We made our second annual visit to the Beale Park boat show.
Amongst the highlights for me was bringing Sarah - my 18 month old daughter out sailing on a Bay Raider. Lovely boat. I want one. Actually, How about a Sea Raider.
Sarah appeared to love it, though she was trying to lean out overboard, and was saying "swim swim swim". We did manage to avoid testing her life jacket on this occasion.
Some time later I managed to find a kind gentleman from the wooden boat builders association who taught me to eye splice.
It's one of those things that's not really that difficult when you see it done, but try learning it from a book. If you follow the link to the eyesplice above, it all hinges on picture 9.
Some of the work there on display was amazing, including a newly build Salcombe Yawl. Nice, but a little spendy at £25,596 (a little under $50,000). I guess you get what you pay for.
There were rowing skiffs, sail boats, electric launches and steam boats..
To top it all off - we stayed at the Beetle and Wedge a nice restaurant along the thames which has a few rooms for B&B. The food was fantastic. The staff made us feel like old friends, and Sarah got to feed the ducks at the river bank. The ducks were simply brazen. While Sarah was tearing bits of bread a slice off to through to the ducks, one came around behind her and snatched the slice clean from her hands.
Four days of very civilised living in the english countryside. Excellent.
You are lucky, man. I live in Texas, about 200 miles east of Dallas, and there are very few sailboaters out here. Those that are here mostly have boats for "prestige' or what have you. You ask most of them how their fiberglass boats were built and you would get a ticket for assault because they would have heart attacks. The only pretty wood boats up here seem to be my own. :(
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