Shellbacks announce winter speakers
Oct 11, 2018
Shellbacks has scheduled a weekly series of meetings loaded with good food, friendly men and women who like nautical topics and interesting informed speakers. The second half of the series begins in a just a few days!
The Shellback Club officially started in February 1934 and met at Eileen Bradley’s Tea House on Adelaide Street but had its roots earlier. Starting in 1924, some of the crews of large racing sailboats from RCYC met weekly in the summer to organize crew duties.
By 1934, these crew meetings had morphed into The Shellback Club as other sailors from Clubs in the area liked the idea of sharing lunch and sailing lore…and even singing a shanty.
Who can be part of this fun? To be “Shellback” today only requires attending a lunch meeting and joining everyone in singing a sea shanty.
Shellbacks sing a shanty at the tribute to George Cuthbertson earlier this year
Website: http://shellbacks.weebly.com/ Many thanks to Ron Jenkins for creating and maintaining our website. Well done, Ron! Take a look here for our speakers, history, current updates. Ron now also videotapes most of our speakers, so if you miss one, you may go to the website to watch the session.
Location: The location, as in past years, is the RCYC at 141 St George Street at Prince Arthur (West exit of the St. George TTC station). The walk-in entrance is off Prince Arthur.
Timing: We start promptly at 1215 hours and finish about 1330 – 1345 hours. The guest speaker starts about 1245 hours.
Come early to enjoy the company and a beverage. All the usual beverages are available at Club prices.
Seating and Dress: There are no prearranged tables and dress is mostly smart casual.
Costs: Lunch costs this year – $25 including all taxes and service. Lunch is three courses of soup or salad, a main dish, desert and tea or coffee.
We suggest $2 for the Dory, which includes a ticket to win, if you’re lucky, a nautical book in the weekly book draw. There are no initiation fees.
Once a year, we suggest a $20 contribution to pay for basic communication costs and the minimal costs of operation. Funds not needed each year are donated to local youth sailing charities.
Guests: Guests are always welcome. Membership at the RCYC is not necessary and confirmation regarding attendance is not required for Shellbacks or guests. Come when the spirit or the topic moves you but come often!
Meeting Dates: This year the meetings start on October 17th and continue on Wednesdays through to December 12th, on which day we hold our annual Moosemilk Christmas Luncheon at Mimico Cruising Club.
After the Holidays, meetings start again on January 9th, 2019 and continue each Wednesday until April 17th.
The 85th Shellback year begins with these presentations:
October 17th: Jim Leech is retired from 45 years in business and with the military. In his retirement, Jim has, among many other endeavours, remained very active in support of wounded soldiers. Today he will tell us of his March to the Pole, with twelve of those soldiers.
October 24th: Steve Killing returns to Shellbacks with his interesting and exciting talk: The Drama Continues – 2017 America’s Cup & Beyond.
October 31st: Paul Barry joins us to share his amusing, informative talk: Chicane on Ice: Wintering Over on My CS 27.
November 7th: Nick Kozarevich, long-time Lake Ontario sailor, will share his harrowing adventure – A Sailor’s Nightmare – Rescue from a Frigid Lake – one early spring day just after launch.
November 14th: TBA
November 21st: Peter Rowe returns to Shellbacks with one of his fine productions, Slocum, the story of the first solo round the world sailor.
November 28th: Jim Winslow, professor of Physiology and Neuroscience, will speak of Sailors and the Brain. Do their brains work differently than those of the average ‘bear’?
December 5th: Jerri Staples joins us to share her third hiking adventure, Everest Base Camp Trek, which she did with her son in 2017.
December 12th: Moosemilk – our annual Christmas/holiday gathering at Mimico Cruising Club
Be a Shellback, come often, bring friends and enjoy the combination of good food, friendly people and interesting and often unique presentations about nautical and maritime topics and sometimes outdoor adventures.
The Shellback team is Dianne Leggatt, Skipper, Alf Jenkins, Purser, Elspeth Fanjoy, Mate, Graham Dougall, Second Mate, Ron Jenkins, Webmaster, Philip Morton, Music Director and many others who help throughout the year. Volunteers welcome!
Call or write Dianne Leggatt, Skipper, for any reason: 416 486 6025 or dianne.leggatt@gmail.com
