Page 17 - Yachter Autumn 2020

white wine and the sliced scallops fried for only seconds on each side.They were delicious!
We ambitiously planned our first of many voyages to France but, as we were fuelling up, a power boat man hit us not once but, believe it or not, twice causing some not inconsiderable damage. Quickly repaired and undaunted, we set off for Fécamp and enjoyed a wonderful holiday in our quite brilliant boat.We recalled that its designer, Ed Dubois, had said that he felt perfectly safe sailing in a F8 North Sea gale in a Griffon, only 26 feet long.These were the pre-electronic navigation instrument days and we would set off with a compass and
a rather primitive nine-volt battery depth sounder.Arriving at the other side we might toss a coin or ask a fisherman to determine whether to turn left or right for the marina. So much for my dead reckoning skills!
We both joined the Westerly committee and I soon took on the role of secretary
and Laurie became the Newsletter editor. We managed these two not undemanding roles with our brilliant early Apple computer that some may still remember, managing all the editing and generation of a multitude
of reports with only its modest 20Mb hard disk.
We also fondly remember many Solent rallies and particularly Cowes BBQs generously hosted by past Commodore Jeremy Walker.There was however one condition. Everyone had to attend in fancy dress themed ‘The Day the Boat Went Down’!
After seven years we reluctantly parted with Just Imagine I and bought a ‘much larger’ boat, a bridge deck Discus 33.We happily sailed this powerful sea boat for several years before transferring allegiance to our wonderful 36 Corsair II, enjoying WOA cruises to the West Country and of course crossing the Channel many times to explore the attractive ports in both Brittany and Normandy.
During our Westerly days we had the privilege of organising and leading several summer rallies to the Channel Islands
and France, east and west of the Cotentin Peninsula, sometimes with as many as 30 boats, a fleet I suspect that would not now be much welcomed in today’s crowded marinas!
In both St Peter Port and St Helier, we were always treated by the States to aVin de Honneur and were welcomed to the Islands by a States Deputy, the fleet enjoying a glass or two of excellent wine and tasty canapés. How many remember those halcyon days?
We often combined our Westerly Owner Association summer cross channel rallies with a friendly race or two. On one such occasion we were all slowly making our way south in little wind from St Peter Port to St Helier when, to the consternation of several boats, several early electronic navigation systems suddenly stopped working.The culprit was an exercising Royal Navy destroyer passing through the fleet putting out a powerful radar beam. On Just Imagine II, we felt very smug as our Decca was unaffected!
On a different occasion, we happened to be somewhere near the front of the racing fleet when we changed course suddenly, to be followed immediately by several
CRUISING REPORTS 17