No port in a storm, written by Bob MacAlindin and published by Whittles Publishing is the story of an earnest interest in these working boats.  read more »

Courses: Trinity House/Cowes Mooring Buoy (S), Snowden (S), Horse Sand Fort (P), Bembridge Ledge (S), Roches d’Ailly North Cardinal Buoy (S) Dieppe. Approximately 100 miles The penultimate Channel sprint of a busy RORC season goes to Dieppe and ...

On Tuesday I fancied a bit of a yot
As the weather just lately had been awfully hot.
So off to Bristol with my Laser I went.
An hour or two of solo practice was my intent.

I launched at around half past three
Aiming for a good old bash and then back home in time for tea.
First of all I cruised around the Point of Poppasquash
Where, so I have heard, live folk who are terribly posh.

Just round the point there was a trimaran on a mooring
And on the beach nearby a Sunfish - not too alluring.
A dude on the beach gave me a wave
But I didn't get too close - there might be rocks - and I wasn't feeling brave.

So I sailed back into the harbor mouth
Where the wind was more in the west than the south.  read more »

During the weekend of June 14th, we held a small regatta at Heron Lake which had some interesting challenges and "learning experiences". Our committee boat was a Catalina 22. After the pre-race meeting, the Catalina's skipper and I placed some racing marks in the deep waters of Heron Lake, then anchored near the lake's eastern shore to wait for the racers to gather and start the race.

Unfortunately, the racers later told us that our anchored boat was very hard to find against the background of the shoreline. Also, some of the longer-term club members remembered when the previous Olympic Circle race course had been further out into the lake, and went looking for the committee boat further out in the lake. It took us quite a while to collect enough of the boats to start a race, and one of the starters ripped a mainsail when unreefing in the still-vigorous winds.  read more »

Lady Jane got hit.

All I know at the moment is that some unknown vessel hit Lady Jane sometime between Sunday evening and Tuesday evening - a space of some 48 hours.

As soon as I got on board last night I knew there was something wrong. All sorts of things had fallen over or been knocked off their perches. Things that didn't even move when Lady Jane was travelling.

Finally, after travelling around Lady Jane in the RIB I saw the damage that had been done and realised she had been hit from astern.

The photograph does not give a realistic view of the size dent that has been made in what is 10mm steel there.  read more »