I was looking for another boat to sail to and develop as my IOM is pretty well sorted. Of course there was the DF95 which is sailed everywhere and is cheap but I wanted something more elegant and having been to the UK nationals over the weekend could not be more impressed by the Marblehead. Whilst there are not many fleets sailing on a regular basis it does present some interesting technical challenges which I will have to work through. A new boat is out of the question given the delivery times and cost. There are no Grunge designs available which seem to be the fastest but there were a couple of designs by Dave Creed that could be competitive. I found a little used on with new sails, so will buy that to play with over the winter. The faster racing will also help my IOM sailing.
There is very little happening at the moment until mid August and then like buses the events stack up one after the other.
I am enjoying the sunshine but sadly no golf at the club. There was a bit of a hiccup with the treatment of the greens which are out of action for two weeks to a month as they are reseeded. We have 15 holes available on temporary greens.
It gave me time to renovate a teak bench which the seniors section had gifted the club in 2013. Someone painted it a few years ago and it was looking shabby. 8 to10 hours sanding and soaking in teak oil and the bench is looking like new.
Sadly, I went to Frensham today for a days sailing to discover the green slimy weed had returned across the pond. Lots of blokes standing around discussing what to do with the extra time on their hands and maybe how to avoid chores at home. The good news is Gosport is going to have a weed cut on the main lake so we should be back to sailing there and Emsworth is always clear.
Enjoy your sailing.