INTRO
THE FIRST CLUB HANDBOOK
was written by Jack Gulston, on of the original members of Changi in 1938. It was a paperback volume which contains a register of boats, names of members, details of various committees, details of races and the previous winners, club financed, membership conditions, club rules and Rules of the Yacht Racing Association. 1939 saw the revised hardback edition which had photographs as well. This was carried by Gulston throughout his POW days...only to be given away, together with the Club badge, to his dentist! Gulston laments the loss of the keepsakes in 1969 which he would have wanted, in retrospect, to donate to CSC for all posterity! Ever the prolific writer, Gulston also managed to procure the back page twice a week of one of the local newspapers (Free-Press? tribune??) which carried reports on the previous day's racing. Even Yachting world in 1939 carried his article "Soldier Sailors in Singapore", bringing fame to our little corner on the Changi coast.
Jack Gulston producing the 1st Club handbook in 1938.
(Photo courtesy of J Gulston)
                           
 
MEMBERSHIP
of the original club remained at a steady 120 for the period 1936 to 1941, but the members were not consistent due to the fact they were to comply with the exigencies of the military which involved frequent comings and goings. Consequently, as Gulston reports, they were mixed bag on the fateful 8th of December 1941. The last club meeting was on 1st March 1942 in a vacated lean-to shophouse in Changi Village. The then Commodore Colonel Heath took the chair amongst the handful of members who were still free to roam Changi and fend for themselves. The last minuted decision was that "the club should meet every first of the month as long as possible..." That was not to be, as by 12th March 1942, the Japanese confined everyone to their compounds.

The last visit to the club, as Gulston knew it, was on 18th February 1942, after the fall of Singapore just 3 days before, Gulston, who was marched to Changi to take temporary residence at the Changi Barracks block facing Johore, was able to walk across the padang to see what happened to the club. There was no sign of his beloved C4 Nyamok, and all the other one-design dinghies were smashed and destroyed, presumably by the club staff.

PLACES TO SAIL TO FROM THE CLUB
Sekudu (Frog Island) was the most popular destination as a Sunday morning retreat. It was within easy reach whatever the weather and was within easy sight of the clubhouse, where watch could be kept for the arrival of the barman Ginger (Ah Chow) to open the bar. The kelong there was also often used as a race mark, and it was a tricky business avoiding the sandbar and the submerged rocks off Sekudu! Another place to visit was Mon Repose, located halfway along the northearn coast of Ubin, which was a sheltered bay (Noordin Beach?). This was an ideal spot during the South-Westerlies, but terrible during the North-Easters. Barbeques were held there, with "raw materials complete with feathers" supplied by the nearby kampong. A bite-free sleep could be had if one anchored well offshore to avoid the mosquitoes!

Batu Biru (Blue Rock) on the western point of Ubin was an ideal stopping point en route to Seletar or Johore. The place had dual beaches, one facing the Singapore mainland, and the other, Ponggol Point, connected by a narrow passage. A small joss temple was built there by the locals, which exist to this day. The Rest House at Punggol Point satisfied many a hungry appetite. The locals organised frequent "jong" races between the mainland and Ubin, with Batu Biru as the finish point.

 
Frog Island; easily reached from the clubhouse.
(Photo courtesy of PAAC)
     

Jack Gulston with pipe at
Mon Repose.
(Photo courtesy of J Gulston)

             

Gulston & friend enjoy the local pineapples on a picnic sail to Batu Biru, Pulau Ubin
(Photo courtesy of J Gulston)