June

 I have been quite busy but Bonita has yet to leave the river Swale this summer - just a few short day sails. I went (by road) to the Yarmouth IoW OGA rally where the racing was cancelled due to strong winds. George and I inspected the gaffers in the harbour to judge the Concours d'Elegance. This needs some diplomacy as there are some lovely boats and everyone thinks theirs deserves to be a winner. We decided it should be Lady Belle - a Falmouth Quay Punt built in 1909.  She was once owned by our Dutch friend Bart Pot, but is now well cared for by Hannah Matthews. Then I had an invitation to the OGA Helford rally. We have attended this a couple of times on Bonita, but this year I was on Dave and Julies boat Susan J, a sturdy Heard 28. The Helford is a lovely river in almost any conditions. We had a good race in perfect weather and came in second, though there werent many boats taking part. This was followed by a jolly evening in the Helford Sailing Club.

                                                                 Susan J

Meanwhile Bonita hasnt been totally neglected: paint and varnish have been applied in the better weather and we have been stocking up on some essentials. I bought a load of Dutch charts for our planned trip next month. Sadly it seems that the days of the paper chart are probably numbered and we will all have to depend on GPS navigation eventually, just as no-one seems to carry a road atlas in their car anymore. I prefer a 'belt & braces' approach using both. I have been on a boat with a total electrical failure - and also have had a chart blown overboard from the cockpit. We retrieved the chart with the boathook after some 'man overboard' practice, but it wasnt much use afterwards.