Winter Maintenance

Part I

So now I know why I'm here in the Yacht Haven, a couple of days ago I was moved under the crane and lifted out.  Men started to jet wash my undersides but didn't get very far as I assume it was home time on a Friday.  So I was left for a couple of days swinging in the slings.

My skipper arrived on Saturday and lowered the Marlec wind generator as it's height above the deck was stopping the beam of the crane from passing over head.  He turned up again Monday night and I was still swaying about, it wasn't till Tuesday that I was finally moved into a cradle, where I assume I'll remain for a while.  Both Skipper and crew came down to put me on shore power and set up both heaters and dehumidifier, keeping my insides warm & toasty. This week saw a scaffold tower erected around my rudder complete with some bubble wrap; the new ammeter wired in a while ago properly cut in to my instrument panel and at least one of the two anodes around my prop replaced.

The space where my oven was, has been steam cleaned and a new gas pipe fitted ready for the new oven to go in and be connected.  All the soft furnishings in the cabins have been lifted and left so that air can circulate round them, although some have been removed to be stored elsewhere.

Part II

Well true to form the first weekend my skipper has free he's down complete with lots of tools and bits & pieces.  Firstly he sets up a scaffold tower around my keel and secures a ladder to my side.  Then he brings out the electric chisel or thin sanding belt tool and finishes off fitting the ammeter, followed by hoovering up sawdust it's created.

Then outcomes a steamer device and he sets to on the empty space where the cooker once was and proceeds to steam clean all the accumulated dirt that has stuck itself to the woodwork.  With that done he inspects the fixed gas pipe and prepares the flexible one ready for fitting, it looks as though the old fitting will have to be cut off not easy as it's in the corner.

Moving to the master cabin heads he steam cleans the pan, the ceiling and floor attacking mould that over time has made its mark, but before it gets a chance to look nasty.  Am sure it'll need several attempts before its all gone.  With the open hatch blasting steam in to the colder air outside like winters chimney, a hose is passed down and rinses all around, but not before the filter of the floor (shower) pump is cleaned of the usual debris.  The heads are pumped dry and the remaining water is removed to leave a glistening ceramic finish.  The bed linen is removed and made ready to be taken off the boat and the mattresses are made in to a pyramid in order that air can circulate.  Even the wardrobe is emptied of clothes that have been hanging in there for three seasons and hardly worn.  Those too join the laundry bag.

The other two cabins are tidied, wiped down and hoovered out before stacking mattresses.

Am sure the new cooker wont be long before its fitted, but am intrigued as to why the scaffold we'll see !


Part III

Yep the shinny new cooker is in and plumbed in too, the old fitting had to be cut away not easy when its fitted in to a tight corner but the dremmel came in handy, although died in the end.  A washing up liquid solution was used to ensure a leak free fitting and as there were no bubbles apparent and the replacement gas sensor likewise stayed silent the hob was left running for a while.  This oven not only has a grill but is thermostatically controlled and comes with electronic ignition, not wired in but with its own AAA battery, which hasn't been tested yet.

Every afternoon for a series of 5-6 days my skipper returned the scaffold tower removed from round my rudder and re-errected, then proceeded to clean the remaining dried on weed and mud stained waterline from under my stern all along the starboard side.  The other having been cleaned during my August travels.  The tower was raised and then the whole of my gel coat along the stern was chemically cleaned, waxed and polished with the final buffing being carried out with an electrical orbital polisher I've not seen before.  Each day he worked his way along the gel coat of the port side.

The last time I saw him it was a grey and much colder day than it had been for long time and rather than move around on the tower, he replaced both shot annodes (one was completely missing, believed fallen off), then continued to clean & polish up the brass folding prop until the both batteries of his cordless drill run out of steam.

Its been a few days now since then and I'm sure he'll be back soon.



Part IV

Both skipper and crew arrived on Sunday and immediately set to on my rudder, having cleaned it before, it was prepared to receive yet more Coppercoat.  My skipper had arranged with the manufactures to supply him with an additional bag of copper filings and so with the resin mixed, it was liberally rolled on.  This has been brought about when they had spotted in Weymouth, back in August, long trails of fine weed sailing in the tide.

Following that, the skipper removed the whole of the propeller this time and took it away for further cleaning & polishing.  Unfortunately during the strong wind on Saturday the lazy jacks plastic O ring that failed during a gybe whilst heading in to Fowey back in August failed again, so my main sail whilst still remains in the bag is awkwardly hanging to one side of the boom !  Yet more work for the skipper to sort ?

Unfortunately having coated the rudder and after they had gone, the weather turned and started to rain.  This kept the lower part of the exposed side of the rudder from going off and I think it'll have to either be redone or my skipper may decide that it'll be low enough in the water that it is unlikely weed will have enough sunlight to grow.  See what happens the next time he arrives.

Part V

A few weeks have passed and my skipper has returned.  Stainless steel O rings have replaced the top plastic ones, the rudder has been re-coated and rubbed down and a band of Coppercoat applied around the water line.  My hull even took a bit of cleaning & polishing, but unfortunately the machine broke down before he went away.

I'm now back in the water and back on my pontoon, only Poly Agatha is here.  I have a new shinny cooker complete with grill, thermostatically controlled oven and electronic ignition.  Lets see what this season brings.

Winter Warmers

Well since my month at sea with my skipper and crew, things have been pretty quite.  I've been out a few days but apart from that nothing much.

My whole charging system has had an entire overhaul since my skipper worked out why it was I was chewing through my fan belts and all three of my charging systems, be it wind, shore or engine power, comes complete with an intelligent regulator.  That ensures that all eight of my batteries not only get re-charged , they're subjected to a conditioning phase and a trickle (floating) charge.  Apparently the science behind this is to prevent the build up of chemical deposit on the plates within each cell of my batteries and so keeping them fresh.  Also my skipper has fitted an ammeter that measures to the nearest 0.1amp whether the batteries are discharging or charging.  He can also interrogate it further such that he can enquire as to how long at the current rate of charge/discharge the batteries will be either fully re-charged or at the level when they need to be recharged.  This will be useful when sailing long distances in light winds when the wind generator isn't capable of  keeping tabs on demand and also at anchor, ensuring that there's enough power to keep the instruments on anchor watch etc., over night.

The new 100amp alternator and Balmar ARG-5 intelligent regulator has an additional two sensors to inform it of both battery and alternator temperatures, this ensures that the whole system is delivering the right amount of power at all times whilst the engine is running.  When it is, a healthy charge rate of a  14.8v is seen once more.  The faulty battery mate my skipper replaced whilst in Plymouth this year resolved the fan belt issue.  This could all be down to the 3.5 tonnes of water I took on board during my passage down from Scotland all that time ago.

Weekend before last my skipper came down on his own and then disappeared as he heard cries for help and ended up pulling a fellow sailor out of the river a pontoon or two down river.  Then proceeded to show his guests around me afterwards.

This weekend as twilight was settling in on Sunday, my crew arrived.  My engine fired up and my lines made ready to slip.  All my navigation lights and some cabin lights turned on.  Where was I going, surely it was far to late to go sailing, the wind was northerly and varying in strength.  Never the less with lines cast I was heading down stream.  The inly black surface and lack of any other vessels in the river made for an eerie prospect.  We came across The Craftsman the 60 foot + ketch that I share the pontoon with during the summer and I was swung in to the entrance of the north basin of Cowes Yacht Haven and before I knew it tied up to N5 pontoon.  Although yet again the wind just caught my bow, but the lines prevented me from going to far before the bow thruster brought me back in to line and the remaining springs could be set.

Today the crew brought a new oven down and I assume this is where I'll be over winter.

The Run Home

From Fowey and with time starting to slip before the need to head home, one last trip west saw me heading for Mevagissey.  However my skipper having spoken to a surprised Harbour Master, already had a plan B up his sleeve.  The tone of the HM having had the prospect of trying to get me a 47 foot yacht inside what is primarily a small fishing port, was given a life line, when my skipper suggested that the alternative was to head slightly further south and anchor in a small bay called Portmellon.

With relief in the HM voice, I was hardened up against the wind and my bows pushing hard through the sea, bore away from the fast approaching harbour wall a few degrees to bear down on the cove.  With tidal heights already scanned over, I was brought in to wind and sails dropped before finding a spot to set the anchor.  Once settled another yacht joined me and my crew left to visit the only pub in the village.

On there return, a seal swam round the cove surprising a number of swimmers, who had come out to see me & my neighbour.  As the evening drew in the water around me started to hiss.  It wasn't the sound of the tide pushing pebbles up and down the beach, but a huge shoal of Mackerel had swam in looking to eat whatever they had disturbed.  Batches of fish, 3 at a time we're being hauled in to my cockpit, flapping about like rain hammering down.  Bucket after bucket were soon over crowded with fish unable swim in water, but like Sardines, vertically stacked to suit the packing arrangements.

With sharp knife and skill learnt from his Saturday job, my skipper took twelve of the largest fish and filleted them.

                                                  Me in Portmellon


Having worked out the current, it was a fairly early start to catch the first tide west of the new day.

As always my skipper is wary of the actual strength of the wind, but with full sail I headed east or east by south east to be exact.  And as the coast disappeared in the gloom of the day the wind steadily built, as did the sea state.  This is never an easy thing to appreciate when sailing down wind, as the speed over the ground hides the force of the wind,  Soon I was reaching 10 - 11 knots and starting to surf.  My skipper realising what was happening put a reef in the main and brought things back under control.  For a while at least.  A couple of miles south of Eddystone Rocks and it became apparent that the forecast was, as usual, incorrect.  The sea built further with the wind increasing, by now Salcombe was due north and I was either going to be gybed to head in or continue for a night passage across Lyme Bay.

                     Eddystone Lighthouse with Plymouth in the merck behind


With both sea and wind building yet further, the usual drill of heading in to wind to put in the second reef became an issue.  The timing of turning head on to the waves and wind without getting smacked broadside and then being overpowered came to the fore.  My skipper worked tirelessly lowering the main halyard and grinding in the second reef, with the topping lift hard on and vang off.  When ready the gybe was entertained.  However, despite trying to control the situation, the rolling sea and strength of wind won over and my boom was thrown across.  Fortunately the only damage was a plastic ring holding the lazy jack lines in place.  This snapped, spilling the already reefed sail over the deck.  As I sailed north running for cover of the coast line, the wind and sea eased, my skipper tidied my deck of sail and eventually we motored in to find a buoy.

Having restocked and discussed the merits of down wind sails following the recent episode, I headed to Torquay once more, for an overnighter before crossing of Lyme Bay.  Again the wind just disappeared and so the engine was back on.  At least this gave my crew time to chill in their own way.  My skipper, cleaned and polished half of my cockpit whilst the crew read.

Portland Bill, was crossed once more but via the inner passage this time and with the Red Arrows carrying out their display over Falmouth, I swung in to Portland Marina.

Red Arrow Fly Past

This is the first time I'd stopped at Portland and the new marina was impressive and full of space, for now ?

                                      Portland Marina at Sunset


At Portland my crew spent a few days walking the dis-used railway line and stretching their legs. With time moving on, it soon became time for me to move too and so we left the protection of the walls that surround this Olympic sailing venue and headed out to explore the coast line with a view to look at Lulworth but with a plan B to stop in Warbarrow Bay, or more accurately the west side Mupe Bay.

With a dark band of clouds forming, I was taken close to the shore line, looking for possible stop overs.  However a squall hit and 5 knots of wind became 25 knots, my skipper was handed his coat and then bore away to spill as much wind out of the sails as he could.  Within minutes, the sun returned and the wind dropped.  Lulworth Cove as always was packed, so Mupe Bay it was and I moved in between a few other motor cruisers as well as yachts.  The high chalk cliffs showed signs of failure as a huge chalk slip had filled part of the bay.  At least I had some protection from the building wind for the night as my occupants ate more Mackeral.

In the morning we set off and it was a choice of Swanage or Studland Bay as the wind was still making up its mind as to which way it as going to most constant.  Studland it was and this time my crew were determined to push me in and find a space.  Whilst aledged a beauty spot it was a dissappointing experience, hoards of PWC (jet ski's) and sped boats with the inflatable goods towed behind ruined what ambience there once was in the days of only gaff rigged boats.  Once the myhem settled down and day trippers moved back to the proection of their marine's, I was moved closer to the cliffs.  Just as well as again the aftermath of Hurricane Bertha was still around and the wind strengthened over night.  Bank holiday Monday and it didn'tstop raining, which on the one hand kept the 'others' away, but little else could be done.  Early the next moring I caught the tide round the north passage by Hurst Castle and stopped outside of Yarmouth whilst waiting for my berth to become available.  Dissapointingly Salties bar was not open on Tuesdays and everywhere else was either full or appeared not interested in serving food.  My crew found one of the best curry houses next to the ferry terminal.

Picking up the tide once more and with little wind I was drifted as close to the shore as dared enabling my skipper to clock a visual on how close we could get but keeping an eye on the chart for ledges.  Eventually the weather broke once more and the last run from Egypt Point wasn't that pleasant.  Once inside the Medina things quietened down and I was taken back to my pontoon.

August II

I stayed in Weymouth for two days, but eventually it was time to move on which coincided with the departure of the second of the two yachts rafted against me.  It also coincided with the west going tide.  With light winds and clear sunshine I was taken south beyond the many fishing boats that were going to take advantage of the conditions and more importantly the Portlands races.  On swinging west, the wind barely blowing enough for me to make any more than 4 knots meant that the crossing of Lyme Bay would not see me reach Torquay until the dark of night, so on went the iron sail.  My crew read and my skipper fished, although a barely audible alarm rang out, not painful but set their minds wondering what it was.  The skipper checking the engine temperature light and then reaching down to the exhaust discharge found nothing untoward.  At least the fan belt wasn't screaming although continued to dump rubber.

It was however noted that the usually hot water held in my Clarifier was tepid at best.  Checks on the engine previously had shown that the expansion tank was still at maximum level.

After reprovisioning and my crew meeting up with former Fastnet crew, I left to head round Start Point and in to the picturesque river Dart.  My skipper needed shore power once more but had to reside in the Royal Sailing club for a few hours to enable him to achieve what he needed to do.  It was also in Dartmouth that my skipper discovered that the reason for tepid water was due to the lack of fresh water in my other cooling system.  Clearly the expansion tank had provided a false check on the fresh water level within my Yanmar and so after refilling the system, hot water was once more restored.

It was also here that my skipper by-passed the battery mate and watched the state of charge rise to the expected 14.5v and so phoned the Raymarine supplier he had previously contacted and added a new 3 way splitter battery mate to replace what had all along been the faulty part, the cause of the problems related to the fan belt and other gremlins in the electrical system.  The supplier was to be found within the Queen Anne's Battery marina and so I was lead in to the marina and tied up to the pontoon. Soon my skipper had gone in search of the supplier and came back with two boxes of new equipment. The following day he was up the mast to fit the new transponder.  He made several visits up the mast and eventually the contacts made decent connections and for the first time for over a year the ST60 wind instruments on deck gave readings of both direction and strength.

With this success he topped it off by wiring in the new batter mate and soon all three sets of battery banks were charging at the expected rate.  More than that the fan belt was no longer being ripped apart by the magnetic forces working against it.

By now, Hurricane Bertha was about to cross the UK shores and so my crew spent the time reprovisioning and wandering around Plymouth.  As space was re-appearing as other yachts that had out run the storm were departing they planned to leave, but they learnt that two nights of firework competitions were about to begin. So it was that I stayed put.

With the wind easing slightly, but still enough to make leaving the marina interesting.  Unlike the First 40.6 that had drifted past me sideways until its conclusion against a catamaran at the end.  My skipper put my stern facing the wind and gently eased me out of the berth and out.

From Plymouth I headed to Fowey River for another night or two on a mooring buoy.  Here 'loopy loo' came to her own. A 2.0m length of chain with braided rope spliced on at either end bought specifically for this purpose.

Fowey is the kind of place that needs a few days to discover its full potential, but with the storm holding me back there were only had a few days before my crew had to start to return.

All points West

Despite the toing and froing, the issue with the batteries charging under engine still isn't resolved.  A new 100 amp hour alternator has turned up with an intelligent regulator, but despite being sold as plug & play, it isn't quite that simple and my skipper will have to read & re-read the manual to ensure it's wired correctly.

Still that hasn't stopped my departure from Cowes Friday (1st August), and for the first time for a while I was heading back to Totland Bay for an overnight stop moving at 7.0 - 8.0 knots been awhile but good to be back in the groove eventually reaching 9.0 - 9.5 knots whilst passing Hurst Castle as the tide really pushed.  A south easterly to south westerly wind was forecast and so I tucked in tight but still leaving a metre of water under my keel at low tide, a quiet night was had, no disturbance from the GPS anchor alarm.

So an early start to get the last hour of ebbing tide out of the Needles and in to the forecast southerly 3 - 4's.  Yeah right, the early start was ok, but the wind was south westerly 5 - 6 and so the reef put in to my main was a shrewd move.  However it did mean that I struggled to point to windward and soon I was over by the Shingles Bank, so much so that despite the charts indicating 4 - 6 m of water, I was tacked back out to sea with the depth gauge showing an astonishing 0.6m under the keel !

The 3 - 4's never came to fruition, instead my crew had to endure 5 -6's and basically from the direction we wanted to go, it wasn't Swanage or Studland Bay as I'd expected, but to push on to Weymouth.  The drizzle ensured that my crew were well covered, despite the fact is wasn't cold, but the wind went fickle and died as I approached St Albans Head, the reef I had was shaken out and the wind filled in again.  By now my skipper was trying to pinch every bit of west he could and with the tide easing managed to round St Albans without the need for a tack back out to sea.  It did mean however that I was being taken straight through the races, confused seas just off shore.

There where smaller boats staying well inshore but no we went through the middle, rudder hard over to maintain a straight course at times, but you couldn't tell that from my wake.  The Coastal watch guys at the top of the cliff must have had something to say, yet the VHF was full of two guys in the water within the Portland harbour sailing area, reasonably protected when compared to this.  With full sail I was over sheeted as we headed to Weymouth, but by pinching to windward, I spilled the wind from my sail and kept an honest 6.0 knots.

On arrival, my fan belt didn't complain and we motored in and moored up as usual near the Harbour Masters office.  Where my skipper noticed that the piece of wood or bird he saw plummet in to the sea just after the Needles was infact the Windex at the top of the mast, probably one of the reasons it had stopped working, it was not connected properly !  So something else for him to fix !

Fit for purpose

Since the Round the Island Race, my skipper has been back and forth, trying to resolve the issue of the screaming fan belt.  He's also been working on a number of other things too and has re-erected the wind generator and wired it back in.  So my batteries are at last getting some power despite the distinct lack of wind currently.

The new stainless steel screws obviously arrived as the back board that was removed to get at the faulty Auto Pilot in the stern locker is back on.  The heads of the old ones being chewed completely.

One of the Spinlock deck tidy's is putting up a struggle to be removed and cleaned up.  This is so the pulley wheels can be cleaned up and remove the friction that currently exists.  There's just the one bolt left refusing to budge, having drilled out one already.  Am sure this will soon be done.

Yesterday (15th July), I was moved down river to Shepard's marina, where my skipper worked until the marine electrical Engineer arrived.  Between the two of them they traced the issue with my charging down to the regulator within the alternator.  Being on shore power, meant that the Sterling Ultra Pro battery charger and condition worked hard all day, through its three cycles, putting life back in to them.  With the alternator removed a smaller one was fitted enabling me to be returned to my mooring late evening.  At least with the wind generator working my systems will at least continue to be trickle charged.

With the month of August fast approaching, I'm sure his visits will be more frequent and will start to re-stock my cupboards ready for my month at sea.

Allowed to race or was that a ploy !

So last weekend and the usual signs that something's going on appear. more food is stowed in my galley.  There's more concentration to finish off the odd jobs that have been hanging around.  My fan belt gets tightened once more, but still I don;t think thats the route cause of my troubles down below.

The support system for the wind generator is starting to take shape again, but then instead of carrying on with that, I get dresses with the 'Sail 4 Cancer' flags again and other paraphernalia and a sticker that my skipper has adorned all the way down my bow at the same rake as the bow line, but when I look at others they're all horizontal, typical of my skipper being different.

So I was half asleep when I heard the noise of the outboard from the tender as sure enough more provisions were brought on board.  Followed by more and more crew.  I knew something was afoot, as the River had been filling up all week with others with the black poster stuck to their hulls too.

Finally at 0630, with a full 10 on board, my lines were slipped and out I went in to the melee that was the Solent.  I have not seen anything so crowded, where did all these yacht come from ?

At 0700 my engine was shut down, not just because the fan belt was once more screaming but apparently that's what you have to do before crossing the start line.  With full sails and jostling for space, it soon became apparent that any change of direction would kill any speed my crew had managed to gain from what little wind there was.  At least the tide was taking me the right way.

What usually take no more that two hours took around five and so we passed Hurst Castle and Totland Bay, but for once it wasn't a stop over.  Yachts weaving back and forth now in their own race to beat the tidal gate and pick up the flood tide to St Catherine's.  Those that failed to make it would be retiring and heading home, where ever that may be.  We made it with my skipper pushing my further west to ensure a good run back and missing the sunken wreck.

I was then tacked out to sea in search of more wind and what an inspired move that was.  Although with the tide still against me the wind picked up a little and later, with the sun beating down the sea breezes kicked in.  Those that tucked in against Freshwater Bay cliffs to keep out of the stronger tide picking up the eddy, entered a wind shadow.  I was pointing at St Catherine's and was traveling at 6-7.0kn over the ground and clearly passing many stuck along the shore line.  The Solent does funny things with the weather and whilst I had been beating all the way to the Needles, I found myself in south easterly breeze, so off of the starboard bow.

This was good news, as it meant nobody could gain an advantage with their huge Spinnakers, Gennakers and Code 0's.  The sun shone and everyone relaxed further, with drinks being served and rolls handed round, it was time to look at all the other boats without worrying about all the other boats.

At around 1530, the sea breeze was gone as had the prevailing wind and so the momentum I had with my 13 tonnes ebbed away, but not before carrying me through the tidal race and whirl pools of the headland.  With little or no flow over the rudder, I like other boats started to pirouette, handy if I needed to do a 360 degree penalty turn.  I sat there moving slowly on the flood tide and waited 45 minutes before the skipper gained the consensus of opinion from his crew and the iron sail went on.  My race was over and the screaming from my alternator continued where it had left off.

Once past Bembridge, with the wind rising once more, my sails were raised again enabling the engine to be shut down and my skipper to remove the front panel and get to the fan belt.  It took minutes to re-adjust, with everything having been undone so many times previously.  Within seconds of the engine being fired up, it was screaming again.

With the engine still running my skipper used a tyre lever, a tool from his previous days of rally cars and engines, and acted as a belt tensioner.  The noise should've gone, but it didn't.  In the knowledge that the water pump was functioning properly and that the crank pulley was too without fault, it looked likely that the alternator was the source of the problem but didn't explain the screaming.

We arrived back at my berth around 2000 hrs and peopled were ferried back, whilst my skipper started to close me down.

Sunday afternoon, skipper arrived back and removed the alternator completely, but could see that the bearing was still in tact and not complaining, He wiped the engine down spotless once more and took the offending item away with him for further investigation.

It's Back

It's been months, but finally my main sail was returned to me last Saturday.  A gang of four arrived, to lift, hoist, clip and re-attach the reefing lines.

It was a sunny day with the light wind coming from the north, the direction I was pointing, so no need to turn me round or loosen the main sheet.  First, my skipper arrived in the dinghy with the sail bag dwarfing it and he soon man-handled it on to the pontoon and returned to pick up the others.  With a strategy in place, I had one person on the electric main winch and two others on the pontoon lifting my huge sail over the safety rail.  My skipper was standing on the boom and with one hand holding him to the mast; one bringing the sail to the cars; one feeding the grommets into the cars and the other releasing the car pins, withdrawing and replacing once the toggle lined up.  With so many hands he'll be useful at buffets.

Slowly the main reached the top as each toggle was attached to the cars and raised for the next and my big white sail gleamed in the mid morning sunshine, the new sail numbers all present and correct and at the leech of each battern was a new tell tale, who's job it is to show how the air is flowing over the sail.

With both reefing lines re-tied and tested, it was lowered back into the repaired lazy Jack bag.  Unfortunately my skipper spotted that both reefing lines, plus the clew were over the zip rather than under.  With that in mind they all disappeared down river to Cowes for lunch.

The skipper returned a short while afterwards on his own and sorted the overlooked zip and re-tied the lines.

My bilge pump impeller was removed and found to have one of its fins broken, explaining immediately why it didn't want to suck any water from the hull.  My skipper took it with him when he left.

Late on Sunday I was boarded once more and this time we set off on the ebbing tide and headed west once more.  With a fickle wind unsure of where it wanted to come from the new main was kept in its bag and the jib was raised to pick up what wind there was.  Just before sunset we anchored back in Totland and set the alarm.

With 21m of chain out and the alarm set to 20m the electronics waited till 0200 to warn of possible dragging.  As it happen to coincide with high tide (0230), my skipper got up, let out more chain and reset the alarm for 30m before turning in to hopefully a more peaceful night.  This is never normally the case under anchor as all the creak and groans that are inherent with anchoring, within the solitude of the vast emptiness.  The wind had found itself again and started to howl through the rigging.

The previously forecast 3-4's had changed to 4-5's ocaissional 6 later so the thoughts of catching the last of the ebb around the Needles and heading back east and to the south of the island changed and the early start became more leisurely as it was felt now wasn't the time to discover there was an issue with the sail that had not been hoisted in anger.  With one reef left in and picking up the flood tide I was lead home and back to my pontoon.

With the last of the flood tide making its way down the Medina, I was turned to head into it, as usual to help slow me down.  However the strength of the wind and more importantly the effect it has on my high sides meant that I was taken past and turned round to approach from the other direction.  With the anchor from the Kedge Poly Agatha ready to do more damage should the approach be wrong and the catamaran in front of me to slam into should I fail to slow down in time and over run.  However with the timed use of reverse I hit the spot and was lashed to the pontoon amidships and the other warps could be sorted out at leisure.

Once lunch was complete, the bilge pump was reaquainted with its one way valve and tested, following the discovery of endless bubbles, the impeller was turned 180 degrees and I could have emptied the river beneath.  The filter of the fresh water pump was also removed cleaned out and replaced after the sounds of the pump re-pressurising the system where heard far more regularly than usual.  With the sail zipped up and all systems bar the auto bilge shut down, the crew left.

I notice that the electric motor from my auto pilot was on board and the fitting kit for the wind generator likewise, there's always something to do.

Easter

So I spent several weeks in Shepard's marina hooked up to shore power.  The heaters and dehumidifier trying to combat the inevitable damp that is inherent within us yachts.

The intensity of my skippers visits increased aver the preceding weeks before Easter, with all the little jobs being completed, or not in the want to get me back out on the water.  The repair works to my port rear quarter is almost complete, all the metal work including the wire stays back in place, with a view to looking at re-fitting the windex generator, although missing parts put a hold on that.

My main, that was sent off to be serviced, cleaned and have my world wide individual sail number applied, has still not been returned.  But I'm sure my skipper is well aware of my limitations without it.

Previsions loaded and even some of the bed linen removed to be tumbled dry before fitting, meant that I was expected to head somewhere for my first real trip of the season.  The plan to head across the channel to Cherbourg amongst the Junior Offshore Group (JOG) on Good Friday followed by a short trip to Alderney, before returning to Weymouth and home, was a wish too far as the sail loft still failed to understand that for the first major holiday since Christmas, it may be the wishes of others to have their sails back.

However with guests arriving and more food being delivered, an alternative plan was hatched.

So a mid morning arrival, on Friday, my lines were eventually slipped and I headed back up the Medina to the Solent once more.  This wasn't quite as straight forward as my skipper, clearly rusty after the winter break took two attempts to get me out of my berth, his plan was sound but his execution didn't follow the plan until he realised and put his actions in sync with his brain.

As expected my skipper had the tides down to a tea and I motored with the tide until we reached a favourite spot at Totland Bay, where my anchor complete with brand new swivel was deployed.  Around lunchtime the following day in glorious sunshine, I again was pushed in to the tide and headed east to Swanage.  Due to the underlying north easterly wind I was placed  near the cliffs on the north side of the bay, away from the town, but a constant swell made living on board uncomfortable and so I was moved to pick up a buoy nearer town.

It became apparent after several aborted runs, that visitors buoys had yet to be deployed and with two hours of daylight left, my skipper made the decision to run to the shelter that is Poole harbour.  The ebbing tide created overfalls by Old Harry, which I've not been taken through before and Studland Bay the other side looked idyllic, but having , for the first time put my nose around, my skipper decided that with winds still expected from the north east, it wasn't the place to be.  By now though the ebbing tide out of Poole meant a slow passage in.

Sunday and the weather came in making for a miserable day, their guest was picked up and taken home, a second night at a different berth ensued.  Early doors Monday, saw me out of Town Quay to pick up the ebbing tide, which made a huge difference in time in getting out.  My skipper happy that enough water existed over the bank took me across and we headed back to the Needles again timed such that the tide was soon at my stern and pushed me.  The north channel at Hurst Castle is somewhere my skipper has only been through in the dark, so the opportunity was taken to visually see how close to the shingle bank the channel was.

I achieved a staggering 9.2 knots, without sail, in little wind such was the timing my skipper had put me here.  It was just a few hours that I was swung round and taken back to my berth between the oversized catamaran and the gaff rigged Poly Agatha.  This time the actions were in sync with the skippers brain and we came in nice and gently.

I understand that I have been entered in to this years Round The Island Race, but am sure my skipper has other trips up his sleeve before then.

Holiday - or so it seems

This weather has been strange.  In Scotland it was simple it either rained or snowed hard or blew hard or it was summer.  Down south, things are very different.

The period of high winds has abated, for now at least, but I've had more water under my keel in the Medina than I've ever had before, I understood that high tide has topped the quay wall and flooded the High Steet to about 150mm.

As promised I have been moved, the wind eased on Sunday and I was moved to Shepards marina next to the Yacht Haven.  With both heaters and dehumidifier plugged in, I can at last start to dry out completely, for now at least.  The work with the Mast Gaiter tape that was applied some time ago appears to have stemmed the flow of water but with it being much warmer at the moment condensation is just getting every where and with the gales and driving rain leaving a hatch even slightly ajar isn't an option.

All the new metal work is bolted on to my deck and the guard rails wire has replaced the temporary rope.  I've even been measured up for a new piece of Teak to replace the slat that was damaged in the accident.  The second half (port side) of the ceiling in the saloon, is in the process of being removed ready for the new LED strip lighting matching that already done on the starboard side.

The small section in the port rear cabin is still off whilst my skipper scratches his head as how to stop water from dripping off of the screw or bolt ends.  The floor panel under the navigators table is back up again waiting for the new fan to be put in line along the heating duct and the remainder to be replaced with an insulated upsized duct to the master cabin, where the heat fails to reach.

Of course the wind generator needs to be put back once the frame is attached to my new pushpit, but at least the new shore powered generator my skipper installed last summer is up and humming nicely keeping the new batteries nicely topped up too.

I understand that my main sail will be off soon and sent to the cleaners, like the jib was last year, with my allotted sail numbers added.  The boom too will be removed and taken to a work shop to have some precautionary strengthening work where the Vang attaches to a plate under the boom.

So no rest for the wicked and I look forward to returning to my pontoon all ship shape.

Winter Wonderland

Prior to my skipper and his crew bringing me down to this Island off the south coast, I would have to endure freezing temperatures, snow & ice, storms and high winds.

Whilst I agree that recently high winds have swept the nation, my little berth down the Medina river is pretty well sheltered from most things.  Ok southerlies and conversely northerlies can be a problem but even then I'm either facing or stern to them.  The biggest issue at present is condensation.  I am literally heating up inside when the sun does come out removing moisture from within to the colder portholes and hatches.  Unfortunately I then perspire and moisture runs across the roof linings and drips.

The work my skipper did to the mast base, seems to have stemmed the tide but there is a leak from top decks through to the rear cabins, a puzzle I have set my skipper to resolve.

The last few weekends he's been down to check me over, run my systems, fire up my heater, but I haven't been out now for ages.  However I am supporting new stainless steel pushpit and side gate and it wont be long before all the wire is replaced and the wind generator is installed and running again.

I have it on good authority that I'm going to be moved to Cowes Yacht Haven for a month, where I can have the dehumidifier and heaters running and dry every sinu out.  But as always its more than that, my main sail is to come off and be laundered like my jib was;  the boom will come off and have the Vang bracket strengthened, not that its a problem at the moment but my skipper has spotted something that has been added to his wish list.  The lazy Jack bag can come off and a new one made.  I may even come out of the water altogether and have my anodes checked again.

The tube lighting on my starboard side is being removed, replacing it with the same LED pink lighting strip that adorns my port side, so most of my ceiling panels are currently off.  I am sure that once I am returned to my mooring at Whitegates, I'll be in much better shape and will be out in the Solent once more.