40 years is a long time - half an average life in real terms. In 1961 an average house would have set you back about £3,000. The era of National Service was coming to an end and state education, which usually ended at age 16 started to progress beyond the 'Secondary Modern School'.
Buying a boat was akin to buying a car - it was a luxury item, so sailing tended to be a pastime for the better paid, Doctors, Lawyers, Service officers etc. The School curriculum was beginning to advance past the 3 'Rs' and sport played an important part in the pupil's timetable. Soccer, Rugby, Cricket etc, were all team sports, some schools provided Tennis, and this was probably the only 'individual' sport. We could not let this anniversary pass without mentioning those founder members who had the foresight to introduce Sailing and Canoeing into the curriculum, and extend the opportunity to participate to all Surrey school children - Commodore L Steele, Vice Commodore J. Newby, Treasurer Miss M Cox, Secretary J.W. Chesher and the Teachers elected to the Committee - Misses North, Milner, Dennison and Mrs. Palmer, Messrs Blanchard, Scott, Roberts, Gander, Pille, Scoble, Miller, and Cooke.
The inaugural meeting held on March 8th 1961 at County Hall Kingston, was called to discuss the formation of an Association for sailing and canoeing for Surrey school children. Article 2 of the draft constitution, adopted at the meeting for the Surrey Schools Sailing and Canoeing Association was, 'The object of the association shall be:
In the early days priority was given to getting teachers trained as instructors/helpers etc. and to deciding on suitable boats to build and sail.
| Affiliation to the RYA was applied for and that a 'Burgee' was required. Our Burgee appears to have been designed by the winners of a competition put out to affiliated schools. At the first AGM held on 16th November 1961 under matters arising, `A suitable burgee was selected by the members`, but it doesn't indicate who won the competition. |
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The treasurers report at that first AGM shows 'Cash at bank £4-16 4d'! Committee meetings were held monthly and gradually the Association put together its syllabus. 52 schools and youth groups were interested in joining, bases for sailing were at Ham, Send and Botley. Early in 1962 an Instructors syllabus was drawn up by the Association, and was very similar to the current RYA level 3. The course consisted of 4 evening theory (indoor) 4 evening practical /theory at Send and one weekend practical exam at Botley.
Send is mentioned as the base for Wey Sailing Club. Presumably this was the forerunner to Papercourt? At the inaugural meeting `Mr. Newby offered the use of the waters at Send`.
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During 1962 SSSCA affiliated to the British Canoe Union and the NSSA (National Schools Sailing Association) and attended their regattas. Mention is made of 20 children representing the county at the National Championships at Northampton, finishing 4th of 19 counties. A total of 87 boats competed. Graham Jones of Hinchley Wood winning the prestigious Mount-Haes Challenge Cup in a British Moth. Outings for canoeing were held on the Arun with training at Ham Base. 1962 AGM - It was proposed by Mr. L Steele and seconded by Mr. J Chesher that Mr. V.M. Farrant be co-opted onto the Committee. Boats that children sailed in the early 60s were the South African Sprog, 11 plus (see picture), Enterprise, Javelin, Heron, and later the Mirror. The Eleven Plus had no rigging adjusters - a small jack beneath the mast raised it to adjust the tension. Mention is made in the minutes that Surrey County Council Education Department encouraged and supported the Association and assisted in obtaining and granting funds for Instructor's courses and for boat building. In December 1962 SCC awarded five £50 grants for building Dinghies. It was noted that `The Daily Mirror dinghy was could be built for £50'! In November 1963 Hayling Island S.C. offered the use of their facilities for a County regatta in June 1964. |
1963 AGM - Uffa Fox nominated as Vice-President.
At this point in its History, the minutes for the years 1964 to 1972 appear to have been lost. Fortunatley a list of Commodores exists. However it is without doubt that a tremendous amount of time and expertise was put into the SSSCA by the Committee, not only to get it up and running but to expand across the County. This expansion resulted in the County being split into divisions for administration purposes. It was also evident that Affiliation to the NSSA continued and not to the RYA, as the NSSA and RYA worked as a partnership.
During the 1960s a Silhouette boat was purchased and based at Keyhaven. This was for offshore cruising and teaching and for use as an escort for cruises organized by the Association. In 1973 this was re-fitted, then sold and with aid of a grant from SCC a Silhouette Mark 3 was purchased, and named `Mitre`. Also The Canoeing part of the association was dropped as the current title SSSA is mentioned.
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From this point a synopsis of the minutes of meetings plus major changes to the present day follows. IN 1973 10 schools attended the Hayling Regatta. Boats sailed were: Slow Fleet - 3 Herons, 6 Eleven plus, 5 Mirrors, 2 Gulls, 1 Pacer and 1 Graduate (winner was a Shene School Mirror). Fast Fleet - 12 Enterprises, 2 G.P.14, 1 Mirror, 1 Albacore, 1 Javelin, 1 Wayfarer, 1 Fireball, 1 470, 1 Lark, and 1 National 12 (winner was RGS Enterprise). With a fleet of 40 boats - all 2 handed, 80 plus pupils attended! The 1974 programme was minuted as, 3 regattas at Littleton, March, May, and October, a two day event at Hayling in July and the 2 day NSSA National in late July. There were 31 Affiliations. Ham Base is now called Thames Young Mariners. It is noted from the 1975 minutes that most of the Officers on the South East NSSA committee were from SSSA. The Association, with affiliations at Littleton and Papercourt, paid the berthing fees for schools based at the lakes. Problems were minuted regarding thefts at Littleton, boats not put away, use of non SSSA equipment, etc. In 1976 there were 21 school boats at Littleton, and 5 schools plus Wag based at Papercourt. |
The Association continued to thrive during the late seventies, with Robert Stewart joining the Committee as Competitions Secretary in 1976 and David Wingrove becoming Hon. Treasurer in 1978. During this period affiliations totaled 21 schools and groups, although not all of them attended regattas.
The next major changes to the Association came in the early 1980's. In order to consolidate its teaching expertise and to use the qualified Dinghy Instructors on both on the committee and at affiliated schools to better advantage, SSSA applied for recognition as a teaching establishment to the RYA and this was granted in 1982. Following this, affiliation to NSSA (Surrey Schools was a founder member of the NSSA), was discontinued.
In 1983 'MITRE' the Silhouette was sold due to very limited use and increasing berthing costs. With the funds from this sale the Sea Nymph rescue craft was purchased and later this was named 'MITRE'. In 1983 we had our first regatta at Walton Sailing Club (now IBRSC) and in 1984 a regatta for single-handed boats at Thames Young Mariners - using their boats.
Robert Stewart became Principal of SSSA in 1984. In the Mid 80s 28 schools/groups were affiliated. From the information available the total annual regatta entries during this period averaged between 135 to 145 entries. It should be noted that apart from the TYM regatta only double-handed boats were allowed to enter.
In 1989 after much discussion, it was decided to introduce single-handed dinghies into the main regattas. The requirement for life jackets was revised to allow buoyancy aids to cope with the restricted room of center mainsheet dinghies. Following this major change the regatta entries showed a slight increase.
Moving into the nineties, the sailing scene began to take on a refreshing outlook, with newer design 'go faster' boats appearing at regular intervals. Surrey Schools sailors still advanced their sailing expertise in the established classes - Laser, Topper, Enterprise, Mirror etc.
With more emphasis on safety and the requirement for 'duty of care' many Schools found it increasingly difficult to recruit Teachers and Parents to become Instructors. The pressure on Teachers to spend more time promoting their School (parent evenings etc,) and the introduction of league tables, Ofsted inspections and other administration duties also took its toll. In 1993, 16 schools/groups affiliated; by 1997 this had fallen to eight. Also in 1997, WAG moved their sailing base to Littleton. Following St Georges College closing their Sailing section, no other SSSA groups were at Littleton.
In the early years, press reports were sent to local papers, but not on a regular basis. It was agreed that we should report our regattas in the national Yachting press and local papers, where local interest may ensure publication. This, we hoped, would provide a platform to encourage pupils in to sailing and for the School/group to enter them in the Regattas. It was evident that if Schools were unable to provide cover for their budding stars, Sailing clubs based in Surrey could encourage youngsters by forming and affiliating youth sections, on the lines of WAG and Walton Sea Scouts. In recent years we have seen the youngsters of Desborough, Papercourt, Island Barn and Queen Mary, boost the numbers at regattas and have provided some excellent racing. In 1999 the first of our current editions of NEWSLETTERS was published, and at the same time our Web site was launched. All of this is additional advertising and keeps SSSA in the limelight.
Although the number of affiliated groups has fallen, the number of entries at regattas has increased. Figures for 1999 - 147 entries, 2000 - 165 and for 2001 -159 (n.b. figures are based on academic year - September to July). One must attribute the strength in numbers to the thriving sailing sections of Therfield School and Royal Grammar School, and hope that they continue to attract new sailors to the scene.
The dedicated members of the committee have seen a number of changes over the years, and have had many obstacles to overcome. Those worth a mention who are currently serving, have to be our Principal, Robert Stewart, who first became involved in 1976, our President Vic Farrant, Charles Fox for his expertise in obtaining our grants, and our Race Officer Ian McMichael, who has moved the association into the I.T. era, not forgetting David & Eileen Wingrove who has served for 23 years in a variety of roles! Looking back through the years one notes that our success is partly due to the Teacher/Instructors who through their own sailing ability have introduced sailing sections into schools and subsequently become Committee members, and built up successful teams. The Pearne Trophy through the years highlights this where a School has a 2 to 3 year run of winning - Winston Churchill, Beverley, Royal Grammar, Therfield, Sudbrook - all and more have provided dedicated and long serving committee members.
Finally, on behalf of the anniversary committee, our thanks to all those past serving stalwarts who spent many days and evenings keeping the Association on an even keel, and the Surrey County Council Education Department, for giving all the Schools, Pupils and Parents, the choice they have to-day. To the Sailing clubs that host the SSSA regattas, Littleton, Island Barn, and Papercourt - inland, and Hayling Island - tidal, may we look forward to your warm welcome and co-operation for the next 40 years. To Thames Young Mariners and their helpful staff who played an important part in the early days and where single-handed regattas were held in the 1980's. TYM is the present Sailing Base for Therfield School. Since those early days, the National Lottery has provided funding and Sailing has benefited as an individual sport. At the last Olympics, Great Britain led the world in sailing.
The Appendix to this brief history includes the Past Commodores, the holders of The Pearne Trophy (School of the Year) and a list of all the schools and groups that have participated over the past 40 years (with apologies if I have missed anybody out!).
N.B. It is evident that Minutes are not written for 'historians' so I may have made some assumptions in compiling this history.
Dennis Martin
SSSA Press Officer
Autumn 2001.
Last updated: 8 October, 2002