Autumn doesn't have to be miserable!

A long planned weekend for my son Matt and myself with my friend Tass and his son Chris.... I'd been looking forward to this, as Tass is a very very good dinghy sailor, having competed in the Seoul Olympics, representing Greece in the Laser class, so it was going to be nice to have someone on board who could take the helm without me having to keep an eye out... not only that, but Tass is a larger than life character, having worked on among other things, underwater bomb clearance with the Navy, and taught Scuba for a living... and great fun to be with.... and so the weekend was to prove.... we were treated to a long series of tales of daring do, mishap and pranks that made the whole weekend an absolute pleasure...

The forecast had been some what iffy, with F6 to 7 forecast for the Saturday, and nothing at all for the Sunday.... it wasn't quite right in the end though...

We slipped Shotley at around 10:30 Saturday morning, and within just yards of the marina, had the sails up, and engine off... bliss...

We then had a roller coaster dead run down to Bradwell. passijg through the infamous Wallet, which had (for the Wallet) a large swell running.... however, we were dead downwind, and with just the Genoa out (the main is hard work dead downwind in a big sea - and we also wanted the kids to be able to take the helm)... this was also a good idea as we have 24kts of wind... it was fine downwind, but would have been pretty unpleasant bashing the other way.... we had a squall at one point of 31kts, but with Tass to help it was a non event.... we did hit 10.8kts over the ground at one point....

When we arrived at Bradwell, the shelter of the land made life somewhat easier, but such a quick passage meant that we were a bit early, so we squeaked into Bradwell marina with at one point just 20cm under the keel....

Throughout the whole trip it had been quite cold, but the sun had shone, and this had made it a classic sail... very enjoyable...

The evening entailed a few games of pool for the boys in Bradwell marina's bar, and then a very good meal in the Green Man, washed down with excellent beer as is always the case at that particular hostelry.

The great sailing of the previous day was to take some topping, so we started again with a big fry up, and a surprise visit from Jim, out for a ride on his ferociously quick bike, and then we slipped at 10:00...

Unbelievably, the sailing was to prove even better....

Almost certainly one of the best autumn sails i've ever had.

The wind was still northerly, but with just enough west in it to allow us to hold a single close hauled course the whole way up the Wallet.... with 20kts, and bright blue skies, with a blazing sun, it was an absolute ball.... a reef in the main and geno to start with, shook out after half an hour, and we belted up the Wallet at 30° of heel, with the boat powering its way through the little remaining swell at a fabulous 7.5kts..... it was utterly glorious.

After reaching Walton headland, we were enjoying the sail so much that we continued to tack all the way up to Harwich, where with regret we furled the sails and motored the last 5 minutes into the marina.... a total of 18 minutes of engine run in 2 days and 50nm.

Tass and Chris made a great job of both the lock and the berthing work with the lines, and after tying up we sat and enjoyed the slight glow in our faces that is inevitable after a day out in the sun....

Thanks to Tass and Chris.... a brilliant weekend that both Matt and I enjoyed immensely.... we'll both be very keen to do it again!

Miles logged 50nm
Miles this season 1,126nm
Miles since this blog started 5,706nm

Busy weekend

Competed in a half IronMan distance triathlon at the weekend.... here's me leaving the water after the swim stage..
1.9km swim, 85km bike, and then a half marathon... was an amazing experience.... next year, i'm going longer, and doing a full IM... really looking forward to it!

(photo courtesy of Sharon Rowe, who always has brilliant pics of pirate events - and more!)

a bit of training

Not done hardly any running or cycling, and no swimming at all while away on hols.... so went for a run today... I needed to... I've got a half Ironman this weekend...

If my bodies reponse to running 2.25 miles is anything to go by, its going to be a very very tough race....

still its only 1.8km swim, then a short 85km on the bike... that should be a good warm up for the half marathon to finish it all...

Help!

Gosh, its quite windy isn't it!

It had been a good stop in Eastbourne... a great meal at an Italian, including the hottest pizza ever, and met up with Fat Buddah and his partner Claire, a fellow Triathlete, and, with all GFS forecasts (which have far and away the most accurate for the whole of the trip) being for 12 to 15 kts, and wall to wall sunshine, it looked like we were in for a really nice closing leg to the trip.... we'd elected to bash out the whole 100nm remaining to Shotley... the only fly in the ointment being a forecast for 24kts at 22h00... that we could cope with, especially as we'd nearly be back by then...

So it was a surprise when the inshore waters forecast came up with F4 to F5 occassionally F6, with a risk of F7 later... we conferred.... a F7 isn't pleasant, but we could cope...

So, after a quick stop for fuel, we locked out of Eastbourne at 09h00....

The weather was just as promised.... in shorts and tee shirts, and needing sunglasses, we made the most of the tide down the channel, making 8kts over the ground... we needed to motor, as we only had 4 or 5kts of apparent wind... but when its sunny, this seems somehow just fine!

It was a quick and enjoyable journey past Hastings, round Dungeness, and on towards Dover, however, as we reached Dover, a few clouds came over, and started to reduce the temperature... by now it was mid afternoon anyway...

On we plodded, getting a massive kick from the tide, and making at one point 11kts over the ground.... we hade been able to get both sails out, but kept the engine on... we had a tidal gate to make at North Foreland...

Upon reaching North Foreland, things took a bit of a downhill turn.... the wind increased to 22kts, turned slightly, and that combined with our new course meant that we were upwind again, and too close to the wind to sail comfortably... we managed to hold the genoa alone, although with a good deep reef in it...


A further 8 or 9nm later, things worsened considerably... the skies had turned black... and in several places a deep purple... not a good sign... the wind had increased to 26kts....

And then it hit us.... it never actually rained that hard, but in the space of a minute the wind increased to 35kts.... gusting for reasoanble periods up to 40kts....

The seas turned into a mass of wind blown spume... trails streaming off every wave... if you look in your nautical almanac at the picture of a F8... then that's exactly what it looked like... it was hard to look straight up wind, the rain was stinging in your face.... everything was howling and whistling... and in 10 minutes, the sea state had gone from 'ok' to very rough, and extremely hard work on the helm.... we'd dropped the sails as we saw it coming.... and while I was in neutral, I noted with a gulp that we were making 3kts under bare poles...

We plugged on, making a miserbale 2.5kts over the ground, with every wave stopping us dead, and falling off the crest into the trough with a huge cloud of spray which was whipped back by the wind to soak the helmsman (me!) and sting my face.... timing was rotten... we were just approaching Foulgers Gat... I started to contemplate getting through there in that wind, and realised just how dangeorous that was... too shallow... too narrow... and too easy to get swept off course... with unthinkable consequences.... the only other options being to carry on and go the long way round.... which meant 25nm as we reached the corner with the sea across the beam.. hardly a good option.... or to turn back and go through Fishermans Gat... a much wider and deeper channel... even the thought of turning a 180° in these conditions seemed quite a scary idea....

So, it was with a sigh of relief, that the cloud passed over us after 30 or 40 minutes of 35kts, and moderated back to 26kts.... still bloody windy, but seemed like a gentle breeze after the last half an hour... the sea also moderated quite a bit quite quickly, and most importantly of all, the visibility rapidly improved so that I could see both sides of Foulgers Gat.... phew... so we set off through....

The remainder of the journey was in much the same vein.... 26kts or so... rain showers, and a seemingly never ending crawl back towards Harwich... at night the lights of the docks and town offer so much early promise of arrival, and yet it seems an eternity until you enter the harbour... which we did at 23h15, and safely back on our berth by 00h05...

What a passage.

The following morning, with a good nights sleep under my belt, the positives could be considered.... while it wasn't fun, the boat was never in any trouble... in fact she was as solid as a rock... we made good decisions... and there was never any hint of panic.... and seeing the top end of a F8 a good way out offshore (and even more so, surrounded by breaking gravel banks roaring) is an experience to remember, thats for sure!!!!

But I wouldn't do it out of choice!

Tomorrow I may write up a summary of the whole trip... all things considered, its been great fun... a month on board is a very different experience... and we've met all our goals in terms of destinations, which is a first!

Miles logged 96nm
Miles this trip 696nm
Miles this season 1,076nm
Miles since this blog started 5,656nm

Crash bang wallop!

Well… we’ve made it to Eastbourne…. Still not heard Thames Coastguard, so we’re not home yet!

It wasn’t the most pleasant of trips…

We took the cockpit tent down this morning in the rain, and its rained ever since (well, its stopped now….)

Leaving Brighton we had 20kts across the beam, which would have been lovely, but it was thrashing with rain too… its soon built to 25kts… so we hoiked out some genoa, and sailed…

As we reached Beachy head it cut up rough, not surprising as were making 10kts over the ground… so we got slammed around a bit… it also coincided with us heading up, so that we were now dead into the wind… oh joy…

On the positive side, the autopilot worked beautifully, and steered us most of the way…

3hrs of really quite unpleasant conditions, and here we are tied up in Eastbourne… just 100nm from home… if the weather is nice, we’ll single leg it tomorrow.

Miles logged 18nm
Miles this trip 600nm
Miles this season 980nm
Miles since this blog started 5,560nm

Autohelm high-low-high

I’m not sure if I have mentioned previously, but 2 days into this trip my autopilot packed up…. I discovered a week later that the belt was knackered…

I found a supplier online, but was waiting until I got home to organize it… and at every port along the way we’ve found a chandlery and asked if they stocked spares… with a negative answer every time…

Until Brighton.

Here, a truly excellent chandlery, very very helpful, said they could get one next day… and indeed they did… a ‘high’..

So this afternoon I started to fit the new belt… only the gearbox felt stiff, so I removed the four retaining screws to see what the cause was…. To have 23 little tiny cogs spread themselves across the cockpit…. Sh*t…. a ‘low’

2 hours of careful reconstruction, with grease and needle nose pliers, and hoorah… it was back together… and the cabling which also parted on disassembly also repaired… refitted and (big fanfare) it worked!!!! The final ‘high’..

So hopefully tomorrow the weather will let us move on (probably to Eastbourne), and not have to hand steer the whole way!

Brighton Rock!

After what seems like days of wind, the forecast is for F3…. We awoke at 05h30 for an 06h00 depart to find light winds of perhaps 5kts… and thus it stayed… we motored the whole way to Brighton, which isn’t fortunately that far…. The only real excitement being the start of the Looe Passage where the tide squeezing through a small gap caused a certain amount of bubbling and boiling…. And the later in the trip when I felt that the next waypoint on the plotter seemed ‘wrong’… and a quick check revealed that the point I’d placed on the entrance the previous night was actually at the entrance to Shoreham, not Brighton!... whoops!!!

So, here we are in Brighton, hiding from the next low pressure system!

Miles logged 37nm
Miles this trip 582nm
Miles this season 962nm
Miles since this blog started 5,542nm

Weather bound

For the third time in the month, we are weather bound again… we’d seen what looked like a bit of a weather window between fronts, enough to dive the short 40nm to Brighton… it meant a very early start, so alarms set for 04h30…. Only when we got up, it was still howling, with gusts coming through at 25kts in the marina, suggesting somewhere north of 30kts out in open water… a rapid decision was reached to go back to bed…. A similar, if perhaps somewhat more sensible/realistic window exists tomorrow, and then wherever we are, we’re stuck until Friday as a particularly vicious low is working its way down the channel, promising 40kts on Thursday…. After that, Friday through to Monday looks pretty good, if not even calm compared to the last few days…

On the plus side, at least Portsmouth is a good place to be stuck… plenty to do… Yesterday we caught the foot ferry across to Gunwharf Quay and the Historic Naval Dockyard…. I really wanted to go and have a look around HMS Victory…only its was £60 for a family of four.. utterly ridiculous… that’s daylight robbery… what on earth must international visitors think about British greed?

Where did he go?

We’d sat in Weymouth waiting for the right weather for 3 days, gradually getting more and more harbor bound. Weymouth is lovely, but there is only so much you can do when its raining, and when you’ve already spent a fortune, and are trying to keep costs down!... it suddenly looked like we’d have a weather window for Sunday, albeit with a forecast for a F9 in the evening!!!!!!.... and Pipedream II turned up as well to keep us company… it was agreed that we’d head towards Brighton, with an option to dive into Poole or the Solent should the weather come through early.

Tides dictated a start around lunchtime, but this was far too late given the weather forecast, so we agreed to punch the tide for a good long while, and slipped out of Weymouth at 08h30, via the fuel pontoon.

It looked like it was going to be a long tedious journey, with little wind when we reached open water, and this was to prove entirely true… only the weather gods threw in a few ‘extras’ to liven things up!

We’d been out 3 hours when cloud loomed on the horizon behind us… gradually it caught up, and within an hour the front of the boat had disappeared… heavy fog… its not so much of a drama nowadays though, as we simply stuck the radar on, and magically we could see anything around us (not much).

Only excitement was a small wooden yacht appearing out of the fog at about 100m range during one slightly better period of visibility… completely undetected on the radar!

The weather pattern continued on and off for the next few hours, mixed with huge rain-showers, so large that we could see them coming on the radar… we were wet and fed up… still motoring…. As we passed St Catherines point (only informed by the chart plotter – you couldn’t see past the bow) we finally said sod it, and turned in towards Portsmouth…. The tide had only just turned to help us, and we were still 4 or 5 hours from Brighton… what little wind there was had shifted into the SW, along with the previous rock stable barometer starting to drop, and I was beginning to wonder if it was the first evidence of the coming weather….and in essence made a decision to err on the side of caution. Alan agreed completely on Pipedream, so we rounded via Bembridge with the visibility looking OK, until we reached Horse Sand Fort where you cross all the shipping channels, and then the world disappeared again!

With radar helping we entered Portsmouth harbor, and were soon safely tied up in Haslar… wet, fed up, and without a sail getting anywhere near being hoisted… ho hum…

Miles logged 73nm
Miles this trip 545nm
Miles this season 925nm
Miles since this blog started 5,505nm

Rolercoaster

Leaving Salcombe to head west is an act of balancing the tide over the bar against getting plenty of west going tide to carry you across Lyme bay, and timing it all so that you don’t round Portland Bill with the tide in full flight, and hence the worst of the Portland race. It wasn’t too bad for us, as it was a neap tide, so we had enough water over the bar just 1hr after low water, and would then have about 2hrs of foul tide, followed by nearly 7hrs of tide across Lyme bay, before hitting the Bill without too much race evident (although on a neap tide the race shouldn’t be too bad)

So at 08h00 we slipped quietly out of the river (it was utterly peaceful in stark contrast to the previous day’s motorboat madness), and chugged slowly over the bar. It was a bit light to sail, with the wind dead behind us, so we motored for a couple of hours until the wind picked up to 12kts apparent, at which point the sails went up and the engine off… marvelous!

Over the next few hours, it slowly got windier and windier… and by the time Portland Bill came into sight,we had 20kts apparent, (with around 28kts true)… there were substantial rollers charging down the channel, and we were getting huge surfs up to 11kts over the ground… phew… we were also sailing so dead downwind that we were tacking downwind, which means sailing slightly off track and ‘zig-zagging’ towards the destination…. Each gybe was ‘interesting’, and I just reached the point were I was considering ‘wearing round’ (which means tacking rather than gybing) when BANG… the mainsheet exploded….. I couldn’t believe this had happened again… but on inspection, this time it wasn’t the block, but the fixing on the boom…. Heading up, and furling soon had things under control… and a jury rigged mainsheet got the boom sorted (we have a spare fixing on the boom – albeit in a slightly less than perfect position – its fouls the sprayhood slightly), and we continued under genoa alone.

This actually made the remainder of the trip somewhat more pleasant, and we held course,still making 8kts over the ground, leaving a good 4nm off Portland Bill as we were an hour late for ideal rounding (which was a good decision looking inwards towards the Bill), and then cut inside The Shambles and within the hour had the lee of Portland Bill which made life somewhat more comfortable….

Entering Weymouth harbor was straightforward, and we tied up on the outside of an already 3 deep raft… one leaving at 10h00, the next at 11h00 and the third at 12h00… so by lunchtime tomorrow we’ll be on the pontoon!

Miles logged 73nm
Miles this trip 472nm
Miles this season 852nm
Miles since this blog started 5,432nm

Mizzle

A wet an ‘orrible’ trip up the coast. Just a few miles though, so not the end of the world. We slipped quietly from Newton Ferrers at 07h30 in the morning, and motored out into a grey mizzly day, with visibility of just 1/4nm or so… this meant that no sooner had we left Newton Ferrers than it’s cliffs had disappeared into the gloom.

This set the theme for the trip… no wind (hey met office… what happened to the forecast F4 to F5 occ F6?)… the kids stayed in bed (sensible)… SWMBO and I got soaked on deck…

Never mind… by 10h15 we were tied up in Salcombe… an easy entrance despite its famous sand bar… with good transits to make it easy…

Soon as we tied up, the sun came out, and the world seemed a lot nicer alround!

Miles logged 17nm
Miles this trip 399nm
Miles this season 779nm
Miles since this blog started 5,359nm

Memories

Plymouth has changed beyond all recognition… gone are the ‘down in the mouth’ warehouses on the waterfront where small marine businesses tried to eke out a living to be replaced with a series of expensive and rather soul-less flats. The tired 1960’s shops of the Barbican selling clothing for gentlemen of a ‘certain age’ and the seedy pubs, stacked with drunken off duty matelots have all made way for upmarket wine bars and bistro bars…. Its lost its working nature, but in fairness, has become a very lively place, where no doubt much money is being made.

The two things that struck me most… the old Admiralty chart agents, a place to warm the heart of any true seafarer, with rows of dusty charts from various exotic places around the world, and with a musty smell that I can still recall after 20 years is now a gastro pub…. And the gorgeous working harbour, with its inevitable collection of aging and rusty fishing boats and commercial vessels of assorted colours, now has a large modern lock, and is stuffed full of modern pontoons and modern boats collecting dues from the leisure sailors of the south west. While I can only appreciate the quality of the facilities, I still can’t help but feel that Plymouth, a true seafarer’s city has very slightly sold its soul.

In many other ways the city remains unchanged… sure the shop fronts are different, but it still has street names that evoke memories of its illustrious past…

We’d enjoyed a walk along the seafront… and time on the Hoe staring out to sea, but it was time to move on… we’d met new friends, and enjoyed good food and good company though… Sophie, it was a delight to meet you and your family… we thoroughly enjoyed your company.

We slipped from Sutton Harbour at 10h00, and then enjoyed a peaceful hour across the Sound… There wasn’t much wind, but what we had was behind us, so for the first time this holiday, we had downwind sailing.. it was also lovely and warm, so we meandered out of the sound at a stately 2.5kts, and enjoyed every minute of it. As we cleared the Shag stone, the wind vanished completely, so engine on, and we motored the last 1.5nm into Newton Ferrers. This entance rivals any, including Dartmouth, and drew the expected ooohs and aaars from the crew.

Following the transits ensures a safe passage around the bar, and avoiding the shallows, and we soon found and tied up to a free mooring, for which we were relieved of £19…. And then had to move as the owner turned up!

But, despite this minor annoyance, we enjoyed a short walk ashore, and then a great meal aboard…. Tomorrow we are heading towards the place made famous by its ability to extort funds from yachtsman in a whole raft of new and creative ways… Salcombe… I’ll need a new bank loan!

Miles logged 7nm
Miles this trip 382nm
Miles this season 760nm
Miles since this blog started 5,340nm

Memories!

In the 80’s (yes, it was a long time ago), I was a student in Plymouth… I spent 5 years here, fitting the odd lecture in between visits to pubs and doing a great deal of sailing… In fact I logged over 10,000nm in 5 years… I haven’t been back in 18 years, and not by boat for a good few more… so its fair to say that I was looking forward to a visit..

It was a late start from Dartmouth… not wanting to leave until midday… this meant that we got a nice lift with the tide up to Start point, but then hit the point at slack water… I remember only too well what Start point can be like when it cuts up rough… and the previous few days had seen a decent ground swell coming in from the Atlantic… add wind over tide with a F4/5 forecast, and it added up to a bumpy rounding if I got it wrong….

I didn’t… it was flat as a pancake round the point, and once round, the tide kicked in, and for a while we were making 10.5kts over the ground…. Sadly as we reached Prawle Point and then Bolt Tail, the course shifted to a NW and we were into the wind… so we motored (again!)… we did try sailing, but it was going to stand us miles out to sea… and it had also increased to 18kts…. So with a bump and a crash we plodded our way across Bigbury bay…. Only the ground speed made it tolerable… and we entered Plymouth sound at 16h00… a very fast run…. And tied up by 17h00

I was full of nostalgia as we passed the Mew stone and then Shag rock, and positively delirious as we rounded Mountbatten…. The waterfront has changed beyond all recognition, including the delights of a lock into Sutton Harbour…it used to be a very commercial location, and dried in many places…not now… it’s a very upmarket marina…. but the Barbican is still a delight… and I’m going to enjoy a few days of reacquainting myself with various memories… but wow… even the old admiralty chart agents in their dirty old warehouse is now a wine bar!!!!

Miles logged 35nm
Miles this trip 375nm
Miles this season 753nm
Miles since this blog started 5,333nm

Sailing at last!

With a forecast for the rain to ease off ovenight, and the wind to moderate, plans were laid to depart towards Dartmouth at around 05h30 in the morning…. Another boat tied alongside us, but also leaving towards Poole, so they agreed to leave at 05h30 too… it was nearly all thwarted when I stayed up a tiny bit later than planned to catch the late weather forecast from Jersey Coastguard, and just prevented a boat tying up outside both of us at about 23h00, and then clearing off ashore until the following day!!!!

So, when I stuck my head out of the hatch at 05h00, it was pleasing to see a dry morning, and virtually no wind at all…

We motored out of St Peter Port into a gentle North Westerly of about 8kts, and with the largest spring tide of the year under us, we shot out of the Little Russell channel at a very high speed. Nav was a lot easier than on the way in, having by now got used to all the rocks… they are very intimidating to an East Coaster… but then I suppose sand banks 6” under the keel are just the same to a West Country boat!

As soon as we cleared Platte Fougere, I set course for Dartmouth, some 60nm distant… this unfortunately set us directly into the wind, so we motored with just the main up… it was classic western channel weather, with little in the way of chop, but huge ocean rollers sweeping under the boat… I love it, but it was an entirely new experience for SWMBO and the kids… they soon got used to it though, and started to enjoy the boat constantly rising and then disappearing into the troughs.

After a further 20nm, the wind started to pick up a bit, and to my delight, swung into the west… up went the genoa, off went the engine, and hoorah… we were sailing at last… albeit at a bit of an angle…

For the next 30nm, the wind steadily built, and with the effect of apparent wind, I steadily placed reefs into the sails… by the time Start point came into sight, we were going into 27kts of apparent wind… it had eased yet further round, and I was able to just crack the sails off an inch or two… we were romping along… hitting 8 to 9kts through the water… I was in my element… SWMBO was less impressed!

As we closed in on Dartmouth the wind backed yet further until it was across the beam, and then as if someone had thrown a switch, it dropped down to 8kts, and backed right round to behind us…. Not enough to sail with any reasonable VMG, so the genoa came in, the engine went back on, and we motored the final 4nm into Dartmouth.

This was everyone’s first time into Dartmouth bar me, so I was eagerly awaiting their reaction to entering what must be one of the world’s prettiest estuaries… and they didn’t disappoint!

We decided to tie up in Dart Haven marina… the wrong side of the river, but directly opposite town, and half the price of the other marina!... it was therefore a bit of a shock to be told, sorry we are full when making a VHF call.. us spoilt east coasters again… an anchorage is busy when I has 4 boats in it!

They did suggest that if we could fine a spot on the visitors pontoon, then fine… otherwise, sorry… We had a good look, and decided that we could hang on the end of one of the pontoons… only half the boat alongside the pontoon.. but we were on, and secure… we did have to fend off a couple of later arrivals who wanted to tie alongside… sorry… not safe… we didn’t have enough pontoon to tie to ourselves, let alone with another boat rafted outside us… eventually one did come alongside, but smaller, so not so much of a problem…

We then shot ashore, and grabbed the ferry across to Dartmouth town, and had what was the best fish and chips I have ever tasted by a country mile…if you ever wind up in Dartmouth… I can recommend ‘Rockfish’… simply superb….

So.. a day of rest now… and to enjoy the delightful west country.

Miles logged 78nm
Miles this trip 340nm
Miles this season 718nm
Miles since this blog started 5,298nm

Herm and back to SPP

After an extremely rolly night, we crept out of the Sark anchorage early, and decided to head for a brief stop at Shell beach on Herm... this looked ver pretty from a distance, and most certainly didn't fail to deliver!

It was an easy entrance, between two large rock outcrops, but with plenty of room, into a small bay, with a gently shelving sand bottom, making anchoring very easy.... and a totally unique experence in Morgana to be able to anchor and see the anchor and chain in 5m of water!

It was also delightful to see the water gradually turn blue as we crept closer in (from its normal green), and then as we got very close to the point of anchoring, turn aquamarine.... lovely!

we tendered ashore, and walked along a picture postcard pretty beach, in lovely sunshine.... could it get any better!

After a couple of hours, It ws tme to get back to the boat, and ensure that we didn't run aground (that pesky 10m tidal range again!), and so, reluctantly, we pulled he anchor up, and motored (into the wind - c'est la vie) the 3nm back to St Peter Port.... and enforced return due to impending bad weather... not storm force, but enough that we'd prefer to be in a harbour.... it should all be through by Tusday evening, so Wednesday, maybe.. we'll head back to the UK... probably Dartmouth.... although, with a certain amount of predictability, the wnd will probably be North Westerly for the first time in weeks.... so on the nose again!

Miles logged 11nm
Miles this trip 262nm
Miles this season 640nm
Miles since this blog started 5,220nm

Cars not included

With a great forecast, we decided that it was the day to head for Sark... the island that shunned cars completely, and decided instead to resort to bicycles and horse and cart for transport....

It was only a very short distance across to the island, so we set off at a time of convenience rather than a time to suit the tides... plugging into the tide for just 3 or 4 miles isn't a problem after all!

This was out first experience of getting close and personal with the rocks... previously, we'd been in quite wide channels, so it was with some trepidation that we passed through the first route towards Sark, the Muse channel... which is a wonderful 500' wide.... easy... and then into the anchorage... through a channel 200' wide... then finally a gap of 80' between rocks... gulp!

We had been heading for the bay called Gréve de Ville, where the locals have laid a few visitors bouys to attract boats into their area... I fancied the idea of a bouy simply becuase anchoring is a bit of a pain in an area with a tidal range of 10m, as you have to lay out so much chain to allow for high water....

It proved to be a picture postcard pretty bay... with a steep zig zag path up the cliff, that had SWMBO puffing!

A long walk around Sark followed (well as long as a walk can be when it takes 40 mins to walk from one end of the island to the other), including a visit to the Coupeé... the causeway between the two parts of the island... only its a causeway 400' up in the cliffs!... very pretty... and best of all... really really hot all day!

Then we returned to Morgana, had a great meal and glass of wine in the cockpit, and retired for the night.... to be treated to the most rolly night I have ever experienced... what had been a perfect day was spoilt a little, as both SWMBO and I struggled to sleep as the boat lurched 30degrees in either direction.... still we were there... another 'must do' ticked off....

Miles logged 12nm
Miles this trip 252nm
Miles this season 629nm
Miles since this blog started 5,209nm

Island life

Hoorah.... we've made it to the Channel Islands... Guernsey to be precise... its the first time in several years that we've actually made the destination we'd planned for on our summer cruise... regular sailor-readers will recognise the home truth in that!

It was a bit of an uncertain decision overnight... with all the GFS forecast sites suggesting F3 to F4 SW and sea state OK, but with the met office forecasting up to F6 Westerly, and sea state rough... so we decided to get up a 05h00 and see what faced us... as it happens, when we got up, it was a glassy calm in the marina, so we slipped, along wth a small armade of other vessels all bound for various ports in the CI, and whom had been stuck in Cherbourg for several days..

As we left the breakwater we found a SW (as forecast by GFS) and about 12kts (as forecast by GFS)...perfect... and yet again, a shocking performance by the met office... they've been absolute rubbish for the entire trip so far...

We were therefore able to sail, and enjoyed 2 hours of near perfect upwind sailing alng the coast towards Cap de la Hague.... sadly it had to end when we rounded, and pointed up into the wind towards Guernsey.. 3 hours of motoring, a bit of 'interesting' navigation through the little russell, dodging rocks, and we entered St Peter Port.... tied up... and ready for a few days of R&R.... here we go!

Miles logged 40nm
Miles this trip 240nm
Miles this season 617nm
Miles since this blog started 5,197nm

French fried!

A days delay in Eastbourne proved somewhat more passable than i'd expected... We dug the folding bikes out, and rode into Eastbourne, a journey of just 2.5 miles (just far enough for SWMBO to complain about a sore backside!)... Eastbourne proved to be quite a pleasant little seaside town, with an air of being well kept and cared for... lots of evidence of fresh paint, carefully tended flower beds, and seemingly lots going on... much nicer than its counterparts further up the Eastern channel.

We'd decided the previous evening that we'd head for Cherbourg, with a fallback of Portsmouth should the weather be less pleasant. An early alarm call (04h00), and we were soon on the fuel pontoon, and locked out on the 05h00 opening... The sea was quite flat, with a light breeze at around 8kts... westerly rather than south westerly meant that the main went up, and for once the sail was helping rather than hindering.... we soon reached Beachy Head, and eased off out to sea, and in a mere 15 miles, reached the edge of where the TSS ended. This meant that we could now head for France properly... and with the wind not having exceeded 10 kts, there was nothing to stop us... it is however, extremely hard psychologically to see the next waypoint pop up on the plotter with 79.6nm to go.... on the upside, it was the entrance to Cherbourg!

What followed was an entirely uneventful trip... we saw lots of ships, but didn't have to alter course for a single one of them. We had the wind increase up to a max of 15kts.... hardly a gale... and ate heartily... a huge corned beef hash mid channel went down well.... SWMBO and I alternated 1hr shifts on the helm, neccessitated by the complete and utter failure of the autohelm... the previous day's attempts and repair proving to be rather useless!

It was, therefore, rather nice to reach the entrance to Cherbourg marina at 20h15, with plenty of daylight left, and having averged well over 6.5kts... pretty good... we seem to have played the tides perfectly.

Tying up was another matter.... the marina was chockablock full, and when we found a space, we made a right pig's ear of getting in it... but get in it we did, albeit with a lot of warp pulling, extreme knot tying competitions, and swearing at the kids... nothing hit, nothing bent, and no one died... a success!

The final negative, is that after so many hours of motoring (and a repeat of the trip to Eastbourne - although I forgot to mention it on that entry), the engine seemed to 'judder' a bit on putting it gently into gear, and then out again...including in neutral, so not the gearbox... and it didn't seem to be 'tight'.... it felt almost like something had overheated, and was firing on less cylinders than perfect.... it only seems to happen when she's run for very extended periods... we'll see.

But overall... here we are... in France... even better, at the right end of the French northern coastline... just a short hop from the Channel Islands... and we're only a few days in.... as C pointed out, excluding the aborted saturday at the beginning, we are in a position we'd be delighted with when we were planning, so can't complain.

Now I need to get a forecast.... no internet access at the moment....so need to find a cafe with free wireless

Miles logged 103nm
Miles this trip 200nm
Miles this season 577nm
Miles since this blog started 5,157nm

Long legs and lumpy

After deciding to start a day later than planned, we were keen to get away on the Sunday, and so after a bleary eyed start when the alarm went off at 04:45, we slipped out of the lock (via the fuel pontoon) at 05:45.

The forecast was a reasonable 12kts, gusting 18kts... which sounded great, other than the direction, a south westerly, which meant it would be on the nose...
Which it proved to be..

Crossing the Thames Estuary was a non event, with us having to motor the whole way (well, bar 15 mins off Walton headland where we just had to try the new sails)... and we rounded North Foreland and passed Ramsgate in a record breaking 6 hrs... this was to be the end of the nice part of the trip though..

As soon as we’d passed Ramsgate, the wind started picking up, reaching 22kts... nothing too serious, but with the tide turning, and the wind on the nose , and still 60nm to go, it turned the remainder of the trip into a slog... we bashed into the waves, falling off each one with a crash... spray over the boat... and we did this for the next 10hrs... wearing us down slowly but surely... rounding Dungeness was a particular low point... a major milestone, but then to see the next waypoint appear on the plotter with 26nm to go caused a sinking feeling....

Things were made worse by the autohelm also failing just off Ramsgate.... it sounds like teeth have stripped somewhere... investigation about to start... SWMBO says its because I mentioned possibly a new one, and so he went and packed up in a sulk.... :)

It was well and truly dark by the time we reached Eastbourne... and if there is a positive to be found, it is that we made a fine job of picking out the navigation lights against a backdrop of yellow sodium street lighting, and found our way safely and securely into Sovereign harbour, tying up in the lock at just after 23h00.

Feeling, by this time, completely exhausted, we made a quick decision to curtail the plans for another 100 miler the next day, and fell into our beds!

Miles logged 97nm
Miles this trip 97nm
Miles this season 474nm
Miles since this blog started 5,054nm

Harwich power festival

In the end, a good decision to delay departure... I'm not sure it was quite as windy as expected (although it was quite breezy), but it was certainly a SW'ly, and it rained for most of the day.... Would have been a miserable journey..

Instead we jumped on the foot ferry across to Harwich and went to see the power festival... Where various lunatics drove increasingly insane boat/engine combinations at suicidal speeds... Very entertaining, and at least we didn't waste the day

Great start!

OK... so I fib!

Forecast looked ropey... forecasts with a 7 in them don't make me happy..

In reality it'll probably be a F6... but combine that with it being on the nose and with it being a 16hr+ trip, and I decded to put it off 24 hrs.... so here we are.... still in the marina

new sails

New sails finally arrived, and fitted perfectly... hoorah!

Its been a little bit of a trauma getting them though... initially promised Last week June/First week July... by 6th July i'd called to say... "OK... where are they?"

Several promised dates came and went, with me doing all the chasing, and eventually I blew my top, and was promised Friday 23rd July....

In the end didn't make it down to Morgana until Sat 24th, to discover that only the mainsail had arrived... grrrrrr

Genoa finally arrives on Monday, despite being covered in stickers saying Sat delivery.... so slight reduction in blame on sailmakers.... but they did promise them for friday... not sat!

The courier, Parcelforce, claim that they attempted a Sat delivery, but no-one was there.

Well ParcelForce, if you are going to lie, then try making it a convincing one.

The 'no-one was there' location is a 24/7 manned lock gate, which has to be manned without a break for emergency cover (its even used by the RNLI to drop off rescued boats).... and further more, on a Saturday, the place would be teeming with people... pretty shabby attempt at lying that cost me £40 in fuel to drive down and check the sails fitted...

But overall we have new sails... i'm going to enjoy that lovely crinkly noise and feel that they make for a few months!

The day approaches

Finally, after a long time (2 years!) in the making, we've got an extended summer cruise coming up.... a whole month aboard...

The target is the Channel Islands and the West Country... order to be determined by the weather and wind direction.

TYhe initial plan is to try and get two longer legs in to get down into the right part of the world as quickly as possible... perhaps Harwich to Eastbourne on Saturday, and then Eastbourne to Cherbourg or Poole/Weymouth on Sunday...

Just 3 days to the off now, and starting to get very excited!

Pirates 2011

This weekend saw the 4th installment of the now annual pirate weekend.... for those that haven't heard of this (where have you been?), its a meet up of a load of sailing friends, where we gather on a beach, build a big bonfire, BBQ, and make merry...

Its bloody good fun.

This year, the weather gods well and truly blessed us. We arrived down at Morgana Friday evening, and within an hour had slipped through the lock to what can only be described as the perfect evening... 26°, comfortably shorts and tee shirts weather, and about 16kts of wind.... it doesn't get much better!

We were at Stone point in no time and anchored quickly and easily... and thus the festivities began... over the next 24 hours, boat after boat arrived, and Saturday, also a lovely warm day, saw 70 or so of us on the beach....

a superb bonfire in the evening, lots of cremated BBQ food, a few cold beers, and great company... how could it ever be improved!

Miles logged 12nm
Miles this season 377nm
Miles since this blog started 4,957nm

bits fitted

Not only is the new tender hung happily on the davits, but the new cooker sits on its gimbals!

Its also been tested in the only acceptable way... its cooked a full English breakfast!

To fit it, I had to cut the wooden blocks that the old cooker was mounted to down by 1cm each side... which meant a little contortionist work to remove the blocks...

I then fitted the new gimbal mounts to this... sadly the supplied locking devices don't fit, so will need a little engineering modification... in the meantime, a standard nut and a spanner have met the needs!

new bits!

OK, so the new cooker has arrived... its a Nelson Spinflo, and we are very very pleased with it... it looks to be very well made, and seems extremely robust.. i've got the fun of fitting it yet though... i'm not sure that the gimbals will be easy to mount!

Next, we went Saturday and collected the new tender.... that was fun to get in the car!... fortunately we'd thought it through in advance, and tooks Debs mini MPV... still a squash, but we did get it in enough to be safe, along with the use of roof racj straps to tie the boot lid down... I am absolutely delighted with it... after inf;ating, and sticking it on the davits, I am pleased we went for the 2.5m and not the 2.9m... that would have been too big... the 2.5m is perfect, and looks great on the davits... not only that, but the hard keel with built in hoisting points allows it to sit a good 18" higher when hoisted, so tidier and safer.

Last, but not least, we finally got the measurements sorted for the new sails... what a palaver!

We needed to take the sails off in order to measure luff lengths (by hoisting a tape measure on the halyard)... its easier said than done to remove sails in 15kts of wind when its right up the chuff!... Debs hung onto the sheets valiantly as the sails tried to rip Morgana from her berth, but we got there, and I think Debs only got airborne twice!

We had been hoping to get to Nev and Janey's au revoir BBQ (they're off cruising long term next week), but sadly, we just didn't have time... having to be back for the first match in the world cup at pain of death from Matthew... sorry N&J... we all hope you have a wonderful time, and are thoroughly jealous!

Summer cruise

As regular readers (if there are any?)will know, we're determined to set off on a long term cruise in a few years time.

As part of this, we'd like to spend a little longer onboard that the normal 2 weeks max, and so, after a bit of negotiating with both our respective employeers, we've got the whole of August off this year, and plan on setting off down channel. The target is the Channel Island and West Country. Hardly ambitious location wise, but a respectable distance for an east coast based boat.

We're all thoroughly excited about it, and are enjoying planning it out with both new and old pilot books!

spending money

I've always beeen very very good at spending money.

I'd like to share news of a few new acquisitions with you to prove a point.

Finally, we've done the deed, and ordered new sails. After much umming and arring, we've gone to Crusader. They were competitive on price (note - not quite the cheapest), but most importantly of all, they have a great reputation for delivering on time. We want the sails for our summer cruise, at the start of August, and would be very dissapointed in missing that.

We've order a basic set of dacron cruising sails, nothing flash. The only extra we've specced is a foam luff on the genoa to aid furling. Otherwise, nothing. The main has no battens, and we carefully avoided exotic materials of any sort. We can't wait!

We do have a few measurements to provide yet, but we are in the queue for a late June/early July delivery.

On top of this, we finally got fed up of the Plastimo Neptune cooker. It works fine, and there really is anything wrong with it, but their are two features that irritate us. Firstly the oven never really gets up to full baking temperature. We're keen on our food, and this is annoying. A casserole takes far too long. Secondly, the lock for the gimbals is unreliable. This could be sorted, but it would be another job on the list. So we've bought a Nelson Spinflo after good reccomendations. It has arrived, and seems to be a very solid bit of kit. We need to install it yet though. It is slightly taller than it predecessor, so will need a little work, but its not a huge job.

Last, but not least, the tender appears to have a slow puncture and over the course of a week between visits, has gone flat several times. It is tired anyway, and the oard need replacing. It has reached the stage where investment in it isn't worth while. So we've treated ourselves to a mini rib. Its 2.5m, with a solid hull, and will be delivered to the chandlery at Titchmarsh next week, where we will need to collect it. It should hopefully be a vast improvement on a pure inflatable.

So, as you can see, we're spending well at the moment!

Tinkles consigned to history

Our friends have heard them all... yes, they bought a boat called Mr Tinkles.... and yes... they've heard them all.

The final straw was port control gently teasing them. Four times.

So a naming ceremony has taken place involving the donation of champagne to Neptune, and lots of cash on new stickers.

Naturally, we shared the moment with them. They'd bought lots of champagne.

Au revoir Mr Tinkles. Step Forward Pipedream II.

May all who sail in her be safe and happy.

long overdue

OK,

So the blog seems to have slowed down a little.... I know, I know.... but hell... how many times can you post about going to Stone Point with out it sounding the same... well..this time I have a good few things to update on... so i'll start with the weekend's sailing adventures...

As ever, we planned a long weekend to Oostende for the latter May bank holiday, and as ever, the forecast looked uncertain. Unlike previous years, due to plans for a longer summer trip (more later on that as well), annual leave was limited, so we added a tuesday to the break, but couldn't add a friday. Departure was therefore scheduled for early Sat am (02h00), along with the Tinkles (rebranded - more on that later... phew!)... we also had guests on board... interesting ones... Karen and Pat, long terms friends and sailors, complete with their now 18mth old son, AJ... it would be a first for them and for us... AJ has sailed before, but never more than local hops..

We arrived at the marina friday at a sensible time, and did the usual stuff... this includes taking the tender and davits off for the Oostende trip, so that we can go stern too... and then grub.... by 20h30, we met with the Tinkles, and mulled over the weather forecast... currently good weather, but with a gale forecast for later in the day Saturday. We clearly needed to get off. So a decision was reached... we'd go for an overnight crossing, and promptly started to get ready to set off.

By 22h00 we locked out... it was still just light, but by the time we'd reached languard at the entrance to Harwich, it was dark.

We motored down towards Cork Sands Yacht Beacon. This is a marginally longer route than via the Medusa channel, but is free of lobster pots, so much safer at night. It is also well bouyed, so easier.

As we rounded Cork Sands Yacht Beacon, up went the sails. This is always a turning point in a North Sea crossing. Its the first time that you point the boat obviously away from land, and so always one that I look forward to. It was improved even more this year by the appearance of 12 to 15kts of wind across the beam!

We shot off towards Rough Towers, and then on towards Long Sand Head, and then on towards the TSS. By the time we reached LSH though, it was starting to get light, and no need for nav lights by the TSS so a nice easy crossing. All the while we'd been romping along at between 5 and 7kts of boat speed. The TSS proved effortless... with virtually no traffic at all, let alone traffic to be avoided. It was nice to have another pair of experienced eyes though!

Past the TSS, the next waypoint is West Hinder. This tower is so large that it is visible from a significant distance. Which is great from anavigational point of view, and rotten from a 'are we nearly there yet' perspective!

It was made substantially easier by the steadily increasing wind across the beam... now recahing 20kts on occasions.. we'd put a reef in the main and genoa, and making great boat speed.

Rounding West Hinder meant that we needed to head up slightly, and with a slowly shifting wind, it came on the nose a bit more... still sailable though, but as it increased to 22 kts, with gusts now reaching 30kts, more reefs went in.

AJ is having a ball.. he's slept well, and is now demonstrating his ability to be completely complacent about living at 45°!

We sail the remainder of the way, heavily reefed, but really enjoying the trip, with a still flat sea, and strong winds, we are really sailing well, leaving the Tinkles way behind!

Arrival in Oostende is straightforward, and by 14h30, we are tied up.... for once, Robert, the Oostende HM has given us a pontoon berth... result!

With various socialising to do, including a mass participation Greek meal (well organised Jim!), the time shot by... with a planned depart on Monday.

Monday was however, determined to upset the plan. The forecast remained stubbornly windy, with F6.... not enough to stop us ordinarily, but is was a NW, so directly on the nose the whole way back, and after a few days, into a rough sea.

It did promise to drop off substantially by Monday pm, so we waited.... and it did... and then we decided to leave early Tuesday... into a dead calm wind wise, and a rapidly dying left over swell.

Leaving at 05h00, it proved to be a long boring motor back the whole way, arriving into Shotkey at 16h15. But as they say, an uneventful day at sea is a good day!

Miles logged 169nm
Miles this season 365nm
Miles since this blog started 4,945nm

no time for detail

... more later... but we had a good Stone point weekend!

Miles logged 13nm
Miles this season 196nm
Miles since this blog started 4,776nm

And back again..

After a few days dfoing the touristy bit, including trips on the London eye, and even a boat ride up the river to Greenwich, it was time to leave...

The weather had changed beyond all recognition.... gone was the cold wet windy weather and in its place a large high presure system.... which meant not a lot of wind... but lovely warm sun as compensation!

So out of the lock we motored...

Alan need fuel on Mr Tinkles, and we needed a gas bottle, so we'd contacted one of the fuel barges to arrange a fill up...

The barge is only 400m from the entrance to St Kats.... but there didn't appear to be anyone onboard.... even worse, the constant stream of ferries plying their trade meant that the river was as rough as Black Deep in a Force 6!

This eventually resulted in Alan losing half a cleat before we even got alongside... and so arrangements were made to visit the fuel barge up by the dome instead where it would be far more quiet.... and it was....

We then slipped back through the flood barrier.... much nicer as the sunshine glinted off it... and carried on motoring... not a chance of a sail... less than 3kts of wind...

And thus it continued.... as we passed under the Dartford crossing we avoided floating ladders, and instead hit a floating length of rope (which the rope cutter dealt with more than adequately)... and then as we passed Gravesend we did get excited as the wind picked up to 8kts... its didn't last..... just long enough for us to hoist our sails unneccessarily...

In what seemed a much shorter trip than the inbound one we grabbed the same bouy at Queenborough.. its funny how sun makes the journey seem nicer.... and were treated to a glorious sunset..... lots of photos later we retired to bed exhausted, and even a tad sunburnt.... who'd have thought it in April!

The next morning, the weather promised much of the same, so we motored out of the Medway again, and this time turned right.... its was a long, and potentially boring trip all the way up Barrow Deep into the Kings channel, and eventually to NE Gunfleet... made completely tolerable by the ability to sunbathe!!!!

Eventually we entered Harwich harbout after a completely uneventfull trip at about 15:30, and were tied up in our berth at 16:30...

What a great trip.... a real experience... sailing into the heart of one of the world's great cities... and made all the better by a mix of excellent weather, and great company...

The season has begun with a bang!

Miles logged 83nm
Miles this season 183nm
Miles since this blog started 4,763nm

and they're off!

The season is started... and with a bang!

Morgana was lifted on a Friday.. I went down solo, and by Sunday evening after 2 days of backbreaking effort she was antifouled and polished, and ready to go back... so just 48 hrs out of the water.... not bad!

And the following Friday we all troop down to the boat with a special trip in mind... yes, we're off to London!

The trip has been long planned and is in company with 'The Tinkles'... more on that name later

The plan all along has been to set off on Saturday morning and initially head over to Chatham... the wind howling in the rigging Friday night not sounding great though... so it is with some pleasure that we awoke Saturday morning to find it having dropped considerably to perhaps 16 to 20 kts... so off we set...

It was to prove an uneventful journey... with the wind largely on the nose, there was far too much motoring, and it could certainly be described as 'chilly'.... I helmed most of the way, and despite several layers of clothing, including thermals, I wasn't overly warm...

On the upside, it was interesting to enter the Medway... especially as we passed the sunken remains of the Richard Montgomery, which still contains a huge amount of explosives, and has several weed festooned masts eerily poking out of the water... the Medway itself is an unattractive river for much of its initial few miles, being surrounded by mud, upon which are deposited a wide range of ugly industrial landscapes from power generation to grain production... not much to appeal really.... and then suddenly, its character changes as you reach Gillingham, and it becomes much prettier... we motor all the way up the river to Chatham where we lock in uneventfully.... 48nm... a good start

The following day is spent at the Chatham dockyards, a very well presented tourist attraction that gives you a fascinating insight into the production of wooden ships in the great age of sail.... of particular interest to myself was the RNLI exhibit... it is truly hard to conceive the bravery of the early rescuers when you look at the open deck rowing boats that were used....

Sunday evening, we decide to set ourselves up for the trip up the Thames and so a lock out of Chatham into lighter winds (still cold), and we move the boats down to the Visitor mooring at Queenborough.... its a pleasant enough location, quiet, but industrial... we are charged for the night which I don't mind at all... but £9 seems a bit steep...

Monday dawns to be the day... no more than 15kts... but freezing cold still... and yes... bang on the nose... mind you, the Thames wanders so much that no direction really works...

We make our way out of the Medway, and turn left up the Thames.... where within 10 minutes we were visited by a black rib loaded with Thames river police... just a series of polite questions called across, and we were on our way... good to see that care is being taken frankly...

WE carry on plugging away, with the sails out, then away again, then out again... the wind remains stubbornly well forward of the beam... but its not the end of the world... we have plenty of new views to take in... mainly industrial for the first good few miles, with the odd interesting bit, but not a lot to draw particular enthusiasm, until the Dartford Crossing, or the QE2 bridge if you prefer.... what a treat to sail underneath after years of queuing patiently on the bridge above as the M25 plays its usual tricks!.... at this point we are reminded that we are motoring up a rover into the centre of one of the worlds great cities, as we hit a ladder floating in the water!

No harm done, we carry on... after what seems like an age of endless dull docks, modern warehouses and run down river fronting yards, we approach Gallions Reach... and suddenly the character changes... it is here that you feel like you are entering London. The property changes to residential anc commercial, the industrial stuff fading away, and then the Thames flood barrier appears.... we radio up, and are given permission to pass through the massive structure designed to protect the homes and workplaces of 8 million people from flooding...

Mr Tinkles is not far behind us.... Alan's glum observations about the boat name he has inherited are proved true as the barrier control ask him to repeat the boat name 4 times with a tone of glee!

And then we pass various grand sights.... the Greenwich Naval college and observatory, along with the Greenwich meridian... the O2 Dome.... and suddenly we round the corner, and there it is ahead of us... Tower bridge.... we are there...

We grab a bouy outside of St Katharines dock to wait for the tide... it is coming in slowly today... and at 0.5m below prediction, we are over an hour late locking in... which is also a protracted effort... we are in the lock for an hour!

Eventually, the inner gates open and let us into a haven of tranquility... here in central London... its hard to believe that this is in London... a peaceful pretty dock.... we tie up right outside the beautiful Dickens Inn, a wooden buidling dating from the time of its namesake, and all draped in spring flowers, and to the otherside a glimpse through the buidling at Tower Bridge..... what a great place!

Miles logged 100nm
Miles this season 100nm
Miles since this blog started 4,680nm

Riding the Vitruvian!

Yesterday I decided to go for a ride.... and rode the 15 miles to Rutland Water.... then did a lap of the Vitruvian course before riding home again!

So that's two rides of over 40 miles this week!

And what about the Vit course?

Yeah.... its a pussy cat!... well sort of...

OK... its got 24 miles per lap of nice steady rolling hills that are great fun to ride..... and then 2 miles of sheer bloody hell...

There are two hills, one straight after another that are steep and reasonably long... perhaps a 1/4 mile each of climbing.... my legs were screaming in agnony half way up the second..... and i'll be doing 2 laps of this!

My only consolation at this stage is that i've still only ridden just short of 600 miles on the bike in total, and if I look at how much i've improved in that short time it's remarkable... i've gone from finding 10 miles at 13 mph tough to riding 45 miles at 16 mph.... so there is lots more time to get them legs better at handling the lactic acid overloads!

Another mental hurdle ticked off the list... and my legs are getting better... will be doing the long runs again soon I feel

Great few days

I've been concentrating on the bike for a few days to give my legs abit of a break from the pounding of running.... and its working well...

They are still sore, but much much better.... cycling is such a great complementary exercise to running...

I'd been invited down to Ipswich on Sunday for a ride out with a few of my sailing friends who are also keen cyclists.... and so went down and stopped on my own boat Saturday evening.... this did give me the opportunity to do my first run in over a week... and what a cracker it was... it was a warm quiet evening, so I slipped out and ran along the path that threads alongside the river Orwell.... there was masses of wildlife there, and not another human being to be seen... absolutely lovely.... I stopped several times and just stood and admired the scenery.... marvellous!

Sunday, I managed about 50 miles on the bike under blue skies and with the sun shining nicely... what a great day out, visiting many of my favourite sailing destinations, but by road.... I even had a short ride on Helen's recumbant bike... what a strange feeling that is!

So... here I am Monday afternoon, after another short run with tired legs.... only i'm skipping my rest day tomorrow and going out on the bike again to do a lap or two of the Vitruvian course.... will rest Wednesday, or my legs will fail me completely!

Have fun out there folks.... I am!

oh and....

My new 'Pirate' Tri-suit turned up too.... so now I can do a Tri with the pirate gang recognising me.... which is great.... i'll need all the support I can get!

getting the miles in

My leg has proved to be somewhat more sore than I expected.... (its my right Illipsoa for anyone interested and has any idea of what i'm talking about)...

I can still ride the bike without any prob, and I could probably run a bit too, but i'm parking the running until the leg is better.... I can still get the miles in on the bike...

It does mean however, that the 100 miles in a month target looks dodgy...

On the upside, I'm off this weekend on a longer bike ride to get a good few miles in, so hoping for a new record month in terms of distance covered.

I'm also toying with the idea of joining the local cycling club, Fenland Clarion, partially because they meet up for a summer series on Wednesday evenings, which fits well with my other commitments, and secondly, I just like the ethos of the National Clarion association and its great history....

So, back to the stretching, and the turbo in the garage until the clocks change!

good weekend

Managed to get 40 miles in on the bike over the weekend, which was great...

But, while riding to protect my right leg, my left knee twinged a bit.... with classic ITB pain on the outside of the knee...

I'll try a few things, such as lowering my saddle a little (I raised it a couple of inches recently), and take a look at the cleat alignment on my shoes.. it hurt a little, but not enough to stop me riding, so not a disaster, but clearly, I need to stop this, as it could develop into a problem.

On the positive side, I fitted tri-bars (oe aero bars if you prefer) during the week (another eBay special!) and I got on really well with them. I'd read stories of people finding them very difficult, but I didn't struggle at all, and found the position really quite comfortable... they absolutely help with speed too... I reckon I was at least one MPH faster with them than without...

well hello there!

Its been a while!

Let me explain whats being going on in my life...

On Oct 19th, I decided after many years of failed attemps, that it was time for me to REALLY stop smoking, so, for a few weeks after that I was no use to man or beast, while my brain adapted to a life without nicotine...

And somewhere along the way, I decided that I needed a substitutional activity to replace the smoking.... and don't ask me how, but over the course of about 6 weeks, that turned out to be entering a triathlon!

So, i've been training like mad, and captruing my efforts on another blog... which can further bore you if you are so inclined by clicking here.

That, and the combination of pretty rubbish weather left me feeling somewhat dispondent about 'Mishaps and Memories' and so it has languished, unloved in a dark corner of the internet somewhere....

But, all of a sudden, the weather is perking up, the smoking seems a long way behind me (5 months now!), and my enthusiasm seems to be reappearing!

Soon, we're off for a weeks sailing, up to London hopefully, which will be great fun, with our good friends the captain and crew of Mr Tinkle (whose problems of the last few weeks have made my disinterest in blogging seems completely and utterly trivial - now fortunately looking like its behind them) and which the whole Morgana clan are looking forward to enormously....

Here's to 28° and force 4 across the beam... summer is coming!

double figures!

The Long Steady Run hit 10 miles this evening!

Double figures at last!!!!

Although now i'm paying the price... my legs are really suffering... after sitting down for 10 mins, I struggled to get back up...

I reckon that a few days of taking it easy on the running front is probably a good idea.... i've been neglecting my cycling anyway...

Once again, I recognise the signs... my right leg is sore, and in places hurts a little.... time to ease off a bit

But regardless... progress is still being made!

LSR

Last night I built my weekly long steady run up to just over 9 miles... very much on track for my goal of 12 miles in one go by the end of the month...

I am also on track for pretty much all the other targets... so, as we stand, things are looking good..

The one that I wasn't sure about, the 85Km ride, seems to have resolved itself, in that a couple of my friends have organised a ride around the East Coast, which should do it nicely...

So, all in all, bar achy legs (achy, not painful - eg just tired, not damaged - huge difference), i'm feeling pretty good about all of this at the moment.

Which is a good thing, as today I entered the Great Eastern Run on the 10th Oct, which is just over a month after my half ironman, so I need to be continuing to push the training boundaries.... I'm doing really well, but there is still a long way to go...

3 out of 5...

Not too bad, given that I was close to a fourth!

Done! - Smile when training!
Done! - Build long run up to 8 miles
Done! - Run 30 miles in one week
Ride 16.5 miles in an hour or less
Ride 85Km on a bike non stop

Some new goals for March going up shortly!

Brick

After my 8 mile 'triumph' of wednesday night, the legs were tired to start with, but by Thursday evening they felt ok... so I jumped on the turbo.... and wow!... I was flying.... I was holding a great pace, and after 40 mins, had average 17.4 mph.... I know I could have kept going and hit the 16.5 miles in a hour goal, but decided that the goal was there to help, not to hinder, and a better use of my time would be to jump off the turbo and go running... and so I ran for 30 mins...

There is no feeling like a brick run, which is the technical term for a run straight off a bike session..... your legs feel just plain wierd.... they don't work as you need them too... you feel like you are shuffling along rather than running for the first half mile....! It soon sorts itself out in the end though

But... Thursday evening.... I felt like my knee had been run over by an express train....

Here we go again I thought.....

Friday morning, it felt a good bit better, albeit a bit stiff.... but Friday evening as I write... my legs feel GREAT!... I am not going to run this evening... a break is needed... but my legs really really want to go running!.... anyone who runs regularly will know the feeling... its like your legs are full of too much energy!..

Its a great feeling.... the feeling of being fit....

Hoorah

I decided that my knee didn't feel too bad by Wednesday, so set off for a run... after just 1/2 mile, it felt perfectly OK... so I kept going.... despite the pouring rain, I kept going.... and banged out 8 miles... yeah!

In fact, I really enjoy running in the rain... sad I know... :)

I'm really chuffed with this month's running... its really come together...

The cycling hasn't done so well, and for the first time, I think i'm going to miss two monthly goals.. but i'm putting that down to missing much of the month due to snow... and not being able to face 85Km on the turbo!

Will set the same targets for March... and a bit more optimistic... time will tell!

fast and painful!

Having ridden on the turbo in the morning yesterday, due to heavy snow overnight, I didn't have time for a decent run, so decided that with only half an hour to spare, i'd try a short fast run instead... and ran 2.5 miles in 20 mins...

it did feel kind of good... but only in the context of feeling pleased with msyelf... otherwise it hurt like hell.... my lungs screaming abuse, and my legs crying in discomfort... lactic acid... you are not my friend!

Anyway... I am now taking a 2 day break... my knees are tender, and my legs ache... i've learn't from my experiences, and recognise the signs... I may well swim Wednesday, which means a 3 days break from running...

LSR

One other thing.... i've been told off!!!

LSR - it isn't a Long Slow Run....its a Long Steady Run...

Sorry Philip (that's Philip Shambrook - well respected ex pat Brit now offering Triathlon coaching services in New Zealand - who is a general all round good egg in offering tons of great free advice on runsaturday.com)

His argument is hard to disagree with... if its Slow, it'll always be slow... whereas if its Steady, then as your fitness improves, then so will your steady pace... he reminded me to think about heart rate training zones... and work my LSR in Zone 2, the Aerobic zone, which for me is a heart rate of between 156 and 167, which is about where I am anyway...

Thanks Philip... and from now on, its STEADY!

snowmen

Last night was fun.... only a very short run of 1.5 miles, but it was snowing very hard.... it makes it easy to run when there is fresh deep snow, as you can plant your foot confidently... its when its frozen/thawed/frozen that it becomes dangerous... the only problem is being able to see where you are going... it gets in your eyes, and sunglasses are problematic when its dark!

Tonight will be a long run... i'm aiming for 7.3 miles... that should see me through the 30 miles in a week mark, which pleases me no end, as I thought this would be the one tough target.... it also sets me up nicely for a push at the 8 mile target next week...

I've been enjoying the running so much in the last couple of weeks, that the smiling target has been a cinch!

when does it become an LSR?

How far do you have to run before it becomes a Long Slow Run exactly?

Last night I ran 6.5 miles..... yes, thats 6.5 miles!!!

It felt fantastic... so good that when I crossed my own path at about 5 miles, I had a momentary idea of running the loop again to log 10 miles... fortunately my head managed to overrule my heart!

The best bit of all is that I got back feeling stiff and tired, but not painful in any way, and this morning, I feel like I had a good run yesterday, not a round with Mike Tyson!

I'm more optimistic about getting some decent mileage in now than I have been in weeks... at least since late November... my one and only remaining concern is a slightly sore knee when cycling longer distances... but i'm going to take a good look at my cleat set ups on my shoes to see that they are lined up properly, and just keep steadily building the mileage like i've done with the running..

Light does indeed exist at the end of the tunnel!

better by miles

A few runs in... leg still achy, but nowhere near as much as it was....

A swim this afternoon, a ride tomorrow.. this keeps on giving the leg a rest...

I'm more optimistic now than I have been for weeks that its getting better..!

slowly but surely

Knee pain only lasted a couple of days.. and wasn't significant... leg STILL a bit tender in places...

Its now absolutely certain that its an adductor strain (a groin strain to those who care), which have a reputation for slow healing, and will explain why its taken so long... I think the other stuff is just the legs reaction to trying to protect the adductor...

Anyway... a gentle run possibly planned for this evening... nothing too serious... or I may swim instead... not decided yet!

building, building

After running 5 miles on Thursday, and finding my leg feeling a bit achy, or more accurately, a little painful... I decided to ride a bit instead.... Friday was a rest day, and so by Saturday, me being me couldn't take it easy.... 16 miles in the morning, 15 on the turbo in the evening, and then 29 miles on Sunday...

Good news is that my leg muscles feel OK... achey, but not painful.... bad news is that my left knee is a bit painful... but i've got that down to overuse, and reckon it'll be OK after a good night sleep...

Whoever said that all this training was good for you obviously hadn't reckoned on the legs of a 40 something year old after too many 'sofa' years!

monthly challenges

I just read a blog that really made me think.

I've added to my monthly challenges

I'm going to smile more while out training.... its good to let everyone know how much i'm enjoying this!

Feb - a fresh start!

Another month... phew... time marches on...

I failed yet again on the running target for Jan... for the same reason... my leg was just not capable of running properly...

Run 30 miles in one week
Done! - Swim 48 lengths front crawl
Done! - ride 45Km on a bike non stop at 90 cadence

I did however, meet both the other goalks, which eases the frustration somewhat....

On the positive side though, I am now running again... and have even managed to run two days in a row... only shortish distances so far, and the leg certainly isn't completely better... it still feels a bit 'heavy' and aches like heck after a run... but has definitely moved beyond the 'painful' stage, and I can see it just steadily getting better now.... so i've set myself some new goals for Feb.... challenging this time.... and dropping the swimming goals... I need to focus on the running and cycling for the next month or two... i'll still swim, but it won't be my main activity...

And here's a 3D fly by of a weekend bike ride..

Less funky huh?

Here's a 3D fly by of the Everest Marathon..

Funky huh?

another tick in the box

Leg seems OK, but definitely very sore after running just 2 miles yesterday... I could really feel the adductor muscle hurting... so i'm going to leave it to recover a bit longer....

In the meantime, i'll focus my energy on the bike and swimming instead...

So, given that i've been out for a ride... and did my 45km target for the month!.....

and took a new route.... wow, that hill in Toft was a killer... it was steep and went on for ever!

I ended up in my granny gear, out of the saddle with my legs screaming at me to stop... but I made it.... never so grateful....

Not sure i'm going to make the 30mile running in a week again this month, but i'll be happy with the fact that my cardio vascular fitness must have improved beyond all recognition in the 3 months since I quit smoking!

2 miles

Yes!!!!

I've finally run a couple of miles.... first run of 2010... in fact, first run since Dec 28th

The muscles in my upper leg now feel very tight, and i've nearly convinced myself that this is because they've not been worked for nearly four weeks, and have also been recuperating... i'm optimistic that i've not set my recovery back.... I suppose I should expect some soreness initially... I'll report on progress soon!

nearly!

I decided not to go running yesterday, but to give the leg just another couple of days. so rode on the turbo for an hour instead.... today is a rest day, and if it continues feeling good, then a short run on saturday to see how it goes I think.... light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm determined not to run again too soon this time, and set myself back to the beginning...

3 months and counting

Its 3 months today since I stopped smoking.

Its been a huge effort to get this far, and I will admit that I am feeling pretty proud of myself.

Anyone who has smoked heavily and tried quitting will appreciate just how very hard it is to stop.... I now find myself not thinking about smoking for quite a few hours at a time, which is absolutely liberating...

So... look at where I am now compared to just three months ago... I ran 1 mile round the block the day after quitting, and felt like I was going to die... I hadn't ridden a bike in 20 years, and swimming was a distant memory... here I am just 3 months on, and I ride 30+km in one hit, swim 3/4 mile non stop, and 2km in one session, and bar injuries at present, run 6miles at a time, and 25 miles in a week....

Damn it feels good.

I've found training aids, especially various web sites and tools for tracking,timing and logging my run to be incredibly useful.... so much so that over the next few days I plan to write up the various options and their relative pros and cons... watch this space

another fine swim!

Enjoyed another hour or so in the pool.... this time I managed the 48 lengths of front crawl non stop.... and then with a few rest thrown in, managed a total of 80 lengths, or 2Km.... rather pleased with myself!

Turbo acceleration!

A great hour on the turbo this evening!

After testing and proving a couple of days ago, that I could get on the turbo and ride without doing my leg any harm, this evening's plan was to ride a gentle hour....

which indeed I did... it was so good to feel like I was working hard again, and to work up a sweat... endorphins rule!

The ride was just at a comfortable pace... not pushing it too hard, and in a medium gear...

So it was a pleasant surprise when I logged the time and distance to realise that it was my fastest pace on the turbo yet....

I am always slightly slower on the turbo than on the road.... and so hitting 14mph on the turbo probably equates to about 15.5mph on the road...

I am working on being able to sustain a steady 17mph... as this is a pace that will help me hit my target for Virtruvian of 6hrs... so still work to be done!

hoorah

just a quarter of an hour on the turbo last night, but felt good afterwards, and flt great this morning...

leg certainly no worse, and arguably a bit better...

Only remaining pain now is on heel strike when running... and that is fading... its now almost bearable to run upon... so I reckon another week of no running to be safe (but instead going swimming and on the turbo), and things should be back to normal....

I hate having these injuries... not only because it stops me training, but also because its makes me sound like a complete and utter wimp on this blog! I ca assure you i'm not... i'm the sort that will cut himself, suck it, and carry on, will hobble through discomfort, keep going when it stings.... but wow, these running injuries have floored me... no chance of me carrying on... I could barely walk last week, let alone run..

Hoepfully, this extended rest, and careful stretching will see the back of these problems, and I can get back to some serious training....

I really really miss getting sweaty!

Swim progress

My first exercise since 28th dec...

I've been struggling with my swimming, so today had been a real result for me... Not only did I manage the 10 lengths of front crawl that eluded me in dec, but after a 30s rest, I managed another 10 lengths... And then after short rest half a dozen more!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.... Still a long way to go, but suddenly a 1,900m seems possible using front crawl!

Leg still too sore to run, but swimming sees to be perfectly ok... Might try a short stint on the turbo tomorrow

Sent from my iPhone

too late to back out

I've just posted the entry form and fees for the Vitruvian on 4th September...

hee hee.... gulp..... what the hell am I doing..... :)

recovery continues

Leg still not sorted...

I can now walk without any discomfort at all... in fact I forget that I am injured.... walking up and down the stairs is fine too...

And then I try a little run... even just 2 or 3 paces indoors, and every time my heels strikes the ground, pain shoots up my thigh....

I'm definitely improving.... a week ago I had a pronounced limp... but if I am still suffering this time next week, I think I had better visit the doc...

I'm getting very frustrated not being able to run.... I may well try a gentle swim tomorrow...see if that hurts too!

stretching

Its fair to say that my leg is feeling a whole load better today. Not fighting fit, but better.

What i've realised is that two factors need addressing after near on 15 years of limited exercise.

1] My muscles, tendons and ligaments are less flexible than they used to be, and need streching out carefully

2] 20+ years of sitting in an office chair for between 12 and 16 hrs a day has left my posture and muscular frame in a bit of a mess.

Neither of these are terminal, but both need dealing with.... my long list of niggly injuries over the last 3 months can all be attributed to these in one way or another....

So.... here are the stretches and exercises that I am now finding helpful:

1] Dealing with my posture after 'the office chair'
- stretches of my Psoas and Lumborums (look 'em up!)
- lots of core strengthening - focus on hamstrings especially

2] Dealing with my ankles
- Lots of proprioception exercises - buy a balance ball!

3] Leg strengthening
- Quad stretches
- Calf stretches - lots of heel raises
- Achilles sterctches - ditto above
- Hamstring/groin stretches
- Adductor stretches

4] Stick rigidly to the 10% rule - take it easy

5] Balance the hams and quads carefully... bike and run helps... too much of one or the other creates risk

Now this all sounds like a real load of stuff to focus on... but I am not 21... my body isn't as elastic as it used to be, and needs treating a little more carefully.... I am hoping that attention to the above on a daily basis, and combined with careful warm up and down after activity will help ease me back into doing the significant amount of trainign needed to complete a triathlon...

When I have time, at some point i'll explain in detail the stretches etc that I am using as it may help another 40 something who like me has decided to run a triathlon as part of an essential mid life crisis!

goals

Set myself some new goals for Jan.... not sure how the legs will be, and whether they are realistic or not.... time will tell...

As for the December goals

Run 30 miles in one week
DONE! - Swim 48 lengths non stop
Swim 10 lengths front crawl non stop
DONE! - ride 20Km on a bike non stop at 90 cadence

Failed on the run due to legs, and just plain didn't make the 10 lengths.... will try harder!

rest period

I've taken the chance to rest my legs over the new year period.... i've needed to.... my left leg is still uncomfortable.... I feel that it will need at least another weeks rest yet.... my quads and adductor are decidely strained... and it usually hurts when I get up after sitting for any length of time... and every now and then, I get a twinge that is verging on painful.... as well as the odd case of instability where my leg just seems to want to give way.... all in all not great..... i thought that this 'get fit' lark was good for you!

It's really frustrating.... I haven't been able to run properly since the 12th December....