What a lovely amazing evening......

it was such an immense privilege to sit in a room and listen to members of the DCA chatting away about their boats and adventures. What an astonishing , lovely group of people.  I am always amazed at how talented people are,. Everything from making cakes, to restoring cars and designing boats. To listen to people talk about their sailing adventures, boat projects...........quite humbling.

I'm not a social person....odd given I spend all my working day locked in a room with thirty other people.........I struggle in social settings, even when out with friends who I have known for years. I understand infants and teenagers better than adults.

I have allowed my own insecurities and worries about my own inabilities to hold me back. A wise person this evening told me I would progress faster If I left my engine behind. That's true but then you need to know how to get yourself out of trouble without an engine and I dont have sufficient experience......but then I won't get that experience until I leave my engine behind.......it's hard work this sailing mularkey!

A number of rallies are in the diary. I don't know how many I can make given the crushing work commitments at the moment which will only get worse as we move towards the examination period of the summer, but I would like to try and join one or two rallies, even if only for the day. It will be such a great privilege and learning experience to sail with such a great group of people. I look forward to it.

Going to my first Dinghy Cruising Association meeting....

Nervous! 

What shall I wear?

What shall I take? 

Do you turn up with biscuits, cake, boat parts?

Do I need a pen and notebook?

I'm of an age where a fork doesn't necessarily always reach my mouth...........and food doesn't quite make it into the mouth on the odd occasion.....hand and eye coordination occasionally suffer and it isn't to do with alcoholic consumption........I don't dribble yet....so in fairness.......

Oh dear God, I don't know any jokes. I DONT KNOW HOW to tell a funny joke!!! Help!

I haven't got any great sailing yarns, no epic sailing adventures. I'm not sure my story of singing Nellie the Elephant at the top of my voice in the pitch dark on an open dusty track in the middle of Namibia, to scare away the wild elephants that had been rampaging in the area warrants epic or funny (on reflection......you had to be there....it was both....trust me). Me weeing over a sleeping lion by accident in the Masai Mara.....probably not a good one either.........

I can't sail off a mooring without a disaster. I can't sail onto a mooring....without a disaster. 

I can't leave Arwen with her sail unfurled on a beach ......without a disaster.

 I haven't moored overnight just under anchor...........this is embarrassing.........

I've sailed off an anchor........let's not go there!

I'm socially inept....I hang about with teenagers most of the day and have their sense of humour and insecurities.........at least I haven't got any spots..............

I've sprayed my trainers liberally with foot spray so they shouldn't smell if I have to take them off.......well one has to think about these social niceties! Don't you?

Got to buy tissues and mints....and try to remember which ones to use where.......when under pressure.

 

I don't know any of them ....its a meal around one of their houses...........this is high pressure stuff.......they have seen the blog. More scarily they have seen the videos on my YouTube channel. My incompetency in a boat is laid bare......nowhere to hide...

Did I say I am socially inept....complete inability to pick up on normal social cues!

Why do I say yes to these things?

It will be ok. They are human. They all learnt to sail at some stage. Their emails are witty and funny. Some are incredibly knowledgeable (I know nothingggggggg!) The only way I can get better as a dinghy cruiser is to sail with them and learn......fast!  Time to get outside my comfort zone. I have to prepare for retirement....more sailing time and no excuses. 

Breath, slowly, positive thoughts, it will be ok.........they are nice, good people....and they already know I'm an idiot........what can possibly go wrong?

(Please God, please, don't let me run over their cat or drop a plate of food on a new carpet!)

http://thepocketyacht.blogspot.cl

Howard Rice has started a blog about his voyages Southern Cross.......around the southern tip of Chile
It will be an epic adventure

Living in a cruising dinghy

is the title of a short film by Roger Barnes, President of the Dinghy Cruising Association.
Enjoy.


http://youtu.be/Zdd_EBnGu_I

Steve

Good house keeping on a dinghy

How to banish the winter blues......empty everything from every locker on board your dinghy. Test all the lifejackets.......which havent been done for years......all worked. Some needed cleaning. Rearming kits ordered. Peace of mind for this sailing season.

Sort out and reduce down the tools and spare fittings. Put into new sealed plastic containers and dry bags. Sorted.

Sort out ditty bags and reduce down to two.......one for hats and gloves and one for suncream,  lip balm, sunnies, liquid soap, tissues, spare shackles, multi tool, head torch, whistle and a pack of giant raisins, oh and a small bottle of water. Done!

Clean up the binoculars. Charge up the solar charged small portable radio, sort out various batteries, charge up the two handheld VHF's. Done.

Gosh, makes you feel better straight away. 

Howard Rice's epic voyage of exploration

is getting under way, the pre launch and expedition preparation. Follow it here at

https://www.facebook.com/howard.rice.399?ref=br_rs

And at


http://www.below40south.com

It will an epic small boat adventure.

Steve

Hiking boots are old friends............

I don't know why, but I found these opening lines of John's latest blog post, to be imaginative and creative.

http://jwboatdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/on-metaphorical-road-again-heading-for.html?showComment=1454833339664

Wish I could write like that.......wonderful.
Steve 

The Garmin etrex 10

Have just spent a fun hour entering waypoint information for South Coast sailing and rivers Tamar, Lynher and Fowey into the new Garmin etrex 10 unit I now have. We invested in one for geocaching and, surprisingly (!!!!!), it does very well for waypoints and sailing as well. Who would have thought it????
I've been getting some hard stares from 'she wot must be obeyed' but as I explained, it's unexpected value for money as it seems to kill two birds with one stone!!!

A wonderful glimpse of dinghy racing in 1950's plymouth

I found this gem of a film in YouTube. I know the launch ramp really well. Impossible for Arwen to use. Can't get a car down to it any more and it would be too steep anyway. What was particularly nice was to see the area without the pontoons there now........a lovely clip. Very enjoyable.

http://youtu.be/QhUGsDxSR2U

Scamp

i do love john's boat 'scamp'. Well it will thoroughly tested on this voyage by Howard. A blog to watch for the future........as Howard voyages around the foot of South America!

http://thepocketyacht.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/httpwww.html?spref=fb

Steve