The Solent area is packed with so much to see, that if you are visting for just one day or a weekend, then the best way to see as much of it as possible is by getting a rib charter.
For anyone not familiar with the area, the Solent is a thirty mile strip of water between the South Coast of England and the Isle of Wight.
It is one of the best sailing areas in the world due to a combination of its maritime history, the incredible variety of coastal landscapes, the areas of outstanding natural beauty surrounding it, the variety of sailing conditions that if offers, and the sheer diversity of the towns, villages, harbours and marinas that border it.
It is often called the home of sailing and yachting, although it is also a unique playground for water activities of all kinds.
A rib (or rigid-inflatable-boat) is a lightweight, high performance boat powered by an outboard motor that typically carries between two and ten people/passengers, travels at up to 50mph, and is very stable and seaworthy.
A Solent rib is very manoeuverable and versatile, and can carry you for a steady sightseeing cruise around the Solent as comfortably as it can take you for a white knuckle ride blasting over the waves from Chichester at the eastern end, to Lymington at the western end.
To charter or hire a Solent rib costs between £300-£400 a day, (depending on season, size of rib etc) and this will include life jackets and insurance, but not diesel or refreshments. A Solent rib charter can be bareboat, (where you “drive” it yourself if you are sufficiently experienced) or skippered by a qualified professional. The latter option is the most popular, and this also provides you with your very own local guide who has local knowledge and can provide a running commentary, advise on the best places to go, and who knows where the best pubs and restaurants are.
Solent rib hire can give you an exciting opportunity to race with, or just admire the many varieties of boats and ships on the water at any given time. Southampton is a major commercial port so you can get container ships, cruise ships, ferries, tugs, hovercraft etc, and Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy, so you might see battleships or aircraft carriers etc. You can always see the Historic Ships anchored in Portsmouth Harbour, or the three Palmerston forts in the sea itself. Perhaps a regatta shops restaurants and pubs on the waterfront at the magnificent Gunwharf Quay, or admire the spectacular views of the Solent from the Spinnaker Tower.
A Solent rib charter offers a unique and memorable way to spend quality time with the quality people in your life, be they friends, family or colleagues. They operate all year round and are perfect for personal cruises, Stag and Hen parties, Corporate Events, or team-building exercises . You can even arrange a package combining rib charter with a treasure hunt, a helicopter ride, and 4×4 offroad driving if you really want an action packed experience you’ll never forget.
A Solent Charter awaits you, and the Solent looks forward to welcoming you !
Glass is one of those everyday materials that we use everywhere and it is taken for granted a lot of the time. We use it in our cars, buildings, light bulbs and wine glasses, but few people know exactly how glass transforms from raw materials into the functional molded end products. Here are the stages of glass production.
1.) The raw materials of glass are sand and some additional elements. Not any old sand will do and most often Silica is used, in combination with certain amounts of soda ash and also limestone. The amount of each component used has quite a big impact on how the glass turns out, and additional elements are often used to alter density and colour etc. For example, a glass blower might add a small amount of red dye to the mix to make pink champagne glasses.
2.) This mix of minerals is heated up to approximately 1800oC. At this temperature the minerals in the mixture all become liquid and blend together. Very large furnaces are needed to generate the heat to melt glass. Traditionally the glass mix was heated in coal-powered furnaces, however electric furnaces are increasing in number all the time. In its molted form, glass can be manipulated very easily and can be blown or moulded into pretty much any shape desired. The skills involved in manual glass making takes years to learn and are often passed on through generations.
3.) Once the glass has been shaped it is left to cool down. This cooling period directly effects how the hardened glass will end up in terms of how strong it is, how it reacts when broken, and how refractive it is. For example, whisky glasses are often cooled slowly as this makes them less susceptible to scratches, although the refractive index is slightly lower than other types of glass
Skiing is not a hobby you can do all year around, so it’s best that you milk the break while the snow covered slopes stay intact. Sure, with today’s modern technological advances it’s possible to go skiing indoors, but any recreational or seasoned skier will tell you that pumped out synthetic snow just doesn’t compare to the real thing. Good old school real snow is powdery and simple to slide through, while infrequently your skis get caught in imitation snow because occasionally it manifests with an unpleasantly hard and corpulent texture.
Plus, out of doors scenery is a massive part of the skiing experience, and with indoor skiing you’re confined inside a simulated environment, and when you look up and around you can see created ceiling and walls instead of roomy sky and majestic mountains in the distance. Even if you do not have to stress about it being the wrong time of year, indoor skiing has its restrictions, literally, and the indisputable fact that you can’t go outdoor skiing outside the winter season makes it a special experience.
If you decide to treat yourself and spring for the genuine thing, timing and expenses are a concern, but happily there are lots of ski holiday packages available to help out. You can browse through a massive selection of ski vacation packages at ski.com, where you can filter results and customise your ski trip by date, location, resort, how many people going, lodging, flight and vehicle rental. You may also find some great deals and exclusive offers that offer you with serious savings, like repayments on lodging and even nights that you can stay absolutely free.
arranging a ski vacation is made simple thru a comprehensive glance at the best resorts, testimonials, videos, and the chance to speak with agents. 3D maps are also available so you can try the location and terrain of different areas, even for international ski holiday packages. You can explore virtually every aspect of the ski holiday experience before you really go on the trip, and by the time you do you will know totally what should be expected. This guarantees a great ski holiday that you can never forget.
The smartest thing is that browsing ski vacation packages at www.ski.com is fully free. It sounds too good to be true, but all this helpful insider information is provided to you at no charge. So if you decide to plan a ski trip this winter, head on over to their internet site and exploit some early booking savings.
So you like skiing and most likely winter sports generally. Have you tried ice skating already? Great feeling too. A major worry is to keep the skates sharp. The Dutch are top flight in ice skating and a newbie skater has made the Sharp Master. From what you can hear, it helps to make the skates pointy, schaatsen slijpen he calls it, so that the skater can reach maximum speed.
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