tcm
...
Have just got back from summer of a belt around the med, from s france, to corsica, then menorca, then palma in majorca, then barcelona, marseilles, st trop and back home. I flew home a couple of times, and along the way met a total of 4 posters from hereabouts. Matters arising include:
1. The most economical crusing speed of my boat is zero knots.
2. The spinning thing for electric on the quayside goes round very fast. Being an extraordinarily tight git, i detailed the kids to establish how long for 10 revolutions with various item of elctric equipment switched on/off, and the answer is that the airco uses 80%, and the deck fridge about 8%. If you leave loads of stuff on, the boat uses 400 quid a month of lectric, tho fortunately i fired the skipper responsible.
3. It's cheap at anchor, innit? And very nice, unless it cuts up a bit rough.
4. Cscott49's boat "Englander" is very lovely. Stewart (poster hereabouts) and I visted him in mallorca, got lashed and started a bidding war, which was quite flattering but also a bit rude really.
5. In marseilles, you have to get up and out nice and early, cos the gendarmes always pitch up to look at nice boats. Marseilles-wise, all boats that can relaibly make 100 miles are "nice" and anyway they may already have crawled over all the residents, so you're next unless you're out before nine in the morning. They ticked me off for not having french flares instead itlaian and english.
6. In Barcelona, port olimpico is nearer the supermarket. In port vell, the occasioanl massive swell is caused by returning pilot boats on the plane. But the security is damn good in port vell.
7. The gentle slowing down, and then returning of speed of the boat is caused by it beginning to run out of diesel, which on my boat happens when there is a mere 2000 litres left in the tank. I need longer pipes into the tank.
8. Boats go faster if they don't have 2-3 tons of water in hidden bilge behind where the dinghy goes which doesn't have an automatic pump in it, and can't be inspected when the dinghy is in - i only found this out two days before leaving, emptied it and then boat then did easily over 30 knots. Now, they are lifting and fixing the leak.
9. It is jolly good having TV playable on the radar, and multiscreen plotter thing on the other screen, so you can play a dvd at the bridge whilst droning along on long empty bits of sea. Also, I found out that the boat DOES have an overlay thing, but I told Massaccio that it didn't.
10. The lateest riviera gimmiack is a Flying Fish. This is a large inflatable abh9out 14 feet sqaure, essentially three large inflatable parallel bananas connected together with webbing, and a hammerhead very large banana across the front. One person sits on each of the parallel bananas, and a skiboat drags it along as fast as it will go, over 30 knots. The thing rears up to alomost vertical, and very nearly flies. As you go around a corner, it actually does fly, and you hit the sea at quite dangerous yet exhilarating speed. Very lunatic fun for 20 euros each for about ten minutes.
1. The most economical crusing speed of my boat is zero knots.
2. The spinning thing for electric on the quayside goes round very fast. Being an extraordinarily tight git, i detailed the kids to establish how long for 10 revolutions with various item of elctric equipment switched on/off, and the answer is that the airco uses 80%, and the deck fridge about 8%. If you leave loads of stuff on, the boat uses 400 quid a month of lectric, tho fortunately i fired the skipper responsible.
3. It's cheap at anchor, innit? And very nice, unless it cuts up a bit rough.
4. Cscott49's boat "Englander" is very lovely. Stewart (poster hereabouts) and I visted him in mallorca, got lashed and started a bidding war, which was quite flattering but also a bit rude really.
5. In marseilles, you have to get up and out nice and early, cos the gendarmes always pitch up to look at nice boats. Marseilles-wise, all boats that can relaibly make 100 miles are "nice" and anyway they may already have crawled over all the residents, so you're next unless you're out before nine in the morning. They ticked me off for not having french flares instead itlaian and english.
6. In Barcelona, port olimpico is nearer the supermarket. In port vell, the occasioanl massive swell is caused by returning pilot boats on the plane. But the security is damn good in port vell.
7. The gentle slowing down, and then returning of speed of the boat is caused by it beginning to run out of diesel, which on my boat happens when there is a mere 2000 litres left in the tank. I need longer pipes into the tank.
8. Boats go faster if they don't have 2-3 tons of water in hidden bilge behind where the dinghy goes which doesn't have an automatic pump in it, and can't be inspected when the dinghy is in - i only found this out two days before leaving, emptied it and then boat then did easily over 30 knots. Now, they are lifting and fixing the leak.
9. It is jolly good having TV playable on the radar, and multiscreen plotter thing on the other screen, so you can play a dvd at the bridge whilst droning along on long empty bits of sea. Also, I found out that the boat DOES have an overlay thing, but I told Massaccio that it didn't.
10. The lateest riviera gimmiack is a Flying Fish. This is a large inflatable abh9out 14 feet sqaure, essentially three large inflatable parallel bananas connected together with webbing, and a hammerhead very large banana across the front. One person sits on each of the parallel bananas, and a skiboat drags it along as fast as it will go, over 30 knots. The thing rears up to alomost vertical, and very nearly flies. As you go around a corner, it actually does fly, and you hit the sea at quite dangerous yet exhilarating speed. Very lunatic fun for 20 euros each for about ten minutes.
