The Southampton International Boat Show is currently on. The impression I get from the media razzmatazz surrounding this event is ‘Goody, let us flog more £100K starter boats to awe-struck punters…’ There are of course definite signs of a greater interest in environmentally friendly craft, especially on the power side. However, like the grandiose ‘starter’…

It is now nearly three months since I was promised a response by the Royal Yachting Association to my investigations around the difficulty in obtaining bottled gas. The story: Enquiries wherever we went where gas was normally available was mixed. On the whole the smaller bottle sizes were difficult to obtain including a mid range…

I wasn’t aware that Bill Turnbull was suffering from prostate cancer when I began my investigative journey which led soon after to a diagnosis that shook me to the core. It was a BBC R4 Breakfast programme that jolted me into action. That was not so long after Bill’s diagnosis, which ultimately claimed his life……

We set off from Queenborough on the West Swale early the other morning bound for Gravesend. It was a quiet still morning n the harbour, but clearing Sheerness the sails were up and drawing nicely to a northerly – not the forecasted east-northeast! We proceeded nicely up the Nore Swatch and passed the eastern end…

Ah, Dick, you whipped out your colt 45 and blazed away, words zipping as the tale unfolds… I was enthralled. I laughed out loud while reading (most unusual) and nearly cried as sobering and sad words spilled from the pages too. I always knew Dick spent time in Fleet Street on a new newspaper which…

Towards the end of June I wrote to the head honcho of the Royal Yachting Association, Sarah Sutcliffe, regarding the cancelation of my membership and my reasons why. I received a confirmation of receipt from her personal assistant stating that my communication would be placed before the Chief Executive. Time has ticked by. There has…

Coming upstream on the River Orwell yesterday I spied Jack Coote’s old yacht, Blue Shoal on the mooring trot below Ostrich Creek. The vessel, was, I believe, Jack’s last. Many possibly won’t know of Ostrich Creek. It is the seaward end of Belstead Brook which runs down to the salty Orwell where Fox’s Marina and…

Finished the last jobs, I don’t think so! However, the target has been achieved many time over this season what with the fine weather enjoyed. Just before leaving for my birthday June cruise, I completed the final edit on latest book. See earlier post. I am now awaiting it to be finalised for final acceptance…

Last year our summer sailing was particularly torrid in respect to an ability to obtain refill gas cylinders from marinas, or, as it later turned out, from anywhere. I recounted this in a web article, see: I followed this up with a little research. It would seem that the problem actually surfaced at least a…

As promised for those who are interested in such affairs, I have been over the last week dealing with the final edit and insertion of illustrations and captions for the my editor to do their bit. There is a little tale here: I quipped to the mate that I expected the job to appear in…

The paint coatings on the underside of the fore cabin top and fore deck had ‘crazed’ over a large area. It looked as if it was deep penetrated to the wood (ply) surface. It needed attention. So, after moving to a club berth where we had a power supply, we set to work. A large…

Thankfully, the time expended upon my next book has petered away to virtually nothing of late. The final edit has taken place and it has been in the publisher’s hands for a little while. See: A few days ago I received an communication telling me that they will be in position to send the edited…

All of a sudden April drew nigh and I knew time for maintenance to Whimbrel would be calling loudly. It is not often that the month of April swings by with so little rain: we can’t actually remember the last time we experienced rain, even the ‘famous’ April showers have been absent. During March I…

Knowing we were going to be in South Devon over our Forty-fourth wedding anniversary on a ‘no boats’ holiday, I kept a little something up my sleeve… Although we did travel across the pretty harbour on a ferry – for a trip on the Dart Valley Steam Railway, I saved it until last. On the…

Last week, a milestone was reached a couple of days after getting away for a magical night afloat with my youngest sibling. The mate and I were out walking – a bit of a hike actually – on an urban yomp to Westcliff and back to home. Sitting over a coffee along the route I…

The Island Yacht Club was blessed indeed with the long and fruitful membership of Jack Fenwick. Sadly, last summer, Jack died after a short illness. I only found out because I said to another member, ‘I haven’t seen Old Jack lately…’ Jack was around the water all his life. In later years he spent many…

February, like January and the last two months of 2021 were particularly windy. I had a splendid over-night run with my eldest brother, Graham, while he was in England for our mother’s funeral, but nothing since, for this last month produced four names storms, with three, one after the other, a week or so ago.…

During last summer we spent over a week bumbling around the River Deben with several nights in the Tidemill Marina. We were conserving gas by reducing usage aboard to the minimum – the marina had not had a delivery of gas for 11 months the harbour master explained! I eventually solved this problem by changing…

On BBC Radio 4 this week, prostate cancer was the ‘talk of the day’ with discussions with Bill Turnbull who has a serious case – currently living with it and its treatment – and a chap from NHS England. I have chopped a piece out of the media (Yahoo News) to help concentrate the minds…

The exhibition is open until Sunday 13th February. It has a wonderful array of talented works with views up and down the River Thames and its furthermost estuarial environs. The slogan the group is operating under currently is: ‘A Changing View’ which is something right up my street with what I have been writing about…