tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85786727573220938482024-03-10T22:09:06.304+00:00Not all who wander....are lostTWO PEOPLE, ONE CAT AND THEIR FERRO GAFFER HANNAH, AT LARGE...
mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-50882262688963119292022-07-26T09:30:00.001+01:002022-07-26T11:24:11.292+01:00The Last Post<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span></span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxBzp648k6I1JPwp0huH4QZ6NMYaTcycSnQDMXMg6twEGiC_z1NnEIq_YoH2wv9Yu-Eol90e3kyVBSbET6gCK4oxlZtI3u35PwUlF9-ofscjZ19Vqnss1OZNq9Qm_Df11nEMbUn1qrB12jbmJ5ZsNOW9dv0LYaTiFt1JBdwz0p_dqHBeuUulrHjW0pA/s4032/20220511_103636.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxBzp648k6I1JPwp0huH4QZ6NMYaTcycSnQDMXMg6twEGiC_z1NnEIq_YoH2wv9Yu-Eol90e3kyVBSbET6gCK4oxlZtI3u35PwUlF9-ofscjZ19Vqnss1OZNq9Qm_Df11nEMbUn1qrB12jbmJ5ZsNOW9dv0LYaTiFt1JBdwz0p_dqHBeuUulrHjW0pA/w360-h640/20220511_103636.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Toots. 2002-2022</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> S</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>adly we have to report that our faithful shipmate, </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Toots</span></span> who joined us in Oct 2002 when she was 2 months old, has died. We had her put down on Tuesday May 17, 2022. </span></span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">Ten weeks on I still can't write that without
tears streaming and for both of us it was the hardest and most
painful decision we ever made. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>I very much doubt there</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> will be any further posts</span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>mb</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p>
</p><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-80702570751599818962021-12-25T19:37:00.001+00:002021-12-27T09:59:31.639+00:00and then there was one....again<p>
</p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">
</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monday 31st June<br /></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
week has passed since the break and much of the time, well several
days were spent in Skipport waiting for better winds. We left one
evening but seas still out of the NE mocked our efforts and we
slipped back to our comfortable shelter leaving early the next
morning. The wind, now SE was light but favourable and with the tide
running our way, the engine just ticking over we moved along at a
fair pace arriving in Plocrapool. We've anchored here before and
although there are a number of houses we rarely see folks moving
about. This time was no different other than a friendly couple who
came paddling by and stopped to chat.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'd
been able to contact someone we'd met years ago in Stornoway and he
gave us phone numbers of builders who should be able to help. One was
in Mhairvig, a loch we knew and the other on the mainland; given that
the former was en route to Stornoway and offered good shelter and
holding it was the obvious choice and we duly arrived. Arriving on a
Saturday with a Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday following has meant a
long, to us, wait but at least we've done the overdue engine service
if not much else.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tues
8th</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Spar
done in 48 hours though a tad shorter than previous as neither I or
the builder thought to measure the sail rather than the, broken,
gaff, we're up and running. A 3 day visit to Stornoway for a shop,
load up and catch up before heading out and south down the chain.
Easier said as the winds remain persistently south and we beat the 5
miles or so down to Erisort and an anchorage we hadn't used in
donkeys years but is a cracker, arriving as the weather eased and a
glorious evening materialised. South again the next couple of days;
one soso anchorage and the second in Loch Claidh after a detour to
the Shiants to view the hundreds of puffins that can be found here.
Loch Claidh reminded us of various Labrador/Greenland slots we've
used and it wasn't until we'd been anchored for some hours and Bee
happened to look out at the entrance that we got a real understanding
of how sheltered we were; outside were white caps but we had barely
rippled water. True, comms were non existent and the following
morning we rowed ashore to retrieve a large fender, checked out the
sea state and decided to head down to Plocrapool where the shelter
was also good and we'd be able to get a signal to check on the
upcoming blow. A beat, of course, but enjoyable as we were able to
sail through the Sound of Scalpay and then beat through numerous
islands to gain the shelter of the south shore. Well shelter from the
waves if not the wind but it all went well and by 1pm we were
anchored, settled and stowed. Now the fire is on, the wind generator
is up and we're ready for the 30k we're due.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
came, it went. The surrounding hills are low but a valley funnels the
wind from the south but the holding is excellent, a couple of otters
were visible on one of the nearby islands that are adjacent and all
was well. Except with further strong southerlies coming we chose to
use the SW to scoot back over to Skye for a change and anchored that
night in Loch Grishornish after a cracking sail over. The loch is a
bit nondescript but shelter and holding was good and the choice was
to sail into a couple of nearby lochs or head over the top of Skye to
the mainland. The latter was the choice to take advantage of the
westerly and get a good sail. Once in the Inner Sound we made a half
hearted attempt to sail south between Rona and Skye but an increase
in wind strength had us turning back to our original destination of
Loch Torridon. This is a longish loch of three parts and it might be
a place to explore for a few days. Hmm. Heading first for the outer
anchorage I felt the swell caused by the West wind would make life
uncomfortable, the second choice already had a boat in it and we
sailed on and into the second part. Here the wind increased
substantially although the swell had lessened but anchorages
looked... well not</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"> welcoming.
But Antares had a possible choice inside a reef of islands and as we
approached the water inside look calm and flat – we entered slowly,
picked a spot and dropped. As we were approaching low water we were
almost landlocked with reefs and islands and were ecstatic with our
luck. It didn't last as the returning tide plus the squally wind had
us getting to close, for my comfort, to one of the large rocks and we
moved out late at night but still daylight. A nearby shelf of 5-10
metre water saw us punting round for an hour or more as we looked for
some protection from the very stiff squally wind. By 1am we were
“settled” and unsettled and wondering what the rest of the day
might bring. A dumb decision is the short answer. The second and
third loch have high surrounding mountains with all that entails
whereas the outer loch is slightly more benign so we thought we might
go back and try our original choice but rounding the headland the
other side was now white water and though we only had the stays'l and
engine running we were soon on our ear. Beating was the only option
but as the violence increased we turned and ran back into the second
loch but chose to go right down the far end. Here we anchored in
relative calm not far off the visitors buoys in deepish water. We dug
in, looked at the lugger on the buoy and realised we usually see the
boat on a buoy of Mashford's yard on the Rame Peninsula. Not long
after a flash modern boat came in took the second and last buoy. I
had some concerns about how well we were holding but reversing down
hard, again, didn't budge us. We'd just gone to bed when a skiff we'd
seen earlier calling on the modern boat came over to talk to us.
Seems he and the “flash boat” skipper had some concerns as the
holding was well known for being poor, few boats ever anchored there
but used the shelter between a large wooded island and the village
where depths were lower etc etc. I guess my earlier concerns made me
more susceptible and we readily agreed that we might move and so we
motored the short distance around the island and into the anchorage.
Was it better. We didn't really think so; yes depths were a fraction
of what we'd had but the fetch was longer and the tide had more
influence and the following day we could see that the head of the
loch had flat, still water whereas we didn't. After a couple of days
of this loch we'd really had enough but a sort of lethargy had
overcome us but a lull gave us the impetus and we decided to head
back to the outer loch and try the cove there. Mizzen and stay'sl
pushed us along but as we approached the cove it seemed we might be
able lay a course to the top of Skye wait overnight there then use
the southerly to get back to the Hebs. Bizarrely as we running
through all this the lugger emerged from the cove! Bee got the main
and working jib up and away we went. Sort of. The SW wind had now
backed to W, the seas of these headlands are lumpy, confused and
hinder progress. Staffin Bay was about 12 miles away but a little
north of west and and hour later we knew it wasn't really going to
happen. The problem, for us, is the next alternative is Loch Gairloch
and entrance and exit that has caused us no end of misery and is on
our “do not use” list. But. The 3 mile wide entrance faces west
and the seas were rolling in...Windy showed the wind dying completely
overnight and going SW then S but light before ramping up later in
the day. We anchored in our usual cove, another house has been built
but for the first time a phone signal was available... Windy
confirmed the weather status for the next day, we ate a big pasta
meal, a stiff whisky and went to bed deciding we'd leave at 5am. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
fact we were up at 3, noting the almost absence of wind but more
important there was no sign of waves breaking on the far shore. We
headed out covering the miles to the entrance and a clear view of
what lay ahead. Very little it seems – the wind was light perhaps
6k and the seas flattish. Lots of sail and the engine running had us
up to 6k+ and once clear of the entrance the winds settled into the
SW giving us a tight angle to get to somewhere 30nm away. By 6 or so
we were nearing the top of Skye, the wind veered to the S but we held
our course, ducked below Eileann Trodday, a frantic bit of overfall
and eased for E Loch Tarbet. We were heading back to Ploc, because,
despite the wind funnelling, it suited us. By now we were sailing and
romping along but uneasily watching the weather – we did not need
another stiff wind on the beam hence one of the reasons for our
destination – we could always turn and run further N for an easier
time although we starred in that movie just a couple of weeks
back....</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway
just after 10 we slid into Ploc, dropped the hook and within the hour
the wind picked up. We can't believe our luck as it is strong, wet
and grey outside whereas in here it is warm; aromatic – the potato
is baking nicely on the embers and our glasses are full. Sometimes it
all just works.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Plocrapool</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">N57
50.63 W 05
45.07</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">All
this was written soon after the event and I couldn’t get back into
writing once we’d got back. Another blog prompted me to get down
to it so here we go.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
eventually moved through the Sound of Harris to spend a day or two on
Taransay before we hoped to get over to St Kilda. </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNUPPIw3r72sdhNtWZbIhA13cYZXxxmnqpZWhXnJFb4DZ9hD1zkZQ4XlSkdRLelYKFXPgm4O4HzL2cM4QD4feCCXxzqZBQQA-nXHbLjvy0T2YYO2TQDw_YI4YWE_t6fceHzEmhZu22N5ng-YGPCu3kW8zdDd37txk_Ls9z2t0VLOwmQIRaYQ1UWQanXg=s1600" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNUPPIw3r72sdhNtWZbIhA13cYZXxxmnqpZWhXnJFb4DZ9hD1zkZQ4XlSkdRLelYKFXPgm4O4HzL2cM4QD4feCCXxzqZBQQA-nXHbLjvy0T2YYO2TQDw_YI4YWE_t6fceHzEmhZu22N5ng-YGPCu3kW8zdDd37txk_Ls9z2t0VLOwmQIRaYQ1UWQanXg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> a Hebridean beach....really<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Taransay was a joy;
superb beaches, clear water and a welcome respite from the weather.
When a small window presented itself we headed out late afternoon for
St K; a destination that has been on our list for some years. The
journey here was uneventful until we closed the island in the early
hours of a Sunday morning. Pitch black with the wind and seas
beginning to pick up we were glad to make the shelter of the cliffs
where at least the waves were smaller and we shaped in for the
anchorage where numerous anchor lights could be seen gently moving.
We dropped anchor at the back of the boats in deeper water than we
wanted but at least clear of everyone and by 3am were below and ready
for bed. Daylight gave us a clear look at our surroundings; several
boats had left, we moved closer in, raised the double reefed mizzen
and spent the time watching the activity ashore. </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV2poZlhi95bnqT93op1cXI125F05dyq8ysNrWsQ-Dy_l-0kZgcpNNDPRP1c4CjJYO0ihEsL4m6hI2EDLJ8qqOxKmDs7ysMQF0GECSXw11SMJw97VeO9eQUGCTrSjPwsbCKW2EsMIxKOVJBjDb7mruou8Mplt2t3xW5fpGVBa9_CmwF5wzpVMlTcKrqA=s3264" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV2poZlhi95bnqT93op1cXI125F05dyq8ysNrWsQ-Dy_l-0kZgcpNNDPRP1c4CjJYO0ihEsL4m6hI2EDLJ8qqOxKmDs7ysMQF0GECSXw11SMJw97VeO9eQUGCTrSjPwsbCKW2EsMIxKOVJBjDb7mruou8Mplt2t3xW5fpGVBa9_CmwF5wzpVMlTcKrqA=s320" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">A World Heritage
Site that has a military presence the beehive structures, dry stone
walls at odds with the very steep tarmac road, diggers and housing
that are clearly visible. By mid day we were all sat in the cockpit,
huddled by the doghouse out of the cold wind. The sun was shining and
all was well. Around 1pm a loud, gut wrenching cracking erupted above
our heads and the mast split in two dropping across the cockpit no
more than a foot or two from where we sat. </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgM9it8FUan4XeRq_Jc-Hge4If9fWJmVfQVpmeBNm4S6p6CJrkCOxk4nlTMNnoRgMtQ64yg3UB8PuAtC2BDeIarNDX-WuOg6FD2vmsg0GQFhXsmo0fJL_vNMR-FOvaEjydonyPfW2Vc6uewPGYkCDex2SEasxt5l_bLsyaAYazRR6M4Y1lEN-99rg3ClA=s1600" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgM9it8FUan4XeRq_Jc-Hge4If9fWJmVfQVpmeBNm4S6p6CJrkCOxk4nlTMNnoRgMtQ64yg3UB8PuAtC2BDeIarNDX-WuOg6FD2vmsg0GQFhXsmo0fJL_vNMR-FOvaEjydonyPfW2Vc6uewPGYkCDex2SEasxt5l_bLsyaAYazRR6M4Y1lEN-99rg3ClA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The bottom section lay
across the cockpit, one end resting on a winch supporting the top end
which lay fore and aft. Shocked, devastated, numb yet oddly relieved
that the mast had come down when at anchor and not as we worked our
way in to the cliffs in rough water. We cleared up, removing all
shrouds, furniture etc to make the deckside presence of the two
section as small as possible and stowed sail, shrouds etc below. By 6
we were as ship shape as we felt we might reasonably expect, had a
quick chat on “what next” and opted to head back to the Hebs
rather than wait until the following day as we had intended. We
headed out, slightly bemused that none of the remaining boats at
anchor had thought it slightly strange that the yellow ketch had
suddenly transformed itself into a sloop….</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
headed back round the south of Barra/Vatersay, a stroke of luck
bringing us into the Sound with a favourable tide and anchored for a
few days to make further changes/improvements to the mess. The canvas
shelter was badly torn (again) but we were able to effect a repair
and propped the whole thing up with a combination of lobster buoys
and poles we happened to have aboard. We sailed south from there to
visit Pabbay for a few hours and in late afternoon moved a few miles
further south to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mingulay" target="_blank">Mingalay</a>. We arrived about 6pm, all the tourist
boats had gone home and the anchorage was empty of boats but not of
sea life as we were joined by dozens of dolphins leaping, swimming
alongside or racing us and each other; further inshore could be seen
many more seals watching our arrival. The bay is deep and as, we later
discovered, deep quite close into shore; dolphins were seen diving a matter
of metres off the beach and rowing ashore seals watched, some
followed and we had the whole place to ourselves. An abandoned
village; the ruined outlines of small houses; an overgrown graveyard
all had us contemplating what life must have been like for these
people. As night came in the seals began to gather on the beach
singing into and through the night which although tiring by 4am
nevertheless was an amazing memory of the place. If you do get a
chance and the weather is kind this is wonderful place to stop. The
following morning we headed further south just as the first yacht of
the day arrived, sadly for them, to a silent bay.</span></span></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFcA_j8z38twRfv7DQ9Ea-HzmQWryDX6eAxVrDByVcTYu6NW29jKDglXw1PKOV67ThGmTV9nbzUqfsqq0JhMI8h7p7PO1Ex_8PWufHMRdPQ5UEDmkUFW4VL1uNLbaBv3d3HMKnbIZu1pybfgM-pjUPAmYKu1yGfcW-x0IzhvFlOgvFeChUlVezVwOwug=s3264" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFcA_j8z38twRfv7DQ9Ea-HzmQWryDX6eAxVrDByVcTYu6NW29jKDglXw1PKOV67ThGmTV9nbzUqfsqq0JhMI8h7p7PO1Ex_8PWufHMRdPQ5UEDmkUFW4VL1uNLbaBv3d3HMKnbIZu1pybfgM-pjUPAmYKu1yGfcW-x0IzhvFlOgvFeChUlVezVwOwug=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bracadale arrival<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back
in Vatersay briefly before heading north up the islands but opting to
get a better sail by freeing off for Skye and arriving late at night
in Loch Bracadale. A slow day followed as we made our way down to
Canna intending to use the Boat Hbr on the south of the island but
stiffening winds and a foul tide saw us head into the, crowded, main
harbour. Poor holding really although the anchor held us. We had a
look at the boat harbour the following morning; good for one boat
with easterly winds.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Drumbuie
welcomed us again as we sailed in through the narrow entrance; I’d
suggested we might sail in with both main and boomed out genny but
then I would as it wasn’t up to me to get pole and genny down
before tackling the main inside the anchorage and Bee made it clear
that was not going to happen so we swept, rightly, in under main
alone. It was here we helped another boat try and retrieve its lost
chain and anchor. They’d dropped in 17 metres, the clutch and
slipped and the chain and heavy anchor had roared out with the speed
and weight snapping the line attached to the butter end…. It’s
interesting relating this tale subsequently how I can see dawning on
the listeners face (as it did with me) I must check the quality of
line I’m using. In the end we spent several days trawling the
depths to no avail. A 23 metre yacht was approached to see if they
might have a diver and gear aboard but nothing and they left the next
day. The lost anchor crew had already contacted a local diving
company about recovery but were told it would cost £1200….. We
decided on one more sweep, the two dingies rowing in opposite
directions when a power boat swept, at speed, through the entrance. I
was getting ready to scream slow down when it abruptly swung hard
toward us, throttled back and motored over; a guy stood on the
foredeck.”I bet you could use a diver” he said and it seems the
23m yacht had mentioned it to them, four farmers on holiday, slightly
bored and one a qualified diver with gear on board. He found it after
half an hour, the whole lot winched aboard and the question of
payment dismissed with a “make a £20 donation to this charity” </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjg55E-vNxG7uPx1qh8SWjtMJaf9FBqG5hB-ZQQYfNMuHkJLt2jDr4MkeKylSFNl5Y-y_y4wlkckpdWxpIbbs93buMI1VidK1GBNZDtL1TFck-GDhk1kh5d_0zEPB3KqNqVWXwtyVVb8NN8ysovME5wliOAdk3aOfpkz5xOrNO-9v8Ll6GcrJZzY7rkiw=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjg55E-vNxG7uPx1qh8SWjtMJaf9FBqG5hB-ZQQYfNMuHkJLt2jDr4MkeKylSFNl5Y-y_y4wlkckpdWxpIbbs93buMI1VidK1GBNZDtL1TFck-GDhk1kh5d_0zEPB3KqNqVWXwtyVVb8NN8ysovME5wliOAdk3aOfpkz5xOrNO-9v8Ll6GcrJZzY7rkiw=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We covered the half mile back to Hannah propelled by an umbrella.......<br /></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjj6I6mgt2E-l6PYt8ME4cWT2f29ftWcOfAYmm1k2Jpugp94myB6rWPUItak3ndQhXBT0KqDzunco6RplQd-aFhtSmI_aBl8JCswqTBdYhzY_SCZ2mQyG68RzdB0eArSk1S4ancmc1e_uOUspBQhA8VNC-LzWeoDPOaDUco1BjpJwO6PpJ9ewprmfj-DQ=s3264" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjj6I6mgt2E-l6PYt8ME4cWT2f29ftWcOfAYmm1k2Jpugp94myB6rWPUItak3ndQhXBT0KqDzunco6RplQd-aFhtSmI_aBl8JCswqTBdYhzY_SCZ2mQyG68RzdB0eArSk1S4ancmc1e_uOUspBQhA8VNC-LzWeoDPOaDUco1BjpJwO6PpJ9ewprmfj-DQ=s320" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
weeks went by; a great anchorage east of Gometra, a brilliant few
days spent at Lunga in the Tresnish Isles lying on the ground ashore
watching the puffins watching us and slowly worked our way to Oban to
collect Jemma, Bee’s mate from Cafe Ab. She had a week which
coincided with high pressure so the sailing was never going to be
exhilarating but we circumnavigated Mull where at anchor in Traigh
Gheal, Ardalanish where we met Mark on who sails out of <a href="https://boattripsiona.com/about.htm" target="_blank">Iona on Birthe Maithe</a>, a converted Danish fishing boat. Amazing story and if
you’re looking for a trip with a difference he could be the one for
you. We left together for the Sound of Iona after he assured us we’d
get through no problems, he for home and us to L Caol on the northern
side. </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeoUQ-6rUPG0jpbW6qYURQ06yU_4faXNtYbQfoK6N4SGwlMxlEz5ODXq87MFv2cqXxsqVINqRz-AUhpNWE9kBjyFt-UmFqLleFK7ab1VWYMpumT_2GAae9_ldTNERDHGxLgH553tPPSIUVnyc778v6NTyK_gc-RCS9eA1TuTllCJedNOi9MLZF0tUyzA=s3264" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeoUQ-6rUPG0jpbW6qYURQ06yU_4faXNtYbQfoK6N4SGwlMxlEz5ODXq87MFv2cqXxsqVINqRz-AUhpNWE9kBjyFt-UmFqLleFK7ab1VWYMpumT_2GAae9_ldTNERDHGxLgH553tPPSIUVnyc778v6NTyK_gc-RCS9eA1TuTllCJedNOi9MLZF0tUyzA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fingals's Cave looking out to Hannah<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We headed up to Staffa in the morning and while I drifted
offshore Bee and Jemma rowed in to visit Fingal’s Cave with J, a
keen sea swimmer even swimming in the cave itself despite the jelly
fish that seemed to be everywhere. A beat up to Lunga to anchor for a
day or so and let her experience the puffins first hand before
heading back over to Mull and the beat back down to Oban. Jemma
headed for home and we turned Hannah south to begin our journey. A
night in Ardencaple Bay preceded a tidal swept jaunt through the
Sound of Luing, skirting the Corryvrecken before fetching up at L Na
Cille. </span></span>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
long day saw us anchored off Bangor NI and then a 50nm took us down
to Dundrum a wide open bay. A local came out to visit and welcome us,
assured us the gusty wind was normal as the town sat beneath a
mountain but holding was good and we’d be welcome at the bar. I’m
sure we would but the strong gusts made life a little tense or
perhaps we were just wanting to get this next bit over so we headed
out intending to keep as much as possible to the Irish coast.
Progress was ok and we were looking forward to getting through the
narrows between Rosslare and St David’s Head which we’ve always
felt to be a bind. With 20nm to go came the forecast that the next
sea area down, it “starts” at the narrows we were lusting to get
through would, experience gusts 50k whereas where we currently were
would have much less. We hove to, dumping the main in favour of the
try’sl and spent 36 hours warm, dry and comfortable as the current
moved us 13nm up and then back as our gusts rarely exceeded mid 30’s.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
last part took us around the corner and back into the English
Channel; Mousehole, Coverack and Goran Haven gave us shelter over the
next few days before we arrived back at Cawsand. Rolly and
uncomfortable we headed further up river into the Lynher, anchoring
west of Jupiter Point for a few days until the big tides allowed us
back onto our berth. The river is more like a lake here and, for the
most part shallow, so we’re limited on how close to the land we can
get but the fetch was ok even if the wind over tide situation wasn’t.
Heh ho. Back down river to await the tide into Millbrook…..the wind
picked up and white caps focused the mind on manoeuvring into our
berth. A text message to a friend back on the quay about the state of
the wind there elicited a puzzled “what wind” response and so it
was. True to form I managed to put us an the mud again and Daz came
out to haul us off so by 7pm and about 2500nm later we were tied up.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since
then we’ve got a bit of work done and the mizzen will be started in
the new year when we’ve kindly been given access to the big shed
that sits on the quay. The wood is ordered and ready; as we work on
the mizzen we also need to repair the mizzen boom which was badly
damaged by the fall and scarf a piece onto the main boom. The radar
has been regularly tested and seems to work fine; the main and
bowsprit have been checked for rot and repairs made to the latter
which had some punky bits. With the winter approaching we decided to
make some changes to our stove which involved removing and then
dismantling to strip the rust out. Luckily Bee had found someone
obsessed with Morso stoves not far away who proved very helpful over
the phone. He agreed to reassemble while we waited and we borrowed a
van to take it out there. He did it within a couple of hours although
we’d inadvertently stumbled across a fully paid up member of the
conspiracy brigade, Covid is a Gates plot assisted by Soros and
whoever and on and on. Nothing we could say would or could dent their belief
and really there is little point in saying much at all other than we
didn’t agree and surely not everything they’d seen on the
internet has to be true. Still, he made a good job of our stove and
it works now as it did when we first installed it many years ago.</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">So that's it; we made the update before the end of the year... a year in which the pandemic continued to wreck lives and which makes a dismasting insignificant; a year in which Toots reached 19 and continues to show, thankfully, no signs of slowing down and we started on our 21st year aboard. Look after yourselves; live the best life you can 'cos you're dead a long time.</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'll leave you with this..</span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVhA01J0Zsg&list=LL&index=24" target="_blank">Take note of the words</a><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">mbt</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Millbrook </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-54783056841794546812021-07-10T12:06:00.003+01:002021-12-25T09:05:52.298+00:00Oh dear......<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If
we have thought about Loch Tarbet over the break it has invariably
been coupled to another wild loch to the NE of the Sound of Jura.
Known as Drumbuie it's narrow entrance helps break up any big
westerlies and we had only used it last time when heading south. We
wanted to get there and were up early, again, to pick up the north
going tide up the Sound. I don't think we've ever sailed this sound
non stop, usually having to motor to get the gate at either end but
this time we stopped just short of Loch Aline and anchored for a few
hours before moving on. The bay is fine, decent holding etc but the
swell from the CalMac ferries can cause havoc so perhaps a night
there was never really on the cards. We beat/motored up the Sound,
rounded the headland and sailed toward the entrance.</span></p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQT1aLM3aCAdMWzMUeGrfc3I68NedRUAozFir9vXtXyNCMtVm1UW3yaO6ysZ5Y6F0w6dP07GzdgItgAFe_TqrG-wVZCWZA1iNJtGiSQjwivoAAM7F70yiDY7Kjr-z7no5Mj85kKSHxT71_FIjsb2ms2QimJ02kleXD8ujCjUj3jnMamdhrDH4jRlsM1A=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQT1aLM3aCAdMWzMUeGrfc3I68NedRUAozFir9vXtXyNCMtVm1UW3yaO6ysZ5Y6F0w6dP07GzdgItgAFe_TqrG-wVZCWZA1iNJtGiSQjwivoAAM7F70yiDY7Kjr-z7no5Mj85kKSHxT71_FIjsb2ms2QimJ02kleXD8ujCjUj3jnMamdhrDH4jRlsM1A=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /> Ahead we could
see the mast of a boat at anchor but we were the only two in that
night. The following day when they left we moved up into the vacated
spot and were rewarded by the shore side sighting of a large fox
hunting amongst the kelp.</span><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We
should have stayed there but with no internet and the forecast
promising NE3-4 the breeze seemed ideal for a passage to the Hebs. </span></p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgslFtqTlTCh9fkzJBQAxBfJs8hH9nxAzZ6BFIm0GaAB7btwbBQXUz151GUg5suucLQHp3Zji_Jjr6fRZuZfHRpusveqkKoDNS3wXrzM521mm6z0ecU_lRtIyvqvbTd1gD1fghsx54-7cwdtaBB4px1wUbs2iXt-kOX_LdUZ28jVO-IyDDD2kUPFXRHZA=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgslFtqTlTCh9fkzJBQAxBfJs8hH9nxAzZ6BFIm0GaAB7btwbBQXUz151GUg5suucLQHp3Zji_Jjr6fRZuZfHRpusveqkKoDNS3wXrzM521mm6z0ecU_lRtIyvqvbTd1gD1fghsx54-7cwdtaBB4px1wUbs2iXt-kOX_LdUZ28jVO-IyDDD2kUPFXRHZA=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Exiting the anchorage a sea eagle flew across our bow and the phone
signal came back but the forecasted breeze wouldn't come in until
late evening with a promise of very strong easterlies soon....Go
back, plug on.... in the end the latter prevailed although we changed
our destination from the Hebs where winds might be a lot stronger to
somewhere around Skye, perhaps Loch Scavaig..... As we motored on
past Muck, Eigg and Rum the destination nagged away at me – it has
a reputation for fearsome squalls coming down from the nearby Cuillin
Mountains and it might not be the sanest berth for a couple of days.
Exciting perhaps but we'll leave that to others. Checking the Antares
there looked to be a possible shelter in a nearby loch that had hills
rather than mountains surrounding it and trees as a bonus. No mention
in any pilot book and a entrance that involved having to slalom
through rocks to gain entry to a less than inspiring Loch caused
mostly by the huge mussel farms that seem to be everywhere. The
approach was made worse by a hard running ebb though luckily at neaps
and the shoreline looked distinctly rocky.... At the head of the
chosen bay there is sufficient room between shore and farm to get
good swinging room, the shore looked to be less rocky but that may
have been wishful thinking on my behalf. The anchor went down
and.....</span><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">silence!
No rumbling or grating and Hannah swung sharply to lie behind the
anchor. Might be kelp of course but reversed, as ever, hard down so
remain reasonably confident. The blow is expected this evening and
tomorrow although the gribs suggest gusts of 30k rather than 40.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Monday
24<sup>th</sup></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We
spent a couple of days in Eishort With strong gusts keeping us aware
but the bonus of an eagle and four otters to observe. Despite its
initial uninspiring impression on us we came to appreciate its
qualities, not least the excellent holding in thick mud. But we
wanted to get on and with a short lived quiet spell forecast we
wanted to try Scavaig. A short 15nm sail found us entering at low
water with the “to be avoided” patches clearly visible with
basking seals atop. The anchorage proved bigger than we'd imagined
and surrounded on three sides by high walled peaks. In the corner sat
a white-washed climbers hut and the afternoon had a series of punter
boats arriving to collect or deposit various groups of sightseers. To
be honest anchorages such as this leave me on edge as the escape
route is not straightforward and the surrounding land is going to
substantially increase any wind but all was quiet but we were up for
another early start the following day with the destination of Barra
on our mind....</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
forecast was for S or SE 6-7 so a blowy day but if it came in SE a
fairly comfortable one. Passing Soay we experienced the lumpy seas at
the western end followed by the increase in winds off nearby Rum. Off
Canna both wind and seas began to build although the boat remained
comfortable – jib, stays'l and a reefed main pushing along at 7k
plus. With 20nm to go however things had begun to deteriorate to the
point the jib had been dumped and a second reef put in. As we
completed the job Bee asked if I wanted the vang (a line that
controls the end of the gaff – there's one for each side) easing as
it was tight but it was keeping the gaff off the shroud so I said
leave it. Stan coped well but in an effort to keep to windward of our
waypoint I had begun steering but as seas increased and we were
shipping far more water we knew we needed to think of saner options
and opted for Skipport some 18nm to the north. With the main out and
a preventer rigged, the stay'l sheeted hard in we settled down for a
fast if nervous run. The headland we needed to clear was proving to
be on the cusp of being cleared but was still 10 or more miles away.
We could gybe but would then need to gybe back again for the entrance
and the seas were growing, starting to roll and breaking making the
manoeuvre a potentially fraught one. But the downside was we were
treading a fine line that required a lot of attention. We're were
stbd tack but sometimes a sea would hit us on stbd and shove the boat
over causing the main to flutter dangerously...</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
weather was pretty bad with heavy rain and a cold wind so the coffee
Bee produced was very welcome but stupidly I took my eye off the job
in hand and in seconds we gybed. The preventer stops the boom
smashing over but the gaff, of course, doesn't have that restriction
so comes over much further. All hell was let loose with seas and wind
seeming to up their game to take advantage. We have had involuntary
gybes before and with “luck” we're able to persuade Hannah to
come back onto the right tack by keeping the tiller over and that's
what happened - back came the boom with huge force. The coffee was
still, just, in the cups and as we took a welcome sip I happened to
glance aloft and there, hanging forlornly was the end metre or so of
gaff. </span></p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFKE5JDxEpRBYv75hugdjOP25PYjlQqR-c5pOugkLNas8cBnHFW9sUUnXkq2kZyK5apMxoabJsYl1GmPqf7XJO7y4TAZa9OUsvxlz-luOZ5Xg4Tv9ECEDt9R1iZ5PNVgnzDZdPcttW3EekE-HClsOk-2_pLpvEZR3rsFw8pv99yUJrr8o6XIKrbrSb0A=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFKE5JDxEpRBYv75hugdjOP25PYjlQqR-c5pOugkLNas8cBnHFW9sUUnXkq2kZyK5apMxoabJsYl1GmPqf7XJO7y4TAZa9OUsvxlz-luOZ5Xg4Tv9ECEDt9R1iZ5PNVgnzDZdPcttW3EekE-HClsOk-2_pLpvEZR3rsFw8pv99yUJrr8o6XIKrbrSb0A=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally down and lashed..</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p></p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> It had snapped in two, Heaving to and the struggle to get the
main down in big seas took some time and was a hairy moment. We had
to get the boom tied down to stop it knocking one of us over; the
gaff was now a couple of lethal, jagged spears and either hands or
sail could suffer serious damage but it was finally under control and
lashed down we were able to free the stays'l and head on, still
managing 6k in the stronger gusts. Down below Bee reported that our
home was a mess and Toots indignant that a couple of light cushions
had fallen on her sea-berth where she had been sleeping. Onwards we
ran the headland disappearing in the rain and mist but getting
closer. The big advantage with no main is the gybe risk implication
disappear and made us think again of a square sail benefits.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We
finally rounded the headland and shaped toward the entrance where
shelter from the waves was assured. Down the channel we raced in
driving rain and down to where we'd anchored many years previously.
Sadly not to be as fish farm operations now take up most of the
available room. We went back to the first anchorage we'd passed and,
eventually, dropped there getting the stove lit as a priority.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
morning brings more rain and continuing strong winds, though not yet,
Talking it through we think the vang that Bee mentioned was tight
enough to cause the spar to snap and it's something we'll ensure we
never do again. Is it repairable? Not sure, certainly when hove to we
noticed a couple of “splinters” fall into the water so parts of
it are missing. Scarf? Rebuild? A new one? Perhaps in Stornoway we'll
find out.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-29766743363102555792021-06-16T12:05:00.001+01:002021-12-25T10:03:58.574+00:00THE PAPS OF JURA<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span face="Verdana, sans-serif">As
2021 ticked off the months, we gradually began getting Hannah back together,
sails bent on in February so anxious were we to convince ourselves</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> that
this year Covid restrictions would be eased enough for us to feel</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> comfortable
with cruising. By April we knew we should be able to move and</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> Bee
told her mates at Cafe Abundance that their all purpose washer-upper</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> would be heading out. Come the day
and the very high tide we slipped our lines and headed out.
Unfortunately not very far as my inattention put us firmly on the
mud. But as we'd left earlier than we should, the tide and Daz in a
rib eventually had us off. First stop, of course, was Cawsand Bay,
rolly as ever, and then the following day a brilliant return to
sailing with a passage down to the Helford for the night. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">Onwards the
next day for the Scilly Isles and into St Helen's Pool. On the few
times we have gone to these islands we always been underwhelmed by
their reputation whereas this time we were captivated albeit we were
only there a couple of days. At low water this pool offers a huge
amount of protection and the ocean swell only really noticeable
either side of HW but the forecast offered a soon to arrive stiff NW
and we decided to head off to Dale Bay at Milford Haven. In
retrospect this was a dumb decision given our last experience (and
with this wind direction) there was of a boat and mooring being
pushed across the bay and sunk but we arrived and to our surprise
found three other boats at anchor, but worked our way inside of them
and anchored. Soon after two boats left for their marina berths
leaving a Rival and us. The wind began as SW (OK) before backing to
NW and not OK. The wind strengths were in the 30's but gusts touched
mid 40's but the wind over tide situation had spray coming over the
boat with a serious amount of fetch so not our finest choice. The
Rival had it worse of course, almost burying their bow and at the
limit of their chain they can't have had an easy time but both boats
and crews survived and when conditions eased headed off. Our plan was
to poke our nose into Skomer for the night and we slowly beat our way
toward the island.... the seas immediately off it were not
particularly welcoming and didn't moderate on closing the entrance.
Bee checked with the bino's and reported little change further in
which, given this is a tight-ish anchorage for us, had us bearing away
hastily checking the stream and making for the Jack Sound where our
speeds rapidly shot over 8knots and we were through. But to where?
St Bride's Bay offers few anchorages and not with protection from the
east and the nearest place would be Fishguard (FG). We plugged on but went
around rather than through Ramsey Sound as I thought we might have
missed the gate. By the time we had rounded and left it to our south
the tide was running against us and we motored slowly on. Ahead we
could see another yacht and we both came into FG about the same time
– turned out to be the Rival from MH. Fishguard has a poor
reputation for strong winds from NW-NE but we didn't think the
forecast was for strong so took a chance. It was rolly but the
holding is good and we waited out the passing of this front. We tried
another anchorage but being further to the N of the bay meant it had
far more swell and back we wandered.</span></span>
</p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;">
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"> <span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">On
the Sunday we heard those magic words from the forecasters “Gale
now ceased” and we made preparations to leave. At 15.10 we hauled
anchor and made our way out of FG. The seas were minimal, the wind
decent and we were on our way. The forecast had been for S6-7
occasionally 8 and that's what we got. We knew some of it would be
lumpy as tides run strongly between here and the Mull of Kintyre but
other than a slowing of our speed we were able to truck on. And on. I
contemplated various places we might pull in for the night but Bee
felt it a waste of the wind and she was right. The seas ran, perhaps 2-3 metres but mostly the wind stayed in the high 20's sometimes
gusting low 30's so we were pretty comfortable. I'd made a change to
Stan – our steerer -over the break which meant he didn't foul/bend
bolts any more and things were hunky dory aboard. On the second night
I did consider pulling into the anchorage by Bangor, NI but pitch
black, big rolling seas and a beam wind would have meant a very
uncomfortable trip in and Gigha was only about 90 miles away. We
passed close to the IOM but didn't really see it and even the Mull of
Kintyre was nothing but a smudge of a shadow. But the day came, the
sun came out though the wind remained cold as we slid up the west
coast of this island to an anchorage we'd never used before. The last
few miles were gusty and quick but thoughts were on the anchorage and
whether it would work, what the holding and all those other things we
consider.... Rounding the headland we found a broad, deepish bay, no
houses but a couple of camper vans and two fishing buoys. We dropped
anchor a little under 48 hours after we'd left FG now almost 250nm
astern. The trip itself was exhilarating but the views from the
anchorage were just wonderful as was the sighting of loons in here
with us! OK they lack the call, for the most part, of their North
American cousins but they remain one of our favourite birds. Away to
the north could be seen the magnificent Paps of Jura, the sea
sparkled, the holding was good and very little swell could be felt.
The fishing buoys turned out to be a temporary anchor for a fishing
boat but we were clear enough not to cause a problem and he'd left
early the next day. As we did to catch the tide through the Sound of
Islay. The scenery in this area is stunning and the short 10nm across
to the sound is a joy even if the wind was less than impressive. Once
into the sound the wind is almost meaningless as we were swept along
hitting 10k at one point. I did think of taking the reef out until
Bee reminded me that the last time we came up here with the wind in
the SE we experienced humongous squalls when we reached the
end.....and so it was this time. It's short lived but certainly wakes
you up. Our destination lay ahead and one we've thought about often
over the Covid times. Loch Tarbert has an intricate entry that twists
and turns using painted marks on the rocks originally to guide you in
followed by a narrower passage into the loch itself. This is a big
loch so anchoring choices are plenty. Our first choice was almost as
you enter but the following day we moved across to anchor off the
bothy on the northern side where we stayed for a couple of days even
dinghy-ing ashore to check out the bothy and talk to a walker who was
using it. We wandered around and up the hill, startled when the phone
suddenly burst into action as it picked up a network, and Bee decided
she'd have a bathe in the pool that gathers beneath a waterfall. It
was cold apparently...</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;">
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">Down
at the bothy the walker, Cathy, had developed problems in a leg and
was resting up prior to tackling a particularly arduous part of the
walk and back on the boat we thought perhaps she might appreciate a
lift to get her back into the easier section so rowed back to make
the offer much to her delight. The following morning we picked up our
passenger and dropped her off a few miles down the loch on our way
out. A few miles by boat but, we were assured, a tough day to get to
where she now was and re-united with her walking companions. We upped
and moved on up the coast pausing for the night in a small bay south
of the Corryvreken. Perfectly adequate for the night we were to have,
not perhaps a stop if winds were forecast.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;">
</p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">Crossing
the Great Race the following morning presented no problems mostly
because there was no swell and no real wind so the current just sent
us bowling along, somewhat off course but heading roughly N. What
wind there was picked up but moved into the NE giving a wearing beat
until we gave up, dumped the genny and motor sailed our way along the
Mull coast. Close in we dumped the stays'l and simply motored up to
the narrow entrance to Loch Spelve. We've never gone in here, mostly
'cos the c-map we use is inadequate for the entrance giving very
little detail other than a contour line. As I've mentioned before
some years back I came across Antares Charts, large scale chartlets
of various Scottish lochs and they have been invaluable. Here was
such an occasion as we entered under sail meeting an outgoing yacht
in the narrowest part of the channel and then up into the northern
part creeping between a huge mussel farm and a small island to reach
the anchorage. We chose to go further into the bay where there were
no boats – probably because the bed was a tad graunchy from rock
but we had a couple of nights there before moving to another bay,
again with mussels growing and one other boat at anchor. Enough room
and by evening a further two had arrived.</span></span></p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: -0.04cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">no pics until we get a stronger signal.... <br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-68363717180770900662020-12-13T13:46:00.001+00:002020-12-19T13:46:59.800+00:00a cautionary tale<span style="font-family: verdana;">Well this has been some year for all, what with Covid, nonsensical conspiracy theories and a dangerous petulant, narcissist wreaking havoc on a democracy but, given that we haven't sailed even a metre of distance there hasn't been that much movement to write about. Consequently this update will really just be about repairs, changes or cock-ups....</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Last year I noticed the leather covering on the main mast hoops was showing signs of wear. Not the usual stitching coming adrift but the leather beginning to split. Given that they were probably made up 28 years ago I can hardly complain and recently decided I needed to get on and get the split ones replaced. In the end 5 of the 6 needed replacing and having established I had nowhere near a big enough piece of hide I bought one from a supplier. Natural not tanned and 3-3.5mm thick, it was ideal. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The rings are about 30cm diameter so each ring would need about a metre by 50mm strip for decent coverage and once it had arrived I began the process of cutting off a strip then marking out the two lines of facing holes for the stitching about 5mm from each edge.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsNESz6M_JTqn7FGed65peJNkGYxGP7Yhil7EztcjWldqhGs5om5LeG1Lynoelu4blMg1HlX6Xv4gRCMAkqtqGqJ1G9Z7kwtrqrM9iqinU5mdFTQ6VrmxIIIzHNXOShMNWMJDmGboTwnr/s2048/20201127_123927.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsNESz6M_JTqn7FGed65peJNkGYxGP7Yhil7EztcjWldqhGs5om5LeG1Lynoelu4blMg1HlX6Xv4gRCMAkqtqGqJ1G9Z7kwtrqrM9iqinU5mdFTQ6VrmxIIIzHNXOShMNWMJDmGboTwnr/s320/20201127_123927.jpg" /> <br /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stretching into the distance..</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> It is much easier to pre mark this before you soak the leather and I used a "pricker" to form the holes that will make the actual stitching so much easier. Having made the first pass and made sure the line is straight(ish). I go over the same holes a second time but it requires a mallet to drive the pricker through leather this thick and it all takes time. The pricker doesn't punch a round hole through but an angled slit which enables you get the first stitch through and leave enough room for the second coming from the other side. The needles are not sailmakers needles but narrower with a soft point that rarely snag the thread and a joy to use. The 1mm Ritza thread compliments the needles and being pre-waxed is easy to thread through the eye.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Having soaked the leather overnight I set to, having to work with the rings in situ was made difficult only by the cold weather - it was December. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdxpuENggKS-K5cBtV4R5ncM-J3sep9PPbcjjbWzxjJOHg6nQFY67axsrLNBOfVSZt5nASzK0aQl88EhbOCKCr43n6c2pujSk69TACeHTQAb_lnXHq6n9vR_PZPFiGpaOyDtiR407fmDD/s2048/20201130_101909.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdxpuENggKS-K5cBtV4R5ncM-J3sep9PPbcjjbWzxjJOHg6nQFY67axsrLNBOfVSZt5nASzK0aQl88EhbOCKCr43n6c2pujSk69TACeHTQAb_lnXHq6n9vR_PZPFiGpaOyDtiR407fmDD/s320/20201130_101909.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">part of the process..</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The wet leather is roughly formed by hand around the ring and then using two needles at opposite ends of the thread I push one in from either side (one from the left, one from the right), overhand the thread as they pass then insert each needle from the inside to the out so the left needle exits on the right side and the right from the left and haul tight, stretching the leather so it dries tight on the steel. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat... I wasn't particularly in any hurry so the individual marking out was done on one day, soaked overnight and stitched the following day. The whole thing took a couple of easy weeks as somedays standing on a foredeck in rain and wind lacked any sort of appeal. Anyway all five are now done, a couple of coats of tallow applied and I'll replace some of the mizzen ring leather too over the winter. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5DB-5-V4oEhcWV90NLX7vXyBSiFm5PJjjmYzCOXVo-o5cYgvXmUu00kJOdWW5HHIAUJT6iiHnXHl16q09DgTUPrpTBjm8XXgRcvOQ_Gb3fsFwBcjC2OzQCsPxYICZiU6u_F_JQhm9LTa/s2048/20201206_101717.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5DB-5-V4oEhcWV90NLX7vXyBSiFm5PJjjmYzCOXVo-o5cYgvXmUu00kJOdWW5HHIAUJT6iiHnXHl16q09DgTUPrpTBjm8XXgRcvOQ_Gb3fsFwBcjC2OzQCsPxYICZiU6u_F_JQhm9LTa/w400-h226/20201206_101717.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five completed<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe91phXafm5FUxNernbhyphenhyphenCDCwkFsGvE5Qitn08HWMf6ogJKINOLu4ZCjYp0zjBuUfNOhMVjNj0Fs_ZIfi_v7hqvleGMt5Vbl-FCXqSOdPE3aOaf8fFg_lUWYcjsqYS7X4jqVqFI0VCt6W/s2048/20201206_101634.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe91phXafm5FUxNernbhyphenhyphenCDCwkFsGvE5Qitn08HWMf6ogJKINOLu4ZCjYp0zjBuUfNOhMVjNj0Fs_ZIfi_v7hqvleGMt5Vbl-FCXqSOdPE3aOaf8fFg_lUWYcjsqYS7X4jqVqFI0VCt6W/s320/20201206_101634.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traveller</td></tr></tbody></table></span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The traveller was done at the end of last year, different leather, thicker and bigger spacing between the holes. The white is tallow sat in the indentations of the hide - but we're pretty much good to go.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As part of the checking of gear we'd hauled out our anchor chain to go over the links. Much of it was rusty which we don't fret over too much but a closer look at some of the links showed marked wear - from 10mm down to 8mm. It may not be significant but a rough calculation suggested we were losing more strength than we were happy with and we began to think about replacing. We'd got the chain second hand though with very little use some 10 years ago and it has served us well. But we always felt it to be too short and had gone on to chain and rode but much prefer all chain and punted around for what was out there. In the meantime, while we researched, we dug out the spares we have for the SL500 windlass as we wanted to check the gypsy against our existing one. Turns out to be for an earlier model and didn't fit anyway. But it had 6 "slots" for the chain whereas our existing one had 8. The new 10mm chain fitted the 6 slot gypsy very well whereas the 8 has a bit of slop but takes a 3/8 chain perfectly. Hope that makes sense. You can, if you're so inclined get <a href="http://www.deepblueengineering.co.uk" target="_blank">Dave Webster</a> to make you up a gypsy to fit the chain you use exactly although, understandably, you need to provide a new chain sample with the order before he'll start work.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWxQLywSxIC8yVTn8V7UWFnYuPbqRVidiZ7taxZ7rbfCtmEp4eHZ3VUMnChVOQJ2gZrMrd-yrjJsR48G4TZzFpMbGzoqWSoK7Bvg8aRluspvrKxc2GBlu9ddNrc9f-kE9fUjWL0vnhuHrD/s2048/20200520_125401.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWxQLywSxIC8yVTn8V7UWFnYuPbqRVidiZ7taxZ7rbfCtmEp4eHZ3VUMnChVOQJ2gZrMrd-yrjJsR48G4TZzFpMbGzoqWSoK7Bvg8aRluspvrKxc2GBlu9ddNrc9f-kE9fUjWL0vnhuHrD/s320/20200520_125401.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carbon from the elbow<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The year long break also pushed us into those jobs we know we should do but invariably put off. The engine exhaust elbow was one such. Apparently these very expensive pieces of kit are prone to pinhole damage where the ally is welded to the stainless part. It's a pain to take off but worth it in the end. Although we couldn't really see much damage it had been on for 5 years and the resulting carbon was something to see and having gone to the effort we replaced the elbow keeping the old one as a, cleaned up, spare.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtQt1OFeC5-zudQnFSuS9k0HUZxuLWOtWJeRXRQftrugUfmLI-FseSlTTDItx0F80ZfM6htklaxju_VSA_8GW1BJK5oEmP5BPqZ2xlMJVh0OAfN8yFmAu6N3MQuOd7-TnHkApIQ5mqw7J/s2048/20200520_120156.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtQt1OFeC5-zudQnFSuS9k0HUZxuLWOtWJeRXRQftrugUfmLI-FseSlTTDItx0F80ZfM6htklaxju_VSA_8GW1BJK5oEmP5BPqZ2xlMJVh0OAfN8yFmAu6N3MQuOd7-TnHkApIQ5mqw7J/s320/20200520_120156.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the clean up<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Apart from Covid, a reason in itself not to wander off for the summer, we've also had the distress of 3 friends die this summer from non Covid issues. The last one was actually Steve, a boat dweller here at the quay. Painful to watch him in his last few weeks; grateful for the kind friends who offered him a room in their house for his last months. Given the restrictions on internal gatherings his send off gathered, fittingly, on the quay where there was enough room for all to be socially distanced yet able to share the moment too. I'll never hear "Into the Mystic" again without having his send off come flooding back....<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdB2ToUudYmef-lwIwSUxnT2x5nPNhC3-Dn03jatB8TPkJ_Ax-TodtF2NysLusFgHmgpFi32TfU3iQ8gwXd90xnaQsI81QMwk9QkMm-zvHMHoAGNIpMgtLt6ny6rzRGIld9ItPBreTp8hC/s2048/20201211_141742.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdB2ToUudYmef-lwIwSUxnT2x5nPNhC3-Dn03jatB8TPkJ_Ax-TodtF2NysLusFgHmgpFi32TfU3iQ8gwXd90xnaQsI81QMwk9QkMm-zvHMHoAGNIpMgtLt6ny6rzRGIld9ItPBreTp8hC/w400-h225/20201211_141742.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">On a positive note, in October we began out 21st year aboard this fine boat and in August Toots started out on her 19th year of life with all but the first couple of months aboard. She's curled up on the table as I write, basking in the warmth of the stove. Of course those aren't the only positives we've found - Bee, ever active around and about came to know the two women, Jemma and Hazel who run a brilliant project called Cafe Abundance in the village. Rather than waste the food that many supermarkets end up with they have persuaded said s'markets to donate the food to them. Actually by donate I mean food becomes available and Jemma drives out, loads up the van and returns late at night when it's all unloaded, stuck into freezers before being reloaded and taken down to the kitchen. Once a week they cook up whatever they've been given and turn the food into a 3 course meal. Orders are sent in by Wed and on Friday a team of volunteers deliver anywhere between 80 and 130 meals to one of the two alternating designated areas. The price of the meals are what you can afford to give, the food would probably go to landfill if not used and it's far more important that folks get a good meal.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">That rather bald paragraph really doesn't do justice to the amount of energy and effort they have put in to getting this thing off the ground - the days are LONG, particularly the Friday when the meals go out and possibly the most amazing aspect is, to us, that they have no idea what food will be passed onto them, the dietary requirements vary enormously requiring a lot of ingenuity and talent to make this all work. As if this isn't enough all the meals come with a small bunch of flowers, often a poem or note from these two caring people.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of our regular tasks is to empty our pee bucket and on this particular day it was my job. It's easy enough, tipping the contents over, hosing out the jug and replacing. Not exactly rocket science.... Having sorted it out I carried on with pottering around until nature called again and I sat down to pee (this is a boat after all) and then went back to whatever I was a doing. It must have been about 10 minutes later when I wandered up the companionway and into the cockpit and saw the pee bucket hanging innocently from the tiller where I'd hung it to dry and air several hours previously.....</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It took several hours to clean up the mess....</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">A sign, designed by Bee, is now placed on the cover whenever the bucket is out....it reads "Piss Off" <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It will take several years before Bee allows me to forget....</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">mbt<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Millbrook<br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-90734493763164167802020-04-04T13:19:00.001+01:002020-12-08T13:09:08.821+00:00Bound for Greenland......en route to the Co-op<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Ah yes the thought crossed our mind, the ice-charts have been examined in minute detail and we finally made it..... of ice was there none, no gales encountered and the night watches comprised of sitting around the wood burner supping whisky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5_RicLWodAZln4N3W9G4NE3mLQw24iAy6I-MyNV2MqfKnL5GyHzUC-DU_XXQrw2mowc5BUsmri0mAT-aInhC18NwfgMtzxKRI3rUejflRqe56q9t1XpQO-MWWl2KqjUx8DfmMP64Oj3E/s1600/20200404_111934.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5_RicLWodAZln4N3W9G4NE3mLQw24iAy6I-MyNV2MqfKnL5GyHzUC-DU_XXQrw2mowc5BUsmri0mAT-aInhC18NwfgMtzxKRI3rUejflRqe56q9t1XpQO-MWWl2KqjUx8DfmMP64Oj3E/s400/20200404_111934.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">A tiny street off Millbrook Lake may well be the closest we get to the continent this year as we all struggle to come to terms with the pandemic. Awful as it is we can't help but be inspired at the way folks are responding and helping out where they can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHdVKx7Y5tRnuPgUpOTVwpUcgkLfPrbWAAbSrBxrKp8npT3zTsCl9bNVUrQSPtXpcaYz8LMiPzpmvbBAuaK_yjPyjJ1eKn_-j94tD-6SISh3Gxkp-330JmKGO8CGMYVf4LC_a4FD1u8A4/s1600/20200404_111941.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHdVKx7Y5tRnuPgUpOTVwpUcgkLfPrbWAAbSrBxrKp8npT3zTsCl9bNVUrQSPtXpcaYz8LMiPzpmvbBAuaK_yjPyjJ1eKn_-j94tD-6SISh3Gxkp-330JmKGO8CGMYVf4LC_a4FD1u8A4/s400/20200404_111941.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Wherever you are, whoever you are, stay safe, look after yourselves and your neighbours and we'll see everyone on the other side of this.</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">mbt</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Millbrook </span></span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-48175411946147564712020-02-14T12:03:00.002+00:002020-02-14T12:03:20.642+00:00Beach Combing in the 21st Century<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As with so many folks we've become increasingly concerned about the amount of plastic we have in our lives and look for ways to reduce it. But recently we moved to a different side of the discussion and got involved with our local <a href="http://www.ramepbc.org/" target="_blank">beach cleaning group</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We arrived a few minutes or so before the advertised time and spent a few moments trying to work out how we could possibly make ANY impression of what we could see. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvm1Ve2Tid5_jG4mU1-UdB4FZ0txiQLr0YFg_NSADwwwAv4g0Qa9qzmscFY4XUU405YPBRKdKr_qncelklYc4WgtTUtzV_wWRzfbOkFJeOnBJu-cRUyPmqXk7d7phWil3UPhJuzEH8Tz7/s1600/20191228_105423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvm1Ve2Tid5_jG4mU1-UdB4FZ0txiQLr0YFg_NSADwwwAv4g0Qa9qzmscFY4XUU405YPBRKdKr_qncelklYc4WgtTUtzV_wWRzfbOkFJeOnBJu-cRUyPmqXk7d7phWil3UPhJuzEH8Tz7/s320/20191228_105423.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The majority, by far, seemed to be these awful <a href="https://www.nurdlehunt.org.uk/the-problem.html" target="_blank">nurdles</a> in various colours, tiny and with no easy way to collect them it looked as though many hours would be spent for a minute reward. Luckily the organiser arrived armed with the tools required; bucket, dustpan and brush and a kitchen sieve. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pHjlgtE7Mqcd06Rqr2sthVsyyKu3EZiTtHm2o3yq9_r3ZHP-S2TcQ9b4pmAMPl_ObLXOUof52uG0UUr0UKZAMMY_CxIXlUri5hSFaD1sp12ItopQV1OH_6bbUiDcL1s11xAbRLwktuUW/s1600/20191228_105438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pHjlgtE7Mqcd06Rqr2sthVsyyKu3EZiTtHm2o3yq9_r3ZHP-S2TcQ9b4pmAMPl_ObLXOUof52uG0UUr0UKZAMMY_CxIXlUri5hSFaD1sp12ItopQV1OH_6bbUiDcL1s11xAbRLwktuUW/s320/20191228_105438.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> The process is simple but very effective. Sea water into the bucket, sweep the plastic, sand and any other small items entangled in the stuff into the dustpan then empty it into the bucket. Plastic etc floats on the surface whilst sand sinks allowing you to scoop the detritus out and dump it into a bag. Unfortunately because the plastic is all very different it can't easily be recycled so gets incinerated. Not ideal but at least it's off the beach and away from birds etc who are often confused into thinking it is fish eggs. We set to and before long the beach was a mass of people with a group of 70+ pickers interspersed with dozens more enjoying the beach, walking dogs and themselves along <a href="https://www.thebeachguide.co.uk/south-west-england/cornwall/tregantle-cliff-beach-whitsand-bay.htm" target="_blank">Tregantle Beach</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Since then we've got involved in further beach cleans and also in the local woods where volunteers help out with various management tasks and tree planting. I'd file this under hard physical work as the it involves moving logs from where they've been cut to an area of track where they can be shifted by vehicle and stored. As the woods are on a serious slope it is possible to roll the smaller (about a metre)logs down pathways which sounds easier than it is, as logs are frequently heavier at one end sending them off course and requiring retrieval or restarting. Still easier than trying to carry them down hill. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The longer logs, 4 metres, are dragged down using a portable winch and a clever semi-flexible cone. A rope passes through a hole in the cone "nose" and is then attached to said log. The shape of the cone enables the log to ride over stumps and through undergrowth to a remarkable degree. I'm not sure what these things are called but they work far, far better than the canoe "nose" that was once used but proved too brittle and thin for the task.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Aboard Hannah, life "quietly" continues. The winter storms come and go although we're well protected in our little spot. The local <a href="https://www.nci-ramehead.org.uk/weather/Current_Monitor.htm" target="_blank">Coastguard Watch</a>, part of the NCI provide updates on the weather coming over Rame Head. The trees I wrote about at the top of the page offer excellent protection and of course we're much lower so Rame's 70knots of wind is down to 40knots when it whips across our masthead. We're due the next storm, Dennis, this weekend and can look forward to 48 hours or more of shrieking noise; wearing yes but certainly no where near as uncomfortable as being hove to in the seas such winds would generate.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDBC_S7CGTtmTiMg-r6iB0NIN9EYqZEn76c0iTu26zwpqO2aqbshyxpTkh__vo-qDiVts-4y6aA1a1Cro-D68-8NUPqYaxr38p_KRBiL14e8UY4Zzfe2rAFcKNGMZ10GN4U4JDxEIqgvm/s1600/20200205_153853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDBC_S7CGTtmTiMg-r6iB0NIN9EYqZEn76c0iTu26zwpqO2aqbshyxpTkh__vo-qDiVts-4y6aA1a1Cro-D68-8NUPqYaxr38p_KRBiL14e8UY4Zzfe2rAFcKNGMZ10GN4U4JDxEIqgvm/s400/20200205_153853.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a lovely part of the world..</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Millbrook</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-73963307912696703502019-11-03T21:36:00.001+00:002020-12-21T14:24:59.771+00:00Iceland............Finally<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Faeroes. </span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">A quick look at the long term forecast was enough to persuade us that
we either left with what we had or waited indefinitely for who knows
what. So we slipped our lines from Eidi and on 28<sup>th</sup> June
headed out for Iceland. Progress was slow and lumpy, so much so that
the early hours I felt I'd had enough - a feeling that hits me from
time to time, usually during long passages so this was a tad early.
By the following day we were drifting and we tightened the mizzen
rigging (using our chain hoist to get the tension)in flat seas and
sunshine. By the next day the forecasted winds had kicked in and we
pushed north of our rhumb line to try and stay above the low and take
advantage of better winds as it went through. We ploughed on under
double reefed main and stays'l making reasonable if lumpy progress as
the high 30's wind was too far forward for any comfort and eventually
we hove to to allow the wind and seas to calm down rather than
bashing away. The AIS gave us warning of approaching fishing boats
with two projected to come close. Despite several calls on different
channels to each of the vessels we had no response leading us to
conclude the 80m ships steaming to their fishing grounds at 10k have
crews who opt to bank sleep rather keep watch which is a bit
unfortunate on the rest of us. But the next ship we called, responded
and updated the weather for us, kindly calling back later to suggest
we might want to try and head north rather than remain hove to and
drift south as that way we would miss the 5 metre seas the front was
generating. A kind gesture and we duly set off, hand steering, in
order to put more miles between us and the seas. It was whilst we
were hove to we bent the first of three bolts on “Stan” the
self-steerer. We managed to get the paddle assembly aboard despite
the seas (and its weight) where we stowed it below until we could
spare the time to repair it the next day. By then both winds and seas
had dropped and with a new bolt in place we were able to get
everything back together. Not for long as over the next 2 days we
bent a bolt a day – something was obviously wrong but we couldn't
for the moment see what it was. Unlike the genny which chose a brief
increase in wind speed to rip just below a panel close to the peak
reinforcement. A bummer as we really needed a lightweight sail in the
bulk of the winds we were getting. By now it was late Monday and my
mind kept switching between jacking it in and continuing....Bee was
philosophical on the surface but deeply gutted that we might not make
it but with her quiet support and strength I eventually came round
and we persevered. Well persevered is a stretch really as the lack of
wind and some kind of circular current seem to keep us trapped in one
area for almost a day. In the end we had little option but to motor
for several hours to try and clear its influence. As it happened it
was a good decision. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'd
downloaded PW before we left and although 4 days old it still bore
some resemblance to what we were getting. Based on that we opted to
keep sailing south of west in the hope that the winds would become SW
which they finally did on Wed 31<sup>st</sup>. Around 8am that day
Bee could clearly see the Icelandic peaks some 50nm away and
gradually we closed the coast . Naturally the current was against us
and our request to arrive for clearance at a small fishing village
whilst not declined was not greeted with enthusiasm and we continued
on to Neskaupstadur arriving around 11pm in daylight. We tied
up in the fishing harbour, customs were waiting and within the hour
we were cleared in.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
liked the town and Iceland too what little we had seen of it. People
are friendly but not “in your face”; A fisherman/engineer
answered my questions patiently, said he might be able to help sort
out the steerer and came down later that evening to look at it. He
thought the bearings were too loose, the bolt in question needed to
be a size up and we needed to check the alignment.... Not only that
but he gave us the use of his washing machine...</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
next day we took the self-steerer off, changed some of the bearings
and tightened up the bolts that hold them. It was while putting it
back together I realised I had stupidly put one of the tufnel blocks
on back to front and that was causing the misalignment! Idiot!!!
Anyway we sorted everything out, checked it whilst in harbour and it
all seemed smooth – the proof would be in the sea trial when we
moved on. Before we did that we thought we might move down to the
town dock which is more convenient for the town as the katabatic
winds were hitting 40k and dragging us (and the jetty we were on)
about. Once that calmed we headed down, made a hash of coming
alongside and shearing another of “Stan's” bolts in the process.
And then a truck pulled up and someone came running over to
us....surely not to move us on..No just letting us know we had front
row seats for a music concert that night. The music in question
turned out to be Viking Metal and luckily for us this was the fourth
gig they'd played that day, the audience was very small and 20
minutes later they were packing up and heading home. Never have been
a fan of heavy metal and the brief hearing we had a Viking Metal has
not changed our minds so we think we had a lucky escape.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Phil
and Linda called the following day just as we were clearing off the
dock wanting to know where we were and we made arrangements to meet
up in a few days in Husavik where they currently were. The winds
would be better and stronger further north of us so we motored up the
coast to an open bay to anchor. This is an incredible country for
back-drops and despite the slight roll we had through the night the
anchorage at Horstroend was very impressive. An hour or so of motoring the
following morning had us into the wind belt and we were on our way.
The absolute joy was the fact that the attention we had given Stan
had paid off and we were able to relax and not fret about hand
steering. As with most headlands the currents can be difficult in a
wind over tide situation so we'd planned on staying at least 5 miles
off and thus we found ourselves back in the Arctic Circle, albeit
briefly. It was here that we watched the sunset at 1:30am only to
rise again 76 minutes later with little change in the daylight
in-between. Rounding the headland, heading south, passing islands
alive with puffins and into Husavik which claims to be THE Whale
watching centre of Iceland as it may well be. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDk1hoy3hmoVM83O5xGHPyTo71rV4YPM-PdL_f-Q24tKK6UDOKWmPMXh_vJ8ZHWcWFTdko70UtPsno4LBq8yHNvtLVC3j5M1FcJot8j-wqmZhmVS6mQR2uhub_rIaVlwEVs26CDofNiBBy/s1600/DSCN9893.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDk1hoy3hmoVM83O5xGHPyTo71rV4YPM-PdL_f-Q24tKK6UDOKWmPMXh_vJ8ZHWcWFTdko70UtPsno4LBq8yHNvtLVC3j5M1FcJot8j-wqmZhmVS6mQR2uhub_rIaVlwEVs26CDofNiBBy/s320/DSCN9893.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Certainly there is no
shortage of boats for punters to climb aboard to see the whales as we
found out when we approached the harbour with cruises returning or
heading out at speed. But we found a berth and Phil let us know he'd
found a local with a Sailrite who could repair the sail. Roderick is
Swiss but has opted to live and work in Iceland and he made short
work of the repair that very evening after he'd finished his stint on
one of the sailing whale boats. We were back in business. Husavik has a remarkable backdrop - snow covered mountains seem to surround us.</span></span></span></div>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hannah
and Windora left Husavik within an hour of each other. It is a good
place to stop; electric and water included in the 2000isk (about £13)
a night fee, supermarkets, running trails and, as ever, the most
amazing backdrop of snow covered mountains dropping to the sea. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouJleuGOkradf9D84ff0x5Alm3OSg0hTIG0xgTFYxKXfoc8zpCLmd3jGXgv92tUAOtvWEwLdJsOiAsIv-9Up4tB4idY4bh-JTmJ_8Zpd8biAw333Adw9o20PsU_IOs2VrHurdwGMQETvY/s1600/DSCN9963.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouJleuGOkradf9D84ff0x5Alm3OSg0hTIG0xgTFYxKXfoc8zpCLmd3jGXgv92tUAOtvWEwLdJsOiAsIv-9Up4tB4idY4bh-JTmJ_8Zpd8biAw333Adw9o20PsU_IOs2VrHurdwGMQETvY/s320/DSCN9963.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Flatley</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
we were heading across the bay to an island called Flatley with,
perhaps a dozen summer houses, church and a community hall but who
knows how many thousands of puffins and terns. At each of the landing
points on the island a bin with sticks about a metre long for
visitors to carry as they wander around the island. They're really
needed if you venture into tern territory as the birds will attack
anyone they see as an intruder by diving at the highest point –
your head unless you're carrying a stick pointing vertically above
the head to give them something else to aim for. Our object was to
see puffins and we didn't have to go far. Windora had anchored in the
pool with a line ashore and we tied to them. Astern the shore was,
perhaps, 10 metres away and there were hundreds of puffins stretched
along the shore watching us watching them. </span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVP3ni4aA5yRNd-5VW2QdAG4eG56Aal1En6oLPQQ0BwnjAvhObQYxFVm_DaAnkpNpXxqxrEpvBEtFAWFzGtB0FUkZpDLLr1XThAfOejrhdRgDBUQKZPAMerV9U7CGkEuDEnOxB-BYIFee/s1600/DSCN9957.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVP3ni4aA5yRNd-5VW2QdAG4eG56Aal1En6oLPQQ0BwnjAvhObQYxFVm_DaAnkpNpXxqxrEpvBEtFAWFzGtB0FUkZpDLLr1XThAfOejrhdRgDBUQKZPAMerV9U7CGkEuDEnOxB-BYIFee/s320/DSCN9957.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">A stroll through the
houses and onto the cliffs revealed birds everywhere and we spent
ages snapping pics as they sat or launched themselves into space away
from us. A nearby island Grimsay, has a huge puffin colony too but
the birds don't react to humans in the same way- simply ignoring them
for the most part. We assume that with Grimsay being uninhabited the
puffins don't see humans as predators whereas here they're closer to
human habitation and their need to have puffins as part of their
diet. </span>
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirao5P5SRaVU8qS_pfae4mKRr4JGk37lXF7REbpkJ8Wy_yAwwnkUHdILeNOYO6NRdPgWbkGAN0TRTCIkRK-saqv1cOZNDOVy75rUijdb2HzeMw9rs5PwJN5A0mumokE3SSN2AxFneq1x-6/s1600/DSCN9951.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirao5P5SRaVU8qS_pfae4mKRr4JGk37lXF7REbpkJ8Wy_yAwwnkUHdILeNOYO6NRdPgWbkGAN0TRTCIkRK-saqv1cOZNDOVy75rUijdb2HzeMw9rs5PwJN5A0mumokE3SSN2AxFneq1x-6/s320/DSCN9951.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
moved out of the harbour and onto a convenient quay and both boats
left for harbours further west after a day or so. Windora with its
powerful engine and 4 blade prop easily leaving us behind as we
plugged on in lightish winds to make our way over a headland before
the NW winds came in. It was a pity really as the combination of a
potential head wind and trying to remain in company meant we missed out
on some neat places. As it was we anchored for the night in a bay
that on the chart seemed to have scant potential but was very good
and apart from a few local skiffs we had to ourselves. The following
day we beat down to Isafjorour where we thought Windora might be. The
entrance was interesting with the local airfield alongside it and the
channel open to the wind but once through we had a large enclosed bay
before us and a sharp right hand turn took us down toward the town.
The only boats in view were local and it turned out that all the
cruising boats, including Windora, had congregated on the docks.
Needless to say we opted to anchor where we could lie in comfort and
light the wood stove without possibly annoying the neighbours.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">By
the following day almost everyone had left for Greenland a
destination we had in mind but were now unsure of. The ice in
Scoresby showed little evidence of moving and the option would be to
head further south and it then became a “do we go just so we can
say we went” type of discussion……but there was also, for me,
the thought do I really want to cross the Denmark Strait twice to
simply gain those bragging rights. Undecided to the very end but we
checked out. Or tried to. Whereas the other boats US, OZ NZ had been
able to check out via the police station we needed to complete a form
online and email it and still not sure why. Anyway by the time we
left we had little of the favourable tide left, a head wind and a
feeling that this wasn’t a good idea. Not a good start. After
several hours of tacking we managed to clear the headland, found the
wind had veered more to the NW and picked up which put heading
directly W to GL firmly off the itinerary. We called the coastguard
to let them know our change of plan, they didn’t think we would
need to check back in as we hadn’t left territorial waters and only
intended to stay another two weeks in Iceland.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
headed down the west coast with a destination in mind and a decent
breeze.</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">As night fell winds were gusty but ok but with a headland to round we were torn between staying as close as we dare and standing off to avoid the dangerous squalls that can be generated by the downdrafts. In the end we chose a middle path and suffered for it as the winds picked up dramatically leaving us scrambling to reduce sail. Once past all calmed down and became enjoyable. By now we were about 10 miles north of Reykjavik but our
destination lay 15 mile up a fjord that ran NE-SW but promised
excellent anchorages. We’d never intended to go to Reykjavik but
did pass a town (Akranes) with a bay with potential before we turned for the
fjord. Of course with fjords and mountains it is almost a given that
whatever the wind the terrain will cause it to funnel and, in our
experience, always towards you. So it was and what may have looked
like a decent sail turned into a war of attrition as we beat our way
up this narrowing stretch of water. We had one possible anchorage
earmarked that was half way up but we could see as we drew closer it
was a non starter; a second one we came across that was much better
but by then only a few miles from the destination so kept going by
now having to motor tack as the tide was now ebbing adding its
influence to the 30k gust coming off the snow covered mountains. Time
passes of course and we were finally able to make our way into a
sheltered bay where we anchored around midnight exhausted. The
following day we moved a few miles to a much more sheltered cove, Hvammsey,
where eider ducks were bred. Not much evidence of them but we could
see on the shore one of the famed Icelandic “hot pots”. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7OGPEFdTLpURV800DIjB9ToKKWNUMAkFhjQTE5MlVB_z8qq6y-L3fXBaWD8gucFtGTMEO-FMrIN0RE3ZhEI86ycaykOzzCYwZZB3KDjlqjNM8d9CzwesKkpYcBO3S1l0YeLbpVvk2ojb/s1600/DSCN0205.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7OGPEFdTLpURV800DIjB9ToKKWNUMAkFhjQTE5MlVB_z8qq6y-L3fXBaWD8gucFtGTMEO-FMrIN0RE3ZhEI86ycaykOzzCYwZZB3KDjlqjNM8d9CzwesKkpYcBO3S1l0YeLbpVvk2ojb/s320/DSCN0205.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
launched the dinghy and rowed over to find a 2 metre diameter circle
of stones overflowing with water provided via a hose pipe. Within the
circle for several boulders for the bathers to sit on and we decided
we’d give it a go, keeping the towels close for when we beat a
hasty retreat from the cool water. How wrong could we get? The water
was more than warm it was hot and getting too close to the end of the
hose proved very uncomfortable. Steam could be seen coming from a
nearby patch of ground (bit of a giveaway really) and several pieces
of wood in that area were charred. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvO2yIwSJNOHXS5waGjsCb_nzh07ystRHadL6XS6C7C9zu_54JhtJcCP8ceGtsryPavpduVCYnEReOwQGn6Qa_qoGFyjx3F4nRR_hLxwaq2kOhYXrM5WbaoROv7zFm5CaC8U7guFvyFw5p/s1600/DSCN0181.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvO2yIwSJNOHXS5waGjsCb_nzh07ystRHadL6XS6C7C9zu_54JhtJcCP8ceGtsryPavpduVCYnEReOwQGn6Qa_qoGFyjx3F4nRR_hLxwaq2kOhYXrM5WbaoROv7zFm5CaC8U7guFvyFw5p/s320/DSCN0181.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We sat there gazing across to
Hannah with yet another backdrop of dramatic mountains around us and marveled at our good fortune.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
few days later we beat our way back down (see what I mean?) and
anchored off? the town we’d past on the way up. Launched the dinghy
and rowed in with the diesel jugs to find some fuel. We tied up and
asked a couple of chatting guys where we could get fuel and were
ushered into a pick up and driven 200 metres to a nearby garage
before being driven back to the pontoon. Such kindness.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">One
of the benefits of cruising Iceland is the ability to use our UK sim
as although not part of the EU it is included when it comes to
charges and we were able to readily access weather info. It seemed no
matter where we where we always had access to a phone signal and
Iceland probably has one of the best signal coverage we have
experienced anywhere. Of course the population lives along the
coasts, well west, north and east coasts with little if any along the
south so logically that's where the towers would be but we never
failed to be impressed. Anyway armed with latest forecast and updated
before we drew clear of the land we felt we had a plan that would see
us riding the grips from Iceland down to St Kilda a 600nm journey
toward the SE. Part of the problem was the 40 mile chain of rocks and
shoals that stretch just west of south from the headland we were now
passing. The grids lay to the west of them and our track took us
slowly on a diverging course to the point that we ran out of wind,
drifting and ever more unhappy with our lot. We struggled on, making
then losing ground but slowly making toward St Kilda. It was always
going to be a gamble as the anchorages are on opposite sides of the
island and not protected from all directions so not an ideal end to a
week long trip. As it happened we got to 105nm from the island when
the winds switched to the east, picked up and we decided to keep
heading south and take advantage of a beam wind. To windward lay the
Outer Hebs, mainland Scotland with Ireland further south….our
choices looked limitless but a persistent and stiff easterly kept us
firmly offshore but first we had to steer clear of Rockall Bank where
depths rose from 2000+metres to 200 metres and the sea would react accordingly. We
plugged on, passed the bank with a few miles to spare, drifted then
picked up a favourable wind out of the west. By now we were some 30
nm off Donegal and pushed on thinking we’d get to Baltimore before
resting up and then heading back. And we might well have done had not
MetEirann come up with an approaching front that would generate SW50k
and further strong winds behind it. Initially we thought we’d head
into Ventry Harbour but snuck through the Blaskets and made a beeline for
Valentia. We’d used both anchorages before but in a SW wind the
Valentia anchorages offers a heavily tree covered hilly surround and
we knew the holding was good and there we went and stayed whilst it
blew. At anchor all was calm, the clouds racing across the sky the
only indication that something was happening outside. As it went
through the wind veered a little to the WNW and a swell could be felt
rolling Hannah as we lay at anchor. We moved across to anchor, just,
in the lee of Beginish Island the trip across demonstrating just how strong the
winds had been blowing as wind speeds exceeded 30k and we rounded up
in spray before motoring in as close as we dare to the beach. A good
length of chain deployed and we were well dug in albeit with our
stern a little closer that we wanted but comfortable. The winds
continued to blow and we were happy in the knowledge we chosen to
come in to shelter rather than pushing on further offshore.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Leaving
was a tad difficult as the NW wind can make the entrance
uncomfortable to get out particularly in a wind over tide situation.
We were lucky in that the wind was only 10-12k but even so with a
foul prop we struggled to exit the narrow entrance and the minutes
passed as slow progress was made. Once clear we had a further few
miles of motor sailing to clear the headland before we could turn on
a more southerly course. Good progress was made, perhaps the best
since we had left Iceland some 18 days or so ago and we discussed
keeping going over pulling into Baltimore and exploring the
surrounding area. In the end we decided to keep going, the winds were
reasonable and mostly in our favour with the possibility a stiff
southerlies in a day or so. Pushing on, we aimed for a point that
would take us south of the Scillies and thus give us a better slant
for the Lizard. The tides would still be an issue but not as much as
the ebb closer to the mainland might be and we duly rounded the
Scillies and altered course for the Lizard. We closed the headland
and to our surprise and joy we actually managed to get the timing
right for the flood and were carried north and onto Falmouth. Not
without incident of course as the weather worsened and we ended up
pushed further off the sheltered coast and among the anchored ships
in heavy rain at night.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
spent a week or so in the Falmouth area, meeting up, by chance, with
friends from way back before taking a favourable if light wind back
up to the Plymouth area. Cawsand for the night then up to the Lyner
before hauling out at Southdown to get the weed and barnacle offer
hull and prop. Constrained as we are by draft we either had to rush
through things in 5 days to make the next springs to each our berth
or wait till the end of the month and chose the latter allowing us to
get more done. We arrived back at the quay around 7am but found our
new berth and when settled it was nose down as the bottom was
obviously hard in places. Once the water had gone Bee went into the
mud to try to clear enough to get us level whilst I got a last coat
on the deck. To no avail as the tilt was still uncomfortable but able
to take advantage of Nick and Nadja’s absence we were able to use
their berth and spent days clearing rocks, cement and lumps of metal
to make a cleaner berth. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CV3j86LbZXovXF3egEEw0P9xbPKDzmkov55yT-dOd2P1So8JCY_fN_4_pzBm-m3wM0c-9tR6TowxTsltVt_KOyMM_nx0uMlNfjBFO7AqcdcET3_QlPoHN7aRSd1F-IBywgs_I8lfTbbc/s1600/IMG_20191015_141420647_HDR+cropped.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1265" data-original-width="949" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CV3j86LbZXovXF3egEEw0P9xbPKDzmkov55yT-dOd2P1So8JCY_fN_4_pzBm-m3wM0c-9tR6TowxTsltVt_KOyMM_nx0uMlNfjBFO7AqcdcET3_QlPoHN7aRSd1F-IBywgs_I8lfTbbc/s320/IMG_20191015_141420647_HDR+cropped.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">It was an awful job; thick, gloopy and very
smelly mud that clung like a demented tentacle to legs and footwear,
Bee, who gets tunnel vision when working, was deaf to my whimpering
entreaties that I really was stuck and barely spared a glance in case
her manic attempts to clear the rocks should be slowed down by a
millisecond. It took about 30 minutes for her to accept that my
struggles were getting nowhere and she reluctantly abandoned digging
out rocks to digging out my trapped left leg immediately returning to
her more important work once she’d cleared enough mud for me to be
able to haul my leg free. I guess she chose to wear my trousers the
following day as her fee for the rescue. That and the fact her own
clothing was still soaking from the previous days attempt to hose the
mud off before we dared wash them. Bee, who is an indefatigable
worker is also, unfortunately, prone to covering herself in whatever
she happens to be using; anti-foul; Stockholm tar and in this case
the mud. At one point I thought she was using the waders I’d
borrowed but it was just my trousers now covered from ankle to waist
in mud. Along with her arms, face, hair….well you get the picture. </span>
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</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">On
the next set of springs we moved back into our berth but found we
still suffered from a tilt and spent another day or so digging around
the hull in an effort to make a decent flat spot to sit. But it is
much better than when we first arrived and the slant is bearable.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">So
that’s it and we ‘ll be here for the winter. Several storms have
already come through the last over the w/e and hitting almost 50k
where we are. No doubt more to come.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some memories comes to mind…..we’re on our way south somewhere on the
trip from Iceland. The forecast is for increasing winds sometime
overnight and we decide to reef before nightfall. It only blowing 20
odd knots with a bit of sea running but we rather get it done in
daylight. I go forward to lower the main and find the throat
jammed….nothing I do makes any difference and we realise that the
block that controls the topsail outhaul has fouled the throat halyard
and jammed it. With no way of lowering the main Bee opts to climb the
mast hoops whilst I keep the tension on the tops’l halyard. Her
journey up was slow and controlled as she balanced speed against a
pitching, rolling gait but once the two lines were separated she was
down the hoops faster than I’ve ever seen it done, harness off and
the job completed before the night fell. Good job done. You might
wonder why it is Bee gets all these difficult jobs and the answer is
simple enough. She takes the view that if she falls and goes
overboard then she believes I have enough skill to get her back
whereas the other way round would see me lost as she doesn’t feel
confident enough in her ability. Hmm long term readers may well
remember that when I fell overboard Bee did in fact get me
back…….twice!</span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmgFrifrOYMRC-3ASnEJ1K_RVbw7AcNSgswUiUseVM6-y_baduP1_I242yFZHRb2yJGfzsGNPbtK7q_gpLqA9KwONB3emSgKW6uYGNxJxAYalLlAf8v8djME86cquiGHI-8TF-q7n-Rzm/s1600/DSCN0329.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmgFrifrOYMRC-3ASnEJ1K_RVbw7AcNSgswUiUseVM6-y_baduP1_I242yFZHRb2yJGfzsGNPbtK7q_gpLqA9KwONB3emSgKW6uYGNxJxAYalLlAf8v8djME86cquiGHI-8TF-q7n-Rzm/s320/DSCN0329.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Lamprey fish that attached themselves to the hull for several days cleaning us of whatever delicacy they'd decided we had and watching the gannets trying to work out a diving angle that would get them a meal whilst avoiding the self steering rudder.</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">And the two birds that arrived separately, blown from a far shore by stiff winds. One made it aboard where it remained for several days refusing any food but trying to rest before attempting to fly away....it looped round and came back on then tried again and landed, exhausted in the water. The look on its face and the panic thrashing of its wings as it tried desperately to reach the safety of the boat was heart breaking and somehow we managed to stop the boat and rescue it with our net. Sadly we're not sure either bird survived...</span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGu16iXbaE8d3yc1p7josPaxKJ9FslbEiuyu9W1fgCZ5Y_9lm19Zqs8h8E1Ca3GaWwX_4q1C5TZ0axl2uCIeBwBvhv6vx17un13qenLUVUsKo6XifotPBfVnIm0qX4E22QaK3hEHH8umLR/s1600/DSCN0372.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGu16iXbaE8d3yc1p7josPaxKJ9FslbEiuyu9W1fgCZ5Y_9lm19Zqs8h8E1Ca3GaWwX_4q1C5TZ0axl2uCIeBwBvhv6vx17un13qenLUVUsKo6XifotPBfVnIm0qX4E22QaK3hEHH8umLR/s640/DSCN0372.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Millbrook</span></span>
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</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-32044219656006919972019-07-11T15:03:00.001+01:002019-09-19T21:51:30.077+01:00Gordon..............<div style="font-family: "verdana"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">Yes, yes I know you thought we'd popped our clogs or something its been so long but there you go. Has much happened? Well we covered a good few miles between the mainland and the outer Hebs as we waited for the winds to shift from the north for more than 10 minutes so here’s a recap.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzeVmBTpclXqJXLfUNfmIH1imSbC4eDviUtMOG_W09vDCDGlNNHHKIaF7U8Gl53mBElPLlLCRKBvTT1mqESRiNS-0VvuBdxVv-_Fha8flte1PbLX0DFujWNWBghEdANKtX8Tg4JbSV04o/s1600/P1060697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzeVmBTpclXqJXLfUNfmIH1imSbC4eDviUtMOG_W09vDCDGlNNHHKIaF7U8Gl53mBElPLlLCRKBvTT1mqESRiNS-0VvuBdxVv-_Fha8flte1PbLX0DFujWNWBghEdANKtX8Tg4JbSV04o/s640/P1060697.JPG" title="Faroe" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Faroe</span></td></tr>
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</div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">At one point we felt we had a chance to get up to Shetland but 20 miles off Cape Wrath with the rain falling, our self steerer not working properly I’d had enough and persuaded Bee we should head back, sort out the steerer and wait for a better window. Thus we found ourselves back in the wonderful Loch Laxford, great protection and holding and no sea swell. There we stayed for 4 days as the winds blew from the west. Eventually, of course, they didn’t and a quick glimpse at Passage Weather suggested we could make it across to the Hebs for yet another wander around. Leaving Laxford was done in style; 6k+ and fine sailing but within a few miles the wind had died and seas became very confused needing the motor to make any progress and keep fillings in teeth. But then the breeze filled in from the NE and we were on our way. For 30 or so minutes we bowled along happily doing 5k rejoicing in our fortune….10 minutes later the winds were 35k and we were not so smug. Speeds and wind picked up - we hit 9.9k and the wind topped at 41.4k and by now we were down to a double reefed main and white knuckles as we struggled to keep the boat on track. One particularly nasty wave had me thrown backwards across the cockpit landing heavily on my back as we charged along. In reality we could have done with dumping the main in favour of the try'sl or something but the size of the waves coupled with nearby working fishing boats meant heaving to would have been a wet and possibly difficult situation. And of course we only had 25 mile to go, less to gain a little bit of shelter. The bay I’d earmarked as a possible anchorage came in view; a mass of white water and the little protection we had gained disappeared as we sailed across it. The next choice, Loch Grimshader, was open to the east and we hadn’t been in there for 15 years so couldn’t remember how sheltered it was so Stornoway it was for the second time. Isn’t that a great feeling when you finally gain shelter and realise that the madness is over. Until the next time anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">The next few weeks we spent exploring more Antares charted areas, relaxing whilst keeping a watch on the weather. We ended up back in Stornoway a couple of more times anchoring in Glumlaig and Sandwick Bay depending on the wind direction. From the former it is difficult to get ashore but from Sandwick, Bee was able to go for a run and we caught up with the only other boat at anchor in the harbour. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8_X_arOaZR9ePRhVYdYTyEN4fXy38aGoISIl_OrdIO4oQNbLlm45HSM_LTmapZxXZwgjYVWAe3TBWTd_PQf55JwJF487o4Dx-Ol5Sz_jWJ4LRxFTsGew8oIm-wf345j8wPjADPKyjmu_/s1600/DSCN9716.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8_X_arOaZR9ePRhVYdYTyEN4fXy38aGoISIl_OrdIO4oQNbLlm45HSM_LTmapZxXZwgjYVWAe3TBWTd_PQf55JwJF487o4Dx-Ol5Sz_jWJ4LRxFTsGew8oIm-wf345j8wPjADPKyjmu_/s320/DSCN9716.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Phil and Lynda, Windora</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">Kiwi’s Phil and Lynda on Windora dropped in to chat briefly, discuss future plans etc. We spoken briefly by phone and they mentioned they'd cruised Falklands and South Georgia but seemed a little lukewarm in their response about how they found it. You can see why <a href="https://youtubemp3.fm/wj7oJ2mqsVo" target="_blank">here</a> Seems they and another boat, Diomedea, were heading in roughly the same direction as we were so there might be some shared anchorages ahead. Having said that both boats are bigger than us so there was/is no chance we’d keep pace. Windora in particular grabbed our attention with its inside steering, comfortable pilot house, ketch rig and very solidly built….ah the joys of not standing outside whilst the rains swamp you. Both boats left the following day for the Faeroe's whilst we hung on another day thinking the swells would still be running off the Point of Ness. </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">Of course when we left the winds switched to the E and we had to beat our way clear only to have them die as we got closer to the Point. All night we drifted with Ness clearly in view. And much of the next too if I remember correctly. A breeze filled in and we were able to make some northing although the currents pushed us between Rona and the smaller island to its west. That night we drifted off those islands but far enough away not to have concerns about them. The winds finally came back and we began to make better progress. Progress was slow and I hand steered whilst Bee kept an eye on the bird life. A quiet gannet sat in the water next to what looked like a net caught her attention and we swung round to investigate. We needed the motor to make the approach and still the gannet didn't move or show concern. We stopped alongside and realised the bird's beak had become entangled in what was an old green floating rope, the type commonly used by fishermen. We used the big net we keep on board to pick Toots out of the water should she fall in and gently lifted the bird up to deck level. It came aboard slightly alarmed but dragging its trap with it. We carefully cut away the bulk of it then removed as much as was visible from its beak. It sat quietly watching me with an unblinking eye, its beak close to my face as the rope was removed. Bee lowered the net back into the water, the gannet swam free then stopped to check its feathers hadn't been too messed about with before flying off. Hopefully we'd got all the rope free and "Gordon" as we took to calling him/her survives for years to come. There are some advantages to drifting slowly....</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">We had toyed with the idea of heading direct to Jan Mayan but whilst the winds south of the Faeroe's were vaguely favourable they were definitely not to the north so Faeroe's it was. Things were going ok until 20 miles or so from the southern tip when we ran into the fast south west moving current. Despite sailing NE we were being relentlessly shoved NW toward a turbulent piece of rock strewn water. By now were motoring in an effort to make progress but even so our speed dropped, at times, to less than 3knots. Into Vagur we crept to tie up on the dock and clear customs.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTygIOjFG4qSwYnEGVUN4v6ZyXwUp-huRRygBycGuquKvjZoBujMDLXBH_mOj6OtDo9m2_tj4xC5hhmUJXMZNpl6P5OFE0DbspuGjsCDwpDNwFVFTp5jcagczPMraANIBPU4eJUDdwFnI/s1600/DSCN9673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTygIOjFG4qSwYnEGVUN4v6ZyXwUp-huRRygBycGuquKvjZoBujMDLXBH_mOj6OtDo9m2_tj4xC5hhmUJXMZNpl6P5OFE0DbspuGjsCDwpDNwFVFTp5jcagczPMraANIBPU4eJUDdwFnI/s320/DSCN9673.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Red throated diver</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">A couple of things had happened whilst we were sailing up - the nut holding the main gaff saddle had dropped off whilst the main was up causing some alarm. It was an easy remedy once we’d dropped the main but the second issue was a problem with the ironwork holding the mizzen throat block to the mast. It had come loose and the only way to reach it was by ladder. Asking around on the wharf the guy I’m talking to called someone else over and he asked what length I needed. 10 metres…he reeled in shock but said whilst there wasn’t a ladder that size he could supply me with a forklift and platform to get the job done! He turned out to be one of the ship yard managers and also one of the skippers of the ketch Johanna. A lucky break.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "verdana"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "verdana"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">We left there for Tvoroyri a short distance up the coast. The tide was favourable but the wind wasn’t and as the town was relatively close to one of the notorious races and rips that flow between islands we kept close into the shore and thus out of the main stream. The last 8 miles was a long beat, 20 tacks as we worked our way into the harbour. The HM called asking our intentions, seemed relieved we would be anchoring and we joined a Spanish boat at the head of the bay. The Spanish boat had left Stornoway with us but soon left us far behind.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVYw334NSxiD3Duj3JmGUM1rt3vN-ZlWigzEr4qIovLLDY_JmHuPjdq09ZrD-dGD6MvP84QNi0ONjsjuxGdGXu18ZclGzvbbnudS0mD76dQdnwDOX9S4uTfIMu4AEWUemFB2NPvNT1TB7/s1600/DSCN9651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVYw334NSxiD3Duj3JmGUM1rt3vN-ZlWigzEr4qIovLLDY_JmHuPjdq09ZrD-dGD6MvP84QNi0ONjsjuxGdGXu18ZclGzvbbnudS0mD76dQdnwDOX9S4uTfIMu4AEWUemFB2NPvNT1TB7/s320/DSCN9651.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Midvaag</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "verdana"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">Although T</span><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">voroyri</span> had a festival on the next day we headed out to make the best use of the wind to get up to Midvaag, one of our favourite Faeroese anchorages. The route takes you right through this race/rip I mentioned earlier. Well the winds were about 10k out of the west and the race ran NW so not ideal but not the worst… much of the time it was ok, not brilliant but we were motor sailing across a lumpy wind over tide sea. A couple of times we caught a taste of what it could be like when the bowsprit was buried in a standing wave, the stem lifted a shed load of water onto the deck and we watched in horror as what looked like a 2’ high wave came down the deck at us! All this while being pushed through the water at almost 9k….. Windora and the Spanish boat were at anchor when we arrived. In an evening chat aboard Windora it turned out they had made the trip up from Stowaway to the Faeroes in 35 hours; Angel, the Spanish sailor a similar time (although he had to motor) whereas we had taken 4.5 days….</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7o_O0dX35mEMtmRQuTc9jhDU9NL9cqpR4P855WznpkQusWhvCjw6tWkR-wfuPQe9aEDxjRRFMmp4wm-JAF-_I2JcVuWVZJ2753gYH0PDIPUEhHiNFMTYHppVa6Fet0PsCP7PvJ1rF59k/s1600/P1410245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7o_O0dX35mEMtmRQuTc9jhDU9NL9cqpR4P855WznpkQusWhvCjw6tWkR-wfuPQe9aEDxjRRFMmp4wm-JAF-_I2JcVuWVZJ2753gYH0PDIPUEhHiNFMTYHppVa6Fet0PsCP7PvJ1rF59k/s400/P1410245.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vestmanna</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">A few days later we said g’bye to Angel and we motored up to Ventamanna with Windora and later joined by Diomedea. From there to Eidi where we now are, the other two left for Iceland this morning in a short weather window.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<div style="font-family: "verdana"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUzhnohsFJKvn5VTUBDTmnFwk4GcRGwxWAfttWjzRSP0p2zfFMpkXXCD7V_rirC4L4lTzpQghm41N074JRk6HomgYsrRoTJhGfgoxPjN9hFbBlDVU39qrY6BRyI79a7VXP4tTvCOLVb61/s1600/P1410421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUzhnohsFJKvn5VTUBDTmnFwk4GcRGwxWAfttWjzRSP0p2zfFMpkXXCD7V_rirC4L4lTzpQghm41N074JRk6HomgYsrRoTJhGfgoxPjN9hFbBlDVU39qrY6BRyI79a7VXP4tTvCOLVb61/s640/P1410421.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Faroe</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-88290418455093134712019-05-02T18:15:00.002+01:002021-02-06T11:00:14.590+00:00Loons.....<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiv7Fpy4araSP6cV6-vESfTVSbbXboWw7HXfQfKXKWLzFI1wEkWQmjGrp42DtlsSE8EYoWgmYduBI1qpj8jYFGtEfx3mCMiVe2aCOqxsernD56qu5qJ8NSNeLgmkRmviK0OHVA5yeqC5M/s1600/DSCN8903.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiv7Fpy4araSP6cV6-vESfTVSbbXboWw7HXfQfKXKWLzFI1wEkWQmjGrp42DtlsSE8EYoWgmYduBI1qpj8jYFGtEfx3mCMiVe2aCOqxsernD56qu5qJ8NSNeLgmkRmviK0OHVA5yeqC5M/s320/DSCN8903.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cawsand</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We'd
earmarked a point in the tide cycle when we hoped to leave, based on
nothing more than it gave us a safe margin to leave the quay without
carving a groove across the mud and so we pottered out on the morning
tide on March 23<sup>rd</sup>. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Only down as far as Cawsand of course,
to take stock and shake ourselves free of the land and make sure most
things are working as they should, lines haven't been wrapped or
worse and generally we're happy with what is our lot. For the most
part we were but for some reason the new Garmin GPS suddenly
decided to delete all the routes and waypoints I'd entered. A call to
Garmin had them agreeing they replace the unit and we had them send
it onto our friends on the Helford. The unit was meant to be dispatched
that evening so we knew we'd be able to collect it in a couple of
days and be on our way....hmm. For a variety of reasons nothing
happened for another week which had us muttering and moving about as
the one wind we didn't want on the Helford but did want to get across
to Ireland was East. Still things pass, units arrive and the “old”
unit returned. </span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We
left from Falmouth thinking we might anchor off Mullion but with a
good wind and favourable tide we thought we'd carry on to the
Scillies but decided to push on to Baltimore, SW Ireland as we knew
it's a relatively straight forward entrance. The trip across gave us
an uninspiring start, 10c and grey with 20knots or so from the
south-east. We closed the coast as the weather worsened a little,
the wind veered a touch to the south, pitch black, raining and misty with a rolling swell driving us into
the entrance. In daylight this is an easy enough approach albeit
narrow with rocks either side. As we closed, the land couldn't be
distinguished from either sea or sky, the swell made things a tad
difficult but at least radar gave an indication of where to aim. With
our speed too high for comfort but needing the main for stability Bee
scandalised the peak to de-power the rig – it had some effect but
not really enough as the sail was dragging on the shroud and wouldn't
come down enough. Still we weren't out of control just a little
excited and we slid through the gap and motored across to drop anchor
a little after midnight some 38 hours after leaving. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2iSKsUMAptvaMQLP0P3il_VOkM5otKaGXgIpKiK924-8hAetqT1oP33YZmAqNmXyks8YB9wOunMfks7AiGXjzWbqhM4rNtqr7gHpwirf03bBqBW_LJ0DwHqARPUfW-gg-sT2jWJDM3YQ/s1600/DSCN8945.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2iSKsUMAptvaMQLP0P3il_VOkM5otKaGXgIpKiK924-8hAetqT1oP33YZmAqNmXyks8YB9wOunMfks7AiGXjzWbqhM4rNtqr7gHpwirf03bBqBW_LJ0DwHqARPUfW-gg-sT2jWJDM3YQ/s320/DSCN8945.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stbd hand mark of course...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Onwards
we went, hiding from stiff SE's in Glenleam Bay, Valentia as we couldn't be
bothered to push ourselves to get past Smerwick some 30 miles away
and get to a better anchorage. It blew pretty well for the 4 days we
were there and whilst it wasn't the greatest of shelter the holding
is excellent but after the 4 days we were ready to move and headed
out via the Blasketts with a huge number of seals lying around on the
beach before anchoring in Smerwick for a few hours to allow for a daylight entry into Cashla, our next destination. We seem to spend most of our time in Cashla asleep as the 4 days in Valentia had allowed little sleep and the wind strengths were such that we opted, dumbly, not to run the fire relying on the oil lamp and hot water bottles for heat. Unlike Toots of course who, because the wind generator was pumping out the amps, had the benefit of her electric blanket for much of the time.... </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">A
couple of days later having moved further north we had to round Slyne
Head. In the past we have gone outside as the wind has been too stiff
for the inside route but this time we had a chance to go through
Joyces Passage.... Now it has to be said that Pilot Books are pretty
similar in their “you're doomed , doomed” approach to passages
and the Irish are no exception. But. We sailed into what looked like
a dead end, quite small and congested certainly to a long-keeled gaffer with the turning circle of a tram. Rocks and small islands seemed to
overlap, the water surface was agitated and despite the waypoints I'd
entered it all looked a tad confusing. Approaching the last wp before
we needed to gybe through 120 degrees I glimpsed a tiny gap in the
rocks that was in the right general direction for where we had to go
but obviously couldn't be the exit, realised it could only be the
exit as there was nowt else and consequently ended up gybing a little
late. Bee, ever the voice of comfort, remarked laconically “ we're
not going to make this gybe before the rocks...” despite the
lateness but helped by the preps we'd made before going in we did
make it and we slid through the gap. The water the other side was
smooth, mostly clean and it was this coupled to the knowledge that
although very narrow it is also very short and the wind was only
15knots or so made it seem worthwhile. We exited grinning like a pair
of idiots, happy to have made it. Yes we had the engine on in case we
needed a bit of help but the feeling of crash gybing our way into the
gap was intoxicating for sure! </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM029eVQiB7_xYYGdLRfRsgWQWZ9nc0KD7sndt6OxF4ecrqGgaDZ9NIPEGmKXXZ4JnG9RyCMsXaYWQ3u9cKEMvfRwzF3TSvFCXPinuGSNOQCbtlf6xeLuJU4_9MD9D7yIeAi1RKEER7kyI/s1600/DSCN9177+%25282%2529.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="687" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM029eVQiB7_xYYGdLRfRsgWQWZ9nc0KD7sndt6OxF4ecrqGgaDZ9NIPEGmKXXZ4JnG9RyCMsXaYWQ3u9cKEMvfRwzF3TSvFCXPinuGSNOQCbtlf6xeLuJU4_9MD9D7yIeAi1RKEER7kyI/s320/DSCN9177+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Could it get any better we wondered,
it did of course as we sailed into Little Killary and heard the
magical call of Loons! If you have never had the opportunity of
sharing a mist shrouded anchorage with these haunting calls echoing
through the fog, well white sandy beaches and palm trees just cannot
compete. That image; that call remain the absolute pinnacle for us.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">After
LK we were ready to get north and into Scotland. The weather window
gave us good S's to start with but would back to the SE and increase
after a couple of days. Optimistically we decided we'd try for Jura
but 45nm from the destination the wind did back, upped to 25k giving
us a very uncomfortable beat to end with. We kept going until it
backed further whereon we altered course and headed further north
even, at one point, thinking we might head straight for Stornoway
before common sense and a complete absence of wind had us heading
into Loch Dunvegan on Skye. We'd heard about <a href="http://www.antarescharts.co.uk/" target="_blank">Antares Charts</a> a couple
of years back and having invested a tenner we thought this might be a
good opportunity to try them out, which is how we came to be creeping
around the back of small rock outcrops to anchor is complete security
to the west of <a href="https://www.dunvegancastle.com/" target="_blank">Dunvegan Castle</a>. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2Kd7cVgBmaFI8EBx55jL8Qj3ggEEIcaabrzYPGohEwGxPzuB_g8PXESG_zq8YREPhP8j5x1E7KdXGcqudQmYIYxQn1dOR1dHp_q5sx4ROqtGrVZJMAVrbL1tatOWVWPW0YBQEQtxsJrq/s1600/DSCN9071.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2Kd7cVgBmaFI8EBx55jL8Qj3ggEEIcaabrzYPGohEwGxPzuB_g8PXESG_zq8YREPhP8j5x1E7KdXGcqudQmYIYxQn1dOR1dHp_q5sx4ROqtGrVZJMAVrbL1tatOWVWPW0YBQEQtxsJrq/s320/DSCN9071.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">looking, Bee says, like a 60's council block...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We'd only just finished laying the
anchor and started to tidy up when a seal tour boat came alongside
and asked if we were staying long and wondering how the hell we had
managed to get in without hitting the reef that lay about 100 metres
ahead of us! It's true there is a reef up ahead but there is also a
way past it but we had, in any case, come in via the back door.
Look the charts up – actually they're more like chartlets – as
they're certainly useful and fill in some gaps that C-Map has.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">If
Dunvegan had a downside, for us, it was the lack of mobile phone
signal and even rowing ashore while I went looking and Bee went for
run didn't produce one, well not our provider anyway. Luckily the
ticket seller at the castle loaned us her phone and we were able to
track Storm Hannah's probable route, realising that our departure
from the SW corner of Ireland and our decision not to go up the Irish
Sea had saved us from a pasting. Whilst those areas were showing as
bright red and purple we had benign greens and we duly headed out
from our sanctuary at 5am for somewhere in the Hebs. As we were only
going to be there overnight we opted for Loch Eport about 15nm from
the headland we had just rounded. The winds were great giving us a
comfortable, quick sail across The Minch. Eport is another phone free
area but a great anchorage and not long after we arrived the winds
picked up blowing 25-30 from the south for the rest of the day. No
trees, of course, around here but good mud made sure we remained
where we'd laid. </span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Back
over to Skye and the mainland, visiting old anchorages and new as we
circumnavigated the island. We toyed with the idea (and checked out) two places we intend to use one day. Soay and Scavaig. Soay because we would pass by and have a look and Scavaig because it was there we had hoped to anchor for the night. In the end the constant weather refrain of F6 and gusting had me questioning the sanity of anchoring among the rocks with the Cullins running down into the anchorage which has a reputation for violent squalls and headed down to Rhum for the night. Sailed round the southern tip of Skye and into Loch Nevis with the
intention of anchoring in Tarbet Bay but despite the chart indicating
mud all we found was rocks and after several attempts gave up and
motored back out and across to Oronsay for the night. By now we were
in a HP zone and very little wind so took the tide north and through
the Kyle of Lochalsh garnering a very friendly wave from the crew on the ferry
that crosses the narrow and rapidly moving stretch of water. Once
clear of the bridge that connects Skye to the mainland to sailed or
drifted for several hours before motoring the few miles north to Poll
Creidah for the night. This was another of Antares charts that made
it all that much easier as the southern route between the rocks is
convoluted, with poles indicating where you need to be. But worth the
effort as we had a quiet night, the local boats lying quietly to
their buoys and the seals basking on the exposed rocks until late.
The northern exit is straightforward and we left early the following
day bound for the gap between Rona and Raasay and onto the Hebrides.
With a favourable wind and tide we slid through the rips around
Eilean Trodday knowing it to be a place to avoid if things were
against you and crossed over toward Scalpay. As we closed the coast
we shaped a new course for a small anchorage to the south of the
island called Plocrapool; somewhat similar in make up to the Poll
Creidah we'd left that morning. The sea grew lumpier but eased as we
gained the shelter of the out lying islands until we slid into what
could almost be a Labradorian outpost. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu81NQ4NJ8rsq6etXDCg5I_kZ0gb6-5jAmM_iwmuIA_ZIXmcgNd4KbixKw2ifcp_QvUHUXqf8lFCpYpKWAcjdZjx2k_dzrwjUYIXThyjb3CcP1Y8eOLExBOU9_PvMtuI8LD0vIhgDS-6mN/s1600/DSCN9217.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu81NQ4NJ8rsq6etXDCg5I_kZ0gb6-5jAmM_iwmuIA_ZIXmcgNd4KbixKw2ifcp_QvUHUXqf8lFCpYpKWAcjdZjx2k_dzrwjUYIXThyjb3CcP1Y8eOLExBOU9_PvMtuI8LD0vIhgDS-6mN/s320/DSCN9217.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hebridean Light</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">A few houses; a few small
skiffs and silence other than the sound of our chain rattling across
the roller. Even a touch of drizzle to welcome us and heavier rain
through the night. The big difference of course was weather forecasts
and the long term has the winds shifting to the north. Another early
start and we motored quietly along the nearby coast on a glassy sea
with the mist coming and going for much of the trip. The Labrador memory
was exaggerated by this mist and drizzle, the shape of the land and
the absence of traffic. True we had nav aids in the shape of
lighthouses and initially, around Scalpay, the odd buoy but until
Stornoway showed up we could easily imagine we were back there. Which
isn't to say we're not happy to be in these islands because we are.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUsyEqJ3OZfBZbf8e3oHSon1xj_DYoePAnK8B2jDcadHu8rULR1chIemzvShhPqYSBKCQpxPipMlLrTPkUQ4CcAbTisHLJNwW0iqQYDN3ZHOLJU-6M_HDYC7Hcsa3EBZ9JFBdYZjS788vQ/s1600/DSCN9122.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUsyEqJ3OZfBZbf8e3oHSon1xj_DYoePAnK8B2jDcadHu8rULR1chIemzvShhPqYSBKCQpxPipMlLrTPkUQ4CcAbTisHLJNwW0iqQYDN3ZHOLJU-6M_HDYC7Hcsa3EBZ9JFBdYZjS788vQ/s640/DSCN9122.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Stornoway</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-9196956804829635762018-12-31T14:57:00.001+00:002021-02-06T10:59:55.929+00:00...of shoes and ships and sealing wax...<div align="LEFT" class="western">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3kTDY9yMKEb8AIna-baC0J995J1LljccZhTMZ6ZO-XWhmUagg0G5g35PrZjIlELoFuMNycoyaHWCOEJoyJ7kTzZOk0vUGxnX0u2z5FrGLrdMccKk1PkA8ncQCbzgVtc2-YLsaTTsunb3/s1600/DSCN8478.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3kTDY9yMKEb8AIna-baC0J995J1LljccZhTMZ6ZO-XWhmUagg0G5g35PrZjIlELoFuMNycoyaHWCOEJoyJ7kTzZOk0vUGxnX0u2z5FrGLrdMccKk1PkA8ncQCbzgVtc2-YLsaTTsunb3/s320/DSCN8478.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Aline heads out for her rebuild...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">After
a lot of waiting the converted fishing boat was finally hauled away
to another yard. The boat, Aline, had arrived an hour or so before we
had about 2 years previously (and was currently occupying the space we were earmarked to slide into) but had been steadily going down hill as
the owners were selling a house to release funds for the rebuild. I'm
not a great fan of this kind of project as there are more than enough
boats around that someone has already spent shed loads of time and
money on before deciding to sell but that's just me.</span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">The big news, for us, is we finally got the mizzen back up about 2 months or so after it came
down, after working slowly through the tasks needed to bring it to
readiness. One of the chainplates had been bent in the fall and
needed working on. My "straighten this out" request turned
out to be a bit of a nightmare as, to me, what needed straightening
was obvious; the top portion was bent at 45 degrees whilst the lower
portion had clearly manufactured bends..... Returning to
collect it from the workshop I was handed a completely straight bar
of metal.... Not often I lose it but this was certainly one of the
times. Once the dust settled down I started to think I should have
been far more explicit in my instructions. Ah well,we got there in
the end.</span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Scraping
away the wood stain on the mast revealed a couple of horizontal lines
than gave me some concern but chatting to several folks around us
produced a consensus that there was little to worry about, one an
ex-surveyor, one boat builder and one with with several boat builds
to his name. So we oiled and tarred, leathered the rigging eyes,
tested the radar several times before bolting it to its bracket,
attached the VHF aerial and cable and organised the whole thing so
that lifting the mast into place would be quick and easy.</span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjWp5lstuzwExqHHo_13VfqLiHxrmN6qrJ_Nc0lAEttCbfGImyLbWtI-J8BZcvF1Zay6v3OG-qJR7FSg7OErvLImZlhPzgLU-8k6IPgzbjiwulWagL5diqPUKIIjNwBb3ti_ydhd9UfJN/s1600/hannah%2527s+mast+stepping-8.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjWp5lstuzwExqHHo_13VfqLiHxrmN6qrJ_Nc0lAEttCbfGImyLbWtI-J8BZcvF1Zay6v3OG-qJR7FSg7OErvLImZlhPzgLU-8k6IPgzbjiwulWagL5diqPUKIIjNwBb3ti_ydhd9UfJN/s320/hannah%2527s+mast+stepping-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mast lowering...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
day came and Matt arrived in a fancy fork lift, capable of lifting up
to 10 metres. Up went the mast and slowly lowered to where it sits on
the bridge deck. I was so busy closely watching it approach the small
hole it sits over that I failed to notice the mast had rotated 90
degrees and was warned by Bee it was going pear shaped. Easily turned
of course and the lanyards were quickly rove through the pre-tallowed
holes in the deadeyes. We'd already set up the mizzen stays'l haly'd
and attached a line through both capping rails and back to the throat
haly'd to act as temporary shrouds whilst we set everything up. All
went well other than I'd lashed a block to an aft shroud and the
leathered eyes were slightly askew. Matt drove off, returning with a
cage on the forks and I found myself, with Nick the banks-man,
hoisted up in the cage to move the block and settle the eyes properly
on the hounds. Since then we've tightened up the lanyards several
times and will do so regularly before we head off again next year.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoyP9z4ke2yjlx8flF5ncNT6C6u5I__QYznfginlbsTkLYw0tj1ixo09DJLoOVnroWyRtKGohzYCBDDIft23C7JjRO7ib_WnqX58KbRGibkU8Gz5djjGoptCPD2xKJm_r_SzWHoc9epsy/s1600/hannah%2527s+mast+stepping-5.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoyP9z4ke2yjlx8flF5ncNT6C6u5I__QYznfginlbsTkLYw0tj1ixo09DJLoOVnroWyRtKGohzYCBDDIft23C7JjRO7ib_WnqX58KbRGibkU8Gz5djjGoptCPD2xKJm_r_SzWHoc9epsy/s320/hannah%2527s+mast+stepping-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bee keeping me on the straight and narrow..</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Or
that should have been it except that during one of the lanyard
tightenings I noticed that the stbd aft eye had slipped off the
hounds and needed re-seating, then whilst working out how we might do
this I realised that the sequence of attaching the shrouds was wrong
as we normally install them Stbd F; Port F; Stbd Aft; Port Aft. it
also solved the question as to why I’d lashed the block to the
wrong shroud - I hadn’t but the port shrouds has “swapped”
places so to speak. Now I needed to loosen off 3 of the 4 shrouds in
order to move things and that could only safely be done by getting
the forklift back. Duly done and I was hoisted back up in the cage,
the top of the mast loosely lashed to the cage then Bee quickly
slacked off the 3 lanyards. The re-seat was easy enough but the two
port ones took a bit of pulling and shifting causing the mast to move
alarmingly judging by the gasps coming from Bee. Prior to this we'd
discovered the radome had finally given up the ghost (as our good
friend Philip had suggested it would) but by one of those chances
that sometimes occur I happened to look on eBay and found a Furuno dispaly and radome
for sale in the next village and decided to change the complete
thing. It was "easy" enough to get a ladder up against the
mizzen and remove the old 'dome but installing the new one seemed more
of an issue and we left it until the shrouds were sorted and then
installed from the safety of the cage. Seems to be working just fine
but we won’t really know until we get a bit more space around us.
Still all was eventually done and we quickly tightened everything
back up before using the forklift to get me to the top of an adjacent
boat to free off a halyard stuck inside a mast. Result.</span></span><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqmtV2ute5kKBsWvAY0maLVd5kR0hj4kTSi9thrPsjQ1TlvaFuZgVwNlcY5R3xG2WgvEIQ9g4qIb7ryxV1SlLsMQJ9oIHm5ZiXw1amqE-6cZjIXnvAEOytvRCfNY0uGrATquK0jz0Zss9/s1600/DSCN8607.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqmtV2ute5kKBsWvAY0maLVd5kR0hj4kTSi9thrPsjQ1TlvaFuZgVwNlcY5R3xG2WgvEIQ9g4qIb7ryxV1SlLsMQJ9oIHm5ZiXw1amqE-6cZjIXnvAEOytvRCfNY0uGrATquK0jz0Zss9/s320/DSCN8607.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Looking dandy..</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Interestingly
(to us anyway) many of the ideas that came to us in the immediate
aftermath of the mast falling down have not been implemented; moving
the gps antenna; bottlescrews rather than lanyards for the shrouds, a
tabernacle and probably the galvanised steel rail rather than line
between the shrouds. The common theme to the shelving was everything
we had had worked without issue until the shroud parted and we should
concentrate on keeping the shrouds whole rather than changing stuff.
Part of me still thinks the rail might be a good idea but haven't yet
been able to devise a clean, cheap solution. But we have done a
thorough check of "hard to see" shackles etc. The hardest
to reach was the block and shackle that takes the jib haly'd. Because
it sits at the top of the main we use it when we need to get hoisted
up the mast....changing the shackle and 3 chain links was needed as
they had worn. Removing the shackle whilst sat in the chair suspended
below it was only accomplished by judicious use of the tops'l halyard
and a safety harness. Once firmly secured it was relatively easy to
slowly slack off the jib haly'd and once sure that everything was
holding, to remove the shackle and chain links and replace. Whilst up
there we also thought we might as well replace some of the bolts
holding the ironwork to the mast - another task that required careful
thought before blithely removing bolts.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">One
of the things that keeps coming back to me is the issue of deploying
the Jordan Series Drogue (JSD) that we have…well not so much the
deployment but how we might prevent the bridle fouling the
self-steerer and causing severe damage to either that or the hull. Or
both of course. Reading Trevor R's accounts on his deployments and
then looking at the relative closeness of his self-steerer to his
transom plus our experimentation with a 20’ bridle suggests a yaw
of 15 degrees would be enough for the bridle to connect with the
steerer framework so something needed to be done. After much
puzzling, sketching, muttering and thought it seems the best option
would be to just remove the entire unit (self-steerer) in the event
of a blow. However the weight of this unit is such that we would
seriously struggle to do that even using the mizzen boom to lift it
as we found out - leaning against the wall on a static hull was
problematic enough without trying to balance on our tiny aft deck
whilst hove to…. So we have reverted to a two part operation,
removing the paddle mechanism and then if needed the framework
although both require some mods to make this possible. Hopefully
we’ll get these completed over the next few weeks.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Millbrook
is a small village. The Rame Peninsula is on the road to nowhere
really but within a mile of where we are have gathered a number of
sailors who might easily come under a Cruising Royalty
heading.....Nick Skeates has fetched up on a beach round the corner
from here - he of Wylo fame, famous for wandering the oceans on a
shoe string; Chris Rees lives in the village and besides being a
prominent boat builder (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_Mystery">Spirit</a>;
<a href="https://www.grayhoundluggersailing.co.uk/">Grayhound</a>)
and more he’s got some pretty neat voyages to his credit; Pete Hill
- he of junk rig fame, Badger, Oryx and more is currently on the hard
not far from here sorting out a mono hull he bought in Florida
earlier this year and Trevor Robertson arrived a few months ago and
we managed to get him a berth here. </span></span><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58ZC_WCwCxNccHQmGwWz94Mipvhe8bpgDXrRVbRMdsEE8nJ7Bl_UI_H2KIo1Vq__8ZAMlGKqRnUi_xXzV2eqjjEZ2wzxvwXjH-P7EJz3pnXP8VZfB47SO658ofzvfpH-KFnQgKpqMDCFi/s1600/DSCN8490.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58ZC_WCwCxNccHQmGwWz94Mipvhe8bpgDXrRVbRMdsEE8nJ7Bl_UI_H2KIo1Vq__8ZAMlGKqRnUi_xXzV2eqjjEZ2wzxvwXjH-P7EJz3pnXP8VZfB47SO658ofzvfpH-KFnQgKpqMDCFi/s320/DSCN8490.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ironbark</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">He only wanted it for 10 days to
catch up with his mates but was happy to pay the going rate. Daz, who
owns the quay and knew Trev by reputation, said he'd swap the berth
for a talk. Well attended of course - not many times you're going to
get the chance to hear someone talk about over-wintering at either
end of the world for a total of 3 times. True to form he left at the
end of his 10 days and went directly to Porto Santa leaving after 3
days to dodge the tail end of some hurricane and finally arrived in
Cap Verdes to await an early window to get to Trinni. I’m sure
there are several others around who might easily qualify but all of
those mentioned have been cruising a <u>long</u> time in low key
boats and all, for the most part, are quiet almost shy characters.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />Millbrook</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-28304346493735784532018-08-22T20:45:00.001+01:002021-02-06T10:58:32.968+00:00and then there was one.....part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The
obvious first issue was to get the mast further away from the
doghouse and minimise any damage. Easier said of course as whilst
there was little wind, perhaps 4-8k there was a swell running of a metre or more which caused the mast to move up and down with
some limb-snapping force. The mast was pivoting on the fairlead about 2 metres up from the heel with a similar amount in the water and the bulk suspended between the two. We managed after a lot of effort to slide the mast
further out, hampered by shrouds, sheer poles, rigging etc and once
clear of the 'house we were able to start on the next stage. It might
be worth pointing out that when we'd hove to we'd done so under
stays'l alone and on starb'd tack so the tiller was roped over to
port. Also we habitually sail with the mizzen tied over to port as
a) it gives easier access for us to the hatch and b)the mizzen sheet
doesn't foul the wind vane. When the mast fell the tiller was thus
out of the way the windvane was also spared as the mast fell to
starb'd.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfM3eocn0jwj3Lc-AN6YmPMNyqeFr0iMJ-uoBYjUqWEa3uveZ_9ZghXCOmIzsQfvMP6q7e8UrZRw7DqQVWyJTOPcEMFW5Sq11ZgTeE89OcRPgEHQa3cMmYjsSi9Pu_WvD4dGBB4E8Y_eeZ/s1600/DSCN8241.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfM3eocn0jwj3Lc-AN6YmPMNyqeFr0iMJ-uoBYjUqWEa3uveZ_9ZghXCOmIzsQfvMP6q7e8UrZRw7DqQVWyJTOPcEMFW5Sq11ZgTeE89OcRPgEHQa3cMmYjsSi9Pu_WvD4dGBB4E8Y_eeZ/s320/DSCN8241.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On deck. finally.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">It
became clear that we were not going to achieve much with the
rigging in place and Bee grabbed the Felco wire cutters we'd had on
board, unused, for the last 18 years. Nevertheless cutting though the
wire, bright shiny steel, took two people considerable effort to do
so. Cutting the running rigging a doddle of course but we still
needed to separate the spars and sail from the mast if we were to
manoeuvre the mast onto the deck. Each move had to be planned, spars
had to be lashed to the boat before releasing for obvious reasons and
once we had undone the bolts to split up the mast and spars we could
do nothing about the latter trying to bash holes in the hull as we
fought to get the mast on board using the main throat haly'd and
tackles to get it to a position where we could safely lay it along the
deck and turn our attention to the other danger. Obviously much
lighter it nevertheless proved to be difficult as the sail was now
soaked and holding water and the spars had managed to get between the
self steerer rudder and the main rudder whilst the other end kept
thumping up against the hull. Again the throat haly'd came into play
and slowly, slowly we managed to get it aboard and on deck.</span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lMl_1dLxidiJlw6DXf810dvkCdj6rJLxvTzEM1ctRhwLc8K1j5yERdX8SdYB9g3tiRdaMhldOypSKmeUL5VIyoYe6CYqg6z9M5tTe-pYk7YZXStkD37V9CxNfSwIvkbx9iXb3_H-VyU8/s1600/DSCN8206.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lMl_1dLxidiJlw6DXf810dvkCdj6rJLxvTzEM1ctRhwLc8K1j5yERdX8SdYB9g3tiRdaMhldOypSKmeUL5VIyoYe6CYqg6z9M5tTe-pYk7YZXStkD37V9CxNfSwIvkbx9iXb3_H-VyU8/s320/DSCN8206.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What was I thinking? We moved it further aft..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Now it
all needed lashing down; the mast was moved to where we thought it
would do least damage (wrongly as it happened as it protruded to far
forward and the lumpy seas we were to encounter meant it would be
periodically lifted and dropped, hard, onto the deck by waves coming
aboard). Because the radome, blocks and vhf aerial would be in the
way we needed to remove those items and get the shrouds off the mast
too. Given the radome had been under water for several hours we had
little hesitation with cutting the cables to it and the vhf. The sail
locker was utilised for all the detritus we'd gathered, the sails
being lashed securely on deck, solar panels removed and finally some
10 hours after it all began we realised we'd done as much as we
could. We were exhausted of course and whilst we were about 60nm off
the Icelandic coast neither of us had any hesitation about what we
should do: sail south. No question at all – Iceland was close but
we couldn't be sure how much damage we had sustained although we
were pretty sure the hull was intact, the engine ran smoothly so no
prop damage but repairs might be lengthy plus we had Toots to
consider...and we know that area can be inhospitable later in the season, so we began to
reverse our miles. Soon after the wind picked up and we marvelled at
our luck – that it had been calm and not a gale; that we'd hove to
on that tack not the other; that we'd bought those bolt croppers all
those years back. I also cursed my stupidity at putting most of our
comms on the mizzen, vhf, gps, radar, solar panels. As it happened
whilst one panel was intermittently underwater we subsequently washed
the circuit board with fresh water and both are still working, albeit
with no where to site them. The gps still works and it will have a
new home when repairs begin. The vhf uses the same aerial type as the
ais so Bee switches cable ends depending upon which we need – a
splitter is needed! The radome? Who knows at this stage. Perhaps the
biggest casualties have been the very expensive doghouse extension we
had made in the winter which used the mizzen as part of its structure
and consequently was ripped apart when the mast fell and the simple
rope safety rail that stretched between main and mizzen shrouds about
a metre above deck and provided a very real mental and physical boost
as we moved up and down the deck. The missing mast too as it had been
used without thought as something to grab hold of or cling onto when
things were lumpy. Now the cockpit seems very vulnerable, well no the
cockpit is the same of course but we are very vulnerable. In an effort to make us feel a tad safer we ran a line from the mizzen horse to the doghouse, across the top and back down to the horse. It helped support the old cover we had but whilst it worked when we were sat down, moving across it involved either a limbo dance or going over the top. </span><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpzYX4vLm0TpaxNN74KmWb61xIpunssP66Qzqs1aLfY9f2w1IS7qWb4pBWRNJbWNlBbLuisMET92cCUg1WjMlyR2N2V5nUEk4lGkRLndilKn3_3pQiZtZFL7fi-rCPYmpdi99x7CCDk1gW/s1600/DSCN8127.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpzYX4vLm0TpaxNN74KmWb61xIpunssP66Qzqs1aLfY9f2w1IS7qWb4pBWRNJbWNlBbLuisMET92cCUg1WjMlyR2N2V5nUEk4lGkRLndilKn3_3pQiZtZFL7fi-rCPYmpdi99x7CCDk1gW/s320/DSCN8127.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water pipes instead of a mast..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Neither made you feel particularly safe and using the winches meant it would either catch your eyes or your neck so not the most user friendly change we had to make. We ended up propping the old cover up with water hose pipes that were not needed from our safety lines - not the most attractive of set ups but it worked to some extent and we were the only people who could see it of course.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Our
hopes of getting back to Scotland in one go came to nowt as the wind
pushed us ever further east and we were caught up in the currents
around the Faeroes. A call to Torshavn Radio about forthcoming long
term weather determined we should stop there and sit out the two days
of light wind and stiff SW that were to follow. Explaining our
situation and whether we needed to check in again was met with a
request to hold on whilst he checked with customs and the very
welcome answer that No as far as they were concerned we were still
cleared. More good info followed on the currents and we turned and
raced toward the very fjord, Ventsmanna, we had exited some days
previously. Now of course surrounded by very thick fog we approached
blind, radarless, but with the track of our way though the dogleg.
Nothing was visible until breakers could be seen dimly some 50
metres away but, just as it did on the southern entrance , the fog
began to clear as we entered the fjord proper and we made our rapid
progress down toward the town and anchorage.</span><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3Xp3vvg73yaZDIs6_Go6oLV5-IQ4locF1AruH-Ckf1_-2R-D-LJsb-cbbPbt1FoNen1XsWL4U1iFBqwUw_pjegM4TShxFq8G3q3yDPzV4jchyphenhyphenllb6SZGdXM_6w63uMRs_JocimeCzP8r/s1600/DSCN8190.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3Xp3vvg73yaZDIs6_Go6oLV5-IQ4locF1AruH-Ckf1_-2R-D-LJsb-cbbPbt1FoNen1XsWL4U1iFBqwUw_pjegM4TShxFq8G3q3yDPzV4jchyphenhyphenllb6SZGdXM_6w63uMRs_JocimeCzP8r/s320/DSCN8190.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Troll's finger</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">After a couple of days rest and sorting out of various bits we made our way down to Miovagar and made our departure from there. We left about 1am on Mon July 16 with the hope of getting away from the coast and currents. Didn't really work like that of course but we plugged on under engine when the wind failed us before deciding to drift for the night. As luck would have it the tide changed soon after we stopped and we found ourselves heading north at well over 2 knots but little can be done in such a situation and tides do change. Eventually we closed the mainland even though the wind was now heading us and the tide had, once again albeit several days later, turned against us. We made it into Laxford July 19 around 5pm which it has to be said is not our favourite Loch but on this occasion it served perfectly: landlocked; good holding; not too deep and beautifully quiet.</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The journey south along the mainland followed the usual; tidal gates, headwinds; some of the usual anchorages but a few we had either not used for yeas or had never used before until we made down to that old standby - Gigha. We've taken to using the southern most anchorage off the ferry overnight terminal as it is quiet and few, if any, boats use it. But this time, after checking the forecast we knew we needed to leave almost immediately if we were to stay ahead of the fronts heading our way. So we left within a few hours and sailed against a foul tide but with a favourable wind along the west coast of the Mull of Kintyre bound for Bangor where we eventually arrived around 5am the following morning. </span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVbPoQaVSSUx1L4oQ9MxWL5efx6gwv1VERY7h0odzL_nf7x4eI6_DrSw2ijNZseoNi-B2vOaKttp899kkacYLo17xLMkNBLtzmx1p1257mmZ5Vp32oHWOxQY6SFCE1A3f9kqoHlmNi2Uv/s1600/DSCN8238.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVbPoQaVSSUx1L4oQ9MxWL5efx6gwv1VERY7h0odzL_nf7x4eI6_DrSw2ijNZseoNi-B2vOaKttp899kkacYLo17xLMkNBLtzmx1p1257mmZ5Vp32oHWOxQY6SFCE1A3f9kqoHlmNi2Uv/s320/DSCN8238.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">After several false starts we left Bangor around 10 on Aug 6th in the company of several boats from the nearby marina including a 50' Pilot Cutter. The day, wet, murky with a stiff headwind proved entertaining as we tacked with the cutter although they favoured long boards and we don't. Nevertheless as the day wore we began to think about where we might stop. The obvious place was Strangford Lough but it isn't ideal as a passage stop as it beset by very strong tides so timing is all and the anchorages are a long way up so we're not really that taken with the idea. We called up the cutter as they seem to have an alternative plan and they did - they were heading direct to Falmouth and we thought "You're on!" All that night and the following day we sailed south although we both had different tactics - they favoured getting closer to the Irish coast whereas we kept plugging on down the centre until we got south of Dublin and closed on Arklow. We then moved across to slide down inside the Arklow Bank and gradually the cutter caught up with us. By nightfall we were almost side by side, worryingly so at times and we were glad when whatever had caused their meanderings was sorted out and they squared away and were comfortably about 1/2 mile off us. I went down to rest only to be called up by a frantic Bee - the genny had collapsed and was flogging. At first she thought the sheet had come off the winch but it was worse than that. The heads'll are pulled out to the end of the bowsprit on a leathered ring called a traveller. You simply pull on a line and out the sail goes...well the line had broken and once we dropped the sail we hove to and set about roving a fresh line. In order to do this Bee has to don oilie trousers and a safety harness before grabbing the new line and sliding along the 3 metre bowsprit, running the line through shackle and onto the sheave and then back on board. Of course whilst this is happening the boat is rising and falling with the waves which were somewhere between 1-2 metres and the big waves would see her up to her knees in cold water... We came out of the hove to and hoisted the genny except it jammed and we realised the line had jammed in the sheave. Sail down, heave to and sort out the line and try again. It jams once more and this time we change the line and this time were successful and we can finally get moving again. All this had happened SE of Tusker Light, in pitch black and drizzle, where, again, tides are a major influence and again with rates in excess of 2 or 3 knots we had lost a fair bit of ground in the 2 hours spent trying to sort this out. The cutter, of course, had long gone.</span><br /></span>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Because we wanted to get back we opted to keep the full main up which was great for speed BUT it did mean we couldn't get the self-steerer to cope and ended up hand steering for most of the 77 hour journey from Bangor to the Helford. A brief stop over to see mates Nigel and Jude before a final amazing day back to Cawsand - sunshine, full main, genny and tops'l. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Well for the moment we're back on the quay at Millbrook but not sure for how long. We've started work on the boat - the rigging is with a rigger to be replaced. We think the problem was caused by the guy who did the rigging years ago wrapped electrical tape around the wire before he served it and water got trapped leading to rust which is what actually caused the mast to fall. But many of the changes I thought of implementing: bottle-screws and tabernacle, have been shelved as we thought it through and discussed it with various people, particularly the tabernacle where the consensus was the reason we had so little damage was because the mast wasn't held captive and had it been we might also have ripped up the bridge deck the mast sits on. But also as Bee said - we've had that rigging 16 years and whilst the mast rocked back and forth it had never let us down until that moment so we just need to be more aware.</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">And we will be. A shame it happened as we really felt we were having our best season for a long time. The self doubt and lack of confidence I've been feeling over the last few years seems to have quietened down and Iceland was a stepping stone to Scoresby Sound (Greenland) which we had hopes of catching sight of at least but they will both be there next year if we decide to go. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Two other things have happened since we arrived. We'd drained the water from the radome when we'd removed it from the mast then shoved it below before rinsing it with fresh water a few days later. Once here we opened it up again, leaving it open to the elements, rain, mist, sunshine and wind for 10 days before tentatively plugging a spare cable in and firing up the radar and finding it worked....</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">And then we decided we'd take the mizzen off the boat and check it over. It took four of us to lift it up and off the boat and me 'n Bee kept looking at each other wondering how on earth had we lifted it - never would have managed it without that throat halyard for sure.</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Millbrook</span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVREg4ZGDHZxO-t5s4ILHUY-TskzwKRXBufm-yvjxOuZo_mLm6ug_ryDYwM-s_ssuJUNMbpMiAI7vaJ1G2TfSWAeDMDSBhFelTTh2cSPHc_Ynr-vGf8mxNhAZm2eHoRXFIkC0YX1zOVB9d/s1600/DSCN7811.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVREg4ZGDHZxO-t5s4ILHUY-TskzwKRXBufm-yvjxOuZo_mLm6ug_ryDYwM-s_ssuJUNMbpMiAI7vaJ1G2TfSWAeDMDSBhFelTTh2cSPHc_Ynr-vGf8mxNhAZm2eHoRXFIkC0YX1zOVB9d/s320/DSCN7811.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-81399785712037744432018-07-20T21:10:00.001+01:002021-02-06T10:58:03.153+00:00and then there was one...........part 1<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We
interrupted our move north along the West coast of Ireland to take shelter from a stiff blow from the
west, opting to hide in Smerwick which we have used several times in
the past...We shared the anchorage with Robin and Rat and, it has to
be said, we had the better time of it as a nasty little swell crept
in and made life a little uncomfortable for us but we watched Rat
roll gunwale to gunwale and could only marvel at his tenacity. He
left a little before us once the blow had gone through and we found
him happily anchored in Inishmore, our next stop. A remarkable
sailor.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We
left Little Killary for The Outer Hebrides enjoying a reasonable, if
a tad lumpy, passage to Vatersay arriving in time to take shelter
from a hard westerly with gusts hitting 40k+. One of our favourite
anchorages; it isn't tiny and hemmed in, escape is easy should you
need to and depths are good. A white sandy beach adds to the quality
of the view and, of course, holding is excellent. We moved on after a
day using the time to tighten up the mizzen shrouds which had
loosened on the trip over. We pottered through the small islands that
guard the bay and turned north. The westerly wind meant we had flat
seas and we began knocking off the miles....wind speed rarely
exceeded 15k but boat speed settled into 7k and frequently sat at
8k for minutes at a time. It was a memorable day; true the sun didn't
shine much and the vis was mediocre but the view of the Hebs as we
rattled north was wonderful. At one point we were possibly going to
end up in Stornoway but as the wind eased we settled on anchoring in
Tob Limorvay as it's close to our northern track, arriving in
Stornoway early the following morning. The marina there is busy and
we rafted onto another boat for the weekend before catching up with
old friends, making new ones and stocking up on booze and diesel...</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We
headed out on Monday June 25th for the Faeroe's with favourable if
light winds forecast. And so it proved however as the first day headed
toward evening the vis improved and off to starb'd could be seen an
island and we opted to see if Rona could offer some shelter for the
night. It could. In westerlies it would be fine but our luck meant it
backed to south and east once we were anchored putting us mostly on a
lee shore. However it was light and no swell present so we stayed.
Rona and the other island have huge bird colonies, a light on each
and sheep. Years ago islanders from Lewis would row out to Rona to
attend to sheep or whatever they do. As it's 41nm each way it says
much for how hardy folks were then. Sheep are still grazed on the
hills arriving by a more mechanised means.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The
Faeroe's loomed out of the fog after a mixed passage of sailing,
drifting and motoring and we tied up to the fishing wharf in Vagur
where we were soon cleared in by the local customs guy and visited
the following morning by the HM. All very friendly and easy going –
the impression, for us, is how similar these island communities are
and so different too of course. But we always seem to draw
comparisons with the Newfoundland outposts; nothing grand or fancy
about the housing but colourful, functional and attractive and
fitting in with the surroundings. A small library had 'net access and
we had a couple of easy days alongside. A social visit
to a 54' boat also headed to Iceland and Greenland gained us some new
friends and we headed out the following morning. The HM felt we had
enough time to make the tidal cut off but we didn't and anchored in a
small bay up the next fjord.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Big
tides are not my favourite challenge: great when you get the timing
right but a nightmare waiting to happen. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0Ey8FJo2Y2ryP9hQaZ5pTUecN3tHQ0pDKGT3ucQQ2kljZxjBjG8eQHwNBErMyEio9ZADWAIrh8Cm9EobTumFL2qxwXbkPyvyjGfPLvxar4Z6HTjgCDh55wFvc7o3ipCeRnDQErfYrL1Z/s1600/DSCN7926.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0Ey8FJo2Y2ryP9hQaZ5pTUecN3tHQ0pDKGT3ucQQ2kljZxjBjG8eQHwNBErMyEio9ZADWAIrh8Cm9EobTumFL2qxwXbkPyvyjGfPLvxar4Z6HTjgCDh55wFvc7o3ipCeRnDQErfYrL1Z/s320/DSCN7926.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Well this time I got it
right, despite thinking we should change course then reversing the
decision and we rattled through the gap between Lille Dimun and
Suderoy, through the rips and out before making our way north to Midvaag.
All under engine as the wind was absent. Unlike the fog.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Midvaag
on Vaagar is a large bay that has had a long breakwater added (as
have so many of the harbours in these islands) making it very secure.
We anchored, rowed ashore, bought diesel and tried to sort out the
sim card we'd got for the phone without success. But a local car hire
company gave us use of their internet to pick up weather so things
were good. The weather remained foggy. On northwards after a false
start via the Vestmanna Sund. We'd hoped we'd see the Trolls Finger
but the ever present fog ensured that wasn't going to happen. Of
course as we turned into the fjord the fog cleared, the sun sort of
arrived and we motored up to the northern exit. Our timing was lucky
rather than planned but we were through and motoring along the NW
coast which is spectacular. Seriously broody and intimidating; we
were, perhaps, 50 metres off shore and the cliffs erupted from the
sea in a vertical wall ending several hundred metres or more above
our heads. Birds were everywhere and once we'd left the tourist boats
behind we were alone with the bird life and the views. An amazing
place to see. As we approached the the next fjord we were able to see
the protruding land was actually separated by a chasm across which
numerous wire ropes were slung. On the island grazed sheep and we
decided the wires were how the sheep were transferred from one side
to the other. Into the bay we slid, not ideal but attractive with a
tiny hamlet at the head. The following day Torshavn Radio announced a
SW gale was due and we rang to ask when. “Imminent” was the reply
and they asked for our location and destination. They suggested we
stay put rather than head off for Iceland as we would experience 3
metre seas on the passage. We complied but as the gale didn't
actually arrive until 24 hours later rather than the 6 hours stated
we felt a bit miffed. Little did we know how fortuitous that decision
was to be.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The
time at anchor was rolly, as the seas, as they did at Smerwick,
tended to hit a headland and deflect into the bay. True the holding
was good but, in an effort to damp down the roll, we hoisted the
double reefed mizzen to make life a little more comfortable,
disappointed that despite our best efforts the mast continued to rock
in the swells. Since we've had Hannah it has been something we have
learned to put up with. Deck stepped and supported by four heavy,
well spaced shrouds, tensioned with lanyards and deadeyes it has done
great service over the years and the rocking to and fro is a feature
we have learned to live with...</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We
left the Faeroe's for the east coast of Iceland on Friday July 6.
We'd opted to go from east to west simply because the winds dictated
that our first landfall would only be achieved without too much
heartbreaking windward work; Reykjavik was out of the question. The
passage of sub 300nm was a probable 3 dayer if winds were average.
The log shows the trip to be lumpy, squally with some sun but also
fog. On the second night we motored for some hours before drifting in
a lumpy, swell driven sea – not the most comfortable as sleep was
impossible but some sort of rest gained from cramming together on the
sea berth and we dozed for a few hours.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">About
6am on Sunday July 8 we were startled and alarmed by the very loud
noise of something hitting the boat. Twice. We leapt from the berth
and rushed to the companionway and lying across the aft deck,
undulating in the swell was the mizzen mast, all 28' of it, pivoting
on the fairlead with the last 2 metres underwater, radome and vhf
aerial included whilst the heel of the mast was trying to batter the
lip of the doghouse roof and tear it off. We had a problem.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-49539304253472572002018-06-11T20:51:00.003+01:002021-02-06T10:57:38.879+00:00Adventure before Dementia*<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Launch
day came after a hectic evening of running out the 'sprit and sorting
the outer forestay, necessitated by my messing about with the rigging
and a need to change out the plug where the old mechanical speedo had
been. Seems the inboard end had got damaged from something or other
and we removed it then screwed the original fitting back in. We left
the floor up so we could check for any leakage.... Nathan duly
launched us, albeit with no one aboard as the hoist tended to slip a
bit from a residue of hydraulic oil on the tyre I guess. Consequently
when we climbed aboard several minutes later we found a leak but not
from where we were prepared for but the sea water filter that I'd
cleaned out earlier and not replaced the cap properly with the
obvious result. Ah well, easily sorted! A quick call in to a marina
in Plymouth for fuel and then down to Cawsand to anchor. Sometimes
this anchorage is great, sometimes the pits and this time is was the
latter caused by a gentle roll that crept in. Off the following
morning for Falmouth to shake ourselves free of the land and an easy
night in the town anchorage. I've written before about how you get
charged to anchor here but only, it seems, if you go ashore. As we
rarely do.....</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">With
easterlies forecast we headed off for the Helford and a promised
visit to friends but off the river entrance the east wind over the
ebbing tide caused a nasty chop and dissuaded us from entry and we
kept going, sliding round the Lizard and up into Mullion Cove for the
night. A text message to our friends went unanswered and we later
found out they'd changed their phone numbers....</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We
left for Ireland the following morning and made decent progress for
the first 30 hours or so. True we needed to hand steer for much of
the second afternoon as winds were around 6k but the big kite we'd
ordered proved its worth as we moved along happily at 3-4k. When the
wind died we were 40 miles from Baltimore so a quick couple of hours
motoring got that to 30 and then we drifted for the night. A fishing
vessel kept us company as it trawled up and down, the vis was poor
and throughout the night we could hear the moan of the Fastnet Light
foghorn as we rolled to the sea motion. Onwards the following day and
into Baltimore where we seemed to be in a contingent of blue ensign
flagged RCC members.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">I
like Baltimore as an arrival given it has a big enough harbour with
good holding and easy entrance that whatever the weather (almost)
it's accessible. Plus there is a second way out on the north that
leads through islands and shallows to make for an interesting start
for the following morning. We ghosted through at scarcely 2k under
main until clear of the scattering of land we were back under the
influence of the sea and a swell which completely disrupted the
sailing and we resorted to the engine to motor the few miles onto
Crookhaven. We were trying to use places we'd never been to before
and this was a great anchorage with the visitors buoys laid out in
the main harbour whilst the anchorage was away from the village but
tucked behind an island and thus land-locked. A neat spot.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The
west coast is a great cruising ground but, like many such places,
there are a couple of spots where a longish day is needed between
anchorages and we had two of these coming up. With light winds, a
long, lazy swell running and the winds due to switch to the north
within 24 hours we opted to motor-sail the distance to Valentia and
wait out the winds until they switched to the SW leaving us a few
free days. We plugged on, Hannah running smoothly as befits a clean
prop and unfouled bottom. Still a long day though as we passed the
majestic Skelligs and then had to fight our way around the Bray Head
and into Valentia. For the first time ever we found 2 other boats in
the anchorage – another gaffer and a what may have been a Shetland
Yoal but by morning the other gaffer had gone and apart from visits
from local boats to enjoy the island we had the places to ourselves.
This morning, Sunday, the Yoal hauled up his anchor, set his sail
and came across to chat before heading to Dingle to shop. Seems he'd
sailed from Pembrokeshire, Wales and was heading around Ireland.
Possibly. His normal trip was up to the Hebrides but thwarted by
persistent N's he'd opted for a change of route. Must be a great
adventure really, I guess the boat, called RAT, is about 5m and
freeboard to match. Lug sail with a small mizzen. The main becomes
the ridge pole for the tent cockpit; the anchor looked to be a heavy
stone perhaps with an iron bolt through? Inspiring.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The
winter has seen a few changes, as ever, aboard with the staysail
being replaced, the last one succumbing to UV and mileage chafe, plus
improvements to the genny and the kite I mentioned earlier. I love
the attention to detail; the tapered rope; the crossover stitching
the JL puts into these sails. The black marks don't come with the
sail but from the tarring on the shrouds. A new and improved canvas
shelter to the doghouse gives us shelter from following winds and
better visibility (and makes Toots life a lot easier as she moves
rapidly toward old age). For many years we put up with the shackle
banging and clattering on the mainsheet horse whenever the main
flogged. For the last few years we tried a simple knotted rope
between the horse and the main block that worked although it
obviously tended to wear through and had to be checked. This year
we've leathered a large bow shackle to see how that fares. So far
it's been fine with a good coating of deer tallow(thanks to Howard in
Maine) ensuring it slides well and remains silent. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">* A title prompted by a T-Shirt Bee gave me as I stumbled dazed and disbelieving into my 70th year. But there are numerous old codgers out there still sailing around - we met a couple at the yard we hauled out at. They'd completed a 15 year circumnavigation 3 years earlier and had settled for local cruising since, But they'd got bored and we spoke to them the day before they launched and were heading off for Sweden. They were both in their 80's.....</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Ventry</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Ireland </span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-17322540409226414012018-05-28T20:46:00.001+01:002021-02-06T10:56:56.569+00:00Back on track......allegedly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fZSC2cefsrJzxEla3_18x_LO-qmZ36jjdQVMxK6PPTl1phd16end8GyH0s2qUgbGFRMBIDVqxvCIoYKCJnjO52brKY2GTv8H5iNSux2BzGPr1eoeiYKb6niU9OVYtJst5izUn3evWnEV/s1600/DSCN7610.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fZSC2cefsrJzxEla3_18x_LO-qmZ36jjdQVMxK6PPTl1phd16end8GyH0s2qUgbGFRMBIDVqxvCIoYKCJnjO52brKY2GTv8H5iNSux2BzGPr1eoeiYKb6niU9OVYtJst5izUn3evWnEV/s320/DSCN7610.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> 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! </span><br />
<br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">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 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lynherofcremyll/" target="_blank">here</a>. 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.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAfE3ieKx7o54VI07h1glbu7bJWeA7gcakM7tIkoZIROIxjGD7n-zcAKOBRwhtRarfpN1fS-Mq1pkpZ-XUWGQgjbwvSXMpUjQgiloLIUSYCYroxNsq7pLb9p_arQ-IFjnMkcA_L5tz0EX/s1600/DSCN7512.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAfE3ieKx7o54VI07h1glbu7bJWeA7gcakM7tIkoZIROIxjGD7n-zcAKOBRwhtRarfpN1fS-Mq1pkpZ-XUWGQgjbwvSXMpUjQgiloLIUSYCYroxNsq7pLb9p_arQ-IFjnMkcA_L5tz0EX/s320/DSCN7512.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">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... </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rTSYWpWBL-cR17rgJcXaQDJvUu4BRPqSWqsH0hZ8itwjGeULBJMb6kRYkbVzZyJ9452kB5gSTdLmC2-3rezs3hKSGGSlHLRZmEFROpR68Icyc7n94VZEz5S-hPa5ULM4MDEY9VLHaCuB/s1600/DSCN7583.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rTSYWpWBL-cR17rgJcXaQDJvUu4BRPqSWqsH0hZ8itwjGeULBJMb6kRYkbVzZyJ9452kB5gSTdLmC2-3rezs3hKSGGSlHLRZmEFROpR68Icyc7n94VZEz5S-hPa5ULM4MDEY9VLHaCuB/s640/DSCN7583.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> 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.</span><br />
<br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Toots at the healthy age of 16 doesn't mind as long as the fire is warm and food regular..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSPpR8c5P-Sa3onwBNzRcFfIR8FAiCMtEewUUUBAxBHAbaE4eTZJlCxgo_gQqnXkVtaOigOYGVGdbn9VjfQEsS1csZnxa6xd32MTw7fsCAJV832DvKMz-yFPtfKQsnm78CiawBssigg2f/s1600/DSCN7601.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSPpR8c5P-Sa3onwBNzRcFfIR8FAiCMtEewUUUBAxBHAbaE4eTZJlCxgo_gQqnXkVtaOigOYGVGdbn9VjfQEsS1csZnxa6xd32MTw7fsCAJV832DvKMz-yFPtfKQsnm78CiawBssigg2f/s320/DSCN7601.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> ...and at the ripe old age of 70 I would tend to agree, adding only that the alcohol should be equally regular. </span></span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-57868946603117315562018-01-30T17:12:00.002+00:002021-02-06T10:56:14.653+00:00A mid-winter montage<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaT5nVkn1_uYGhVXHK-vovwEVVk-FzJjT1bVwVNjASk08yqekOqSXgu6h_G2pz4Vg-hXPuFGKizWFY1gTxYZyokZDYbGxPsFpi69Z0eqTmGTLY75Ssa4llm_WKxDSs7IH5yQDagWA15lhJ/s1600/DSCN5080.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaT5nVkn1_uYGhVXHK-vovwEVVk-FzJjT1bVwVNjASk08yqekOqSXgu6h_G2pz4Vg-hXPuFGKizWFY1gTxYZyokZDYbGxPsFpi69Z0eqTmGTLY75Ssa4llm_WKxDSs7IH5yQDagWA15lhJ/s400/DSCN5080.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Killary</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLB2QhnwHJweVTcpE7lwAIGjXfQADgb6OCdJrOlHS8aDcsMTBh-PH87mMjTjK8WfIHv2XC4RsmWKVtD5vJ0lg7TnISx_ZM0y_uxJG8KJS4j4-cU-3dt0SwaZvWKkvU_BPYyzT1vv-7KMU/s1600/DSCN5206.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLB2QhnwHJweVTcpE7lwAIGjXfQADgb6OCdJrOlHS8aDcsMTBh-PH87mMjTjK8WfIHv2XC4RsmWKVtD5vJ0lg7TnISx_ZM0y_uxJG8KJS4j4-cU-3dt0SwaZvWKkvU_BPYyzT1vv-7KMU/s640/DSCN5206.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loch Ranza</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_xuvb2a1km91wrMRzyjzx5TN0MA-B0HkWn8BU2DsQ4T2VkWI1O2lBZcvh8Lg5Fo7C4B16mEAl0hcZw7PPCpyJybjcZbAFueSVWGhikulXhRcbK5ubqVI5tf0ZGYMwqTRvb6jgk_mk51S/s1600/DSCN5297.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_xuvb2a1km91wrMRzyjzx5TN0MA-B0HkWn8BU2DsQ4T2VkWI1O2lBZcvh8Lg5Fo7C4B16mEAl0hcZw7PPCpyJybjcZbAFueSVWGhikulXhRcbK5ubqVI5tf0ZGYMwqTRvb6jgk_mk51S/s400/DSCN5297.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Loch Tarbert</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAHFt_Xf3jgPcRYCngnViWvfyHFv-sKs04qw_F5rj7NQnUmiehghOrH8WFoFsdzRbu2Y4d6Yn4NIjBr18tUKrTLl7oszHaBc6l1SrOO6TQ_YasANVikeBemeOTbqgItMifjKF4YT8i5z4/s1600/DSCN5652.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAHFt_Xf3jgPcRYCngnViWvfyHFv-sKs04qw_F5rj7NQnUmiehghOrH8WFoFsdzRbu2Y4d6Yn4NIjBr18tUKrTLl7oszHaBc6l1SrOO6TQ_YasANVikeBemeOTbqgItMifjKF4YT8i5z4/s640/DSCN5652.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fair Isle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6OJsOPz5Swj5AVPtomR3b1Qzc8t3chkwJZMW4-MW6GAzyb-sJWNeHBZN3g5N8HJBwXaTjRo8Mly-2-P-JviTsN57Q_p8yGtGUeKpYW1FIAQk7CFE_zcjYQq66t6Atnp5vvll5rlxAeZU/s1600/DSCN5728.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6OJsOPz5Swj5AVPtomR3b1Qzc8t3chkwJZMW4-MW6GAzyb-sJWNeHBZN3g5N8HJBwXaTjRo8Mly-2-P-JviTsN57Q_p8yGtGUeKpYW1FIAQk7CFE_zcjYQq66t6Atnp5vvll5rlxAeZU/s320/DSCN5728.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Scalloway</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDYCgSNWUsd0k0SqzhUvLhLFW1tXsePU162FcE4BuHj8cZpOIZueVrHWu3LpfaLz_3Rff0HMLuoIya1cmK7QpgyxpHCMIpKKM-kvM0bPQHwE5Qe_8mWOym45CUEdBLYfljyOYnDtNsq5p/s1600/DSCN5781.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDYCgSNWUsd0k0SqzhUvLhLFW1tXsePU162FcE4BuHj8cZpOIZueVrHWu3LpfaLz_3Rff0HMLuoIya1cmK7QpgyxpHCMIpKKM-kvM0bPQHwE5Qe_8mWOym45CUEdBLYfljyOYnDtNsq5p/s320/DSCN5781.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skeld</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Burra Voe</b></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balta Sound, Unst</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harorysundel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arctic Circle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandvik</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orsvag</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steine</td></tr>
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mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-57817581154124955172017-12-13T15:04:00.001+00:002021-02-06T10:55:29.196+00:00Tides, Rips and Overfalls....<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJdUXT6Xf_81GSYQAUGatlilNGFzRsPPAqOPDYO5AvwkYvhIqbOeiHz6T879ME90Ek3TZiSKPwhOvJ11iSNDiNdahyLhPJSeMqRWhVOO7pjSB1TGh_NX6basPVLQqohdfYk1C3HjKK-Lt/s1600/DSCN6946.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJdUXT6Xf_81GSYQAUGatlilNGFzRsPPAqOPDYO5AvwkYvhIqbOeiHz6T879ME90Ek3TZiSKPwhOvJ11iSNDiNdahyLhPJSeMqRWhVOO7pjSB1TGh_NX6basPVLQqohdfYk1C3HjKK-Lt/s640/DSCN6946.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">From an earlier time- mizz stays'l and nbf = bliss</span></td></tr>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> After a lot of checking of tides and winds we began to move from the wonderfully sheltered safety of the anchorage. Night was less than an hour away but, as ever, with the winds probably picking up later the following day we wanted to get moving. Although we left at slack the wind over tide situation soon dragged our speed down and down regardless of what we did. Patience was the only answer and victory's were counted as increments of a tenth of a knot. Once properly underway and clear, speeds shot up and Cape Wrath looked to be on target for early the following morning. Not to be as winds eased of course but we rounded the corner about a mile offshore with a following tide in the early pm. A few miles down the coast the seas went flat, totally flat and our speeds, briefly, exceeded 9knots as we worked our way down to Loch Neddy, an anchorage we had, Bee assured me, last visited some 10 years earlier although I had absolutely no memory of it. Deep and long with a collection of local boats on buoys, a number of houses along one side, many hidden amongst the trees it was a welcome stop. But with another tidal gate to meet we had to leave early the next morning to round Stour Head and back into the familiar waters we've sailed so many times on our way south. Familiar perhaps but it won't stop interesting times with the tides.</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The days followed their usual pattern, some progress, some delay but we were getting south. We sailed into Tobermory to find a huge gaffer anchored in the centre. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoddbLJv9NpERpw8CyjHLndb5D2lo88zX7eHKu-haqhYEMlNa63yPWw8QbFRM2jLEufbWCxK6-9jbFufODA5lrMEI-kF1a4gonweZ5pxczxqAztMxvgGu7FNQ2hbTHPCVV0f_jbc3LnEkm/s1600/DSCN7149.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoddbLJv9NpERpw8CyjHLndb5D2lo88zX7eHKu-haqhYEMlNa63yPWw8QbFRM2jLEufbWCxK6-9jbFufODA5lrMEI-kF1a4gonweZ5pxczxqAztMxvgGu7FNQ2hbTHPCVV0f_jbc3LnEkm/s320/DSCN7149.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atlantic at Crinan</td></tr>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">A super yacht of some sort and as we slid by the stern we saw it was <a href="http://www.schooner-atlantic.com/" target="_blank">Atlantic</a>. Our offer to swap boats was met with a smile... I'm sure these boats are impressive but I can't get excited about them. They left well before us the following day heading, like us, down the Sound of Mull. We anchored off Kerrara, the island that protects Oban, to sit out a stiff SW before fighting our way down the Kerrara Sound toward Ardfan Point for the night where we were joined by another boat whilst across the way could be seen at least 7 masts using the usual, Puilladobhrain, anchorage. </span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We joined a procession of boats, at the back of course, heading south through the Sound of Insh and then the Sound of Luing. We were early for the first and struggled but the tide had turned for the second and we swept on through. It brings you out at the eastern end of the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&biw=1366&bih=612&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=UD4xWquGL-aCgAbi64PQCg&q=corryvreckan+whirlpool+map&oq=corryvreckan+whirlpool+map&gs_l=psy-ab.12...0.0.0.62335.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.KG33xMVKC38" target="_blank">Corryvreken</a>, somewhere we have yet to traverse. The wind was fluky and soon after we raised the genny it increased dramatically to 30 knots and we had too much sail for comfort. The prospect of beating was overcome by simply turning, albeit against the tide and heading up to Crinan for a bit of shelter, where we again found ourselves anchored off Atlantic. Weeks afterwards we saw a fb post from a young woman we had last seen as a <a href="https://gafferhannah.blogspot.co.uk/2004/" target="_blank">10 year old</a> in Bonaire on Lily Bolero and is now crewing aboard superyachts. But we didn't know that and so missed the chance to catch up with her. A shame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHjgCGawEuDHosQFCnRTafohdeaJtLnV-cESBWOStU_r6H3VIdTu0CsIKXm26k527MYijDmSUAXZiDqRNynY2cbHmJvENGiy0_3vguPtLV2i6Zed_5aOeKXKrCC8Gzy54cSMIWZUjV6t3/s1600/DSCN7168.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHjgCGawEuDHosQFCnRTafohdeaJtLnV-cESBWOStU_r6H3VIdTu0CsIKXm26k527MYijDmSUAXZiDqRNynY2cbHmJvENGiy0_3vguPtLV2i6Zed_5aOeKXKrCC8Gzy54cSMIWZUjV6t3/s400/DSCN7168.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We left with the tide the following day, a tad early as usual to get down toward Gigha. An ok day as we could sail once we got clear of the rips although the wind was, inevitably, from ahead.We opted to go on past the usual anchorage/mooring field at Ardminish for the little used anchorage off the overnight ferry mooring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaH4C6kyGLuCibbtOaspGos4NZIIq0wZTZF1vqLaOyD2U8hH2WGcGCydmymExz0pKRba5MzAw7scUHgmw1TOWXZGd2qDxisMYrmveCzkYr3B4YiaBM9ZE7Q4DttKrMdXotr_PynjsWxS6X/s1600/DSCN7159.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaH4C6kyGLuCibbtOaspGos4NZIIq0wZTZF1vqLaOyD2U8hH2WGcGCydmymExz0pKRba5MzAw7scUHgmw1TOWXZGd2qDxisMYrmveCzkYr3B4YiaBM9ZE7Q4DttKrMdXotr_PynjsWxS6X/s320/DSCN7159.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Deserted when we arrived there, pretty good shelter and a warm friendliness from the ferry when it did eventually arrive for the night. Only a mile or so further south but quiet and empty.</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Leaving the following day we had to buck the tide to make sure we were able to make good use of the tide out past Kintyre and across to Ireland. A number of other boats were out there too, most much quicker than us but we plodded on with very little (4 knots) wind from astern but bright sunshine. After a day of motoring we arrived off Carrickfergus as dusk arrived and anchored off the town, bizarrely buzzed by a drone as we did so. A passing fishing boat slowed down to our hail and explained the layout of the harbour for our morning fuel visit, even offering to take me in to check it out. Luckily I turned them down as motoring in the next morning we found ourselves in a tight area with little turning room and had to deal with it, reversing onto the occupied fuel dock. As we needed to fuel up and stock up we decided we'd stay a night but got two nights for the price of one as we paid up front. But we couldn't stay where we were but needed to move to the adjacent marina which necessitated more "to-ing and fro-ing" in order to turn around in a restricted space, to the consternation of those still aboard already moored boats. Ah the joys of long keels and bowsprits.</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The marina was fine, the folks friendly and helpful, the town has, to us, a strange, slightly menacing air about it... union flags in abundance and large Loyalist murals on several walls.</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The SW blow that came through caused a bit of a swell in the marina but as it began to ease we thought we'd head across the bay toward our usual anchorage off Bangor. Thick weather, foggy and still blowing 25knots gave us a wet, hairy bash across, dodging incoming ships before we made it into sheltered water and peace and quiet. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslfMJlxMXcCo3xfursgGuFt0_PwDU0_3ODDkW_hj8aiER5kI4hyphenhyphenQ4w36EiOu9yMHFXeRl8qtEgU_CRa_o-5UsMv2sQdamkG1USP4_PwI6WsXO6dLXSSD9PwbiJl08xrKwpWVEDDkZIgj3/s1600/DSCN7150.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslfMJlxMXcCo3xfursgGuFt0_PwDU0_3ODDkW_hj8aiER5kI4hyphenhyphenQ4w36EiOu9yMHFXeRl8qtEgU_CRa_o-5UsMv2sQdamkG1USP4_PwI6WsXO6dLXSSD9PwbiJl08xrKwpWVEDDkZIgj3/s320/DSCN7150.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Old stays'l out of retirement</span></td></tr>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Another earlyish start but little wind, creeping through the sound between Copeland Island and the mainland, hoping the wind remained westerly as forecast. It didn't and when it came in SW we kept as tight as we could but all the time were getting further from the Irish coast and closer to the Welsh one. We persevered, the south running current helping our track but as we were now well across channel and the tide about to change I stupidly made the decision to ease sheets a little and head into Port Dinllaeen to wait out the tide. Well it didn't seem to be a good decision once we'd anchored but with the tide now running hard it would have been a bear to do anything other than wait. We watched a boat leave and butt into the tide without sail attempting to make their way west, the bow dipping and water cascading down the deck as they appeared to stand still for minutes at a time. When our turn came to leave hours later, the tide was with us but the wind over tide made life miserable and at one point we blundered into rips and over-falls forcing us to head almost north to clear it safely. </span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We'd heard from the forecasts that severe weather was forecast for a couple of days time so wanted to get into decent shelter. For us that meant getting to Milford Haven and up the river when we could. However first we had to beat our way south, around St David's Head through a narrow part of the Irish Sea, at Springs with a head wind for much of the trip. It is at times like this I seriously wonder why we do this as the journey involved rips, ferries and juggling the tide to try and reach the right point at the right time. It became obvious that we were not going to make the entrance to Milford before the tide changed but perhaps an hour after. We approached the entrance and some 3 miles out the tide changed and the seas rapidly built up as the wind strength had also increased. Quite possibly one of the least enjoyable hour or so we have spent as the seas grew in confusion and height; 3 metres or more and we were thrown around, hanging on to the tiller and trying to maintain the course and not gybe . The rain fell, the vis. was poor and we hoped desperately that no ships were either entering or leaving when we were. In that respect we were lucky and as we slid between the cliffs and the rocks that split the entrance in half, the seas eased and we could look forward to shelter, a fire and a stiff drink. The anchorage, Dale Bay, had a few boats in, more on buoys but we easily found somewhere and settled for the rest of the day. However the forecast hadn't gone away so we opted to move up river where the wind should have less impact and motored the 12 miles or so up to anchor off the Carew River. We had a better time in terms of wind although the tide kept us on our toes. However back at Dale all had not gone well for a 15m yacht on a buoy that dragged its buoy before going ashore on rocks, ending up completely destroyed. Luckily no one was aboard but only the epirb alerting the CG to the fact that it was sinking.</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We left from Dale for the last, we hoped, leg back. We'd indicated to Alex that we'd like to get back on the quay for the winter but throughout the summer we'd had little hope there might be space and had had no reply from Southdown either so we weren't really sure what we'd do. But as we made our way south and still in telephone contact a text arrived with a message saying we had a quay space! </span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Winds were good and 20 hours after leaving Dale we rounded Lands End and made for the Helford for an overnight stop before getting up to Cawsand Bay to rendezvous with Nick and Nadja and an easy pilotage back up the river from where we had left almost 5 months and 4300 odd miles ago. Not without a cost it has to be said as we'd blown out one sail and ripped two others. The stays'l had simply split from UV and chafe wear forcing us to dig out the original stays'l from when we first had the boat and was luckily still serviceable although smaller than we were accustomed to. And our lovely new main has torn through my own stupidity when I wired a ratline to the main shroud and didn't cover the wire properly.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQlCon9E4DNFps1dBf5_zbNUF4tMeVqQ0vXOkOZpurCs1am4NZTDqMgc1nqN_EvPL23wOJIqnnOH0eCuayto5DrPngsCVyE8PVw7UPx5ezTIWk_GoIFafYl68kWD6-zF5zGTtMmlrfZRi/s640/DSCN7146.JPG" width="640" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Penance - hand sewing the stays'l</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">And finally. Somewhere on this trip I read or perhaps re-read <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transatlantic-at-Last-Helen-Tew/dp/0954275071" target="_blank">Helen Tew's</a> story. In part it covers her crossing the Atlantic in a 27' boat at 89 accompanied by her son. But what gave me pause for thought and, as I battled the tides and headwinds of the Irish Sea, no end of encouragement was her tales of how she sailed with her dad as a child venturing as far as Iceland and covering much of the ground that we had on this trip. Well worth getting hold of.</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Millbrook</span></span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-6503417501222467552017-12-06T12:30:00.001+00:002021-02-06T10:54:41.352+00:00Norway to Orkney<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We cleared the Norwegian coast and settled down to make the best of the light winds forecast. The week it took to cover the 400 odd miles back to Shetland were almost drama free, slow and although I would sometimes look at the chart and cogitate about "pulling in" and waiting for a better wind, experience has shown us that keeping going is a better option. Even if that involves drifting gently. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xSBmvzyZTimQjLQwJTIRKhKxD37EB6C6Cj184fqEQyjuAGfhdZieVgOR4r1MqBJsvRKX0ZmNluPJ8c4CGwreLjl705xFS6OYanL9VTEQZcvTi8-00eYw8ubn_F8QHQRxjNajp9o8lahf/s1600/DSCN6953.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xSBmvzyZTimQjLQwJTIRKhKxD37EB6C6Cj184fqEQyjuAGfhdZieVgOR4r1MqBJsvRKX0ZmNluPJ8c4CGwreLjl705xFS6OYanL9VTEQZcvTi8-00eYw8ubn_F8QHQRxjNajp9o8lahf/s320/DSCN6953.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> Just two days out we were moving along comfortably in 5-10 knots with the big, light heads'l boomed out and pulling. We were below when a loud bang on the foredeck alerted us to trouble and we nipped aloft sharpish. The multi-coloured ""engine" had ripped, dumping the pole onto the capping rail. Bee ran forward and grabbed the foot of the sail ready to bring it down. Releasing the haly'd we could only watch in dismay as the sail, already split from tack to clew, </span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">gently ripped from one end t'other and we knew we would be moving a lot slower from now on. Our own fault as we had watched the wind strength increasing, topping 15 knots and more and we should have dropped it and reverted to the genny. Laziness. Of course we missed the NFB (new best friend) sail that now lay in shredded tatters in the forepeak but little could be done about it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWcXMPcJygQMB2KSOpehm0ZoRY0iCtoN_6gy0Tx4RPJNCH66AkTDPf4cQ9eWxTn3_1yENsatvIeSAXfWqB9MwTfim4lRgvNpJR4MNbXwnEtl-Bcwaq00OrLKXy0pXNjTgps-zSIRSnSS3/s1600/DSCN6957.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWcXMPcJygQMB2KSOpehm0ZoRY0iCtoN_6gy0Tx4RPJNCH66AkTDPf4cQ9eWxTn3_1yENsatvIeSAXfWqB9MwTfim4lRgvNpJR4MNbXwnEtl-Bcwaq00OrLKXy0pXNjTgps-zSIRSnSS3/s320/DSCN6957.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We drifted, beat and, eventually, motored our way through the oilfield that lay on our route and a day or so from Shetland heard of impending gales for much of this northern area. From the SW of course but not yet. For the moment we had NW winds, picking up and getting us south. The choice was either sneak into BaltaSound from where we'd left or get further south. We chose south, discounted an anchorage on the north side of Fetlar in favour of what looked like decent shelter on the south of the island. It meant beating our way in for the final 4 miles before we settled on a spot that would provide the best shelter. In the end we were there several days and the SW wind backed more S giving us a rolly few nights alleviated somewhat by the reefed mizzen sheeted in to steady us. But it felt great to be back in Shetland and we gazed around happily.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Levenwick</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The blow passed and we edged further south, a slightly iffy anchorage at Levenwick turned out to be a cracker, one of the best in terms of scenery and holding and would have been a great spot to sit out that blow. Now we were keen to get south, at least to make it around Cape Wrath and into "home" waters. If we only knew....</span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">With the weather suggesting we might get head winds early in the morning we pushed off on the last of the favourable tide to get down to Grutness. Although it meant arriving in the dark we were fairly confident of getting a spot to anchor, if only because the only boats we'd seen had been fishing boats. So it proved as we snuck in using the radar to centralise ourselves. I say using the radar but it is almost tongue in cheek as it has for some years been playing up. We thought we'd cracked it when we improved the grounding but it was very temporary. By now it would only pick up a target less than a mile away and often only .5 mile away. Then we'd switch it off for 20 minutes or so and get nothing. Frustrating to say the least. We left early the following day and motor-sailed our way down to Fair Isle. Stiff 25k winds and a rapid tide had made for a long, cold morning and the thought of beating against a foul tide to Pierowall some 40+ miles away was ditched in favour of a day or two exploring this small community. First we had to get alongside as the only other boat was tied up in the middle restricting access to all but the smallest. However they shuffled up, telling us they were heading out in an hour or so for Pierowall! Wow - the joys of youth. They did leave and we watched them, from the comforts of the rain swept hillside struggle to get their main up before reefing as the waves bounced them around with seemingly greater force. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBn5uwHF4jmLKkeSP6B3xnGQ_vPzNy-4AjqdnsAFvkC2WyhcxduiDW8fTrSel2rfg7vR5JwyU7T46WYvp9Bu7zR3BuKGcvDMl-TPUTqwtqZnvuSEglxTFrHGoIJgPjQjsNXujGstv-lOG/s1600/DSCN7038.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBn5uwHF4jmLKkeSP6B3xnGQ_vPzNy-4AjqdnsAFvkC2WyhcxduiDW8fTrSel2rfg7vR5JwyU7T46WYvp9Bu7zR3BuKGcvDMl-TPUTqwtqZnvuSEglxTFrHGoIJgPjQjsNXujGstv-lOG/s320/DSCN7038.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The following a large Norwegian boat came in and we too had to shuffle further forward to create enough space for the soon to be returning ferry. On its return the ensuing scene reminded us graphically of Nain; local people coming down to the wharf to greet the ferry, collect items ordered or returning friends and family. Whilst the Good Shepherd is far smaller than any of the Labrador ships that supply the communities on that coast, the local reactions are mirrored.</span><br />
<br />
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmmMnTF3zTg0ZtD30N5gi4tOLn26JEgim5H_IcAcyyEdXcIHTgaz6OPpUOI7EbJ89hacug1Hh3KIgdkRqSeV-K6ad_RVCMiZv1E-LCTwoiMDHuDTd0XyjePeTsLWmEeS_n7F1uMxNQWGC/s1600/DSCN7049.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmmMnTF3zTg0ZtD30N5gi4tOLn26JEgim5H_IcAcyyEdXcIHTgaz6OPpUOI7EbJ89hacug1Hh3KIgdkRqSeV-K6ad_RVCMiZv1E-LCTwoiMDHuDTd0XyjePeTsLWmEeS_n7F1uMxNQWGC/s640/DSCN7049.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above the tiny Fair Isle Hbr</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Both us and the Norwegians left the following morning on their homeward legs. We tried to get south around Fair Isle to give us a better wind angle but the fierce tide made it pointless so we turned, roared back up the way we'd come and turned westish toward the northern end of Orkney. With the wind forward of the beam and the tides that race through these waters it could have been a bear of a trip but sometimes you get a bit of luck...the wind was freer than we thought and the tides were a positive influence. The vis was poor and once we'd gained the shelter of the islands the last few miles were calmer. The anchorage however looked a tad wind blown and I was easily persuaded by a figure waving from a dock inside the harbour. Pierowall is a small harbour that shelves soon after the pontoons, the wind was blowing straight in and the turning room tight...hmm. Bee was waiting patiently for me to decide which side we would tie to. Ideally it would be better to turn around but with the wind and space that was going to difficult so I opted to go straight in and go port side on. The wind had other ideas, blew us off and past and we had 10 minutes or so have waltzing around as we had to turn the boat in a narrow space without poking the 'sprit though the deckhouse of an idling fishing boat. The crews from the other yots crowded the small jetty to grab our lines as we finally made it alongside. The jetty looked small but was, we were assured, good and would cope with our weight and the forecasted blow. Seems the harbourmaster had seen us sailing up toward the anchorage/harbour and rung down to tell a local where we could tie up to. We were there a couple of nights, filling our diesel jugs from the local fish plant and having a wander around. Most of the other boats had left leaving just us and a small boat. He was bound for Estonia I think and was hoping for a wind reduction before he crossed the North Sea and into the Baltic; we were just trying to knock a few miles off. We left with little wind and motored down to Rapness, a small harbour that is also a ferry stop. We anchored far enough away we hoped for the ferry to come in and settled down to wait. A local fisherman came by and offered us someone else's buoy for the night, but confirmed that where we were would pose no problem for the ferry. And so it was.</span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The next few days were not enjoyable. We left soon after a strong NW, the seas had not died down and the trip was wet and uncomfortable and as wave after wave seemed to come aboard I opted for comfort and turned for Stromness. Bee felt it to be a mistake; we were out there and if we kept going etc. Plus we would have to get the tides right to exit Stromness. Despite the words written in the opening paragraph I remained deaf to it all I'm sad to say. The entrance was fine although the wind picked up to the low 30's as we approached Bay of Ireland to anchor. No matter. The water shallows to 4 metres or less and the shore is 200 metres away, the holding is good and the wind could blow - we were in. Now, of course, we had to get out. </span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-37448862095449170182017-10-19T17:37:00.001+01:002021-02-06T10:54:21.622+00:00The Arctic again....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
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</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span><span style="font-size: small;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_LsHJ4M1u1fWyU2emRpEqRXnuZckhV4H-5FbjL6yvHwd34vNMpEn8S-3TgdjNk5UG7i9SmXGprkKibf7A_TJ6IKqC3TFpEp8Uu7csTslwDW2NGHWAYhwEZOLz4CylLX1nwVAAmQn2kue/s1600/DSCN5765.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_LsHJ4M1u1fWyU2emRpEqRXnuZckhV4H-5FbjL6yvHwd34vNMpEn8S-3TgdjNk5UG7i9SmXGprkKibf7A_TJ6IKqC3TFpEp8Uu7csTslwDW2NGHWAYhwEZOLz4CylLX1nwVAAmQn2kue/s640/DSCN5765.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RED THROATED DIVERS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">Having
negotiated the Yell Sound we left on an evening tide with a
reasonable breeze and sunshine. Opting to sail under mizzen and
heads’ls we had one of those experiences that come so rarely aboard
a boat, relaxed, comfortable with interesting navigation that, on
arrival at our next anchorage, we thought we should retire as it could
never get better than the last couple of hours. </span></span><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKsBJX7hD_QUg9-zMMiHfyx5ONCy1KXGyx1wrLgHXgKlbJNnqhNavYznxmsWPxY_hUANNTtdYEDwrxOioEPkxD4dgcbmgETExpaAj5Xt4ybL8aZ3BTO5yeD1bMBQLhMeTEeHzWwuTReuT/s1600/DSCN6064.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKsBJX7hD_QUg9-zMMiHfyx5ONCy1KXGyx1wrLgHXgKlbJNnqhNavYznxmsWPxY_hUANNTtdYEDwrxOioEPkxD4dgcbmgETExpaAj5Xt4ybL8aZ3BTO5yeD1bMBQLhMeTEeHzWwuTReuT/s200/DSCN6064.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">But we’d found our
way into a gem of an anchorage, Burra Voe on Yell, well sheltered from
everywhere but the SW, a small marina and a scattering of houses that
make up the settlement. There was even a derelict Grade 3 listed
building for sale to whet our land urges and we spent a peaceful
couple of days there which netted us a goodly supply of driftwood for
the stove. </span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4JErc3J_HCRwn1wVh34jVQdMaYN4rdievZJ7xkrgDdXQxau0Rocqysu8pZ6xAi_IzeJJkp8J8p6KRNE1oJjbL2ktKZ29AgOymaAm7SYzrLYGkbLWAnFEpAQqjj-MXIDI658Es8_QBhP3/s1600/DSCN6037.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4JErc3J_HCRwn1wVh34jVQdMaYN4rdievZJ7xkrgDdXQxau0Rocqysu8pZ6xAi_IzeJJkp8J8p6KRNE1oJjbL2ktKZ29AgOymaAm7SYzrLYGkbLWAnFEpAQqjj-MXIDI658Es8_QBhP3/s320/DSCN6037.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">But time was running away and we were bound for Lofoten
via the Norwegian mainland and so positioned ourselves up on the coast
at Balta Sound on Unst to sneak across in a weather window. The window
proved to be a cracker as, with a reefed main and genny, we covered
151nm in a 24 hour period at times exceeding 8 knots. Of course the
wind eased, the murk and rain descended and closing the coast
increased the amount of traffic. The AIS proved invaluable and when a
target indicated we were going to get very close we were able to call
the vessel by name and ask if they were aware of our presence, by now
under 2 miles. They weren’t, could see no evidence of us AIS(?) and
after requesting a repeat of our lat/long said only a faint trace of
a target was showing on their radar. By now we had a visual on them
and warned them to maintain their course and we'd pass starb'd
to starb'd. Soon after passing they called us back asking how we knew
their vessel name and suggesting, with good humour, that we may find
it worthwhile to invest in a transceiver.... It was meant well but it
reinforced my belief that ships are more reliant on AIS than radar
these days and that they expect everyone to be similarly equipped.
There is a very good article on the <a href="https://www.morganscloud.com/2017/07/29/can-we-really-be-seen-by-ships-at-night/" target="_blank">AAC</a> site about recreational AIS
that is worth reading. It may be a members only page in which case if you aren't already it may pay you to join - $19 a year I think?</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fOHRmo5OwHU0y5sbwvQnpojRi0oIEoGMC1iVNcBnkkREvIg1LLKyEkVicVvZTGLTZo4uDy0Q7f3MDcfZSzpgn5E3cshlW5of8-FxjflSTZxCHrGIRV04_BMcTZqs8_ZNVd5v9NY-xz7m/s1600/DSCN6145.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fOHRmo5OwHU0y5sbwvQnpojRi0oIEoGMC1iVNcBnkkREvIg1LLKyEkVicVvZTGLTZo4uDy0Q7f3MDcfZSzpgn5E3cshlW5of8-FxjflSTZxCHrGIRV04_BMcTZqs8_ZNVd5v9NY-xz7m/s320/DSCN6145.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">We cracked on
and slid into our first ever Norwegian anchorage: Haroeydsundet; well
sheltered with neat houses around the edge, fishing boats tied up and
an air of quiet prosperity. As ever after such passages our thoughts
and actions turn to the basics: fire and sleep. We’d arrived. Over
the next few weeks we would be working our way north, taking advantage of the
inside passage which gives great shelter from the sea whilst still
allowing you to sail. Except, as with winds in any higher latitude
there’s either too little or too much and another truism we seem to
have discovered: favourable winds are never as strong as forecast
whilst unfavourable ones inevitably are stronger. The forecasts are
given in Norwegian understandably enough but a quick vhf call will get
you an English version. Whatever we began heading north, pulling into
Honningsoeya on the second night. Leaving the following morning I
stupidly went the wrong side of a green starb’d marker. </span></span><br />
<span><span style="font-size: small;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuADYIGBde3Fh7sEubOT3qCyzGZ5uwXevibHULZNJIkEeJE1pwWP4Zm8vvsASyZQFyqSi1cOIXQUWcZrYTjIiHTIBSRGV1QeUJDGl3yiZVhcbs79gvLJ2nqqxem7YPf7AQYET4cIvGl0tZ/s1600/DSCN6171.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuADYIGBde3Fh7sEubOT3qCyzGZ5uwXevibHULZNJIkEeJE1pwWP4Zm8vvsASyZQFyqSi1cOIXQUWcZrYTjIiHTIBSRGV1QeUJDGl3yiZVhcbs79gvLJ2nqqxem7YPf7AQYET4cIvGl0tZ/s200/DSCN6171.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Port marker...obvious really!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">Stupid
because the “pole” marks are a little like signposts in that they
clearly point to which side you should be on and I’ve been back on
this side of the ocean long enough to get the rules right…..luckily
the water was deep enough and we got away with it but I had to warn
myself to take more damn care in future!! The days followed on; the
anchorages varied but for the most part were normally easily found at
the end of a days run. One thing we were grateful for is our gaff rig
as many bridges are a mere 16m high, about 52’, and any Bermudian
rig boat of any reasonable length had to take the long way round!</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">July 13th was a
frustrating day as the winds were heading us and strengthening. The
possible anchorages turned out to be a mere slit and rolly to boot
leaving us with little choice but to beat onwards but once we were
able to free the sheets the wind died of course. The anchorage, on
the southern end of Kvaloeya was ok, suffered a little from
rolling but we were now into real island country where the route slid
between rocks and islands turning through the compass in order to
make a safe passage. </span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogUOjqjKPUsxvygOgMGowBeY-35NCixa7IiMC5pAd2yMgpV628Lk-Hcd6AwG_U-bFw01qeOMmwAQvy2flsPgCWY9siyuZOPTadHaG_9ZeO5TKfUpc-JjwsxNH_5i1CTTZTgo9j31xWUMH/s1600/DSCN6671.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogUOjqjKPUsxvygOgMGowBeY-35NCixa7IiMC5pAd2yMgpV628Lk-Hcd6AwG_U-bFw01qeOMmwAQvy2flsPgCWY9siyuZOPTadHaG_9ZeO5TKfUpc-JjwsxNH_5i1CTTZTgo9j31xWUMH/s200/DSCN6671.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Eye marked with a bulleye</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">Many of the anchorages had succumbed to mooring
buoys or small marinas and many were tiny with mooring rings hammered
into the rocks for boats to tie off to and reduce swinging room. </span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">One
such place was near Jensoeyholman and very restricted. We chose our
spot carefully, the winds were light and we were confident of staying
off the rocks. </span></span><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0aItY69rGNQw1Fla5mqVuoqvA_E-a4VZkKcyOBdDpHfkgidd2_fzTDmgNovFl-8IJTc49pE8vGqGtSecd8ngF8Y5dtQRr8IYCnv-eW9dyZvQEYzbvoYlOoIgkjn9jLTSTBMgtn2jf3rg/s1600/DSCN6261.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0aItY69rGNQw1Fla5mqVuoqvA_E-a4VZkKcyOBdDpHfkgidd2_fzTDmgNovFl-8IJTc49pE8vGqGtSecd8ngF8Y5dtQRr8IYCnv-eW9dyZvQEYzbvoYlOoIgkjn9jLTSTBMgtn2jf3rg/s320/DSCN6261.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">Rapidly launching the dinghy and we headed ashore to
harvest several useful looking logs for firewood, returning with a
3metre plus length that we hung over the dinghy stern to transport
it. Then dragged it ashore to a beach area so I could split it into
shorter lengths. Our first landing on Norwegian soil! The following
day we made it up to Rorvik and took the opportunity to get some
fuel. The fuel dock was easy to approach and tie up to and the guy
selling fuel extremely helpful. We’d only just finished paying and
started moving the jugs and realised he’d shut up shop and left -
we’d arrived minutes before he closed for the w/e. Sometimes a
little luck is needed as we were about to find out. We motored north
to what looked, on the chart, a sheltered cove with reasonable
depths. It was but it also had a small marina, with small, narrow
pontoons and after circling a couple of times we decided to carry on with Plan B. I say this loosely of course as it had to hatched on the
hoof as it were and involved several hours motoring. The next fjord
entrance had the inevitable fish farm which are pretty well marked
(and need to be as they’re not small) and the trip along the fjord
was several miles but the anchorage was just great. Excellent holding
with only a couple of houses overlooking the shelter. As with every
place we’d anchored no one pays you the slightest attention and you
go about your business as though you’re invisible…. The following
day we headed up to a place that looked as though it would offer good
shelter, passing several anchorages mentioned in the pilot book. Of
course when we got there we found out why it didn’t merit a mention
as large “NO ANCHORING” signs were on display as power cables ran
underwater to nearby islands. Another Plan B came into action and we
motored around the corner to a narrow but deep river for the night.
Onwards, ever onwards as by now we were within 100 miles of the
Arctic Circle and we anchored in Hjartoey for the night but were soon
joined by 2 small powerboats. This is an anchorage that is overlooked
by the Seven Sisters, a nearby mountain range, although much of it was
hidden by mist or fog, We were also nearing the ??? glacier. The
scenery was becoming very mountainous, cruise ships increased but
almost every yacht we came across was heading south… </span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGaFCJyxoguUofMPq2zH1PRdg7fXjscgV0Z8E9YWzxjuRZ2B_k8PCaJ5VrU_ZhrgXJojn_wohd_R4Ce3f-LhnXSou6t7TuHilH-8_zDRKiCmC6yf1lpYLwWqHzz_qdBsRKUXwlRZxdNV57/s1600/DSCN6429.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGaFCJyxoguUofMPq2zH1PRdg7fXjscgV0Z8E9YWzxjuRZ2B_k8PCaJ5VrU_ZhrgXJojn_wohd_R4Ce3f-LhnXSou6t7TuHilH-8_zDRKiCmC6yf1lpYLwWqHzz_qdBsRKUXwlRZxdNV57/s320/DSCN6429.JPG" width="320" /></a>The glacier is
pretty spectacular even from a distance of 15 miles and we felt
little need to join the throngs of vessels making their way down the
fjord to get a better view. Some of the communities we passed were
relatively small but a large town was clearly visible as we cruised
by which all added to our growing feeling of disconnect which I’ll
come back to later. The mountains had steadily become higher and
although we could see it and recognise the fact it wasn’t until we
got back to the West coast of Scotland that we appreciated just how
high they were. </span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWznDBZMHdhxZAdXxnbAHPAiYsXYKavOoOfezjtM1Q0V-Y76-BmTVuHOM-e8YzohKet7VG5FuBRAf69je0X2p1VlP6UQTB2Dcy1vZPwW00TbhNOIb5mGrZkU9zlPp7Z-v0DZ9wmYhWf0vl/s1600/DSCN6360.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWznDBZMHdhxZAdXxnbAHPAiYsXYKavOoOfezjtM1Q0V-Y76-BmTVuHOM-e8YzohKet7VG5FuBRAf69je0X2p1VlP6UQTB2Dcy1vZPwW00TbhNOIb5mGrZkU9zlPp7Z-v0DZ9wmYhWf0vl/s320/DSCN6360.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marking the Arctic Circle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">As we closed the Arctic line we smelt the
unmistakable odour of a farm! The scent of cow manure drifted across
the boat, a sure sign of how benign the temps are around here we
thought. By now the number of yachts were increasing quite rapidly
including a number of UK boats; charter and super yachts amongst
them, the majority of which were heading south. </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">On the 24th July
we crossed to Lofoten which had been one of the aims of the trip…it’s
hard to justify our disappointment I think. We had been thinking
about heading to Norway for at least a decade and in that time have traveled to other northern areas, principally Labrador and
Greenland. Labrador is, for us, the benchmark by which we “judge”
our cruising grounds; its wildlife; solitude; scenery etc. It is a
remarkable place whereas Norway had little wildlife or solitude to hold us. We have been spoilt I know and when we arrived in Lofoten
we both knew that we would go no further. Possibly had we arrived
here first and then gone north from there we may have found what we
were looking for; had we headed straight for Norway rather than
wander the offshore islands off our own country we may have had more
time although that’s a poor excuse. Whatever after a couple of days
we turned and began our journey south; looking for different places
to stop, different routes to follow. Sometimes we were successful and once we had one of those, hopefully, never to be repeated sequences. We'd been looking for somewhere to anchor that wasn't in the pilot book....as we approached our first choice though a narrow channel the sky grew increasingly dark and a squall was obviously lining itself up.... the room inside was tight but possible but no sooner had we made our turn so we now faced the way we'd come in when the squall exploded with torrential rain and gusts in the high 30's. It was made worse by the fact the wind had completely switched direction and was now blowing hard into the entrance. We struggled out, blinded by the rain and using the radar to keep track of where the rocky shore was. As we cleared the channel I turned to port, trying to keep several hundred metres off the lee shore and struggling to get the speed above 1.5k...at one point Bee, who was trying to watch our heading through the solid rain shouted she thought the wind was backing but it wasn't; just my inattention had allowed the head to fall off toward the rocky shore. We plugged on, very slowly but at least maintaining a distance from the disaster that waited us off to port. In the end, of course, the squall passed through and unable to find anything satisfactory we turned and motored past rocky shoals and outcrops to the nearest anchorage mentioned in the pilot book,Sjoyea. By the time we arrived several hours later it was getting on for 11pm but the wind had died and the sea calmed down which was just as well as the entrance is possibly 15m (50') wide , very hard to identify, involves crossing a bar with a sharp turn to starb'd the moment you're through and as you make the approach the mind (or mine anyway) was screaming "don't do it don't do it". The anchorage has a small marina, perhaps half a dozen boats on mooring buoys and looks, on paper, to be a tad open to the swell but in reality the rocks and small islands that exist around the 3 gaps break everything up. </span></span><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">In
the end we found it to be one of our favourites with excellent shelter
and holding. Getting out was interesting and it is certainly not one to
attempt with any sort of swell</span></span> but
by Aug 3rd we’d called in at Rorvik once again, fuelled up and
began the journey south. The winds looked to be fairly light so not
really what we wanted to hear but we had to deal with what was and
made our way out through the islands to the open sea. Shetland lay
480nm to the SW and looked like being a slow haul…</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-901559667064089472017-07-08T20:33:00.001+01:002021-02-06T10:53:49.932+00:00North to the light....<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Another few weeks pass,
another 500 or so miles slide past the keel and still we're heading
north.....well why wouldn't we? </span></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">We crept out of West
Loch Tarbert and continued northwards stopping briefly in Canna,
another place we hadn't been to in several years and I'd forgotten
how attractive it is with a good sheltered anchorage and visitor
buoys available. The only open direction is from the east and when
the wind duly turned easterly early the following morning we left,
reefed, for the Hebrides. The winds were strong, the fog was thick
and the rain too frequent. The Hebs remained invisible until we were
much less than a mile from the shore and we were about to enact Plan B
when we caught the dark outline of land and plunged on. I don't know
if you have ever been in one of those situations when your mind races
through “worst case scenarios” but this rapidly became one of
them. A lee shore coupled with a narrow entrance and rolling waves.
The entrance was a sharpish turn to port leaving the seas abeam.
Thanks to some exceptional deck work from Bee we had the main down at
the last minute to minimise the rolling and we motored slowly in
against the ebbing tide toward the gap. It was narrow and had the
engine packed in or faltered there wouldn't have been either time or
space to get sails up. Inevitably you allow these thoughts to tumble
through the mind working out possible solutions even though reality
suggests there isn't much chance . Of course we got in, the seas
moderated and we worked our way into another cracking Hebridean
anchorage where one other boat lay.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">A brief sail up to Loch
Maddy, joined briefly by Bob Shepton and Dodo's Delight and then on
to one of the summers objectives: across the Sound of Lewis and onto
the west side of Harris. The sound was achieved reasonably easily
apart from a bit of confusion with a couple of buoys and then onto
the magic of the western coast. Several things struck us as we sailed
gently toward our evenings anchorage. Firstly far more people lived
this side than we had imagined and houses were dotted along the shore
and hills and the beaches were a stunning white, almost Caribbean
with the green sea breaking gently across the shore. True the folks
strolling along had more than Speedos' on but...</span></span><br /></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTSGTi2uVo2_X3RlJ2s58KrHgn3QUFFp1Qme1cFGPAImlxnNpQQa2CP1b_ivrg77XJdldaed8igHHp3bfs655kKOxw7j60S0cWIwRFoZej9w8zUAnqo3rRqMvn6WcR84lC_oRs0a7DQuN/s1600/DSCN5501.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTSGTi2uVo2_X3RlJ2s58KrHgn3QUFFp1Qme1cFGPAImlxnNpQQa2CP1b_ivrg77XJdldaed8igHHp3bfs655kKOxw7j60S0cWIwRFoZej9w8zUAnqo3rRqMvn6WcR84lC_oRs0a7DQuN/s320/DSCN5501.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Although we were
initially disappointed at the anchorage it turned out to be very well
sheltered even if room was restricted. However the following day gave
us a wild ride with a fair bit of beating as we made it up Loch Roag.
The east and west Roags are spectacular; well worth the effort to get
here and a great chance to relax, gaze at the Callanish Standing
Stones where we anchored one night and sort things out for the trip
around the top of the Hebrides toward Orkney/Shetland. </span></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">We continued northwards
with a hope of getting ourselves up to Shetland...of course the winds
died come the evening and the prospect of a fast passage wandered off
into never never land. We altered course for Orkney with its heaving
tides and overfall's. Get the timing right and they remain a joy and
a wonder...wrong and they represent, if you're lucky, a waste of
diesel and a very slow passage. It rarely happens but this time it
did and we hit the entrance to the Eynhallow Sound at exactly the
right time and we swept through with speeds briefly reaching 10 knots
before we were back under our own sail power at a more sedentary 4 or
5 k. A beat down to Kirkwall to anchor for the night and we were back
in the Orkney's. After the drama of the Scottish west coast the
Orkney's strike us as a tad tame, gentle hills rather than mountains
and bays rather than dark foreboding lochs but those tides!! The only
other time we came here I found myself completely freaked by them to
the point we cut short the journey and went elsewhere. This time my
mind seemed more at ease. The following day, luckily, didn't change
it.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">We left Kirkwall with
the tide running strongly with us. The journey wasn't a long one but
looked to be interesting from a nav viewpoint. Up the west side of
Shapinsay we romped and in order not to get swept sideways I kept off
the coast line somewhat, a tactic, had I read the pilot book
properly, that could only end in disaster. We sailed straight into a
particularly unpleasant and dangerous overfall where the seas
suddenly became more than 2 metres high and determined to come aboard
at every opportunity and direction. I bore away sharpish and back
toward the island noting, the 50 degree difference between track and
compass, and once sanity had been restored we looked aghast at where
the course was taking us. Bee, thankfully, had earlier seen the
southbound ferry come very close to the shore before swerving to
starb'd which gave us some comfort and reassurance. The gap ahead
looked very narrow and the “obvious” choice seemed to be further
over to port. Across our path lay gnarly water and Bee went up the
bow to watch for anything untoward but of course it was fine and we
slid through and onto the next bit. The bay we'd picked was big, well
over a mile wide but good shelter, out of the stream and had the
benefit of a washed up pallet which we split and burnt. Ah the joys.
Another day or so and we were leaving Orkney. We had thought of
having a day off but the next bay on Sanday proved large and
uninteresting. The wind, forecast to be light and fickle, was blowing
a steady 12 knots at anchor and a quick check of the streams
suggested we might just make use of the last of the favourable before
it turned with a vengeance through the North Ronaldsway Firth. Well
the forecast turned out to be correct and we didn't quite make the
cut and struggled our way NE towards Fair Isle, that tiny island that
is half way between Orkney and Shetland. I think we opted to stop
there (and in part leave when we did from Sanday as the next day
forecast was for stiff winds and a sub 40 mile trip sounded better
than a 60+ mile trip)</span></span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdC82-H5MSjh_LzCJhvRfjJPz7dpK9H6vwkbQV962vby5iNgsSm_w64clUvFv5Zf3FHLzvcjzx1hmEiTurg_LuZt4PLfV4HP0Jf2azLL6_blM_Jrf-I1h786X6cx_nDKkR1A9JCKtSGhq7/s1600/DSCN5672.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdC82-H5MSjh_LzCJhvRfjJPz7dpK9H6vwkbQV962vby5iNgsSm_w64clUvFv5Zf3FHLzvcjzx1hmEiTurg_LuZt4PLfV4HP0Jf2azLL6_blM_Jrf-I1h786X6cx_nDKkR1A9JCKtSGhq7/s320/DSCN5672.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"> One of our better decisions we have to say.
<a href="http://www.fairisle.org.uk/" target="_blank">Fair Isle</a> is a gem with one of the most interesting entrances you can
imagine...like a narrower version of St Johns Nwfld without the space
inside and certainly not the houses. It is small, not tiny but
certainly small. There is room to turn around and possibly anchor too
but the wharf was available with two other boats tied (Dutch and
Norwegian) already. We joined them. Up to the Bird Sanctuary building
for a much needed shower, shuffled the boat along to allow another
boat (French)to tie up astern of us before topping up the water tank. </span></span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDm0Laa_Y-UokoUIiZQaImBya0w3Mp5CTb7cR2Lp9uWpuXRvzWE11FmUHiji2CkfrMWXfvNT5NqjQEayJBWtuWk6stcdnWUts0EVGnVmg6H6Z0hoR0MyfQEPSsCPpcGX2BDt_uin__HaSB/s1600/DSCN5647.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDm0Laa_Y-UokoUIiZQaImBya0w3Mp5CTb7cR2Lp9uWpuXRvzWE11FmUHiji2CkfrMWXfvNT5NqjQEayJBWtuWk6stcdnWUts0EVGnVmg6H6Z0hoR0MyfQEPSsCPpcGX2BDt_uin__HaSB/s320/DSCN5647.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Birds were everywhere; puffins in the harbour; gulls nesting on the
cliffs and we regretted not having the opportunity to remain. The
charge is £12 for 4 nights and is well worth it. Wonderful place but
with the winds forecast to pick up we wanted to get up to Shetland
and so left before 5am the next day. Logically, to take full
advantage of the tides we should have gone to Lerwick but we wanted
to see the west side so opted for Scalloway. The winds weren't that
strong perhaps 15k or so and with the favourable tide the seas
remained flattish as did the view as a heavy mist or rain accompanied
us. Sumborough Head remained hidden as we ran up the coast toward our
destination. The entrance to the old capital of Shetland is behind
several islands which do a great job of breaking up the seas that had
now built up. As had the wind which was a constant 20 with higher
gusts as we roared into the harbour before rounding up to drop the
main. Scalloway has a boating club that provides a convenient pontoon
for visitors, four of which were already tied up. We circled trying
to see if we could squeeze into the gap on the lee side before opting
to take our chances on the windy side. Easy to get into of course and
the big balloon fenders we have kept us off. </span></span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1DJD2sqX_9MyFdIBgQAo6KxPVp1c1sLC1_9Y7rjIeQiNE5Jctgi_jUrY8CdCd_H0jngRTrUd9ONmxRS6lgcgnXUVP0qlQwIKuUNVjmyDXoFE6KjVydSkYXtEiNuDZxjEr24v1wsqBPREx/s1600/DSCN5713.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1DJD2sqX_9MyFdIBgQAo6KxPVp1c1sLC1_9Y7rjIeQiNE5Jctgi_jUrY8CdCd_H0jngRTrUd9ONmxRS6lgcgnXUVP0qlQwIKuUNVjmyDXoFE6KjVydSkYXtEiNuDZxjEr24v1wsqBPREx/s320/DSCN5713.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">There we stayed for 3
nights as the wind came roaring out of the SW keeping us pinned to
the jetty; not that much of a problem for a us but the 33' something
behind us was suffering as too light to resist the waves that thumped
into the hull or the wind that pushed the boat over, the boat began
to suffer the following day, slamming constantly into the jetty when
the winds picked up. We dug out several 100' foot lines to help pull
the boat away from the jetty before creating, with another guy,
Jason, a cats cradle of a bridle to try to improve the situation.
Fenders were dug out of the forepeak to replace the ones that had
been crushed and eventually while not perfect at least Paul, the
owner, might be able to get a nights sleep. Blows pass of course and
by Sunday all was settled, Jason was off to head around Rockall
before continuing down to Ireland whilst the rest of us made plans to
leave the following day as we did leaving one small 26' Francis to
luxuriate in the space. Scalloway is a good stopover; the Club
charges £15 a night that includes showers, washing machine &
dryer and electric. A bus from outside the club takes you into
Lerwick where a decent sized Tesco and Coop trade so stocking up is
relatively simple. Fuel too is available across the harbour and we
were sorted leaving around midday for <a href="http://www.skeldcaravanpark.co.uk/" target="_blank">Skeld</a>. A gentle pootle through
the islands ending in a beat up to the harbour. We'd opted to come
here as some years ago we'd met the guy who runs the marina here –
well we ended up not using the marina but anchored in the natural
harbour outside. Like Fair Isle this is a great place to be. We loved
it, rowing ashore to meet people, seriously considering it as a
winter stopover. Jim, the guy we met was out with his son fishing so
we had little chance to see him but perhaps on the homeward bound
trip.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">From Skeld we had a
short but rewarding sail up to Walls, magnificent cliff scenery and
an easy entry into this quiet harbour. With a very secure harbour
that yachts can use if space is available and whilst it was we still
chose to anchor clear of the channel and in less than 5 metre depths.
No doubt about it the Shetland so far has had great and secure
anchorages. </span></span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjy7egdiNSHdRtaxDCBtlRwjQDO6DacCZOFMZSBEldiiF56Hltl-BZR2CdUIyFE17XM5rd5pOOMYqXvTeluVc5IVnUFYPqYRhfcmkVLefJubjwYH0asCIYgoZH9MQC7PimfpF6HoY146b/s1600/DSCN5864.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjy7egdiNSHdRtaxDCBtlRwjQDO6DacCZOFMZSBEldiiF56Hltl-BZR2CdUIyFE17XM5rd5pOOMYqXvTeluVc5IVnUFYPqYRhfcmkVLefJubjwYH0asCIYgoZH9MQC7PimfpF6HoY146b/s320/DSCN5864.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Another short leg saw
us moving through the islands, fish farms and mussel lines before the
inevitable beat up to Hamar Voe where the pilot book spoke of a
secure anchorage with good holding. We just made it through the sound
at Papa Stour having left Skeld late so suffered to tidal effects as
we beat NE into a headwind. The entrance has the inevitable fish farm
in it but easily enough room to get by. Rounding the bend in the voe
Bee, gazing intently through the bino's said “There's a gaff ketch
in the anchorage”. Given that she has a propensity to joke about
such things I didn't believe her but there it was a 50' fishing boat
that sported a gaff rig and was moored to a buoy as were several
other boats. Our sheltered, quiet anchorage has been somewhat reduced
in size by the sensible locals making good, permanent, use of it. It
is a good anchorage, very well protected and land locked with good
holding. We left today, after a quiet night, for Humna Voe when we
should have known better. The forecast was for NE5-7 and whilst we
had an easy and comfortable ride along the coast turning the corner
had us running into it. The coast deflected the wind a little to NNE
and the seas were definitely N and getting bigger the further the
tack took us from the coast. Nevertheless all was going well and it
was only for a short distance.....but doubts were growing...the next
anchorage would be fine once we were in but we'd need to dump
everything before we gained the shelter and the entrance was only 60
metres wide with rocks. When the winds hit 30k and then 33k more
doubts crept in and our fate was sealed when we tacked, got into
irons bore away and tacked again only to get several seas aboard that
we looked at each other and both said “Lets go back” and we did
bearing away to retrace our track. Probably the best decision we made
of the day as the winds continued to build such that even in the
comparatively sheltered waters of where we'd come from the seas and
wind made life difficult. As ever Bee gets the foredeck sorted, sails
down and main under control as we slowly, slowly made it back to the
anchorage we'd left 20 miles previously.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">And finally. The
inevitable came to pass as our good friend Mike succumbed to the
cancer that had ravaged him. Our paths had crossed numerous times
since we met him and Eilean ten years ago in Graciosa including
Senegal and Maine....to the very end he was compiling his working
list for Cooya but no more. We will miss him.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">60 28.32N </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">001 26. 36W</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Humar Voe</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Shetland</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div align="LEFT" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-84147109237154057852017-06-08T14:37:00.001+01:002021-02-06T10:53:26.832+00:00West, west<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We
left the sanctuary of Millbrook on a fine spring evening for
somewhere else. Within 400 metres I had managed to run aground twice
but a flooding tide (and more attention) had us off and away to
Cawsand where we anchored for a couple of nights, sorting things out
and gearing ourselves up mentally for another summer of wandering. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">A
hectic day's sailing to Falmouth followed with decent speeds and
exhilarating sailing which were made to feel pedestrian by several
cats that came by us at double digit speeds....With very strong winds
coming in over the next few days we remained at anchor in the harbour
but headed off eventually for a non stop trip to Ireland. The first
part involved too much motoring but we needed to be clear of Cape
Cornwall, the circular tides and the shipping lanes before we could
drift in comparative peace until the winds came in. The slow trip
across was notable only for the fact that the self-steerer would only
work in strong winds leaving us with hours of hand steering when the
winds fell all to frequently light. But dawn arrived on the last day
and we pulled gratefully into Schull (Skull) Harbour for a couple of
days. It's a big, natural harbour but affords good shelter with
excellent holding. We needed it of course as we sat out another
30knot plus blow.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Over
the next few weeks we worked our way northwards; Valentia, Smerwick,
Cashla and then a triumphant entry, through a stunningly green sea,
into Clifden with the most spectacular accompaniment of leaping
dolphins we have ever had. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJQdG3g_iQ1Vh8LoSG3r60nMhIyBfe3EoRgo20ajapy9pd1dlM99Jzupmw9IRN8WBOrpWcST9f_GEp56hNB_a5J77oAHhPrOwKF7JscWEJ_cIJT79N_tw9rlqywd3_UOvErK8tAafhL7B/s1600/DSCN5012.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJQdG3g_iQ1Vh8LoSG3r60nMhIyBfe3EoRgo20ajapy9pd1dlM99Jzupmw9IRN8WBOrpWcST9f_GEp56hNB_a5J77oAHhPrOwKF7JscWEJ_cIJT79N_tw9rlqywd3_UOvErK8tAafhL7B/s200/DSCN5012.JPG" width="200" /></a>Even the local fishing boat crew stopped
what they were doing to snap pics and watch several of the mammals
exuberantly leap clear of the water by a couple of metres. There is
no doubt in our mind that dolphins, detecting a boat in their “patch”
will immediately come racing across the gap toward us then play in
the bow wave, dive under the boat and seem to relish the chance to
interact with us. I have no idea how many times we have seen dolphins
over the last 17 years but they never cease to captivate and
entertain.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KzOhr7o40x-IXN_dD0iJTR4I3qFRUlquBkrTQhi91moD0Alu2eUyQx2UWL5SssGbDNh4M4iepzEmz0P5N4kHoymiPj5AzkUjFWJCvaFnRtZMFfFfp0U5R4KicnUQCU1B2epyMIKFgHRP/s1600/DSCN5080.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KzOhr7o40x-IXN_dD0iJTR4I3qFRUlquBkrTQhi91moD0Alu2eUyQx2UWL5SssGbDNh4M4iepzEmz0P5N4kHoymiPj5AzkUjFWJCvaFnRtZMFfFfp0U5R4KicnUQCU1B2epyMIKFgHRP/s200/DSCN5080.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We
spent a week pottering around the Killery area, some days in Little
Killery of which we wrote about enthusiastically on our first visit
there some years back and then into Ballynakill. Although the two
only a few miles apart they are very different with the latter having
a feeling of openness and light. The bay we anchored in had
reasonable depths – 5-6 metres, excellent holding and great views.
The beat out the following day to Inishboffin took a lot of tacks as
the channel is narrow, rocks available for chance encounters if
you're not paying attention but on a sunny day it all made for a
great day's sailing. A quick wander across to Cleggen the following
day produced the first (only we hope) failure of the trip. As we
turned the engine off after anchoring Bee thought she had pressed one
of the buttons out of sequence and started it again to be sure all
was ok........ Whilst the engine ran for some reason we now had no
electrics at all and thrown by the failure seemingly connected to the
engine controls that is where we concentrated our reasoning and fault
finding. By the end of the day we'd only established that it was
nothing to do with that but seemed to be coming from the Vetus 3 way
switch. We went to bed in darkness knowing we'd have to sort it the
next day. And eventually we did by checking the connections to the
batteries and finding the negative lead connecting starter to house
had come off! Just before we had left Millbrook we'd bought a pair of
s/h winches from a guy up in Scotland who turned to be a Marine
Electrician. We sent him a text asking if he would care to advise us on
what he though the problem might be and soon after we sorted it out
came his suggestion that it might either be the Vetus or a faulty
connection at the battery. We might well get John to undertake
sorting out the nightmare that our electrics have become over the
years!</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VB-WaR3p8llRMBh8DkD579G842cTCT3ZwjF5-2T9eEBmgey7rmYclnL2L-3sHwlt6v5jzmZhQEiEYOQyxJyIZA634CgACCjeb1D1aLD00ZzXXuVmMakR6h48WWqt5idDBFE8Qi40p9Qa/s1600/DSCN4964.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VB-WaR3p8llRMBh8DkD579G842cTCT3ZwjF5-2T9eEBmgey7rmYclnL2L-3sHwlt6v5jzmZhQEiEYOQyxJyIZA634CgACCjeb1D1aLD00ZzXXuVmMakR6h48WWqt5idDBFE8Qi40p9Qa/s200/DSCN4964.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dating from 600Ad I think...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Our
time in Ireland was coming to an end; we needed to get up into
Scotland to catch up with a terminally ill cruising friend and we
left Cleggen bound for Rhu. We'd managed to get the self-steer
working, although mods are planned for the winter. We rounded Bloody
Foreland and made good speeds toward the narrow gap that separates
Ireland and Scotland. We were hopeful of making it through in one hit
but as time was running out on the favourable tide we opted to slide
into <span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">White
Bay</span></span><u><b> </b></u>at the top of Lough Foyle. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">As we
approached we had misgivings about its suitability but in the end it
was a welcome stop. Good shelter and holding gave us an undisturbed
night before heading on down to Raithlin Island where we anchored to
await the change of tide. We had a choice of anchorages on the other
side; about 20 mile away lay Sanda, the useful passage stop when
rounding the Mull of Kintyre, Campbeltown or further on to Arran.
We'd let the tide and wind dictate. Sanda was passed as we still had
hours of favourable tide to go and we swept up to the easy entrance
of Campbeltown, dropping anchor in the early evening. </span></span>
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</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The
following morning came in still and foggy but we wanted to get a move
on and so motored out of the bay and into more fog. A yacht passed us
as we drifted, tooting its fog horn and minutes later we resorted
again to the engine to make progress. But the fog passed, a breeze of
sorts came in and we sailed slowly northwards. A “PAN PAN” on the
vhf alerted us to a possible issue and the CG reported an overdue
small aircraft. Reports started coming back from yotties that various
bits of wreckage had been seen and then a body. All this just a few
miles north of where we were. </span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjt4rgM3dnqyBa_JfRn3DkK-bhMZIPte5kSt8nTlhVwZPcb7sO43Ck2Al387p0x82-80LeegAdT8wdYvH54HTBSupFVnQ7rVdbRNKTPUX5C13MwwV_sXyqup_zfvV0emvCgFNaPTjqjaD/s1600/DSCN5212.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjt4rgM3dnqyBa_JfRn3DkK-bhMZIPte5kSt8nTlhVwZPcb7sO43Ck2Al387p0x82-80LeegAdT8wdYvH54HTBSupFVnQ7rVdbRNKTPUX5C13MwwV_sXyqup_zfvV0emvCgFNaPTjqjaD/s320/DSCN5212.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We slid into Loch Ranza for the night,
staggered at the number of yots on mooring buoys (we joined them),
watched a brigantine from Holland anchor at the head of the lock and
then we left early the following day. </span></span>
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</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">All
in all we were about a week around Rhu, managing to see Mike and
Eilean, in good spirits despite his illness before saying our
farewells with a promise to drop in on the way back. We'd had a day
or two away when we were in Rhu, managing an exhilarating sail down
to Lamlash on Arran one evening and then motored back the following
day. This time we opted for Rosneath before another early start with
no clear idea of where we might end up. It began easily enough with a
breeze that carried us south under main, genny and tops'l. The wind
began to pick up but nothing to worry about and we carried on. When
we began to get 20 knots I realised we'd still got the top up and we
needed to get it down sharpish. Luckily we were on starb'd tack and
the main blankets it when we drop. Nevertheless it proved to be a
handful, at one point the 5 metre yard hanging horizontally as we
struggled to contain it. All this time the boat kept thundering on, a
line looped over the tiller to keep us straight. </span></span>
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</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">A
lumpy, probably over canvassed, beat along the eastern side of Arran
was endured as the wind direction indicated we'd have a fast sail to
<b>Campbeltown</b>......but no as we cleared the light (just) the
wind fell away if not the seas and we were forced to motor clear of
the ugly patch of water we'd got into. The wind which had been west
of south now came round to north of west giving us another on the
nose flog to Camp. Looking at the tidal charts and the current wind
direction it seemed logical to abandon that course and turn instead
to Sanda which was not only an easier sail but the current would soon
be turning in that direction. With a fading wind we motor sailed the
last 6 or so miles as the current, overfall's and eddies around the
Mull can be interesting. We slid into the anchorage, despite a
counter eddy which wanted us on nearby rocks, safely about 10pm
joining the other boat silently at anchor. By morning they had gone
and as we left we were soon joined by half a dozen more boats making
the journey around. What wind there was was on the nose creating a
wind over tide situation luckily not at its worse as we were still
early in the cycle but off the SW corner the overfall's, standing
waves and general unpleasantness built up as we crashed through at
8k+. The favourable tide we managed to carry all the way to Gigha
although the wind was down 7 or 8 knots. Gigha which is normally
packed with visiting boats had 7 and more spare visitor buoys than
occupied. Perhaps it is still too early.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Across
the sound the following day and into the Sound of Jura, sweeping
tides and whisky distillery's – with the engine on tickover the
speed frequently exceeded 8 or even 9 knots and when the wind picked
up we dumped the engine for the genny and “beat” our way
pleasurable up the sound. Rarely have we managed such tack angles as
the current showed 30 degrees difference between actual and
perceived. As we rounded the top and shaped up to enter West Loch
Tarbet a solitary Swedish yot was heading south through the Sound
under power against the tide. Slowly. No headsail set to make use of
the 15k of favourable wind just a serious amount of fuel to be
consumed. We've witnessed numerous boats intent on getting wherever,
no sails set but engine and auto pilot engaged as they plough into
steep waves. Each to their own of course but...</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Finally
we entered what was to be our home for a few days as a stiff NW came
through. We anchored outside the inner harbour as we'd preferred the
outlook to that of the inner when we were last here. Tucked away in a
corner of the inner could be seen a small yacht, the crew returning
in the dinghy as we dropped anchor. A few hours later another visitor
arrived, Silver Shoes out of Rhode Island no less, also bound for the
inner where, it has to be said, the depths are easier to manage at 4
metres or so than the 10-15metres we have beneath us. </span></span>
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</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The
rain fell, the wind blew and we remained snug and warm, startled from
our sleepy state by the sound of voices....4 guys in kayaks were
drifting around the boat! We'd seen them outside a bothy on the
southern shore of Islay as we'd made our approach to the Sound.
They'd paddled though it and spent the night camped out at a large
house on the shore of Glenbatrick Bay <span style="font-weight: normal;">about
half a mile from where we currently are,</span><b> </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">before
continuing past us and into the inner loch where another bothy awaits
them.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">
</span>
<br />
</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">
</span>
<br />
</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Finally.
For a number of days, perhaps weeks, we could hear a particular
squeaking noise whenever we ran the engine. Although we checked,
listened and tested the tightness of various possible offenders it
remained elusive.... The engine showed no sign of anything untoward
so our searches became a little half hearted. And then we found it.
Turned out to be a squeaky toy belonging to Toots – the vibration
from the engine activates the squeak it seems. Ah the joys.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">
</span>
<br />
</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">
</span>
<br />
</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">West
Loch Tarbert</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">
</span>
<br />
</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">55
57N 005 56W</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">PICS TO FOLLOW </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">
</span></span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-27615069331888609322017-04-23T15:24:00.002+01:002021-02-06T10:53:02.336+00:00Bluebells and mudbanks...<div class="western" lang="en" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0.35cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Winter eases away (not that it
has been a hard one), the days lengthen, boat work gets squared away
and thoughts turn to the summer and possible destinations. We seem to
have spent time and money on making things better/more comfortable
although little would be obvious to a casual glance but enough to
give me a degree of enthusiasm that seems to have been missing for a
year or so. Time will tell...</span></span></span><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0m_B1FN-bjqVRrd82X4RYv6WKIdZe1-mKOMmsh0Ansr1DDbOgQ8dr0i-vL2t53L7J83F8aAA_sGLD3Na1AcPDkrcVuLntnTfC9AbL8JEV6eYqmYGqiynIs0H2l4iY5s6aFAXPYec0BqW/s1600/DSCN4710.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0m_B1FN-bjqVRrd82X4RYv6WKIdZe1-mKOMmsh0Ansr1DDbOgQ8dr0i-vL2t53L7J83F8aAA_sGLD3Na1AcPDkrcVuLntnTfC9AbL8JEV6eYqmYGqiynIs0H2l4iY5s6aFAXPYec0BqW/s320/DSCN4710.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">A</span>s I mentioned a post or two
back in the absence of sailing we've taken to wandering around the
local hills.... well to be honest I've walked, usually with Bee, whilst
she runs on alternate days ha<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">ving</span> got back into running after a 25 year break. Just about every
winter we've tied up some-place it has been on the cards but this time
it all came right. If there is a drawback it would be that Cornwall
has many things going for it but flat surfaces are not one of them
and consequently every run is either up or down. As are the walks of
course but somehow it seems less intimidating, to me, to crawl slowly
up rather than run for 2 hours or thereabouts. </span></span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEfsErH7vwQZdBXp9lHBzGeEqnxgIqfsRv66hAJPVjPRIp3wKEO9NOPY8JpkK-Gz0Rclo2mBHaPosfG6YyEmYy4wH11ijiH6VQ4HjR44cxpggaELzdBo7s20sgngk9R0dDq7psGffHWKN/s1600/DSCN4689.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEfsErH7vwQZdBXp9lHBzGeEqnxgIqfsRv66hAJPVjPRIp3wKEO9NOPY8JpkK-Gz0Rclo2mBHaPosfG6YyEmYy4wH11ijiH6VQ4HjR44cxpggaELzdBo7s20sgngk9R0dDq7psGffHWKN/s320/DSCN4689.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> BUT off into the trees, along the wooded trails a
whole new world opens up and particularly at this time of year when
the bluebells come into bloom and whole areas of woodland are brought
to life with swathes of blue. Today we wandered the trail with bags
and a small axe as the trails are littered with felled trees and the
wood left to rot back into the ground. Nothing wrong with that but
some, we felt, could benefit us and the stove. Luckily we'd sorted the
route to end up laden but with a downhill stroll to the boat,
watched closely by small gatherings of deer. Down below and across
the fields the creek lay exposed, the water a trickle. </span></span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpi_f9w53Luxj5OIn6t-bpJJ-a6xsjDADOrtaHyTWS0HA9GgML944D9Y3s4iXK7TX2k8k2bXTg4sdaV_3CSXNt797p_7oh2hgaWT5a8tJWt0tATBhIEQsyqnCXur7IdUFZnVk7v5gk5WYq/s1600/DSCN4714.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpi_f9w53Luxj5OIn6t-bpJJ-a6xsjDADOrtaHyTWS0HA9GgML944D9Y3s4iXK7TX2k8k2bXTg4sdaV_3CSXNt797p_7oh2hgaWT5a8tJWt0tATBhIEQsyqnCXur7IdUFZnVk7v5gk5WYq/s320/DSCN4714.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Like this the
channel can be easily distinguished and I use the opportunity to try
and memorise it. Of course once the tide turns and the narrow channel
is swamped everything is different and much less obvious. Years ago
as a young squaddie in Kiel I used to sail around the Danish
Islands...Fyn, Aeroskobing and there the channels would have withies,
sort of brooms, with the handles pushed into the mud, with the
"brush" made from twigs and either the bound end pointed up
or down depending on whether they were a port or starb'd mark. It
would be great if they had them here but as a big spring tide here is
almost 6 metres rather 6 centimetres I guess the issues are a little
different. We'll see how we get on next week when we hope to leave.</span></span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQUZhAsYQG7kvL93qb1ZWWN1UlIwV-O9n8dv0lrqyChXl-HFufN0TWFu8CYR4VbG9nlGa4YekVmXok-NO9xGGOXNdZpxIpE3xOhVFyTWPnAKSQFOd-M1eLny7qSS6O53rI4iIZ5KvC86t/s1600/DSCN4713.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQUZhAsYQG7kvL93qb1ZWWN1UlIwV-O9n8dv0lrqyChXl-HFufN0TWFu8CYR4VbG9nlGa4YekVmXok-NO9xGGOXNdZpxIpE3xOhVFyTWPnAKSQFOd-M1eLny7qSS6O53rI4iIZ5KvC86t/s640/DSCN4713.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">
</span></span></span>
<br />
</span><div class="western" lang="en" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0.35cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Years ago we took the perceived
wisdom of good binoculars were a waste of money as the chances were
they'd be dropped over the side or ruined by sea water and bought a
cheap pair. When we returned in '05 we dumped the<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">m</span> as they were crap
and shopped around for a decent pair. The best we could afford were a
pair <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">o</span>f <a href="http://bushnell.eu/eu/produits/outdoor/binoculars/marine/137500/" target="_blank">7x50 Bushnells with a compass</a>. The difference was remarkable
as they didn't fog, seemed easy to use and the compass was a definite
plus. However. We're not the most careful of sailors and on one lumpy
day I watched in horror as the "gogs", stupidly left lying
in the doghouse, were thrown by a particularly lumpy section and
dropped 2 metres plus into the saloon. Result: the distance measuring
thingy inside was on its side and the focus/eyepiece slightly bent.
The distance bit was no loss as we'd never used or understood it but
the focus needed two hands to make any adjustment. But we got used to
it and continued to use them on a daily basis whilst cruising. When
we got back to the UK this time, flush with a state pension, I
thought we might treat ourselves and did a bit of research, stumbling
across the fact that Bushnell offer a life time warranty. I read it
again and then looked at the binos - no eyecups, battered, with all
the issues I've mentioned previously but thought I might write
explaining the situation and find out what a repair might cost. By
return came an email stating I needed to print the attachment, then
complete and return the item to the UK address shown, only then could
they be returned to Germany and an assessment made. We did as
instructed and the weeks went by. Three I think before we had an
email informing us that Bushnell were repairing the item FREE OF
CHARGE and we would be notified when the item was returned. And we
were, by phone...."Did they need my card number for the return
postage" I asked but absolutely not. So here we are with a pair
of refurbished Bushnells, new eyepieces, focus restored etc some 12
years after we had made the original purchase even though we had no
supporting purchase receipt. Not only are cheap binos a waste of
money in terms of usefulness and quality but getting the degree of
service we did coupled to the quality make the company a real winner
for us. </span></span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Millbrook </span></span></span></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">
</span></span></span></span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-4008092301969463582017-03-23T16:29:00.003+00:002021-02-06T10:52:37.994+00:00Newfoundland to Australia NON STOP...<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">Not so much an update from us but after a long wait the account of Trevor Robertson's journey from Newfoundland to Australia has been written up and posted. Create some space, settle down and read an entertaining write up of a great trip. Remarkable.</span><br />
<br />
<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<a href="http://iron-bark.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/a-long-haul-newfoundland-to-western.html" target="_blank"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">Click here to read..</span></a></span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-15536465063446040482017-01-11T20:15:00.002+00:002021-02-06T10:49:53.406+00:00Stick in the muds.............<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqFG2b6yLZAKOT5Ya-o8_X7bY-m6Z5vHYeXfGT6kMRewOhwi2r92yzXg5Q3vmCQoaRejImo31xxmMgI9r3331XPk6zaMFUArqsfemLoHft3esxNmY9HlK7gNMoOW89ccN_KN8m5dJVkNk/s1600/DSCN4474.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqFG2b6yLZAKOT5Ya-o8_X7bY-m6Z5vHYeXfGT6kMRewOhwi2r92yzXg5Q3vmCQoaRejImo31xxmMgI9r3331XPk6zaMFUArqsfemLoHft3esxNmY9HlK7gNMoOW89ccN_KN8m5dJVkNk/s640/DSCN4474.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">How quickly the months
slide by and I search around for excuses. Little point in blaming the
Christmas/holidays as we neither celebrate Christmas in any form and,
it may be argued, we’re permanently on holiday. Whatever, nowt has
been written but we have continued with our life afloat. Here’s
where we currently are.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg380J7bPcVPAILaGtpOsPXO_BeTrpHNnX8uAkByIOLH23Da18inwrzhwGnTQUMH_fqMtmmtuwbQFtXn84d0ElZIA6eM4DEcRbF-nsPSX2sXQNQZrUUn_jrflTYCbDcZmUW3omzzVR-n0Do/s1600/DSCN4467.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg380J7bPcVPAILaGtpOsPXO_BeTrpHNnX8uAkByIOLH23Da18inwrzhwGnTQUMH_fqMtmmtuwbQFtXn84d0ElZIA6eM4DEcRbF-nsPSX2sXQNQZrUUn_jrflTYCbDcZmUW3omzzVR-n0Do/s400/DSCN4467.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">How we spend most of the day....</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">As we had had such a
successful winter “refit” we opted to get back into the water
rather than spend the time on the hard and we duly recruited Nick, on a sister-ship to Hannah and
from the quay we were heading for, to act as pilot on the unmarked
channel. I’d been down at the quay the night before to check out
the berth and was a little taken aback to see a 60’ fishing boat
coming in and tying up. The space didn’t look big enough to take
them and us but Daz, the quay owner, assured me everyone would jiggle
around to ensure a space. A few hours before we were due to launch I
nipped down to check that space and found it too tight especially as
we’d just re-fitted the self-steerer. Back to the boat, removed the
s/s and on the only tide Nathan could launch us on we splashed at 6pm
as darkness settled in. Luckily Nick brought along his gps and his
track in and out which made things a little easier……well apart
from we always use “North up” and Nick uses “Course up” which
threw me as I hadn’t bothered to check. We crept slowly through the
channel, Bee and Nick eyeballing the numerous mooring buoys and
occasional yacht whilst I tried to stay within the parameters of the
convoluted gps track. Funny how the same berth spot looks different
at night from daylight…. I opted for discretion and tied up to the
fishing boat for the night as I didn’t fancy trying to finagle my
way into a gap slightly longer than we are. In the end it may not
have been my soundest idea as , although the bottom was mud about 60cm (2’)
thick, the ground below was hard shingle with a slope away from the
quay wall/fishing boat.</span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YTM2P4VkplQm2Wux4rRO69d1bZHxTkusm1x7v3Oxib2lA1rgs94-Xc7akj3L3clV0xQ1hquUL4ze344rQKJvw3JcA_Pmjl-WcuBAv2Z3kuQc4B5GLYTRG_vhXatqYw2oDGAkgPoqYPky/s1600/DSCN4405.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YTM2P4VkplQm2Wux4rRO69d1bZHxTkusm1x7v3Oxib2lA1rgs94-Xc7akj3L3clV0xQ1hquUL4ze344rQKJvw3JcA_Pmjl-WcuBAv2Z3kuQc4B5GLYTRG_vhXatqYw2oDGAkgPoqYPky/s320/DSCN4405.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">Hillyard, sea-mist and calm water.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">All this knowledge was, of course, still in
the future and we had Nick and Nadja on for a drink whilst the tide
ebbed rapidly. In our defence I would say we’re not usually so lax
when we’re in this type of situation but we were this time as we
sat chatting and drinking the keel touched the gravel and Hannah
began the slow slide. The keel went out, the masts came in. And in.
By the time we cottoned on the damage was done and we had no chance
of getting the boat upright. The starb’d nav. box crept ever closer
to the hull of the fishing boat until it rested against the solid oak
planking. Still we slipped and the only way of saving the box from
destruction was to rapidly undo the lany’ds on the main stb'd shrouds and
allow them to swing freely. The mast is keel stepped of course
and gaffers tend not be set up so tightly that the temporary “loss”
of the shrouds causes chaos. Anyway with that done we could do
nothing but slink below and perch on the sea-berth at a very
uncomfortable 30 degree angle. Not until the early hours of the
morning would we be able to climb into bed without the prospect of
sliding ignominiously out. Not a good start. The following morning we
were up ready to move but with the wind howling. Various folks were
roused from their beds by Daz to ensure no damage was done and in a
lull afforded by the wind shadow from the Mill we squeezed into the
berth. Still tight but hoisting the anchor inboard and judicious
adjustment of warps saw everyone at ease. The quay is part of a B&B and the website covers the rebuilding of the mill. It originally dated from the late 1500's is </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><a href="http://insworkemillquay.com/" target="_blank">worth a look.</a> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">The big lugger that features in some of the quay shots is called Grayhound and their site can be found <a href="http://www.grayhoundluggersailing.co.uk/move-cargo" target="_blank">here</a>. The section on the actual build is excellent.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">One of the many jobs we
have been meaning to tackle for several years is the installation of
a cabin heater using the engine coolant. We had tried it once before
(on the previous engine) using the heater from a mini but it was
never really successful and when one of the fittings broke off on the
engine block some years back we pulled the whole thing out. However the
experience of cruising in Labrador and the frequency that lack of
wind can push us into motoring meant it came back up the agenda.
Rather than search the scrap yards for a unit that might or might not
give us a working unit we bought a new one from a car heater specialist. We talked to the local
Yanmar dealer for advice, bought a kit to enable the tight space to
be negotiated and finally got the whole unit in and working. Except
it leaks a little so we will remove the ptfe tape we used and use a
compound to get a proper seal. Running the engine for 20 minutes or
so gave us a decent amount of heat from the unit which should make
life a little less uncomfortable. Other tasks have been more mundane;
painting the rigging etc but all have been helped by the wonderful
mild weather we’ve been experiencing.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRgnZIBFnGuJLuhtzRrDSKQVWIQE10l-seMQ9Zot9PXCpcW4GiPZgvoCy2AuNQIKGL7Y6hyjp6fzGOjWadlOu59K-sNmlD53QtiO2VZDhG82lADp9n-ZFoYxsTij771UVLXkRzOW7z8at/s1600/DSCN4432.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRgnZIBFnGuJLuhtzRrDSKQVWIQE10l-seMQ9Zot9PXCpcW4GiPZgvoCy2AuNQIKGL7Y6hyjp6fzGOjWadlOu59K-sNmlD53QtiO2VZDhG82lADp9n-ZFoYxsTij771UVLXkRzOW7z8at/s320/DSCN4432.JPG" width="320" /></a>Although we’re in a
well sheltered creek we are only about 2 miles from the English
Channel via the lanes or Public Footpaths on the Rame Peninsula. The lanes, so typical of
Cornwall are narrow. Very narrow in places and steep but steady
walking gets you over the hill and onto Whitsand Bay. With that comes
the chance to pick up the South Coast Way, part of which winds its way
through a collection of single storey buildings that are, in some
ways, reminiscent of the outposts of Labrador. </span></span></div>
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<span face="Verdana,sans-serif"> They perch on the
cliff side, are one or two bedroom dwellings built of wood with
wonderful sea views. However, being English, they’re called
chalets, can cost anything from £150,000 to £250,000 and many, of
course, have neat squares of lawn. The majority are empty as they
seem to be holiday lets. Curiosity pushed us into checking some on
the internet. Not cheap when a two week spell in August would cost
around £4400..... We didn’t book. But the walks are pretty neat,
some along the beach, some following the coast, some further inland
and wandering along narrow, muddy Public Footpaths. The beauty, as
far as I’m concerned anyway, is we’re into solitude and our own
company within 15 minutes of leaving the boat. Not sure what we’ll
do with all this fitness when we head out again.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">Books,
as ever, play a big part in our lives. I’ve just reread John
Rowland’s account of his trips to Labrador, Baffin and Ungava for
the <a href="http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/grenfell-mission.php">Grenfell
Mission</a>. It’s a remarkable story; trips north delivering small
sailing boats for the Mission use, a time when navigation was very
different; when charts were far more scarce and the detail often very
suspect. All this over 100 years ago and with far more “primitive”
equipment yet carrying out voyages that ranged much further than we
ever have and most yotties who venture to Labrador. If you get the
chance it is well worth a read partly because despite the advances in
equipment and electronics it is still a testing journey. What counts
here, as always has done, is the individuals ability to deal with
situations. The book is:<b>North
to Adventure by John T Rowland</b>.
Long out of print I think but occasionally libraries sell off copies
which is where ours came from. Another book that is easier to find
and worth reading is <b>Paul
Heiney's One Wild Song</b>,
his account of his trip down to the Beagle Channel and back - except
it is more than that as he comes to terms with the death, by suicide,
of his son.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="Verdana,sans-serif">Millbrook </span></span></div>
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</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578672757322093848.post-19191126406691993052016-11-03T21:55:00.001+00:002021-02-06T10:48:37.333+00:00..give us this day our daily bath...<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Haven't blogged for a few months as other things have been keeping us busy and anyway I wasn't really in the mood to write. But a recap of what has happened and where we now are.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1-v6G0DL-w_xXBD92i-0K42mvpZEXIMlcJq68oe0p9ckf12G9CDtUNC5pcu915gcdRd5bn12Syj4SAUzxv3LJPmmzPi4CLZ_AB14OtuH6GKY8qmnzqnCITg6_gndTl6n7syBFlZxH1dI/s1600/DSCN0007.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1-v6G0DL-w_xXBD92i-0K42mvpZEXIMlcJq68oe0p9ckf12G9CDtUNC5pcu915gcdRd5bn12Syj4SAUzxv3LJPmmzPi4CLZ_AB14OtuH6GKY8qmnzqnCITg6_gndTl6n7syBFlZxH1dI/s400/DSCN0007.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Tobermory</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We had hoped to wander up the Outer Hebs and, if the weather looked settled, have a look at the west coast of Lewis. Didn't happen of course and we ended up sailing across to the mainland to Rhum (o</span><span face=""\22 verdana\22 " , sans-serif">ne of my favourite anchorages. Although wide open to the east, the depths are good, shelter good and in the event you need to make a rapid escape it is very easy.</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">) and then </span>onto Tobermory<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">. The harbour remains v</span></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">ery busy and we still never made it ashore as we left early the following morning, motoring against a foul tide to make use of a favourable one later in the day. As we </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">pootled</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> down the Sound of Mull it struck me that this particular stretch is a really lovely part of the world. Nothing dramatic but all very easy on the eye - fair lifted my spirits. We plugged on, through the Sound of </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Luing</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">, skirting the Gulf of </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Corryvrecken</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">, picking up swirling chaotic water that boosted boat speed before we slid into a wonderful anchorage outside the entrance to the </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Crinan</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> Canal. One other boat for company and a wonderful peace and shelter. We had toyed with the idea of using the </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Crinan</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> Canal to avoid rounding the Mull of </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Kyntyre</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> but the cost is prohibitive - from what we could work out the 11 mile canal trip would cost over £100! The following morning we watched the other boat haul their anchor and head north - a couple in their 70's or more. We headed south and at the end of a long day pulled into </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Ardminish</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> Bay, </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Gigha</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> for the night picking up the last available buoy in a very crowded mooring field. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">As the anchorage began to empty the following morning we were roused from below by a call of "Heh Hannah" and found Dougie and Bev, a couple we'd last seen in Portsmouth Va. They were heading up to the islands for a week of racing but gave good advice on rounding the MoK before they headed off for the start. We left soon after, plugging another foul tide for hours in order to get far enough south to enjoy a fast run around and then north. And so it was. Although the first part was patchy because of the wind shadow and the general direction of the wind when we began turning toward the north we picked up speed. Normally with the wind gusting 20knots plus I would change the jib down to the working jib but this time we simply left it and revelled in the way Hannah just moved so well. It comes with a risk of course as the genny is so old and patched that we think it'll blow out any moment. But it held and we tacked on. With a couple of miles to go I noticed another boat rounding the headland as we had. A bigger boat for sure but it caught us before the entrance to Cambletown and I was struck by two thoughts....it did look magnificent as the boat came by, lee rail awash, acres of clean antifoul in view and the sails trimmed perfectly...but I also thought who on earth really wants to travel at that angle for any length of time. So we plugged on, enjoying our own speed and boat before we finally downed sails and moved into the harbour for the night. Ever onwards we again sailed north to Rhu the following morning enjoying a good day on the water with our new best friend the genny. The scenery was good, the weather mostly good too apart from a deluge at one point in the day. As we rounded the headland and the sprawl of Gourock and Greenock were exposed the scenery seemed much less attractive and we pondered when we had last sailed by a town as big..... and we couldn't remember. Thankfully as we turned the corner into Gareloch the urban sprawl fell away and we were again surrounded by hills and a sprink</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">ling of houses. </span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbKnL2AAZzvf7_smoy8gMuuAf7Hc0deeIp_DXsB58zKgNLZxHhV2LJoezZ1mKnrW27l_2-7Z0m2khQgDtUm5Zn9inPbVPGBfts1mEKboG5xt7E7V3qUY6VEApJOA49rhnXyyhBIYhwwZo/s1600/DSCN4168.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbKnL2AAZzvf7_smoy8gMuuAf7Hc0deeIp_DXsB58zKgNLZxHhV2LJoezZ1mKnrW27l_2-7Z0m2khQgDtUm5Zn9inPbVPGBfts1mEKboG5xt7E7V3qUY6VEApJOA49rhnXyyhBIYhwwZo/s320/DSCN4168.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">True further up the loch was a large nuclear submarine base but at this end it seemed fine. We motored toward the anchorage puzzled by the large tanker tied up to a commercial dock. Nothing odd in that as such but the ship was surrounded by boats on mooring buoys... We anchored in 10 metres between two mooring fields well content with our day</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">.</span></span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxepauZtj3Wg3lYETfJ48BLvYO0H4-5kWtKRq0JElEmD-SZi6laqpGUmEqBASqIxGpjziuExHUXAbLb8Ae-df8tskk-BChyphenhyphen_h9NSV7qUtX8C_WX1luNJIg7IKKiEQbcRsNrw-04mTr8SQ7/s1600/DSCN4171.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxepauZtj3Wg3lYETfJ48BLvYO0H4-5kWtKRq0JElEmD-SZi6laqpGUmEqBASqIxGpjziuExHUXAbLb8Ae-df8tskk-BChyphenhyphen_h9NSV7qUtX8C_WX1luNJIg7IKKiEQbcRsNrw-04mTr8SQ7/s320/DSCN4171.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The following day we moved up the loch a little and picked up the mooring buoy of good friends Mike and Eileen who we met years ago in the Canaries. Mike was away sailing in Iceland (where we'd hoped to meet up) but Eileen hailed us from the shore and we rowed ashore for a welcome shower and catch up. Over the next month or so we did something we have never done and that was to leave Hannah and head inland and go visit friends Robin and Jac. Partly because we obviously wanted to catch up but partly because the last Atlantic crossing had left me unsettled and with the distinct feeling that I had had enough and needed to do something else but not sure what. The time away would, hopefully, allow some peace and equilibrium into my confusion..... not sure that it did although it was good to do different things including driving 1500 miles but once back on the boat it is as though we had never been away. One thing had been decided though was that we needed to find somewhere for the winter and we checked out local yards to get hauled. A little cheaper than yards down south was an attraction but as day after day passed, far too often accompanied by rain, we began to think of moving south. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The wind remained consistently out of the south but a brief window presented itself... should we leave that night or the following day.... The forecast was for enough wind overnight but where we were anchored remained deathly quiet and our experience of the forecasts suggested they often bore little semblance to what is actually happening and so we trundled off the next day. In fog. With little or no wind. We persevered, happy that we'd spent the night in bed rather trying to drift, and now sailing along slowly but at least moving south despite the fierce tides that rush up and down the Irish Sea. We thought we'd do it in day trips but in the end just kept going albeit in some strange directions at times as we tried to work out tactics for possible wind shifts. As we slowly got south the forecast began confirming what we'd seen on Passage Weather - the northerly element would shift to the south or south west making the rounding of Cornwall difficult. On the morning of the 18 Sept, the supposed day for the wind shift, we were becalmed some 25 miles from Wolf Rock, which marks the end of Cornwall and the entrance to the English Channel. We motored. In fact we ended up motor-sailing all the way into the Helford as the winds were poor and the tides are fierce. At one point, as the tide was with us, I cut a corner and ended up in the rips of Lizard Point giving us a bumpy and unpleasant 20 minutes or so. I'll make sure I don't do that again.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">We thought we'd have an easy couple of days getting to Plymouth but a phone call the next morning informed us we'd be hauled the following morning at 8 and we were on our way, motor-sailing again, up to Plymouth where we were hauled at 8 and where Hannah sits now. We were interested in seeing how the bottom looked as we'd been sat around for the best part of two months and how the two very different types of antifoul we'd applied </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">18 months previously </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">(one to each side) had fared.</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> No doubt that the better quality the better the protection.</span></span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">I</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">nitially we had decided to go house sit for R&J but the weather was so benign we changed plans and began working on the boat. </span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">For once the task didn't seem arduous and we rattled through the tasks, helped by the new sander and vac we bought. True the sander began to emit unhappy screeches after a week of sanding the hull. Bee never phased by misuse of equipment simply took it back and they gave her a new one whilst I skulked in the car. We ordered the Jotun paint and applied it</span><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCA_AzfN7NmZGV4SzqUCQWdQyJeNIFSfVL7tROzeiO49MOI5W74LK4FENbL01jv64SumCmicUkPhKccvKreWPJUYIqmZvI75R8gAOh2-G1h4ldEW7whegG3CB8rbrNkEO3c596a-iTb-Y/s1600/DSCN4301.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCA_AzfN7NmZGV4SzqUCQWdQyJeNIFSfVL7tROzeiO49MOI5W74LK4FENbL01jv64SumCmicUkPhKccvKreWPJUYIqmZvI75R8gAOh2-G1h4ldEW7whegG3CB8rbrNkEO3c596a-iTb-Y/s320/DSCN4301.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hannah, nothing if not colourful</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Slight change of colour which meant we had to remove the dolphins we'd put on several years ago to piss off the purists. </span>We also took the opportunity to get the gammon iron repaired as the eye that holds the bottlescrew from the inner forestay had worn a fair bit. 'course while it was off we had it galvanised too and I've now replaced the leather on the traveller as well so things are really moving along.</span><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFW-lKZ90a45H8C1VVtLUxM5jJK7jZ-NpvXYCMcZsdFSvSd0O8CmuB1Di1SzPn3vJvPk-6nXssjvCyPfAVvbXm6hQ8I-y9ZFsv_0JXx-sJ5-vKsV_LWFI0YNpq6uGzYn-WbUMjiIcP9KiU/s1600/DSCN4337.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFW-lKZ90a45H8C1VVtLUxM5jJK7jZ-NpvXYCMcZsdFSvSd0O8CmuB1Di1SzPn3vJvPk-6nXssjvCyPfAVvbXm6hQ8I-y9ZFsv_0JXx-sJ5-vKsV_LWFI0YNpq6uGzYn-WbUMjiIcP9KiU/s320/DSCN4337.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Traveller: about half way through the job..</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">In the course of getting a small job done I was directed down to another yard and wharf a few minutes from where we are. Two things came out of this: we'll be moving to this wharf when we launch in a few weeks, great shelter and a quirky feel.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgu6PmMEoyandtz76hKZiEBBIykcqSYLcBZ5tXSiphH9YNLgBy3KMymHDHO1oxqdUW4BrTcSn56cuOkYz9Ni7teH8Ypbi594g-l3sVe4Ig7jtGMHqtc0Fyj7zjPQmIQ1SUDkCbuYm_JLL/s1600/13177975_10154117536508361_1309526325290964597_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgu6PmMEoyandtz76hKZiEBBIykcqSYLcBZ5tXSiphH9YNLgBy3KMymHDHO1oxqdUW4BrTcSn56cuOkYz9Ni7teH8Ypbi594g-l3sVe4Ig7jtGMHqtc0Fyj7zjPQmIQ1SUDkCbuYm_JLL/s320/13177975_10154117536508361_1309526325290964597_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep Blue Engineering windlass</td></tr>
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However the biggest thing was coming across a guy called David Webster who not only makes manual windlasses that are wonderful but he will also rebuild parts for any windlass going. </span><br /></span>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">He is one of the few people I've met who instantly knew what an <a href="http://gafferhannah.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/old-guys-rule.html" target="_blank">SL500</a> was and </span></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">took me through a number of the points I had no idea of. I'm looking forward to getting to know him better over the winter months. Check out his <a href="http://www.deepblueengineering.co.uk/" target="_blank">site</a>.</span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">For the last couple of weeks we've been back in Berkshire, house sitting for Robin and Jac who are wandering around parts of Europe on their motorbike. The space of a house seems enormous and unnecessary after a boat....BUT the luxury of an oven, hot water and a bath are very enticing. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Millbrook, Cornwall </span>
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</span>mbthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11711099176840473395noreply@blogger.com1