First trip out since my hand mended.

[BruceDanforth]

I let myself out under the marina bridge at 0900 on Saturday and took the ebb out of the Tyne and went North towards the Farnes. Just South of Dunstaburgh castle the domestic battery decided to pack up so I followed the RNYC pilotage into Newton Haven. I anchored up for the night (on a Danforth - didn't die or wreck the boat). Up at 5am to find my equally obsolete hurricane lamp still burning away merrily in the rigging and to get the south going current pausing only to **** in my bucket and check the oil in the outboard. I was back by the Spanish city far too early as it was really lively out there and blowing a good 6 so decided to put out just 2 or 3 feet of headsail and crawl down the coast which was working but then a squall blew up and I was back up to 5 kts of boat speed according to the twirling string log so I motored into 25kts of wind and had a wet entrance into the Tyne with the outboard flat out (I thought briefly I would get blown out to sea and end up in Holland but it was OK once I hit the throttle). I crawled up the Tyne as slowly as possible so I could get back once there was enough tide for the gate at the marina to drop. I didn't break too much - just the battery and a small shackle holding one of the pulles for the roller reefing coming undone (i found the bits on deck so fixed already). I managed to get a sheet to go under a bilge keel whilst faffing on with the shackle which was a new one on me.

I discovered that my rigging is too loose when I was in a force 6 so I will tighten that up a bit and that the release button on the no name winch handle I bought last year works in the wrong sense (handle never locks except when pressing the button)

I forgot the beer and forgot to take a fleece or jumper

76 nm over the water not counting the trips up and down the Tyne which is not bad for me cos I'm only little.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Bruce, are you, by any chance, a relation of C Q R Spade?

 

[BruceDanforth]

Second cousins.

 

[FullCircle]

What a tale of fecklessness and recklessness! No beer?




Hope the hand (mentioned in title but not in body of post) held up OK.

 

[duncanmack]

I let myself out under the marina bridge at 0900 on Saturday and took the ebb out of the Tyne and went North towards the Farnes. Just South of Dunstaburgh castle the domestic battery decided to pack up so I followed the RNYC pilotage into Newton Haven. I anchored up for the night (on a Danforth - didn't die or wreck the boat). Up at 5am to find my equally obsolete hurricane lamp still burning away merrily in the rigging and to get the south going current pausing only to **** in my bucket and check the oil in the outboard. I was back by the Spanish city far too early as it was really lively out there and blowing a good 6 so decided to put out just 2 or 3 feet of headsail and crawl down the coast which was working but then a squall blew up and I was back up to 5 kts of boat speed according to the twirling string log so I motored into 25kts of wind and had a wet entrance into the Tyne with the outboard flat out (I thought briefly I would get blown out to sea and end up in Holland but it was OK once I hit the throttle). I crawled up the Tyne as slowly as possible so I could get back once there was enough tide for the gate at the marina to drop. I didn't break too much - just the battery and a small shackle holding one of the pulles for the roller reefing coming undone (i found the bits on deck so fixed already). I managed to get a sheet to go under a bilge keel whilst faffing on with the shackle which was a new one on me.

I discovered that my rigging is too loose when I was in a force 6 so I will tighten that up a bit and that the release button on the no name winch handle I bought last year works in the wrong sense (handle never locks except when pressing the button)

I forgot the beer and forgot to take a fleece or jumper

76 nm over the water not counting the trips up and down the Tyne which is not bad for me cos I'm only little.

You didn't bump into that loveable nutter Ed Beynon on your trip perchance? (I see that your username is almost, but not quite an anagram of that esteemed yachtsman, computer whizz and genuine all round good guy)
I think you'd get on well with him. If you ever have the pleasure, give him my very best regards.

ps Glad the hand's mended