Since I last updated, quite a lot has happened!
We never quite made it to Chichester Harbour, what with the weather and other deciding factors. The biggest one was the news that we had to bring the exam forward! Which sent a few ripples of nreves through the crew!
As a result we decided to stay well withtin the Solent, concentrating on the skills and drills we needed for the exam.
Lots of MOB drills, close quarters sailing onto buoys and pontoons, blind navigation (simulating fog) and finding waypoints withough the use of GPS.
The exam was on 14th & 15th September, and by the time we'd played around, the guys were ready. It was a hard week, with very little rest, until the day before when we had a relaxing day getting ready for the exam.
We couldn't have asked for better weather during the exam, good winds and visibility and being on a monday and Tuesday, there wasn't that much traffic around.
After 3 months of hard work and preparation, the guys got the decision on Tuesaday afternoon, much to the relief of all on board. We had the all clear nice and early, so we had tie to head down to Lymington for a celebratory drink in perhaps the nicest harbour in the Solent. Turned out to be slightly more than one drink though!
I left the Guys to it after that, travelling up to Cumbria by train while they were left witht hte task of getting Parhelion back to maryport.
So far they've been along the south coast, and have arrived in Milford Haven, via Dartmouth, Weymouth, Poole and Fowey. Unfortunately, the Channel Islands had to be put off until another time.
We're expecting them back here in Maryport on Friday or Saturday, when they complete the round Britain sail. A huge achievement by them all. Especially when you consider they'd hardly sailed before they joined us back in June.
I'm looking forward to hearing how they've got on without me, hopefully they haven't had too many problems. Maybe they have.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Friday, 4 September 2009
gales, gails & more gales
Here we are sat in Haslar Marina, portsmouth, watching a private (ish) show by the red arrows. We've come to the conclusion they're completely nuts.
We were out in our first gale yesterday, running downwind with just the jib out and really quite enjoying it. Unlike the night before, beating into it on our way to Cowes. Haven't been quite so wet for a long time. We certainly earned a beer for that trip!
Reading out to play on the mooring buoys this afternoon, then heading over to Chichester Harbor, via Langstone, to pick up a mooring for tonight.
Hopefully the wind will start to moderate in the next couple of days so we can head over to Cherbourg and the Channel Islands for a few days.
We've been pretty much everywhere on the Solent, another day or so and we will have been everywhere that's worth the visit. Tome for some more milebuilding before we get back to skills and drills.
Only 3 weeks kept begpre the exam, and I think there are a few nerves beginning to show! Time to start working them hard.
We were out in our first gale yesterday, running downwind with just the jib out and really quite enjoying it. Unlike the night before, beating into it on our way to Cowes. Haven't been quite so wet for a long time. We certainly earned a beer for that trip!
Reading out to play on the mooring buoys this afternoon, then heading over to Chichester Harbor, via Langstone, to pick up a mooring for tonight.
Hopefully the wind will start to moderate in the next couple of days so we can head over to Cherbourg and the Channel Islands for a few days.
We've been pretty much everywhere on the Solent, another day or so and we will have been everywhere that's worth the visit. Tome for some more milebuilding before we get back to skills and drills.
Only 3 weeks kept begpre the exam, and I think there are a few nerves beginning to show! Time to start working them hard.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
welcome to the solent…
Position: Lymington, Hampshire.
Well, we've made it to the Solent, after an horrendous trio from Eastbourne. Wind on the nose all the way, lumpy water and a fresh breeze. Just what we wanted.
So far we've been to Portsmouth (twice), Cowes, Warsash, Beaulieu and Lymington.
The aim is for the guys to get to know the area their exams going to be. Plenty of skills and drills etc.
I think the amount of shipping came as a surprise to them, especially bank holiday Monday. Yachts everywhere!
At least their collision regulations are being put to good use!
Off for more of the same thing for the next couple of days, with long days and lots of deck work. They're going to hate me.
There are more gales forecast for the next day or so, so well certainly be put through the mill. Its about time too, we were getting too used to light winds!
Well, we've made it to the Solent, after an horrendous trio from Eastbourne. Wind on the nose all the way, lumpy water and a fresh breeze. Just what we wanted.
So far we've been to Portsmouth (twice), Cowes, Warsash, Beaulieu and Lymington.
The aim is for the guys to get to know the area their exams going to be. Plenty of skills and drills etc.
I think the amount of shipping came as a surprise to them, especially bank holiday Monday. Yachts everywhere!
At least their collision regulations are being put to good use!
Off for more of the same thing for the next couple of days, with long days and lots of deck work. They're going to hate me.
There are more gales forecast for the next day or so, so well certainly be put through the mill. Its about time too, we were getting too used to light winds!
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Its been a while…
Position: Sovereign Harbor, Eastbourne.
Well, we've made it to the south coast, after a few stops along the way (Amble, Newcastle, Lowestoft, Harwich, Ramsgate & Boulogne).
Lots of long passages, mostly with what wind there's been on the nose of course! It seemed that we were always fighting the tide too, as a result of all the head winds which slowed us down, so there was plenty of frustrating times on board, not least the crossing from Boulogne, which tipped Iain over the edge!
We had time in Ramsgate to get the new switch panel and the radar fitted, in time for crossing the busy Dover Strait, the busiest shipping lane in the world, though again we didn't have much of a problem with ships. the only occasion being a collision course with a cross channel ferry. Hardly exciting.
We've been holed up in Eastbourne for a couple of days trying to fix a minor issue with thep engine, which we think we haven't sorted, but should be manageable until we find the cause of it.
Were off to the Solent later today, aiming to arrive in the morning, to give the guys a taste of busy waters. And being a bank holiday weekend it'll certainly be busy.
Well be there for a few days, concentrating on skills and drills, getting the guys used to what's expected of the in the exam.
The unfortunate bit is the wind, W/SW 5-7 ovvasionally 8, which could mean a long beat in family rough conditions. Oh well.
Eastbourne's a nice place, typical waterfront developments around a large marina, but I'm not sure why they have boat trips around the marina. Its only a marina after all.
It'll be nice to get back to some scenery, the east coast (and much of the south too) doesn't really offer much to look at. Unless you count powerstations among your favorite things to look at.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Well, we've made it to the south coast, after a few stops along the way (Amble, Newcastle, Lowestoft, Harwich, Ramsgate & Boulogne).
Lots of long passages, mostly with what wind there's been on the nose of course! It seemed that we were always fighting the tide too, as a result of all the head winds which slowed us down, so there was plenty of frustrating times on board, not least the crossing from Boulogne, which tipped Iain over the edge!
We had time in Ramsgate to get the new switch panel and the radar fitted, in time for crossing the busy Dover Strait, the busiest shipping lane in the world, though again we didn't have much of a problem with ships. the only occasion being a collision course with a cross channel ferry. Hardly exciting.
We've been holed up in Eastbourne for a couple of days trying to fix a minor issue with thep engine, which we think we haven't sorted, but should be manageable until we find the cause of it.
Were off to the Solent later today, aiming to arrive in the morning, to give the guys a taste of busy waters. And being a bank holiday weekend it'll certainly be busy.
Well be there for a few days, concentrating on skills and drills, getting the guys used to what's expected of the in the exam.
The unfortunate bit is the wind, W/SW 5-7 ovvasionally 8, which could mean a long beat in family rough conditions. Oh well.
Eastbourne's a nice place, typical waterfront developments around a large marina, but I'm not sure why they have boat trips around the marina. Its only a marina after all.
It'll be nice to get back to some scenery, the east coast (and much of the south too) doesn't really offer much to look at. Unless you count powerstations among your favorite things to look at.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Favorable winds at last!
It was a great run down from Wick, with the wind behind us all the way, even managed to get the spinnaker up for the first time. Getting it down when the wind picked up to F5was fun!
Last night was incredibly clear, almost no cloud cover, so we got an excellent view of the build up to the Persidic meteor shower, which peaks over the next few nights. Forecast says rain, so we may not see any more, typically.
Stocked up on food and fuel and we're off to Amble next, an overnight passage of 130M. With favorable winds forecast again, we should make excellent time (could be very wet though!).
That will leave us with a short sail on Thursday, to get to Newcastle for a long weekend not sailing!
Oh, and the other picture is how not to moor a boat! You've got tp feel sorry for them.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Monday, 10 August 2009
And south we go...
Position: 55•26.39N 003•05'.05W, Wick, Highland.
Dylan brought us down to Wick yesterday, our first leg of the southward journey. Very light winds as we kept Whitehall, which died away completely by the time we'd got clear of the islands. Typical.
We timed the tides perfectly for leaving and heading south, but that meant we'd be passing close to the Pentland Firth as it was building up to it's strongest tidal flow (10-12kn) which could have sucked us in and cause some serious problems!
Dylans courses to street came good though, as we managed to stay out of danger.
Everyone was quite amazed at long the trip was, but its always the same when you have ro motor.
Iain's taking us down to Peterhead today, about 75M, with a W-NW wind forecast we should have a cracking sail.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Dylan brought us down to Wick yesterday, our first leg of the southward journey. Very light winds as we kept Whitehall, which died away completely by the time we'd got clear of the islands. Typical.
We timed the tides perfectly for leaving and heading south, but that meant we'd be passing close to the Pentland Firth as it was building up to it's strongest tidal flow (10-12kn) which could have sucked us in and cause some serious problems!
Dylans courses to street came good though, as we managed to stay out of danger.
Everyone was quite amazed at long the trip was, but its always the same when you have ro motor.
Iain's taking us down to Peterhead today, about 75M, with a W-NW wind forecast we should have a cracking sail.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
And a little further north...
Position: 59•08'.55N 002•36'.04W, Whitehall, Stronsay, Orkney.
Quite a picturesque little place, with about 10 houses, a small shop and a pub. What more could you want.
Nice little sail up between the islands, managing around 8kn for most of it, though the fog bank was threatening to close in on us, which would've been interesting!
Casey used los of back bearings and clearing bearings to get us through the rocks, which it would appear worked, seeing as were still alive!
We've got southerly winds forecast, so it looks like a visit to Wick is in order. At least that'll only be a beat for 50M.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Quite a picturesque little place, with about 10 houses, a small shop and a pub. What more could you want.
Nice little sail up between the islands, managing around 8kn for most of it, though the fog bank was threatening to close in on us, which would've been interesting!
Casey used los of back bearings and clearing bearings to get us through the rocks, which it would appear worked, seeing as were still alive!
We've got southerly winds forecast, so it looks like a visit to Wick is in order. At least that'll only be a beat for 50M.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
To the capital...
Position: 58•59'.20N 002•57'.46W, Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney.
Phil brought us through some fairly tricky pilotage, en route to Kirkwall, on the other side of Mainland. I think he was a little surprised by the tides as we left How Sound, where we had a good 6kn tide behind us, which was causing some fairly serious standing waves, even in a very gentle W wind.
With that in mind for the next section, phil decided to take us by (what he thought was) an easier and more open route. Wrong!
How we managed not to hit the rocks is beyond me! Good job we didn't though I guess!
Stopping here for the night, with a view to heading a little further north tomorrow, before the big push south.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Phil brought us through some fairly tricky pilotage, en route to Kirkwall, on the other side of Mainland. I think he was a little surprised by the tides as we left How Sound, where we had a good 6kn tide behind us, which was causing some fairly serious standing waves, even in a very gentle W wind.
With that in mind for the next section, phil decided to take us by (what he thought was) an easier and more open route. Wrong!
How we managed not to hit the rocks is beyond me! Good job we didn't though I guess!
Stopping here for the night, with a view to heading a little further north tomorrow, before the big push south.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Thursday, 6 August 2009
and a little further north...
Position: 58•57'.86N 003•17'.66W Stromness, Mainland,Orkney.
Iain had what I thought was a fantastic passage last night.
130M, withought using any electronic instruments, and we arrived on time with the Ornery Islands appearing bang on the nose, just where we left them!
Pods of Dolphin came to play with us yesterday, such amazing animals.
As we approached the Orkney Islands we had a little detour to see the old man.
The Old Man of Hoy is an incredible piece of rock, why it hasn't fallen over is beyond me.
Think we may be having a relaxing day(not necessarily in the pub), doing the odd job on the boat.
Iain had what I thought was a fantastic passage last night.
130M, withought using any electronic instruments, and we arrived on time with the Ornery Islands appearing bang on the nose, just where we left them!
Pods of Dolphin came to play with us yesterday, such amazing animals.
As we approached the Orkney Islands we had a little detour to see the old man.
The Old Man of Hoy is an incredible piece of rock, why it hasn't fallen over is beyond me.
Think we may be having a relaxing day(not necessarily in the pub), doing the odd job on the boat.
Monday, 3 August 2009
Further north we go
We found an absolutely gorgeous place to moor last night, at had of Loch Dunvegan, surrounded by hills and mountains. And the odd sheep.
We went ashore for a beer and watched a beautiful sunset to round of the day perfectly.
Dylans now in charge of getting us to the next place, Stornoway, up on Lewis, which will give us another qualifying passage for the exam.
Forecast is perfect, SE-SW 5-7, so we should be flying downwind all day, exciting stuff!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Sunday, 2 August 2009
More gales!
It was a fantastic sail across to Skye, via Tobermory. On the way up the Sound of Mull we were hitting 10kn+, surfing down the waves, with only a third of the genoa out.
We had similar on the 50M or so over to Skye. Exciting stuff. The only draw back was the fact it hasn't stopped raining.
Got onto the mooring buoy last night, and within minutes we had fresh mackerel straight into the frying pan. Lovely.
The results of the lobster pot is yet to be announced!
We're not sure where we'll end up later, got to start by beating into a W5-6 to get anywhere, and on top of that, they've issued a new gale warning, SE6-8, for tomorrow. So we've got to find somewhere that'll give us some options.
Casey's skipper today, so we can all shout at him if we get a pounding!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Friday, 31 July 2009
off at last…
Finally heading off on the push north with the tide this evening. The forecast is terrible, S or SE6-8, so we may not get very far, but its a start.
Iain's looking after the skippering side of things, and he's not us down for a 5pm start.
Tomorrow should see us head over to the west coast of Skye, so we should be ideally placed for a hop across the Little Minch to the Hebrides.
But you never know in this game, we might still be in Dunstaggnage next week!
Iain's looking after the skippering side of things, and he's not us down for a 5pm start.
Tomorrow should see us head over to the west coast of Skye, so we should be ideally placed for a hop across the Little Minch to the Hebrides.
But you never know in this game, we might still be in Dunstaggnage next week!
Thursday, 30 July 2009
its a waiting game…
Position Dunstaffnage, Argyle & Bute
Last day of civilization before we head out to the Outer hebrides, so we're spending the day getting everything preped & ready to go.
Got a few repairs to do also, only minor things like hinges, but we may as well get everrting shipsape.
The sails away to be mended to, and a few extras put on it to make it easier to handle.
It'll be nice to get off again, and get back to the cruising life. I think the guys have probably had enough of Oban too!
The weathers looking a bit miserable, with a SE6-8 coming in tomorrow, but you vant have everythin. Guess well have to see what it brings. Rain most likely.
Last day of civilization before we head out to the Outer hebrides, so we're spending the day getting everything preped & ready to go.
Got a few repairs to do also, only minor things like hinges, but we may as well get everrting shipsape.
The sails away to be mended to, and a few extras put on it to make it easier to handle.
It'll be nice to get off again, and get back to the cruising life. I think the guys have probably had enough of Oban too!
The weathers looking a bit miserable, with a SE6-8 coming in tomorrow, but you vant have everythin. Guess well have to see what it brings. Rain most likely.
Monday, 27 July 2009
the Mishnish is calling...
Position 56° 37'.3N 006°04.1W, Tobermory, Mull.
The last three days have seen the guys doing plenty of skills and drills, in and around the Oban area.
Friday saw them head south again, towards Croabh Haven, via the Sound of Luing or Cuan Sound. Plenty of intense pilotage for Casey then!
Saturday and they were off back north again, this time to Lockaline, on the north side of the Sound of Mull. A beautiful anchorage in there, and very protected fro mthe winds, which were building as they arrived.
The plan was to practice sailing on oand off the mooring buoys, but is was so well sheltered, they had to head back out into the channel to find enough wind!
Not only did they catch their first fish of the trip (apparantly a HUGE specimen that kept them in food for days!), but they also found out the benifits/draw backs of using the GPS as an anchor drag alarm. Thoug it does help if you set them properly so they don't go off every 5 mins. All night. Kind of glad I wasn't on boad for that!
They're curently in Tobermory, as I'm sure you'll all know is home to Ballamory, the kids TV show. A beautiful little town, on Mull itself, with probably one of the most famous pubs in the country (amongst us sailors at any rate), the Mishnish.
On the way there, they had plenty of MOB (man overboard) drills to get their teeth stuck into.
According to Martin, their instructor for this week, they don't seem to dislike him particularly. Yet.
Heading back to Oban for Wednesday, when I'll take over again, and we can travel a little further afield, perhaps over to the Outer Hebrides for a few days. Get them to show me how they're getting on with all the skills n drills.
The last three days have seen the guys doing plenty of skills and drills, in and around the Oban area.
Friday saw them head south again, towards Croabh Haven, via the Sound of Luing or Cuan Sound. Plenty of intense pilotage for Casey then!
Saturday and they were off back north again, this time to Lockaline, on the north side of the Sound of Mull. A beautiful anchorage in there, and very protected fro mthe winds, which were building as they arrived.
The plan was to practice sailing on oand off the mooring buoys, but is was so well sheltered, they had to head back out into the channel to find enough wind!
Not only did they catch their first fish of the trip (apparantly a HUGE specimen that kept them in food for days!), but they also found out the benifits/draw backs of using the GPS as an anchor drag alarm. Thoug it does help if you set them properly so they don't go off every 5 mins. All night. Kind of glad I wasn't on boad for that!
They're curently in Tobermory, as I'm sure you'll all know is home to Ballamory, the kids TV show. A beautiful little town, on Mull itself, with probably one of the most famous pubs in the country (amongst us sailors at any rate), the Mishnish.
On the way there, they had plenty of MOB (man overboard) drills to get their teeth stuck into.
According to Martin, their instructor for this week, they don't seem to dislike him particularly. Yet.
Heading back to Oban for Wednesday, when I'll take over again, and we can travel a little further afield, perhaps over to the Outer Hebrides for a few days. Get them to show me how they're getting on with all the skills n drills.
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Position 56•21'3N 005•35'1W, Oban, Argyll & Bute.
Well, so much for our last night in NI! As we headed out of Lough Foyle the forecast was for an easterly F8, which nobody particularly fancied, so we headed for shelter in Greencastle, on the west coast of the lough. The almanac states yachts aren't welcome, but as we nosed our way in, past the ferry and numerous fishing boats, we were surprised to find several yachts, all local craft, taking shelter from the same gale!
Lovely place, just a small fishing village, but a very active one. Didn't realise it is in Eire, until we saw the flag flying from the maritime museum! Oh well, at least we didn't embarrass ourselves buy trying to buy something from the shop with pounds!
Riding out the gale here meant we had a day to catch up on some repairs, and general cleaning etc, so it wasn't wasted.
Oban is the next stop, 100M north, and our first stop on Scotland's west coast. It's the guys first true overnight passage, with winds forecast from the south, but nice and gentle(ish).
We're about 2 hrs away, and looking forward to a shower! The weather hasn't arrived yet, we had to motor the whole way, with the exception of around two hrs in the early morning. The watch system we adopted for the night seems to have worked nicely (3hrs on and 3hrs off), plenty of sleep was had by all.
We're picking martin up this evening, who'll be taking them off for the next few days and drumming some skills and drills into them for a change!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Well, so much for our last night in NI! As we headed out of Lough Foyle the forecast was for an easterly F8, which nobody particularly fancied, so we headed for shelter in Greencastle, on the west coast of the lough. The almanac states yachts aren't welcome, but as we nosed our way in, past the ferry and numerous fishing boats, we were surprised to find several yachts, all local craft, taking shelter from the same gale!
Lovely place, just a small fishing village, but a very active one. Didn't realise it is in Eire, until we saw the flag flying from the maritime museum! Oh well, at least we didn't embarrass ourselves buy trying to buy something from the shop with pounds!
Riding out the gale here meant we had a day to catch up on some repairs, and general cleaning etc, so it wasn't wasted.
Oban is the next stop, 100M north, and our first stop on Scotland's west coast. It's the guys first true overnight passage, with winds forecast from the south, but nice and gentle(ish).
We're about 2 hrs away, and looking forward to a shower! The weather hasn't arrived yet, we had to motor the whole way, with the exception of around two hrs in the early morning. The watch system we adopted for the night seems to have worked nicely (3hrs on and 3hrs off), plenty of sleep was had by all.
We're picking martin up this evening, who'll be taking them off for the next few days and drumming some skills and drills into them for a change!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Fw: Last stop in NI…
Position 55•00.29N 007•19.20W Londonderry, NI
Lovely days sail, 4-5s all day, from the west, but you can't have everything! For a change we had a full 9hrs with the tide behind us. Lovely.
Sitting alongside londonderry's visitors pontoon in the city, having a glass of wine while dinners cooked, life can't be much better than this.
We're planning to head to Islay tomorrow, if the weather permits naturally. Might well end up somewhere completely different!
The guys will have a shock this week, because now starts the hard work. Lots of technical sailing, skills 'n drills, mob's… they may well end up hating me, but I've got to have them ready for Friday, when Martin gets on board for a few days.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Sunday, 19 July 2009
saturday night in ballycastle...
Position 54•12'47N 006•14'27W Ballycastle, NI
Weather: W3-4, patchy clouds and sunny spells
Turns out Ballycastle, up there in deepest darkest NI, is a very nice place indeed.
We arrived at about 8, after beating our way up the coast from Larne. We ended up missing the tide through Rathlin Sound, not just because we left late because Casey overslept, but also just the fact we were beating… again!
Had fun trying to sail through the opposing tides, but eventually had to give up. Seeing as we were going nowhere,though we were making 6kts, the tide through Rathlin Sound basically tells you to go the other way. We were only 3M short of the harbour which was the real bummer.
Off to londonderry today's tide, to catch up on a bit of shopping! Hopefully we'll get a place on the pontoon right in the city, may well be a pin there too!
Its a 30(ish)M trip, should take us about 6hrs, though judging on our last few passages, it could be anywhere from 6 to 16hrs. Let's see if Dylan can be the first to get a tidsl gate right!
Weather: W3-4, patchy clouds and sunny spells
Turns out Ballycastle, up there in deepest darkest NI, is a very nice place indeed.
We arrived at about 8, after beating our way up the coast from Larne. We ended up missing the tide through Rathlin Sound, not just because we left late because Casey overslept, but also just the fact we were beating… again!
Had fun trying to sail through the opposing tides, but eventually had to give up. Seeing as we were going nowhere,though we were making 6kts, the tide through Rathlin Sound basically tells you to go the other way. We were only 3M short of the harbour which was the real bummer.
Off to londonderry today's tide, to catch up on a bit of shopping! Hopefully we'll get a place on the pontoon right in the city, may well be a pin there too!
Its a 30(ish)M trip, should take us about 6hrs, though judging on our last few passages, it could be anywhere from 6 to 16hrs. Let's see if Dylan can be the first to get a tidsl gate right!
Friday, 17 July 2009
friday night in Larne
We left Bangor expecting a nice hour or so up the coast to Large, ha, should've known better!
Took us 7hrs to cover about 13miles. Beating into a NW6-7, against the tide, and against our better judgment! Oh well.
Dropped the anchor for the night, and are now attempting to catch our first fish of the trip. The fish don't seem to know what we've get planned 'cause they've not shown up for the party. Maybe we can tempt a lobster with a bit of left over chilli instead…
Took us 7hrs to cover about 13miles. Beating into a NW6-7, against the tide, and against our better judgment! Oh well.
Dropped the anchor for the night, and are now attempting to catch our first fish of the trip. The fish don't seem to know what we've get planned 'cause they've not shown up for the party. Maybe we can tempt a lobster with a bit of left over chilli instead…
We're here!
Position 54•41'2N 005•36'7W, Bangor Marina, NI
Fantastic days sail, full main and full genoa, cracking along at 6-7kn for most of the day. Until of course we knew we were pushing the timings for the till gate at the Mull.
Then of course the wind died copmetely, the tide turned against us and we ended up going backwards for a while!
We cut the corner through Donaghadee Sound to end the day with some fantastic sailing through the narrow channel.
Miserable forecast for the morning, NW5-7, so some food shopping might be the plan!
I'm quite amazed we haven't broken anything yet, though we did lose the reefing lines in the boom. Turns out somebody can't tie a bowline afterall! You know who you are!
Heading out after lunch to have a race around the cans, see if we've got a speed freak on board!
Fantastic days sail, full main and full genoa, cracking along at 6-7kn for most of the day. Until of course we knew we were pushing the timings for the till gate at the Mull.
Then of course the wind died copmetely, the tide turned against us and we ended up going backwards for a while!
We cut the corner through Donaghadee Sound to end the day with some fantastic sailing through the narrow channel.
Miserable forecast for the morning, NW5-7, so some food shopping might be the plan!
I'm quite amazed we haven't broken anything yet, though we did lose the reefing lines in the boom. Turns out somebody can't tie a bowline afterall! You know who you are!
Heading out after lunch to have a race around the cans, see if we've got a speed freak on board!
well, we were only a tad later than planned!
Position 54•46.16N 004•05.07W, mod mooring off Little Ross.
Run 25M
Absolutely miserable evening! Beating into a SW4 doesn't sound bad until it's in the irish Sea in the middle of the night.
We've had our first victim of the dreaded seasickness, part of the reason to pull in for the night. Its never pleasant watching someone throwing up over the side of the boat. Funny, yes, but not pleasant.
After a few hours we'll be off again to catch the tide round the Mull of Galloway.
Run 25M
Absolutely miserable evening! Beating into a SW4 doesn't sound bad until it's in the irish Sea in the middle of the night.
We've had our first victim of the dreaded seasickness, part of the reason to pull in for the night. Its never pleasant watching someone throwing up over the side of the boat. Funny, yes, but not pleasant.
After a few hours we'll be off again to catch the tide round the Mull of Galloway.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
waiting for the tides
Had a change of plan, as so often happens when you're sailing!
We're heading off on the evening tide now, hoping to get to Bangor, NI. The weather looks like it may play ball, though no doubt that'll change too!
Its going to be our first qualifying passage (over 60M),so hopefully the guys will get on alright with it.
We'll lwy you know when we get to bangor, assuming of course Iain gets the passage planning right!
We're heading off on the evening tide now, hoping to get to Bangor, NI. The weather looks like it may play ball, though no doubt that'll change too!
Its going to be our first qualifying passage (over 60M),so hopefully the guys will get on alright with it.
We'll lwy you know when we get to bangor, assuming of course Iain gets the passage planning right!
Sunday, 12 July 2009
The story so far...
July 12th
Position - 54°43'.93N 003°26'.32W
We've got 3 days left now before we head off on the first leg of the circumnavigation of the UK, so we've given the guys a full weekend off, so they can all be at home for the last time in 6 weeks (apart from Dylan, who came up from the South coast so he's stayed with us instead).
We've still got some bits to cover before we go, but Wednesday looks to be the departure day. Unfortunately, the tide is early, so it's going to be an early start, though it does mean we can get to somewhere like Bangor, NI at a reasonable time.
Position - 54°43'.93N 003°26'.32W
We've got 3 days left now before we head off on the first leg of the circumnavigation of the UK, so we've given the guys a full weekend off, so they can all be at home for the last time in 6 weeks (apart from Dylan, who came up from the South coast so he's stayed with us instead).
We've still got some bits to cover before we go, but Wednesday looks to be the departure day. Unfortunately, the tide is early, so it's going to be an early start, though it does mean we can get to somewhere like Bangor, NI at a reasonable time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)