The best way to see the world is from a boat

It's a showery Saturday here in London and so the BBQ on Whitstable beach I was going to has been called off. Probably just as well as it's been rather a hectic week that including more or less crashing a memorial service packed with real Lords and Ladies where one of the readings was given by none other than the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable George Osborne, MP (long story).

So it was quite nice to have a lazy day reading the papers and there was a good crop of sailing related articles. First up was The Independent's "My Life in Travel" with TV presenter Dan Snow in which he declared that "the best way to see the world is from a boat".

Very true, though he might well have been put off sailing due to a nasty early experience. Apparently his first holiday memory was sailing with his father Peter Snow (also a TV presenter) in which he was literally tied down to the boat when it encountered a south westerly gale in the Solent.

Then on to the FT which had a special how to spend it boating edition (not available online). Mostly this is an eye opening insight into the upper price bracket's options, where entry level means a 30m waterline and the only thing in my budget were cuff links at £185 (but no, not tempted).

However there was an interesting article on the British Olympic sailing team, and the attention grabbing statistic that the UK's 2,100 sailing clubs are more than the whole of Western Europe. Go team GB!!

Finally in the main FT there was an article on role of the tactician. This being the FT the example they give is the Olympic sailor hired by the owner of the 29m Wally yacht Magic Carpet2 (above) - but even he started in an Optimist.

Apparently 85% of Olympic sailors started on Optimists, but impressive though that is, and while they are in my budget, alas think I've got big for them in too many ways.