Practical Boat Owner — January 2018

able and knowledgeable contributors.
New class chairman Rick Locker adds:
‘The SSOA reflects the longevity of the
boats themselves. While we still have a
few in original ownership, the majority are
now in second, third or fourth ownership
and the Association has an important role
in maintaining the heritage and knowledge
of these boats long out of production.
‘The association will be celebrating its
40th anniversary in 2018. The next 12
months will see us expanding our website
with more historical data and articles,
while maintaining and hosting a current
focus of live information exchange
between owners – both through our forum
and the Facebook page. Newcomers live
in a different media age to the original
owners. The Facebook page has also
enabled more casual musters alongside
the “formally” booked rallies.
‘I’m particularly pleased about this
because I believe the fundamental reason
for being a member is to enjoy being with
like-minded owners, out on the water,
comparing notes, sharing improvements...
and problems!’
Associations for owners of smaller,
trailerable boats have the added task of
arranging rallies and regattas in areas that
will attract entrants towing their boats from
distant parts.

Cornish Shrimpers
Shrimper Owners Association secretary
Trevor Heritage told me: ‘The association
is in its 36th year and going strong with
almost 700 members. This year’s
International Shrimper Week in Milford
Haven attracted 35 Shrimpers, including

three from the Netherlands.’

Trevor says that one of the great

strengths of the association is its regional

organisation. Local areas organise races,

both in the evenings and at weekends.

Probably the keenest fleets are at

Falmouth, Rock and Poole.

Falmouth Week is the biggest event for

the racing Shrimper, with about 30 boats

taking part making it the largest class at

this major regatta.

Rock Sailing and Water Ski Club hosts a

racing and cruising week for Shrimpers,

and Rock Shrimpers are known for their

keen racing on the Camel Estuary.

Racing at Poole is organised under the

aegis of both the Royal Motor Yacht Club

and Parkstone Yacht Club.

The Round the Island Race from Cowes

also regularly attracts entries from

Shrimpers and is a fair endurance test.

There’s also a Cornish Crabbers Club

that caters for the larger cruising models.

Westerlys

Westerly owners benefit from a long-

established and well organised

association. Current Westerly Owners

Association (WOA) commodore George

Pickburn told me that Westerly built

around 12,000 yachts between 1963 and

2000, most of which are still sailing.

The association has some 3,000

memberships (around 4,500 people). It is

one of the largest owners associations in

the world and is dedicated to preserving

and promoting the Westerly marque.

‘WOA is organised into eight Area Groups

serving different regions of the UK,’ said

George. ‘It also has members overseas,

and maintains links with its Dutch “sister”

Westerly Club Nederland and the American

Westerly Owners Newsletter.

‘We publish a yearbook of our members

and their boats so that they can greet

each other when encountered in distant

havens. And we run a website (westerly-

owners.co.uk) through which we publicise

the extensive sailing and social

programmes organised by the Area

Groups, and where we aim to provide an

archive of everything “Westerly” including

technical advice and information.

‘We offer our Boatline Scheme which

enables owners and prospective owners

to make contact with an owner/expert of

each model. We publish guides to each

model on our website and publish a book

Volunteers run most associations and so

subscriptions are invariably low cost

Sadler owners raft up for a spot of
socialising on a sunny day

Some of the fleet for the Westerly 50th

Anniversary Rally

Tim Wright

Sadler and Starlight Owners Association