BLUEMOMENT

All that chat on TOP about Alchemist sinking has got me thinking. Firstly, what a dreadful thing to happen, and I really feel for the owner given that he was not on board when his beautiful boat sank. It must be awful. However, when racing I know I take risks that I would not take when cruising. We race once or twice a year, but my recent examples are:

Letting my (then) 11 year old son take the helm as we crossed the start line with spinnaker up, reaching, and he steered us straight over a rock. We didn't notice until later when we saw the track on the chart plotter. By then we were washing the blood from Mrs Shuggy's hands off the decks thanks to a winch failure and her inability to let go the sheet.

Spinnaker up in the Steamer Passage off Tinker's Hole with about 35 other boats, also all flying kites, all vying for position. At least one hit the big rock outside Tinker's Hole.

Reaching with spinnaker up off the top end of Mull when we were hit by a 30 knot gust which saw half a dozen yachts broach around us (we let go!).

Putting up the kite in 25 knots of wind when our family self-imposed limit is 15.

Going straight down the middle of the Sound of Iona and sheeting in to obtain maximum heel to avoid hitting the bottom (we saw 2.0m from our offset sounder when we draw 2.1m - heel is good).

All good clean fun but I do wonder!

Its racing - all fine until it goes wrong.
The problem lies when Mariners with 32 years experience join in these threads and start applying their principles....

Or drink 7 pints of cider.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-la ... e-36724019

Ahoy my good Claysington

I don't pick fights online for the very reason that I only have 36 years' experience as a mariner, if you count rowing on a loch as a bairn. 32 years? Pah. Good luck with your internet battle. It all ends in tears on there, as you well know. I have just been accused of being a stooge for Exchange Sails and I did bite back a little but I really can't be ars*d to see it to the end as real life is much more interesting. Many of the people on there don't sail much anyway, despite being self-proclaimed experts. I have recent experience of an exchange with someone who you would think had been round the world twice - and then I discovered that it ain't necessarily so.

What do you think of my new green spinnaker?

Shuggington

Shuggy wrote: What do you think of my new green spinnaker?

Behave, Donald. His medication may not take this level of excitement.

What Ho Shuggers,
If ever there is a gay pride sailing event, I believe that Donald, Para, Wully and the boy Aja ought to represent Alba. The Spinnaker looks divine - perhaps a little drab on some of the mair dreich Craignish days but a splendid decoration none the less.
Para is a great one for the lycra as he takes his daily cycle ride to the cake shop, Mrs Para has inserted an elasticated gusset to stop his eyes from watering and he's an asset to any forepeak, sorry - deck.
The Boy Aja is a good man in a tight spot, which may well be the case in such an event and Donald has a lovely lilting, mincing stride that would look most convincing.
Your foties of the Roonmull jaunt make you the obvious choice fer ra media man - do you have a Fedora?
Sadly, Wully doesn't look that gay but he has a grand pout.
Toodle pip.

I know we were mostly in last position in the fleet, but surely the tide didn't ebb that much on the rock outside Tinkers. When we cam through the Steamer passage (we decided not to hoist the spinnaker until after passing through that gap, as we'd probably run out of wind in behind the island - we did).
The said rock was out of the water as it is known to do at low tide.
Hitting a submerged rock is bad, but hitting one awash or dry is surely some attempt to clean the keel?

I was thankful to have got this smaller spinnaker in 2014, we'd not have survived flying our normal big red one, 2 handed all that way with winds as variable as they were. I just don't like the colour though - panels Rangers blue, Celtic Green and some white parts to keep they ither enes apart.
We did a creditable drop of it on the finish line though, figuring that if we messed that up, someone might have seen it!

claymore wrote:
The Boy Aja is a good man in a tight spot, which may well be the case in such an event ....
Toodle pip.

Ok. What are you after?

Starting a rumour that the good ship Saboo is off on her treks again leaving Croabh a week on Friday for Rockall.

Wish us luck.
Donald aka The Boy Aja

Geoff

Sorry - saw you at the ceilidh but did not manage to say hello. If you hadn't left by the time I started playing the pipes then you probably did mid-recital The Tinker's rock incident was in 2014 - not this year. We did have a bit of fright this year when we entered the Steamer passage with another boat to port and went too close to the rocks on the south side. There was a big breaker that sucked us back towards the submerged rocks at the entrance and there was too much kelp in the water for my liking. I have a photo of the event and I look a bit horrified! We were doing about 7.5 knots so there was much hilarity amongst those on board who have no financial interest in my fine shup... (i.e., everyone else).