From: Stephen White
Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2017
To: Sarah Curry
Subject: Re: Summer/Fall 2017: New Website, Free Tickets, and the Golden Gate Bridge

Hi Sarah,

Many thanks for your message,  this is going to be very pleasant reading.   Thank you and Will also for your video clips, which helped me a great deal with fitting ‘Vera’  to Wight Mistress.

I noted a poem here,  and being of a mind to waxy lyrical myself from time to time,  a poem about Vera popped into my head, so I scratched here for you if you would like it.

Vera’s First Voyage

I’ve been Christened Vera, I’m Wight Mistress’s steerer
From Hydrovane I came this year.
With drilling and fitting and spirit levels flitting
I now hang upright at her rear.

My first task this season was a cross Channel bimble
From Hamble to Normandy’s coast.
Some river close handling and cross traffic gambling
The wind of which I made the most.

For 10 hours solid with winds moist and squalid
I steered for my people with ease
The wind dropped a tad, which wasn’t too bad
Under motor, my performance still pleased.

About 6 hours later the wind dropped much further
It simply had run out of puff
But George was employed and for 6 hours he toyed
Thank goodness for batteries and stuff.

So if you are thinking of wind powered steering
There simply is no better way
So Hydrovane ‘Vera’s a permanent crew member
I really am now here to stay.

[Editor’s note – Many thanks, Steve! We love this one too.  You’ll have to recite it for us at the boat show! ]

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