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Climate

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Cyclone Fani approaching India May 3, 2019. I'm reading Mary Robinson's book Climate Justice and thinking about the awful cyclones that have hit Mozambique and India. Cyclone Kenneth struck while Mozambique was still struggling to deal with the impact of Cyclone Idai. In India today, a million people were evacuated from coastal areas, and 2.5 million were being evacuated from Bangladesh. Fani is the first tropical cyclone of the year in the northern Indian Ocean, and the most powerful to occur there since the cyclone of 1991 in which at least 10,000 people died, hence the emphasis on evacuation. It is also the strongest to occur so early in the season. A lot of people live along the vulnerable coast.

On to Anglesey

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We decided to drive around the coast of Anglesey which we thought would take about three hours. Alex had a sore throat so we found him some lozenges. He kept taking left turns towards the sea off the main road and we kept getting stuck on dead-end roads in small villages with honky-tonk resorts. We were directly across the Menai Straits from Plas Menai and Caernarfon. When we got to where there was a designated walking trail, we parked and decided to do a looped trail that Google showed us. No one else was about. On the way out, we scrambled along the rocky shore, which had clearly been maintained for walkers. We did not wear our hiking boots and we should have. It was quite wet and our running shoes were soon sopping. This part of the island was lovely, with deep blue-green sea, high rocky coast and sheep feeding in fields above. The wildflowers were just waking up and it was lovely in the sunshine, but chill wind.

Walled cities, castles, mountains and seashore

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We were surprised at the beauty of Snowdonia in North Wales. The mountains are peaked and stunning, harbouring lakes within and dropping down to the sea on their outskirts. Mountaineering is a passion here, and we can see why. As are water sports in the Menai Straits, the body of water separating mainland Wales from the island of Anglesey.

The day after the OCC Awards Dinner

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OCC Hikers on Y Garn Thirty-nine members of the Ocean Cruising Club stayed on to take part in post-AGM weekend activities. On Sunday, the 7th of April, groups got together in local ventures such as mountain walks, visit a deep mine, or just driving around Snowdonia. It was altogether an enjoyable, informative, interesting weekend and much of the credit must go to OCC Regional Rear Commodores Chris and Fi Jones of ' Three Ships ' who did a superb job of organising.

The OCC Awards Dinner

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Past Commodore Bill McLaren getting the dinner going.  Ninety members of the Ocean Cruising Club were booked in for the dinner at Plas Menai in North Wales, arriving from all directions, including as far away as Australia and British Columbia. The remarkable aspect of the OCC is that our membership spans the world. It makes it interesting to pull everyone together.

Happy Hooking Webinar with SSCA May 4, 2019

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We are conducting our Happy Hooking webinar online this coming Saturday, May 4 through Seven Seas University of the SSCA. It will begin at 1100h EDT and we'll be broadcasting from the west of Ireland. You don't have to be a member of SSCA to join in. Anyone can listen in and ask questions in this interactive online session. If you've never taken part in a webinar, it would be a good idea to test your system in advance as it requires a small download to activate. We'll be including new material from the latest edition of our book, which has been trending at No. 1 in anchoring and Top 100 in sailing books on Amazon. You can sign up online here . SEA102: Happy Hooking - the art of anchoring Speakers: Alex and Daria Blackwell Saturday, May 4, 2019 11:00am EDT Registration fee: $20 members, $25 non-members The Happy Hooking - The Art of Anchoring webinar is loaded with valuable information on anchoring tackle, anchoring technique, tying up and rafting, and anchori

The OCC AGM in Plas Menai, North Wales

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The Board of the Ocean Cruising Club - Simon Currin, Jenny Crickmore-Thompson, Daria Blackwell, Tim Bridgen, Anne Hammick with Secretary Rachelle Turk.  As members were credentialed and cast their votes, a looped presentation about the award winners to be honoured that evening was shown on overhead screens. In a brief but informative AGM session, attendees learned from outgoing Commodore Anne Hammick that membership is increasing at a healthy rate, the finances of the club are sound, and the membership is very active around the world. The new OCC Flag Officers elected include: