For several months we have been building up to a major external review of the university. They like us = happiness and joy, they do not like us = misery and pain.
It finished yesterday. Happiness and joy. So despite the fact that this review has dominated my life for some time, I will say no more about it and get onto important stuff.
The poor Scaffie has been out of the water for weeks. She does not like this, she has fever all day and chills at night. At 7:00 this morning Hisashi, Laura and I foregather to relieve her pain.
Everything goes wrong. The battery of the mighty Hi Jet is flat. We manage to start her using jump leads attached to Hisashi’s rig. We get to the harbor but subsequently the mighty Hi Jet refuses to start no matter what power is injected from other cars.
We push the Hi Jet and trailer into a corner for later treatment and row the Scaffie out onto the wild and wistful ocean. It is 7:30 on the most beautiful morning so far in the long history of the globe.
We humiliate ourselves by raising sail in every possible wrong way. We are blown onto the shore twice. Luckily there are few humans around to witness my uselessness. Notwithstanding, Laura helms us back to the mooring in front of my house
We sail onto the mooring most elegantly but nobody sees it. Anyway the mighty Scaffie is back on the water.
Much later, after work stuff, Sunset comes and I am at sea.
I mean, what can I say about sailing towards the sunset as everything slows down?
Anyway, I sail back in the gloaming and pick up the mooring under sail, which most of you will not appreciate the wonderfullness thereof. I swim back to the house in bath temperature sea. The moon is nearly full.
Ver, ver, beautiful. Poor Hi Jet, doubtless a cry for help.
Neil, you should become an Old Gaffer ( Old Gaffers association http://www.oga.org.uk/) The Scaffie qualifies you to join, but I suspect you qualify in so many ways! Not easy grabbing the mooring whilst dropping the main and avoiding the yard landing on your head. My little West Wight Scow used to get me nearly every time.
Exactly! The yard hits me on the head, the sail goes overboard, I miss the boy with the boathook but the effort overbalances me and in I go. Even the inscrutable Japanese can’t help laughing.