Recent content by iLens

There is a small marina just inside the lock in Shoreham's commercial harbour - very basic but very sheltered. I've used it twice on Dover-Portsmouth legs. Contact the lockkeeper (very helpful). It's about 4 miles futher than Brighton

Huon Earth

I refer you to "Riding for the disabled", "The disabled photographers' society" and "The disabled living society", among others.

OK, you cynics... They've raised the £1m, so the disabled can continue to enjoy the sea. (I'm sure they could still do with more donations, though)

Well, maybe Prince Charles, or the Queen or the RNLI will donate, or maybe they won't. In the meantime we could all take a couple of quid out of our sailing budgets and give it to people who want to go to sea, like us, but can't because of a disability.

We've had a narrowboat in central London for several years while we were working there on and off during the week. At 65' long and 6'6 wide it was just OK with two. Our mooring was "non-residential" which meant no more than 3 nights in 7, but we didn't have to pay council tax. The key problem...

Singled-handed, I'm terrified of falling down the companion way and breaking an arm or a leg. I got heavy-duty painkillers from my doctor for the emergency kit before setting off round the UK, but what I hadn't allowed for is the debilitating effect of shock. I knocked myself unconscious at home...

I agree with bbg - a PLB is the No. 1. If you've got AIS I'm not sure a SPOT helps that much, and a EPIRB is well down the list.

I had very good service from McMurdo when trying to re-register a USA EPIRB. It turned out that it was subject to a recall, and they gave me a Smartfind. I particularly like the AIS feature - it means you're likely to get help quickly from another boat in our crowded waters. However, I'm...

You can't - even Part 1 registration is not proof of ownership. It's like a second hand car. All you can do is ask for the paper trail back to (and including) the original Bill of Sale from the manufacturer and the Vat Paid certificate. You just have to hope it has not been used as collateral...

Your friend would miss out if he tried to do his DS on the same boat as your YM. Both courses have lots of practical navigation and boat handling, but the YM tasks are obliviously more challenging and take longer. Even if you could find a school willing to take you both, there wouldn't be enough...

If you want a quick passage and don't mind 13-14 hour days.. Dover->Shoreham otherwise Ramsgate/Eastbourne/Shoreham: (Dover and Shoreham have locks, so timing is important.) Brighton entrance can be bad and the marina is, to my mind, unpleasant -when I visited last year they were so unhelpful I...

I passed close to one mid-channel on a calm day a few years ago. It was just below the surface. It gave me a hell of a shock - I reported it to the coastguard but whether anything ever happened about it, I've no idea.

We've done a lot of "relay cruising", where a new group of friends take over the boat and move it on for a couple of weeks or so. We always have the national flags of the current crew flying from the port spreaders and have made many new friends that way. Admittedly one of the owners claims 4...

"Seashaken Houses" by Tom Nancollas Interesting and well written story of the construction and manning of eight "rock" lighthouses, including Bell Rock, Eddystone and Fastnet.