National Lottery

Hi All

Do you participate in the lottery. if so why not open an account through our Web Shop-The Club gets a commission but once you have gone through the "Signing Up " procedure which takes a few minutes then its a piece of cake- save forgetting to do your usual numbers & the chance to be a winner-no going to the shops & being tempted to buy other things. They even check the entry & send you an email if you win.
I have opened an account and got a lucky dip to kick me off so get ready if you are coming to the Commodores Welcome as I will be buying the drinks out of my winnings-How many can you get for £10- but as they say it could be YOU.

Regards to all

John

VHF RADIO COURSE

Dear Members,

Would you like to obtain a VHF radio licence which is in fact a legal requirement if you have such equipment on your boat.
We can arrange an RYA course at the Pike and Eel , I will find out the cost for this year and post here and in the newsletter, but last year it was £90 which included the £22 licence fee, the course is limited to a maximum of 10 people.
Please contact:- Linda Skelton, Assistant Secretary on 01462 637592 or email me at
linda.skelton2@ntlworld.com if you would like to book a place.

Commodores Welcome 26 April at Chalet Bar

I hope you have all now received your invitation sent in the post on 4th April.

To assist us with the catering if you can make the event please let me know as soon as possible .

If you have a neighbour or friend at the Marina or indeed a boater moored elsewhere please invite them along for the evening so they can get a taster for the Club & they may be interested in joining.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

Regards

John (Pisces)

More website changes

In response to Riverside Marine & Leisure adding a section about the PEBC to their website www.boatsaleuk.com we have added a link to them in our contacts section (www.pike-eelboatclub.co.uk/contacts.htm)

Whilst updating the contacts section, I noticed that our directions could do with a map, so I have added a google map to the page. I also registered the clubs details with google so that we appear as a pushpin on the map. Visitors can also have the option of enlarging the map, which opens in a new page and would allow them to use google maps to plan directions to the Pike from anywhere they wish.

The Pike and Eel Boat Club Needs You.

I have been thinking about posters and such for the Regatta and came up with this. What do you think?

Webshop

You may notice a new link on the home page, which is a link to our new buy.at/pikeandeel shop. The shop is basically a collection of online retailers including some of the biggest names such as Asda, HMV, Tesco, Next, John Lewis and many more. When members click through to the online shops, the sellers know that the buyer has come through our page and they will pay the club commission on everything bought. More details are available at the shop, but if every member went through the pike and eel shop to do their online shopping, we could raise a fair bit of revenue for the club to subsidise future events. Happy Shopping. Oh, by the way, the price you will pay is guaranteed to be the same price you would pay if you visited the companies sites direct.

Google Search

I have added a Google Search Bar to the introduction page on the PEBC website. Hopefully this will make the site more functional and will encourage people to stop by more often. It also means that if you are involved with the club, you could even set it as your home page. If you have an opinion as to whether this is a good or bad thing, please leave comments below.

Cheers

Steve Mead

2007 Video

Thought I would post this short video featuring pictures from our 2007 events. See if you can spot yourself! As to the choice of music, well there was no choice really!

Cheers,

Steve Mead

I'm Dreaming of a White . . . . . Easter

The wisdom of our illustrious Commodore in cancelling the Easter BBQ can be seen here in all it's Glory. Not only was the Marina at risk of floods, but the snow fell heavily. Our brave Vice Commodore Peter, Dianne and Ruby were there to brave the weather, along with a few other brave souls who ventured to their boats despite the forecast.

Cambridge Motor Boat Club - Open Weekend 2nd to 4th May 2008

Dear Members

We have received an invitation to join Cambridge Motor Boat Club, for their open weekend which extends to include all our members, on the above dates. Please click here for a programme and booking form, should you wish to go along.

John & I and Peter & Dianne will be going and we look forward to having as many members as possible to come with us and support this event.

Perhaps you could let me know if you book, so that we have an idea of the numbers attending.

Kind Regards

Janette

(with amendments by Steve Mead for Blog)

New Link

I have placed a link to the blog from the PEBC home page so people will be able to start using it.

January Newsletter

The new boating season is almost upon us and it will soon be time to get those fenders out of storage and attached to our nicely polished hulls, ready for what we hope will be a warm and sunny 2008, where we can clock up plenty of engine hours.

We have lots of fantastic events planned, so please come along and join in.

2007 was an excellent year when we had some amazing attendances lets make 2008 even better.

CHRISTMAS DRINKS

We had an excellent turnout of members all getting together over drinks and nibbles to exchange Xmas cards and seasons greetings. The healthy club funds meant we could offer everyone a drink and entry into the free raffle with a fantastic festive hamper as the prize; Carol and Dick Weeks were the lucky winners.

A number of us decided to have lunch and the hotel set up tables for us in the breakfast room, we had a very enjoyable meal, and it was a lovely to meet up with everyone before the break in events over the winter.

PRESIDENTS CUP

I must apologise for not mentioning the presentation of the Presidents Cup at the AGM.

The cup is presented by the President to a member or members who he deems deserves recognition for services to the club. This year it was awarded to Husband and Wife, John and Gloria Bevan who have been PEBC members for many years, John has served as Commodore and both have been longstanding committee members, who are staunch supporters of the club and are always willing to lend a hand. Congratulations to you both.

MESSING ABOUT ON THE RIVER (OR SHOULD THAT BE MUD)

Read Janette’s account of a lively afternoon on the river, I must add that both Peter, John and their ladies had been to lunch in the Pike before they started this venture, not good if you are full of rhubarb crumble and custard.

Sunday 27th January dawned a bright and sunny day for the first Committee Meeting of the season at l0.30am, lunch and then a walk in the spring like weather, to survey the scene now that the Marina water levels had dropped. Not so for the Vice Commodore, Peter, who was anxious to locate his picnic table, washed away in the floods. The table was special, as it was a birthday present two years earlier and made

by his son and daughter in law. For this operation, Peter recruited the Commodore, John (a big mistake – you all know his reputation for mishaps) Dianne and Janette.

First job was to cruise down the river towards the lock to see if the table could be found. Strict instructions - go carefully as the table was probably submerged and could do a lot of damage as an underwater obstruction, being a large object it requires three able bodied persons to move it! Very responsible thought!!

Having travelled about half a mile towards Brownshill Lock the table is sited in a dyke in a field where it had rested following the waters subsiding. However it was not safe to enter the field from the boat, so Plan B was put into operation, which involved walking the path from the ‘Pike’ towards the lock. Peter thought that maybe we could somehow turn the table over and over ‘in an effort to get it back to the Marina.

All set off, including three dogs, for the walk. Easier said than done. The whole area was still very much waterlogged and extremely muddy and it became an effort to walk. Eventually the group came across the table on its side, tangled in a barb wire fence, deep in mud, but with its candle and holder still attached! It became obvious that no way could the table be removed in the manner suggested and so Peter thought the best method would be to drop the table in the water, anchor it to a tree and he would come along in his boat and retrieve it. John thought this was a good idea and having seen a life ring floating near the bank decided that we could attach this and it would be easy to find on the return journey. The table had to be pulled with a rope and as they neared the bank the mud sucked in the wellies and then it was John who had to be rescued with a rope as his boots became submerged. No surprises there!! Dianne retrieved the life ring and it was then attached to the table and dropped into the water. The particular point where the table went in is where GOBA decided they wanted moorings last year for the IWA festival and at this point there is still a sign. We did find this funny for if a narrow boat had come along and decided to moor up

the occupants could be sucked in the mud never to be seen again. The first part of the task complete, four muddy, unfit persons returned to the marina, as did three filthy dogs.

The return journey involved Peter, Dianne and John and as they disappeared down river, one wondered what next would take place? Well, from the reports amid lots of laughing here are the next events.

Peter suggested that John drive his boat and he would be more suited to retrieve the table. Upon locating the life ring attached to the table, it was decided to go into the bank bow first. Peter managed to hook the life ring and tied the rope to the boat. Next they reversed off in an attempt to get the table floating and moved to the centre of the river so that Peter could walk the table round the side of the boat and attach it partly

to his bathing platform. Peter and Dianne were both on the platform attempting

to secure the table when the boat began to drift with the water flow, so John decided to hold it steady on the engine, but the boat shot forward! . Following a loud shriek John stopped the boat as Peter and Dianne clung on trying not to fall in the water. John blamed Peter’s throttle control! The table was towed back to the Marina and left partly on the bathing platform and in the water ready for another days adventure, as Peter was mentally (I wonder why) and physically exhausted. They all returned home shattered hoping for a rest however, one last task remained, bathing three dogs!

WINTER TRIP

Our winter trip this year saw 25 of us taking the ferry from Southampton to the Isle of Wight. We all arrived at the hotel in Sandown on Friday evening, some of us later than others, as one of the ferries had broken down and some sailings were cancelled. We all met in the bar for drinks before dinner and then adjourned to the Ballroom, where a duo provided some excellent entertainment. It wasn’t long before the Pike and Eel led the way and got up to dance. Everyone took to the floor for a rendition of ‘Delilah’ and not surprisingly we were the last ones to leave at the end of the evening.

Saturday morning after breakfast 21 of us drove to Cowes to take a charter cruise across to Portsmouth harbour. It was overcast and the visibility could have been better, but at least it wasn’t too windy so the sea was relatively calm, the captain gave us a running commentary of the sights along the way and we had 3 very enjoyable hours out on the water.

We found a nice warm pub on our return to Cowes and had an excellent lunch with some liquid refreshment before looking around all the chandleries and shops, it was then back to the hotel for a quick change before meeting up again for drinks, dinner and more dancing.

The duo obviously knew us by now because they played ‘Delilah’ and we stayed on the dance floor for most of the evening. It was another late night with the Pike keeping up the tradition of being last to leave.

On Sunday there was a parting of the ways, some headed home, whilst those staying for 3 nights went off to explore the island, meeting up later for dinner and then chatting in the bar until bedtime.

Monday everyone departed for home.

It was an excellent weekend and I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

A new Era

Welcome to the PEBC Blog. A new way for us to share our thoughts and news with the world. Be sure to check back often.