Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Camping With A Seven Footer

On a screen between two seven foot P Class yachts at the Auckland Boat Show I watched a slide show complete with themed music for each decade; beginning in the 1920s, showing the P Class in all its various guises. I took photographs of some of the slides.

This very early photograph shows something I never did do with my own small P class yacht - camping. This is a very New Zealand version of Ransomes' "Swallows and Amazons". On the right of the photo is a P Class turned on its side. One of the yachts mainsails is being used for a tent and the dining table is one of the centreboards. The photograph was probably taken by the other P Class skipper with a Box Brownie camera. The young fella in the photograph is so handsome it could almost be me.

It is said that when you get to a particular age all you do is look back and reminisce - bugger that. Hanging up in my carport on a six part purchase pulley is a small P Class yacht that I restored a couple of years ago. Her name is 'Cygnet'. As I mentioned earlier I never got to go camping in my spinnaker red coloured little P Class called 'Elusive' but I am going to change all of that when the weather gets a little warmer -phfff, who said Halcyon Days are only for those of a certain decade.

2 comments:

Ben said...

People at that time did not need much to have fun and to survive. Although the NZ Northland weather conditions could be in favor. In the 50, 60 and 70 thies it was not uncommon in the Netherlands to camp in a BM 16 kwadraat (loa 6m) with a tarp over the cockpit.

Alden Smith said...

Yes, they were simpler times and maybe even happier times - there is a saying - The 'KISS' principal which is an acronym for - 'Keep It Simple Stupid' but its a fine balance - my upbringing was at times based a little bit on the KISS principal - but us Smith kids called it poverty Lol!