Recent content by CLP

Penfold has reminded me I have an old bronze fairlead which might be adaptable. The main body is 72.5mm long x 31.2mm wide overall. It seems designed for a 25 x 6mm track. The rotatable feairlead eye could be taken off and replaced or altered to make a gooseneck.

I've just been through the job of replacing a broken red button. I had to remove the handle to get at what was left of the button. This was made difficult because the handle was seized onto the splined shaft. In the end patience, lots of WD40 and gentle pursuasion got the handle off and fitting...

In anger.......2016 YM Triangle Race on leg to Kinsale. All power failed, including engine start and all instruments caput south of Falmouth. Completed leg using DR with estimated speeds etc and lighthouse sightings. Needed a tow into Kinsale. Got a respectable result, so it worked.

I've done round the top and Caly Canal, each way, but not the road option. Round the top was more enjoyable for us although the canal has attractions too. Depending on how much rush you are in, with the right weather times are similar. On our last trip heading north, we'd planned on going...

A bit like others, I started offshore sailing in the seventies with virtually nothing, position fixing was with hand held compass, RDF gave huge cocked hats, and weather forecasts were the Shipping Forecast on long wave, there was no Inshore Waters Forecast. I love the tech stuff now and it...

Leaving Crinan around Oban HW + 4hrs(ish) is fine for the tides and the sea state up past Luing shouldn't be a problem, it's likely to be pretty flat. There will be be zones of races through the Dorus Mor and near Fladda and lots of swirly eddies but you will probably get 8 or more knots over...

Many, many times from dinghies and windsurfers, once from pontoon while pulling line from yacht struggling to come alongside, whose crew hadn't attached the line they threw to me!!!! Never from a yacht during 40 years offshore sailing.

On an amusing note... I was anchored in Strangford Loch a few years ago, with a tripping line plus yellow buoy bobbing on the surface. It was getting dark, I had finished my tot of Bushmills and was about to go to bed, when there was some commotion outside. Poking my head out I found a motor...

I have simply taken the most recent medication issue sheet I have with me into a local pharmacy and explained I'm on holiday. They've carried out a check with the GP's surgery and have issued the medicine straight away.

Last season we got them in Waitrose, but the LWWF website says they are available in other places too. They are worth hunting for!

I don't think anyone's mentioned the "look what we found" ready cooked sachets which are pricier than tins but are very good quality and keep for ages. They take only a few minutes to heat up in a pan. There's a wide range of options and they can be mixed up with other things like rice. Also...

Agree that tweezer's aren't recommended and it's important to watch for ring marks appearing later. We've got several sizes of the plastic crow bar things on board but our success rate of tick removal has been higher with tweezers. It's important not to grip the wee blighter too tightly and then...

I've found bracken the worst for ticks. There were dozens and dozens on my wife's arms and legs on a treck on Ulva last year, strangely I only had a few and I was wearing shorts, she was fully covered, I've got hairy(ish) legs though. We both had an onslaught walking from Inverie too. We were...

Beware the midges and the serpants......

When all's not hidden by rain......