Retirement? My arse!

[marisca]

Seeing Claymore is wanting more forum traffic .......

I feel I should be slipping softly into my dotage - slippers, warm fire,Ovaltine before bed, family primed to rush to my bedside - it is, after all, 13 years since I got time off for good behaviour. Instead, I did a single-handed evening race last night - only white sail but every tack was a disaster of snarled ropes though it got better and my body hurts - then it's the Kip regatta this weekend with Marisca the slow boat in the CYCA class getting over 10mins per hour from the fastest boat and 5min from the next slowest, followed by a quick trip up to Oban, either round Cape McCartney or through the Crinan, depending on the weather (forecast is a tad less than settled), for SIPR the following weekend (when is Contender going up, Geoff?), with May tailed off with Scottish Series the weekend after with a 3-line whip to be home by 19.00 at the latest on the Monday. Last couple of days were spent repapering the sitting room ceiling and by June the tolerance for not having a fully decorated room will have reached a low ebb.

Wave if you see me passing but if I don't respond it is because I'm too knackered to raise my arm!

[claymore]

Knackered just reading that - tell me about June - she sounds to be very intolerant about the living room ceiling. Have you known her long?

[Nick]

.
You obviously have far too much time on your hands if you are papering and posting on forums. If you find yourself at a loose end I recommend buying a second MAB and setting yourself a deadline for having her ready for voyaging.

[claymore]

Does that include organising a recruitment drive of handy persons to do the work for you?

[Nick]

Does that include organising a recruitment drive of handy persons to do the work for you?

I have to say the response has been distinctly underwhelming. Obviously the prospect of free accommodation in the Canaries for a week in return for a day's graft is supremely unattractive, presumably due to everyone having more cash than time on their hands.

Never mind, the work is vaguely on schedule and once Avy-J is in her new cruising grounds I shall take great delight in posting pix of blue water and blue skies all next Winter (and hopefully for many winters to come).

[marisca]

Does that mean no snow next year? Your blue skies/sun piccies would lose their impact if covered with the white stuff.

[claymore]

What snow?

[wully]

I like the snow.

[claymore]

What snow?

[mm5aho]

I'm leaving for Oban and the SIPR on Tuesday night after work. Probably stop at Whiting Bay Arran for 6 hours sleep then round the MoK and northwards arriving in Oban in the small hours Thursday. But if there's no wind we might stop and catch a few more Zs somewhere north of Pladda Luing.
Find a park in Oban bay somewhere (new pontoons maybe?), and then get the oars out for the SIPR, forecast doesn't look windy!

[claymore]

the pontoon in Oban looks to be quite handy - is the start line still between the sailing club and the church?

[mm5aho]

Between Oban sailing club and a ramp on Kerrera if I remember right.
Looks like not a lot of wind, but might be better tomorrow night for the nigh trip to Sanda.

[wully]

the pontoon in Oban looks to be quite handy - is the start line still between the sailing club and the church?

Handy but chuffing expensive compared to the moorings off the sailing club, but a mere bagatelle to a man if your means of course

[claymore]

Absolutely. Brewster - throw the cat another canary.....

[marisca]

Two down, one to go.
Kip was a waste of time, sad lack of wind with only one race out of 4 any fun - but we hoisted and dropped the chute many times and the sun shone. Then the slog to Oban with a northerly from the MoK up, followed by SIPR with a southerlyish nightmare of nae wind, too much wind, contrary spring tides, the most god-awful slop in the Sound of Jura, cold and rain. Are there any foulies that will keep you dry in incessant rain and cold? - mine certainly don't. Despite hating every minute of it and questioning the meaning of life, there was satisfaction at the end. Definitely Type 3 fun - the sort you don't know you're having until it's over (and even then you're not sure). Our lasses won the Molls of Mull prize (yet again) and we ended 3rd in Class 3 and 17th overall out of 34 starters with 13 retirals.
So now it's off to Tarbert for Scottish Series with a forecast of gentle breezes, sun and warmth.
Decorating still on hold!