The Early Years

When Topsham Sailing Club was formed in 1885 the heyday of Topsham as one of the great ports of the land had long since passed.  Gone were the vintage years like 1676 when men like Thomas Heath and Thomas Crispin exported some 13000 pieces of cloth from Topsham in ships like "The Olive Branch", "The Speedwell" and "The Golden Fleece".

Nonetheless, Topsham was still much more of a seafaring place in 1885 than now with coastal trading ketches still operating from the port, with Topsham people still earning their living from allied trades such as rope and net making whilst others fished for salmon as their predecessors had done for nearly 2000 years.

When Mr Alex Hamilton, Sir Dudley Duckworth-King, Dr Frood and others gathered at No 46 Fore St to form the Topsham Sailing Club they were not looking to a club as we know it today.

These men were "gentlemen" sailors from the privileged few who needed a sailing club as a means of organising river races, or matches as they were then known, for what by today's standards would be substantial prize money.

The earliest existing documents relating to this time are the minute books from 1893 onwards and it is recorded at that time that Mr Alex Hamilton was the Commodore, Sir Dudley Duckworth-King was The Vice commodore and Dr Frood The Rear commodore with the committee comprising of Mr Goodman The Treasurer, Mr Underhill The Secretary, and Messrs G.Ponsford and Hurdle as well as the Four Captains, T.Perriam, W.Nott, R.M.Holman and T.J.Holman.

The sailing programme for the year of 1893 is recorded with an opening cruise at the end of May and a closing cruise on the last Saturday of September with a racing programme of six matches during the summer to be raced over the "Turf Course".

Entries and courses for each match were accepted at the evening Committee Meeting which preceded each race. Starts were all "flying" and the prizes of 30/- and 20/- were no doubt contested for fiercely. The prizes for the Season were presented by Lady King at 3.30pm. on Wednesday, October 4th. These details perhaps portray a more leisurely time for sailing than can be found today.

In 1894 The Club was asked by the Exe Club to Join them in a petition to Exeter Council for the erection of a landing stage at Turf, although at a later date a request by Exe for Topsham to contribute to its cost was refused.

The Club Develops.

The first mention of a Flag Captain appears in 1894 which coincided with the use of a new starting line. Until this time the start line had been between the Topsham Pier and a Committee Boat, but in June 1894 that line was moved to Langdale Wharf (now Wixels) and 2 posts in line on the opposite side of the river. Nonetheless a Committee Boat was still used on the 2nd July, 1894 when Mr. Hucklebridge's steam launch was hired at a fee of 2/6d for the cost of the coal used.

On August 11th that year the Topsham boats converged on Lympstone for their Regatta where they were unable to use their expertise with "the flying start". At that time competing boats at Lympstone waited on the line at anchor with sails down and when the starting gun was fired the crews pulled up the anchor, set their sails and started racing. The story goes that one enterprising competitor laid out 100 fathoms of anchor rope in the direction of the first turning mark but at the last minute the starter reversed the course!

Topsham also held Regattas, when all the boats on the estuary came to Topsham, one of the highlights being the salmon boat races. Crewed by men who really knew how to row, the salmon boats travelled at great speed through the water whilst spectators packed the quay. One salmon boat owner, standing on the edge of the quay, became so excited as his boat forged into the lead that he leapt up and down in excitement and jumped into the water.

As early as 1895 the procedure for erasing names from the Roll of Members for non or late payment of dues, was being developed to the embarrassment of one former member whose 5/- was not accepted after the due date. Perhaps there were some difficult problems in that period as for some reason no Commodore was elected in either 1895 or 1896 but in 1897 Dr. Arthur Kempe was Commodore followed by Mr.L.Bamberger who after two years was followed by Mr.S.Ratcliffe until 1905 when Sir Lionel Walrond, M.P. started his 11 year tenure as Commodore. By this time the ladies of The Club had been recognised and an annual match had been instigated in which they would "steer" boats "owned" by Topsham members- presuming, no doubt, that ladies would not themselves own boats. It was not to be for a further 20 years that ladies could become members in their own right.

At the turn of the century The Club could boast of 34 members each paying 5/- annually, although donations to the Prize Fund from individuals often raised as much for club funds as did subscriptions. From being in the red in 1895 when the accounts showed a "Balance due to Treasurer of 1/3d" by 1903 they were well in the black with a credit balance of £2. 2s. 2d. On April 21st 1913 an estimate was received from Mr. Tremlett, and accepted, to build a wooden clubhouse 17ft x 9ft. 6ins. at Langdale Wharf for the sum of £30. Club members were called upon to offer financial support in the form of "shares" to help fund this project with the shares to be refunded over the ensuing years by annual ballot.

1914-1945.

The War years of 1914-1918 were marked by cessation in racing and a designation of members at War as honorary. In 1916 convalescent soldiers were invited to the opening cruise to Turf and partaking of tea with Topsham Sailing Club defraying expenses. From 1916, Dr.W.Macpherson, a well-liked doctor of Topsham, was elected Commodore and soon after his appointment verbal notice was received to move the clubhouse as Langdale Wharf was being sold. It was agreed to move the clubhouse to Dock End at the rear of the Badminton Hall (which is now the site of Strand Court Flats). Captain T. Holman agreed to do this but was saved the effort as at a later meeting Mr. Hurdle informed the Committee that owing to the continuation of the War, the premises would not be sold so the clubhouse could remain. For this gesture, Mr. Hurdle was made an honorary member.

In 1919 Captain T. J. Holman acquired the lease of Hawkins Quay and so the clubhouse was moved virtually next door to the present site of the Sailing Club. Mr. Harry Broom, being a well-known and most useful member of the club, got the job of moving the clubhouse which necessitated cutting it into three pieces to get it out of Langdale Wharf and into Hawkins Quay where Topsham Sailing Club has been ever since.

The 24 years between 1923 and 1947 saw a domination by the Holman family with Captain H. C. Holman as Commodore from 1923 to 1927 and Captain T. J. Holman at the helm for no less than 20 years from 1927. After 1930, however, it was no longer possible to race for the Holman Cup, a silver challenge cup presented by Mr. E. S. Holman in 1922, as by 1930 it had been won three years in succession by J. J. Norton who won the right to keep the trophy in perpetuity, and indeed it remains in the Norton family to this day.

On the 3rd October, 1923 a suggestion was made that the three clubs on the river, Exe, Starcross and Topsham be amalgamated and needless to say this was turned down by the Topsham Sailing Club. In 1928 the membership of Topsham Sailing Club was 44 and in that year the first ever 'at home' day was held by the Club where visiting members from other clubs enjoyed not only the racing but a magnificent tea of crab and lobster sandwiches, strawberries and cream which was laid on by Captain Tom Holman and his wife on tables with best linen cloths and silverware. This became an annual event with the other Exe clubs quickly following suit, and whilst the heavy linen and the best silver were not in evidence in later years, Topsham's famous "strawberry teas" went on right through until the war.

In 1935 a Snipe class was established, the first class boat adopted by Topsham Sailing Club, and eight or nine boats raced unti1 1939, four of those boats being built by club members. Messrs Brufords, Goldsmiths and Silversmiths of Exeter, presented the cup for the Snipe class in 1935 and this cup is still being raced for annually by the cruisers in the estuary races. With most of the Snipe skippers and crews joining H.M. Forces, Snipe racing lapsed and whilst some of the Snipe owners returned to the Club after the War, regular Snipe sailing did not start again.

It was through Captain Tom Holman that the land on which the club buildings now stand came into the ownership of the club by its purchase for £350 in 1941. This was largely financed by three of the club members, Messrs. J.J.Norton, B.P.Tucker and A.G.Guppy who provided more than half of the money needed by way of a low interest mortgage with £125 being raised by the sale of 10/- shares to members. The Club therefore became the owners of the property which of course proved to be a very astute move. During the War years all The Club grounds were "dug for Britain" or more correctly cultivated by Mr. Vic Autton, who paid a rent to The Club. The green shed was used by the A.R.P. with water and electricity laid on and shower sprinklers fitted for gas decontamination. A rent for the green shed was also received from St. Thomas Rural District Council which together with Mr. Autton's rent allowed sufficient money to accumulate to enable the cost of building a slipway to be met, which in 1948 was built largely by voluntary labour under the supervision of John and Gerald Harding and hard work it proved. Until that time the only method of hauling out or launching a boat was by means of a substantial wooden crane with heavy jib which could be hauled out over the edge of the quay. It was powered by an old winch which was painfully slow and agonising to operate. When lifting a craft with this crane it was essential not to have too flat an angle on the rope slings which were used. One gentleman ignored this principle on one occasion with the result that a sling broke and his heavily built 21ft motor boat dropped on to the club quay. The boat was never quite the same again, but no lasting damage was done to the quay!

After the War.

In 1947 Mr. H. F. Pollard was elected Commodore after having first sailed with The Club in 1898 in his home built "Wavelet". The picture of "Wavelet" illustrated is the oldest known photograph of a Topsham Sailing Club member sailing his boat. He was succeeded in 1949 by Mr.H.H.Harding who was always affectionately known as "Uncle Bert" and in 1951 Mr.J.J.Norton took over the position. In the meantime Captain T. J. Holman had died and "Uncle Bert" was elected President, which was an office he held right through until his death in December 1978 aged 97, after a lifetime of service to the club. During the early years after the war one of Topsham Sailing Club's more chauvinistic "sub committees" known as the "Blue Jerseys" used to meet at the King's Head in Higher Shapter Street. This was a men only gathering where there was much imbibing and singing, including the famous song, "Roll up, roll up, and see the tattooed lady".

In 1951 the Moth class was adopted, and also the Cadet Dinghy class first appeared.

The Golden Years of the Hornets.

On the 19th September, 1952 The Sailing Club Sub-Committee met to discuss dinghy racing and to try and resolve the weakness of the existing handicap system. The system previously adopted was that boats under 13ft. were grouped in C class, 13ft-15ft. came under B class and over 15ft. A class. Usually A class consisted of only three boats, Harold Norton's "Lorna", Ricky Gardner's "Jobisca", and Wally Beach's Flying Fifteen "Nemo". It was an impossible task to create a handicap basis which would take into consideration every aspect of tide, wind strength and direction. Evening races, which were usually sailed over a course from the club starting line to Barrel buoy and back, would often start with a fair breeze prior to evening high water. The first boat to reach Barrel would turn and carry a favourable tide while the tail end of the fleet would often have to contend with the ebb. Therefore the first boat around the bottom mark was more often than not the first boat home. After some discussion it was agreed that a new one design class should be started. The objective was to find a boat that was light, fast, able to plane, cheap to produce, of a new design and preferably a recognised National class so that owners could race on equal terms. A number of designs were considered and eventually it was unanimously decided that the 16ft. Jack Holt designed Yachting World Hornet would fit the bill. This was an important decision for The Club, because dinghy racing was then the main activity. There were no large sailing boats or motor sailers, the only other boats were cabin cruisers and a few motor boats used on the estuary. Wally Beach, who had been elected as Commodore in 1952, was the driving force behind the Hornet project and put forward the idea that a kit should be obtained as well as drawings and that these should be copied and station frames made.

It was estimated that the cost of boats, including sails, built by volunteer labour would be something under £100 each. They were actually finished at £69 per boat including sails! It was agreed that each member should contribute £10 so that the first purchases of timber, plywood, glue and fastenings could be made. There was sufficient room in the Green Shed to build four boats at a time and still leave room for a carpenter's bench, tools and raw materials. The purchasing of all materials was organised by the Commodore while the machining of various components, including stemheads, centre boxes, chines, gunwales, rudder centre boards, plywood hull panels, sliding seats, frames and deck beams were machined in the Commodore's factory.

Construction started on the evening of 1st October, 1952 with the setting up of the first four moulds. Somewhat to the Commodore's surprise no less than 16 members were prepared to join the scheme and thus a very necessary feature was that the allocation of boats to members was to be decided by drawing lots after completion. It was clearly important that members actually working would not know which boat would eventually be theirs. As work progressed more money was required to keep ahead with the flow of materials. A letter of undertaking was suitably drafted and each participant signed a copy. In addition a diary of attendance was kept to keep the momentum going. Eventually when the first four hulls had been completed storage room had to be found for them. The Abbey Hall, White Street, Topsham, was found to be big enough to take seventeen boats and this was generously loaned to The Club free of charge for the Winter of 1952/53. Work proceeded so well that by the time the Annual Dinner and Prize Giving in December 1952 came round The Club was able to have a hull on the stage of The Matthews Hall, Topsham, where the Dinner was held.

Work continued right through the Winter and surprisingly the construction of seventeen Hornet Dinghies was completed just after the Coronation in June, 1953, when the draw for boats took place. They were duly successfully launched and trial sailings were completed. The Hornet was very different from any dinghy previously sailed, particularly when planing. It was not surprising that there were a number of capsizes during the first year. The record for the greatest number of capsizes was held by Jim Norton sailing "Blue Tango" No.90. However, the sailing characteristics were soon mastered. Topsham Sailing Club then had the largest Hornet fleet in the U.K. and a Hornet Open Meeting was arranged to celebrate the event. A series of races and open meetings were organised starting on the 6th July, 1953. The first prize was the Cyder Cup given by Messrs. Whiteway Ltd., of Whimple and was won by Michael Pollard sailing "Hullaballoo"

In 1954/55 Trevor Greenslade had built a new Hornet No.297 "Scorcher", with what was then a revolutionary self-draining open transom, and after coming third in the 1955 International Championship at Cowes he went on to scoop the pool at Falmouth in 1956 becoming World Hornet Champion together with his crew Roy Coombs. Nineteen fifty-six was a vintage year with well attended open meetings in May and June and excellent results achieved by many members of the Hornet fleet. In 1957 Trevor Greenslade took "Scorcher" to the International Hornet Championships in Edinburgh and again came back as World Champion for the second year in a row, putting Topsham Sailing Club and its Hornet fleet well and truly on the chart. Undoubtedly the all time high occurred in 1962 when the R.Y.A. National Hornet Class Association selected Topsham Sailing Club for the Seventh Open National Championships. The racing dates were fixed for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the week commencing 22nd July, 1962. Eventually thirty-five entries were received to compete in the five fairly long races. A considerable amount of preparatory work was required. The Club premises had to be completely cleared of all boats. Members were selected for Flag Officers, Yard Marshals, Launching Officers, Race Liaison Officers as well as for such tasks as Class Certificate Receiving Officer and several other jobs. Of the thirty-five boats entered no less than nine came from Topsham with some from as far afield as Burnham-on-Sea, Hayling Island, Folkestone, Herne Bay, Christchurch and the Royal Windermere Yacht Club.

The Club was congratulated on its organisation by the Secretary of the R. Y .A. National Class Association and the occasion was a tremendous success, not only in terms of the racing but also in terms of the well attended social events that took place on every evening. It was a disappointment to many members when eventually the Hornet Association agreed to change the one design status of Hornets to a restricted class allowing expensive alterations to be accepted to the detriment of the original boats. The Club continued racing Hornets well into the 1970's but regrettably there are no Hornets now racing at Topsham.

Building of the Clubhouse.

Under the very able chairmanship of Wally Beach, The Club was virtually transformed, as on the 15th March, 1954 a sub-committee was formed to draw up plans for changing rooms and a lavatory , and from these initial plans the suggestion was made for building a complete club house -club room, galley, changing rooms etc. and in March, 1955 Rex Gardner was co-opted on to the Committee and asked to draw up plans for the entire building. This he did free of charge, and from these the present club house was built, entirely by voluntary labour. Although many members gave a hand, three members' contributions stand out- Gerald Harding, Ted Ricketts (who was also Club Secretary), and Charles Loo. The club house took several years to build, but these three doggedly carried on till the finish. The cost was borne by The Club, and although outside financial help was available, Topsham Sailing Club, as usual, decided to be completely independent and the club house is living proof of what can be done by a club with little finance but plenty of willing helpers.

In July, 1956 the legality of the shares originally issued to buy the premises was questioned, as a Company had not been formed. The whole question was gone into in great detail and it was found that £78 in shares was still held by members who were written to asking if they would give their shares to The Club. Fortunately all were willing and at last the quay and buildings really belonged to Topsham Sailing Club.

In 1957 Mr. Michael Pollard was elected Commodore and became the first member to follow in Father's footsteps. During his three years as Commodore his time was greatly taken up with the building programme of a new club house, and it was in the middle of this programme that "Riverdale" opposite The Club was put up for auction. A member was asked to go along and bid up to £300 but to confirm that, then as now, silly prices were paid for property in Topsham, it was bought for £775.

75tb Anniversary onwards.

Nineteen fifty-eight saw the Enterprise class appear, which built up gradually, and in 1960 the first Enterprise Open Meeting was held. As a class they did not last long at Topsham, but several members introduced to sailing by the Enterprise moved on and bought cruisers. In 1960 Mr. Gerald Harding was elected Commodore, and one of his more entertaining duties was to skipper the schooner "Darlie" which was chartered by The Club for a cruise to Brixham to celebrate The Club's 75th Anniversary in that year. A number of members crewed "Darlie" with others taking their own boats in company, and this was clearly a very memorable event and best summarised by the title of the late Charles Loo's immortal article on the subject entitled "Booze to Crixham".

In September, 1961 the owner of the garden next to The Club complained that Topsham Sailing Club had removed part of a wall and asked that The Club replace it forthwith or else! Referring to the deeds it was found that the wall was the property of the Sailing Club who promptly wrote back pointing out that a door had been bricked up and a summer house erected against the wall without permission and for him to remove same at once! Needless to say, nothing more was heard.

All through Gerald Harding's reign work progressed on the club house which was finally finished in 1962 in good time for the Hornet National Open Championship Week. Although now complete the club house remained "dry" for nearly twenty years despite many suggestions at Committee Meetings (and at fringe meetings) that a bar be added. Eventually though, in 1981 a bar was installed and has proved a great success both socially and financially. Indeed, without the revenue from the bar it is doubtful whether The Club would have had the confidence to replace the rapidly deteriorating Green Shed with the new two-storey boathouse.

From 1963 until 1968, Harold R. Norton (who had filled every office except Treasurer) was Commodore - the second in The Club's history to follow in Father's footsteps. During this period the Flying Bridge was added to the club house and the Green Shed shortened to give more room on the quay. In 1968 Charles Loo, who had already been Rear Commodore and Vice Commodore, took the reins and during his office the Solo and Mirror classes were established. The Solo class, introduced at Topsham mainly due to the efforts of Chris Kempton, proved to be both popular and successful and provided the Club with yet another double World Champion when Graham Tapper won the Class's premier award in 1975 and 1976, whilst Richard Lovett took the English National Championship in 1976. In those heady years it was helmsmen such as David Robinson, Nick Gough and Charlie Thomson who won the Class Team Trophy three times running - 1975, 1976 and 1977, proving again that Topsham Sailing Club were among the best.

The Mirror Class grew extremely quickly into a fleet of twenty-two, which in fact is the largest fleet of dinghies in one class The Club has ever had. Sadly their demise was almost as quick as their growth and with the congestion that now exists in the river it would today be a very hard task to race a fleet of twenty-two Mirrors or any other class off The Club quay.

In 1970 Harold Norton became Commodore again, and continued in office for the next ten years, during which The Club flourished and grew. In 1970 The Club's next door neighbour allowed Topsham Sailing Club to extend the slip across the front of his garden to give a much wider slipway making launching and slipping much easier and quicker. All this time, from shortly after the Second World War, the Cruiser class was growing, at first very slowly, but from the mid-1950's gradually gaining momentum until today Topsham Sailing Club has one of the largest active Cruiser fleets in the West country. Topsham boats have raced regularly in the Torbay and Dartmouth Regattas, often with considerable success, and members have competed in major championships along the South Coast. The Topsham Sailing Club burgee has been carried all along the French Coast, the Channel Islands, the Scillies and further afield into the Mediterranean as well as around the British Coast. It is particularly the summer-long evening race series that makes the Topsham Sailing Club so special, and there are few finer sights than a fleet of 25 cruising yachts sailing down river under spinnaker on a fine summers evening.

The Dinghy Section under the enthusiastic guidance of the Rear Commodore Tim Bass continues to thrive albeit in smaller numbers with a fleet of National Twelves and a growing fleet of Cadets, whose helmsmen are the future for the Club. As will be seen from the programme, The Club is hosting the South West Area Cadet Championships this year as well as a Centenary Regatta Cadet Week. A.W.(Bill)Ricketts became Commodore in 1980 with a new broom of Flag Officers, and much of The Club's present success is attributable to his efforts in getting The Club bar off the ground and for bringing to fruition the new boat shed from plans he himself had drawn up.

Martin Taylor, who took over as Commodore in 1984, has the enviable position of being Commodore during The Club's Centenary Year , but perhaps the less enviable task of preparing The Club for the next hundred years.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This history has been compiled by Peter Dunsford and Christopher Williams from the club minute books, an earlier history written by the late Harold Norton, and the substantial contributions from Wally Beach, John Allen, Michael Pollard, Bill Ricketts, Ted Ricketts Norman Mitchell, Trevor Greenslade and many other members who have provided information and pictures.

Produced for the Topsham Sailing Club by Facer Publishing, Exeter Design by Les Dominey, Exeter Typeset and Printed by Vine & Gorfin Limited, Exmouth.