My baptism to boating was mixed.

My first boat was a 6 month old Larson Cabrio purchased in 2002 with a Volvo Penta 4.7 Litre V8, it quickly came apart at the hull/deck joint so I took it to Garth at Brighton Marina  who quickly realised it required the whole bow back to midships dismantling, epoxy bonding and bolting through as these boats have only short SS screws which work loose! The dealer of course said it just needed some mastic… Then the engine dropped a valve and was wrecked, Volvo said it was corrosion ( 6 months old…) and refused the warranty claim. Having argued the case with both supplier and Volvo we issued notice of court claims to both. Our persistence  paid off as Larsen paid for the repairs and Volvo put a new GXI V8 in the boat with their top technician commissioning it. We then sold it to a friend (who is still a great friend) and also an active member of SMYC.

The Windy 40 we bought in 2004 (and still have today) is a dream by comparison.

We joined the SMYC as very old friends of ours knew the Commodore. The unique and small nature if the club, its fascinating history, trophies and of course the warrant for the undefaced blue was certainly a strong draw. I did look at other clubs which had premises and all the regalia but most seemed to be quite stuffy and tedious and I was not convinced the considerable additional costs were justifiable or that I would make proper use of the facilities they offer.

The fact that this club was once a substantial and thriving enterprise formed in support of and at the forefront of boating development in the early 1900s gives it a useful relevance today with the change in emphasis from the internal combustion engine to more sustainable systems of propulsion.

Since I joined the club I have worked hard to try to boost membership wherever I go,  I represented the club at the start and finish of the Venture Cup Rally from London to Monaco taking XTC along with the race boats over the final leg into Monaco. At present we desperately need new club brochures, cards and of course the website so that the club can properly promote itself. I am also certain with the new enthusiasm within the acting Committee that we can increase the membership and club public profile with proper presentation material, and now that the archive material will be properly researched and published on the website it will become an excellent forum not only for research into the club history but also its range of activities and personalities who were active within it since the early 1900s.