admin October 7, 2023 Readying the Boat Previous Blog Quest for the Toura Comments (0)
Embarking on the journey early, we found ourselves filled with anticipation, eager to get our first proper glimpse of the boat. The club’s tranquillity greeted us, setting a calm stage for the day’s adventure.
The boat, sheathed in its protective shrink wrap, was a sight to behold. With an air of reverence, we moved it closer to the car, ready for the grand unveiling. The excitement was palpable, but so was the realization of the sheer size of the sails and equipment we had to deal with. I hadn’t realised there would be so much plastic and even carefully folded it was the size of half the car boot. With a fair bit of lifting and we then discovered how heavy the boat was, we had finished unwrapping the boat. The RS Toura
Sails in hand, we noticed they required some serious bracing. Long battens and quirky ends awaited assembly, and we were about to dive in headfirst. Instructions? Those would have been handy, but who needs instructions when you have intuition, right?
The top two battens played nice, sliding into place with minimal fuss. The lower battens, however, armed with Velcro to hold the battens in place, proved to be a bit more stubborn. A battle of the Velcros ensued. Scissors in hand, I crafted a makeshift tool with some paper, wrapping it around the Velcro and pushing it in with surprising ease. As the batten secured itself in place, I turned to see my son, tool in hand, a knowing look in his eyes. The sail appeared to have its own special tool for this very task. Well, the last batten was a breeze after that discovery.
With no screws or fittings at our disposal, we did what we could, carefully dressing the boat with its cover, leaving it to wait for the missing parts. A bit deflated, we decided to postpone the grand launching party, opting for a family visit instead.
We had done the unwrapping the boat and finished by wrapping it up again! And so, our sailing adventure hit a slight pause, but not without leaving us with lessons in improvisation, a touch of humour, and the quiet anticipation of what’s to come.
