500 mile "dry run"

[Jake]

Re: 500 mile \"dry run\"

Congratulations Alan! Sounds a good trip, and a good test of both man and machine. Whilst not the 500 miles you wanted, the lessons you learned seem just as valuable.

I'm very keen to do mine as soon as possible - leaving Poole and ending up at the Scillies via a long dog-leg. I'm still trying to get my Corri into a semblance of order, but won't be realisticaly afloat until late in the year. Just in time for equinoxal gales. Joy.

At the Petit Bateau conference a big theme was this proving trip. The presenter suggested that trying to do a 500-miler in the busy areas of the North Sea or Western Approaches was problematic, as there was just too much traffic to get into a proper ocean rythme. As you so rightly say, you were knee-deep in oil rigs, which you don't get in mid-Atlantic.

He did emphasise, though, how vital these shake-downs are for future success, and in confidence building in general.

Glad it all went well, and thanks for the very useful posting!

 

[FAITIRA]

Re: 500 mile \"dry run\"

Hi Jake, the big boat was not a prob to handle, very steady platform as she was 22t. I built her so knew her well and she had good, Selden, rigging and in boom reefing gear.
Interesting post of Alans, don,t envy him the trip in the North sea though! Bill.

 

[JunkMing]

Re: 500 mile \"dry run\"

Good one, Alan. Any sea time of this nature can only do you real good. You'll find off-soundings sailing a doddle compared with what you have just done. I'll be passing up that way in a few weeks' time, en route for much further north, and reckon the stretch from north of Southwold to well north of the Humber will be the most demanding by a long stretch. what with shoals, sandbanks, shipping and a hell of a lot of gas/oil installations packed very tightly not far offshore. You're really squeezed in every way. I won't attempt it without well-set fair winds to power me through quickly.
I would definitely take more than one alarm. Im taking four this time! After a while your brain gets used to them and conveniently ignores them - they just become part of the background white noise. On last year's Jester one 20 minute kip turned into three and a half hours. I was well off soundings by then, so had no doubt relaxed somewhat.
I'm not sure about dozing in the cockpit. I guess that's one reason why you could not get warm enough. I'd be careful of that. Apart from the obvious risk of hypothermia, there's no doubt being on deck, even in the cockpit, is a lot more wearing and stressful, physically and mentally, than being well-cocooned down below. Fortunately I have a boat that in normal off-shore conditions never requires my presence on deck. I grew to love the quiet and warmth down there and hated having to go on deck against my will. You conserve your strength and stamina much better below. Except in the warmest conditions I always wear a base layer of thermal underwear, longjohns included, offshore. Feeling warm and comfy helps you drop off quicker. To help that I often put on a furry hat and gloves too to sleep. You'd be amazed how it helps. And of course the joy of singlehanding is that there's noone around to tell you what a prat you look!
You'll find that once off-shore, with only ships as a hazard, that you will actually sense them, via their engine vibrations, fairly easily and at some distance, from the comfort of your bunk. This is not to say you don't need to keep a strict visual look-out, of course - it's the one you don't hear that will get you!

 

[JREdginton]

Re: 500 mile \"dry run\"

Fantastic review of your trip. I am glad to hear it went well and thanks for passing on your experiences. The sleep pattern was interesting, 10 min slots and survivable, it seems books may offer a great risk /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Pye_End]

Re: 500 mile \"dry run\"

Good to hear you are back. Wasn't the best of weather windows!

Thanks for the link on your self stearing - a very light model. Looks interesting. Can you give us a bit more on your experiences with it? Do you still think it is something that is worth looking at for larger trips?

Gas field etc. - don't suppose they emit an AIS signal? How far offshore are they?

 

[CPD]

Re: 500 mile \"dry run\"

Sleeping in the cabin is an interesting point (I slept in the open windswept cockpit ands got cold). I felt uncomfortable being below for any more than a few mins but of course, what is the difference between a 10 min nap below and a 10min nap in the cockpit ? - Nothing, apart from the literally very few seconds it takes to get up in a hurry. For me it is a psychological thing which I will try to get over. It must be better than getting cold in the cockpit, or, would it increase the chance of sleeping in, going into a deep sleep, and getting into trouble ?. This is now on the list for trying out during the next attempt. Interesting.