oops!

A weekend of events and happenings!The forecast had changed from promising 23 degrees and 10kts to 19 degrees and F4 to 5 Occasionally 6.... and worst still, North Easterly, promising dead downwind on the way to Burnham, and dead upwind on the way back.... at least the sea state would be 'slight'..Undaunted, we arrived a little late Friday evening, after M had decided that Cubs was essential, so it was past 22h30 before we reached Shotley.... We had my Father-in-Law along, whom the kids are somewhat fond of, so it was nearly 23h00 before we'd curbed their excitment, and packed them off to bed... a quick cuppa, a trip to the lock office to get a full bottle of gas, and we followed suit....An early start the following morning, saw us out of the lock at 06h45, into about 16kts of wind.... we motored out to Guard buoy, and then, given that we were sailing downwind, stuck all the sails up, and shot off like a cork out of a bottle towards Walton headland... and easy 10kts over the ground, ocassionally touching 12... great fun... As we reached the headland, the forecast proved itself thoroughly unreliable, with 20kts gusting 23, and quite a big sea running..... terrible for a dead downwind leag through the Wallet channel, some 10nm.... however, with the wind right behind us, the boat wasn't too pressed, and so we carried on.... I did begin to think maybe we should stick a reef in, but she seemed pretty OK....As we neared Clacton, I noticed that the genoa sheet had flicked the black plastic cap off the top of the tube that covers the shrouds to protect the sheets, so I handed the helm to SWMBO, and went forward to see if I could retrieve it..... then all hell broke loose....As I reached the shroud, the wind suddenly picked up to 28kts, gusting over 30, and coincided with quite a big wind shift.... the main backed, and wallop... a huge crash gybe.... unfortunately, with a full main up, fully out, and nearing 30kts of wind, something had to give... it was the pin joining the main sheet block to the traveller.... which sheared off.... the main flew right out and pinned itself against the spreaders....So here we were, completely overpowered, with the main right out, and no main sheet....a full genoa, absolutely dead downwind, in a heavy sea, right behind us.....I ran back, keeping my head very low, to the helm, and grabbed it from SWMBO.... I glanced at the instruments, and gulped when I saw that we were now doing over 11kts through the water, and touching 14 over the ground.... holy ****.... things were messy!!!!!!What followed was actually quite rewarding.... we instantly went into emergency mode... the kids shot down below to get out of the way, I asked SWMBO to start furling the genny, which with F-i-L's help took only a few seconds, during which time, I concentrated like crazy on keeping the boat dead downwind, working the rolling sea to avoid either another crash gybe, which with no main would have been very serious, either damaging the sail, rigging, or possibly even ripping the gooseneck off the mast, not to say hugely dangerous to the crew... equally with 30kts of wind, we couldn't really afford to round up, as we'd have been right over on our ear with full sails up, which would have made any further steps very difficult and dangerous....As the genoa dissapeared onto the roller, things got a little less fraught, the speed reduced to a more sensible 8kts through the water (!!), and we were able to round up just a few degrees to take the pressure off the sail and spreaders...SWMBO then took the helm back, while I went forward and grabbed the free swinging main sheet block and pulled it back aboard.... a decent lashing with a length of rope allowed us to get enough control to be able to round up into the wind, with the boom under control, and furl the main away.... this was also complicated by the fact that while furling the genoa, one of the sheets had lost its stopper knot and was traailing in the water alongside the boat, so we weren't able to start the engine until the main was under enough control to make it safe to go forward... so we had to hold the boat head to wind by sheer concentration on the helm rather than with engine assistance....Phew.... once sorted, we took a deep breath, and decided that as we were allready 20nm into the passage, rather than turn back, we'd continue under engine to the Roach...A rolly old trip, down the rest of the Wallet, through the Swin Spitway, and then up the long trudge from Whitaker buoy saw us into the Roach and anchored by 12h30.... we called up Jim (Full Circle) who was waiting for his SWMBO (Lynn) to finish work, so had an ETA of 18h30... so we found a decent bit of shelter, dropped the hook and chilled for a while... a nice cuppa, a bite of lunch, and all seemed to be getting sorted out...By 16h30, we realised that Peter had arrived on Flipper, and was anchored the other side of the Roach, on the Foulness island side, so we upped anchor (big cheer for the electric windlass - given that it was still pretty breezy, and the anchorage was empty, i'd stuck a lot of chain out.... 25m in just 4m of water.... not going to do anything to help sitting in the locker! - but wouldn't have fancied pulling 25m of 10mm chain and a 20Kg anchor in by hand!)... we found a decent spot near Flipper, set the anchor, and the spent the next hour trying to work out how the tender went together.... the floor seemed impossible to fit... but eventually we saw how it was done, and inflated it with no further dramas...Jim arrived as promised at 18h30, and dropped his anchor between us... a little close, but not too bad, certainly no closer than would be the case at for example Stone Point.....I motored over in the tender firstly to say hi to Peter quickly, then over to Jim to see him looking pretty glum.... his outboard wouldn't start. so he was going to have to row, and then his main engine, a Yanmar wouldn't start either... oh dear.So I wne back to Morgana, fetched SWMBO and the kids, and we all went onto FC, while Jim and I investigated the engine problem.... it looks a lot like a knackered starter motor.... the solenoid is engaging, the battery is good, but no starting motion, although a massive 30Amp current drain on turning the key.... ah...Eventually we all say sod it.. lets go to the pub... so we motor/row ashore, meet Peter formally, and walked the 1 mile or so to the George and Dragon... halfway there, a sign proudly announced food until 19h00... it was now 19h30.... arghhhh...We decided to grab a couple of quick pints anyway, and when we got there, they seemed quite happy to still serve food... a result.. maybe our luck was changing!So, by 21h00, everyone was fading quickly, so we returned to the boats, again negotiating the extremely slippery steps, covered in seaweed, and safely back to the various craft...It wasn't long before we had crashed... I held on until 23h00 to see the tide turn at HW, and be comfortable with the anchor holding, and then went to bed..... I seem to have gotten over my inability to sleep when at anchor, and dropped staright off.... nothing to do with the three pints of Ruddles i'm sure!At 03h00, we were woken by a loud bang..... i pulled my trousers on, and rushed on deck to be greeted by a terrible sight..... alongside us was Full Circle...(one of us had either dragged, or we had turned very differently on the tide)... but the truly terrible bit was a fast reacting Jim on deck with a ball fender, avoiding any damage being done, but completely naked!!!!!!!!!OMG!!!!Lynn arrived up on deck, took over, and Jim, using a fender to protect his modesty ran down and stuck some clothes on.... phew... things were getting better already...As for the coming together... it was thoroughly confusing... neither of us seemed to have dragged, we'd both got appropriate and similar scopes set, yet despite having similar displacements, and similar topsides and windage, seemed to be sitting entirely differently to the tide/wind.....Fortunately, no harm done, so given that we had an engine, we upped anchor, and moved a few hundred feet down stream, and reanchored.... It was the easiest solution... I am also very glad it wasn't Jim dragging, as with no engine (and also no genoa on board) it would have been potentially rather dangerous.... we'd have probably had to motor in, and tow him off, with our much deeper draft, easier said than done....So... eventually back to bed at 04h30, and slept through to 07h00, when my phone rang with a wake up call from Jim to get a lift (as agreed the previous evening I should add) back to Burnham for FC and crew...Wu upped anchor, went alongside FC and used our engine to give his anchor chain enough slack to Jim to pull it in by hand (no engine, no windlass!)... which eventually a purple faced Jim achieved.... and just 30mins later, we motored with them alongside onto Jim's mooring.... We quickly ran Lynn ashore, asshe was now quite late for work, and then returned to FC, where we managed to do two very important things.... firstly we had a huge fried breakfast, with Jim as a guest, and then with the assistance of the tardis like FC spares box, managed to rig the main block to a useable standard... actually, a useful tip.... given that the pin on the bottom had sheared, we simply turned the block upside down, used a shackle through the becket onto the traveller, used the two pulleys as previously threaded, and then tied the sheet through the block (which had enough space for the rope around the pulley and another)... pefect, not only solid, but also, the same purchase as previously in place....10h00, and it was time for us to set off. so we made ready for sea, and chugged away.... a different day fro Saturday.... just 9kts in the Crouch, and very little sea making its way in... looked more promising... even not cold, although quite overcast...As expected, as we got further out of the Crouch towards the sea, the wind built a bit, and the sea built a bit too... but nothing too serious... just 16kts, and decent classic North Sea/Thames Estuary chop..... but sadly also right on the nose... so we motor sailed with just the main...It seemed to take forever to reach Whitaker number 6 buoy, actually it was nearly midday by the time we got there, and I stuck a bit of a reef in the main before we freed right off through the Swin Spitway, which proved sensible.... I had realised that while SWMBO had remained calm htroughout the previous days 'incident', it had also frightened her a little bit, and I didn't want to make the same mistake of not reefing soon enough two days in a row....A we exited the Spitway, the wind was right on the nose again, so we continued motor sailing.... I actually woked quite well... I freed off enough to fill the main properly, and with just a few revs to balance the helm, we made a god 8kts over the ground, and could feel the sail doing the work not the engine....By 14h15, we rounded Walton headland, and freed right off towards Harwich via the Stone Banks buoy, and in towards Languard Cardinal.... a great sail... 11kts over the ground again, the engine almost in neutral, and flying along.... A good sail to ensure that SWMBO forgot the dramas, and a bit of a bump and crash into the seas, which she really enjoyed... taking the helm happily...15h00, and we locked into Shotley... tired, even a little sunburned, and very very salty! a neat and tidy arrival on our berth, and silence as the engine went off...Showers were the first order of the day, followed by a pick and mix meal of all that was left over, a strong coffee,and by 18h00 we set off home.... A quiet journey as everyone slept all the way home (bar me of course!) and actually with hindsight, a great weekend, despite all the dramas!

Miles logged 72nm
Miles this season 270nm
Miles since this blog started 2,064nm

paperwork

The original Part 1 certificate arrived in the post this morning from the previous mortgage provider, along with a 8" thick pile of paperwork, manuals and various other stuff (including the original owners manual) from the previous owner....So now I have the Bill of Sale, Receipt, the Builders certificate, the registration document, and the previous Bill of sale between the original and the last owner... ie a complete trail.... all I need!Interestingly, also various receipts for things like an Eberspacher service, so I now have a lot more info over what was done when....The Registration document, along with the Bill of Sale, and a freshly completed certificate of Eligibility were promptly sent straight off to the UK Ship Registry. They informed me via the phone that it should take about 10 days.... so should shortly have everything I need to go to Oostende at the end of May... hoorah!Off in a few hours down to the boat.... forecast looks great... 23 degree and 15kts of wind!

couldn't keep away

Despite a full set of plans for the weekend, I managed to sneak down to the boat for the day today....I fitted the Battery Monitor, which seems to work a treat.... as with any wiring work, getting the cable through the required gaps and holes was challenging.... eventually done with the aid of a wire coathanger, 3 metres of whipping twine, and a lot of grunting!It popped immediately into life though... and seems to work well...While I was at it, I swapped the GPS repeater and the 'large digit' depth display around, so that the large digit display is now at the helm.... far more sensible for an East Coast boat!... with Raymarine instruments, this was a painlessly easy job.... just unplug the Seatalk cables, unscrew the displays, and swap them over... rescrew, replug, and away we went!The liferaft appears like it will fit on the transom which is good.... I ran out of time to fit it.... but at least its on board now.... so when we hand Full Circle his liferaft back next weekend, we'll still be in good shape... I was nervous about mounting it on the rails, as I have heard several stories of the weight causing stress cracks around the mounting bases...... if I decide it won't go on the stern, then it'll go happily on the coachroof.... which would be an easier option for mounting as the garage cover is a removable panel (although still quite tough), and so would make it very simple to mount to it...I also need to mount the four new fire extinguishers......Finally, ordered 2 more new lifejackets last night.... I figured that with the visitors we keep getting, and have planned, then 2 more good lifejackets is a sensible precaution....Next Friday we are down to the boat, and are planning to head over to the Roach on Saturday morning, anchor in the Roach saturday night, and then visit the pub on Foulness with a few friends... maybe a BBQ on the shore while we are at it... also got the father-in-law along, whom I get on with really well, so should be good fun...

spending again!

The NASA battery monitor I ordered has arrived.... as has the high powered wireless receiver, so that I can connect to the 'net in the marina.... its not for casual browsing, but more for getting weather forecasts and GRIBS before setting off.... (thats what I told SWMBO anyway!)I have also ordered a liferaft, a Seago Offshore, and a stainless cradle for it, that is supposed to arrive today.... so thats something else to fit... it will entail moving the name on the stern, as the only obvious place to fit it is where the current name is stuck.... I think it'll fit there... if not, it'll have to be coachroof mounted.... When we collected the boat, there was another sticker with her name on it in the chart table, so its just a case of deciding where to relocate the name too.... maybe across the transom, below the bathing platform... i've seen a few with the name there.... C however, has different ideas about using the existing sticker, and has been busily designing new names and logos..... so maybe i'll have to get a new sticker(s) made up!The pump adaptor for the tender (the previous one was broken) has been tracked down and ordered, a grand £1.79... the supplier thinks its the right one... time will tell... but it would be useful, as right now, we don't have a working tender on board....I've also booked an RNLI sea safety check.... should be interesting....The paperwork for Morgana finally arrived in the post today, the Bill of Sale, in particular... I am still waiting the originals of the VAT receipt, which is currently held by the previous financiers.... it should be here soon.... I hope so, as I want to start the process of getting her part 1 registration transferred, otherwise the trip to Oostende at the end of May could be a bit of a gamble....No sailing this weekend.... M has his final game of the season on Saturday morning, an end of season football presentation Saturday evening, and I've promised to take him to see Peterborough United against Hereford on Saturday afternoon.... busy day!Finally, we've had to start a diary especially for the boat.... we seem to have so many things on this season, plus a long list of people wanting to come along for a ride, that it was getting confusing, so we've diaried it all.... no free weekends for us to just have a family sail until June at present!!!!!, although we are just the four of us for the week long trip planned to Oostende at the end of May..... our current thinking is to head towards Gravelines after the Oostende weekend, but as ever, it'll be the wind and weather that has the final say...

hotter hotter hotter

Arose Sunday to another perfect day..... really hot even at 08h00 in the morning.... but again, not a great deal of wind....Another trip to the chandlery to get a second cable gland to make a neat job of the plotter cables exiting the steering pedestal, and then sat and ate a huge fried breakfast in the cockpit... our new neighbour, a large Broom 42 returned reporting mirror like coinditions, so I finished fitting the plotter... looks great, and seems to work really well....It was a pig of a job though getting the cable through from the head unti to the GPS aerial.... at least I now know where the cable runs are!By 10h30, we decided to go for a sail, so after a visit to the fuel berth to fill her up (at which I was able to calculate the consumption is 2.13nm per litre), we set out through the lock towards the sea again.... much like the previous day, we decided to just potter about... sailed over to Pye end.... over towards Cork Sands Yacht Beacon.... a decent sea breeze had filled in, of about 9 to 10kts, and so we were really enjoying it..... until we passed Landguard point, where the wind vanised, and we started drifting... so the sails were furled, the motor on, and back towards Harwich.... as we again passed Landguard in the opposite direction, the wind reappeared.... either an extremely local effect or coincidence?.... anyway... we then enjoyed a fabulous beat back into Harwich harbour.... tacking 6 or 7 times, and eventually furling the sails around Guard...It had been truly spectacular weather..... really really hot.... shorts and tee shirts weather, and enough wind at 10kts for it to be enjoyable... it couldn't have been a better first sail for everyone if we had planned it this way!We waited for 15mins for a lock in, quickly and easily completed, with intelligent use of a boat hook by SWMBO, and then neatly onto our berth....The general consensus..... we'd done good.... handled the boat well.... and definitely bought the right boat!!!!Home by 19h30.... a grand weekend.... a little red, a little tired, but very happy

Miles logged 11nm
Miles this season 198nm
Miles since this blog started 1,992nm

hot hot hot

Arriving down at Shotley by 19h00, the kids were terribly excited about spending their first night on the boat, and so, after a short time on board, had tucked themselves in for the night, with massive amounts of space to stretch out in the double berths that they now occupied....It didn't take too long for the sound of snoring to emerge from the aft cabins, and so we settled down to a coffee and a relaxed evening, and eventually retired to bed at a sensible time. I however, couldn't sleep.... I suspect I was rather full of anticipation for the following day, and finally drifted off around 02h30...Day broke, and by 07h30, we were all up and about... a fairly heavy morning haze hung in the air, making the cranes of Felixstowe appear rather strange and eerie in the distance, but as the sun came over the side of the marina, it soon started to get warm, and the haze burnt off quickly...By 10h00, we had completed our morning rituals, and added a trip to the onsite chandlery to get a few bits and pieces.... so we decided to head out to sea.... a simple and straightforward lock out was on offer when I called up, and he held the lock for a further few minutes on free flow.... so before long we were out of the marina, and headed out past Ganges, then Guard and towards open sea.... We set the sails... a little trouble with unfurling the main until I worked out that it needs no kicker, no main sheet, and a healthy tug on the topping lift, and then the main came out as easy as you like... off went the engine, and we were sailing..... perfect!.... it must have been 25 degrees, and while only about 9kts of wind, ideal for a first sail of the season to ease SWMBO and the kids back in.....We toddled off towards Medusa, and then rounded back up, and beat back into Harwich..... we had previously decided to aim to be back in the marina by 14h00, as we wanted to get a few jobs done.... I wanted to fit the plotter, and SWMBO wanted to scrub the decks...So we locked back through, with the log reading 10.7nm.... not far.. but just enough to get everyone longing for more!While SWMBO and the kids scrubbed, I set too in fitting the plotter.... a temporary mount was acheived on the steering pedestal, with a plan for a more permanent mount in hand (with a little work at home on a wooden block), and then the fun of routing the GPS cable to the transom.... I finally located the cable route, and managed to mouse it through, but it took me over an hour to get the cable in place..... next job was to drill a hole in the stern for the cable to exit to the GPS aerial.... the GRP proved to be about 10mm thick, and finally I quit when the hole was nearly big enough.... to be left until the next day.... the power proved really easy... I lifted the engine control panel off, which fortunately had plenty of spare cable to let it be moved to one side, and inside found several spare power pairs, already switched through the main panel... so a simple fuse added, and that was easy..... the plotter booted, and we were nearly there...Around 17h00, friends, David and Helen, turned up, so we drank a cold beer or two in the still beautifully warm evening, and then wandered over to the onsite bar, the Shipwreck, for a pint and a bite to eat.... David and Helen wanted to get off early, and so by 20h30, we were back on board.... the kids exhausted after a day of sea air, soon off to bed, and as I write this at 21h30, i'm about ready to retire for the night too!... more tommorrow..

Miles logged 11nm
Miles this season 187nm
Miles since this blog started 1,981nm

plotter

New Lowrance plotter arrived yesterday..... looks like an excellent bit of kit...Also ordered the PC planning kit, which in reality is just a secure MMC/SD card reader, and then uses the emulator software.....It however, works really well.... charts pop up nicely, waypoints easy to create, and have successfully transferred waypoints from PC to plotter, and vice versa...Now i've got to work out where to mount it...The pedestal is quite full already...One of the instruments mounted on the pedestal is a ST50 GPS repeater, which won't be needed with the plotter at the helm, so that can come off.... the hole it leaves will be replaced by the large display depth gauge from down below, which will be much easier to see...... the hole below will be filled with a Nasa battery monitor.... leaving a spare ST50 GPS repeater to sell....I'll then have to work out how to mount the plotter on top of the pedestal... it has a mounting bracket, but the pedestal top is rounded, so I may need to make up some spacers out of god knows what to get it to fit comfortably.....Laptop will remain below for planning purposes, plus using my Maptech charts for a backup plotter.... and will also serve its purpose with Shotley's wireless network.... however, the operating system is 98, and is a bit knackered, and won't accept a wireless card, so I may have to buy a new O/S for it... and then face the hassle of trying to reload the maptech software, which won't be easy with their registration system..... ho hum!Anyway..... down to the boat again this weekend (unsuprisingly).... the kids and SWMBO are desperate to spend a night on her!

more pictures

The crew relaxing at anchor in Osbourne bay...

And Portsmouth at dawn....

pictures

The crazy crew in the Thames Esturay at night.....
Not sure if the manic grins are because i've blinded them with my camera flash, or their lack of trust in my navigation!

And Morgana, finally at home on her Shotley berth..

Home!

We had agreed the previous night, that given the tidal times, and the fact that we'd not be leaving Ramsgate if we stopped there until midday the next day, hence a really late finish after collecting cars etc etc, that we'd miss the Ramsgate stop, and head straight from Eastbourne to Shotley.... a 100nm leg....
A positively lovely 08h00 start, a full fried breakfast, and everything was set up for a great day... the sun was shining, a lot warmer than yesterday, much like Friday....
At 09h40, we called the lock for permission to lock out..... "this ones full.... next one at 10h30..."
So we turned off the engine, and put the kettle back on...
Eventually, we slipped out, in a busy lock out.... and set off out to sea..... remarkably, with an east going tide, we were the only boat to set off that way, with all the other boats heading West.....
So we set course to for the long haul to Dungeness, and after one incident of raised expectations, when the sighting of the headland off Hastings mislead the crew into thinking that Dungeness had miraculosuly appeared 2 hours early, we eventually reached the famous headland.... with no wind it was totally benign, and we rounded quite close in, and pointed towards SW Goodwin to pass a mile or so off Dover.... and again motored along..... it was incerdibly warm, and at one point I was in the cockpit in a tee shirt.... amazing for early April....
The usual traffic plying its was in and out of Dover caused the usual headaches.... we cleared safely behind one inbound ferry only to see another leaving, and set course directly at us.... a short burst of throttle to state our intentions, and to reinforce the fact that we were stand on vessel, and he dropped off to starboard to clear behind us....
Soon enough we reached the Goodwind sands, and took the inside track...through the Gull channel..... given the state of the tide we were able to turn back onto the correct course quite early, crossing the end of the sands, and by 18h00 had reached North Foreland....
It seemed a little strange to be carrying on straight past Ramsgate, but it made the most sense, so with the certainty of no more than a couple of hours of good light, we set off into the Thames Estuary.... nice to be nearly home, but always one to keep you awake in the dark.... navigation needs to be spot on....
Rather than pass through Foulgers Gat on an already low, and still falling tide we elected to go down Knock Deep, round Long Sand Head and into Harwich from there..... as it happens a sensible decision, as an hour later, a Thames Coastguard Navigation warning reported the mark showing the entrance to Foulgers Gat, Long Sands Outer, being out of position...
Away off to the South, a large fog bank was clearly visible on the horizon, and this kept my attention.... it would have been some first sail of the season.... across the Thames estuary, in an unknown boat, in the dark, and in fog!... but thankfully it kept its distance...
By the time we were half way down Knock Deep, it was dark... the nav lights having been on for some time.... but hardly any battery worries after hours and hours of motoring.....
By 21h00, we rounded up past Long Sand Head, and started the haul into Harwich.... still some 17nm away, but quite obvious where, from the bright Orange glow on the horizon....
At this point, the wind suggested it might huild a bit... but still largely dead on the stern....
Round NE Gunfleet, towards Medusa, and suddenly Harwich was even more obvious..... it is however, incredibly difficult to pick out nav marks in the background light, so even though the wid came up to 21 kts, across the beam, I elected to continue motoring the last 5 or so nm.... with a tired crew and difficult navigation, it was the sensible option.....
Despite the challenges, we spotted the appropriate buoys, found our way in, and by 00h45, entered the Harwich harbour.... soon we had the entrance to Shotley in our sights, and locked in without any drama.... there was however a very strong cross current in the causeway into the lock.... which made driving difficult....
In no time, we were through, on the new berth, and tied up with the engine off by 01h30.
Naturally, rather than be sensible and go to bed... we sat and chatted..... Windrush John was 'wired' after his first night passage across the Estuary, and I was, I have to admit, pretty excited to be back.... 3 more bottles of red wine, and we were finally in bed at 03h30....
SWMBO arrived the next morning at 11h00 to start the process of getting people home, and I took Full Circle, his SWMBO and John back to their respective cars, and railway stations... back at the boat by about 15h30, and sat and chilled out for a couple of house before setting off home.... and arrived home at 20h15
So.... whats the score?
I am throughly delighted..... Morgana handled like a dream... she motored over 170nm without missing a beat.... no major problems found....
I have a very very large grin, and still can't quite believe she's mine..... looking forward to next weekend already.. perhaps Stone Point?.. perhaps the Deben?... the season has begun with a bang!

Miles logged 99nm
Miles this trip 176nm
Miles this season 176nm
Miles since this blog started 1,970nm

Eastbourne bound

The tides were less civilised, so an 06h00 start was in order..... we got up, and left on time!
Exiting Portsmouth harbour is as easy as entering it.... and soon we were headed off towards the tower at the end of the submarine barrier... Horse sands... visibility was ropy, and by the time we reached the tower, Portsmouth had long faded into the haze..... however, as the sun rose properly, it seemd like it was going to be another really nice day, but with little or no wind, so we headed towards the Looe channel..... easy in that weather..... the two marks showing the way in were easily picked up at quite a long range, and we motored our way gingerly through avoiding the huge quantities of lobster pots.....
As we exited the Looe channel, we set a course for Beachy head, a long way off in the distance.... some 35nm, and set the autopilot.....
It wasn't as warm as we were expecting, and we ended up in full oilies, and on occasions, felt quite cold..... so the long motor across the large bay, past first Littlehampton, then Shorham, and then Brighton....
We stuck the autopilot on, and let it do its work..... it seemed to develop a starnge habit of suddenly drifting off course, usually to starboar, but sometimes to port by about 20 degrees, and only slowly recovering..... we also noted that it seemed slow to react to course change requests.... a thorough discussion and debate on the subject suggested re-calibrating the fluxgate compass with the set up process, and then checking the 'gain setting'.... none of which could be done as we didn't have the manuals on board.... so it'll wait for a later date....
As Beachy head loomed up in the distance, we were all glad.... and rounding quite close, we shot with the tide still under us at 9 kts over the ground into Eastbourne....
The locks at Eastbourne are enormous, and we locked through quickly into the heavily developed harbour area of Sovereign Harbour....
Berthing arrangements were a loose. 'over on B pontoon somewhere... pick a spot', which we did..... and an easy, and accurate arrival... she is so easy to handle under power..... a world of difference.... she may be 7 feet longer than Maggie, but she is a lot easy to fling about.....
Our choice of pontoon proved to be less than perfect, as we found ourselves about as far from the facilities as it was possible to be..... never mind....
We checked in with the marina office.... it may be a bit of a 'heavily built residential/water front development', and not to my taste at all, but th staff win a prize for their helpfullness and politeness.... very efficient, very pleasant indeed.... a similar experience to my last visit to Sovereign....
We wandered out, visited a supermarket for a few forgotten essentials (like salt, parmesan and more bread) and then wandered back.... via a really nice shop... the weather shop, selling nothing but weather realted bits.... I could have spent hours in there!
Chris was jumping ship this evening, and his wife Anne came to collect him, so after Anne had arrived, and before they left, we managed to squeeze into a small Italian restaurant, and enjoyed another grand meal.... huge portions though.... and the now obligatory several bottles of red wine....
Tired, we retired back to the boat by 21h00, and rather than collapse into our berths, we naturally drank two more bottles of red wine.....
Finally, we faded, and went to bed..... tides looked extremely civilised, with a 09h50 departure.... so a good nights kip beckoned....
Still no problems with the boat, other than the slight quirks with the autopilot... grin still ever present.....

Miles logged 58nm
Miles this trip 77nm
Miles this season 77nm
Miles since this blog started 1,871nm

car parks and curry

It seems that the whole of the UK had decided to use the same bit of the M25 as we had, so after a 7 hour journey, we arrived at Lymington to find the two early arriving crew members, Full Circle and Windrush John a little on the enebriated side.... they claimed that 3 hours should never be wasted!
However, despite our (very) late arrival, the broker was still there, and everything was concluded satisfactorily..... so the boat was ours to take away....
Not wanting to waste a good opportunity, we retired to an Indian restaurant, and had a fabulous meal.... top quality, and not too expensive either....
Tides suggested an 07h30 departure, so we arose at 06h30, put together a quick sausage sandwich breakfast, and let the lines go... Lymington has good wide aisles, so no concerns for my first handling session with Morgana, and besides, she seemed to turn on a sixpence.... and off we went.... followed a few very slow boats out of the channel, played dodge with the IoW ferry, and very quickly rounded the Jack in a Basket marker, and headed off north towards Cowes....
Playing around with the engine, I was like a wide eyed child.... "look 9 knots through the water under engine!!!" very new territory for me after the previous boat...
There wasn't enough wind to make sailing worth while, so we just unfurled the main, and motor sailed....
With a fair tide, we rounded Cowes very early, and as we motored into Osbourne bay, decided to drop the hook for a while..... no need to be in Portsmouth too early.... and checking out the ground tackle on a windless day with an engine that we didn't yet know whether we could trust or not seemed sensible.....
The anchor bit very quickly, and we relaxed for an hour or so....
Then, with the admirable assistance of the electric windlass, we upped the anchor and set off towards Portsmouth.... passed Mother bank, and headed up towards the harbour entrance.....
all quite painless to this stage.... boat seemed to be working just as intended, an engine that still allowed a conversation to take place at a normal volume, and no other obvious problems.....
Fuel seemed sensible given the long legs ahead, and lack of wind, so we queued for fuel at Gosport premier (yes, for those outside of the solent - we had to QUEUE!!!!!!), narrowly avoided the sunsail boat jumping the queue through clever use of glares and "excuse me's".... and filled her up.... a mere £38 worth to get her full again (she was 3/4 full to start with) and then headed for our berth...
Easy enough... loads of space... big wide aisles again, so I thought we'd reverse onto the finger..... whoops..... not something i'd practiced a lot with Maggie (she didn't go in a straight line backwards) and the rust showed..... we got in, but it wasn't what you'd call elegant!
A wonder into Gosport.... and a slightly quicker wander back.... and we sat and enjoyed a lovely meal onboard in the cockpit, with the extremely warm evening....
Spotted a fellow ybw'er a couple of aisles away, wanderd over, and he forced us to drink beer.
So..... an entirely uneventful first leg.... me with a grin the size of a cheshire cat.... all's well...

Miles logged 19nm
Miles this trip 19nm
Miles this season 19nm
Miles since this blog started 1,813nm

they think its all over....

Passage plan completed...... even put the waypoints on the paper charts! (since when was I this organised!!!!!!)
Only challenge now is to get to the brokers in time to complete the paperwork.... touch and go given that its a bank holiday weekend, and traffic will be heavy....
god knows how we are going to get everything in the car.... we've a mountain of food and beer to take down, charts, alamancs, laptop, and various other 'essentials'.... it'll be loaves on people's knees!
Full report of delivery trip, success or otherwise, with piccies coming this way soon....

further developments

The problem with the previous solution that the brokers developed, was that I didn't legally own the boat, and therefore there were potential insurance issues....
The broker has just called me to confirm that at a senior level within their own organisation, and with the financiers, they have decided to take a risk, and complete the transaction, prior to my funds formally clearing into the brokers account. Which means that I will legally own the boat... their risk is in me cancelling the cheques prior to start of play Tuesday, although how i'd do that over the weekend, I don't know.... !
I have to say that this development is excellent news, and a very positive stance from the broker.... and a degree of trust exhibited for which I am very gratefull.
So, i'll be collecting the boat tommorrow AND the Bill of Sale.... so all that will remain is back office money shuffling between the broker and financier.... and for me to handle the part 1 re-registration in my name, which will cost me £80.
On other points, I did half the passage plan last night.... so a bit more to do tonight.....
Also, re-jigged the transport arrangements slightly to make it easier for Full Circle....
All systems go!

deep breath

We're on the home strait....
Paperwork received, completed and returned with guaranteed next day delivery.... letters and docs supplied to brokers.... all in place...
Only remaining hurdle is crew logistics....
FC will manage the process of getting himself, his SWMBO and Chris to Lymington, SWMBO will take me.....
We'll sail her back, and then SWMBO will turn up to take Chris, FC and his SWMBO back to Chris's where FC's SWMBO's car will be used to retrieve FC's car from Lymington.... got that?
Which means that SWMBO will need to bring her car, as mine won't have enough space for 5 people and their bags, along with FC's liferaft, cruising chute etc etc....
Phew....
Better get the passage planning done this evening (that might sound familiar to long term readers of this blog!!!!)

final hurdles

The final paperwork for the finance arrived this morning... well almost... the posty obvious knocked very quietly, as when I looked in the porch at 08h30, there was a card through the letterbox..... can now collect 'letter to be signed for' from 16h30 at post office.... i'll go earlier, get it all completed there and then, and return via registered next day service....
One more final hurdle......
The fire extinguishers arrived, as did the pan holders for the cooker.... (there weren't any on the boat, so they obviously only ever ate or drank hot drinks in marinas!)
I've ordered a Lowrance 5150c plotter, which should hopefully arrive today as well, or maybe tommorrow.... I won't be able to fit it properly, but will take it along as a backup...
Primary nav will be with the existing ST50 Navcentre which is a black and white old plotter, and only has charts as far as Chichester, and is repeated to a GPS unit on the pedestal that shows distance to Waypoint, VMG, etc... plus XTE.... I'm assuming that I can still enter waypoints for areas outside of where the charts cover as it has a UK basemap... otherwise its useless for most of the journey.... and the other nav option is my laptop, with Maptech charts and a USB GPS mouse... which works very well, and for which I have all the neccessary electronic charts.... of course this will all be supplemented with paper!
Finally, was intending to go into Haslar Friday night, but apparently they don't have a fuel supply, so we'll head towards Premier instead.....

wahooooooo

The problem has gone away!
After a bit of careful thinking, and discussions with the current owner, we are now in a position where they can let me take the boat away on Friday, providing I furnish them with a letter confirming that the finance isn't going to be cancelled, and a copy of my insurance certificate..... I'll get a copy of the Bill of Sale, and be provided with the original when the funds all move around on Tuesday/Wed
So, the crew can be stood back on, ready for action.....
And, I don't have to put an excessively large sum on my credit card!

harumph

Broker didn't get back to me....
So, I phoned them just after 18h00.....
No progress yet....
I think I can break the deadlock with use of a very large Credit Card payment.... not ideal.... but perhaps the only way forward....
Will be expecting a call 1st thing in the morning.......

clearance

What a screwed up banking system we have in the UK...... it takes 5 days for a cheque to clear..... what a nonsense.... i've been investigating to understand the process, and its a bit of a joke..... strikes me that the banks are keen to take 5 days for cheques to clear, as that leaves an enormous amount of money washing around the system making interest somewhere, but not with the poor retail banking customer......
This effectively means, that because they didn't pay my cheques in until Friday afternoon, that they won't clear until close of play Thursday, so they can't release funds to clear the previous mortgage......
The brokers have promised to come back to me this evening.....
I can see one other way out of this mess, but I want them to come up with a solution first, and then I have one last option that might work..... will detail it out as and when it becomes a (last ditch) option.....

rustration

As I type, we haven't resolved the finance issues....
Broker will have my cleared funds by Wed, or Thursday latest, after they sat on my cheques for 2 1/2 days........
So that leaves them no time to settle the previous owners mortgage, and get my financing paid to them....
The marine finance company won't release funds for me, until the previous mortgage is settled, even though its a marine loan, and not secured against the vessel....
And the Broker cant/won't arrange a Telegraphic Transfer Wed/Thur to get things moving.......
I'm really frustrated by this, and the next person to call me from either the broker or the finance company without the correct news is going to know about it.

arggg

Finance company expressing concern about whether they'll get things done in time....
Update shortly... phone red-hot!

chasing

First thing this morning, once the business day starts, i'll be chasing the finance company to find out where we are....
Forecasts are starting to get close enough now to have an element of truth in them.... and at the moment, they are suggesting a mix of Westerly andf Southerly wind... both of which would be great... perhaps a little on the light side at between 5 and 15kts, but also lovely and warm, hitting 18 degrees on Sunday....
I'm hoping they are accurate!

The delivery trip

Plan....
Leaving Lymington early Friday morning, and a short shake down to Portsmouth of just 19nm..... and arrive in time to find a chandlery if needed!
Then a leg to Eastbourne of about 65nm, followed by Eastbourne to Ramsgate at 60nm, and finally Ramsgate to Shotley at about 40nm....
Things to consider are, firstly, do we tackle the Looe channel... weather conditions will determine that one... and secondly, do we change the plan, and single leg from Eastbourne to Shotley.... there is a potential to get a fair tide pretty much the whole way on this leg, providing you can make 7kts over the ground.... which unless the weather is unkind, should be very do-able..... would have the added advantage of getting us into Shotley Monday morning/Sunday evening, so would give us a bit of spare time to get people home, reunited with cars etc etc.... plus a day for me to play with the boat, fitting, changing etc etc...

crew

Spoke to Full Circle again.... he's sorted a second crew member.... who's coming down to Southampton on the train...
FC is also bringing his liferaft (as ours won't be here in time), his handheld GPS, and best of all, his cruising chute.....
I'm really hoping that the current longrange forecast of 16 to 18 degrees, and 15kts SW firms up, as that'd be a warm weather reach the whole way, apparently Morgana's best point of sail, and with a cruising chute, could be really good fun!