admin November 17, 2023 Sailing Shop Previous Blog Sails and Screws Comments (0)
Our new sailing shop has appeared and disappeared and we wonder if we will go sailing in the near future.
Let’s talk about how Mother Nature has me on speed dial to deliver her wettest, wildest tantrums. Storm after storm – some with fancy names, some with bad attitudes – have turned the land into a sponge and the rivers into racetracks. “No sailing on Sundays,” the red signs scream as the River Thames struts its stuff at breakneck speeds. Not a boat in sight, unless it’s on a secret mission to join a high-speed chase.
Even the little River Gade near my house is full and fast-flowing. As I wade around my flooded local river, armed with a flow meter like a mad scientist, I can’t help but ponder my bad luck. Measuring its flow at 0.79 m/s, I think, “Wouldn’t this make a great lazy river ride?” But alas, the only lazy thing here is my boat, snug under its cover, sheltered from the relentless rain. I want to try this flow meter on the River Thames. I want to see if I can get into the Science of Sailing. It seems there is little point in going to the sailing club just to look at the boat and play with sensors.
So, what’s a sailor to do when sailing is off the cards? No Power or Safety boat courses, either – cancelled, just like my dreams of open waters. My son, bless his tech-savvy heart, is deep into the IT system of our club, plotting camera placements like he’s rigging up the Big Brother Boat Edition. He is learning the IT system for the club ahead of his first Committee meeting. My wife and son did get to the sailing club for a day but that was to ready the club for the winter.
Speaking of tech, we’re on a quest to measure the mast. You’d think it’s simple, but it turns out the RS Sailing website is as clueless as we are. A deep dive into the cyber-sea of information left us knowing the height above the shear (whatever that is) but still scratching our heads.
Paul’s grand vision involves threading a camera lead down the mast’s mysterious depths, aiming for aerial shots that turn us into sea-faring reality stars. Maybe the aim is to show the crew scampering across the boat like ants. I must note, I don’t scamper across the deck. That’s official. I glide, thank you very much.
Back to our Sailing Shop Essentials, our website’s hot search term is to be a hearty review of the RS Toura. Plans for filming are brewing, but Mother Nature keeps photobombing us. My coping mechanism? Cozying up with RYA books and playing with a Lego boat, pretending I’m navigating through less turbulent times.
This unexpected downtime has birthed the idea ofa Sailing Shop on our website. It’s going to be a cozy corner where you can snag all the sailing shop essentials we’ve been chatting about. Cameras, gear, and all that jazz are on the way, but for now, they’re just waiting for their cue – and a break in the clouds. I have promised myself to add a new item each day. I will be reviewing what we have used and how effective it has been. time will tell when I start and how it will go
So stay tuned, landlubbers, and remember, even when the sailing’s stalled, the shopping sails on!
With boards up we waited until Boxing day to see if we could enter our first race.
