Many, many moons ago when I was a young lad of 30 years or so of age and I was thinking about whether to take up sailing, I attended a meeting for potential new members at Maidenhead Sailing Club which is west of London in the Thames Valley.
I suspect that most clubs hold "meetings" like this and that they are all much the same. I was forced to drink a few beers while various enthusiastic chappies told me about what a jolly old time they had at Maidenhead SC and especially how the particular class of boat that each chappie sailed was the perfect one for me. I almost fell for the pitch from the Solo chappie. It was after the third, or maybe fourth, pint of beer I believe, that he took me outside to show me his pride and joy in the boat park. It looked pretty snazzy even in the dark.
After that evening I was pretty well set on buying a Solo and joining MSC.
I didn't. I ended up buying a Laser and joining the club at Taplow Lake just down the road. It made sense at the time for reasons I don't fully recall. It was almost 30 years ago.
But if I had gone the Solo route, and if I had not moved to America, I might have been in that photo...of some Solos racing at the Delph Sailing Club Open Meeting on Saturday.
It wouldn't have been so terrible, don't you think?
By the way, where the hell is Delph?
5 comments:
North of Watford.
Yeah. A couple of hundred miles north of Watford I believe.
I bought myself an old Solo when i first got back into sailing about 3 1/2 years ago. I ADORED that boat, and I actually regret having sold it.
mmmh, a SOLO. My friend Ulf had built one himself recently and as there are none around in Germany he goes either to Holland or England for some competition. Anyone wants to use a SOLO mould here in Germany? As being a real good boatbuilder a Laser is no option for him. For me it would be the Swift SOLO but that is another story.
close to Bolton SC, in the North West.
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