After the AGM in February, I approached Ted Jones who is now responsible for public relations, and suggested that the DCA might benefit from publishing a page or two on the World Wide Web, otherwise known as the Internet. For those members not already familiar with this phenomenon, the Internet is a global network of computers and landlines through which a great deal of communication now takes place, including electronic mail and electronic publishing. Those connected can ‘surf the Web’ to find all manner of information, worthy and unworthy. Although this high technology is far removed from the simple joys of dinghy cruising, I thought it might serve a useful purpose and publicise the DCA with a view to attracting more members. Ted was at first doubtful so I volunteered to retrieve some boating information, in order to demonstrate the potential of the system.

I must point out at this point that my contact with the Internet is via my media work at Salford University and not anything to do with home computer interests. There are far too many boat bits to be varnished and charts to study to be spending time surfing the Web.

I was already aware of a Web site for the UK Wayfarer Association which gives details of the dinghy and publicises the racing and cruising programme. I thought I might also find something on the West Wight Potter. In order to find out what was already published, I engaged the services of a ‘search engine’ — a specialised piece of computer software which searches the Web looking for references to whatever words or phrases on types in. Typing the words ‘dinghy cruising’ returned details of one thousand or so sites containing these words. That was a bit of a mistake really, because the search engine had found lots of documents and pages containing the two words, but not altogether in the right order, so any page about cruising which also mentioned dinghy was included. Even so, narrowing down the search produced hundreds of references, far too many to follow up!

I did find a few gems amongst the passages I had time to access. One site in particular was quite charming — a series of stories called ‘Vancouver Island Dinghy Cruising Adventures’. These I have paid a small fee to download and they are shorts logs of one couple’s Canadian cruises in a Wayfarer. Another, free, page comes from Richard Gooderick of the Wayfarer Association, and contained several pictures of his cruise in the Western Isles of Scotland. Another page contained free plans for the D4 sailing/rowing dinghy — a 7’6” pram. Yet another detailed descriptions of stitch and glue techniques. I spent a happy afternoon/evening browsing through these sites and downloading useful bits, including a picture which changed my idea of how to build a framework for my Wayfarer tent, now being made.

What really took me by surprise though, was the amount of space devoted to the West Wight Potter. I found the site for the WWP Association in America and it was full of the most interesting stories, equivalent to the stories that appear in our own Bulletin. There was the story of how the Smith brothers built Nova Espero in the basement of a chapel in Nova Scotia and then sailed to England — and back. It continues to tell how in the Isle of Wight Stanley Smith built WWPs and how he sold one to a Scandinavian sea captain. Offering to deliver it to Sweden in person he got shipwrecked on the way and narrowly escaped death. The boat survived, to be refitted near the scene of the wreck, and was then sailed on its way for a successful delivery. WWP owners have also contributed their own logs.

To cut a long story in mid-flow, we now have our own Web site and anyone who has access to such things can find it by typing in the address:

http://www.salford.ac.uk/media/staff/jmahome/dca_home.htm

The pages contain our cruising programme, safety recommendations and a list of the services we provide for members. There are also links from this site to other pages which are to do with dinghy cruising and many of them are fascinating. Don’t get too engrossed though — there’s too much sailing to do to spend time surfing.