A definitive history of the Old Gaffers Association, both afloat and ashore, covering the various regional areas in a series of yarns that brings this colourful organisation to life on the page.
One of our favourite OGA stories was when they staged their 50th Birthday celebrations in Cowes in 2013. “Remember,” they told the organisers, “we do like to drink beer, we like our beer. You might want to get a few more barrels in.” The reply was apparently a scoffing assurance that this was Cowes. They were used to handling hundreds of young males and females who wanted nothing more than to drink the place dry after a hard day on the water. The old guard of the OGA need have no worries on that score. It would not be a problem… Apparently the beer ran out halfway through the second day!
That was the year this book was published and the event was so successful that the Gaffers are planning a return to the Medina River this year – Saturday, August 11 to Sunday, August 19, 2018.
So what better way to celebrate an old gaffer than to know some of their colourful history. Luminaries like Tom Cunliffe and John Leather (the late) are covered as are chapters on gaff versus bermudan, jackyard topsails and boast lost at sea. It also covers the organisation in France, Holland, Australia, NZ, Canada and the USA and acts as a bit of a who’s who?
A good informative book on an important, well established classic sailing association. DMH