We work to get Annebella ready for another season
Showing posts with label westerly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label westerly. Show all posts
Monday, 18 March 2019
The view from my office window last weekend...
Cold with a relentless north westerly blowing, driving the sea over the breakwater.
We work to get Annebella ready for another season
We work to get Annebella ready for another season
Monday, 20 August 2018
Secrets of the Walker Knotmaster!
Well some time last year, some complete nincompoop, who probably has no business going anywhere near any sailing vessel, managed to reverse Annabella over the trailing line linking the Walker Knotmaster register to the rotator - the first one being the bit with the dials and the latter the bit that goes in the water and goes around and is - or as in this case only partially - connected by string.
Fortunately it didn't stop the engine and one resourceful crew member was able to tempt it off the prop shaft later with a suitably long boat hook from a suitably floating pontoon. Always make it your business to keep at least one of the three around.
What should have been a winter job, to renew the line between connector was kicked along in the long grass until it became a summer job, and finally undertaken at the top of the season. Fortunately during that time the opportunity hd been taken to equip the boat with both a spare Knotmaster complete and a couple of spare lines and rotators - all from the usual source of course.
There is not a lot of information on these devices available.
Which is partly because Messrs Walker of 38 Oxford Street in Birmingham were somewhat sparing in what they gave away. There is great mythology around them though, and the you can hear the clatter of pipes being set down by the bearded folklorists who explain the absolute important of the length of the line to calibration of the device.
So it turns out that we were in possession of approximately 33% of all known Knotmaster documentation - which is shown above. Note the importance placed on the correct length of line - clearly important knowledge suitable only for several steps up the pay grade from them what does the line attaching. Thank you to some un-seen help from the dusty corners of a rather obscure forum - the other 66% of the known knotmaster instructions were literally pieced together.
It turns out that there are two settings for the knomaster - a 30' rode - if the register is less than 10' above the sea, and 60' if not. Also that the spare rode had been clearly passed through the hands of a different crowd at Oxford Street Birmingham, because it marked at 30' from the register connection.
Now apparently the only mystery that remained, was how to disassemble the nose cone ot the rotator.
How the tight lipped author of the brown paper label would have laughed! it was prodded and poked, twisted and turned and threatened with a vice.
Finally it gave up it secrets - the nose cone is split into two and the forward end unscrews from the back counter clockwise - as the label says "(Left hand thread.)"
At this point you are almost there - the final summit to surmount is that the line is much to big to easily thread through either the sinker weight or the rotator nose cone. How this achieved at sea is not known - but achieved on land using adhesive tape, a piece of bent wire and some patience I will never have again.
There is nothing more to callibrate on it - it is what it is and the next step is to run it over a mile at low water and see what it reads.
(Have a Knotmaster ? Have questions about one or just want to get your hands on one of these little beauties ? Posta query below !)
Fortunately it didn't stop the engine and one resourceful crew member was able to tempt it off the prop shaft later with a suitably long boat hook from a suitably floating pontoon. Always make it your business to keep at least one of the three around.
What should have been a winter job, to renew the line between connector was kicked along in the long grass until it became a summer job, and finally undertaken at the top of the season. Fortunately during that time the opportunity hd been taken to equip the boat with both a spare Knotmaster complete and a couple of spare lines and rotators - all from the usual source of course.
There is not a lot of information on these devices available.
Which is partly because Messrs Walker of 38 Oxford Street in Birmingham were somewhat sparing in what they gave away. There is great mythology around them though, and the you can hear the clatter of pipes being set down by the bearded folklorists who explain the absolute important of the length of the line to calibration of the device.
 |
| ... the brown paper label which is 33% of the known information |
So it turns out that we were in possession of approximately 33% of all known Knotmaster documentation - which is shown above. Note the importance placed on the correct length of line - clearly important knowledge suitable only for several steps up the pay grade from them what does the line attaching. Thank you to some un-seen help from the dusty corners of a rather obscure forum - the other 66% of the known knotmaster instructions were literally pieced together.
It turns out that there are two settings for the knomaster - a 30' rode - if the register is less than 10' above the sea, and 60' if not. Also that the spare rode had been clearly passed through the hands of a different crowd at Oxford Street Birmingham, because it marked at 30' from the register connection.
Now apparently the only mystery that remained, was how to disassemble the nose cone ot the rotator.
How the tight lipped author of the brown paper label would have laughed! it was prodded and poked, twisted and turned and threatened with a vice.
Finally it gave up it secrets - the nose cone is split into two and the forward end unscrews from the back counter clockwise - as the label says "(Left hand thread.)"
 |
| A left hand thread |
At this point you are almost there - the final summit to surmount is that the line is much to big to easily thread through either the sinker weight or the rotator nose cone. How this achieved at sea is not known - but achieved on land using adhesive tape, a piece of bent wire and some patience I will never have again.
There is nothing more to callibrate on it - it is what it is and the next step is to run it over a mile at low water and see what it reads.
(Have a Knotmaster ? Have questions about one or just want to get your hands on one of these little beauties ? Posta query below !)
Friday, 3 August 2018
Anabella is for sale
She's carried us around the four corners of Irish Sea, looked after us though thick and thin, hell and high water, never let us down and how do we repay her ?
In fairness we've looked after her, done a long ton of upgrades and shes a safe, clean boat that's properly ready to take a new crew on a new adventure.
Boatshed have all the details at
https://northwales.boatshed.com/westerly_renown-boat-252452.html
or of course we can answer any questions here. Its genuinely a bit sad to write this, but there's the horizon and we just want to go a bit further over it...
Yes - Annabella is for sale
In fairness we've looked after her, done a long ton of upgrades and shes a safe, clean boat that's properly ready to take a new crew on a new adventure.
Boatshed have all the details at
https://northwales.boatshed.com/westerly_renown-boat-252452.html
or of course we can answer any questions here. Its genuinely a bit sad to write this, but there's the horizon and we just want to go a bit further over it...
Friday, 29 June 2018
Kirkcudbright - a run ashore
I feel sorry for Friday.
Thursday was the hottest day in Kirkcudbright since 1893.
Friday was the hottest day since Thursday.
Kirkcudbright is a fine Scottish town with a strong tradition of the visual art and particularly painting, for which the artists colony was well known. Perfect to explore with our old art school chum.
Also turns out to have a number of very well appointed hostelries.
Sunday, 24 June 2018
The kit bag scene again - how to manage the manifest
We finally hit on a way of managing the last crucial stage of stockpiling and loading up all the stuff we'll need - and there is a surprising amount even for a short trip.
It is literally impossible to walk by and hasn't failed us so far.
Monday, 28 May 2018
Inside the Skerries lagoon
unless you happen to have the expert guidance of CM to help you, of course.
So many thanks for literally taking our sailing to a special place.
Monday, 16 April 2018
Fancy sailing on Annabella ?
Following on from the success of our passage from Holyhead to the Scillies in 2017, this year were planning another cruise between 25 June and 06 July this year.
This will be a slightly different format, as we hope to do it in 3 x day passages, the first of which will be from Holyhead to the Isle of Man, the second around Man, and the third will take us up to the south of the Solway firth, where we will rendezvous with some entertaining friends. (Then obviously coming back)
We are planning around one week to suit the weather and tides, and can overnight, crack on or linger at any point. There is the option of diverting to Ireland or around North Wales if we have spare time and the inclination.
We are looking for two experienced sailors to make up our crew to four,
Food on board, fuel, mooring dues etc are all included - although it would be ungracious to spurn any unsolicited contributions. If required, we can collect from Manchester airport , or you could fly to Dublin and get the ferry to Holyhead !
***
We're sailing for good company, good food, a bit of adventure and some fun. You would be expected to supply a sense of humour in working order, acquiescence to modern jazz and a basic knowledge of the theory of gas kettles. Message us here.
This will be a slightly different format, as we hope to do it in 3 x day passages, the first of which will be from Holyhead to the Isle of Man, the second around Man, and the third will take us up to the south of the Solway firth, where we will rendezvous with some entertaining friends. (Then obviously coming back)
We are looking for two experienced sailors to make up our crew to four,
Food on board, fuel, mooring dues etc are all included - although it would be ungracious to spurn any unsolicited contributions. If required, we can collect from Manchester airport , or you could fly to Dublin and get the ferry to Holyhead !
***
We're sailing for good company, good food, a bit of adventure and some fun. You would be expected to supply a sense of humour in working order, acquiescence to modern jazz and a basic knowledge of the theory of gas kettles. Message us here.
Sunday, 15 April 2018
Our new teak and holly cabin sole - tragedy and comedy in 8 Acts
A few months ago, at the end of last season, I gave up a sailable day to visit my friend's new acquisition. I will admit that I was a little cheesed off, as good weather was scarce at that end of the season, but I had gone in exactly the wrong direction and found myself sitting on a boat which was slightly larger than Annabella, slightly newer, perhaps slightly posher. Unfortunately in all other respects, it failed inspire myself at least - in much the same way that the Austin Allegro would not have been a classic car if had been the only car ever built. If there was only one way in which she outshone 'Bella, it was heshiney stripey teak and holly floor. As I drove home, through the glens and the fens, through the high mountain passes, jungles and the arid wastelands, I though one thing, "...gonna get me some of that stripey flooring"
*
Well, it turns out there is only one source of supply in the UK (and also France - i did check) and that stripey flooring is breathtakingly expensive. The eye watering cost is also my fault in some small part, having got my head round making a major investment, I decided to go for the real thing rather than the laminate, and for a reasonable thickness - in this case 13mm - a decision which would pay off in spades rather later in the process . It was also readily apparent that measuring it right would take on the kind of importance only dimly hinted at by the words "fucking crucial".
*
So started a period of literally 2 months of measuring, templating, fitting and measuring again. Happily this also coincided with the input and support from the guys at ChopShop - who specialise in CNC machining and, now also councilling.
*
( Act 1 ) The first template was made using Proplex, which is a double skin board product, rather like corrugated cardboard, available from builders merchants and often used in construction for protecting floor finishes etc. It has the advantages of being cheap and dimensionally stable in cold and moist atmospheres. It can also be cut easily with scissors, possibly rather in the same way one can trim wall paper into an awkward corner. Happily, no photographs of this remain. Although the surface of the material is black it can be marked up in pencil and a comprehensive set of measurements were taken.
*
( Act 2 ) Back at base the problem was how to transfer to something meaningful. Luckily, I have access to computer aided design (CAD) software and a large format printer. The methodology was to start a CAD drawing with a large area of 10 x 10 mm grid. the measurements of the Proplex template were carefully measured off and those hand annotations incorporated.
What are the chances of that coming out perfect first time - well greater than that for a start. It kind of nearly worked so with a bit of pulling pushing we had a paper template. Actually we had two, because the width of the cabin sole exceeded the width of the printer, but no problem. We stuck them down, cut them up, marked them up and had us a new template.
(Act 3 ) Back again to base with what I hoped were better measurements, and to adjust our drawing. At least one thing had became obvious - it would be better to lift the table bases and fix them through the new cabin sole. After updating the drawing I was able to email it to ChopShop who used it to produced the first of our "proper" templates from 5 mm mdf , using a computer controlled flat bed router / cutter big enough to take a 8 x 4' sheet. The mdf sheet was cheap and easy to modify, but would be dimensionally stable in the humidity on board and resist mechanical stretching.
I admit to hoping that this would be a good fit first time, but the mark up shows the problems, principally from the distortion of the paper template by moisture and stretching both on board and in the printing process. Once again good sense from Chop Shop prevailed, as they insisted on another template rather than go for the final cut .
*
(Act 4) So I had to alter the drawing and sit on my hands - the guys were pushed out with work so I missed out one weekend and so had to wait two weeks for the next version of the template to be produced.
When I did, it was very nearly perfect.
*
(Act 5 ) In fact I made one very minor change and we were set for the final cut, and we ordered up the real material, which was couriered diagonally across the country surprisingly quickly. Careful to the last, the guys called me up just to check - "stripey side up ?"
*
(Act 6) Back now in my possession, feeling pretty confident and looking pretty good. This really is pretty good material (hence the price) but once it goes down I'm not expecting it up again.
Hence at least two coats of marine varnish to all sides and especially edges
For each coat, this took up most of the kitchen for most of the day, but fortunately it was over quickly - and the memory has faded.
*
(Act 7 ) Now we were ready to go:
.
At this stage it became clear what a good decision it was to spend extra on thicker material. I'm sure that thiner material would not have survived the long trip to boat yard as well or being manhandled the last 10 feet.
Mercifully, it dropped into place exactly an first time. Its held down by the table bases and is stiff enough - because of that thickness - to have not moved at all. The gap at the edge, which accommodated the fillet radius of the GRP part, is filled with silicone sealant. This isn't as strong or as sticky as Sikaflex - but I was very wary of creating a hard spot in the moulding and at least at first
wanted to follow any differential movement, not that it turned out that there was any.
*
(Act 8) Finished !
It's great under foot - especially bare feet - and has really lifted the look of the saloon.
Having the digital resources to make accurate templates was key to achieving a good looking result. Much credit also goes to the guys at Chop Shop ( http://chopshopcnc.com/ ) for there insight,input, skill, coming in early and working on a Saturday. You should definitely talk to them if you are doing a project like this.
*
Well, it turns out there is only one source of supply in the UK (and also France - i did check) and that stripey flooring is breathtakingly expensive. The eye watering cost is also my fault in some small part, having got my head round making a major investment, I decided to go for the real thing rather than the laminate, and for a reasonable thickness - in this case 13mm - a decision which would pay off in spades rather later in the process . It was also readily apparent that measuring it right would take on the kind of importance only dimly hinted at by the words "fucking crucial".
*
So started a period of literally 2 months of measuring, templating, fitting and measuring again. Happily this also coincided with the input and support from the guys at ChopShop - who specialise in CNC machining and, now also councilling.
*
( Act 1 ) The first template was made using Proplex, which is a double skin board product, rather like corrugated cardboard, available from builders merchants and often used in construction for protecting floor finishes etc. It has the advantages of being cheap and dimensionally stable in cold and moist atmospheres. It can also be cut easily with scissors, possibly rather in the same way one can trim wall paper into an awkward corner. Happily, no photographs of this remain. Although the surface of the material is black it can be marked up in pencil and a comprehensive set of measurements were taken.
*
( Act 2 ) Back at base the problem was how to transfer to something meaningful. Luckily, I have access to computer aided design (CAD) software and a large format printer. The methodology was to start a CAD drawing with a large area of 10 x 10 mm grid. the measurements of the Proplex template were carefully measured off and those hand annotations incorporated.
What are the chances of that coming out perfect first time - well greater than that for a start. It kind of nearly worked so with a bit of pulling pushing we had a paper template. Actually we had two, because the width of the cabin sole exceeded the width of the printer, but no problem. We stuck them down, cut them up, marked them up and had us a new template.
 |
| The paper template is measured off around the table base. - human feet shown for scale |
(Act 3 ) Back again to base with what I hoped were better measurements, and to adjust our drawing. At least one thing had became obvious - it would be better to lift the table bases and fix them through the new cabin sole. After updating the drawing I was able to email it to ChopShop who used it to produced the first of our "proper" templates from 5 mm mdf , using a computer controlled flat bed router / cutter big enough to take a 8 x 4' sheet. The mdf sheet was cheap and easy to modify, but would be dimensionally stable in the humidity on board and resist mechanical stretching.
 |
| mdf template version 1 - in place |
 |
| ...and marked up |
I admit to hoping that this would be a good fit first time, but the mark up shows the problems, principally from the distortion of the paper template by moisture and stretching both on board and in the printing process. Once again good sense from Chop Shop prevailed, as they insisted on another template rather than go for the final cut .
*
(Act 4) So I had to alter the drawing and sit on my hands - the guys were pushed out with work so I missed out one weekend and so had to wait two weeks for the next version of the template to be produced.
 |
| mdf template - version 2 |
When I did, it was very nearly perfect.
*
(Act 5 ) In fact I made one very minor change and we were set for the final cut, and we ordered up the real material, which was couriered diagonally across the country surprisingly quickly. Careful to the last, the guys called me up just to check - "stripey side up ?"
*
(Act 6) Back now in my possession, feeling pretty confident and looking pretty good. This really is pretty good material (hence the price) but once it goes down I'm not expecting it up again.
Hence at least two coats of marine varnish to all sides and especially edges
 |
| It takes up the kitchen |
For each coat, this took up most of the kitchen for most of the day, but fortunately it was over quickly - and the memory has faded.
*
(Act 7 ) Now we were ready to go:
.
At this stage it became clear what a good decision it was to spend extra on thicker material. I'm sure that thiner material would not have survived the long trip to boat yard as well or being manhandled the last 10 feet.
Mercifully, it dropped into place exactly an first time. Its held down by the table bases and is stiff enough - because of that thickness - to have not moved at all. The gap at the edge, which accommodated the fillet radius of the GRP part, is filled with silicone sealant. This isn't as strong or as sticky as Sikaflex - but I was very wary of creating a hard spot in the moulding and at least at first
wanted to follow any differential movement, not that it turned out that there was any.
*
(Act 8) Finished !
It's great under foot - especially bare feet - and has really lifted the look of the saloon.
Having the digital resources to make accurate templates was key to achieving a good looking result. Much credit also goes to the guys at Chop Shop ( http://chopshopcnc.com/ ) for there insight,input, skill, coming in early and working on a Saturday. You should definitely talk to them if you are doing a project like this.
Wednesday, 7 February 2018
What to do on long winter evenings #3
Well I'm stuck well inland and the weather is miserable.
I've been walking about town for the last few days, which is cold and hard under foot, but my mood has been lifted by listening to Carolyn Sherlock's super pod cast from her blog at https://theboatgalley.com/ .
You may remember that she had previously helped (via the medium of her blog) sort out linking the AIS output from our Standard Horizon Gx2200e to our Garmin chart plotter at the binnacle, for which I hold her in high regard, so I highly recommend it. If nothing else, a catchy theme tune and the reminder of summer days with warm zephyrs wafting us along...
I've been walking about town for the last few days, which is cold and hard under foot, but my mood has been lifted by listening to Carolyn Sherlock's super pod cast from her blog at https://theboatgalley.com/ .
You may remember that she had previously helped (via the medium of her blog) sort out linking the AIS output from our Standard Horizon Gx2200e to our Garmin chart plotter at the binnacle, for which I hold her in high regard, so I highly recommend it. If nothing else, a catchy theme tune and the reminder of summer days with warm zephyrs wafting us along...
Sunday, 28 January 2018
What to do on long winter evenings #2.
Well you could add a new dish to your boat cook book, such as this lovely Tart Tatin.
Best done in temperate latitudes though, too far south and the butter will melt...
Out of the oven, and then
...turned out, ready to eat. Yum!
Out of the oven, and then
...turned out, ready to eat. Yum!
De-gloving Incident !
I heard alarming news when I ran into one of my sailing buddies the other day!
Their partner had had a nasty de-gloving accident on their boat at the end of last season, when load suddenly came onto a rope wound around their hand. A painful accident that resulted in a lot of subsequent medical treatment, not a small amount of which was surgical.
Unfortunate and distressing - I don't know the details, but in any case would be hard to be judgemental, but two things jump out :
Firstly - wear gloves at any opportunity, but absolutely always when dealing with mooring or anchoring. We try to do this on Annabella, but it's always when the action starts to hot up that one is tempted to take short cut and give the gloves a miss. We have tried to overcome this by having a lot of rigger style work gloves in the cockpit pockets and lockers. At less than £2 each its not expensive. So far so good.
What if we had that accident at sea ? If there was any luck in the original incident it was that it happened on the pontoon, so medical attention was very prompt.However, you wouldn't have to be very far out to sea for attention to be two, three or four hours away. And off shore !
We will find out what the first aid would be + update the post as soon as we can !
Their partner had had a nasty de-gloving accident on their boat at the end of last season, when load suddenly came onto a rope wound around their hand. A painful accident that resulted in a lot of subsequent medical treatment, not a small amount of which was surgical.
Unfortunate and distressing - I don't know the details, but in any case would be hard to be judgemental, but two things jump out :
Firstly - wear gloves at any opportunity, but absolutely always when dealing with mooring or anchoring. We try to do this on Annabella, but it's always when the action starts to hot up that one is tempted to take short cut and give the gloves a miss. We have tried to overcome this by having a lot of rigger style work gloves in the cockpit pockets and lockers. At less than £2 each its not expensive. So far so good.
What if we had that accident at sea ? If there was any luck in the original incident it was that it happened on the pontoon, so medical attention was very prompt.However, you wouldn't have to be very far out to sea for attention to be two, three or four hours away. And off shore !
We will find out what the first aid would be + update the post as soon as we can !
Sunday, 14 January 2018
What to do on those long winter evenings...
Can't seem to stop doing boat stuff...
New canvas cover for the wheel
...that should keep the birds off !
Tuesday, 26 December 2017
Thursday, 24 August 2017
New log book on the way:
So - we used up all the store bought log book, so I made us a new one. You can have a look at it here:
http://www.blurb.co.uk/books/8120511-sailing-yacht-annabella-log-book
They are exceptional value if you happen to have a sailing yacht called Annabella - or if you just want to follow our adventures!
http://www.blurb.co.uk/books/8120511-sailing-yacht-annabella-log-book
They are exceptional value if you happen to have a sailing yacht called Annabella - or if you just want to follow our adventures!
Tuesday, 18 July 2017
...now with AIS on the deck plotter.
One night last year, on first watch on a murky night, it struck me how much more comfortable it would be to have AIS targets showing on our Garmin deck plotter - rather than just via the remote mic display from our Standard Horizon fixed VHF set.
Well, of course we could.
It just took a lot of motivation, a bit of spare time and the helpful reference of Carolyn Sherlock's "Boat Galley" blog, which had helpfully worked out which wire to connect to which and what settings to make..
Overall - took about 30 minutes, and worked 1st time! :-)
Just to confirm "St Davids" is not dangerous - it was just within 1nm of us. I have made a mental note to turn to AIS CPA alarm off in the harbour and on again at sea - maybe a note in the log...
Really pleased and, of course, thanks to CS and the Boat Galley blog.
 |
| Garmin deck plotter + Standard Horizon remote microphone for AIS fixed VHF set |
It just took a lot of motivation, a bit of spare time and the helpful reference of Carolyn Sherlock's "Boat Galley" blog, which had helpfully worked out which wire to connect to which and what settings to make..
Overall - took about 30 minutes, and worked 1st time! :-)
Just to confirm "St Davids" is not dangerous - it was just within 1nm of us. I have made a mental note to turn to AIS CPA alarm off in the harbour and on again at sea - maybe a note in the log...
Really pleased and, of course, thanks to CS and the Boat Galley blog.
Sunday, 16 July 2017
Success with bread !
Following on from the mixed success on our recent passage from the Isles of Scilly, I think we have fnally cracked the beer bread recipe and produced a loaf not only worth eating, but actually quite nice!
Instructions are:
Preheat oven - our's is a "Nelson" which was set to mid heat which is 6 on the dial, but I don't know if this relates to gas mark at all. Move shelf to lowest position.
Oil a small bread tin and prepare a small piece of cooking foil.
Mix 1+1/2 mugs of self raising flour with 1 desert spoon sugar and 1/2 spoon of salt in a jug or bowl.
Add a "stubby" (small bottle) of cheap lager and mix thoroughly then pour into tin.
Put tin into warmed over, when it starts ot rise cover with the foil.
We cooked it for 90 minutes then tuned of the over, tipped it out of the tin and put in for another 45 minutes
Timing is the key thing and this works for us but is the subject of experiment.
Cut and guzle with butter and jam, whilst still warm !
Instructions are:
Preheat oven - our's is a "Nelson" which was set to mid heat which is 6 on the dial, but I don't know if this relates to gas mark at all. Move shelf to lowest position.
Oil a small bread tin and prepare a small piece of cooking foil.
Mix 1+1/2 mugs of self raising flour with 1 desert spoon sugar and 1/2 spoon of salt in a jug or bowl.
Add a "stubby" (small bottle) of cheap lager and mix thoroughly then pour into tin.
Put tin into warmed over, when it starts ot rise cover with the foil.
We cooked it for 90 minutes then tuned of the over, tipped it out of the tin and put in for another 45 minutes
Timing is the key thing and this works for us but is the subject of experiment.
Cut and guzle with butter and jam, whilst still warm !
Tuesday, 11 July 2017
10 and 11 July - Postscriptum
After most of the crew took to the road, other Dave helped me take the boat back to her mooring.
We hailed the club launch on VHF channel 37, and they took other Dave off - now he was going his way too.
Katie, the launch driver asked me if I was coming ashore, I said, "No, not quite yet, I'm going to tidy up and straighten out a few things. I'll see you in the bar later."
Well, mid-morning on next day I was woken by someone gently tapping on the portlight with a boat hook. Katie again, " You weren't in the bar last night and thought we'd better check on you..." I'd slept the clock round, but felt happy and secure that the launch crew had been watching over me after all.
There is a a tremendous feeling of satisfaction in skippering a successful passage, even if it is only
600nm. Annabella may not be a big boat, but she went there and came back in the same number of pieces with which she set out and a happy crew.
**
Whose coming next, wherever we're going ?
We hailed the club launch on VHF channel 37, and they took other Dave off - now he was going his way too.
Katie, the launch driver asked me if I was coming ashore, I said, "No, not quite yet, I'm going to tidy up and straighten out a few things. I'll see you in the bar later."
Well, mid-morning on next day I was woken by someone gently tapping on the portlight with a boat hook. Katie again, " You weren't in the bar last night and thought we'd better check on you..." I'd slept the clock round, but felt happy and secure that the launch crew had been watching over me after all.
600nm. Annabella may not be a big boat, but she went there and came back in the same number of pieces with which she set out and a happy crew.
**
Whose coming next, wherever we're going ?
Sailing is replete with metaphors, but this one will remain with me for a long time. As we came on to the north-south pontoon a seal (small dark spot - middle of the picture) appeared and cruised round, taking an inquisitive interest in everything. I asked someone if they came up to the marina a lot, "...never seen it before." they replied.
Monday, 10 July 2017
10 July - Landfall
Hoorah ! We're back in our home port,
The boats cam back ok and so did the crew - they're safe and sound and still talking to each other !
What a crew and what a passage !
**
Wihtin a few minutes of this photo we all go went our separate ways,
By night fall were hundreds of miles apart.
Will we meet again ? Watch out for part 2 ?
Saturday, 8 July 2017
Day 8 - On passage again
After two great days in St Mary's and a farewell trip to the fuel berth, we're back to sea, heading north. The weather continues to be fair, the sea flat and the winds light - so there is lost of motoring.
We were quickly rejoined by the dolphins, who seem to come with us everywhere !
Friday, 7 July 2017
Day 6 - Isles of Scilly
 |
| More morrings. |
The only really bad thnig that went wrong was not bringing an outboard for the tender, so having to rely largely on the launch service to and from the quayside was a bit of a constraint.
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Ashore, St Mary's is lovely, the weather is always fantastic, the locals friendly and all gods and services easily affordable.
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There is fuel on the quayside, a small supermarket and laundret withn walking distance and a good chandley not far away - although sadly short of rib tickling anecdotes about Port Elizabeth yacht club,
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Rat Island sail loft is hidden round the back of the quayside. Like all properly run sail lofts it is a temple to sailing and the sailmakers are the high priests. I can't say enough in praise of their helpfulness. No really, proper.
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| Rat Island sail loft - a temple to sail making |
An offshot from the sail loft - as though they needed one - is Ratty's canvas shop, just off the main street in St Mary's. We bought a sailing / duffle bag of the shelf in blue and yellow but coudl have had more of less any size, configuration and colour if we had time to wait for a few hours. Great value for handmade goods made in the UK, and definately to be recommended.
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| Ratty's - go there and buy cnavas work! |
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