WSC - a visual history part 1

Mr Lock waiting for instructions before the start on a light summer evening.Harry Holman's 'Tramp' - like a giant OspreyThe last days of the St Patrick at Weymouth. She was transferred to Southampton in 1963.Keen young sailors prepare a Falcon - guess who?

Building on the history of the club on the website, we are in the process of creating a digital archive from photos, slides, etc. to which everyone is invited to contribute; all you have to do is to lend us your memorabilia for a few days and we will have them processed. The results will be available for everyone to see, and occasional forays into the archive willl appear here as well.

These pictures are some of the hundreds taken by my father, Hugh Fraser, during the 1960s. The first photo shows the legendary Mr Lock at the starting hut with the cannon ready to fire. The flags say that the keelboats are to sail B course marks to port - ie from the starting-line shown here to Mid-Bay (M) and then Bowleaze (B), which seems a tad ambitious in those conditions! On the water already are the Falcon 'Aster', Dick Crumbleholme's 'Coralline' and the brand new Folkboat 'Cimbri', as well as Harry Holman's home-built flying machine, 'Tramp' (the second picture shows this extraordinary boat in the harbour). Over by the wooden pier is Cliff Neal's Falcon 'Windhover', and approaching the Stone Pier is one of the older Folkboats, either 'Freya' or 'Sioux'.

The picture of the 'St Patrick' also shows the stern of 'White Nothe' on her mooring, so this picture is from either 1962 or 1963, when 'St Patrick' left Weymouth. Also visible on a mooring to the right is Roger Wilson's Shearwater catamaran, which I remember sailing on with him. More recently, Roger has sailed a Flying Dutchman and a Flying Fifteen from Hooker's Dock, and still keeps a keen eye on the sailing at Weymouth.

The last picture shows a young man who went on to become a pillar of the club, though we are unable at present to identify his helm.

Steve Fraser

Submitted on 25th September 2019