Comet Trio Nationals Exe SC 22 Aug 15

Plenty of sunshine today for Day 2 of the Trio nationals but sadly very little breeze and hardly any racing.  There's a selection of pictures on the Photo Galleries page.  Thanks to Steve for the ride in RIB "Scooby".  Just like the old days...

Sailing Again!

Went for a sail on the Exe in Nellie (Dorado 12) this morning.  Launched just after HW on quite a big tide which is (+) convenient as the water is right at the bottom of the slipway (-) slightly tricky as the breeze was blowing up the slipway (NW) so had to hoist sails when afloat standing in quite deep and, by then, fast flowing water.  But got off OK and had a pleasant sail in around 8-10 knots of breeze.

Osprey Nationals - how to order image files

It's a bit clunkier than in the old Fotoboat days but this is what to do:

1. Browse through the three albums of images accessible via the Photo Galleries page;
2. Make a note of the file numbers of the ones you would like;
3. email me at mike@fotoboat.com with the filenumbers.

I will send you a link for downloading the files, which will be high resolution (3600 x 2400 pixels), good for printing at 12x8 inches and bigger.  I will also send you a PayPal invoice.  The pricing:

1. Single high res file:  £10
2. Five high res files:  £20
3. Twenty high res files:  £40

Osprey Nationals Day 1

I had a good day at Highcliffe SC yesterday (23 July), Day 1 of the Osprey Nationals.  Many thanks to Ian and Dave for driving me around the course in the launch Edna May.  I have posted a big selection of pictures which can be seen via the photo galleries page.  When I have worked out how to do it I will post a note explaining how you may order copies of the files.

Fotoboat sails on

Fotoboat sails on!  After much (well, not that much) arm-twisting by ex-Fotoboat colleague Alan Henderson, I will be doing a day at the Osprey nationals at Highcliffe SC this Thursday (23 Jul).  Very much looking forward to it and hope the weather is favourable.  Watch this space...

Sailing at last

Had a very enjoyable sail in "Nellie", my gaff-rigged Dorado 12.  Not a lot of breeze but enough to beat the increasing tide.  I launched about 1 hour after LW springs and was out for the best part of 2 hours, so by the time I came in the stream had built up somewhat.  A few jobs to do - replace the tiller extension joint and dry out/revarnish the oars.

The 50mm Challenge

Went to Heligan Gardens yesterday and, as expected, there were lots of things in bloom.  I set myself a challenge and took the Pentax K-7 and a 50mm f1.7 prime - one of my favourite lenses.  But 50mm on a 1.6 crop factor body is quite long (90mm equivalent) so it's a bit limiting for scenery shots.  I spent most of my time taking close ups of blossom etc, like these "wall daisies" (not sure of the proper name)

Job done!  Left eye cataract now removed and plastic lens inserted.  Sure it will be a huge improvement once it all settles down.  Can't praise the team at the West of England Eye Unit highly enough - a very slick operation but they all find the time to treat patients as people.  Three cheers for the NHS!

Cataract op tomorrow.  The vision in my left eye (the one I use for the viewfinder) got a lot worse last year, with two changes of glasses prescription, and the optometrist eventually concluded it was a cataract.  Not looking forward to the op but I am looking forward to the results!

Spotted this chap lurking in an oak tree on the edge of our garden.  Little birds beware!  Apparently the buzzard is the most common bird of prey in the UK now, but that doesn't make it any less impressive.

It's gone!  The Photoshelter site is no more.  No doubt I will get the final reckoning from them very soon.  I think they offer a good service, with lots of easy-to-use website designs and very straightforward procedures for uploading images, organising galleries and everything else you need to run a photo business website.  So thanks, Photoshelter.

Apparently the Photoshelter site will live until 28 Jan, when it will self-destruct.  I have therefore restated the redirect in case there are any more last minute orders.  I have had one enquiry already.

Done it!  Close down delayed 48 hours to deal with 2 last minute orders, but now complete.  The old Joomla site is now in the dustbin and the re-direct to Photoshelter taken off.  Thanks to all Fotoboat photographers and customers!

Good to see Tom Gruitt was at the Bloody Mary last weekend.  This is one event I attended nearly every year while Fotoboat was in operation.  Well done QMSC for running another event and to all the competitors for braving the conditions.  You can see Tom's excellent pictures here.

Tomorrow is close-down day.  The new website is almost ready - nothing fancy but it keeps a foot in the door to keep the domain alive, and who knows where it may lead?

I now need to think about how to close down the Photoshelter site and also remove the old Joomla based site from the server. Once that's done I can upload the new one.

I have set up this blog to give me somewhere to record the progress with running down Fotoboat and running up whatever follows! (More sailing?) Also it's good to have somewhere to record the occasional rant...

The countdown to closing down Fotoboat is nearing the end.  Next Friday (16 Jan) is the advertised date.