Dangerous to eat

Another Karachi story about Ramadam - but you have to read this article from the BBC first.

I was warned that eating during the day outside of the hotel might be difficult - but not that dangerous!

Seriously, I had more respect for their traditions than to eat or drink in public, but it was amazing how everyone was fasting at the same time. 95% of the population all following the same rituals together was impressive and rather alien to this westerner. The not drinking anything part must be the hardest and in sympathy I left the cold water bottle they put out for me untouched during my presentations.

However I must disagree with one comment in that BBC article - that the obsession with food was not reflected on TV. For on the widescreen 42 TV in my hotel there was channel after channel of cooking with recipes for Iftar and in between programs advert after advert for food and drink.

I pointed this out to one of my clients who just smiled and said that they know all you can think of is food and play on that.

There was one other thing on everyone's mind apart from food. On the TV in the evening on most channels was overlaid two windows of text and numbers: the first counted down the minutes and seconds to the ending of the fast. The second had equally important numbers - the crickets scores!

Oh, and I also was woken at 3.30 am but not by an over enthusiastic hotel wake-up call: instead by the sounds from the many minarets echoing across central Karachi. I felt lucky to be allowed to roll over and go to sleep, and wondered how many out there wished they could do the same.

Autumn Moon

Pakistan, the USA and the news

Some final thoughts from my Karachi trip. While reading the local paper and surfing the channels on the hotel's 42 inch TV two thoughts came to me:

1) Divergence of the USA and the world

I noticed that there were a lot more channels on TV: from about 8 of which half were state run and the rest the likes of CNN there were now about 90. Of course that was partly because the it was a better hotel, but my local agent said it was also a more general trend. The interesting point was how many were local or from other countries in south-east Asia such as India and also how parochial US TV looked in comparison.

There is much talk about the danger that the US might become more isolationist and withdraw from the world post the next election. From the view point of Karachi it has already happened: the US is going its own way wrapped up in its own thing and the rest of the world doesn't mind as it has a thriving local culture. India can already see itself in a few years with GDP greater than America, pushing that country from first place down to fourth (after China, India and Europe).

The multi-polar world is already here but the US doesn't want to know, which leads me to.....

2) The poverty of American MSM news

Its not a new topic, but the US's main stream media is unable to tell Americans the truth about the world and what America does. Essential and important topics like the occupation of Palestine and oppression of the Palestinians simply are not accurately or honestly reported in the US: the same narrow viewpoint on this subject is echoed from all sides of the political debate from Jon Stewart to Bill O'Reilly, and from all parts of the country from Washington DC to Washington State.

When the local Karachi paper had a diversity of views from a State Department spokewoman to Palestinian writers, Fox News (yes they have it in Karachi) was diverting its viewers from the truth by endless speculation about OJ Simpson.

It reminded me of a State Department report into why the US was hated that concluded that the solution was more information to explain what the US did -which just showed how they failed to understand the problem. For overwhelmingly the group that is ignorant of US foreign policy is not those in the Middle East, but those in the USA itself.

Karachi Photos

I only had a very short time to see some sights but here is a selection.

Firstly fishermen off Clifton Beach - the name one of many clues to the passage of the English through this historic land. The beach was almost totally deserted as it was Ramadan, but I'm told in the evening it gets packed with Iftar picnickers.

And where you have fishermen you must have nets that must be mended.

Nearby is the sailing centre complete with its two dinghies, launching ramp and flag poles, which as noted is right next door to a rubbish tip:


Also nearby is the 1400 year old Ziarat to the Sufi Abdullah Shah Ghazi, patron saint of Karachi and great-grandson to the Prophet Muhammad.

All around Karachi you could see these colourful buses:

And on the subject of travel, this is the City Railway station:

And here is a train full of very patient passengers: it was meant to leave at 2.30pm and was still sitting there at 5 pm: it was clearly going to be a tough journey. Some of the boxes on the platform to the right were clearly marked as coming from the port of Felixstowe.

Its a part of the world with a fascinating history and was sorry to not to see, hear, and discover more. The BBC has recently shown a great series of the history of Pakistan and India, and clips can be found here.

Karachi Security

I took the Independent to read on the flight to Karachi thinking an article about Angelina Jolie surely must distract me in a good way. Big mistake - as it described the background to her latest film, A Mighty Heart, which is all about the kidnap and murder of an American reporter in Pakistan.

No worries, I thought, he must have gone into the wild northern territories. But no - he was kidnapped and killed in Karachi, his body found in the city's outskirts.

Karachi is not an easy city to visit - in the flight there (and also back) I was the only westerner, and except for a few Americans at the hotel I saw no other during my stay. You have to be prepared to be stared at a lot.

The west is not that popular - traditionally Pakistan's number one enemy was India: recently this has changed, and now the USA is hated more.

Politics are in a state of flux, with President Musharraf in power after a military led coup (though elections are planned early in October) and despite that - or maybe because of it - fully supported by the USA.

He has become increasingly unpopular - to the extent that Bin Laden is now more popular than Washington's man.

Karachi has a history of violence and the Marriott I stayed in has suffered a number of car bombs. So to get in all cars must be searched by armed guards and visitors must pass through a metal detector at the front door.

So how safe is Karachi? There was one attempted suicide bombing during my stay near the Karachi Club which was about a block away. Maybe that's why Angelina never went to Karachi - the security fears meant her scenes were shot (in a film sense) in neighbouring India.

I wasn't too surprised to find that the driver my local fixer had arranged was armed "just in case". And on visiting the client's second office in a rather run down and to be honest rather dodgy part of the city we were met and escorted the last mile by an army jeep.

But ultimately when travelling to these places you are not relying on guns but on the people - I trusted my local agents and the driver they hired on my behalf.

Its a country on the edge in many ways - and it felt more risky than my trip in 2004, when Musharraf was much more popular.

I had a long think about this one day when in bed with a lurgy - but my conclusions might be controversial to some readers - something I've tried to avoid on this blog. So I'll leave those for another day.

But to conclude - the people I met, and knew from previous trips and meetings, my agent, his Karachi representative and family, the client and his team, were all very welcoming and helpful, and I hope they remain safe in what looks like being a turbulent time in Pakistan's history.

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is a really rich city. Some of those 2 million barrels of oil a day have been used to build what must be the world's most expensive hotel - the Dhs 14 billion (about 2 billion pounds) Emirates Palace.

But it's hard to feel at home here. Outside the heat and humidity chokes all life from the soulless streets, while indoors the bone cold air conditioning no doubt encouraged the bug that has lain me low all week.

It's not a place that practices low emission living - energy and water are consumed as if global warming were just a dream. Which is a shame as it could lead the world by planting its deserts with solar power stations to become the first CO2 neutral country.

The bit I liked best was the old Dhow harbour (above). Here a whole fleet of old wooden boats were moored and their crews did chores like mending nets (below). Apparently they go as far as Bangladesh in what must be epic journeys.

Though they have a sail they are mostly motor powered - and you might have seen Michael Palin in one when he went around the world in 80 days.

Back Again

It's good to be back after a tough business trip to Karachi - you can see a dusty sunset over the central area above. Full of impressions from the experience so more on this latter.

But no, didn't get to go sailing in the end.

Not Sailing in Karachi

Ok so had to try to get a sail here in Karachi.

Today dropped in on the National Sailing Centre and met the Secretary General of the Pakistan Sailing Federation. Commander (R) Q Navaid Usmani was very welcoming and tried his hardest to help, but alas I hadn't given him much warning (none actually) and it was Ramadan (so people were tired and many things were closed), and worst of all it was low tide.

It was the last that did it. We walked out to admire their Enterprise, ready on its trailer to go into the nearby "boating basin", but alas the water was so low "you could wade across it".

As well as sailing in Enterprise he was also a keen Laser sailing and nearly got into the national Olympic team coming second in try outs in the seventies. That must have been so frustrating!

Their sailing lake is next door (literally) to a dump that smolders continually while children dig for scrap to sell: the water is not surprisingly polluted. It put Tillerman's complaints on bad sailing clubs into context!

I wish there was someway to help but how? Its not like you could buy and donate a second hand Laser from www.ebay.pk (there is no such site). And there are so many other problems here. I'll ask my local agent for some advice, but what do you think?

So instead did a tour of the beach, visited a Ziarat of a revered Sufi saint and the old railway station.

Off again

Tillerman has asked about our best boating location. Thats a tricky one as not only have I not found the perfect place but not sure its possible.

I like the Hamble a lot but remember rather too clearly when the shower block we were meant to use broke down (ok, so we just crashed our way into the other one).

I like Cascais but remember also the pounding music that kept us awake.

Maybe continuing the bad-posts-are-good theme I should ask which boating locations you think are the worst.

Ok, admit to feeling a bit grumpy this morning as having to go on a business trip I don't want to - to the UAE and Pakistan.

Would much rather be going to this

Holy Eco-boat Batman!

I took the river bus again home, which was fun, like this (only more fun, this was a slow bit):

Up by Chelsea Harbour saw what looked like Batman's speed boat: This was Earthrace - in London for the Thames Festival (which very very unfortunately I will miss due to a business trip). As you can read here, she is a biofuel powered boat designed to race around the world. While this sounds very eco friendly, I am very skeptical about current biofuels. They rely too much on primary crops such as grain or palm which dramatically increases humanity's need for land, leading to huge habit loss and likelihood of wide scale extinction (as described here).

If you want an eco-friendly race around the world there is really only one answer - use a sail!

Bird Watching Sunday

Sunday I had to work on an assignment on financial risk, so there was of course lots of gazing out of the window dreaming of better things I could be doing, and I kept on being distracted by these birds (*).

First up was the mother and family above. I have no idea what they are but the mum almost stepped on one of the youngsters and she was very noisy making a honking sort of sounds to keep them in line.

Next there were this diving black bird - a coot? Once it dived and the water was calm so you could clearly see the wave expanding from the point it disappeared. Then it reappeared outside the ring - so it was swimming faster than the wave was travelling.

Then I watched a swan: it was directly below so could see its feet under the water and they seemed to be going half the rate expected. What it actually was doing was left foot - pause - right foot - pause - etc so each leg was only doing every other push.

Finally there was this elegant bird from the M&S Oakham range which made a very nice dinner for me and two friends who came over for dinner:


(*) tut tut, did you think non-ornithological thoughts? Ok, there was this rowing boat with eight pretty young women, but, er, anyhow, yes, what was my point?

Weekend Plans

What are your weekend plans?

What I would like to do is:
- go for a run or a swim
- look for some side tables for my flat
- go for a bike ride along the Thames Path, maybe finding some blackberries
- explore the local sailing clubs so can go afloat like in the picture above
- having friends or family round for a meal

What I will actually be doing is:
- having a meeting with a business adviser to go through some spreadsheets
- answering questions on forex, futures, and risk for my OU course

Actually its not all bad as doing one of the first list - having friends round for dinner Sunday evening, roast chicken with all the trimmings on the menu.

And its a lot better than next weekend, when have to do a business trip have been putting off for many months. But trying not to think about that yet!

Communting on the river

I have been challenged by Turinas of Messing About in Sailboats that I can't reach 10 different boating experiences by the end of the year, the loser to give money to charity (and no doubt buy the first drinks at the Dukes Head). You're on - sounds like a win-win scenario!

In the mean time I have had a really great boating experience but don't think it will qualify for those remaining slots as all I had to do was turn up and pay up. Yesterday I had two meetings in town and the timing was just right to take the river bus (above) in the morning and then back again in the evening.

It was so fun - a lovely late summer day, blue skies, and a gentle breeze. Its quick and takes you straight into the center, with the best views of London and its sights from Westminster, the Wheel, to St. Pauls and the Tates.

And there's a wonderful feeling of informality with boats. So at Chelsea Harbour we left and came back for some stragglers who were seen running down the jetty - you don't ever see the 8.12 to Croydon reverse down the tracks at Clapham Junction for late comers! And the rushing tide and rough and ready approach of the crew means more than a little banging and bumping. All good fun!

This morning I did it again even though strictly it meant going slightly out of my way.

Its just a shame that tomorrow like so most mornings I'll be back on the trains.

Messing about...

Yesterday did a bit more messing about in a boat, and a different type, for a went back to Cambridge for the day to go punting with old college friends.

Punting is very relaxing while you're just lying there watching the river drift by (as above). It's a lot harder work when you're doing it, especially when the wet summer has made the river bottom especially muddy, so the pole sticks firm and you have the choice of getting wet or letting go of the pole (hint: do the latter!).

Even if there hasn't been much sailing this year there has been a bit of variety:
- America's Cup Class (Sydney)
- Laser (Turkey)
- Topper (Turkey)
- Hobie (Turkey)
- Gibsea 33 (Turkey)
- Inflatable dinghy with outboard (Brittany)
- Punt (Cambridge)

I haven't given up hope on extending this list as there's still 4 months of the year left!

The Highest Tide

There was a spring tide last night, with a predicted range a rather impressive 6.7m at London Bridge according to the tide tables at the Port of London Authority. That's three days after the full moon for those that are keeping an eye on the sky.

Coincidently I have just finished a novel called "The Highest Tide" about a boy growing up around the bays of the Puget Sound. I really enjoyed it and wished I was either back at Ti Al Lannec (where I started it) and could potter around the rock pools or even back in the Straits of Juan de Fuca where I went whale watching a few years ago.

Then I realised I should just look a bit more locally - such as out the window. Here I saw sea birds washing, drying, and eating, a range of flotsam and jetsam, and a green border of algae I hadn't seen before:

I should pop out there and have a closer look as would Miles, the young hero of The Highest Tide.

Alas my afternoon chore is to read Open University course B821 Unit 9: Credit, Liquidity, and Operational Risk.

Yawn.

Ti Al Lannec

Just back from a long weekend in Brittany. If my theory that bad-posts-are-good it should really be a story of transport woes and hotels from hell.

Unfortunately it was wonderful, but to make up for the lack of drama I'll let you into a secret and tell you the name of the hotel rather than keeping it all to myself.

Actually I've already done it, for its the title of this post, and their web site can be found here. It feels like a country house run by one's favourite relatives who are amazing cooks and with views out of the bedrooms a bit like this:

Unless of course the fog rolls in in which case its a bit like this:

I can't understand why it only has three stars - maybe its the slightly old fashioned wall paper. But that makes it all the more charming - and I can totally see how its on the "Rooms for Romance in France" list.

But its also great for families and they coped wonderfully with my nephews and nieces letting us all dine together as a big group.

A short but steep path drops down the the beach where we made sand castles and swam in the extremely cold water. We talked about sailing as there were a couple of sailing schools there but there was no wind so we took the inflatable out with the motor and pop-popped around the bay. This too was cut short as it turned out we had only found one of the two of the gashes in its side so we gradually got lower and lower in the water

There were also walks along the cliffs like this:
It reminded me very much of "A summer's tale" though alas without the lovely Margot of that film.

I could go on, but surely that's enough - it was as good as this sunset:

Back Soon

Off to France on Eurostar & TGV for a long weekend in Brittany.......

Picturesque Rivers

There's a whole series of outdoor walking / hiking and canoeing / kayaking programs on TV at the moment. My favourites are the Great British Journeys presented by Nick Crane.

Today he walked and canoed down the Wye in the footsteps of William Gilpin who described his journey in a series of travel books and developed the ideas of nature and the picturesque in art.

What was interesting is that when Crane tried to identify the parts of the river where the pictures that Gilpin used to describe his theories came from it was clear how much he altered reality: the picturesque - or at least the idea - was in his head not in nature.

He also ignored completely the paper mills and copper foundries of the early industrial revolution sprouting along the lower parts of the river. Yet today the ruined factories are themselves considered picturesque.

But even if he didn't find the absolute beauty of nature in his travel, he did help develop the concept that nature, the wild, is beautiful, not scary and unattractive.

But not everyone has the same feeling of what is picturesque - I prefer the view upriver but one of my neices prefers downriver.

What do you find picturesque?

Rainy Day

Today its been raining - a good day to stay in!

Thames Water

It's looking like it's going to be a bad summer for sailing. What with work pressures and Open University course I can't see a free weekend till the end of September, when it might be too cold to be doing this:

For this wasn't taken in sunny Turkey when the temperature is in the thirties but here on the Thames.

The problem is the blocks of flats by the Thames creates all sorts of weird wind effects so that sailors can go from downwind to upwind in a few metres.

You might ask - well what about the water quality? It's certainly on my mind but they do keep saying not just that its much better than it used to be, but that its one of the cleanest rivers flowing through a major city.

There are also lots of fish, with flocks of birds diving into the water and sometimes direct sightings like these (anyone know what these are - the water was alas rather murky):

Its must be a rich mix, with all the mud and organic waste. If you ever wondered what happens when a tree floats down the river, well it gets picked up by the fire department, like this:

Fastnet Photos

There's been a rush of news about the Fastnet and if you missed these two eye catching photos, enjoy:


Photos from http://www.yachtingworld.com/yw/home.htm and http://fastnet.rorc.org/

Are bad posts good?

There has been a rush of viewing on this blog. One particular post has had more hits than all the others put together this month, a new all time high.

So what is the winning formula?

Was it:

• the perfect day sail in the Solent on a Volvo 60 with round the world single handed sailor Emma Richards?
• the unexpected treat of sailing an America's Cup class boat in beautiful Sydney Harbour?
• or the fictional adventures of a bunch of celebrities attempting to race the Atlantic?

No, the overwhelming favourite is "Worst Ever Race", the confession of an occasional dinghy sailor selecting the wrong sail for the the wind blowing during a sailing resort's regatta.

Not entirely sure why this is - if you have any theories let me know.

A working hypothesis is that while it is said that everyone loves a winner, I think actually everyone would like to be a winner, but would rather not read about how someone else won by being smart and sailing faster and better than everyone else (i.e. them).

You could call it the Homer Simpson effect: his misadventures are more entertaining and endearing than the corporate machinations of Mr Burns. Similarly with favourite sitcoms like Cheers and Seinfeld: I loved both but neither set of characters were really successful.

So to all you race winners out there, all I can say is "Doh!"

Storm hits Fastnet

I felt a bit guilty this morning. Waiting for the alarm to go off, all warm in my bed, I could hear the rain outside and wondered how the Fastnet fleet had coped with the conditions overnight.

I was soon to find out as got the following text over breakfast: "Went for shelter in plymouth: bad night half crew down with seasickness".

Checking the Rolex Fastnet Race web site it became apparent that what seemed like half the fleet had made a similar decision. Ports from Falmouth to Weymouth must be packed with retiring boats.

The two main yachts I was following, Selene (hello A.) and Intuition (hello A. & A.), had both retired. There had even been a couple of dismastings, including the wonderfully named Oz Privateer that used to be owned by an old friend and colleague DK.

If it helps cheer up those recovering in port, this is clearly going to be one of those races that people will remember for years to come.



Graphic from race viewer from http://fastnet.rorc.org/

Fastnet Finally Starts

The Fastnet has finally started and the fleet is well on its way past Portland Bill and heading for Start Point and I have been distracted at work by following their progress on the RORC race player (to be found here).

While the player has its clunky moments, thats not too unexpected given the fleet is not half a dozen as per many off shore races but a whopping 300. Its great fun watching the start as the waves of classes head off down towards Hurst Castle and then bursting out into the channel by the Needles (above).

One boat seem to be routing through the Isle of Wight but I'm guessing that is technical faults not unorthodox tactics.

It seems they will also avoid the worst of the weather - looks like a F7-8 peak and many will at that point be away from the strongest winds, as the chart below (from here) shows a dip in wind speed around the Lizard at the same time as the fleet should be getting there.

This might cause some to question the RORC's decision to delay the race. They say that blogs should always be controversial so I should stir things up and flame at committee mentality.

But the truth is I have some sympathy. The forecast did indicate a potential force 10, with wind speeds over 50 knots in the Celtic Sea just as the fleet would have been crossing it. It looks like this worst case scenario won't happen, but with the vagaries of the weather it might have.

And with gust speeds 50% higher than the continuous that would mean peaks of 75 knots, which would not have been pretty.

If you're not convinced read this great book about the 1979 race when 15 died.

Commiserations and Congratulations

Both commiserations and congratulations to Mike Sanderson.

Commiserations for also not being able to do the Fastnet though for a better excuse than mine - his brand new Pindar was dismasted during Cowes week.

But congratulations are also due as he and his wife Emma (ne Richards) are expecting a baby! Thankfully the lovely Emma, who was on-board at the time, was unharmed in the incident.

I was lucky enough to sail with her last September on another Pindar, so my special best wishes go to Emma

No Fastnet Today

Even with the start of the Fastnet delayed by a day it still won't avoid the bad weather. Looking at the forecast above for Tuesday (from here) its clear its going to be a bumpy ride for the first couple of days.

The argument is that at least the boats will be close to shore if something goes wrong. But some might say that when something goes wrong you might not want to be too close to a lee shore.

Good luck and safe sailing to all those heading out tomorrow.

Fastnet Delayed

A low is sweeping across the Atlantic towards Britain and already it has had an impact.

The start of the bi-annual Fastnet race has been delayed until Monday. Even with the delay there is a chance of foul weather, as the forecast above shows for Wednesday. Winds over 40 knots in the Irish sea - and that is a decrease, as forecasts during the week suggested the low could be deeper with winds up to 50 knots.

I'm not doing this race, which is a shame, but have just too much on with work stress and the OU course. But I'll be checking the weather web sites for friends who will be heading out there.

In the mean time I hope the crews get good rests while they can!



Picture from: http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=brit_slp

Worst Ever Race

With hindsight, racing a triple reefed Topper in force 2 winds wasn't such a good idea.

Let me explain. When having the race brief it was blowing 5 gusting 6. Wind surfers were hidden by their spray as the sprinted before being driven into an explosion of water. Dinghies were going about 100m and then capsizing. Looking at what seemed like survival conditions I quoted to my nephew "to finish first you first have to finish" and thought about tortoises and hares.

So when (as one of the first out) it came to rig the boat and it was strongly suggested that reefing would be a good idea, and remembering the previous day's crop of bruises (of which the death mark was just one of about twenty), it seemed sensible to go for the cautious ok lets do one more.

Initially it seemed a good idea. Sailing a Topper in those winds felt like driving a mini which had had its engine replaced by that in a Ferrari - screamingly fast, edgy, and noisy. I did a trial lap and all seemed ok.

Then there was the long long wait as the other boats made their way out, during which time the wind dropped, dropped again and changed direction. By the time of the start it was 3 gusting 4 and by the end at most 2.

So not only was I going slowly, but the reefing made the sail have the aerodynamic qualities of an office block: going to windward became a real challenge. The wind ward mark (which also had been moved since my practice lap) also seemed to be in a slight current, so once I drifted onto it and once drifted below it.

I saw one other similarly handicapped miss the mark and keep going - but the final achievable goal of the day was finish the course legally, so I doggedly did a 360 and tacked again respectively. I probably could have finished after two laps as the committee boat seemed to miss count and give me the thumbs up after once drifting back over the line forcing a 2nd crossing.

Moral of the story: well it could be read the wind right, but we always try to do that. A better one would be go out more in conditions don't feel comfortable to build confidence and avoid over cautious sail selection.

Time Off

Had two great days off: yesterday caught up with all the paper work. Today over a lovely capuccio caught up on old copies of New Scientist (there was a great article on value of accepting uncertainty).

Then went into town to see the brilliant Antony Gormley exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. Highlights included:
- Allotment: the hundreds of concrete blocks of different sizes, like a post modern concrete terracotta army
- Space Station: huge complex & challenging
- Blind Light: <50 cm visibility white-out inside a box inside a gallery - spooky (glasses really are no good but managed to navigate from one end to other by dead reckoning)
- Event Horizon: whereby the exhibition doesn't stop at the extent of the Gallery but extends out into London with statues dotted over buildings as far as the eye can see

Really worth a visit - but hurry, its the last 2 weeks!

Now going to have a drink, watch the sunset and read a book :)

Non laser sailor sails a laser

I hadn't done much Laser sailing apart from once on another sailing holiday a long time ago. But having heard lots about it from Tillerman was keen to give it another go.

So during the hols we did the clinic, had a lesson, and off we went. Nephew B had done a bit of Laser sailing before so was soon practicing his rolling tacks, backwards sailing and dry capsizing.

Me - I was trying to work out how many hands you'd need to simultaneously move the tiller, main sheet, raise/lower the dagger board, tweak the sail tension lines, and possibly hold on. I think that's about 5, so a double-jointed octopus would feel right at home. The first ten minutes were spent thinking "There! Is! No! Cleat! On! The! Main! Sheet!" - which for the non sailor means there is nothing to lock it off so you have to hold on to that rope all the time.

And of course when tacking or gybing you have to maneuver all of these while also moving across the boat while keeping at least one foot in the straps. And as for the so called dry capsize, mine turned into a total inversion total soaking with added bruises:

This is the one I called the death-mark, even though it looks a bit like an obese rabbit.

But by the end of the week I became a total Laser fan. Once you get the hang of what to hold where and when to change it kind of makes sense - after all 180,000 other Laser sailors can do it.

And the size and shape is just brilliant for fun and fast dinghy sailing. After a bit of practice the reasoning begins to clear. With such a small boat you need to hold on to sheet to adjust quickly for gusts. With practice the tiller becomes as automatic as driving and so you can forget the basics and enjoy the ride.

And it certainly is fun to be reaching along skimming the waves that splash up and soak your bum (well it certainly is when the temperature is in the 40s). Its a perfect racing dinghy - small yet perfectly formed, priced to be an entry level club sail yet also raced at the Olympics.

Must admit have been looking at prices in sailing mags and checking out local clubs that sail them.

That can't be right, surely?

Sunsail Life

This is what the Sunsail Phokaia resort looks like from the jetty where they moor the day yachts. To the left is the sailing beach and to the right the swimming beach (with sea urchins so watch out). Directly ahead is the bar and one of our favourite things was to sit there in the evening over alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails and play a couple of hands of Hearts before dinner.

I was pretty impressed - it was large, brand new and seemed well thought out. Further back there was a long and very warm swimming pool, usually full of younger children playing and surrounded by parents with holiday books. We noticed that between the pool and the bar there were half a dozen different paths twisting amongst trees, none of which were a straight line. It helped reduce the artificial nature of the resort.

For let's be clear, this isn't the place you go if you want to experience the "real" Turkey. There was none of the learn the language and sit on rickety buses next to farmers with live chickens on their lap sort of moment.

This was a place where almost everyone was British and middle class and it was totally focussed on families, full of professional parents and their teenage or younger children. There were no singles there, so no romance for the non-teens.

Its mission was to provide activities to keep British middle class families busy - you can get the full list of boats and stuff at their site here. Being a large site meant there were lots of staff and usually lots of choice of boats.

You could always get a Topper if you wanted one - see their racks below:


It was slightly harder to get other boats - the Hobies were very popular in the heat and light winds and so sometimes had a waiting list and 1 hour max time limit. We also occasionally had to wait if we wanted three lasers at once.

Similarly for day yachts - there was heavy demand and so a draw was made as to who got to choose their slot for the week:

The food was good though by the end of the week slightly predictable. But somethings were always nice, like the sunsets each evening over the bay.


Would I recommend it? Yes definitely: it was a good sailing base and we learnt a lot in the lessons and the tutorials. But be aware it's a family resort - singles might feel out of place.

Slowing down

Been bit of a delay in blogging the sailing holiday. What with my business partner off for 2 months due to stress, a tutorial for the OU Financial Strategy course, a trip to Geneva to talk about EPFD (please don't ask), and of course the flight delays it was a bit of a tiring week.

Planning a nice quiet weekend to catch up and potter - like the chap above who this afternoon was seen heading up river in what looked like a coracle. Is it me or is he the same chap who was on the river bike?

BTW - another view of the flight delays last Sunday from Simon Calder, travel writer on the Independent newspaper here.