Winter 2024

 Hi all,

It's been ages since I've posted anything, largely due to there's been nothing much to post!

But as always winter comes and there's always something to do.  As I was lifted out of the water, the Copper Coat that Skipper applied last year over the keel having removed the old filler and re-filled, looked to have worked well.

Just the usual Medina mud slime except for the flat surface at the base of the keel where weed growth has taken hold

However, one thing that wasn't right, was that the inner section of the anode shown below and the four bolt heads had been worn down by 5mm halfway across the heads. After contacting the prop manufacturer Flexofold, they suggested a washer was missing, a washer that Skip had never seen before in all the years of removing and cleaning, but was clearly there. A nice shiny new one sits in its location at the back of the shaft.  Something else to keep an eye on next year.

Skip, also noted that the Marlec MPPT, which diverts the power from the solar and wind generators to the batteries, appeared to be playing up, solar would only generate when the wind was also.  Another e-mail to the manufacturer and it was decided the best option was to send it off for inspection/analysis.  Let us remember that the Rutland 1200 wind generator and the MPPT, are one of the first for which Skip negotiated a deal following the burn-out of my previous model.  It was released following the Southampton boat show years ago and so the software in the MPPT has remained unchanged.

At the cost of under £70, plus P&P of course, Skip was informed that the software had been updated together with the replacement of 'some' components. The likelihood is that the only original part is the outer casing!  Still, whilst all this was being sorted, the Sterling shore power charger was put into action and the batteries went through another phase of bulk, absorption, and trickle charging.

The wind generator has been un-tied and the solar panel put back, putting the Sterling back to rest, glad to see that working as intended.  Boat electrics live in one of the harshest environments and as such you never know from one day to the next what may go wrong.

So, when Skip turns up and decides to empty the anchor locker having lowered it and all the chain to the ground, leaving a mess of rust on the floor, he collects the hose nozzle and connects it all up to the deck wash pump fitted last year to wash it down.  Would the pump draw water, were the tanks empty, was there an air leak with a joint?  Turns out that the main water pump was leaking, allowing air in, (the second time this has been an issue), and so the job switched to taking the pump apart and servicing that instead!

That took two attempts, as it was discovered that on re-building it didn't quite go back together properly causing the electrics to trip. Once re-assembled now the pressure appears too high causing the relief valve on the hot water tank (clarifier) to blow water out instead! One step forward one back.

Another unforeseen job came when Skip raised the companionway to expose the engine, which lifted so far and then stuck.  On lifting it, to its usual position, it pulled the bracket off from the underside of the steps, on the righthand side leaving it attached to the air-sprung damper.  It took a couple of chats on the Hanse forum before locating replacements.  Today (12th March), the bracket was glued and screwed, whilst the companionway was supported by block and tackle from the boom and the dampers fitted.

With the warmest but wettest February, only the gel coat on the top sides has been washed down, ready for polishing so it may be that I may only have one side of the hull done leaving the other side to be done when back on my pontoon.  See how time goes.

What happened to 2023?

 Hi folks well the good news is that I'm still here.

With June very hot and little to no wind, then of course heavy rain for parts of the UK, although down here on the island it wasn't too bad and much needed by those gardeners.

We did go out a couple of times but even those were fraught with either problems or issues.  The usual run to Totland for an overnight stay was a sleepless night for the Skipper.  Not sure if it was the abandoned motor vessel on the rocks that played on his mind, but needless to say he was kept awake by all the noises and creaks.  This isn't unusual for him for the first night, but clearly, he wasn't happy as the engine went on and despite decent winds, we motored all the way home.

On the next trip out, and there could be quite a few weeks between, my impeller decided to shatter itself, despite being replaced during the winter servicing.  They took me out as it was first thought that weed had gotten into the system. but by the time we were in the Solent and spun me round and round, the problem persisted.  With tide against we managed to make Trinity landing at the entrance to the river and the engine was at 105C.  We tied up there and let the engine cool down. This was when the state of the impeller was discovered, with a replacement fitted it was thought the problem was solved, but no.

Some water did come out of the exhaust on the way to the home mooring but nothing like usual.  It took a further three weeks to work out that where the butyl rubber impeller had worn and scored the stainless steel plate the vacuum had been broken!  This allowed air to pass breaking the suction the impeller created to draw water through.  A few weeks later the new plate arrived and all was well. Except, where the engine had gotten so hot the plastic on the exhaust had melted allowing water to now enter the engine bay and the bilge.  It took another couple of weeks before the new parts arrived and could be fitted.

Skipper and crew had promised, as usual, to look after two Pointers and a Viszla for a week around the August bank holiday.

Skipper has been back and forth more recently.  The Webasto heater took three attempts to start up and by accident, he learned that the socket in the cockpit had no power, which was only recently discovered that the connection had been pulled apart.  He also had ordered a pair of six pulley organisers from Spinlock to replace the existing ones that still struggle to turn despite several trips through the dishwasher.  With the deck wash pump, they can now be washed down with fresh water before the build-up of salts and dirt.

New organiser

Skipper was also recently looking at an anchor counter and remote control system.  The intention was so that anchoring could be done without leaving the cockpit, baring getting the anchor out of the locker and secured of course.  However, the counter available is not compatible with a horizontally orientated windlass so the project may be shelved.

I'm already booked in for my usual winter tern on the hard, but hopefully, I might get some wind in the sails before then.

Till next time 'fair winds'.

Spring 2023

Oh, how time flies.

April was not a particularly nice month weather-wise, plus bedroom 3 of Dagmar House was the attention of my crew for this year, and turned ankles and other distractions meant that progress was slow.  On launch, the water that spat out of the exhaust readily on the hard stopped.  With Skip's crew mate still nursing the ankle, he opted to take me up to my home berth on W pontoon on his own, as it's not that far from the Yacht Haven and with two cooling systems to the engine he was not too worried about overheating.

No issues and on his own he took me to my berth and sorted out my mooring lines.

Skip always has little ideas to make improvements year after year.  He came up with the idea that to improve crew comfort whilst sailing and looking forward he would have simple devices fitted to the steering plinths so that it is possible to sit comfortably with your back supported, whilst facing forward.  Without this device, your backbone rubbed against the hard surface making it uncomfortable.  Skip being Skip, always wants to dual purposes out of something to make it worthwhile.

So here's the backrest come drinks holder:-

Backrest mode whilst sitting facing forward

Drink bottle mode whilst helming

So it wasn't till mid-May before I came out of the box for a shake-down and then again a couple of weeks later.  On this occasion with the gradient wind only forecast at 10-13kts, but with the prospect that I was likely to reach 6.0kts of boat speed a reef was put in and a couple of rolls of jib held back.  Sure enough, the apparent wind was on average 16kts gusting to 22kts at times, and we flew.

It's the end of May and the crew of Nimrod will arrive the last Friday for a RORC race which Skip will meet up with them. Then hopefully before May is out and the weather changes, we'll be off pushing the boundaries.

Winter III 2023

The weather always is an element to consider when I come out and usually this far south in the UK it is reasonably mild, despite the moanings of the residents. Being out of the water and suspended in the air in the cradle means that the temperature around the base of the hull is probably colder than it is inside.

This year, unlike in previous years, due to the hike in energy prices, Skipper is being charged for the electricity he uses, as explained in previous editions. Presumably, it was built into the fees previously and lost, rather than being an element on the bill, which it now is and so a meter has been fitted along my shore power cable.  In the past, I had an oil-filled radiator on a timer and a heater element on low(ish), with a dehumidifier running.  Now, the dehumidifier is only on when Skipper comes on board and he sets it to turn off up to five or six hours after he's left. The radiator comes on only during the early hours and if he's working on me he may run the Webasto heater for a couple of hours, to warm me up inside and him when he stops for tea or has lunch.

However, the cold or rain is not conducive to working outside and the inside jobs can be done at any time. And so, time ticks on, and what was three months on the hard soon becomes two, then one. Skip struck a deal, in that rather than all the boats behind penning me in, having to be moved, to get me out for the pre-arranged launch date, Skip suggested that I remain there for another month at the lower winter rate.  Again in the past, I have been moved to the marina itself where the internal jobs can be done but shore power is still available.

The keel was filled rubbed down filled and sanded again and then Copper Coated job done.  Hopefully, the crack that always appears each year I come out will not, let's see.

The weather has changed them slightly from these shots

and they've been rubbed back slightly to expose

the Copper from within

There's always a great list of winter jobs, those that are necessary and the 'would like's'.

This year's 'would like' was to fit the deck wash pump, whose parts had been steadily arriving end of last year. Late summer, the back plate for the pump itself had been drilled, and the nuts for the bolts had been countersunk and resin into position and painted.  The glass fiber resin enables the bolt to be undone without the need to access the nuts, which when fixed are between the bulkhead and the plate, glued and screwed into position.

Deck wash pump sits in with the bow thruster

wiring was already there back

to the control board

So a 15mm domestic underfloor heating pipe was fed through my bilge from the fresh water tanks looping around under the floor of the master cabin and back to the cupboard in the ensuite. In here, is the clever bit, a valve.  This valve switches between the freshwater pipe and the seawater pipe, taken from the flushing system of the heads. Depending on what you cleaning down you have an option, fresh water to remove the salts from the pulleys by the mast and salt water to clean the mud off the anchor and wash the deck.

Although the 15mm domestic underfloor heating pipe

looks to be the same size, but it isn't, hence the

reinforced pipes at the sides.

The Hanse pipework is also much thicker, 

probably acts as an insulator

Having fitted all the pipework, the valve on the deck by the anchor locker and wired it in, it appeared not to want to draw water from the tank, seawater can't be tested till I'm actually in it!  24 hours later on his return, the joints were checked and tightened and the pump ran again, water spurted 24" into the air - result.  Due to another expected cold snap though, part of the system was drained down and 25mm thick foam pipe insulating was added to the section of pipe in the anchor locker and in the bow thruster compartment that now also houses the deck wash pump. The section of pipe to the pump is easily accessible and as such can be disconnected and drained down.

The switching valve under the sink in the master cabin ensuite,

above the lowered shower pump.

This is a push-in valve that stops water from entering, only exiting, black plastic fitting on the right is pushed in and locked, waiting for a 90 degree bend so that the hose lays on the deck rather than heads skywards.

The manual anode fitting was also replaced with a better solution enabling easy access at the point where the bolted joint is.

The hull has been washed in a boat cleaning solution and is waiting to be polished. Skipper having spoken to one of the professionals has bought a product and waiting for better weather before undertaking the last job on the hard.

The gear oil in the sial drive has been changed and engine oil and filters are on board waiting for the servicing of the engine.

Time is running out and I'll be back in the water on the 29th (March), the day after Skipper returns from a short break in Ireland again.

Today 16th March, Skipper came down with his new product and set to on my Port side, managing to complete the whole side in the day.  Bet he'll feel it in the morning!  It's not supposed to be such a nice day tomorrow, so I may have my engine serviced giving his shoulders a rest.

Winter II - 2023

Winter has finally arrived since the New Year, with temperatures dropping as low as -4C here in Cowes, a lot warmer than lots of places, but it doesn't make it too comfortable for those that want to work outside.

Skipper being one of them, as he has his list of winter jobs to get through.  The work to the keel is a unique one on the list this year and is progressing well, with the port side now having all the old anti-foul removed, just a few awkward bits that need to be finished by hand.  Still have the pin holes to fill in the filler and rub back and then it should be ready for the application of Copper Coat, once there's a bit more warmth in the sun.

Portside rubbed back exposing the old Copper Coat, which glistens

around the lead bulb where the mix slumped previously

(the white bits are the original keel).

Next, his attention was to clean my teak deck and then taking four recommendations over the years, purchase and apply 'Wet & Forget' over the wet surface. It's surprising how grubby the deck gets, but he does a good job and hopefully, the product will keep them clean throughout the season.

Work to clean the teak did mean that a hot water bottle was required

in the evening to ease the back muscles.

Day two and he learned to keep his

back straight.

I think the next is to ensure that there's a good electrical contact for the manual anode, as some corrosion appears to have stopped it from working judging by the state of the anodes that were renewed when I came out to replace the prop.  Whilst he's in my rear storage area, he can try to locate and seal all the tiny leaks that enable rainwater to enter and requires sponging out.

I know there's a valve to be fitted up by the anchor locker to enable the hose to be fitted such that the deck wash pump can be installed together with its switching valve, fresh/sea.  Whether the pump itself will be fitted or just the deck fitting as power is needed to drill a hole, the rest can be done whether on the hard or not.

Usual engine service and filter changes, and then the wash & polish, that should sort his back out!

Skip has also just completed a three-day refresher plus course on Astronavigation, tailor-made by Stokey, the guru, to match his requirements.  Back in 2005 he took the RYA course but opted not to take the exam as it was wasting his and the examiner's time.  He's always wanted to be able to use one and keep the skill of doing so alive and spotted two in a shop in Cowes, but um'd and r'd as whether to purchase or not.  Eventually, the one he preferred went from the window however, a few months later it returned and so having negotiated a price bought it.

Stokey took a look at it and adjusted the mirrors to take out the Instrument Error (IE).

Sip is now able to take a sun, planets, and star sights including Polaris, and plot his position in the Northern hemisphere, (he can do the South too but needs different stars). The next is to meet up with Stokey for a day in February to undertake a sun run sun sight for real using his sextant.

 

Winter 2022

Seasons greetings,

It is that time when I'm back out of the water for a spell on the hard for a deep clean inside and a wash and polish out.  However, as with these things the mere fact that there are three months in front of you, there's an option to leave it for another day. Certainly, this cold snap does not bode well for the Skipper to dip his hands in buckets of hot water only to splash it all over my cold sides to remove the salty sticky, polluting particulates that adhere to my sides.  So I'll give him that, it can wait and it is bound to rain at some point too!

The electricity charge of £5/day has been resolved with the fitting of a meter maid that like your electricity meter at home just counts the kWh used. At £0.19/KWH plus an admin fee of £0.27/day, it means that I have just the single oil-filled, timed radiator in the master cabin disseminating the heat through the saloon to the rear cabins if it hasn't gone cold by then.  When Skip arrives on some occasions he does run the Webasto heater, which runs on the diesel he topped up before moving me to the marina.  That tends to warm me throughout and probably him too whilst spending time down here.

As usual, a visual inspection of my hull is carried out whilst I'm in the slings and being jet-washed, this defines if there are any areas that need attention due to the build-up of weed, that the Copper Coat in the main keeps off.  As is usual, the crack between the 3.5t lead bulb and the cast iron keel from which it hangs, is closely inspected for any deterioration.

My Keel last year

 This year when I came out in August, to have another prop fitted, the tail of the lead bulb was slightly damaged. When inspected more closely, it appeared this was either a repair from a previous event or more likely a feature of when the lead bulb was formed and miss-shapen. Once fitted, it was then reshaped with a filler.

This has proved also to be the case for that annoying crack.  A few areas of rust have appeared on my keel and so Skipper went around with a wire brush and a hammer. When he looked at the crack more closely and tapped it he realised that it had been filled and went on to remove it back to the lead underneath.  Once cleaned up a bit more he'll build it back up in resin layers, with fiberglass fragments cut into the mix, before finally finishing off with a filler to give a smooth surface.

Then it'll be rubbed right back to the Copper Coat previously applied and re-coated.

The filler material removed exposing the lead

The first job, which is the easiest, is the removal of the prop and cleaning it at home.  This is where it is likely that last year the job wasn't completed as the rear anode wasn't available and it was put back on but not torqued up, then forgotten.

As most marine life forms other than fish and other large marine animals etc consist of calcium carbonate structure, the use of a 'limescale' remover dissolves the build-up as can be seen with the main body of the Flexofold body below.

Prob body in a bath of Limescale remover

I brush each blade the same and it comes off without any scraping or mechanical process.  You do have to pinch an odd baking tray from the kitchen though, but as you can see this has the same blue as the keel!

It is hoped that the deck wash pump, stainless steel deck fitting, and the sea/fresh water switch valve can be fitted and ready for next season.  Sea water, to wash down the anchor and deck, the build-up of green fungia which only grows in fresh/rainwater, so a dash of seawater kills it leaving my decks free of a green coating.

The loud hailer is still to go up the mast, Skipper has already fed the wiring up there ready and has it working from the radio set.

Another winter project is to re-make the connection from the manual anode to the earth (base of the wind generator). It was noted that one of the two anodes fitted to the prop was nearly eaten away and that was replaced in August of course.  The state of the manual one is whole, suspicion grew that it wasn't doing its job properly when weed was spotted growing on it. The bolt at the base has corroded and so stopping any residual current from flowing that should prevent galvanic corrosion.

Well, that's about it for now, I'll update you as progress is made or not if the cold weather continues.

May be next year!

It is mid-October and the winds around the shores of the south coast are starting to build more frequently,, the temperature too is dropping and this must mean that winter is on its way.  The clocks haven't gone back yet but it won't be long.

I'm booked in to come out again on the hard at the beginning of December and back in, in March 2023, will next year be the year when the longer trips I've been set up for will come?

It has been a disappointing year, but a busy one for skipper and of course the loss of his crewmate's mother so it was what it was.

The lee cloth was eventually made to order and has been fitted, handy for both the companionway and the chart table, and convenient to hear the alarms from either the AIS or Doppler radar, during power naps.  Seven hooks fitted under the lip of the table and the cloth extends right to the back of the set and is stapled in place however your weight will hold it in place when being used.  When not in use velcro strips hold it folded back to keep it flat.

Lee cloth

What else has been going on, well, the loud hauler has the wiring in situ and only the 6 holes need to be drilled up the mast the unit fitted and wired in.

Remember the Skylink 6000, well the satellite side of the unit is currently being tested this month too, and as you can see below, a phone has appeared at the back of the galley. Is this to ring for takeaways?  The whole point of this system is to ensure that weather Grib files can be successfully downloaded so weather forecasts can be viewed anywhere whilst at sea. This appears to work well together with voice calls and at $0.43/m is not too expensive, although the monthly rate, which can be stopped and started as and when in whole months is twice that of the cell network.  That's to be expected.  The phone's handset will need an elastic band or similar around it in lumpy seas probably to stop it from coming off its cradle.  Alternatively of course you could get an accurate weather forecast and avoid such conditions!

I have my own phone number and if I want an e-mail address too.  Still, this does mean that skipper is still able to work and keep in touch with Clients (providing no alarms are going off in the background!)

Ordinary phone

Apologise, for a short one, but without much to report on, there's little to say.  Hopefully, I'll keep you posted before or at least when I come out.  The Marina has suggested that the daily rate for electricity will go up from £1 a day it has been to £5, so I might need some thermals and certainly keep an eye on my water tanks, possibly emptying them if the temperature looks to plummet.

 

2022 take 2

 Wednesday 20th July I was tied alongside the Harbour Masters launch and towed down-river to Kingston Marine, which consists of a waiting pontoon and a 40t hoist.  I was strapped up and lifted out of the water and jet-washed as is standard, as seen from the endoscope no prop, just a lot of weed.  Once I was moved up to the yard and secured in a frame, not the frame I'm used to at the Yacht Haven but a smaller version, so required a couple of wooden poles also.  Skipper soon spotted the likely issue but couldn't explain it, the rear anode which is secured in place with four Allen key headed bolts was missing!

This anode cannot get past the propeller housing, nothing was there not even four sheared bolts.

It would therefore seem that the propeller was able to oscillate or vibrate possibly causing the tab washer to fail, causing the Loctite to lose hold enabling the M8 bolt to undo, which then allowed the end nut to loosen and eventually also drop off.

Whether this anode was not fitted during the winter period when I came out or it was removed and the propeller was not done up tightly as the perpetrator was in a rush, of course, will never be known.  Skipper cannot believe that he would not have fitted it and usually has a spare at home as these items become difficult to get during the winter period of course.  Maybe it was just missed and such an anode was not at home at that time, as it is difficult to believe that this sort of petty theft would occur by professional mechanics or responsible boat owners.

New anode with the four

bolts tightened to the

specified torque

So to ensure that all the bolts were tightened properly the Skipper bought two quality torque wrenches one that covered the range 2.5-25nm and the other between 40-200nm.  The cost of this chapter was around £2,500GBP covering towing costs, VAT, currency exchange fees, and of course the new prop itself. The indirect cost was around £500 for the two torque wrenches and 100 tab washers, so that a new one can be fitted every winter.

New prop fitted and all

torqued up ready to go

Another lesson possibly learned, just to cast your eye before the boat is put back in the water, Skipper arrived at 0900 as suggested, but the team at the yard already had me descending to the water by that time.

Still, there's still August, September and, October to get in some sailing and that's the way to look at it.

How did that Happen?

As you may be aware, the trip to Portugal and then on round to Gibraltar with family and friends and back again has been postponed for a year.

Skip has sneakily taken me out on a couple of occasions on his own to test 'Otto' his nickname for the auto-pilot as well as boat handling skills when berthing. Launching is easily providing you are concentrating on the changing conditions within the Medina, landing is a little more difficult single-handed with my high sides.

If Otto could behave himself and hold the boat steady whilst the sails were raised and likewise hold both a course and wind angle then skip could relieve himself of being Helmsman and go trim the sails or make tea, or just enjoy the peacefulness.  The new ACU 400 appears to stand up to the task, although these were not too testing conditions.

The two-month break planned, whittled itself down to a three to four week but before it could be marked up on the calendar a hair appointment managed to sneak in and severe it just short of halfway!  It was to be the Round the Island Race when Skip and crew opted to leave and his colleagues were coming over to Cowes as usual and arrangements were made for them to spend two nights on my berth. We left on the Friday before the mayhem and instead of stopping in Totland, as crews would be squeezing through Hurst on their way to the Needles, we sailed across Christchurch Bay and on to Studland, knowing that on a windy Friday it should be relatively free from Jet Skiers, noisy power boats and water ski ribs.

The combination of 200w Pv panel and Rutland wind generator managed by the controller kept the batteries at around 13.5v despite having fridge, auto-helm and all the usual instruments on. The Pv is a bit of a game changer as to how we can better provision now they know that the fridge can remain on.

The new ECO-friendly mooning buoys were visible but set too shallow for me to use, plus only good for vessels up to 10t, I in my present condition probably tipped the scales at nearer 15t, with full tanks of both water and fuel and at least 3-4 days fresh provisions.  So we anchored as usual further out but behind them and away from an adjacent yacht.

The wind kept blowing and so as is also usual, Skip was on anchor watch, or listen, as he never gets a night's sleep whilst working out all the noises. Clearly, we hadn't moved, apart from that of the changing tide swinging us round slightly, although the wind was the governing factor holding us in place.  The crew opted to spend another day here and studied the weather charts, it didn't look great, the winds didn't appear to ease any and the further West we went the worst it appeared to be.

Life on board was interrupted briefly as the Marine Protection Team arrived in the petrol-driven high-powered rib, to let us know that we had anchored in the recently extended zone (1st June). Skip explained that the 10t buoys would hold a 15t yacht and besides there wasn't enough water at all states of tide, and as usual expressed his views that the demise of the Seahorses as a result of the increase of the Jet Ski's and high-powered craft that seemed to enjoy blasting up and down the coastline preventing the creatures from hearing each other or fleeing.  He also commented that if buoys are not deployed marking the area then mistakes can easily be made. Notes were taken and a leaflet was handed over.

Adjacent Yacht in Studland

looking back at the IOW

Skip entered the coordinates into the chart plotter and yes we were just inside, but we have it now and can move nearer Poole and away from the zone.  He also made comments on his Navionics chart so when he updates his card as he regularly does, his comments are uploaded too for others to see.

However, we were dug in and there was no point moving, disturbing the seabed twice.

Sunday was much a repeat but at least the Skipper had sorted the noises out and so a peaceful night was had.  Talk of returning to base was rumbling below decks and it appeared that winds would drop later that afternoon, which coincided with a flood tide at around 1600.  Everything was packed away and readied to move.  We motored forward to ease the strain on the anchor chain and that was not stowed away but left in case it was needed should another stop be envisaged.

With only the jib partially rolled out a steady 4.0kts was had over rolly seas of about 1.5m, Otto was doing his job. We arrived at the Needles with another yacht coming from the south and a diss-masted one coming over the Shingle Bank (assume the mast was elsewhere and the boat was just being moved, not diss-masted due to the current weather).  A large slowish moving dredger was coming from Hurst which I think was judging where we three would be at the point of impact,  Skip took us past the shipping channel and turned over the Needles Bank only when the Dredger was almost broadside.

Totland was clear of all the weekend traffic and so a decision was made to anchor in there for the night and head back home in the morning.  Usual procedure applied, engine on, turn to windward, drop sails or in this case furl in jib, and head in to find a spot.  Except we had no propulsion, the engine rev'd freely both forward and back but made a blind bit of difference. We were drifting luckily as expected the tide was now with us pushing us towards Hurst and the wind had dropped and so the seas started to flatten.  With the jib quickly unfurled, we gained momentum, which in turn gave us steerage, we spun into the wind to raise the main now and bore away to get momentum back again. A quick check to make sure no water was coming in.

Once back in control the Skipper radioed the Coast Guard with a Pan Pan, to let them know that we had an issue and that our intention was to continue to Cowes our home port and that if they could radio the Harbour Master there to let them know we're coming in about 2.5 hrs and would require a tow in.  The conversation on board was whether the prop had fallen off, or if a discarded fisherman's net was caught up or wrapped in a large plastic bag/sheet, keeping the prop folded closed but allowing it to spin. Discussions of whether the rudder had stuck at one point the engine sounded differently all were openly aired, but the fact of the matter was not going to change - we had no forward propulsion unless under sail.

Every 30 mins a call was made to the CG to let them know of progress and the Skipper also radioed Southampton VTS who look after all the shipping around the northern side of the Isle of Wight, including ferry traffic movements.  The reason being was at some point we were to drop the sails whilst taking the tow and that would mean we would be at the mercy of the wind and tide and could drift towards the shipping channel that ran right outside of Cowes harbour entrance. Skip, also rang Shepareds to see if they could place me on the outside of the pontoon there enabling the crew to go home for the night and understand the problem from a walk on pontoon.

We sailed over to the River Beaulieu entrance before jibing over so we could see the Harbour Masters patrol boat (HM1) as we approached. The jib was furled in but no sign of HM1, just the Red Eagle car ferry and the Red Jet high speed passenger craft, plus the Britannia cruise ship lead by, as is usual, the Southampton's Harbour Master Patrol boat.  They sped over and had a chat with the crew, they also said that people were aware and would be out soon, we slowly said, main only, to one of the mooring buoys located outside of the harbour.  This was also to test the conditions, as there was a space at the southern end of Trinity Pontoon and the Skipper wanted to see if it was possible to sail in.  The ring on top of the mooring buoy was stuck down and so unable to pick up, the wind angle was such that to sail in might be an option but the crew know these waters and conditions inside the breakwater are different to that outside.

Without the crews knowledge, a conversation was being had between the staff of the Harbour Master which resulted in the GC radioing us to inform us that no tow was available and did we require assistance from elsewhere.  "No", said Skip, "We'll use the dying wind and the last of the tide to get us in to Osborne Bay and anchor out of the way and sort it tomorrow".  The question as to whether we had plenty of food and water came over and the Skipper laughed saying that this was the beginning of their holiday they had just abandoned, so yes, they were stocked up for a few days!

A tow was eventually received at 1600 the following day and I was taken up the river back to my home mooring. Skipper remained on board to pack everything and put me to bed.

On Wednesday, they arrived back armed with the endoscope again and attached it to the end of the fishing rod and dangled under my hull at highwater when the water is relatively slack for nearly 2 hours.  The picture below is their findings!

Bottom of the Sail Drive

Shaft only where the Prop should be!

By Friday a new prop was on order however the company 'Flexofold' were all due to go on holiday and so it was touch and go whether the small window would be missed for its replacement.  Arrangements were also being made, the Yacht Haven where I come out at winter was unable to help as they get busy with regattas, which in turn requires marquees etc to be erected on the hard.  A place at Kingston Marine next to East Cowes Marina was secure for the 19th (July).  Skipper had kept my old smaller pitted prop and so that could be bolted back on if all was well with no shearing of the shaft, which from the photo looked unlikely. This would rescue the remainder of the summer. However, confirmation from UPS was that delivery of the new one, once HMRC Customs & Excise had finished asking stupid questions (describe the part; what would the part be used for) and an EORI number had been obtained, was due to arrive the week before.

The likely culprit is the locking washer failed allowing the bolt, despite the Loctite, coming undone. This inturn allowed the brass alloy locking nut to unscrew and the rest is history. If anyone requires any M8 tab washers I have about 90 spare!  Still I learnt a lot about the SD50 (sail drive) including a simple upgrade that Yanmar implemented, which is to vent the gear box easing pressure on the O rings.  Other upgrades consisted of the fitting of two oil seals instead of the standard one. I might add this to the winter maintenance list, to strip out the gearing, clean the face of the brass clutch and re-assemble.

All change please - all change

Greetings folks it's been a while but then again it seems to be difficult for you to get back to where you were before the Covid Pandemic struck and of course the ludicrous ongoing war in Ukraine, that continues to prevent stability across the globe.

So as for me, where am I?

Well, Portugal has been postponed till the following year for now.  Various pieces of the jigsaw puzzle were either missing or not coming together as they should. Travel following Covid is proving let's say less than straightforward with the industry struggling to re-employ people they sacked at the drop of a hat. Various systems namely the Autopilot had still to undergo testing, and the recently fitted digital radar had to be understood from somewhere other than the marina.  So the decision was made.

Also, a family bereavement, for a very well lady of 97yrs, no tablets  no ailments, Alex's mum stopped eating and finally went two weeks later. That was a big piece of the jigsaw that they weren't sure if it was to appear. Could've easily made it to and beyond the 100yr mark!

In the last couple of weeks, skipper headed up to Wimbledon to pick up the Skylink 6000. It was sent back having arrived damaged from not working properly as it had many bugs and a very early operating system.  The important link with civilisation once out of cellular range is still to be tested, he refitted it about a week ago and then set up the cellular part for June, I think the plan is to set up a satellite link so he doesn't pay a fortune but can test it make sure it does what he wants it to for work and weather (Grib) file applications.  Which means that at some point this summer we will be venturing out.

About a month ago we all headed East through the Forts outside of Portsmouth and beyond in an overcast day until the tide turned and we headed back again.  Otto as its known, didn't flinch on his task hold me either on course (or heading) or when using the wind vain to the wind angle set.  The first tends to mean that the trimming of sails needs to be constantly adjusted as wind direction can vary from one minute to the next, whereas sail to the wind angle means that the sails can be set and my course changes as the angle of the wind changes.  Fine of your in an open sea, or if the wind angle doesn't change greatly, bit alarming if it shifts 25 degrees or so.

Heading Back to Cowes

taken by Junik another Hanse 470

Skipper did take me out more recently as he wanted to test the autopilot some more, and again it (Otto), let him hoist and lower the sails whilst facing to windward and allowed him to prepare the fenders and lines ready for berthing whilst heading in. I'm a big high-sided boat and so a solar sailor must have their wits about them and a proceedure when docking on their own.  He spent some time trying to get me to come in broadside playing with the bow thruster, engine and rudder to get me to maneouvre sideways, opting in the end to reverse me in.  The tide in the Medina River slows down for a couple of hours around high tide and then rushes out so never stops, so even if you have my engine at tickover to compensate for the ebbing or flooding tide, the wind then takes over and will push me depending on its strength.

I think the Skipper is planning to spend a few days on board next week, after his return from a weekend at Le Mans with his boys and then following the funeral a few weeks to get back into the groove and maybe a couple repeats later in the year.

Monies paid for the Portugal trip has been transfered to the 2023 event and so, despite a wedding been anounced by one of his friends, fingers crossed that normality returns.

2022 Season

Greetings folks and thanks for being patient.

Well, what's been happening over the winter period, well as you can imagine quite a lot.

Skipper thinking ahead to our adventure to Portugal this summer organised a new and I mean new satellite communications system such that the downloading of Grib (weather) files can be uninterrupted anywhere in the world. Skippers not daft, in that with this system he'll also be able to attend Teams meetings as well, of course, send and receive attachments for his work in e-mails.  So advanced is this bit of kit, which is merely the size of a book that it is just one up from a Beta version and contains a few bugs from release since discovered and a few that haven't been.  What is it one of your philosophers said "We know what we know, but we also know what we don't know, but there are things out there, that we know we don't know and then there are those we don't know we don't know!".

Anyway, the point of ordering this back in September at the boat show is to get it fitted and tested prior to leaving the shores, so clever is it that it will detect if there's a cellphone network available and ensure that any communications from me, will take that option. If out of range i.e. 5-10nm offshore, then it will connect with the satellites and the service will be uninteruppted.  It had to be sent back to the UK dealer to have a few bugs that Skipper was pulling his hair out about, removed and so it should be re-fitted middle of next week.

Bluesky - Skylink 600

The system has been fitted to my starboard rear cabin, this thing can find satellites in orbit around the world, but the aerial length is only 2.0m and so Skipper has had to put it close to the stern to enable the aerial to reach the pull-pit.  The black object with the green light on the end is not a lightsaber, it is to plug in an ordinary phone with a BT socket, £9.99 from Argos will do (other outlets are available).

You can see that a cigarette lighter socket has been fitted that also has a built-in voltmeter and above and below that are two USB charging sockets, enabling the crew to charge their phones or tablets without clogging Skipper's chart table.

Having fitted the new Axiom plotters and heard stories of some fisherman turning off their AIS equipment, probably because they are fishing in waters they ought not to be, hence the reason they are struggling to obtain the necessary permits!  Skipper has opted to go for a digital Doplar radar.

He's been up my mast several times and brought the old one down and replaced it, he had a new base as it appeared that the holes for the bracket were different but this wasn't the case when he was up there it was able to use the same bracket without any changes.  Now all he has to do is to get the data and power cable to the bottom of the mast. The mouse line he installed when pulling the old cable out kept getting fouled on something and eventually it came away, so he bought an Endoscope camera to see what was happening and as you can see clearly below the issue.  Within my mast, I have a plate with a tube welded for cables to pass through, all Skipper has to do now is to get a rod through the gap and feed a new mouse line to the base.  At least he can see what he's doing!

The white line with black speckles is the jib sheet

the bright spot is where this exits the mast

down to the pulleys at deck level

The next item on Skipper's agenda is to sort out my Autopilot, three times the new ACU200 system went AWOL and sent me off into a gybe in one instance and into a complete search zig-zag pattern in another.  Clearly, this cannot happen if it is to be relied upon out at sea.  A Raymarine expert together with the Engineer that fitted it came on board last year and decided that the 200 unit was not powerful enough as 15amps had been seen to be drawn by the electric motor, so a 400 unit will soon be fitted and when I go back into the water (soon), a sea trial will be had to make sure it works as expected.

There's just my portside to wash, chemically clean, wax and polish up before I sit in the Marina for a few weeks before going home.  It is hoped with all the systems and the work put in, that this season will see much longer trips and days at sea.

Winter Berthing

Yes, I'm back on the hard of the Yacht Haven, plugged in so that the heaters keep me warm and more importantly dry inside.  Work continues, but whilst waxing and polishing is a bit daft whilst the Starlings look for high perches to gather before their evening murmuration and deposit their day's findings on my deck, the old analog radar has been removed together with its cable and a new plate made in readiness for the new Doplar Raymarine digital radar to be fitted to the existing bracket.  Why Raymarine can't utilise the same bracket as the old beats me, a bit like no two phone chargers appears the same!

Still its off and a mouse line fed down the mast ready to draw the new cables down, this is something that the Skipper will do himself and call in the electronic Engineers to wire it to the boat's electronics.  If the Axiom MFD's live up to their expectations then all the Skipper has to do is press a virtual button to link the two together, job done right!  Yeah ok, your belief in electronics is the same as mine.

It is deemed that my ACU200 is undersized and I need a 400 instead, so shortly the old unit will be removed and sent back, and when the new one arrives be re-fitted.  Now there's a fair price difference between the 200 & 400 so let's see how helpful Raymarine wants to be. I only hope that their expert had a decent conversation with Jeffa, the people that manufactured my steering gear to ascertain if the 15amps drawn during our 'exercise' was to be expected and that the 40amp fuse is indeed the correct size and hence the need for the 400 unit.  Rather than upsizing but this doesn't deal with the problem of the autopilot wandering off when it feels like it.

The new satellite system is winging its way over from the States, once manufactured, the Skipper ordered it at the Southampton boat show back in September having seen a neat little grey box slightly larger than the size of a calculator.  It should provide mps speeds faster than the fibre broadband installed at his home enabling fast downloads of Grib files, phone calls through existing mobile phones, and of course, cover him for work, down and uploading files, and making Teams meetings wherever in the world we are.  All he needs to do is purchase a decent laptop that can handle all the programmes he uses, with the true sine wave inverter already fitted he can run the laptop with no issues.

We say farewell to a bleak 2021, although for the Skipper work has been quite buoyant, and look forward to taking some more and longer R&R time in 2022.

Have a good Christmas break and best wishes for the New Year.

Looking Forward

I have been entered into the 2022 Portuguese ARC rally leaving Plymouth in early June for a four-day passage across the Bay of Biscay to Spain then a series of day sails down the Portuguese coast finishing in Lisbon.  Skipper wants to push on to visit Gibraltar and Ceuta (Morocco) again before returning home.

Work for him is building again and so at this year's Southampton boat show 2021, he's paid a deposit on a yet-to-be-released communication device to connect to the satellite systems.  Enabling me to connect directly to the world wild web, enabling him not only to download the latest weather information anywhere on planet earth but also remain connected to Clients too.  The saloon becoming his office extension so to speak.

Upgrades have continued.  The davits I have used to hang a dinghy off my stern for when anchoring offshore have now been utilised to support a massive 200W rigid PV panel that re-charges my batteries really quickly in full sun and doesn't do too bad in cloudy conditions either.  Remembering that this is also complemented with the wind generator, which due to the power of the PV plays second fiddle.

The davits have been turned around as I'm facing North so the PV is facing south and what a difference.

This was the display panel showing the power input from the MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) control unit which opted to slow the wind generator despite still operating in bulk mode, prior to the later phases of absorption and float.  This, like the shore power and intelligent regulator for the engine alternator the Skipper fitted, ensures that sulphates do not build up on the battery plates and keeps them in tip-top condition.

With the master switch to the battery bank supplying the windlass, winch, and bow thruster's power failing on Saturday (9th October), causing the crew to abandon their plans to test the autopilot and bring me home instead.  It took a while to work out that it was the switch was the source of the issue, but a new one purchased and fitted again, so I'm back to where I should be.

The new log is still having issues as it's not reading at all now, Skip seems to think it is something to do with the fact that the original housing does not have a recess in it to take the lug present in the log casing itself.  If this is causing it to sit some 5mmm higher than it should be and thus the paddle wheel is contained within the hull rather than pocking out.  This might only get fixed when I'm out of the water and the through the hull housing can be changed over, or it might have something to do with the same bit of kit the autopilot is connected to!

Electronics and damp sea air, still these bits of kit are supposedly made for that environment !

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! 

2021 has finally arrived!

It's here, well it's been here for three months now - 2021 and it looks like you chaps in the UK are coming out of the national lockdown, hopefully with a bit of common sense and in an unselfish way you'll stay out!

And so it's looking better for the new sailing season and again so am I.  Skipper stayed out of the Yacht Haven as requested to comply with the requirements of the lockdown and then received not only full and complete invoices for the months I was there but a phone call reminding him I was due to go back into the water on the 1st March.  This was not received well, as none of the work to the outside of my hull had been carried out only a few bits inside during December, plus others he could take home with him to clean, etc.  So a sort of agreement was reached that if he could manage the 16th, so he set too on his trusty scaffold tower and gave me a good going over.

It was around this time that my new mainsail had been finished and was ready for collection.

Having tested the fluxgate compass and the clutch on the motor on my autopilot Skipper was still not happy that the problem of me wandering off course had been located let alone fixed.  He opted to order a replacement and I can tell you that today 7th April it was fitted as was the new main.  All my Christmasses have come at once.

Having spoken to his youngest son, a tree feller, Skip bought himself some SLT climbing gear (single-line technique), this enables him to climb up, the mast in this case, and lower himself down again.  So after a few practices making sure he had the gear correctly fitted he shimmied up the rope and replaced the two-deck lights from under the first spreader.  The former plastic C clips had suffered from age and weather and turned brittle and broke in pieces leaving the old lights hanging down and open to more weathering.

The next job will be to bring down the analog radar that the new Axiom MSD cannot read, that'll save some weight halfway up the mast, although it'll be replaced with a loud hailer.  This is so that in the fog the VHF radio can carry out the necessary fog horn sounds, save the skipper having to pump up the one he's got now.  And that's another thing, the Raymarine speaker in the cockpit is not reliable and so I'm getting a replacement from a better manufacturer of VHF's.  Likewise having a new P70s head controller for the new autopilot sitting on deck shows up the old SD wind and tri data gauges and so they're going to be replaced too.

On the 15th of April, we finally set off in what was deemed to be light airs all weekend.  With the new main hoisted and engine under tick over, the opportunity was taken to check that everything was in the right place, tied to the correct thing, and without twist or hindrance - it was.  It was just after lunch and with light not fading till around 2000 it was decided that we'd reach Totland and call it as to whether we'd press on to Studland or Swanage.  By the time we were in the Needles Channel the Solent sea breeze had picked up to around 15kts and the tide had spat us out at around 8kts, within minutes of clearing land the breeze died again.  This gave us the chance to try out the new autopilot and so skip placed a 'go to' waypoint south of the shipping channel into Poole and hit go.

The noise from the steering appeared a lot quieter than before strange seeing as the same motor was being used however, the new computer takes into account pitch, roll, yaw, tide, and wind speeds and so the journey was a very smooth one.  Apparently, the 'system' learns my characteristics and adjusts accordingly!

What was a surprise was that whilst the cross-track error grew as the tide turned and the words 'steer to starboard' came up none of my occupants realised it was an instruction, the autopilot in this mode it seems doesn't automatically steer to the waypoint.  Further investigation needed.

Would Skipper get the first night at anchor in complete rest with little to no wind?  Of course not, it might have been shipping taking advantage of the late high tide to move in or out of Poole or just a reflective swell coming around Old Harry.  Fortunately, the Webasto had been timed to come on at 0430 for four hours which it duly did and took the growing chill out of the air and more importantly the condensation from building above the heads of the occupants of the master cabin before it accurately dropped on their faces below.

Saturday morning dawned and Skip brought out Thor Junior the Code 0 and secured it on deck.  A bright sunny morning implied another day of light airs in which he can try his dual sail package.  With a slight apparent breeze forming as the momentum gained under engine whilst leaving the anchorage was turned into power.  Whites were raised and I didn't look back, 6.0kts of apparent wind and 6.5kts Speed Over Ground recorded, I could point higher too, clearly, the combination of the new main and the year-old jib was working well, Thor Junior lay in wait.

I passed three other yachts in the north channel by Hurst Castle and once clear tacked in front of them to head into Totland.  It had been a cracking four hours of sailing. Texts flying to and fro and the manual for the P70s control head was passed across and read by both parties.  It seemed that the satellite bar at the bottom was indicating that the system needed calibrating, something Skip had been told wasn't necessary and so a penalty turn was required to sort this out.

The Webasto was this time left on in Eco mode with the temperature set to 16C, the night was a peaceful one.

The Needles Channel was a millpond, only ripples pointing at the direction of flow from crab pot buoys disturbed the surface.  With main hoisted not one but two penalty turns were carried out and bingo the satellite bar pinged into life stating that the calibration had been successful.  With whites again raised 7.0kts SOG towards Hurst in an otherwise still day, this time the auto tack process was initiated and so my bow slowly but deliberately came through 90 degrees and pointed 30degrees to the wind.  This novelty was tried several times as we made our way back to Cowes.

Finally, the wind dropped further and so Skipper hoisted Thor Junior behind the jib. This took longer whilst he remembered what was needed to prevent lines from being crossed, eventually, not only did the wind stay long enough but Cowes loomed and so we headed in having dropped the sails.  Thor did get deployed but only once tied up on W pontoon!

Can't wait for the next time out, see if I can keep up the performance and try the 'follow' route mode.