Good morning Fowey

Sat in a window seat over looking Fowey harbour watching the boats go by. Plan was to sail to Polkeris for lunch but the forecast suggests we're going to be restricted to pottering up the river. Looks so calm for the moment though.

Objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are.

Leaving Frampton, due in Fowey, Cornwall for lunch (:

Monday Bloody Monday

Week starts anew. Wind is howling like a banshee outside the office window.

What a tease C:

peachy

Woke up this morning, no sore throat, the aching in my lower back had gone and I could breath without the irresistable need to wrack my ribcage with coughing. Manflu be damned and behind me, I'm off for an hour of karate and am now really looking fowards to tonight's gig.

Bit of a shame we're not sailing today. The lake looks lovely . . .

Frampton-on-Severn, 10th Sept, 10:44hrs

Tapping at the Window

Bet nobody told him the Moth Open tomorrow has been cancelled |-8

(See attached file: 2011-09-09 11.38.46.jpg)

The Best Laid Plans of [ship's] Mice & Men

Whilst still gusty, the promised big wind didn't hold out for Wednesday. With the disincentive of that, on top of a building fever, aches and pains and a sore throat [classic "manflu" I suspect] saw me bottle it and stay at home.

The manflu has built through the week, with a cough developing. The forecast for Saturday is lessened, but still significant, and with the much reduced levels in the lake has led to the fleet captain cancelling the British Moth Open. On the one hand I'm gutted, but on the other I'm quietly relieved, as that only leaves me tomorrow night's gig to worry about in isolation.

My voice is a real concern, as it's getting more and more ragged from the ravages of my throat and chest. But at least it's only one gig this weekend and nothing else to worry about now. Lightweight compared to the usual workload. I reckon I've got the one gig in me. Felt like death when I woke up this morning, but now I've downed a cup of tea, pint or so of water and a truck load of paracetamol and strepsils I'm almost feeling human.

Next weekend I'm away to Fowey with Dad for a Drascombe Ralley. Manflu be damned, I'm really looking forward to that. Hopefully the weather will lighten up a little and not spoil things. At the minute, a ten day forecast [about as reliable as a horoscope, to be fair!] is suggesting Force 4, which could be entertaining.

We're going to berth Ondine on the pontoon at Mixtow Pill with the rest of the Drascombe fleet, and stay at The Old Ferry Inn at Bodnick. The rough plan is a day sail to Polkeris on Saturday, and then Lantic Bay for Sunday, weather permitting. Whilst I'm more than happy I can handle the boat in the conditions, I've got no idea whether or not a northerly F4 is good or bad for what we've got in mind, but then therein lies the advantage of being part of a rally. There will be plenty of good advice on hand.

Can't wait.



Fowey & surrounding area

Fowey Harbour

Mixtow Pill & the pontoon

Bodnick and the view towards the sea

Doh. Promises, promises.

Wednesday is now a let-down. Still, Saturday looks like it may yet be entertaining.

Though with the plans for the day involving racing a British Moth and then gigging in a marquee tent on a village green, high winds and rain mean that the laugh will probably be on me |-:

forecast

The wind is howling outside the window and forecast to continue through for tomorrow. With the lake at Frampton looking like somebody's pulled the plug I'd pretty much decided to leave my Europe "Blue Moon" ashore until the water levels went up a bit.

Spent the bank holiday weekend crunching centreboards on the bottom in all sorts of unexpected places, and the daggerboard on the Europe is long, pretty, delicate and expensive and doesn't take kindly to being crunched into the floor. But with the temptation of a good blow, I think it's going to be hard to resist.

Feels like ages since I last had a good race, so suspect I'm going to cave in and risk it if the winds hold up till tomorrow night. This could end in tears. But it could also be a hell of a lot of fun :)

Current forecast is for winds of 20mph+ on Saturday, which may be grist for the mill for Blue Moon, however scary with the current lack of depth in the lake, but are silly conditions for a British Moth. Poor Atlantic has been languishing under cover now for most of this year, spurned for the favours of the Europe. Saturday is the Frampton Moth Open though, and she's sat there begging to be sailed.

It's quite clear we need to have one last blast before I move her on, just for old time's sake. Will just have to try very hard not to break anything!

Fun fun fun :-)

Need to find a boat for tomorrow evening!

it's raining, it's pouring

But the wind is blowing like a wild thing.

Sadly, I'm chained to my desk and forced to endure the tease of it
through my office window :(

Pink Socks

Habitual Non Blogging

Actually, the very word "blogging" makes me feel a bit squirrely. It's a singularly unattractive sound; given that it's a somewhat modern creation you'd think the collective imagination of the Infernalnet could have come up with something soundling a little less lumpen.

Amazingly, it's been about a year since I last typed at this thing. In two days time it will have been a year since I fractured my foot, which is something of a happier milestone.

That ended well enough. Six weeks to the day of the break the doctors cut the cast off, pushed at prodded at the refusing bones and said I'd be fine, don't bother them again.

"So that means I can return to normal activities again then?"

"Sure . . . wait, what do you mean by 'normal' activity?"

I explain, at which point the caveat is added "I'd give that a few more weeks if I were you" and I'm turfed out to fend for myself. They let me keep the crutches. Whilst definately remaining uncomfortable for a while, the liberation of being free from plaster was exhilarating.

Twelve months later, despite the odd twinge where I broke it and the precaution of now wearing a neoprene sock when I'm in the dojo, I'm pretty much back to normal and I haven't broken anything since!