Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily ...

 

The weather this November has been very unsettled, so I don't feel I am missing too much sailing.  But I do miss being on the water. This morning there was a predicted stretch of winds round 10 knots, coinciding with a high tide, coinciding with Anne going out, so Oz and I wheeled Barca down to the nearby revetment beach for a test outing.

All systems worked well. The bicycle wheel trolley worked very well.  The tyre wheels get over the sand ok, the friction is low so it is really no harder than walking, and there was plenty of water to launch in.  The boat is relatively light so getting off and back onto the trolley is easy. We rowed round to the dog beach, about 1.4 kilometres. My watch, if I can somehow manage to press the magic combination of buttons, records an impressive series of stats - stroke rate (25 per minute) average moving pace  (round 4 kilometres or a bit over 2 knots per hour), heart rate, even the track. I can see the heart rate and stroke rate go up as I row like crazy across the entrance to the safe harbour, trying not to get run down by the stink boats who have a very liberal interpretation of the 5 knot speed limit and the concept of giving way.

We landed on the dog beach. Unfortunately there were no other dogs there for Oz to impress with his nautical sea dog arrival, but he had a good sniff and explore anyway. 

We picked up various floating bits of plastic, chip packets and other crap as we went along, and said hello to the juvenile Pacific gull that has taken up residence on Frank's boat. I remember when there was quite a fleet of boats moored here, now only one left.

It was a nice row there and back, apart from the stink boats and one moron on a jet ski doing donuts right in front of the harbour entrance. (Why can't they go and be idiots far far away I wonder?)  I am learning to not try too hard rowing Barca. A relaxed easy stroke seems to push it along as well as it is ever going to go, no point wasting effort. 

Oz seemed pretty pleased with the outing, and I certainly was.  I have been thinking more about row boats as a longer term prospect. There is a lot to be said for light, simple, and  fast to get on the water. I will be interested to see how getting to the water and launching a works out when we move. Anyway, I am glad I built little Barca, I am very happy with that little boat. This morning was only a couple of hours door to water to door, but I felt like I had been somewhere.