Sailing is all about flexibility and although we have every intention in reaching our destination, we sometimes have to alter plans. As I heard recently…the sea and the weather know no rules!

Why then, having found myself office bound today waiting for a delivery, have i got so frustrated, thinking of all the other jobs that need doing?! I find it so much easier to ‘go with the flow’ when sailing, than I ever do being on land!

However, it has given an opportunity to ask for your help and input.

Firstly, amongst my angst moments, I have found time to practise more plots from sextant angles for my RYA Yachtmaster Ocean theory. I would really like to have a go for real, for which I need a sextant. Do you have (or could you recommend where I might look for) a second hand sextant?

Also, this morning, in amongst the various phone calls, came one from a young client who is taking a gap year. He would like to do some yacht deliveries to build on his RYA Day Skipper qualification. Although we do the occasional delivery, for which we always need crew (and ask clients), the timings are not likely to fit. I didn’t feel in a position to recommend any company in particular, and so to my second request. Have you worked/volunteered for a delivery company who you could recommend?

If you can feed back into the Dream or Two Forum with any help or suggestions, that would be great!

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During our inaugural 2009 sail over the weekend, I got to enjoy the company of four existing clients, all who met each other for the first time, together with Hazel, who was well and truly initiated (being surrounded by Dream or Two fleeces and so much passion for sailing!). How great to have so many people who want to return time after time with us and also that these people want to go sailing in the depths of winter!

We spent some time talking about the gear we like to wear when we’re out in the cold and how important it is to be comfortable and warm. Often clients will follow our recommendations and I’m not one for going for the big names, just because they have a huge advertising budget!

For beginners to sailing we always recommend that they borrow our waterproofs and keep expense to a minimum until they have caught the sailing bug (which of course 99% do). Thermal tops and bottoms are good, together with a hat and wellington boots (or a spare pair of shoes), so that feet can be made dry and warm. Hazel wore her skiing bottoms and gloves and they worked well.

Those who were out at the weekend, agreed unanimously that, when the time comes to invest in some good gear, merino wool thermals (such as Icebreaker from New Zealand) are fantastic for keeping the body warm. I had a pair of 260 leggings for Christmas and I haven’t been cold since!I also borrowed a base layer hat from Kate at the weekend and that gave me extra warmth too.

Rubber wellington boot style sailing boots will not keep your feet warm. Those prone to cold feet had invested in Dubarry’s gore tex boots and agreed that they are worth every penny! I wear the Ultima’s and my feet are always really warm and dry. Although very expensive, my last pair last for almost 3 seasons of continuous use.

As for waterproofs…well, you can spend a fortune on the big names, or you spend a bit less and find that the waterproofing doesn’t last for more than a season or two. We’re just trialling some waterproofs from New Zealand…so watch this space…we’ll let you know what clients think shortly.

Where have the last six weeks gone? I can’t believe that we start sailing again today. It will be great to get out on the water-withdrawal symptoms were in danger of setting in!

I decided that I wanted to do something over the winter which would teach me new things, enhance my sailing skills, stretch my brain and take me out of my comfort zone; so I signed up to do my RYA Yachtmaster Ocean theory.

I hadn’t had an opportunity to consider what was involved, all I really knew was that the course would teach me how to plot my position using celestial bodies-really interesting stuff.

What I hadn’t realised was that my lack of mathematical brain would cause such problems. My CSE grade 5 certainly showed and my brain hadn’t worked so hard since the days of my PhD (where I struggled with my statistics chapters!).

It was very humbling being in the role of student again (when it is usually me doing the instructing) and made me appreciate the difficulties that can arise for some students. Learning to sail (and continuing to learn- the beauty of sailing) and gaining qualifications, is not a competition and needs to be at a pace to suit each individual.  I hope I can carry this with me (as instructor and student), through the 2009 season!

This week we had a call from BBC Radio Solent asking to interview us about Sailing Women- live! Charlie Crocker, the presenter of the afternoon show, had seen us in an article in the Telegraph and decided that she wanted to find out more about us. Listen here.

For many of you who know me, you’ll understand the nerves I had. Put me on a yacht with a group of new people to talk sailing and I’m very comfortable, but anything public where I feel under scrutiny and I’d rather run for the hills!

Penny and Jen, who are both clients, came with me and we were all suffering from dry throats while waiting for the call in the BBC reception in Southampton. I had the same feelings in my stomach as I had had before my PhD viva and my RYA Yachtmaster exam!

However, once in the studio we were made so welcome and the presenter really put us at ease. It was just like having a chat to her (if we didn’t look at the microphones in front of us!) and she was very skilled at realising when one of us was about to dry up, by quickly taking up the conversation.

Charlie is terrified of sailing. Her one experience was a force 9 crossing of the Channel. However, she has agreed to come and do an outside broadcast on board, while we are preparing for a race next summer. This will be alongside in our marina, but I hope this will be her first step in building her confidence to come for a sail and for her to witness the magic of being on the water, using just the sails to drive the yacht forward and to reach your destination safely and under control.

This is just what we’re wishing for as we head across the Channel tonight for our Solstice Weekend. How wonderful to miss the frantic shopping and last minute stresses of the last weekend before Christmas. We’ll be sailing instead!

Technorati Tags: sailing women

What a fabulous weekend! Bright sunshine and blue cloudless skies. It could have been a summers day, apart from the frosty deck each morning (as you can see from the photo of some of the crew!)! Just the right conditions for a Sailing Women RYA Start Yachting weekend, this last weekend.

It may have been a bit on the nippy side at night, but the wonderful days made up for it and the light winds were a refreshing change! All five clients on board got the chance to do some night sailing too and then on our arrival into East Cowes Marina there were Christmas carols being sung in the cockpit of a neighboring yacht. What a welcome!

This neighboring yacht was a Westerley, which was one of 8-10 moored alongside each other. Most of them boasted a great display of Christmas lights and decorations. My favourite was the Westerley displaying green lights in the shape of a Christmas tree, using the mast and spreaders, complete with star at the top.

It’s got me thinking that we have to get something organised for our Solstice sail to France in a couple of weeks! Any ideas?

At Dream or Two we really believe that the spirit of the name denotes the spirit of the boat. Our Beneteau First 36.7 called ‘Koru’ certainly enforces these beliefs. She is a yacht of great character and versatility, with a real ‘WOW!’ factor, yet she holds completely safe the many clients that she carries.

She takes her name from our logo, the Koru, which is a Maori design. The Koru is often used in Maori art as a symbol of the beginning of life (creation). It is based on the unfurling new leaf of the silver fern and is seen to represent new beginnings, growth, strength, peace, harmony and positive change.

We named Koru before her first passage for Dream or Two. This involved following the long standing tradition of making an offering to Neptune. We gave a piece of Rimu native wood from New Zealand in the shape of a Koru. We then poured a bottle of very good quality champagne over the decks as an honouring of Neptune. The important factor here is the quality – a bottle of lambrusco certainly wouldn’t do!

Last week on the programme ‘Have I got news for you’, the presenters were talking about the latest piracy in Somalia and they brought up the subject of boat names. They showed the stern of a large container ship called ‘Titan Uranus’!! I’m not completely sure how the name of this boat affect it’s spirit. Maybe it’s best not to think too deeply about this one!

If you have a special name for your boat, or if you know the name you would have if you had a boat, and why, then it would be good to hear from you.

In an industry where alcohol is ‘part and parcel’ of every day life, I have a very strong belief that sailing and alcohol really don’t mix and are the root cause of many accidents at sea. We have an Alcohol Policy which prohibits alcohol being on board during our RYA courses (and for other events we ask clients to check that their instructor/skipper is happy).

At Dream or Two we assume (and share this with clients) that they have joined us to go sailing, rather than spending hours drinking alcohol in a pub. We are well known for being the last yacht in and the first yacht out of our night time berths!

Besides the increased risk of accidents at sea, drinking lots of alcohol in an evening is one sure way of bringing on sea sickness the following day and spoiling a good sail. It really does not make sense, we are not legally allowed to get behind the wheel of a car and drive with excessive alcohol in our system, yet for some reason, there are many who don’t apply the same principles to sailing.

Last weekend, whilst instructing an RYA Competent Crew course,  I found myself feeling really frustrated that our policy of not allowing alcohol on board during a course, had not been heeded. This also led to others on board not being considered while the revelries went on till the early hours (let alone others moored close to us)

I will sometimes choose to leave clients on board without an instructor, particularly if they have been with us before and know the yacht and the ‘routine’. On Saturday I left the clients with another instructor who is wanting to work with us. He subsequently left the clients in the evening and they were on Koru for the night without an instructor.

On Sunday morning I arrived to cook breakfast, only to be met by a very strong smell of alcohol down below (and on some crew members) and our personal wine glasses had been stowed back into the wrong locker – big giveaway!. Our alcohol policy had clearly been neglected and I was shocked at the lack of consideration and respect both for Dream or Two and other crew members.

I told the crew members that I was not happy to take them sailing (which received much laughter) and in fact we had a problem with our engine which meant that we had to finish with other tasks while Koru remained safely in her berth (I’m sure it was her way of saying that she wasn’t happy for them to be out sailing either!).

It did mean that these clients had to get into a dinghy and show their rowing skills (with life jackets secure), but at least I knew I could get to them more quickly if needed. We then hoisted them up to the first set of spreaders which sobered them up I’m sure. Not part of the syllabus but a very worthwhile exercise (not sure they agreed!).

Am I really the only person who believes that policies are there to be adhered to, respecting others is essential and that alcohol and going out on the water do not mix???!!

Earlier on this year we supported Sam Williams as he rowed the Atlantic single handed to raise funds for Farm Africa. He completed his challenge after 75 really tough days, rowing 12 hours a day! Sam’s Mum (Kit) was his ‘project manager’ throughout and did a great job at keeping us informed of his progress.

We donated some sailing for Sam’s Auction of Promises and it was Kit who bid the highest. She came out with us last weekend and it was great to hear all about Sam’s adventures; including his night surviving 30ft waves and having a very large vessel go unnoticed by his AIS alarm, until he caught sight of it at less than a mile away! He has raised over £20000 for Farm Africa! If you would like to donate, you still can! http://www.atlanticrow2007.com/

Kit brought her two other son’s with her and we all enjoyed some exciting sailing with winds of force 6-7 (just for a change!). One of the questions over the weekend from a beginner was ‘where did the names port and starboard come from?’. I couldn’t answer that one but it was one of Kit’s sons who insisted that port used to be called larboard. I decided I better check this out.. and sure enough he’s spot on. Thanks James! This is what I found from the National Maritime Museum:

‘Starboard: Boats developed from simple dugout canoes. When the paddler steering a canoe is right handed (and the majority of people are right-handed), he or she naturally steers over the right-hand side (looking forward) of the boat. As canoes developed into larger vessels, the steering paddle grew larger and developed into a broad-bladed oar, held vertically in the water and permanently fixed to the side of the boat by a flexible lashing or a built-in moveable swivel.

The seagoing ships of maritime Northern Europe all featured this side-hung rudder, always on the right hand side of the ship. This rudder (in Anglo-Saxon the steorbord) was further developed in medieval times into the more familiar apparatus fixed to the sternpost, but starboard remains in the language to describe anything to the right of a ship’s centreline when viewed from aft.

Port: In Old English, the term was bæcbord (in modern German Backbord and French bâbord), perhaps because the helmsman at the steorbord had his back to the ship’s left-hand side. This did not survive into Medieval and later English, when larboard was used. Possibly this term is derived from laddebord, meaning ‘loading side’; the side rudder (steorbord) would be vulnerable to damage if it went alongside a quay, so early ships would have been loaded (‘laded’) with the side against the quay.

In time laddebord became larboard as steorbord became starboard. Even so, from an early date port was sometimes used as the opposite for starboard when giving steering orders, perhaps deriving from the loading port which was in the larboard side. However, it was only from the mid-19th century that, according to Admiral Smyth’s The Sailor’s Word Book, published in 1867, ‘the left side of the ship is called port, by Admiralty Order, in preference to larboard, as less mistakeable in sound for starboard’’.

Technorati Tags: Atlantic rowing, Port, Starboard

It’s a really big day in the Solent today. This morning the QE2 arrived for her last changeover and this evening she will leave her berth in Southampton for the last time, as she heads to Dubai to become a hotel!

It seems that, even with her size, she had problems with the winds that we’ve been experiencing. On her approach into Southampton Water, she ran aground on Bramble Bank; a very famous sand bank where cricket is played at the largest low water spring tide of the year!

Can you imagine what it must be like touching the 10metre keel of the QE2? She must surely have been driven out of the main channel by the winds. Then how do you ever move her weight of over 70 tonnes?! Well it seems it took a number of tugs and a rising tide, but she was off within the hour. Maybe this is her way of saying that she doesn’t want to leave her home and become a hotel!

I remember touching Bramble Bank once with a group on board koru. We were all busily occupied in trying to free a trapped halyard, only to see the depth under the keel fall rapidly and before we knew it we were on sand. Luckily it was a touch and not in the conditions we have been experiencing over the last few days, although I have seen many other yachts requiring assistance to be pulled free.

Many of you will have seen the QE2 while you have been sailing with us in the Solent. In comparison to the more modern liner, she is very beautiful and majestic. The sight of her passing her never fails to bring me out in goose bumps! She is such an explorer- having been across the Atlantic over 800 times, round the world some 25 times, and sailed over 6 million nautical miles! Why would she want to become a hotel?!

We’re heading out on Koru to follow her out for her final voyage, this evening. There is quite a party planned with flypasts and fireworks in Southampton Water and there will surely be a multitude of other boats doing the same as us. We just all better watch out for Bramble Bank!

Technorati Tags: QE2, Sailing, Solent

David is a very good family friend and ex GP14 racing competitor. He has become a great supporter of what we do and gives of his time to help with race training.

Yesterday he sailed into Opua in New Zealand after taking the opportunity to join a friend sailing his yacht (an Oyster, I believe), from Fiji. It’s been quite an adventure, as you’ll see from his message below, and great to see him spreading the word down under (as you can see from the logo on his tee-shirt!).

‘The trip from Fiji was very eventful, with an accident to one of our crew members which meant we had to turn round when we were 24hrs out and sail back so he could get medical treatment. We also had to keep in close contact with another yacht that had problems with their mast, and so they couldn’t sail as much as they wanted to. Consequently they were motoring a lot, and we had to do a mid ocean transfer of 3 jerry cans of diesel, which was quite exciting.

We had a major problem with our self steering when we were about 150 miles from NZ, when a crucial bolt sheered off. The net result was that we had to hand steer for the last 24hrs. On top of all of this we had winds of up to 50 knots which was pretty horrendous.

Luckily the waves weren’t too bad, but there was always a lot of water sluicing across the decks. When we got in the boat looked a bit of a mess down below. However once we had cleared customs and NZ “biosecurity ” (effectively they confiscate all fresh food and incinerate it) we tidied the boat up and did some repairs.

The plan is to sail down to Auckland from here in may be two hops arriving there about Wednesday. It is much cooler here and we are taking a while to get re-acclimatised from the 32 deg in Fiji and 32 deg sea temp to nearer 20 and 20 in NZ (I bet you guys wish it was even that hot)! So far we have been very impressed with the friendliness of the natives in NZ.

I am hoping to attach a photo for you showing that Dream Or Two tee shirts can be found on the other side of the world’.

Thanks David, hope you have a great time in beautiful New Zealand and if anyone else can be caught wearing their tee-shirt in other parts of the sailing world, we’d love to see them!!

Technorati Tags: oyster yacht, sailing new zealand