Recent news of various Merchistonian sailors in the Club Magazine has indicated that there is a large number of sailors out there and it seems a good time to tap into this vein. The idea of the section is simply to encourage Merchistonians to meet up, both on water and on land, whether singly or in groups, whether boat owners or not, to share in the pleasure of our sport and the pride of being Merchistonians.

Initially, the section is aimed at cruising sailors (including motor boat sailors) but in time, this could be expanded if someone came forward to take on other aspects - racing and dinghy sailing. I have volunteered to be the "instigator" of the section but as I live in the south-west of England, I am far removed from the centre of gravity of Merchistonian sailors and we need a volunteer from north of the border to take the idea forward as quickly as possible.

The initial need is to establish what interest there is in such a section; you are invited to do this by downloading and completing the attached form and sending it to Gill Imrie. The website would have the following sections:

• Members' details - Members' names, contact details, boat details, home port, cruising area, whether interested in meets and events

• Cruising plans - Simply a section where members can lodge their cruising plans for the year so that others can keep a look-out for them and perhaps meet up on the water.

• Meets and events - Details of more formal meets and events - meeting up socially in a specific location, annual dinners, etc.

Initially Gill would load the data on to the website for us but in due course, it should be possible for members to load their own data. There should initially be no expenses and so there will be no subscription. However, it is a condition of membership that boat-owners have appropriate third-party insurance.

If there is sufficient interest, I plan to have a burgee made - of course, it would be the red coat of arms of the Club on a dark blue background!

Please send in your questionnaires and watch the website for news of how things develop.

David Clements (1957-62)

Questionnaire
Cruising Plans