Reviewing the blog – a rough path to follow

30/04/201502/05/2015 / Bill

In February I changed the WordPress theme for this site. This started as a cosmetic gesture – I wanted it to be easier to read and easier to search. However, in the process, it has opened up new possibilities. At the moment, these possibilities are inklings at the back of my aging mind. Discovering them means teasing them out, being honest with myself about what I think I am doing . . . and why. Therefore the aim of this post is to review what’s going on beneath the surface and reassemble the contents. I want to do this without losing the ‘Folksong’ and ’Maritime History’ elements that I started back in 2006. The path I am taking roughly follows this route:

Visualising the current content
Reviewing the motives for writing the blog
Deciding the tools for learning ‘on the job’
Considering the content and how it might develop
Putting it all together
The final tweak . . .
. . . and Publish

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Jeanne Socrates

27/03/201527/03/2015 / Bill

To my last post I added the comment that the qualities single-handed sailors had in common were determination and perseverance. On Wednesday evening I met Jeanne Socrates. I haven’t changed my mind.

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Brush strokes – good enough – sometimes

20/03/2015 / Bill

Blue Mistress is slowly coming together.

Because we won’t be back in the water before Easter, I have had time to tackle the planned jobs and some unplanned ones as well – like painting the floors of the quarter berths.

I now know why I avoided this for so long. It meant forcing my 42 inch chest five feet down two 38 inch holes – cleaning, sanding and then one, two, three coats – shoulders hunched, arms outstretched, pushing an open paint-pot before me, having to work out how to use my right hand accurately and then how to worm my way backwards without touching the fresh paint.

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Winter refit 4/4 – new hatch fitted – lifelines rethink

05/03/201505/03/2015 / Bill / 1 Comment

(. . . . continued)

The new hatch (Gebo Houdini replacement hatch) and ventilator (EC Smith Tannoy Ventilite) were fitted yesterday.

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3/4 Winter refit – the list builds: electrics – safety

02/03/201505/03/2015 / Bill / 2 Comments

(. . . continued)

Just before we lifted the boat, I noticed the cockpit speaker was cracked. I don’t remember doing it but I must have kicked it in a frenzied moment. Worse, it had become loose in it’s fitting – alarming because water could get in and the fuse box etc is located perilously close inside. It had been fastened with four very short screws. Continue reading →

Nobody told the albatross

27/02/2015 / Bill

I have just got back from London having attended Roger Taylor’s lecture at the home of the Cruising Association at Limehouse Basin in London.

Roger is the self-styled Simple Sailor . He has written three well-received books about his voyages first in his Corribee, Ming Ming, and now in her successor, Ming Ming ll. In 2009, he was awarded the Jester Medal by the Ocean Cruising Club “for an outstanding contribution to the art of singlehanded sailing.” The large number of members present was a fitting testament to his endeavours.

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Welcome to Beyond Steeple Point updated!

22/02/201522/02/2015 / Bill

Easier on the eye, easier to read, easier to get round the site in the few seconds you have to spare.

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Brixham to Plymouth – reflection – tidal race

16/12/201420/02/2015 / Bill / 2 Comments

(Continued . . .)

This series of five posts outlines a September passage from Plymouth to Teignmouth and back.

(Click on image to enlarge)

The interruption to my passage plan has meant that I have to get from Brixham to Plymouth, a distance of a little over 40 nautical miles by this evening. This is no problem on paper – but there will probably be no time for fishing. Also the tide will be wrong going round Start Point. I had planned to round the Point, which is about 13 nm along the coast from here, yesterday evening with the tide carrying me, I will now reach it around the middle of today with the tide against me. The wind has gone round to the north east – almost the opposite of yesterday morning.

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