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My late entry into the world of sailing this year promised to get even later when I attempted to reeve a couple of new halyards. The spinnaker uphaul went smoothly but the mousing line for the main had jumped off its sheave and was thoroughly jammed, even though it was tight and fine when I left...

My niece's husband tells me that back home in Australia it is quite common for people on stand-up boards to get swept out to sea when the wind changes and need rescuing because they can't propel themselves fast enough. While I think they are all as daft as coots I think it would be a shame to...

Yesterday I took my membership card to the reserve at Abberton with little hope of seeing anything interesting, maybe a few grebes and the odd duck, but it turned out to be rather rewarding. The view from the Bay hide was almost subtropical in appearance with a dozen spoonbills and over 25 great...

One for the record.

According to YM this month a Sadler 29 is fast and capable of up to 12 knots. I owned a fin-keeled one for twelve years and as far as I remember things got quite exciting enough at anything over eight knots, and I've only achieved 11.5 in my non-Sadler 34. We used to go out and race in any...

With a couple of square miles to play in, do they ever stop to think what it feels like to have several tons of boat heading straight at you for a couple of minutes at thirty or whatever knots? No, of course they don't.

Went out for a jolly this morning and the RAF decided to honour us with a fly-past, which was very good of them. A couple of snatched photos.

My boat insurance needs renewal by next week. I have been trying to contact Bishop Skinner by phone on two numbers and have got no reply for three days. An email only elicited an automated reply, but their website says they are 'open'. Does anyone know if they have gone on holiday for the week...

I have a feed in my Faceache page telling me that Colchester is the most dangerous place in the country for learner drivers, with the most accidents. Well done chaps.

For me it's just a matter of looking at the tables or getting it from the plotter but I had no idea how complicated it is in reality. I found this video fascinating, at least the first half which deals with tides. We hear about Babbage and his justifiable reputation but I had not heard of...

A Mediterranean gull, by the beach. I have to confess that it was pointed out to me by an expert. Note the thick bill c/f black-headed gulls, and the absence of black on the wings. Apparently they have started to establish themselves in the area in the last few years but have not yet got labour...

For starlings at any rate. At least my boat wasn't quite as bad as these on our pontoon this week.

Now that summer's here. Well. Not quite. I was prevailed upon by my daughter who has been suffering from boat withdrawal symptoms for me to take her out to make up for the work she did last year helping me with the polishing. It may have rained, but it was a decent day to take her and a novice...

This is my neighbour on his 'new' Hurley 22, downsizing from his HR 312. The slightly scruffy boat is now near immaculate and should keep the old boy happy indefinitely.

I have to admit that in my ignorance I have never heard of such a thing. My only excuse is that there is only one of them.

... on the way to the boat. Actually two. The first was finding that a boat two away had installed some light plastic flappy things on his halyards to discourage birds. This made a rustling noise that was noticeable but not excessively irritating. I then found that the owner had left a note in...

I have never previously walked ashore at Shingle Street, and it's many years since I have entered the Ore. I must say that it is splendidly bleak, and not devoid of interest for the wildlife group I was with. The wind made things difficult but there seemed to be wheatears everywhere, though it...

I've lived around here for over twenty years now, but wasn't aware of the local starling flock until someone told me about it. They roost at the edge of the village and every evening a dozen or so people turn out to see the show as they murmurate, if that's the word. We arrived as the sun was...

When I go down to Titchmarsh to check the boat I like to peek over the side and see what birds are around. Last year, I never saw the usual flock of golden plovers that like to roost on the Twizzle, but this year they are back in force. The second picture shows a bit more than half the flock, so...