Arms as a gimbal

 Filming sailing from the Whaly powerboat, is it best to use a tripod with a gimbal to hold the camera or take it off the tripod and hold it? The camera in my hands produced much better and more stable shots, although my arms ached after an hour.

Wersi Vision and Chord Fixed

 I was having an interesting problem with Version 3. The Wersi Chord and Vision installed ok and worked ok, but no sound.

A telephone call to Allens Music Store with Tom in the UK and a Teamviewer session, and he then handed me over to Ulrich, who diagnosed the problem in seconds, and within a few minutes, the Vision and Chord were working.

Somehow, in the VST area, the mapping hadn't worked properly, Ulrich pulled the units out reconnected them and now it works. I'm playing with Wersi Vision and Wersi Chords and the Lowery. Great Fun.

Thanks to Ulrich Wildhack at the Music Store and Tom Horton - Professional Musician at Allens Music Centre

So if you have a similar problem with no sound from Wersi Vision and/or Wersi Chord, then try this.

From the Settings Menu, go into VST and then click/touch on the Green, Blue, Red, and Yellow tabs to call up the mappings.

These will expand out.

Drag out the Blue Wersi Vision and then on the dot connect this to both outputs.

Do the same with the Green Wersi Chord tab.

Remember to save this. Then all my VST's and the new Chord and Visions VST's worked.

Sailing Tuition

 I am so bad at sailing many members of the club spent time with me over the weekend trying to improve my skills - and it really did seem to make a difference so thanks to all of them.

One of the sailing Instructors at the club lives a few doors away from the club and watched Paul and I sail across the river and back for an hour or so not really making it past her window, so she offered to help me and by tying the boat to the shore with not sails getting me to learn to lean out of the boat further and further to balance the boat as my son did the same the other side. We then put this into practice as one of the Cadets took us out as the helm in windy conditions. All of that and their adventures will have to be made into a film.

New Sailing Rules Talk

 The 2025 New Sailing Rules. Recording the presentation for all the members to view who couldn't attend the talk at the Upper Thames Sailing Club 

Red Kite

 Just when you have the wrong lens on the camera the red kite decides to fly over you to check you out.

New Wersi problems

Version 3 of the new Wersi OAX programme is installed. The new Lowery organ emulator is working really well, but I am having problems with two other parts that are not working well. Wersi Vision - I can play around with the software, but no sound when I press the green button using the presets only and Wersi Chord, I can play with the software but can't hear any difference, and some lower parts on the Lowery Accompaniment section - no sound - but it works in some registrations. It's a new motherboard with Win 11 from Wersi, but still old other bits. That may be the difference - worked ok in 2.92. Any ideas?

 

Capsize

 It was quite a windy day on the River Thames, so I managed to capture one of the dinghy sailors in the water after his boat capsized. The rescue boat was with him all the time, just out of shot.

Wersi Version 3

 After a long wait, the new Wersi Upgrade has been released. I have paid my money and am awaiting the upgrade key so that I can install the software and try out all the new features of the full pack that I have been waiting for.

Stuck in the Past

Daylight Savings Time is with us, bringing a lighter evening, but one room in my house with radio-controlled clocks is stuck in GMT. None of the clocks in this room changed—although they have before. They all now have new batteries and are hopefully feeling more springlike.

Completing the Decking

My Mum had some  new decking done last year but the men never came back to complete it once they had their money so I had to finish off the job.

 

Partial eclipse

Observing the partial solar eclipse. Using a pair of binoculars and projecting them sun’s image onto a piece of paper. We have some special glasses but they are only safe for a very short look at the sun.

 

Music Via Zoom

Ros on a zoom call having her music lesson. Zoom needs to be setup to know we are transmitting music so that it doesn't cut off the music.. The video is routed through an ATEM but as yet we haven't needed a sound mixer.
 

Canon R5C

 Still, my Camera of choice for video and stills is the Canon R5C. The video quality is first-rate, and the small format is great compared to other video cameras. Just pop in a battery and a DTap, and we can do all the videoing we need.

Scaler 3

I am trying out the new Scaler 3 app, which is standalone or fits into a DAW. I have used Scaler 2 for chord progressions before, but the new version is much improved and has loads of new features. It should help with composing background music for films.
 

Moasure

 After making the GIS maps of the Sailing Club, we are now going to add even higher-resolution shapes to the system, using @MoasureOfficial to measure the boat areas to the nearest cm.

Swan Landing

 A Swan coming in to land on the water, applying maximum flaps and lowering the landing gear!

First Day out on the River in 2025

 We were taking the RS Toura for the first time this year. Fixing things meant we missed the race, so instead, we sailed up and down the river, practising our turns and trying to catch what little wind there was out there.

Mapping using a GPS

Using the GPS to walk around the Sailing Club mapping out the car park and the frontage so we can create an accurate map of where we can store the boats.
 

March Gardening

A nice day, so it is time to get out in the garden in the warm sunshine and get the lawn mowed and start to tidy up the borders before the wet weather comes and it gets colder again. Need to get this done because it is the return to sailing this weekend.
 

🌱 March in the Garden: Spring into Action!

Ah, March—when the garden begins to wake up from its winter slumber and everything smells like spring is on the way. Daffodils nod, buds swell, and birds are busily house-hunting in hedges and trees. It’s a month full of promise—and yes, quite a few jobs to get stuck into!

Here’s theMarch gardening to-do list to help your garden flourish through spring and beyond.

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🧤 General Jobs

✅ Tidy up winter damage
Clear away dead stems, soggy leaves, and broken branches. Cut back dead perennial growth and rake up leaf litter to prevent slugs setting up camp.

✅ Weeding begins now
Weeds are opportunists! Remove them while they’re small to save yourself a big headache later. A hoe on a dry day is your best friend.

✅ Mulch, mulch, mulch
Spread a 5cm layer of well-rotted compost or manure around your plants—especially perennials and shrubs. It feeds the soil, conserves moisture, and suppresses weeds.

✅ Check tools and equipment
Clean your tools, sharpen your secateurs, and check that the lawnmower starts. Fix it now—before the first sunny weekend has everyone scrambling to the shed.

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🌼 Flowers

🌸 Sow hardy annuals
Direct sow hardy annuals like calendula, cornflowers, and poppies outdoors from mid-March, or start them in trays under cover.

🌸 Plant summer-flowering bulbs
Now’s the time to plant bulbs like dahlias, lilies, and gladioli. If the ground’s too soggy, start them in pots under cover.

🌸 Prune roses
If you haven’t done this yet, prune hybrid teas and floribundas now. Cut just above an outward-facing bud and remove any crossing or weak stems.

🌸 Divide perennials
Clumps of perennials like hostas, daylilies, and asters can be lifted and divided before they put on too much growth.

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🥕 Fruit & Veg

🥬 Sow under cover
Start tomatoes, chillies, aubergines, and cucumbers indoors. You can also sow salad leaves, beetroot, and peas in trays or modules.

🥕 Sow outdoors (weather permitting)
If the soil is workable (not waterlogged or frozen), you can sow carrots, parsnips, and onions. Warm the soil first with cloches or fleece if it's still chilly.

🍓 Plant soft fruit
Bare-root strawberries, raspberries, currants, and gooseberries can still go in. Give them a good mulch and water well.

🥔 Chit your potatoes
If you haven’t already, set your seed potatoes in a cool, bright place to sprout. Aim to plant first earlies late March (weather depending).

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🌳 Trees, Shrubs & Lawns

🌿 Plant new shrubs and trees
Still time to plant bare-root and container-grown shrubs and trees while they're dormant.

✂️ Prune shrubs
Finish pruning winter-flowering shrubs like mahonia and viburnum once flowering ends. Also prune back dogwood and willow grown for colourful stems.

🌱 Lawn care begins
Rake out moss and thatch, edge the borders neatly, and sow grass seed in bare patches. Once it starts growing, give your lawn its first gentle mow with the blade set high.

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🐝 Wildlife Corner

🌼 Encourage pollinators
Plant early-flowering plants like hellebores, pulmonaria, and crocuses to give emerging bees a welcome snack.

🐦 Clean and refill bird boxes
If you're putting up new boxes, do it now! Birds are already scouting for nests. Also scrub bird feeders and baths to prevent disease.

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🌦️ Final Thought

March is a month of change—bright days, wild winds, and surprise frosts. So watch the weather forecast, wear layers, and enjoy the feeling that warmer, greener days are just around the corner. The garden’s waking up—don’t miss the moment! - the rain will be coming.

Filming the water experiments

 I'm filming the Making Potable Water experiments. I'm starting with the pH of the water and comparing the difference using a Universal indicator or a @pascoscientific wireless pH probe. Next up, I'll be distilling sea water to make safe water to drink.

Flat Battery

For the want of a battery, the film was lost—well, nearly. It seemed that all the Canon batteries we could find were flat, so we had to use a different camera instead—not the best move, but it did work.
 

New Mount

 A new suction cup mount so that we can mount another camera on the boat - and of course for other uses. I have more mounts than cameras so we are prepared.

Sail GP

Asked a question and got an answer on the Friday Met Office Livestream Weather Studio Live about the SailGP in Los Angeles. The wind delivered, making for some thrilling racing and an exciting weekend of sailing action! #SailGP

Using GIS

Using GIS data and QGIS to help sort out the boat parking problems at the Upper Thames Sailing Club. Can we reorganise to get more boats in and make it more efficient?
 

It's a Boat Hook

 Our new boat hook from @RevolveTec. A fantastic idea. The boat hook get in the way when not in use. This one rolls up and extends in seconds to form a 1.9m strong boat hook and can have other adaptors. We are now off to try it out.

What is it?

 I went to the Photography and Video Show and saw this and had to buy it. Have you any idea what it is? Solution tomorrow

Working on shop photos

 

We used the light box with some products on the turntable and made some short videos to show the whole product. We repeated using the boxes, then the product inside, and then setup and working.

Papershoot camera

The papershoot camera. No screen, no viewfinder to speak of. Just point and shoot with a variety of filters. The camera can have many different cases and is very thin and light. It will interesting to see what it can do.
 

Photography Show

 At the Photography show at the Excel in London. My wife decided to buy a very simple camera with no viewfinder or screen. I bought a Boat Hook and tripod. Saw quite a few things I would like especially the VR camera from Canon.

Raising the Mast

Raising the mast at Upper Thames Sailing Club. The mast has been down for repainting, and on Sunday, many volunteers winched it back into its upright position and fixed the yardarm in place.

 

Beginner set up

 One of the best features of the Wersi organ is the ability to display the sheet music on the organ and scroll up and down using a button press—using a pedal switch. We can also add an MP3 file to play along with—great for my wife's learning.

Drone Flying

 Preparation for some Drone flying. Getting the drone charged and updated with the latest firmware before going off to fly the drone this weekend, and checking out the maps for safe flying zones.

Exam Questions

Working on some new exam questions for GCSE and A Level Chemistry