Boatmen?

[toprotter]

Funnily enough I took a tree down the other week for a chap who taught me how to sail in a topper when I was about ten on reservoirs, then out of the Thames sailing club.

Sailed around the Baleric Islands, Ibiza Menorca Formentera on a 55 footer, spent a lot of time sailing out of the Hamble and The longest was 6 weeks getting a cat ready in Miami with mates testing it around Bimini and the Islands before sailing down to Key West past Cuba and finally ending up in Mexico..

When I lived in the black mountains spent my spare time kayaking on the wye and loved just ambling along.....

Would love to go canoeing in Canada in the fall but I would like to do a lot of things

[zeroluke]

Funnily enough I took a tree down the other week for a chap who taught me how to sail in a topper when I was about ten on reservoirs, then out of the Thames sailing club.

Sailed around the Baleric Islands, Ibiza Menorca Formentera on a 55 footer, spent a lot of time sailing out of the Hamble and The longest was 6 weeks getting a cat ready in Miami with mates testing it around Bimini and the Islands before sailing down to Key West past Cuba and finally ending up in Mexico..

When I lived in the black mountains spent my spare time kayaking on the wye and loved just ambling along.....

Would love to go canoeing in Canada in the fall but I would like to do a lot of things

 

I sailed on toppers they could be really fast at times. I remember sailing on keilder water and it going so fast over the waves in the force 5 wind it seamed to not touch the water. The wind changed direction and the sail changed sides faster than I could turn the boat round and it flipped over and capsized. the 2nd time it happened I righted the boat quick (full circle, using its momentum as it rolled over) enough to not get wet. They were happy days mostly, but I don't miss that cold water and wetsuits

[toprotter]

Zeroluke

They are great little boats, always remember pushing them to the limits ,sticking the sail in the drink and then rolling over on the dagger board and righting them without getting wet ! Wet suits ! you must have been posh lol

[Sam Thompson]

Zeroluke

They are great little boats, always remember pushing them to the limits ,sticking the sail in the drink and then rolling over on the dagger board and righting them without getting wet ! Wet suits ! you must have been posh lol

 

Thats the way to do it. I raced Toppers for about 2 years before getting into bigger boats - ents, GP14s, RS2000s etc. They are great for youngsters

[zeroluke]

When I first did it I never wore them, just clothes etc. But that was in the height of summer. As time wore on I'd catch a chill any other time of the year and it'd do me chest in ( which is done in enough already). And no wearin wet suits aren't posh. Just where we went with scouts they were cheap, because we got consessions through our subs.

 

righting them toppers didn't always work. I got pinned under the boat by my life jacket once or twice, I got a telling off for undoing it so I could get from under neath, and tying it to me wet suit with some string/harness type cord.

[silky fox]

Saw this for sale on Eel pie island today and fell in love with it instantly.

[Rich2484]

Used to have two boats, a 17ft fishing boat with evenrude 75 hp on it for fishing the channel and a 20ft leisure boat for pottering about in the channel but not anymore.

 

Sold them to fund new business.

 

Still go out fishing but on a charter boat now. Not too bad 35ft boat so goes out in almost all weather for 40 quid.

[silky fox]

Pottering about in the Channel...up and down the river....what an idylic life when you,re forty something... Lived on this narrowboat on the Thames next to Kew Bridge when i first moved to London....i miss living on the river.

[GardenKit]

I've had small boats since i was a kid.

Canoe, Otter dinghy, Orkney Spinner and a couple of Bonwitcos. Here's the latest. Its a 1974 With speedboat from Norway

[GardenKit]

And here is me helming the local inshore rescue boat. I enjoyed that while it lasted. Too old now.