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.