The RYA in conjunction with Bishop Skinner Marine have recently published an excellent article on the top five causes of insurance claims and perhaps more importantly, how to avoid them, you can read the article by following the link below:
RYA Top five boat insurance claims
Something that should be of interest to all active sailors!
One of the glories of a Boaters Sailing Weekend, from whence I have recently returned, is that you get to sleep cheek by jowl with your fellow man or of course woman and Boater.
Indeed it would not be wrong to suggest that other than a Boater, only your partner might come closer when it comes to sleeping arrangements.
And nothing reveals more about a man or a woman than close proximity over an extended period of time.
Fortunately as yet there have been no reported cases of homicide, or even attempted homicide, between Boaters.
Which must mean we are a pretty decent bunch, all things told.
And having got up quite close if not personal to a broad range of fellow Boaters over many a sailing trip, I can now reveal sleeping alongside Boaters is an interesting auditory experience.
No two members emit the same volume of sound having reached the Land of Nod.
The worst are the Roaring Snorers.
When every inhalation and exhalation is accompanied by a sound that raises the decibel count to alarming proportions and registering 6 on the Richter Scale.
Never sail with these people without ear plugs and make sure you put them in before heading off to your bunk.
Some of you do indeed do this.
No one desiring a good night’s sleep wants to share a cabin or a saloon with these types. Indeed in my experience it is always best to keep the saloon between you and the Roaring Snorers.
At the other end of the spectrum are the Silent Sleepers. You don’t even know they are there, apart from a rhythmically gentle whooshing noise to show they are still alive.
Pleasant. Peaceful. Polite.
A crew of Silent Sleepers would guarantee an undisturbed sleep.
And then we have the Irregulars.
To some degree they might cause the most worry and concern.
With the irregulars you get a mighty burst of noise.
And then nothing. Still nothing. And more nothing.
The noise has woken you up.
The subsequent silence is unnerving.
Has something happened? Have they died? Have they had a stroke?
The silence continues. And continues a wee bit longer.
And just as you are about to get up to check, another mighty burst of noise emits from their bunk.
And the pattern continues. Through the night. Like Morse Code.
Roar. Silence. Silence. Silence. Roar. Silence. Silence. Silence. Roar. Repeat.
A fitful sleep is had by all with an Irregular on the boat.
And finally we have the Whistlers.
They mix gentle snoring sounds with an occasional whistle.
It can be quite harmonious if done right. Quite soothing. And sleep inducing.
A really good Whistler is like Roger Whittaker (remember him?). Less tuneful mind but with potential.
I’d settle for some of these in my boat.
Not too many unless they can harmonise. And that would be good to listen to.
Otherwise it sounds like a never ending boiling kettle.
And that would get annoying.
All that noise and no cup of tea from it.
I think that our new online booking form should ask you to state Snore Pattern.
After all how else are we going to get a balanced crew? And sleep.
Do you know your Zzzzzzzz Type?
OMG.
*Smiley face*
What has happened to Boaters in past few weeks? It seems we have now joined the 21st century.
IMHO.
I don’t know about you but Boaters has to me always been joyously old fashioned. But it now seems we have joined the digital age.
Lol.
It is now possible to sign up for courses and sailing weekends online. And to pay for them too.
Whatever next?
It’s just like Amazon.
But without books and downloads and constant e-mails full of recommendations.
Maybe this is being worked on.
Lol.
And so far we have not yet got One Click technology.
Still it’s a start and I am sure that our Committee have this in hand.
I hadn’t realised we had elected a Committee of computer geeks at our last AGM.
*Smiley face*
We may not have the best sound system but we might have the best technology.
I suppose they call this progress.
*shudder*
But our Committee hasn’t stopped there.
We now have a Facebook page.
Not being an aficionado of Facebook I am not sure how well this is being used.
But wouldn’t it be great if we could post photos from our trips there. I know how skilled we are when it comes to taking classy photos.
And we could even use our Facebook pages to swap hints and tips. And sea yarns. And Emergency Meal recipes.
Hopefully we won’t see pictures of cats in lifejackets. Not under our name at least.
What is it about Facebook and photos of cats?
And now we have started to tweet.
I find Twitter strange. There is no way I can say all I want to say in 140 characters. I am far too loquacious.
#bigword
But if you want to stay up to date with all things Boaters and to get some handy tips and advice, Facebook and Twitter do seem the place to be.
Alternatively you could wait to get the monthly e-mails from our Secretary.
#oldfashioned
But then you would miss out on all the fun going on among our Facebook and Twitter community.
You would have no reason to check your phone every few seconds.
No one to follow or tag or like.
Nothing to RT.
No photos of cats in hats. Or life jackets.
It can’t be too long before we get down there with the kids and are signed up to other social media channels like WhatsApp, Pinterest and Snapchat or Vine.
Whatever these might be.
I really don’t know how we have managed to sail all these years without any of these things.
I am sure it is just a matter of time.
Lol.
*Smiley face*
*wink*
I am getting a wee bit fed up with the all the rain and leaden skies.
Every day we get up to more winds, rain and storm warnings. It really is getting quite depressing.
I yearn for blue skies and a crisp, cold, snow bearing north wind roaring in from Siberia and the Arctic.
Is this what they call Global Warming?
And has anyone else noticed but it is only since we started to give names to our storms that we have had so many.
And I would also like to point out that we have not had Storm Ahab. Yet.
However with this weather Boaters people are actually very well prepared. Better than the rest of the population.
And this is brilliant given our proximity to rivers that flood.
I don’t know about anyone else but when I now go out to my local Waitrose, Tesco or Lidl (other supermarket brands are available) I never venture out unless clad in full Oilies and sailing boots. I would observe that few others are as well equipped.I have even been known to add my lifejacket to this ensemble when theweather has been particularly severe. It might get funny looks from other shoppers but you can never be too careful these days and I am sure the RNLI and the Marine Coastguard Agency would approve.
Better safe than sorry, as many a Boaters Skipper has said to me, as we put in all three reefs in anticipation of the breeze stiffening from Force 2 to Force 3 the day after tomorrow.
But I must admit it is not easy squeezing into and driving a car in full wet weather gear and lifejacket.
But I am now going further.
Given the worsening and continuing bad weather I have started giving a full safety briefing to the assembled household whenever weather warnings issued. For any place in the country.
I want all risks minimised should we be venturing out. Everyone to know their role in the event that something might go awry.
It is now standard practice to be clipped on to jackstays that have been fitted when moving from house to car. Especially at night.
And lifelines must be worn at all times when driving in any wet weather that has been baptized and named.
Some of you may think that this is going too far but it is what we would do when on board and these days the edges between H2O and terra firma are becoming decidedly blurred.
I am taking no chances.
And this weekend I have organised a man overboard drill in the garden in the event that anyone coming to the house might stumble off the path to the house and end up in the watery lawn.
Just turn up if you feel you need to practice.
We might even run a Boaters Sea Survival Course where once there was my lawn. Tell me if interested.
Let’s just hope that the need for such precautions might come to an end soon.
And hope too that, in the words of ‘Annie’, the sun will come out tomorrow.
Before my feet become webbed.
It may not have escaped your notice that this is awards season.
And every week it seems the stars of stage, screen and TV set queue up in their designer rented outfits to stroll down the redcarpet, to feign undeserving humility and to blub uncontrollably as they thank all and sundry for the gong they have just collected.
You can win a Golden Globes, a Brit, a Bafta, a Tony, an Oscar and no doubt some other person’s name.
But I would like to suggest to our Social Committee that we should have awards.
We could call them The Boaties or the Yachties or something similar.
Or how about a Tom, after Mr Cunliffe, a perennial Boaters favourite. And inspiration to many.
I for one would welcome the chance to totter down a red carpet one evening to the Rugby Club in my best Jimmy Choo’s and the latest Vera Wang creation.
We could have the lights, the envelopes, the speeches, the total awards package.
Now this is not as far-fetched an idea as it might sound.
We have already had the award for Best Photographer and following the recent quiz, the Cleverest Boater.
We just need to expand on the idea a bit and develop the categories.
Naturally we would have an award for Best Sound. But as in previous years it is likely that there would be no nominations for this award.
Best Costume would be a shoo in.
The hot favourite would be the design team behind the Boaters team outfits as modelled by our Committee at our monthly gatherings. I doubt there would be much competition for this one.
After that it might get a bit tricky.
And while the Oscars might have categories for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor and Best Director, we would need to have Best Mate (or is that a horse?) and Best Skipper. It would be tricky to call the winner of those awards, or even the nominations.
Similarly it would be tight to call the winner of the Best Meal, Best Cruise and Best Social. Quite frankly we would be spoilt for choice.
And while we are not known for our comedy and side splitting moments, the tale of one hapless Boater trying singlehandedly to haul his boat alongside against wind and tide to the amusement of the other crews, must be a hot favourite for the Comedy Award.
I think this would be a great evening.
And surely far more interesting than discussing our Constitution yet again.
Wouldn’t it be great to see us all glam just for one night?
To stroll down the red carpet into Bromsgrove Rugby Club with flash bulbs going off all around.
And to see our prize winners feign delighted surprise and to hear them, assuming we have sound, thank their family, their crew, the RYA, Ben Ainslie, Lord Nelson, Francis Drake, their therapist for being there for them and inspiring them to win this award.
And to watch hardened Skippers and Mates shed a tear as they clutch their Tom? Or does that sound rude.
Now that would be a great evening.
And on that note I am off to share this brilliant idea with our Social Secretary.
And to prepare my unprepared acceptance speech for when our esteemed Commodore opens that wee gold envelope and announces ‘And the winner is…..’
Damn.
Now smile hard, look as if I’m pleased, and try harder next year.