Round Britain day 41

[Concerto]

Left Scalloway at 5.45. As soon as I left I hoisted the mainsail with a double reef in the protection of the harbour. Heading towards the channel out I discovered the autopilot had lost the compass calibration - for the second time. I quickly tried doing a circle, it did not correct itself. Decided to continue and hand steer all the way. Left a double reef in the genoa. Initially I headed to windward of the lay line as the forecast was predicting the wind backing from NW to W. When I reach 6 miles above I thought that should be sufficient, so altered course parallel to the lay line. The wind was not quite as strong as the previous sail and the waves were not as bad either, no waves broke over the deck, let alone the coachroof. Sailing in sunshine for most of the day was nice, bit it was still chilly so I kept my oil skins on along with a woolly hat and hood. Halfway during this trip the wind eased slightly, for I unfurled the genoa to a single reef, and this remained until I finished sailing. It started as a reach and progressively became close hauled. Alas I should have allowed even more windward space and arrived in Northern Sound at about 4 miles off where I wanted to be. So I decided as I was very tired by now to motor the last few miles to Westray Marina. Finally arrived at 20.00 and pleased to be moored up. The distance should have been 83 miles, but was certainly longer by about 7 miles, so the longest sail of the trip so far.

Feeling very tired tonight and have kept the report short so I can get to bed.

Sorry no photos today, but I did take some video.



For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1

 

[Hial]

Left Scalloway at 5.45. As soon as I left I hoisted the mainsail with a double reef in the protection of the harbour. Heading towards the channel out I discovered the autopilot had lost the compass calibration - for the second time. I quickly tried doing a circle, it did not correct itself. Decided to continue and hand steer all the way. Left a double reef in the genoa. Initially I headed to windward of the lay line as the forecast was predicting the wind backing from NW to W. When I reach 6 miles above I thought that should be sufficient, so altered course parallel to the lay line. The wind was not quite as strong as the previous sail and the waves were not as bad either, no waves broke over the deck, let alone the coachroof. Sailing in sunshine for most of the day was nice, bit it was still chilly so I kept my oil skins on along with a woolly hat and hood. Halfway during this trip the wind eased slightly, for I unfurled the genoa to a single reef, and this remained until I finished sailing. It started as a reach and progressively became close hauled. Alas I should have allowed even more windward space and arrived in Northern Sound at about 4 miles off where I wanted to be. So I decided as I was very tired by now to motor the last few miles to Westray Marina. Finally arrived at 20.00 and pleased to be moored up. The distance should have been 83 miles, but was certainly longer by about 7 miles, so the longest sail of the trip so far.

Feeling very tired tonight and have kept the report short so I can get to bed.

Sorry no photos today, but I did take some video.

View attachment 138019

For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1

Welcome back to Orkney Roger

 

[srm]

Yes, having done it, its a long way to hand steer. Your track avoided tide overfalls that you may have met off the north end of Papa Westray had you been further west, and you had some sunshine so not all bad.

 

[Halo]

Well done. Not an easy passage with no autohelm !

 

[Daydream believer]

It is times like this that I am glad I have my Aeries. I have regularly found myself relying on it, when the AP has failed, or cannot cope in heavy weather.
May I make a suggestion from my own experience- may not apply to you, so ignore if of no use.

You have lost compass calibration- I often did on my av100- but I find that I can ignore the reading & just point the boat where I want to head then engage the pilot. It may show the wrong reading on the compass but does head me in the correct direction.
You may have found that you need not have done the circles ( although it does no harm to try). The AV100 9 rate compass should not need that. All you needed to do was sail on your course then unlock & re lock the compass.( difficult with the tiller in one hand & the manual in the other!!) Do not worry what it is reading on the instrument. It could be 90 deg out. Then point the boat in the general direction where you want to go & set the AP for direction only, not wind, or sail to WP. So long as the boat is going where you want it does not matter if the compass says you are 90 deg off course. One assumes that you have a magnetic compass suitably mounted

The problem was usually caused by failing to check both callibration lock & compass lock were still engaged having adjusted anything else- such as deviation, or speed etc The software is rubbish.
You might check the wiring into the computer. They are small wires with small screws & I have had a loose one cause an intermittent problem. Possibly a spike would upset the software setting. Only a theory
However, My autopilot is not integrated to any other item, & that may confuse the issue for yours.

 

[Concerto]

Feeling shattered this morning. I expect to take a nap this afternoon to catch up in some zzzzzz's. My shoulders feel stiff and my hands feel polished, loosing the fingerprints so my iPhone does not recognise me.

Forgot to mention that the forward window did not leak despite repeated soakings. Also the problem I had with the 3rd batten has now occurred with the 2nd batten. I am planning to take it apart as I cannot understand how a screw thread on the car comes undone when the batten does not turn. Currently it is blowing a hooley outside with rain showers, so my motivation to sort it is poor. May be later if the rain stops.

The one thing I can recommend about doing this round Britian, my weight has dropped even though I feel I am eating more than usual. I think today will make me do some video editting, as I have plenty to get on with.

It is times like this that I am glad I have my aeries.
You may have lost compass calibration- I often do on my av100- but I find that I can ignore the reading & just point the boat where I want to head then engage the pilot. It may show the wrong reading on the compass but does head me in the correct direction.
However, My autopilot is not integrated to any other item, & that may confuse the issue for yours.

My autopilot is not integrated with my chart plotter as I feel I do not need it. This loss of calibration is a safety problem, so I am going to contact Raymarine to see why it is happening. Both times it is due to the deviation of the boat to its programmed course exceeding 50 degrees. The first time it happened whist removing the mainsail during a force 9 and the wind caused the small amount of genoa to back. The second time I am not sure if I removed the ram from the tiller and forgot to press standby or I later accidently caught the auto button. To me it is a software problem, not a problem with the equipment, and should be fixed urgently.

 

[fredrussell]

One of these Evo tiller pilots is/was the next thing on my shopping list. I’m following these posts with great pleasure but also treating them as a trustworthy long term review of the Raymarine TP. Hope you manage to get it sorted Concerto.

 

[Concerto]

One of these Evo tiller pilots is/was the next thing on my shopping list. I’m following these posts with great pleasure but also treating them as a trustworthy long term review of the Raymarine TP. Hope you manage to get it sorted Concerto.

Generally the EV100 has worked well, but to have it fail twice does point to a fault. Hence why I am contacting Raymarine.

 

[Daydream believer]

..

 

[srm]

It is times like this that I am glad I have my Aeries. I have regularly found myself relying on it, when the AP has failed, or cannot cope in heavy weather.

Likewise my Monitor. Longest none stop passage about three weeks continuous use in everything from light airs to 40 knots plus.

Have also had a variety of tiler and wheel pilots over the last 40 odd years but soon relegated them to motoring only. Probably the best set up was the original Windpilot with auxilary rudder and the smallest Autohelm to drive it when motoring. To be fair I have also used inboard rudder shaft mounted autopilots with instant push button convenience on a number of boats I have skippered and they were all reliable during the times I was onboard.

I'm surprised Concerto was not able to balance the boat to sail itself once the wind was well forward of the beam as many of my (longish keel) boats (including a Prout catamaran) would without need of wind vane or autopilot steering.

However, we are all free to make our own decisions and use the boats and equipment that we prefer and feel comfortable with, and there is a wide variety of steering solutions that different people are very happy with.

 

[Concerto]

I'm surprised Concerto was not able to balance the boat to sail itself once the wind was well forward of the beam as many of my (longish keel) boats (including a Prout catamaran) would without need of wind vane or autopilot steering.

However, we are all free to make our own decisions and use the boats and equipment that we prefer and feel comfortable with, and there is a wide variety of steering solutions that different people are very happy with.

The boat was very well balanced and light on the helm. I only left the helm twice for a couple of minutes using my Tiller Clutch X and the slight movement in the rope seemed to help keep fairly well on course. However I would not trust it for any length of time due to the rough conditions causing massive movement of Concerto. The bow could swing by up to 30 degrees and rise and fall by 6 to 8 feet going over the waves, but at times it there was even greater movement.

An email has been sent to Raymarine. They say they will reply within 3 working days, so I will post their reply.

 

[Concerto]

Well the day changed compared to what I thought I would do. At the landward end of the harbour is a crab processing plant, so I went in to see if they had any dressed crab. I went away happy with a large dressed crab which I had for lunch. Chatting with the lady in the office and an old fisherman about the state of local fishing, the comments seems it is a depressed state. The number of crabs and lobsters being caught is lower, many older fishermen are retiring but very few younger people are joining the industry as working at the salmon farms pays better, and the rising costs of diesel is making fishing less profitable.

After lunch I walked to the local heritage centre. It is very well laid out show everything about the island of Westray from its geology, local fossils, sea birds, farming, fishing, local ships, and royal visits. As I walked back, I popped into one of the two local shops for a loaf of bread. It was very well stocked and besides food had almost everything someone living locally might need. A wander round and I came out with a bag full of bits and pieces, some food items and a loaf of bread. There are a few interesting photos below of things I saw on the walk.

Walking back along the pontoon I chatted with another old fisherman and he asked if I would like a lobster. Unfortunately I declined as I did not think I had a saucepan large enough to cook one. In his small launch he must have had over a dozen just crawling about on the floor boards. He did say they can move quite fast and has been nipped by the claws on a regular basis. After recovering from the walk, the marina manager came by for the extra day I stayed. He said he enjoyed reading my previous post and would be starting at the beginning of these reports, just one per day. It turns out he is also the manager of the crab processing plant, a refrigeration engineer and he works for the local water company. That is what life is like to make a living on a small island with about 600 people and about 4000 cows.

The only slightly strange thing about the marina is it is removed every winter as the harbour can get quite rough in easterly or westerly gales. This does mean there is electricity but no water on the pontoons. However on the quay above the pontoon is a metal cabinet with a very long hose. It only just reached the end of the pontoon, luckily my water filler was on the transom, otherwise I would have had to add one of my hoses.

An interesting place to stay and I would recommend a visit.


Westray Marina.


Fishing and farming on Westray in the Heritage Centre.


Significant events over time on Westray.


Some nautical items including ship models of local boats.


A local fisherman's home with an interesting nautical display.


An old local home with a grass roof.

 

[Blueboatman]

Likewise my Monitor. Longest none stop passage about three weeks continuous use in everything from light airs to 40 knots plus.

Have also had a variety of tiler and wheel pilots over the last 40 odd years but soon relegated them to motoring only. Probably the best set up was the original Windpilot with auxilary rudder and the smallest Autohelm to drive it when motoring. To be fair I have also used inboard rudder shaft mounted autopilots with instant push button convenience on a number of boats I have skippered and they were all reliable during the times I was onboard.

I'm surprised Concerto was not able to balance the boat to sail itself once the wind was well forward of the beam as many of my (longish keel) boats (including a Prout catamaran) would without need of wind vane or autopilot steering.

However, we are all free to make our own decisions and use the boats and equipment that we prefer and feel comfortable with, and there is a wide variety of steering solutions that different people are very happy with.

Well I believe we owned sister ships, R 36 .

Monitor ace, the under deck st6000 ace and powerful , but a miserly autohelm clipped on to Monitor, very good too?
To be a safe single handed, the self steering just has to work . With ‘ready to go’ back up.
I hope Roger gets it sorted and maybe chooses to carry a plug n play spare for total peace of mind..

 

[Blueboatman]

Well the day changed compared to what I thought I would do. At the landward end of the harbour is a crab processing plant, so I went in to see if they had any dressed crab. I went away happy with a large dressed crab which I had for lunch. Chatting with the lady in the office and an old fisherman about the state of local fishing, the comments seems it is a depressed state. The number of crabs and lobsters being caught is lower, many older fishermen are retiring but very few younger people are joining the industry as working at the salmon farms pays better, and the rising costs of diesel is making fishing less profitable.

After lunch I walked to the local heritage centre. It is very well laid out show everything about the island of Westray from its geology, local fossils, sea birds, farming, fishing, local ships, and royal visits. As I walked back, I popped into one of the two local shops for a loaf of bread. It was very well stocked and besides food had almost everything someone living locally might need. A wander round and I came out with a bag full of bits and pieces, some food items and a loaf of bread. There are a few interesting photos below of things I saw on the walk.

Walking back along the pontoon I chatted with another old fisherman and he asked if I would like a lobster. Unfortunately I declined as I did not think I had a saucepan large enough to cook one. In his small launch he must have had over a dozen just crawling about on the floor boards. He did say they can move quite fast and has been nipped by the claws on a regular basis. After recovering from the walk, the marina manager came by for the extra day I stayed. He said he enjoyed reading my previous post and would be starting at the beginning of these reports, just one per day. It turns out he is also the manager of the crab processing plant, a refrigeration engineer and he works for the local water company. That is what life is like to make a living on a small island with about 600 people and about 4000 cows.

The only slightly strange thing about the marina is it is removed every winter as the harbour can get quite rough in easterly or westerly gales. This does mean there is electricity but no water on the pontoons. However on the quay above the pontoon is a metal cabinet with a very long hose. It only just reached the end of the pontoon, luckily my water filler was on the transom, otherwise I would have had to add one of my hoses.

An interesting place to stay and I would recommend a visit.

View attachment 138068
Westray Marina.

View attachment 138069
Fishing and farming on Westray in the Heritage Centre.

View attachment 138070
Significant events over time on Westray.

View attachment 138071
Some nautical items including ship models of local boats.

View attachment 138072
A local fisherman's home with an interesting nautical display.

View attachment 138073
An old local home with a grass roof.

Loving the photos and description of the places visited
Well done.
(I would really really want that A/pilot sorted )

 

[Neeves]

Well the day changed compared to what I thought I would do. At the landward end of the harbour is a crab processing plant, so I went in to see if they had any dressed crab. I went away happy with a large dressed crab which I had for lunch. Chatting with the lady in the office and an old fisherman about the state of local fishing, the comments seems it is a depressed state. The number of crabs and lobsters being caught is lower, many older fishermen are retiring but very few younger people are joining the industry as working at the salmon farms pays better, and the rising costs of diesel is making fishing less profitable.

After lunch I walked to the local heritage centre. It is very well laid out show everything about the island of Westray from its geology, local fossils, sea birds, farming, fishing, local ships, and royal visits. As I walked back, I popped into one of the two local shops for a loaf of bread. It was very well stocked and besides food had almost everything someone living locally might need. A wander round and I came out with a bag full of bits and pieces, some food items and a loaf of bread. There are a few interesting photos below of things I saw on the walk.

Walking back along the pontoon I chatted with another old fisherman and he asked if I would like a lobster. Unfortunately I declined as I did not think I had a saucepan large enough to cook one. In his small launch he must have had over a dozen just crawling about on the floor boards. He did say they can move quite fast and has been nipped by the claws on a regular basis. After recovering from the walk, the marina manager came by for the extra day I stayed. He said he enjoyed reading my previous post and would be starting at the beginning of these reports, just one per day. It turns out he is also the manager of the crab processing plant, a refrigeration engineer and he works for the local water company. That is what life is like to make a living on a small island with about 600 people and about 4000 cows.

The only slightly strange thing about the marina is it is removed every winter as the harbour can get quite rough in easterly or westerly gales. This does mean there is electricity but no water on the pontoons. However on the quay above the pontoon is a metal cabinet with a very long hose. It only just reached the end of the pontoon, luckily my water filler was on the transom, otherwise I would have had to add one of my hoses.

An interesting place to stay and I would recommend a visit.

View attachment 138068
Westray Marina.

View attachment 138069
Fishing and farming on Westray in the Heritage Centre.

View attachment 138070
Significant events over time on Westray.

View attachment 138071
Some nautical items including ship models of local boats.

View attachment 138072
A local fisherman's home with an interesting nautical display.

View attachment 138073
An old local home with a grass roof.

You do not need to cook lobster in one piece. Disassemble, cut the carapace up the underside and remove the meat, crack the claws, now stir fry in your largest saucepan (as you will not have a wok) with spring onions, garlic, ginger and a touch of curry powder. I do accept you don't have fresh ginger nor garlic - but it does come in jars. Serve over noodles with a steamed tender green vegetable - with a nice white wine. We would crack the legs, keep the shell etc and make into a stock.... That's why we go to SW Tasmania.

Jonathan

 

[AngusMcDoon]

The only slightly strange thing about the marina is it is removed every winter as the harbour can get quite rough in easterly or westerly gales.

Pontoon removal in winter is not unusual in smaller Scottish locations. There are a few places that do it. Kyle of Lochalsh is a well known one. If you arrive too early in the season it can be a surprise to find the expected pontoon not there. That happened to me at Bunagee Pier a while back. If you look at the harbour on Google maps the pontoons are not in the water but stacked up on the quayside.

This does mean there is electricity but no water on the pontoons. However on the quay above the pontoon is a metal cabinet with a very long hose. It only just reached the end of the pontoon, luckily my water filler was on the transom, otherwise I would have had to add one of my hoses.

That's a small Scottish harbour feature too. Don't berth at the outer end of the pontoon is you want water at Lochinver for example.

 

[srm]

Have always enjoyed my stays in Westray, whatever the weather. Had the good fortune to be paid to visit once, to run a VHF licence course for the local fishermen.

Lerwick harbour also removes its pontoons during the winter. Arrived too early one season, they started putting them in the next day, but its reasonably safe to anchor just south of the piers if no easterly in the wind. I had a summer mooring there in the dim and distant past before the marina.

 

[srm]

Well I believe we owned sister ships, R 36 .

No, my current boat is a Trident marine Voyager 35 with custom cutter rig and platform bowsprit. However, there were two dark green hulls in Stromness marina, both with 'Kirkwall' on the stern. The other being Hamish's Rustler 36, and we were frequently mistaken for each other, both in Orkney and on the west coast. Why, I'm not sure as other than hull colour and port of registration they were very different looking boats, and Hamish was adamant that a drilling rig on the stern would spoil the look of his boat. Perhaps it was that we both had grey beards!

 

[Concerto]

The next report is here.
Round Britain day 43