Blinded By the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band

From very early morning a weather front as black as the Ace of Spades hung high over Weymouth, but to the south there was a broad band of clear sky letting through a bright bolt of sunshine. On my walk through both the cemetery and Radipole Nature Reserve a 'white stick' would have come in very handy as, despite wearing sunglasses I could hardly see where I was going. At the later, Siskins were still migrating through, 2 Kingfishers were bombing too and fro along the reed edges as 21 Mediterranean Gulls bathed and preened close to the Visitor's Centre. Also there, the heightened water level had seen off the last remaining Black-tailed Godwits while a little further along

in a dark corner by the Gurkha Restaurant 2 Grey Wagtails were feeding until my approached flushed them.

Some of these images are outstanding from the past couple of days.

A chance to visit the St Mary Church, along the Weymouth thoroughfare of the same name, not for religious reasons but to visit the

to which I have only recently been alerted.

There, my old school mate Terry Why has some of his artwork for sale.

Although he has only been producing these Ship Silhouettes for a couple of years,

Terry tells me there has been quite a high demand for them. Get there before it's too late!

This lone Purple Sandpiper was foraging close to the Pulpit Rock at Portland Bill yesterday,

while it has recently been discovered that there are now 2 (and possibly 3) Little Owls in the obs quarry. This crevice in the rocks is a favourite perching place for these birds, but on this occasion one had been ousted by a Rabbit, leaving the Owl out on a limb (or rock whichever you prefer). Not too keen on that perch, it did fly back to the crevice where the Rabbit gave way and sort sanctuary at the back of the hole.

The second Little Owl was perched some distance away.

At the Portland Bird Observatory (PBO) there was the strange sight of at least 2 dozen Angle Shades Moths all clinging to an egg tray recently removed from one of the Moth Traps.

Shortly after this PBO Warden Martin Cade recovered this 'first winter' male Sparrowhawk from one of the Mist Nets.

This was my first experience of this species 'in the hand' so took full advantage taking a series of shots.

There is one person in particular who I know will be delighted to see this picture of Bessie the Obs resident cat (don't I Deborah?), so this one's for you.

and finally a couple of species that graced the National Sailing Academy this week

Oystercatcher

and Little Egret

We Are Sailing II - Rod Stewart II

More cloudy, less windy and a good deal colder it was an ideal day for walking Portland Bill, but you didn't have to be the World Speed Sailing Champion to realise no records were going to be broken today.

A quick look across Portland Harbour and it could be seen that

the 'early birds' were all but becalmed, but

after a good nights sleep in a multitude of very swish looking Mobile Homes no one had travelled all this way to be thwarted!

Already the Sail Boarders were preparing, not at all deterred by the lack of wind, as

as the multitude, mostly children, poured in from all directions

for a day on the 'High Seas'. On view were many of the weird and wonderful contraption designed specifically to break the Sailing World Record,

not least this 'vessel' which those of you who know

the Rock band Yes vocalist Jon Anderson might think this a fine blueprint for the

Moorglade Mover featured on his seminal album 'Olias of Sunhillow'. You'd also need to be Andersonesque to fit into the passenger seat!

Others include the 3 craft shown above, I could only find the 'beer bar' on 2 of them.

As already stated, the 2012 team have already been decided, but here's a tip for the 2016 or the next World Championships where, I predict, Alex Mills-Barton seen here with his Laser Class Yacht will feature prominently.

The 470 Class boats were also putting to sea,

as were the abundance of School Children setting out in Dragon Boats,

Kayaks

and Oil Drum Rafts

. There was even a little friendly rivalry as the Dragon Boats went into race mode,

all watched over by several Safety Boats.

With Olympic Crews already selected, Team GB are able to put their boats through their paces, under the watchful eye of King George III sat astride his charger on Osmington Hill (background).

Lasers too were catching some wind,

and some were still trying to break speed records.

I have spent most of the day with my friend Patricia Shearing from Reading on a 2 day visit, so hopefully we'll be covering some local ground together tomorrow.

We Are Sailing - Rod Stewart

After only a short wait my promised invitation from my good friend Adrian (Adi) Baker came to fruition today. Under a clear blue and cloudless sky he picked me up from my house and drove me half way along Chesil Beach, observing all the way that the weather was nowhere near good enough. Had it been any other week of the year I would likely have rounded on him, but this is World Speed Sailing Week taking place in Portland Harbour with, as the title suggests, the finest 'Speed Sailors' in the World mustered and determined to break existing records. As with many sports, nothing is simple, there being a number of categories, but to give the reader some idea of the speeds we are talking about the current 500 metre record stands at 55.65 knots (close to 64 miles per hour) while the Nautical Mile record is 50.17 knots (a fraction under 58 mph).

The World Sailing Speed Record Council, founded in 1972, is the body authorized by the International Sailing Federation to confirm speed records of sailing crafts (boats or sailboards) on water (not on ice or land). In the early years the council only dealt with claims of speed records on a one-way leg of 500 metres. Since 1988 the WSSRC is also responsible for offshore sailing records, because there were several controversial claims about the times of long voyages.

One or more meetings were held every year and since 2001 the council has had a permanent secretariat. The members of the expert council from Australia, France, Great Britain and the USA assess record claims. Record holders and their times are listed. WSSRC also issues Performance Certificates to sailors who wish to be officially timed over accepted courses without breaking records.

Adi, a full time Paramedic, loves the sport (among many others) of Wind Surfing and is a qualified part time instructor at the Official Test Centre & Sailing School owned by fellow boarder Tristram Best attached to, but separate from, the National Sailing Academy where we arrived firstly today. Once there, I got straight among several of the worlds top performers, including Ant Baker (no relation to either of us) seated, all starring dejectedly at their wind speed indicators.

Puffed out already after the mile and a half drive from my place Adi took to the deckchair awaiting coffee.

Leaving anemometers and barographs behind, there were far more sophisticated way of predicting weather conditions, just consult the Forecasting Stone.

Under the protective cover of The Red Duster (Ensign of the Great British Mercantile Marine) stands the

but much more than this, it is also a legacy of the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games with all craft and competitors being based here, while

ALL of the sailing events will take place in the 'local waters' of Portland Harbour & Weymouth Bay. After this, the most prestigious of all world events, the buildings, facilities and adjoining acreage will become the property of the people of the United Kingdom and serve for generations to come as the 'National' Sailing Academy. Don't let me hear anyone say "what have the Olympic Games done for our Borough and Country" after seeing and reading this!

A most welcoming smile from The Receptionist as we entered the Main Building to take a look

around, firstly up the stairway leading to the lounge and viewing platform.

Next to the Cafeteria, where there was to be a huge added bonus for me

as after 6 years I met up once again with one of my longest standing friends in Weymouth and now Catering Manager, Barbara Perry who's name still hangs over one of the borough's finest restaurants, Perry's on Weymouth Quay.

Next, we visited the Check-in Tent

where all competitors have to register their intent to sail,

and in the company of many exalted members of the world's Sailing Fraternity. Here, I also met Race Officer Mark Deverell who offered me the kindest hospitality by way of an invitation to take one of the Safety Boats out to The Opus 'the' Race Officials Boat out in Portland Harbour. Unfortunately there was not time but maybe later in the week?

Here also sailors can pick up their GPS & Wind Indicator Equipment.

It is hoped to bring some more photographs to the Blog tomorrow, of a number of the strange sailing craft taking part in this event, but for now some of the other activities going on today. There were somewhere in the region of 150 children taking part in a variety of activities, but teachers were (rightly) not keen for photo to be taken. However,

these lads from Weymouth Collage were obliging while constructing their own Oil Barrel Raft.

we'll come back to these gentlemen a little later in the 'post'!

The UK crews for next year's Olympics have already been selected and here are part of Team GB launching there boats for practice runs.

The Dragon Boats await their crews as well with more photos tomorrow.

At the Academy there are also plenty of undercover stowage's, maintenance areas, offices and classrooms.

These Dutch Speed Sailors are a little late for this years event, but tell me there is enough determination and enthusiasm to get the vessel ready for next year.

'Abandon Ship' and so back to the lads from Weymouth College and I feel sure that barrel looks a little loose?

Undaunted, despite having failed with both Sheet Bend and Matthew Walker Knot, 'all hands' boarded the 'sea-worthy' craft and set off for the 'New World'!

and finally, for now at least, as I walked the Beach Road back towards Weymouth, coincidentally Adi's wife the lovely Tracey Baker, sprinted past continuing her training for the Iron Man (Woman) Competition - Good Luck Tracey!