Contents:
EDITORIALWelcome to the December issue of Revelations. The end of the sailing season seems ages ago but there is plenty in this newsletter looking back at the season. There are also details of the all important winter work and details of next year’s sailing, so read on.... Thank you to those of you who have contributed to this issue. If you have any contributions (stories, pictures, thoughts, poems, etc) for inclusion in Revelations, please send them in to the office. The deadline for the next issue is 1 March 2001. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year. NewsTim writes... Reflection on 2000 - 2000 Conference - Manpower boost - Winter layup - Winter work - 2001–How to follow 2000? - Hammond Innes bursaries Reflection on 2000So another season is over. Believe it or not, this was Morning Star's twentieth season under sail, indeed the boat is now older than many of those who sail on her. Considering this, and the fact that this year she has done at least twice her normal annual mileage, she is in remarkably good shape. And what a year it has been! Storms on the nose in Biscay; becalmed off Africa; motoring across the Gulf Stream; welcomed in several States of the USA; through New York harbour then via Martha’s Vineyard to Boston; on to Halifax in the fog; then a real climax with the rip roaring passage back across the Atlantic to Amsterdam. The racing success is very pleasing, but counts for little compared with the experience and memories that will stay for ever with those who took part. I know from news that has filtered back that many in the crews did a significant chunk of growing up while on board this year. Nor, of course, was Tall Ships 2000 all that happened in this outstanding year. Thanks to our friend Simon Springett, we were able to make good use of his modern 34ft boat, Tiger Moon. We used her for our first ever series of trips that trained and assessed a group for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Gold Expedition. We also used her successfully for corporate training, and a number of much enjoyed trips for individuals took place. While mainly visiting the West Country ports of the South Devon and Cornwall coasts, she also went as far afield as Brittany and the Isles of Scilly. Scottish Adventure and the Broads were also a great success for those who went, despite the originally chartered boat suddenly dematerialising on Chris and his crew in Scotland. These activities only partly filled, so they did less well from an economic point of view. With all this going on, it is perhaps not entirely surprising that Eagles Wings was used less than we would have liked. Still, some valuable Day Skipper training took place, and she also went away for a spell in Essex where she formed part of the fleet for Fellowship Afloat’s annual cruise – her very own micro Tall Ships! 2000 ConferenceEach year in November the Morning Star Trust meets for its AGM and conference at Dovedale House in the Peak district. Not sure what it proves that this is about as far from the sea as you can get, but over the years we have become fond of this venue in its superb scenery, with its friendly staff who make a great effort for our "annual dinner" on the Saturday evening; its accommodation and meeting rooms that are just the right size for us, and the old stable converted into a simple and atmospheric chapel. It was great to see a number of new faces this time. In addition to all the usual fun and games we spent time looking quite seriously at how we are fulfilling our Christian purpose. It would be all too easy to become just another Sail Training organisation, whereas we believe (and people often say) that we offer something more. That something, if it is real at all, is something of the presence and the love of God. Manpower boostThis autumn we have been joined, one at a time, by a larger than usual contingent of work experience students from local schools. We are, perhaps, a rather odd placement, but they usually enjoy themselves and do get hands on experience. They are also company for Tim, if a little exasperating at times! He does a great job of keeping them busy and helping them see through the work they are given. Next Spring we will be able to point to bits of boat that were built or in some way improved or changed by these students. More than one has expressed interest in coming to help voluntarily. So far they have all been boys, but in January we expect our first girl on work experience. Tim Smith himself is well settled in now – see the article he has written further on... Winter layupUncertainty has dogged the plans for this winter. We hoped for a while that we could return to lifting out in the Dockyard, at least for this winter. The Dockyard were willing, but as so often happens a rising tide of practical difficulties has now ruled it out. At the moment both boats are still afloat at Thunderbolt pier. On Monday December 11 Eagles Wings was lifted out into Mick Deller's yard at Gillingham Pier – Richard's December 9 work party was just in time to destore her and make all ready before the event. Morning Star will have another spell in Mick’s dry dock, next to the same yard. This will start in January and carry on for up to a month, depending on what needs doing when we see the hull. Winter workThere is no one massive task this winter, but as usual there is also no lack of anything to do. A number of jobs are already in hand. The watermaker has gone on its holidays to Southampton, where the diagnosis seems to be grit destroying the pump bearings. Two leaky skylights have been reglazed and refitted. The dreaded forward vents (now believed to be the cause of most of the water that gets on the beam shelves) are being redesigned as I write. The port side has gained a new scupper hole under the lifebuoy, starboard to follow. New log and anemometer, with repeaters, have been fitted, all bar the through hull fitting for the log. The forward heads has no door or floor, and Tim is completing the mould for our planned fibreglass floor and integral shower tray. Dry dock work in January will include replacing some skin fitting valves, making new fittings for the water maker inlet and log impeller, removing the original echo sounder transducer blisters, as well as all the usual cleaning, repairs and repainting. We could use help with all this. Here are some dates to guide you: Eagles Wings work parties:
Morning Star work parties:
2001 – How to follow 2000?We decided that 2001 will be a "normal" year while we assess 2000 and consider plans for coming years. Hopefully "normal" does not equate to "dull." Our 2001 brochure may reach you in the same mailing as this Revelations, or it may come before or after it. For a preview, have a look at the draft programme. Particular features of next year's programme include:
Do particularly consider the two week cruise in August. An activity of this length is not easy to fill, but we persist with it because we know it is always very special for those who are able to join it. Mike Ling, no stranger to the Friesian Islands and the coastal and inland Dutch waters, skippers this exciting long cruise. We really hope that in this "more normal" year, Eagles Wings will find greater use. The decision, in the end, went against sending her to Scotland, so she will be here at Chatham, and available. We have plans to use her for DofE award expedition work, but there is also plenty of scope for all sorts of imaginative use, plus a new generation of young Morning Star folk who we encourage to make full use of Eagles Wings. Hammond Innes bursariesAfter a long build up, the expected income from ASTO, who are now custodians of the £6 million legacy from the estate of Ralph Hammond Innes, comes on stream this month (December). Even now, we do not know how much we shall receive in the first year. It will be less than first hoped, partly because of low interest rates, partly because some of RHI's assets have still to be sold (anyone want to buy a forest?) and partly because the Trustees of the fund are being cautious initially. However, it will still be more than we have previously received from the ASTO bursary fund. Also, and most important, we will have much greater freedom as to how we use the money. As part of our policy of making sail training available to as many as possible, we shall use some of it to subsidise all prices for those under 25. The rest we shall use for bursaries at our discretion and towards the costs of team training. Payroll giving worth 10% extra to charities.If you give to the Morning Star Trust, or are thinking of doing so, and you have access to a payroll giving scheme please use it. The government adds 10% over and above the tax we recover through normal Gift Aid giving. Further details form the MST office. The Life of a VolunteerBy Tim Smith "To sea, to sea" I thought whilst revising for my finals in Swansea this summer. I really can't believe that I was only half way through my final year at uni this time 12 months ago. I'm not sure that I'd fully made up my mind to be a vole back then. But with the prospect of another year for teacher training after I had finished and a real desire to see what God could do with no money, I decided to go for it. Well 3 months in and I love it. The most arduous task of recent weeks was composing a Personal Statement for a teacher training application form. You guys going through UCAS will know what I mean... If it sound arrogant, you're not selling yourself enough!! I've got quite good at writing this kinda thing so here's a brief resume of what I have done as a vole in UCAS Personal Statement prose... Having started my Volunteer year in Amsterdam, sailing as a mate of Morning Star, my expert sailing ability was displayed in skilfully helping the skipper leave the quayside. Sailing as mate means knowing everything about the boat. This has improved my communication skills greatly and I found the importance of asking questions like: "Excuse me Mike (Ling, Skipper), but I don't know where these huge mooring lines live...." and "Eeerm which bit of string does the white sail at the top???" My responsibilities have also included work back at the base in Chatham. I am currently thinking of writing a small pamphlet entitled: "Stanley Knives and how good they are at cutting." This would be a real achievement and is the culmination of weeks of research and wild slashing motions of such a knife up the mizzen, taking out only the newest and most expensive of cables. My universal knowledge of Electronics has given me the opportunity to make some radical developments in the field of Direct Current. Multimeters cannot be trusted, so I took it upon myself to devise a new and ingenious way of determining the voltage of the wires that lurk in the radar locker. One should wire a brand new Digital Log (speedo) up to the wires in question and apply the current. If a pretty display appears, one has a 12V supply. If it goes BANG and smoke bellows out of it, one has a 24V supply. (This amendment will be going in the manual as soon as it has been patented and cleared with Tim Millward). Living at my sister's has given me a great appreciation of young children (i.e. 5 and 2). My alarm clock is now redundant and up for sale (pennies count). My sleeping skills have been honed by cunning routine painting of the mates bunk....Zzzzzzz I believe that I am well suited to this job and I find any work accomplished on a Monday will ultimately result in a list of improvements (some say repairs) that need to be carried out for the rest of the week.... So, if you were thinking of becoming a volunteer and you can relate to all these qualities, the job is for you! Remember, if it ain't broke, there's no work to do.... Now that would be boring, wouldn't it? PoemFrom Camilla Simmons’ best friend I knelt to pray but not for long,
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer, And jumped up off my knees.
My soul could rest at ease. All day long I had no time
No time to speak of Christ to friends, They’d laugh at me I’d fear.
That was my constant cry, No time to give to souls in need
I went before the Lord, I came, I stood with down cast eyes,
It was the book of life. God looked into his book and said
I once was going to write it down... But never found the time" Now do you have the time to pass it on? And now for something completely differentby Heather Constance "I can see America!" came the triumphant shout from the foredeck. No, we were not in the Atlantic heading west. This was not an illusion that there was land ahead (actually, it was about 3 feet away). We were on the River Bure in Norfolk, and Rick, on the foredeck of the yacht May, had sighted the yacht America, an equally impressive traditionally-rigged Broads sailing yacht. This was The Alternative Programme. You couldn't get much more alternative, really. There were eight of us on two yachts. There was Adrian, who planned it all. There was Richard, resident expert on ecclesiastical architecture, who suffered badly from engine-phobia. There was Clive, Communications Man. There was Camilla, who, after many months in the Atlantic, forgot that there were things such as mudbanks until she parked on one. There was Rick (he of the loud yells). There was Cathy, the silent real-ale drinker. There was Christine, the demon helmsman from Cambridge. And there was me, Arthur Ransome expert, inflicting readings of Coot Club on the unsuspecting crew. So we set off, ghosting down the Bure from Horning, with topsails set, on the trail of the Coots. America, under skipper Richard’s command, did a diversion into Malthouse Broad, and here five crew climbed the tower of Ranworth Church to view this extraordinary landscape of rolling pasture, winding rivers and reed beds. Then it was time to head for Potter Heigham, and our first experience of lowering a sail, and then a mast, and heading straight for a bridge that looked far to small to get under.. wonder of wonders, we did it - but I noticed quite a lot of paint on the underside of the bridge! After a quite night at West Somerton, we sailed into Hickling Broad and found some civilisation (refreshments and postcards) before racing each other back towards Horsey Mere. Our third evening was memorable for its peaceful setting. Unfortunately, the embargo on engine use while under way meant that we had to run it at the moorings so we could all have hot showers... Then it was the Big Day - how far could we get? With the tide to help us (yes, these are tidal waters!) we passed under Potter Heigham bridge again, floated down the Thurne and Bure to Acle (another bridge, another postcard), and proceeded onwards, sometimes running, sometimes reaching, sometimes tacking in the winding river - and sometimes getting stuck! The crew of May rescued a water cannon, after which no bird life was safe from Clive, although America defended herself valiantly with water-bombs. Finally, we came into the last straight reach above Great Yarmouth, and prepared for bridge drill in a much stronger current. Tricky - especially when someone forgot to release the forestay... But we made it without disaster. As the tide turned we sailed up Breydon Water to the mouth of the Yare and moored at the Berney Arms windmill. The following day we pottered up the Waveney, under a couple more bridges (we were getting good at it by this time), and anchored in Oulton Broad, where the Coots in the story had met a storm. Nothing like that for us, but for me the reminder that my ancestors had been Lowestoft fishermen. Then back the way we came, briefly losing Adrian overboard, to a mooring near Burgh Castle. Day 6 saw us make a pre-breakfast motor (gasp!!) down Breydon Water to Great Yarmouth and a much-needed supermarket trip, before we drifted back up the Bure on the tide. This was the scene of Camilla's unexplained nose-dive into the reeds - she nose-dived the boat, not herself. Ah, but that's all part of the fun of Broads sailing, after all. The late afternoon saw us winding our way up the lovely River Ant, under Ludham Bridge and into Barton Broad. On our final full day, the two skippers decided to test their racing skills by a regatta around the island in Barton Broad. There was a surprising stiff breeze blowing, and after a week on an even keel it was quite a shock when two mugs fell off the saloon table on America! This is the beauty of the Broads - stretches of open water forming a strong contrast to the winding rivers where trees block the wind, and the topsails are essential to catch what breeze there is. Our last night was spent at Salhouse Broad, upriver from Horning, and for once we abandoned the saloon table of America and the diet of chilli, curry and spicy chicken, for a pub dinner with no washing up to do. It was a good finish to a brilliant week, marred only by the thought that we had to get up early and motor down to Horning, cleaning up as we went. The last heroic deed performed by Richard was shinning up America's mast to retrieve a certain burgee with a skull-and-crossbones on it, which showed that a member of The Arthur Ransome Society was on board... My thanks to Adrian, for organising this week, and to Clive and Richard for skippering. Also to the crew for putting up with a one-armed semi-geriatric librarian with an odd taste in literature. The October WeekendBy Ruth Bruid The October weekend was a real winner. After the storms and rain, and floods of the week before, when so much of Kent was under water, it was amazing to get out into the estuary where the sea was like a mill pond, and it was all so peaceful. We could hear the cry of the curlews and the oyster catchers - and that was all. It brought to mind this poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Sunset and evening star And one clear call for me And may there be no moaning of the bar When I put out to sea. But such a tide, as moving, seems asleep Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out of the boundless deep Turns home again. Twilight and evening fell And after that the dark And may there be no sadness of farewell When I embark For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far I hope to see my Pilot face to face, When I have crossed the bar. Alfred Lord Tennyson Thought for the quarterBy Heather Constance Two's company, three's a crowd. I don’t know the origin of this saying, but I don't actually believe it’s true. Not unless you're a courting couple trying to get rid of a third party, that is! Where friendship is concerned, three is a nice, round number. Recently, one of my flat-mates left, and her room was not re-let. When there were three of us, if one irritated or annoyed me, I could give vent to my feelings to the other - and she usually helped me to see the funny side. With only two of us, it wasn’t always so easy. When I was training for my Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, I was taught that three was the minimum number recommended for mountain walking. That was so if one person was injured, one could go for help and the other could stay to look after the casualty. It isn't a hard and fast rule, of course, but it makes sense. God Himself is Three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In theological terms, this is called the Doctrine of the Trinity. The point is that in practical terms, God wants our relationship with him to be a Trinity - three is never a crowd when God is concerned. You see, we can have a friendship or deeper relationship, even marriage, with one other person, but unless God is involved as well, as the 'third party', it isn't going to be as good as it could be. God wants us to "have life in all its fullness," but without Him our relationships will never be truly "full-filled." However, neither can we have a relationship with God without involving other people. Being a Christian is about having a relationship with God, but that relationship involves being part of a community, ie. the Church. You can't have a one-to-one with God and dispense with His other people; you need them and they need you. God's love for you is expressed through other people relating to you, and your love for God finds expression in your relationship to them. Then, through this community, you all relate to God's wider world. A three-legged stool is the strongest, most stable seat. A pole needs a minimum of three guylines to support it. So in all our relationships we cannot do without either God or each other. Trinity means you, me and God. |
HTML Edited Dec 2000 by Mark Wigmore