A nice day out

[Matt]

Managed to pop down to the boat after the kids morning classes had finished and head over to Cowes for lunch. And my daughter drove us all the way back, too - her first time having a go, 12 miles at up to 26 knots. Weather was great and I think they enjoyed themselves.

[beamishken]

Thats cool gotta start them young. Good thing about getting the kids into boating, you always have a boat crew.

[Steve509926]

You can tell by the look on their faces that they enjoyed it Matt, bet it's not long before they are asking "when are, we next going out"

[Nasher]

Great day by the look of it.

Thank you.
I have many similar images of my boys in our RIB when they were about the same age as yours are now, and your images have brought back many happy memories.

My two are in their 20's now, and although still interested in boats they have their own lives that get in the way of us spending so much time together doing stuff like you experienced on this trip.
And although the enjoyment they get doesn't diminish, the expressions of pure enjoyment and wonder at being able to actually control the boat wain as they get used to it.

So, make the most of this time with them whilst they enjoy the new things, and commit them to memory for when it won't always be possible to repeat.

I need some Grandkids now to go through it all again.

[Matt]

You need to get your boat sorted! We all used to have lots of solent meet ups back in the day and it was great fun. There is less of that these days, which is a shame - I don't know what the younger generation do with their time these days - it seems to be less "going out and doing stuff" than when I was a lad? My old sailing club used to have a really strong dinghy racing fleet, for example, but these days - barely anyone doing it.

If I could have got down earlier yesterday I would have hooked up with the Hamble -> Yarmouth lot on the other thread, but as it was, we had a lovely day. If I wasn't having new tubes put on it in Jan, I probably wouldn't winterise it and just keep using it.

[Fenlander]

>>>My two are in their 20's now, and although still interested in boats they have their own lives that get in the way of us spending so much time together doing stuff like you experienced on this trip.

Exactly the pattern of my boating. From age 4 to about 19 always off boating with my late father but once on my own career path then hooking up with Mrs F, getting our own house then establishing our own joint interests as a couple the boating went on the back burner. Father kept boating for decades after with mum but we only dipped a toe back in now and again. It was having our kids that started me boating again once they were old enough to enjoy it but as they hit their late teens they started doing their own thing and not coming out with us hence its back to Mrs F, myself and the dog. And so the generational cycle continues.

[Matt]

Maybe we need to bring the Jackeens back, perhaps that'd get more people out on the water.