October 2021

[sailaboutvic]

Puzzles me too. Buying a boat with no sailing experience is not difficult at all. The two activities of buying a boat and then sailing her demand seperate expertise. The difference between the skills of a merchant and the spirit of a sailing adventurer. Basically, unless buying new, the purchase of a used boat is a lottery mitigated slightly by a good survey.

The difference becomes important when a DECISION must be made (like your decision to up anchor and move) rather than be a rabbit in the headlight. I am sure the other four boats may have took their cue from your decision. Well done vic.

Later. Civil protection just issued an alert to avoid basements, and flood areas. Sms to my phone. So it is floods on land that has generated the extreme weather alert.

You are correct buying a boat with no experience isn't the problem , it's what else is in their pipe dream .

Many of us brought our boat when we never sailed , the only boat I been On before buying my first was a rowing boat on a boating lake,
But like many other my plain wasn't to sail about for a few months on a boat which I could just afford to buy with limited funds then take off around the world ,
it don't stop there they go on about never using marinas and anchoring storms off coast.
but the worst bit for me is not their posting because it's just a pipe dream and probably out of many that's posted before them only very few get to do it and they are the once who have the funds to change they plains .
But the people who post they reply , people who you think by they posting know the danger.
but instead bring these people down to earth with what reality is ,
they encourage them with story of people they read about .

But as I said most are just pipe dream thank god .

 

[BurnitBlue]

As Lawrence of Arabia said. There are dreamers of the night whose dreams fade with the dawn. Then there are the dreamers of the day who try ro act out their dreams and be dangerous men. Something like that, I have no reference so apologies to Lawrence.

There is room for both so nothing wrong with pipe dreams of either sort. But I cannot help feeling that unwise pipe dreams are the cause and excuse for Government legislation to interfere with this last bastion of freedom. Buy a boat stop the world, become a King of La La land. Frankly nothing wrong with that either except most clog up marinas putting the price out of reach for me. Selfish of me I suppose.

 

[AndrewB]

People who put out too much anchor chain in light weather are a curse. 3:1 is always adequate (with good anchoring technique and good holding), 5:1 max for extra security if the anchorage isn't overcrowded. I'm not convinced more than that really helps even in strong winds.

Five days ago we sailed into Fanari Bay between Parga and Preveza. Its a good anchorage, mostly 5 meters deep, room for maybe 8 yachts comfortably. The overnight forecast was for winds not above F3. There was one yacht there when we arrived, so I went to anchor as far as possible away. "Get away, you are right on top of my anchor!!" he yelled. "How much scope? " I asked. "120 meters - I've got it so I use it. It's no use in the anchor locker". That was in 5 meters! I ignored him, as did four other yachts arriving later who got the same treatment .

At dawn a light breeze came in from the opposite direction, and as yachts swung around of course he bumped one (not me). You should have heard him!

 

[sailaboutvic]

People who put out too much anchor chain in light weather are a curse. 3:1 is always adequate (with good anchoring technique and good holding), 5:1 max for extra security if the anchorage isn't overcrowded. I'm not convinced more than that really helps even in strong winds.

Five days ago we sailed into Fanari Bay between Parga and Preveza. Its a good anchorage, mostly 5 meters deep, room for maybe 8 yachts comfortably. The overnight forecast was for winds not above F3. There was one yacht there when we arrived, so I went to anchor as far as possible away. "Get away, you are right on top of my anchor!!" he yelled. "How much scope? " I asked. "120 meters - I've got it so I use it. It's no use in the anchor locker". That was in 5 meters! I ignored him, as did four other yachts arriving later who got the same treatment .

At dawn a light breeze came in from the opposite direction, and as yachts swung around of course he bumped one (not me). You should have heard him!

120 mts in 5 mts that's nearly twice I carry ,
That's over 20.1 ?.

 

[Kelpie]

Electric windlasses have a lot to answer for!

 

[sailaboutvic]

Electric windlasses have a lot to answer for!

Not the electric windlass , just the people who use them .

 

[sailaboutvic]

0700 Lt and looks like the worst have pass and all good till the next one which is forecaster for near the end of next week .
Last few years these Oct storm seem to be getting more regular.

 

[AndrewB]

0700 Lt and looks like the worst have pass and all good till the next one which is forecaster for near the end of next week .
Last few years these Oct storm seem to be getting more regular.

The wind has died down, the rain is not quite as heavy, and the thunder rumbles less frequent, here in Corfu. But its forecast to stay like this right through the weekend. Then, like you, quite possibly another storm at the end of next week.

Condensation dripping from our cabin windows this morning. We generally take that as the sign it's time to move off the boat for the winter. Most years it doesn't happen until November.

 

[BurnitBlue]

How do folk handle this almost continuous rain while at anchor? A wet dinghy ride to shore and back is OK in summer showers. But this latest period of heavy "out-of-season" cold windy rain is another thing entirely. I seem to have escaped this experience by being ashore. It is bad enough with the boat ashore, it must be truly misereable at anchor. Umberella? Full wet weather gear? carry pump in the dinghy? Towels to sit on for the dinghy ride? Or just bite the bullet and tough it out.

 

[sailaboutvic]

How do folk handle this almost continuous rain while at anchor? A wet dinghy ride to shore and back is OK in summer showers. But this latest period of heavy "out-of-season" cold windy rain is another thing entirely. I seem to have escaped this experience by being ashore. It is bad enough with the boat ashore, it must be truly misereable at anchor. Umberella? Full wet weather gear? carry pump in the dinghy? Towels to sit on for the dinghy ride? Or just bite the bullet and tough it out.

No flying solar panels then? ?
Yea not much fun getting into a wet dinghy , but needs must and all that.
We have some very light water proof , bit like bike riders have and wear them , normally just the bottoms .
All part of the journey of life .
Good to hear your safe on land .
There more storm forecaster to come , we now tossing a coin to see if we call it a day , we have a flight book to Copenhagen in Nov so we might just head to the marina and be done with it .
We play it by ear.

 

[AndrewB]

How do folk handle this almost continuous rain while at anchor? A wet dinghy ride to shore and back is OK in summer showers. But this latest period of heavy "out-of-season" cold windy rain is another thing entirely. I seem to have escaped this experience by being ashore. It is bad enough with the boat ashore, it must be truly misereable at anchor. Umberella? Full wet weather gear? carry pump in the dinghy? Towels to sit on for the dinghy ride? Or just bite the bullet and tough it out.

Dunno about this dinghy stuff. For us its strictly stay inside, watch movies, read books, get pissed, have sex. A bit like rainy days ashore actually.

 

[BurnitBlue]

No flying solar panels then? ?
Yea not much fun getting into a wet dinghy , but needs must and all that.

we have a flight book to Copenhagen in Nov so we might just head to the marina and be done with it .
We play it by ear.

Trust you to remember my comment about flying solar panels. It has only happened to me once and that was during the Medicane last year. It was my own solar panel from an insecure position aft. You have no idea how much racket a 100W panel makes as it bounces from the aft deck to the bow. If I had been at anchor it would have flown off the boat into the sea. So good point.

 

[BurnitBlue]

Dunno about this dinghy stuff. For us its strictly stay inside, watch movies, read books, get pissed, have sex. A bit like rainy days ashore actually.

The following just happened to me about an hour ago. The rain stopped. I walked through the boat opening all the hatches. I was sitting down when I hear the sound of rain on deck. I dashed around the boat closing all the hatches. When I sat down again, I realised it was not rain but the lid on the kettle boiling water for a cup of tea, So I made the tea and opened аll the hatches again. While drinking the tea it started raining heavy so another dash round the boat closing the hatches again. Oh well, keeps me fit (and exhausted).

 

[TonyMS]

Reading this thread makes me think sailing in the Med after 1 October is a form of masochism. We lifted on 30 September after a glorious Greek summer and 6 days of decent weather to prepare the boat for winter and next season. Should have gone home then, but I'd bought tickets for 15 October in case we had any bigger jobs. So have hired a car and booked into a hotel for the last week. Now looking forward to an English winter, with enough space to move around when it rains, which is not that often and not that hard, and seeing children and grandchildren, going to concerts, and cycling through the rolling English countryside.

Each to his own! Enjoy your chosen winter!

TonyMS

 

[Mister E]

Dunno about this dinghy stuff. For us its strictly stay inside, watch movies, read books, get pissed, have sex. A bit like rainy days ashore actually.

You must not have reached that certain age, you did not mention having a nap.