South West Branch

“The branch that serves you from Poole to Mid Wales”

Please feel free to roam the South West Branch pages and find out what is available to all our members. South West events are open to all MOA members and you are welcome to bring guests and friends from other club and associations.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact any of our branch officers – click “Branch and Port Officers” in the box above, find who you want to talk to and you will receive a quick response

Who are we?

The South West Branch is one of the 5 Branches and 7 Chapters of the Moody Owners Association. For a more detailed description of the Branch and its objectives and services to members, please click on the “Who are we” menu under “More Info” on the menu items above.

Latest News

The rally programme dates for 2024 are now settled and they can be seen in the list below. The final details and programme for each of the rallies has yet to be finalised, but there will be a pontoon party on arrival and a rally dinner at a local restaurant on the Saturday evening. Click on the individual rally below to see if their are more details for that rally.  Booking forms and dinner menus will be sent out within the next few weeks, but in the meantime please put the dates in your sailing calendar.

Boatless rally - 1-3 November 2024, Tintagel - details below

For 2024 the South West Branch of the Moody Owners Association will be holding an end of season boatless rally, based at The Camelot Castle Hotel near Tintagel, Devon.  This is a magnificent part of the country with many local attractions and walks, and within an hour’s drive to the Eden Project.  The branch has arranged attractive rates for the unique four poster bedrooms and evening meals.  The plan is for guests to arrive on mid Friday afternoon and leave on Sunday.  The rally dinner will take place on the Saturday evening, and a more informal meal will be arranged for the Friday evening where guests can meet up for a social gathering.

Moody Owners Association – South West Branch Boatless Rally to Camelot Castle Hotel – 1st to 3rd November 2024

For 2024 the South West Branch of the Moody Owners Association will be holding an end of season boatless rally, based at The Camelot Castle Hotel near Tintagel, Devon.  This is a magnificent part of the country with many local attractions and walks, and within an hour’s drive to the Eden Project.  The branch has arranged attractive rates for the unique four poster bedrooms and evening meals.  The plan is for guests to arrive on mid Friday afternoon and leave on Sunday.  The rally dinner will take place on the Saturday evening, and a more informal meal will be arranged for the Friday evening where guests can meet up for a social gathering.

We are arranging a visit to the Eden Project on the Saturday, hopefully by coach, but this has yet to be confirmed.  For those who prefer to see Tintagel, visit the castle and local museums or walk the cliffs, all are local and easily accessible. Apart from the magnificent setting, the hotel offers a special service and a high-class cuisine. We are also to organise a tour of the resident artist studio.

https://www.camelotcastle.com/

The programme for the weekend is as follows:

Friday 1st November – guests arrive.  There will be a welcome party hosted by the South West Branch Captain at 1800, followed by an informal dinner at 1930.  After dinner, guests will continue to socialise if the public areas before retiring.

Saturday 2nd November – after breakfast guests may join a tour to the Eden Project or walk the area and visit Tintagel and the museums and castle.  For those wishing to visit the Eden Project, guests will depart at 1000 and return by 1600.  On return guests will be free until 1830-1900 when we will all gather for pre-dinner drinks and then move into the dining room for the rally dinner.  The bar at the hotel specialises in some fantastic cocktails. After dinner, guest will be free to socialise.  We are arranging a talk by a local artist Ted Stourton during the dinner. His artwork is stunning and is all around the hotel including the individual rooms

Sunday 3rd November – Guests depart for home.

We have pre-booked rooms, so when booking guest are asked to mention that they are part of the Moody Owners Group so that they are offered the negotiated rate.  These rooms can be held up to three weeks weeks prior to the event, so please book as early as possible and before  10 October.  A special rate of £120 per night for a double room and breakfast has been arranged.  The Saturday evening rally meal will be £35.00 pp, we will be sending out the menu choices nearer the date. with wine and beverages offered by the branch.  The menu is not yet available, but we will send it as soon as it is issued.

To book your room in the hotel please contact the hotel directly on 01840 770202. Again, when booking mention you are part of the MOA. Also  that you would like a room with a sea view or moor view as these are spectacular views.   Please pay the SW Branch for the rally meals by sending £35pp – this is for the Saturday evening meal only. Friday will be an a la carte menu and paid for individually at the hotel.

Please make a bacs payment to the account below for £35.00 per person.

Moody Owners Association South West
Sort Code: 09-01-29
Acc No.: 10781083
Bank: Santander

Please reference your payment “(your surname) CC”

Away weekend and AGM for 2024 season, 31st January-2nd February 2025,

This will, due to popular request, be held at the Hotel attached to the RNLI college in Poole, with a tour of the lifeboat training area and simulator.  Being an operational training school. We are only able to pre-book accommodation at the hotel for the Saturday night, but closer to the event, rooms will be released for the Friday if available.  We are still planning for an arrival dinner on the 31st, but if no accommodation is available at the RNLI hotel it is suggested that a local hotel would be appropriate.  All this will be made clear closer to the time, but in the meantime please put these dates in your diary. Coordinators, Weekend – Paul Kennedy, AGM – Peter Satchel.

Dartmouth 10-12 May 2024 Rally complete
Fowey rally 7-8 June - now completed

The Captain and Committee of the South West Branch of the MOA are please to confirm the details for the forthcoming Rally to Fowey on the 7th to 9th June 2024.  Our Fowey Port Officer, Steve Clemens will be the duty officer and is arranging the event.

The rally will start at 1700 (5pm) with a pontoon party on the floating pontoon.  Steve’s wife, Vivienne, is making traditional Cornish scones for this party, and there will also be the traditional wine, beer, soft drinks and nibbles.  There is a water taxi to run people ashore which operates up to 2230 (10;30pm).

On the Saturday there are a number of attractions in Fowey and its lovely locale. These include:

A Circular Walk around what is known locally as the Hall Walk.  There are wonderful views of the harbour at various points throughout.  Moderate terrain with a steep hill to start.  Walk starts with a crossing of the Bodinnick Ferry returning to Fowey on the Polruan passenger ferry. There are a couple of pubs in Polruan where refreshments and lunch can be taken.  The Ferry from Caffal to Boddinick costs £2.50 and that from Polruan to Fowey £3.00. This is a lovely scenic walk with several benches dotted throughout the 6.5km walk (abo

ut 2hrs +/ -) – maybe take something to drink and something to nibble and enjoy the view. It has some steep sections with pathways that are mixed between steps and soil / rocks – good

footwear would probably be a good idea and if it has been raining it will be slippery. You can start in either direction it is recommended to go clockwise as you see the sights better as the views are in the direction you walk. A map of this walk is in the attachment to this e-mail.

Alternatively, visitors can take the Water Taxi into Fowey.

On the Saturday evening there will be the rally dinner at the Royal Fowey Yacht Club, and this has been booked for 2000 (8 pm), so that guest will have time to catch the Water taxi back to their boats.  The Last taxi is 2230 (10:30 pm).

Tripper to Gollant – Before dinner, one option is to take the Tripper up the river to Gollant for pre-dinner drinks at the Fisherman’s Arms.  The boat would leave the pontoon at 17:30 and return to the Town Quay, Fowey, for 1930.  The cost of this tour is £15pp and will depend on n=umbers, so please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested by replying to this e-mail. 

Berthing: Berths have been reserved on Pontoon 3, just off the lifeboat station and shop.  Steve Clemens, our port officer and organiser of the rally, will be on the pontoon to welcome boats arriving on Friday 7th.  Charges for the berths will be collected by the Harbour Master and cost £2.5/mtr rounding up the boat length to the half metre.  This cost will be discounted by 10% for Moody Owners. The Pontoon Party will begin at about 1700 (5pm) 

Rally Dinner:

The Rally dinner has, as stated above, been arranged on Saturday 8th at 2000 (8pm) at the Royal Fowey Yacht Club.  The menu choices are given in the attachment and the costs will be:

Main Course only – £16
Mail Course with either Starter or Desert – £21
Starter, Main Course and Desert – £25

We have annotated the menu with selection codes, so if you wish to attend this rally please send your menu choices by replying to this e-mail by the 30th May so that the restaurant can make sure that it has your selection ready.

Your response: (if you do not plan to attend this rally, please do not feel obliged to respond)

If you wish to attend this rally, please complete the following in your reply:

Boat Name ……………………..
Boat Length ……………………. (Mtrs)

People Attending:
Name 1 ……………………………     Menu Choice ………………………..
Name 2 ……………………………     Menu Choice ………………………..
Name 3 ……………………………     Menu Choice ………………………..
Name 4 ……………………………     Menu Choice ………………………..

A Typical example of a menu choice would be “S2, M3, D2.”

Estimated time of arrival …………………….

Although late entries can be arranged, I you are planning to attend you are asked to submit your response before the 30th May if possible.  No pre-payment is required, and the harbour charges and cost of the meal will be paid to the Harbour and Yacht Club.  Please note that the Yacht Club only accepts credit/debit cards and not cash.  However, Steve Clemens has agreed to take cash if that is all you have and pay the Yacht Club.

Falmouth - Now completed
Plymouth Fireworks 14-16 August 2024 - Rally now completed
Brixham - 6-8th September - CANCELLED

There has been few members wanting to join this rally, hence it is not viable for the rally to go ahead. It has been decided, therefore to cancel. 

Events to come in 2024

You can now order a range of leisurewear such as rugby shirts, polos etc, in addition to waterproof crew bags with the SW logo and your boat name embroidered* on them. We had a direct link to an order page, however, because of low volume this has lapsed, hence to order you should call Kitz UK.

* Transfers rather than embroidery will be used on crew bags to preserve waterproof nature of bags

Please note that Kitz UK is an external company and apart from providing this leisure ware, has no relationship to the MOA.

If you have any queries, please contact the SW webmaster at sw.webmaster@moodyowners.org

DateEventContact
10-11th MayDartmouth
7-8th JuneFowey rallySteve Clemens
12-14 JulyFalmouthAlex Whatley
14-16 AugustPlymouthPaul Kennedy
6-7th SeptemberBrixham - cancelledNeil Ewins
1-3 NovemberBoatlessNeil Ewins
31 Jan-2 FebruaryAGMPaul Kennedy/Peter Satchel

Note * in table above indicates Port Officer