Halcyon Days

Occasional crew, trainee sailor, professional drinker
and part-time ships cat, Andy...

It was a famous rat that some time ago said all that stuff about messing about in boats. He was right. Nothing quite like it. The Mate and I are very lucky to live in an area where it seems the world revolves around boats of all kinds. Thus we are never short of resources for advice, equipment and inspiration never more than a tea bag flick away. We both are fully aware of this, and we do count our blessings more often than not.
That said, we do, eventually, plan to leave this Mecca for sailors and move on to something a whole lot more, well, quiet... But that's another story, one which I will no doubt tell in the pages to come.
The Solent is a place with a "single minded diversity" if you will. By that I mean that all things nautical is its heartbeat, but the huge diversity of the types of activity, personalities, vessels and so on is outstanding. This has benefits and it has its drawbacks, and memory being the fickle entity it is, brings one to vivdly remember the bad points as the good times fade away into dusty corners.
That's why I posted this picture.
This summer weekend, we sailed and motored from Ocean Village to Cowes in nigh on naff all wind and a lumpy, motorboat induced slop. It wasn't a great trip by any stretch, but because of the company, the hustle and bustle of Cowes, a good (Thai) meal and plenty of libation, a wonderful weekend was had by all.