Little Ship Club

Coordinates: 51°30′35″N 0°05′33″W / 51.5096°N 0.0924°W / 51.5096; -0.0924

Little Ship Club

Short name LSC
Founded 1926
Location London, United Kingdom
Website http://littleshipclub.co.uk

The Little Ship Club was founded in London in 1926 by a group of yachtsmen for the purpose of providing training and lectures over the winter months. The club operates from its riverside clubhouse at Bell Wharf Lane, London. They are the only yacht club operating from within the City of London.

History

The club's inaugural meeting was at The Ship restaurant in London on the 5th November 1926. Notable founder members included Claud Worth, Maurice Griffiths, and Higley Halliday.[1] The training function of the club was so successful that, by 1936, they were training members of the Royal Naval Supplementary Volunteer Reserve Force (RNSVR).[2] As a result, the First Sea Lord invited the club to apply for a defaced blue ensign. This is the only known instance of such an invitation being made.[3] The close link with the RNSVR led to Little Ship Club members taking part in World War II evacuation of Dunkirk in which the military commandeered hundreds of private "little" ships to bring troops from land to larger navy vessels that could not pull in close to shore.[4] The club still includes what is possibly one of the original Dunkirk Little Ships, Sheemaun.[5] Two defaced blue ensigns that were recovered from the beach at Dunkirk are displayed at the club.

The club moved to the Old Ship tavern in 1928, and from there to Beaver Hall in 1932 as member numbers expanded.[6] In 1962 the club moved to Bell Wharf Lane.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first yachtsman to complete a non-stop single-handed circumnavigation, became club President in 1995.[7] There are also two Honorary Life Vice-Presidents: Dr Jean Plancke, Commander of the Legion of Honour, and Norman Hummerstone MBE.[8] Norman Hummerstone was honoured with an MBE in 2001 for his work with the Little Ship Club[9] and was awarded an RYA Lifetime Commitment award by Princess Anne in 2007.[10] The 2015 Commodore is Michael Forbes Smith.[11]

Training

The Little Ship Club is an official Royal Yachting Association training centre. They offer shorebased RYA courses from their London premises including Day Skipper Theory and Yachtmaster Theory.[12]

Cruising

The club has two cruising bases, one on the East Coast of England, and one on the South Coast centred around the Solent. There are no club premises in either location, but members gather on regular organised rallies throughout the summer months. Both cruising centres have participated in the Calais Rally each year on the weekend of the Spring Bank Holiday since 1929[13] except when not possible during wartime. The rally is attended by HMS Puncher in recognition of the club's relationship with the University Royal Naval Unit in London.[14][15][16]

The club holds a biannual joint rally with The Corinthians club, a reciprocal club based in the USA that was modeled along the same lines as the Little Ship Club.[17] It is held alternately in the US and in the UK or nearby cruising grounds.[18]

Racing

The club organises an informal Fast Cruise series over the winter months around the Solent. These run monthly from October until March. They do not follow full racing rules, but are a timed cruise with a strong social element.

They are also joint organisers, with Erith Yacht Club, of the Thames Trafalgar Race.[19][20] This is a two-leg event from Greenwich to Erith, with a return the next day.[21] It is generally held in October close to Trafalgar Day. The Knox-Johnston Cup, named for Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, is awarded to the highest placed yacht club.[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.seran1926.com/uploads/1/9/3/5/19352197/3899436_orig.jpg?443
  2. ↑ http://www.seran1926.com/vi-little-ship-club.html
  3. ↑ http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb~ylsc.html
  4. ↑ http://littleshipclub.co.uk/content/how-lsc-got-involved-dunkirk-little-ships-0
  5. ↑ "Sheemaun". National Historic Ships.
  6. ↑ E.G. Martin and John Irving, "Cruising and Ocean Racing" page 565, 1945 Seeley, Service & Co. Ltd.
  7. ↑ http://www.robinknox-johnston.co.uk/
  8. ↑ http://www.nordlittoral.fr/calais/jean-plancke-entre-passions-et-valeurs-ia10b0n34894
  9. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2001/birthday_honours_2001/1390850.stm
  10. ↑ http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/sportsdevelopment/Web%20Documents/RYA%20Community%20Awards/Vol%20awards%202006%20-%202009/Community%20Award%20Winners%202007.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/29703/Michael-Forbes-Smith
  12. ↑ http://www.rya.org.uk/wheresmynearest/Pages/Organisation.aspx?num=368964&OrgType=2
  13. ↑ E.G. Martin and John Irving, "Cruising and Ocean Racing" page 566, 1945 Seeley, Service & Co. Ltd.
  14. ↑ http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/surface-fleet/patrol/archer-class/hms-puncher/puncher-info
  15. ↑ http://littleshipclub.co.uk/content/sail-calais-rally-hms-puncher
  16. ↑ http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/courtsocial/article4091105.ece
  17. ↑ http://www.thecorinthians.org/history
  18. ↑ Yachting Monthly Magazine, Oct 2004, Dick Durham
  19. ↑ http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/167526/Thames-Trafalgar-Race-2013-launch
  20. ↑ Hodgetts, Laura (18 October 2013). "Thames Trafalgar Race will set sail in London". Practical Boat Owner. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  21. ↑ http://www.pbo.co.uk/news/yacht-race-commemorates-the-battle-of-trafalgar-1851
  22. ↑ http://www.boat-zone.com/2013/07/17/sir-robin-knox-johnston-will-present-the-knox-johnston-cup/
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Little Ship Club.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.