Clinker dinghy

Every time we walk past the marina at Lymington I can't help but be attracted to this varnished dinghy which may or may not be a Yachting World Dayboat

I know there are more modern, lighter, faster and probably more exciting boats to sail, but I just love these older dinghies, a bit like a classic British sports car, they don't actually go that fast they just feel like they are.

Clever storage

What do you do when the spars and oars are too long to be stored down below as on this Drascombe Coaster?

Some lateral thinking, quick bit of woodwork and you have a very elegant solution.

Holiday weekend

I got an email about Thanksgiving which said " It is a simple concept- take time off to spend with family and friends, share a meal and reflect on our blessings."

It's a shame we don't really have a similar and such thoughtful day in England other than Christmas, although our retailers are rapidly adopting the other aspect Black Friday.

We definitely won't be scouring the shops tomorrow as Erica has a major birthday (ending in a zero), so we're off to Fowey for the weekend with a couple of friends, staying in the posh hotel at the top of the hill, (almost hidden by the trees) to celebrate.

Equally it's a chance to reflect on the past 20 years that we've been together, the wonderful things we've done together and how being together has enriched my life.

Museum of Modern Art

I was in New York a few weeks ago on business, unusually I managed to get a couple of hours off early one evening and took the opportunity to go the Museum of Modern Art.

I haven't spent any time in a serious art gallery since my student days when we spent a couple of weeks in Paris visiting all the modernist galleries - Pause for jokes about those were they days before Van Gogh cut his ear off.

Anyway while it was exciting to see the Warhol's, Picasso's  Cezanne's, Mondrian's, Monet's in real life, the two pictures which really caught my attention were these by George Serurat (at least I'm pretty sure they are but the photo's are such poor quality I can't read the title cards).

Georges-Pierre Seurat was a post impressionist, developing pointillism, most famously in his picture  "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte."

What I find interesting and exciting about these much more simple views of  the channel coast is the way they so exactly capture the atmosphere and the similarity to our own piece of coast line. The top one while undoubtedly of France, could so easily be Hill Head or Lee on Solent near here a hundred years ago.

Thunder clouds

The first cold weather of the year this weekend reminded me that things were quite different not very long ago, as summer turned to autumn.

With some heavy black thunderclouds rolling in from the southeast, the owner of this folk boat might be quite pleased to have the mast unstepped early ready for winter.

East Light of Emsworth

Pulled up on the town quay at Emsworth, Eastern Light has the look of a traditional local boat.

Sadly there was no one around to get more details from.

Looks like a great boat for exploring Chichester harbour and seaworthy enough to venture out and beyond the entrance.

Cobble Salacia

The distinctive cobble shape immediately set this boat aside from the other mostly working boats in Dartmouth's small inner harbour.

The pronounced tumble home at the transom can be seen very clearly as can the hollow forefoot, I wasn't about to wade around in the mud to get a better look.

From what I could see Salacia appeared to be glass fiber construction, length I'm guessing around 16 feet, maybe less.  A nice little boat for pottering around the estuary and a spot of fishing further afield.