Bob who crewed on the ARC+ crossing was asked to write an account for his old school (Daniel Stewart's College in Edinburgh) Alumni magazine which, following some school mergers is now known as the 'Stewart's Melville College Former Pupils Magazine'. It seemed appropriate to include his account here:- Crossing the Atlantic under sail It’s the... Continue Reading →
Miss Bones
This letter was published in the Caribbean Compass in March 2016. It was written by Lynn Mines (my sister-in-law) following the rescue of an abandoned dog from Petit Nevis (between Bequia and Mustique) during our cruise through St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Rotary talk
I was invited to do this talk by my next door neighbour, Bob Calaz but, as is usual with these things, the report is wrong on a number of counts and it would seem they made much of it up! Bulletin of THE ROTARY CLUB OF EASTHAMPSTEAD www. easthampsteadrotary.co.uk Meeting held on 26th October... Continue Reading →
Colloquial terminology
This letter was published in the May 2015 Yachting monthly. Curiously, the reference to 'Egyptian PT' had been edited out! I was blessed with a variety of crew during my cruise around the UK last year. During discussions on the various legs I was amused by the different expressions for taking an afternoon snooze. Bob,... Continue Reading →
Downwind sails
This letter was published in the March 2015 Yachting Monthly I was surprised that in the downwind sail analysis in the December Yachting Monthly, the Parasailor was not evaluated. I use this sail with both guys through blocks on the bow sprit. In this way all lines are clear of the guard wires and stanchions... Continue Reading →
Appropriate place names
This is the Email exchange with Yachting Monthly :- Thanks Nick, we love this one! We've put it on our facebook page. Thanks for getting in touch, YM From: Nick Mines <[email protected]> Reply-To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, 8 January 2015 23:11 To: "Yachting Monthly - UK <[email protected]>" <[email protected]> Subject: Appropriate Place Names I enjoyed Libby... Continue Reading →
Stormy Cork deadline
Sooner or later, you run out of luck ! The previous year, our summer cruise had been so blessed with luck that we had carried the spinnaker all the way south to northern Spain, then nearly all the way back! With that sort of luck it was only a matter of time before the fickle... Continue Reading →