November 2023
Our November 2023 was a very interesting evening given by Andy Freeman of the Wallasey Yacht Club which was titled ‘10 Years of Sailing around the World from little yachts to big yachts’. Andy told us he started sailing dinghies when he was about 6 which led him eventually to sail on the Ocean Youth Club ketch, Francis Drake out of Liverpool. He survived as a Crew member on the tall ship Marques which tragically was lost off Bermuda in the Tall Ships Race in 1984. Then he sailed on the West German training ship, Gorch Fock into Liverpool in 1984, the first Tall Ships event to visit the Port. He crewed on a 57 foot yacht in the 1984/85 Whitbread Round the World Race, now called the Volvo Ocean Race and finally cruised around the South Pacific on a private schooner visiting Pitcairn Island. All the images Andy showed us of his voyages were spectacular and we must thank him for coming to tell us about his marvellous experiences. After the interval Jim Charnock showed us images of visiting Ports such as Southampton, Felixstowe and Hamburg, thanks a lot Jim.