to lift it up! This meant we were not as active as we really wanted to be. The solution was to commission a trailer with an extended A frame drawbar that could take the boat and associated gear. We now hope to be sailing more in 2008.
With the prospect of more sailing in mind I found a local sailing club (Saddington Sailing Club in Leicestershire) and enquired as to whether our boat would be welcome if we joined. This, we hoped, would give us more 'water time' in between OCSG meets to improve my rusty technique. A friendly response was received and the only thing I had to prove was that I had adequate 3rd party liability insurance to cover others while I was sailing. This is where the tale really gets murky and a roundabout of emails and phone calls began.
The first call was to the BCU, as we are adult basic members and I asked if we were covered while open canoe sailing. Getting an office junior to make a decision over the phone was not easy, especially when they realised our boat was 'modified' from a canoe and not a purpose-built sailing canoe. Cutting out calls to the RYA and specific marine insurance companies, which sent me along the route of a specific policy to cover a named/identifiable craft (£150+), the BCU finally gave the go ahead. But only after I had emailed them pictures of our boat and sailing rig for them to hold with our membership details. As you know, the BCU provide OCSG members with cover, due to the group's affiliation, but this is only while members are sailing on OCSG-organised meets. So the 'ruling' from the BCU was important, as it meant we could sail with cover at other times and on other water.
So the good news seems to be, if we are adult basic or above members of the BCU, carry on sailing! If you are not you may feel you need to look into what cover you do actually have just in case your boat rams someone else.
April Fool (RodL)
Q. Why don't canoe sailors go into hat shops?
A. They'll be asked for a capsize.
Q. Why do opera singers make good canoe sailors?
A. Because they can manage high seas.
Q. What do you get when red and blue sailing canoes collide near a shore?
A. Marooned.
A canoe sailor who gets to the other shore and back without a shower is a dirty double crosser.
A canoe sailor was getting cold so he lit a fire in his boat, which promptly sank it, proving yet again that you can't have your kayak and heat it.
A shared sailing canoe is called a partnership.
Give water at the mark or get a stern warning.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Canoe.
Canoe who?
Canoe give us a lift?
Windermere Byelaws Consultation (KeithM)
Some members may remember there was a survey a while back about a proposal to charge fees for any craft using Windermere, including non-powered boats. In the past only power boaters were charged a registration fee according to the size of their engine and this income paid for the policing of the byelaws. Now the 10mph blanket speed limit has been in place 3 years and there are far fewer powerboats paying the fees, the issues of managing the lake and especially how to finance
|