RE: Now that's Potter Comradeship!

Eric Johnson (ej@tx3.com)
Wed, 10 Mar 1999 09:38:20 -0800


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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<snip>

> And having said all of this, I guess this is why the list in its current
> form rubs me the wrong way at times.. I understand that the technical
> information is good, but when the list is dominated by it, I find it to be
> a turnoff.. If I want straight technical poop on Potters and
> sailing, I'll
> crack one of the many sailing books I have in my library... We had
> exchanges of technical information years ago too, but it just seemed to be
> handled "differently"... not a regurgitation of technical data and
> expertise, but a flow of information that was peppered with the sides of
> sailing that aren't technical... the "feeling" aspect of sailing, the
> almost religious flavor of it at times... the sheer joy to be sailing at
> all....

I'm going to blame it on El nino. Seriously. Hear me out :)

Last year at this time after El Nino I had already had my boat in the water
for a month because the weather up here was unusually dry and gorgeous
starting in february, where the usual NW boating season starts in May.

Now we have la nina, and tons of rainfall (about double what we normally get
in rainy seattle) and I've not even shopped for moorage yet.

I suspect others have similar situations. Since we're not out actually
sailing and reporting those fun trip reports and the sheer joy of sail,
we're occupying ourselves with 'armchair sailing' and messing about the
boats we largely can't sail yet this season. I am so totally looking forward
to sailing this year I can hardly stand it, its all I think about lately.

Adding to the technical bend on the list lately is Judy, who despite
declining my marriage proposal (to the relief of her husband and my wife),
has engaged with me and the other Potter Technocrats (I'll include Bill and
Jerry in this bunch) in such discussions, and I think we unleashed in a
short period of time a lot of ideas we had been mulling around in our heads
independently.

> So, there is where I'm at... perhaps living in the past when it comes to
> this list... but you know what? Is that such a bad thing? I reckon that
> there isn't a way to go back to the way things were on here.. so I mourn
> for how things used to be... and...I post less...
>
> I'm willing to bet that there are others who remember how things were and
> miss it too... Perhaps I am the only one who is willing to share
> how I feel
> about it...

I think things will get back to normal once we all get our boats back in the
water and spend the weekends sailing instead of maintaining.