7:50am Thursday 19th November 2009
CELEBRITY yachtsman Tom Cunliffe is making a special appearance at Barry Yacht Club on Thursday, November 26, at 8pm to give a talk on seafaring and survival in hard times.
Open to non-members, the talk called ‘Lead us not into digital temptation (from Grandfather's pocket watch to the Electronic Chart Plotter)’ examines how technology is changing how we do things, and how our minds work, whether we go to sea or not.
Admission is free with a voluntary charity collection to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute being made at the event.
Tom Cunliffe’s face is familiar as presenter of the popular series Boat Yard, currently showing on Discovery Channel TV.
He is also well-known for his television appearances on BBC1's Island Race, a series of eight prime-time documentaries made as he skippered a voyage round Britain with John McCarthy, the Beirut hostage and Comedienne Sandi Toksvig as crew.
He is a columnist for ‘Yachting Monthly’, ‘Yachting World’ and ‘Sail’ magazine (US), as well as being the author of over 20 published books. Two have won literary awards, including Topsail and Battleaxe (Best Book of the Sea 1989), while Good Vibrations, a travel book about riding the plains of America on a motorcycle in the company of prospectors, strippers and preacher-men, was the best-selling book at a recent London Boat Show.
He is a senior Yachtmaster Examiner and has been a consultant for the governing body of sailing in the United States, where he has also lived and worked. Specialising in vintage sailing craft, he has become a world authority on traditional rigs, addressing international seminars in Britain, Europe and the USA.
Tom has served before the mast in small sailing ships, skippered yachts for private owners, raced offshore, been to sea as mate on a British-registered coasting vessel and taught sailing, seamanship and navigation at all levels.
Commenting on the event Martin Biffin, Barry Yacht Club’s talks programme organiser, said: “We welcome members and non-members to come along and see Tom who is one of the most hilarious entertainers on the marine circuit. He speaks with light-hearted but undeniable authority on how to survive storms in the bank balance - as well as those at sea!”
Tickets are available from Martin Biffin on 01446 730344 or by email at info@barryyachtclub.co.uk
Barry Yacht Club is a not-for profit organization and was established in 1928. It currently has over 250 members from all parts of the Vale and Cardiff, attracting yachtsman from as far afield as Bristol and Birmingham. The Club offers various types of membership including sailing, fishing, cadet, or social members.
Barry Yacht Club is based at The Pier Head Docks on Barry Island and is regarded as offering the best sea sailing facilities in the Bristol Channel.
Further details about the Club can be found at www.barryyachtclub.co.uk
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