Well we did it! Thanks to the efforts of South West Gaffers and our friends in the Bristol Channel we held a successful AGM in Bristol and had a most enjoyable weekend with the highest ever attendance of 100 members. The brief was to organise the AGM in a place with a significant maritime heritage and having good all-round transport links to make it easy to reach for our members spread all over the British Isles and the Netherlands. Well, the choice seemed to work, our colleagues from Dublin Bay, Northern Ireland and even two members from the Netherlands remarking on how easy it had been to get there.

On Saturday a large contingent of Gaffers visited the SS Great Britain whilst several of our national officers visited the ship on Friday. Remarkably all those let loose on Saturday turned up for the 16:00 national AGM at the Novotel and for many it was their first opportunity to attend this informal but business-like meeting. Whilst members were galavanting around Bristol and its waterside attractions, the Association Committee Meeting was taking place with a break before the AGM. It is pleasing to report that the ACM was a relatively peaceful event with contentious items being well handled by our President. All in all, it was a very positive ACM with great plans for the future from our widely dispersed and varied areas. 

One of the most significant outcomes was the draft plan for a round Britain cruise (RBC) as part of the OGA 60 celebrations which will culminate in a rally hosted by the East Coast area in August 2023. Locally, Plymouth is scheduled as a host port 13th - 14th May 2023. Many of us, especially John Gallagher, will remember when South West Gaffers hosted the last RBC fleet which put into Plymouth for two days and due to weather conditions stayed for nearly a week!

Many of you attended the AGM which was reported in detail in the Gaffers Log. I hope that those attending for the first time found it useful to see the hierarchy at work and noted the great efforts that the General Management Council and your Association Committee go to make the OGA a forward looking organisation that is fun to be part of and good to sail with.

Following the AGM there was an adjournment to the bar for recovery and the chance to catch up with friends old and new while the hotel re-configured the Victoria Suite for our annual evening buffet supper. A good choice of three hot dishes with associated vegetables and salads was enjoyed by all followed by some delicious puddings with excellent service from the hotel staff. As we were just about to finish our puddings there was the dull sound of South West Gaffer Vic Love as he powered up his pink sousaphone and led his Ambling band into the room. From that moment on the place rocked to music with many getting up and dancing, even the most reserved amongst us were tapping our feet and clapping to the sound of the band playing old favourites in their own very special way. 

Someone did ask Paul Jolley before the event what genre of music the band played? – difficult one, to which I replied, “pink rock brass”. During the music a collection was made for Caring in Bristol that looks after homeless people in Bristol, a charity nominated by the band. I am pleased to say that members generously donated over £350 for this worthwhile cause including 2 members who each paid Penny £5 to dance with her!

One of the criteria for selecting the venue was that there had to be some good real ale pubs nearby, in fact there were three that were soon located by many of those attending. The favourite seemed to be The King’s Head which features in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pubs where on the Saturday, having packed the place out, many of us meandered back to the hotel at about 00:30 (Sunday) with the Dublin Bay Area still propping up the bar.

Sunday started with a “full English” being consumed by many to recover from the previous night’s frolicking. After breakfast we were suitably marshalled by members of the Bristol Channel area and guided on the short walk to Temple Bridge landing stage where we embarked on two boats from the Bristol Ferryboat company for a most informative tour of the Floating Harbour with excellent commentary on the development of the docks and associated industry over the years. The boats then dropped us off at the Underfall Yard where, having been split into four groups, we were given a tour of the yard with plenty of information about its history and remarkable survival over the years. I think many of us were amazed to see that Brunel’s original sluice gates that operate the Underfall are still in use today on a regular basis to keep the Floating Harbour from silting up. A special word of thanks must go to Keith McIIiam (President) and David Botterill (Secretary) of Bristol Channel area, who dealt with an amazing logistical problem leading up to the weekend as the numbers for the boat trip and visit reached the maximum of eighty that could be accommodated. 

There was still more to come as many gaffers continued their exploration of  the Floating Harbour to be welcomed by Mike Rolt of Bristol Classic Boats for an informal visit and particularly to look at the three classic yachts that he currently has in the yard for re-fit and restoration. The most prominent was the legendary Uffa Fox designed 44ft sloop Huff of Arklow which was the only one of the Flying 30 class ever built. Those who viewed the work at Rolt’s were impressed with the knowledge and standard of work undertaken at this yard. One of the Holt’s sons has been involved with the building of Pellew down in Truro which was one of the South West Gaffers winter visits organised by Don Garman.

Late Sunday afternoon most of those who visited Bristol were on their way home although there were still an intrepid few having breakfast at the hotel on Monday morning before either continuing their visit to Bristol or heading for home. The joint hosting arrangement between South West Gaffers and Bristol Channel Area worked very well and contributed to a memorable weekend and put Bristol and the West Country on the map as far as the rest of the OGA is concerned. We also owe a big thank you to Colin Stroud (OGA Secretary) who worked tirelessly behind the scenes occasionally wondering what these mad men in the West would dream up next! We have jointly instigated an AGM weekend at a suitable maritime location that is both business like and enjoyable to attend. Where do we go form here? The North East Area have been approved by the Association Committee to host the AGM 2021 in Newcastle and I know they are already well into the planning process for another bumper event. After that I hear Dublin Bay have some ideas they may bring to next year’s AGM for 2022.

Paul Jolley,

President, South West Gaffers.