kcrane
Well-Known Member
I kept a V48, Intraventure, in the West Country spent last summer, based in Sutton Harbour, Plymouth. It was an excellent season, but a long standing plan to visit Holland had me take the boat back to the Hamble for the winter. I also took into account that there was more chance of getting use out of the boat in the Solent than in the Western Approaches 
As things turned out it wasn't the best course of action. Between November and February I only got out three times, mostly down to either wind or rain. A trip to Holland to check things out left me with the feeling that although the V48 could be used on the inland waters, there were drawbacks, so the plan changed to a return to Plymouth. At least being back on the Hamble meant VolvoPaul could work his magic on the D9's and the props.
In reasonable conditions I do Southampton to Plymouth in around 5 hours. In 2013 the trip out and the trip back were both done in one shot. It isn't relaxing, but the weather in October and March often gives a short window and as the boat is happy to cruise at 30kts it is do'able.
For a change the weather forecasts last week suggested 3 or 4 days of good weather in the middle of March, so with the boat back in the water and looking like new after being anti-fouled and polished (thanks Richard) I took the opportunity to move it back to Plymouth in a more leisurely fashion.
To get a start SWMBO and I went down Friday afternoon to remove our fixed lines and bumpers from the berth at Swanwick. Slight whine coming up - Swanwick were a bit off-hand this winter. When I arrived back from Plymouth they had no berth ready for me, after sorting one out and fitting lines and bumpers they decided to move Intraventure without debate a couple of times and when I arrived last weekend the boat wasn't on its own berth, but a couple along. I felt a right Charlie wandering the pontoons trying to find my 50ft of GRP, only to realise I had walked straight passed it ! The pressure of the re-developments and trying to fit in more new/brokerage boats might account for the it, they'd always been very good in previous years.
Got away just after 5:00pm with a plan to stop at Yarmouth, which would be at around dusk. That plan looked a little optimistic when Southampton Water turned out to be quite foggy & I had to drop off the plane, turn on the radar and start tooting. When in fog I try to buoy hop. Shouldn't be needed with a reliable plotter, but it adds some comfort. Not sure however it is the best plan as if everyone did the same thing... but as it was getting dark on a mid-March foggy evening, there was no-one else daft enough to be out, bar the ferries. SWMBO suggested a diversion to Cowes, but once past Bramble it lifted to 800yds or so and we were back to planing. We were in Yarmouth in plenty of time.
At the end of last summer I was confidently slotting into mooring gaps only a metre longer than my boat. Rusty after the winter I tried to pop it onto a hammer head only to find the space was a good 8ft too short and SWMBO couldn't get off the platform. Um, reminder to be careful until I got my eye back in.
Ate at On the Rocks, as good as ever and doing a bring your own wine deal with no corkage charge, recommended.
Saturday's weather looked as good as promised, so off to Poole after breakfast. With a clean hull and props 30kts came up just over 2,000rpm. I could swear I was down to 26kts before the clean-up. VP had also sorted the cooling, last year one engine ran hot, but now both sat at 85 degrees.
Are Sunseeker doing well or badly? Either might explain the large number of new boats scattered around Poole's marinas. Poole Quay said they were short of space and gave me C4, which turned out to be a bit of a squeeze. SWMBO says we were less than a metre off the boat ahead and the pontoon behind when we swung around to back in. Thankfully the neighbouring boat was a) less than 30ft and b) had a helpful owner who took lines. I was glad it wasn't too windy.
By evening they'd put a huge 3 decker onto Pontoon A and seemed to be handing it over, though I would have thought few boats like that would be handed over in the UK? I can't get excited by boats that big, it looked like a posh ferry.
Sunday was just lovely. From early morning the sky was bright blue and it was warm.
Time to cover some distance and head for Dartmouth. Studland and Durlston Bays were calm, but round the corner to head west and the sea state was a nuisance. There was a swell with a short chop overlaid on top of it and from there to 10 miles beyond Portland it was a 16knt slog, with the odd hole to look out for. Halfway across Lyme Bay it calmed down (shelter from the westerly?) and by Dartmouth it was back to flat water.
I know several people have mentioned it before, but arriving at Dartmouth is special.
The visitor pontoons at Darthaven were clear so that made for a relaxed arrival, followed by a walk along the railway to the higher ferry and across to town for a walk and food. Splendid day, if anything too hot sat in the shelter of the cockpit, must have been in the high teens. We kept pinching ourselves that it was mid-March in the UK.
I screwed up the tide times. I was convinced it was high tide at Plymouth at 12:30, so we planned to leave Dartmouth at 11:00. As planned the best way off the pontoon (something we always do since it was drummed into us on an RYA course) was to hang on the stern line as we were been pushed downstream by the tide quite strongly. It was only after we set off that it dawned we shouldn't be on the ebb. A check of the Boatie app showed I was completely wrong, 12:30 was low tide, not high water.
SWMBO does not like locks and so we were aiming for free-flow into Sutton Harbour, which didn't start for 4 hours. We could go back or carry on very slowly. We have had the boat since 2010 and we go everywhere at the highest speed conditions allow (probably a legacy of years of sailing, when we rarely went in the right direction and even less so at any appreciable speed). However with flat water we spent the next 4 hours at 7kts (5kts on tickover, plus 2 kts tide). We made cups of tea and ate lunch underway. The fuel gauges didn't move and we arrived quite relaxed. Um, may try that again, 'pootling' as some posters call it I think.
The sea was flat enough that we went inside the Skerries crossing Start Bay and got within a couple of hundred metres of Start Point. I doubt we'll ever get that close again, I usually pass a good distance off.
Our arrival in Plymouth was spot on free-flow starting. The lock at Sutton are very good, they are prompt at swinging the footbridge even in high season, but on a blustery mid-March Monday they were quicker still and we were tied up 10 minutes later.
All in all a delivery trip that turned into an enjoyable mini-cruise, with lessons learnt about double-checking tides and the length of the boat. I got some practise at boat handling and we found we enjoyed pootling.
As things turned out it wasn't the best course of action. Between November and February I only got out three times, mostly down to either wind or rain. A trip to Holland to check things out left me with the feeling that although the V48 could be used on the inland waters, there were drawbacks, so the plan changed to a return to Plymouth. At least being back on the Hamble meant VolvoPaul could work his magic on the D9's and the props.
In reasonable conditions I do Southampton to Plymouth in around 5 hours. In 2013 the trip out and the trip back were both done in one shot. It isn't relaxing, but the weather in October and March often gives a short window and as the boat is happy to cruise at 30kts it is do'able.
For a change the weather forecasts last week suggested 3 or 4 days of good weather in the middle of March, so with the boat back in the water and looking like new after being anti-fouled and polished (thanks Richard) I took the opportunity to move it back to Plymouth in a more leisurely fashion.
To get a start SWMBO and I went down Friday afternoon to remove our fixed lines and bumpers from the berth at Swanwick. Slight whine coming up - Swanwick were a bit off-hand this winter. When I arrived back from Plymouth they had no berth ready for me, after sorting one out and fitting lines and bumpers they decided to move Intraventure without debate a couple of times and when I arrived last weekend the boat wasn't on its own berth, but a couple along. I felt a right Charlie wandering the pontoons trying to find my 50ft of GRP, only to realise I had walked straight passed it ! The pressure of the re-developments and trying to fit in more new/brokerage boats might account for the it, they'd always been very good in previous years.
Got away just after 5:00pm with a plan to stop at Yarmouth, which would be at around dusk. That plan looked a little optimistic when Southampton Water turned out to be quite foggy & I had to drop off the plane, turn on the radar and start tooting. When in fog I try to buoy hop. Shouldn't be needed with a reliable plotter, but it adds some comfort. Not sure however it is the best plan as if everyone did the same thing... but as it was getting dark on a mid-March foggy evening, there was no-one else daft enough to be out, bar the ferries. SWMBO suggested a diversion to Cowes, but once past Bramble it lifted to 800yds or so and we were back to planing. We were in Yarmouth in plenty of time.
At the end of last summer I was confidently slotting into mooring gaps only a metre longer than my boat. Rusty after the winter I tried to pop it onto a hammer head only to find the space was a good 8ft too short and SWMBO couldn't get off the platform. Um, reminder to be careful until I got my eye back in.
Ate at On the Rocks, as good as ever and doing a bring your own wine deal with no corkage charge, recommended.
Saturday's weather looked as good as promised, so off to Poole after breakfast. With a clean hull and props 30kts came up just over 2,000rpm. I could swear I was down to 26kts before the clean-up. VP had also sorted the cooling, last year one engine ran hot, but now both sat at 85 degrees.
Are Sunseeker doing well or badly? Either might explain the large number of new boats scattered around Poole's marinas. Poole Quay said they were short of space and gave me C4, which turned out to be a bit of a squeeze. SWMBO says we were less than a metre off the boat ahead and the pontoon behind when we swung around to back in. Thankfully the neighbouring boat was a) less than 30ft and b) had a helpful owner who took lines. I was glad it wasn't too windy.
By evening they'd put a huge 3 decker onto Pontoon A and seemed to be handing it over, though I would have thought few boats like that would be handed over in the UK? I can't get excited by boats that big, it looked like a posh ferry.
Sunday was just lovely. From early morning the sky was bright blue and it was warm.
Time to cover some distance and head for Dartmouth. Studland and Durlston Bays were calm, but round the corner to head west and the sea state was a nuisance. There was a swell with a short chop overlaid on top of it and from there to 10 miles beyond Portland it was a 16knt slog, with the odd hole to look out for. Halfway across Lyme Bay it calmed down (shelter from the westerly?) and by Dartmouth it was back to flat water.
I know several people have mentioned it before, but arriving at Dartmouth is special.
The visitor pontoons at Darthaven were clear so that made for a relaxed arrival, followed by a walk along the railway to the higher ferry and across to town for a walk and food. Splendid day, if anything too hot sat in the shelter of the cockpit, must have been in the high teens. We kept pinching ourselves that it was mid-March in the UK.
I screwed up the tide times. I was convinced it was high tide at Plymouth at 12:30, so we planned to leave Dartmouth at 11:00. As planned the best way off the pontoon (something we always do since it was drummed into us on an RYA course) was to hang on the stern line as we were been pushed downstream by the tide quite strongly. It was only after we set off that it dawned we shouldn't be on the ebb. A check of the Boatie app showed I was completely wrong, 12:30 was low tide, not high water.
SWMBO does not like locks and so we were aiming for free-flow into Sutton Harbour, which didn't start for 4 hours. We could go back or carry on very slowly. We have had the boat since 2010 and we go everywhere at the highest speed conditions allow (probably a legacy of years of sailing, when we rarely went in the right direction and even less so at any appreciable speed). However with flat water we spent the next 4 hours at 7kts (5kts on tickover, plus 2 kts tide). We made cups of tea and ate lunch underway. The fuel gauges didn't move and we arrived quite relaxed. Um, may try that again, 'pootling' as some posters call it I think.
The sea was flat enough that we went inside the Skerries crossing Start Bay and got within a couple of hundred metres of Start Point. I doubt we'll ever get that close again, I usually pass a good distance off.
Our arrival in Plymouth was spot on free-flow starting. The lock at Sutton are very good, they are prompt at swinging the footbridge even in high season, but on a blustery mid-March Monday they were quicker still and we were tied up 10 minutes later.
All in all a delivery trip that turned into an enjoyable mini-cruise, with lessons learnt about double-checking tides and the length of the boat. I got some practise at boat handling and we found we enjoyed pootling.
