Practice Makes Perfect

T-31 Days! One month and counting! The final count-down is on!

After spending Sunday and Monday sailing the coast of North Wales on yacht ‘My Tern’, a Bavaria 36, I have confirmed what I suspected on training. Surfing, rocking and rolling down a steep two-meter swell round Puffin Island and into the narrow channel to Conwy was an exciting experience! The occasional bit of erratic steering coming from the helmsman forcing the boat to imitate a corkscrew over particularly tricky waves only made things more interesting! Rough weather does not appear to be the problem. The following day there was still a bit of swell left over from the strong winds the day before but the wind had dropped to almost nothing. Some people find a gentle swell peaceful and relaxing. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. I fear I could be allergic to calm weather as it gives me a funny feeling similar to light-headedness, and if sustained for a long period of time it can cause sudden physical illness. The phrase ‘sea-sickness’ is often used to describe this reaction, but I prefer to call it an allergy - it sounds less ridiculous coming from a ‘hard-core’ sailor! Luckily, this time it was only a short outing!

A similar story can be told of training. We spent several days bashing round the Solent in averagely windy/wavy weather with no problems from my allergy, but as soon as we headed out into the channel and became becalmed I started to feel allergic. This time there was no engines on and home before the sill shut on the marina! Fingers crossed we steer clear of any Doldrums between Cape Town and San Fran!

‘My Tern’ is my Dad’s new toy. He has bought a quarter share of the boat and so gets a quarter of the use while it’s in the water. This week was our last proper chance to use it before it’s put into hibernation for the winter, so we spent the weekend exploring the Menai Straights and round the Great Orme, getting to know the boat. It’s a great boat to sail and seems to be quite fast, but not as fast as Jamaica!! Its best feature for me, though, which Jamaica doesn’t have, is a little wooden seat across the pulpit (the guardrails at the very front), the perfect size for a Lily-sized bum! A fab place to watch the waves go by from, and it weirdly makes my allergy feel better … honest!