2011 Sailing

At the start of the year, each sailing session had its own blog post, but that seemed to peter out in May, so this looks back at the whole season.

I was pleased to have most of the family sailing this year, including Chris on Easter Monday, and John Kim and David in the summer. It was great to have all three Pendray men together in the boat, and Kim seemed to enjoy the experience, even when the helmsman did not have his full attention on the boat.

Three Pendray men in the boat

Enjoying the experience, even when the helmsman did not have full attention

John got a second go at helming, as he was with me for two days when I took the boat to Glenridding. He took to it quite well, but did not really get the bug.
David got three sessions altogether, with Chris on Easter Monday, with John and Kim, and with Claire and John (G) at Glenridding, when he swapped boats and sailed with Tom on his Nimrod.
John (G) loved the experience, having raced as crew for several years in the past. No cleating the jib for him, he held it by hand and was ready to make the minutest adjustment at a moments notice.
Another of my days at Glenridding was with Dave, where we had a good force 2 wind, just right for introducing someone to sailing. Dave especially enjoyed taking the helm, and feeling the surge of power during the gusts.
The strongest winds I experienced was probably another day at Glenridding, when I came with two work colleagues. They were not content with sailing back and forth in sight of the sailing centre, so we headed up Ullswater, past Howtown and Watermillock and getting in sight of Pooley Bridge. I forgot to take my watch that day, so we turned back in good time. After a while when it seemed to go calm, a steady force 5 or stronger picked up, coming from the south, so we had an hour or two of sailing into the wind. Waves were splashing over both bows, so both colleagues got splashed quite a lot, while I stayed relatively dry at the back.  I was quite relieved to get back in the sight of the sailing centre again.
Jeff, who experienced the strong winds in May had so enjoyed it that he bought his own wetsuit, and enjoyed  another day of strong winds at Killington, toward the end of the season.
Sadly, I did not get to sail with Dave, who learnt to sail on the same course as me, although we did meet up when he very kindly let Jeff borrow his wetsuit. On a much sadder note, Neil Murphy who taught me on the level one course, was tragically killed in a road traffic accident on his way to work one day this year.  Ellie, who was on the same level one course now has her own gaff-rig boat at Watermillock, where we had a very gentle sail in a force one wind.
As well as the company, I had several days sailing solo, sometimes having not just the boat but the whole of Killington lake to myself. Sailing solo is good fun as well, the main problem is not being heavy enough to stop the boat heeling. The other problem is knowing when to let go of the tiller and reach for the jetty. I made several approaches that fell slightly short, and started drifting back, getting the mast caught up in the branches of a tree.
This was the point where the forestay snapped, which made life interesting. With the mainsail further back, it took the jib to get out of irons and sail round to the slipway. Once in shallow water I lowered the sails, starting with the jib - the wrong choice - the jib was all that was holding the mast up. It is great keeping the boat at Killington, as within a week Pete Lawson of Sail Blades had repaired the stay and I was sailing again.

Another Earth

This is quite an intense film, with just two major characters, but William Mapother and Brit Marling give strong, credible performances, and do justice to the heavy issues the film raises.
When a planet similar to earth appears in the sky, the possibility of space travel and exploration opens up, but this is not a science fiction film. Rather the planet is thought to be a parallel earth, inviting the question, what would happen if you met someone who is actually you?
How you cope with yourself, and come to terms with your past, is a mega question for Rhoda Williams, played by Brit Marling. What does a beautiful bright young twenty one year old do when she finishes serving four years in prison for reckless driving following an accident when she caused the death of two members of a family?
When she learns where the bereaved father and husband lives, she goes to meet him to say sorry, but when it comes to it she fluff's it, and things take a different turn.
The start of the film is quite moody, with little dialogue to explain what is going on, but I guess life is like that coming out of prison. Brit Marling looks good as a bombed out character, and truly beautiful when things start going well for her. William Mapother does a good portrayal of a disolute widower, and it was good to see how that changed as hope comes back into his life.
It is worth avoiding the preview, I am told one of the central scenes is showed in full. It is a great scene, and worth enjoying it and its build up without having seen it before. Brit Marling worked with the director, Mike Cahill on the script, and it is all very believable.
There are more than two characters in the film. One work colleague is quite important. Pay careful attention in the delightfully tender hospital bed scene, and do not miss, as I did, the word being spelt out, it is quite important to the scene, and the film.
Altogether, a beautiful and very satisfying film.