Rules

 One of the rules of my local branch of the Fairweather Sailing Club is to avoid sailing if at all possible when our local weather App, Willyweather, features blue arrows for its wind forecast.   The blue arrow signifies winds 15 knots, which means that gusts will be higher.  It is a good rule, except when every day seems to be all blue arrows.   A good rule.  But only if you follow Dylan Winter's Rule number 1 for Safe,Sane, Solvent  Sailing  "If sailing is possible, sail.  You will always enjoy it more than you thought you would".  Last Thursday was a blue arrowless day, about the only one for ages, so we launched Anjevi.

Forecast was for SW about 10 knots, we got winds gusting round 17 knots most of  the outing, which made for rather bumpy sailing. Oz was a bit cross as he could not snooze.  It was a chilly 11 degrees, and not surpisingly, we were the only boat out. Which was good for sailing out of and back into the harbor, as there were no stink boats to dodge. Dylan Winter is right, I did enjoy it more than I thought I would. I love that SCAMP.

A few days before, I was mulling over Dylan's rule number 8, "Do not own too many boats".  He points out rightly that boats inevitably need maintenance, and the time you spend fixing and maintaining them is time you could be on the water.  I kept reminding myself of this while being consumed with envy at Stephen's remarkable find of a Welsford Long Steps for an almost give away price.   Gerard, Chris and I went over to view the new addition to the fleet, and Gerard, excellent photographer that he is, took a great photo of Chris, me and Stephen inspecting the boat.  Very interesting to see a precursor to the SCAMP design.  Long Steps certainly has some nice features, but on balance, I think the SCAMP suits me better. 

Gerard's photo reminds me of those Pre-Raphaelite paintings, he captured the body language  splendidly, and the picture captures the moment and tells the story.  Stephen's granddaughter thought so too, and has started a terrific drawing based on the picture.  Looking forward to seeing that finished!  I hope to get a signed copy.

And, speaking of granddaughters, our little Harriet is coming along very nicely.  She is a bright little thing, and it is wonderful to watch how quickly she is growing and engaging with the world.

And, speaking of family matters, my brother Brian is heading off on a trip to Ireland shortly, which led me to do some more research on our great grandfather, Alfred Hutson, who was chief of Cork Fire Brigade through the burning of Cork by the British in 1920.  As an Englishman, those must have been very tricky times to navigate.  Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I stumbled over a story about him  that I did not know - https://www.echolive.ie/nostalgia/arid-40236050.html - and a photo of him I had not seen before.  The docos on the burning of Cork are well worth a look. https://youtu.be/4TFGn_KiVUU?si=tFK8v47HbMBYSVPG 

Great grandfather Hutson was by all accounts a remarkable man.  Lovely photo, but it does not compare to the one from our family album, showing the Captain demonstrating his highly developed management skills

Inbetween, I have managed to do my back in twisting awkwardly carrying the mower. That will teach me to try and tidy up the garden.   I am creaking around hoping the back resolves before we get some forecasts not covered in those darned blue arrows.   Otherwise, I will just have to keep doodling around.