It has been perfect from the start. I arrived at QAB just as John arrived and he was able to unchain the entrance for me; so no running around finding someone to do that. Arwen's rigging sorted itself out (bar the tangles of the various halyards on the mast). The sun shone all day. It was 17C at 8.30am. The launch was easy at the top of the tide and I eased out into Sutton lock gate area without having to dodge the traffic coming through the lock gates.
With no breeze whatsoever, I decided to head across to Cawsand immediately. It was like a mill pond. I passed a lovely old vessel coming into the inner harbour area ready for this weekend's Plymouth Classic Boat Show (it's 25th anniversary) which looks like it will be a real special event. It was a french boat and I got a wave or two as I passed by. You can find out more at http://www.plymouthclassics.org.uk/
Other than that there wasn't much about. A nice blue old boat tagged along with me for sometime before I overtook it and headed into Cawsand Bay.
I had a good time over there; read a book; went for a swim around Arwen; fell overboard wrestling out of my wetsuit (dur!); sailed off the anchor (what a dark art that is); played with the GoPro camera for a bit trying to work out what it can and cannot do; admired a lovely guillemot sunning itself on the rocks nearby with it's wings stretched open and it's back to the sun; and discovered that if you trim the sails carefully you can actually in light breezes secure the tiller in the helm impeder, cleat off the mainsheet and actually let Arwen sail herself........and if you keep movement to a minimum she actually does. That has been quite a revelation I must say.
The sea has been so green. I spent a bit of time completely fascinated with flotsam. You can do that when you have nowhere to go in a hurry! There were different types of seaweed and old twigs and logs. Darting around them were tiny little swimmy things like earwigs. One would suddenly dash from the cover of weed in to the open water, then realise it was a bit bright and BIG out there and suddenly make a mad dash back for the cover. There were some tiny jelly fish in there as well - minute little things.
I managed to take a look under Arwen's hull as well. The centre board seems fine. There are some bad scratches right underneath on her bottom panels. This winter I will get her in the garage and paint her........even if I have to displace 'stacey' to a shipping crate! 'Stacey' is my son's motovespa 125 super 1971 restoration project which seems to be going an indeterminable length of time!!
I also spent a little time trying to work out where to put the GoPro camera sticky pads for the various attachments. A little job for tomorrow. Anyway Arwen and I will be out again at the weekend. I will email my friend and see if he wants to take his Post Boat out as well. Talking of which I met another Coastal Whammel owner today, a boat with a lovely name 'Double D'gin'. I will post more video and photos over the next few days. In the meantime my apologies for the substandard video editing - technical gremlins!
Steve
I apologise for the barebones video; no music or opening and closing credits. I am trying to get Windows Moviemaker to engage with GoPro MP4 film clips. I have had some success but then at times it just doesn't like some clips....so irritating. Anyway I will post this one and then another one showing the sailing later this week
With no breeze whatsoever, I decided to head across to Cawsand immediately. It was like a mill pond. I passed a lovely old vessel coming into the inner harbour area ready for this weekend's Plymouth Classic Boat Show (it's 25th anniversary) which looks like it will be a real special event. It was a french boat and I got a wave or two as I passed by. You can find out more at http://www.plymouthclassics.org.uk/
Other than that there wasn't much about. A nice blue old boat tagged along with me for sometime before I overtook it and headed into Cawsand Bay.
I had a good time over there; read a book; went for a swim around Arwen; fell overboard wrestling out of my wetsuit (dur!); sailed off the anchor (what a dark art that is); played with the GoPro camera for a bit trying to work out what it can and cannot do; admired a lovely guillemot sunning itself on the rocks nearby with it's wings stretched open and it's back to the sun; and discovered that if you trim the sails carefully you can actually in light breezes secure the tiller in the helm impeder, cleat off the mainsheet and actually let Arwen sail herself........and if you keep movement to a minimum she actually does. That has been quite a revelation I must say.
The sea has been so green. I spent a bit of time completely fascinated with flotsam. You can do that when you have nowhere to go in a hurry! There were different types of seaweed and old twigs and logs. Darting around them were tiny little swimmy things like earwigs. One would suddenly dash from the cover of weed in to the open water, then realise it was a bit bright and BIG out there and suddenly make a mad dash back for the cover. There were some tiny jelly fish in there as well - minute little things.
I managed to take a look under Arwen's hull as well. The centre board seems fine. There are some bad scratches right underneath on her bottom panels. This winter I will get her in the garage and paint her........even if I have to displace 'stacey' to a shipping crate! 'Stacey' is my son's motovespa 125 super 1971 restoration project which seems to be going an indeterminable length of time!!
I also spent a little time trying to work out where to put the GoPro camera sticky pads for the various attachments. A little job for tomorrow. Anyway Arwen and I will be out again at the weekend. I will email my friend and see if he wants to take his Post Boat out as well. Talking of which I met another Coastal Whammel owner today, a boat with a lovely name 'Double D'gin'. I will post more video and photos over the next few days. In the meantime my apologies for the substandard video editing - technical gremlins!
Steve
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