AN EVENTIDE OWNER'S GROUP PUBLICATION

	G.H. 'Black Sheep' and crew sail to Chatham. For the Spring Bank Holiday Weekend Southend air show, and a few days after. John Murrison and crew John Stevens, who's pictures these are.
	The two John's and the Pyefleet!

	The Southend Air show 2006

	Misty II the RNLI, and JW's old mates off Southend.


	The Medway, complete with the 'Medway Queen'!

	Chatham dockyard Marina

	Some of the historic ships.


	The sheds at Chatham and inside a sub!


	The Medway approach and the castle at Upnor. but whose dinner was it?

	John S on the helm, after a squally start to the week, this is better weather!

	Arriving back in the Backwaters, a relaxed John M.

	Pyefleet on a calm misty morning
	Thanks to john Stevens for sending all these pics in, next year we hope to have another small flotilla attending the Air Show and up to the Docks afterwards!
	*********************************************************** Late July cruise in company, Mobri II, Bonita and Fiddler's Green Mobri II with Brian and his friend Keith joined us in Salcote Creek, and sailed to Pyefleet with us the next day, Bonita sailed in to join us. We sailed out in company, but then Mobri had to head back west. FG and Bonita headed up the Wallet. After a bit of a fluky sail and a lot of motoring we managed to sail into Harwich. Our crew for the week were friends Phil and Val. john worked on the river with Phil and he has accompanied me to Cornwall and to Holland as well as trips all over the Thames estuary and up to the smoke. I was recovering from a serious back injury and awaiting surgery a month later so was not allowed to be silly! We booked into Leavington, and next day took a trip up to Ipswich. The wind was F6! In the river it did not feel at all bad! We enjoyed a pleasant trip up to fox's and back down, noting several Eventides, 'Bluenose' my old boat, 'Talland' and an un-named one, also a WW. On the way back we could set sails and drift back in the calm of the river, but it got too much for some of the crew, no staying power some people! The next day it was more boisterous, so we went for a country walk. First stop the Ship Pub, Leavington! then the church, an interesting building and even more interesting door. It was the Leavington Scarecrow week! We liked the Bobby's house!. On the walk we spotted this tree having totally grown over the steel railings! On the return we dropped onto the foreshore to walk on the beach for a bit, we really had a great walk, so much so we did it the next day too! The Marina had at least one other MG in it 'Eos' a nice Barcarole by the looks of her. We had an excellent meal in the Light Ship that serves as the Marina Bar! The next day it was still blowing NE but only 4/5, but I guessed the sea would still be up. we opted to move off to the Walton Backwaters for a night, hoping for better. It did get a bit lumpy for 45 mins, there were a few white knuckles! After a quiet night tucked up the Walton channel, we sail out into calm. last afternoon Hamford Water was a white seething mass of confused water! The sail back was one of the best for years, we were goose winged all the way back to the marina at Bradwell! sunbathing and smiles all round, Great. John *********************************************************
	West Mersea Meet 2006. Having been laid up most of the Summer again with back problems, this was my first outing since the surgery, and I was not allowed to hoist a sail! I did manage to get Fiddler's Green sailing, because I argued that the Genoa was already hoisted, I just had to unroll it... It was a fine line and I think I got away with it!

	'Dabbler' the Senior, expertly sailed by Nigel and Heidi.

	Darian, my reluctant crew, she really watched me like a hawk the whole time to ensure I did no damage to my newly repaired back!

	Mike in 'Otteau' with one of his lads, they had a great weekend.

	Bill had just bought his new Barbican and was moored a little way off, so came over in his Tinker inflatable.

	This Senior is owned by a chap we saw at WMYC last year. Apparently he is a little shy or he would have joined us. We did have the WW 'Bonita' with us as well.

	We met up on the Saturday as normal and were really wonderfully entertained at the W. M. Y. C. We sat on M.G.'s bench for pre dinner drinks and then had the huge window table. about 12 sat down to dinner! See you there next year, August Bank Holiday, we are invited again! John Williams.
	******************************************************************
	October Cruise 2006. We set off from Bradwell not really knowing where we would be heading. I had a mind to sail up some of the tiny creeks that I had not visited for a while, or at all. We gilled about for a bit, thinking of Salcote or maybe taking the tide up to explore the back of Northey, when we were called by Brian and Mavis on 'Right E Oh' they were bouncing about in the Wallet in a following breeze and asked to meet us. we turned round and headed out to the Bench Head. as we did the wind rose to a good 5 and was right on the nose. We were taking waves over the bowsprit! Brian and Mavis had bounced enough, and instead of running up river we turned into the Colne. they made for Brightlingsea and we followed. I tried to recall the last time I had moored in here. It was the Queen's Jubilee in 1977! We anchored on two anchors in a gale and a half, with all the other boats and watched Osborne and Reynolds give a dazzling display in their Olympic medal winning cat!
	The new pontoon moorings for visitors are far easier than the pile moorings of the past!

	We were treated to an amazing natural display, worthy of David Attenborough. a small group of crows came in and systematically set about attacking wind vanes on the tops of the moored boats. One fellow perched on a slender stainless VHF, bending it double, flapping all the while to stay on. If your wind vane or VHF gets oddly damaged, you too might have been visited by the killer crows!

	While walking down the visitors pontoon we idly looked at the systems of lazy jacks fitted to almost every boat...

	This owner of this boat was spoken to earlier in the season, I asked if it was an MG and he said no, but a copy of one!

	We had a very sociable evening with Brian and Mavis

	whilst we were in Brightlingsea, we took time to visit Galliard, the Eventide 30 that once was the pride and joy of Tony Sykes. She languished for many years at Tollesbury succumbing to rot in all sorts of places, eventually being sold for a pittance. a few weeks later the new owner had her advertised for nearly 20K. alarm bells rang! I knew how bad she was. 3 years later the owner having been banned from many selling sites is still trying to sell her, beware... a bit of filler and paint can hide horrors!

	We turned out attention to the possibility of fitting lazy jacks to F.G. Phil wondered if it could be improved on or simplified, so suggested attaching a pair of lines to the topping lift instead... Lazy Phils! We set about rigging it up.

	Now we added a length of line back and forth round the boom, though as there was nothing to keep it in place we opted to lace it under the foot of the sail for now, if it is adopted a few small eyes will be fitted beneath the boom...

	Here are a pair of lines whipped to the topping lift, just hanging in mid air.

	Taking her out for a sail the next day, it all worked quite well, though you did need an extra set of lower strings forward, as that was where the belly of the sail dropped and the strings came from aft not forward, can see why most have conventional lazy jacks..... Hmmm

	The sail gathered up safely on the boom,

	The helmsman can see where we are going!

	Relaxing in the warm October sun

	Phil my friend and crew wrapped up against the slightly chilly breeze, smiling as ever!

	In Brightlingsea we met up with ex Eventide Owner Brian, he and his wife now sail 'Blackbird' a converted Smack. Brian has now retired from the force. Some might remember his boat, 'Piglet'.

	She certainly looks the part, she sailed with us from Brightlingsea to Sales point, it took her that long to overtake us! Here she is sailing back!

	Sailing into the sun, heading up the Blackwater for a quiet anchorage, before returning the boat to Bradwell. Last sail on the season 2006.

	Another good season, even though I was laid up from May till the end of July and early August till the WMYC meet. This year saw several of our regulars laid up for various reasons, but we hope Andrew and Jo, Sid and Doug and Jo, and several others, will all be ready to join the rest of the East Coast Fleet for further adventures in 2007 John Proud owner and builder of Fiddler's Green.

Issue Seven, Autumn/Winter 2006. Now collecting material for issue 8! Page 1. This years trips.
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