EDITORIAL

I hope it's fair to say that one indication you really do enjoy Flying Fish is the amount of feedback received, and without being too self-congratulatory I must say I've been amazed at the number of totally unprompted articles that have been arriving (as against those which result from varying degrees of arm-twisting, though none the less interesting for it.) So a big THANK YOU to all the members whose writings appear in this issue of Flying Fish and my apologies to those who sent in pieces only to have them omitted due to `pressure of space'.

How do I decide what stays and what goes? As a general rule, any member writing for the first time will receive a fair wind. So will accounts of cruises in areas not previously described, shorter submissions (1500 words fit neatly onto three pages), those accompanied by good photographs, and those received so early that I've dealt with them before the heap has really grown. So come on all you new members who've been cruising uncharted waters with your camera at the ready -- send in 1450 words by the end of July and YOU WILL BE PUBLISHED. For the rest of us, the ABSOLUTE DEADLINE for Flying Fish 1993/2 is 30th SEPTEMBER 1993 but as always, the earlier the better.

Judging by the number of longer pieces that reach me via Jeremy Knox (Club Secretary), and the fact that I occasionally have to forward shorter items to him, I suspect some members may be confused as to where the Newsletter ends and Flying Fish begins, or vice versa. Broadly, News from Voyaging Members should be just that -- brief synopses of passages and plans, changes in boat ownership etc, with a maximum length around 200 to 250 words (about a quarter of a sheet when printed). The Newsletter is also the best place for accounts of OCC events such as rally reports, not least because it comes out four times a year (early March, June, September and December) rather than just twice, and has a much shorter `lead' time (the time between going to press and publication). Jeremy's deadline for the Newsletter is three weeks, that for Flying Fish more than twice as long. So a short item received in late January should get into the March Newsletter, whereas a detailed account sent to Flying Fish at the same time would have to wait until June. To balance this loss of immediacy, Flying Fish can use the occasional account running to 5000 words (ten printed pages), though for the majority I prefer no more than 2500 to 3000 words (five to six pages).

Changing the subject completely -- if you've spotted my new address on page 3 and try to telephone me between now and the end of August, my apologies but you probably won't get through. Wrestler, my 31ft home and office for the past eight years, only occupies a marina berth from 1st September until 31st May (a combination of cost and not wishing her to become a houseboat). I'm fortunate to have been offered the sub-let of a Falmouth Harbour mooring from which it's only a step -- or a pleasant row -- to come and check for mail, but it's still too far for my telephone lead. Occasionally I'm seen sitting on the pontoon catching up on calls but meantime the telephone lives in boot of my car. I wish I could leave it in place, ansaphone and all, but that requires electricity so it's just not possible. However I'll be back in `office mode' from early September in good time for the next issue.

Enough about me -- Flying Fish is, or should be, your chance to write. May I wish all members a really excellent summer (or winter, depending on hemisphere) and lots of memorable experiences to recount in our next issue.

PS: One last sure-fire way of getting published -- don't be too serious. In the words of Roger Fothergill, whose Lament of a B.O.M appears on page 00: "We should never forget that if God hadn't had a sense of humour he'd never have created the human race".

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