some navigator updates:

Wayne has been painting his boat and it's beginning to develop a personality - funny how putting on the paint does that to a boat...or is it just me that thinks that?  His dilemma.......to varnish the transom or not?  Well how long have we got to debate that one......?
Find out about his progress at http://donumvitae.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/painting-second-coat/#comment-98

Joel has posted some excellent reports about the Port Townsend boat festival - videos, fantastic photographs, enlightened commentary; a sail with JW himself (the lucky man.....Joel that is.....although when you see Joel's boat, you'll realise how lucky JW would have felt sailing it).  Joel's reports are excellent and will need a few evenings if you are to gain fully from them. Like Rob D (and his wonderful boat 'Annie'), Joel is a natural writer and philosopher as well, so put some time aside and  ......enjoy!

You can access Joel's site at http://navigatorjoel.blogspot.com/2011/09/port-townsend-wooden-boat-festival-part_19.html

For those of you who keep a mild interest on our other love 'Stacey', my son's 1971 father/son motovespa 125 super restoration project.....well progress is slow but we are one step closer to understanding the wiring, thanks to the the very kind people at Beedspeed, here in the UK. They made the wiring loom for us and we also bought the rear light and handlebar light switch from them. The wiring diagrams whilst very good left us confused because the colour wires in the loom didn't necessarily match up with the same colour wires in the light, the stator plate and well pretty much anything else electronic for the bike. We sent out a plea for help with some photos and Alan came back to us with a step by step idiots guide on how to join up what colour wire to what other colour wire elsewhere....it must have taken him ages. There really are good kind folk out there who will support newbies like us.

My good friend Dave will be accompanying me to the boat Jumble at the weekend and that's really good. It makes an event a bit more special and fun when out and about with him. I really enjoy him sailing with me in Arwen.....I learn something new each time......and there are very few people who can tolerate any time spent with me.....so I really look forward to when he's out and about with me. It will be fun and I'll post pictures and thoughts on the jumble at the weekend.

In the meantime I have been giving some thought to the issue of sailing in rough seas. Now, when I mean rough, I'm talking as an inexperienced new sailor who has never sailed in anything above a force 6 tops. Watching the America's cup crews tackle some pretty extreme conditions last week has set me thinking though and this comes on the back of sailing Arwen to and from Fowey in 'bouncy seas' (top end of force 4 - for Pete's sake listen to me - I make it sound like a Fastnet force 8 gale tragedy don't I - Sorry!!).  I spent a pretty uncomfortable day sailing down to Fowey in the summer, right into the prevailing winds which ran parallel with the coastline and caused some rolling waves for long periods of time (the ones with steep crests and damn big troughs).  I sort of managed to sail through them but should there have been some specific techniques I could have used that would have made it more comfortable?

force 6 and plenty of white topped waves in Plymouth Sound last weekend

So.........whilst watching the ACWS, I asked some 'serious sailor types' also watching it what they thought I should have done! (I assumed these people were serious sailors......a salty weather beaten look about them; cotton trousers of various shades of blue, salmon, red; smocks or not; serious sailing clothing; binoculars with some serious knobs to twiddle on; clearly people who could analyse and understand manoeuvres of the crew immediately they made them; etc etc)

And this is what I got back....things to reflect on..............I have no idea whether they are right or not but I'm up for trying it out....nothing ventured, nothing gained.  (One very professional looking sailing person did comment that I was mad to go down to Fowey in a 14' open dinghy but that he admired my 'obviously very well developed but misplaced sense of adventure'.......I'm not quite sure what to make of that.....He clearly isn't a member of the dinghy cruising association whose feats would probably have had his hair standing up on end and him going through several bouts of tutt tutting!). Anyway, advice proffered went like this......

• knowing how to steer through big waves is essential! Didn't expand on that though! Gee thanks!
• try steering around breaking wave crests and avoid taking wave crest beam on.
• watch the transom swinging away from the wind as big waves pass underneath the hull (is Arwen long enough for that to be an issue...dunno?) This will cause the boat to luff up into the wind and so more rudder needs to be applied to hold the planned course. Bear away quickly and for very short time stops this from happening!!
• try not to turn downwind or else an accident gybe may ensue....yeah I've got that one understood having done that several times!!
• trim the mainsail carefully to stop the top part of sail from twisting and don't over sheet the lower sail part or else it will cause excessive weather helm.......I'm always confused by weather helm but go by the rule that if the tiller is tugging to hard and I'm having to pull it too much to keep course - I have too much canvas up!
• when running - pole out the head sail.....I'm not sure whether that is applicable to a jib on Arwen or not - it's something I'll have to look up and work out what it means that's for sure!!
• don't go downwind in windy squally wavy weather....it's asking fro trouble (is this true, if so why? Is it to do with gybing? Surfing excessively....which I thought was rather fun when it happened.......oops!) Or is it to do with pitch poling (now there is a new term I learned from watching ACWS in the Sound......everyone wanted the boats to do it....why?)
• sail to windward close hauled is a safer option couple with
• go further offshore because waves will be less close together and more likely to roll under boat with less impact......probably true and its the advice my friend Dave gives me....so it must be right as far as I am concerned........but...it is a brave man who goes 4 miles off shore in a 14' dinghy and with limited experience.......I know technically it is right.....but self preservation sought of kicks in.......it feels so wrong!!!!!
• luff just before the boat meets an approaching wave and then turn away as you go down the back of it which helps avoid that slamming....now this I did do and I can say this does work.......trust me on this one...but it does take concentration and constant hand on the helm
• of course, don't bother going out when conditions are going to be like this...in my defence, the weather forecast given was completely wrong regarding wind speed, wind direction, wave size etc....so not really my fault!
• if on a lee shore and I was, keep a flat sail with maximum depth well forward - it maximises drive and minimises heeling ( I found this tip in a boat magazine......with one or two others on this topic...only I can't remember what magazine......and the Missus put it out in the recycling rubbish bag.....oops again!!)
• reefing obviously, which I do whenever I get scared...which is frequently!
• furling the jib and sailing on main or dropping main and sailing on jib and mizzen or dropping jib and mizzen and sailing on reefed main...basically reduce sail area
• using the engine - motor sailing to windward - it helps reduce leeway; especially if you head 20 - 25 degrees to the apparent wind (I think I remember that from that magazine that got thrown in the recycling ahem!!!
• lying hove to until worst is over is sometimes better than fighting the squalls and waves
• lying to a sea anchor

in a force 6 last weekend, this sailor seemed to be doing the right things?

I suspect there are plenty of useful tips but its working out which apply to small boat sailors isn't it.  I need to do more research, reading and thinking about this. It is important to sail out in moderate winds to get the experience but I really wouldn't like to have to try and right Arwen from a capsize........I'm pretty sure I'd struggle to do so!

Steve