Locked down

It would be fair to say that parliamentary scrutiny of the current lockdown rules was not quite as thorough as it would have been with less time pressure.

It’s probably also true to say that the distillation of the current rules into a soundbite /slogan telling everyone to stay at home has closed the door to a number of activities which did no harm and may have done some good, such as walking your dog in the countryside of the Peak District rather than round a crowded housing estate in Sheffield.

One casualty was sailing. Each day I have managed to cycle to the local (deserted) sailing club and sometimes managed a sail on the deserted tidal inlet. I meet hardly anyone on these trips and if someone does insist on helping me up the slipway, if they push and I pull there is 4.4m between us.

Now the local do-gooders, quoting the guidance on the RYA website, are suggesting this is an ‘unnecessary journey’ and that I’d better stop doing it.

When the lockdown was formulated I bet sailing wasn’t thought about at all. Tennis and golf were mentioned but not sailing and certainly not sailing in a remote area where, to the north-east, the next inhabited land is the Lofoten Islands.

I am writing this in the hope that when someone in government considers the ways in which the lockdown might be eased, someone in the RYA working from home might put in a plug to allow recreational sailing under some circumstances.

I know it seems such a trivial thing to worry about when people are dying, losing their jobs and suchlike, but it would make a big difference to me.

And If I could drive the three miles it would take to get the dog to the (deserted) beach I am sure he’d appreciate it.

George Morris