Getting Ready#DinghyCruising

I've been invited to create YouTube video shorts, so I thought I'd give it a go. This is my very first effort. I'm sure I will get better. I'm very unfamiliar with using a smartphone for video vlogging so its a steep learning curve.  I'm going to have to do so research on using a smartphone for filming. Summer homework!!

https://youtube.com/shorts/fNHvotto-F0

This is the first time Arwen and I have been out on the water since last year. Its been a loonnng winter! A normal blog summary and longer video vlog will appear at some stage. For now here is the short above 

#DinghyCruising

#DinghyCruisingshorts

Scoping out some overnight dinghy cruising spots along the river Tamar

I spent yesterday, before the howling gales closed in on us today, scoping out some areas of the Tamar I haven't yet sailed on. I was looking for some potential overnight stops. 

A good day. Nice morning coffee and bacon roll at one marina; a nice afternoon tea and cake at Cotehele quay.  

I found plenty of places - both beaches and potential marina pontoons or quayside walls. I'd have preferred to scope them all out at low tide but this was the time I had available and so be it.  I met two very nice people in charge of Cotehele quay and Morwellham quay - who were both welcoming about the odd dinghy cruiser pitching up as long as they phoned or emailed a few days before to check out availability. 

A shout out to Morwellham Quay - they have their 'Tide Over' Music festival this weekend. I am hoping to attend in Arwen, although at the moment, tides and weather seem to be conspiring against that plan, if truth be told. 

The links are in the video description on the YouTube video site below. 

If you are local and can get up there - they'd appreciate it and it looks as if its going to be a lively event. 

https://www.morwellham-quay.co.uk/Tide-Over-Festival-2023

https://youtu.be/O1x1e-ynsos

Information about the wonderful Cotehele Quay can be found here: 

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cornwall/cotehele/things-to-do-on-cotehele-estate-and-cotehele-quay

Small traditional sailing boats on Facebook

 Look what I got in the post today? 

Now the big question - how exactly do I attach it? 

I have three flags flying on Arwen to sort our - my welsh ensign obviously; a Dinghy Cruising Association burgee which I have ordered and now this one. 

Obviously, I need to sort out a burgee halyard of some form - following the starboard shroud. it would make sense to have it attached to a very small block off the top tang and possibly on the lower shroud stay?

I don't know. I have no idea!! 

Suggestions please. I guess if I make it strong enough it can also double as a night 'anchor light' haul up as well. 

The STSB group on Facebook is a place for anyone who who has an appreciation for beautiful traditional boats and a place to share adventures and get advice. key question - is it SMALL? Is it TRADITIONAL? Is it a SAILING BOAT?

11k members and some great conversation, images and video. I have learned loads from the group already. 

Meanwhile, I spent the day visiting different locations up the river Tamar for future overnight stays. 

Three stand out. 

Firstly, a possibility of staying overnight on a pontoon in Millbrook creek. An invitation from the owner a year ago. I didn't get to see him on this occasion which is a pity as I owe him an apology. I have given it on one of my previous video vlogs about my recent sail over to the river Yealm but he sailed up close to me whilst I was out in Plymouth Sound and I didnt recognise him or his distinctive boat. He must have thought me so rude - sorry Richard! 

I was surprised to discover that on neaps there is water under the main pontoon most of the time although it does dry out at springs. 

Secondly, a good stop at Cotehele where I met Barnaby, the National Trust warden at the quayside. He very graciously gave me twenty minutes and was keen to see small boats arriving at the quayside on appropriate tides although he would appreciate advanced warning to ensure that space would be available. 

an overnight berthing just this side of the ladder on the left hand side, far end of the dock - as long as the big barge 'Lynher' isn't visiting!!

Shamrock - I interrupted Barnaby and Chris sorting out her mast in the shed alongside

Finally a call in at Morwellham. Here again, I as warmly welcomed and George was keen to see me give an overnight stop up there a try. There are two possible places to overnight - the quay slip and one of the bigger basins. 

I've not been up to Morwellham for some time and so it was nice to see the area at high tide. George says that the local steamboat association come up often and stop in some of the dock bays. I could certainly get Arwen into one of them with no problem and there is space to dry out alongside the small slipway as well. 

Hopefully the weather will improve over the next fortnight and I will be able to get up river to these venues. The furthest I have been up river is to Calstock so getting up to Morwellham will be a new challenge. 

If you are interested in visiting Cotehele Quay and Morwellham Quay their websites are below and both have a huge amount to see. They both have pubs as well onsite and Morwellham is holding a great music festival this coming weekend. 

https://www.morwellham-quay.co.uk/

https://www.morwellham-quay.co.uk/Tide-Over-Festival-2023

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cornwall/cotehele/things-to-do-on-cotehele-estate-and-cotehele-quay

Dinghy cruising tent dilemma

Summer cruising planning starts

 I have identified five opportunities where spring tides provide opportunities for some extended sailing and overnight trips this summer. 

And so the planning phase begins!  

• updating old charts
• working out tide times and heights and tidal flows
• assessing possible voyage routes, overnight stops and alternatives
• considering launch and retrieval sites and alternatives 
• assembling harbour office contact numbers etc

Exciting isn't it, this superficial pre-planning phase! 

Installing a small electric bilge pump in your dinghy

 Finally! A job started a few years ago finished today. The videos below are a reminder!

Today I fitted the bilge pump. It also got a new tupperware fully sealable box. 

New brass outlet fitting sealed in both this side and inside.

And I have a bung that go in it as well - just in case! 

It won't get all of the water out of the bilge but in the event of a capsize - a frightened man with a bucket, followed by a kayak stirrup pump and then this - should get most of it out 

The battery is a 12v sealed lead acid battery which can sit on its side safely and it will be bungee attached to the top thwart

Just got to work out how to secure it to the base

Postscript update 

I wasn't happy about it sitting on the front thwart. Its a little inaccessible there. So, I brought some wire and wired in and extension piece thus making the overall cable around 1.5m in length. I then ran this cable up the discharge pipe and then aft right up under the port side deck, securing it with cable ties. The switch/battery box can now go under the side deck along the side thwarts and that makes it easy to reach.  

almost ready for this season

 It has been a long time since I have been sailing and I am looking forward to getting out on the water soon. My last post has a short video - refitting Arwen after her long hibernation. 

A night up at Treluggan Boatyard on the upper Lynher river 

Today, I have sorted out the galley boxes and cleaned them up and brought some ready to cook in the bag camping meals. 

• steak and veg
• pasta bolognaise
• pasta carbonara
• meatballs and pasta
• sticky toffee pudding
• noodles and bacon

I'm a simple man with simple culinary tastes 😆. Obviously I'll add in fresh veg - carrots, broccoli and sweetcorn along with various coloured peppers. The shopping list also includes fresh fruit (apples and oranges), fruit pots and custard pots, trail mix, granola bars of various types. Bacon and eggs for breakfast one morning I'm sure. I'll make a fruit cake and take some of that too. 

One galley box containing trangia stove and cooking utensils etc 

One food supplies box

If you search 'galley box' on the side bar of this blog you can get all the building blogs including measurements 

Since June last year (and its now June 2023) I have only sailed around four times. There are reasons for this 😞😄

• we have been travelling on and off for a total of five and a half months out of the last twelve - Iceland, France, Spain and SW USA
• I have caught Covid several times and have probably lost another month to this and subsequent recuperations
• the weather, has, at times, frankly, been as my teenage friends would say 'PANTS'!! 😖

So, we are nearly there but one more hurdle to overcome. I'm ill again. Some form of bacterial and/or viral infection which has been with me on and off since February and which, thus far, is defying treatment. The list of symptoms and effects is too long and frankly boring to list here but according to the Doctors I'm doing rather well given the slight onslaught I periodically face. 

So, sailing will have to take place on the good days - no arthritic pain in my hands, no conjunctivitis in my eyes, no tiredness - aches or pains. And there are plenty of good days - they far, far, far outweigh the odd 'knackered' day. I'm always cheerfully optimistic. Trained by thousands of teenagers over thirty five years 😁

My bet is something bit me!  Damn mosquitoes! 😂

So, on the calendar are marked all the spring tides between now and end of October; the DCA rallies as well. Tentative plans are for voyages and overnight trips to: 

• Frogmore Creek and Kingsbridge over Salcombe way
• a pootle up the river Dart to Totnes
• towing Arwen down to Falmouth and doing a few days on the various rivers around the Fal ria
• a coastal sail across to the Helford river and a tootle up some of its tributaries
• a coastal sail from Salcombe over to Bigbury on Sea and if condition are right - crossing the dangerous bar and sailing up the river Avon to Aveton Gifford. 
• a few sails up the Tamar - up to a quay in Kingsmill Lake; up the Tavy as far as I can get on a tide; a revisit to redshank beach on the Lynher - one of my favourites and long overdue; a potter up past St German's and up the river Tiddy as far as I can safely go and, finally, up past Calstock on the Tamar to Morwellham Quay. 

A photo from a long time ago - Arwen moored off Redshank Beach up the Lynher just beyond Dandy Hole and about a mile downriver from St German's

I am also hoping to be there for the launch of Steven Yate's lovely new Pathfinder. He has his own YouTube channel and post a lovely weekly blog - very knowledgeable and considered. A sailor's sailor - not an amateur like me. Look up 'dirtywetdog' all one word on YouTube, google internet and Facebook!   You won't regret it. Brilliant reads and musings! 

From a few years ago - drifting back down river very early one morning after an overnight stop at Southpool creek. the town of Salcombe is ahead. 

I met a subscriber today

 So there I am walking along the coastal road into Salcombe, from North Sands. A stunning lovely walk by the way if you ever happen to be down this way - along the river entrance with the fantastic golden sand beaches of East Portlemouth opposite. Plenty to see and admire. 

Anyway, I digress. Ahead is a man carrying a large pack. A coastal footpath walker, I really admire these hardy folk - the South West Coastal Path is stunning but not to be under estimated. It has some exceptionally steep ascents and descents and some really exposed areas. 

I notice he is wearing a knee brace and ask him how he is getting on. It turns out blisters are the issue and he is hoping to find a coffee shop and a chemist in Salcombe. I tell him where to find these things - make some recommendations and we discuss his progress thus far. 

And then he stops me in my tracks and catches me off guard completely.

"Do you own a boat?"

"Yes" I reply

"You the guy with the YouTube channel and the New Zealand designed boat?"

Turns out Iain, from Oxford way is a sailor, owns a wayfarer if I remember correctly and is one of my channel subscribers. He recognised my voice! Which is kinda scary really!

Iain (Ian) if you are reading this - I hope you sorted the blisters, got a well earned coffee and made it over to Kingsbridge and sorry we could stop longer to chat or take you for a coffee - we were meeting friends and already running late. It later turned out they were running even later than us - so we could have got you a coffee but when I found you - you were surrounded at Capt'n Morgan's looking well looked after and chilled so I didnt disturb you. A real pleasure and privilege for me meeting you - an amazing achievement walking with that pack weight in this heat and those blisters. Hope you made it to Kingsbridge. Stay in touch. Hope you get to sail on the Thames at some stage - an ambition of mine I must admit. If you come down this way with  your boat - drop me a line. 

An amazing guy, an amazing undertaking. 

Bringing Arwen out of her long winter hibernation

 https://youtu.be/yYGqhjCfAWc

beginning astrophotography

 Occasionally non boat blogs appear here. Today is one such occasion. Regular readers will know that over the last 18 months or so I have taken up Astrophotography and Astronomy. Its been fun, fascinating and frustrating, often at the same time! 

Anyway, here are some recent images I have taken over the last few months. Acquiring the image data is the easy bit. Post processing it is indeed a dark art, one I rank almost as higher dark art as that of sail trimming! 

Enjoy.

Andromeda galaxy, one of our nearest neighbours

A recent visitor to our galactic neighbourhood and not due back for another 50,000 years 

Comet 2023 ETF Z3 

The Leo triplet of galaxies 

M45 Pleiades 

The Pinwheel galaxy

M42 Orion Nebula 

The Horsehead nebula 

My latest effort - The Rosette nebula in the bottom right with the Cone nebula in upper left and the yellow Trumpler 5 in upper middle

If you use the search bar or look back through the blog post list on this home page - you will find other blogs about astronomy and astrophotography. 

For those interested, the equipment I used is as follows: 

• Canon 800D non modded DSLR
• Samyang 135 mm F/2
• Canon 50mm F/1.8
• William Optics Zenithstar 61ii small refractor telescope
• William Optics Wedge
• SkyWatcher Star Adventurer 2i star tracker 
• Benro carbon fibre tripod
• Skywatcher stainless steel tripod

And for basic astronomy

• Skywatcher Discovery 150i WIFI GOTO refractor telescope 
• Skywatcher 12v powerbank