Water

Water was all in the wrong place today. There was none in the harbour (high tides dawn and dusk) but the stuff was pouring out of the sky pretty much most of the day.

I couldn't go out anyway because the stretcher or footrest on Snarleyow was broken. I suspect I bodged the repair last time. So today was spent dodging out between showers and doing a bit of the job at a time. Here is the final result, in the dark and in the rain.
On a more positive note, I have had a result on the rowing trousers front.
Readers with long memories may recall I have been searching for waterproof trousers/footwear for getting in and out of the boat, that does not involve either waders (too sweaty) or shorts (too embarrassing).
Waterproof socks with sandals sprung leaks very quickly due to grit coming in between sole and shoe.
At the Home Built Boat Rally at Cotswold Water Park, Tim O'Connor was showing of a new pair of trews in a water-repelling fabric.
Get them wet, and the water just rolls off and they are bone dry within seconds of getting out.
I bought a pair of beach shoes used by divers at the very acceptable price of a fiver, a pair of Berghaus polyamide/spandex mix trousers. These were a sixty quid, more than I have ever spent on trousering in my entire life.
But the combo works a treat! The shoes fill with water, but the water then keeps your feet warm just like a wet suit. The trouser bottoms dry out instantly you get in the boat, and they keep the wind off nicely as I discovered in the Great River Race.
But there was a totally unexpected benefit that makes that £60 look very good value indeed.
The old cotton chinos I had been wearing for rowing before had been causing painful chafing, especially when they got wet. The spandex not only stays bone dry, it allows my behind to slide slightly on the thwart, eliminating chafing. Rowing is now dry, comfortable and pain free. Let's hear it for spandex!