Nearly...

I nearly sailed today, just a local race at Rugby & Daventry SC.... Enterprise Open, about 6 entrants, we weren't one of them...


The boat, sails and helm and crew got there.. covers off the boat...but that was as far as it went..


I stayed to chat to my buddies and watch the first race...



Cold and bloody breezy (Draycote 15 miles north was recording consistantly 30mph ++ winds all morning), got there nice bacon sarnie and a coffee, everyone else went out sailing (blasting, flapping, healing, capsizing), we didn't.




Race 1 - Gez (last years winner) and Dennis lead, Youngy and new crew were second (with storm sail up!) Steve and Chessie were third... everyone capsized, everyone was knackered...



Everyone was happy (ish) so I went home then...


Apparently:


Race 2 - Steve & Chessie had a good start (only ones on the line?) Gez chasing.... Steve gobbed-it-in, Gez overtook... Steve got it back-up again and went bloody well (got past Gez)... more breeze cam through and horizontal hail storm... Steve went in, Gez went passed race and event abandoned (thanks for the report Steve)...

Rest of the Pics I took are on Flickr. Real shame we didn't sail...

sailing boat soulsailor

Windy Sunset

Windy Sunset
Originally uploaded by cruadinx.

Ok I missed the Sunday Sunset, but to make up for it here's a double-wammy!

Windy Wednesday

Well White Wednesday really!

Today is the first snow of 2007!

Not a lot of it but I love the way Draycote (or any mass of water) looks after a snow fall... the whole reservoir looks peaceful, the breeze is probably around 10mph its a crisp morning and I wanna go sailing... forecast for Saturday (when I am sailing) is pretty similar...cool!

It takes me back to my mad Optimist days when the club was heaving with eager sailors no matter what the conditions were and we went sailing, after the rescue boat had driven round for an hour smashing all the ice so we had enough water to sail on, I remember defrosting the mainsheet as it was frozen solid, going out sailing with barely any feeling in my extremeties, having a wonderful race in conditions like today and, as the sun started to fall, the wind dropping and the ice reforming so we had to dodge the 'bergs on the last lap.... back in to shore, more defrosting and de-icing of the boat, pack her away nice and snug and then stand in the shower, steaming, probably not a million miles away from being hyperthermic, but being very happy...

Even Windier Thursday!

Maybe I freaked the wind gods by posting about BIG breeze yesterday, but today around the UK it's been blowing dogs off chains.. I have a dog so I should know!

Draycote was lookin' pretty wild earlier...shame its caused a whole load of boats that werent tied down well enough to get trashed :-( hope your wasn't one of them...

Windy Wednesday

You don't have to have twin-trapezes and a bloody huge Kite to have fun on a breezy day:

When I get old I want one of these!