Chartwell SWA Meeting 14^th / 15^th June 2008

Once again the annual visit to Chartwell has come around and I am pleased to report it was a great success. Would you believe we had perfect weather of sunshine and excellent sailing conditions on their magnificent lake.

The first job for everybody was to erect the large gazebo and it needed all hands on deck. This was accomplished without too much screaming, shouting or bad language as in previous years. We had 11 SWA members attending with 2 wives and Phillip Bellamy with his sister Sue. She paid a major part in the erection of the gazebo and like her brother, knew all the answers! Unfortunately Jorge Britsch and his German colleagues could not make it this year but we hope to see them here again next year.

On display to the General public were 22 models across the entire naval spectrum. I am pleased to say that from 11am when the gates opened until the closure at 5pm, at least 3 models were on the lake at any one time. Each afternoon we also had a mass sailing of 10 models.

One of the highlights of the meeting was a demonstration of speed and agility by Roy Skeets and Hilary Breeze with their Fairmile D class. A sight to behold and cherish, to see these models working to their maximum capacity. Unfortunately the visiting Admiral of the Swiss Navy, P. Bellamy could only stand and watch this demonstration with envy. I am sure he will make up for this next year at Sinshiem with his notorious high speed flotilla.

This weekend was advertised by the National trust as a family weekend and as a result over 3,000 people turned up over the 2 days. This SWA meeting must be one of the best venues we hold in the entire UK with fantastic facilities and a most beautiful lake set in stunning scenery. Members can even bring their own mobile homes for parking overnight FOC. We don’t want to keep this show a secret, so look out for next years show date in QDR and come along. You don’t need to book just turn up on the day or both days.

On the Saturday evening those who wish to can attend an excellent SWA dinner at a local hostelry and this year was as good as ever. A perfect way to end to a hard days sailing and dine with your fellow members and wives. As a finale to the weekend, on the Monday, 4 SWA members visited Chatham Dockyard and met the “Chief Ship Keeper” and had a detailed tour of HMS Cavalier, the only surviving WW2 destroyer. An ideal opportunity to see and experience what is was like to serve in such a vessel. Also bring a camera as its ideal for its numerous details of equipment and armaments. Also open to the public are numerous ships to visit including a Submarine – HMS Ocelot and Victorian Battle Cruiser –HMS Gannet using both Sails and Steam. So ended this years Chartwell show, so are you coming next year? I do hope so.

If anyone left a pair of sunglasses on the stand please contact Barry who will be pleased to return them to you.

Barry Chapman