Is this a record?

jamesjermain

jamesjermain

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Have just returned from Corunna having crossed Biscay in a little Moody 46. The passage included about 90 percent light headwinds. The skipper, understandably, decided to motor-sail to keep up a reasonable average speed. We therefore spent 52 hours under power - is this a record?

I have to say I was as close to being bored as I have ever been on passage: Biscay was as benign as I have ever seen it. The other crews on the YM Biscay Triangle Rally, of which we were part, felt almost cheated.

Among incidents reported from oher boats were: refuelling-at-sea manoeuvres, very close encounters with whales, masses of dolphin, huge swarms of baby Portuguese men-of-war, a lightening-str-ke near miss, fishing nets round props, and the sinking of a Russian submarine trying to break through the Plymouth exclusion zone. One boat caught 8 tuna in a day.

<hr width=100% size=1>JJ<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by jamesjermain on 03/08/2004 12:22 (server time).</FONT></P>
 
A friend of mine has just completed a delivery trip on a Farr 40 from Majorca to Southampton (that was advertised on this forum for crew). It sounds like they had a similar experience, with little wind and lots of boredom. The most exciting part was a Biscay thunderstorm.

<hr width=100% size=1>Summer is what you expect - rain is what you get.
 
Gordon Bennett, James!

So a Moody 46 is now a LITTLE boat eh?

When we started in the 70s we had an 18ft motorboat (see MB&Y March 76) This was considered to be on the small side but finances then (& the desire to get places in a hurry) limited the realisation of our aspirations. The average boat then was about 23ft and if you had a 26ft Centaur you were a real "all weather" yachtsman. We moved on eventually to a Newbridge Venturer but the "norm" by then was a Konsort or something of around 30ft.

1993 saw the launching of our new Hunter Horizon 30 and we had (or so we thought) moved up to the "big boat" league - that is until the lock-keeper at Port Solent call "the small boat at the back" through into the lock!

For the last three years we have owned a Bavaria 42 (43ft 10in long) and really think that we have now reached credibility it the ownership heirachy.

But NO! now you come up with this "...little Moody 46" business and we're back to below par again.

I dispair! I have just acquiesced to a phone sales person from your group and ordered Yachting World by post thinking that I was justified now that we're over 40ft! That will probably be full of 60footers no doubt? Oh well, at least they are giving me the choice of a torch a "Captain's" mug or a pair of binos as a bribe! Your lot didn't even stump up with a cheap plastic pen at the LBS this year. Some of us got used to that free half bottle of scotch!

Hey, maybe your sense of irony kicked in? Oh well, I'm still getting YW. A Maglite for 3 copies must be worth it!

Steve Cronin



<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion
 
No James. A record is a flat, black disc with one grove on each side usually set to revolve at 33.3rmp 45rmp or 78rpm.
It's what we used before the world went digital.
You youngsters!

What did they do with 8 tuna?

BB

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Not so much of the "used to" - you still can't beat vinyl for sound quality /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

is an "8 tuna" like an 8-Track with a Radio built it?

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Re: Gordon Bennett, James!

I just recently had the pleasure of being part of a delivery crew on a trip from Ft William to Dartmouth. From when we left our one night stop over in Carlingford Loach to Plymouth we spent 72 hours motoring/motor sailing. I was all set mentaly for a heavy weather thrash across the Celtic sea, alas disapointed to have to motor across a mill pond! The 34 ft boat only had a 18hp engine which drank fuel anything over 5knts, so progress was slow.

When we did get some wind it built up to 30 - 35 knt NE, just in time to round Start Point and head, yes NE into Dartmouth! So hence we finished up in Plymouth.

<hr width=100% size=1>
 
Just over two days - no not even with my experience is that a record. Sardinia to Greece best part of 5 days with the engine on virtually 100% of the time. Why is it that the wind is always blowing from where you want to be?

Regards, Jeff.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://users.swing.be/FDB/centurion/index2.html>Centurion 32 Web site</A>
 
Why is it that the wind...

... is always blowing from where you want to be?

Because you always want to go where it's blowing from.That's why.

I've always asked the same question as well as the supplemental:- How come there is always one boat sailing down wind and having a great time going in the other direction.

Maybe he's retired and maybe we'll get the same freedom to go where the wind takes us when we don't have to go home at 7pm or catch a plane with view to working the following morning. Maybe.

Steve Cronin




<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion
 
Problem is, vinyl's not very good on a boat, unless you have one of those lovely old players that clamps the record and ploughs a new furrow.

<hr width=100% size=1>Life's too short- do it now./forums/images/icons/wink.gif
 
As fitted...

to a 1956 Ford T-bird


"Fun,Fun,Fun, till her daddy took the T-bird away-y-ay......"

Sad innit?

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion
 
Did you happen to notice ...

... a line of disturbed water in the area where you cross onto the Continental Shelf coming north? I saw what appeared to be this last time I crossed Biscay in a flat calm, stretching away to the horizon in either direction, and have wondered whether this is a feature associated the edge of the Shelf.
 
Re: Did you happen to notice ...

Not really. Though in the general area of the shelf, we came across two or three long lines of slick water with foamy edges. I put these down to the passage of fish-oily fishing boats or whales and their breachings (breechings?). We saw far more whales this time than ever before, including a couple of pods of six or more individuals.

<hr width=100% size=1>JJ
 
Couple of years ago I was helping deliver a catamaran from La Rochelle to Fort Lauderdale. and had to motor for 8 days solid between St Maarten and the Bahamas.

We went to neutral many times to see whether we could sail, but could never get more than 1-2 knots even when we thought there was a wind. After doing 8-15 knots most of the way across to St Maarten, we knew there must be very little wind at all.

We ended up (the shame of it!) calling a container ship and asking for some of their generator diesel to finish the trip as the weather system had no signs of ending. Nice of them to stop their ship and turn it back to us, though.

<hr width=100% size=1>
 
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