Newsletter nr. 23 – December 1980

oldnewsheadWintermeeting
We intend to have the wintermeeting on one of the days of the HISWA (boat show) in Amsterdam. So our members might kill two birds with one stone. Please not now already the following date:
SATURDAY THE 14TH MARCH 1981
We hope to see each other on that day at 6 o’clock in the clubhouse of the rowing and Sailing Club “De Hoop”, Weesperzijde 65a Amsterdam.
We can have drinks there and a not too square meal.

Please inform Mr. H. K. Bolte, Zonnestein 9, Amstelveen (tel. 020-413714) or Mr. J. C. M. van Marle, Anton Verheystr. 5, Amsterdam (tel. 020-7389198) if you intend to be present, and with how many people.

The 1980 Rally
The fact that our rally this year was at the same time as “Sail Amsterdam” made that we saw each other much longer and got to know each other much better than at other rallies.

All together 20 ships of our circle were present at the rally. They were the following: ALCYONE, BANCKERT, CAECILIA, HELENA ANNA, ALCYONE II, FESTINA LENTE, HOOGE SPRINGER, VAN LINSCHOTEN, MARIA THERESIA, MAJELLA, SAYONARA, SESAME, TAAINAGEL, VITA NOVA, ZEEKOET II, JACQAN, JONGE BOER JAEP, MARGARETHA, SAN RIVAL, and VROUWEZAND.

We spent fine days in the “Y-haven”.
Wednesday the 6th of August we all went to the “Hembrug” to welcome the 2 tall ships, which notwithstanding the bad weather had arrived in time, the “Amerigo Vespucci” and the “Sea Cloud”. In the evening we had a barbeque.

Friday the captains walked in a precession through the town to the “Nieuwe Kerk”, where Queen Beatrix distributed the prizes to the tall ships. In the evening the members of the Alcyone circle and their crews had a dinner in the town, arranged by the good services of Hans d’Escury.

Saturday we tried a kind of “admiraalzeilen”, which was not so simple by the many motorboats, but, as we heard, it made quite a good and favourable impression on the many onlookers at the quay.

On Sunday there was an ecumenical service in the “Westerkerk” in Amsterdam.

Monday the 11th of August most of the ships left. Every evening we enjoyed the fireworks. Fine days. Our thanks to Mr. Jaap van der Flier for all he did to make it possible that we attended the rally and to make it quite a success.

Mr. van der Flier has succeeded to get a medal for every one of our ships which attended “Sail Amsterdam”. On the wintermeeting he shall give one to every captain who did not yet receive one.

The captains of the ships which attended the rally also received a beautiful medal from the yard, as the Valentijn brothers always used to do. Thank you very much, Valentijn brothers!

Rally 1982
Mr. B. Chichester Cooke, who was present at “Sail Amsterdam”, on the “Alcyone”, invited our circle to have the next rally on the Medway in England. This being for most of us much farther than we used to go for our rallies, we do not know whether many of our members like to do this trip. Of course, there will be a possibility to sail together from holland to the Medway. We should like to hear what our members think about this idea. Please let us know on the next wintermeeting or by letter to Mr. van Marle or Mr. Bolte.

News about Ships and Owners
Some ships changed from owner during this year.
The “Sayonara” was bought by Mr. JF Broekhof. We saw him and his enthusiastic crew already at our last rally in Amsterdam.

Mr. L. van Wel from Heyningen bought the “Gwenllian” and Kim and Jean Troub from Havre de Grace in the USA bought the “Koet”. And last but not least Mr. Wil Valentijn bought the “Frank Justin” and renamed her “Sans Rival”. All the new members very welcome in our circle!
Cormorant “Margaretha” has been used by the yard to show at the Dutch boatshows HISWA 1979 and 1980. She will also be present at the HISWA 1981. But she will start the year 1981 with a trip to the Düsseldorf Boatshow at the end of January. The showgirl!

News from the Yard
Mr. Wil Valentijn intends to be present on the boat show in Düsseldorf (Germany). This boat show “12 Internationale Boots-ausstellung Düsseldorf” will be held from the 24th January up to and including Feb. 1st. The stand might be found in “Hall 12, Stand 12013”. We wish Mr. Valentijn much success in Düsseldorf.

On January 3, 1981 the Valentijn yard will exist for 250 years. There will not be many yards which exist for such a long time. Our congratulations!!

Maintenance of the Ships
A few tips, well-known to many members, but maybe not to all. so we should like to draw your attention to the following.
The first thing is, that it is necessary, from time to time to throw oil in the trunk of the centreboard, to prevent the development of rust in the innerside of the trunk. There is a gap just behind the mast, in which one can throw the oil.

Some members throw the used oil of the carter in the trunk. Some throw, to keep the water cleaner, a few bottles of salad-oil in the trunk. But whatever one throws in, it is good to do it from time to time.

A new feature is the new pole to lower the mast. This was done on the “Margaretha”. The original ladder was only 2,50 meters long and one had to catch the forestay after having lowered the mast partly. The new pole is 3,45 meters long, the right length to connect the pole to the forestay before starting to lower the mast. In order to be able to stow this long pole, it consists of three parts, made of 42 mm pipe. The first part, the one with the fork, is stowed under the portside berth. The two other straight parts are stowed, standing up, in the toilet. A double improvement: a foolproof system and a clean deck.

The watercooling system of our engines is provided with a waterpump. Practically all these pumps have an impeller. The impeller is a sort of fan with several blades and is made of a flexible material. Practice is, that most people wait until the waterpump ceases to operate and then come to the conclusion: it has to be repaired! Long before that moment the trouble has already started. If only one blade is missing, the pump still does its duty, although in a limited way. But that missing blade has gone into your cooling system! Now guess what can happen. A clogged system is worse than a broken pump. We asked an expert about the lifetime of such an impeller and as we were talking about engines in sailing boats, he estimated that lifetime some two years. Maybe a pessimistic view, but certainly a tip to remember: execute a regular inspection.
And talking about engines. Some people sometimes neglect the lubrication of their propellershafts, resulting in worn out bearings. Sufficient grease and a turn a day, keeps the wear and tear away!

Subscriptions.
Yes, we really need some money, not muuch, but still…..
So our members are kindly requested to pay the 1981 contribution of P. St. 2,- D.M. 10.- Fr. Frs. 20.- or Fl. 10.- to “postgiro” account nr. 37.21.241 of the Alcyone Circle, Amsterdam.