So, without ever meeting me, you consider me a useless expletive? Well, you are probably quite right, but you also make yourself appear a little presumptious and pompous by that statement.
Be aware that your predjudices say more about you than the people you disparage.
Not only that, it looks as if it's the string holding the rubber ducky
Indeed it is. 8mm braidline retired climbing rope. It floats, lovely to handle, it has good stretch and it's cheap too. Ex climbing ropes make great mooring warps too. I have Green, Red, Yucky Yellow and loads of speckled ones too.
Daveanmucker, as you enjoy Scottish hospitality and sail in Scottish waters I think you should be little more circumspect in your attacks on Scottish sailors who choose to fly the saltire. After all, the way things are going it may not be many more years before you are obliged to fly one yourself - as a national courtesy flag. DaveS is AFAIK right - if your vessel is in home waters and not registered you are not required to show any particular flag.
Re. Blue Ensigns - I am sure there are many excellent seamen sporting them, but equally stories of poor seamanship by vessels wearing the blue abound - I could tell a couple myself. If you consider yourself worthy then your seamanship should be of the highest order.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that voices are raised whenever this is a topic - flags have always had a warlike connotation, with the striking or capture of the colours being the definitive end of the battle.
Daveanmucker wrote:Nothing warlike comes from Dark Island, by the way where does the blue ensign reaction come from.
In Oban now and the weather is wonderful, not only that I'm on the free Broadband from Oban Marina, never had the Tinternet on't boat before.
Get yourself a 3G phone from 3 then. Ok the coverage is not complete, but it will work with any network for T'Internet and will even connect at GPRS data rates if that is all there is. Can't use it offshore as the signals don't go that far & there will be black spots around the Highlands & islands, but I've found it usefull in many N Wales anchorages & harbours.
And you don't need to pay silly marina mooring prices either.
Daveanmucker wrote:I certainly do think that the Blue ensign brigade are silly, so no apologies for that. I also usually get ready to take defensive action when I see one coming towards me, they are usually useless annoying people.
That's where the response came from. Perhaps you need to slack off on the local spirit or your Altzheimers' will get out of hand & you won't know what day it is either!
Your comments are as daft as the snobbishness ones posted elswhere. Of course people with Blue Ensigns make mistakes - everyone does. Clearly changing the colour of an ensign will not affect anyones' sailing ability either way. Sail under whatever colours you like & obey the relevant rules/ laws guidelines -or not, as you wish. But do remember that slagging other people off simply displays your own inadequacies, not theirs.
Sail happy, and tolerate, nay celebrate, difference, it is the spice of life.
When I say I never had internet ont boat, I should have said I never had the Laptop, I have been downloading forcast etc on my XDA and it works well in most places, black spots like everyone else. But too small to do much else but check forcast and look at email.
However thanks for the advice Hargiro.
We can't change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust our sails.
Dear Mucky-Dave, we are rather thread-napping a bit here, but the point I so clearly failed to make (sorry - I knew what I meant, I just didn't actually say it tho') was that I use the 3G phone connected to my LAPTOP (which also provides electronic charts & GPS capability).
I agree that the phone screen size & fiddly little 12 button keypad are pretty pointless for T'Internet use, but link the phone to the Lappy with a USB cable, or Bluetooth (slightly slower) and it is as good as my home WiFi (or paying 25 squids a night for a marina berth to use theirs). In effect, as I mostly anchor & I pay £20 a month for phone & 3G broadband it's a much cheaper solution, even if I only use it twice a month.
Finally, the set-up works just as well as a car sat-nav & internet.
Daveanmucker wrote:Heyup, thanks fer that, by t way there's a boat called Arghiro just a few yards away from us in Oban, arrived yesterday, its not you is it.?
Sadly no. If it's a Westerly 25 it was my first boat & I still love it! Would you be kind enough to give them my e-mail steve.kean(at)Virgin.net. I would be so interested in chatting to them & could send a few photos of her in the 80's.
I sold her to a guy in N Connell & sailed her up the Falls of Lora to deliver her to her mooring. He sold her on to a couple of guys on the East coast (nr Aberdeen?). Apparently the name is the female diminutive for treasure - ie "precious little girl"
