Our leisure activities change over time. Up to about a year ago I was looking forward to spending more time on the water, sailing on our brave little boat, but since then, after cycling around Holland (not to mention the preparation for the trip) taking up so much of our lives, sailing has been little more than an occasional temptation.
Then, quite unexpectedly, a friend who lives locally asked if I would be prepared to help him with rigging a Mirror dinghy which he had recently acquired. Why me, I asked myself, when I have no experience at all with this particular craft. Well it seems that the many years spent on and around boats has given rise to a body of knowledge that I did not know I had and without me realising it I can apply this to water craft of all shapes and sizes.
The Mirror is a classic of the dinghy sailing world, a little under eleven feet feet long with red sails that distinguish it uniquely. The design goes back to 1962 and although it is still popular as a class racing boat it is stable and comfortable enough to make it a good choice for beginners and for those wanting a pleasurable day out on the water.
So this is how I ended up helping to rig a Mirror dinghy in our friend's garden, learning as I went along but at the same time dipping into my own accumulated knowhow. What came next was inevitable - an invitation to sail the boat to help an inexperienced sailor and friend.
Our village being a natural harbour we are blessed with a sailing club which has its own fleet of small dinghies ('Toppers', for those who know these things) and Friday afternoon is the time the local youngsters go out sailing. Rescue boats are on hand to support this so it seemed sensible for us to join them in the Mirror for our first sail. Having towed the boat there from the garden where she was stored we then spent some time getting her rigged, dealing with all the ropes and shackles that need to be attached, before rolling her down the slipway into the water. We had not, however, picked the ideal day for our first sail. The wind was quite fresh, gusty blasts coming in from the west straight onto the slip, which presented difficulties getting launched with both of us on board. But somehow we managed it and spent the next hour pottering about in the harbour entrance, tacking and gybing without totally capsizing. A Mirror dinghy is really a little too small for two adults to sail in and it can require quick reactions to keep the boat upright when a strong gust fills the sails and body weight has to be moved quickly to balance. But we were learning and did improve as time went on.
Once back on shore and packed away we both agreed that the wind had been too much for us and we really needed a light wind day if we were to make further progress. Two weeks later a seemingly perfect forecast tempted us out again but by the time we had everything rigged the wind had freshened so this second attempt was abandoned. Then finally we had a day when the wind was light and it came to us from the east, a much kinder direction for launching off the slip. It was also scorchingly hot so a few hours on the sea, where it was cooler, was quite welcome. This time we tacked about in the harbour mouth, each tack becoming smoother as we each learnt the movements needed when we moved our weight from one side of the boat to the other. Finally we ran back into the harbour with the warm wind at our backs.
By this time is had occurred to me that what my inexperienced friend needed most was to handle the boat on his own, without me cluttering up the Mirror's tiny cockpit. He still needed direction, however, so I worked out that if I moved forward and sat in front of the mast, facing towards the rear, my weight would be centralised and the cockpit would be free for him to use. This worked quite well and by the end of an hour or so on the water he was sailing quite confidently with only the occasional word of direction from me. We even managed between us to bring the craft back onto the sailing club slipway in such a way that we could both step off without tipping the boat over and getting totally soaked. Progress indeed.
Sailing opportunities like this might arise again but the bigger question facing us is how much use we are making of our own boat and whether this is the right time to sell up. Part of this conflict is due to the place we now live. Tarbert is on a sea loch, the longest in Scotland, and on each side the hills rise up steeply to create an easy route for the wind so that it generally flows lengthwise along the loch or comes in gusts over the hills. This can make for uncomfortable sailing in a small boat when you are just out for a short day sail. Or maybe this is simply justification for saying our lives have moved on. For both of us this is a massive life-changing decision as one boat or another has been a part of our lives for most of our time together.
Whatever the reason, after much consideration, we very bravely put Eun na Mara up for sale, although we soon discovered that the second hand boat market was almost dead. It was only after many months and several price reductions that we finally struck a deal and we are pleased to say she is going to someone who plans to use and care for her. All that remained was for her to be delivered to her new home, something we had agreed to take on as part of the deal.
She had been loitering on her trailer in a neighbour's garden since the summer so we we start planning for the journey by removing her cover and made sure everything is on board and lashed down. We attach the lighting bar and check the tyres are pumped up ready to set off the next day. Not for the first time the remoteness of our home comes at a cost as quotes for professional delivery run into thousands so the easiest option is for us to hitch up and do the drive ourselves, to Derbyshire in far away England. We made a plan which involved fitting the delivery into two days with an overnight stop en route but then, fifty miles into the journey things started to go wrong.... Continued.
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