Newsletters

Memory Owners Association Newsletter are compiled by Terry Collins three times a year, around the start of the sailing season, at the end of it and in mid winter. They are distributed to Members of the Association who also receive an annual update of the list of Members and their boats.

A record of reported race results is also maintained and issued to Members - and enquirers if they are interested. The Newsletters contain information about changes in ownership, notes and exchanges between members and main articles on technical tips, sailing experiences and events. The Newsletters include colour photographs and rely heavily on Memory Owners volunteering contributions. So - if you have a story to tell, a boat modification to report or a picture you are pleased with - please get in touch!

Early Days with 'Ruarch' by Colin Collino

I struggle with the mobile phone "Is that you disappearing beneath the waves" I can't see anyone else so I guess it must be." Yes, must go, bit busy -see you there in about three hours". I fumble the phone back into my jacket hoping it hasn't died in the driving rain and wave to the car ferry off my starboard beam. I put both hands once more on the tiller and plummet down another short steep wave powered by a steady SW 6 gusting 7.

I'm rather enjoying myself now, I think that's the feeling that comes after the terror of being off Chichester bar in no visibility having expected a gusty 4 and wishing I'd checked the forecast again as I'd crawled across the coach roof to rethread a jib sheet.

Of course you all know the Memory is a great boat. When we ordered Ruach I'd hoped she was, thought she should be, obviously liked and trusted Greg because you just do but here I am alone, big steep sea, 2 reefs, storm jib and I'm flying. I'm thinking do I contact Solent coastguard or air traffic control Southampton - it's a close call.

"Ruach" is Hebrew for breath of God and right now it seems that all the God's in all the world are involved in a divine blow football competition and my little tan sails are the ball. Ruach is a memory with what Greg calls a "little house", she has a keel stepped mast and as I claw my way towards the combined fury of the divide football hooligans, I'm glad of the "brick outhouse" design and build mentality.

We'd had the 6hp Tohatsu four stroke built into a well in the stern deck, remote fuel tank under the cockpit floor stowed just forward of the small fortress anchor and right now that all feels neat, solid and reassuringly protected as the bow- sprit keeps disappearing beneath the surface . Don't get me wrong I love diesels but the outboard is so easy. At the small boat channel just off Portsmouth we are setting too far to the north, the outboard responds immediately and we remake our heading and clear the channel. Our rear locker holds a small sealed motorcycle battery, which is charged from the outboard, and this feeds a single waterproof socket mounted high under the side deck from which we can run an autohelm, charge a portable VHF or mobile phone.

We've tried to keep "Ruach" simple and right for us, one thing I've learnt is all our boating needs are different. Mounted on the rear of the centreplate case is a removable Garmin 276c chartplotter . Being weatherproof and with a high quality screen this is my right hand and eyes in the dark. Today it has been just there - different calculations all at the press of a wet finger, a reassuring definitive position on this vast planet. Spare batteries are in a waterproof box along with a spare smaller GPS on the built in tank shelf behind me.

Downstairs in the "little house" Ruach fits our boat needs. You enter through a couple of teak wash boards but gone are the cooker and kitchen unit. The floor is divided between treadmaster over the inbuilt lead ballast, this makes a very secure platform for working on a reef. Between the bunks there is a Douglas fir grating which can lift to bunk height and act as an infill. With this in place the whole cabin is a 6 - 7 foot double birth and one can sleep either length wise or across the boat. (See pics.page. Ed.) The inner walls of the hull are reinforced with ribs onto which painted marine ply boards are mounted. This gives a pleasing traditional working boat finish and gives some separation from a cold hull.

The forward part of the cabin has an additional bulk head, this is fashioned from a rear cabin bulk head cut to size and bonded in place when the hull and deck were moulded. The original opening for the companion way has been enlarged and a couple of teak doors and frame keep all the dry gear, clothes, spinnaker, storm jib stores etc out of the cabin.

For cooking we have a stainless steel 2 burner gas canister cooker , which is used in the cockpit and 'yellow clean' and 'black rubber dirty' buckets. The cockpit tent doubles the size of the boat and provides a welcome galley and extra dry storage overnight.

It's now 21:00hrs with the light fading fast. Ruach has a set of emergency D cell powered navigation lights, which clip into teak boards mounted on the shrouds. Sadly I wasn't supposed to be here now and they are as unprepared as the weather forecast. In there place a high powered led Nitepalm field lamp which doubles as a cabin light is hoisted on the burgee halyard, the old and the new in perfect harmony.

As Ruach comes alongside Flugel, Dram and Ruffler I feel we have just begun to notice each other. Together we have been to sea. All those hours of planning, chats with Greg, innovative ideas, traditional know how and now like a new child I hardly know her... but what a voyage of discovery she will be !

Sailing Days (Daze?) in Dartmouth

Back in the heady days of high summer, we spent 3 days sailing with Peter Burr on "Nilla"…. and three more different sails are hard to imagine.

Day 1 - A Blustery day at Sea

Out of the mouth of the Dart, heading down to Start Point ~ slack tide but wind a good force 4 against us. Nilla made good progress beating back and forth; the odd shower of spray damping our sandwiches as we admired the stunning coastline.

The tide had turned and our progress slowed as we reached the race by Start Point. The sea got more and more horrible and lumpy, and Peter pointed out that it was nearly "beer o'clock". We agreed it would never do to be late for that so we headed for home. With the tide and wind increasing, we swept past Slapton Sands making 7.5 to 8 knots…. I don't think Nilla had ever been this fast before and our rendezvous was made more promptly than anticipated.

Day 2 - A Trip on the River

Bright sun, no wind and a perfect tide for going up the river; Annette and Smudge the Labrador were persuaded a trip under motor to Floyds old pub the Maltsters was in order. The Yanmar diesel really makes Nilla a motor boat when required, and it donked us along admirably.

We discovered the Maltsters was hosting a beer festival, and very good it was too. Several hours and quite a few beers later, we set off with the ebb and a gentle breeze had sprung up. "Up Sail" I cried, "Oh No" cried Annette…. So we sailed gently down the stream; me and Smudge sitting on the foredeck with Peter and Annette sailing (wafting!) along between Peter's favourite mud banks (where he has been known to spend to odd 8 hours or so).

"Cor, nice lifestyle mate" shouted some youths as they went by on a pleasure steamer. Perhaps they thought we did it every afternoon… now, that would be a nice life style!!

Day 3 - The Stoke Gabriel Regatta

Peter had entered Nilla in the Old Gaffers' race in Stoke Gabriel, so he and I went up river to this beautiful village to take on Devon's best. We had a tremendous start, first over the start line, which had the disadvantage of having the helmsman (me) not knowing where to go next. But by luck, and perhaps some judgement, we held the lead: remember, Nilla is a cruising boat, no topsail, spinnaker or any of that rubbish; and the clinking of the bottles when going about I shall always remember, as well as the picture of Peter standing on the coachroof polling the jib out with an old boat hook on the downward legs.

We extended our lead and caught up with the Shrimpers in the preceding race… and victory was ours, hurrah!! This was followed by a fantastic cream tea outside the boat house and the regatta prize presentations. Our win in one of the premier classes was rewarded with four bottles of local cider… much more useful than another tin mug!

Truly 3 great days out; many thanks Peter.
PS it is possible to sail a Memory without beer... but...

Somewhere in the ashes, there's a phoenix! by Andrew Moll Avid readers of this newsletter will recall that at the end of the last season "Velindra's" iron topsail was voted the weakest link and a cunning scheme was hatched to ease it to one side and replace it with an outboard motor, housed in one of Greg's ever popular outboard wells. Apart from me disconnecting a few services - battery, fuel and so on - the plan required Salterns Boatyard to do all the heavy lifting and me simply to slap some fresh anti-fouling on the hull in time for the new season. Oh how foolish!

I would skip quickly over the bits Saltern's has done as, ever efficient, their work is almost complete while mine looks like becoming one of those never-ending millennium projects. That, however, would do Greg and his assistants a severe injustice. Just some of the horror stories they uncovered were:- an elliptical hole that had been bored for the propeller shaft which had been filled with car bodywork filler, a skeg fit only for firewood, skeg bolts that had corroded to the thickness of sail-maker's needles and about a third of a ton of concrete ballast which had been impregnated with 20 years worth of engine oil and diesel. And, as the interior was gradually stripped, large amounts of rotten marine ply also emerged. It took Greg plus one a whole day just to chisel the concrete out of the bilge and me three days of scrapping, cleaning, wire-brushing and sanding to restore the bilges to a state where they would accept a fresh coat of paint.

Having applied a first coat of bilge paint, the final stage for Greg will be fitting the bearers for half a ton of lead ballast that should get "Velindra's" fore and aft trim right, and stop her mincing around with her nose in the air as she has been so far. In truth, she has been so stern heavy that when sitting on a proper Memory road-trailer she gentle tips the whole thing backwards and sits on her stern. Despite adding significant weight forward, I have been unable to achieve a positive downward pressure on the tow-bar ! As I intend that "Velindra" will travel well, getting the ballast right for sailing and trailing is pretty close to the top of the priority list.

With all this work, it has become abundantly clear that the whole of "Velindra's" insides needs more than some 'Nip and Tuck' treatment. Full reconstructive surgery is required. Besides fitting the new outboard well and a new skeg, Greg has blanked off all the through-hull openings with fresh epoxy, and replaced lots of the old metal-work: rudder pintles, chain-stays, bob-stay eyebolt, and centre-board pulley eye-bolt spring to mind, but there might yet be more. The side lockers, seats, and both fore and aft bulkheads - all rotting at their bases - have been ditched. And, while possibly not an essential job at this stage, all the deck fittings have been removed and their screw and bolt holes filled.

This has left me with pretty much a bare boat, and it is my intention to revert to basics. "Velindra" will have a simple, open cockpit, and be rigged for straight-forward, effective (if I can get my act together) sailing. Greg's advice has been invaluable and by drawing heavily on this I have, I hope, avoided many pitfalls and much re-working. That said, I would guess I am only about 25% through re-building the interior, with still the whole of the hull and deck to rub down and re-paint. My aim is to have "Velindra" back in the water and sailing for the Easter weekend. At time of writing, this is only 10 weeks away, so you'll excuse me if I stop this sad story here and now and get on with some more woodwork !

(In fact, Velindra hit the water again towards the back end of June. Ed.)