CBYA CRYSTAL JUBILEE – DECEMBER INTERVIEW – HUGH EPSOM
Our final Crystal Jubilee interview is with our current Chairman, Hugh Epsom….
- Why did you join the CBYA?
We joined the CBYA soon after moving to Jávea in 2011 for two reasons – I enjoy sailing, and we wanted to get settled quickly into the local community. The CBYA allowed us to achieve both, and has brought Gillian and myself many hours of enjoyment!
- What was a memorable first experience of the CBYA?
Sailing with Jonathan Wilson on S/Y Maui in my first 5 Clubs Regatta in 2013 – we got on the podium! RIP Jonathan.
- What were your roles and how did they change over the years?
- TOMs Co-ordinator (2013 – 2015)
- Vice-Chairman (2015 – 2018)
- Chairman (2018 – present)
CBYA CRYSTAL JUBILEE – NOVEMBER INTERVIEW – GRAHAM HUSTLER
First a little history….
I have been around boats and water most of my life – since the age of 16 – be it water-skiing competitions, power boat racing, dinghy racing, windsurf racing, or cruiser racing. I started water skiing in 1966, leading to national competitions, and skied the English Channel twice, both ways. This led me in to power boat racing, both in the UK and European competitions.
(Cowes-Torbay)
Getting married put an end to weekends away with the team!!! Children arrived, so then I started sailing dinghies, first a GP14 with the family, and also a Laser. But, still having the ‘need for speed’, I eventually bought a Fireball (a fast, 2-man, trapeze boat), and started racing again, taking part in the Fireball National events, including Abersoch in Wales, in the early ‘80s. My best result, out of a fleet of about 45, was 7th overall. I started sailing bigger boats around 1990, crewing in regattas, mostly off the North East, and later the South coast of the UK, taking part in the ‘Round the Island’ race several times.
Having secured my Competent Crew and Coastal Skipper sailing certificates, I bought my first sailing cruiser, a Verl Islander 33, in 1994. Over the years, via both power boating and sailing, I covered most of the inland and coastal waters of the UK, with several cross channel and North Sea passages.
I arrived in Spain in 2010, and soon realised I could not possibly live next to the Mediterranean, without being on the water! I bought a Sadler 34 and had it shipped down from the UK, with the full intention of finding two partners, to help share the costs. Sadly, this did not work out, mainly due to the fact that its layout did not lend itself to Mediterranean cruising, so I sold the boat some three years later.
Did This Happen?
Relative to the Diana Jarvis Crystal Jubilee interview, we thought that you might find this bit of CBYA history of interest…
The Committee
October 2020
CBYA CRYSTAL JUBILEE – OCTOBER INTERVIEW – DIANA JARVIS
Why did you join the CBYA?
The opportunity to learn to sail nice yachts! Yes please? My waypoints to the CBYA included canoeing, Enterprises, Junks, windsurfers, metal assault boats, RIBs, and a lifetime passion for scuba diving.
What was a memorable first experience of the CBYA?
Leaving Moraira Marina at midnight as part of a fleet to sail to St Eulalia in Ibiza where we enjoyed wonderful hospitality and made real friends with local Spanish crews. It is possible that TrickyD was the last yacht to arrive (on more than one occasion), but we definitely did not resort to using the engine.
CBYA CRYSTAL JUBILEE – SEPTEMBER INTERVIEW – IZZY & PIERS ARMSTRONG
Why did you join the CBYA?
Having owned a house in the area for 12 years and visited on a regular basis, we had decided that, with retirement from Saudi Arabia in April 2003, and permanent residence, selling up and having a new house built was a good idea!! Retirement to a caravan on a building site was a little foolhardy, and although the end result was spectacular, we needed a life in the meantime. We had joined the Costa Blanca Mountain Walkers, but our first love was sailing. Enter Brenda Bates, out walking, who was also part of a club just setting up for owners of boats, and people interested in crewing. Thank you, Brenda!
What was a memorable first experience of the CBYA?
I think it was the passion of the founder members. Every new member was important, especially sailors, numbers at that time were probably less than 30 people. Such a small group so welcoming. Ron Shanson, Mike Arnold, John King, Martin Charman, Chris Middleton, all had boats and were generous with their time. Brenda and Diana Jarvis, great social organisers and friends. Where would the club have been without them all and their generosity, including hosting events in their homes. A close-knit family more than a Club! More boat owners appeared, Maurice Pilkington with Maid of Moraira and John Godfrey in Calpe with Mary Poppins. A lot of fun on the water, so many stories! The addition of Richard Jones and his lovely new yacht TrickyD made the next few years particularly exciting, including for us, joining him in Corfu for two fantastic weeks, as well as all the fun racing.
CBYA CRYSTAL JUBILEE – AUGUST INTERVIEW – TANYA & PETER ENGLISH
- Why did you join the CBYA?
Because we were interested in sailing on the Costa Blanca. We both enjoy sailing and wanted to meet other fellow sailors with the same passion – we were also looking for more opportunities to get out on the water with other people.
- What was a memorable first experience of the CBYA?
Meeting a whole load of CBYA members on the Mundo Marino big catamaran when we had booked a party of family members. We had a private birthday party with our family, and boarded the Mundo Marino. Not having heard of the CBYA, we met the CBYA group of passengers who were also on board, who entertained us with music. We also met our current Chairman, Hugh Epsom, who explained all about the CBYA. It was a memorable experience for us, and we were thrilled to have had the opportunity to find out about the Club, and we joined immediately.
Social Fun with the CBYA
The CBYA, and formally the CBBC, has always run some great social activities.
Here is an example of a highly-successful, past “Last Night of the Proms” party!
Maybe we should repeat the theme in 2021?
The Social Team
June 2020
CBYA CRYSTAL JUBILEE – JUNE INTERVIEW – BRENDA BATES
As part of our CBYA Crystal Jubilee celebrations, each month we are going to hear from a member who has made a significant contribution to our club. This month we are are publishing some memories from Brenda Bates.
My first introduction to sailing was in Mombasa in the 70s, when a friend whose husband was a sea captain took me out in her dinghy in the busy harbour. We sailed between huge ships, and I learnt the meaning of ´tacking´. Then in the 80s in Port Dickson near Kuala Lumpur, I learned about ‘capsizing´! I was in a race, out on the trapeze when my skipper turned his Laser too sharply into the gap in the reef. Swimming no problem, but I was now underneath the sail, and had to make my way to its edge, with sharp coral under my feet.. Whew!
So in 2002, when I met Ron Shanson at a formal dinner, I was pleased to accept his suggestion to arrange social events for his group of boat-owner friends. So the Costa Blanca Boat Club began. I would be able to get out on the water again! Never had any formal training, but am a willing crew member.
Fun with the Costa Blanca Boat Club.
Further to Dr Ron’s recently-published interview , we thought that you might enjoy reading about some of the past activities of CBBC members.
The Committee
May 2020
CBYA Crystal Jubilee – May Interview – Dr Ron Shanson
As part of our CBYA Crystal Jubilee celebrations, each month we are going to hear from a member who has made a significant contribution to our club. This month we are are publishing an interview with Dr Ron Shanson, founder of the Costa Blanca Yacht Association.
1) Dr Ron – tell us how it came about that you were instrumental in setting up the Spanish sailing club that has become the CBYA?
In 1989 I set up a UK sailing club in Portsmouth called High Seas Sailing Club, which is still alive and sailing, and has 30 sailing vessels, both in the UK and France.
In 1996 to 98 I moved to Javea, which was wonderful, the sea was gorgeous – but how to live here without sailing? I still had my 15m Prout catamaran, MiFleur, but mooring was very expensive in the Javea area, so I ended up purchasing a 20-metre berth in Puerto Blanco, the other side of Calpe, on a 35-year lease. I wanted to make new friends who appreciated sailing the seas, so that we could share experiences, including the 1,001 problems of keeping a yacht in a “strange” new country. So in 2002, I tried to set up the Costa Blanca Boat Club. Initially the objective was to send two sail boats from the Costa Blanca to meet up with four from the London club in Ibiza and Valencia. The Costa Blanca News newspaper allowed me to take some newspaper columns, and I also placed some radio adverts. This resulted in my finding about 10 to 15 fellow yachties… and the club started!
S/Y MiFleur
