£7M Super Yacht sinks in East Cowes

That was the headline and I saw it all.  On the opposite side of the river and slightly downstream of me a huge fire took hold of a motor cruiser.  Not one of the new Sunseeker types, but a more old fashioned with tall fly bridge.  Up to 30 firemen were present, trying to keep it under control, until it eventually sank on its mooring.  Now lots of barges and cranes have appeared around the location where it sat, to lift it up and take it away.  Rumour is its an insurance job, it was for sale, but that's for the experts to judge.

Barges preparing for lifting operations

There have been a spate of burglaries too, with eight boats having electronic gear removed, more retro-fit gear than built in, but still not pleasant.

So on Sunday my skipper came on board with another bag of bits and was obviously pleased to see that the cleaning of my top sides and hull were not necessary as the wind during the fire was blowing away.  With engine & gas on to top up the batteries and make tea.  He set to, first replacing one of the anchor rollers he had had made, the old one had seized and in doing so the chain had worn it away.

One of the ceiling supports that had come away was replaced, but unfortunately had left the other behind, I assume this is in order that the ceiling panel can be put back and then the lights on the other side can be done.  He removed the small ceiling panel in the portside rear cabin and exposed one of the three nuts that holds the pushpit on.  Although it is bound within the fibre-glass resin, so almost impossible to remove and I could see him working out a way to remove it, which was cause for a cup of tea of course.  Following a brief rest bite in the cockpit he then proceeded to cut at the pushpit with the junior hack saw.  Slow progress, but I can see what his thinking is, cut the top and twist the remaining rail to partially unscrew the 'fixed' nut, then drive it from above to remove it.  The saw went away, a larger one is called for. One of the stern guard rails was removed assume this is to have a new one made up along with the two that were also damaged at the side.  I must be close to having all the damaged parts replaced and the wind generator re-installed.

With that the companionway came up, exposing the engine, not that he did anything to that, but fixed a small panel to seal a gap between the floor and the woodwork at the base of the stairs. The intention is to providing an element of noise insulation to the saloon.  A small improvement to the wire rack support in the large galley cupboard, means that during choppy conditions the rack doesn't slip and wedge itself.

A new rubberised tape was carefully stretched around the mast, to prevent the ingress of water, so am sure the weather will soon put that to the test.  Not the easiest of jobs to do to hold it in place, then stretch it as it goes round without it slipping.  It took several attempts and looked like stringy chewing gum at one stage. Finally covered with duck tape to provide a more aesthetic look.  Hopefully this is the retro-fit answer and the issue of the leaking mast gaiter can be put bed, not sure if it was his confidence but he took with him a small panel to use it as a template to make a new one. It fits over the hole where the mast comes through the deck, the old one that had suffered from water damage, snapped during storage.

Once happy he'd completed those tasks he'd set himself, he left also taking the life-raft with him, this is to ungo a service by Ocean Safety, who'll set it off, check the seals and repack, including the first aid kit and any food & water pouches that may be contained inside.  Not that in times when this last hope life saving method is used, they'll be worried that the food pouch or water is beyond its sell by date !  This is the first service it will have had since it was purchased at the time of my commissioning.

St Jude - Sunday 28th October Storm

My skipper obviously has one eye on the weather and this weekend it proved useful.

Arriving by dinghy as he does, he came armed with the replacement stainless steel, pushpit and side gate parts together with one of the panels from the ceiling.  As usual the radio & VHF goes on and in return I play him music and keep him informed about movements in the Solent as well as more local Medina traffic. Rain had had its usual effect and so the bilge the first job to attend to and is pumped dry.  Then the ceiling panel fitted.

With no milk, the kettle remained dry, more so than him, with his sweatshirt damp from the earlier rain and his T shirt also damp from the effort in getting the outboard fired up and him out of the drizzle.  With the sun now out and his sweatshirt in the companion way drying, so the buckled side gate came off and the new one encouraged to fit in its place.  The pushpit at the rear will be a longer job as there's wiring to thread through to the GPS & Navtex aerials as well as the replacement stern light.  The nuts that hold this on are also located in inconvenient places too.

So with the new one stowed in one of my stern cabins, he set to tying the lazy bag that contains the main tighter to the boom and checked me all over for anything that could be caught by the wind.

And the wind came - Reports of 100mph winds hitting the Needles fortunately had 'eased' if thats the word by the time they reached me.  If the wind generator had been re-fitted, then I'm sure I could've supplied Cowes with both power and light.  My wind vane flickering and wind speed indicator was close to overheating, but then I have a tall mast and that's where most of the wind was lower than that and the wind lessened.  Fortunately I'm moored on the west side of the Medina so with SW'erlys I'm tended to be blown away from the pontoon, offering some relief to my fenders and missing the rocking of the pontoon.

On Monday evening my skipper returned to find I was just as I was when he left me, with the exception of more water in the bilge !

Pre October Storm

It's been a while since I've had a visit, but my skipper arrived on Saturday and set too with various projects he had up his sleeve.  The weather down here is so much milder than I remember in Scotland but still wind and rain are the main factors of the weather systems.

So my skipper arrived with a dinghy full of goodies for me.  As always he turns on all my systems and dials in to the the three channels on the VHF 12,16 & 69; the first being Southampton VTS listening out to the shipping that's moving around the Solent and up Southampton Water, now the aerial is connected properly I cover a much better range.  16 of course is the standard channel where all sorts are relayed be it May Days, Pan Pan or just Fred seeking Joe and channel 69 is the working channel up the Medina river, where I'm now based.  My rear cockpit speaker as 'built' in true Heath Robinson way by my skipper keeps blearing out.

Without the wind generator available at the moment my engine is run for a while to re-charge the batteries until the water in my Clarifier (hot water tank) is able to wash up his mug at the end of the day.  Also my oil fired heater is turned on and allowed to run.  That was a new part he brought with him.  The electric fan I've seen before but he's bought from China an electric variable switch such that he can vary the speed of the fan and draw heat from the unit and not only prevent the unit from overheating but move that heat to the master cabin where it currently fails to reach.  There's some ducting to replace as it has also been discovered that it has partly been crushed, but larger ducting is needed to get the heat forward.

The new 'mood' lighting or as my skipper says 'tarts' lighting has been fitted to my port side and with the ceiling panels re-done and cleaned up they will be fitted one the weather is kind enough to allow them to be transported to me.  Then obviously the Starboard side will be done.

The new anchor roller that replaced the worn unit, needs to be put back on the lathe to have 1 or 2mm shaved of it to enable it to turn freely.  Otherwise that's all ready for the next outing.

The new oven catch is ready to go on, just the old one is being too stubborn to come off, so a small grinder is needed to remove the head of the screw and leave enough behind to remove.

A new shelf has been fitted to the cupboard under the sink, doubling the available space with a simple improvement.

I understand that the replacement metal work has arrived from Germany, the push pit and side gate, so can only assume my skipper will soon be replacing my damaged parts and putting back the wind generator and returning me back to my full self.  I still have an issue with my auto pilot but an e-mail from its makers, may guide him to working out where the issue is coming from and then replace the part.  I know that my main is to be laundered as was my jib last year, this enables the lazy Jack bag to be removed and a new made in its place.  Other works suggested is to have the boom removed so the Vangs connection point can be strengthened, my skipper not happy that the manufacturers welds have thinned the joint.

Also on their way are my replacement saloon windows that have started to crack where the port holes have been cut in.  My skipper reckons that the openings should have been laser cut and they weren't so everytime I hit a wave or drop into a trough with some force the crack extends like a cracked cold windscreen does when the heater is applied.

So whilst I sit here waiting to be taken out, obviously there's a lot going on in the background with lots more work to be done to keep me in tip top condition.  My skipper is not interested in a sailing season, if we can't go out then he's always doing something and only when my main is off, will the opportunity to sail be temporarily halted.  There's lots happening and I look forward to the attention

Indian Summer !

Since returning from the summer trip, my crew have been on board several times to remove perishables as well as the batteries that were replaced, one or two at a time due to their weight.  Last time my skipper spent much of his time assisting an engine issue in board another yacht, who eventually limped back to Beaulieu.  Hopefully having found a split in the sea water intake, the cooling issue may have been resolved, but the perished exhaust meant that water was filling the bilge all the while the engine was running !

So this Sunday it was good not only to have the company return on board, but to be taken out too.  The Medina has quietened down a lot during September, although I have a few new boats to keep me company on the pontoon.  The weather was very warm and muggy, with the threat of a storm always in the offing but never came.  The wind was non-existent and so my sails were never readied and as I motored out into the Solent I was taken East on the last of the ebb tide.

Osborne Bay had about twenty boats in it, as my hook was lowered and sunk into the mud beneath.  Having a deeper keel than most, my skipper doesn't jostle about to get close to the shore line, so we sat on the outside having a clear view across to Lee on Solent.  Black clouds hung around holding in the oppressive heat, there was no let up as no sea breeze formed either.

My crew set too with little jobs, it was good to hear voices from the cockpit speaker once more.  Low wattage LED lights were fitted in the master cabin and the Auto Pilot sensor was checked over.

Once lunch had been consumed and the flood tide had returned, the hook was raised and I was returned back to my berth.  However yet again a small rib had taken the space, so I was manoeuvred the other side of Polly whilst my crew moved the offending vessel out of the way.

Summer Holidays

I remember now, it was around this time last year that we set off for a long cruise and that must be what's happening again this year.

For a week now I've been sitting in a small marina called Town Quay in Southampton.  A few days ago my crew arrived and my skipper removed all my old tired batteries and replaced them with brand new ones, he even finished off the wiring for to the new shore power battery charger, so I have plenty of power back.  The bow thruster will be back in action, (when my skipper allows !) and may be other electrical gremlins may recover.  They are still as a result of the port window falling out and taking on board tonnes of sea water !

With everything tightened, my lines were cast and I set off at a leisurely pace to Totland Bay once more,  where an overnight stop gave a timely getaway in the morning to see the ebbing tide through the Needles.  But hang on, I wasn't heading west but almost due south into a glassy sea, with brilliant sunshine, but unfortunately, no wind.  So my skippers time servicing the Yanmar wasn't wasted as I ticked over, skipper and crew desperately looking for the faintest of wind to try to sail, all to no avail. Anse De St Martin, took a while to get to and difficult to spot, until you look in the pilot guide and look for the nuclear power station !  Still the bay itself masked the horrors behind the hill and was a quaint spot.  So a night under anchor brought to a close a long day.

According to the skippers passage plan, the next stop was to be Beaucette, Guernsey, a small marina, a bit like my old home of Inverkip, an ex quarry whose entrance had been blasted so incredibly narrow.  However the wind had filled in over night and Anse being just behind the headland lead to some confused seas just outside.  So confused, that any attempts to head west just knocked the wind out of me and dropped boat speed to a level where control became an issue.  A quick change of mind sent me east to Cherbourg, unfortunately the plan had the tide heading west and in France it seems you either go with it or you don't go, so another long day going slowly but eventually after about 8-9 hours the tide changed just as we arrived at the entrance.

A couple of nights and a re-think later, once more I headed back out across the French coast, tide behind this time and some reasonable wind. I bit the bullet, 9.0 knots but not to Guernsey but Alderney, Braye to be exact.  We almost sailed all the way, but alas the wind dies again late afternoon, so on went the engine and we made our way through all the others and anchored.  However, just as my crew were turning for the night.  high tide was approaching and with around 10,0m of tidal range my anchor soon became dislodged.  Off went my alarm and soon I was amongst a Dutch boat, nice way to meet people but not at that time !  So I was moved back whence I came but with more chain out for a restful night under the celestial event- that of a band of shooting stars.

From Braye, we weighed anchor and my skipper steered me west through the Swinge, another band of tidal races that is to the north of Alderney.  Timing spot on the flow was to the rear of me, as again under motor, we headed to Guernsey, not Beaucette as per the passage plan but on to Saints Bay on the south coast, the planned second stop for the island.  Despite having the main up, the wind again was being dictated by the high pressure and I motor sailed.  Once I arrived at Big Russell, the tide came in strong and we flew past St Peter Port at 12.3 knots, so strong in fact that a small harmless wave reached the foredeck and removed the starboard navigation lense cover from its base.  Probably loosened from the previous nights gathering at anchor with the Dutch.

                                       A friendly visitor pops by for lunch

With all the knowledge my skipper has of being under anchor now, a quiet night prevailed, no creaking, no humming and with no wind came little in the way of swell.

It wasn't long after breakfast that I was away again, heading for our next scheduled stop of Les Sept Isle's of the coast of France, a group of - yes you've guessed it, seven islands that is a bird sanctuary.  However, not only was the wind not playing ball, but the tide too seemed against me and my speed over the ground fell to around 3 knots.  This gave my crew a dilemma, to continue as planned and arrive in a rock strewn group of islands in the early hours or alter plans.

So once more the wheel went over and I was again heading east, to Jersey. St Heiler, has a sill and on arrival I could see all the other boats within the marina and the face of the cill. So was taken to the other side of St Aubin's Bay where once more the anchor was deployed, under the protection of a small cliff.  With plans being re-arranged, the following morning I was off once more heading further south than I've ever been before.  Through the Minkies, or that's what my skipper called them, a group of rocks and a so called islands in the middle of no where.  Carefully negotiating the peaks beneath the waters and heading yet further south, unfortunately for my crew, motor sailing in what little breeze there was.

The there before me came the another coast line strewn with huge light houses perched on rock formations, however my skipper new this route and led me in to the town of St Malo a walled town, fortified throughout its history.  However as always it seems in France, tide was all but gone and the lock into the marina would not open till 2330 another 6 hours, so I was maneuvered up river and anchored out of the main channel to sit it out.  A lovely wooden ship came in next to me so I passed the time trying to talk to him.

At around 2310, my crew stirred and the anchor was raised and I was once more under engine making my way under the cover of darkness to the lock area. My skipper oozed with confidence in the dark and I was soon milling around with a few other boats waiting to get in.  Once we had three green lights up, so we all lurched forward to get in and tied up against the wall.  Except the French didn't throw my crew any lines at all and skip had to play my throttle and rudder to hold me against the wall whilst we were raised 8m.  Not sure if the French boat next to me got the hump, but on leaving he powered up my inside as though I had pushed in and in tandem we swung to port on exit, with the my shrouds passing close by the bows of a linear waiting to depart from within the basin.  St Malo is a beautiful place and if you never intend on sailing there, then get a ferry, train or whatever, but spend at least a week there.

                                        St Malo as I approach from the west

                                        This is me rafted against the wall

I stayed rafted out for a couple of days like this as I could reach shore power and fresh water too.  Although on arrival of a large motor catamaran the power went off sounding the alarm on board a French patrol vessel to the stern of me.  Still my crew wanted to catch the early tide out the following day so all the leads came back in and were stored below ready for the next time.

At the 0700 lock opening I was the only boat to go through, this time the French took my lines so I could maintain position against the wall.  In the main channel, the sea was lumpy and it looked like it was going to be a long hard slug back to Jersey.  Once clear of the last marker buoy, my crew turned my nose to wind and raised a reefed main and full jib and bore away.  I gathered speed and was soon pushing the waves away and cutting a much smoother path for my crew, this was the real first chance I had to stretch my legs under cloth.  We sailed back past the Minkies and even the wind helped by altering a few degrees so was able to maintain a close reach right into the bay next to St Helier.  My skipper phoned in and the Harbour Master confirmed that we would be locked out till 1530, but had room for me to stay.

                            Cill retaining water inside marina (note 3 red lights)

So I was taken to the anchorage we had stayed at previously, before moving straight onto my berth in the marina.  The finger I came along side was very narrow and when my skipper jumped off onto it, it took him several seconds to stop the thing from swaying and settle before he could tie me on.

I stayed here for two nights and was soon at the re-fuelling berth early the following morning.  A trick not to be mist apparently, with diesel at 88p and no tax added my crew not only filled my tank full but filled the three 10ltr cans too.  We shall be returning here again !

With the wind gone again we set off to return to Alderney, trying to get some lift from the main in the fickle breeze, still the tide was good and that moves mountains in these parts.  A couple of porpoises were spotted playing at the surface, just as Sark was diminishing and Alderney was appearing.  My skipper had opted to anchor in Longey Bay a place he'd never seen before, but had picked up the back eddy as the tide had started to turn against me. On arrival at the bay a French yacht had just taken up what little space there was in there, next to another.  In hindsight, it would've been better to drop the hook, in the knowledge that you had to move on once the tide had changed back again, as continuing made for interesting times !

                                            Braye harbour (at night)

My crew have been through many races including many with me; Portland race a fine example last year, a washing machine type cycle that shook my rigging. The Needles always a fun place to be except when conditions are against you.  Those were nothing in comparison to the speed at which millions upon millions of tonnes of water pass between Cap De La Haurg and Alderney.  The back edd saw me cross into the oncoming force of the water, this is what it must be like at the top of Niagara Falls, just before the water disappears over the edge.  My speed dropped alarmingly, although nearly at 3,000 rpm I could make as little as 0.1 knots SOG (speed over the ground), my skipper held firm and inched me slowly between swirling pools of disturbed water to find the best boat speed he could.  Land features were disappointingly not changing, or at least not to us.  Inch by inch ground was still being won and my speed increased to nearly 1.0 knots, more snaking and eventually I reached a staggering 2.0 knots.  Subtle changes to my bow position and the keel was caught my the rushing tide and sent me off in one direction or other, so firm hands held me in place.  After an long hour and a half, the worst was over and speed recovered to 3.0 - 4.0 and so on, till the revs could be lowered back to 2,200rpm and the harbour wall of Braye came into view once more.  I had earned this rest as had my skipper.  Once more under anchor, this time with plenty of chain out.

A reasonable 0830 start saw me weigh anchor and motor out passed the sunken wall, before heading due north.  With 15-20 knots of westerly wind, the full main was raised and I was soon picking up my heels and making 9.0 knots +, tide assisted for a while before that too would revert east west.  The wind continued without change in pace or direction and I was still averaging 8.0 knots. A tanker that appear on a collision course opted not to confirm contact on the VHF but must have slowed up to let me pass in front.  Soon land was once more in sight and lunch had only just passed.  By 1700 hours I was all tied up against the harbour wall in Weymouth.

                                   Crossing the English Channel at 8.0 knots,
                                             taken from inside the saloon

Another couple of days were spent in here and my skipper took the opportunity to clean at least one side of the top deck and polish it. Only to discover that the crews of the boats rafted against me had left there foot prints on it in the morning, still it soon wiped off.  Re-provisioned and full of water once more I set off with a potential overnight stopover in Lulworth Cove, Warbarrow Bay or Chapmans Pool.

Well Lulworth being a beautiful spot, is like a 6 bay free car park in Knightbridge, there was no chance of me getting in there.  Although we didn't rush, just jib and tide, I made a steady 5.5 knots in the sun.  So by the time we arrived of course, the motor cruisers had blasted their way in and even the yacht rafted next to me the previous night, whom my skipper had told them where he had intended on stopping, had sneakily taken the central spot !  So on we went.

WarbarrowBay looked ok, but the photo of Chapman's Pool sold it them so on we went, only to find out that less of a pool more a heel print.  Not particularly well protected from the SW swell.  Although the wind had had north in it for some time but the east west tide is always prevalent, so the swell was minimal.  However, it wasn't as well protected as my skipper had hoped, so a known anchorage of Swanage Bay around St Albans Head was the destination.  By now the tide had turned and so the races at the headland were beginning to build.  Also the wind had filled in and so the main was raised with one reef in it and I set off out to sea to give me enough room to go round the confused seas.  Others had tried to get across in time and one obviously knew of an inshore route, may be less keel than me though.

Once round the headland and over the small patch of races over the ledge, I was taken to the northern side of the bay this time, where weed had less coverage and more sand was available.  I was on the north side as the wind was expected to back to north easterly and the same chalk cliffs that provide Old Harry and Studland Bay on the other side, would offer me more protection.  Anchoring in only 2.2m range seemed positively simple, when compared to what we had been doing, so I sat there all night close to the swimming area.

                             Working in the office !

The following day the chalk cliffs Freshwater Bay on the island couldn't be seen, just replaced with ominous black clouds and rain showers.   In fact it was muted that another day could be spent here or in Studland, although the later was likely to be busy as it was a bank holiday.  With the wind still a steady 20 knots, I set off for Christchurch Bay to gain access to the Solent through the northern channel and had a cracking sail, even cutting over some of the Bramble Bank to get to Hurst Castle.

Once in though it was so crowded when compared to the previous weeks.  Some of the other skippers really ought to brush up on their knowledge of the COLREGS as a windward yacht goose winging forced me to take evasive action as clearly they weren't !  My skipper had intentions of taking me up the river towards Beaulieu, however by the time we reached it, coincidentally at the time when there was enough water over the bar for me to get in, the weather had dramatically improved and there appeared hundred of masts moving about the river.  Not quite the quiet spot my skipper was looking for.  Being so close to home, we headed for the Medina and back to my berth.

Ouch !

Weekend of the 20th won't be forgotten too quickly by my crew !

Having spent odd day's out so far over the summer, they arrive by taxi, with a third person, whom I've not seen before.  Usual processes my skipper sort things out above deck, whilst Alex, works below.  The wind was blowing me on to the pontoon and the issue of whether my batteries survived the total discharging from the fridge the previous weekend was dubious,  Needles to say, the bow thrusters draw on the available resources was too much and would take out my other systems when deployed.

So not sure if it was this that took my skippers attention away from the fact that the tide had turned and was ebbing quite quickly, but having reversed against the tide my bow didn't come out quite as far as he would like.  Worse than that, as my stern spring line was released and I moved off the pontoon the rudder was now travelling at the same speed as the current and therefore was rendered useless, for anything other than waving at fish !

I drifted at speed into an old wooden gaff rigged boat Polly Agatha, however her anchor happened to be on my side and was caught in the guard rail.  There was no way out.  The push pit was bent, as was my Marlec wind generator's frame.  Both steel rails snapped and the gate post & stanchion bent, fortunately, if there is such a thing the gate wasn't closed, so everything in front to the bow remained un-touched.

Once back on my berth, my skipper and his new crew mate set too removing as many bent parts they could to make me safe.  He also went over to Polly Agatha to see what had been done and apart from a 2 foot section of 1 inch rope nothing seemed to have happened.

The following weekend however the owner had a good look over Polly and spotted that the two huge bolts that hold the anchor on had been pulled. So a professional inspection will be required.

Now you see it - Now you don't

First weekend of June, saw the Round The Island race, an annual event that my skipper entered a few years ago in his SB3 a racing dinghy.  However this year unlike the previous was pleased with plenty of sunshine and a steady 15 knots north easterly wind.

All during the Friday boats kept pouring in up the Medina and I have never seen so many; rafting 5 deep in  places on the other bank at East Cowes marina, even on my pontoon, boats were rafting where they could and still more kept coming in.  Unbeknown to me, my skipper had already arranged with the harbour commission to move me, allowing at least four boats to raft in my spot.  It wasn't till 1600, that he and his crew arrived and even by this time, a queue was building ready to take my space.

But where was I going to go, I hadn't been told, nor had I heard anything.  Once ready, I took my crew at a steady pace down stream to the open waters of the Solent, except nowhere was that open, with yachts everywhere.  Even more seemed to cram the sides as we passed Shepard's and Yacht Haven and the mooring buoy's to the east too were full.  Every boat seemed to have a battle flag of some description so the area was a sea of fluttering colour, all in unison with the steady breeze.  Pointing to windward the main went out and the jib unfurled and my sails filled as we bore away in a Westerly direction, leaving the mayhem behind me.

Soon in a steady rhythm, I was broad reaching an a starboard reach, but unfortunately one of the galley cupboard doors had become unlocked and deposited its contents all over the floor, smashing wine vinegar bottles and a cafetiere.  An hour later and I was through past Hurst Castle, passing on old Thames Barge heading for Yarmouth where even more boats had mustered, although these were a different age to those I left behind in Cowes.  I was swung back in to Totland Bay and soon the sails were down and I was edged closer to the shore line than I had been before.  Not offering much protection from the north to north easterly wind, the anchor was set in about 3.00m of water below my keel, with the tide having another 3 hours to ebb.  The sky varied from dark to pastel blue and I was all alone, no other vessel was here, just the on lookers on the beach, what a lovely way to spend an evening.  My skipper before sun down did raise two 'Sail 4 Cancer' flags either side and went below to read, whilst my deck & anchor lights burned in the darkness, until tiredness too got him and he turned them off leaving the anchor light glowing in the dark.

The first start time for the race is 0500 and with the constant north easterly wind it wasn't long before boats streamed past, like a trail of working ants going about their business.  Unfortunately the first movement of my crew was at 0600, when the kettle went on, by 0700 when a head appeared out of the companion way, most had gone through.  In fact this year record times were set.  I stayed put throughout the day, swaying in the wind more than the tide.  A few boats appeared and went again and my crew busied themselves cleaning, changing the fan belt and generally chilled under the sun.

During the evening the wind dropped completely and soon everything was quiet, bar the odd Oyster Catchers.

All quiet except - My skipper had, in order to prevent wind reverberation through, lazy jacks, halyards and topping lift, eased all the lines, except this time he was woken by the creaking noise coming as the weight of the boom & main rested on the vang and gooseneck.  Just enough to keep him awake but not enough to get him out of bed to sort it out.  Totland Bay become Totland Creek !

Sunday and after a brief breakfast, my crew weighed anchor and we headed east back past Hurst and in amongst the fleet of Gaff rigged boats.  The wind light the tide still strong, I was lead to the island side of the channel and tacked back & forth, in amongst the eddy, till that ran out and headed across towards Lymington.  Where eventually the wind too died and my donk (engine) had to go on to make head way back to Cowes.

Within 30 mins the wind returned and with a similar class yacht in front my crew did all they could to tweak the sails etc., to try to catch and pass.  Catch they did but not before it was time to swing in to wind and drop everything and head back up the Medina and home.  With one straggler still on my berth, the harbour master soon had a quite word and they moved off, working against the tide I glided slowly in and was secured another satisfactory weekend .

Third Time Lucky ?

Following my skippers last two attempts to get me over to France was thwarted by the good old British weather, I was surprised to see him back on board this Bank Holiday.  Surely the same bad weather during Bank Holiday Act would apply as before and scupper his plans, but no this was somehow different.

Instead of an early start at the first opportunity to go, he didn't arrive on board until 0930, no provisions to speak of, neither warm clothing other than those already in the cabin below.  He also turned up with a third member again, I'd seen him before, a long while ago, when I was taken out and back under engine only.  He had a huge bag with him, which was odd when he came on deck sporting an unusual attire for sailing, a pair of shorts, T-shirt and flip flops, to match the similar unusual weather for such a weekend, sunshine & light winds.

So light in fact that once out and in to the Solent, the tide was the only driving force and it was necessary to keep tight in to get the back eddy and make way, away from the main channel.  Within the hour and my ticking engine was turned off as the wind filled.  Soon trousers replaced shorts, shoes & socks replaced flip flops and even a jacket went over the jumper.  My skipper on the other hand being used to this sort of thing just put his shoes back on, but he too soon added a coat as the wind increased to 22 knots.  My main was reduced by a single reef and I sailed 30 degrees off it, which was now coming from where I was heading, the Needles.

At least by now the tide had turned in our favour and I was heading out to sea in a south westerly direction, so maybe France was not my destination afterall.   A discussion on deck and my skipper took a different heading I was going toStudland Bay for a late lunch before continuing to Poole.  I had been in there before but not the Bay.  I found out that the intended destination was Weymouth but with the direction of the wind it had taken longer to make way, so an alternative harbour was sort.

Studland Bay was full of all sorts of boats so I was taken straight down the outer channel into Poole harbour instead, following the huge Condor Catamaran, although tide was against us and progress was slow, but after another hour I was tied up, shore power on and my water tanks replenished.  During the evening the wind died down.

In the early hours I was woken by a rather annoying home made bird scarer that had been fitted to one of the huge gin palaces (motor cruisers) near by.  A twine stretched from the bow to the uppermost part of the super-structure hummed in an irregular way as the winds strength increased.  In fact the wind had increased to where it had left yesterday, which would make leaving this leeward berth an interesting exercise.  With my skipper at the controls and his crew standing by with fenders, I slipped out of the tightest of spaces and had a hairs breath between me and the ominous CQR anchors sticking out of the bows of motor cruisers on the other side.  With the wind blowing my skipper opted to bring me out in reverse, which he did with absolute control, even the presents of another huge motor cruiser manoeuvring in the entrance didn't phase him, he just shouted as it was clear the skipper on board the other vessel had no idea we were looming on them.

At least it proved one thing there is room for two in the entrance to Town Quay Marina.  There happened to be a freighter outside manoeuvring too, but at least he was going no where quickly and appeared to have his stern sorted, just waiting for his bow thruster to bite and push against the wind.  Once out of Poole Harbour and outer channel, no shallow north channel this time, my sails were set heading back to the island.  The clouds somewhere along the line had disappeared and the wind dropped to a steady 15 knots south by south westerly.  The tide too was running with me and 8 - 9 knots was not an uncommon speed over the ground.

The Shingles bank soon loomed up and I was held north of it, till such time as my crew were happy that there would be enough depth to cross over and pass Hurst Castle.  The Western Solent around Yarmouth & Lymington was busy, somebody must have spotted a shoal of fish, as there where a number of fishing boats anchored up looking like Porcupines with their spines sticking out at the back.

The spring tide was strong as I approached Cowes and it took a while to make progress, however this was a small price to pay and is always going to happen somewhere after six hours.  Better here than when approaching the Needles channel !  A successful few days, without it being uncommonly cold, wet or windy.

May Day !

After the disappointment of the weather at Easter, my skipper had set his sites on heading to Cherbourg over the May Bank Holiday.  According to his studies the weather was looking remarkably favourable,- a north westerly on Saturday blowing me down there, some confusion over Sunday whilst the centre of the pressure zone moved eastward across the UK, which didn't matter as I wasn't going anywhere and then a southerly on Monday blowing me back. Sorted.

So he arrives with provisions a day beforehand and as usual and stows them away.  Come  0900 on Saturday a reasonable hour and  my crew arrive and get me prepared.  The day started promisingly as the sun was out, and although difficult to tell on my berth, but the wind appeared to be more westerly than expected, but that's fine, a close haul up to the Needles and then a beam reach all the way to France, I should get them there quicker than the 10 hours my skipper had envisaged.

On leaving the Medina for the Solent, the wind appeared much stronger than expected, a single reef was left in my main as it went up and I was soon heading across to Beaulieu at good speed.  The wind kept rising, 20  gusting 25 knots went up to 25 gusting 30 knots and after a couple of tacks, the second reef was put in and control of the main was returned, the main sheet played to ease out the gusts.  My bows by now digging in to the oncoming waves would at least smother the green algae on my decks which would soon disappear from the salt in the water washing over it.  Eventually though my crew had had enough, this is not why they were out sailing and so another trip to France was thwarted by the weather and they returned me back to my pontoon.

My skipper radio'd the Harbour Master as we came in to let him know of our return, he came to see us later, apparently the weather deteriorated.  A text later and plans were change.

My skipper and crew remained on board Saturday night and then slipped my lines to head to Totland Bay for lunch the following day.  The weather couldn't be any different, sunshine, decent winds which brought a good sail up to drop the hook.  It was as if we'd put out a board advertising the Totland Bay was now open as boat after boat came in presumably to do the same thing.  With only just the jib we made our way over to Lymington and a chance for my crew to re-fill my water tanks and also get a much needed shower in the marina's exquisite facilities.

Monday came and one of my skippers friends turned up with his daughter and so lunch was served under blissful sunshine before they had to disappear, my lines were slipped once more and we headed for home.  Not quite the weekend planned, but none the less, out on one of the busiest stretches of water, able to stretch my legs and show that the money spent on my copper bottom was money well spent, as I slipped through the water unhindered by living organisms, cadging a ride.

Mad as March Hares

For the last few weeks my owners have turned up, pumped out my bilges and gone again. More recently  they've been bringing a few bits & pieces back on board and spending a bit more time before leaving.  The other day my skipper even turned up and spent all afternoon doing various bits to me, whilst working remotely on his lap top.  There seemed to be an issue with my GPS system and armed with the correct flash card - the last was a micro chip - far too small for my E series Raymarine, however, the unit still refused to read the information.  A phone call later to Navionics and the decision was that the software on the unit needed upgrading to enable the material on the flash card to be read and so, yet another chip was to be in the post.

With the plotter upgraded, the next  issue was the repeater in the cockpit, it refused to work with the plotter down stairs.  It was also becoming obvious to me, that there was a reason that all what was going on. Despite the cold weather something had been planned and I was about to head out for the first time this year.  It was early on the Thursday morning my crew arrived and I was moved over to Shepard's marina, but another problem became apparent, the shore power kept tripping out !  That was the whole thinking of moving me off the remote pontoon, to enable the 240v heaters and dehumidifier to run and make me all toasty for the night and with a scheduled early start of 0600, I was to be taken to Honfleur, France.

An electrician arrived during the day and put the repeater in step with the plotter, but as for the shore power, well the battery charger had developed a fault and so it was isolated from the system.  My skipper was quite pleased it was nothing more sinister, my batteries are well looked after by the alternator or the wind generator, so a third system was not necessary for now at least.

Honfleur, is on the southern banks of the River Seine, apparently my skipper doesn't like Le Harvre to the north, a destination he's raced to several times.  It was to be an early start on Good Friday and arrival would be around 2130, tides appeared favourable, and the lock would open for inward bound traffic every hour, which meant only 30 minutes of hanging around if all went to plan and this too gave me more water to get over the mud at the entrance to the lock.

As dawn broke, it revealed a crisp clear sunny morning with gentle winds, but the forecast was to be Force 4 or 5, easterly, may be with a touch of north in it.  My lines were slipped and we headed out to the Solent.  There was a third person on board, whom I've seen once before, a former racing colleague from the '09 Fastnet campaign, Jeff.  Turning east in to the wind, my main was raised leaving a single reef in it, just in case things were slightly different once round Bembridge and out into the Channel.  It was good to have the wind blow over the sails once again but it was certainly cold, my jib was gleaming white since being laundered and with a few minor repairs in including new leech lines, it made my main look a little tired if nothing else.

Tacking back and forth down the Solent, the temperature from the bright sunshine failed to make less headway to the temperature, in fact a weather front could clearly be seen about to cover the wispy sun completely.  My skipper watched it carefully, as he felt it may contain gusts and even snow.  By the time we'd reached Ryde pier, the cold was bitter, a quick check on the phone revealed a figure from the internet of -8C including wind chill. Despite many cups of tea, the thoughts of my crew appeared unanimous.  The skipper, thinking about the other end of the journey, was wondering how his crew would fare when they arrived in the dark, to a place they've never been before, having spent 15.5 hrs sitting in these freezing conditions.  So a decision was made to turn round and head for Yarmouth instead the western end of the island and re-think their weekend.

On arrival I was directed to G5 a remote pontoon alas with out power, so no electric heaters and as the Webasto diesel unit was not working, my lot were in for a cold night.  At least a sensible decision to go out first, then have dinner on board, which meant that the cooker had been on, heating my insides before they retired.  The marina was filling with loads of huge motor cruisers, Gin Palaces, I think I heard my crew mutter.   It was possible I would be heading to Studland or Swanage the following day but it was dependant on the what the weather was going to do.  The weather didn't change one iota, which meant that it could possibly be a cracking sail west, but then a long cold slog back and a repeat of the previous day which they didn't fancy. Whilst Yarmouth is a quaint little town, you've seen most of it in one evening apparently.  So they set off for a wander and my skipper came back with 3 charts for Northern Brittany, a hand pump and a length of pipe.  The fuel pump of the Webasto heater was by-passed and the guys tried to fire up the heater and run it by hand.  More use of the internet and a pdf of the instruction manual, more thorough than the one on board, soon established that two flashes on the controls meant that it was failing to light.  Think they'd already worked that one out.

The following morning and a decision had been made to head straight over the Solent to Lymington, the wind still strong and gusty, we set off.  All was ok, reversing off and down to the end of the pontoon till forward was selected, a gust of wind hit my sides and stopped me dead. Then blew me towards the fuel pontoon.  With full power forward to try to gain steerage, I started to move forward at speed, but the wind had won the day and my bow still faced the wrong way.  There was nothing for it but to go hard in reverse try to pull me away but my momentum pushed my bow into the ladder at the end of the pontoon.  Now my skipper raced to the helm as I was now heading in reverse at speed at one of these huge £5M Gin Palaces.  At least crews of other boats had woken up to the fact there was a problem and I've never seen such smartly dressed crew scramble on deck with huge bulbous fenders.  By now I was being blown sideways between them all and the room to manoeuvre was diminishing fast.

My skipper was working hard with the helm and the throttle and eventually managed to get my nose turned and head were he wanted me to go, but only after my nose clouted the pontoon once more.  I'm not sure if this was to ensure that maximum room was fully utilised or to temporary stop the bow allowing the stern to overtake it assisting in the turn.   Either way, he had control and I hadn't hit any of the multi-million pound boats, no body was hurt and I had an embarrassing scuff on the nose but no real damage.

The wind didn't let up all the way across the Solent until I was heading up the river to Lymington.  E10 was my berth for the night, before the fuel pontoon and close to the car park, my skipper brought me in, as Jeff leaped off the side and secure me on.  We had shore power at last, so heaters, dehumidifier, everything was plugged in.

My skipper and Jeff set too and soon had the Webasto diesel oil fired heater out of my stern locker and had it stripped down to its bear elements.  Once each element had been meticulously cleaned, whether in petrol or just by hand, it was re-assembled, the electric pump once reconnected started working again and so, fingers crossed the system was primed once more and fired up.  The pump ticked away, the fan whirred and the whole process increased in tension as their speeds increased as if take off was imminent.  Hot air started  to ooze from the vents once more and this time, no lights flashed, no pumped stopped, no fan died.  My heater was back in action.

It was also noticed previously that a wind vane had gone missing at the top of the mast, this was an integral unit with the VHF aerial, had this not been replaced or had it been broken during the re-stepping of the mast ?  Either way it wasn't there and more importantly, my VHF radio aerial which is part of it was missing too.  Just as well they didn't attempt crossing the Channel !  My skipper popped into the local chandlery and soon he was up the mast again securing a new aerial and wind vane where the old one once was. However the reception on the VHF still didn't improve, so more work needed there. I was enjoying this, apart from a bloody nose, I was having more attention spent on me than I had in a long time.

I was now the warmest I have ever been in a long while and my crew, despite losing an hour due to BST, had the warmest night of the weekend.  My lines were cast at just passed 1100 and I took my crew down the river back to the Solent and with the single reef still in my main, we headed back to Cowes with the last two hours of tide. The sea had a slight chop to it but I was loving it, powering my way through it at nothing less than 6 knots. We arrived at my berth at around 1300, no room at the Inn at Shepard's so hopefully the Webasto would keep me warm inside, through another bitter night.