The season here (in Alberta) hasn't quite yet gotten underway - we keep getting these big stupid heavy spring dumps of snow, and it's really messing with my getting both boats and trailers ready. Notwithstanding that, however, a friend just raised a possibility for later in the season (e.g. fall).

He's living/working in Brussels, and on a quick trip back here (visa requirements) we had coffee this morning, and he floated the idea that his apartment may be empty for a few weeks - maybe a month - later in the summer, maybe in the fall. A visit over there could be a lot of fun, especially since my last couple of trips (mainly to Paris) were only a few days. But if the water is still open here, I'm loathe to leave and miss time on it. So are there any hot spots over there (meaning: within a couple of hours by train from Brussels) where there's enough action and a cat sailor or two who might be interested in welcoming a visting crew? Because if so, I wouldn't mind leaving my own rides behind for a couple of weeks and packing a diaper, lifejacket, and wetsuit for some different fun. Otherwise, pretty hard to walk (fly) away from an already-too-short season here, as great as a little time on the continent is.

Back before the earth cooled you used to be able to travel just about anywhere and rent an H16, but not anymore, and though perhaps there might spots where one can rent a plastic Hobie, something more interesting would be more interesting, and sailing with new people is always cool.

So, any pointers?

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Southern Alberta and all over the damn place.
*
1981 SuperCat 20 "Roberts' Rockets"
1983 SuperCat 19
TriFoiler #23 "Unfair Advantage"
Mystere 17
Unicorn A-Class (probably made by Trowbridge) that I couldn't resist rescuing at auction.
H18 & Zygal (classic) Tornado - stolen and destroyed - very unpleasant story.
Invitation and Mistral and Sunflower and windsurfers w/ Harken hydrofoils and god knows what else...
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What the hell can be done about this spam?

Is it as simple as not allowing guest posting? Why hasn't that been disabled?



Edited by jonathan162 on May 07, 2024 - 04:33 PM.

jonathan162

What the hell can be done about this spam?

Is it as simple as not allowing guest posting? Why hasn' that been disabled?Edited by jonathan162 on May 07, 2024 - 12:41 PM.

Agreed. The Beachcats site has become unbearable.

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Philip
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P.M.

jonathan162

What the hell can be done about this spam?

Is it as simple as not allowing guest posting? Why hasn' that been disabled?Edited by jonathan162 on May 07, 2024 - 12:41 PM.

Agreed. The Beachcats site has become unbearable.

Apologize again for the spam posts. Guests that aren't logged in are not supposed to be able to post. But a problem with the forum software is allowing that to happen. I haven't been able to track down the reason.

The real solution is to rebuild the website completely with all new software, things that I use every day in my web development business, I've hesitated because of the decades of content on this site. I've attempted tests of migrating the data, image gallery, classifieds, forum, news posts over without success because of the age of the site.

I may have to resort to just building a completely new site and starting from scratch after 22 years. After the new site is built (can probably import the member username/emails to create new accounts for everyone) get volunteers or some paid data entry to copy over the old content manually.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

How To Create Your Own Cool Avatar

How To Display Pictures In The Forums.
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In 2002, we used nothing. This site was an upgrade from BBS messaging. The first iPhone was in 2007. The Android smartphone followed in 2008. Nothing lasts forever. If there is a way to archive the forums, images, and port user accounts to a new platform, it's more than worth the loss of the functionality of the old site will be the new beginning. This site drives the knowledge base of legacy and current catamarans, and it no longer serves that function. Every visit requires logging in or our posts are lost to guest spam. This software and site are no longer sustainable. The regulars will migrate to a new platform and having the old site archived as a reference will be invaluable if it can be linked to new posts and threads.

--
Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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When is Round Texel? Maybe you could time your trip to that??

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John

Nacra 5.0
CT
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DamonLinkous

P.M.

jonathan162

What the hell can be done about this spam?

Is it as simple as not allowing guest posting? Why hasn' that been disabled?Edited by jonathan162 on May 07, 2024 - 12:41 PM.

Agreed. The Beachcats site has become unbearable.

Apologize again for the spam posts. Guests that aren't logged in are not supposed to be able to post. But a problem with the forum software is allowing that to happen. I haven't been able to track down the reason.

The real solution is to rebuild the website completely with all new software, things that I use every day in my web development business, I've hesitated because of the decades of content on this site. I've attempted tests of migrating the data, image gallery, classifieds, forum, news posts over without success because of the age of the site.

I may have to resort to just building a completely new site and starting from scratch after 22 years. After the new site is built (can probably import the member username/emails to create new accounts for everyone) get volunteers or some paid data entry to copy over the old content manually.

Thanks Damon. I'm confident that we have no idea the commitment and time it takes to keep this site fine tuned and running properly. Thanks for sharing the problems and the process. As stated, the decades of content, tutorials, member help albums, etc. are PRICELESS! It's a thankless job but I for one appreciate your commitment. Stay the course.

--
Philip
--

ctcataman

When is Round Texel? Maybe you could time your trip to that??

(Thanks for bringing it back to the actual subject...)

June 5-8, so too soon for this possible trip. It looks like a gas, but I'm also not a (serious) racer.

There are a few places on the Belgium coast that you can rent cats. When visiting family I have rented from this company https://windhaan.be/. They are located on the North Sea and have a good variety of cats available at a reasonable price. They are knowledgeable and friendly.

From Brussels you can take a train/bus combination to reach it.

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1980 Prindle 18 (sold)
1984 Hobie 14Turbo (sold)
2013 Nacra F16
2018 Topaz Uno RaceX
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