The Nottage (26-02-2010) A new social event in the EC calendar, but one bound to be repeated, was a visit to The Nottage Institute in Wivenhoe, on Feb 26th. The evening got off to a rousing start when about two dozen gaffers rendezvoused at Steve Meakin’s sumptious waterside apartment on the quay at Wivenhoe, to consume wine and pizzas provided by Mike McCarthy, while watching sailing videos on Steve’s plasma TV – as near to paradise as the average gaffer is likely to experience in Wivenhoe, (or maybe I don’t know Wivenhoe that well). Suitably fortified, the assembly then wandered along the Quay to the, fortunately nearby, Nottage Institute. The Institute was founded in 1896 by Captain Charles Nottage, notable racing yacht owner and philanthropist, to teach navigation to the local fishermen, who he employed to crew his yachts. Although transferred to its current premises in 1947, the Nottage continues to teach navigation, now mainly to yachtsmen, and is still partly funded by the captain’s original bequest. Nottage curator Mike Downes As well as navigation classes, instruction is given in a wide ranging selection of courses in rope-work, meteorology, diesel engine maintenance, woodcarving, first aid, VHF radio and the RYA shore based certificates. Curator Mike Downes also showed us the extensive library – hundreds of books on sailing, I could spend a week there. Mike explained that the Nottage also sees itself as the guardian of the local maritime heritage and an Exhibition is mounted every summer; this year, the building will be open to the public every Sunday afternoon from 16th May to 12th September, when visitors can browse the extensive display of ship models, paintings and photographs. The library and lecture theatre are on the first floor, while the ground floor is taken up with the Nottage’s most popular course - build your own wooden dinghy. Nottage dinghy Fabian bush, Rowhedge professional boat-builder and one of the two instructors, explained how the course operates; it runs on alternate Saturdays through the winter, and all the traditional building materials - larch, oak and iroko, copper rivets and roves - are provided. About six dinghies are in build at any one time, all based on a standard design and the course is so popular that there is a very long waiting list of hopeful amateur shipwrights. Although many students work on their boats during the week to speed up the construction, the average time to completion is about five years, and apparently very few finished boats see the water; the satisfaction for most is in the building. Instructor Fabian Bush (right) All the times I’ve sailed up to Wivenhoe, gone to the yacht club or the pub, and never realised that the Nottage was there; what a hidden gem! Bernard Patrick.