Concerto
Well-known member
Another day with an unexpected destination like yesterday, but with a twist.
Up early and slipped out of the berth in Brighton at 07.50. It was a spring tide and just after low water. Progress seemed slow as I went out from between the berths. The echo sounder was reading 0.0, so the depth was under 1.6m at the end of piers 7 and 8 . This gave me a chance to put the fenders away with no risk of moving. After gunning the engine I made slow progress towards the main channel. As I motored in slightly deeper water, I closely followed the red buoys very close to the west pier. There was very little water on the eastern side. The lowest reading I saw was 1.0 below my keel of 1.6m. After heading away from the entrance, I turned in to wind and hoisted the main, then bore away and unfurled the genoa. Considering how light the wind was, I was pleased with about 5 knots plus 2 knots of tide.
Yesterday I had a problem with the cams on the mainsheet block not gripping. Looking today I could see the plate the cams are bolted to had separated and the pair of 5mm blots had bent. Probably caused by repeated gybes over a number of years. After rigging a warp to replace the sheet, I undid the securing shackle on the mainsheet traveller. Mole grips and water pump pliers were needed to straighten the bolts sufficiently to remove the bent bolts and replace with new bolts from my stock. Bending the mounting bracket back into shape and after refitting the cams, I now have a fully functioning 3:1 and 6:1 mainsheet system. All done whilst sailing at about 5 knots. Whilst checking the sail set, I noticed the bottom full batten had stripped its car. Now I need a helicoil kit to fix it.
Approaching Beachy Head, the wind changed from a broad reach to almost close hauled and no strength. On went the engine as I needed to make better progress to reach Ramsgate. Shortly after passing the lighthouse, the wind filled in from about NNE, nothing like the forecast of NW. As the speed increased, so off went the engine. Then the wind speed dropped, so on went the engine again. I was surprised to see not one, not two but three yachts heading from Eastbourne Marina towards Beachy Head, all were motoring. Quite quickly the wind settled to a close reach and I went to presse the off button for the engine, it partially died and restarted. Pressed again and nothing happened. Out came the manual as I had never had to stop the engine manually. After about 20 minutes the wind dropped and I went to turn the engine on, zilch, absolutly nothing when I turned the key. Oh, sh.... Grabbing the manual, I quickly diagnosed the main 40 amp fuse had blown. Now, where did I put those spare flat fuses? They were where I expected to find them. Luckily I had another 40 amp fuse, but when I tried inserting it, there were some sparks and the fuse blew. Further reading of the manual did not help, so phoned Beta for some pointers to solve the problem. A very helpful engineer gave me somethings to check after explaining where to find the bits on the engine. After checking some of them, I was getting somewhere towards Dungerness, but no where with the engine.
After checking for Beta agents nearby, there was only one in Dover. Knowing all visitors must be pre-booked, I contacted the marina for a berth. Sorry, we are not taking visitors as we are moving all the boats back into Wellington Dock ready to remove the pontoons. Help me please, so I can get the engine fixed. I was told to check with the engine agent they could tackle the work and they would consider my request for a berth. Luckily the agent would be able to send someone over tomorrow. Phew, the marina allocated me an easy berth in the old wet dock. I felt confident I could sail there, but the port authority had other ideas, I was to be towed in. So I contacted them when 2 miles away, but they wanted me to make further contact when at ½ mile away so they could send out a tow vessel. I fitted the fenders for mooring on the portside as I approached the ½ mile distance and then dropped the mainsail after confirming I was close. Then I fitted the fenders to starboard as whilst sailing I was heeling to much. I was getting very close to the Western Entrance displaying red no entry lights, so started furling the genoa away. Out thunders the Harbour Launch/Pilot Vessel and smartly turns round my stern and passes a heavy line to tow me in.
Initially they were being cautious doing about 5 knots, but every time the line went taught, Concerto accelerated and the line went slack. The solution to stop this snatching was to go faster. Just over 6 knots and the line stopped snatching. It was certainly the fastest I had ever entered Dover. Once inside and close to the approach to the wet dock, they slowed down and Concerto just kept gliding forward, so they had to keep motoring forward until I slowed down. They then moored me to their port side and we quickly made 5 knots again. The berth I had been allocated was on the south side of B pontoon, immediately inside the hammerhead. Why they did not put me on the hammerhead I shall never know as that would have been very easy. The launch skipper decided it would be best to spin round and lay me alongside the hammerhead and then manhandle Concerto into the berth. It was all done very easily, I could have done it by myself but was aided by the crew member. Only took a couple of minutes and they were off to end their shift at 18.00. The helm thanked me for being so confident in handling my boat into the berth, it seems this is difficult for some yacht skippers. Today for me, it was a first. Since starting sailing in 1965 this was the first time I have ever required any outside assistance to get a broken down boat to safety. Once the launch left I phoned the Beta agent and they will be with me between 8.30 and 9.
I went to go ashore and found the old access ramp blocked off, so I walked along A pontoon as it led me towards the big Marina Office sign on a building. At the end was a temporary floating walkway with safety netting which led to another ramp ashore under the office. I go to the marina office, only to find they now moved to the sea front. It was almost like a route march to get there, well felt like one. The new 1st floor offices are all swish and overlook the new outer marina and new lock to Wellington Marina. I have paid the overnight berthing fee, but there is no standard fee for the tow in, so I will find out tomorrow how much of a grin and bear it price it will be.
Not a lot of water to port
Unusaul clouds over Brighton Marina
The bent mainsheet block
Heading towards the sun in the east
Looking like another nice day
Beachy Head lighthouse
Looking astern at the new and old lighthouses
Off Dungerness with the old nuclear power station
Late afternoon
Concerto is on the righthand side and you can see the temporary walkway
Dover Castle under a dramatic sky
For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1
All the links with place names are in my about me page available from my avatar.
Up early and slipped out of the berth in Brighton at 07.50. It was a spring tide and just after low water. Progress seemed slow as I went out from between the berths. The echo sounder was reading 0.0, so the depth was under 1.6m at the end of piers 7 and 8 . This gave me a chance to put the fenders away with no risk of moving. After gunning the engine I made slow progress towards the main channel. As I motored in slightly deeper water, I closely followed the red buoys very close to the west pier. There was very little water on the eastern side. The lowest reading I saw was 1.0 below my keel of 1.6m. After heading away from the entrance, I turned in to wind and hoisted the main, then bore away and unfurled the genoa. Considering how light the wind was, I was pleased with about 5 knots plus 2 knots of tide.
Yesterday I had a problem with the cams on the mainsheet block not gripping. Looking today I could see the plate the cams are bolted to had separated and the pair of 5mm blots had bent. Probably caused by repeated gybes over a number of years. After rigging a warp to replace the sheet, I undid the securing shackle on the mainsheet traveller. Mole grips and water pump pliers were needed to straighten the bolts sufficiently to remove the bent bolts and replace with new bolts from my stock. Bending the mounting bracket back into shape and after refitting the cams, I now have a fully functioning 3:1 and 6:1 mainsheet system. All done whilst sailing at about 5 knots. Whilst checking the sail set, I noticed the bottom full batten had stripped its car. Now I need a helicoil kit to fix it.
Approaching Beachy Head, the wind changed from a broad reach to almost close hauled and no strength. On went the engine as I needed to make better progress to reach Ramsgate. Shortly after passing the lighthouse, the wind filled in from about NNE, nothing like the forecast of NW. As the speed increased, so off went the engine. Then the wind speed dropped, so on went the engine again. I was surprised to see not one, not two but three yachts heading from Eastbourne Marina towards Beachy Head, all were motoring. Quite quickly the wind settled to a close reach and I went to presse the off button for the engine, it partially died and restarted. Pressed again and nothing happened. Out came the manual as I had never had to stop the engine manually. After about 20 minutes the wind dropped and I went to turn the engine on, zilch, absolutly nothing when I turned the key. Oh, sh.... Grabbing the manual, I quickly diagnosed the main 40 amp fuse had blown. Now, where did I put those spare flat fuses? They were where I expected to find them. Luckily I had another 40 amp fuse, but when I tried inserting it, there were some sparks and the fuse blew. Further reading of the manual did not help, so phoned Beta for some pointers to solve the problem. A very helpful engineer gave me somethings to check after explaining where to find the bits on the engine. After checking some of them, I was getting somewhere towards Dungerness, but no where with the engine.
After checking for Beta agents nearby, there was only one in Dover. Knowing all visitors must be pre-booked, I contacted the marina for a berth. Sorry, we are not taking visitors as we are moving all the boats back into Wellington Dock ready to remove the pontoons. Help me please, so I can get the engine fixed. I was told to check with the engine agent they could tackle the work and they would consider my request for a berth. Luckily the agent would be able to send someone over tomorrow. Phew, the marina allocated me an easy berth in the old wet dock. I felt confident I could sail there, but the port authority had other ideas, I was to be towed in. So I contacted them when 2 miles away, but they wanted me to make further contact when at ½ mile away so they could send out a tow vessel. I fitted the fenders for mooring on the portside as I approached the ½ mile distance and then dropped the mainsail after confirming I was close. Then I fitted the fenders to starboard as whilst sailing I was heeling to much. I was getting very close to the Western Entrance displaying red no entry lights, so started furling the genoa away. Out thunders the Harbour Launch/Pilot Vessel and smartly turns round my stern and passes a heavy line to tow me in.
Initially they were being cautious doing about 5 knots, but every time the line went taught, Concerto accelerated and the line went slack. The solution to stop this snatching was to go faster. Just over 6 knots and the line stopped snatching. It was certainly the fastest I had ever entered Dover. Once inside and close to the approach to the wet dock, they slowed down and Concerto just kept gliding forward, so they had to keep motoring forward until I slowed down. They then moored me to their port side and we quickly made 5 knots again. The berth I had been allocated was on the south side of B pontoon, immediately inside the hammerhead. Why they did not put me on the hammerhead I shall never know as that would have been very easy. The launch skipper decided it would be best to spin round and lay me alongside the hammerhead and then manhandle Concerto into the berth. It was all done very easily, I could have done it by myself but was aided by the crew member. Only took a couple of minutes and they were off to end their shift at 18.00. The helm thanked me for being so confident in handling my boat into the berth, it seems this is difficult for some yacht skippers. Today for me, it was a first. Since starting sailing in 1965 this was the first time I have ever required any outside assistance to get a broken down boat to safety. Once the launch left I phoned the Beta agent and they will be with me between 8.30 and 9.
I went to go ashore and found the old access ramp blocked off, so I walked along A pontoon as it led me towards the big Marina Office sign on a building. At the end was a temporary floating walkway with safety netting which led to another ramp ashore under the office. I go to the marina office, only to find they now moved to the sea front. It was almost like a route march to get there, well felt like one. The new 1st floor offices are all swish and overlook the new outer marina and new lock to Wellington Marina. I have paid the overnight berthing fee, but there is no standard fee for the tow in, so I will find out tomorrow how much of a grin and bear it price it will be.
Not a lot of water to port
Unusaul clouds over Brighton Marina
The bent mainsheet block
Heading towards the sun in the east
Looking like another nice day
Beachy Head lighthouse
Looking astern at the new and old lighthouses
Off Dungerness with the old nuclear power station
Late afternoon
Concerto is on the righthand side and you can see the temporary walkway
Dover Castle under a dramatic sky
For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1
All the links with place names are in my about me page available from my avatar.
