W.B. Powell, of 3 St. Leo Place, Keyham, Devonport, Plymouth is wishing to form a South Western Group of the D.C.A. Any members in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset (West of Portland) and Somerset who are interested, are asked to contact him at the above address.

He has also been appointed Port Advisor for Plymouth. Any member contemplating cruising in the Plymouth area who has any query regarding the local waters, mooring facilities etc., is asked to write to him at the above address.

REVIEW OF THE 1967-68 WINTER PROGRAMME

Six meetings were held, including the Annual General Meeting, at the Running Horse, Davies Street, W.1.

For the October meeting, several members pooled their slides and movie film to give a very interesting description of West Country sailing centres, ranging from Dartmouth to Falmouth.

This was a very successful evening as many of the members present knew the area well and were able to add extra information from time to time.

In contrast, the November meeting was planned as an informal discussion evening. Nick Phillips, visiting from Cardiff, described his 16’ half-decker and also showed some slides of the Bristol Channel area. Everyone was duly impressed with the immense tidal range, evident from the slides. Mr. Seal showed slides of his glass-fibre West Wight Potter. It was useful to learn how this 14’ cruiser sailed, whilst offering the luxury of a permanent “lid”. (More details in the Bulletin?) Somehow discussion veered onto equipment and onto “loos” in particular. Conversation became rather lively on this subject and, as if on cue, the D.C.A. bucket was passed round the audience for the hire-of-room collection and the meeting was closed.

The report on the A.G.M. was included in the last issue of the Bulletin. Following the A.G.M. about 20 members stayed on for a very enjoyable supper party at the Bib and Tucker restaurant across the road. It is planned to make this very informal event an annual one.

For the January talk, Jack Whitby arranged for the course tutor of the Weather and Sailing course, held at Falmouth, to come along. David Houghton, who is at the Meteorological Office and is also editor of the Royal Met. Society’s magazine, The Weather, gave a fascinating talk on the weather in the atmosphere. The talk was illustrated with satellite photographs.

The use of computers and satellites has enabled meteorologists to learn much more about the weather and achieve a 10% approx. improvement in prediction. However, David Houghton admitted that weathermen now realised that the weather was much more variable than had been thought.

The Royal Meteorological Society publish, apart from an excellent magazine, a booklet called Your own weather map, price 5/6, post free. Copies may be obtained from the society’s headquarters at 49 Cromwell Road, London, W.7.

In February, Charles Scoones presented his superb film of his cruise to Denmark with a 15’ clinker dinghy. The cruise started on the river Crouch and continued along the Dutch coast, through the Kiel Canal to Copenhagen. There, Charles and his crew filmed the start of the Tall Ships Race, this being the reason for their cruise. Without a doubt, this was a magnificent film, resulting in many members metaphorically sailing across the North Sea in company with Charles aboard Jacandor.

The final winter meeting was held on 29th March on the subject of navigational equipment for small craft. Jack Whitby and Charles Stock listed, in their opinion, the basic equipment and charts needed for cruising in their respective sailing areas, namely the Solent and the East Coast. Both Jack and Charles will answer any queries from members starting to cruise in these areas, on navigation.

Richard Dines, the National Meetings Organiser, is to be congratulated on providing a very enjoyable and informative winter programme. Members are invited to contact him with ideas for future meetings, in or outside London.

The C.C.P.R. Dinghy Sailing Exhibition, 2/3 March 1968

Held over two days, at the National Recreation Centre at Crystal Palace, over 4000 people came to the exhibition. The decision to extend the exhibition to two days was wise, as the attendance doubled.

About 4O dinghies were on display, representing the majority of classes which permit amateur building or completion. In addition, a programme of talks and discussions was held, together with demonstrations of life-jackets and buoyancy aids.

The Dinghy Cruising Association presented a 12’ Walker Tideway, owned by Roger Davies. This boat has been a regular feature of last year’s south coast rallies. The boat attracted a great deal of interest, with its blue and yellow tent slung from the boom, and a very, very full range of ships’ stores and creature comforts.

As a result of the exhibition, the Association is very pleased to welcome ten new members. Following the exhibition, some useful publicity was gained by mentions in several yachting magazines. This exhibition is beginning to attract interest in a big way, both from people new to sailing and also from the Yachting Press, who, under one roof, can meet many of the representatives from sailing associations.

Thanks are due to those members who supported the Association by coming to the exhibition, and to the small group of helpers who manned the stand, not forgetting Roger Davies, whose boat was exhibited.