When the boat was installed on the trailer I started to think about the launch day.
It had always been my intention to make the splash at Oxford Sailing Club. It has a very large reservoir and a wide, sloping concrete apron from which to launch, and it's just a ten minute drive from my home.
So I contacted the club and asked about joining, only to be told that I cannot launch from a towed trailer. The reservoir is owned by Thames Water, and they do not allow vehicles on the apron.
I don't know why - I suppose it's a health and safety thing. I had seen some large racing catamarans in the car park and assumed that they were towed to the launch area by car, but no.
It's fine for the many dinghies which race there which are pulled along on their trolleys, but there is no way we can pull a PocketShip around - it takes ten people to lift her.
So that's no longer an option. There are lots of sailing clubs around here, but they are all very small and don't have a launch ramp. They're for dinghy sailors.
Some research revealed that there is a fabulous sailing club about an hour away by car and trailer. It is the Cotswold Sailing Club, and it has a ramp and they allow boats to be launched from a towed trailer. The facilities look great, and the club seems very welcoming.
Excellent!
So I contacted them, only to find that they have a waiting list for membership and we won't know until the end of the year if they have any openings.
So back to square one.
We are at a hiatus. We can't launch until we have a venue, and in any case the issue with paint blisters has not been resolved.
It's starting to look like launching will not be possible this year.
Time for one of these.
Sometimes it's the only thing to do.
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