New Mosaic

Stokey's Solar System Walk is to gain a fabulous mosaic at the start of the walk in Bonchurch. Inspired by the idea of the walk, the Bonchurch Community Association has commissioned the Ventnor School of Mosaic to produce a piece of ceramic mosaic depicting the Solar System.

The work will be based on this image from the space agency NASA, an artist's montage of the solar system. The planets are not to scale, and are depicted close together so as to show some of the features of each planet.

The project was displayed on the Mosaic School's stand at Ventnor Day on May 4th, where Jan Pargeter and Ken Knapman told me the mosaic would take several months to complete. The mosaic will be placed next on the wall to the mosaic of the Glanville Fritillary.

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Telling the Time by the Stars

Recently, I mentioned that Stokey had shared with the Allnatt Centre's staff his method of telling the time from the stars, which we had later put into practice on a clear, starry night.
If you want to have a go, here it is:
First, locate the constellation known as the Plough, Ursa Major or Big Dipper:

The stars marked α and ß are Marak and Dubhe and can be used as a pointer to the brightest star in the sky, Polaris. Next, imagine a clock centred on Polaris, but upside down and back to front. Take the number the pointer shows (the Sky Hour) and double it (1 x 2 =2). Then take the month and double that (e.g. August is the 8th month so 16). Add the two together (18) and take that away from 41.5 = 23.5. So the time in this example would be 11.30pm!

Easy! Try it out next time there's a clear sky!

Evening of Reflection at East Dene

With spring in the air, the Allnatt Centre at East Dene in Bonchurch is gearing up for the new season. East Dene was once the home of the Romantic poet Algernon Swinburne but is now one of the Island's most popular outdoor education venues. 

Every summer the centre welcomes school parties from the UK and abroad to enjoy a programme of education, play and inspiration in the peaceful coastal and woodland environment. This week the centre invited the new staff for East Dean and the sister centre at Swanage to train up for the season.

Last night's training focused on Reflection, a regular activity undertaken on the programmes, where youngsters reflect on themselves, their team and their achievements during their stay. Karen Chislett, East Dene's Head of Teaching, who attended Stokey's Solar System Walk launch event, said, "Many nights we finish with a bit of stargazing and I thought Stokey's Solar System presentation was really inspiring and knowing his knowledge on the night sky, wanted to share this with the new staff to inspire them, as they too expressed a wish to learn more and to pass this on to the students. Both centres get great views of the night sky and students love hearing about our very limited knowledge."

So Stokey once more delivered part of his Wonders Of The Universe course, bringing to life the distances of the Universe and the constellations of the night sky. After the presentation, the team moved up into the woodland, lit a fire and enjoyed putting their knowledge into action, spotting the planets and constellations visible in the clear, dark skies. We could see Orion, the planet Jupiter and Sirius, known as the Dog Star and the brightest star in the night sky.

Also visible was the orange giant star Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus and so huge that our Sun appears tiny in comparison.

The team really enjoyed the evening and practised using their new-found way of telling the time by the stars....which I'll share in the next blog post!

Who is Stokey Woodall?

Hi, Lin here, wishing you all a Happy New Year wherever you may roam!

Well, we have all heard of Stokey's Solar System Walk and many of us have been walking it over the holiday period, but who, you may ask, is Stokey and how did he come to set up the walk in Ventnor?

“Stokey” is Peter Woodall, who originally hails from Stoke and is still a keen supporter of that football club. But he is better known as an ocean sailor who has crossed the Atlantic some 30 times in 33 years and amassed more than a quarter of a million sea miles. He is a highly respected and much sought after teacher in celestial navigation and has sailed to the Azores some 89 times to teach students completing their Ocean Yachtmaster certification. This week will see him delivering a presentation to expert sailors at the London Boat Show.

After working in mechanical engineering at British Steel, Stokey joined the British Army, skippering yachts for all ranks up to full generals. He travelled the world for 5 years delivering vessels and for 25 years has headed International Ocean Services (Britain’s first ocean sailing school and and weather centre).

He has taught many clients their navigation skills, including Ellen Macarthur, Emma Richards (around the world alone female sailors), the late Barbra Harmer (only female Concorde Captain), John Howard Davies (head of comedy for the BBC), Philippe Khann (inventor of the camera phone), Sir Alex Crampton Smith (world leading anaesthetist), Dr Wittingham (pioneer of ultra sound), and Leven Brown and Matt Craigwell (Trans-Atlantic rowing record holders).

Between 2006 and 2011 Stokey set up the Atlantic Circuit Programme, comprising two trans-Atlantic sailing events: the Trans-Atlantic Adventure starting in Porto and finishing in Barbados and the Trans-Atlantic Challenge from Antigua /Azores to England. Over 450 novices and experienced sailors had the chance to cross an ocean, of all ages, nationalities and social backgrounds.

After over 30 years sailing the seven seas, and having seen pretty much all the world has to offer, Stokey chose to put down his roots in Ventnor in the Isle of Wight which is a pretty big endorsement for the town! From here he plans routes for trans-Atlantic sailors and teaches courses in navigation and ocean sailing and shares his love of the heavens with locals through his popular 'Wonders of the Universe' courses.