First Proper Sea Trip

[robinborton]

I am planning my first proper sea trip for the spring.The boat is a Seawings 254 with an AD 31 engine with GPS and VHF and I will be prepared with all the necessary safety equipment.But what I dont have is the experience and confidence having made only 3 or 4 short trips to sea and have an ICC certificate.
The plan is to join the sea at Gt Yarmouth or Lowestoft and to run down the coast and up the Thames to Henley or thereabouts and have the boat transported back to the Broads.
I will be with 2 drinking partners who will be moral support but not much else so I am inclined to hire an instructor for at least one leg but a school in Ipswich wants £185 for a day..can anyone recommend anyone on that coast?
Is there anyone who can advise me how many days to allow where to stop what to watch out for etc or am I being too ambitious>
Thankyou for yr replies

 

[tcm]

Re: Questions

Oho.

hello robin.

There are numerous occassions hereabouts when "posters" (i.e other people who contribute to this board) have helped others, also on this board, with similar trip to the one that you plan. Yes, for free! Cos whoever helps you gets a free whizz on a boat, and you get some help.

When are you planning the trip? Sensibly, it's a two-day run, for a planing boat, tho not sure with yours with single engine. Praps top speed and the "drinking companions" means it's more like three or more? Once up the Thames, it's sheltred, but slow.

With "drinking companions" ...it's gonna get a bit cramped with nother person? Also, it's gonna be "your and their" trip really, innit? Wonder if praps it would be an idea to have someone bomb around at see for a day, sort out a route with you on GPS and on a chart?

Or really, do you want an axshul paid person?

 

[coliholic]

Good on you Robin, this is exactly how I did my first sea trip and someone was good enough to offer to help me so in the same spirit, I'll make the first offer to do same for you. I'm sure there's enough people here who'd love to do the trip so you shouldn't have to pay for it. Though you've then got to decide how much esperience you expect or want for free, whereas if you 're paying your expectations of their commpetence many be higher.

We brought our boat back from Calais via Ramsgate last summer and did Calais to Ramsgate to Shotley on first day, Shotley to Lowestoft second day and Lowestoft to Kings Lynn 3rd day. So since you're going back sort of the other way I'd reckon on perhaps day 1 to the Medway perhaps Gillingham, and then 2nd day to Teddington. Depends if you wnat to rush to get there, or enjoy the trip.

I think tcm's right though, it might be a bit crowded with 4 on board. Perhaps re think the first day, just 2 or 3 to Medway then swap mates over? Other option is out at Gt Yarmouth for a little first jaunt down to Lowestoft just to get your confidence up. It's only about 18 miles from memory, then see how things are going, boat behaving well, you're happy etc then perhaps down to Shotley, then all sorts of options.

And I've never been up the Thames so could be good exp and bound to be loads of fun. Of course depending on when your planning this for, I may well have my boat at Ipswich by then so if worst comes to the worst perhaps a cruise in company?

So I'll be first volunteer. You can PM me if you want.

 

[claymore]

Re: Questions

Its very nice taking people off on the boat with you - for you and them - but sometimes you could just do to be with one or two competent experienced hands. This sounds just that sort of situation, If things go a bit pear-shaped you'll have your hands full and having the extra responsibility of inexperienced passengers will get a tad stressful.
As Matts said, have a trial run (I think that was him volunteering then) then taking others will become a pleasure not an ordeal.
regards
JS

 

[BarryD]

Hi Robin,

Sounds like a fun trip in the offing - "drinking partners!" - being a total novice and having come round from Bradwell to Chichester last year in the hands of reprobates picked off the board I can say with confidence that unless you want a "formal teacher" then asking for help from here is the best way. They insisted that I spend a couple of hundred quid on new flares and engine spares before we could commence the trip and I knew that the names in question were capable (or at least sounded like they were). I learnt a lot, and got a lot of confidence in my boat.

I don't know the coast in your area but in a short boat (I'm assuming yours is about 25 feet LWL - same as mine) I'd figure on only about three to four hours a day max before you've had enough <G>. Say Gt Yarmouth to Harwich or Bradwell on Sea / Burnham on Crouch area for the first day.

As tcm has suggested an out to sea round the block and back in is a great way to increase confidence in the boat and the nav gear and your abilities.

Enjoy yourself - I'd offer my services but you're more experienced than me, however I can help with the drinking.

Barry D

 

[Guest]

It'll be an interesting trip. A couple of years ago I brought mine round from St. Ives in Cambs through the Wash and refuelled at Yarmouth, then onto Brighlingsea. My journey sounds very similar to yours.
Good luck

 

[Guest]

As long as you're well prepared you should go for it ... we did our first real unaccompanied sea trip from Gt Yarmouth via Lowestoft to Ipswich last year with a very strong northerly and a big following swell ... no problems and at our cruising speed (10k) it only took about 4 hours ... we left GY on evening bridge lift and stopped overnight in Lowestoft then left early morning to catch the tide

Suggest you avoid days when there is any serious easterly component in the wind (easterly beasterly !!) but it's an easy run ... Shotley or Levington are fine for first night ... on to the Medway on second day if everything's ok and you're not it too much of a hurry .. there's no point in overdoing it, if you're in a hurry go by car !!

Just make sure your charts are up to date ... we spent some time looking for a north cardinal which no longer existed !!!

 

[hlb]

Cant help agreeing with all. Do not mix business with pleasure. ie. Your either learning ( And dont forget who ever comes to help will need information from you on the where abouts of everything and your GPS will be different from theres so that needs studying) or pleasure. The time to take mates out is when you can tell them with confidence exactly what to do. If you try to do it any other way. Your mates will start to tell everyone else how to do it and you'll have a blind leading the blind situation. In any case as I think Mat hinted.
Theres loads of pepple on here that would come and help. But not with drinking mates, drinks yes, mates no.

Haydn

 

[david_steward]

Re: Drinking?

As others have said, three novices and one experienced hand on a strange boat sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Whatsits law will make certain that it is the skipper that goes over board, probably elbowed over the side by one of the drinking chums. Then what?

Sorry to sound negative but 1+3 on a boat that size is risky.

The trip is perfectly reasonable in good weather but it sounds like three days at least.

I speak as one of those wonderful souls that helped a new skipper on his first trip. I would offer to help here but I don't think I could stand another puking first timer! (Please note this is not a dig at you whatsoever, but they know who they are) ;-)

Good Luck

Dave S

 

[BarryD]

Colour me hurt. NM

%(

Barry D

 

[david_steward]

Re:Just teasing.....

Got my holiday head on coz I'm off skiing tonight!!

See you in a week.

lolxxx

Dave S

 

[tcm]

Re: Colour him brown with orange bits

yes, agreed.

But, here (anyone) the rule is to set the rules early. If anyone does find themselves "helping" an owner in these circumstyance with wifey/kids/ mates on board, a long time saily instructor say that you must make clear that

1) You're the skipper. When the boat's at sea, you do as I say. I might say left right stop or go. At the limit (but ONLY at the limit) there's no democracy.

2) With larger numbers, announce that you can be called "Skipper". Not dave or chris or whatever.

3) You might shout. Ask for forgiveness in advance.

4) Experimentally, tell everyone what to do. Give them all a job checking things. Gettem to make a cup of tea for everyone, for example. All this before setting off.

5) If there's a know-it all on board, don't trust his gopd waypoiints, ahem.

6) If someone throws up, it isn't totally fair to er rub his nose in it. At least, not three months later.

 

[robinborton]

OK the mates are out

Thankyou all for your helpful advice and especially to Colin for his kind and generous offer.To go with a regular from the forum would be an honour indeed and much more fun.And OK the mates are not invited and I can see why it makes sense maybe if we make it to Tower Bridge they can join us there.
I plan to go when the weather warms up in April - May, and will PM Colin nearer the time to see if it still works for him.
Barry, you mentioned that on your first trip you were persuaded to buy a list of essential equipment, please what was the list?
Thanks again everyone,
Robin

 

[hlb]

Re: Colour him brown with orange bits

Some of you may remember me helping to get a fifty od ton, fifty od ft boat back from the Solent to the river Severn. Most thought it was just a funny story. It was'nt. It was gosple truth. For those who did'nt read it I'll post it below (if I can find
it). This was a clasic mistake of Me the so called expert. A captain cos. He had a narrow boat and it was sons boat anyway. There family and friends.

The rest of you, you've read it many times before, its called.
Show me the way home. The sequal

It was late in the year and me and th-wife had set off from Plymouth for a three day cruise. We decided to go west cos the wind was from the east and it wouldn’t be as bumpy. To cut a long story short and try to get to the point of the story. The wind staid in the east we kept going west and when we ran out of land ( at Lands End ) did a right to keep on the lea shore and finished up in Stourport. (just short of Birmingham).

We decided this would be a good place to leave the boat for the winter, and it now being only about 130 miles from home in Lancashire we could use it all winter. Especially cos there was a lovely friendly clubhouse at the marina.

About this point (and some months later) in the proceedings. Th-wife decides to go all menopausal on me, so I spent most of the winter on the boat to keep out of the way of the dragon. I got to know many of the river and banana (narrow boat) boaties quite well.

One day early spring I was asked if I would help bring a boat back from the Isle of White for the son of one of the banana boaters.

The crew was selected on the basis of, who could skip work for a few day's, with banana boat man as captain cos it was his sons boat and anyway I think he'd once been on a ferry!
We plotted course on my boats sat-nav in Stourport. Tied my dinghy on the roof of an ancient merc. (Cos it made a good roof rack) and at four in the morning, five of us squeezed into it for the trip to the Isle of White. It broke down countless times but finally we ends up a few miles up river from Cowes.

THE BOAT. 56ft, 54 tons ex admiralty liberty boat, previously owned and lived on by a drug addict. There’s an Aga cooker chuffing away with no chimney cos drug addict has flogged it The galley was made out of orange boxes whilst drug addict was having a bad trip! the toilet in the corner of the eer---saloon was behind a curtain, held up with a washing line. The wheelhouse is about three feet square and consists of a wheel, gear leaver and a compass, with one screw holding it down. (so you can turn it any way round you fancy). At this time the captain takes command and slowly takes on the roll of captain Bligh. Fuel is discussed and we're going to pick some up down river, before setting off for Salcolmbe some 80-90- miles away (this is the first time this boat has moved since the navy had it).

Captain sets off a bit slowly Cos the back end's still tied up and the pontoon's coming with us. It was at this point that I started to have slight doubts about this trip!! Off we go down river, the fuel station disappearing astern.

Out into the Solent and the big stew pot on the Aga takes a tumble cos nobody on the boat has been on anything rougher than the Leeds to Liverpool canal. I've been demoted to cabin boy cos I made noises about compasses and fuel and lights and things for a fifteen hour night crossing to Salcolmbe. Anyway happily chugging down the Solent at about eight knots it's noticed that the prop shaft is wearing a hole in the stern and water is coming in, so speed is reduced to six knots, which some what improves the situation. Captain decides to head for Poole and I get instant promotion to pilot cos I've been before and anyway I've got the charts.
In poole I head for the fuel barge and put 220 gallons in the 200 gallon tank!!. So god knows how we'd have got to Salcolmbe!!!

Captain takes the helm again and tries to remove the rails on an eight ton buoy. Fifty six tons meeting eight tons is quite something!! Off to the chip shop in Pool for supper. Captain decides we'll set off for Salcolmbe around mid night. I point out that I've never been out of Poole at night and with all the lights from cars and street lights it's hard to find the way and in any case this boat wont stop in less than two hundred yards. So lets go now whilst we can still see. Needless to say I'm back in cabin boy mode. Off captain goes totally ignoring the fair way and heads through the middle of the moorings. Somebody rushes to the bow and franticly waves left and right as the moored craft loom into sight from the pitch black night. We did a circular tour of Poole harbour about three times before coming across the Cherbourg ferry, so captain decides to follow it out of the harbour We've got two micky mouse hand held GPS's neither of which we could get a position out of. Captain didn’t believe in all that rubbish anyway and said " You can go anywhere off a compass" The fact that this one spent most of the time rolling about on the floor and the crew put it back on it's stand in various positions, had little significance.


We plotted a course and captain went to bed. Son's wife is hysterical cos she's only been on a canal boat before and it's pitch black, miles out at sea and rolling about a bit. Anyway with captain fast asleep I try to get a bit of order and make this tub a bit more sea worthy. The piece of string holding the steel cable to the rudder got fixed And I tried many times to get the captains son who was the mechanic (and had the tools) to mend the compass. But he had no interest in the compass.

Some time in the middle of the night we got one of the GPS's working and changed course a couple of times till I could see the headland Off Salcolmbe in the early morning gloom. Captain wakes up and announces "there you are. You can go anywhere off a compass"!!. By this time I've been up most of the night. the choice for sleeping was in the fore cabin with the sons wife and the Aga cooker filling the place with smoke and not much heat or the aft cabin filled with rubbish and spare parts and freezing cold. The captain slept in the engine room which was the cleanest and warmest place on the boat. I started grumbling about breakfast and a cup of tea would be nice, About an hour later it arrived, Raw sausage butties and luke warm tea.

Salcolme. Hunt round for a stove to replace the Aga. One of the crew comes back with a second hand Primus. then off to the yacht club for shower and food.
Three am. and captain's ready for off. Points UP river and declares " there's the lights it's easy" I go opposite way over the bar and out to sea. Captain takes over cos I'm grumbling again cos all the smoke from the Aga is blowing into the wheel house and I cant see the channel and cant breath either. We leave him in there for a couple of hours to stew. Meanwhile the crews got the Primus in the saloon. and are trying to light it with the petrol for my out board. Flames five foot high and rolling about the floor.


We're heading for Falmouth, 260deg (If my memory serves me) With the Edistone lighthouse half way across. Son and wife have had enough of miles out at sea so captain takes the scenic route around the coast. this is ok but at five-six knot's it doubles the journey time. In the mean time back at the ranch. The sea's built up to a good force six/seven and the coast is disappearing in the rain. The captain is telling the crew to steer 260deg. This might have been ok from Salcolmbe but we're now somewhere off loe!! No way can I tell him he's wrong and the crew dont know any better. We're now heading for the rocks between Fowey and Falmouth with a big following sea. When they came into view. Captain and his now first mate ( Cos he doesn’t know any better so doesn’t argue) decides that you've got to ease the boat round slowly, (cos they saw it in a film somewhere) and anyway they dont like the look of the big following sea.

An hour later. the boats still heading for the rocks and the captains still going to ease it round. Things are now getting a bit serious. Captain's wedged in the three foot square wheel house. The rest of the crew are petrified in the saloon which doesn’t have a door but a ladder and hatch like a submarine. I've had enough, so telling the crew "it's going to bounce a bit I'm through the hatch dodge the waves coming over the deck and get into the wheel house with the captain. the compass is on the floor but there isn’t room to bend down and pick it up. I can see the day marker which is a big red and white tower off Fowey so I know where I'm heading for. Captain's face is now ash white but at least some of the arrogance has gone. After screaming a bit I get him to put the wheel hard over and give the engine some stick. The boat comes round fine apart from upsetting the crew down in the hold and the chief mechanic complaining about the prop shaft.

About hundred yards off Fowey the hand held VHF comes into range and Fowey radio asks if we are having trouble getting into harbour. "No" says the captain "we've just been fishing", "Well will you let us know when you're leaving" came the reply. I booked my self into the King of Persia for the night. and caught the train the next morning. The boat did eventually arrive at Stourport after some arguments with another buoy, a rock, and some mud. And I think Lands End is a bit shorter than it used to be!
This story is purely fictitious and the cast bare no resemblance to any person living or dead.
(Honest.)



Haydn

 

[eddieperkins]

Robin,
A little more background will be usefull here, age of boat, speed, is it normally used on the broads, is the bottom clean, engine serviced, proposed dates for the trip etc.

I would agree that you are more likely to get the right sort of help and more out of the trip without the drinking buddies, one would probably be ok if more interested in the trip than the drinking.

Essentially, given the right conditions its not a difficult trip and should be easily done over two days or so. A cruise in company may be able to be arranged and I feel sure that you will get help from the friendly (and slightly mad) bunch on this forum. Subject to times, work commitments etc I could be available to help. I would think that you would be better off returning by sea also, the road transport idea is a very costly and no fun option!!.

Give us some details so we can see what can be done.

One word of caution though, if the boat has been on the broads for some time it will have been run at low speeds and may have muck in the tank and sure as eggs is eggs you will find out all the things that can go wrong with the engine etc when you get out in the seaway and open the throttles. Check the tank is clean, have plenty of filters and spares and make sure the engine has been well checked and serviced.

Regards,

Eddie

 

[BarryH]

Re: I\'m Glad..........

......someone brought that up, have been reading with interest the replys above, all very good advise. Now im not saying I'm an expert, but the lack of "is the boat ready/fit for it" type of reply was a long time in coming. Now I'm not slating anyone, because all the advise is sound and i know that none of you would give a windy up sort of reply to a question as serious as this. On the other hand do we all take it as gospel that the boats we use are fit for the "trips" we do.

Ive only got one thing to add, Iwould get a pilot for the area, just so i could read up before hand so I could get an idea of what sort of hazards to expect. Also the Thames in the pool of london can be quiet congested, and also gen up on the rules regarding the Barrier.

Regards BarryH

 

[Guest]

Re: Old man of the sea saga

Look I'm a relative newcomer here with only a few hundred posts, (although I remember HLB being Haydn) but I remember this story at least three times. The essence is, on a first sea voyage

a) Take someone who knows what they are doing, to help you
b) Do not take people who do not know what they are doing - save them for when you know what you are doing
c) Make sure you have an alternative means of getting home e.g. auxiliary outboard if you have a single engine vessel.
d) At the very least make sure you have adequate safety gear - lifejackets, raft, flares, VHF, etc.

There are any number of candidates on this forum who will help - take it!.

Best of luck,

Nick (now semi retarded - no hints intended)

 

[BarryD]

Spares list...

Hi Robin,

Engine Spares: Plugs, points, leads, fan belts, fuel & water filters
Boat Spares: Horseshoe lifebelt, coastal flare pack
You spares: Life-jacket, unbreakable metal thermos (whoops), energy bars, lots of cash

Other spares: Hand held VHF, backup GPS

If it's a single engine and you are unsure of it reliability - consider taking an out board motor, and a dinghy as well. I joined Sea-Start as sort of AA of the Sea, for peace of mind really.

Hope that helps somewhat.

Barry D

 

[Guest]

Re: Spares list...

One thing Barry forgot was, a raw water pump impeller.

Also you could consider a cruise in company with another boat if possible.

Paul js.

 

[ArthurWood]

Re: and a comprehensive toolkit

or has that been mentioned in the stuff above?