Weybridge Mariners Sunday morning speakerSix Albany members attended the Sunday morning speaker event held by WMC at their clubhouse on 1st Feb. The club opened at 10.30am and the talk, entitled “The loss of Malaysian Airways Flight MH370” was presented by Ian Gilbert CEng, MRAeS, a prominent aerospace engineer who has been involved with, and given evidence to, a number of air accident enquiries. Ian pulled no punches in describing the cause of the loss as a murder/ suicide, most likely carried out by the captain of the aircraft - a truly sobering thought. Ian presented compelling evidence in considerable detail to support this proposition. The search for the wreckage of MH370 continues to this day, but it was Ian’s view that it will only be found with a large degree of luck, as the search area in the Southern Ocean is so vast. The captain of the flight clearly knew what he was doing and had no intention of the aircraft ever being found.
The talk was followed by an excellent buffet lunch. Thanks to Mandy, once again, for her catering expertise.
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Joint social meeting organised by PHYC and held at the club on 26th January.On Monday 26th January, eight Albany members attended PHYC’s inter-club social evening in the clubhouse at Penton Hook Marina, with a guest speaker, John Tough. John is the grandson of Douglas Tough who, with his brother Gordon, founded the former Tough’s Boatyard at Teddington in the early 1900s. In May 1940 Douglas Tough famously mobilised around 100 little ships for Operation Dynamo, which helped rescue over 385,000 soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. Teams of Tough’s workers travelled along the south coast to repair damaged boats, and the boatyard built vessels for the fire service that were using during the Blitz on London’s docks. During the second world war, Tough’s built motor gun boats and motor torpedo boats and afterwards many types of small boats, cruisers and motor yachts. Following Douglas’ death in the 1950s the business passed to his son Robert, John Tough’s father. In 1954 Bob Tough worked on the design of the Havengore, for the Port of London Authority, the vessel used to transport Winston Churchill’s coffin along the Thames and watched by 350 million people across the world. In the 1980s one of Tough’s last boats to be built was a 150-foot yacht called Brave Goose for Sir Donald Gosling, launched in April 1986. By the 1990s the boatyard was in decline, with Bob Tough eventually retiring in 2006, and the yard was redeveloped into offices and apartments. John is now Honorary Archivist of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships and the owner of the Little Ship Thamesa.
John’s talk was most interesting and was very well received. Mark, as always, provided an excellent menu. The meeting was very well attended and proved a good opportunity for inter-club networking. (Tony & John made a point of re-connecting with Andy Wilson, present Commodore of Upper Thames MYC, and asked whether Albany boats could moor at their clubhouse in Sonning in July. Andy agreed in principle, but we will have to alter the date of our cruise to Sonning Theatre as UTMYC are hosting PHYC on the weekend of 24th-25th July.) “The Cruise to Nowhere” December 2025Thanks to Robbie Ashmore’s organisational skill, AMYC were able to enjoy a luxurious Christmas event this year aboard the Ambassador Cruise Line ship, ‘Ambition’, sailing from Tilbury to – (ahem!) Tilbury, over the weekend of 19th -21st December. Hence the “Cruise to Nowhere” in the title. Sixteen club members took part (an excellent turn-out!) Apart from the usual “Thames Crew”, it was a pleasure to welcome Nick & Tracie and David and Linda from our ‘coastal division’. Tony & Sharon and John & Geraldine had booked an additional night aboard and so arrived on the Thursday (in appalling weather!) The additional night included a black-tie dinner and show, plus breakfast on Friday morning. The dinner and show were excellent. John & Tony were encouraged to buy ten beers at a bargain (for the ship!) price and were later seen carrying them around the ship in an ice bucket! Tony got a little too merry and, when standing up to retire at the end of the evening, failed to notice his leg had come off, and promptly fell face down on the floor! Luckily, nothing but pride was damaged, and thanks to John and a burly member of staff, Tony was helped to his cabin. Breakfast next morning was a disorganised ‘bunfight’ as most of the guests had to leave the ship by 10am ready for the changeover and were eager not to miss out on their breakfast.. Luckily, this was a one-off demerit, as subsequent breakfasts were much more civilised. Six more couples joined the early birds at lunchtime on Friday to start the cruise proper. Needless to say, activities started in the bar, before groups broke up to explore the ship at their leisure. Robbie and Jill and Nick & Tracie had bid for a cabin upgrade, and both had been successful, obtaining palatial suites! Robbie & Jill were able to entertain the whole club for drinks in their suite, complete with a private deck overlooking the stern! Friday evening entertainment included a formal dinner followed by an excellent show in the ship’s theatre with a theme of “The Greatest Showman”. The ship set sail Friday evening and set a course up the East Coast to a position East of Lowestoft, where it circled for most of the time at sea (An announcement over the ship’s PA told us the crew were calibrating their navigation equipment) Sea conditions were benign, but with a bitter wind making strolls on deck something for only the hardiest members! At breakfast on Saturday members were encouraged to wear Christmas jumpers, and much thought had obviously gone into them, with illuminations to the fore! During the morning, the ‘Albany Ladies Wild Swimming Team’ (Sharon, Lin & Geraldine) plus the Vice Commodore braved the chill wind on the upper deck for a stint in the Jacuzzi. The Saturday evening meal was a formal affair, with members wearing club regalia. The Commodore raised a toast to the members and wished everyone a very Happy Christmas. The dinner was followed by another first-class theatre performance, with scenes from numerous West End shows.
Overall, the quality of the food, accommodation and entertainment was excellent. The feedback I got during the event was very positive. The Vice Commodore was even very happy to have drunk rather more than the maximum on his drinks package! A big thank you to Robbie for organising the event, and to everyone who attended for your excellent company. Perhaps we can organise another Xmas cruise next year? (I propose we appoint Robbie as ‘Albany Cruise Director!’) Cruise to Runneymede and annual ‘Laying Up’ supperThis event took place over the weekend of 10th – 12th October 2025 Three boats departed PH Marina around midday on Friday 10th October, namely Scotch Mist, Zephyr and Lady Farrington. These boats co-ordinated their arrival at Penton Hook lock with Laird Tommy which had cruised up from her new mooring at Middle Thames YC. The four boats then cruised in company up to Runneymede, arriving around 2.30pm. The moorings outside the “secret warehouse” were almost deserted, allowing for stress-free mooring. Robbie and Jill, aboard Beatrice Rose, joined us a little later, having cruised up from their home mooring at Chertsey. Unfortunately, Robbie had slipped when operating the lock at Bell Weir and cut his left thumb quite badly. John and Geraldine, our resident paramedics, were able to offer assistance, and a rather better dressing than he had been able to apply! The afternoon was taken up with drinks and snacks aboard Scotch Mist, followed by supper aboard crews own boats, and more after dinner drinks! Saturday morning activities were unstructured, with crews variously dog-walking and ambling around the open areas and sampling the café. We were joined during the morning by Chris and Lin who had cruised up aboard Enterprise, so six boats in all attended – a good turnout! Crews met aboard Scotch Mist at lunch time to celebrate Sally’s birthday, with vast quantities of nibbles and Fizz. Lin had even managed a cake with a candle! Sharon then entertained us with one of her quizzes (the questions were cryptic and the answers all brands or types of confectionery) It had been decided at the September club meeting, that this cruise should incorporate our annual club ‘Laying-Up’ supper. To that end, Geoff and Sally had arranged for a large group of eighteen club members and guests to eat that evening at the Italian Concept Restaurant, which is a short walk from the moorings. The cruising group were joined by Emelia (plus Toby and Edward -unfortunately Martin was unable to join them due to a recurrence of Covid)) , David and Bernie, Ann Marshal and Helen Chiverton We enjoyed a generally good (if expensive!) meal, although David had to return a plate of overcooked and rubbery calamari. The cruising group adjourned after the meal for drinks and coffee aboard Scotch Mist. Enterprise and Beatrice Rose departed early on Sunday morning, leaving the crews of Scotch Mist, Zephyr, Lady Farrington and Laird Tommy to enjoy a full breakfast at the Runneymede café, before they, too, departed for home. John and Geraldine aboard Laird Tommy stopped off at Staines to while away time before the Tuesday meeting, while the remaining boats cruised gently back to Penton Hook.
Many thanks to Geoff and Sally for organising a very successful and enjoyable event. Cruise to Middle Thames Yacht Club 2025Three boats and their crews joined the visit to Middle Thames Yacht Club over the weekend of 1st – 3rd September, namely Scotch Mist, Laird Tommy and Zephyr. The three boats cruised in company down river to Middle Thames’s clubhouse, located behind Sunbury Lock, leaving PH at lunchtime and arriving at MTYC at teatime. The weather was excellent, a perfect September day. The Vice Commodore now moors Laird Tommy at MTYC, and this visit served as his transfer trip. Mooring at MTYC involved reversing 75 metres or so down a narrow aisle between the bank and moored boats on the outer pontoon. All Albany boats negotiated this in excellent fashion. Geoff, aboard Zephyr, was particularly pleased with himself as Zephyr is not the easiest craft to steer in reverse! Geoff had booked the crews into the Weir pub for an evening meal. The food was very good and universally enjoyed. The evening finished aboard Scotch Mist for after dinner drinks and coffee and a Movie quiz presented by Sharon. It transpired that our combined knowledge of the movies was not exactly great, but the quiz was fun. Saturday activities (once again in lovely weather) consisted of a trip by ferry across the river to the Walled Garden. Tony & Sharon had never visited this before, and were most impressed, not only with the beautiful garden itself, but also the Embroidery Exhibition which is a permanent feature (though the exhibits change every few weeks). An excellent lunch was then taken at the Flowerpot pub, seated outside in balmy sunshine, before a gentle stroll back to the ferry and the boats. Everyone appreciated a ‘free’ afternoon, mostly spent napping! The day finished with a BBQ cooked by the Commodore and VC, at which we were joined by several members of MTYC. Congratulations to the ladies for providing a real feast! After dinner drinks and coffee were taken aboard Scotch Mist. Geraldine had organised a Sunday Brunch fry-up, which she anticipated would be straightforward. It would have been if we had, collectively, been able to turn the gas supply to the stove on! This defeated us, so the bacon and sausages were cooked in the air fryer, and Sharon took a large frying pan back to Scotch Mist to cook the eggs, managing to get them back to the table still hot. What a woman! As we cleared up afterwards, we found a plug socket and switch which controls the safety gas cut off had been used to plug in the air fryer, and this was hidden from view. We will know next time! The breakfast itself was superb (many thanks, Geraldine), and set us up for the gentle cruise back to PH. As we arrived back, a stiff breeze blew up making mooring an interesting experience! Scotch Mist has a new scratch in her gelcoat!
Joint Commodore’s Sail PastThis was held on Sunday August 31st at Weybridge Mariners clubhouse as part of a weekend of joint activities. Russ and Mary attended WMC on Friday evening, along with Terry and Mandy, and were instructed on manning the bar. By all accounts, they performed admirably, and will be an asset to WMC in this regard in the future. Members gathered variously at the Thames Court moorings (or, in the case of the Commodore, at the WMC mooring) on Saturday, in preparation for a supper at WMC that evening, organised and catered by Mandy, with the able assistance of Sharon, Sally and Terry. This was a splendid event, with a choice of chicken or lamb shank (with veggie option) deliciously cooked by the aforementioned “crew”. We were well entertained during and after the meal by a talented singer / guitarist. The following morning, members moved their boats to the bank side moorings opposite WMC The dress code was “club formal” with gentlemen in whites and club blazer and ladies in club polo shirts and white slacks or wearing club scarves. Rob Fry (WMC club secretary) had provided a Program and Order of Passage as detailed below:- Sail Past2025 Program 1100 hours. Assemble at the EA Weybridge Riverside. 1130 hours. A briefing may be held for skippers, if requested. 1200 hours. Depart from the EA Weybridge Riverside moorings at 1200 hours, cruising in line astern through Desborough Cut, returning to the clubhouse via the main river passing Lady Lindsey's Lawn to the north of Desborough Island and D'Oyley Carte Island to pass the clubhouse at 1230 hours. While cruising in line astern all boats should keep station at a safe distance, "three boat lengths" astern of the boat they are following. Keeping station is important to ensure that non-participating craft cannot join the flotilla. 1230 hours. Pass the clubhouse and salute the Commodore (Commodores) by lowering your boats Red Ensign, raising it again after passing the clubhouse. The red ensign flying on the clubhouse flagpole will be dipped "lowered & raised" to return your salute. While your ensign is lowered, all skippers & crew should greet their Commodore by raising a glass (or saluting with the traditional naval salute if wearing a nautical cap) or in any other way you feel appropriate. Immediately after raising your ensign, proceed upriver to a safe distance from other boats to come about and return to the EA Weybridge Riverside moorings. After mooring, take the ferry across the river to the clubhouse where a buffet lunch will be served from 1330 hours. 1330 hours. Reception and complimentary buffet lunch. Flag Etiquette. All craft should fly their club burgee from the main mast and their ensign on the stern. No other flags, burgees or bunting may be flown. Fenders. All fenders must be up while sailing past the clubhouse & saluting the Commodores. Dress code. Gentlemen should wear no' 1's “club blazer, club tie, white shirt, white trousers”. Ladies may wear whatever they feel is appropriate, adorned by their club scarf & lapel badge if they so wish. Order of Passage Alouette (WMC) Festivity (WMC) Lady Farrington (Terry & Mandy) Lotte (WMC) Santiago (WMC) Muachina (WMC) What Knot (WMC) Scotch Mist (David, Linda, Sharon) Laird Tommy (John & Geraldine) Zephyr (Geoff & Sally) Beatrice Rose (Robbie & Jill) Blue Dimension (Russ & Mary) Lady Farrington (Terry & Mandy) Kalipso (Rob Fry. WMC secretary) Lady Farrington sailed past twice, as Terry and Mandy belong to both clubs. Roy Nash (Commodore WMC) and Tony Rogers (Commodore Albany MYC) accepted the salutes of the participating vessels from the balcony of WMC’s clubhouse. The event concluded with a very convivial buffet lunch, catered by Mandy, once again. I would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to all Albany members who attended, making it a truly memorable event for me. I would also like to thank David and Linda for attending and crewing Scotch Mist for me.
Special thanks must be given to Roy Nash for the original invitation to Albany to join WMC for this event, and to Mandy for suggesting it be extended to make a full weekend of activities. Mandy must also be congratulated for the excellent catering throughout the weekend (ably assisted by Sharon and Sally) As this was such a marked success, I will be in touch with Roy Nash to see if we can make this an annual event. August Club Meeting and BBQThe scheduled club meeting on 12th August was replaced with a BBQ held at the Penton Hook BBQ area. This was a “bring your own food and drink” event, with the cooking facilities provided by the Commodore. Unusually for a British BBQ, the weather was excellent, almost too hot, in fact, and umbrellas were raised for protection from the sun, even as it sank as the evening progressed . This event was very well attended. From memory, I think there were 18 members present ( though no formal attendance was recorded). It was particularly nice to welcome Ann Marshall, and also Martin and Amelia. As far as I know, nobody suffered food poisoning, so the cooking appears to have been a success, despite the fact that the cooking area available was rather limited for such a large number. As the event drew to a close, Vice Commodore, John ,made a presentation, on behalf of the club, to Tony and Sharon to mark their Golden Wedding Anniversary. This consisted of tickets to a Warner’s Hotel stay, at a venue of their choosing, valid for a year. And a bottle of our favourite ‘Guvnor’ sparkling wine. It’s fair to say that Sharon and I were completely blind-sided and very emotional at such a heart-warming gift. We were neither able to say much on the night, but I have included the text of our ‘thank you’ email to the club A Thankyou to members from Tony and SharonDear Albany Members,
Sharon and I would like to express our (slightly belated) thanks to everyone in the club for your wonderful gift for our 50th Wedding Anniversary. We were completely blown away at the last meeting by your generosity. It was rather overwhelming on the night, and we could not really believe you had all been so thoughtful. Our 49th anniversary was marred by the events surrounding my accident, and I know Sharon has had a bit of an issue with wanting to celebrate this year. (Too many unpleasant memories of last year). However, with the idea of a Warner’s break, you have provided us with the perfect solution! We've decided that a Spring break, just before the start of next year’s boating season, is going to be the best time for us to make use of your gift. This also gives us time to research the various Warner’s resorts. Sharon is all for the biggest pool and interesting grounds. I am more into the axe throwing and gin tasting. It will be a great way to celebrate the start of our 51st year together. We will keep you updated on our choice of resort. Thank you all, once again. Albany really is the best club either of us have ever belonged to! Tony and Sharon. Cruise to Hedsor Water and Pirate DaySally & Geoff organised a cruise to Hedsor Water on 7th – 11th August. Hedsor Water is the name of that stretch of the river below the weir pool and behind the lock at Cookham and is an idyllic setting. Sally had pre-booked bankside moorings with the lock keeper. Five boats made the trip, namely Kerry Anne, Lady Farrington, Laird Tommy, Scotch Mist and Zephyr. The boats first gathered at Baths Island in Windsor on Thursday evening. Members ate that evening at the Windsor & Eton Brewery The following day we enjoyed the gentle cruise to Cookham and the stress-free mooring arrangements at Hedsor. Unfortunately, the path into Cookham village over the weir has been closed this season for Health & Safety reasons, but we were able to enjoy our own facilities on the bank. The Saturday activities were Pirate themed, with everyone in pirate costume – a truly terrifying sight! There was a dinghy race and water pistol battle, with old technology (in the shape of a 60-year-old Seagull outboard on Zephyr’s tender) versus new, in the form of electric outboards powering the tenders of Laird Tommy and Lady Farrington. Sixty-year-old technology won! (albeit in a cloud of exhaust fumes!) Even the Commodore was able to partake in the dinghy activities after shedding his prosthetic leg. An unflattering photo of said leg appeared on WhatsApp with the caption “The Commodore, legless as usual!” Sharon and Sally provided much amusement by their efforts to find the right forward facing seating position when it was their turn in the dinghy. The highlight on Sunday was lunch at the Ferry Inn in Cookham. Due to the aforementioned closure of the walkway over the weir, we all piled aboard Lady Farrington to be transported around the island and through Cookham lock. Mandy once again came up trumps with canapes aboard during the short journey. Fortunately, Terry was able to moor on the Ropeway bankside, upstream of the pub so the walk to lunch wasn’t too demanding. The Sunday Lunch offered by the pub was excellent, especially the “Three Roast” option! Calorie consumption for the day was not finished yet, as we adjourned back to Hedsor for a slap-up, bankside tea, with cakes and pastries, to which everyone contributed. This was a magnificent way to end what had been a terrific event, blessed with excellent weather. Many thanks are due to Sally and Geoff for the overall planning, Mandy for the canapes and lemon drizzle cake (doused in Limoncello) and Terry for offering Lady Farrington for the trip on Sunday, and to everyone who attended for getting into the spirit of the Pirate events.
Sonning Cruise and Theatre VisitSixteen members attended the Sonning Theatre on Saturday July 12th for a pre-theatre supper, followed by a performance of the comedy “Don’t Rock the Boat”. This proved to be much more enjoyable than last year’s offering “Three Men in a Boat” (Do you detect a theme here?) Not all members were able to attend the event by boat. The Commodore arrived by car as Scotch Mist had developed mechanical problems following the Abingdon cruise. Lady Farrington and Laird Tommy both had a stopover enroute at the Henley Festival. This was John and Geraldine’s first visit to the festival, and they were hugely impressed.
Abingdon Cruise June 16th to 26th, 2025The Commodore reported on a very successful cruise to Abingdon from 16th to 26th June with six boats attending (Scotch Mist, Laird Tommy, Zephyr, Enterprise, Lady Farrington and Kerry Anne). Boats mostly made their own way to Abingdon and met up on the lock island where we had reserved mooring spaces for 5 boats. Laird Tommy rafted to Scotch Mist. The bank moorings even had an electric supply which, in the lock keeper’s absence, we didn’t have to pay for! The lock island is almost private, and an idyllic spot to spend a few days. Mandy, Sharon, Lin and Geraldine went swimming (a great relief as there were heatwave conditions throughout the cruise) and dinghies from Lady Farrington, Enterprise and Laird Tommy set out for a tour of Abingdon from the river. Lin led a walking tour of the town in her inimitable fashion. Supper on Saturday was an excellent meal at the King’s Head at Sandford lock, with everyone piling aboard Lady Farrington for the trip upriver, with canapes and pre dinner drinks provide by Mandy on the journey. The Commodore wished especially to thank Mandy & Terry for organising the event and for the great forethought of having a car available, which greatly aided Tony in getting about.
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