Rogers Rants

First Trip Down Planned

2012-01-16T20:46:00.000Z

We have booked a five day weekend starting on 18 February and coming back the following Wednesday. It seems ages since I have been there and Audrey of course, hasn't been to Gibraltar at all. We'll do a bit of work on the boat but also do some sightseeing stuff. Who knows, we may even go for a sail.

Last Friday we attended a very disappointing boat show at Excel. We don't imagine that we will be going back there again. There were very few sailing boats and none that we liked except for the Cornish Crabbers and their prices are simply eye watering. The power boats were predictably revolting and there were even fewer equipment exhibitors than before which rendered the show more or less a complete waste of time for us. Sadly, we are unlikely to be in the country for the Southampton show either.

One bit we did like was a stand where Owners Associations could push their particular boat. I felt that it would have been a good thing to have the ROA there, not least since the Contessa 32 Association was there.

The evening was a much more satisfying affair with the ROA AGM. We still find it a bit odd going to the East India Club but it is always a good evening.

Now we just have to work out how to get our windmill shipped down to Gibraltar. I wonder if Easyjet would let us take it on - for a fee of course.

Big Decisions

2012-01-04T22:04:00.003Z

Well, we have bowed to the inevitable and worked out we will not be ready to go in April. Various things such as getting the house ready for renting, jacking in the job and doing some necessary work on Sarah G are not going to happen in the next three months which means we can't realisticly chuck up the jobs and hope to be able to fund a six month cruise through Sardinnia, Corsica and the Med coasts of Spain and France.

We are now looking at staying in work for the summer with a series of long weekends down in La Linea to both work on the boat and do some sailing in the sun with a plan to finish in August. We could then have two months to reexplore the Costa de Luz and get up to Sevilla before spending a winter in Gibraltar.

It is a bit sad that we can't take the plunge fully this spring but I think that we will have a good time. I can help my Brother with his plans to sail Kemara round Britain and Audrey can do some belly dancing this summer.

Plans will, of course, be evolving more but we actually quite like this one. We just need a way of escaping London for the Olympics now!

More planning - and a change

2011-12-07T20:07:00.001Z

Well, the winter progresses and the temperature has taken a dive here which makes us hanker for southern sun all the more. We have been giving more thought to where to go and I have also been consulting others - particularly the Med Section at the Cruising Association. One posting and we now have a wealth of advice most of which is looking very useful.

Our suspicions about the Balearic Islands have been confirmed as being very expensive and overcrowded in high season. Sadly, the mainland coast of Spain is also not looking too attractive and we are now seriously considering heading further east to Sardinnia and Corsica. We would then decide if we wanted to head back to the Atlantic or push furhter east to Greece and Turkey.

There is one worry as reports are coming in of a planned visiting yacht taxt in Italy. The stuff I have read so far has it at 5 Euros a day but reduced by 50% for auxiliary yachts and a further 40% off for older boats which would make it something less than 2 Euros a day for us. I cannot imagine that it would be economical to collect such a small amount of money - not least since it would hardly make a dent in their Berlusconi generated debt of however many trillions of Euros they have. Anyway, it might be Lira by the time we get there!

Apart from that, Christmas, the ROA AGM and the Boatshow are looming. At least the latter two are something to look forward to.

The Planning Process

2011-11-14T20:09:00.001Z

Well, we have been having various desultory conversations (and some not so desultory). We have been thinking about options for next year. One must remember after all that it is the Olympics here in London and it will be a vey good place not to be - London in 2012

As I probably said before, we are cooling on the idea of heading right into the Med but rather are thinking about staying in the western end and working up the coast of Spain, probably with a visit to the Balearic Islands as well before going up to France and through the Canal du Midi and wintering in somewhere like La Rochelle.

This should be doable in six months to allow us to be tucked up before the autumn gales kick in. We would then also be well positioned to spend much longer on the Atlantic coast of Iberia in 2013.

We do of course have other plans and the least desirable would be not to leave work but to use holidays and weekends to work her up the Coast of Spain and winter on the Mediteranean coast of France perhaps near Montpellier. Still, the worst case would be to have to bring her back the way we came all in a hurry.

We might still head east properly but that is looking less likely. It could all be subject to change though as we are going to the Med Section meeting at CA House this Thursday which might well change our minds again. Time will tell really - as ever.

Of course we haven't had many photos so here are a couple.

First off - back to Easter in the Fal

Now the view from the hill at Muxia

Cabo Sao Vincente

And finally, a sunset while at anchor in La Ria Formosa

Three weeks Back Now

2011-11-07T18:33:00.001Z

Well, I have been back three weeks now and Audrey has been back for more than a month. I am I suppose properly accustomed to being in the office rather than planning the next passage. It has been quite a struggle to get back into the swing of work. We have however been giving further thought to our cruising plans as well as getting framed enlargements of the better pictures hung on the wall.

This blog has the subtitle of An Attempt to Take Sarah Giddings Cruising in the Med. Well, we have successfully got her to the threshold of the Med and we are now looking at options for the next stage. Our original plan of taking six months to get to Turkey is hopelessly unrealistic - well it would be so if we want to see stuff and enjoy ourselves rather than just rushing on to the next port.

We are also unsure about whether we do want to spend the entire season in the Med given rumours of increased expense as anchorages are gobbled up by expensive marinas and ever more people though the Euro crisis might have an effect on that.

We are also very keen to spend another trip exploring Atlantic Iberia more thoroughly than we did this year. Thus, our current favoured plan is to work our way up the Mediteranean coast of Spain and France before entering the Canal du Midi with a view to wintering in somewhere like La Rochelle. We would then be well placed, in 2013, to revisit the north coast of Spain and onto Portugal. From then, we are really not sure. Planning two steps at a time is probably a good maxim as well.

The CA (Cruising Association) is having a Med Section meeting next week which we will be going to. Our plan is to spend at least part of it picking other people's brains about the best strategies.

If any of the myriad readers of this self indulgent bit of frippery have any suggestions, please feel free to leave some suggestions in the comments.

Testing embedded google maps

2011-11-03T22:25:00.000Z

View Larger Map

Since Sarah Giddings is now in La Linea, it makes sense to show her there.

Webcam

2011-10-25T12:42:00.002+01:00

Turns out Puerto Alcaidesa have a webcam

webcam

We are on the third finger from the left. You can just make her out near the root of the pontoon.

Back in Harness

2011-10-23T18:57:00.001+01:00

Well, I have now been back at home for a week. I still dream that I am on the boat at night but now manage to feel the edge of the bed and not leap out to deal with dragging anchors or whatever. That is a relief for Audrey of course.

Getting back into the routine of work has been a bit more challenging but we need to keep plugging away at that for now.

Today was more fun with a run down to Bursledon and the rash purchase of a Rutland 913 windmill. We had a bit of heart searching about it and as Force4 are offering a good deal on the complete kit at the moment it seemed sensible to get it now. We wondered if we should spend the extra ninety quid on the newer 914 but feel that the 913 should be able to provide for our modest needs.

Another purchase has been Lynn and Paul Chandler's harrowing book about their year and a bit in captivity courtessy of Somali Pirates. I am reading it on the tube to and from work. Although you know it has a happy ending it is still very difficult reading and a salutory lesson in how badly the whole thing can go wrong. They are working hard on getting Lynn Rival back in shape ready for more cruising. The book can be purchased here:At Amazon as well as other bookshops etc.

Plans for the future are still quite nebulous but we are currently favouring the idea of heading up the Mediterranean coast of Spain to France and then through the Canal du Midi with a planned winter over in La Rochelle before repeating the Atlantic coast of Iberia more slowly

It is strange being so far away from the boat and not being able to get down to see her simply by jumping into the car. We hope to get down later in November for a long weekend, as much for Audrey to get a look at her winter home and "do" the Gibraltar thing.

I am going to work on getting some sort of online photo album up so can then present all the indifferent as well as better pictures to an advisedly indifferent world.

Reflections on being back have reinforced more than ever the motto I read a while ago that runs: Live slowly, Sail fast

Finally, you will note that I have skillfully found the tick box that allows paragraph breaks to be inserted into text. I will have to see if I need to go back and edit previous posts or if this is a global setting. Thank you blogger!

More Photos

2011-10-14T09:00:00.000+01:00

This is the classic image of Gibraltar really.The cruise is now complete!

Here for reference is a picture of Plymouth as we were leaving it two months ago followed by a picture of the Rock and from where we are now.

Much nicer looking methinks!

Where to now?

Some Photos

2011-10-12T19:42:00.000+01:00

The method of incorporating photos on Blogger is quite difficult in the dark with a dodgy wifi connection so I will follow past practise and put a bunch up here.

This is a typical street scene in Cadiz

Barbate is famous for it't tuna which they catch using a system called Almadabra which involves mooring very long nets to the sea bed for the entire summer. They are a particular hazard when navigating the straits. Happily the season was over when we went through but there was this collection of impressive anchors ashore.

The Sraits of Gibraltar are one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world - very similar to the Dover Straits really. This is a picture of the AIS screen when a few miles short of Tarifa. For the uninitiated, each of the triangles represents a ship which could be anything from a yacht to a supertanker. It is not as scary as it might seem since there is a thing called a traffic separation scheme which is like a virtual motorway on the sea and I am outside the TSS and in what is called the Inshore Traffic Zone. Big ships don't go in the ITZ. :-)

Passage Update

2011-10-12T19:32:00.001+01:00

We have arrived in Gib. Well, La Linea really of course but there is a dirty great big rock towering over me which kind of makes it Gibraltar for me. I have cracked open one of the Betty Stoggs and drunk it. Now, in honour of the other Iberian country we visited I am having a glass of a very nice Douro wine we acquired somewhere.As I approached the marina I saw a few boats anchored and was suddenly grabbed by the desire to spend a night at anchor so I will be going into the marina tomorrow. It feels very nice to be at anchor though it is also a bit odd to have finished the cruise. It will take a little while for all of that to resolve itself. I have no doubt though that planning future cruising will be a good antidote to any post cruise blues. As I approached the Bahia de Algecireas which is a better name than Bay of Gibraltar the Mediterranean was looking tantalising beyond Europa Point.It feels both great and rather strange to have finally finished. The inevitable question now is what next. We will have to decide what to do now but we can decide that over the next few months. The passage round from Barbate was a very long and tedious motor into the teeth of a very strong wind around Tarifa. The RCCPF guide says that it blows more than thirty knots of wind around Tarifa for 300 days of the year! I had a good thirty and for a while even thirty five which is technically gale force though it wasn't a gale as the wind was so localised. The seas did not build up much but there were unbelievably short and steep being almost less than a boatlength. This seriously slowed us up especially at first as we had a foul tide – I had allowed as much time as possible.The strangest thing was when we got past Isla de Tarifa. Two miles past, and the wind had dropped from a 7 gusting 8 to a force six. Five miles past and we had a force 3 and no wind at all in La Linea. It was a relief that I did not turn back as I did consider at one point.

Found the Place to get a Stronger WIFI here

2011-10-12T19:24:00.000+01:00

The signal is impossibly weak on the boat but when I walk all round the marina to the office it works like a dream.Today, was spent in Gibraltar - after tying up here at Marina Alcaidesa in La Linea. The woman in the office was extremely helpful and seemed astounded that I was able to stutter a few words of Spanish.As noted previously, crossing into Gibraltar is a surreal experience. Still, after a quick investigation of Marina Bay for chandleries, I took myself to the cable car and rode it to the top of the rock. This was certainly the best thing to do as you leave the city behind and are treated to spectacular views of both the Ensenada de Algeciras and the Mediterranean to the east. I also found that you can walk down which was a great if rather hot experience. On the way, I visited the old gun batteries and was underwhelmed with the fact that they were able to fire around 29000 yards while North Africa was 25000 odd yards away.Then, I walked out to Europa point but a fog had descended on the straits and Africa was hidden from view. There was also rather a strong smell of drains and, sure enough, the evidence was there and Europa Point seems to be a sewage outfall!Anyway, here are some reflections of arriving yesterday.

2011-10-12T10:52:00.001+01:00

We have made it at last. I will get a more detailed posting up soon but we are now established in Marina Alcaidesa literally just over the border from Gibraltar at La Linea. It feels good to have completed the cruise successfully but also a bit strange.

Saw Andy and Katrine Off

2011-10-11T07:50:00.000+01:00

The taxi arrived promptly and they are now on their way to La Linea the fast and easy though expensive way. Now the dilemma is when exactly to leave sunny Barbate.The weather window is undoubtedly today and the tide favours a nine start - imminently but I think I will wait till nine thirty as the wind is still dropping and since it is on the nose as little as possible is of the essence really.It was a shame for poor Katrine and Andy to have to miss out the last few miles, not least since an arrival in Gibraltar by sea should be quite a spectacular affair.Still, we are nearly at the end and the Betty Stoggs in the bilges _should_ be drunk today!

Got a wifi here now

2011-10-10T13:37:00.000+01:00

The Levanter is still howling away but all the weather sources are confidently predicting it will drop for tomorrow though not go into the west. Too many highs out in the Atlantic I suppose. I don't think that this connection is strong enough to upload photos but here is the text of the last few days anyway.Here, also is the current weather forecast for those of you who can speak Spanish :-)http://www.aemet.es/es/eltiempo/prediccion/maritima?opc1=0&opc2=1&zona=and108/10Well, we are in Barbate now and gearing up for the final leg of them all. We are about 40 miles short of Gibraltar though when people get to read this we will be there as there is no wifi in this marina. The chief benefit of Barbate is that it is a convenient break in the journey from Cadiz to Gibraltar. The trip here was not the nicest one unfortunately. We had a bit of wind out of Cadiz and managed a broad reach for an hour or so until the wind went light. Then, just as we approached Cabo Trafalgar (no pigeons or Nelsons column) it blew up from the east with a proper levanter and we were pushing into a force 7 on the nose with a nasty steep chop to go with it.By contrast, we had a very nice visit to Jerez de La Frontera yesterday with a cheap and reliable train and a good tour of the Gonzales Byass Bodega though I succumbed to buying one of their best sherrys which we will open at Christmas.09/10The weather continues frustrating with very strong easterlies. The forecast for today was for a force 7 off Tarifa which I interpreted as being closer to 40 knots and a no go for us. Accordingly, Andy made a very sensible suggestion to get the bus to La Linea and so that they get a chance to visit Gibraltar – henceforward to be referred to as “The Rock” on this blog. Very naff and it will probably not last.We walked into Barbate and found the bus station where there was even a helpful person who sold us tickets to La Barca de Vejer where he assured us we could get a bus onto La Linea. Amazingly, they also meshed quite well in timings but the bus to La Linea took a long time and we only had two hours there. Nearly four hours on the bus for two hours visiting. The bus ride was an enjoyable affair as it passed through some very scenic but windswept valleys full of wind generators before following the coast near Tarifa confirming my interpretation of the weather. Lots of board sailors and kite boarders.The views from the N340 over Algeciras towards The Rock were spectacular and there were also very good views of Africa along with lots of ships in the straits. The two hours on The Rock were chiefly enjoyable for the walk, first through customs and then across the airport runway. We just had time for lunch and then had to rush back to catch the bus for 1600. I will spend some more time there when we eventually get the boat there. Current forecast is for the wind to drop on Tuesday but to stay in the east. I am rapidly warming to the idea of sailing in tradewind areas where you can count on the wind to at least blow from a consistent direction and plan accordingly.

Weatherbound in Barbate

2011-10-10T10:39:00.001+01:00

For the last few days there has been a persistent and annoying Levanter which has prevented us from getting anywhere. This is being done from an internet cafe here in Barbate as the marina has no wifi.We have hopes of the wind dropping tomorrow and getting round the final 35 miles to La Linea/Gibraltar.

Some Photos

2011-10-07T21:04:00.001+01:00

Rather than try and edit the past post which is a bit of a nightmare. Incidentally, apologies for the lack of paragraph breaks. There seems to be a bit of a funny between blogger and Open Office! I have a reasonably good wifi connection here in the bar at the Puerto Atlantico in Cadiz.Here is a sunset on the first night we spent at anchor in the Ria Formosa. This was just inside the entrance off the Cabo de Santa Maria

Here you have the sand dunes at Culatra. This was one of the true highlights of the cruise discovering this place.

Cadiz is famous in Spanish history for being where the first liberal constitution was written and this is the monument to it. Given the importance of this to the nineteenth and twentieth century history in the Iberian penninsula it was an intriguing experience seeing this monument.

Today we "sat still" here in Cadiz and took the train to Jerez de la Frontera where we visited the Bodega de Gonzalez Byass as well as drinking some sherry and eating some good food. I'll do an update soon.

Longest time yet out of touch

2011-10-06T18:14:00.001+01:00

Well, since this cruising malarkey is supposed to be about getting away from it all this should not really come as a surprise but one of the things on the list for the future is going to be some sort of 3G dongle that we can use in different countries.Since the last update a lot has happened and we have both changed crew and country. Poor Audrey had to fly back to the UK on the first of October but Andy and Katrine are enjoying Spain. We are in Cadiz today having arrived about lunchtime and had a walk around the city. Below are the various ramblings from the last few days.24/09We are just finishing our second day anchored in Alvor and for a change have moved up to anchor outside the town. Yesterday, we left Lagos and payed the eye watering 86 euro for the two nights we spent there. Although we liked it in there, there is very much a feel of it being an English outpost and it was also nice to get to the quiet of the Alvor lagoon.Alvor is only a couple of miles east of Lagos but, so long as you stay near the entrance and on the boat is a world away being very peaceful though busy with kite boarders when the sea breeze picks up. There were a surprising number of boats anchored there including Tala Hinna who we had met in Muxia and then Baiona. She is en route to the Rio Guadiana. Owing to a massive surplus of onions and garlic thanks to the Pingo Doce supermarket and a miscalculation on my part we were able to pass on some spare ones which were gratefully received.Today, we spent most of it ashore exploring Alvor. It is very touristy and much less nice close to than from a distance. We also made a classic mistake of choosing the first cafe to hand when I felt like a coffee without noticing that everything was in English first and then Portuguese. Cue a thin and watery coffee. At least lunch was an enjoyable affair and we had a nice walk amongst the sand dunes in the afternoon.Tomorrow is on for another change at Portimao which will be a fair sized town though we hope to only spend one day in the marina since they seem so expensive on this coast.25/09After another very short passage we are anchored in the entrance to Portimao. The anchorage is quite crowded but is a pleasant spot with the light wind we have at the moment. There is lots going on with dinghies sailing around, powerglider things buzzing overhead and cruise ships leaving. Tomorrow we plan to go into the marina, so this should get updated though we are finally going to get the train and bus out to Sagres.26/09We finally got around to doing our trip out to Sagres. We put the boat in the marina for security and also because we wanted to do marina like things such as charge up batteries. More on the marina later.We decided to try the train to Lagos and then the bus on from there. I enjoyed the train though it is a bit of a trek from the marina being at the northern side of town and the marina being right near the mouth of the river. Still, we enjoyed the short train ride and picked out where we had anchored in Alvor. As is typical with such trips, the times didn't mesh at all. We started with a one hour wait at Portimou station and then a thirty minute wait at Lagos bus station. Still, we got to Sagres for a latish lunch and had a very nice if rather expensive lunch in a restaurant overlooking the bay where we had anchored five nights previously. We walked out to the Fortress on the point – supposedly a school of navigation set up by Henry the Navigator. It was a bit underwhelming. It is far more likely that the stuff done by Henry was at Lagos and he just had a fort out on the point though of course, there is little way of telling as Drake attacked the fort then the earthquake in the eighteenth century destroyed it completely. Still it was a good spot to visit and the information provided by the visitor center was amusing if badly translated.We had another half hour wait for the bus and then a further half hour wait at Lagos for an onwards bus to Portimau.The marina has not best pleased us here. It is very expensive as they all seem to be along the Algarve being just short of forty euros a night. They don't have free wifi and the toilets are distinctly poorly maintained. We tried to pick up fuel but an unusual easterly had picked up preventing us from tying up so we left and anchored back on the other side of the Rio Arade. The wifi was particularly unhelpful as they would only sell it for a weekly package rather than by the day. One of the things to look at for our continuing cruising will be a local 3G dongle.04/10For various reasons I have not had a chance to update this much recently. We are back in Spain and have also had a crew change. Poor Audrey had to fly back home last Saturday but Andy and Katrine are now with me and we have got as far as the Rio Guadiana now. Today we plan to head to Mazagon at the mouth of the Rio de Huelva. The pace is going to be a bit fast till we get to Cadiz which we hope to reach on Thursday by way of Chipiona at the mouth of the Rio Gualdaquivir.It has been nice to get back to Spain simply because I am able to speak more than the three words – bom dia, Obrigado, un ceveja. The young woman in the office here at Ayamonte was staggered that a yotttie should be able to speak any Spanish which I find a bit surprising but there you are.The town of Ayamonte is very nice though it was a bit strange to change time zone with the crossing of a river and there is a very nice big sign by the ferry dock pointing across the river and saying PortugalWe really feel to be on the last stages now being less than a hundred and fifty miles from Gibraltar. Once we get to Cadiz it really will be the final stage though we hope to sit still for a bit and visit Jerez de la Frontera.06/10We actually managed a bit of sailing today on the way from Mazagon to Chipiona. The forecast was for an easterly-southeast three but we got a bit of a four for a while and the main had it's first outing since the northern rias. Sadly, it didn't last very long and after a couple of hours it was back to the donk. Chipiona is a nice place and we had the thrill of opening out the chart to have the last bit with Gibraltar on it. Tomorrow will be round to Cadiz and a couple of nights there sitting still for a short break.For me the end of the cruise is now looming and we will have less than a hundred miles to cover. As ever, this has led to mixed feelings. At one level, I am really looking forward to getting to the end of this particular adventure and plan for the next one. On the other hand. I will find it very difficult to get back into the normal daily routine. Audrey is back at work already.

The Glamorous World of Sailing!

2011-09-22T23:02:00.001+01:00

A day in Lagos

2011-09-22T16:22:00.001+01:00

We were intending to get the bus out to Sagres and have a look from the land where we had been at such a rolly anchorage but got delayed by chatting with Edmund on the fellow Rival moored next to us. Instead, we took a bit of a walk along the beach to the east of Lagos and then through the town and had lunch in a very nice tapas bar as recommended by the Rough Guide.It felt very strange walking along the beach as it was of course, packed with sunbathers. Neither of us have done a beach holiday for decades and it emphatically isn't our thing. Clearly it is for lots of people though and there was an almost overwhelming pong of suntan cream and acres of naked flesh on show. We were quite relieved to get to the harbour channel and cross over to start the sort of tourism we are more familiar with.Lagos is very much a tourist town and english is almost ubiquitous everywhere - a marked contrast from the towns on the Atlantic coast. We'll be interested to see what the rest of the Algarve is like.On another front. Our faltering steps into the world of chart plotters took a big step forward when we acquired some charts and tried them in opencpn. We also borrowed a usb gps receiver from Edmund which works a treat. I have ordered one from Amazon now but, in the meantime, will work to get by with my smart phone for which there is an app to allow it to work as a gps tether. The whole process is a bit odd and I am not used to the concept yet. More on this later I suppose. Photos will also follow soon.

Got To the Algarve

2011-09-21T15:11:00.001+01:00

For various reason we have been out of wifi for a while so here is a big update.We really liked Baiona and the passage pas the Islas Cies really gave us a wish to be able to come back with more time and a permit to anchor there.6 After originally planning to go into the marina at Baiona, we decided to anchor on the spur of the moment which proved to be a very good idea. Firstly, it is always better to be at anchor generally as well as being free. Secondly, we met up with a fascinating woman called Ellie on her rebuilt Hilliard nine tonner. We had originally met her in Muxia but we joined her for a drink and exchanged various stories about sailing of which she had an enormous fund.The next day was to be the big kick off for a long passage down to the Algarve. It all started very auspiciously with a nice fresh northerly to speed us south. The problem was that it proceeded to become brisker and brisker till it was gusting more then 35 knots quite a lot. As the sun got lower it became clear that it wasn't going to drop very quickly and neither of us fancied a long rough night. Had the wind stayed below 30 knots most of the time I would have pushed on but the seas started to build and some of them were breaking, though not seriously thankfully. As the sun reached setting point we decided to stop at Leixoes and visit Port which we had always wanted to do anyway. The approach to Leixoes was an interesting one. The coastline here is very low lying and the first thing I saw was the light at Leca while still 12 miles away. Then as we closed the harbour all the shipping decided to get moving including a cruise ship called the Braemar - all lit up like a Christmas tree and headed for Dover of all places according to the video game (AIS). Still, we got in at 12:20 Spanish time and dropped anchor and went to bed exhausted.Today, we went into the marina which is very friendly and helpful. We have dropped our laundry off which will all be done for 2 Euros a kilo. The showers were nice and there are some nice friendly people here and all for less than half the price of a marina in Galicia. We then walked to the metro and went into Porto. I am really glad we did as it is a beautiful city in an incredibly dramatic location. It is such a shame that the entrance to the Douro river is so difficult as it would be great to take a boat up to Porto. We had a lunch which included a local speciality for Audrey. We can't remember the name of it but it consists of ham, sausage and steak between two slices of bread with melted cheese on top, the whole then being soaked in spicy tomato sauce. The best heart attack on a plate you can imagine!

Following that, we walked across the bridge and visited the Sandeman Port house. The tour was of average interest but it was nice to see the port being produced and the tasting was also interesting as well though I would have preferred the 15 Euro tour with more to taste. I then scared their gift shop into a fit by buying a bottle of 2007 vintage port. I will open it for my sixtieth birthday when it should be nice and mature. I also got two bottles of ten year old tawny.Leixoes is very different from the places we have been visiting. It is a port pure and simple with no tourism or anything like that. The approach made that clear but it is interesting to be in a purely working port and the marina is excellent though you can smell the port as soon as you come past the breakwater. Others tried to persuade us to stop at Povoa de Varzim rather than here but I am pleased we came here. A cruise ship left this afternoon and the tug/fireboat gave it a traditional send off with all the water spraying.All in all it was an excellent day and the weather proved very fortuitous in stopping here.19/09This netbook seems to be throwing a bit of a wobbler and the track pad is not working now but at least the keyboard is working so I will soldier on.We are in Sines now having sailed a good couple of hundred miles from Leixoes. The sailing has been brisk to say the least. The nortada has certainly been reliable though a good bit stronger than what the books give you to understand. The theory is that over the summer they build form the north blowing from between 16 to 25 knots. In the afternoon, the sea breeze is supposed to augment the wind so it typically blows harder the afternoon and then drops when the sun goes down. Our experience however is that it seems to drop a bit in the afterrnon sometimes and then gets up and blows a high force 6 to 7 all night and often through the morning. 20 knots seems to be the minimum except occasionally. The sell has also been quite big which has made for a fast but roller coaster of a ride. We have been clocking up good averages with nearly 110 miles a day being possib le. It has been quite uncomfortable though. At least the engine has had a bit of a rest. We sailed right through the night to Cascais arriving there just after sundown. Coming round Cabo da Roca was an exciting experience. The winds had actually started moderating in the run up to it but when we got round and started heading for Cabo Raso they blew up in no uncertain terms and we recorded a consistent 38 knots with gusts to the mid forties for about five miles. They then moderated until we turned into Cascais a couple of miles further on from Cabo Raso. We anchored and all night the wind was howling a gale. It moderated a bit in the early hours. At least I had got tired of worrying if the anchor was dragging and got faith that it was well dug in.

We took a flyer on not doing the official checking in with authorities at Cascais looking on it as a psssage stop rather than a proper stop. Certainly we didn't go ashore. Yesterday we took off a bit later as we were wondering if the wind was really blowing as hard as it seemed to be but left around 10:30 for Sines. The sail was much the same – 53 miles of fast rolly sailing. The entrance here was very exciting though.Firstly, the end of the breakwater is derelict for 500 meters past the light supposedly on it's end. There is a red bouy to leave to port which is “lit” and so easy to find. We couldn't find it at all. After deciding that we must be past the broken bit we made a turn in. In the dark I saw some jagged bits just as Audrey shouted that she could see the bouy off to our starboard (the wrong) side! We hastily made a rapid turn and snuck round the correct side of it. Then, to add to the excitement, we descried a tanker on the move. Sines is a major tanker port and can handle ships up to 400,000 tons. Cue another rapid about face and gilling around waiting for it to clear. We then headed in but were perturbed to see tugs hanging around. Sure enough, another one started heading in! Luckily we were sufficient far advanced not to have to bother it. The wind was still blowing very hard but it eassed nicely as we got into the old harbour where yachts can anchor. We would rather avoid that sort of excitement in the future.The anchorage and town are interesting. From the boat you would hardly know that there was a major oil port outside as it is all behind the breakwaters and there is a nice sandy beach in front of us with people sunbathing and gingerly swimming in the clear water. Above that is the old town. It is mostly famous for being the birthplace of Vasco da Gama who established Portuguese trading links with India at about the same time as Columbus was getting ready to open up the Americas to plundering by rapacious europeans from Spain and the UK.Tomorrow we start the last bit of the Atlantic stage of this adventure when we make the final hop down to Cabo da Sao Vincente. This is an enormously evocative point. It is the southwesternmost corner of this peninsula though not the furthest west ponit. Cabo da Roca takes that honour at 9° 30' W. For information, this well to the west of Cork in Ireland though not as far west as the west coast of Ireland. After Sao Vincente, we will be all east bound and on the last lap of the trip.20/09

Well, we are round Sao Vincente. The anchoreage is rather rolly here behind Cabo de Sagres but it feels fantastic to be round the final big point of the voyage. The cape also lived up to expectations in all ways as the photo shows. We took a bunch more but will refrain from cluttering up the interrtubes with them.21/09Now we are in Lagos and a complete contrast with a major tourist resort town complete with english cafes serving egg and chips though the marina is useful. We need to do laundry and such like as well as wifi access. The wind has been disappointing after the roller coaster down the northern end of Portugal. We had no wind at all from Sines and none this morning coming round from Sagres. It is also a lot hotter here and we really feel that we are in the south. A meal ashore is called for this evening as well as a shower for us and a good clean out for the boat.

Fogged in

2011-09-15T08:52:00.000+01:00

Thick fog this morning. I doubt we will be moving unless something dramatic happens. There is a fog horn blowing mournfully at the entrance to the harbour and that is about all we can see. At least the northerlies are holding so we should still be able to get south when we can move.

First stop in Portugal

2011-09-14T20:01:00.003+01:00

We really liked Baiona and the passage pas the Islas Cies really gave us a wish to be able to come back with more time and a permit to anchor there.6 After originally planning to go into the marina at Baiona, we decided to anchor on the spur of the moment which proved to be a very good idea. Firstly, it is always better to be at anchor generally as well as being free. Secondly, we met up with a fascinating woman called Ellie on her rebuilt Hilliard nine tonner. We had originally met her in Muxia but we joined her for a drink and exchanged various stories about sailing of which she had an enormous fund.

The next day was to be the big kick off for a long passage down to the Algarve. It all started very auspiciously with a nice fresh northerly to speed us south. The problem was that it proceeded to become brisker and brisker till it was gusting more then 35 knots quite a lot. As the sun got lower it became clear that it wasn't going to drop very quickly and neither of us fancied a long rough night. Had the wind stayed below 30 knots most of the time I would have pushed on but the seas started to build and some of them were breaking, though not seriously thankfully. As the sun reached setting point we decided to stop at Leixoes and visit Port which we had always wanted to do anyway.

The approach to Leixoes was an interesting one. The coastline here is very low lying and the first thing I saw was the light at Leca while still 12 miles away. Then as we closed the harbour all the shipping decided to get moving including a cruise ship called the Braemar - all lit up like a Christmas tree and headed for Dover of all places according to the video game (AIS). Still, we got in at 12:20 Spanish time and dropped anchor and went to bed exhausted.

Today, we went into the marina which is very friendly and helpful. We have dropped our laundry off which will all be done for 2 Euros a kilo. The showers were nice and there are some nice friendly people here and all for less than half the price of a marina in Galicia.

We then walked to the metro and went into Porto. I am really glad we did as it is a beautiful city in an incredibly dramatic location. It is such a shame that the entrance to the Douro river is so difficult as it would be great to take a boat up to Porto. We had a lunch which included a local speciality for Audrey. We can't remember the name of it but it consists of ham, sausage and steak between two slices of bread with melted cheese on top, the whole then being soaked in spicy tomato sauce. The best heart attack on a plate you can imagine!

Following that, we walked across the bridge and visited the Sandeman Port house. The tour was of average interest but it was nice to see the port being produced and the tasting was also interesting as well though I would have preferred the 15 Euro tour with more to taste. I then scared their gift shop into a fit by buying a bottle of 2007 vintage port. I will open it for my sixtieth birthday when it should be nice and mature. I also got two bottles of ten year old tawny.

Leixoes is very different from the places we have been visiting. It is a port pure and simple with no tourism or anything like that. The approach made that clear but it is interesting to be in a purely working port and the marina is excellent though you can smell the port as soon as you come past the breakwater. Others tried to persuade us to stop at Povoa de Varzim rather than here but I am pleased we came here. A cruise ship left this afternoon and the tug/fireboat gave it a traditional send off with all the water spraying.

All in all it was an excellent day and the weather proved very fortuitous in stopping here.

weatherbound again

2011-09-11T13:21:00.003+01:00

Ten years ago today I was installing some reporting software for a group of users at London Guildhall University when someone came in to say that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. It was one of those Kennedy moments. Now, by contrast, we are weatherbound here in Combarro and doing some laundry by hand as there are no facilities for this at this marina and we have been caught out because we expected to be in Baiona by now where there are washing machines to be had. There is a laundry here in Combarro but it is a service laundry and closed on Sunday of course.

Yesterday was a frustration as we motored out of the ria into increasing wind which then proceeded to gust up to off Cabezo de la Mourisca which forced us to turn back rather than get to Baiona There was a long low blue boat tied up at the marina which announced itself as customs (Aduanas). Two very polite men proceeded to peer at all our paperwork and give us the blue copy of the form they filled out in triplicate so we can then wave that at any other customs people that may take an interest in us. Their boat was long, low and looked very serious being bedecked with spotlights and numerous aerials. It also had very large engines -presumably for intercepting drug smugglers in the remoter rias.
Today, there is a motorbike festival ashore which explains the number of bikes roaring up and down the roads yesterday. We took a wander around but my old fogey element prevented me from liking any of the hundreds of bikes around.

The weather continues to blow from the west so we are sitting here with not much to do. When I head up to the bar to post this, I will b be able to check on the forecast as well. The Spanish met office doesn't post it's forecasts very early. The Portuguese web site by contrast has a very useful table to present their information and it seems to be saying we will have northerlies by Tuesday. So it looks like we will be hanging around here for bit then.

Having just checked the forecast - we will be sitting still for a little while yet by the looks. The chances of visting Lisbon are receding as well with a long passage round to the Algarve looming now.

AGENCIA ESTATAL DE METEOROLOGIA
PREDICCION METEOROLOGICA PARA LAS ZONAS COSTERAS DE LA COMUNIDAD
AUTONOMA DE GALICIA

DIA 11 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2011 A LAS 08:00 UTC

1.-AVISO A LAS 0900 UTC DEL DIA 11 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2011:
HAY TEMPORAL FUERZA 8 DEL SW EN EL AREA DE BARES.

2.-SITUACION A LAS 00 UTC DEL DIA 11 Y EVOLUCION:
HURACAN EXTRATROPICAL KATIA SITUADO EN 47N-38W DESPLAZANDOSE
HACIA EL NORDESTE HASTA 54N-19W, CON POCOS CAMBIOS. DEPRESION DE
972 AL OESTE DE IRLANDA RELLENANDOSE Y DESPLAZANDOSE HACIA EL
NORDESTE. ANTICICLON DE 1020 AL OESTE DE CANARIAS REFORZANDOSE A
1024, CASI ESTACIONARIO.

3.-PREDICCION VALIDA HASTA LAS 24 UTC DEL DOMINGO 11:
AGUAS COSTERAS DE LUGO:
SW FUERZA 4 Y 5 ARRECIANDO EN BARES A FUERZA 6 Y 7 Y
OCASIONALMENTE FUERZA 8 Y ROLANDO Y AMAINANDO MAS TARDE EN BARES A
W-SW FUERZA 5 Y EN EL RESTO A FUERZA 4. FUERTE MAREJADA EN BARES Y
EN EL RESTO MAREJADA. MAR DE FONDO DEL NW DE 2,5 A 3 M.

AGUAS COSTERAS DE A CORUNA:
- NORTE DE FISTERRA: SW FUERZA 6 ARRECIANDO EN ORTEGAL-BARES A
FUERZA 7 Y OCASIONALMENTE FUERZA 8, AMAINANDO MAS TARDE A FUERZA 6
EN ORTEGAL-BARES Y A FUERZA 5 EN EL RESTO. FUERTE MAREJADA
DISMINUYENDO PRONTO DE FISTERRA A PRIOR A MAREJADA. MAR DE FONDO
DEL NW DE 3 M DISMINUYENDO AL FINAL A 2,5 M.

- SUR DE FISTERRA: SW FUERZA 4 A 5 AMAINANDO MAS TARDE A FUERZA 4.
MAREJADA DISMINUYENDO A MAREJADILLA. MAR DE FONDO DEL NW EN EL
ENTORNO DE 3 M DISMINUYENDO DESPUES A 2,5 M.

AGUAS COSTERAS DE PONTEVEDRA:
S-SW FUERZA 4 A 5 AMAINANDO MAS TARDE A FUERZA 4. MAREJADILLA A
MAREJADA DISMINUYENDO AL FINAL A MAREJADILLA. MAR DE FONDO DEL NW
DE 3 M EN DISMINUCION CON 2,5 M AL FINAL.

4.-INFORME DE LAS ESTACIONES A LAS 06 UTC DEL DIA 11 DE
SEPTIEMBRE: LUGO:
- SAN CIBRAO: S FUERZA 3-4. MAR DE FONDO DEL NW DE 1,5 M.
A CORUNA:
- BARES: SW FUERZA 8.
- FERROL: SW FUERZA 3.
- A CORUNA: SE FUERZA 4.
- VILAN: SW FUERZA 6.
- FISTERRA: SW FUERZA 6.

for those of you who don't read Spanish - Hurricane Katia is moving north east though it isn't really a hurricane now but is bringing strong winds. The Azores high has retreated well to the south and we can expect south or sw force 4-5 though we are seeing closer to 6 or 7 here. The direction is the critical thing as S-SW is exactly where we want to go. Grrr. :-(

Pontevedra Now

2011-09-09T16:48:00.003+01:00

We have just arrived at Combarro near the top of the naviable part of Ria Pontevedra. It was a surprisingly long trip round here from A Pobra de Caramiñal being over 20 miles but it is really nice here and the batteries are now nearly completely charged up which is a good thing. Our intention was to run up to Pontevedra itself with a view to visiting the chart agent there. However, as it is now past three, we are going to spend the night here at anchor, go into the marina tomorrow and then finally head off to Bayona on Saturday before taking off for Portugal.

The relief of having the ability to charge our batteries is huge though it would have been nicer not to have had to spend three days in limbo at Vila Nova

Now we are in Combarro after a longer than expected motor. Usually I chafe badly at having to motor much – something we have done a lot of on this cruise – but this time it felt good to know that a good bit of charge was going into the batteries.

Combarro is a funny town. It had it's origins in an old fishing village that wound up being selected for preservation and so is the first genuinely touristy place we have visiteed complete with street hawkers. The old village is ruthlessly restored with tiny but immaculate granite houses complete with a huge number of stone grain stores known as horrários

We spent last night at anchor but today we are in the marina having the avowed plan of going to Pontevedra to find a chart agent. As it happens, we found a suitable commercially produced chart of Ria de Vigo in the little chandlery here. We then completely failed to find the bus stop so failed to get to Pontevedra. Still, we had a good lunch in a local cafe of which there are dozens.

Tomorrow we head round to Baiona (Bayona en Castellano) where we will take our departure from NW Spain and head south to Portugal. First stop is planned to be Leixoes just outside Porto. Then, on to Lisboa, possibly breaking the trip at Peniche or Figuera da Foz.

Engineer Arrived at Last

2011-09-06T17:25:00.003+01:00

He sauntered down the pontoon with a shopping trolley with his toolkit in it. He then peered at the batteries, verified that they had no charge, looked at the alternator and then took it off for testing. So far we haven't seen him though all his tools are still here so we are hopeful that we may be back on the go this evening. Watch this space.

Update 18:50
He has come back with the news that our alternator is knackered. He had a "new" one with him which we tried and it works. We have agreed to buy it as it has a bigger capacity than the old one. We are going to stick with it as more capacity is a good thing anyway. The relief of having a functioning engine is fantastic. Now, we are going to go to Vilagarcia tomorrow to try and get more charts and then anchor over on the other side of the ria before heading further south.

Hoorah!

Reflection on the Rias Bajas (Baixas en Galego)

2011-09-06T11:44:00.005+01:00

We are still stuck in Vilanova marina waiting for the engineer to look at our alternator so I am taking the opportunity to put something down here about where we have been recently. Word is that he has “noticed” us and will be down soon.

It was nice rounding Finisterre as it really is a corner and looks the part as well though Torinana is the most westerly point in mainland Europe. It is actually a good bit west of Cork and even west of the Fastnet rock in Ireland.

There is quite a lot of regional pride here and a lot of people speak Galego rather and Castellano so we have deemed it politic to purchase and fly a Galician courtessy flag under our Spanish one.

The Ria de Muros was particularly nice and we really liked Muros itself and have it down as somehwere to stay a bit longer if we make it back here. Although it is a lot bigger than the northern rias, it is still fairly small being only about three miles wide and perhaps five miles deep. We also had a very social time. On one side were a family cruising slowly to Vilagarcia here in the Ria de Arousa where they were planning on laying up. I gave them a bit of a hand changing a taxi booking as they were dropping their daughters at the airport at Santiago and hiring a car to visit the Picos de Europa. On our other side was a past local vice-president of the Ocean Cruising Club who knew this coast extremely well and was making his way to Vigo slowly.

Since rounding Finisterre we have noticed a subtle change in the landscape and feel of the area. Although it might be part of the improved weather, things feel much more southern down here. The trees are a good bit scrubbier and some of the hills are a lot barer. Of course, I am sure that we would feel quite differently if we the weather continued as it had last week with lots of rain and strong westerlies. The scenery is spectacular and this current ria – de Arousa – is very large and very picturesque though it is a lot more developed than the more northern area. Once again, I suspect that this is at least in part a function of the remoteness of places like Camarinas and Muxia.

The sail the day before yesterday was nice as we were able to see Cabo Sillero in the distance which marks the southern extremity of the rias and Baiona behind it will be our departure point for Portugal. We are also starting to get excited about heading into Portugal and where we might stop. The Atlantic coast is quite forbidding and it is unlikely we will stop at more than two or three stops. Cabo Sao Vincente will then be the next major turning point leading to the Algarve and the final stages of the voyage.

Meanwhile our enforced stop her at Vilanova has shown a very picturesque fishing harbour!

The fishing here is of a different kind where they cultivate shellfish on huge floating "viveiros". These are squares of timber with hundreds of lines hanging down where the mussels are grown and then harvested before being loaded into huge trucks to be shipped off to processing plants somewhere. There are also some smaller boats with a cage contraption that they drag across the seabed collecting bottom dwelling shellfish. There are, apparently, 1400 viveiros alone in the Ria de Arousa!

Next update will hopefully be full of praise for our engineer and the alternator!

Further south but a problem

2011-09-05T12:49:00.002+01:00

Well, we have got down to the Ria de Arousa but have encountered our first real problem. The batteries are completely flat and we are waiting for an engineer to come from the office of hte marina that has been recommended to us by the RCCPPF guide. I think that we may have a problem with our alternator as we have been running the engine a lot so there should be no problem with battery charging but all three (two domestic deep cycle and one engine starting are all flat as pancakes.

Still, we had a pleasant time the day before and yesterday visiting Portosin and then coming round here.

Portosin turned out to be a very social place. We had a quick sail across from Muros and then a bit of a nightmare in the force 5 crosswind getting into a very tight marina berth. Next to us was an Irish registered Westerly while another Bavaria tied up on our other side. Both turned out to be very interesting aquaintances. Peter and Jane in the Bavaria had been coast hopping round Biscay and were planning on laying up somewhere along the Galician coast. The other peter was a past vice regional president for this area and had a huge fund of knowledge of the area.

We took a meal ashore in the yacht club restaurant which was typically good. One of the things we have noticed on this trip in particular is the abundance and quality of the food compared with that at home. In London, to get vegetables as good as we have been buying in common or garden supermarkets would require a visit to Borough Market.

Yesterday morning gave us the first intimation of a possible problem with our engine as it was a bit slow to turn over but started OK. we motored out and continued down the coast to Cabo Corrubedo where we were able to sail That was where the issue with the batteries/alternator showed itself as things like the VHF and AIS started to complain about their 12 volt supply. We just managed to get the engine turning over in idle and continued sailing past Isla Salvora.

As we motored up the Ria which is far larger than any other we have yet to visit we changed our plan to anchor and looked for where to go. The guide said that Vilagarcia to Arousa had a good boatyard and chandlery so here we are.

Things have been a bit frustrating as we have yet to get hold of a card to give us access to and from the pontoons though we do have a promise from the engineer to visit us later on today. I have a suspicion that it may turn into a manana but we shall have to see.

Been offline for a while

2011-09-04T19:02:00.005+01:00

For various reasons we haven't been in a position to update this for a while. I have been writing stuff up on a date by date basis so, here it is.

23/08
Well, it is now two days since we arrived in Spain and we have recovered our sleep from the passage across The Bay though I still find myself waking up around midnight. We will be eating aboard tonight and I hope that will help to re-establish the shore based routine.

The weather yesterday was really not very nice which thoroughly discouraged any sightseeing so we concentrated on other things like the laundry- more of which shortly.

The marina here is a nice one and the staff are friendly as ever. It is also nice that it is significantly cheaper to stay here than it is in England. A night here for us is Euro 25 as opposed to £35 in Plymouth. It is however, just a marina and they tend to be pretty soulless places and uniform the world over. We are looking forward to getting away and visiting remoter places where you have to anchor. Matthew observed that we have the largest anchor on display of anyone on the marina.

The weather on Sunday slowly brightened though the visibility never really completely cleared. We took a walk out to El Torre de Hercules - the oldest working lighthouse by all accounts. It was certainly dramatic with the top in the mist and more rolling in from the west but with sun shining as well. It was particularly noticeable that there were only really Spanish tourists around. This is not an area on the regular tourist route in Spain except for yotties.

Anyway, onto the saga of the clothes washing. Superficially, the facilities here are quite good with three washing machines. The problem is when you want to dry your clothes. In the normal course of events we would wash in the washing machine and then festoon the boat in our underpants and t-shirts. The rain, however, put paid to this and this was when the fact that there was only one dryer. Everyone seemed to be doing their clothes and I started to develop a bit of paranoia about Scandinavians and the amount of clothes they needed. It took till today to finally get at the drying machine by which time the rain had stopped and some of it got air dried.

La Coruña itself is a nice enough city without being spectacular. It is typically well served by bars and is very like other Spanish cities I have visited – except for the weather. It rains here in a way it doesn't in other parts of Spain.

24/08
Finally, having got marina fever, we pushed off from Marina Coruña at about noon with a view to sailing off somewhere. Where we have got to is Ares in a Ria of it's own just to the east of La Coruña. It is a very nice spot and we are anchored with two other boats, one Dutch and the other an English AWB. We went ashore and found the small supermarket and got some bread as well as a couple of other basics. Now we are sitting in the cockpit watching the rain clouds build up to the south west but the wind is dying steadily and is almost nothing now.

This is what cruising is really about. We had a nice gentle sail round here, a nice meal with some good localish wine and now near complete peace and a nice bit of distance from the impending disco in the yacht club ashore.

On our way into the ria, another rival a 41 was heading out and we had a bit of a chat with them on the radio. I hope to be able to catch up with them later on further south.

While anchored in Ares, a traditional fishing boat design got underway.

26/08
Yesterday, we left Ares for Cedeira back round the the east. En route a Dutch catamaran, Miss Poes overtook us. We knew her name as they were also on AIS. They called us and passed on some very helpful advice about where to anchor in Cedeira. As we arrived we agreed that they should come over for a quick drink which became a longer drink and an invitation to dinner on their boat. Several bottles of wine, our whiskey and their excellent Spanish brandy later and we are now nursing some mild hangovers in a rather breezy Cedeira. Today isn't a day for going anywhere so I am sat here writing this at the moment.

The coast round this side of Cabo Prior which, to us at least, seems to form a corner where you are either on the north coast of Galicia or more on the south, is considerably more rugged than that around La Coruña.

A few miles short of Cedeira we were following a catamaran on the video game when a call came over the VHF from Miss Poes to ask us where we were going. They had been intending to go further east but the lack of wind had persuaded them to head for Cedeira as well – to our benefit.

We invited them aboard for a drink and some wine was drunk, snacks were consumed and it culminated in an invitation to dinner on their catamaran. As ever, too much wine was drunk and then, when it transpired that they liked whisky, Matthew went back to Sarah G and fetched his bottle of Talisker which was then finished along with some very superior Spanish brandy called Cardenal Mendoza – I shall have to get a bottle of it for myself. Jef and Marin, if you are reading this, thank you for a very enjoyable evening.

The next day brought strong westerlies and intermittent heavy showers so we stayed at anchor and had more time to admire Cedeira which really is a lovely spot. Matthew went ashore for a search and tobacco but I was feeling very lazy and stayed aboard.

The next day, being Saturday we motored out into a fairly large swell to get back to La Coruña in time to meet Audrey. As ever, the wind played silly buggers with us and never quite filled in enough to sail with. We did manage half an hour of beating but then it died on us though it did fill in on the approach to Coruña but by then we didn't feel inclined to fight with the sails and being downwind only really noticed once we realised there was a bit of a cross wind to contend with when tying up.

It was great meeting Audrey at the airport and we treated ourselves to a taxi back to the marina. A good meal of tapas was consumed in a restaurant behind the Plaza de Maria Pita before poor old Matthew had to make his way to the airport and back to blighty. I never saw anyone drag their heels so much about packing their bags!

30/08
Yesterday, we had a fantastic sail from La Coruña to Ria de Corme. Originally, we had planned on anchoring in Corme itself but after looking at it we decided to cross back over to Laxe where we spent a very comfortable night while Audrey cooked a splendid Tagine like dish in the pressure cooker. The sail was the first really good sail for us as there was a nice force 5 from the north east. It was marred a bit by getting a line round the prop ouside La Coruña and then the shackle holding the mainsheet to the traveller also gave way at an inopportune moment while closing the coast but we still had a good sail – the first on this coast.

We had another drama while motoring just past La Coruña when we picked up a bit of rope round the prop as this photo shows once I had managed to extract it - thankfully only needing the helpo of the boathook.

Today was quite different though we are happy to be in Camariñas and will likely spend tomorrow here as well. Talk is of walking out to Cabo Villano. It is five km according to the rough guide and as it took quite a lot of rounding as well as looking very dramatic it will be of worth to do so I think.

Camariñas is a pleasant little town and we are looking forward to exploring it a bit more. There is also, reputed to be a wifi network around where we should be able to update the blog a bit.

31/08
The wind is continuing to blow hard from the west so we decided to spend a day here and walked out to Cabo Villano which had taken us so long to get round. It was certainly dramatic and there is an interesting little museum in the old lighthouse keepers house which explains some of the history of the lights along the Costa do Morte as they describe this coast. The most amusing bit of the light at Villano was that the first one, completed in 1853, proved to be partially obscured from seaward. Their solution was first to try blasting the rock out of the way but after the “expenditure of much powder and money” this was abandoned and a new lighthouse tower was built on the partially blasted rock!

We had lunch in a cafe recommended by the rough guide and are now out on the boat being battered by wind and rain while hoping it eases enough for us to get round Finisterre tomorrow.

01/09
After getting a severe case of harbour fever, we left Camarinas in rather a hurry and headed out to round Finisterre. Like all major headlands, it has taken on a bit of a totemic and looms ever larger in our consiousness. Until it is passed that is. Today wasn't to be the day for getting round it though. We got out past Muxia and were thinking of getting the jib set and doing some sailing but the easterlies we hoped for hadn't materialised and we both – almost simultaneously – expressed doubts about continuing. We duly turned round in disappointment. I suggested going to Muxia rather than back to Camarinas which turned out to be an inspired decision.

Muxia is a much nicer place really. There is a new marina but money has run out and there is only the marina with no other offices. It is therefore free to tie up and so is inhabited by serious budget cruisers, particularly those in multihulls. There is even a Wharram cat here.

The town is really lovely with lots of much older houses and a good selection of shops. It has a nice laid back feeling as well as some fantastic views from the point where there is a church dedicated to “nostra senora del virgen del barca”. This was apparently a site of an old animist religion based around the granite boulders which are now reputed to be the remains of the ship that brought the body of St James from Jerusalem to Santiago de Compostela. It is a beautiful place nonetheless. I also climbed the conical hill right outside the town as the photos show.

The forecast is not promising so we are likely to be here for a day or so more.

02/09
Well, after assuming we would be stuck in Muxia for a couple of days we proved ourselves completely wrong. We got underway with the intention of pumping out the holding tank once a decent distance from land but the bright sun and lack of wind persuaded us to push on and a good idea that proved as well.

We quickly made it to Cabo Toriñana and comleted our western travel. I looked at the chart and Cabo Torinana is 9 degrees 17' west which is further west than Fastnet Rock is. Now, it is alll south till we reach Tarifa though Cabo Sao Vincente will mark a point where we make much more easting. I am enjoying marking these literal turning points in the cruise.

The coast around Torinana and Finisterre is very wild and you can see why it has got the name of Costa do Morte. We were very “lucky” in that it was nearly completely flat calm

Observations on the Biscay Crossing

2011-08-28T16:57:00.003+01:00

In some respects the voyage from Plymouth to La Coruña was a bit of a disappointment. We were all geared up for Biscay to live up to its fearsome reputation but nothing of the sort happened and we were dogged by calms. One day was seriously sunny and warm to be followed by a windless night with increasing cloud and I found this entry from Matthew in the log book:

1100 45 06'N 7 28'W Going Mad. Writing limericks

and on the facing page:

The fabled storms of the Bay of Biscay
Are but tales of madmen driven that way
By winds of ten knots
And an incessant chop:
Flogging sails and too many whales affect
what sailors say
© Matthew Kynaston, 08/2011

Thirty six hours with the engine more or less on continually is not what we expected at all. Conversations I have had with others who have done the crossing recently suggest that we were lucky (or unlucky if you want). One Swedish guy had SW force 7 for a day which must have been no joke at all.

We weren't without our dramas which got missed out with the previous posting about the crossing though. Crossing the shipping lanes south of Ouessant was a serious headache. With hindsight, it was probably a bit of a mistake to go to the north of the TSS and then cross over inside them to the south. By then the shipping was quite spread out and we took quite a long time to get to the east of the ships as advised by the routing guide in the almanac. It would have been better to stay due south across the Channel till we were inside of them and then used the local traffic zone on the TSS. This would also have given us a sight of the island of Ouessant (Ushant for generations of British sailors). Still we did and took the best part of a day to skate round the outer edge of the purple lines on the chart.

We had one near incident which, thankfully was only a bit of a drama. I was on watch and heading west to get clear of the shipping lines after we had been scared off trying to get through at night when there was a thump and sliding noise from the coach roof and the life-raft ended up in the scuppers and almost over the side. I hastily woke Matthew and went forward to rescue it. For the rest of the trip it stayed in the after end of the cockpit. It is back in it's proper placed now and has an additional loop of webbing to prevent it from sliding sideways.

The other highlight was a hitch-hiker we acquired a couple of hundred miles short of Spain. A very exhausted little reddish bird suddenly flew in and down below. He then stayed with us intermittently till we were closing the Spanish coast. I am not sure what he was but he liked being with us though he scorned any bread or water we were able to offer. He would periodically fly off but would then reappear and rested in the shade of the anchor on the foredeck. He really got happen when a load of flies found us not that far from the Spanish coast where Matthew described him as happily hopping round the cockpit catching as many as he could. Sadly, he flew off in the wrong direction though we hope he either found another boat to rest on or did make it to Cabo Ortegal which was the stretch of coast we were heading for.

I am looking forward to trying sailing down the Portuguese coast where there are reputed to be the “Portuguese trades” which blow consistently from the north if not consistently in strength. I think that we will then be able to make a judgement about whether ocean cruising is to be the thing for us.

Finished Loads and Arrived in Spain

2011-08-23T13:15:00.003+01:00

Finally the time had arrived to depart. Friday in the office was a mad rush to get all sorts of rubbish tied up but the time came and it was too late to do anything else. A very nice little send off in the Hammersmith Ram was very well attended by lots of colleagues and former ones as well. We got the train down to Plymouth down on Saturday and I brought the boat round to Sutton Harbour for some final work on the holding tank and icebox with Matthew's assistance. Time passed in a blur but after two days, Audrey had to depart back to work for two weeks and my Mother also took her leave to get back to her twinning association.

Matthew and I locked out of Sutton and dropped the hook in Cawsand bay which felt like a much better place to take our departure.

Come the Tuesday morning and we decided that we would be as ready as we ever were going to be. The forecast was even promising with easterlies filling in on the next day. A bit of discussion about whether to break the journey in France culminated in us taking the decision to push on all the way to Spain and go outside the TSS off Ouessant. Our last sight of the UK was St Austell bay where we turned our nose south and then through the night we had the Lizard slowly receding to starboard. Of course the wind died through the night.

At least the wind filled in for us in the Western Approaches to the Channel. I had decided to take an offshore route round the outside of the Ouessant traffic separation zone. For non-yotties, the authorities set up dual carriageway systems round headlands where shipping concentrate. Of course, there aren't corresponding purple lines drawn on the sea as you see on a chart but shipping is only allowed to travel in the direction indicated on the chart or at right angles to it. Small boats such as us are basically expected to keep well clear.

The sun didn't show her face but we had a nice easterly that gave us some of the fastest sailing of the whole passage as it turned out. We finally got south of the TSS just as it was getting dark. The error of going outside (I didn't want to have to worry about tides inshore on the Brittany Coast which run quite hard) turned out to be an error as we needed to be in side the line of shipping going between Ouessant and Finisterre 300 miles to the south. This meant crossing the shipping lane and doing it in the dark was a bit too scary for us even with the AIS to help so we gybed to the west and then veered in to time our arrival at the shipping lane again for dawn – conveniently at the end of my watch.

The passage settled into a proper routine after we had got across the shipping lane. As is usual on Sarah Giddings, we worked a six hour watch system rather than the traditional four hour one. I am now a firm convert to this when you are sailing two up. It gives the off watch person the chance of a good solid four hours sleep once they have come off watch, taken oilskins off, had a snack and god bedded down. Then you can reverse the process half an hour before coming on watch. We worked it so that I did an evening meal just after coming off watch at 1800 which we took turns to eat. We would then both be on deck around lunch time. On longer passages, I would give thought to having the main meal at midday. Of course, in heavy weather, six hours would be very tiring and a degree of flexibility would be needed.

The second day out was also when we were treated to our first dolphins who spent nearly an hour playing round in our bow wave. Everyone tells you that you will meet lots of dolphins in the Bay and it is true! We still had a good sailing breeze though very much from the north or north east. The only time when the sheets weren't eased was when we first set off from Plymouth and when we were motoring. We still need to work on getting our down wind setup working and the Aries was not behaving for us though I am confident that we can get it to play nicely with a bit of practise and perhaps some cleaning up of bits and pieces. The pawls that rotate the vane definitely need attention.

Through the third night we crossed the continental shelf though on Matthew's watch. He described the water as behaving as it would in a tide race even though it was nearly flat calm at that point with almost no sea running at all. This is one of the reasons the Bay of Biscay is so notorious of course. We now had over three miles of sea water under us!

As I took over at midnight the wind started seriously to drop. I tried to keep her moving but the slatting sails proved too frustrating in the end. I furled the jib and sheeted the main in hard to avoid as much rattling as possible though it was impossible to stop the sail slatting backwards and forwards in a manner all to familiar with boaters and loathed as much as a full gale.

Eventually, I gave up and fired up the engine, a good idea really as the batteries were in a bit of a parlous state and seriously needed some recharging. High on my list of things that would be nice to have would be a windmill! All through the Thursday, the wind remained elusive and we had brilliant sunshine and flat seas. Another huge school of dolphins past us in the late afternoon but there were clearly on business and did not have time to play with yotties, particularly when under power. The wind continued its trick of staying away and, with a couple of brief respites, we had the engine on all night. We had worked our early in the day that we weren't going to make it in on Saturday which would have been the five days predicted so I played with the satellite phone telling both parents and Audrey that Sunday was a much more likely candidate for arrival. It is a truly surreal experience sitting in the middle of the sea knowing that you are hundreds of miles from land and casually visualising the person you are talking to in their living room. The wind continued light right the way to the end.

Each watch change brought us a bit closer until on the final night I took over just after Matthew had crossed the continental shelf though we were still off the bottom of the echo sounder. This was when my fun and games started.

I continued the due south that Matthew had put in so as to raise Cabo Ortegal on the port bow as recommended by the Almanac to avoid the main shipping line, until the GPS told me we were about ten miles off. I turned to starboard with a course to raise Cabo Prior. The AIS then came alive with moving triangles of other ships all of which seemed to be converging on the same bit of sea we were looking to occupy. I spent about three of my six hour watch dodging around to stay clear of various cargo ships bound to and from such places as Bilbau, Gijon, Cadiz and Palermo. The most troublesome was one called Santa Maria which was bound for El Ferrol on a near but not completely paralell course. El Ferrol is just to the north of La Coruña and I wanted to get to seaward of him to as not to have to worry when he turned to port to enter El Ferrol. Eventually, after much muted swearing so as not to wake Matthew up, I managed to achieve being behind him and could relax a bit. That was when the reducing visibility announced itself as thick fog. I stayed up into the morning with visibility less than two boat lengths at times.

A nervous few hours now ensued with me plotting our position nearly continuously while Matthe sat on the helm and peered into the murk while imagining ghostly shapes emerging from the mist. In the meantime a triangle appeared on the AIS, now dubbed the video game, which told me it was a tanker heading to Rotterdam and would pass within .9 of a mile of us. A ten degree change of course to the east increased that CPA (closest point of approach) to 1.3 miles which felt more acceptable. He continued on at 13.7 knots though.

This picture is our first "view" of Spain!

Finally, as we got off the narrow entrance to El Ferrol, the fog lifted enough to give us a glimpse of some land – our fist sight since leaving Fowey behind six days ago. It continued to lift and we finally rounded the long breakwater at La Coruña six days and one hour out of Cawsand. We felt both elated and exhausted.

Now we are here, taken some much needed showers and are getting stuff to rights. I'll update on life in La Coruña soon.

Final Stretch

2011-08-08T21:28:00.009+01:00

we really are on the final stretch with only four days left in the office. At least we had a productive weekend and feel like we might actually be on track though the target of being ready to go on Sunday will be missed - no surprises really but still a bit frustrating.

I always knew that fitting the holding tank would not be easy and it certainly wasn't. At least we are mostly there and the hard part has been done. Matthew did a sterling job of cutting up the interior and drilling lots of holes but the end of it is that we will have a permanently fitted holding tank and the means of emptying it!

This photos shows the messiest stage. The only bit so far is that I have done the impressive bit of painting the locker where it goes with bilge paint!

We also fitted the liferaft at last with more scary holes to drill in the coachroof. We look even more like a pukka blue water cruiser now.

We also got used Matthew's mast monkey skills to run the lazy jacks up to the spreaders, remove the left over support for the radar and have a look around the masthead to make sure things were healthy up there. We couldn't finish the lazyjacks as the boom fittings hadn't arrived from Atlantic Spars. I have them now and we will swiftly finish them off this coming weekend.

I still have to order a bunch of charts but that really is it. We will leave, probably on Monday but possibly Tuesday. Weather and progress on work will dictate that.

It was a nice weekend though the weather was windier and wetter than planned. Saturday night, in particular brought some dramatic skies:

We also felt rather skinny moored next to a catamaran!

Finally, we are really getting close to going and the excitement rather than apprehension is starting to take over. It will be nice to get going though, as ever.

What will it be like when I walk out of the door for two months and get on the train to Plymouth on Saturday morning? What will it be like when we finally cast off, sail past Plymouth Breakwater? If all goes to plan, we won't come back past the Breakwater for three years. This really is the great adventure - in a small way anyway.

Enjoyable weekend and still too much to do

2011-07-25T20:19:00.003+01:00

We had a very enjoyable weekend though there is still loads to do. Briefly, there are still too many loose ends to tie up at work but we'll struggle through the next seventeen days.

We should really have been slaving over an ice box or some other such thing but decided to do a bit of a cruise to Fowey. We also wanted to give Audrey a chance to try some night sailing and the tides favoured a late departure so we left Plymouth at 14:30. The sailing was a bit frustrating as the wind was in the NW to W. The further off shore you went the more the wind headed you but then it continued to head you as you got closer inshore. We did our best and even got two thirds of the way across Whitsand Bay before the wind petered out. We enjoyed watching the Aries or "our friend" do the work. We still need to do some work on the Aries. I suspect that the issue is to lubricate the bearings a bit more as things feel a bit stiff but we shall see.

It did get dark before we arrived and rafted up next to the Plymouth Sailing School charter boat. A good sleep later and we headed back. The wind was behind us but very light. For a while, we were down to less than one knot but it was in the right direction. We experimented with the cruising chute but the rope on the snuffer came off and the snuffer got stuck half way up so I stuffed it down the fore hatch. Next we poled out the jib and that worked a treat. We should really have tried wing and wing being mostly dead down wind but it was easy.

The Aries was struggling so we did the hand steering - we do need to look at the lubrication but we still really enjoyed the sail and the weekend in general was also good.

Now just to get the holding tank fitted, finish the icebox and get the lazyjacks made up and fitted. Just two weekends to achieve that. Oh yes, we also have to buy a life raft as there is no point in getting the old one I bought on eBay serviced given that it would then cost as much as a new one.

The holding tank has been particularly frustrating but we now have a temporary solution where we will make up a cover to put over the end settee bit to accommodate it. No one can sit there because of the Bengco charcoal heater. And so it goes on.

Got a Piece of Paper

2011-07-19T19:02:00.004+01:00

Well, I am now in posession of a thing called an ICC or International Certificate of Competence which tells those who might be interested that I am basically to be trusted to command 5 tons or so of mixed plastic, aluminium, steel and wood plus whatever else goes into making a boat.

We had a very productive day with Carl from Plymouth Sailing School. Some of it seemed a bit daunting as he was obviously looking for me to prove that I hadn't come to the boat the day before though he definitely seemed to approve of Rivals. I on the other hand had a considerable amount of nerves and could hardly manage any breakfast.

The weather was really rather grim with a steady force 5 to 6 and a bit of seven occasionally, we didn't envy the cruiser race out to the Eddystone at all. There was also a bit of palaver around the entrance to Cattewater with inshore powerboat racing taking place.

Still, we beat over to Cawsand after I learnt a wonderful way of picking up a mooring by lassoing it. I had read about this before but never put it into practise but it is certainly a whole lot easier than coming alonside to windward and trying to thread the rope through from there. I also, on the advice of the RYA guide to the ICC put the third reef in our main for the first time which made for a very comfortable time and hardly any loss in speed though I suspect that we would have been a bit underpowered in any sort of sea. We will however be less shy about dropping it in.

Anyway, it is good to have a piece of paper which I can wave at Spanish and Portuguese authorities.

We spent the night anchored at Dandy Hole and celebrated with a bottle of fizzy wine while the wind continued to howl over head.

Sunday we tried to look at installing the holding tank only to find that the measurements for the height of the beast didn't include the pipes at the top so it won't fit. It is back to square one on that which is more than a bit frustrating.

No photos so I am including one here of the view from Trelissick House down the Carrick Roads with Sarah G anchored off. This was over the Easter weekend.

Finally, we would thoroughly recommend using Plymouth Sailing School should you need any tuition.

Click here For the website.

Got a Test Date for the ICC

2011-07-14T19:42:00.002+01:00

This is a bit scary. It turns out that you really need to have some sort of piece of paper to go sailing in European waters - outside the UK anyway so I have had to sign up for the ICC exam. Plymouth Sailing School are doing the honours (for a fee of course).

We will be going round to Plymouth Yacht Haven at 0900 and having what looks to be a blustery day out in the Sound while I demonstrate that I have what it takes to command a sailing boat in coastal waters.

It will also of course be a day wearing a lifejacket which I normally only do in very rough weather and when doing foredeck work in said rough weather.

Lots of stuff done, lots more stuff to do, getting closer

2011-07-11T21:55:00.005+01:00

Not much activity here but a lot of activity in the real world. As I write we are 31 days and about 20 hours off finishing work and pushing off on the big adventure. Though whether it is a springboard to further adventure is still to decide.

The season has not included much sailing to date. We had a very nice easter weekend in Falmouth and by design left her for the three days between Easter Monday and a blonde lad tying the know with a pretty brunette for millions to watch. Then the Easterlies kicked in and we spend an unwelcome week berted on a one of Falmouth Harbour Commissions green mooring bouys as well as chafing through our lovely new mooring warp.

While there the Matthew was doing a lot of tooing and froing.

My Mother turned 70 that on the Sunday so she came down and stayed in a hotel while Matthew joined us aboard Sarah G for a very nice family weekend and a good meal in a fish restaurant.

We did finally get her back to Torpoint in a strong south westerly which managed to gust to a good force 7 off Fowey but we enjoyed it the wind being on the beam rather than ahead. It is always nice to have a good touch sea boat though we felt a bit silly hand steering while the Aries wasn't ready for use on the stern.

The next weekend we were down we concentrated on getting Mars as we have christened the Aries working. After lots of three in one oil and then some fancy silicone stuff from the chandler it seems to be doing it's thing.

We are happy that the crew situation for the cruise is now resolved and I am looking foward to getting from Faro to La Linea with Andy and Katrine. They had a very good weekend visit to Salcombe though we were plagued by light winds.

Now, we are concentrating on getting the administration done and the still myriad list of things to fix. Most frustratingly, the windlass packed up. I should have been able to fix it but the bolts and screws holding it shut were all seized solid. Ebay came to the rescue and we now have a shiny second hand Lofrans Royal bolted to the foredeck. At least fitting it was easy enough though I had to block two of the old holes with epoxy and drill new ones. Lots of Sikaflex should ensure no leaks. We also patinted the saloon deck head which we had stripped the vinyl off to see about removing the panels so as to fit the liferaft chocks only to find that is not really going to happen and we will have to drill large holes to get at the bolts from below. That might sound silly but the process seemed sensible at the time!

At home, I have 10 meters of canvas and am trying to work out how to turn it into an awning.

At work, I am manically trying to get everything ready for me to go while booking flights for Audrey and myself. She is going to La Coruna with Iberia and coming back from Faro with Monarch while I am going with stodgy (?!) British Airways from Gibraltar.

In other areas: Our insurers failed to play ball so I have got a quote from Pantaenius which is the same price as the previous one but with none of the onerous restrictions. I am also booked to do an ICC this weekend while Audrey is to send off for one based on her Day Skipper qualification.

Oh and we are spending a fortune on lots of charts!

Aries fitted at last

2011-03-27T10:02:00.006+01:00

One of the things I have done to get ready for our planned August departure date is to put a year planner on the wall with planned dates for completion of various bits of work. The Aries was supposed to have been fitted by a weekend in February.

Well, as you can see from the picture below, it has finally been done - at the end of March.

It has truly been one of the more frustrating things I have ever had to do on Sarah G. Every step of the way seemed to be dogged with problems. First, we lost the two horizontal aluminium tubes that are used to clamp the whole assembly across the aft deck. I had to buy a set of clamps off Helen Franklin-Bell as well which I achieved last November. Then, after a lot of exploration we found some predrilled holes in the after end of the lazarette but the new teak toerail covered up where they emerged on top.

Each step seemed to include the purchase of more expensive tools and also a lot of bending over the stern at awkward angles and lots of backache.

The highlight of the purchases were a set of extra long wood drills thanks to Amazon Marketplace.

I used the smallest of the drills to push up from below and all of them seemed to come up in sensible places except the last - the outside starboard one which seemed to be in an odd place. Last weekend proved that it was in completely the wrong place but the one thing I had forgotten to bring with me as the long drill set which put the kibosh on finishing that bit of work for yet another weekend.

We were supposed to be in Liverpool for my friend's wedding but could not make it as an upgrade to a critical system has to happen for work so I took the opportunity to rush down and try to finish things from last weekend.

The most trying bit of work was still to come though. I had managed to get one of the clamps on the cockpit coaming bolted in place but the other had proved too tight to get the bolt with penny washer up from the inside of the cockpit locker.

Describing this is very difficult. There is a bulkhead that separates the lazarette from the aft cockpit locker and it rises up into the cockpit coaming. As the outside of the coaming slopes inward the internal space becomes very small. Now, given that no boat is entirely symmetrical, the port side left just enough room for an 8mm bolt with penny washer to slide up, the starboard side was another matter entirely. This is compounded by the fact that there has been a sort of shelf moulded into the inner aft side of the coaming to catch any bolts that a careless owner might drop rather then let them fall into the locker where they can be easily retrieved!

The eventual technique I used was to use seizing wire fed down from above and wound round the bold about a third of the way down the thread. I then pulled it up and using the long groove (I now understand why the previous owner did this!) along with a pair of needle nose plier to work the penny washer over the end of the bolt without dropping either the bolt or the washer. Needless to say, I left a couple of spare bolts on that shelf.

Eventually, I worked out how to use our little tool for retrieving junk from the bilges to recover the bolts from this ever so useful shelf.

There came a final point where I had both bolts up and started to feed the clamps onto them. This showed up my next problem. I had been forced to leave some of the windings of seizing wire on the bolts which acted as an unofficial lock washer. The lock washer bit was a good thing, extra milimeter or so of bolt was not and I barely had enough length to get up through the top part of the clamp to do up. You can guess that I kept dropping them back in accompanied by much shouting and swearing.

Next, I worked the horizontal tubes in, moved the boat back on the pontoon, undid the main halyard and tied the vane to it as I had visions of hiring a diver to recover the thing from the seabed. Of course, the tubes were not in the right place and I was left with more swearing and a vision of having to drill even more holes in my boat.

After a coffee and a look at the situation, it occurred to me that the tubes were splayed out slightly and that they were really too long as well. I pushed them in a bit after some nervewracking loosening of bolts and things improved. Then I thought I could bodge it anyway but removing the outer clamp on one side and repositioning it to what seemed to look right. The starboard clamp did look different relative to the port one and with a bit of jiggling and banging it did work in the end and the holes even worked properly though the whole structure is under considerable tension. We now have a big piece of combined cast and extruded aluminium hanging off our stern and we look like a pukka blue water cruiser.

The next stage is to work out how to use the thing!

Things have been happening

2011-03-01T23:22:00.002Z

The last week or two have been quite fraught really. On the positive side, we have located the holes in the toerail across the transom to fit the Aries. Then, after removing the strip of teak across the aft end of the cockpit coamings we also found the holes for the rest of the vane gear so we should be able to proceed with that once we have some blocks of wood to build up the mountings on the toerail and we will finally have a wind vane.

I have also removed two of the hatches and after buying a load of plywood from Robbins Timber in Bristol will be replacing the rotten plywood in them.

I would show photos but forgot to take the camera down last weekend.

On the other hand, we have had a bit of a blow to our plans since Audrey's employers have backtracked on offering her two months off work. Most likely option is that we will still aim to get the boat to Gibraltar/La Linea but she will only be on board for a month while we cruise Galicia and down to Lisboa. I will then seek out other crew for the rest of the trip round to Gibraltar. This was all very tedious but is just one of those things you have to deal with.

We aren't going down this weekend but I will fill up with photos the following weekend for everyone's interest and enjoyment.

No visits but we have been getting bits and pieces

2011-02-07T22:01:00.003Z

Owing to family and work comittments - my nephew's wedding last weekend and a system upgrade to support this coming weekend, poor old Sarah G must be feeling a bit neglected though we have been getting useful little bits and pieces.

Crucially, I found some out of date charts at bargain prices on Ebay. They will obviously have to be used with some caution as they are around six years old but I don't think that continental drift is going to make them too wildly out of date for planning and offshore purposes. I had thought that they were being sold off by someone who had done cruising Iberia but it turns out it was for a chart agent who sells all sorts of charts in four different categories. First are the cancelled ones at less than £4 each, then the out of date ones uncorrected, next are corrected ones and finally there are new ones at the usual list price of £21.50 for an admiralty chart. With judicious use of new ones where detail is essential and older ones where that is less important we should be able to save a useful sum of money. The ones we got from Ebay are: Cabo Finisterre to the Spanish border and The Straits of Gibraltar.

The wedding was a very enjoyable experience and it all went well. We both of course wish Francis and Mumtaz all the best and that sort of thing and the photos will be available asap I hope.

New Main Fits

2011-01-23T21:52:00.005Z

To a slight feeling of relief, we successfully fitted the new main to Sarah G and we now have a dazzling white sail under our main cover. I dread to think how much it will show up the foresail but both of those still have a bit of life in them. We had thought about going for a bit of a sail today (Sunday) but Audrey has managed to get a bit lurgied so we didn't do that but will be down there asap to see how it sets.

Full marks to Chris Jeckells and his team for creating a first class sail though. If anyone is in the market for a sail, I would definitely recommend them. Not the cheapest but the true benefit of having your sailmaker based here was shown to us as he visited the boat himself to measure up.

Jeckells The Sailmaker

When we set to fold up and stow the old one on the dock, we realised just how tired it really was!

The only other stuff we really achieved was some measuring up for the ice box, the awning and the holding tank. Once the super duper sewing machine we bought on ebay arrives, I will be getting to work on making an awning to be proud of. Or wasting hundreds of square feet of acrylic depending on how I get along with the whole process. I am also devoting rather a lot of time to thinking about how to go about making a suitable ice box. More watch this space really.

Still, it was nice to get down to Devon and pat Sarah G on the coachroof and reassure her that we hadn't forgotten that she exists.

Boatshow comments

2011-01-16T17:00:00.003Z

Well, we went to the London Boatshow yesterday and were frankly quite disappointed with it. They have made big changes this year, not least the inclusion of an outdoor show for things like walking, cycling and climbing along with a huge indoor pool for events. Frankly, this all mitigated against it being useful for us. The number of small exhibitors with specialist equipment had reduced considerably and, in particular, the big chandlers all had much smaller stands or weren't there at all in the case of Force4.

One of the things that we liked about the old style show was that we could walk around and talk to the experts of some of the smaller equipment as well as finding the occasional useful little thing that you never realised you needed like a new form of self amalgamating tape.

We actually went all geared up to spend plenty of money this year but wound up not buying much in the end. The biggest single "purchase" was to rejoin the Cruising Association. Our impression was that the purely boating area had been shrunk more than the quarter that the outdoor show took up and I suspect that rates had been bumped up substantially to exclude the small companies. I think that the organisers have made a mistake here. Well, at one level I think that they have as the offerings for serious boaters looking for useful stuff for the upcoming season will, in future stay away. However, I am sure that the new format will be good for the gate which will make them profitable - for the organising company at least.

We did buy a couple of admiralty charts covering the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic coast of the Iberian peninsula. Now we have to find a source of detailed charts which at £21 a pop though Spanish charts are only €25. I will be keeping an eye on Ebay and other sources of second hand but if any of the millions of readers knows of a source contact me and I will be very interested - leave a comment!

I seriously doubt if we will be going next year though at the ROA AGM there was talk about having some representatives at the stand dedicated to Owners Associations and I quite like the idea of volunteering for that. Otherwise, we will probably stay away.

On other fronts, we have got hold of our liferaft off Ebay and have ordered a heavy duty one from the States over Ebay as well. That has been fun. We will also be selling our old rigid dinghy and a sailboard we aquired a few years ago.

Down to the boat next weekend so we want either nice late winter sailing conditions or a howling gale!

Rival Owners Association AGM

2011-01-07T23:28:00.002Z

We have just got back from a very enjoyable time at the AGM in the East India Club. Guests of honour were Paul and Rachel Chandler. The usual business of the meeting was conducted but the most noticeable aspect of the whole thing was the presence of numerous strong personalities as you would expect amongst a group of boat owners but also an absence of much in the way of overly strong egos.

The dinner afterwards was also an enjoyable time with the chance to swap lots of notes about Rivals and different cruising plans. Now we just have to bring them to fruition so we can regale everyone with them at the next meeting!

too cold for sailing

2010-12-27T10:35:00.004Z

For the legions of readers of this blog in the UK, you will know that we have been gripped with a nasty cold snap complete with some snow which has had the usual effect of bringing the entire county to a standstill. I have even bought a shovel and put it in the back of the car. However, it has genuinly been too cold to think of doing any sailing as we are not the intrepid sorts who relish huddling in the cockpit wrapped up th eyeballs and still freezing. For the other millions who do not live in the UK, we have had one of thos periodic cold snaps that brings a few centimeters of snow and everything to a stop.

In fact it is all looking a bit frustrating and will have made a bit of a mockery of keeping the boat afloat this winter.

At least I have had a bit of an idea for our upcoming cruising plans which is to make a bit of a book called the oenophiles cruise. We can start with UK where the wine industy is advancing in step with global warming. We can then progress across The Channel and Biscay to sample some better known wines. Yesterday we went for a walk along the south coast along the Seven Sisters and encountered this flat calm but beautiful sunset.

Got the main

2010-12-17T20:38:00.002Z

It arrived at work first thing. Dark green bag, large stainless rings on the "spectacles" and a funky square pattern on the cloth. So we can definitely count on pointing five degrees higher and sailing at least a knot faster! :-)

New Main Arriving

2010-12-16T19:40:00.002Z

Jeckells contacted me yesterday and after forking out six hundred odd quid of outstanding balance they are shipping our new main out and it should arrive at work tomorrow.

We shall of course expect the boat to point five degrees higher or sail half a knot faster. The reality is more likely that she will point one degree higher and at least be able to power through a nasty chop with more aplomb than at present. It would be great to be able to try it out but the weather is really not looking promising for Christmas at all as the snow falls outside.

Oh well, all the more reason to sail south.

Continuing Thoughts

2010-12-05T14:04:00.003Z

The thing I find myself thinking about the most in this excessively cold and snowy weather. Witness our street here,
is where we will winter next year. There are a few options all of which it is surprisingly difficult to get concrete information. The most convenient spot to stay would be Gibraltar itself. It is, literally, at the entrance to the Med while also having good communication links to the UK so we can fly down and do the inevitable work.

Other options we have considered are the area round Cadiz, La Linea and Algeciras. It is also possible that we may find somewhere to the East of Gibraltar but I am doubtful of that. More research is clearly needed.

Photos

2010-12-02T20:34:00.007Z

Well, at last, I have got around to doing some work with the pictures I have got and it is time to bore the world with them.

First, we show off Sarah Giddings while stuck in Torquay where we left her for two happy weeks.

Next, for your delectation we are now in cosy Darthaven Marina, Kingswear. It is a nice place to winter. Though, as I said earlier, it is a bit odd to be "based" on the Dart rather than visiting it. The next time we manage to go for a sail and then come back will really be the strange bit.

The next two show the work to date on the Aries. We are going to call him Mars as Aries was the Ancient Greek God of war.

A mounting bracket

And the beast itself:

Work lists are growing as ever. So the winter will be busy especially as it is now sinking in that the fact that I have negotiated all that time off work now means no annual leave till August 15 next year!

Bits and Pieces Done Today

2010-11-26T15:47:00.002Z

Well, I have got most of the chock like things for the new anchor on the foredeck now though it has taken an inordinate number of M6 bolts to get there.

I have also got the tubes on the Aries drilled and in their holes. Investigation of the issues with fitting the thing fully have revealed a fair bit, not least that I am going to need a proper power drill to achieve it. Also, it will not be possible to drill through the cockpit coaming so that will have to be done with stud bolts. On the positive side, there are already holes drilled in the aft rail. All, we have to hope is the original holes are in the right place.

On a completely other topic. I tried to copy the photos off the camera but found that the ubuntu I have installed on this netbook cannot recognise SD cards when they are put in the slot. Those others of you who have had to fight with linux device drivers will know what I am talking about.

Still, the weather is changing with the wind now in the south west and a spot or two of rain. Audrey arrives later and I will be able to get into the B&B shortly as well.

Still Freezing but with Aries Parts Now

2010-11-25T21:18:00.002Z

Well, it is, if anything, even colder now and is forecast to drop below freezing tonight. I am huddled below with the Bengco going full pelt and gobbling charcoal at a rate of knots. It isn't too bad except that I still manage to get cold feet. Sitting still is not good for them and that is what I have been doing a lot of today.

The good news is that I now have the mounting tubes and brackets to enable us to install the Aries. An abortive trip to Falmouth was a bit frustrating but then I got an email from Helen Franklin/Bell and drove down today to pick them up. Now, all I have to do is work out how to drill the holes I need. I will start looking at that tomorrow once the sun is over the hill and has melted off the inevitable frost. The docks were decidedly slippery this morning.

Other progress: I bought sixty meters of nylon multiplait, a couple of thimbles and a single Barton block to make up some lazyjacks. I will need another block of course as well as the bosun's chair to get to the spreaders. Then we should have a much easier time of lowering the main.

Well, now is probably the best point to get eyes out and head for bed. It is too cold for anything else really. We will be in a Bed and Breakfast tomorrow as it is not very likely that Audrey will enjoy sleeping aboard at the moment.

Freezing cold on the boat

2010-11-23T18:15:00.002Z

Well, I am down here now and am huddling up to the charcoal heater which is now going nicely though it did take some serious starting. I am going to have to work on my technique on that one.

There are a few plans for this week which I have down here in Kingswear. The main one is to get the Aries fitted and, to that end, I am off down to Falmouth tomorrow to pick up the parts we need to get it fitted.

Experimentation with the VHF suggests that it might well be the VHF cable rather than the box itself so we are likely to have to make a trip up the mast.

Looking ahead, I have got agreement from work to take an extended break next year so we will be off to Southern Spain or Gibraltar next August to October. This is great news but of course will require quite a lot of work done to get the boat ready for that.

Finally got some news

2010-11-19T22:35:00.003Z

Well, the account of our cruise hasn't yet materialised and now all sorts of things have happened in a boaty way.

The plan to winter her in Emsworth fell foul of the atumnal weather and we wound up being stuck in Torquay for rather longer than we would have chosen. We also started hunting round for somewhere to keep her in South Devon and are now happily esconced at Darthaven Marina in Kingswear. It feels a bit odd to be based in the Dart having visited it so often.

The other item only came in today. My workplace have agreed to me taking a two month extended leave next August to October so we will be able to cruise Sarah G down to Gibraltar or somewhere in southern Spain.

Details will of course have to be worked out but it is a lot of fun to be able to definitely plan an extended cruise. We are looking on it as a way of dipping our toes in the long term cruising malarky while still having an easy route out if it isn't for us.

I will be down there working on her all next week so will try to do some updates and perhaps some photos.

Change of plans

2010-09-07T19:26:00.002+01:00

Well, we had our annual holiday and first proper cruise on Sarah G over the last two weeks and very enjoyable it proved. A full account will follow shortly. However, as seems to be the way of our holidays, we took some big decisions and one of them is that we are going to have to withdraw from the Azores race.

Various changes in circumstances and the increasing complexity of complying with the regulations for the race have forced this decision.

We are now going to focus our efforts on our long term cruising plans in the Medditerrinean in 2012.

Watch this space and here is a picture of one of our pleasanter evenings in the upper reaches of the Fal.

AIS installed and working

2010-08-20T21:00:00.004+01:00

Well, we have finally done it and the bloody thing is now installed and working. We actually did the deed over last weekend and wound up not sailing anywhere but it is now done. The unit is on the bulkhead, the splitter is on the side next to the chart table sailing instruments and the switch panel. We had to run an extension from it to the AIS unit itself and finally, I had to thread the wire from the GPS aerial on the pushpit through all the cockpit lockers, along the quarter berth and finally behind the switch panel and bookshelf but it is all in and working.

We start our holiday this weekend so will be trying it out for real now. Off the boat, I have become addicted to the AIS tracking web site

Marine Traffic

Keep an eye out for us.

On a side issue, congratulations to fellow AZAB entrant Marco Naninni who has just successfully completed his 1000 mile qualifying passage for the Route du Rhum

Marco Naninni

More AIS blues

2010-08-02T21:08:00.002+01:00

The saga of the AIS transponder continues. We have concluded that the process of running a second aerial up the mast and getting it two meters away from the other one is not likely to be a goer. So, we have bought a Comar splitter. Now the problem is to install the splitter.

A lot of head scratching later and we have decided that the only practical place to fit it is immediately above the bookshelf. This means lots of hole drilling as we not only have to fit it but also get the co-axial cables routed. There are however different sorts of co-ax connections. The VHF has a PL-259 socket and thankfully, the cable coming out of the splitter has a nice PL-259 connector crimped onto it. However, the AIS cable has a BNC bayonet connector while the AIS unit has a PL-259. It transpires that a BNC to PL-259 adaptor is not an easy thing to find and no chandler stocks them. Grrr.

Thankfully all is not lost thanks to a Ham Radio site who do stock them. Martin Lynch and Sons. They sell everything possible to do with radios and can be found on:

Martin Lynch & Son

Hopefully, that will bring an end to it and we will really be able to test the thing out though I still have to work out how to get the GPS element wired from the pushpit to the chart table. I suspect that this will need lots of cable ties and contortions into uncomfortable positions in the cockpit lockers. Watch this space.

Bit of a slow time at the moment

2010-07-22T21:08:00.003+01:00

Not a lot has been happening recently. We had hoped to get down to Sarah G last weekend and try out the cruising chute properly on a short trip to Fowey but were defeated by rowdy neighbours keeping us awake till the early hours of the morning.

We will be down next on the weekend of the 31 July but have guests aboard so will not be going far. We do however hope to finally get the AIS transponder working. After a bit more reading it seems that having two aerials on the masthead really would be a bad idea unless we rigged up some complicated contraption to give them 2 meters separation which really would make us look like the roof a cold war embassy. Instead we are going to put a splitter in and run the VHF and AIS off the same aerial. Reports seem to say that this will work well enough.

And so it goes on. We are planning a long weekend in Falmouth at the middle of August with the objective of fitting the Aries. We will also leave here there for a week and start our holiday from Falmouth rather than Torpoint. Here is a picture of her dried out and also one of me looking not very heroic on the foredeck.

Got a Satellite Phone

2010-07-13T20:14:00.002+01:00

The whole business of an Iridium satellite phone was looking highly vexatious. A new one is around £1300 plus air time which is way out of my price league. Second hand ones do not seem to appear in the yachting press. They do however appear quite regularly on Ebay and I was lucky enough to get one for £250 odd on there. It is of course an old 9500 series which is now out of production and does not support data connections.

However for my purposes, it is fine and will serve it's purpose perfectly. I have purchased an airtime deal from mailasail so will be testing it this weekend.

The phone it self is wonderfully retro compared to today's mobile phones. It is styled like mobiles from it's era which is the mid nineties and is also about five times bigger than most phones today. It even has the meaningless flip down cover for the key pad as inspired by the star trek films.

Met one of the Jester Challenge entrants

2010-07-06T18:04:00.002+01:00

Gus Davidson who had entered Jester Challenge now works in the same office as me and I was lucky enough to have a bit of a chat with him today which was both an honour and also very enjoyable. I have nothing but admiration for anyone prepared to set out across an ocean and to do so in a boat so much smaller than we are planning is even more awe inspiring. He undertook the project to raise money for McMillan Cancer Care. His website is below

Gus Davidson

Meanwhile our plans continue to come together ever so slowly.

Still in the race

2010-06-22T19:54:00.002+01:00

We have heard back from Colin Drummond on the RCYC committee and his pronouncement is that so long as the second qualifier with the full 500 miles we will be deemed to have qualified to enter. I would still very much like to enter if we can though I will not be devastated if it does transpire that we have to withdraw.

As outlined earlier, there are various plan B scenarios. My favourite would be to take a couple of months but leave it will August or even September and work the boat round to Gibraltar or similar ready for our Mediterannean cruise in 2012.

We shall just have to see.

Tried out Crusing Chute

2010-06-20T20:42:00.003+01:00

After the qualifying passage, Audrey came down and joined me. Friends were due to join us on the Sunday but we had the boat to ourselves on Saturday and as the winds were light we decided to try out the cruising chute that Matthew had bought us. I had the whole of Friday to spend in Sutton Marina and the wind was so light that I decided to have a go at hoisting it there. I was glad I did as it gave me a chance to work out the procedure.

It was great to get it up for real and it looks fantastic. It will also be a great help when the wind is light and on the beam - pretty much never then but we managed to sail through the "Bridge" at six knots with only 12 knots apparent wind.

All in all a great sail and much easier to set than a symmetrical spinnaker.

Qualifying passage number one

2010-06-20T20:23:00.006+01:00

Here is a more complete description.

Matthew and I had both managed to set aside a week right at the end of May and into June to try to complete our AZAB qualifying passage. There was not too much preparation to be done for the boat but a lot for getting away from work of course. The weather forecast was not too clever with all sorts of variable weather including a gale warning. We arrived down very late on Friday and promptly went straight to bed.

The next day came with loads of wind and also plenty of rain. We arranged to pick up Matthew and also to go to the chandler to get some charts both of north Brittany but also of the area round the Fastnet rock.

Finally around mid afternoon we were ready to go and Matthew and I cast off into a brisk westerly. The forecast was for strong westerlies until the following day so it was decided to go to Fastnet rather than Ouessant. It was still blowing properly, somewhere in the region of a five in the shelter of the land but it got up to a seven the further offshore we got. Also, for the first time in nearly thirty years I got seasick! I think that it was brought on by apprehension at the proposed passage along with some quite rough weather as we sailed out past the Eddystone. The galley sink was the place I reached and that rendered any cooking impossible for the time being. We continued to bash south with the idea that we could get round the Lizard point on the next tack. The wind direction suggested that we needed to get about thirty miles south unless the wind changed direction. Once well clear of the land the wind and seas built up will we had a solid force 7 and were pushing into some decent sized waves. It was quite uncomfortable. When I came on watch at midnight I joked to Matthew that I would prefer it if he didn't drive my boat into concrete floors. Nevertheless, Sarah G showed her pedigree and continued to bash into them at around six knots.

I took over at midnight and continued south for another couple of hours. As usual, I felt much better when on deck though it was still quite uncomfortable. We went about at 0200 and started heading towards the Lizard though it became apparent that we had miscalculated and should have tacked much earlier rather than trying to clear the Lizard after getting nearly a third of the way across the Channel. As dawn came up the visibility was not that great but we were heading more or less for the Lizard though the tide had turned against us and it was very slow going round.

The second night in particular was very frustrating as the wind progressively dropped to nearly nothing and poor Matthew only managed three miles in a whole six hour watch. The wind, what there was of it did at least swing round into the east and I was able to inch across Mounts bay and was off Wolf Rock by the time my watch ended at 0600.

Matthew had a much nicer sail with an easterly pushing us out to and past the Isles of Scilly. My seasickness had finally cleared up properly and we enjoyed leaving Bishop Rock behind us and setting a course for Fastnet as well as my cooking a chilli for lunch.

As the darkness fell around us, it was too cloudy for a sunset I turned in and left Matthew running before a slowly dropping wind. I heard a bit of swearing in my sleep and it became plain that the weather was not good. Visibility had dropped to near zero and the wind was both dropping and swinging round to the west via southerly. We had a look at the chart and it became clear that we were not going to make it to Fastnet and then have a chance of getting back in time for our leave to expire. I was also concerned about the shipping TSS off Fastnet with this very poor visibility. We therefore turned round and headed for home at about 0100. It was a big disappointment to have to abandon our trip but I think that it was the right thing to do.

The night watch was truly not a nice one with the southerly wind though it did go round to the south west. Visibility remained very poor and it was also bloody cold. I am resolved to get some suitable gloves sorted out for such night watches.

As the night progressed, the wind became lighter and lighter, the rain became more persistent and I was feeling distinctly fed up. Thankfully, as the sun got up the rain eased off. Poor Matthew came on watch at 0600 and I grabbed my now regular two or three hours sleep. At least our six hour watch pattern was working out well. I cannot imagine how a four hour system could be better for short handed crews.

We had made very slow progress on my watch and still had a good few miles to go till we reached Bishop rock again. In total we were looking like spending nearly 24 hours in the Irish sea – west of Bishop Rock for only about 60 miles sailed.

Finally,the weather looked like improving. The wind backed further into the north west which suited us very well. It filled in a bit as well so we were sailing quite well by the time we got to Bishop. The sun also came out at last and we had a great time past the western rocks and the Isles of Scilly. Indeed, had we not been required to be back in Plymouth, I would have been extremely tempted to stop for a visit to Hugh Town on St Mary's. It looked extremely enticing as we past. We also encountered some other traffic at last, not having seen any other yachts since leaving Plymouth. That, combined with a couple of fish boats, the helicopter and fixed wing planes as well as the sight of the Scillonian made for a positively busy water. There as not much shipping around though.

The north wester held on quite well through the afternoon into the afternoon and we hoped to be able to get round the Lizard a bit quicker than the outward trip. Of course the wind continued to drop into the night and I took over from Matthew with us about nine or ten miles west of the infamous Lizard. We had mis read the chart and were actually bucking the tide so it took the whole rest of my watch to get us just one mile east of the point. It did feel like an achievement though and we did feel that we were on the final leg with about fifty miles left.

I always seemed to come off watch to leave Matthew to cope with dreadful visibility. Just as he got up I saw a bank of positive fog developing ahead. The wind also fell away entirely just next to a crab pot. The main was slatting terribly so I simply took all sail off. The wind sort of filled in from the east and Matthew took her into the fog which proved very thick and not very nice at all. I felt him putting a tack in and found out that the area off Falmouth was quite scary. It was just lifting as I came up about ten and we could see Dodman point dead ahead. The wind was in the south east but a nice gentle force three and we enjoyed a nice coastal sail towards Rame Head. All was going well till we got within a mile of Rame.

The haze had been steadily increasing and suddenly, I noticed that not only had Rame head disappeared into the haze but that everything else was disappearing as well. Once again, the wind dropped though not quite to nothing. The tide was against us and we could hear warships blowing their horns in the offing. I really did not want to be out there as it got dark so we decided to call an end to the passage and got the engine on.

We still had zero visibility but Matthew did a sterling job at the chart table and took us round Rame Head and brought the red buoy off Penlee point up on the nose. We could still see no further than a couple of boat lengths but we knew where we were going. The only thing was I was definitely not going to tangle with the inner part of the sound in zero visibility so I had Matthew take us into Cawsand bay.

We had been looking forward to a curry at the Spice Well in Plymouth's Barbican but the fog did for that. It did lift a bit as we got abeam of Penlee point and we were able to get into Cawsand bay easily. We dropped anchor at about 1900 and so ended our trip. The sound was still as thick as ever and we heard lots of hooting from warships coming back into Devonport. We tuned into Plymouth port operations and heard lots of naval conversations about how poor the visibility was.

I think that in reality, it was much better to spend the night at anchor rather than rush back into civilization. We had a really peaceful night and the sunset was very spectacular with the fog falling down the hills into the bay.

The next day was much clearer and we motored across to Sutton Harbour where we first luxuriated in their fantastic showers and then went ashore for a very welcome pint. That evening we had our curry at the Spice Well which had not deteriorated at all and brought a very nice celebratory conclusion to the trip.

While in Sutton Harbour, I sorted out the third reef in the main and tried it out for size. It really is very small indeed.

We had logged just over 400 miles which falls short of that required for qualifying for the AZAB. I have contacted the RCYC who say that so long as I can complete 500 mile with Audrey we will be OK. We have given a lot of thought to it though as it is quite possible that we will not be able to complete the qualifications when Audrey and I try ours at the end of August. There is an innate problem with sailing any sort of triangle as you are more or less guaranteed contrary winds at some point which makes it more difficult to keep up good averages. We have various plan Bs. These include: cruising to an Azorean Island, cruising down the Atlantic coast of Iberia to get ready for our planned Mediterranean cruise in 2012 or scrapping all idea of any long distance sailing in 2011. We will just have to see what happens.

Anyway, the end conclusion was that our trip into the Irish sea was a success and we both enjoyed. I certainly was pleased to have my choice of boat confirmed to me as a good one.

Sort of done one qualifying passage

2010-06-11T23:02:00.001+01:00

I'll get around to doing a proper account soon. We didn't manage the 500 miles or getting out to Fastnet Rock but we did have a mostly good time. I am going to contact the RCYC to get an idea of whether what we did will qualify us.

Watch this space!

mini cruise

2010-05-17T22:11:00.004+01:00

We had our first cruise with Sarah G at her home port last weekend. We deliberately didn't plan anything ambitious and only went as far as the Yealm but it was a good weekend and we had an excellent meal ashore in the Dolphin at Newton Ferrers.

We also managed a nice gentle sail down the river, out through the Bridge and on to the Yealm. Once past the breakwater we had a go at setting the cruising 'chute for the first time but the wind suddenly changed direction to the south west and freshened just past our predetermined threshold for setting such a big bit of nylon, particularly for the first time. Still, we carried on under normal canvas and dropped sail in Wembury bay and motored up. There were a couple of moments when we were a bit feeling our way as we had contrived to arrive at the Yealm bar at pretty much dead low water and there was not a lot of water under our keel.

All, was well and we savoured being back in one of the most beautiful rivers in the West Country.

The meal was all we wanted and we slept well through the night.

Sunday dawned with a leisurly start but a rather gray sky though not too much wind was forecast. We cast off at 1030 and motored down with the new ebb. Out of the river, I started to get sail up only to find that we had contrived to wrap the main halyard round the radar reflector and no way of coaxing it back round. In huge embarrassment, we motored to Cawsand and anchored there while I had a go with light lines to throw it over the spreaders and then to untangle the wrapped halyard. All to no avail and I was resigning myself to coming down the following weekend with a bosuns chair.

We therefore, motored back to Torpoint after lunch where I had a bit of inspiration. I had clipped the halyard to the end of the boom as we usually do and it occurred to me that if we pulled a messenger up the halyard over the spreader, it might then be possible to untangle the main halyard. The wind was blowing hard which both helped in throwing my light line over the spreaders but made it more difficult to retrieve the end. Eventually, though, I did and pulled one of our spinnaker sheets which has a nice big snap shackle on it up and over. Clipped to the main halyard which I slackened off as much as possible, I jiggled it round and suddenly we were free!

All in all a very nice weekend.

Proof she is in Torpoint

2010-05-10T18:09:00.004+01:00

We really are on our mooring at Torpoint and it feels very good to be there. We have drawn a couple of conclusions, anything but earth shattering ones but we do need to do some stuff. Firstly, we definitely need to fit a tiller extension. The nature of the coachroof and such like mean that the best way to sail the boat is perched on the cockpit coamings.

Slightly more is that we feel the need to fit more hand holds below. I am also very keen to get the Aries up and working asap so that we have as much time as possible to get to grips with it.

All in all, good stuff and we plan to be down there next weekend as well.

Delivery Trip Part 2

2010-05-10T18:05:00.001+01:00

The next day and a fair tide was to be had about 10:30 so we didn't rush to get up but did wake up to a good bit less wind and a more favourable looking sky. We had a bit of breakfast and provisionally planned to try for Weymouth which we hoped to reach around midnight. After hanging round a bit we decided to push off about 09:30 since we would be pushing a bit of flood but it would give us longer to get down the Solent. Leaving Sparkes was much less of a drama and we got away smoothly and started down the main Chichester channel again. There really was not much wind and we found ourselves motoring into a very gentle westerly. The various landmarks of the Solent slipped past and even speeded up a bit once past the Horse Sand Fort when the tide turned in our favour.

Just about lunch time we were passing Osborne bay and the house where Queen Victoria lived. Now it seems to be a very popular lunchtime anchorage but we continued on towards Cowes. I was down below making toasted cheese when we sensed that the wind was starting to fill in. Out came the jib and off went the engine so we could pass the home of yachting in proper style. We proceeded to have a great sail down the western solent with lots of tacks being crossed and even a session with a thing called boatphotos who take pictures of boats on spec and publish them on a website where you can then buy them.

With a strong spring tide under us and a good force 4 to 5 we fairly whistled down the Solent. The only two moments of minor drama were when we encountered a surprising but short lived tide rip just off Yarmouth and then just as we were in the Needles channel another boat avoiding action didn't work for him and we were forced to make a hasty tack from starboard to port. As we raced down towards the famous chalk escarpment of the Needles I took a decision and floated it to the other two which was that we should carry on past Portland Bill and aim for Torbay rather than Weymouth. A bit of discussion and we agreed on this. I also suggested we try two six hour night watches rather than the more conventional three. In retrospect I am not sure about the wisdom of it. Mostly it was nice to get a full six hours sleep but when 0400 came round I couldn't help reflecting that I would be getting relieved at that point rather than facing another two hours.

Anyway, that was for later. First we tacked right off the lighthouse but could only lay the entrance of Poole wit the persistent westerly. We arrived off Bournmouth about six and I set a course offshore and instructed Matthew to hold it for a good ten miles or so to give us plenty of offing to make it to the Bill. I then retired below. A few hours later I felt the boat change course and definitely slow down. A bit later on still and the engine came on. Finally, about two hours later I came up with us about ten miles south of St. Albans head and no wind whatsoever. The tide had definitely turned against us.

The weather was not so nice either. The wind persisted on it's absence apart from a very small puff from due west and bands of rain made themselves known as well so it was down to a monotonous chug first up to Portland Bill and then across Lyme bay. It seemed to take forever to get round the Bill but then I felt like a cork being popped out of a bottle as it seemed the next time I looked the light was some ten miles behind us. Six came around and I woke Matthew up and retired back to the forward cabin.

About three hours later I heard the jib being got out and the engine died. We were sailing again. I dozed for another hour or so and came on deck to see the Devon coatline ahead of us. The wind was freshening and I suggested we bear off a bit to make for Dartmouth rather than Torbay. There followed a lovely fast reach though she became a bit overpressed as neither of us really wanted to put a reef in. Then we were coming in past the Mew Stone and had arrived back in very familiar waters. For the first time we were in a boat too big to go on the small boat pontoon just outside the Dartmouth Yacht Club and we tied up to the 'DL' pontoon just above the Town Quay. After a bit of a rest, we rushed ashore for showers and a celebratory lunch and drink in the DYC. We were out of time as we were faced with a mammoth train ride to get back to pick up the car in Emsworth so made plans to move her on to Torpoint the following weekend.

It was great to finally use Sarah G for the sort of passage making we aquired her for and our faith in her also increased, the bit where we were overpressed on the approach to Dartmouth was particularly instructive as she became quite heavy on the helm but not unmanageable though I do usually work to not hang onto too much sail as the wind rises. All in all, a very good time was had though we would have preferred more consistent winds and less rain that is the sort of thing you have to put up with in UK waters.

Made it to Torpoint

2010-05-09T20:23:00.002+01:00

Well, we had a very successful if cold weekend and Sarah G is now swinging to her mooring at Torpoint. We had a very pleasant sail from Dartmouth the the wind in the NE which accounted for the cold but did make for an initial run then a broad to close reach after the Start.

The journey home was a bit of an epic taking ten and a half hours. We had left the car in Dartmouth so had to get the train back. There are, by the way, no buses from Totnes to Dartmouth on a Sunday so we went on to Newton Abbot and changed for Paignton. Of course, none of the trains meshed and we had a 50 minute wait at Newton Abbot. Still, we did get the steam train from Paignton to Kingswear which was enjoyable.

Now, the big thing to plan for is the qualifying passage with my Brother which we are planning on doing from the weekend of 30 May. I also really want to get the Aries working by then so will have to see what we can do about that.

We didn't take a lot of photos and I am a bit behind in the the narrative of the delivery trip from Chichester so will have to buckle down this weekend.

Got to the West Country Part One

2010-05-07T21:19:00.001+01:00

Well, we have managed our first passage on Sarah G now. She is currently on the visitors pontoon at Dartmouth waiting for us to take her the final bit round to Torpoint next weekend. Overall the whole thing was a success though, as ever, it certainly didn't go to plan. I arrived on Thursday evening after work and had an initial panic as they had moved her from where she was last time we were down. At least I found her on the “A” line and all ready to go. After ensuring that the cat was happy as this was also to be Schrodinger's first real passage, I tried the engine out and was delighted to find it starting exactly as the engineer had said.

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening getting her ready with the last bits such as putting the now good diesel back in the tank and stowing all our stuff. The weather forecasts were very variable but seemed to be promising north easters of some sort but they were a bit vague as to strength. Audrey arrived and while she had chicken and chips I proudly cooked myself some pasta with pesto.

We had a bit of a drama with the cat as I had left the forehatch open to get some air moving and we suddenly heard this scrabbling sound and realised she had climbed out and was on deck. Without the harness, I was worried about her going over the side and not realising that the stuff beyond the scuppers would be very wet and not nice at all. I scooped her up and tried to persuade her back down the forehatch with Audrey below but she didn't like that so it was back to the cockpit. She seemed to settle down OK after that and looked quite happy on the dinette.

The next morning we did the final running around to get the last wires to the mast connected – specifically the VHF which was a right pig for Audrey to manage as she had to solder some very fiddly bits together under the mast. At least we got it all done just as Matthew arrived. An hour later and the tide had risen sufficiently for us to make a departure and bid a final farewell to Emsworth. The first passage however proved a bit short. We got sail up as soon as it freed a bit about half way down the channel and sailed out of Chichester Harbour on the last of the flood. We then found plenty of wind from the west and were quite pleased to have put a reef in the main. The sailing was a good bit brisker than I would have chosen for a first sail of the season and progress down the Solent was feeling a bit slow despite making around six knots through the water. Then, we noticed water coming over the deck sole as she heeled more and an inspection of the keel sump showed quite a lot of water in there. Without knowing if it was a slow leak or something worse,we took the option of running back to Sparkes to take stock and work out what was wrong. A very fast reach to West Pole and and a bit of drama trying to go starboard side to a berth to windward and we sorted ourselves out. The leak was, thankfully, a slow one, most likely from the zinc anode.

So ended our first day of the delivery trip with a total distance achieved of about 2 miles but with 16 miles logged through the water.

The rest of the delivery trip will follow.

Got to Dartmouth

2010-05-03T22:49:00.002+01:00

We have had our first successful serious passage with Sarah G. Lots more boring detail will follow but I leave for now with a picture of Schrodinger on board to prove what a successful ships cat she is shaping up to be even if she does create merry hell when being put in the basket to take down there!

Good to go

2010-04-26T20:42:00.002+01:00

With rather a lot of despondency and in the immortal style of John Major, not a little trepidation, I called a recommended engine guy at Thornham Marine to have a look at our beleagured Bukh engine. I had all sorts of horrible visions of gunk completely clogging up the high pressure pump and such like with irreparably damaged injectors. He said he would make a quick visit, probably on Tuesday (tomorrow as I write). This afternoon he called me to say that it was running fine and was suffering from lack of compression owing to no oil being on the cylinders against which the piston rings can form a seal. Apparently, the trick is to spray a good few squirts of oil into each cylinder at layup time while you have the air filter off.

I am definitely going to do a diesel engine maintenance course next winter! Anyway, that means we are now good to go for the weekend and can finally get sailing. Hooraah!!

Second half of the weekend

2010-04-25T21:33:00.002+01:00

For Sunday, we took a break from fighting with masthead wires and such like to go to Beaulieu Boat Jumble. This is the first time we have been to this event which seems to be as important in some people's calendar as the two boatshows. It was a very enjoyable day out and we even got some useful stuff.

We didn't see much of the Beaulieu estate though we did also look round the motor museum which is well recommended.

We managed to buy a sheep crook boat hook, some cockpit cushions and most usefully, a pelican hook bottle screw for the inner forestay.

Apart from the extremely indifferent lunch it was a great day out.

Two steps forward, two sideways and one backwards

2010-04-25T20:55:00.004+01:00

It was mostly a good weekend with frustratingly lovely weather. She has been afloat for two weeks now and we are still in no position to move her. The two steps forward involved getting the rig sorted out. We have set up the standing rigging and bent on the sails. The picture is as we got the jib ready for use. The two steps sideways were discovered by Audrey. Some of the wires from the masthead had had to be cut which means that we need connectors for them under the mast. These are for the VHF aerial and the data lines from the masthead wind indicator. Needless to say, we were not able to get our hands on a crimp fit co-ax adaptor and we need to work on a suitable connector plug for the wind instruments. At least both those tasks are easy to achieve.

Of more import, is the one step back. The engine has so far refused to start. I had a go at pumping some fuel through and the glass bowl on the primary filter filled up with a nasty brown sludge. Clearly we have some contamination in our fuel. I sought to pump out the fuel and filter it. The fuel we managed to pump out looked quite clean so we put it back in the tank using our water trap filter and no rubbish was kept back though we did make a bit of a mess of the cockpit. I then changed the fuel filters and sure enough, there was quite a lot of rubbish in the primary filter. I bled the system through and little gunk appeared in the primary filter though she still refused to start. I suspect now that we do have some dirt in the fuel line and it is time to call in a professional. The Chaldler at Emsworth has recommended one at Thornham who I will have to ring and see if he is available. Hopefully, that will not all prove too expensive!

Assuming all is well, we will still move her next weekend though I may try to take Thursday off work to speed things up with the final wiring and such like.

It was very satisfying to get the sails on at last and feel like a sailing boat again.!

Engine fun now

2010-04-19T15:41:00.004+01:00

We went down on Sunday to find her beautifully afloat and the mast in the more familiar position. No more crouching under the horizontal mast to get down the companionway. However, the rigging has not been tensioned properly and the boom hadn't been fitted either. At least we fixed the boom and Audrey started work on connecting all the masthead wires.

I had a go at starting the engine to no avail. After operating the pump a bit the fuel in the primary filter took on this awful brown sludge colour so we seem to have been afflicted by the dreaded diesel bug.

Next weekend will now be dedicated to getting our engine going again. The plan is to pump out the dirty diesel, change all the fuel filters, see if we can filter out the sludge and then refuel with clean fuel and hope for the best.

I fitted the AIS box to the chart table bulkhead and we will look at connecting it up properly soon. I will have to get the bosuns chair off Matthew and pay a visit up the mast. The idea of putting the arial at the spreaders is not now appealing. The GPS receiver can go on the pushpit as previously planned anyway.

Always something to worry about anyway.

Located aa Trysail

2010-04-14T20:31:00.002+01:00

More good news. We have located a trysail. There was a wanted ad on the ROA website and when it also appeared in the quarterly journal I was contacted by Ian Nicholson who has one available "new and unused". We have agreed a suitable price and I can pick it up from his Daughter who lives outside Devizes - conveniently close to my Mother.

Another thing ticked off the list of stuff to get.

Of course, the list of things to do is still growing. Just now I remembered that we need to rig up the preventer properly to make it easy to rig when running downwind.

Boat in the Water

2010-04-13T18:20:00.002+01:00

I got the call from Emsworth and our lovely Rival is back in the water now. The mast should have been stepped now. Now we just have to get her ready for the sea and move her to Plymouth.

We are still holding out for the bank holiday weekend but may, hopefully be able to fit a quick shakedown sail in before then. I am going down soon to finish getting her ready for sea. As ever, this seems to involve endless lists.

1. Run engine up and make sure it is working OK
2. Bend on the sails
3. Start process of fitting the AIS jobbie.
4. Sort out boding wire for zinc anode
5. Sort out process for flying the cruising chute.
6. Loads of other stuff.

Plans Keep Changing

2010-04-10T18:35:00.003+01:00

Owing to all sorts of other committments, we are now not likely to get the boat moved till the bank holiday at the end of April. We have provisionally booked the Friday off as leave and I will have to let Emsworth know our plans. It is particularly galling to have such perfect weather at the moment - the forecast is even for northeasters at the moment.

We will go Beaulieu now. Specifically in search of a trysail but also for any other bargains. It might be fun to go there by boat if we can. We will have to give it some thought.

AIS arrived

2010-04-07T20:26:00.002+01:00

It was actually sent yesterday but I only picked it up today. At least we do now have a "simple" black box AIS transponder and we don't need to get a chart plotter and all that sort of rubbish.

Initial plans are to install it at the chart table with the GPS aerial on the pushpit and the VHF aerial at the spreaders. Ideally, of course, it would be at the masthead but that would interfere too much with the radio aerial. Echomaster Marine say that this will work OK so I will have to work out a way of getting the co-ax down the mast.

repaired hatch finished

2010-04-03T14:43:00.003+01:00

After a lot of dithering, we do now have the rotten plywood in the cockpit hatch cover finished now. The SP expoxy coating on the inside is just curing. It was an interesting experience doing this as it is a very long time since I have tried any sort of carpentry and I have never worked with the modern epoxy stuff.

Essentially, as described earlier, I chiseled out the rotten ply and then cut a new piece of ply to fit and glued it in. Things were complicated a bit by my managing to break one of the edge pieces off and the end product is not therefore quite as good as it might have been. At least I know what to do for the next one. My error was not to ensure that the facing teak and edging pieces were both well bonded and sealed from the inside. Quantities of the expoxy seeped through which has made the outside not quite as neat as it might be.

The SP epoxy is fascinating stuff and is able to take almost any form you need depending on what you add to it. Most of my stuff has been done as a glue with microfibers added but there was also a lot of filling to do with the microballoons and finally I have done a varnish type coating on the plywood with no additives at all. If this last bit is a success, I may thing about using it on all our brightwork.

Easter Sailing/Delivery Trip Scuppered

2010-04-01T20:07:00.002+01:00

The spate of gales we have had have now scuppered our start to the season. Today was too windy for Emsworth to launch us and now we have missed the tides which means another two weeks ashore before we can think about getting launched and out of the harbour.

Oh well, it doesn't look like we would have been able to sail anywhere anyway given the weather forecasts which are a string of low pressures bringing alternating freezing weather and gales. We will just have to see if we can have any luck later in the month. Grr though.

AIS Blues Now Looking Rosy

2010-03-31T21:01:00.002+01:00

Just had an email from our contact at Echomaster Marine to say that our AIS transponder has shipped so we are due to get it early next week. All thanks to Echomaster Marine who have worked hard on this despite all the frustrations of lack of stock at Navico.

Now we just have to fit and learn how to use it.

Finished and ready for the water

2010-03-30T23:00:00.004+01:00

How she looks now. The weather is not looking too clever though so we are not sure exactly when we will get in the water. We are still hoping for Thursday.

Ready for the water

2010-03-28T19:24:00.002+01:00

If not the season.

As noted, the coppercoat was finished yesterday. Today, Audrey and I both went down and did two main jobs.

Firstly, we did the boot top in an exhorbitant hard white antifoul. She now looks very smart and ready for the best/worst that the English channel can throw at her.

Secondly, we finally got the new zinc anode studs in and refitted the anode. They were both too long so had to be cut shorter so as to be able to put a nut over the inside end. We pulled the electical bonding cable through and tried to crimp a new fitting on to it but found it too corroded. Cue a trip to the chandler for a length of new wire and a decent crimping tool.

Working on the anode was a backbreaking job with the studs protruding into the port aft cockpit locker which meant me upending myself and working a spanner in the true boat maintenance mode - head down a locker, backside and legs pointing at the heavens and the air in the locker turning a bright blue colour.

On other fronts, the repaired hatch cover is coming along and should be ready. Working with SP/West epoxy is a very interesting experience. I suspect that I will want to replace all the hatch covers in the fullness of time. Perhaps when we have spent a season or so in the Med.

Now, we just need the weather to hold so she can go in the water as booked on Thursday and then some sort of sailing and possible delivery over the Easter weekend.

Coppercoat Done

2010-03-27T19:20:00.002Z

Yes. I managed to get the final bits on today. Emsworth Harbour moved her in the cradle enough that I could get at the bits behind the props and she is now completely covered in coppercoat!

It feels good and means that, barring problems with the zinc anode studs we can launch ready for the Easter weekend. The original studs were so rusty as to be useless so they have to be replaced. Getting new studs has not been a problem but they are too long and so I need to cut them shorter so as to be able to get nuts and washers and such like on the inside.

Pictures should follow.

AIS Blues

2010-03-24T18:21:00.002Z

Well, lots of other things may be going well but there is still no sign of the Simrad AIS transponder we ordered at the show. I chased our contact today and she said that there was still no sign of it and latest indications from Navico would be sometime in April. I phoned Navico in frustration and got the same story with little or no sign of apology that they were messing people around.

At least Echomaster Marine are being helpful about it. The one we want if more or less the best bet for what we want so I will resist the temptation to go for some other option. At least it is not a show stopper.

Getting Closer

2010-03-22T16:21:00.002Z

After the success of the weekend it is good to be able to report that we have been able to make appropriate arrangements with Emsworth Harbour to move her in the cradle ready for next weekend and we have provisionally booked for her to be in the water ready for Easter. So, we should be sailing very soon!

Initial plans are a bit sketchy. I had originally thought to deliver her to Plymouth over the Easter period which might still happen but we may take it in a more incremental way. Say, a day or so day sailing in the Solent to get hitches ironed out then a passage to Weymouth where we could leave her till the following weekend when we could take her on to Plymouth.

Of course any such plans are almost certainly doomed to change based on the vagaries of the weather at the very least.

And so it goes on!

Big Step Forward

2010-03-21T20:46:00.006Z

The coppercoating is mostly done. We still have to get her moved in the cradle so we can do the bits behind the props but the majority is done and she is looking very good. The photo at the top is of course what she looked like back in January when Symblast did their work. The picture below is how she looks now.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster weekend as Saturday was much worse than forecast with persistent heavy fine rain that contrived to get in everywhere. I spent the majority of it fighting with the zinc anode or rather than studs which had become horrendously rusty. There was no way I could get the nuts inside undone so eventually I scrounged an angle grinder from Gary on the boat next door and ground it off. It is a bit nervewracking to be wielding a fast spinning disk millimeters away from the edge of your hull but it did the job in the end and I was able to start fitting the new studs. The log book pencil did duty to line the hole with sikaflex and then I built up a circle round the hole on the outside. Finally, when it was in the process of going off I inserted the new studs and left them to get stuck properly over night.

All the time it was raining (well, sometimes it stopped but not very much) and all the grovelling in the port side cockpit locker gave me several aches and bumps as well as a soaking wet backside. In the end, I pushed off to Marine Superstore and consoled myself with a French and Portuguese courtessy flag as well as a bargain on an offshore flare pack.

Matthew and Audrey turned up for the evening and we had an interesting Thai meal in the pub.

Sunday was forecast to be better and it certainly was. We started work at around nine and by dint of steady work we were finished by about four. The rain held off and I am hopeful that it will not rain till Monday evening by which time it should all have cured enough to be water proof.

Hopefully the weather gods will continue to look on us favourably for next weekend and I can finish the job then.

Working on cockpit locker lid

2010-03-16T21:04:00.002Z

I have finally got around to attacking the recalcitrant and rather rotten cockpit locker lid. After chiselling out all the old plywood. It made much more sense to do this than try and just let in a small bit. Last Saturday we went and bought a sheet of 9mm marine plywood and I managed to cut a bit to fit in the remains of the teak though one end of the edging had broken off. Now, I have had my first experience of using SP epoxy. The instructions are a bit intimidating but really, it is quite easy and I mixed up a bunch before stirring in some microfibers. It is now sitting on the floor with a couple of clamps holding it together and three batteries sitting on it to provide downward weight. Only time will tell but the picture below might amuse.

Better weather but still not ready

2010-03-15T19:35:00.002Z

The weather seems to be improving for now but we are now almost certainly not going to be ready for an Easter delivery to the west country. Last weekend might have been OK for putting the Coppercoat on but a few things intervened.

Firstly, Audrey had caught some sort of stomach bug and was not really fit to help out on Saturday, then, it was Mother's day on Sunday and we simply delayed things for an enjoyable day out walking on the Isle of Wight. It was still a bit boaty as we met at Emsworth and fought a bit more with the zinc anode. We do now know why the anode is not working very well. The steel studs are very rusty inside and I don't think that there is a proper electrical connection with the wires completing the "cell" The studs are now so badly rusted (not corroded) that we are going to have to replace them - or one anyway. So we are back to the familiar situation of having a hole in the boat!

Anyway, we hope to do the coppercoating the coming weekend though the long range forecast is talking about rain now. Grrr!

The AIS front is continuing frustrating. No sign of Simrad getting the damn thing delivered any time soon as far as I can tell.

Other news: We found that there is a requirement in the ISAF regulations to carry a storm trysail so we have to find one now. My opinion backed by others is that they are not worth the locker space that they take up but the rules are unbendable on this one. Another Grr!

Oh well, I shall try and get some pics of the Coppercoat going on to relieve the unrelenting text stream that this blog has become.

Weather still rubbish

2010-03-11T22:51:00.002Z

Progress has been painfully slow recently. I was down there last weekend when we picked up our Coppercoat as well but it was far too cold to think about applying it. The sequence of events has now become so tight that it is unlikely we will be ready to deliver to Plymouth over Easter. More likely is that we will manage to get in the water for Easter - assuming that the temperature does find it's way above 10 degrees between now and then.

It might be best to spend the Easter weekend getting back in to the swing of sailing in the Solent and then make the leap for the west country later in April.

And so it carries on. The latest on the AZAB front is that I have found that we need to carry a trysail as part of the ISAF OSR 2010-2011. For the non initiated of you, that is International Sailing Federation Offshore Special Regulations! Other AZABbers have been going through them and working out what expensive toys they need to aquire. I shall have to see where I can beg, borrow or steal such a sail. We have no experience of using one and I would much prefer to simply put a fourth reef point in the main rather then spend ages on a heaving deck in a force 10 trying to feed the slides of the trysail into the luff groove of the mast. Grrr!

Getting there slowly

2010-03-03T21:05:00.003Z

It has been a bit of a slow start to the year though this is most probably always the case. The trouble is that with Easter being so early this year there is a lot of pressure to get things done quickly in March. The real thing of course, is the Coppercoat which needs minimum temperature to apply it. So, no frostbite painting here. This coming weekend is not looking good for that but maybe the next weekends will be good enough.

We still have to finish off sanding and varnishing the toe rail. Other stuff we can be getting on with though are the things still to do to the engine such as changing the fan belt and fuel filters to say nothing of putting the pencil anode back in.

At least we are going to pick up the Coppercoat from Paul at Symblast on Saturday so we can at least feel that we are getting closer to being ready for a launch. The big bit with the Coppercoat is how we are going to apply it to the bits under the props on the cradle. I put a posting on the PBO forum on this and got two bits of advice. One is to ask the yard to move the boat in the cradle by a foot or so once the majority is done. The other option which has a lot of superficial attraction is to use the legs to prop the boat up and drop the props. I doubt if the boat yard would go for this but we will have to see. I will probably also ask around a bit as well.

Happy, if cold times at present!

Waiting for bits and time/weather to do stuff

2010-02-24T22:05:00.003Z

All we seem to be able to do at the moment is wait which is proving rather frustrating. We placed an order for the AIS transponder at the boatshow but are still waiting for it to arrive. The last we heard was that the order had been placed but that there was a 3 to 4 week waiting time for it. I will have to chase the supplier soon though.

Next we desperately need to be able to get going on applying the coppercoat now. Especially if we are going to meet the target of having her in the water for delivery to Plymouth over Easter. After consultation with various forums, the consensus on how to apply it to the places currently covered by chocks is to do the rest of the boat first and then get the yard to move her in the cradle a bit and do the other bits that could not currently be got at. That means at least two weekends of work. This necessarily requires non freezing temperatures such as we have had to date as the Coppercoat requires an ambient temperature of at least ten degrees.

Oh well, I have ordered myself a cheap camcorder from the usual online retailer with a view to making a video of our work and attempts generally at doing the AZAB so I should be able to start playing with that soon.

Happy sailing or at least dreaming of sailing.

Got the Cruising Chute

2010-02-17T18:27:00.001Z

Woo Hoo. Acres of brightly coloured nylon in a white sock. It all looks nice and I can't wait to try it out now though we can pretty much be guaranteed headwinds all season now :-)

Unexpected job of work

2010-02-16T20:10:00.003Z

One of the "joys" of owning a boat is that things keep coming up. The latest was when we found that the underside of one of the cockpit hatches was rotten. Sarah G has nice teak hatches in the cockpit but the teak is relatively thin and the bulk of the hatch is made up of plywood which, in one of them has rotted quite badly.

We need to chisel away the rotten plywood and fill it in with some suitable and epoxy glue. It will be very satisfying to be able to keep the matching teak hatches but it is a lot of work!

Further plans

2010-02-08T21:54:00.002Z

The season is shaping up to be a good one. We had a charity "bash" after work last Friday where we had an auction in which a day sailing on Sarah G was one of the items up for grabs. It went for a tidy sum which helped towards a very successful evening fundraising for Action Medical. The guy who won is over the moon and we are looking forward to welcoming him and his family aboard in July. Other people have been invited down as well so we should be having a social season anyway.

On other news, I spoke to Paul at Symblast and we will be collecting the coppercoat sometime around the end of February and should be able to apply it sometime in March. The hope is to get her in the water the weekend before Easter to give us a bit of sailing before the delivery trip to the West.

We were down on Saturday and did a bit of sanding of toe rails which came up quite well. On the other hand though, we had a look at the hatch covers in the cockpit and one of them had fungus growing on the bottom and sure enough, there is a bit of rot in it. I am hoping to be able to chisel out the rotten wood and let new stuff in rather than having to replace it which would be both expensive and would not match the others which are in good condition. As a precaution we are going to have to treat all the hatches.

Finally, Harbour Chandlers have done a first class job on replacing the guard wires which are now in place and make a huge improvement on the old ones.

We are going to stay in a B&B this weekend as I really want to get the Deks Ojle on the toe rail as soon as possible.

Update on plans for the race

2010-01-31T11:34:00.003Z

We have decided to add a bit more purpose to entering the race as well as trying out sailing off soundings. We will now be raising funds for three charities. These will be:

Action Medical Research is supported by my friend Peter Osazuwa at work and we are pleased to be able to help his charity out.
Action Medical Research

The RNLI is an obvious one and works to save lives at sea in the UK and Ireland
RNLI

Finally, my Mother is heavily involved in supporting a childrens home in Nairobi called Shangilia.

Details on how we will be fundraising area bit sketchy at present but we will work out details and suitable publicity in due course.

As ever: watch this space!

Grit blasting done

2010-01-27T18:23:00.005Z

Symblast came down and did the deed yesterday. We had originally planned that it should be done today but they had a space yesterday and I couldn't rearrange my day off so I went down today to have a look.

As before, when they did Kemara, they have done a thorough job and she is now all ready for the coppercoat. We now have to hope for a suitable weekend to crop up before Easter so that we can get it done.

This picture says it all! If anyone wants to have years of accumulated antifoul removed, I can certainly recommend Symblast. Usual stuff about no relationship and all that sort of thing. Click here for their website Symblast.

Flares and lack of them

2010-01-24T18:10:00.002Z

Bloody flares. I am sure that the details on Sarah G said that she had flares that were in date till 2010. Turns out they all expired in 2004 so we have no flares. The things are quite expensive as well. The AZAB/ORC/RORC regulation pack is around £200. An offshore pack which doesn't include white anti collision flares. Other packs come down appropriately in price but the simple fact is that they are a lot of money for something that you want to have to throw away when they go out of date. Even worse than your average consumable which at least gives you some use.

Oh well, we will have to see what we can find.

Bit of work Done

2010-01-23T21:33:00.003Z

We managed to get down to Sarah G today and had a nice but cold day doing things.

The biggest bit was to get a length of multiplait rope spliced onto the end of the anchor chain. The process is actually quite easy but of course I managed to make a small mistake that contrived to treble the amount of work involved.

I had picked up a bargain from ebay and had 50M of 14mm multiplait rope. A good little extra was that it had an eye with thimble spliced into one end.

Anyway, I pulled all the chain out of the locker and fed it over the bow roller. I then unrolled the rope from the drum it came on and managed to make sense of the instructions I had downloaded for the rope to chain splice. It was quite easy and I was feeling quite pleased with myself. The next step was, of course, to restow the much longer anchor line in the locker. I passed the eye end of the rope onto the foredeck and climbed aboard. Now, you will be able to work out my stupid bit! The eye was never going to fit down through the tube which the chain comes up. We therefore went through a great complicated rigmarole of feeding all the rope and chain into the cockpit and then through the cabin and into the locker. Finally, I dropped a rope down the chain pipe and Audrey tied it to the end of the chain and pulled it up. Now all I had to do was feed all the rope and chain back down to the ground again prior to stowing it properly in the locker.

We do at last have 90M of anchor warp and I have also had the option to inspect the chain link by link twice!

Anyway, here is a rather gray picture of how she is looking at the moment.

Back From the Boatshow

2010-01-16T08:50:00.002Z

We had a very enjoyable time at the boatshow yesterday though we do have a lighter pocket as well. We had always intended to spend a bit of money but after looking at the various AIS options, we did plump for buying the Simrad AI50. This is a self contained transponder. It is a class B unit but has a small screen with a basic world map to display on and allows you to get the information on ships in your vicinity. In an ideal world I would like to be able to overlay this information onto the radar. This is not, unfortunately, possible with our set up as our radar is deemed too old to be able to be upgraded to accept AIS input. Eventually, we did a bit o humming and hahing and decided to take the plung, thus making the day of the sales woman on the Simrad stand.

On other stands, we did quite a lot of talking to different people about things like different anchors (Rocna vs. Delta), supplies of multiplait anchor line, satellite phones, liferafts, new engines and holding tanks. Some of the information was very useful. The satellite phone guy was very interesting. I have, so far been in favour of renting a phone but he was adamant that the best bet would be to buy one and then sell it on once we had done with it. I have a suspicion that, in this case we might well hang onto it. They are however pretty expensive though, starting at £1100.

The liferaft thing was also interesting as it is not clear from the AZAB and ISAF rules whether the ISO9650 certification is adequate but the word from the people at the show was that this is the case so may make the case for buying a liferaft more of an option.

Of course, we also verified that the Guiness was still up to scratch though it was a bit of a shock to see the Guinness stand selling other stuff like Kronenbourg!

Anyway, onwards and upwards. The grit blast guy will be down next Friday and we will spend the weekend working out how to get our new electronic toy installed and also where to site the arial that AIS needs. We can also make a start on more mundane stuff like sanding the toerail and generally cleaning and polishing her.

And so the saga goes on!

Two Bits of Good News

2010-01-13T22:31:00.002Z

Now there are four Rivals in total in the AZAB. Tantine, ourselves, Emanon and Dequila. Emanon is even a 34 so we can be some sort of counterbalance to the flotilla of Contessa 32s. Dequila is a 41 but she is still a Rival.

I also had some fun today as I have commissioned a company to grit blast Sarah G and he will be doing it next Friday. It is a bit pricey but paying for the grit blasting and coppercoat is definitely a good idea. We did Kemara, our old Hurley 22 three years ago and it has been a great success though you do seem to need to plan a quick dry out and scrub off mid season.

The grit blasting is a very interesting experience as it makes and incredible noise but is amazing to see the old antifoul come off. Putting the coppercoat on is another interesting experience but also quite exciting and satisfying when it is finished though the deep reddish brown copper colour quickly corrodes to a verdigris green. It is nice though only having to pressure was off each season rather than go through the chore of applying loads of evil gunk from Blakes or International each spring.

Bloody snow

2010-01-08T21:32:00.002Z

Although I usually enjoy a bit of snow, this one is proving to be a right pain in the backside. As it has effectively brought the SE of England to a standstill and I am really not likely to want to try sanding the toerail in freezing temperatures any work on the boat or even a bit of messing around is now on hold.

Oh well, we should be able to get down there sometime soon anyway.

Pre boatshow update

2010-01-05T19:10:00.002Z

Not a lot of activity of course but we have been thinking about what to look for at the boatshow (apart from AIS of course).

I have also been making arrangements for Sarah G to be grit blasted and copper coated. We have become firm converts to Coppercoat after putting it on our last boat Kemara.

I have also been doing some testing on a revamped AZAB web site which should be going live soon so I will be linking to it from here.

I spent the commute into work this morning going through the ISAF Special Regulations and highlighting in green the things we will have to check on and probably spend money on as well.

Happy times!