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EDITORIALWelcome to another issue of Revelations, packed with news from Morning Star base, and detailing the staggering amount of work that the team have carried out over the winter. I for one cannot wait to sail on Morning Star again and see all of the improvements.On that note I would like to draw your attention to the sailing opportunities that exist this season, on Morning Star, Eagles Wings and the Scottish Adventure cruises. See, "But don't forget this year!" in the news section for details. Thank you to all those people who have provided contributions for this issue. Please keep sending in pieces (stories from trips, pictures, thoughts, etc) for inclusion in Revelations. Please send any contributions for the next issue of Revelations into the office by 1 June 1999. Will NEWSTim writes...A Brilliant Refit I mentioned last time that we had our biggest ever full time team for the refit period, and they have certainly put themselves to good use. In addition to the major items mentioned below, a vast amount of work has been accomplished, much of it to the standard needed as we look ahead to Tall Ships 2000 next year:
There was nearly a problem right at the end when the crane, booked to launch the boats, broke down on the M25. It took the crane company three days to come up with a replacement, and in the meantime we had to make the boat heavier because we could not afford to waste time through not getting ahead with re-storing the boat. In the event God was in charge, the weather held and the launch went without a hitch, recorded on video by Meridian Television who used it for a news item a couple of days later. As I write, all is virtually ready for the skippers to join for their annual refresher weekend. Big God, big moneyWe began the winter with three major projects – All new sails, New radio and satellite communication equipment to meet new regulations, and New oilskins. Total cost about £15,000. Through the fund raising work of Jemma, ably assisted by Henry, the vast majority of this has been raised, often in a way that causes us to see God’s hand, especially in the timing. We concentrated first on the sails, and by the Christmas discount deadline had just enough to order the new No1 jib and Mainsail. Then came a major grant of £5,000 and we could order the rest, still with the discount because we had started the order before Christmas. The next target was the radio equipment. We were offered a particularly good deal by the friendly national distributors across the river (following a letter from Jemma to the company’s headquarters in Denmark). Here we needed to press ahead, but had no money. The committee reluctantly decided we must wait. A few days later a grant of £1500 towards the £4000 cost came in. We decided to go ahead, in faith that the rest would come – and it did, another £2000 a couple of days later, out of the blue, and £1000 to more than top that up plus give us a start on the oilskins. And the friendly deal got even more generous when we realised that the keyboard to go with the satcoms would be extra – they gave us one.What’s all this GMDSS, DSC etc?Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) is the new automated radio system that our new equipment complies with. From anywhere in the world, at the touch of a button, a distress message including our position is sent and received automatically, either from our VHF set or via Inmarsat C (or both). Digital Selective Calling (DSC) allows us to call or be called automatically on VHF using our MMSI (effectively a phone number). The Inmarsat C equipment, in addition to its distress function, works like email, and can receive all sorts of information, notably weather, as well as communicating with email users ashore from anywhere (non polar) in the world. What will they think of next! This equipment is not yet compulsory for sail training vessels our size, but we reckon it soon will be. Meanwhile we are ahead of the game (as usual), and the envy of other organisations who are most interested in what we are achieving.Tall Ships 2000 – reportOne motive behind much of the new equipment is to upgrade the boat to meet the challenge of next year’s big event. Planning for this is going ahead, the manning is well on the way to being settled, and the first firm bookings for crew places are coming in. A bi-monthly newsletter is about to have its second edition. We hope to recruit Medway young people as a way of raising our profile locally, but this is going rather slowly, as is interest in the first leg from Southampton to Cadiz. Training weekends begin in June, and we are looking forward to working over the subsequent year and more with an excellent group of young people. (See Tall Ships page in Brochure.)Meanwhile alternative plans for next year are beginning to pick up momentum, and we hope for charter activities in Scotland, the West country, and the Norfolk Broads as well as more locally, including full use of Eagles Wings. But don’t forget this year!Bookings are looking good at this stage, but we still have places on most individuals activities. The Channel cruise and Tall Ships 1 are full and several others have just one or two places available. Still a couple needed for Tall Ships 2 (Greenock-Lerwick-Aalborg), and the two week cruise from Aalborg to Amsterdam is only filling slowly so far. The Scottish Adventure cruises still have three places each. Do consider who you could encourage to come – what about you?!The Eclipse AdventureEagles Wings rarely leaves the Thames Estuary, but this summer she ventures forth, even as far as Cornwall. Cornwall! In the Eclipse week! You must be off your trolley! Yes, but we have a nice berth near Plymouth, courtesy of Simon Springett, and the crew in that particular week can watch the event out at sea. We shall find out how many other boats they hit while everyone is watching the sun! It is likely to be close packed boats all the way from the Lizard to Le Havre. The crew for that particular week is full, but there are plenty of slots as she works her way down Channel and back up again. Ideal for those who want to log experience, develop their skills, or just experience sailing on a smaller cruising yacht.Staff NewsBelieve it or not, in addition to carrying the whole burden of the end of refit pressure, Steve and Jemma have also been getting their own boat ready to launch at the same time, and Steve is trying to meet deadlines for writing important essays in connection with his theological training that starts in the Autumn. This academic work is something he has not done for many years. He is still standing, so it can only be God’s strength that is keeping him going!Liz has resecured her old job to go back to initially in September, which is good, and of course she also gets married to Dave in September. The National Minimum Wage comes into force on April 1. Supporting Liz and Pete for their remaining five months will not be cheap, but is definitely worth it. After that we plan to do things slightly differently, with just one full time volunteer (Camilla) and a not-quite-full-time Administrative Assistant (Emma), who will be paid at or above the NMW. Even so, our “wages” bill will rise. As we only pay this out of regular committed giving to the Trust by individuals, we need to build up this fund over the coming months. Many of our supporters give very generously in this way. Maybe there are Revelations readers out there who could also contribute a small monthly amount – all you do is fill in a couple of forms initially, and the rest is automatic for four years, including our recovery of the tax you have paid, making it worth more to us at no extra cost to you. Interested? Contact us and we will let you have the full details. SOUTH COAST DELIVERY JUNE 1998by WHI signed up to sail as second mate on this trip with the idea that with it being June we would sail from the Medway round to the Solent in warm sunny weather. How wrong I was proved!
Tuesday morning duly arrived and even moored to the pontoon inside Ramsgate Harbour we were noticeably moving. A walk up on to the harbour walls confirmed Ollie’s decision to stay put, the wind was gale force and the size of the waves breaking over the outer breakwater demonstrated that we were very definitely in the best place. We spent a very leisurely day in Ramsgate, and after listening to several weather forecasts made the decision that we would leave early the next morning. This meant that there would be a small chance that we would get to the Solent in time to hand over to the next crew. As we set sail from Ramsgate, the wind had dropped but it was still rough and fairly miserable, with driving rain at times. We were making slow progress with most of us being affected by sickness. This slow progress turned to near despair as we tried to round Dungeness Point. A prominent landmark can be encouraging if you are making good progress but as we tacked against a foul tide Dungeness power station and light house were not going anywhere - so neither were we! However as dusk approached the wind veered as forecasted and we were now not trying to go south westwards into a south westerly wind and duly our speed picked up. Sailing through that night was a totally different experience, the weather having greatly improved with the exception of the odd squall. The sight of Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters by moonlight was almost magical. We almost flew through the night as the lights of south coast town after south coast town passed our port side. Thursday morning brought with it a real sense of achievement as we made our way up the eastern approach to the Solent. We were all up and about and hungry, had beaten the elements and were going make our rendezvous in the Hamble more or less on time. Sailing as second mate for the first time, it was challenging but rewarding and educating experience - and it made a change to have some ‘real’ wind to sail with (although at the risk of being fussy, a bit less would have been preferable!) BECAUSE THE ATLANTIC IS THERE!Some thoughts from Mike Maconochie...Two firsts for me this week. Two in one, really. I bought my first book on the internet - my first ocean crossing guide; full of lovely charts showing expected weather patterns and prevailing currents, with harbour chartlets of hitherto exotic locations, like St. George's Harbour, Bermuda. The excitement with which I unwrapped my new purchase was palpable. I have already spent many hours poring over the details - more hours than I can afford really. But why the excitement? Why want to cross the Atlantic anyway? And more fundamentally, why should Morning Star cross the Atlantic? If you had asked me ten years ago, whether I wanted to sail across an ocean, I would probably have looked at you as if you were mad. Why spend day after endless day looking at nothing but sea, when there were delightful cruising grounds within relatively easy reach - the Southwest coast of Ireland, the Hebrides, the Baltic, Northern Brittany. Today my answer would be different, not just because I have visited these places, but because over the years I have made the discovery that I actually enjoy the simple fact of being at sea. The longer I have been out of sight of land, the more I have enjoyed the rhythm of on board life. The sense of needing to be more self-reliant. The way friendships grow without the distractions of the shore. The real comradeship that develops as the crew learns to work together and rely on each other. The release from the pressures of shore life, setting me free to reassess who I am and where I'm going, allowing me to hear God speak in a unique way. But this is far too personal. Why should the Morning Star Trust be mad enough to enter a transatlantic race? Part of the answer can be found in what is happening already. Faced with a new challenge, would-be skippers and mates are already honing their skills, as the 'been-there-done-that' complacency evaporates in the face of the enormity of what is being taken on. Suddenly, being good matters again. And Morning Star herself: year by year she has been getting better, almost as if this adventure has been in subconscious preparation. Now every piece of kit, every piece of machinery, every rope, every spar will be scrutinised. Already there are new sails on order, new upgraded communications equipment. The incentive to get Morning Star to the best possible standard ever is enormous and has already begun. The boat and the people who come back from TS2000 will not be the same as they were before this adventure began. It is our hope that some will have their lives changed forever. And that will have enormous spin-offs for them and for the Trust long after the Races of the year 2000 have become history. FROM THE ALTERNATIVE LOG....Friday 18 September“Those old fashioned units: How many stones are there in a plum dessert for 14? Answer: 65” “Just to let everyone know - it may have rained on A and B watch, but so far it has stopped within half an hour of us coming on watch - love from C people.”
Please send any contributions that you have for the next issue of REVELATIONS to the office by 1 June 1999. Thank you! |
HTML Apr 1999 by Mark Wigmore
![Chris makes a fine adjustment... [image]](images/chris.gif)
And that’s only a selection, and makes no mention of routine maintenance of everything in sight plus cosmetic improvements to a far higher standard than normal by this time of year. Thanks and congratulations to Steve, Chris, Liz and Pete, plus others who helped, for all their hard work, especially to Steve for his tireless leadership, planning and energy which have made the very best use of the people, money and time at his disposal.
We set off from Chatham on a Sunday evening with Ollie as skipper, Chris as first mate and a crew of 11, most of who had previously sailed with Ollie. On the Monday morning we up-anchored and set sail from Stangate Creek bound for the south coast. The weather was reasonable with sufficient wind for a good sail however by the time we rounded North Foreland the weather had deteriorated, as the weather forecasts had been predicting. That evening we stopped at Ramsgate with the intention of continuing southwards the next morning.