Proper Course

Last Few Reviews (Maybe)

2009-07-14T13:39:00.003-04:00

A few more reviews today for our July group writing project, Write a Review which is now closed. (If past experience is any guide this will be the signal for a flurry of last-minute "Oh shit, I really meant to write a review but I missed the deadline and I know Tillerman will give me a link anyway" posts. I really am way too nice to people.)

Anyway, Captain JP has been continuing his exhaustive tests of the bars and tavernas of the Aegean and since our last update has posted reviews of

Steni Vala - "there really isn't much there"
Skopelos Town - "best bit: the view from the bar"
and Pigadhi - "a winding down, tomorrow's the last day sort of place."

I'm not sure if JP's faint praise of some of these places is because he genuinely was underwhelmed, or because they really all are totally awesome and he's trying to keep them a secret from the rest of us.

Also, Tweezerman of Earwigoagin has written a review of the magazine Practical Sailor - "the only thing they don't do well is give me a heads up on what items will be on sale at the Annapolis Sailboat Show."

And Thomas Armstrong of 70.8% (yes, that really is the title of his blog) submitted a review of Nic Compton's biography of IainOughtred, A Life in Wooden Boats. I won't give you a teaser quote from this one, but instead I urge you to follow the link and check out the pictures in the review. They are so gorgeous that they are able to stir up a yearning to own a wooden boat even in the heart of a die-hard fiberglass junkie like me.

Full round-up of all the reviews coming soon.

GizmoTube© Review

2009-07-13T09:03:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Jacob for this entry in our July writing project Write a Review. Today is the last day of the project so if you were planning to enter, do it now. Full details at Write a Review.

This review will focus on the GizmoTube©, a device (patent pending) about to hit the small-boat market. Thanks to my 'industry' connections, I have had the opportunity to try a prototype of this novel device and obtained permission to share my early findings. In case you are an early adopter, I have been told that the GizmoTube© will go on sale at your favorite boating store this coming fall*.

Laser sailors know that it's good to have the weight outside of the boat when the wind pipes up. Unfortunately, not all of us are built that way. In fact, it has been my observation that a sizeable number of 'mature' sailors have accumulated extra mass, but it is centered around the midriff. No help whatsoever on those windy days. Well, the GizmoTube© allows you to shift this blubber to the shoulders. After swallowing the device, not an easy feat, I might add, one simply opens the valve when about to hike out. With the body roughly horizontal, mass from the midriff area will flow to the shoulders. At least ten pounds outside the boat now. It sure made hiking a lot easier for me. Wow, I could actually keep the boat flat upwind in 15 mph! Once around the windward mark, you just sit up and all that mass flows back downward..

Did the Gizmotube© work? Well, it certainly did for me; I finally moved out of the bottom pack during this evaluation. But the initial swallowing was a bit hard and will get some getting used to. And yes, the GizmoTube© will be class legal. But if you are in doubt, ask yourself who really IS really going to look down your throat at the the Skippers' meeting?

* I have just learned that the FDA insists on reviewing the GizmoTube©. This is likely to postpone the official launch by a few months. An official press release regarding this development will follow shortly.

PS: This review was intended to be unbiased; but after a few Dark and Stormys, provided by the manufacturer, I am not so sure anymore.

Hoist

2009-07-12T11:31:00.002-04:00

It's all relative.

I use a Seitech dolly to launch my Laser.

Folks with bigger boats use a trailer or a hoist.

Alinghi uses a helicopter.

It's all relative.

Review of 50 Summers

2009-07-12T10:45:00.005-04:00

Thanks to Tobias for sending me this review via email. What a great account of how to live the sailing good life.

We are at the halfway point of Sally’s and my 50th Summer on the planet. The review is definitely good.

My bride loves to sail! Racing, cruising, delivering boats home from Bermuda or Halifax, schlepping kids to regattas. And she can tow, launch and retrieve the mommy boat. Thank goodness she’s more interested in the “fun” part of the kids’ regattas (assuming the kids were safe) than how they did. If you got to drive them there, you’d might as well enjoy a day on the water. Our mommy boat, NEW-PRIORITIES, is the swim platform, the lunch boat, the place to have fun between races, for both kids and parents.

Our five kids are passionate about boats and sailing, even if two don’t race anymore. One of those teaches in the Town Sailing Program and spends every moment not on the lacrosse field on some boat or another. And there are always sailors or coaches in town for some regatta or another staying in the house. For years we had a procession of Kiwis sailing instructors live with us. All good people with whom we share a passion.

My claim to fame? We own more boats than cars. We have 3 trailers, 3 dollies, 3 Lasers, 1 Club 420, a 20 center console and the 53 year old lobster boat FIREWOOD, which is perfect for running laser races, a little fishing and hosting up to 16 people for very slow harbor tours with big coolers and the grill going while laughing all around us are envious people on “bristol” yachts or expansive water front homes. On regatta days we can stack 6 Optis on FIREWOOD’s deck and tow seven 420s for 20 miles up wind with the kids on every available flat surface. Sometimes the ride home can be the highlight of the great day on the water.

The cars have 100,000+ miles. They start, they get us to the water, the hockey rinks, the lacrosse fields and to work. I park at the swanky yacht club next to a new fancy car. The owner is divorced and his kids hate to sail. I am blessed.

I sailed a friend’s J-120 (40 feet, asym spinnaker) from Marblehead to Maine last night. Ten hours with kite up in 15 knots, effortless gybing by one person, full moon, porpoises playing in the phosphorescence all around the boat. Awesome night. Even better as my 13 year daughter was really into it. Wants to bring her friends next time.

I am spending more time doing race committee than racing. The races are good, the sailors thankful for the passion I put into their passion. I am giving back to the sport we all love. I am lucky to be able to help out.

I get to read sailing blogs, sometime at work. Business isn’t great because the economy is in a recession. But who cares. My life is full, my family loves boats, and we live in a sailing town. This review is definitely good.

Yet More Reviews

2009-07-11T14:33:00.005-04:00

Three more reviews today for our July group writing project, Write a Review.

Captain JP continues his series of reviews of harbors in the Aegean with Koukounaries - "best bit: the peace and quiet in the evening after the day trippers have gone."

The rather Greek sounding Mr. Andkris has a book review We the Navigators - The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific - "the book does an excellent job... of detailing how the indigenous sailors of the Pacific use only the things they can see to determine where to find land."

Winner of the prize for most terrifying review submitted so far goes to Yarg for Whitewater Rafting – The Out-of-Raft Experience - "I suggest to the guide that perhaps 360s should be limited to a horizontal plane."

And now it's your turn to Write a Review. Do it now. Do it for fun. Do it as a service for your readers. Do it to make yourself famous. Do it before midnight on Monday, the absolute drop-dead deadline. Just do it.

Real Laser Sailor

2009-07-10T13:44:00.004-04:00

After three Fridays with pictures of two tennis stars and a naked swimmer, here is one of a female athlete who in my opinion outranks them all, a real Laser sailor.

Can you guess the year?

Clue: you may be able to see dinosaurs hiding behind the trees on the shore.

Bonus points if you can guess the sailor. I've already given you a clue to that.

Books and Bull

2009-07-10T08:29:00.005-04:00

Thanks to everyone who has participated so far in this month's group writing project Write a Review. What a creative bunch you are! The reviews already submitted cover such diverse subjects as...

an imaginary book - "written very clearly, in plain English, so people like me, who aren't smart enough to write our own blogs, can understand every word."
a high performance windsurfing board - "its light air performance was phenomenal! But...yes there's always a but."
and a relatively little known pirate movie set in the White Sands Missile Range - "the action is frenetic, matched with a punk-rock adaptation of the sea chantey Here's to the Grog."

A couple more entries came in yesterday...

Captain JP is on a roll. He's writing a whole series of reviews of the places he visited on his recent Aegean bareboat cruise, complete with charts off his iPhone for each port. First up is Orei, "best bit: the marble bull so if that doesn't float your boat go elsewhere."

And Adam of Messing About in Sailboats has compiled a link list to a whole bunch of book reviews he has written to help you select some Summer Reading about sailing.

So what are you waiting for? Write a Review. Do it now. Do it for fun. Do it as a service for your readers. Do it to make yourself famous. Just do it.

Sailing World Review

2009-07-09T18:12:00.001-04:00

Aidan: What's this Grandad?

Tillerman: It's a magazine called Sailing World, Aidan.

What's it about?

Sailing... sort of.

You mean racing dinghies such as Lasers. Like you and Daddy do?

Not really Aidan. There's not much of that kind of sailing in Sailing World these days.

What do you mean Grandad?

Look at all the pictures. What do you see?

Lots of big boats.

Exactly. Sailing World seems to be mainly about big boats these days. Giant multihulls in the America's Cup, Volvo 70s, a Gunboat 66, Farr 40s. Articles about big boat stuff like electric winches, building a well-rounded sail inventory... Yawn.

Are you tired Grandad?

No Aidan. Just bored with all this big boat stuff in Sailing World. They don't seem to care about dinghy sailors any more.

What about this article by Andy Horton on How to Win the End Game?

It's OK. But a lot of his advice is only relevant for boats that take a long time to build up speed, such as the Etchells. Some of it applies to Laser sailing but not much.

How about this Dick Rose article on the Racing Rules? Don't dinghies have to follow the same rules as big boats?

Yes Aidan. But almost every article I have read about the new Rules this year can be summarized as "a lot of the words in the Rules have changed but the game hasn't."

What about this article on wind and strategy by Stuart Walker? Surely that is interesting to dinghy sailors?

Have you read it, Aidan?

Grandad, you know I'm not quite one year old yet. Even Goodnight Moon's plot is a bit too complicated for me. And Dr. Walker's article has a lot of really long words.

It sure does, Aidan. Frankly I don't understand most of it myself. Dr. Walker is a great sailor and he knows a lot about wind, but he's a terrible writer. Even your Daddy who's awfully smart and very clever with words agrees with me on that one.

But doesn't Sailing World have people who know how to write clearly? Couldn't they help poor Dr.Walker to write in a way so that ordinary sailors could understand him?

Apparently not, Aidan. Apparently not.

So why do you buy this magazine Grandad if it doesn't have much stuff about the kind of sailing you like?

Good question Aidan. I'm certainly not going to renew my subscription this year. But it used to be better. Look at all these old copies I saved from the early 90's. Full of articles about dinghy sailing technique and new small boats and what to wear for dinghy sailing and reports of dinghy regattas. It was a good magazine back then.

Thanks for explaining all that Grandad. When I'm older will you teach me how to sail a Laser?

Sure Aidan. It will be a pleasure.

Can I go and play in my pool now Grandad?

Sure Aidan. Have fun.

Blog Commenting For Dummies

2009-07-09T08:50:00.002-04:00

Thanks to O'Docker, master blog comment writer and the currently reigning Sailing Blog Reader of the Year, for submitting this review for the July group writing project...

I read a lot of sailing blogs and leave a lot of comments. Without a blog of my own, I have more time to do that than many bloggers.

Most people who read my comments naturally assume I write the first thing that pops into my head - without thinking at all. But, there's really a lot more to it than that. I'd be absolutely lost without Blog Commenting For Dummies. Between the covers of this thin volume is everything you need to write intelligent-sounding comments - even if you're a complete idiot.

I've been wanting to tell people about this book for a while, but the 'Write A Review' writing project is the perfect opportunity. I never could have become Tillerman's 'Blog Reader of the Year' without it. It's just loaded with great advice.

Take the chapter on relevance - wow what an eye-opener! For months I'd been leaving comments on people's blogs without really understanding what they were talking about. I couldn't figure out why bloggers pretty much ignored those comments.

But the book explains - and this is just brilliant - that if you try to understand the point a blogger is making and then respond to that point, the comment makes a lot more sense to everyone.

Blog Commenting For Dummies is written very clearly, in plain English, so people like me, who aren't smart enough to write our own blogs, can understand every word.

A new concept for me was irony (chapter six). Apparently, this is very popular on many blogs today. The idea is that you say something just the opposite of what you really mean, but, somehow, it comes out sounding like what you were trying to say in the first place. That's supposed to make it funny. Only the best bloggers can pull this off, and, honestly, I still don't know how they do it.

A real time saver is the included CD of pre-written comments. I don't know how many times I've used that over the past year. Just copy a comment from the CD and paste it into the comments page of your favorite blog. What could be easier? There are comments on every subject you can imagine. And they check all the grammar and spelling and sentence structure for you, so everything sounds pretty slick. I mean, who has the time to do all of that today?

I actually haven't finished the book yet. There are some chapters at the end about keeping your comments short so you don't bore people to death and about how blog readers usually read a blog for the blogger's opinions - not for the goofy thoughts of other commenters. I can't wait to get to those chapters.

Three More Reviews

2009-07-09T08:23:00.003-04:00

Three more entries for our July group writing project, Write a Review.

Smilicus of Sailing Catch 22, my blogging friend from South Africa, has written News Review, his take on three of his favorite websites for finding news about sailing.

Steve Bodner, the top ranked US sailor on the Formula Windsurfing World Tour, asks himself the Z question in a review of the latest version of the Formula board from F2, and agonizes over whether he should use the Z in the upcoming World Championships.

Tim Coleman has submitted a second entry (hey that's OK - the more the merrier) in which he encourages you to Start racing and reviews some sources of information for that endeavor.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed reviews. If you haven't yet done so please have a shot. Closing date is next Monday July 13. Full details at Write a Review.

Review: Jay Livingston's Laser Warm Up Routine

2009-07-08T08:13:00.001-04:00

Jay Livingston of Laser Sailing Notes recently wrote a post titled Getting Warmed Up, which is all about the routine he follows on the water to prepare himself for the first race of a day or for some boat handling drills.

It's quite an impressive program. He begins with a whole series of roll tacks starting off with a relaxed style and then getting more physical. Then he heads downwind and executes various kinds of gybe. After some reaching practice he launches straight in to some mark rounding drills and then practices his starting skills: holding position and accelerations. He then warms up his hiking muscles with some upwind work while simultaneously working on his awareness of shifts and puffs.

After all that, he says he's ready to race.

Wow. I'm impressed. I thought he was describing the whole of a day's practice session at first, but this routine is what he does before boat-handling drills or racing. I should be more like Jay. My typical pre-race routine is to to sail out to the course, grab a drink and an energy bar, and then to relax and conserve energy before the real action begins. If there are any Mommy Boats in the start area I either scowl at their drivers, or hang out close to them so I can overhear the secret tips they are giving to their little darlings.

Jay doesn't mention anything about checking the favored end of the start line or developing a strategy for the first beat, but he seems such a well-organized guy that I'm sure that he has another whole routine for all that race prep stuff.

"Two thumbs up" for Jay's warm-up routine. (By the way I have no idea what "two thumbs up" means but I know movie reviewers write it all the time and I think it's a good thing. I hope it's not rude?)

More Reviews

2009-07-08T06:29:00.002-04:00

Captain JP has an excellent review of Sailing with Navionics iPhone Charts. "There was something on the paper charts which might have been a reef or it might have been a smudge due to a retsina spill, but which was it? Out with the iPhone, couple of drags and zooms, and yup it's a smudge!"

Bonnie of frogma has a Review of a New Sailing Blog! It's always good to hear of a new sailing blog and I hadn't come across this one before. Thanks Bonnie.

There's still plenty of time for you to write a review. Full details of how to participate in this, our July group writing project, at Write a Review.

Love Life Not Stuff

2009-07-07T14:43:00.006-04:00

The first commenter on my recent long rambling post about kayaking latched on to my observation that a shared experience of some kind (in this case a kayaking trip) can be a superb present.

Just by chance, one of my favorite non-sailing blogs Zen Habits makes exactly the same point today in a post titled Love Live Not Stuff. As one example of several ways to replace lust for stuff with lust for life, the author Leo Babauta advises...

Give experiences as gifts, not stuff. Instead of shopping for someone come birthdays or Christmas, think of an experience you can give them instead. A date with you, doing something fun, hanging out, cooking, playing, talking, exploring. A fun time at a park or beach. Something other than everyday. An experience is much more meaningful than an object.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Do you agree? Have you any good examples of "experience gifts" that you have given or received recently?

Boil in the Bag

2009-07-07T06:18:00.007-04:00

Two thumbs up for Enterprise road warrior extraordinaire Tim Coleman - "some of us don't look that hot in rubber" - for entering our group writing project Write a Review with an hilarious discussion of the pros and cons of wearing a wetsuit in the English summer. Check out Boil-in-the-bag - the pros and cons of wetsuits in summer.

(Warning some of the images may not be suitable for persons of a nervous disposition.)

There's plenty of time for you to write a review. Check out the rules at Write a Review. If you want a good example of how to write an excellent review then read Captain JP's review of Bareboat Sailing with Sunsail in the Greek Aegean. Do it now while you are fresh with enthusiasm. Don't delay.

Tillerman's Review of Something He Knows Nothing About

2009-07-06T18:42:00.014-04:00

Jenny left a comment on my post inviting you (and her) to Write a Review. Jenny asked, "What if you know nothing about boating?"

Hmmm.

My knee-jerk reaction was to be a jerk (regular jerk as opposed to knee jerk), and ask her why she's lurking on a boating blog if she knows nothing about boating. But then my true nature took over. (That's the polite, thoughtful, kind, tactful me that I do such a good job of hiding most of the time.)

It's actually a good question. Can you write a review of a product or service in a field about which you know nothing? Well, sure you can... assuming you are interested in that subject and want to learn something about it. You just write a review from the perspective of a newcomer or a beginner in the field.

Jennifer, maybe you could take a boating lesson and write a review of the school or the instructor. Perhaps you could borrow a book about learning to sail from your local library and review that. Geeze, you could even write a review of Proper Course from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about sailing.

So, to demonstrate, I will now write a review of something about which I know nothing: kayaking. I've been following bonnie's frogma blog about kayaking for some years now, and have even promised here from time to time that I'm going to have a go at the sport. It seems that for someone who now lives by the sea, owning a kayak would be the perfect compliment to owning a Laser. Good wind days go sailing; no wind days go kayaking.

One of my sons is an excellent kayaker. He learned the sport as a teenager on some adventure trip around the islands off the coast of Maine, and has had his own sea kayak for years. So, for my birthday this year he offered to take me (along with his fiancee and his brother) on a kayaking trip. (Note to anyone who struggles to find the perfect birthday present for one of those old dudes who already owns all the toys he needs: a shared experience - as opposed to more objects to clutter his life - makes a superb present for aforementioned old dude.)

So, on Sunday morning the four of us went off to Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures in nearby Westport to rent three more kayaks and spend a few hours on the East Branch of the Wesport River.

Here is the review part. I can't rate OSKA on their courses; we didn't take one. I can't rate them on their tours; we didn't take one. But judging by their website they provide a good range of kayaking instruction, and an interesting variety of tours "from tranquil sunset sojourns to exciting open water paddles, to multi-day overseas adventures in Greece, the Bahamas, and more." I especially like the sound of their Winery Tour. (More on that later.)

However, as an outfitter who provides a safe, welcoming, kayaking experience to a complete kayaking bozo know-nothing like me, I give them 5 stars. They were friendly, efficient and informative. The formalities were quickly completed and our kayaks and associated equipment were organized. A helpful young man gave us instruction on how to set up our kayaks and demonstrated how to do a basic kayak stroke as we all tried to imitate him on land ...

"Hands further apart."

"Keep your arms more straight."

"Make a more vertical stroke."

"Use your upper body not your arms."

Geeze, this kayaking thing is more complicated than I thought...

The helpful young man held the kayaks steady as we clambered in and we were off.

We headed south on the Westport River. The first section was quite narrow and it broadened out as we headed downstream. Various obstacles presented themselves and were successfully avoided. Sunken trees. Rocks. Gusts of wind (yikes). Swans. Do swans ever attack kayakers?

Before leaving OSKA I had asked the helpful young man how far we could reasonably paddle (and return) in our allotted three hours. "You can make it to Hix Bridge and back if you paddle hard," he told me.

Hmmm. Not sure if we want to paddle hard.

After about an hour we could see the bridge. "It's further than it looks," explained my expert kayaking son. Other son and I ignored him and paddled ever onwards to the distant bridge. Fiancee (soon-to-be wife) and expert son took a break and turned back before the bridge. Non-expert son and I made the bridge. Hmmm. Interesting. Just like a bridge.

The wind had built up over the morning which made the trip back a little more challenging. It was more of a side wind than a head wind and it had the tendency to turn my kayak into the wind, which seemed strange. Non-expert son propounded various theories as to why this might be as I tried to ignore him and keep the kayak going straight. Now what did Helpful Young Man say again?

The East Branch of the Westport River really is idyllic. If I was any good at writing about nature and stuff I could tell you why. But I'm not so I can't. Just take my word for it.

We arrived back at OSKA around lunch time. Non-expert son and I both confessed to numb bums and stiff legs. This kayaking business sure stresses some different muscles than Laser sailing.

So what to do next? Did someone say there's a winery nearby? Expert son and fiancee are wine buffs so we just had to head off to a tasting at Westport Rivers Vineyard. I know nothing about wine so I can't write a review of that. But I do know what I like...

Seriously, I think I'll be going back to OSKA to see if I can learn how to do this kayaking thing properly.

See Jenny. That's how to write a review of something you know nothing about. Now it's your turn. Write a review on a subject related to boating by July 13, post it on your blog, and send me an email at tillermeister@gmail.com to let me know about it.

Einstein Says Write a Review

2009-07-06T09:24:00.001-04:00

How to Write a Review

(You're on your own with that Unified Field Theory thing.)

Two Reviews From Famous Sailing Bloggers

2009-07-06T06:46:00.007-04:00

Two more entries came in over the weekend for this month's group writing project, Write a Review...

Carol Anne of Five O'Clock Somewhere adopted the role of film critic and wrote a review of the cult sailing movie Pirates of the White Sands, "the best 14 minutes you'll ever spend." It takes almost as long to read her review as to watch the movie.

Captain JP of Captain JP's log chose to write a review of Bareboat Sailing with Sunsail in the Greek Aegean, with ratings out of five stars for everything from the flight to the boat, the weather to the islands. "In general very happy with the package and would be happy to sail with them again."

You too can join this talented duo by participating in our group writing project Write a Review. You have a week left before the deadline on Monday July 13, but why not do it now?

Thought for the Day

2009-07-05T07:38:00.000-04:00

What the Hell Does Tillerman Mean?

2009-07-05T07:30:00.003-04:00

"What we've got here is... failure to communicate," said The Captain.

It's my fault. When I invited you all to Write a Review for this month's group writing project I didn't make it clear enough what I meant by a "review". So what does dictionary.com say?

Hmmm.

The noun alone has 11 different definitions. What I was thinking of was definition #1: "a critical article or report, as in a periodical, on a book, play, recital, or the like; critique; evaluation."

It seems that at least one of the two first contributors thought I meant definition #4: "a general survey of something, esp. in words; a report or account of something" (and I have no idea what the other contributor was thinking... or smoking for that matter.)

My mistake, but let's please keep to that first definition. I want criticism, evaluation, what you like and what you don't like about your subject. Check out some of my examples in Reviews What I Have Writ if you're still confused.

So I hope you are all enjoying the holiday weekend for America's birthday and that you had the chance to Swim Naked. Make sure that when you go back to work on Monday you find some time to participate in our group writing project Write a Review. You only have a week left before the deadline on Monday July 13.

"Reviews"?

2009-07-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

Two entries already for our group writing project Write a Review ...

Timmynocky submitted a "review" of Chepstow and District Yacht Club's 60th Annual Regatta

and Sam Chapin wrote a bizarre little piece entitled Real View Four Tiller Man.

Hmmm. I appreciate the effort guys but neither post is quite what I meant when I asked for reviews.

Full details of how to participate in our group writing project at Write a Review.

Commenter of the Week - Smilicus

2009-07-04T07:00:00.004-04:00

A shout-out today for someone who has been leaving comments here for a while, Smilicus.

Smilicus is from South Africa and blogs about sailing at Sailing Catch 22. Well actually he blogs more often about his excuses for not sailing. That's OK. I haven't been sailing much myself for the last six months so I feel some empathy for a guy who says that he has sailing in his blood but who lets obstacles prevent him from indulging his passion. In the past few months his excuses have included...

Love it.

Now that it's winter in South Africa he has another excuse but he did get around to writing a list of what to do in the winter for our Lists group writing project. OK, he was two months late but better late than never. It's great to find someone who is almost as big a procrastinator as me.

Hey Smilicus, how about participating in this month's group writing project, Write a Review? There are nine days left so you could actually submit it by the deadline! And you could even do it while enjoying item #8 of things to do in the winter...

July 4th - Swim Naked Day

2009-07-03T08:00:00.010-04:00

Tomorrow is American Independence Day, when Americans celebrate their freedom from rule by those nasty English kings, and we English give thanks that we don't have to put up with those obstreperous colonials any more.

No wait. That's not right. We still have to put up with them. Dang.

Sorry Americans. Only joking. Most of my immediate family are Americans and I love them all dearly.

Anyway... Elizabeth, as her contribution to Bowsprite and Tugster's Swim Day blogging project this week, made her own very specific declaration of independence: she needs to swim naked.

Good for her. I'm all in favor of Elizabeth being able to swim naked if that's her thing. That's what freedom is all about. What better way to express our inalienable rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness than to enjoy the pleasure of a swim without the constraints of clothing? Why should we be denied this simple pleasure because of petty regulations, or what Elizabeth calls "culturally-enforced feelings of impropriety"? Wear a burqini if you must, or celebrate American freedom by swimming naked.

That's Elizabeth in the photo looking very elegant wearing only a pair of sunglasses as she salutes the flag. Feel free to celebrate Independence Day tomorrow by joining Elizabeth in swimming naked.

I hereby declare July 4th to be Swim Naked Day.

Reviews What I Have Writ

2009-07-03T06:26:00.001-04:00

This month's group writing project (which was launched yesterday) is Write a Review. If you're still casting around for inspiration, here are a few reviews that have appeared on Proper Course over the years.

Advanced Laser Boat Handling DVD - "Don't tell Ari but I would probably have paid even more for it; it's that good."

UK-Halsey Racing Rules Quiz Program - "Will also teach a thing or two to arrogant bastards like me who think they know it all."

Bottleport - "What can I say? It works exactly as advertised. No problems whatsoever."

Intensity Sails Tyvek Regatta Deck Cover for Laser Sailboats - "If Jim would just treat the cover with a marsupial repellent I would give it 100 out of 100."

Sailfit Laser Sailing Seminar - "When do we break for lunch? Never, apparently."

Evelyn's Drive-In - "A clam sandwich and a local brew sitting by the water. What could be better on a hot, humid summer day?"

Intensity Sails Gription Hiking Strap - "Scientific tests have shown that Lasers with the Intensity Sails Gription Hiking Strap are on average 0.38 of a knot faster than other Lasers."

NRS Hydroskin G2 Socks - "Some serious sock science brainpower has been at work here."

Minorca Sailing - "I guess sailing instructors do remember the day they thought, if only for a second, that they might have drowned a client."

Tacticat - "Less broccoli and more heroin than Second Life."

Uncrustables - "They taste vile."

Full details of how to participate in this month's group writing project at Write a Review. Deadline for submissions is Monday July 13.

Write a Review

2009-07-02T06:10:00.002-04:00

This month's group writing project is Write a Review.

Easy. Just write a review of anything that's vaguely to do with sailing or whatever other perverted form of boating turns you on.

It could be a review of a boat. Or a piece of boating equipment. Or some boating apparel.

It could be a review of a favorite place you like to go sailing. Or a yacht club. Or a marina.

Perhaps you could write a review of a regatta which you like. Or a sailing resort. Or a sailing school. Or your favorite Caribbean island.

You could review a sailing book. Or a sailing movie (though your choice is somewhat limited there.) Or an instructional DVD about sailing.

The possibilities are endless. Just write a review telling us what you like and don't like about your chosen product or service or place or whatever. You can be as analytical or as emotional as you like. You can give your reviewee "stars out of five" or "points out of ten" or assorted "thumbs up." You can do scientific tests or express the most extreme opinions of no basis whatsoever.

So here is how to participate...

1. Write a review (of something to do with boating) on your blog. Please publish the review before Monday July 13.

2. Once you've posted your review, let me know about it by sending an email to tillermeister@gmail.com including a link to your review. If you don't have a blog just email me your review and I will post it here.

3. I will post here two links to your review. Every day or so I will write a post listing any new entries in the project. Then at the end of the project I will publish the complete list of "Reviews of Boating Related Stuff."

Look forward to hearing from you...

This Summer I Went Swimming

2009-07-01T08:05:00.017-04:00

It is raining again this morning but I'm running out of rain song videos. Also tugster has declared today July 1st to be Swim Day. He wants you all to join him in blogging about swimming today. So now I need to support tugster and write a post about swimming...

Just by chance I did go swimming yesterday. It was actually quite a coincidence because I can't remember the last time I went swimming on purpose, as opposed to falling off my Laser, or capsizing my Laser, or otherwise generally making a fool of myself on a Laser. There was the time I went swimming when it was my big chance to shine, the time I went swimming three times before dinner, and, perhaps best of all, the time I went swimming with a rope round my neck. Oh yes, this blog is full of stories about Tillerman's unintentional swims.

But yesterday was different. It was an intentional swim. After a thrilling morning at the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles waiting for two hours to enact a transaction that took all of thirty seconds, I emerged around lunchtime and realized that something strange was going on with the weather. It wasn't raining. It wasn't drizzling. It wasn't even foggy. It was actually sunny. Yikes.

So Tillerwoman and I jumped in the car, enjoyed a leisurely lunch of chowder and clams and lobster sandwiches sitting by the water at Evelyn's Drive-In, and then spent the afternoon on Goosewing Beach in Little Compton where I appreciated the rare (for me) pleasure of a long relaxing swim in the ocean. On the way home we stopped by at Peckham's Greenhouse to pick up a few more plants for the garden. Tiverton and Little Compton were looking their best in the unseasonal summer sunshine. All in all a perfect Rhody day... apart from that DMV experience.

Did I mention that it's raining again today? But I can say that this summer I went swimming...

This summer I went swimming,
This summer I might have drowned
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
And I moved my arms around, I moved my arms around.

This summer I swam in the ocean,
And I swam in a swimming pool,
Salt my wounds, chlorine my eyes,
I'm a self-destructive fool, a self-destructive fool.

This summer I did the backstroke
And you know that's not all
I did the breast stroke and the butterfly
And the old Australian crawl, the old Australian crawl.

This summer I swam in a public place
And a reservoir, to boot,
At the latter I was informal,
At the former I wore my suit, I wore my swimming suit.

This summer I did swan dives
And jackknifes for you all
And once when you weren't looking
I did a cannonball, I did a cannonball.

If you need further instructions on how to enjoy Swim Day then check out Bowsprite's post on How To Swim From a Schooner.