WARDLEYS MARINE YACHT CLUB
Near FLEETWOOD on the River Wyre
53.52.42 N 002.57.55 W
www.wardleysyachtclub.org
Kiln Lane,
Hambleton,
Poulton le Fylde,
Lancashire,
FY6 9DY England
DIARY DATES for 2012
Boat Jumbles: Northern (Spring) Sunday 18th. March
Beaulieu Sunday 29th. April
Preston/Garstang Monday 7th. May
Northern (Autumn) Sunday 9th. September
All start at10.00 am www.boatjumbles.org.uk
WARDLEY'S 20th ANNIVERSARY FUN DAY 2010
After a dodgy start weather-wise, which meant it took six men to erect a small marquee because of the wind, a slow trickle of invited members and friends arrived to make, what turned out to be a very enjoyable occasion.
The club's 20th anniversary. The sun came out to brighten the day. There was a veritable feast on offer at lunch time which was enjoyed and devoured by all.
Committee members took turns in the stocks while guests pelted them with sopping wet sponges, there was a chance to guess the number of 5 pence pieces in a jar ( not easy), an almost impossible chance to knock a can off a stick, some spectacular (and in one case quite revealing !) pirate costumes and a dinghy race in the creek. The losing team had to walk the plank. The tug-of-war was won by a team of GIRLS! The lads hadn't had their Weetabix! The tombola in the marquee did a roaring trade and in the evening the members and guests in the club house were treated to some enjoyable music from Barry, Dave, Jack and Linda Tomlinson.
The RNLI accepted a donation of around £170 which was a generous amount, from some very generous visitors.
There were requests to have a fund raiser as an annual event.'
Many thanks to Linda for the words
Notice to Mariners
Members please note that there is an important Notice to Mariners regarding the Fleetwood channel.
When a ferry is navigating in the area between No. 11 beacon, ‘The Perch’, the ferry berth, & No. 22 buoy, all other vessels must keep clear.
More information is in the Club house.
It is also advisable to listen out on VHF Ch.11, RoRo Ships, and call if in doubt.
RoRo Ships no longer operate from Fleetwood
www.wardleysyachtclub.org
Bad News about SHEPAN
The story told in Vic’s own words
About 1pm on Monday 12 September 2011, the weather at Knott End was foul. Gale force 8, gusting well into force 9 when Shepan slipped her mooring, possibly for the last time. Heading NNE she passed over the ferry slip ( it was at this point that we think she lost her skeg and the rudder shaft was bent at 90 degrees) and out over Knott End sands towards the Lune fairway bouy and Lune channel.
By this time Fleetwood lifeboat had launched as the Coastguard wanted to be sure that there was no one on board. They reported that there was a 4 metre swell and that it would be too dangerous to try and get a tow attached so they returned and left Shepan to look after herself. Knott End CG, Mick Hutchinson , kept a visual watch but lost sight of her shortly before I arrived from Manchester at about 3pm. At this point we weren’t sure whether she had sunk or just drifted out of sight. Visibility was poor out in the bay. At approximately 5pm both the coastguard and myself thought we could see a mast way out in the bay but couldn’t be sure.
John and Adam Bradbury arrived at about 5.30pm and within a few minutes Adam had located her and managed to get a bearing but the light was changing and we soon lost her again but at least we knew she was still afloat. John and Adam worked out that she would come ashore somewhere between Heysham and Arnside. There was nothing else we could do until daylight.
On Tuesday morning at 6am I picked Tom Bradley up and we went to search for Shepan, starting at Heysham and working our way round the bay. By the time we had got halfway along Morecambe front Liverpool CG phoned to say she had washed up at Red Bank Farm at Hest Bank. On arrival we found her heeled over on to her port side. We weren’t sure if she had lost her port keel or if it was just settled in a deep hole but outwardly she didn’t look too bad considering her ordeal. It was a different matter when I opened the hatch and found about 2 feet of dirty oily water with the contents of several lockers, charts, books, tiller pilot and H/H GPS, along with burst cartons of long life milk. It was heart breaking . Tom and I removed what valuables we could at the time, put out two anchors and decided to return on the Thursday when the weather was calmer.
On arrival on Thursday we noticed that both anchor warps had been cut and the anchors were missing. There are some thieving ******** knocking about! Whilst we were getting the sails off, a couple of shady looking characters arrived in a white van and it wasn’t until after they had left that we realised that they had possibly stashed the anchors and come back to collect them! After searching around and following a trail through the grass we found them. Hidden under some bushes!
The surveyor had a look at her on the salt marsh on Thursday and thinks she will be a total loss but won’t be sure until she is moved and the engine has been checked to see if there is any water ingress.
It has to be said that the Coastguard, The Lifeboat crew, local residents of Hest Bank and the surrounding area plus members from Wardleys have been very helpful and supportive. Thanks to all of them, but in particular to John Bradbury and Tom Bradley.
THE JOYS OF OWNING A BOAT!
However, it is not all bad news!
Vic says she has now been dried out, cleaned up and now has a new owner. So we may now be seeing her around again.
VHF Short Range Certificate course. Club House Saturday 11th. February 2012
Dave McKone is planning to run a VHF radio SRC at the Club house on Saturday, 11th February, if there is sufficient interest.
The cost is £20 per member plus £30 certificate fee payable to the RYA.
If interested, please call Dave on 07905 247840 as soon as you can, to book a place
