Winter Lecture series
Published 13:47 on 29 Nov 2025
Iain Ballantyne has been a member of the club since 2003 mainly in Yachts but also has had a dinghy in the dinghy park for some of that time. He learnt to sail as a Leading Seaman in the school CCF circa 1960 when nobody thought it exceptional to sail a whaler (an open 18 ketch) with 8 boys, about 6 of whom had never sailed before, from Portsmouth to Newtown Creek and back - no VHF, toilet, shower, fridge and so forth. He retired as an associate professor at Portsmouth after around 20 years in HR consultancy. And elected as a district councillor and therefore ex officio member of the Conservancy board.
Conservancy change of emphasis.
Most members of the club know the Conservancy as the authority responsible for safety of navigation, regulation of moorings and occasional policeman. Perhaps less well-known is the environmental duties we have under the Conservancy Act. Following a report from the EA which indicated a poor and declining state of the environment, not least water quality, loss of habitat, flora and fauna, there has been a shift towards this aspect of the conservancys work. The main focus of effort is now Chichester Harbour Protection and Recovery of Nature plan.
