I actually had a fairly uneventful trip today

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D3B

D3B

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The plan was to set off for the Mercury meet next weekend taking two stop overs....Dover and Eastbourne.

With the engine problems sorted.....a split in a joint between the pre filters....i was ready for an adventure....

Then those nervous gremlins returned.....i was ready to give up for good.....keeping my mind busy on checks to be carried out seemed to keep the worst of them at bay...

fueled and ready to go.....feeling quite pleased with myself....

Left Ipswich in perfect conditions. F3/4 which i knew would eventually be on the nose but shouldnt have been a problem.

all going well with a little water over the top until i turned into the SW wind which was by now F5/6....(I spoke to Full Circle on return home who said they were seeing winds of 25 Kts at Fambridge.....so offshore would have been worse....) Black Deep....for those that know......water over the top every few waves....soaked....difficult to see through the specs.....i considered the situation.....it was going to be like that for 2 hours to Dover....and i knew that i could be holed up in Dover for an extra day or two.....


so sadly returned home....
I will not miss Mercury as I will go by car


what went wrong?

Yep....Its me....
I dont recall a single passage without some sort of incident/problem.....
The chart plotter would not load the route i had meticulously planned until the really bad conditions started.....so my written passage plan proved to be crucial


But I think I am getting pretty good at this single handing lark......
I just wish those nervous gremlins would go away.......
 
Seems to me a sensible response to the conditions you were facing. Good judgment is always better than pushing a situation where you feel uncomfortable.
 
The gremlins will go with more exposure to passage making.
Just remember this is what you do for pleasure/recreation, travelling alone at sea with 25 odd knots on the nose for several hours doesn't sound like much fun.

It will always be easier with another crew member, but sometimes you learn a lot about yourself as well, going solo. Only push yourself on when it is safe to do so.

Don't use the stories on this forum as a measuring stick of accomplishment in recreational boating. These are often told by boat pro's that do this for a living, and get caught out with dodgey forecasts.
There are a lot of days when these guys woul wish they were home by the fire, instead of climbing walls of water all day
to meet deadlines/customer expectations.
 
I've returned from Dover twice trying to do a similar trip. When going into the channel a Westerly always seems to make conditions worse. Narrow channel, lots of water and sand banks everywhere.
You made a good choice turning round. It takes a brave skipper to turn around. Only a daft skipper keeps going.
Dover is nice for acouple of days but the weather isn't improving.
Always another day.
 
Hi Doug,
before you rule it out , I realize there is some high winds due on friday but they westerly and you do not have to wait a couple of days for them to settle, by 0600 sat they will be F4

0530 start will give a good push , keep outside the thames sandbanks that will help reduce any lumps left over.

Refuel at Dover and be out by 0930, you could even work the slack tide all the way to the solent but by 1100 the winds will not be anything to worry you about anyway and could even have a little North in them by then.

You will be in the Solent by lunch time.

Meant as serious post but accept there is a degree of optimism included, having done that trip so many times I know you have to be optimistic and ready or you miss the opportunities.
 
Wise to make the trip plan visual on a buoy to buoy basis.
Wise to do all the checks
Wise to go out and have a look at least
Wise move to return Doug.

There is always another day.

Its a good man that knows his limitations, and I know there is nothing wrong with your seamanship, you have sailed with me a lot now.

We are still going to Mercury but horror of horrors, you will be arriving in an Etap 35i Ragamonster.
Still, you will be staying aboard a Mobo, so an air of normality eventually.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Pete

cant fault what you suggest......not sure i could do Ipswich to Dover refuel and be back out in 4 hours though......trying not to burn too much fuel so keeping to 20 Kts was the plan.
also....Im not happy to take on that sort of trip single handed....far too long for my comfort....might have been different if i had autopilot
 
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