tcm
...
Las Palmas. More boats arrive every day and the boats that are here are preparing for a transat. I’ve heard wildish guesses that perhaps a few thousand yachts do a transat each year of which only 220 or so go with the ARC, so most are independent of course. In early October the marina tells all the long-term liveaboards to clear out – otherwise (partly cos the marina is so cheap) they would stay all the time with no space for transat boats. They seem to have a policy of (if at all possible) not turning anyone away, but they also have clear obligations to the ARC. An ARC boat arriving here is invoiced (and these days must pay in advance) for a berth up to the ARC departure day. What berth are we in? “I have no idea idea” says the nice lady in the marina office as she’s swiping my credit card – “I’m here to get the money!” Attagirl. When we get into November, non-ARC boats are allowed to stay for just a few days, and some larger ones are told that they must keep someone on board at all times and be ready to leave within 30minutes. Should have joined the ARC, but book a year ahead to be sure of a place...
Anyways, I was gonna write about the jobs list. We’ve done the haulout in Lanzarote - anodes, new seacocks all round (ozzie friend Mark on Sealife emails to say he doesn’t care about seacocks but would be more interested if they were called sea vaginas, ahem..) and new guard wires all round. So now there engine and generator servicing and all the stuff I didn’t round to over the summer.
Sailwise I have ordered a new 180sqm spinnaker (all pink!) in 1.5oz heavyish duty material which should be good for downwind daytime Atlantic with apparent wind 10-20kts and wind angles 100-180. At night we’ll fly the parasailor dead downwind – the parasailor’s wing+vent can deal with squalls which mostly arrive at night – an ordinary spinnaker might blow out.
I also ordered a halyard lock or “K-hook” (made by Karver, and as per suggestion from a ybw forumite flaming, I think) which again should arrive before the arc – instead of the halyard line up the masdt taking the weight of the sail all the time and squeakily wearing the line , a small line is used to hoist the sail and click it into a metal attachment fixed high up on the mast. So no more broken spinnaker halliards – about one a year so far, and each one costs a few hundred quid. Yeah, ok, the blimmin hook costs over three grand, but losing a spi halliard risks losing a sail (if it gets wrapped around props and has to be cut away) and a Parasailor costs eight grand, ouch.
Dee is ace seamtress with the sewing machine and is busy replacing bits of sun-wrecked canvas the busted 3metre zip yesterday and new portside panel today.
Meanwhile yesterday I bicycled to a wood yard for some 18mm ply, wobbled 3 miles back to the boat with the stuff lashed to the rear rack, and made a flip-up/down “step” at the helm, excellent for shortie people like Dee ( and Nick who is due in Nov for the ARC).
When anyone does some proper DIY, everyone is ready to help and/or advise, some even usefully - like a guy on Hungarian yacht “Tempest” just up the pontoon. He looks very like Franz Beckenbauer in the 70’s and he’s called Attila. Yeah, I’m not kidding - Attila the Hun loaned me his electric saw!
Now, I suppose some might think it’s all very well me rambling on about boats when most people have to work and earn a crust and maybe only go boating a few times a year. But …. Attila the Hun has named his round the world sailingtrip “Around the World In 80 litres” (ie 80 litres of diesel) and has a nice website and t-shirts and lots of sponshorship. Now why didn’t any of us think of that? He sez he might use more than 80litres, but he’ll have a go anyway.
Finally, one of the newest jobs on the list is to modify our fake candle. It’s a battery-powered light with a candle flame-looking thing at the top to make it look like a candle, and it’s even coated in wax to make it look and feel and smell like a candle! BUT it doesn’t have dribbly wax down the side so I gotta sort it out…
Anyways, I was gonna write about the jobs list. We’ve done the haulout in Lanzarote - anodes, new seacocks all round (ozzie friend Mark on Sealife emails to say he doesn’t care about seacocks but would be more interested if they were called sea vaginas, ahem..) and new guard wires all round. So now there engine and generator servicing and all the stuff I didn’t round to over the summer.
Sailwise I have ordered a new 180sqm spinnaker (all pink!) in 1.5oz heavyish duty material which should be good for downwind daytime Atlantic with apparent wind 10-20kts and wind angles 100-180. At night we’ll fly the parasailor dead downwind – the parasailor’s wing+vent can deal with squalls which mostly arrive at night – an ordinary spinnaker might blow out.
I also ordered a halyard lock or “K-hook” (made by Karver, and as per suggestion from a ybw forumite flaming, I think) which again should arrive before the arc – instead of the halyard line up the masdt taking the weight of the sail all the time and squeakily wearing the line , a small line is used to hoist the sail and click it into a metal attachment fixed high up on the mast. So no more broken spinnaker halliards – about one a year so far, and each one costs a few hundred quid. Yeah, ok, the blimmin hook costs over three grand, but losing a spi halliard risks losing a sail (if it gets wrapped around props and has to be cut away) and a Parasailor costs eight grand, ouch.
Dee is ace seamtress with the sewing machine and is busy replacing bits of sun-wrecked canvas the busted 3metre zip yesterday and new portside panel today.
Meanwhile yesterday I bicycled to a wood yard for some 18mm ply, wobbled 3 miles back to the boat with the stuff lashed to the rear rack, and made a flip-up/down “step” at the helm, excellent for shortie people like Dee ( and Nick who is due in Nov for the ARC).
When anyone does some proper DIY, everyone is ready to help and/or advise, some even usefully - like a guy on Hungarian yacht “Tempest” just up the pontoon. He looks very like Franz Beckenbauer in the 70’s and he’s called Attila. Yeah, I’m not kidding - Attila the Hun loaned me his electric saw!
Now, I suppose some might think it’s all very well me rambling on about boats when most people have to work and earn a crust and maybe only go boating a few times a year. But …. Attila the Hun has named his round the world sailingtrip “Around the World In 80 litres” (ie 80 litres of diesel) and has a nice website and t-shirts and lots of sponshorship. Now why didn’t any of us think of that? He sez he might use more than 80litres, but he’ll have a go anyway.
Finally, one of the newest jobs on the list is to modify our fake candle. It’s a battery-powered light with a candle flame-looking thing at the top to make it look like a candle, and it’s even coated in wax to make it look and feel and smell like a candle! BUT it doesn’t have dribbly wax down the side so I gotta sort it out…
