Forums.

I am a terrific fan of sailing forums. Over the years I have used a number of them to gather information, get technical and practical advice and just to chat to fellow sailors.

My favourite is YBW particularly the Practical Boat Owner forum. Over the years I have learnt how to grease my propeller, rig a boat, mend a sail and just recently received some sterling advice on how to plane teak. Absolutely priceless.

The Seven seas sailing organisation discussion board is also excellent, you need to be a paid up member to post or ask a question but a lot can be gleaned by trawling through the site.

There are many more but those are my favourites.

You also find fascinating people taking part too. In particular I have become a great fan of Dylan Winter, a gifted journalist whose passion, well one of his passions, is sailing. He has a wonderful YouTube channel that is full of remarkable footage of his exploits. If you have decent broadband you can soon waste an hour or two watching his exploits on a small boat and in other interesting situations.His other site keepturningleft really needs a fast connection but it's pure sailing joy!

On the job front we have come to a bit of a halt on the SSB radio. We still can't get the computer to speak to the pactor to speak to the radio so that we can send and receive emails at sea. TBH is just about tearing his hair out. But I have confidence that he will win in the end...

The Yankee is down and we have begun the long job of replacing some of the stitching that has given up the ghost. We are having to do it by hand as it's too thick to run through the machine we have on board but never mind. It's quite therapeutic as we sit on opposite sides of the cabin with our needles and threads, really need another sailmakers palm though!

The sun is shining, the wind blowing and all is well with our world...for now!