17 July

He did indeed come home for Eleanor's prom and it was lovely for her to see him.
He only intended in staying a couple of days and then low and behold he had a viral tummy  bug which really threw out for a couple of days. Just slept  etc.

David went back to the boat last Wednesday (dropped him off at Newport Station on my way to work in Cardiff). Tony joined him on Friday night and they did a long sail from Milford Haven to Holyhead.  Taken about 24 hours and arrived there Sunday afternoon.

 More updates later!!

28th June 2012

Fiona....
He's home...again!!
This time a special reason - Eleanor's Prom Night.
Coming home from Milford Haven is relatively straightforward so why not as from then onwards - he definitely will not be able to pop home... a wee  bit difficult from Ireland, or Anglesey,  Isle of Man or where-ever....
Sir will be writing up his latest leg from Newlyn to Milford Haven -  about 34 hours sailing - solo!
Catch you later.

26 June 2012

24 June

21 June 2012 – Newlyn

Still here!  A real blow last night and from the East so the swell came in through the harbour entrance.  The disadvantage of a working harbour is the sea gulls and their droppings.  By last night the boat had a large number of droppings; fortunately the driving rain overnight has cleaned them off.

The next leg is Milford Haven some 125 nm away, about 30 hours sailing on my own – a bit worrying. The weather looks promising from the weekend so here’s hoping.  

19 June

19 June 2012 – Falmouth to Newlyn

After the strong winds over the weekend I finally set out from Falmouth to Newlyn.  My original plan was to go to Penzance as Newlyn has a poor reputation both on the web and in the Shell Guide regarding the relationship between fishermen and Yachtsmen.  It is, after all, a working fishing harbour!

I decided, in the end, that Penzance was not viable as it has a sill and is only accessible for 3 hours each tide.  Doing the calculations indicated that I would have to hang about for several hours before I could go in and exit several hours earlier than I needed to get the correct tides for Lands End.

In the end it was “a no brainer” – it had to be Newlyn.

To get the tide around the Lizard I slipped my moorings at 05:30 in a really beautiful morning.  The sun was shining on the houses behind the harbour and there was a gentle breeze.  Y main worry was that I had miscalculated the tides but the sight of 10 other yachts heading the same way reassured me.  Unfortunately, while I had the sails up, There was insufficient wind to drive the boat at more than 1.5 knots (why is it this trip either has gales of no wind?).  So we all set out under motor – the big boys shooting ahead and the small ones dropping behind. 

The tides were exactly as I wanted them and we shot down the coast and I, being conservative, had allowed the 3nm clearance the books recommended for the Lizard.  Some of the boats started to cut across and I went with them to some extent, but when I saw them rolling about I went back to my old course. Even so I did roll about for 30 minutes.

The rest of the trip was a very pleasant motor sail.

Newlyn really is a fishing harbour.  The EU has spent a lot of money upgrading the facilities including putting in pontoons. While the fishing boats have priority they tend to moor alongside the central quay allowing yachts to use the pontoons.  When you talk to the fishermen they all seem fine – more chatty than many of the yachtees!  There are limited facilities – public loos (which are kept clean but could do with an update), showers at the Fisherman’s Mission- but a good co-op close by and some electricity on the pontoons.  At £18 a night a good deal.

6 June -13 June Summary

6 June 2012 – Plymouth to Falmouth

The weather forecast for the days immediately after Michael, Laurie and Robert was horrendous – Force 9 gales. Having experienced being in a marina during a gale and being on a train route that would get me to Temple Meads without any problems I decided to go home (as good a way to get my washing done – by me I should add; Fiona was working!).  It was also helped that Fiona was working in Exeter on Monday so volunteered to drop me back.

I have to say I am extremely glad I did.  The marina had Force 9 with gusts of 70 knots (hurricane level winds!).  A pontoon had been ripped away and a couple of boats damaged but Akira looked ok.

10 June 2012 – Plymouth to Falmouth

A nice easy start (11:00) and motored out of Plymouth on the company of 20 odd boats.  Once outside the harbour put up the sails but virtually no wind and a very uncomfortable sea running – the remains of the gales and wind over tide.  Put the motor into neutral and the speed dropped from 5 knots to 1.5 which was barely steerage way in the awkward seas so carried on under engine.

The wind ended up directly on the bow and no matter what I did I couldn’t get it to work so put the sails away and just motored to Falmouth.  As the day progressed it started to drizzle then rain so not the most pleasant trip. The best part was coming into Falmouth.  It is a beautiful location and the marina staffs are really helpful.

When getting ready to leave Plymouth I discovered some damage the gales had caused.  The screws holding the spray hood to the coach roof had been ripped out and only when I lowered it did the fitting fall off. So that will need mending along with a couple of other bits that have come loose.

11/12 June – Falmouth

Spent a couple of days sorting the boat out and doing the little repairs that need doing and waiting for Tony and Tim to come down for a few days.  By the way the weather was “average”

To repair the attachments for the spray hood involved taking some of the cabin roof lining off, drilling holes through the deck, putting sealant on, putting bolts through cutting them to length and putting it all together again.  A job Stuart can do in half a day took me a day and a half!  Fortunately there was a chandlery on the quay for all the bits I needed.

13 June 2012

Tony and Tim arrived last night.  The original plan was to meet up in Penzance and they would come with to Milford Haven (about 120 nm), but, surprise surprise; the weather had not been very good so they came to Falmouth to go round the Lizard.  In the end we decided to just explore the River Fal and spent the day sailing/ motoring to Malpas.  The notes in the Shell Guide say that it is possible to get all the way to Truro but we decided not to.

Along one of the reaches (Tolverne) there are often moored tankers and other commercial ships waiting scrapping.  When we went past the spot there was only a Ro Ro ferry and a MV called the Windsor Castle.  

The following day the weather not any better so we got the bus to Truro.  Yes it is navigable to the bus station as there were a couple of old, dilapidated yachts there but I am not sure I would want to try it. 

19 June .... on way to Newlyn Cornwall

Fiona here.
If you look at the Jubilee entry - I have added in some  data from David today - this will give you more details what went on then!

David texted me this morning  about 6am saying that he was on way from Falmouth to Newlyn.
He is planning  to go on to Milford Haven tomorrow - I think. That will be a big challenge for him - taking about 30 hours to  get there. Still Milford Haven is  a nice little area and  about 2.5 hours for us to pop down and say Hello.

16 June 2012 – Falmouth

16 June 2012 – Falmouth

I am afraid that I have not updated the blog for some time for which I am duly sorry.  I just seem to be stuck in marinas while the boat rolls about like a drunken sailor on pay night.  I don’t suffer from seasickness normally but I have found being below sitting at a computer, reading, cooking or even sleeping I have felt a bit queasy.  Indeed there have been the odd meals times which I have not bothered with. 

Fortunately over the past few weeks I have moved towards Wales so I have been able to get home when the weather looks bad for a number of days and, hopefully, over the next week I should be in Milford Haven (Cardiff adds 50 miles an already long trip!)

17 May 2012 – Brighton to Gosport

A nice easy departure at 07:00 with, once I got out of the harbour, a nice breeze just aft of the port quarter. Pulled out the foresail; switched off the engine and set off for Gosport.  Unfortunately the sea state was very confused which resulted in a very uncomfortable ride until I got round Selsey Bill but after that it was a very pleasant sail.

The Solent was very quiet so I didn’t have any problems missing tankers, container ships, warships etc.  A straight motor into Gosport Marina and I was tied up and drinking coffee by 5pm.

The next day (Friday 18 May) was spent tidying the boat and getting everything sorted out for Tim and Tony (old friends of mine) to have some where to sleep for the weekend.  While they were getting sorted out and settled in I abandoned them and went to see Laura and James for the evening (somewhat unkind of me but I enjoyed the evening)

19 May 2012 – Gosport to Yarmouth

The plan for the weekend was to meet up with a friend (Nigel) from the Isle of Wight who we had not seen for a year or so.  He arrived about 9 and, after coffee, we set off.  Unfortunately there was very little wind and what there was came straight down the Solent.  After some discussion we decide to just motor to Yarmouth so we arrived about 2pm.

At this point things became “interesting”.  Yachts from two races staying were staying overnight in Yarmouth harbour and they had arrived well before us. As a result it was full of Junior Offshore Group boats (these are big boats – anywhere from 45 to 60 feet long) all rafted up. The Berthing Master had it all under control and pointed us to a vacant area outside a 45 footer moored to the pontoon.  The only problem was there were 3 very large racing rafted up in front of our ‘target boat’ and 4 behind it!  Remembering Stuart's advice (or was it instructions?) about speed we crept in to the gap and, with the help of Tony, Tim and the crew of the boat we were going to raft up against, we manhandled the boat in without destroying any of the very expensive equipment surrounding us.

Once we were rafted alongside the skipper of the boat inside us informed me that they would have to go at 8am the next day! I decided that tomorrow could take care of its self so we headed into Yarmouth and the pub.  When we returned we found 2 additional cruising boats rafted outside us!

20 May 2012 Yarmouth to Poole

We dragged ourselves out of bed about 7am.  Our plan to sail to Poole meant we had to leave at 11 but we had to move the boat so the racing boat could get out.  There was little or no activity until 7:45 when suddenly all the racing boats exploded with activity with people attaching sail halyards, sheets and god knows what else.  The two boas outside us got away easily but for us to do the same we would have to go sideways.  Fortunately the smaller boats in front had an earlier start time so they shot off leaving us space to pull ourselves onto the pontoon.

At 8am all hell let loose – all the engines started and racing boats started to charge about.  The helmsmen only had 2 speeds – flat out or stop!  Amazingly they all vacated the harbour in 15 minutes without anybody hitting anything.

We set out at 11 so that we could get the tide through the Needles Channel.  A gentle motor out, sails up and off we went.  A really lovely day and great sailing.  The tides were just right and we shot through the Needles Channel and getting the benefit all the way to Poole.

To round the day off as we came into the Poole channel a pod of Dolphins boat. It was a wonderful sight.

I had forgotten how large Poole harbour is and, against the tide, it took us about an hour to get to the marina.  At that point it all went pear shaped. The wind was blowing the boat off the pontoon and as we came in I didn’t notice a rope had fallen into the water. Everybody knows what happened next – the rope got caught around the propeller and broke in two.  Fortunately I managed to switch the engine off before it stalled.  We moored up and got ourselves sorted out and then I spoke to Stuart.  We agreed the best thing was to get the boat out of the water and I organised this to happen through marina contacts. 

The next day (Monday) Tim and Tony helped me get the mainsail off (it was due for its Warranty service and the sail company was in Poole) before they left for home.  I was still not happy about the possibility of some of the rope still attached to the prop so the marina organised a diver to come and have a look.  It took him 30 minutes to get dressed and 10 to get the remainder of the rope off the prop.

22 May 2012 - Marina to Yard

Stuart came down to just check the prop and cutlass bearing while the boat was out of the water.  We took the boat round to the yard, hauled it out and Stuart looked it over.  Fortunately there was no damage done!

Back on the water we left the boat moored to a buoy, delivered the sail to the sail maker and went back to Chepstow.

29 May 2012 – Yard to Marina

Fiona kindly drove me back to Poole and we collected the boat to take it back to the Poole Quay Marina.  While we were in the yard I got chatting to one of the lads in the yard.  He had got a puncture in his bicycle wheel.  I offered to give him a lift into town as he would have to walk a couple of miles to get it repaired.  What I didn’t realise he was going to take the whole bicycle with him so I ended up with a mountain bike on the deck.  Fiona felt that, as he worked in the yard, he would have some experience in handling boats.  Not so - she ended up showing him what to do and how to tie knots. 

We refitted the mainsail.  Unfortunately they had missed a bit of stitching that was coming apart so I had to take it off the next day.  I took me an hour to get it off, fold it and take it to sail makers.  10 minutes to fix it and 2 hours to put it back up!

1 June 2012 – Poole to Weymouth

Robert, my ex-wife and her husband’s son arrived the previous night and we set off about 11 for Weymouth. There was little or no wind so we spent intermittent periods sailing but much of the time motoring arriving about 6:30

Friends were due to meet us there were delayed on the M25, M3 etc. so that so they didn’t arrive until later than we anticipated but we still managed a couple of beers.

2 June 2012 – Weymouth to Dartmouth

The weather was beautiful and we set out at 7:50.  As soon as we were out of the harbour we had the sails up and headed towards Portland Bill.  I had planned to pass the Bill a couple of miles offshore so that we missed the Race (which can be very rough).  However a couple of yachts left before us and went close in to the shore.  I just followed them and we zoomed round the corner with only a slight disturbance where the race is.

We then started to gybe towards Dartmouth.  Some 3 hours out we had a visitor – a homing pigeon flew into the sail and fell onto the mainsheet grabbing it and hanging on for dear life.  This was fine until we needed to gybe – as I pulled it in the pigeon ran up the mainsheet until it couldn’t keep up and fell onto the side of the cockpit.  It stayed there for quite a long time despite Robert throwing a banana skill over his shoulder into the wind which promptly came back on board and landed on the poor animal.  In the end it decided the safest place was directly behind Robert and it stayed there until it departed.

Towards the end the wind got stronger and the waves were awkward so some of the crew felt a bit under the weather.  Robert, in particular, could only say below for a very brief time.  As soon as he finished below he would bound out of the hatch and very quickly got the nickname of Tigger.

We went into Kingswear marina only to find there was a serious lack of space.  They initially put us behind another boat but our stern stuck out halfway across the channel and it was obvious we could not stay there.  After looking around for a while the berthing master moved us to the waiting pontoon by the boat lift.  This was a temporary arrangement until Monday at 08:00 when they wanted access to get a boat out for a scrub.

One of the guys (Michael - an Australian) had competed in the Sydney to Hobart race and it was a joy to see an expert sail trim in action.

His wife (Yona) had brought them all to Weymouth and then followed us in her car to Dartmouth and joined us for dinner when we arrived. 

4 June 2012 – “a day of rest”

The weather forecast (as usual) was rubbish so we decided to have a “day of rest” exploring Dartmouth and sampling a few glasses of the amber nectar.

4 June 2012 – Dartmouth to Plymouth

Monday involved a nice easy start – we didn’t need to leave until 9:30.  We gentle motored out of Dartmouth and headed out hoping for some wind.  There was a little but not enough to sail so it was motor sailing all the way to Queen Anne’s Battery Marina.

Later that evening Yona and Laurie’s wife, Christine, joined us for dinner to round off a vice couple of days.

It was great to have company for a few days and there are a couple of long sails ahead where I could do with some help.  The problem is the weather – it is very unpredictable.

Everybody departed on the Tuesday.  

10 June 2012

Fiona:
I was having a bit of a tiddy week,  where I found life at home a bit tricky. Balancing kid's demands and social life with my scatty work of which one week to the next is never the same. Having had a skype chat with David on Wednesday evening at 6pm and offloading  a few grumbles, i had a bit of a shock about 7.45 where he texted to say he is on the train home from Plymouth. The guy next door to him took him to the station and the timing was amazing. Naturally I had  a big pang of guilt  and bit of  a flap at David popping home at  a short notice. The real truth - I found out later was that the weather for Thursday and Friday was appalling and would have to stay in the Marina anyhow. On top of that he knew  I was working in Exeter Saturday and Sunday -   and thought that would be an easy lift back!!
I was grateful - boosted us all up and made us all feel that we can tackle the world again!! Eleanor with her GCSES, Fraser with his upcoming grading for TaeKwonDo and me with mountain pile of paperwork!

So..
Yesterday we drove to Plymouth really early in the morning - arrived about 8.30 to do a spot of shopping,  and check the boat over after the horrendous storms ( just in case he needed a car to get stuff from chandlery etc) I arrived to work in Exeter a bit late but the team I was working with were fine.
Today - he sailed off to Falmouth and have had a text about 30 mins ago saying he has arrived. Tomorrow will be a bit of maintenance work on the boat and some TLC!.

So...
He  is back and making his way slowly down south west. Thereafter  - i am not sure of his plans - possibily go around Lands End and in to Padstow. There he will decide taking in weather consideration and timing, this will ditate whether he will go to Cardiff, Swansea or to Milford Haven or all three!! Some people who have never sailed before may well be hoping for a wee sail to get the taste of it. Who knows.....

Jubilee weekend

Brief log:
Poole - (Robert came and joined him)
Poole - Weymouth (Laurie and Michael joined the gang)
Weymouth to Dartmouth
Dartmouth - Plymouth

Tuesday 5th:
Laurie, Michael and Robert left.

30 May

Big apologies to be said here for those who peep at this every now and then.

There is something definitely wrong in my teaching methods  - it does not work on old dogs...yet ;- }! So that could be the reason for David not updating his blog??

Anyway - where was he?

Dover - managed to have a cracking sail to Gosport where he met up with some lovely friends for dinner - Barney - sorry James and Laura. (kids still call him Barney). The evening was finished off with Tony and Tim joining him for the weekend. The next bit - I am not so sure of - met up with Nigel  and then finally ended up in Poole by 20th May. 

The sails needed servicing with the sailmakers and would be taking a week and at this point David came home hitching a lift with Stuart. Please bear in mind this is a summary as I do not know the full ins and outs etc.

Yesterday I drove him back to Poole, picking up the sails en-route to Akira.

His plans?:

Today -  sorting the boat out and going out to dinner with some very old friends.

Thursday 31st - Robert Willis is going down

Friday - Laurie and his friend  are also spending the weekend with David.

The actual plans to sail to where - I do not know yet.

A general note to all - if anybody would like to do some sailing, help or do a leg  do please say.

Fiona

12 May 2012

 My leg was still sore but the weather looked good so I decided to head off to Brighton. 

Again there is a Tidal Gate around Beachy Head and this involved another early start (only 5:30am this time) so I got up at 3:30 to get ready and have a cup of coffee - I am getting better.  Stuart suggested that I should ask if the lock keeper could take my lines when I went into the lock and he was only too happy to help.

I was followed in by a huge fishing vessel (Royal Sovereign has two distinct areas and in one there are a lot of fishing boats) – about 150 tons! - and a couple of smaller ones. At this point I became rather nervous.  My leg was not fully recovered and I was really concerned about slowing these professionals down, however one of the men from the largest fishing boat came over and asked me if I would like him to let go of my lines.  Clearly I could not refuse such a kind offer.

Once again the wind was behind me and there was insufficient to drive me at a reasonable speed to get to Beachy Head in time.  As we got towards Beachy Head the wind changed direction to straight on the bow and once I got round I could possibly have put the mainsail up and beaten the rest of the way.  I tried with the foresail but that on its own achieved nothing.  The sea was very choppy as tide was against the wind and it was increasing towards Force 4 so I decided to motor the rest of the way (still not that confident on the foredeck!).

Arrived off Brighton Marina and just mentioned that I was single handed and they had somebody on the pontoon before I could get the fenders out.   Again the marina is a bus ride from the town but it has a wider range of restaurants and seems to attract people for a night out.  Fortunately it also has a Wetherspoons on the quay  and as Tom came down for the night and we made good use of it.

The 0600 Inshore Forecast this morning (Sunday 13 May) was less than Force 3 increasing to 5 – 7 later.  As the next leg is to the Solent and is quite a long one I have decide to stay in Brighton.  Just as well it’s been blowing a 5 since 14:00 and I would have been nowhere my destination.  

5 - 7 May - belated update..

5 May 2012

Having examined the 5 day weather forecast after a couple of days in Ramsgate I retired to Chepstow.  The weather was so bad (and predicted to be as bad for some days) that it just didn’t make sense to stay there. 

In the end I didn’t returns until the 3 May when it looked as though there was a window to take the next step in the journey.  The initial plan was to go directly from Ramsgate to the Royal Sovereign Marina at Eastbourne.  This would have been a 14 hour trek and when I looked at the forecast it was clear that I probably only had 50% of that before the next Force 5 to 7 arrived.  So Dover it was!

All I can say was the wind was what was predicted and, after a leisurely start I had a gentle sail to Dover.

Going into Dover you have to go to a holding area and wait for the Harbour Master to give permission for you to come in.  It is claimed to be the busiest harbour in the UK and I can well believe it with all the ferries going into Europe. I was fortunate I went straight in, sliding between incoming and outgoing ferry times and round to the marina.  Everybody was very professional and helpful which made my life easy.

The town centre of Dover seems to have been isolated by roads built around the town to connect the ferries to the major roads leading to London et al.  Unlike Ramsgate which did have a lot of old houses and little streets which gave it some charm, Dover is quite small and seemed almost forgotten.  While I didn’t spend a huge amount of time there I did walk the length of the main street and it seemed quite neglected.  The roads obviously isolate this bit from the greater Dover area and it seems to be the haunt of the ‘teens’ – no decent pubs!  Thank God for Wetherspoons! There are probably very nice areas up by the Castle but that was some distance from the marina so I din’t get there.

7 May 2012

The weather forecast was excellent light wind to blow me to Eastbourne.  The only problem was that there is a Tidal Gate at Dungeness and, according to Murphy’s Law; this would entail an early start.  However even I was surprised at the time I would have to leave; in order to lock out I would leave at 4am.  Unlike Stuart and Seamus (he introduced me to sailing) I take some time to get set up so I arose at the unearthly hour of 2am. 

At 4:15 I left the marina and asked to leave Dover.  I sneaked out the Eastern entrance and off I went.  There was no wind but the sky was clear and dawn was a threat in the East.  As I cleared the breakwater the sea was just about ruffled by a breeze but when I hauled out the foresail (the wind was virtually astern of me) and turned the engine off the speed dropped to between 1 and 2 knots – insufficient to make Dungeness before the tide turned against me.  The only solution was to put the engine back on at lower than normal revs and see what the result was. 4 knots from the engine with 2 from the tide and another 2 from the sail – suddenly I was doing 8 knots.

Zoomed round Dungeness in short order – well before the tide turned and to make the whole trip more enjoyable the wind increased and I could turn the engine off and sail to the Royal Sovereign Marina at Eastbourne (which is about 3 miles from the town of Eastbourne)

The Marina is purpose built with a wide range of expensive houses and flats.  You enter it through a dredged channel up to the locks (note the plural!) that let you into the actual marina.  It is just stuck on the coast between Dover and Brighton with its own shops (Boots, ASD, restaurants and bars etc.) but no pubs that I could find. Tom Cunliffe feels that when going west it is sensible to stop there to ensure the tides are right for your passage.  Certainly for the single handed sailor it is a logical stop.

It is only as I got into the lock that things started to go wrong.  It already had a couple of commercial fishing boats in and I was last in on the Starboard side (it was large enough to put big boats side by side!) and as I came slowly up to the pontoon I climbed up onto the deck, my leg slipped and I pulled all the ligaments behind my knee.  Fortunately a couple of the other boats saw it happen and people leapt to my assistance and one actually came round with to help me moor.

Next day I could only just walk so I decided not to go to Brighton even though the weather was perfect.  I did, however, hobble to ASDA and Boots to get IBUPROFEN and food.

some delightful pictures of Akira - thanks to Kirsty...

Laura, James and Kirsty. Stuart 'looking' down!!

11 May 2012

A note from his better half - am I allowed to say this??

Dear me, this is a chap who worked in IBM and  has not yet really moved on with technology..yet!. An email of instructions has been sent to him illustrating 'baby steps' to update the blog but no luck as of yet!.

This is a brief summary of where he is  and what has happened so far.
Well.... he eventually left Ramsgate after many frustrating days of waiting for   the right weather to come, but as you all know -it has been a pretty bad month rain and wind wise.  Left and sailed for Dover (lost track of when he did this but I will update this) and arrived in Eastbourne Monday 7th May - Bank Holiday.
An interesting resort or marina -  and very expensive. They charged not just the mooring fees but electricity on top. Unfortunately he hurt his knee and took a couple of days for the swelling to subside.
Anyway, today is the 11 May, and  I have just received a text saying he was retiring to bed about 8pm with a view to getting away around 3-4am. He is planning to head for Brighton.

This is a note from me to all of you - if any of you are interested in doing a leg or just visiting him or doing a sail from here to there or even fancy a challenging route - which I am sure some of you know what i am talking about... I hope as I do not really know... routes like from Cornwall to Wales (Milford Haven?) and then upwards to Ireland - Mull etc... please email him, phone him or even better just nag him to give you an approximation of plans. He is very much bound to the weather and cant promise accurate dates and so on. He would love to see you. (by the way I have banned him from coming up the Bristol Channel!!)
Once he gets Akira to Poole,  he will have a few days off as the sails will be 'serviced' and then back on as normal.

Fiona

19th April still at Ramsgate...

from David.....

 While sitting in the boat going up and down like a Big Dipper I realised that, while I had watched auto helms (George) used for probably 30 years and, until coming out of Lowestoft, I had never used one in anger.  In the early days of my sailing Seamus used one which he switched on and then adjusted direction by pressing two buttons – one to Port, the other to Starboard and, although I never used it, I thought I probably could have managed!

Since then technology has advanced at phenomenal rate with advances in computer technology and things like Chart Plotters.  Not only has navigating become automated the theory is it has made life easier and safer for the sailor (although I do believe in having paper chart – I am old and believe in belt and braces) - or so they say! You can actually plan the route to your destination, put in waypoints (either as one long string or, as crossing the Thames Estuary, a series of short “passages” all linked together) and get George to steer you to your destination.  Piece of cake!!!

Stuart fitted a Chart Plotter based on electronic charts downloaded and paid for via the internat.  Into this he connected and AIS receiver (this picks up a signal from ships that give name, call sign, direction, speed, nearest it will come to you, wipes your backside etc. etc.) and attached George. Now this is not your old fashioned George.  Not only did it work the same way the old ones but it could talk to the Chart Plotter and adjust the course as necessary.

All of this is perfectly clear to sailors that have this type of equipment or are really into computers.

Now, having survived my 1^st solo from Lowestoft to Shotley and having had Stuart set up the Thames Estuary crossing on the plotter, I headed out with great trepidation.  Motored for an hour steering by hand and then decided to hand over to George while I made breakfast. 

I fixed the steering arm to the tiller and started going round in circles – no red lights showing or winking - I had assumed that George was powered from the same switch as the plotter but clearly not.  I retired below and could not see which switch activated him so decided to talk to the expert.  Stuart, like all sons, was very tolerant and told me which switch needed to be on – the socket one on Instruments as I had assumed!

Red lights, blessed red lights, flashing!  So I pressed the engage button and we headed in a single direction – towards Holland.  The turn left or right button still wanted to go to Holland; after a couple of circles George still wanted to go to Holland. No matter which button I pressed the boat was going to Holland.

When I explained this to Stuart on my second panic telephone call I could hear him laughing his head off.  It was some moments before he could control himself enough to talk me through the process of connecting the plotter to George  in the right sequence – generally it helps if you tell the plotter which route you wish to use (preferable prior to telling George to navigate).

George did a good job after that until I decided that he had not done gone through a waypoint – but that’s another story.

Still in Ramsgate and, while the weather is improving, it will not be sensible to sail until next Monday so I am heading back to Chepstow to see the family – not to mentions the dog!

Ramsgate - Storm bound!!

18 April 2012

Ramsgate – storm bound

When you first come into the harbour Ramsgate is very impressive.  The buildings around the harbour are Victorian and very impressive.  Built in red brick/stone the buildings along the wharfs are like cellars dug into the hillside and used for all sorts; offices, bits and bobs shop, the odd carpentry business, furniture and, obviously chandlery.  Above them there is range of houses and hotels.  It is only when you get close to them that you realise how rundown and in need of some TLC.

Once you get away from the harbour the town is like many old fishing ports; lovely little houses in a jumble of roads interspersed with modern buildings and shops.  The one thing that surprised me was the rubbish and general rundown impression the town gave me.  In speaking to a number of local (God bless the British pub) it was clear that the Locals – people who had lived her before London paid Thanet  to rehouse a large number of families – felt very let down in that the town had been left to rot.  Most people have spoken to have East End accents which reminds me of my youth when we used to go the Docks to eat and drink.

 One building I find fascinating – It is a combination of a church in the ground floor of one part and the rest is for Smack Boys.  A different meaning of Smack from today!

Leg 3 Shotley to Ramsgate

David writes...

14 April 2012

The weather forecast was benign so I set out a 8am and gentled motored out of Harwich on a beautiful but very cold morning.  A nice gentle Force 3 from the North/North East was supposed to push me a long at a nice comfortable rate across the Thames Estuary.

The last time I sailed on the Thames Estuary was as a 17 year old with a group of Senior Boy Scouts on the Scout Masters Motor Sailer.  I can still remember how lumpy and uncomfortable the sea was in what I then thought was a gale (from experience I now know that it was probably no more than a Force 3!).  When I started to look at the navigation involved in crossing it was very clear that the shallow water, moving sand banks, wind farms not to mention large ships (fortunately – London is not as busy as it used to be!) made it challenging.  If you look at a chart you would be surprised how many shipwrecks there are in the estuary!

Fortunately Stuart was at the end of a telephone and was able to reassure me that while he would be nervous the chart plotter and George (for those of you who wonder who George is – it’s the Autopilot).  He (Stuart) then proceeded to work out and download the route, with a number of options, for the chart plotter.

Having motored out of the Harbour I pulled the foresail out (I didn’t bother with the main as I would be running before the wind) and as soon as I switched the engine off the speed decreased to point I was travelling at 2 knots.  As the channels are quite narrow and the tidal flows variable due to the sand banks/shallows the logical thing was to motor sail.  Within 30 minutes the wind had disappeared so I got the sail down and just motored.

I passed places with like Sunk Sand, Foulgers Gap, Gunfleet Sand, Black Deep Not to mention at least 2 huge wind farms; one of which is under construction and has a guard ship to keep people away.  This decided that I looked very suspicious and came over to warn me off.  When he discovered I was heading for Ramsgate his whole attitude changed.

Once I was through the worst the wind picked up and I had a cracking sail for until I arrived off Ramsgate

The whole trip was a lot like playing Rugby at fly half – dodging and jinking around all the obstructions but at a much slower pace.

Leg 2: Lowerstoft - Shotley (Harwich)

Have an update from David - here goes:

11/4/12

This was planned to be a simple leg for the first one on my own and it proved to be just that. 

After a couple of days storm bound (F0rce 5-6 – a bit high for my first!) I set out in bright sunlight into a mirror sea.  There was absolutely no wind and so it continued for the rest of the trip.

George performed immaculately and I spent several hours watching ships come and go on the chart plotter, reading a book and making coffee, lunch snacks etc. until it was time to enter the lock into the marina.  Surprisingly I managed successfully and I felt I needed a well-earned pint which I duly had in restaurant/bar in the marina.

The original plan was for me to leave next day but the weather forecast was not favourable so I ended up staying an extra couple of days fixing a number of little things that I had either broken (the lee cloth guide on the saloon bunk) or things Stuart just did not have time to fix. The marina Boat repair workshop was very helpful; they let me have me have bits and bobs free. 

.................................................................................................................................................................

David wrote me an email on Saturday night  and thought it 'd be fun to share it with you all.  (Arrived in Ramsgate) Fiona...........

Hi there..

I think that today was a lot better than I expected  The weather was very sunny even though it was very cold earlier on and there was little or no wind

I set out at 8 and motored out of Harwich  and as soon as I switched the engine off the speed dropped of to2 knots.  So I motored on until I got through all the wind farms (least 2 very large ones, one of which hard a guard ship to keep people away and decided that I looked very suspicious and came and had a chat with me)and sand banks.  The last couple of hours was straight forward, the wind got up and I managed a proper sail.

It was a lot like playing at fly half – dodging and jinking around all these obstructions but slower and over a greater distance.

 Anyway I am safely here but very tired and all my joints ache.  Tomorrow I will stay here and get diesel both for the engine and heater  I also need some food!!!

As  most of it has gone (except the veg – we got tons of that...)

I am now going to cook an omelette and go to bed

Give the kids a hug from me x

A break... before leg 2

Fiona here,... a wee update.
Wednesday 11th- he arrived in the Harwich area - first time as a solo sailer. I am sure he was very nervous and very relieved. !! Naturally he celebrated with a pint!

Thursday 12th -  a few frustrations! One - had huge trouble downloading some stuff on to the laptop - I think it was updating some charts or something,  he is using the Vodafone dongle which had the largest coverage around UK for broadband.  The boys suggested that he goes and find a MacDonalds or a lovely coffee shop and steal their broadband.... that may take a long walk from a marina ?!
I am waiting to change over supplier at home for telephone and broadband and that means that at my end Skype does not work that well... am having to resort to mumble jumble translations via the kids...erm... not good. But hey presto - David managed to find the chat button  and we were able to live chat at the same time as gazing at a blurry fuzzy distorted picture.

Friday 13th:
He is planning the next leg - which is to cross the Thames and round... forgive me I do not know the correct names yet - but will update soon. A few concerns here - crossing a busy path, shifting sand dunes.  I received a text this afternoon -  saying that he's planning to leave about 04.30 tomorrow....

Here's a picture of when Stuart first put on the name of Akira on the boat.....

Fiona

Leg 1..... from David...

Sunday 8th April

Well the adventure has started despite the last minute sorting of minor problems.

However you plan to sail from Hartlepool to Lowestoft it involves one 24 hour period at sea.  The logical way to do it was to do it was in one chunk and, with that in mind Stuart had planned to come with me for the first leg – about  40 hours non-stop sailing  – 3 hours on 3 hours off. 

So at 15:00 Akira, with one very worried skipper and the boat owner (Stuart), motored  forth through the lock at Hartlepool into a windless North Sea.   There was so little wind that we didn’t even put up the sails; we simply motored steadily South past Whitby and Grimsby towards our destination.

Eventually the tide started to flow against us and it was clear that we needed to check how much fuel we had left so the youngest member of the crew was given the job of crawling into the cockpit locker to see how much we had left.  The general feeling was that we would get half way across the Wash before we ran out of fuel – not a happy thought!  So we decided to put the anchor down behind Filey Head (this would protect us from the NE winds that had been predicted earlier) to await the promised winds an get the tide behind us again.

By this time we were both tired so jumped into bed expecting a couple of hours sleep.  No such luck - within 30 minutes the wind was blowing and we had get going again.  During the next few hours the wind got stronger so, in the middle of the night, I got Stuart up (he had literally just got into his bunk!) and put a reef in.   By this time the sea state and direction made it very difficult for “George” to steer so I spent 3 hours helming as we wandered  through the gas fields of the Southern North Sea.

As dawn approached the sky began to clear and I could see an immense structure in the distance and, as I got closer, it was clear that it had support boats making sure people like us stayed away.  The boat was lik3 sheep dog gentle shepherding out his area.  When I had reached the perimeter he was guarding he stopped.

Looking back at the structures after we had passed the sun light caught it in a golden orangey red and I could see it was actually 3 very large pieces of construction linked together.

For a while we had a good sail, even making 5 knots against the tide however the wind died  and we had to resort to the engine again.  We eventually arrived in Lowestoft at 00:30 Sunday morning after covering 185nm.

 It goes without saying Stuart and I were not up very early next day.

Stuart has gone home and I, having seen the weather forecast, will not set out until Wednesday (it is currently blowing a gale here!) when I hope to get to the Harwich area.

First pictures...

 Playing with the new phone.

 Hartlepool Lock

Off she goes....

Fiona

Leg 1 Hartlepool - Lowestoft

April 7th:  

Heard from David via text - anchored off by Fildy Brigg, due to no wind.

Sailed on later and arrived in  Lowestoft - marina about 12.30am Sunday Morning.
Had our first Skype chat !! I can just about lipread him along with visual gestures and signs - so that's good!
Seemed that both Stuart and David slept well, did a few jobs on the boat. Stuart left this afternoon to head back up to Hartlepool via train to collect his car to return home. Bless him.
David is now somewhat sorting himself out  and planning ahead. Bank holiday Monday - forecast is  heavy rain so   may have a potter around and back to stay for another night in the marina.
(thank god - skype is free...ish... 45 minutes!)  Email me at pintle - if you would like his skype address.
Hoping now to hand this over to David.....we shall see!...
Fiona

First post

Shipping forecast areas 

So here is the first post.


April 6th 2012: Hartlepool - Lowestoft

This is it - notes from stressed other half. 

David finally departed from Hartlepool to Lowestoft with Stuart on board. They left at 2.30pm on the edge of tide after preparing for this and that.

David has  a laptop on board with a vodafone dongle, and a new Samsung Galaxy phone - all geared up tecchie wise but just need to  have time to practise!!

Kids and I  drove on home afterwards  popping in to see the new addition to the family in Brum - Emily - who is 3 weeks and 2 days old!.

A message of advance apology to all those who read this site - if I am writing this - that is - Fiona,  please forgive my incorrect grammar and so forth. Writing is not my forte! I will try and update where I can and  will also teach (?) David to continue with this. For now - bear with me please!!
Fiona