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osbert
This month Osbert Lancaster reveals the joys
(and challenges) of winter sailing. Osbert sails
on the Firth of Forth from his home at Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland. He row-sails and
has built and owns a John Welsford Walkabout.
He’s recently built a Clint Chase Drake 17.
Osbert
What is this “sailing season”?
Before I had a boat of my own, before I even really knew what I wanted from sailing, I’d flick through sailing magazines looking for inspiration and insight into how I
might satisfy that yearning. It was a window on a strange world, or rather on several
worlds: including boat porn in various forms, whether mega-go-faster-yachts or classic wooden boats, and the marine equivalent of a caravan catalogue with handy hints
on mounting a barbecue in the cockpit.
One thing most of these magazines seemed to cover regularly was laying up your boat
at the end of the “season” and then getting back on the water again the following year.
Luckily I found the sort of boating that suits me, but even at this ‘level’ I find that most
dinghies are put to bed for the winter, not just yachts. What madness it is to miss some
of the best days on the water!