Anne and I are grandparents. Hurrah! Welcome Harriet Ruby Hardy Mackenzie, born last Friday 14 June. She is of course the most beautiful baby ever. Congratulations Jess and Chris. Sea Pup the cradle boat I built a while back may have a crew at last.
In other good news, I heard today from my Camino compadre Jeppe. He and his partner Maia and their son Eik are visiting from Denmark, and will stay here over Christmas. It is 9 years since I walked the Camino and met Jeppe, It is really nice we have stayed in touch. We have had a few adventures together since, memorably a wet cold trip down the Glenelg River, for which I managed to leave most of our food in the car. I think Jeppe might have forgiven me for that one.
Meanwhile on the boat front, evolution continues. I made an off centre mast sail spar carrying arrangement. It makes raising and lowering the mast way easier and quicker. I also added an oarlock socket on the transom, so I can theoretically scull the boat with one oar over the stern.
It was a nice calm day today, and very quiet on the water. Just as well, my attempts at sculling were pretty hopeless. The transom on the SCAMP is quite high, I am not sure the 9'2" oar is long enough. But maybe that is my poor technique.
There is a nifty dodad called a Scullmatix, which both let's you extend the length by adding a handle, and encourages the correct angle of attack on each stroke by having the handle offset. The duckworks site describes a diy Scullmatix, I think I will try that for starters.
https://www.duckworksmagazine.com/13/chest/jun/
It was lovely out there just pottering around trying out a few things. And I remembered to bring an extra fleece blanket for Ozzie, which he definitely appreciated. And I discovered that forward facing standing up rowing is workable in very light airs, good for negotiating the narrow bit of the harbour entrance and dodging stink boats.
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