Return to my Societe Pages index
Return to the School Main Index: VCIndex1.htm
Return to the reminiscences page here.
One of my strongest memories of Victoria College has always been that of the legendary P E teacher, Reg Nicolle. As well as bellowing at us in the gym, the often ferocious but very warm hearted Reg also ran the school sailing club. 'The sea has no mercy' was his oft used catchphrase, delivered with his booming voice, and underlined by meeting each of us eye to eye.
His method of teaching boating skills to young boys would be unlikely to be appreciated in the modern world, but he certainly got his message through.
One unusually chilly and blustery day we assembled in the hut at St Catherines, reasonably secure in the knowledge that as it was obviously far too windy to go sailing, we would have a relaxing and quite enjoyable afternoon ahead of us; mainly drinking tea and buffing up some or other item of equipment.
Not so! Reg stood before us in the club house and, surveying the group of apprehensive 12 year olds, said in his distinctive gutteral voice, 'Men. Today, men, not only are we going to go sailing, but today, we are going to do Capsize Drill'.
Outside the wind was whistling through the rigging of our 12 foot dinghys, the sky was a purple smudge, and the prospect of any sort of sailing activity, let alone the hair raising Capsize Drill was met by us with some alarm.
Our faces probably gave us away as Reg then uttered, at the top of his voice, another of his famous quotes.
'And any boy who does not want to go out today can go home now; and when he gets home he can ask his Mummy for a glass of warm milk'! There were no takers for that invitation and so minutes later we found ourselves launching our small craft in the rising swell off the breakwater. My next recollection was sailing alongside the guard boat, in which stood the man himself. Wearing an enormous and ancient greatcoat, legs well astride as the motorboat bucked and kicked beneath him; one hand casually in a pocket, the other clamping an old fashioned tin loud hailer to his mouth, Reg shouted his word of command. 'Capsize', and over we went.
It was all marvellously character building and, as a bonus, we learnt how to right a boat in exactly the conditions in which one might well expect to capsize. Reg certainly knew his stuff!
Warwick Blench