THE 173rd luncheon meeting took place at The Swan Hotel on November 28.

Best wishes were extended to Pat Bichan, Bert Copsey, Reg Jones and Peter Ratledge, who had all had a birthday since the last meeting.

The president welcomed visitor Hugh Homer, who is his brother and Hugh then toasted the president as it was his birthday.

The social secretary gave notice of a visit to Malvern Theatre in January.

The speaker was Adrienne Barnett, who was paying her second visit to the club.

The first was to describe the preparations she was making for the world's toughest yacht race, the BT Global Challenge, and this visit was to tell of her experiences during the race.

She sailed on the The Spirit of Hong Kong, which finished sixth.

With the aid of many slides, she related her experiences with great enthusiasm.