BLUEMOMENT

Finally managed to get up to check out Silkie after the recent storms and discovered she's sustained a little damage.

The spray hood looks as if it has been through the wars but in fairness it was little better than a collection of threads hanging together from mere force of habit even before the winds had had their fun with it. My arrangement for keeping the halyards off the mast wasn't up to it and I've got some chafe on the main and spinnaker halyards where they've been battering the spreader bases and they'll need to be replaced.

I also learned that it's not a good idea to leave the lockers open while the boat stays on a mooring over winter. Nothing was broken but it's just as well the plates are plastic.

On the plus side the strops look as good as new and only a few drops of water found their way below.

Not too bad really.

Good to hear Silkie came through those wind without any serious damage...
Dunstaffnage has taken a bit of a hammering i hear, a few boats sunk, some fallen over and more pontoons broken.
Glad we are back in Kip for the winter, having said that, the mast came down on the boat behind us, and its a fairly new boat, luckily it fell away from us.
Dougie

Some of the new pontoons in Tarbert have been damaged.
I think they were going to join the new pontoons to the older pontoons in a neater fashion and get rid of the little bridge but that's on hold untill the repairs are done.

My winter wheelhouse cover shredded, which was a shame 'cos I'd just replaced all the windows.
The marina parked me @rse-to-wind unfortunately, so all my newly done-up wheelhouse woodwork and new instruments got the full hosedown.
Making a wooden "cover" as we speak, so it may keep out more than the weather, hopefully.
Lashed out and got the topsides sprayed to complement the nice green decks while they were repairing the keel.
Any competent drivers out there to help get it onto the berth? Damned sure I'm not going to be the one who puts the first mark on it...

lordmacdonald wrote:Glad we are back in Kip for the winter

I admire your beautiful yacht every time I pass her on my way round to L pontoon.

Pete Cooper wrote:

lordmacdonald wrote:Glad we are back in Kip for the winter

I admire your beautiful yacht every time I pass her on my way round to L pontoon.

Jings Peter thanks for that,

Come and say hello next time your passing, maybe sample a wee dram, with really cold water, I hear its the only way to drink it

Dougie

lordmacdonald wrote:(snip)

Come and say hello next time your passing, maybe sample a wee dram, with really cold water, I hear its the only way to drink it

Dougie

??? Really?? I would expect room temperature to be better as it encourages the ethers & nose. A bit like ice, I haven't found a Scotch that suits ice, but it does work well with Tullamore Dew.

Arghiro wrote:

lordmacdonald wrote:(snip)

Come and say hello next time your passing, maybe sample a wee dram, with really cold water, I hear its the only way to drink it

Dougie

??? Really?? I would expect room temperature to be better as it encourages the ethers & nose. A bit like ice, I haven't found a Scotch that suits ice, but it does work well with Tullamore Dew.

It all came about when we rented a remote cabin in Newfoundland for a holiday, everything was frozen, so any water had to be brought in and thawed out prior to use, i used this for my whisky and it was brilliant, so ever since then we keep a bottle of water in the fridge just for the whisky, ive never put ice in it, thats just not right.

Dougie

I don't think whisky was involved (although it does occur to me that we have yet to check the condition of the bottles aboard), but Cherry Ripe did suffer a wee bit on 3rd January. Both the headsprings broke. 16 mm 3 strand and braid respectively broken which takes some doing. At the same time, and whether connected or not with the failure of these lines we don't know, the capping rail amidships on the pontoon finger side suffered severe damage, about 2m of capping destroyed. Fortunately nothing structural suffered but it must have been a pretty dramatic event.

Well, on a visit yesterday Avilion seems to have survived OK. Some of the winter cover strings needed re-fixing but that was about it. Very relieved.

Back to whisky: IMVHO it's a mistake to be over definite about water "rules". Different whiskies can vary greatly in their ability to take water: some normal strength bottlings benefit from the addition of a little water, some don't. (It should be remembered that 40% - 46% bottling strength was chosen for customer convenience, i.e. as being about the point where further dilution should not really be required.) Equally I have come across cask strength whiskies which work well neat or can only tolerate the smallest addition of water before becoming "drowned". The great thing is to experiment: try (nose then taste) it neat first, then try with water - adding literally just a few drops at a time to see how this opens up the nose and changes the flavour mix.

I would certainly recommend anyone who routinely slugs in a big dollop of water regardless of the whisky to try a more considered approach - it's all about finding different experiences.

Those who wish to add Coca Cola etc. will find a range of suitable whiskies for this on the bottom shelves of the more down market supermarkets.

.
Dave,

Can't believe you were in Craobh yesterday - so was I! (Business meeting). I was going to go for a wander round the pontoons, but the meeting went on longer than expected and the weatehr was foul. Sorry I missed you.

I concur with your tasting notes re. adding water. It really is 'suck it and see' with most malts.

I finally got to Jumblie yesterday, for the first time since she came out the water in October. To my relief she seems to have survived the storms just fine. Phew. Being directly in the lee of the big cliff at the west side of the boatyard helps, though, as she could hardly be more sheltered.

A pal of mine with a boat in the marina tells me that he had two mooring warps broken in the last storm. Since he is right at the western edge of the marina, and the boat is small (a Fantasie 19) that must have been a hell of a blow.

Nick wrote:.


Can't believe you were in Craobh yesterday - so was I! (Business meeting).

Did your car survive it's trip along the 'Road of Bones' then?

wully wrote:
Did your car survive it's trip along the 'Road of Bones' then?

Not good, is it?

Nick wrote:

wully wrote:
Did your car survive it's trip along the 'Road of Bones' then?

Not good, is it?

Shocking Latest word on the street is that the cooncil have agreed to do some temporary repairs until the landowners stop arguing over who's job it is to repair what bits... Then the buses and the ambulance will start going into the village again....anyone who gets sick in Groovy-Craobhee in the meantime will be taking a helicopter ride.

Purely for research porpoises I drove over the track from Ardfern the other day and it was about equal with the 'road' into the marina in pothole-ness.