Tuesday Talks

2020/21

• 12th April (Monday): AGM
• 30th March: Eclipse: Less an astronomical exposition and more ‘what Malcolm and Sue did on their holidays’ this is an illustrated account of an organised expedition of more than 400 people to view the July 2nd 2019 total eclipse from a location in Argentina, which was duly and fully experienced in excellent conditions. But the fun didn’t end there: a visit to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile and truly dark, ‘dark skies’ allowed telescopic sight of the furthest reaches of the galaxy, and with far more immediacy, Jupiter and Saturn. As if it couldn’t get any better, the European Southern Observatory and its Very Large Telescope at Paranal was next up. A truly amazing piece of kit. And then, homage to the Tropic of Capricorn. Better than cloudy Land’s End on August 11th 1999!
• 23rd March: Race Officers’ and Skippers’ Briefing
• 16th March: Monkeying about in Borneo: Geoff Davies will be talking about his adventures with old men of the forest in Borneo (or is it old men who sail in Flushing? whatever). In fact Orangutans share Borneo’s forests with 12 other primate species, including 2 gibbon species, 5 langurs, 2 macaques, the tarsier, the slow loris, and the proboscis monkey. He will focus on the orangutan rescue centre in Borneo, Proboscis monkeys, sun bears and wild boar, and include a short film about the centre and a longer film about the rescue centre based in Indonesia.
• 9th March: (TBC) Racing Rules Seminar: Alex Davies will be introducing us to the (thankfully few) changes to the new edition of the Race Rules of Sailing.
• 2nd March: Health, Diet, Disease and Death in mid-Victorian Britain: Dr Roy Fisher; Life expectancy for the mid-Victorian working class in Britain at the age of 5 years was as good or better than today. Although they suffered epidemics of cholera and measles, the adult population would have been in better health to cope with the first phase of a coronavirus pandemic than today. more

  Life expectancy for the mid-Victorian working class in Britain at the age of 5 years was as good or better than today. Obesity and diabetes were rare and the incidence of chronic and degenerative disease was only 10% of what we see today. Cancer and cardiovascular disease were not the main causes of death. Being much more physically active, their calorie intake was up to twice as high as ours. Their diet had a high intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and oily fish and contained levels of micro-nutrients at about ten times the levels considered normal today. They had little access to tobacco and alcohol.
  Although science has made major contributions to health care, our society is suffering from pandemics of obesity, diabetes, vitamin D deficiency and chronic disease, much of which can be attributed to our modern diet high in processed food and a sedentary lifestyle. Drugs mainly only treat symptoms rather than addressing the underlying cause. Lessons from the past need to be considered if we expect to have better health and avoid bankrupting our NHS.
  Although they suffered epidemics of cholera and measles, the adult population would have been in better health to cope with the first phase of a coronavirus pandemic than today.

  If you missed the talk you can catch up with the second half of it (we had gremlins earlier) here, using the passcode: %n2vFjQ=

• 23rd February: Mike Lazo Gammora will take us on a live walking tour of the ancient city of Cusco in Peru describing the Inca origins of the city, and the effect the Spanish Conquistadores had on the city. Begins at 2000 more

  Map © John Hemming & Edward Ranney
  
  According to local legend, Cuzco means ‘navel of the world’. It is said to have been founded about CE 1100 and became the centre of an empire which stretched from central Chile to the present Ecuador-Columbia border, to western Bolivia and northwest Argentina. A civil war broke out over the succession in about 1527; in 1532 soon after the eventual victor, Atahualpa won the civil war, Francisco Pizarro arrived with 179 conquistadores, many on horseback, signalling the demise of Incan supremacy. Some of the most magnificent examples of Incan architecture can be found in Cuzco, but with an overlay of Spanish buildings, including the baroque cathedral, the oldest part, El Triunfo which dates from 1533. The Qoricancha at Santo Domingo (above) is what remains of the Incan Golden Palace and Temple of the Sun. It was converted to a church by the Dominicans. You can see the typical Incan cyclopean wall which forms part of the perimeter with the church above.

• 16th February: Simon Rowell; since 2011 Simon has been the weather forecaster for the Clipper Round the World Race, and since 2015 the meteorologist for the British Sailing Team. He claims to have a thorough grasp of the many and varied uses of both gaffer and self-amalgamating tape, and of how to find a machine shop that can cut a 1 inch left hand thread in Brazil on a Sunday. Begins at 1900
  If you missed Simon's (very well-received) talk, you can catch up on the Zoom recording here, using the Passcode gcQ.j0sX
• 9th February: The New Clubhouse Construction project; Dave Owens & David Mitchell will give us an overview of the building project progress with photos of the site from the start of demolition to the current state of play and next steps. Gaye will give a summary of the progress on fund raising. Begins at 2000
• 2nd February: Sara Matson; curator at Tate St Ives on the life, studios and garden of Barbara Hepworth.
• 26th January: Ed Martin, writer and adventurer will talk about how his adventures sailing and sea kayaking have helped him deal with his mental health. Rather appropriate in these days of lockdown!
• 19th January: Jack Penty; Hetaera part1, the Racing Years (film) – Jack and Inez have whiled away their Lockdown creating a film logging the construction and voyages of the yacht Hetaera from Grimsby and Cleethorpes Yacht Club. Part 1 describes some long-distance races in which she competed. Join us to view this film and talk to them about the experience. Begins at 2000
• 12th January: One rule after another! Updating a half tonner for life under IRC: Jack Gifford, the naval architect behind John Hick's campaign will explain the overhaul that Rampage underwent in order to be competitive in the Half Ton Cup. This talk will be delivered via Zoom (see details on the right). Begins at 2000
• 3rd January, 1030: The Treasure hunt meets on the Moor in Falmouth at the Seven Stars. They have a marquee outside the pub. The nearest car park is the Quarry car park. The hunt will take about 2 hours on foot; soup and mince pie(s) will be provided afterwards. Results announced in the Marquee over lunch. Postponed
• 19th December: guided site visits with Dave Owens. Please contact Dave if you would like to take part.
• 15th December: The Art of Sail Making: David Lenz. A local lad and star of the RSC Optimist group trained by Phil & Jill Slater, David is the head sail designer for North Sails (Europe) based in the Fareham loft. David will talk for 50–60 minutes followed by 20–30 minutes of questions. Postponed
• 12th December: a socially distanced, dog friendly, Christmas Walk. Meet in the car park behind the Kings Head Pub (TR4 8PY) at 1030, walking in groups of up to 6 and setting off at suitable intervals. At the end of the walk a recovery beer or mulled wine may be enjoyed in the pub. Please let David Mitchell know if you want to take part and whether you will be going to the pub. Text 07771563776 or email.
• 1st December: Shipwrecks of Falmouth: Mark Milburn. Mark is fresh from appearing on CBBC and promises an interesting and highly visual presentation of Falmouth’s underwater history. There are so many wrecks just in the Roads! This talk will be delivered via Zoom (see details on the right). Begins at 2000