Worn out but happy

May 20, 2016 by flexwing462 3 Comments

I arrived home last night after my little cruise feeling quite tired and spent. Yesterday morning’s  sailing exploits, when I spent ages beating up the river against the tide, only to run aground at one stage and expend much energy getting off the mud. then, in the afternoon, winching the boat onto the trailer,  followed by the long drive home.  were more than enough for one day for me.

But the tiredness will be gone  after another day or so and  the memories and photos will be with me for longer. The cruise was very satisfactory for me , with some cracking good fast and exhilarating sails and some slow ghosting at times too. Most enjoyable.

As always, I was flabbergasted at just how many nice yachts were moored up  in our harbours with no one using them. I’m convinced that 90 per cent of them just sit on their moorings or marina berths and hardly ever go for a little sail. One really wonders why people make such a big investment of capital to buy these expensive things and then fork out for mooring, insurance and maintenance without  getting fair use of their asset.  I suspect that a lot of them count as conspicuous consumption, there just to demonstrate the owner’s purchasing power……. Most are on the big side too. 35 or 40 feet is about the average. Maybe that they need more than one person to sail them and that the owners struggle to persuade others to crew for them..

Frugality is my motto. My 14 days and nights didn’t cost a huge amount.  There was the initial stock of food which I put on board before launching consisting and fruit and veg and a few tins of sardines and tuna, cheese and bread and butter,  some rice and couscous together with pasta .

The fuel for my old car for the return trip from home the the Dart – perhaps 35 quid, the 37 quid that I paid in the boatyard for using their slipway and secure parking for car and trailer while I was away.

I used 3 litres of petrol for the outboard and  3/4 of a litre of meths for the cooking stove over the 2 weeks. And about a litre of paraffin for the anchor light and interior pressure lamp. Not once did anyone ask me for any money for anchoring or using a mooring buoy.

So, on the whole I didn’t make too much of a dent in my bank account so don’t need to go on an extra economy drive to compensate.

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For the mandatory picture, i noted this gaffer in the Dart yesterday. Caught my eye because it’s so different to the average  boat and I have a soft spot for gaffers anyway,.  I do like the low topsides and small deck house although the pram hood doesn’t add to her looks.  The grey colour is lovely.  Most boats have high topsides and huge cabins on top which makes them caravan like. This sort of thing is more elegant  to my eye. Anyone know what type she is?