The TBA Commodores present a gift at the Royal Cape Yacht Club

This one was quite unexpected , past Commodore Charles Paice, introduced Colin Davies to the TBA members, then Barry Woolf took over.

I doubt Colin expected to be introduced and none of us expected what

 was to follow.

This time it was the turn of yet another ex commodore, Barry Woolf, address the members.

Barry then gifted a model of a fully rigged sailing ship to Colin in recognition of his past works for the TBA.

Barry is a very popular and gifted speaker, he made sure we all gave a good round of applause to Colin.

                                                      THE END

Can this be, I somehow doubt this, we need a small steering group who are willing to to restart the TBA and with the assitance and help of the RCYC. We would then call the club our new home.

The TBA needs you, please stand forwards!

Roy

The Royal Cape Yacht Club hosts the TBA

This was of course not for the first time the RCYC had allowed us to use their club rooms.This time we used the private rooms on the top floor, to introduce Colin Davies new book on the history of the Traditional Boat Association, which after a run of twenty years and  in a manner of speaking closed its doors very recently.

The very smart Small Craft Basin frontage of the Royal Cape Yacht Club in Cape Town.

The meeting was opened by an ex TBA Commodore, Charles Paice, that is Charles sitting down. We also had a closing speech by the RCYC Commodore, Dale Kushner, which told me he knows whats going on in his club and took the bother to come and have a look.

I guess Dale was wondering like the rest of us why are we shutting the TBA down, there were around fifty TBA ex members present and thats the heart and soul of the years gone by.

Charles during his address, as he quite correctly pointed out, ours was not a financial failure, quite the opposite, as we had so much left in the bank we had to donate it to worthy causes, the NSRI being one and the RCYC another, I think eight associations received a payment?

TBA members looking a little glum  faced, maybe they now know that the association could be re started given a new driving force and a fresh committee.

Members in the Chart Room discussing the History of the TBA book they had just collected.

At the end of the speeches and  what was hosted as the very last TBA meeting, Barry Woolf went out and lowered the TBA burgee for the very last time, or is it I wonder?

THE END

Roy

Writer, Publisher and Printer

Thats three hey, well sort of but as Colin Davies is both the writer and the publisher, he takes the mantle of the first two positions.

This was at the RCYC last night, an official last meeting of the TBA but I can not wonder if we have just re started it!

Colin is to the left and dressed in his best TBA uniform, the printer is John Donaldson of Forms Express, the printer who made such a fine job of Colins works.

The history of the TBA is now released and can be bought for R120, we have a reasonable stock of those issues. The book named Solvesta is not so easy to supply, John printed just ten, I have a few more to sell at R300 eaach. A really fine read about Colins trip sailing around the world on his own.

Roy

I asked a well known yachtsman and now and again book critic, Justin Phillips, to comment on the TBA History volume he bought.

Many thanks Justin.

The Traditional Boat Association in Cape Town must surely rate as one of the most interesting societies I know of. What could be more engrossing that classic wooden boats, tales of seamanship, history and nautical tradition? Not to mention the old salts who made up the people, along with their boats . . . Sadly, The TBA (as it was known) was provisionally wound up after 20 years, a few months ago, as all good things need to take a break once in a while. Fortunately for all, Colin Davies, one of the original members, has documented the history of the TBA in a recent book, with all the events and happenings of this period, including all the excellent cartoons that were compiled over these years. It’s an absolute gem! It relates in a nice relaxed anecdotal style, with great humour, while recounting the many interesting events and individuals that make up the recent history of yachts and classic boats in Cape Town. These include sea captains, yacht designers, many well known yachtsmen and cruisers, and even the odd journo! It would seem the interest in things classic and nautical did not forget the important matters of splicing and mainbraces, and the cartoons contain ample evidence of this! David Biggs must have been in his element!

For anyone with an interest in the boating history of Cape Town, of the old boats themselves, or who knew these folk (I was surprised how many I knew, or knew of) – this book is a must. The R120 prices is a 100% donation to the NSRI, and we really have to thank Colin for this most generous piece of work (with help from others including Barry Woolf and Roy McBride). It’s a nice coffee-table format, printed on glossy paper. Copies from Roy McBride – roy@comlumber.com.

Justin Phillips

Cape Town
email justin.phillips@mweb.co.za

A seal on the Hout Bay Marina

One for the guys and gals of the Hout Bay Yacht Club and as a warning!

This is not any seal and its said to be only the 5th Leopard Seal to have
 been sighted in South Africa, plus one of the other sightings was also in Hout Bay! with another of Cape Point and thats quite close we seem to be the main target area.

I actually saw this chap, hard not to when he was about fifty feet away from my boat!

Note, this shot was actually taken on the ABC marina close by, so the seal moved around in the harbour some.

http://www.zestforbirds.co.za/leopardseal01.html (more pictures in this link)

Africa's 5th Leopard Seal!


Text and photos by: Trevor Hardaker  (my thanks for the use of his story and pictures)

On Wednesday, 17 August 2005, a Leopard Seal Hydrurga leptonyx was located in the Hout Bay harbour area near to Cape Town. Based on available information, there are 4 previous records of this species on the continent - one previously at Hout Bay, one at Bortjiesdrif near Cape Point, one at Jutten Island and one near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.

Leopard Seals occur widely in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. They are most abundant in pack ice and fast-ice habitats closer to the continent, especially along the Antarctic Peninsula. They regularly occur at South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, Macquarie, South Orkney, South Shetland and Kergeulen Islands, especially in September and October and occasionally also occur at Marion Island. Vagrants have also been reported from South America, Australia and New Zealand.

So fellow yachties of Hout Bay, just be carefull where you walk and swim from now on!

Copyright © 2000 ZEST for BIRDS. All rights reserved.

Designed, constructed and maintained by © ZEST for BIRDS and © Spyderweb Design

Thanks for publishing this for us.   Roy

How to make a new rudder for your boat

There are a number of ways to go about this, chances are the boat builder and his original moulds have gone?

If so and assuming we have a sample to copy or the designers original drawings we can make you a kit.

This is a new rudder for an Irwin 54 which bent its rudder stock of Cape Point.

In this case we worked around a new 316 stainless rudder stock and fabricated tangs which fit inside the rudder, plus we made it to a finished product which Harbour Marine then fitted. All done here in Hout Bay, South Africa.

Glassing the rudder.

This all happened over the December 2010 period, that included Christmas Day as the boat was part of the Around The World ARC fleet and departure day was close.

Epoxy finished over biaxial glass cloth, the finishing takes as long to do as the actual plywood manufacturing stage.

Finshed with Sigmaprime epoxy etch primer, the rudder is ready to install.

Here Charles in the maroon sports shirt shows his customer what we have ready for him, this was the first time he had seen sight of his new rudder.

The customer approoves!

Charles of Harbour Marine ran the contract and brought all the main players and trades together, it was Steve on the left who glassed in new support structure inside the boat.

The new rudder is about to be fitted, will it fit? It did of course and the boat and crew sailed off with the ARC World fleet to Salvador, Bahia, Brasil.

Roy

Wooden boat transom tales

Seen here they boat look just like any boats, excepting the fact they are both wooden boats and one is larger than the other, they are not at all the same.

Picture taken on the HBYC marina July 2012 by R McBride

Henry Vink built and launched the Vertue as Aldebaren, it then became the boat that Noel sailed around the world when it was named Footloose. Tom Maben found it for sale in False Bay about six years back, he spent a good four years doing a total strip down and rebuild, then re named the boat Tale Teller, which could well be true.

The larger boat is still quite new, a Dix Design in ply/epoxy  was launched in 2000, now twelve years old but the smaller boat, it is a Vertue 26,was launched in 1934, so is now seventy eight years old, so just a mean sixty six years between the two!



Roy

Stolen Time a review by Justin Phillips

Justin is ahead of me here, I have read parts of the new novel by Al Noteman but not as much as Justin it seems. I need a Kindle to down load the rest of this great story!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling and Authentic Adventure Tale!, 25 Jun 2012

By

Justin Phillips (Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stolen Time (1) (Kindle Edition)

As a citizen of Cape Town, a yachtsman, and someone who lived through the era of this tale, it really is a case of a "thriller in my own backyard". Many of the characters are familiar to me, either by inference or directly. The context of the military aspects, the sailing, the alluvial West Coast diamond mines and the environment of Cape town are very very authentic - even the news of those days. Africa, including South Africa, has always been a good place to set a novel of adventure, risk and lust. The dark side of the then Nationalist Government is very well exploited, also the dodgy and evil characters that were known to be around in those times. South America and the South atlantic is a place of equal intrigue - and the novel does well to bring these aspects to life in such an authentic way. The tale is similar in style to a Wilbur Smith novel and is quite compelling, but for me it is the authentic reality of this environment that makes it fascinating, in a larger than life kind of way. A great adventure yarn!

Try this link to buy and down load the book right now.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stolen-Time-1-ebook/dp/B008AYUIM8

Roy