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News Archive 2011


December 2011:

Boxing Day 2011 - the Setley Cup Races

The Royal Lymington Yacht Club were back to Setley Pond for their annual Boxing Day event this year and once again the pond was thronged with competitors and spectators. A welcome return after 2010 when the pond was frozen and the access road was closed for repair. Home made boats and no radio control! Here are some photographs of the event.


Christmas Lunch Raffle

Thanks to snowdrifts in 2010, the second Christmas Lunch of 2011 was enjoyed by Club members at South Lawn Hotel on the 17th December. The raffle raised £153.00 in aid of the Hants and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.


Photos from the 1970's!

New albums of photos from the Early Days of the Club and you can compare the pond Then and Now! These are part of a whole new section of the web site "About Setley Pond". You can trace the History of the Pond from Victorian times to the present - it's quite an extensive gravel pit!


November 2011:

SRCMBC 2012 Calendar - Now Sold Out!

image image The "Setley Pond Calendar 2012" is now available, price £10. High quality - professionally printed on 250gsm card, wire bound with stiff translucent plastic covers, front and back (similar quality calendars in the shops cost much more). Twelve photos of model boats on Setley pond plus a host of models on the title page... is yours there? Opens to A3 size with plenty of space to write in appointments etc. Hardly any copies left, if you want one please contact me, Peter Taylor (info@srcmbc.org.uk) immediately!


October 2011:

Latest Newsletter: Setley Pond Depth Survey

The results of a survey of the depth of Setley Pond are reported in the new Autumn Club Newsletter. Using an echo sounder mounted on a model boat which carried a GPS unit, the depth of the pond was mapped in April this year. The accuracy of the measurement was confirmed in October by wading in the, by then shallower, pond, and using a laser-level to measure the change in water depth over the summer. You can view a (light-hearted) movie of "Walking the Pond"!


September 2011:

SRCMBC September 2011 Exhibition

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The Club Charity Exhibition provided a fantastic show at the Lymington Masonic Hall on Saturday, September 3rd: 112 Model Boats on display, videos and model demonstrations! Over £800 raised to be split between the RNLI and "Help for Heroes". Thanks to all who contributed! An album with more photos from the show i s now available.


Wightlink Sponsors September Charity Exhibition

The Isle of Wight ferry service "Wightlink" have kindly agreed to sponsor the SRCMBC 2011 Charity Exhibition which will be held at the Masonic Hall, Lymington High Street, on Saturday 3rd September from 10am to 4pm. Held in support of the RNLI and "Help for Heroes", entry is by charity donation and a café for refreshments is available. (PDF file of poster - 290Kb)


August 2011:

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Lymington Lifeboat and Bath Day!

Holding the 2011 Lymington Lifeboat Day on the same day as the annual LTSC "Bath Race" (Sunday, 21st August) proved a great success. The SRCMBC exhibition in the Lifeboat Station was thronged with visitors throughout the day. Here are a few photos of the fun!

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Solent Cup 2011

In a reversal of fortunes compared to the previous steering competition, the Solent Cup was won by David McNair-Taylor. The photo shows David (right) being congratulated by John Frost who set the course. Here are the Full Results).

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Grand Banks tragedy averted

On Sunday, 14th August a sudden squall hit Ray Hellicar's Grand Banks schooner "True Blue". A hatch cover came adrift and the ship went down near the centre of Setley Pond. Fortunately the water level is now so low that the top of the masts remained visible. Luke Griggs bravely waded out from the western bank and disaster was avoided.


July 2011:

Navy Day 2011

Nave Day Panorama
The Club's 2011 Navy Day was held on Sunday, 24th July, with many fine models on display at the lakeside (photo gallery). Lots of photos featuring some of the models in action on the pond are in the Latest Photos gallery.


Richard Graham Trophy 2011

image The Richard Graham Steering Competition Trophy for 2011 was won by Andy Griggs (on left in photo) with a clear round. That everyone had to use the same boat and that the boat was Andy's may have helped, but the victory was emphatic (Full Results). Despite rain showers, strong winds and a rough pond, those participating had a very enjoyable time (photo gallery). The testing course was set by John Frost.


Fishy goings on at the Pond?

image Recently some of the Setley Pond fish have been seen loitering close to the bank near the point. I know it's shady, there are lots of flies (I have indicated them in one photo), and visitors feed the fish. But I couldn't help wondering if some bait has been distributed in preparation for someones fishing trip? Fishing is not allowed in the pond unless you are a heron... or maybe a cormorant!


SRCMBC featured in Duckworks Magazine

image The SRCMBC is featured in Mark Steele's column of the US-based online "Duckworks" magazine which is aimed at home boat builders. Mark featured Dave Edwards' square riggers in the June issue of his column.

image Although now living in New Zealand, Mark visited Setley Pond to race a one metre back in 1974 when he was based in Fiji, here is his article from back then (pdf file - 300Kb)!


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Steering Competition postponed

Members please note that the Steering Competition for the Richard Graham Trophy which was originally scheduled for 12th June has had to be postponed. The competition will now take place on Sunday 17th July. Until then, Ruff is guarding the course!


June 2011:

In Memoriam: Erik Kirk

image Sadly, and with great regret, we have to report that Erik Kirk passed away on 9th June at 7pm. A Club member since 2008 he regularly attended the Christmas lunch. Erik exhibited his canal boat at the Highcliffe Exhibition in March, but has been ill for the past few months. He will be sadly missed by all his friends. Erik's Funeral is at 1215 on Friday 1st July at Wessex Vale Crematorium Hedge End.


Summer Exhibition at Jealous Holding

image When at Setley Pond members might be interested to visit this exhibition, situated at the end of the track running above and to the east of the pond. Featured are works by a group of internationally known artists. Mainly ceramics but also jewellery, and sculptures in wood and metal, many being displayed in a lovely garden setting. Open 4 June to 26 June, 11am - 6pm; closed Mondays and Tuesdays (or by appointment).
Click on the image for an enlarged view of the flyer or download a pdf file (3.2Mb)


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The Setley Gold Rush

Actually they are not panning for gold... they are prospecting for propellers! The club now has a metal detector which is available at the pond on most club days for finding those bits which "just fell off"!


May 2011:

In Memoriam: John Sherwood

image It is with great regret that we have to inform you that John Sherwood passed away in the morning of 28th May after a short illness. A long standing member of the Club, until recent times John could be seen at the lake every Thursday and Sunday. He also used to attend the informal boat-building sessions which took place on Tuesdays at Peter Soffe's. The photo shows him earlier this year at the Club's Christmas Lunch. He will be sadly missed by all his friends.


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Vintage Model Yacht Group visit Setley


Heavy rain on the Saturday (nearly 2" in Southampton) and further early morning rain and strong winds on Sunday 8th May limited activity at the pond but two members of the Vintage Model Yacht Group risked putting their free sailing yachts on the water. One model swiftly sought sanctuary on the island but was soon returned to the accessible end of the pond!


April 2011:

Alan Furness's "Emily May" featured in Model Boats

image A retired metallurgist from the aluminium industry, member Alan Furness has built his container ship model "Emily May" out of beer cans! You can read about it in the April 2011 edition of Model Boats magazine.


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New "Latest Photos" Gallery

To allow easier access to the higher resolution images (which are beginning to become available on this web site) the Latest Photos gallery has had a facelift! In future you will be able to see which albums have had photos added during the last t hree or four weeks. I am considering a similar format for the albums arranged by boat type... so please tel l me if you agree (or disagree!) or have any comments on the new format.


March 2011:

New Photos of a fine New Ship!

image Patiently built over the last five winters, David Edwards new Clipper Ship "Lightning" had her maiden voyage on Thursday, 24th March. A photo celeb ration of the new model can be viewed in our Latest Photos gallery. This album introduces a new feature... higher resolution photos. The option to view selected, detailed images of more of the models will be progressively introduced over the coming months.


Annual Highcliffe Exhibition 2011

srcmbc collage The Club's Annual Model Boat Exhibition in aid of the RNLI, held on Saturday 12th March in Highcliffe, attracted a large crowd, especially during the morning, and there were many excellent comments from the public. The Scale Section Captain, David McNair-Taylor thanked members for making the event a success. The total of £737.74 raised for the RNLI was a significant increase on last year's total. More photos in our Latest Photos gallery.


February 2011:

More "Help for Heroes"!


In recognition of the success of Scale Captain David McNair-Taylor (left) in organising of the SRCMBC Lymington Charity Exhibition, Sainsbury's have donated a further £200 to Help for Heroes in addition to the funds raised by the Club on the day. More about the exhibition is in our News Archive.


Winter Newsletter Available
The February - Winter 2011 Club Newsletter is available in PDF format from our Newsletters page. In addition to the usual items there is an article on "Sail Control for Square-Riggers" and details of the Club AGM.


January 2011:

Christmas New Year's Lunch!
The "Christmas Lunch" had to be postponed due to a snow storm so the "New Year's Lunch" was held and enjoyed on the 18th January. Here is a Compilation of Photos taken by Lorna Soffe (Here is a more detailed version (488kb) (click on popup window and drag to enlarge it).
The Charity Raffle held at the Lunch raised £130 which was divided equally between Macmillan Cancer Support and Guide Dogs (for the Blind). The Club has received letters of thanks (shown right, click for larger versions).


Car Park Re-opens after Maintenance

Back to the Pond!
To celebrate the re-opening of the Setley Pond car park on 21st January, two movies taken on the following Sunday are in our "Latest Movies Gallery". One shows the Heron with a very large Carp, and the other the "Boats on the Pond".


Memories of last Summer...
Visitors to the pond last summer, Doug and Jan Hounsome, have created a 10 minute video featuring photographs of the model boats and the activity around the pond ...all set to music; you can view it on their Picasa site.


Winter Car Park Maintenance

Update 4th January 2011: The pond is now ice free but the car park remains closed. Latest from the Forestry Commission (via email to David McN-T): "...it looks like the car park will be closed for some time - mid January. Sorry, but unfortunately due to the public going in there just after it was done and the weather they need to work on it again and leave it to settle this time." They will keep us posted when there is more news. Meanwhile the Heron and the Cormorant are enjoying life... see our "Latest Movies Gallery"


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Page maintained by Peter Taylor Last modified: 14:10, 13 March 2012