My first boat trip of the year.

Today started with a frost but by the time I’d walked the dog it was starting to warm up, though the breeze was picking up as well. I built my self designed pedal powered boat last year and had my first sail in March. I think I tried to make the boat too complicated by using a fish tail for propulsion and I didn’t manage to get the performance I wanted but after much development I had the boat working well by July. I later added a chain and sprockets to allow the pedals to spin more quickly and had some great trips in October. Sailing along the local canal is not especially appealing in the gloom of winter but with clear blue skies today looked perfect for my first outing of the year.

I forgot to start the app. Strava to record my journey from the start but did get a couple of videos, one of me sailing along, taken from the pilot’s seat, and a very brief look around the boat after I’d pulled it out of the water. I’d been a little nervous about getting back on the water after such a long break but it was good fun and I’ll be back soon for a longer trip.

The wind helped me as I headed north but made it difficult to turn around by blowing the bow of the boat as I tried to swing it round. It didn’t restrict me too much going back southwards where I passed some boats, turned and made the short video.