On the social side, the charity dinner in aid of Project Homerus exceeded all expectations. From the proceeds of the dinner, the sale of wine and other donations we were able to pass a cheque for £700 to the British Blind Sailing Association at a small ceremony at RYA house on October 12. Of course we enjoyed ourselves too with some great food and wine and superb musical entertainment!
    I would like to thank all who supported the venture, but especially Gus and Eunice Coletta, Linda and Rodger Wheeler and Anne K who looked after the culinary matters, Pat Halling and Mike Leigh for the musical entertainment and Mike and Richard who, as always, were on hand for the myriad of other things that were needed.
    Thanks also to Frank Rainsborough, who brought Project Homerus to our attention in the first place and who subsequently cajoled, encouraged and supported us in doing something about it!
     The Bacco di Homerus wine for the evening was provided by the Italian sponsor of the project and it was a pleasure to welcome Manuel Bonomo - from the family winemakers - as our guest. We still have a few bottles of the white wine for sale at the bar and an open invitation for AQSC members to visit the vineyard if they are in the Lake Garda area.
    Looking ahead, the AGM is now scheduled for Sunday 3 December, to be followed by a prize giving and social. (Note the change of date). The AGM of course, is when the Flag Officers and Management Committee are appointed. Most of the present Committee have served the Club for several years in one guise or another and it might be thought that a prerequisite for nomination to the Committee is many years membership of the Club.
    This is very definitely NOT the case! It would be great if to have some new, and preferably younger, blood aboard. The duties need not be very time consuming so please do think about putting yourself forward or persuading someone else to! Otherwise we may be at risk of focusing too much on the provision of space for zimmer frames in the patrol boat, rather than training requirements for junior members!
    May I also draw your attention to the Annual Dinner on 18 November. This is traditionally the highlight of our social calendar, when ladies don their best frocks and gentlemen brush the mothballs from their number ones. ( i.e. suits or dinner jackets).
    This is preceded by a working party on Saturday 4 November (from 10.30, bring gardening gear, free lunch etc) and the now traditional fireworks party in the evening at Kempton Park.
    The programme of refurbishment of the Clubhouse has taken a back seat over the summer, but Bodgitt and Co hope to resurrect it during the winter months.
    Plans include completing the kitchen make-over, replacing the sail/spar racks, completing the renovation of the launching ramp and re-instating the Bosun's store. In the longer term we need to replace the windows in the Clubroom and we are giving some thought to extending the patio area. If you have skills relevant to any of these projects and feel able to help in any way please let me know!
    This being the last newsletter of the year, I conclude by thanking all members of the Committee for their good work and indeed all members who have served the Club in different ways. I look forward to seeing as many as possible at the AGM
Nigel Knowles