Anyone else feeling miserable

Bigplumbs

Bigplumbs

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 Nov 2015
Messages
8,162
Location
UK
Visit site
Sitting here at 07.15 looking outside at the pitch black and rain I feel rather miserable and cant wait for more light and the chance to go out in one of my boats. Anyone else feeling the same and if so apart from the London Boat Show next week what is there on to cheer oneself up a little

Dennis
 
Well, I was thinking similar thoughts at about 2 am this morning and then, wondering about the time of sunrise, I looked on my phone and found that since the solstice the day length has already increased by 10:04 mins. :) :)

That is a perceptible difference, as it means that Nautical twilight is now out to after 17:30 and the grass will shortly start grwoing again, to follow the hazel which has catkins on the twigs already.

Summer is a-coming in (if you go out into the garden and look for it ) .
 
Bigplumbs said:
Sitting here at 07.15 looking outside at the pitch black and rain I feel rather miserable and cant wait for more light and the chance to go out in one of my boats. Anyone else feeling the same and if so apart from the London Boat Show next week what is there on to cheer oneself up a little
Dennis
Click to expand...

Yes... it's compounded by having just had 10 straight days without working and yet all I have achieved in that time is to make myself poorer & fatter. However as Sarabande says the days are drawing out already with sunset getting later by over a minute a day - it won't be long before that is really noticeable so the only way is up!
 
Yesterday was the first day that sunrise was earlier than the day before. Although day length has been getting longer, the mornings get darker until the early days of January
 
All my hobbies are based around the summer and light nights so yes always struggle in the winter...this year I started a Coastal Skipper theory course by way of passing the long winter evenings and to keep focused on boaty things...!
 
The solution is simple - take up skiing - downhill, cross country or, better still, both and get away to somewhere with mountains for these winter months. It doesn't have to cost the earth if you avoid the trendy resorts, gets you out in the fresh air and keeps you fit. What's not to like?

Peter
 
Great idea but tried it for the first time last year...........lying in the snow, little kids skiing round me, deserted by the other 9 people I went with, minus 20 degrees and ten quid for a pint....nah thanks...may as well stay at work...keeps me out of trouble and doesn't cost anything!!
 
John 32i said:
Great idea but tried it for the first time last year...........lying in the snow, little kids skiing round me, deserted by the other 9 people I went with, minus 20 degrees and ten quid for a pint....nah thanks...may as well stay at work...keeps me out of trouble and doesn't cost anything!!
Click to expand...

You obviously went to some trendy resort - here in the Czech Republic, good beer is under GBP1 per 500 ml and you also ignored cross country skiing, harder work but no lift s required and it really does keep you fit.

For the downhill stuff, no good going as a beginner with a crowd of experienced people, unless one or more of them is willing to teach you and, like sailing, don't expect to learn it all in a week. We've been teaching grandsons for the past 15 years - the 19 year old is now the elegant expert I always wanted to be, making it all look effortless, the nearly 3 year old has a way to go, and there are 5 others in between.

I'd have posted a photo of the delights of cross country, but this wretched platform keeps failing to upload.

Peter.


Peter.
 
We went to Levi in Finland and yes the other 5 'beginners' had all skied before!! I booked lessons for the first two mornings but really struggled to pick it up.....I had wondered about trying cross country but was told it was hard work!
Booked to go back again in April but seriously thinking about cancelling in favor of somewhere warm!
 
John 32i said:
We went to Levi in Finland and yes the other 5 'beginners' had all skied before!! I booked lessons for the first two mornings but really struggled to pick it up.....I had wondered about trying cross country but was told it was hard work!
Booked to go back again in April but seriously thinking about cancelling in favor of somewhere warm!
Click to expand...
Why on earth did you go to Finland,? alcohol is heavily taxed and expensive, the country is really too flat for decent downhill skiing, and the resorts are so far north it's bound to be bitterly cold. Try the Alps in March - it's a totally different world. Often above zero, sometimes well above, plenty of snow, beer is expensive but half the price of Finland and it's light for 10 hours a day.
 
I agree the post Christmas period often feels really bad especially if you work! Some time ago I tackled this by having a Southern Hemisphere holiday immediately after Christmas - indeed one year we agreed to "move" christmas forward by one week, and then managed three weeks away from the office - they barely missed me! also had the benefit of missing the office chritsmas party.
 
One of our number had been before and reckoned there was loads of other stuff to do...dog sleds, reindeer rides, Northern lights, snow buggies etc...turns out it was very touristy & expensive and the reality (as I found out) was that there was very little else to do in Levi if you didnt ski...hey ho...like your idea of southern hemisphere :cool: and the sooner the better!
 
For those too young to remember, I believe that winter has also occurred in previous years. Somehow we managed to cope, and although I am a fairly comitted sailor, I actually enjoy having a break from some of the chores associated wth boat-ownership. I haven't been able to ski for ten odd years, but there are other things worth doing apart from skiing, and I can justify forking out for a travel holiday. Winter is a great time for looking back over past cruises and I have thousands of photos to help me do this. The only downside is that although I am quite happy bobbing around in the middle of the North Sea, I become filled with apprehension at the prospect of repeating the exercise.
 
John 32i said:
One of our number had been before and reckoned there was loads of other stuff to do...dog sleds, reindeer rides, Northern lights, snow buggies etc...turns out it was very touristy & expensive and the reality (as I found out) was that there was very little else to do in Levi if you didnt ski...hey ho...like your idea of southern hemisphere :cool: and the sooner the better!
Click to expand...

Long Haul flights over Christmas can be expensive, less so if you fly on Christmas day or Boxing day, but when you're there can be quite reasonable costs. We've tried S Africa x2, Chile, Thailand, NZ ( not so cheap), this year is Cambodia & Vietnam.
 
DavidofMersea said:
April is good time to go to Ibiza, hot enough, but not too hot .... and most of the tourists have not yet arrived. If you are going and want some info, send me a PM and I will give you any help I can. Ibiza has something for everybody, if you know where to go
Click to expand...

Thanks David, Last visit was about 40 years ago..Santa Eulalia if I remember correctly.
Hope to meet you in Colchester next week :encouragement:
 
Boat's still in the water so going sailing :)
Friday we plan do do some night sailing just for fun (practice) then a gentle trip to somewhere tbd on Saturday.
Finished installing new bathroom over the xmas break so all good in my world :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top