I was hesitant both about the rally and writing this, but John Cole has shown that one boat can be a rally. On Saturday the weather forecast was putrid, cold, strong winds and much rain. We were to meet at Exmouth Sailing Club. Having a ‘new’ second hand Tideway, I decided to go. Roger Barnes was to be there and also Alan Bright our host at the club who also had recently bought his new Tideway.

Due to the weather, we decided not to sail in the morning. We had a good natter, a coffee and a drink in the club and then adjourned to a nearby chip shop and stocked up on high energy food. Alan is a keen expert and a knowledgeable writer on the sport of rowing which was most interesting. After lunch he took the covers off his new boat and we all took in the details that the ‘boatyard’ had added. Alan decided not to sail. Roger’s boat was not ready for the water and he kindly showed me how to rig my boat and we wheeled it across the sands to the edge of the water. I took the trolley back and wished we had used the jockey wheel. Roger kindly tacked and gibed my boat about in a foot of water, while I took photographs of my proud possession.

The wind had dropped by this time and a half-hearted sun was trying to penetrate the light cloud. Now to sail. I managed to get in with dry Wellingtons and with Roger helming, we set off for Brunel’s Pumping House at Starcross. We scraped over the sandbanks as usual at half tide and when in the main channel we altered course for Lympstone and Starcross Sailing Club, with a reasonable wind. Roger took it easy while I took the helm for the first time. We practiced heaving to and what happens if on purpose or by accident, you just let go of the tiller and the main sheet. In each case, the boat behaved predictably and gently. When Lympstone and the Starcross Sailing Club were nearby, we turned and tacked against a slacking tide, and eventually with no hassle attained the 17 buoy and turned for the sailing club. The day was not busy and we managed to land safely on the narrow concrete ramp of the sailing club car park as it was then close to high tide. So ended a most pleasant sail in spite of the weather. Jim Vallis