Saturday 2 April 2016

Bit of a nostalgia trip...and an update on selling Hannah


Along the Nova Scotian coast last year - a tad windy

For those of you who have come to these pages via the advert on the ferro site, indeed for anyone wondering what happened to the plan we had to sell…..well it’s on the back burner. We felt we had another trip in us, did it and then we felt that we might have another long trip in us, which is where we are with our current thinking. Where we will go to is still in the thinking stage and we’ll write it up once we decide but for the moment the possibility of the sale has been postponed. However things can change so if you have an interest you can write to us at hannah4sale@outlook.com
Labrador reality, fog, motoring and rocks...

As March moves toward its end and the snow comes, retreats and then comes again we realise with a bit of a shock that we're down to the last 4 or so weeks of our visa…soon be time to get the show on the road. 


We were recently sent the tale of a French boat that sailed the Pacific from 1966 to 1968 and the photos alone got me going….but would it be this way now we wonder? Folks we know who have sailed the area say it is still possible to have anchorages to yourself as so many boats seem to stick to a very narrow track, rarely deviating from that which is written up and just 20 or so miles off the line can open up new, relatively unexplored vistas…..we’ll see. Plenty of time at sea make it all seem very attractive


One of the reason's we keep getting drawn back..
But whilst I’m on a ’60’s theme, you will know, I’m sure, of the wonderful Golden Globe 2018. I’m not into racing boats, sure as a young child I crewed and raced dinghy’s, did the odd race when I was at BKYC but I’ve always been drawn to boats that look interesting, work boats and such. Having said that I followed the original race and the subsequent books that came out of it. The modern RTW race does nothing for me, the speeds seem insane, the technology beyond belief and the boats bear no resemblance to anything I could possibly own, or want to, afford. Then I read about this and found myself smiling, chortling at the number of people who are eager to get involved but mostly gratified at the ordinariness of the boats that will race. It will be a hard race for sure and the restrictions on modern equipment (essentially, if it wasn’t on Suhaili you can’t take it) may make it “un-newsworthy” simply because reports can not be obtained instantly and so will hark back to a different time but if you haven’t already checked it out, I’d urge you to do so. 


this mess will be tidied up before we leave...


Aboard Hannah things are moving along as a brief, and welcome, warm interlude enabled us to crack through some cosmetic type jobs, brightwork and non cosmetic, replacing bowsprit shrouds etc. We needed to come up with a way of supporting the Pudgy on deck and with the help of long term friend John T we were able to sketch out and then make a template. He found a fabricator who could knock up the steel base very quickly, whilst John roughed out and then cleaned up the wooden cross piece. All we needed to do was paint the steel and then bed it to the deck. It all came together so smoothly and watching John casually measure the angles, the amount he wanted to remove and then do so with a few clean saw strokes etc was a joy. The dinghy sits solidly on its mount and lashing it down will be simple. Very pleased.

Another result came about when I mentioned to another friend the problem we had been having with our radar. Essentially it wouldn't produce a return at any distance above 0.75nm. We'd lived with it but it was a little frustrating at times. His immediate response was to "check the ground" We did. The contact was good but it was a poor ground in that it was attached to the engine block. We moved the wire to one of the studs that hold the zinc anode and turned it on. A return all the way up to 16nm! 

And finally. You may remember me mentioning Trevor Robertson when we were in Labrador last year. Well he did leave Newfoundland in November as he intended and headed out. We heard this morning (Apr 1st) that he had arrived in Freemantle, Aust. yesterday after 171 days. We have no other details; I believe it was non stop and his account will, eventually, be published. I can hardly wait.  
Only a few weeks back.

 Lastly, the first 3 pictures on this post belong to Russ Nichols. Please don't use them outside this post without written permission. Thanks.

On a similar note: I've noticed a lot of traffic of late from two specific areas. One was Russia about 6 weeks or so and Germany in the last fortnight. The latter came about because an article I written for AAC was lifted, re worked and published over there. But Russia I have no idea how that happened... I'm curious how folks get to know of an English sailor's blog and how it "translates" to your language. Drop me a line if you can shed any light.








8 comments:

  1. good morning from Maine!! ..I met you at the Belfast, Maine Waterfront wearing Patsys Traveling Sweater and wanted to tell you how thrilled I was to have met you!! Our pictures came out beautifully and I got many hits..likes, loves and more wonderful comments..you really gave me a bit of joy that I will never forget!!
    May the wind be always at your back...hugs!!!
    Martha and Patsys' Traveling Sweaters!!

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  2. good morning from Maine!!!
    I met you at the Belfast, Maine Wterfront as we were taking pictures for my friends' sweater...named after her...Patsys' Traveling Sweaters...you kindly invited me aboard and we had a lovely chat!!
    Our pictures came out better thatn I could have hoped for and I got a lot of hits and beautiful comments from my friends!!
    I will be follwing your blog and will start at the begining..as your story evolves..I am so trhilled to have met you!! Thank you for your warm generosity and kindness!!
    May sunshine always shine on your face and the winds be at your back!!

    Martha and (Patsys' Traveling Sweaters)

    P.S. I told my friend about my experience with you and you made her day too!!...so off to Norway!!!

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    1. You're very welcome Martha, we're happy you enjoyed your brief time aboard. We'll try to include a picture of you next time we post, hopefully sometime this month.

      Take care

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  3. I like your blog.I am russian, living in Italy, and traffic from Russia, at least in part, it may be because of me. Every time when in russian sailing forum the people start discussion about the long term cruising cost, i give them the link to yours blog.

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  4. Well thank you for that Igor - apologies for the delay in posting your comment but we're on the move so don't always have access to the internet.

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  5. I'm not sure if you remember be from the Belfast town dock. I spoke with you several times about my dream to full time RV. You and bee have been an inspiration to me and I finally took the plunge and bought a rig. My wife and I are now living in it full time but still maintains our jobs so we can pay for it and start out debt free. It's a first step which is sometimes the hardest.
    Hope this finds you both safe and well.
    Regards, Pierre

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  6. Hi Pierre - of course we remember you both (and the wonderful supply of apple wood you gave us). That's good news on the RV and your intention to start off debt free - hopefully you'll be on your way before too many Maine winters have fallen?

    Keep in touch - we'd like to know how it's all going and thanks for the kind words too. Say hello to the "wharf rats" from us!

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  7. Nice blog and very informative thank you for sharing such a great blog.

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