We Make a New Friend and Things Keep Going our Way!

Whilst discussing the required repairs to Severance, we met Tim Glass (currently working part-time at Mount Batten Boathouse).

We mentioned our interest in obtaining Yachtmaster certification and it turns out he's an accomplished sailor (years of experience here, in the Med and Caribbean) and a Yachtmaster instructor!

We had hoped to get individual instruction prior to taking the exam so great possibilities there.

One of the prerequisites for getting the certification is a 1 day First Aid course, which aren't held that often.

As it turned out, Tim's First Aid certificate had expired and he had arraigned for a private course the next day (he needed it pronto for insurance purposes given a charter job he had accepted)....would we be interested in taking that with him?

So, the next day we set off in Tim's car for a town in Cornwall, Newquay (interestingly enough pronounced knookie...however that is actually spelled!).

Tim is very interested and knowledgeable in the history of this area, so we learned a great deal during the 2 hour trip there.

Tim took a scenic route, got pretty well lost which was fine with me, and we got a great tour of the countryside...not an easy thing to accomplish when you are there via boat.

The instructor held the course in his parents living room (for just the 3 of us), which had a gorgeous panoramic view of the ocean.

The fee was ½ of what the schools typically charge and we will have obtained the certificates we need for the following steps!

One of Tim's interests is photography and he shared some of his work with us. I hope to obtain a CD of his works, I was really taken by some of them and I'm sure Steve (Diane's brother) would enjoy his photos.

Tim took us to his favorite pub, pronounced us regulars from here on out and we had him to dinner on the boat (he's into food...just my type of fellow!).

One nice thing he pointed out (Bill had made a similar point) is that we're receiving very good treatment as we're true sailors (having crossed the Atlantic to come sailing here), something people hold in high regard.

I will try to explain the English and French regard for yachtsmen in a later blog...suffice to say the term has significance to them.