Sailing without an engine

[Poignard]

I've been doing it around The Solent for the last three years, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I did carry an outboard for the first few months, but I'm now happy just to take as long as it does. The best sail of this year was coming back to Hamble from lunch on the grass at Buckler's Hard against a big ebb and very light North Easterly. It took five hours in glorious late September sunshine, but I now know exactly how close in I can cross Lepe Spit, and entertained plenty of beach walkers with our forwards and backwards progress against the current. Best bit for me was that it was the daughter steering and her helming and general boat-handling improved almost infinitely.

I've had tows from fellow competitors and committee boats a few times, but only once from 'strangers', a young couple in a (I think it was) Hunter Horizon who probably regretted their offer amid the Hamble ebb...

The only HM that was a little anti was Yarmouth, but they now know that I'm not a reckless idiot and are very welcoming.

I was leaving Cherbourg early one morning years ago and met a larger British yacht drifting in the outer harbour. Her engine had failed and her skipper told me he had come over from the UK to take up a new permanent berth in Chantereyne marina.

I offered to help and ended up towing him in. I asked where he wanted to go and he gave me a catway number on G pontoon.

He seemed a little disappointed that I wasn't able to get him right onto his particular catway and had to leave him on the hammerhead to await the marina staff coming on duty.

I think he overrated the manouvering ability of a Twister and her still new-to-her skipper!

 

[capnsensible]

Got loadsa stories about towing and being towed. Bit like sales reps in cars, I suppose, they see more accidents coz of the miles they do.......I hardly ever seen a car crash but many boat tows.

However, here's one. Whilst on a Bavaria 37 in Gibraltar, I towed a Sunseeker 65 to the diesel dock in Marina Bay where he was heading to get diesel when he ran out of diesel......

The diesel dock shuts at six and is massively well fendered. Spent many happy hours there on sunny evenings showing people how to sail on and off the quay.

More recently, I posted about having a gearbox problem a couple of weeks ago off nw Tenerife. Two days of beating back against the trades then eight hours tacking in increasingly falling airs off Punta Pechuga. Oppo very kindly popped out and towed us to the anchorage outside Marina Rubicon. Never to proud to accept a tow. ?

 

[johnalison]

Not one of our finer moments. 1978, Boulogne, as above.