Peace will come to earth when the people
have more to do with each other
and governments less.

Each year, the good people of High Wycombe weigh the Mayor, the councillors and the MP to check who is gaining weight at taxpayer expense. It’s a magnificent idea but strangely my Westminster colleagues seem reluctant to institute the tradition on Parliament Square.

Unfortunately, I put a little weight on in my first year, it turned out. Here’s me making the most of being booed as a pantomime villain after the fateful cry of “and some more!”

Happily, the weight was handy during the past week, as Beth and I took our summer holiday early at the spectacular Wildwind in Greece. I’m helming the large catamaran on the left:

I thoroughly recommend Wildwind and Vassiliki Bay for sailors and windsurfers. A gentle sea breeze develops through the morning and early afternoon before a quite predictable katabatic near gale arrives late in the afternoon. What’s more, Wildwind is, I think, the only place where powerful boats are provided in strong winds for competent sailors and where they will allow you to single-hand the awesome Hobie Fox in lighter airs. This was my fourth visit and I am sure we will be back.

Meanwhile, with me turning 40 tomorrow, the minor public humiliation of weighing in couldn’t be more timely. I feel inspired to return to regular exercise…

Going out on the wire, originally uploaded by stevenjbaker.

Racing a Hobie 16 single-handed on a gusty day

Race day was comical, with lulls followed by moderate gusts from various directions.

In a mixed fleet, Remko and I were first over the line in a Tiger two out of three in the morning. For the third, Remko took a unilateral decision to put in a capsize in the last minute before the start, giving us a finish of third on the water.

In the first of the afternoon, we were part of a bizarrely mixed group of boats who crossed the line at more or less the same time. Never before have I seen two Tigers and a half dozen Hobie 16s finish with three Lasers. (We’ll see what the handicap system makes of all this shortly, but I expect a Laser won.)

The comedy then turned risky as the gusts became near gale force. Remco and I were knocked down violently, with Remco gashing his leg on some part of the boat. The staff team in a Tiger were dismasted a little later when a shroud snapped:

Wildwind 36, originally uploaded by stevenjbaker.

The Tiger was soon fixed:

Wildwind 79, originally uploaded by stevenjbaker.

Remco will take a little longer.

(And I just learned that a Laser won.)

Wildwind 58 – Version 2, originally uploaded by stevenjbaker.

No photos of me today — Beth was busy — but a few good shots of others.

This is a Hobie Tiger, the boat I used to own.