Following on from the Vice Admiral's Cup, I had my second trip out on Thalia, a Gaff Cutter built in 1889.
With the sun beating down and a mint / strawberry ice-cream, I could have been on holiday- I suppose I was, for the day anyway.
I enjoyed having various brown rope to pull, and a tiller which took two hands to move. Even below deck the yacht was very impressive, with some fancy cushions and a sink which could have come straight from the Queen's bathroom. While everyone was having lunch, I dashed over to OC to meet up with John (performance director of the Artemis Academy), for a quick chat about plans & progress.
With a flat phone battery I was a bit worried that I'd miss the boat home; especially as the run back from East Cowes took a bit longer than I would have liked, with learning about the brain, language &
speech having eaten away time which would have been more
enjoyably spent pounding away on the treadmill.
Still I have been managing to get out in my RS 700, albeit with the addition of some lead weights, intermediate racks and a mast float, as i'm not heavy enough to right the thing. Last weekend I managed to stay upright, beating all the men in the club race; but then got too excited at the prospect of winning, and fell in metres before the finish. A nice breather though before my last clinical exam; it was six hours long!
With only a week left of Uni i'm making the most of my time in Reading, cracking on with some Yachtmaster stuff and enjoying a street party for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Highlights were a talent contest, tons of cake and an illusionist; his best trick was a bit of a joke, turning a stick of rock into 
furniture (a 3-piece-suite!).Unfortunately plans to enter the Cervantes Trophy this weekend fell through, but with a wedding to get to on Sunday perhaps it was for the best. I can cope with missing a boat, but missing a wedding... that would not go down so well. Mind you I would rather be wearing wet boots than tottering about on heels!