2021 - Part 3

The furler finally arrived and skipper set to re-assembling the parts and getting me back together again.

So not quite the summer I had hoped as again skips business had taken on a new project.

Our fortnights holiday was crammed into 4 days and we did our usual to set off and head for our anchorage in Totland, I must have a word with the Crown as I think my names been washed away.  Then the realisation that we hadn’t done this for a long time, in that Skipper hadn’t provisioned any beers on board, nor had they bothered taking the dinghy with us, still a bag of rose wine later (the crew hadn’t forgotten) and we ought to be in for a quiet night.  With the wind dying down overnight, I seemed to roll on a swell that wasn’t there earlier, just enough to set my gooseneck creaking, although we had a cracking sail to clear some cobwebs away on the way.  The crew was also not happy as we only had 100lts of water in the tanks (25%).  So it was a case of ‘what we should do when we go to the boat’, so Skipper suggested we head to Portland and fill up there (plus there’s a restaurant and a LIDL to buy his beers).

Saturday and the windless theme prevailed, although Skipper took the opportunity to set a course for my autopilot to follow and we motor sailed using what little wind there was.  Skipper would have like to have tried the code 0 plus the J3 but the effort seemed too much for their holiday!  Before reaching St Albans Head or rather the closer one (Durlston Head), the autopilot was getting confused again and I started to fishtail putting us into a gybe!  Not sure if it has something to do with the fact that the tri data gauge was showing our boat speed at about 10 times less than it should be, so 0.60 should’ve been 6.0kts, this seemed to tally with SOG and the tidal data.  As we approached St Albans, Lulworth range was on the radio, not quite clear as to whether we needed to be south of the 15’ we headed out to pass the other yellow buoy to starboard. Why he didn’t say that our present course was ok so long as we didn’t deviate to the north I’m not sure, but I’m sure they sit up there and want something to do.  No shells were fired - the road cones along a lane of motorway syndrome.

We motored our way into the marina, where Skip had phoned to book a space and a table at the restaurant earlier in the day.

 Again I looked forward to another peaceful night, no wind no swell, super.  Alas, a squall went through during the night to the east of us and whipped up some 25knt winds, and Skip had to get up three times to sort out the clanging and banging that it was thought there was no need to prepare for!

Sunday and a mixed bag weather-wise.  We set off with a south-westerly bearing in mind it was supposed to be north by northwesterly, but I was doing well and we sailed out on the electronic wind vane past the shambles to give us a decent run back in in the hope that the wind would come round and we’d be lifted so as not to have to tack back out.  It didn’t happen.  What did happen, was for a very angry set of black clouds formed over Lulworth Cove to St Alban's Head and so we tacked out until it got darker and headed to windward to put a reef in, which everyone did remarkedly well considering how rusty they are. The crew went below to fetch the wet weather gear and lifejackets and put those on only for the clouds to have disappeared, we were at least doused with a light drizzle for their troubles.  We arrived on the northern end of Swanage Bay under the cliffs and ought to have had a peaceful night, nicer than Studland as there are no oiks on jet skis.  We even tried my anchor wizard press button to tell it when you’ve dropped the hook and let it know how much chain you put out, it then gives you a ring that includes a drift factor, and sets the alarm.  Skip even put a gybe preventer on to stop the gooseneck creaking, what he had forgotten is that the depth alarm is set to 1.5m and as we approached low water at 0330 off it went!

 Monday and the crew confirms that her hair appointment was for Wednesday, not Tuesday, but they had decided to head back.  We set off on what looked like another good northwesterly of 10-15kts, when the wind instrument hit 20kts we headed up and invoked the well-drilled exercise of reefing, slightly slicker than before and I was well balanced after the reefing, without weather helm and we flew back to the Needles at about 9,0kts most of the way!

 Unfortunately, as we pulled into Gurnard to drop the sails out of the tide, the lazy jack line that I had temporary cable ties failed and plonked the main on the deck!  Our sail ties came into good use.

Skipper went to this year's boat show and came back with a 2000W inverter, which can run to 4000w for 10 minutes enabling the use of 230v equipment on board from my batteries.  Things as phones, tablets, drill batteries, and the toaster.  I've also a new satellite communication system coming later in the year so that Skipper has access to the world whilst on board from wherever we may be.  This is part of the preparation for our trip in 2022 to Portugal!

My rigging has also been checked prior to our trip to Portland and tightened up quite considerably, this is following Skipper easing everything to remove the forestay.

Skipper has decided that there are still too many boats out there that either do not use AIS or turns it off deliberately and so has ordered a new Dopler digital radar system, more powerful but uses less power and instant startup.

With a small solar panel also bought from the boat show to keep the engine battery topped up as it's the only one not connected to the wind generator, Skip is also looking to install solar power too to complement the wind generator.

So again it might not have been a year of great passages but another where electronics have either been upgraded or new features added to make life on board more comfortable or workable if away for long periods, where his business is concerned.

2021 Part 2

It's not been the year I thought it might, skipper still busy with work and the weather has been fantastic then awful.

This year the Round the Island Race at least ran, not that I went out in it, but we had Nimrod and friends come to stay on the pontoon as usual and even a newer 470 'Junik' came to raft next to me, they were off at 0530, which is probably why Skip and crew didn't want to enter!

We had previously done the race in reverse a few months ago and not in one go, we left Cowes to head to Bembridge and met the building winds around the headland, but with a reef in the main and the fact that the furler wouldn't let out all of the jib earlier, we had a cobweb removing beat to windward to get round and head into Sandown Bay, where we stayed for the night.  This happened to be the same night that their friends on board Nimrod were out on the RORC race Myth of Malhem and so they watched them come round and wished them good luck on the radio and left them to disappear into the night.

The following day we had a cracking sail around St Cats leaving my systems to helm the boat whilst the crew was able to wander around and enjoy the scenery.  Although approaching Freshwater Bay the autohelm did let go again, but we're not sure if it was accidentally disengaged as the touch-sensitive plotter may have been inadvertently leaned on.  However, once recovered we approached the Needles and cut in from the buoy marking the end of the shallows, the sea was rolly, Skipper holding the mainsheet and calling the shots, as a gybe was called for once on the other side, whilst his crew had me surfing down the waves.  Two of us (boats) took the shortcut, exhilarating and worrying at the same time, but we rounded as planned and pulled into Totland once again.

On Sunday the wind had left us but that didn't stop the skipper from trying the Code 0 and using the autohelm to tack whilst crew pulled in the sheet and Skipper spun the furler.  It worked a couple of times but the wind died and I didn't have enough speed to complete a turn, meaning that the Code 0 backed and when a puff did come filled from the wrong side.  All furled up on went the donk and headed home.

The developing problem of the furler eventually had Skippers' mind going, eventually biting the bullet and opting to replace it.  The system is a French one, Facnor, and their mindset is for low to no maintenance, maybe the occasional wash with fresh water of both top and bottom furlers and that it.  It's made that way stainless steel ball-bearings packed with grease in a stainless steel case and a weatherproof seal.  However, it had been getting stiff to wind in, and certainly, you'd expect the wind would easily unfurl it given the chance!  And it may have been the storm that trashed the original jib a few years ago that did the damage as that had no problem in getting all the sail out!

However, the first task was to take the furlers and aluminum foil down to ground (or pontoon) level.  This means that the forestay has to be eased to enable the large bolt at the tip of my bow to be withdrawn and Skipper wanted to do that without any tension at all.  Probably, as he was working some 4feet above the water and any loss over the side meant another item donated to the depths of the River Medina!  Also, if it was easy to slide out then it should be as easy to put back.

He (Skipper) wandered around my decks for a while looking at how the loads worked together to keep my mast slightly bent biased to the rear with the fractional rig I have and what would be required to undo and bring it down, without bringing the whole of the rigging crashing to the deck.  First things first, was to undo and remove the backstay, this is a 19wire 'rope' that can be tensioned to pull the top of the mast backward, hence its name this, in turn, invokes a bend in the mast and creates a sag in the mainsail, losing some of the sails power, so useful in strong winds and to provide a balance between the sails meaning the rudder remains dead center.  Any deviation from dead center produces friction and as we all know friction slows things down.  In its place, he used both the topping lift (used to raise or support the boom) and the main sheet and lead these to my stern quarters, creating 'flying' backstays so to speak.

It was then up to the French to send a replacement to the main dealer in Plymouth and so the wait started!