Welcome to our ‘From the Helm’ page.

Here you will get reports from the committee about the club. They continually work on arranging a full programme for the year and note any comments made by the membership.

Full details of future events can be found on the ‘What’s On’ page and in the ‘Members’ pages where appropriate. There are always changes being made with more items of interest. Please keep an eye out for any updates.

From the Bridge

Hi Mariners

Well, it will soon be au revoir from me and hello from next year’s Commodore. There’s a good line-up of nominations for the new management committee and I’m confident that the club will be in good hands and will continue sailing well during 2015-2016.

As is usual practice I will be presenting the Commodore’s Report at the AGM on 29^th October but I thought in my concluding ‘From the Bridge’ I might draw attention to some of the highlights of the past year.

But first we must remember the passing of Geoff Baptiste and Janet Sainsbury. Geoff, who had been a member of the club for many years, had been suffering with ill health for some time prior to his death. I will always remember him as the skipper who liked his crew to play games! Janet, as we all knew, was a very active and accomplished sailor, but we found out at her funeral she had had a very interesting life apart from sailing. They were both well liked members of the club and they will both be sadly missed.

At the beginning of the year the committee agreed two priorities for the year, namely, ‘To ensure that the Club has a higher profile through publicising it more widely’ and ‘To be pro-active in recruiting new members who would be active within the Club.’ I’m very pleased to be able to report that we achieved those objectives. We welcomed 10 new members into the club during the year and a number of them have been on our rallies – one has been nominated for next year’s committee. We ended the year with 62 members, which I believe is equal to the highest the membership has ever been.

We have also had an exceptionally good year afloat. There were the usual 5 rallies but with possibly a higher than usual number of people on them, and two challenges – one for the Fowler Cup, won by Janet Sainsbury, and the other for the RML trophy, presented by Pat Lock, in memory of Richard Lock. Having two challenges isn’t a first for the club – but it’s over 20 years since we last had two challenges a year. The final rally of this year’s sailings season was also remarkable because all seven boats on the rally took part in the challenge and what a sight that was! Congratulations to Brian Taylor for winning the RML trophy. In addition, we had the Commodore’s Cruise (but, I don’t think for the first time, without the Commodore) and thanks to Jerry, 16 members spent some enjoyable days sailing around Menorca in May.

So in short, we have had a very successful year and I believe I’m leaving the club healthier than it was 12 months ago.

After been actively involved in the running of the club for almost all of the club’s existence I will find it quite strange – just being on the side lines.

Regards

Derek

———————————————————————————————————————-

SUTTON MARINERS ANNUAL BBQ 2015

Once again, Sutton Mariners enjoyed a convivial evening at their annual BBQ held in a member’s garden at the beginning of July. Around 35 members and their guests attended and the weather gods were kind, with no need to erect a marquee. Everyone brought their own food to cook and drink whilst the club provided baked potatoes, salads and desserts. There was a hive of activity as members became ‘cordon bleu’ chefs producing wholesome grub and caught up on all the sailing news and gossip. It was a delightful evening enjoyed by all and everyone went home feeling replenished!

—————————————————————————