I have put three days of sailing behind me. A lot of fun meeting with friends from different classes and on Friday evening with a boat, that I had never sailed before. The Optimist Dinghy. Yes, I have folded 190cm into this little pram and it did not feel as bad as I thought. It all started with a promise or better a birthday present which I had given to K. last week. She got a voucher to take part in the local women Opti regatta and I promised to organise everything. From the fully rigged boat right on the pier to jump in, to babysitting our little one.  read more »

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Just got back from a great few days sailing, racing on Knot Again in the 2008 Around Long Island race . The race itself started very well for Knot Again but sadly did not finish as well. In fact, we were one of 15 who DNFd. Howard had put together a superb crew. Howard, Knot Again s owner/skipper has won many prizes in the race in prior years. In fact his wife Skippy is quite relieved at not having any silverware to polish this year. Our crew-mates were Tim, an experienced racer and cruiser and all-round good egg; George, a hilarious Episcopal priest who curses like a trooper (I hope God's not reading my blog, George)- George has sailed since the age of 7; Colin, my watch-mate with a wicked sense of humor and someone I would definitely call an all-round good bloke.  Colin had raced the ALIR many times before as well as a Marion-Bermuda in a 32er; Bruce an utterly unflappable and experienced cruiser who you would want to be around in a crisis; and yours truly - Every boat has to have one person dragging the rest down. A better bunch of guys I could not have hoped to sail with. We had many laughs and everyone knew their business on board. There were 57 boats entered in 7 divisions. We were in A Class of 12 non-spinnaker monohulls. Knot Again is a 35 C&C and our PHRF rating was somewhere at the high end of the pack but there some boats we would owe half a day to.  We had high expectations. Howard and Knot Again had won his Division in the 2007 race. This year, the fleets had been changed around and the odds were definitely tougher but we up for the challenge. The race starts at the Southeastern tip of Long Island, about 3 miles South of Rockaway.  read more »

There was an interesting article in yesterday's Times about steps taken to protect the water ways approaching central London.

There was concerns that the Thames could be used as a soft underbelly to the capital, and questions about whether it is sufficiently patrolled.  read more »

Posted by: dawesboat  read more »

This is an article from the Tacoma News Tribune. The area they are talking about is at south end of Thea Foss Waterway. I've been there a couple times. Garbage was strewn all over the shore and the water was stagnant and putrid. Homeless people were camping under the bridge. It would be a big improvement if they clean that area up. Also it would be awesome to have a building where you could store kayaks for cheap. If I could only keep my sailboat there then I could empty out may garage and build more boats!Kayak park taking shape on Tacoma's Foss waterway Jason HageyDecember 28th, 2008 08:38 PM Waterway Park doesnt really exist yet, but rowers, kayakers and other nonmotorized boaters will soon be using it.  read more »

Posted by: dawesboat  read more »

Posted by: dawesboat  read more »