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Boat Showitis
September 20, 2008
when i first started this job i thought being part of the international boat shows in Southampton and London was a perk, then i spent the 11 exhausting days on my feet and changed my mind!
I have just completed my stint at Southampton for the year and i have to say have returned with a certain sense of triumph, i feel like the world is slowly changing and for the better. New partners are coming out of the woodwork, new organisations wanting to work more with us to green up their act.
Naturally sceptical sorts have asked about these new people’s motivations – is it the credibility, the green wash or simply the money which is driving them.
My answer? I don’t care too hoots why they do it, as long as they do!
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Green weed in China
June 26, 2008
I have two words for you…..invasive species…...the weed the Olympic team is struggling through is yet to be formally identified by my more botanically minded friends but i suspect it is not something we see everyday over here in the UK.
So why should we care about it?
If the weed they sail through ends up returning to these shores and is not an indigenous species, then we could end up with it here.
So…again….why would we care?
Remember the Zebra mussel? Happy in its home territory, kept at bay by natural predators it was no bother. Transplanted to Cardiff where the local wildlife has not yet developed a taste for their new stripy friends and suddenly we have a problem.
Ok, the likelihood of the sailors bring home a hitchhiker of the biological variety is slim but if you do find yourself sailing in similar big weed patches make sure you give your boat and trailer a good scrub before launching in home waters or you may end up in a Sea of Green…all together now…..we all live in a …....yes, ok, I’ll shut up….....
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been a while...
February 6, 2008
since i wrote my eco-blog. The Green Blue has been through a
busy time, the usual boat show worries turned out to be unfounded
we had a great seminar about antifoul and a full house for my bit
on the main stage with Tom Cunliffe.
A word to the wise when someone suggests you do something
‘live and unscripted’ with a professional media type, you are
wise to be nervous.
On the main stage at Excel Tom was wonderful, witty, lively and
eboulliant. I was shaking in my boots!
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Brush with Royalty
November 23, 2007
Another first for The Green Blue, last night as i presented a key note speach to
RYA AGM. It was surreal but an honour to be asked to the podium by
a member of the Royal family, Princess Anne. She seemed to welcome the
talk about the programme and commented about her own experiences of
trying not to run over basking sharks when sailing off the west coast of
Scotland! Perhaps she should watch our new wildlife on the water DVD!
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I'm back!
November 19, 2007
from the far flung north of this grand country. Scotland. What a stunner of a place
it is. From the hills and inland waters to the outrageously beautiful coastline.
While away our boat remained firmly (thankfully) on her mooring in Chichester.
Well one of our boats did. The other, a Drascombe Lugger named El Fi was
having high adventures on the Thames and it was with a strange mixture of
pride, envy and parental concern that we had handed her over on an
extended loan to Dick Durham of YM fame. (You can read all about her adventure
in YM this month).
But the point is, we worried and fretted about lending out our precious Lugger,
but at the end of the day i would advise anyone to throw all that out the window
to see a boat being used is the best thing in the world and in all honesty we
can only use one boat at a time anyway!
Crew 
