Some Sunday's...........

Are wonderful. I'm waking up to a Sunday which doesn't end in five hours school preparation and I'm sat here facing a multitude of exciting little possibilities.

Taking my wife for a coffee and read of Sunday papers on our historic barbican. One of my guilty little pleasures.

 Shall I tell her its "Pirates Day" and there will be mermaids, pirates, folk groups, the Navy Tars and several Jonny Depp's wandering around?

I won't mention the presence of the tall ship 'Phoenix'. I'll let it be a surprise. I know how much she'll love spending an hour ( or two ) wandering around it with me exploring every block, nail, nook and cranny...........such happiness, hand in hand as we gently bang our heads on the low beams and marvel at how buying one of these and converting it into a live aboard and sailing the seven seas.....would be so exciting.......................huh! That will happen only in my wildest dreams!!

After the barbican? Well a brisk walk around the hoe. It's breezy today (note mild sarcasm.......its been blowing hoolies all weekend......) and then...........

Well I could do some preliminary passage planning for may half term trip. Now that's a productive use of a Sunday afternoon.......kitchen table, admiralty charts, some Lynyrd skynryd on the CD player.......Sunday roast sizzling in the oven in the background.

Follow it up with some moral support and help to number one son sitting A level exams next week and some discussions with number one daughter over career path options. Ah!

A perfect lazy Sunday

Towing Angharad behind Arwen

This isn't something I have tried yet but I am thinking of doing so on the May half term trip up the River Lynher. Angharad would allow me to get up into some of those muddy creeks up river. That sounds fun!

You can see Angharad at this previous post
http://arwensmeanderings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/finally-at-last.html


So how do you tow a 16' long open canoe behind a sailing dinghy? Well can it be done?

I'm guessing now,  in no particular order...........................................

• Using a floating tow line so it doesn't tangle in the prop 
• Having a bridle off the stern port and starboard cleats which clears rudder and outboard....although haven't worked out bumpkin situation. Maybe just towing her off the port stern cleat might be better. 
• Alternatively have a bridle attached to Angharad which has a ring in the end of it. I could then cleat a tow rope on port stern cleat, pass it through bridle eye and hen cleat it off on starboard cleat where I could adjust tow length from there.......sounds a better option in my head....but need to see it in reality first!
• Long or short tow? Have no idea. Is it a weather and wave condition dependant issue?
• How do I mount the tow onto Angharad?  No idea .....need to investigate that one as well.
• Bow high out of water or in the water?
• What do I do if Angharad fills with water? Heave to, bring her along lee side, pump her out?
• What about the wake from passing motorboats?
• A long time ago, many, many, many years ago, I was a canoe instructor and 'fishtailing canoes' is a dim and distant memory trying to re- surface at the moment
• I think, from those distant memories, I remover something about tying a harness round an open canoe, making it tight and hen attaching the tow line low down so hat he bow would ride higher out of the water and so be less likely to fill and invert.............I think!
• Sailing downwind......I sense potential problems there and similarly towing going down tide 
• Quick release knots....need to check up on those as well.......
• Getting in and out of Arwen to Angharad........I sense some interesting issues there.......stability; tying her securely alongside

Um! LOTS......to think about as always.

Sailing up the Lynher in a welsford navigator

May half term
26th/27th ............it's looking good. Low tide is 11am and high tide 5 pm. An incoming spring tide. So.......... I should be able to sail up with the tide. Low tide around midnight and high tide the following morning around 6am. So sailing back down river on an outgoing tide.

Now all we need are nice southerly winds which back around to the west or east on the following morning and life will be wonderful. Oh and lovely sunshine as well. That would help. So I have to start planning passage plans, inputting  waypoints on GPS and contact the St. Germans sailing club for advice and whether I cold prevail on their hospitality Monday night and everything should be hunky dory!

I'm getting good vibes about this trip.  And, the Saturday before, is the Newton Abbot boat jumble.

Perfect!

Steve

a new navigator blog

can be found at
http://suzyj.blogspot.co.uk/

I like this blog. Informative, reflective, knowledgeable. I look forward to seeing how this navigator turns out

Steve

I have been web surfing......much drier than proper surfing.........not quite as much fun though. Anyway I came across some interesting sites on dinghy cruising.

http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/richardbradshaw/malenkaya.htm
I really enjoyed reading this cruising account because it is the kind of thing I want to!

Another interesting account was
http://hostellerssailingclub.org.uk/index.php/articles/selected-club-cruise-accounts/26-2012cruise-river-tamar-in-devon 

I'll be looking out for more as I approach may half term; as I plan to sail up the Lynher as far as St Germans.

the repaired rudder

The offending 'ding' can be seen to the rear on the top of the rudder blade.

It is worse this side than far side

I'm beginning to wonder if I caught it accidently on the propeller blade. this shouldn't have happened as I have installed stops either side on the transom which prevent the rudder from reaching too far over towards the outboard. It has never happened in the past but maybe I didn't mount the outboard correctly in its normal position. I will check things over next time we are out just to make sure.

 

 

Next time out will be my 300th hour sailing in Arwen and our 75th trip out together. A milestone worthy of a celebration. I'm hoping to sail up to Calstock at May half term and camp overnight before coming down on the tide. Watch this space for passage planning over the next few weeks.

If it takes 10,000 hours to become 'an expert' in something, then with only 300 hours under our belt Arwen and I are positively amateurs! But the more we do the better we become and that is half the fun isn't it. As long as we don't endanger others.

 

 

In the meantime, two tragedies. My overboard waterproof rucsac has sprung an as yet undetected air leak and so no longer floats. My yellow over the shoulder overboard bag of eight years has finally delaminated and is no longer waterproof either. It has seen sterling service and I have had my money's worth from it. My waterproof rucksac is only three years old though and that is another matter all together!

A refurbished rudder for a welsford navigator

Arwen will be back in service from next weekend. After carefully sanding the rather large torn chunk section in the rear of the rudder, I decided against an all out cut out and stick in new piece job. It wasn't quite as bad as I had feared and so I have smoothed it to a significant 'dent' and that's it. It's not  a botch job so much as a 'lasting temporary repair'.

The rudder is now outdoors. In the nice warm bank holiday weather, yes i'll say that again, in the nice warm, sunny, bank holiday weather......the rudder has been given three coats of aluminium flake paint and three coats of international toplac white. The rudder stock has also been touched up with international toplac bounty red.

Fittings have been tightened and all is well. Alongside this the back decking has been pressure washed; new tubs planted; the veg boxes sorted and a new plastic outdoor garden tool storage bin assembled. All is well and as it starts to cloud over I am heading in to do four or five hrs school work in preparation for next week.

I like four day weeks. I am sure productivity would increase, there would be less sick time taken and the nation would be far happier if we did three day weekends. Maybe I'll run for parliament on this mandate!!!!

Steve

Researching stormy weather in a dinghy

I found some interesting reading about dinghies in heavy weather. It's the bit after heaving to doesn't work. What happens next?

This has some interesting tips

http://www.wayfarer-international.org/WIT/cruise.daysail/cruisetips/Phillips09.htm 

In the meantime, Arwen has new elastic securing straps. The large white fenders bought at a boat jumble recently have been secured low down on each side in the for'ard part of the cockpit. The lockers in the central thwarts have been tidied up. All the safety gear bar fire extinguisher has gone into starboard locker. In the port locker is found all the tools and maintenance bits and pieces. The flares canister has been secured, along with first aid kit under the aft starboard side deck.

There is space on starboard side to secure a waterproof rucksack behind the elastic straps. The spaces under the front deck on top of the forward thwart are now empty.....and will take clothing, bedding bags and cooking materials when camp cruising. 

Things left to do

- move the anchor and its warp out of the anchor locker on the bow into a tray which will be secured to the floor on front starboard side of cockpit when making extended coastal voyages

And repair my rudder. Somehow, I don't know how, it has managed to get a 2" chunk out of the rear of it. Significant damage. It will need sanding and reprinting rapidly. Irritating! I suspect it had something to do with my accident grounding a few weeks ago at Salcombe.

'The Dinghy Cruising Companion' by Roger Barnes

Normally don't like to review books because I'm useless at it.

Wish I could write well - but can't do that either. Don't feel I should step into being a critic if I can't actually write myself....sounds somewhat hypocritical to do that but maybe that's just me.

However, I have just finished this book.....and guess what.........I LOVED IT!

The blurb about the book on Amazon says

'You will venture into the fringes of the wilderness with the minimum of simple gear, to live with it on its own terms. You will know that one of the sure ways to contentment in this life is a small boat, a fair wind, and a new coast to explore.' Dinghy cruising is a wonderful way to experience nature and new coastlines at close quarters and low cost. Sailing where larger boats cannot reach, and sleeping under canvas on board or ashore, this is boating taken right back to the basics, and all the better for that. This guide, for all aspiring or already-enthusiastic dinghy cruisers, shows how to get started and how to expand your horizons. The information and advice is interwoven with wonderfully evocative stories of the author's adventures afloat, from idyllic weeks pottering around secluded rivers and coastlines to hair-raising voyages to remote islands. The text covers: Finding a good boat Fitting out for daysailing Boatcraft under engine and oar Mooring and anchoring Preparing for open water Out at sea Coastal navigation Dinghy homemaking Keeping comfortable and safe Illustrated throughout with inspirational colour photos and helpful illustrations, this book shows just why small boats are the perfect passport to remote and beautiful places.

The green slips are pages where I have discovered something I didn't know. Its a reference point to go back and re-read that section again because I discovered some little nugget or pearl of wisdom........lots of green slips......either because it was extremely informatively written.......or because I'm stupid and don't know much. I'll go with the former point!

Now I don't know Roger personally. I know he is president of the Dinghy Cruising Association; I have seen him in passing at the Beale Park Boat show on odd occasions. I read his comments on the DCA forum and often find them interesting and/or pedantic in a fun way; or playing 'devils advocate' with other members. I do know he is incredibly experienced a sailor and whatever he says, whether you'd agree or disagree with it, it is worth listening to. Forum members clearly respect his opinion and advice. It will come from experiences hard won over many, many years sailing. I am a member but lack confidence in my own abilities to sort of engage yet face to face with DCA members......and that is me; nothing to do with them because they are a lovely welcoming bunch. But since most trips I do have some disasters, I haven't quite got to the stage where I'm prepared to do the disasters under close scrutiny! There is an argument of course which goes like this......if I became more sociable and joined some DCA rallies, I'd learn much quicker under expert guidance and therefore have fewer disasters in the future........I know!!

Anyway, digressing as always...so what did I LOVE about this book?

• Its charming, well written, enthusiastic, encouraging tone? yep!
• Its wonderfully illustrated pages with classy line drawings and stunning photos? Yep!
• Its 'go on get out there and give it a go' persuasive style whilst at the same time its careful emphasis on developing the skills to keep oneself safe? Yep!
• No, I know, it must have been the STACKS of quality advice on virtually every page;
• or was it the lovely descriptions of different dinghies that you could sail; each description illustrated by way of an anecdote.
• No I finally know what it was; Roger's use of his own logs to illustrate the points he was making; to share with the reader his passion for sailing in small open boats.

I read an amazon review which said 'hard to put down'. Another said 'great for dipping back into whether you be inexperienced or experienced a sailor'

I think those gents summed it up perfectly!

Roger, never met you....but....well done and thank you so much! From the tiny, limited and insignificant little bit of sailing experience I have, I think this is a cracking book. I hope it becomes a best seller for you.

storm tactics and heavy weather 2

'A very thought provoking and insightful post Steve. You've got me convinced now that I'm not carrying enough safety gear. Thanks for the inspiration and the fine examples'

So said Joel after reading the post previous to this one. Nice to have some praise, but I'm not confident about what I wrote in the last post. The idea of putting a drogue over the bow and lying in the floorboards doesn't really seem a viable option to me in a small open dinghy.

I think a drogue over the stern as you make a downwind run is probably a far better option. All being well - you have some refuge on the leeshore, downwind of you! Better to head for that if all other options are failing.

Anyway, Joel's comment got me thinking, as always about the whole issue of safety in stormy seas. My main aim is never to get caught out i.e. choosing an appropriate weather window!  Running out to sea to get sea room during a storm also 'feels' wrong. I would have thought that waves further out to sea will be even bigger and there would be a serious risk of swamping, broaching etc in a small dinghy.

If I were to be capsized, staying with the boat would be essential so harnesses are a definite. Carrying VHF, mobile, GPS, PLB, knife, some boiled sweets and a spray hood in my buoyancy aid - a must. If I had to sit on an upturned hull; or if I couldn't get Arwen upright again, at least drifting attached to her makes me easier to see and find.

Masthead buoyancy - well it may be worth hoisting an inflated expedition dry sac and seeing what issues that causes next time I'm out (so note to self for next trip...........

• it will be the 300th hour in Arwen and 75th trip so party!
• raise the attachment point for the snotter as outlined in a previous post - advice from Joel
• similarly, tension the downhaul more and pull the tack of the sail closer to the mast and secure
• raise an expedition drybag or attach one to top of mast; use a running halyard line on loop around block so it can be lowered if needbe)

Having drybags, fenders etc low down and attached to hull sides - definitely displaces water in swamped hull and provides floatation. But what about my anchor?

Ah! That Anchor. A 15lb Bruce anchor with 3m of chain and then almost 40m of rode. Kept upfront in the anchor well on the starboard side just behind the bowsprit and secured with elastic straps - it can be seen in the photo below.  Is its storage location an issue?

the anchor and warp are stored on the left hand side of the bowsprit in this photo between oar and stemhead; you can just make out anchor shank sticking up

 If heading upwind in stormy conditions would it cause the bow to bury itself - would this be a good thing? On a downwind run in stormy conditions would that weight cause the bow to dig into the waves and so induce a nasty broach gybe or far worse a pitch-pole situation?

Oh dear! I feel one of 'my headaches' coming on......you know the ones.........confused, tense, unsure.............um!
I'd better go for a lie down on the sofa with a marmite sandwich, glass of milk and Hawaii 5-0 on the TV; and everyone kicked out of the lounge.............as if that could ever happen in my household!