Example of the latest inshore sailing clothing designed for comfort at sea and to look stylish and sophisticated at the yacht club bar
Occasionally pulled away from the waterfront by Mrs BB in pursuit of one of her main hobbies, I found myself waiting patiently outside the wool shop in Lymington.
With my head still very much in the boating scene, at first glance I remember wondering why a wool shop would have lengths of broken mast as a shop sign - durr. Would also make a nice sign for the Needles cafe.
Apologies but combination of fine weather, a new phone and being in Barcelona brought out the latent street photographer in me.
There's a lot of encouragement on the internet to budding artists, crafters and photographers to not worry too much about how good you are, rather just go out and do it, practice, practice practice.
So apologies for inflicting my bad photography on you, but I did rather enjoy looking at some of my favorite parts the city through a new lens.
The last thing the internet needs is another travelogue on places to go in Barcelona, but staying away from the major hot spots is probably good advice, although you should at least go past Las Rambla, Sagrada Familia and Parc Guellon while you're there.
If you go there the best advice is to just wander the city and enjoy.
Interesting rowing skiff which may or may note be the Ahoy Boats TS515 and has a pair of small training floats mounted under the rowlock arms to help stability.
It seems a good way to introduce people to sliding seat rowing in a fast, slim and long boat with better stability compared to a conventional skiff of the same size.
These deck garages are a really great feature on modern superyachts
Nice to know that even on a superyacht the garage can be just as cluttered and full of stuff as is the average domestic garage, bit of a shame that the view was obscured by the electrical box, but the garage was pretty full of work benched, tools and materials, was going to need a serious clear out before there's any room for a dinghy tender and other "water toys".
Featured alongside the Emsworth lobster pot Christmas tree, some close up details of Sally a lovery harbour launch.
Perfect for pottering, fishing and picnics around Chichester harbour especially when those strong tides are running
Nice to see her dressed overall.
Wandering around the yard in winter you just know there's something interesting over there.
More hardy types, dinghy sailors, making their way out of the Hamble on a blisteringly cold day.
I am jealous of their enthusiasm and dedication, but having decided it was very much a spectator sport Mrs BB and I were heading for the cake shop and some warming hot chocolate.
That said I did safety boat duty on a chilly, early February Sunday for the Weston SC optimistically described, Spring Series.
Corinthian yachtsman and triple around the world sailor Les Powles passed away in 2022 but his yacht Solitaire is still on the hard in Lymington, sadly land perhaps unsurprisingly looking a little neglected and in need of TLC.
It would be interesting to know if the family intend to keep her or if she's for sale, it would be great is such a famous and accomplished boat could find a renewed life. If I recall correctly Solitaire is a Bruce Roberts design.
I received and email from the owner of Cagarro a 5 meter Setka which is an interesting yacht a 5 meter version of the Globe 580 racing boats.
One of the Global 580 owners and competitors described the experience of building of the yacht as tough, but giving him huge confidence in the boat, how it works and his ability to fix potential failures which is exactly the position you need to be in.
You can read more about Cagarro here which sails from Horta in the Azores which is described as "5 meters of excitement"
February half term found us in Barcelona and coincided with the start of Lent for which is celebrated at local events around the city, when we arrived there was a street party in the adjoining street with around 150 families and children sitting down to a feast of meats and fish cooked over open fires.
The18th Feb marked the end of celebrations and the beginning of Lent, hich is marked by the "Burial of the Sardine" ("l'enterrament de la sardina), apparently after days of feasting which often included a large catch of sardines, it was thought to bury the remaining sardines as 40 days of fasting for Lent began rather than let them rot and to honour the noble fish.
Our fist sight was at the local market where this lady had turned up in suitable mourning attire, she had also set up a little coffin and a cross on her fish counter
Later outside the Parroquia de Sant Miquel del Port in Barceloneta as suitably decorated for the event
Apparently such events take place all over Spain in local communities rather. than big orgainsed events.
The definition of which is an unpredictable, rare, (and high-impact) occurrence that defies conventional forecasting - which probably doesn't really describe another back swan sighting, this time in Emsworth, but acknowledging that they are quite rare birds.
Caught the start of one of the model races at Slipper millpond in Emsworth which washeld in almost idea conditions.
The walkway was crowded with competitors and spectators both old and young.
Looks like a diamond in the rough, a varnished clinker built SCOW being used as a yacht tender.
Which might stand for unmanned surface vehicle or unmanned surface vessel or un-crewed surface vessel appears to the the collective noun for self driving boats . And distinct from self drive hire boats, USVs are boats which operate autonomously without a crew.
I'm pretty sure this is one such USV and that I posted about it back in 2024 and thanks to eagle eyed friend Greg we have some much better photos.
The hull form is quite narrow, almost like a rib without the tubes and the tumble-home above the hull deck joint seems to speak of a mostly low profile above the water which is probably good for military purposes.
When you have a house like this Folk boats are not just for Fridays.
Crews gathering for a frostbite race.
Keelboat racing is probably more appealing than dinghies at this time of year especially with a cool northerly wind running.
Nice to be out on the water in winter but tactician and navigator installed below at the chart table sounds like a good position.
Easy way to get out of the river to the race area and go sailing, especially in the low wind conditions.
Our local council have been busy along the river path joining Swanwick to Warsash. Where the culverts connect the lagoons connecting Bunny Meadows and the river, they have constructed fences along the path to prevent anyone or dogs falling in.
There are 5 or 6 sets of these along the 3 mile stretch of the river path, and lets say that each set cost £5,000 or £6,000 to erect, that's a lot of money to spend to protect people from being stupid, the culverts were clearly marked and already protected by grates so no one could get swept through. At the time when taxation in UK is at an absolute height you have to question this sort or expenditure
And more so when maintenance of the actual fabric of the pathway is so neglected, here a recent shoring up of the path was done so badly that it's almost breached again and being washed away by the high tides. There are many sections of the path like this in dire need to properer repair and reinforcement.
Interesting then that the council choose to spend what limited funds they claim to have on gates such as this. There is another set up river by the old stone pier. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but maybe installing a couple of gates and preventing people using the path might be cheaper than making the repairs and of course the path will be closed for our own safety.
Universal marina is situated at the end of winding and narrow Crableck Lane, so boats arriving by road transport can be a challenge.
This fine looking yacht looks to have a hard time with some serious damage to the port side.
All credit to the driver who had to execute a 5 point turn to get around the tight bend at the top of the lane, perhaps once the repairs are completed the boat will be able to leave by sea.
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