races had fifteen competitors and was won by Mrs. David Pitcher.

In August more danger signs appeared in the form of practice blackouts, Air Raid Precautions and the calling-up of the reserves. Racing continued. On Sept.2nd the usual Saturday race was held in Portland Harbour. On Sunday, Sept. 3rd, Mr. Chamberlain announced that the country was at war.

The nation was transformed over-night. Emergency war regulations came into force, and all racing stopped abruptly. ‘There was a war on’ and several members joined their units at once. Happily the season was practically over; only the Cadets’ race and the Phillipson Cup were missed. The Dinner and Dance was also cancelled, but the prizes were awarded at a sherry party at the club on Nov. 18th.

The boredom of the Blackout and the uneventful ‘Phoney War’ of the first winter was relieved by a series of fortnightly suppers, each followed by a talk. At the request of many members ‘chiefly ladies,’ a dance was held at the Burdon on Leap-Year Day, Feb. 29th, 1940. Due to the exigencies of war and ‘flu the attendance was rather thin but everyone enjoyed themselves and the war seemed far away.

So far away that plans were put in hand for a limited racing season, permission being obtained from the Naval authorities to use D course. Accordingly, with the return of spring, eight Falcons and a few Y class boats took the water, complete with the prescribed port registration numbers in black and white on their bows, and enjoyed a little sailing in the small permitted area bounded by the anchorage of the Contraband Control Authority, where a varied collection of foreign merchant ships aroused their curiosity.

Dunkirk

The Phoney War ended with Hitler’s invasion of Belgium on May 10th but, after the first shock there seemed no immediate cause for alarm, and the weather continued brilliantly fine; so on Saturday, May 18th the eight Falcons and ‘Tumblehome’ began a series of races [three a week:] on D course, the O.D. being Mr. Arundel and the timekeeper our old friend Mr. Wakefield.

Six of these races were held in May, despite the adverse criticism of patriotic landlubbers who deprecated such flagrant and public recreation when war work was the only justifiable occupation. One might play golf or even tennis in comparative privacy, but such open enjoyment as this sailing was considered to be very bad form.

The arrival of shiploads of refugees from the Channel Islands brought the war nearer home, and the races ended abruptly on Saturday, June 1st, when news came through of the Dunkirk evacuation with Mr. Churchill’s call for Little Ships.

Weymouth boats could hardly hope to get there in time to be any use, but if it had been Cherbourg we would have all gone like a shot.

The eight Falcon owners who now packed up ‘for the duration’ included Peter Rose [‘Hawk’], one of the four who came not back, to whose memory this chronicle is humbly dedicated.

THE END