In praise of winter sailing

Mylor, where I spent last winter,   have asked me to make a small music video in praise of winter sailing and stick their link on  the end

they gave me an £800 discount on last winter on their pontoons so it only seems fair enough

as you know I love winter sailing

Hanging mists, empty mooring fields, that feeling that eveything has been laid on just for you

any others aspects of winter sailing to add chaps?

 

 

Sequence 02.Still020S1720087 heaterS1700026S1700021S1700024S1670001 ashoreS1660041 birdS1670002 propS1660044 creekmylor skyeS1610029 candleS1610031 maggieS1510063-heronSequence 02.Still039Sequence 02.Still011Sequence 02.Still033Sequence 02.Still037Sequence 02.Still027

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

image-23-03-16-04-57S1730004 trees S1730007 trees S1730008 trees S1730009 trees S1730028 devon rainbow 1S1720018 sunrise S1720058 sterns IMG_1009 morning S1720053 shoreline S1720028 castle S1720021 little yacht £3,000S1720007 fal S1700025 S1700024 S1700021S1690056 rainbow S1690017 sunset S1690039 mobo S1690034 boat S1690052 sunset S1690029 boats

This is about Sailing around Britain.

19 Responses to “In praise of winter sailing”

  1. 9 September, 2016 at 10:02 pmAde Moore says:

    Great photos Dylan and a cracking estuary the Fal, I enjoyed last winters posts from there especially those fishermen still using just sail to bring in the catch was mussels can’t quite remember! though Monday we hired a boat and explored the Helford River and that was rather nice too.

  2. 10 September, 2016 at 6:38 amHugh says:

    I sail a Tanzer 22 on a small lake in the Midwest US. I keep my boat in the water all winter. Sometimes it freezes solid, like 2013 and 2014, and sometimes I get to sail all year, like 2015. But in addition to the pleasure of a sail on Christmas or New Year’s Day if it happens to warm up briefly, I almost always have the lake to myself. Sometimes I go out when it is too cold for kitesurfing and blowing a gale and sail with double-reefed main and a tiny jib, and have a great time. But best of all is in the spring, when the ice starts breaking up and I sail through the edges of it. It sounds like I am sailing through chandeliers.

  3. 10 September, 2016 at 8:31 amdylan winter says:

    lovely story H, I used to winter the boat afloat on the broads and go sailing when a high came through. One morning I woke up to find the broad frozen – the ice was thick enough to support a duck but the swans were ice breaking. That is a perfect decription – it was like sailing through chandeliers – I shall steal that description and use it again

  4. 10 September, 2016 at 10:47 amRileymorgan says:

    The pictures tell the story. One thousand words and all that. In this age we are ceaselessly bombarded with images that I tend to become a bit “underwhelmed” and indifferent. But just look at some of those images. Absolutely beautiful

  5. 10 September, 2016 at 11:06 amdylan winter says:

    you are right – we get bomarded with immaculate images that come at you completely without context.

    My screensaver updates every day – you have no idea where photoshop starts and reality ends

    I think images mean more if they have been taken by some-one you know or at least know why they were taking them

    for a while you can feel the wind and the cold and the occasional blast of winter sunshine

  6. 10 September, 2016 at 12:15 pmAndrea says:

    Lovely. We keep the boat in all year too up here in Outer Hebrides . Been out on Christmas Day a few times – often a lovely day to sail.
    Blowin a minor hoolie now though :-(

  7. 10 September, 2016 at 3:14 pmTomH says:

    Winter sailing is when you know that you are the only one out there and indeed “that feeling that eveything has been laid on just for you” — a very special sensation indeed.

    For many years I kept my bigger boats on our mooring through the winter for economic reasons – but sailed often if the sun was shining ;) It became a bit of a tradition to sail at full tilt through the local harbors, passing in front of the many yacht clubs on the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Such fun!

    FWIW… the third picture in your lineup has a truly beautiful sky, but to me, the ‘essence’ emanating from the modern/service vessels seems to grate a bit.

    Cheers, and thanks for the continiing stream of lovely, inspirational photos.
    Tom

  8. 10 September, 2016 at 8:07 pmjon sutton says:

    i once demolished a greenhouse with a rotovator, but that didn’t sound nearly as poetic

  9. 11 September, 2016 at 10:47 pmGlenn Webster says:

    I’m looking forward to going through this winter on the blackwater, any tips or recommendations for winter sailing here D? Thank you

  10. 12 September, 2016 at 7:34 amdylan winter says:

    there are some lovely sailing areas up beyond Pyefleet

    and an estuary at torrington

    worth getting up to the Alde if you can – maybe dump the boat there for a couple of weeks – then you can see the butley – which is a splendid little spot

    there are also two lovely spots the other side of the creek from brightlingsea – over behind second beach

    D

  11. 12 September, 2016 at 7:49 amTed B. (Charging Rhino) says:

    Winter sailing down by the Clyde on LilyM?

    Or taking the KatieL to the Broads for the Winter? Maybe some canal exploring closer to home?

  12. 12 September, 2016 at 7:59 amdylan winter says:

    Katie L is in the garden – my plan is not to have two yachts on the water at the same time – that would be bonkers. I want to have a crack at Clyde sailing. It shoud be good. If the big boat is ashore then I will certainly do some broad sailing this winter – or at least some ducck punting

    D

  13. 12 September, 2016 at 6:18 pmJustin says:

    Do you have any concerns about osmosis keeping a grp boat in the water all the time? Now I belong to Cardiff Yacht Club I could keep Harlequin in the water all year if I wanted. probably not this winter as I want to replace the shrouds and backstay, do some minor alterations to the sink in the heads and put in a second battery. All of which is easier in the compound at Newport.

    Also, how much time do you think you lose to bad weather in Scotland. The reason I ask is that I sailed from Bristol Channel to Hamble to Cherbourg, Sark and north Brittany this June/July with wonderful weather although not much wind. Next June/July I’m wondering about going north to Clyde or west to Dingle but the weather rather puts me off.

    J

  14. 12 September, 2016 at 6:46 pmdylan winter says:

    no worries about osmosis at my age – all boats will outlive me. Sail now… worry later. As for the weather… can’t get away from it. Scottish weather really sucks – especially this summer with 50 per cent more rain than average. However, when it is good it is unbelievably fantastic. 20 hours of daylight, warm all day and all night, always enough wind at some stage in the day, lovely walking……damn Scotland is great.

    But the weather sucks. Did I mention that. If you do it my way as a retiree then that is okay. But to blow your three weeks holiday on a spin of the weather dice in Scotland is bonkers.

  15. 13 September, 2016 at 5:14 amTomH says:

    Well,. that’s scary! And funny!
    A guy from England is saying the weather someplace else sucks.
    I believe you, but it does make me fear Scotland.

  16. 13 September, 2016 at 10:14 amJustin says:

    So if I were to venture north next June, where would be the best/cheapest places to leave the boat for a fortnight/3 weeks at a time and have access to public transport to get home.

    The pattern I’ve established this summer was three 12 day voyages giving 2 days for travelling to and fro the boat and 10 sailing on average 45 Nm a day although this has varied from 10 Nm to >100Nm. My wife’s “headland cake” a wonderful idea I nicked from you just lasts for one such trip as long as it is rationed to the most significant headland of the day. I then have between one week and 3 at home between voyages, dependent on home commitments/weather. Worked really well this summer.

    I was thinking then one voyage to get to the Firth of Clyde via Wales and Isle of Man. Leave boat go home. Second voyage further west through Crinan, if I’ve crew for the canal. Leave boat and go home. Third voyage to Northern Ireland leave boat near Belfast. Fly home and then return for home run to Cardiff.

    What do you think?

    J

  17. 14 September, 2016 at 4:13 amChuck says:

    I have given notice to the Marina that I am pulling my boat out of the water in October. Last night I went for a sail after work and it was brilliant. So now I am debating on keeping her in the water for the whole year. Winter sailing in Puget Sound I just don’t know if I can force myself to go if it is raining.

  18. 14 September, 2016 at 8:02 amdylan winter says:

    “go on go on go on go on” – Mrs Doyle

  19. 14 September, 2016 at 9:16 amNeil Lawrence says:

    peace, space, huge flocks of birds, wonderful low sunlight, a sense of adventure, a warm cosy pub at the end of the day. Cold hands wrapped round a mug of hot soup at lunchtime… We keep a Gull dinghy on the Norfolk Broads and have a bit of a tradition of sailing on Christmas day. 2014 was pure magic. There’s a very amateur video here if anyone is interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmS4DfzTGl4. 2015 rained hard which was not so good, but I think even the variable weather is part of the attraction. The feeling of having “cheated” a sail in a weather window, is great. Really looking forward to the video – keep up the great work. Could we get you in the honours list for “services to frustrated office workers who would rather be sailing”?

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