Boathook
Well-Known Member
But only a member would know that !
The UK yachtie friendliness index
- Thread starter Bristolfashion
- Start date
Neeves
Well-Known Member
I will not ask how Australians are rated (can we actually be considered as having one characteristic - surely were are more complex) but reading such threads as this certainly lightens ones mood.
Jonathan
Jonathan
Chiara’s slave
Well-Known Member
There 2 sorts of Aussie. Those who have a supply of cold tinnies and are keen to share, and those that don’t.
[70521]
Well-Known Member
It would be interesting to use the 'price of a pint index'.So having almost completed our UK circumnavigation, here is my "friendliness of UK yachties index" on a scale of one to ten.
A. Solent & W. to Lands End. 1
B. Channel E. of Solent. 2
C. Everywhere else. 10
My wallet was crying after the last round of drinks I bought in a well know Cowes pub.
rotrax
Well-Known Member
Which is one reason First Mate and I rarely visit pubs these days.
Earlier today while shopping in Morrisons at Littlehampton, stocking the boat up with tins and dry goods/non perishables ready for cruising, First Mate said "Look-you like that beer, dont you?"
She was pointing to the last two cases of Staropramen, £11 a case, reduced from £16.50.
I do like Czech beer, especially at that price, so I bought them.
Result...............................
oldgit
Well-Known Member
...................and its probably now "brewed" either in Faversham ( Shepard Neame) or Burton on Trent (Interbrew.)
Walk down any supermarket beer isle and defy anybody to find anything allegedly Foreign not delivered by tanker out of a industrial unit in Burton on Trent.
You will of course require an electron microscope to read the tiny weeny red text printed on the badly printed red label on the back of the bottle . ?
Or is that just me . ?
Recently helped a "friend" move his sailing boat when recently he joined a small yacht club on the Medway at Gillingham and then was allocated a trot out in the river.
This was a very unnerving experience for a motorboater.
With out exception everyone was very friendly and helpful and went out of their way to assist and welcome the new member, even going to so far as to come out in their trot boat and ensure that the little yacht was securely and properly attached to the buoy.
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Bouba
Well-Known Member
A fair point that used to worry me…. but in truth do you really want to buy a can of beer that has been bounced around the ocean waves for weeks from a distant shore
Dellquay13
Well-Known Member
It’s swings and roundabouts. InBev in Luton make many of our continental favourites famous for only having 4 ingredients including water. However, to get the ‘right’ water for each brand, each batch of water is chemically pretreated in a factory next door. The famous hangovers from the UK version of a popular lager colloquially known as WifeBeater are often attributed to the chemical cocktail trying to replicate Belgian waterA fair point that used to worry me…. but in truth do you really want to buy a can of beer that has been bounced around the ocean waves for weeks from a distant shore
[70521]
Well-Known Member
I think I would have been seen as 'a bit of an old fart' should I not have gone to the pub with the rest of the crew.
Bristolfashion
Well-Known Member
I'm rather the opposite - I'm not really bothered about a drink on the boat, but really enjoy discovering new pubs and local beers.
rotrax
Well-Known Member
The last round of drinks I bought in a Pub for five cost 34 quid.
The three ladies chose posh gins.
The beer -pretty indifferent beer too-was over £6 a pint.
I have had the advantage of living in an area with many very atmospheric pubs and good beers. Until 20 years ago anyway..................................
Our monthy visit to an Oxford Social Club to listen to Jazz finds drinks there priced at an acceptable level.
But they dont have to pay for bouncers, music and barmaids with big chests!
The three ladies chose posh gins.
The beer -pretty indifferent beer too-was over £6 a pint.
I have had the advantage of living in an area with many very atmospheric pubs and good beers. Until 20 years ago anyway..................................
Our monthy visit to an Oxford Social Club to listen to Jazz finds drinks there priced at an acceptable level.
But they dont have to pay for bouncers, music and barmaids with big chests!
Bristolfashion
Well-Known Member
They don't pay the musicians!
Bristolfashion
Well-Known Member
I think the definitions make it clear that there are no friendly Solent sailors! All of the Solent is in "A"
A. Solent & W. to Lands End. 1
WoodyP
Well-Known Member
The Two Travelers – A story about optimism and perspective
Posted on April 28, 2021The Two Travelers
There was once a traveler who was walking from a village in the mountains to a village in the valley.As he walked along, he saw a monk working in a field and asked, “I’m on my way to the village in the valley, can you tell me what it’s like?”
The monk looked up and asked the man where he had come from.
The man responded, “I have come from the village in the mountains.”
“What was that like there?” the monk asked.
“Terrible!” the man exclaimed, “no-one spoke my language, I had to sleep on a dirt floor in one of their houses, they fed me some sort of stew that had yak in it and the weather was atrocious.”
“Then I think that you will find that the village in the valley is much the same,” the monk noted.
A few hours later another traveler passed by and he said to the monk, “I am on my way to the village in the valley, can you tell what it’s like?”
“Where have you come from?” enquired the monk.
“I have come from the village in the mountains.”
“And what was that like?”
“It was awesome!” the man replied, “No-one spoke my language so we had to communicate using our hands and facial expressions. I had to sleep on the dirt floor which was really cool as I’ve never done that before. They fed me some sort of weird stew and I have no idea what was in it but just to experience how the locals lived was great and the weather was freezing cold, which meant that I really got a taste of the local conditions. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”
“Then I think that you’ll find that the village in the valley is much the same,” responded the monk.
*****
I offer no judgement but I liked the tale.
Bristolfashion
Well-Known Member
Good tale - but that's the same village from different perspectives, I'm talking about different villages from the same perspective!
Chiara’s slave
Well-Known Member
However, there are Solent sailors who keen to welcome those from elsewhere. I reccomend steering clear of those wearing Nantucket reds, and driving Duchys, but other than that, you’ll be fine.
Stemar
Well-Known Member
All the Solent isn't nasty, money-grubbing and unfriendly. We went to Ryde, and the staff were friendly and helpful. At £19.50 a night for an 8m cat, it's gone up a bit over the years, but it still isn't bad. If you've only got one keel, though, better leave is behind.
Bristolfashion
Well-Known Member
Ah, but it's a "yachtie friendliness index", not a "helpful staff at harbours index"
Chiara’s slave
Well-Known Member
I’m very friendly as long as you’re not on a jet ski.Ah, but it's a "yachtie friendliness index", not a "helpful staff at harbours index"
johnalison
Well-Known Member
I’m not sure that I have enough UK experience to make a judgement, having only covered the East Coast to the Scillies. I would say that there is no great difference between areas and we have had good and less good experiences everywhere. Among yachties, I think the same is true in most countries. We have made friends with Dutch, Belgians, Germans, Danes and Swedes, in some cases staying in touch for years. The one exception has been France. I would say that we have always been well received by those shore, but we have never formed a relationship with sailors, in Normandy and N Brittany. I have heard that S Brittany may be different.