Clyde to Tobermory Yacht race 1968 - no plastic here

[dylan winter]

enjoy

 

[Peggy Bawn]

Excellent background to this evocative film written by its director, Louis Miller, and a - work in progress (please help!) - boat spotter's guide for nerds can be found at the Peggy Bawn Press blog post: http://peggybawn.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/summer-of-68-the-tobermory-race/

Actually, we found at least two plastic boats in the 105-strong fleet: the van de Stadt designed Excalibur 36, Siolta, built by Southern Ocean Supplies Ltd., Bournemouth, 1966, and the Guy Thompson designed T24 Class, Caitlin, built by Hawkbridge of Chichester, 1968. Where are they now? The Excalibur's reputation as a solid heavy weather boat has lingered, but the T24 - a ground-breaking design in its time - has been rather forgotten.

 

[dylan winter]

Excellent background to this evocative film written by its director, Louis Miller, and a - work in progress (please help!) - boat spotter's guide for nerds can be found at the Peggy Bawn Press blog post: http://peggybawn.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/summer-of-68-the-tobermory-race/

Actually, we found at least two plastic boats in the 105-strong fleet: the van de Stadt designed Excalibur 36, Siolta, built by Southern Ocean Supplies Ltd., Bournemouth, 1966, and the Guy Thompson designed T24 Class, Caitlin, built by Hawkbridge of Chichester, 1968. Where are they now? The Excalibur's reputation as a solid heavy weather boat has lingered, but the T24 - a ground-breaking design in its time - has been rather forgotten.

some great quotes from the film maker

I suppose it’s only natural that the idea of filming the Tobermory should have been uppermost in my mind for so many years. Being in the film business, and a keen sailor, the two had to come together some time!

In the last ten years or so I have had a variety of boats including a Wayfarer dinghy, an ex-International Star, a 19/24, a beautiful little twenty-foot clinker job, a Silhouette, and one or two I would rather forget! It was in the year of the 19/24 that I first wrote up a proposal for filming the race. I intended to enter my own boat carrying a film crew, and I had some preliminary discussions with the Clyde Cruising Club secretary, Geoff Duncan in Alex Pearce’s house in Helensburgh.

But my colleagues in the film unit were much less enthusiastic.

‘Yachting isn’t a spectator sport, people would get bored.’

‘You cannot possibly hold the average viewer’s interest in a lot of boats sailing for half an hour.’

‘It takes more than pretty pictures to make a film.’ And so on and on and on. There was much sense in what they said.

It would be only too easy to make a film which would delight yachtsmen, but this film would be seen by people who had no special interest in boats, and somehow it would have to be made both interesting and entertaining to the layman.

it is all here

http://peggybawn.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/summer-of-68-the-tobermory-race/

 

[Mr. Ed]

Excellent background to this evocative film written by its director, Louis Miller, and a - work in progress (please help!) - boat spotter's guide for nerds can be found at the Peggy Bawn Press blog post: http://peggybawn.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/summer-of-68-the-tobermory-race/

Actually, we found at least two plastic boats in the 105-strong fleet: the van de Stadt designed Excalibur 36, Siolta, built by Southern Ocean Supplies Ltd., Bournemouth, 1966, and the Guy Thompson designed T24 Class, Caitlin, built by Hawkbridge of Chichester, 1968. Where are they now? The Excalibur's reputation as a solid heavy weather boat has lingered, but the T24 - a ground-breaking design in its time - has been rather forgotten.

T24s are not forgotten in Burnham on Cruch - there were four of them on one trot this summer. Cracking boats, if a little ungainly looking at times.

 

[Peggy Bawn]

T24s are not forgotten in Burnham on Cruch - there were four of them on one trot this summer. Cracking boats, if a little ungainly looking at times.

Fascinating. The early days of function over classic elegance?

 

[Peggy Bawn]

When I interviewed one of the human players, the redoubtable yacht designer and surveyor - and serial author of yachting books - Ian Nicolson, he remembered the BBC team placing fourteen individual pieces of technical equipment, a cameraman and a sound recordist aboard his 35ft ketch, St. Mary, before the race. It would be fascinating to hear the comparison almost half a century on with the equipment you use, Dylan...

 

[dylan winter]

When I interviewed one of the human players, the redoubtable yacht designer and surveyor - and serial author of yachting books - Ian Nicolson, he remembered the BBC team placing fourteen individual pieces of technical equipment, a cameraman and a sound recordist aboard his 35ft ketch, St. Mary, before the race. It would be fascinating to hear the comparison almost half a century on with the equipment you use, Dylan...

obviously I never go sailing without the sound man, director, camera operator, focus puller, grip, lighting man, sfaety co-ordinator, runner and person with clip board.

I have to say that having done conventional crewed TV I prefer what I do now - worse money but much more enjoyable

 

[Peggy Bawn]

Mesmerisingly beautiful. You missed out the stick in your gear inventory. What's that for, dare I ask?

 

[dylan winter]

Mesmerisingly beautiful. You missed out the stick in your gear inventory. What's that for, dare I ask?

the echo-sounder does not work at extreme shallow depths - you get a double or triple bounce. When trying to beat the six knot tides on the Humber you need to get close to the edge so I use the stick as a sounding pole.

D

 

[Schakel]

Yep,

Very nice but very English.

I like mousehole best as Harbour.

I want to sail her with this yacht.

koopmans 10 meter aluminium retractable keel

https://www.google.nl/search?q=koopmans+yacht+te+koop&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=RcjLUs_ZDKe60QXlkoDADQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=998

How do I get the docking right?

Contact the harbour master years in advance?

 

[Peggy Bawn]

Mesmerisingly beautiful. You missed out the stick in your gear inventory. What's that for, dare I ask?

the echo-sounder does not work at extreme shallow depths - you get a double or triple bounce. When trying to beat the six knot tides on the Humber you need to get close to the edge so I use the stick as a sounding pole.

D

Aha: beating the tide with a stick - well I never...

Twice in my life I have taken over yachts lock stock and barrel and found inexplicable items of home-made custom gear aboard which presumably once had a very essential use...

 

[Tar34]

Mesmerisingly beautiful. You missed out the stick in your gear inventory. What's that for, dare I ask?

the echo-sounder does not work at extreme shallow depths - you get a double or triple bounce. When trying to beat the six knot tides on the Humber you need to get close to the edge so I use the stick as a sounding pole.

D

Aha: beating the tide with a stick - well I never...

Twice in my life I have taken over yachts lock stock and barrel and found inexplicable items of home-made custom gear aboard which presumably once had a very essential use...

Unless one has embraced the experience as Dylan does, his methods would seem a little primitive. One reason I value Dylan'scontribution is his videos have a mien of the amateur but the worldly among us recognize he is much more substantial than

the projection. Few among the armchairs here have actually ventured so willingly into the tortured realm of extreme tide and

current. My finest bit of sailing was crashing out of strange inlet into the Atlantic in a shoal Catboat heading south to parts

unknown. Navigation was a boxed compass between my knees, pelorus and bamboo pole for sounding. I never developed the taste for

spending hours aground waiting for the tide to set me free again, but like marmite, it takes discipline and the denial one is

experiencing some discomfort, qualities which are decidedly English. Once, one bitterly cold day on the bay, trying coax the

topping for my day's measure from an especially hard oyster reef, I heard the cries of seagulls waiting for a handout as they

circled my boat. I was reminded of Ezra Pound's Seafarer "Against tossed cliffs hail scur flew, seagulls cry was to me

laughter". I thought then mockingly, because my hands were numb inside my wet mittens, my feet cold and wet, snot frozen on my collar. Upon reflexion it was something more profound.

 

[CharlieCobra]

Nice and all too true for some...

 

[zedboy]

Dylan thanks for the film.

Amazing window on an all-but-vanished breed of boat and sailor. Incredibly beautiful boats, even if they would all be thumped by the new stuff...

 

[zedboy]

Next big realization - the line honours in this race were taken by 8m CHRISTINA - built in 1935!

I guess not much had happened in keelboats in 30 years. Boy that was about to change....

 

[dylan winter]

Next big realization - the line honours in this race were taken by 8m CHRISTINA - built in 1935!

I guess not much had happened in keelboats in 30 years. Boy that was about to change....

that is true.....

but the tides and weather patterns up there can make an utter nonsense of any handicapping system yet dreamed up

they are sailing through mountain ranges

 

[Bugsy]

Dylan,

Thanks for that first movie: 35 minutes of pure joy!

Those are gentlemen (and lady!) sailors. No yelling. No hyper-competitive references to racing rules. Comradeship. No one (at least in the film) complained about anything - they were all just exactly doing what they wanted to be doing in the place they wanted to be.

I took my first trip to Scotland last year and thought it would make some great sailing. There is a whisky distillery right on the waterfront at Tobermory. Very civilized and gentlemanly (and ladylike).

Thanks for opening a window for a glance at a magical time and place.

 

[dylan winter]

Dylan,

Thanks for that first movie: 35 minutes of pure joy!

Those are gentlemen (and lady!) sailors. No yelling. No hyper-competitive references to racing rules. Comradeship. No one (at least in the film) complained about anything - they were all just exactly doing what they wanted to be doing in the place they wanted to be.

I took my first trip to Scotland last year and thought it would make some great sailing. There is a whisky distillery right on the waterfront at Tobermory. Very civilized and gentlemanly (and ladylike).

Thanks for opening a window for a glance at a magical time and place.

not my film obviously as I was still sailing Enterprises at the time

but I will take the credit for coppying and pasting in the URL

there are films that are worth watching a few times and that is one

it might be woreth ripping it to your hard drive just in case the BBC wakes up and tells them to take it down

you can use this

http://www.clipconverter.cc/

if you do not have a ripper installed

I have spent two summers in Scotland in a 22 foot Eboat

it is the finest place I have ever sailed

great scenery, clear water, lots of wind, loads of shelter, great people, no pirates, wonderful beaches

cold water though and a faor bit of rain

I have worked in NZ and BC

they also look like great places for sailing

when I think of all the years I wasted working rather than sailing

This summer self and family will be doing the bit over the top - Orkney, Shetland, Pentland Firth, Cape Wrath and to the Hebrides

first I have to buy a bigger boat and cut an outboard well in it

D

 

[Bob Perry]

Thanks Dylan. That was fun.

Some of it sounded like a Monty Python skit.