Saturday 5 December 2009

Sailing in Trinidad



This is a great shot of sailing in the TTYA club waters,it can be quite breezy at times but always warm as you can see.I would credit the photographer if I knew who took the picture? try this web site for the TTYA http://www.ttsailing.org/

Left click the picture to view full size!

Friday 4 December 2009

Trinidads TTYA/TTSA

Hurricane warning as given to me on Ocean Cloud.

The TTYA is based in Carenage Bay where you will find an anchor symbol.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago passed a deed of gift to the TTYA in 1976 granting the land to use so as to further the interests of sailing,which as it turned out was one of the best ideas any government ever had.



WELCOME

The Trinidad & Tobago Sailing Association (TTSA) is an organization which encourages, teaches, and assists anyone interested in sailing and it's associated skills. We are located in the North Western peninsula of Trinidad, in the West Indies.

http://www.ttsailing.org/

Visitors

At 10º North latitude, 60º West longitude. Trinidad is the perfect choice for sailing and for storing your sailboat. Our central location, adjacent to Venezuela and the Caribbean Islands, makes us an ideal home base for exploring this exciting region. We are an association of members, with superb anchorage, mooring facilities and a haulout yard… Amenities include a swimming pool, restaurant, launderette and bar on the waters edge.

TTYA Social hour,close to the dock,the moorings are behind.


Yacht Springtime,all pictures are credited to Springtimes family and crew.









TTYA stands for Trinidad and Tobago Yachting Association,we made use of their very nice facilities when we arrived there from Venezuela on Ocean Cloud,our Endurance 37.Its very much a family club but racing is keenly supported,some top carribean sailors are TTYA members.The club is in Chaguaramas,which is all but one bus stop from the end of the road,which ends in whats now a very busy yachting hub just down the road.The TTYA is open to the winds that blow down from Port of Spain,the main town in Trinidad,this wind can blow untill early evening buts always gone by lights out time and good sleep is ensured,we left our boat on moorings some eight months while we flew back to Cape Town to re start back in Hout Bay after a years cruise.Most of these pictures are from Springtime,an ex Durban and Hout Bay yacht,they give a good impression of the club and its facilities,which I highly recomend!

Thursday 3 December 2009

Jack,Gilanas sea dog

Yacht Gilana,a steel build round bilge Van D Stadt design.


Gilana is a HBYC yacht,well she was untill she sailed off about ten years back,the family dog went too and it looks like he was quite at home living and sailing aboard.






Wednesday 2 December 2009

Time to revisit the Birds Mouth Spar

For a full story on how we make these masts,click on this link,its all there to read with a full set of pictures.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/howto/birdsmouth/index.htm



Examples from:
CKD Boats
Cape Town
South Africa
www.ckdboats.com
kits@comlumber.com
021-510-7206 works phone number.

A Crane Driver? in Palmers Ship Yard Jarrow.

The two postcard pictures are from this web site
www.picturesofgateshead.co.uk/postcards



Below,these remarkable pictures of a bygone period of the River Tynes ship building days come to you from Norman Dunns web pages and with his kind permision.The term Crane Driver takes on a whole new meaning when we see these guys high up in their cabs,cables and wheels whizzing away,how times have changed!

Normans picture pages can be found at http://www.norman.dunn247.co.uk/




History:

Jarrow

This is the town that is famous for the 1930's "Hunger March" caused by the intense poverty that followed the closing of the Charles Palmer shipyard. The last of the surviving marchers, Cornelius Whalen died in 2003 at the age of 93...

Voortrekker 2 a design by Angelo Lavranos

Voortrekker 2 had a great success at what she was built for,ocean racing,the SA Navy asked Angelo Lavranos to design the replacement for an aging Voortrekker,Angelo worked his magic and Voortrekker 2 was the result,I assume the naval dock yard in Simonstown built her? The boat was entered in a second double handed race around Britain,Rob Sharp and John Martin were the only crew,first they had to sail her all the way to England for the start line,thats 7000 miles? they then went on to win the race.

John Martin did a lot of single handed racing in this boat,Angelo did a re design on the boat later on,as newer boats of a similar size just became more powerfull,I remember Angelo telling me on re launce, she was a totaly new boat performance wise as they made the keel deeper,rudder too,plus added the scoop.With John Martin as skipper the revamped boat took on the world as Tuna Marine,its new sponsers,John entered the BOC Around The World Yacht Race for single handers.

Mail from Angelo,

Hello Roy,

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of Bertie and VII together. Bertie was involved through the construction, launching, the first Cape Uraguay Race she did and the first Round Britain. However see Cape Times photo (attached) of Bertie, Roy Kingon and myself looking at a model of VII. This is published in the Book "Reed in the Wind". SA Yachting published it. I have just scanned it out the book so it is poor quality.

The other pictures of VII are both with and without the Scoop stern.

Regards,
Angelo.





Tuesday 1 December 2009

Marine Survey with Allianz Insurance


We have been called in a number of times to support insurance claims,on both damage to boats and mal practice by rouge builders,some well known marine surveyors do not have the in depth materials knowledge that we have.A survey for a prior sale is always is worth its cost,we supply a written report,backed up with pictures and normally comments on what needs fixing,that alone pays the survey fee when negotiations with the seller are concerned.

In memory of Bertie Reed

Sir Robin Knox-Johnson on the right,

Unveiled with the help of Sir Robin Knox-Johnson.

The SA Navy Band giving Bertie the recognition he deserves.

Thats John Martin in the dark blazer,he was rescued from his sinking Allied Bank when down in the far south,he had hit a berg,Bertie was on his yacht Grinaker,he heard Johns call for help and went on to find him and transfer John to his boat,Allied Bank then sank.

Vootreker,the SA Navy boat that Bertie sailed to such success.


Bertie Reed
The late Bertie Reed, one of South Africa's most loved single-handed sailors, was honoured at the V&A Waterfront on the 22 November 2009 when a brass bust was unveiled by Sir Robin Knox-Johnson at the Clocktower Square at the Waterfront. Cape Town sculptor Charles Frank cast the brass bust of Bertie which has been sponsored by friends and ex colleagues of Bertie Reed.
wilkins@gem.co.za
Trevor Wilkins

Tommy Walker collects his 3mm Superform bending plywood order




Yacht Vootreker 2 seen here in Knysna,Eastern Cape.

We get many who place an order for our Superform bending plys and arrive in the family car,thats ok,the plys will roll up quite small,especially on the 3mm thickness.
Tommy is doing work on South Africas national treasure (marine) Vorrtrekker 2,a Lavranos design that was campained with great success by John Martin of the SA Navy,the boat had sponsership at one time and was re named Tuna Marine after the sponsers name.

Assembly of Henrys Guillemot Kayak pictures

Any boats build is a matter of process,you could be making anything,a dolls house or a wheel barrow,the fact that you end up with a boat is due to the quality of the plans of course,your learning a number of new things with each step and eventually you will be out on the water!









Its nice when a full set of assembly pictures are taken and kept on file,pictures do much for those who follow with a similar build.