England expects every man to do is duty

Sadly I don't seem to be able to upload photos on th blog at the mo. I will in due course. So fornow, you will just have to imagine my Sailing Adventures until I can do something about it. Enjoy.

PS. Shout out to Pearl and Mark! Glad you had a great time in Vancouver.

Heralding from a Maritime Nation and being a direct descendant (of sorts) of Drake, Cook and Nelson, the sea is in my blood! (Plus I live on Trafalgar Street. Coincidence I think not.)

Having let slip my victory at the now legendary Fairlop Waters Regatta of 1992, I was invited by Sheila from work to come on a racing weekend up to Silva Bay in the Gulf Islands of Vancouver.

I jumped at the chance. It was a two day race. Day one was a race to Tugboat Island (Owned by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club). We would dock there and party for the night. Day two was a race back home. A total distance of 38 miles. The aggregate finishes from both races would decide the winners.

Mr. Whitbread would have been proud of the zeal at which I got myself "Gore Tex'd" up for the race.

The Epicurious is a 30 something foot boat which needs a crew of 7 when at full capacity. She is also for sale. Therefore on Saturday morning, all packed up, I was picked up by Sheila and driven up to the boat. Once at the boat I met up with the rest of the crew. Our Captain Terry (retired teacher and general enthusiast), Doug (Lawyer), Alan (Lawyer), RJ (Investments Chap and Sailor man), Sheila (Instructional Designer) and me (Skiv).

We set off in fine winds and fair weather. We made a brilliant start, and made ground on our nemesis boat L'Aristo, captained by the Captain Birdseye look-a-like, Craig.

I went about my new tasks trying unsuccessfully not to fall over. The wind was quite slow but the sun was out.

As the breeze died to nothing, we decided that we were never going to finish the race in the 7 hours allotted to us. We fired up the engine, opened up the beer and chugged into Silva Bay.

What a place this is. Tugboat Island is a small rock, but surrounded by the most beautiful bay.

The Island had a camping ground a block with Showers and a toilet and a little bar and clubhouse with a beautiful balcony attached. It was here that we picked our spot and dinned.

On the menu, were the finest steaks I have ever tasted. Terry, had marinated the steaks on the way, and Alan had gone to the BBQ pit to cook them. The man is a genius. They were so soft and tender. They melted in my mouth. I think at final count, I had eaten 3.

During and after that, we opened up the wine and ha ourselves a merry old time. Sheila and I danced, pulling moves Fred and Ginger would have been proud of. After helping myself to a rum with trace elements of Coke in it, I noticed that Sheila's, and my dancing, was hitting new peaks of excellence. We decided that for the benefit of all the other young dancers who were being put off by our professional display, we would retire. Furthermore, the ability to stand was becoming more and more of a problem.

I was sleeping on the deck. Or at least I was sleeping until it started raining at 5 in the morning. I lay there hoping the rain would just go away, it didn't. I went for cover, but the rain still drifted on me, so in the end I slept with a towel over my face.

We rose nice and early. It was till raining and a bit overcast, but this meant WIND!!!! Terry fixed us the greatest omelet I have ever had, with shrimp cooked in garlic and butter on the side. It was delicious!

Wet gear on and off we go. Another great start timed by Terry. Were away and there is wind. We start averaging about 8-9 knots which felt like warp speed after yesterday. Sadly it didn't last. The wind died again. The sun came out to play and we were being pulled in by nothing more than the tide. We tried desperately to get the boat back in the allotted time but sadly we didn't quite make it. We chugged in to False Creek Yacht club, cleaned up and unloaded. It felt like an almost ceremonious return. We made the Granville Island ferry look puny.

Sheila kindly dropped me off home. I cleaned myself up and went t for dinner with Laura. I lasted about 45 mins before I ran home and collapsed withy severe fatigue. I went to bed about 9.30pm.

I had a fantastic time and the crew were really great people. I very much enjoyed sailing, what they taught me and the thrill of being out on the sea. Good job really, as it looks as if I'm crewing again next weekend for the Bowen Island race. Captain Terry wants me back!!!