Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure

[Nik]

John Wayne might have liked the name Pilgrim

[Giles]

Today is the largest storm to hit England since 1987.  I popped down to the Marina to discuss a berth for Pilgrim. JESUS, there was so much damage being done to boats.  The wind is currently gusting 50knots in the harbour…..

Boats are not supposed to lean like this when berthed....

Shit photo, but Portsmouth is getting slammed

[Nik]

Yes it is. The university is closed because of the danger of wind. Apparently parts of roofs of university buildings have already started blowing off. Fingers crossed for safety!

[ROman]

WOW

[Kasi]

Most of the U.K is amber Red given to wales area

[Giles]

Berth sorted and insurance paid for, so at 07:00 next Wednesday we bring Pilgrim home 

[vaquero357]

…you're absolutely welcome @Madame Buttonfly!

…the weather certainly looks foreboding, you'll be learning to find the calm side of land as often as you can. :o

[Madame Buttonfly]

@vaquero357:

…the weather certainly looks foreboding, you'll be learning to find the calm side of land as often as you can. :o

I just hope the non-slip coasters I ordered arrive soon - don't want my first gin and tonic on board getting spilt! 

[Matt]

I’m happy to see you’re thinking like a true sailor now.  Priorities are important.

[mclaincausey]

No sippy cups?

So happy for y’all—truly heartwarming to see.

[vaquero357]

…@Madame Buttonfly Gimbal cup holders my dear! I'd bet the Pilgrim is already equipped with this maritime invention.

[louisbosco]

@Madame:

@vaquero357:

…the weather certainly looks foreboding, you'll be learning to find the calm side of land as often as you can. :o

I just hope the non-slip coasters I ordered arrive soon - don't want my first gin and tonic on board getting spilt! 

with enough alcohol, you can't even tell the difference

[Giles]

It's going to be a rock 'n roll Sunday…..

[Weft 4 Dead]

Will you be reenacting this scene?

[Giles]

I suspect note 

[Matt]

Oh my god I hate learning things.

[Giles]

Pilgrims home for the next month…...

[Graeme]

@Giles:

A condition of our insurance is that we have someone on board, when underway, who has a minimum of RYA Day Skipper.

I'm actually an RYA Day Skipper, but:

• I've not sailed for over a decade.

• I'm used to boats with sails.

• And I'm in Australia, so it's a bit inconvenient for me to pop over to Gosport when @Giles fancies a quick jaunt.

The rules of the road when sailing are easy: If it's hard for it to get out of your way, you give way. Or if it's substantially larger. Or if it's a French trawler.

Navigation is pretty straightforward. It's just a bunch of basic vector mathematics to take into account that the sea is moving beneath you. Never got into astronavigation, but that involves spherical geometry, so might be a bit trickier.

And I remember those flashcards.

[Matt]

You lost me well before spherical geometry.  There’s got to be a Waze app for boats, right?

[mclaincausey]

Yeah, that "pretty straightforward" navigation sounded like the announcers when I try to follow a game of cricket. Or maybe like teachers sound to Charlie Brown…

In actuality, I do understand the gist, but it doesn't sound straightforward to do vector math on the fly while the shit you're floating on is moving

Once I was in a little sailboat on Pickwick Lake on the borders of TN, AL, and MS. This is a Tennessee Valley Authority project (reservoir with locks) on the Tennessee River, so all sorts of watercraft make their way through. On my little voyage, I managed first to nearly be capsized by the wake of a cigar boat and then to struggle to stay out of the way of a very large barge.

Sailing is fun, but I can see why I should've learned more navigational skills before going out.

I did have a lovely time overall.