The Hunt for Red October

“The sea will grant each person new hope, as sleep brings dreams of home.” The Hunt for Red October

The Dinghy of Terror: A Summary

It was the final sailing lesson of this block, and I suppose everything was going too well. The time was ripe for a nightmare sailing lesson of legendary proportions. I did wonder if our dear Fluke, the otherwise aforementioned Dinghy of Joy, was actually a sea devil in disguise, and was I fighting Satan's wind, but I think more accurately, there are two sides to sailing and by definition, two sides to Fluke. 

The lesson was laser dinghy carnage, so there were too many events to go into detail on, but here is a bullet point list so you get the gist:

1. Lazy A's sail ripped from her mast, and we had to moor her to a buoy. She wasn't retrieved until much later, so she was out of this one. The instructor said he had never seen this happen to a laser. 
2. On my second gybe in the Hartley, I stood up and was thrown from the boat. First person overboard. Lost sunglasses but managed to get back on the boat. 
3. Went for a rest in the RIB and then helped assist with securing Fluke, who kept capsizing on the other trainee. The wind had obviously picked up, and I had been struggling to stay on the wind in the Hartley. Need to work on my tiller technique. 
4. Battled to get Fluke side towed into Littlehampton Harbour with the mast hanging out the other end. We sat on the mast and prayed we didn't go sideways into the training wall. 
5. Re-rigged Fluke, I do not lie to you. 
6. I was set off to sail to meet the Hartely, which had sailed to the RNLI station in the river. 
7. I failed to tack, got stubborn, started screaming at the wind, drifted towards the wooden sticky things, had to be saved by the RIB, which proceeded to cause one or two of the three capsizes that then happened in quick succession (they let me go too soon at one point). 
8. My head was smacked by the boom. It hurt for a moment, but then nothing. 
9. I miss the dagger board on Fluke and end up requesting to come aboard the RIB. 
10. I swam to the RIB and was then dragged into the boat so violently that I was breathless on the deck for a while. 
11. I get up, and everyone notices the massive bruise on my head. 
12. Instructor checks me for a concussion. 
13. The man in the maintenance boat watches the whole rescue and wishes he had recorded it. It was apparently so funny watching a woman drifting whilst using colourful language at the top of her lungs. I don't find this out until the next day.
14. I crawl out of the RIB and onto the pontoon. The instructor takes me for first aid. 

And that is all I can remember. I am now an Arun River legend, apparently. If only we had the CCTV. Yes, probably bearing away would have been a better idea than getting stubborn and trying to force the boat around by strength of will and profanity. Wild. Totally World. 

The Dinghy of Joy a Song

Dinghy of Joy

Dinghy, dinghy, you are my love

Dinghy, dinghy, oh dinghy

Just a bathtub with a sail,

but you captured my heart.

Even when I lost control

and drifted straight

into the other club’s powerboat.

You know I forgive you.

It was clearly my fault.

And it was the other club’s boat anyway…

And the harbour master didn’t see us.

Oh dinghy, I believe in you,

my little dinghy of joy and trial,

of terror and delight.

No one else to blame

for my mistakes,

Dinghy, save me now,

No, please save me right now…

The great wide open sea

cannot compete with you.

You will see me through.

Dinghy, I love you.

 An original psyconym creation to the tune Birds of a Feather

Dinghy...Just Dinghy...

 So.....I did not think I would apply to be on an adult dinghy sailing block, but where we are. We will steal our courage and brave the Arun under the all-seeing eye of the Harbour Master. 

To be honest, I just hope it's a laugh and will blow away the cobwebs of the winter and the miserableness of dealing with all that nonsense last year. There will be points for random maritime cosplay and mock command language. 

This dinghy is not under command!!!

Chains of Love Charlie X Lyrics

 I'd rather lay down in thorns

I'd rather drown in a stream

I'd rather light myself on fire

I'd rather wear all these scars

I'd rather watch my skin bleed

In the eye of your storm

(I can't let go)

Shatterin' like glass

Yes, they're breakin' up my heart

The chains of love are cruel

I shouldn't feel like a prisoner

My face is turnin' blue

Can't breathe without you here

The chains of love are cruel

I shouldn't feel like a prisoner

No matter how hard I try

I'm here so permanently, yeah

And I wait for your call

(I can't let go)

I know the chains of love won't break

I know the chains of love won't break

Shatterin' like glass

Yes, they're breakin' up my heart

The chains of love are cruel

I shouldn't feel like a prisoner

My face is turnin' blue

I can't breathe without you here

The chains of love are cruel

I shouldn't feel like a prisoner

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh

I know the chains of love won't break

I know the chains of love won't break

Safety Boat Fun (Spring has Sprung...Sort of...)

(Towing the cruiser in)

Spring is not quite sprung, but it is trying. The weather was getting a little warm, but now it's back down to being chilly. It won't be long before the hot weather arrives. The sailing season has begun, and I have that endless yearning to be out on the water. I always feel like I am missing out, and the peak season just isn't long enough, though I have been boating through the winter between 2025/2026. 

Perhaps I am suffering some FOMO. The season always feels so short and like there is never enough time to really make the best of the year. 

Last weekend I was out on the water. I nearly didn't go because of a minor ailment, but I am glad I made the effort. There is so much joy and fun to be had on the water. The conditions were sunny but calm, and we laid the markers out as the tide continued to come in. Winds were light, so the race was, well, slow, but our sailors were determined to get out nonetheless. We stayed with the dinghies in the river, whilst the cruisers went out to sea. The tide seemed to take forever to come in, and slack water seemed never-ending. 

We were called out to one of the cruisers coming in who lost power, and we had to do a tow, but beyond that, nothing too exciting happened. No rainbows, RNLI larks, or random acts of low-key pirating from dinghy sailors taking over our powerboat this time. Not always a bad thing to have a low-key day. 

I did manage to get some mock naval heroic command language when the boat nearly slipped its mooring. I hadn't managed to secure the bow entirely, and of course, I rushed to correct my mistake before we drifted away. Afterwards, I remarked, 'Its under command,' to the Race Officers murth. I blame Flaky (who is still away at sea). Ever since he got me into Naval Cosplay, it has been never-ending larks. 

Everyone needs a friend who sends them AI-generated naval cosplay satire. It unlocked something deep inside my brain.

I am still planning what I might get up to this year. I am thinking of doing a sailing course. It would help with safety boating. I sometimes get a bit anxious when the sailing boats tack because I am not always sure which direction they are going in. At the sametime it would be good to get a safety boat qualification- though I am suffering a little impostor syndrome about whether I am experienced enough on the helm. Since escaping the last organisation I was in, I have stopped logging my experience. 

I know I started power boating in June or July 2024, and I did my PB2 in June 2025, and I have been volunteering for safety boat since then. It is still early days, but I have come a long way. I am starting to read conditions more easily without panicking or overthinking. I am getting better at accepting that I am not always going to be able to answer the instructor's questions and to try and and learn from whatever is happening.  

Off the Coast - Dolphin time