Cheering myself up with a little astrophotography

Having recovered from sea sickness, I managed to snatch an evening of stargazing down at Wembury Beach. Not the best viewing skies, but its close to home.

Taking the photograph is getting easier. Processing them to bring out their best - frankly that is a dark art worse than sail trimming! 

processing attempt 1 above; processing attempt 2 below

non processed photos from the night 

The problem of having always suffered from memory problems is this.......just as you have learned the main stars and constellations in an evening......you go out a few weeks later and discover..........you have forgotten them all 😂

Still, its all good fun. In the images above, due to our position in the milky way, we see the rest of it as if we were looking at the edge of a plate. To other life in the universe, the galaxy will look spirally disc shaped! 

Meanwhile, these are the best shots I could get of Jupiter. Still learning how to use a smartphone and DSLR on my new telescope. 

I learned afterwards that it is better to video planets and then use a programme to split the video down into individual photo frames and then stack them to get a best detail composite image!

I'll try that next time. 

When you have that 'feeling' and ignore it

 The plan was for a three day jaunt over to Salcombe, to finish filming my 'sailing the Kingsbridge estuary' series of vlogs. Yes I know, it has been a series four years in the making - sorry about that! 

The plan was simple: 

• Depart Plymouth on an outgoing spring tide
• Head east at an average of 3 kts using the favourable tidal stream in the morning before it turned westwards in the afternoon
• Overnight at Frogmore creek
• Spend Tuesday sailing around Start Point into Slapton bay and returning to Salcombe to overnight up at Kingsbridge area before 
• Return home on Wednesday

The weather forecasts are favourable with winds and conditions. 

 

Normally I spend a week or so planning such a cruise but this time I put it together in two days. A rare case of impulsiveness for me and so it feels slightly rushed!

I'd like to tell you I'm confident about this trip but that wouldn't be true. I've done Plymouth to Salcombe several times before and so know the sailing area well. But this trip is different. For the first time ever, I have some niggly little doubts right at the back of my mind.  Don't know why, but there they are. 

I've not been feeling well recently, a long term medical condition has been flaring up and catching me off guard. The state of the trailer (see previous posts) has rattled me slightly as well. Cleared for 'a few more short four mile journeys to and from the local marina' by a local trailer servicing company, I have my niggly doubts on that assessment. Will those wheel hub bearings really hold up for one last trip before the new replacement trailer arrives at the end of September? 

And, most irritatingly, I've forgotten most of my passage planning skillset, so long ago is it since I have done an inshore coastal passage anywhere. 

Now when I used to do lots of mountaineering and expedition work, niggly doubts had me going back to the drawing board to reassess everything! So why don't I do it now? 

Moral of this tale? Listen to those inner voice warnings and don't ignore them!

I pack Arwen the night before and pull her off the driveway. Onboard are the normal camp cruising gear, food for three days and some astrophotography gear and a drone.  I have a quick getaway in the morning, on the slip at 8am and am launching by 8.45am. High water was around 0715. 

The inshore weather forecasts predict: 

• N/NE, variable F2/3; slight to smooth 
• Changing in afternoon to variable F2 - 4, E/NE, smooth to slight 
• General forecast is for sunny spells, 21C, gusts force 3 or 4, visibility VG; showers at 5pm
• Tidal flow is easterly and then slack water for the morning changing to a westerly flow for the afternoon (The last few miles will be against the tidal flow and if need be I will use the outboard) 

My passage plan is simple with escape points at the River Yealm, Burgh Island,  Thurlestone Cove and Inner Hope Cove. I estimate a 6/7 hr passage coinciding with arrival on an incoming tide. I can enter Frogmore Creek from around 1730. Evening high water is 1954. 

Everything is fine until I reach Burgh Island. Progress is a little slower than anticipated  but enjoyable and Arwen averages around 2.8 kts. Many yachts are motor cruising for the faster passage. I have gone slightly further out to sea than I anticipated and I'm around 3.5 miles offshore. I did resort to using the outboard for a two mile stretch across Stoke Bay when the winds dropped away to practically nothing (and again when the tidal flow changed and I was practically at a standstill). Despite all this, my passage plan waypoint times are not that far out and I arrive off Burgh Island just over 20 minutes past my ETA. 

But now the north easterlies have changed to easterlies and are bang on the bow and earlier than predicted. They are far stronger too. Big gusts and patches of white horses combined with some big wave troughs and crests (lumpy seas). Arwen tacks 60 degrees off the wind when close hauled and whilst the yachts around me are holding a shorter better course, closer to the wind, I'm not fairing so well.. It's bouncy to say the least. 

Inevitably I'm  sea sick just past Bolt Tail. Violently so. I'm two miles off shore now. Closing inshore doesn't seem to have helped either.  I make little to no progress eastwards and the hoped for calmer waters inshore don't seem to exist. But then 'calmer waters' is a relative term isn't it. It depends on what you consider to be calmer. I am pretty sure sea sick people don't make sensible judgements on that score! 

A set of conditions are now coming together and a potential disaster could be imminent:

• I've been violently sea sick three times
• I'm heaving over the leeward side in lumpy conditions in an open boat with a small freeboard
• We have a nasty corkscrewing motion AND 
• I don't think I have got Arwen's trim correct. She is plunging down into the troughs and clambering slowly up the peaks. I think there is too much stowed upfront. 
• Spray is inbound over the coaming and yet it isn't overly windy whilst weather-helm is acceptable. I haven't felt the need to reef yet but I am getting wet.....and cold
• When I try to motor-sail and then motor with the sail furled, the outboard is protesting. The shaft is in and out of the water, sometimes over revving; and then it has started to cut out and struggling during restarts. Ominously, smoke periodically appears from under the cowling to be rapidly whisked away on the winds 
• The westerly currents are building, 1.4kts against me now

I consider my options. Some four miles to go; 2 miles offshore and struggling. It is time to seek some 'sheltered water' for a calm down and rethink and so I tack Arwen around gingerly and head back downwind for Inner Hope Cove. 

I am feeling defeated. The conditions aren't that onerous. Lumpy yes, dangerous not really. 

Anchored a while in the lee of Bolt Tail and considering my options, that inner niggly voice is chastising me. "You should have listened! Your passage planning skills are rusty. You KNOW you get sea sick!! You NEVER seem to sail well or cope with these conditions. It happened t you before two years ago!" 

The imp on my shoulder is whispering in my ear "You are such a lightweight defeatist whoosy".

I try again, but within a mile of leaving Inner Hope, I am once more sea sick. Is this my characteristic dogged persistence (family would say stubbornness by the way) or just plain stupidity at work? Common sense now needs to prevail. 

I admit defeat and turn back west and downwind. I can make for the Yealm and overnight there. (Why I didn't just overnight at Hope Cove, I have no idea but during times of stress and illness, you don't always make rationale decisions do you?)  

Salcombe can wait until tomorrow when winds are predicted to be from the north and of far less gusty power. I'm working on the self delusional principle that good seamanship is about judging conditions, skill level and health and making sensible pragmatic decisions. 

In reality, I've had enough for one day, but, even as I surf downwind, I feel I have given up too easily and, on reflection, I am disappointed with myself. 

(Now, I am not a brilliant experienced sailor, as anyone who has read my blog or seen my videos will know. Coming to boat building and sailing late in life, it isn't my natural environment in which I feel most comfortable operating in.  My boat handling is ok- ish; my general safety and navigation skills good. Sail setting and trimming skills are, lets be honest, dismal. Despite years of trying, I have never quite understood or mastered these arts. I'm an amateur sailor who plays safe, knows his limitations and doesn't take risks (which is daft really, because you only gain experience by testing yourself, which is what I did in my mountaineering days and why I used to be really, really good at it). I have, however,  made passage to Salcombe several times before in calmer sea conditions and with southerly or South westerly winds. I've sailed down to Fowey several times as well, so I know, deep down, that I do have sufficient skills to undertake such journeys safely in settled conditions). 

Anyway, I have been digressing. Let's continue the day's story. It gets worse! 

By now my trusty outboard is refusing to cooperate. It goes for a few minutes before cutting out. Not wanting to damage it further, I raise it out of the water onto its bracket, in the knowledge that I am now going to have to sail and row into the Yealm and up river for an overnight anchorage. This will test my seamanship skills to say the least but I'm not  unduly alarmed. Uncomfortable and feeling very poorly yes (bit like having high altitude mountain sickness but knowing you have still got to manage a safe descent). I'm heading downwind, surfing some of the waves and making 4.8 kts. I'm in control, I'm still feeling sick but I've grown accustom to the downwind conditions. Confidence is growing. Of course I can sail into the narrow Yealm entrance channel, fitting through the gap between the bar end and the rocky foreshore. Rowing up between the rows of moored boats? No problem, its an incoming tide. Easy! 

It's all so frustrating to be honest, but sometimes you have to go with the flow, literally.  Why battle upwind in troughs, big gusts and against a tidal flow for a few more hours while being sea sick? That's not fun or necessary; or at least that's what I keep telling myself in an effort to justify my decision making! With Oesophagus related health problems already, my chest is taking some punishment and I know I can't sustain much more. 

(As an aside, weirdly in a nice kind of way, I'm comforted by the number of larger yachts who have opted for motor sailing to Salcombe or who had given up and turned around, heading back to the Sound, just like me). 

As we approach Wembury Bay, a few afternoon PAN-PAN calls show that other vessels are not faring so well either. Two small leisure fishing boats report transmission failures and request help from Falmouth coastguard regarding tows from larger yachts back to Plymouth. Ahead I watched one large yacht standing 30m  off a small fishing boat, eventually getting a tow onboard it. On shore, its sunny with gentle breezes. A mile or to offshore and its steady force 3 winds with some huge gusts! Funny though how this has turned the sea lumpy!

I enter the Yealm area, and I'm violently sick once again. This time its exceedingly painful, akin to heart attack pain, as any Dysphagia sufferers will know.  Discretion is the better part of valour and all that. Although I'm lined up for the narrow channel entry,recognising its practically head to wind with limited tacking options because of the state of the tide and the narrow channel between bar and cliff edges, I'm up for it, ready to row the short distance to Cellars Beach. 

But, I'm not really, for within my head, this little voice is saying, 'Head for home Steve. Sail another day'. 

With no working outboard, this is going to be a first. All the way back into Sutton pool and then making the turn eastwards into one of the QAB marina ramp canals, all under sail. Never done this before! Its going to be so much FUN!

Wind from the NE, I'm confident I can do this and I prepare Arwen in Jennycliffe Bay, attaching fenders and sorting mooring warps for coming alongside. Unshipping oars for the last 50m row up the north slip entrance canal. I certainly wont be sailing up the southern slip canal that's for sure! Way too narrow for sailing or rowing!

Just before Mountbatten pier, I'm sick one final time and finally, I realise I am beaten. I mean how many times can a man be sea sick? There isn't anything else to bring back up (forgive that potential unpleasant mental image - I apologise).

 Dizzy and with chest pains, I sail to a vacant mooring in the Cattedown, picking it  up first time (wind against tide conditions - the number of times I have tried that before and failed in the past - go figure). Exhausted, I try to regroup and recover sufficiently for the last 400m into Sutton Pool and around to the north slip. Warps and fenders are ready, as are oars. Can I really do this? Course I can!  

I tentatively eye the outboard, and before I know it, I've drop it into position and give it 'one last pull'. 

It splutters, it smokes, it coughs. It cuts out twice and then starts on the third attempt, holding a steadier 'phutt phutt' than it has done all the rest of today. It carries me the 400 metres or so across the Cattedown, past the tourist boats and water taxis and into the south canal.  All my warps and fenders are on the wrong side but who cares at this point! I don't thats for sure! 

Within 15m of the pontoon, it finally splutters, coughs, judders violently and dies.  But, crucially, I have enough 'way on' to slowly drift in! I come to a gentle stop against the pontoon with barely a bump, lined up alongside a mooring cleat. It looks a really good and professional arrival!

I cannot begin to describe the feeling of relief as I step shakily onto the pontoon. My legs are wobbling, my stomach contracting. People in the distance seem to be dancing but I think its my eyes! 

As I try to regain some composure and stop myself from hurling over the slipway, a fellow small boat dinghy cruiser, packing away his Swallow Boats 'Bayraider' comes across to introduce himself. Chris, from Dorset has recognised Arwen from my blog and Youtube channel. He and his wife have just finished a lovely six day cruise from Torbay, via Dartmouth, Salcombe and up the Lynher to St Germans. They have clearly enjoyed themselves and listening to their adventures actually has a calming, soothing, restorative effect on my battered soul. 

I try to sound coherent, relaxed and enthusiastic. In reality? I'm just thankful that I don't introduce myself by hurling up over their feet. Their trip sounds wonderful, their enthusiasm is infectious. Their boat is truly stunning. 

(Chris, if you are reading this, thank you for bringing a wonderful sense of order and calm to my chaotic day - I'm forever grateful and it was a great pleasure meeting you both. I'm glad you had such a great time cruising my local waters). 

The 'boss' duly arrives at QAB, concerned for my welfare. My poor oesophagus and stomach have taken a severe battering and we know its going to be an unpleasant few days with a possible hospital check to assess the damage done. (As it is, I have managed to recover far more quickly than we were all expecting, and although I've had severe chest pain for a few days, it is fading and no long term aggravation to my existing condition seems to have been done. Perhaps that 'cowardly' decision to turn back downwind probably saved me this time). 

I'd like to say the stress of the day stops here but sadly it doesn't! 

We manage to get to within just under a mile of the house before there is an awful crunch sound followed by the loudest knocking I have ever heard. One of the wheel bearings has collapsed completely. At 2 mph we limp home through residential roads sounding like a 'rumbling tank with a transmission problem'. My heart is pounding! The Boss? She is just her calm, normal stoic self! I married an 'absolute keeper'!!

And so here we are. It is the early hours of the next day and I have been unable to sleep. time for some rueful reflections. 

The trailer is back on the sloping drive but it will not be coming off it again. Literally as we went over the kerb stone at the drive entrance, the other hub collapsed. The axle stubs are not looking good. The bearings have popped at the back. The castellated nuts are the only things holding the wheels on. 

The 'Yep there are a few more trips in her yet' assessment of the local trailer centre engineers is out a bit. To be fair, they did a through check and both hubs seemed as if they would last for a few more trips. They had, they said, seen far worse. However, I think, unwittingly, I am the cause of this final collapse. In packing Arwen the night before, I  added in extra weight from her normal day cruising load - astrophotography camera gear and a drone. I carried more water than was necessary (why, I have no idea but I rushed the planning you see. I didn't give it due thought, care and diligence!)  

I think this extra weight was the final straw! 

So now what to do?

Come end of September, I have a new trailer arriving and an old one that is not roadworthy and cannot go back on the road (well I can just about pull it off the drive and park it on the road outside the house but that is literally it). 

A conundrum.  'How do I get an empty boat off one trailer and onto the other?' 

And then, 'how do I get rid of the old trailer?' 

Answers on a postcard. 

So far we have 

1. getting eight neighbours to lift Arwen off the old trailer onto the driveway and then out onto the road and onto the new trailer. Then cutting up the old trailer with an angle grinder and getting a local scrap merchant to come and collect it. (I can use the same neighbours who twelve years ago, helped me get her out of the garage and rolled her over and onto the first trailer. As for a local scrap merchant, that will be more problematic I expect). 
2. as above but then getting the local scrap merchant to bring a low loader and the ease the old trailer off the drive onto the road with the car so that he can then load it up and take it away.
3. find a low loader driver who could winch boat and trailer off the road and take it to QAB marina where I could attach it to the car, back it down the slipway, float off Arwen and then have the old trailer winched back onto the low loader and taken off to the scrap merchant. 

The moral of this particular bit of the day's story is about effective trailer maintenance. Serves me right! A painful lesson learned. 

In the meantime, Arwen was emptied of everything. The garage is now full of boating gear. Trips are on hold until the trailer transfer dilemma is resolved. And,  I am wondering whether my 'south coast passage adventures' are behind me now.

Sea sickness is becoming a real threat to my health and previous Doctors have warned me about the damage sickness bouts can do. I am very careful with what I eat, leading a boring culinary lifestyle out of necessity. I am very careful about food hygiene and menus when I travel, especially abroad.  

A new trailer enables me to tow Arwen to new sailing destinations. I could travel to the Fal, stay at St Just and do a number of day cruises in the area. I could do short overnight trips in fair conditions e.g. across to Helford for example (and then explore for a few days the Helford estuary). I could tow her further afield. I have always wanted to sail around the Milford Sound area, the Broads and some of the Lakes in the Lake District. Poole Harbour looks an interesting destination as well. 

But, the days of dreaming about coastal sailing Plymouth to Salcombe, Salcombe to Dartmouth, Dartmouth to Torquay and beyond; or heading west down to Fowey and on to Falmouth? Those dreams may be on hold.  Sadly, I am coming to the realisation that from a skill level and just a medical viewpoint, unless done in calm conditions, these coastal voyaging days are probably now behind me. Anyway, lets face it, we all know I really suck at coastal passage planning and in confused seas, I get really, really ill!  

And besides,  what do I have to say in any vlog or blog I do? My vlogs have always been video diaries for myself, saved on YouTube out of convenience. My blog is not exactly literary gold is it?  I'm just a very amateur sailor with questionable, dodgy sailing ( and boat building) skills. My stuff is the kind of stuff used to show people 'what not to do'! 

Its time to go, to try and catch some sleep. I'm shattered, bruised, battered and, not surprisingly, feeling very hungry and thirsty 😊.  I'm sure after a good night's sleep (please God, there isn't much of the night left, so help me out here.....?), I will return to being my normal optimistic, well balanced, self. Always the optimist, when I'm feeling better, I will have probably changed my mind. After all, I've always been an adventurous independent traveller type. When under a boom tent or in my treasured bivvy bag, cooking on my beloved Trangia, that's when I'm really happy and chilled.  

Normal service will be resumed in a few days........... I think! 

In the meantime....... ALWAYS, ALWAYS listen to the niggling doubts and do another rethink based on them! It doesn't mean don't go...it just means 'have you been diligent and careful enough in your thinking and your planning?' 😟

MOB and capsize drills in a cruising dinghy

 It is with interest that I have been reading on two different forums, peoples views on MOB procedures in a dinghy and whether to wear a buoyancy aid or a life jacket.

The issues associated with whether to wear a buoyancy aid or a life jacket, along with what to carry on my person, have exercised my thinking over the years and I still find myself slightly ambivalent and unsure as to which is best. I have been leaning towards wearing the lifejacket when I'm voyaging along the coast, with a tether line to keep me onboard; and then wearing the buoyancy aid within the sound and up the Tamar but without tether. I have no rationale to justify why - sorry! 

Previous posts on my musings can be found at 

https://arwensmeanderings.blogspot.com/2020/03/is-it-time-to-get-new-plb.html

https://arwensmeanderings.blogspot.com/2019/04/dinghy-cruising-and-personal-safety.html

But now comes more serious consideration of the issues of MOB and capsizing Arwen. 

I confess, I have only ever done one capsize test on Arwen, long ago in the first couple of years of sailing her. I emptied her almost completely and then sailed her across to a local beach with negligible current and just normal incoming/outgoing tidal activity. She floated, slightly high but I could access the centreboard, right her and get back in, with difficulty. I did it wearing a wet suit and a buoyancy aid. Conditions were very calm and 'controlled'. Totally unrealistic frankly!

I think at the time I was more concerned about whether all hatches were watertight or not and what she was like full of water when upright. 

From this experience, I then started to think about how to get back into her more easily and with speed. 

But these recent forum discussions have bought me to my senses. I need to capsize her when she is laden with dinghy cruising equipment to see how she behaves then and to assess what my capabilities are when wearing dinghy cruising clothing. 

I've been foolish, I should have done this regularly every couple of years at least. 

I've spent sometime perfecting re-boarding loops, prompted by the clever thinking of Joel Bergen, another navigator owner on the west coast of the USA. These side loops have been tested and adjusted regularly as I go for a swim around Arwen pretty much annually,  when she is anchored over at Cawsand Bay. I have also added a 4m long 14mm diameter knotted braided rope either side, to help right her. There is also the transom step which I can use in conjunction with the boomkin. Getting back into her, from the water, has never been a problem, although again, a note of caution is needed. It is dead easy to do in calm, sunny conditions, in the shelter of Cawsand Bay, at anchor, close to a treelined shoreline! 

You can access posts about the boarding loops here 

https://arwensmeanderings.blogspot.com/2020/08/getting-back-into-your-boat-after.html

The Open boat yahoo group forum started one thread on MOB procedures and recovery and it set me thinking. I last dealt with MOB drills when I completed a refresher RYA level 2 dinghy sailing course and an RYA L2 powerboat course some six years ago. On both occasions, instructors focused on what to do, how to return to the casualty in the water and how to position the boat for retrieval. I don’t remember them teaching me how to recover an unconscious adult in full sailing clothing from the water, although I have vague memories about dipping the boat side and ‘rolling’ them in.  Apparently, it is taught on the advanced course called ‘Seamanship skills’ and I wonder whether I should find such a course and enrol. I do remember sailing a laser in force 4/5 conditions once in Greece – exhilarating stuff and great fun but every time I capsized, the boat drifted away far faster than I could swim and the safety boats were kept very busy that day. I need to assume that Arwen would do the same out at sea. Perhaps a refresher course is due again and then some practise with my own boat. 

 

Forum members on the yahoo group raised some pertinent questions and the subsequent discussion was thoughtful and informed.

Questions: 

·        How do you get back to a MOB victim fast and safely?

·        How do you get this waterlogged adult (could be child) out of the water back into a dinghy?

·        How do you avoid capsizing the boat whilst doing so?

·        If you couldn’t get them back over the side or transom, would you deliberately have to capsize the boat and try and scoop them into it as you re-righted it?

·        Or, is it an immediate May-day situation and you just assume you will need urgent outside help as a matter of course in this eventuality?

·        What do you do about the issue of you being the MOB and leaving an inexperienced crew left in the boat to get back to you? 

Subsequent discussion: 

·        If in easy reach of land, consider towing a casualty if they were wearing a life jacket? (Could it be done if they were in a buoyancy aid? And what is ‘in easy reach of land – what distance and conditions is that?)

·        Long harnesses, clipped into the boat, with self-inflating life jackets should be considered, especially if you are a solo sailor (i.e. preventing you from becoming the accidental MOB (but what about possible entanglement, being towed downwind, trying to go back over side deck or coaming with large inflated pillow in front of you?)

·        A solo sailor should carry clipped to them a waterproof VHF, a mobile phone (in waterproof pouch)and a PLB – so you could immediately instigate rescue help (how long would such electronics survive immersion?)

·        A permanently mounted small rigid ladder to aid re-boarding (on a personal note, not sure where that would go on Arwen given the transom has a boomkin, rudder and outboard already off it; many semi flexible ladders end up disappearing under the hull where water pressure forces them against the hull making it difficult to get feet on the treads)

·        Coming alongside the MOB and immediately tethering them to the windward side of the boat and then doing a May-Day call. In F4+ conditions, heaving to as close as possible and throwing a floating cushion/fender to help the MOB keep afloat, before doing May-Day call and then trying to stay as close to them as possible until rescue arrives?

·         Towing a small inflatable dinghy behind bigger dinghies – these are easier to clamber up into and can be hauled back alongside the original dinghy. It is easier to get from inflatable into boat than from waterline?

Meanwhile, over on the members forum for the Dinghy Cruising Association, a similar discussion was coincidently taking place about how to get back to a MOB, how to get them alongside and how to retrieve them back into the boat.

Members came up with various thoughts:

·        Towing a long floating rope with a fender attached at the end – inexperienced crew overboard could grab hold of the rope as you passed the boat by them

·        MOB drill should be practised regularly, like picking up a mooring under sail, remembering that you need to approach upwind, with the wind around 50 – 70 degrees off the bow, just ahead of the beam, and with sufficient space to slow down, speed up etc and aiming to bring the MOB to the leeward side

·        Immediately there is a MOB, is a quick stop is needed – letting go of sheets and pushing tiller to leeward and bringing the bow into the wind? Is this better than the taught RYA method of a close hauled approach?

·        Alternatively, a heave to immediately to windward of the casualty will allow the boat to drift down onto their position

·        Is there merit in bringing the MOB to the windward side of the boat for easier retrieval?

·        Would approaching from upwind require a gybe and would this be practical in lively conditions – would it be better to go off on a broad reach and then do a ‘chicken gybe’ re-approaching MOB on a beam reach?

·        Should solo sailors use a tether and prevent themselves from being a MOB? If so, what length tether? Should it be long enough to avoid you becoming entangled? Will you being dragged through the water slow down the boat’s drift rate? Could excess tether be stuffed in a pocket on your Buoyancy aid? There would be a need to carry a knife on one’s person as well – just in case the tether needs to be cut! OR, should it be less than 2m long, to keep you on the boat even during a capsize – will being towed by a longer tether cause rapid drowning?

·        Foam buoyancy aids are better than the ‘inflating’ life jacket types and that seems, according to some DCA members to be borne out by RNLI research. In addition, it seems it is easier to get back into a dinghy after righting it wearing one of these. On the other hand, if you are knocked unconscious by the boom, and then fall out of the boat, the inflating life jacket will roll you onto your back, face out of water ad support your head out of the sea. But then, when the weather turns and you want to put a jacket on – you have to take it off, or put it on over the life jacket – which raises the question of whether it would then inflate correctly when needed, if you were wearing a coat over the top of it!

·        Sea temperatures were discussed. In the cold waters of the seas around the UK, you have a maximum of an hour in the water before you die. So, a buoyancy aid, which is easier to swim in, seems the sensible solution, as you can get back to your dinghy more quickly and at least try and right it unhindered. But then , if you need to swim back to the boat and are close to it, you could deflate the ‘inflated life jacket’.

·        Someone did suggest as an alternative, a fisherman’s Fladens’ floatation suit for buoyancy. 

So where does this all leave me?

Firstly, I need to clarify my thinking about buoyancy aid or life jacket and then stick to one.  Secondly, I need to capsize Arwen fully laden in safe waters and practice re-boarding; I can also assess how she behaves and check the water-tightness of the lockers. Thirdly, as part of this practice, I should experiment with different length tethers attached to my jack stays and see what the outcomes are - which is best and safest length etc. Fourthly, I definitely need to get out and do some MOB drills on a vacant mooring buoy in strong tidal flow, variable wind speeds and various states of tide. I should try several different approach vectors alongside some crash stops, heave too's etc, to gain experience of them all. Fifthly, and most problematic, I need to gain some experience of trying to lift some very, very heavy weights over the side of the boat - the MOB recovery bit. At this point, I really have no idea how to go about this. 

Ho hum! Some thinking to do. I am aiming to be out on the water in the last weeks of August for some overnight camping trips. I would like to try and get my thinking and strategies straight by then. 

Main sail creases

 One of my YouTube subscribers Chris has been very observant and may be onto something. He noticed my near permanent crease from throat to clew. Regular readers of my blog will know about my love-hate relationship with my mainsail and my complete inability to trim it correctly. Whenever I sail, this crease is a sign to all those out on the water that I am an idiot, devoid of sail setting skill. 

Chris noted the following points: 

• Arwen has the yard on the starboard side of the mast and the sprit boom on the port side. This arrangement seems to be creating a twist in the foot of the sail on the port side  and then another twist in the top part of the sail on the starboard side near the yard. These two twists manifest as a crease.
• He also asks whether it is a crease or a 'fold'....which makes sense because if you watch the videos of my main sail....that fold runs down the inner edge of the half battens in the upper sail down to the clew and the top part of the sail, especially in light winds, looks as if it is 'flopping' over.

So, what solution did Chris pose?

A simple one - switch the upper yard over to the port side so that it sits above the sprit boom on the same side. He observed that a sail is flat until the wind fills its belly; the boom and the yard pull the sail tight in line with the flatness. With yard and boom on same side, it might allow the tightness to be applied on a flat plane in line with the sailcloth...as if to 'iron out' the crease. 

Now, if I was truthful here, I'd say I have no idea what he is talking about. But I understand the instruction 'try switching the yard over to the other side'. I also understand his instruction ' try to adjust the lines so that the boom lies more horizontally'. 

And, I definitely liked his analogy 'this might reduce the indigestion of your sail'! 

So, last week, the boss decided the weather was sufficiently nice enough to embark on her annual boat trip over to Cawsand. The fact that there was barely any wind, the temperature was 30C+ and it was an outgoing tide were mere trivialities. 

excuse the slight fuzziness - a photo off my phone taken through an aquapac case

We motored across to Cawsand and beached Arwen. While I held her bow to the small wavelets, the boss went in search of coffee and freshly baked croissants. A yachtie type ambled down to admire Arwen and ask all about her; a local strolled down to warn me about the submerged rocks immediately ahead of me (which I already knew about). 

After threading our way through swimmers (who seem oblivious to the need to get out of the way of a small boat powered by an outboard) , we went three hundred metres out and along Penlee point, where we anchored twenty metres offshore. 

The sea was crystal clear and the sandy bottom could just be discerned through the aquamarine waters. Compass jelly fish floated by on a regular basis. we were visited by some kayakers and paddleboarders. 

I donned wetsuit and went for a swim. I checked the centreboard casing from below. A jellyfish hitched a ride on my back for a few minutes. 

Eventually after an hour, there was sufficient breeze to go for a short sail along the southern outer edge of the breakwater, where we put to the test Chris's theories.

And then the winds died completely so we motored down Jennycliffe Bay and into the Plym river. 

The boss declared it 'a perfect day'.

I'll take that! 

As for the crease? Well, on the first test of the new rigging strategy, it was definitely far less than it has ever been before. So thats a good start! 

Getting a new boat trailer

 I spent two hours this morning discussing a new trailer spec for Arwen with the owner of a local trailer manufacturer. 

Initially I think he was hoping for just a quick show of trailers and the components  - thirty minutes at most. 

I arrived with plans and photos and some issues to resolve. The engineer within my host eventually took over as we explored photos of my current set up and the boats hull measurements and configuration. All of a sudden we were in deep discussions about trailer types, trailer components and Arwen's unique hull design. Before we knew it, two hours had passed. 

He was a very, very patient man. A very knowledgeable, kind, tolerant gent. I was my normal dumb, overthinking self! At times I can really hate myself with frustration and loathing! 

He is a dinghy sailor himself. However, as a trailer maker, he had some conundrums regarding the best trailer set up to fit and support the hull correctly, given my driveway limitations. 

Conundrums to take into account:

• if Arwen rests on keel rollers, her sides must clear the top of the mudguards - so what height do keel rollers have to be at; and what are the implications of this for launching and retrieval?

• the new regulations for the coupling. Legally, the coupling on a boat trailer has to be 400mm off the road when horizontal. News to me and many others I suspect. Hence, technically all new boat trailers must look like this below.......and he doesn't understand how most boat trailer manufacturers are getting away with NOT doing this arrangement. Anyway, the conundrum...... will this lower frame bar clear the driveway i.e. not ground, as I reverse the boat trailer up onto the 14 degree angle driveway? Especially given the car will still be on the horizontally flat road!

• will the T frame trailer design need different keel rollers to what are normally supplied - two fixed height wider ones around the centre-case area and then two narrower V shaped ones which are height adjustable at the bow and stern end?

• to keep the bowsprit on - the winch/snubber post will need to be adjustable in movement along the central box section. With this in mind, how much boat overhang will there be at the aft end? 
• with a T shaped trailer where there is a long central box section ending in a single aft end keel roller - how easy or hard will it be to line Arwen's bow up so it rides  on to that first roller and goes straight onto the remaining rollers further forward?

• for side supports - rubber chocks rather than wobble rollers he feels, and these would need to be height adjustable and able to pivot. As to where to position them and in what orientation, that would be trial and error on the day Arwen first goes onto the trailer

We discussed lighting board attachments, the length of the lighting board support rods; how much overhang of the boat hull here would be in relation to the lighting board position (the legal maximum overhang is 100cm from the lighting board position. 

In summary then - a T frame trailer, taking a 500kg payload with a 750 kg coupling, unbraked. 5.4m in length with 10" wheels. Four keel rollers, two adjustable; support side chocks which pivot and are orientation and height adjustable. A winch and snubber post - adjustable along the box section.  A spare wheel/tyre combination. Plastic mudguards. Light weight trailer around 140kg maximum unladen. Tapered unsealed hub bearings - easier to annually maintain, he says. Maybe I just imagined the gentle, good natured, twinkly eyed hard 'Paddington bear' stare (he had seen the photos of my current trailer). Or maybe, it was me feeling guilty and silly because I know I have neglected trailer maintenance and so I'm now in this position because of my own stupidity.  The wheels on this new trailer will definitely be going in the water regularly and will get annual maintenance on the bearings and flushing and washing down after EVERY trip!

It will end up looking something akin to this one but with the adaptations mentioned above

It was about now that I was feeling stupid and not because my host was making me feel that way. Far from it. 

It's a normal feeling I get due to self realisation. I am no engineer. I'm no sailor either if we were really being honest. It struck me throughout the conversation that I was taking a huge amount on trust because I just didn't know enough about boat trailers. 

That the side chocks are better than the rollers? That a T frame would suit Arwen's hull shape? That the legal requirements regarding lighting board and coupling attachment arrangement are correct and essential to meet?  That tapered, unsealed bearings are the better option in the long run rather than sealed ones? That the boat would be easily guided onto that first roller during recovery?

I honestly don't know, but I am going on faith and trust. The gentleman clearly knew his stuff, he spotted problems quickly, he articulated solutions well, he was passionate and proud of his trailers. He kindly invested considerable time that he didn't have,  in me. He put up with my stupid questions. Its not my distrust of him, far from that. He was amazing - great customer service at initial enquiry point. Its the knowledge of myself - I'm a simpleton! Shallow, boring, unable to see complexities; blessed with a unique ability to overthink and over complex the simple! 

Anyway, just as we were coming to an end with the discussion; and at a point where I had just about got my head around things, my good natured host threw a spanner in the works. 

"Some Salcombe yawls have a road/combi launch trailer system" and he wondered whether this might be a better option.  (Salcombe yawls cropped up in conversation because the day before I'd been down Salcombe and had met some owners rigging them. All were on launch trailers made by this company; and all the sailors I met were very vocal in their praise of them). 

We discussed the road trailer design - far shorter in length with a rolling tube around the axle bar on which the launch trailer would 'roll across'; we discussed launch trailer design - it would need two keel rollers. We discussed how we could work out the balancing pivot point in Arwen when she was fully loaded with dinghy cruising gear and what the implications for this would be if she wasn't full of dinghy cruising gear.  How easy would it be to lift the launch trolley on and off its load retaining safety spigot at the front? What shape would the launch trolley side supports have to be? 

We discussed the advantages of this type of trailer - shorter in length, the wheels would never go in the water. The launch trolley would roll over a rotating bar on the axle - it could be easily winched on. I could launch and retrieve Arwen in very shallow water on very shallow ramps. The launch trolley just has to be lifted and pushed and gravity apparently does the rest. It is still attached to the free spooling winch and the steel launch trailer sinks! So it won't suddenly disappear off somewhere at the end of the ramp. Recovery - send the launch trolley into the water, float Arwen over the top, pull her bow into the V shaped snubber at the front. Secure her to the trolley and winch the whole oat and trolley back onto the road trailer. designed in such a way that as the front of the launch trolley reaches the front part of the winch post on the road trailer, it slowly descends and the spigot engages with the hole!

He made it sound so easy.  It sounded perfect, especially as I slide into my 60's. 

The disadvantages - getting the weight distribution in Arwen correct each time so that she was just slightly aft heavy when on the trailer system. My ability to lift the launch trailer off/onto its retaining spigot without killing my back. 

Then there would be a huge boat overhang, possibly 1.6m from the trailer wheels. 

And there the conversation came to a sudden stop as we both realised that the sloping driveway could now become the potential issue that stopped us going for this trailer type. As I reversed the trailer up onto the driveway slope....would there be a risk of the bottom of the transom hull area grounding on the driveway because of such a long overhang. And, the lighting board would now become an issue as well. The length of supporting rod for the board would be so long that the board would just continually bounce around when under way. So, the only option would be to hang the lighting board off the back of the boat instead. 

Which, apparently, is illegal!

And, is exactly what I have been doing the last ten years! 

I have been followed by Police cars, but never been stopped. If they did stop me, chances are they would be more concerned about the state of the trailer, the state of tyres and wheel rims, the security of the boat on the trailer itself. As long as the lighting board was working and the lights and number plate were clearly visible, it probably wouldn't be an issue to them. 

It definitely would be though if I ever wanted to take Arwen abroad! 

So there we have it. I thoroughly enjoyed the two hours and learned heaps. My host, probably less so. I suspect he was glad to see the back of me although he did admit that it was an engineering issue he occasionally liked to grapple with. He was full of patience, integrity, thoughtfulness and generosity of spirit. 

Later that afternoon, I emailed him with some measurements and angles regarding the road, path and driveway angles. 

As it stands at the moment, we are trying to work out the maths involved in finding out whether the combi road trailer boat overhang will be an issue on the driveway. We also need to check that the coupling arrangement with the lower box section doesn't ground when the car is on the road and the trailer about to go up the driveway slope. 

The slightest doubt and we have both agreed that we will opt for the safer bet - the T frame. That can be adjusted in all sorts of ways. The combi trailer system has no adjustment potential. Get that wrong and it would be a useless trailer for me and I won't be getting my money back as every combi trailer design is semi bespoke to the boat it will carry! 

Apparently! 

Phew, it is really brain taxing stuff, this new trailer choosing malarkey! And if I get it wrong....... the Missus has made it clear.....something about 'nuts nailed to my forehead'? I didn't stay around long enough to hear and 'take in fully', the implied 'promised sanctions'!

Boat trailer woes 3 and thinking about a new trailer

 Well, I managed to get the boat trailer down to the local trailer centre a mile away.  A tank with tracks on a tarmac road makes less noise! Those bearings rumble and are clearly shot. 

Chris and Jason, two experienced trailer service engineers came out with clipboards and tape measures. They crawled underneath, walked around several times, did a lot of sucking in air between teeth and gave each other furtive looks. 

Having taught for over thirty five years I have become adept at reading body language. This was not going well. 

"You sure you want to look at refurbishing?" queried Jason.

"Yup" I replied, already well aware of the futility of my position. 

Chris merely shook his head in disbelief. 

The upshot. It can be refurbished but the trailer needs a complete new axle assembly. Two keel rollers are semi collapsed and need immediate replacing. The forward keel roller is shot completely and a new adjustable one will be required, along with a new winch. The Jockey wheel is fine. The tyres are good - the wheel hub/rims are shot. Easiest option - two new wheel/tyre set.  The wobble rollers all need servicing and resetting. 

Throw in labour charges as well and it will be close to £900. 

Split in decision - One goes for refurbishment. The other thinks its best to just invest in a new trailer. They will price it all up more accurately over the weekend and get back to me early next week. 

Overall judgement...can I drive it five miles to the local marina to do a launch and then bring it back - safely in its current state?

Their conclusion -  "We've seen worse but the support suspension arms on the axles are bad; but driving sensibly and taking it easy, then yes, it can be done but not often".

So, I risked it, drove sensibly and managed to get to the marina and back without mishap. The boss accompanied me and we went for a short boat trip when the wind light, the sun bright and the temperatures 30C+. But this is the subject of the next post......for I am digressing. 

In the meantime, back to trailers, I have now been busy researching new trailers. 

Which proved to be far more time consuming than I was expecting. 

Four companies got back to me with suggested trailers after I sent them details about Arwen. Four just didnt bother to reply or answer my messages left on answer phones. 

I sent initial emails expressing interest, giving a web link to an article about the navigator design (see end of this post), some photos of the current trailer set up I had and the problems it is causing and then a list of tentative thoughts and requirements for a new trailer that would better fit Arwen's hull configuration. I included her dimensions, my driveway dimensions and restrictions and the measurements of my current trailer.

Two got back to me the same day with phone calls. Four didnt reply at all to email or phone message. Two replied by email. 

Initially I was drawn to a tilt chassis trailer with a good spec. However through six or seven emails it began to emerge that the two trailers suggested to me had problems, from my viewpoint. The first was just too light - taking a weight of only 380 kg. It also wouldn't accommodate the bowsprit being left on without a rear overhang of at least 1200mm. It didn't matter how I did the measurements or configuration of the trailer, Arwen would not be going onto that trailer, despite the dealers reassurances it would. His second trailer was too big for the driveway and was a roller or bunk configuration and very heavy. 

The issue that dealers seemed to be struggling with, and that was despite having photos, videos etc to see, was that Arwen's existing trailer is 5.30m long and she fits on it perfectly with an overhang on the back under 600mm.  The driveway space available is 5.90m length and 2.0m width. Walls and steps are the restrictions here.  Arwen's overall length from end of bowsprit to end of outboard bracket is 5.89m. these figures they just couldn't compute for some reason. 

One dealer could adapt one of his trailers but insisted wobbly rollers were best not keel rollers ad 8" wheels would be better. 

Two dealers had read all the email, examined the photos and both agreed they could design something bespoke that would better fit Arwen's planking configuration. They both discussed options and the pros and cons of each - support rubber chocks or carpeted bunks; wobble rollers or extra keel rollers; fixed or adjustable height rollers. They discussed lighting board attachments as well. 

Only one however, immediately homed in on the issues to overcome though. 

• setting the boat up on keel rollers but having enough height so that the hull sides clear the mudguards
• having sufficient end clearance between bowsprit and coupling end so that the car rear window doesn't get broken 
• looking carefully at side support so that rollers, chocks or bunks don't cross overlapped plank seams and cause stress points so that dings and flaking paint occurs. 

 Interestingly, he was the only dealer who also said "Look why don't you come up one morning and let me show you the components and lets look at some plans and configurations".

He was also the one who sent price lists, spec sheets and options details by return email. 

Regarding prices - the highest one I was quoted was £2020, admittedly for a tilt chassis and ALKO axle. High spec stuff. 

Other prices were £1695, £1495 and £1071 (and then optional extras but with everything on e.g. better winch, wobbly rollers, spare wheel and storage bracket £1300). 

You can guess who quoted the lowest price...the man who invited me to visit!

Here are three examples of his trailers we can look at next week and decide which is best for Arwen. 

He is suggesting a T frame arrangement with a 500kg payload rating.

Four keel rollers rather than three. The foremost keel roller being height adjustable. 

Subsequent discussions will focus on black rubber chocks, wobble rollers or carpeted bunks as additional supports and the pros and cons of each. 

Another issue is the coupling arrangement and whether this will cause grounding issues as I transfer the trailer from the road onto the steep driveway. My hunch is the bottom tubing and possibly the jockey wheel will ground. 

If you have a view as to which would be best - chocks, bunks or wobbly rollers, please let me know your thinking and rationale. Your thoughts would be most appreciated. Drop me a few lines in the comment box at the end of this blog post. 

Postscript:

Today we went for a walk, coffee and read of the papers in Salcombe. My wife's suggestion not mine. 

As we were walking through the town, she said "Isn't there a boat storage yard further along by the car park by the launch ramp?"

"Yes there is darling" I replied, my ears perking up. 

"Show me what you are thinking about regarding a new trailer then"

Whoa there - who are you - what have you done with the old missus? 

It was a fruitful trip because fortune shined. The first trailer we came across was the smaller version of the one I am seeing next week. And we got to talk to the owner for ten minutes, who, as it happens, was fulsome in his praise of the company. 

This is the smaller version of one of the trailers being proposed to me. However, it would have three or four keel rollers and then the option of wobble rollers, bunks or side support chocks. There would only be four sets of wobble rollers, not the six shown here. Initial thinking is the rear most ones would be closer to the trailer centre line and so directly under the flat bottom of Arwen and her skeg would be resting on the keel roller. 

He sent me along to the storage yard to see the Salcombe Yawl owners, several of whom were rigging their boats. Their boats all sat on launch trollies, made, by you have guessed it, the same company I am seeing next week. 

Although they are launch trollies, it was interesting to see how they had solved keel roller issues and side supports. Lots of photos, quick discussions and I am armed with some interesting material for discussion next week. 

I have reservations about this coupling and jockey wheel arrangement but I can't articulate why - other than I foresee a potential 'grounding' issue on the driveway as it raises up from the pavement. 

A launch trolley which supports the weight of a 380 kg Salcombe yawl.

Would something like the above but as flat black tubular rollers be a better support arrangement to stop lateral movement of Arwen on the new trailer? 

And, would that rocker keel roller system be a better arrangement as the rear most keel roller set up?  

Most importantly, they were all fulsome in their praise of this company as well. "Go talk with Tony" was a common refrain! 

Armed with my measurements of Arwen and her trailer and a list of questions and issues to discuss, I am looking forward to this road trip next week. 

You know how you put things somewhere safe and then can't remember where?

I have done that with Arwen's plans. I had one sheet out, but where I put the rest I cannot for the life of me remember. So I had to start out again with a vague memory from studying them two months ago for something else. Then I remeasured her on her trailer - three hours of my life I won't get back. Joel Bergen kindly offered me to send photos of Ellie's plans but by that time I had done most of the drawings. Just wish I had had the intelligence to ask him in the first place (thanks again Joel by the way). In the meantime, I know sometime next week, I will remember where I've put them! 

The most important measurements? The driveway ones, because if I get a trailer which is too big and doesn't fit on.....'I'm a dead man'...... She phrased it far stronger than that and so I paraphrase but you get the gist!

So, refurbish or new trailer? 

Tough dilemma. 

Lesson learned? Trailer maintenance is as important as boat work!