A cry for help....

[StugeronSteve]

I have a piece of plastic that has cost me a not inconsiderable amount of money, a very lovely piece of plastic, but a piece of plastic all the same. A very nice man allows me to float my piece of plastic on his river and tie it to a plank of his, for which, each February, I pay him a substantial percentage of the original cost of my piece of plastic. I also shower presents and time on this piece of plastic and pay other nice men loads of money to pamper it too.

In return for all this I get to see my beloved possession every two or three weeks in summer, although not so often at this time of year. With a maximum of effort from myself and the disparate bunch I lovingly call crew, the piece of plastic will carry me, very slowly and in the minimum of comfort, almost anywhere (by the sea) that I choose.

This piece of plastic does make me incredibly popular though, wherever I go Harbour Masters have to fight hard to keep a friendly smile from their faces as they welcome me, and my cash, into their crowded little harbours, where they allow me to tie up eight out in a raft of other bits of plastic. Whilst the nice man that owns my home river charges others to tie to the plank that I have already paid for.

A non-sailing friend has suggested I maybe may be suffering from some masochistic mental illness. Does anyone else have this problem.



<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Rowana]

You are not alone . . .

<<A non-sailing friend has suggested I maybe may be suffering from some masochistic mental illness. Does anyone else have this problem>>

Yeah ! Most of us!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[zephyrsailor]

yes.

i'm paying for an expensive plank in cherbourg to park my bit of broken plastic. in addition to the plank i have already payed for here. not seen my plastic for over 2 months due to working 70 hours a week to pay for afore mentioned item.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[global_odyssey]

My mother thinks we are mad - wouldn't it be better to buy a caravan instead? ... or perhaps a canal-boat?

However, we actually prefer sailing!- a difficult concept to get across to a land-lubber.

OK, in reality it would probably be better to charter and not have the ongoing hassle of ownership - especially if your particular piece of plastic has lots of wooden bits on it to look after. However, if you get enough use, then ownership is the only way.
It's just a pity harbours and the like are so bl**dy greedy and regulated nowadays.

<hr width=100% size=1>I've got wind......................
...............................in my sails!

 

[starboard]

Insane...not at all, after all it is only money, why worry. What you must never do is sit down and add all the expense up, then divide it by the days you have been able to enjoy it, those are the days you had a nice breeze, a flat sea and warm sun...not the ones you spent rolling about the English Channel honking over the side on a very cold and damp day....When you look at it that way the prospect of hitting a little white ball around with very expensive sticks and paying a man lots of hard earned dosh to play on his bit of grass!!!....well where was I...yes I think you are correct....I'm going iiinnnssssaaaannnnneeeee!!!!!!!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[sailorman]

from my experence of Cherbourg u only have 1/2 a plank

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[sailorman]

i was one of 3 who fitted-out the first Nantucket Clipper ( the one in the brochure) @ Offshore Yachts eons ago.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Becky]

Well, aren't we all a despondent lot! We are all proud owners of our 'respective 'bits if plastic' (B'sofP). In the summer, instead of joining the traffic jams with the multitudes of weekend trippers, we travel down to our B'sofP, slip our moorings and leave crowds and our worries behind and join many other happy owners in cosy little harbours where we enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage, both on board and in yachty hostleries with our fellow sailors. At the end of the weekends, we race home late on Sunday evening, dodging the mundane traffic, exhausted, sunburned and windburned, our wallets depleted, and just pray for the week to pass as quickly as possible so that we can do it all again.Except those who are retired; they spend months on their B'sfP eating and drinking along the French (or nearest continental) coast, spending time in quieter harbours, away from the telephone, the bills, the neighbours and their kids.
I am looking forward to getting away for 5 weeks this summer, and even if the weather isn't too good, I will hopefully be in France in congenial like-minded company.
I love sailing, and the people I meet when I am away. So just look at and concentrate upon all the things you enjoy about your sport. Hang the costs, you can't take it with you.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[StugeronSteve]

Yep and a short one at that!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[StugeronSteve]

Nope, not despondent, just missing the lump of plastic, and the cash! I love sailing too, infact, I love sailing anytime, summer, autumn, winter, spring. Just occasionally when you are sitting at your desk, 200M away fom your piece of plastic, and writing a cheque for a significant amount of dosh, you feel entitled to have a moan. But once that moorings slipped there's very little to compare.

In the words of Capt. Jack Sparrow: "Bring me that horizon" and b****r the expense.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[chriscallender]

OK, so supposing you gave up what would you do with all the spare money you had? You could go on a couple of nice charter holidays a year but I suspect there would still be many thousands left over after that.

The only way I can think of avoiding the unpleasantness of a bank balance that continues to spiral upwards despite best efforts to control it would be to take up some other expensive and non-essential hobby, things like formula 1 racing or learning to fly a helicopter come to mind.

Otherwise I suppose it would be possible just to take up heavy drinking or smoking, since the prices of booze and cigarettes also seem to be destined to outstrip inflation just like marina fees for the next few decades. But then if you do either of these already you have a problem.

So it seems the simplest way to avoid having to deal with all that extra money is just to keep the boat.


Chris

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Sniper]

Count yourself lucky. Those of us with bits of wood tied to planks need even more help.

<hr width=100% size=1>