NEWSLETTER OF THE PROBUS CLUB OF WHITE ROCK SOUTH SURREY QUOTE OF THE MONTH Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. Douglas Adams Executive Committee President Don Rathborne 604-535-9160 Past President/ Webmaster John Payne 604-385-3935 Vice President Bill Parker 604-5319822 Secretary Steve Banham 604-535-5640 Treasurer Bart Hildebrand 604-535-9095 Activities Shell Busey 604-385-0353 Membership Jim Collins 604-531-5950 Communications Wayne Nicol 604-536-5294 Speakers Al Zemrau 604-535-9123 Sergeant at Arms Dick Strong 778-574-5953 Newsletter Jamie Fear 604-531-1525 Our November speaker was Larry Moore, Adventurer/Traveler. Larry shared his adventures sailing the Pacific Ocean from Vancouver to New Zealand aboard his 41’ sloop SV Magenta. The voyage began in August of 2009 in Vancouver and finished in the summer of 2012 in New Zealand. Larry was ac- companied by his wife and first mate Kim and crew member Stu. The window for sailing the tropics is April to October in order to avoid the hurricane season. At that time there are lots of boats on the ocean and Larry was pleased to note the respect shown the Canadian flag by all the sailors they met. After expending lots of time and money in preparation, the Magenta set sail on the U.S. West Coast leg of the voyage from Blaine to Half Moon Bay in California, a 1000 mile trip that took 10 days. At this point Stu left to re- turn to Whistler. From Half Moon Bay the voyage continued to the Channel Islands. During this phase of the trip there we many larger vessels crossing their path and they were in frequent contact with them to make sure they stayed safe. After spending some time around Los Angeles and San Diego preparing for the next leg of the cruise, they proceeded on to Ensenada, Mexico in No- vember of 2009. From Ensenada, they continued to Cabo San Lucas, where the water was warm enough for a first time swim, then on into the Sea of Cortez and La Paz. After La Paz, the next stop was Mazatlan, where they spent 3 months. Leaving Mexico, the Magenta sailed on towards French Polynesia, a 2700 mile voyage to the Marquesas that took 27 days. At times the winds were weak and going was slow, but then they picked up and they were able to sail at their maximum speed of 8 knots. From the November, 2016 Volume 6 Issue 8
Transcript
NEWSLETTER OF THE PROBUS CLUB OF WHITE ROCK SOUTH SURREY
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on
no account be allowed to do the job.
Douglas Adams
Executive
Committee
President
Don Rathborne
604-535-9160
Past President/
Webmaster
John Payne
604-385-3935
Vice President
Bill Parker
604-5319822
Secretary
Steve Banham
604-535-5640
Treasurer
Bart Hildebrand
604-535-9095
Activities
Shell Busey
604-385-0353
Membership
Jim Collins
604-531-5950
Communications
Wayne Nicol
604-536-5294
Speakers
Al Zemrau
604-535-9123
Sergeant at Arms
Dick Strong
778-574-5953
Newsletter
Jamie Fear
604-531-1525
Our November speaker was Larry Moore, Adventurer/Traveler. Larry shared
his adventures sailing the Pacific Ocean
from Vancouver to New Zealand aboard
his 41’ sloop SV Magenta.
The voyage began in August of 2009 in
Vancouver and finished in the summer
of 2012 in New Zealand. Larry was ac-
companied by his wife and first mate
Kim and crew member Stu. The window
for sailing the tropics is April to October
in order to avoid the hurricane season.
At that time there are lots of boats on
the ocean and Larry was pleased to note the respect shown the Canadian
flag by all the sailors they met.
After expending lots of time and money in preparation, the Magenta set
sail on the U.S. West Coast leg of the voyage from Blaine to Half Moon Bay
in California, a 1000 mile trip that took 10 days. At this point Stu left to re-
turn to Whistler. From Half Moon Bay the voyage continued to the Channel
Islands. During this phase of the trip there we many larger vessels crossing
their path and they were in frequent contact with them to make sure they
stayed safe.
After spending some time around Los Angeles and San Diego preparing for
the next leg of the cruise, they proceeded on to Ensenada, Mexico in No-
vember of 2009. From Ensenada, they continued to Cabo San Lucas,
where the water was warm enough for a first time swim, then on into the
Sea of Cortez and La Paz. After La Paz, the next stop was Mazatlan, where
they spent 3 months. Leaving Mexico, the Magenta sailed on towards
French Polynesia, a 2700 mile voyage to the Marquesas that took 27 days.
At times the winds were weak and going was slow, but then they picked up
and they were able to sail at their maximum speed of 8 knots. From the
November, 2016
Volume 6 Issue 8
White Rock and South Surrey PROBUS CLUB Page 2
For the latest news and pictures check out the Club’s website at
www.probusclubwhiterock-southsurrey.ca
Marquesas the voyage continued to the Society Islands and Tahiti which they found very com-
mercial. From Tahiti Larry took part in a ‘race’ to Moorea, which is a beautiful spot. After island
hopping through the Society Islands, they arrived at Suwarrow Atoll in the Cook Islands. From
there it was on to Tonga and finally Port Apua on the North Island of New Zealand.
All together a fascinating presentation with some magnificent photographs.
Our November meeting followed our tradition of honouring our veterans. I
wish to thank two of our veterans, Percy Smith and Roy Strang, for contributing
some of their interesting memories. We are fortunate that we have living histo-
ries of wartime amongst us. I feel strongly that the stories of men like these
must continue to be told and I am grateful they agreed to do so.
It looks like we’ll have an outstanding turnout for our Christmas luncheon again this year. This is
based on actual tickets sales rather than polls so I’m certain the information is accurate. I want to em-
phasize that members are encouraged to come on their own if their significant other is unable to ac-
company them. Hazelmere does an outstanding job of the presentation, the sumptuous buffet, and the
seasonal atmosphere so if you haven’t got your ticket yet you still have time to be part of
this highlight event. Please contact Bill Parker for tickets. I hope to see everyone there.
By now you have the updated members’ directory. I would like to particularly thank
Gerry Burns for his diligence in providing me with photographs of new members so that we
can have photos for everyone. Undoubtedly there will be some errors. If your contact infor-
mation is inaccurate please accept my apologies and by all means let me know. I will ask
Jamie to publish corrections in the newsletter and I will incorporate them into the master
file for future distributions.
See you all at the Christmas luncheon.
Don Rathborne
CLUB CHRISTMAS PARTY/LUNCH BUFFET December 14th is our regular meeting day and is traditionally combined with the annual
Christmas Party. We will enjoy a sumptuous buffet, piano accompaniment, door prizes and
warm fellowship. Bring spouses, friends or just yourself and enjoy the
holiday season.
Where: Hazelmere Golf and Country Club
When: 11:30 a.m.— 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 per person and are available until Nov 30th from Bill Parker at 604-531-9822
A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money.
The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The
depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel."
"I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the
apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents."
"The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the
entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I
continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated
a fortune of $1.37."
"Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."
Probus Information at
www.probus.org/canada
Meeting Venue:
Hazelmere Golf & Tennis Club
18150 8th Avenue Surrey, BC V3S 9R9
Mailing Address:
Box 7000,
12850 26th Avenue
South Surrey, BC V4P 1S1
Upcoming
Events
Dec 14th
December is our
Christmas Lunch
and there will be no
regular meeting.
Future speakers to
be announced.
Check the website
for updates
Activities
Concert and Dinner
Date: Nov 19th
Barra McNeils Celtic
Christmas Show
At the White Rock
Theatre
Contact Shell at
604-542-2236 to
sign up
Our November 9th meeting featured a Remembrance Day observation led by Pro-bus member Percy Smith. Percy gave an extremely moving and thought-provoking reminiscence of his time in the Merchant Navy during World War II. Percy’s naval
service began when he was 18 years old and chose to serve in the British Merchant Navy, After training at the Sharpness Naval base in the U.K., Percy served on North Atlantic con-voys bringing food, weapons and fuel on the Halifax to Liver-pool run. He suffered attacks by U-boats and the Luftwaffe and saw many terrible tragedies during this time. Many na-tionalities served on these ships and Percy remembers it be-ing a very open society where women were also present on larger vessels. There were few restrictions on who could join
in contrast to the Royal Navy; the Merchant service took anyone irrespective of
medical condition.
Atlantic convoys could have as many as 150 ships spaced 150 feet apart and escorted by warships for the 17 day Atlantic crossing. 35 to 40 ships were sometimes lost from a single
convoy. Percy also sailed on convoys to Murmansk in Russia.
Dr Roy Strang served on destroyers in the second World War and shared some of his memories from this time. Roy then piped the lament and the members observed a 2 minute si-
lence.
I believe all of us share in our gratitude to people like Percy and Roy and all members of our services who went through so much to maintain
our freedoms.
Correction: Please note the correct last name spelling of our new member is Eric
Tweedie. This was incorrectly spelled in the Members’ Directory.
