tender insides

No sailing this weekend... SWMBO has to work....So rather than waste the weekend doing nothing, i've started by doing a bit of gardening to earn some brownie points, and then got on with the tender...A couple of hours of sanding to fair the surfaces to an acceptable level.... not concours, but good enough for something that will get dragged up beaches and stomped in with muddy feet.... and then a coat of thinned paint on all the interior to ensure that it soaks good and thoroughly into the wood.... and boy did it soak in!I reckon i'll need at least 3 more coats yet...

When this is properly dry, i'll flat it back and then put on another coat at full thickness... While I sanded quite carefully, I reckon this coat will 'seal' the surface enough to make flatting more effective.....I also need to tackle the sails yet... looks very straightforward, and have laid my hands on a sailmakers sewing machine to borrow for a few days... the only challenge will be to get the eyelets in the corners.

sleigh rides!

Well we've made it there and back safely as per our plan to visit Oostende. It has had its moments!We made it down to the boat at a sensible time on Thursday evening, and along with the crew we'd shipped aboard, had a sensibly early night, in bed with the lights off by 21h30.It didn't help however with the momentary pain caused by the alarm sounding off at 01h30, and I staggered out of bed, and through the normal 'getting the boat ready to depart' ritual with my eyes largely shut.By 01h55 however, we slipped the berth, and locked out to a cloudy, and therefore dark evening, but with quite light winds and still quite warm.The direction would have theoretically made it possible to sail to the first major waypoint, Cork Sands Yacht Beacon, but the thought of starting a passage of that length with a measly 2kts over the ground encouraged us to continue sailing.... we did however stick the main up to appease our consciences.It didn't take us long to reach Cork Sands YB, and we saw no real traffic of any kind, so the shipping channel remained nothing more than a distant threat. CSYB is a major part of the passage plan for Oostende, as once you are round this mark, the next way points of Rough Towers, Long Sand Head and then ultimately West Hinder tower off the Belgian coast are all roughly on the same course, so the wind direction at this point determines whether its going to be a sail or a motor.It was OK to sail direction wise, but was fluky at between 7 and 11kts.... we sailed a while, but our speed was pitiful, so eventually, we had to motor. We had a dissapointing sunrise, as it was obscured by the cloud, and the wind remained fluky and light. The need to motor was reinforced as we reached the TSS, with the wind reducing even further to around 5kts, but somewhat compensated by the sun appearing.So, finally as we cleared the smaller TSS off West Hinder and headed into Oostende, with just a few miles to go, the wind returned to about 12kts.... we didn't bother at this point with sails.... after 11 hours of motoring, we all just wanted to get there.Getting onto the pontoon was easy.... We reversed upto the buoy, and after a momentary problem with the crew getting a line through it, we suceeded, and then motored backwards under complete control elegant into the right spot. Only remaining challenge was the bow line was about 2m too short after the marina had fitted new buoys this winter, a bit further out than previously.... so our transom was still 1.5m from the pontoon... but no problem... another line added, and all was well.Deep breath. Motoring for 12hrs is exhausting. So we were all tired, and thus had a quick drink, and relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon, and finally took an early night.Saturday was a brilliant day. Not only did the sun shine its little heart out all day with shorts and tee shirts weather, but the Oostende voor Anker festival was in full swing, with fully dressed wooden boats, square riggers and grand vessels of all shapes and sizes everywhere you looked. We made the most of the opportunity and wandered around pretty much everything... We found a small square by the station with a stage, and an excellent folk band playing, and sat in the sun with a cold beer, and relaxed.... it must have been the best spot, as gradually more and more of the group arrived and settled in!It was one of those times where the world seems just right..... I was happy.Eventually, SWMBO decided that she needed to procure chocolates, so we set off into the town centre.... there it was agreed that males are a significant hinderance to the act of shopping, so dutifully Dave and I found a small bar and settled in. It was going well until the owner of Pipedream arrived, and we had to make sure he had his fair share. Now, for those folk that aren't familiar with Belgian beer, it is quite strong, and it was mid to late afternoon by the time we poured ourslves out of the bar.... and then back to the boat.SWMBO took one look and sighed.Later that evening, we all congregated at a rather nice bar in the town, had a marvellous barbeque and generally so******ed into the night. A grand bunch of people, with rather maginficently, 29 people turning up!I finally made it to bed quite late, and slep soundly until I was awoken by heavy knocking on the hull at about 08h30. It was Roger who was moored up alongside us. "Have you seen the forecast?".... "huh?"... "you might want to think about leaving today...."...... "why?"...... "NE 4 to 5 today, increasing 5 to 7 posible 8 later, and worse tommorrow""ah crap"So after the neccessary inspection of weather forecasts, along with crew consultation, a decision was reached to leave a day early...Quite obviously, the same forecast had been sinking in around the marina, and there were signs of a mass exodus underway.We slipped out of the mooring at just before 10h00, and set off out into the North Sea.The forcast 4 to 5 NE seemed a little suspicious by now, as we were faced by 5kts of Westerly winds.... this wasn't good. We were low on fuel, having filled up a couple of weekends back, and having used the engine a little and then motored the whole way across. We possibly had enough to motor the whole way back, but it would mean sucking the last dregs out of the tank, something i'm never keen to do, as there is a significant risk of picking up all the crudd from the bottom of the tank, and causing yourself all sorts of problems. However, with no fuel available in Oostende, we had little choice, so off we motored.Regular VHF traffic confirmed the departure of most of the other boats in our little fleet, and everyone was motoring.By midday, we were approaching West Hinder, and the wind had tuned a bit to the north, which didn't really help us as this was too tight to hold the required course, although it had built a little to 12kts. I had visions of us having to beat the whole way back.... but on we plodded under engine. The sea state was quite sloppy, with some decent rollers evidencing the previous few days of North Easterlies having had the whole of the North Sea as a fetch.We reached the TSS at West Hinder and continued to motor, having to take avoiding action in both lanes, in particular the South bound lane where we had 4 vessels to avoid, so as we exited the lanes, it was with some relief I saw the wind go finally North Easterly, and increase to 15kts.The engine went off, the sails were unfurled and we set off under sail alone.This however, was to be short lived.The wind was slowly increasing, and infront of us lay a large black cloud. As we reached it, the wind built up to 20kts, and we had to reef for the second time, now under 2 reefs in the genny, and 1 in the main. The sea had built considerably, and by now I was steering as much for the water as I was for the wind.And so it continued. It got windier and windier.... by now we had 2 reefs in both sails, and by the time we reached Long Sand Head we had the 3rd reef in, had 30kts over the deck, and house sized waves crashing past us..... this was a real challenge for the crew.... you know its got windy when the rigging is humming, and the boat is vibrating as it surfs down waves.... It was quite obvious that the wind had come through quite a lot earlier than expected.As darkness descended, we were approaching Cork Sands, and it was a full blooded F7, hitting 8 on a regular basis. we were creaming along, but well reefed down and working hard to keep the boat on her feet, with substantial rollers sweeping past us.So as we rounded Cork Sands YB, we momentarily let the pressure out of the main and furled it away, leaving nothing but a small scrap of genny out for the final downwind, down wave roller coaster into Harwich.... just 4nm to go, but under this tiny amount of sail, we were making 6.5kts comfortably, often faster, and I was grabbing big handfuls of rudder to keep her on course.It was with enormous relief that we rounded up into Harwich, and within a few minutes got under the lee of Languard point, which saw the sea state reduce dramatically, and then just after that behind the docks, with the wind taking a tumble to just mid 20's of knots....We were all exhausted, but despite this, locked in and berthed without drama. The lock keeper did give us a strange look as we entered at 23h00, quite clearly thinking we were completely mad to be out there. We didn't mention the fact that we'd just crossed the North Sea in a full gale. He did however make up for it by standing on the balcony of the lock building at that time of night and playing his accordian to us!Just 2.5 hrs later, another boat arrived, having taken the only sensible option and run into Harwich to escape the weather, and indeed when we arose the next morning, yet another boat again had turned up. Everyone had their stories of big waves, substantial boat speed, and decent broaches... but all had survived to tell the tale!Morgana handled a full gale with aplomb. At no time did she feel vulnerable, and indeed on occasions seemed to be revelling in it. I wouldn't do it again regularly out of choice, but I am confident that when (not if) we get caught out again, then she'll be just fine. Another tick in the box for a grand boat.

Miles logged 166nm
Miles this season 312nm
Miles since this blog started 3,249nm

forecasting

Its an interesting observation that over the last 24hrs, the weather forecast has changed dramatically....I was watching the weather for our trip over to Oostende this weekend, less because of the outward journey, but more for the return.... I guess I am sensitised to this one, as the last two years have seen pretty nasty conditions after our arrival, in both cases delaying departure.... And this year, we are only on a long weekend, so can't really afford to be delayed.So it was with some trepidation that I watched the forecasts showing steadily increasing winds with a nasty low squeezing its way over the UK, compressing the isobars and the real risk of some substantial wind later in the weekend....Only Wednesday night, the models changed dramatically. The low now forecast to be squeezed much further north by a building high pressure over continental Europe, and totally different conditions across the southern north sea.... gone are the 28kts, gusting 35kts in the forecast, and in comes 1kts, gusting 3kts....It got me to wondering how the models can change so significantly in such a short period of time.... it must be a real headache for the forecasters...I'd rather sail than motor, but I do know which forecast I prefer!

Oostende bound

Off Thursday night (well early Friday to be precise) to Oostende in Belgium. Its a bit of a milk run of a crossing at 76nm, with just a few hazards along the way.... the first are the sand banks off Harwich, then the large anchorage and TSS roundabout, followed by the main north sea TSS and finally, the sandbanks off the Belgian coast.... none of which are desperately difficult to deal with, and in all but the roughest of weather can pretty much be ignored or at least considered way points rather than dangers.The weather looks not to great.... its going to be warmish at approaching 20 degrees, but with very light winds of between 2 and 5kts and mainly pretty much on the nose.... you can't have it all your own way!We're meeting up with a pile of others... in fact 12 boats in total, so should be great fun... especially as there are a few new faces besides the usual gang...We've guest crew aboard.... our friends Dave and Louise... they're new to sailing, and haven't done that much, but last year acquired themselves a little Debutante (or Tristan Jones fame) that was in a bit of a state, and have spent the last few months bringing her back to her former glory... she's looking very nice now indeed. I suspect D&L are also coming along to continue their rapid ontake of sailing knowledge... in which case, they've not picked a great tutor ;)The main challenges (besides the forecast lack of wind) will be twofold.... Firstly, we are planning on going in to the marina stern too.... its a med style mooring with a bouy 60' or so off the pontoon, to which you attach one end of the boat, and then you put the bow or stern against the pontoon... going bow to the pontoon is easier, but its a big leap for the kids, and even more challenging to get back on, so stern too it will be..... I'll spend half the crossing getting a plan together and briefing the crew!... (and will be removing the davits and tender before we leave the UK).... the second challenge will be one of space... the Montgomery dock is a decent size, but its a bank holiday weekend, so will be busy.... we are taking 12 boats, and I know of at least one other group that is going that way.... so space could be at a premium..... glad we're going on Thursday evening, and not Friday!We time this weekend to coincide with the Oostende maritime festival 'Oostende voor Anker', so its usually a lot of fun, with folk bands on the quay, big markets selling traditional food stuffs and lots of interesting vessels arriving and leaving....Really quite excited.... the first proper passage of the season!

Tender

Well... I did threaten it in my previous post.... i've bought a new tender off eBay...£83 for a nearly completed Gaff rigged pram dinghy...

A few hours work should see her completed...Here's what she'll look like when she's done...

Quite looking forward to sailing her round the Walton Backwaters!

just musings

We're not sailing this weekend, as SWMBO has work commitments.... so it'll be a weekend of gardening (in the loosest sense of the word), and stopping the house from falling down.... forecast isn't looking great either, so i'm less bothered about it than I was..... besides the following weekend, we've got a 4 day weekend, and a trip across to Oostende planned...Anyway.....I've spent a good chunk of the evening mooching around eBay looking at tenders.... we had planned to build one in the garage, but i've (for once) had a reality check, and relaised that I just don't have time.... i'm either working., recovering from working, or on the boat.... and in the winter, i've usually already got a plenty big enough 'to-do' list without adding another mammoth project.... secondly, when i've costed a project up, it really isn't cheap... so onto eBay... there are quite a few appealing tender/dinghies on there... and tonight a part finished one has appeared that is 'collect only', and only 10mins from my work.... it looks lovely.... is well on the way to completion.... and fits our requirements perfectly...Will keep you posted!

Hottest place in Europe!

Amazingly, the normally average east coast weather completely excelled itself this weekend, with the UK recording the hottest weather in Europe, and the East Coast heading the league within the UK.... I honestly think that today was hotter than at any time last summer. Not complaining mind you!We were late down Friday.... C wasnted to go to Sea Cadets, and M Cubs, so it was gone midnight by the time we arrived... still in Shorts and Tee Shirts...Kids soon despatched to bed, and SWMBO and I enjoyed a quick drink before ourselves slipping quietly to our berth....No rush planned for the morning... The Backwaters was the target destination, with a beach trip on the cards, but with the tide times, we didn't want to be going in much before 13h00....However, after a leaisurely start, it was still only 10h00 the following morning before we decided to just get out and enjoy the weather.... and what a treat to lock out into 27 degrees of clear skies and sun, and 12 to 15kts of apparent wind....It was so nice that we ste off and sailed up the coast towards Felixstowe, past the Deben and just carried on for a while.... The kids were absorbed in a game of some kind, SWMBO so chilled I wanted to check to see if she was still breathing, and I, with the aid of the autopilot, merrily tacking my way up the coast single handed.... marvellous.... I refined the tacking angle on the autopilot, and my timing for letting the working sheet fly until I could just crank a couple of turns on the winch handle and she was snugged down on the new tack.... at a perfect 5 to 6kts through the water, I could have just kept going for hours!Eventually, we had to turn back, and as we turned downwind, the apparent wind dropped down, and with a reducing breeze, it wasn't long before we had to furl the genoa and stick the engine on.... we held out as long as we could to avoid the engine intruding on what was building up to be the perfect day, but when ground speed went below 2kts, I resigned myself to it, and turned the key....We crawled our way into the Backwaters.... the shallow entrance seems a bit deeper this year, despite the ever advancing Stone Point, which seems to have gained another 5m or so this winter, plus become significantly bigger, with a very steep bank on its most seaward corner.... maybe the narrowing entrance is running faster and scouring the channel more effectively?There were a few boats in the anchorage, but not many, and with the experience of numerous visits now, we new just where to head for the best holding.... and within a few mins, were secure, beer in hand and getting the tender in the water....Kiddy pressure saw us on the beach in near record time, and we proceeded to build an enormous sand 'boat'..... while SWMBO surpassed herself by producing from her bag, a flask of good strong coffee.... beer would have quickly become unpleasantly warm, so a coffee was perfect.By 16h00, I was feeling a little frazzled by the heat, and so we returned back to the boat.... or we tried.... half way back the engine conked out.... and despite repeated attempts to restart, extensive cussing and mild percussive maintenance, I rowed the rest of the way...A few hours later, I nearly got myself in a pickle.... I lifted the engine, opened the cover and noticed the oil level a little low... so I filled it, stuck it back on the tender and floated off to try and restart her.... she wouldn't..... and by this time I was now a few hundred yards from Morgana..... so I started to row again.... only now the tide was in full ebb.... at about 3kts..... I was rowing as hard as I could go, and making about 6 inches on each stroke over the ground...... it was a very red in the face, and thoroughly exhausted skipper that eventually lunged for the toe rail in a desperate attempt to not have to row another dozen strokes..... you can get into trouble real quickly....We enjoyed a wonderful evening on board, with our usual family games, a good wine, and peace and quiet....Yet again the following day, the tides were civilised, and by 10h00 we went for another beach trip... only this time to take a walk at low water along the low sand spit only exposed at low tide.... The kids collected a veritable mountain of various descriptions, including 'mermaids purses' and some very pretty shells... we managed to prevent M from bringing home his collection of fish skulls!We finished our walk and watched a familiar boat enter the Twizzle, complete with helmsman in a Tricorn hat, and Jolly Roger and Swallow flying proudly from the Spreaders.... it could only be Bill, who skippers the 'Nancy Blackett' as well....We rowev back, passing Bill on Sentana, and said our hello's.... he's obviously looking forward to Pirate weekend, as he later demonstrated by flying an enormous (at least 5' across the top) skull and crossbones!We left the Backwaters at around 12h00, narrowly avoiding a soaking from Bill's brilliant Boat hook/Waterpistol Combo (Nancy would have adored Bill.... he's definitely a candidate for Captain Flint! - read Arthur Ransome if this doesn't make any sense - in fact just read it anyway... you'll love it!)It was pretty much dead into the wind out of the Backwaters so we motored, and by the time we cleared Pye End with less than 1nm to go, we decided to not bother with sails, and just motored slowly into the Stour, radioed up the lock and got immediate clearance inbound.... SWMBO was chuffed to bits with herself, as we need to shuffle along in the lock to let another boat in... and in her own words 'I did a good job of that didn't I'... and yes she did!By 15h00, we'd packed away, filled the water tanks, set the boat up to be left, and set off home..... we are all a bit red.... our faces have that late season deep tanned look already... and we glow as I type!No sialing next weekend... SWMBO must work, something that doesn't happen at weekends often thankfully, and so the next time we'll be on board is the following Thursday evening, when we'll be setting off for Oostende on our annual May Bank Holiday pilgrimage.....So, here's to more weather like this!

Miles logged 16nm
Miles this season 151nm
Miles since this blog started 3,088nm

Sailing up the Wallet

Phew what a scorcher!

Quite extraordinary weather this weekend!We arrived at the boat somewhat delayed after a major road closure forced a massive detour, meaning the journey took nearly 4 hrs!Never mind.... arriving to find the sun still shining, the temperature balmy despite it being 9pm, and it didn't seem so bad...We wolfed down the fish and chips we'd procured on the way to the boat, and settled the kids down for the night, and also enjoyed a sensibly early night ourselves, planning a 07h30 departure in the morning... we were also pleasantly surprised to find Clive in the marina in Sirenia.Bright and early, we slipped, stopping at the fuel berth for about 80ltrs of diesel, and a spare gas bottle, to find a pleasant F3 South Easterly, just as promised, and had the sails up very sharpish.... the boat was a bit hard on the wind as we left the Stour, and I soon had my jumper off... its amazing how quickly the weather can change... it was 20 degrees!.... however, its was also very hazy... classic early season weather.... it was a pleasant sail over to Walton on the Naze headland, only spoilt by the massive proliferation of lobster pots, some of which are so badly marked its down right criminal.As we rounded Walton, the wind came on the beam, the apparent wind over the deck dropped, and it felt even warmer!... we were in 12kts of wind, with 7kts of boat speed, in T shirts.... marvellous!It was a simple and straightforward reach, with one minor glitch along the way.... We'd spotted a few pots in the middle of the wallet, and i'd remarked how well they were flagged... and went below... a few seconds later, SWMBO lent down the hatch and said that there were hundreds of smaller pots between the bigger ones... I popped me head up for a look..... NET!!!!!!....... it was a 1/2nm long net strung at right angles across the Wallet....and typically we were aiming right for the centre.... we took a sharp left, into the wind, motored the 1/4nm round the end, and established our original course again.... there was no sign of a guard boat... it would have been well marked for a pot, but was terrible for a net, and on a public holiday weekend... someone wants shooting.Eventually we passed the outer end of Colne bar. and then we did have to motor the last 2nm into Bradwell, as the wind had dropped a bit, and as we turned dead downwind, the apparent wind dropped to about 3kts, and with the tide just starting to turn we were going nowhere.... but it was uneventful, and easy to get into Bradwell creek... we radioed up for a berth to be offered C21 or C22... oh good I thought... a choice.... so we set up for our preferred port side too... and as we rounded the pontoon, saw why they offered us 2 pontoons... it was a single slot.... with our beam, we slipped just perfectly into the gap... a pontoon either side!.... Opposite us was the catamaran Chellers, whom we introduced ourselves too.... the kids introduced themselves to their dog Lucy, and everyone was happy!Within a couple of hours, most of the group had arrived, some by boat, some based at Bradwell already, and some with sorry tales of boat maintenance headaches....I also made the most of the ease with which we can now luanch the tender, to drop it in, and scoot off up the creek with the kids exploring... great fun.. real adventuring!An evening of fun and games ensued, with much merriment, the usual carbonised BBQ food, and to top it all, and adults versus kids game of baseball..... the kids won, and that was despite the despicable cheating going on, including kidnapping the keeper, removing the pads, and rugby tackling the runners!... those guilty may rest uneasy.... its all on video!!!!Sunday was a truly relaxed affair, with the tides trapping us in Bradwell until nearly midday... so with yet another amazingly warm day in prospect, we eventually let the lines off (after a normal Morgana hearty breakfast with all and sundry invited), to find very similar conditions to the previous day, but if anything, even warmer...The plan, agreed the night before, was to head towards Walton Backwaters, and try the anchorage on the other side to our normal Stone Point destination, in a small pool cum creek called Hamford Water.... no stepping ahore here (unless you like waist deep mud), but an adundance of wildlife, and peace.. the real genuine article... no buildings in sight.... no roads... no nothing but tranquility....We had a magnificent beat back up the Wallet.... on just a beat... we tacked twice in 10nm, making 7kts through the water, getting slowly cooked by the sun... the cockpit speakers made life very pleasant, with gentle easy listening music, cold beer (the new fridge bit worked perfectly!), and ideal wind speed....And wow, whwn we reached Hamford Water, did it live up to its reputation.... fabulous holding.... I dopped the anchor, and stuck the boat in reverse to set it properly, and nearly stood her on her nose..... it was in!!!!Within a few mins, the tender was luanched, and we went exploring.... we quietly slipped through a creek surrounded by literally thousands of roosting birds, wheeling and screeching around us... quite a sight... and then came across an entire seal colony... now here on the UK east coast, seals aren't exactly a rare sight, but this colony had youngsters, and the youngsters were curious.... they came closer and closer, popping their heads up to inspect us, and see if we looked like a threat or a meal.... we sat quietly, and watched, and got closer to seals in the wild than I have ever done.... a large colony of maybe 25 animals.... and what great animals they are.... with their enormous sad eyes and whiskers that would make a cavalry colonel jealous!... the kids were enthralled, and pleaded withus when we said enough..... we'd decided that this was their space, and we'd probably invaded it for long enough.... so we motored slowly and quietly back to the boat...Clive had arrived on Sirenia, and we all went over for a drink.... it was a realtively short event, as we were all completely exhausted after 2 days of hot weather and fresh air...As the anchor lights came on, it was totally silent, save the odd bird call, and after the kids had collapsed into their beds, we sat in the cockpit for a while with a glass of wine and savoured the unique experience that we are so so lucky to be able to be part of.The following morning, we pulled the hook by 10h00, and motored slowly out of Hamford Water.... I have little doubt that we'll be back....The narrow channel on the way out was straightforward, with the only noteworthy event being a complete dickhead in a big motor boat coming down the channel at about 20kts, which sent us rocking and rolling to an alarming degree... which we weren't happy about, but could have lived with, but I was livid, as we'd just motored past a little 21'er, with a family on board, including 2 kids of under 5,and could see the mother clinging on to the kids as the boat rolling from rail to rail.... he could have so easily put a little child over the side..... and to prove what a berk he was, the motor boats following slowed right down as they passed and showed a little simple courtesy...We pulled the sails up as we rounded Pye End safe water mark, and sat hard on teh wind into Harwich harbour, freed off towards the Stour, and dropped the sails quickly and easily just outside the marina entrance...By midday were tied up.... glowing with the effect of the sun... what a great weekend.... fun company, a wonderful new anchorage, and 3 perfect sails in 3 days... life seems good at the moment!

Miles logged 58nm
Miles this season 135nm
Miles since this blog started 3,072nm

This weekend

Hoorah.... the first of the spring/summer long weekends.... so 3 days to spend on the boat....We're heading for Bradwell on Saturday, to meet up with a load of friends for a BBQ and no doubt a drink or two.... perhaps we'll then find a nice anchorage for Sunday night, and work our way back at a lazy pace on Monday....Weather forecast is looking OK.... in fact fantastic for Saturday.... 12kts SW, and 15+ degrees with no clouds, that'll be a broad reach down to Bradwell in lovely weather.... similar for Sun and Mon, but with the odd shower.... the weather is definitely turning now.... winter is fading away....

fridge latest

Penguin have checked out the fridge control box for me, and confirmed its knackered..... so a new one ordered... £120!!!!!... even the guy at Penguin was embarrased about the price...Its arrived this morning, so nice cold beer at the weekend again.... hoorah!(and top marks to Penguin refrigeration... excellent service, and very nice guys to deal with)