Monday 28 May 2018

Back on track......allegedly

 I wish I could come up with a solid reason as to why we have been silent for so long but I can't. True we haven't actually sailed anywhere; that the doubts about whether we would continue kept surfacing and we tentatively explored the possibility of narrowboats. But. Here we are a few days away from, yet another, re-launch. Topsides spruced up, various sections of wood taken back to bare and then oiled with turps and Stockholm; sails repaired and in two cases replaced. The problem that beset the radar was finally tracked down to the magnatron and we found a replacement second hand radome in the US for a fraction of the cost of a new radome. Plus dozens of other bits and pieces we have sorted, replaced, ditched or improved. The journey continues!

What we have been doing apart from working on our own boat is helping out on a barge - nothing fancy (our work that is) simply cleaning out a hold, sanding and oiling the wood, but it seemed to take up a lot of time. You can see the barge here. Bee, of course, needed far more to occupy her time so got back into running with little or no intention of competing. A tough couple of hours every other day gave her the fix she needed which she supplemented by turning over an allotment for a friend with ME. The allotment is on the Rame Peninsula and overlooks Cawsand so the views are pretty spectacular.


A brief word about the weather....we had toyed with the idea of wintering in Skeld, Shetland but decided the wind and rain would make it a long winter. The weather here in Cornwall hasn't been much better and the rain ensured we have green appearing on warps and wood so the last few weeks of bright sunshine have been very welcome. The bluebells have been spectacular... 


 That's about it - we splash, all being well, at 8am Friday, June 1st and while we have several ideas on where we might go it is still vague and undecided. Turn right out of Cawsand is the best we can offer.

Toots at the healthy age of 16 doesn't mind as long as the fire is warm and food regular..

 ...and at the ripe old age of 70 I would tend to agree, adding only that the alcohol should be equally regular.

3 comments:

  1. Missed your missives x Yup understand where you are at-we even bought a copy of narrowboat magazine! Just doesn't speak to us when compared to our boat. Have a great season and may the winds be forever fair. And bloody well done that cat!

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  2. Goodmorning, Loved the stories about your Ferrocement beauty. I would love to know more about your gaffrigging as I just embarked on a refit mission with a 40 foot Colin Archer type. No sails, Masts in questionable state, unclear on anything that has to do with actually sailing her. I would very much appreciate some measurements of Hannah's rig as it would help me setting up mine. Your attitude and stories inspire more people than you know :) Eagerly awaiting more sailingstories.

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  3. Hi, Apologies for the delay but been a bit busy. I'd like to be able to help but I'm not the best person to advise on rig etc as I am just a sailor and have little interest or knowledge on the technical side. That said if you write directly to our email address (on Contact Us page)with a few more details ie one mast or two, cutter or sloop and where you are I'll see what I can do over the winter. Good luck and thanks for the very kind words.

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