Shortest Med cruise .... ever!

[jimmy_the_builder]

Yes he could have been mauled by one of the giant flesh eating squid that are known to infest the waters off the Riviera. Nobody would have heard the screams and JtB would be just another footnote in forum boating history

Yep, thanks for that Mike

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[MRC]

Photos made me smile.

I would and could have moved her for you if you trusted us along with loads of fenders, especially in return for sorting our wifi out !!!

Heading off to orange now to get a top up voucher so expect an email soon.

We come back early sep so of you need her moving at the end of August just shout.

 

[MapisM]

Did you really just leave the boat to drift whilst you jumped off the stern (repeatedly)? cos if you were in 100m of water I don't reckon you carry several hundred metres of chain in a T40 without doing something to the performance.

Actually, it's much safer - when singlehanded - to have a swim if you leave the boat drifting.
If you anchor in a somewhat strong current, you're immediately carried away from the swim platform, and if you can't swim against it, you can only wave good bye to the boat.
Obviously, such risk doesn't exist if also the boat moves with the current. And the fact that the boat could also be affected by its windage is hardly relevant, assuming that you're not having a swim in 50kts wind!
In fairness, also current is very rarely a problem in the Med, but in some cases (mostly in bays located along some channels between two islands), I've been very glad to have put my fins on before jumping in...

PS: great pics, thanks for a nice report. Re. the jumping pics, I suppose that shooting a clip instead of photos would have been not challenging enough?

 

[jfm]

giggling here at "...seconds later H gunned the throttles and that was the last I saw of Vega." Maybe she did, and is posting under your handle to cover her tracks

Fantastic trip. I've done 18 hours home-to-back home but never 12.5. Respect!

BTW, I was nver going to make it - delivery lorry is late so I'm not going to Marseille (to collect mate's boat) till Friday night, arriving PV Saturday evening

Nice pack of superyacts. In your second s/yacht pic L-R there is Paraffin, Larry Ellison's Musashi, Sarafsa with her lovely wooden transom and the engineeringly fab Mayan Queen (see the separate exhaust stacks, one for each diesel electric set). The "little" boat is a Mangusta 92 or 108. I zoomed but the pic wasn't good enough to tell. If the hull portholes to the front cabin are in the coloured hull band it's a 92, and if they're below it's a 108. Can't tell any other way from a photo like that where I only have 20 pixels to go on

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Photos made me smile.

I would and could have moved her for you if you trusted us along with loads of fenders, especially in return for sorting our wifi out !!!

Heading off to orange now to get a top up voucher so expect an email soon.

We come back early sep so of you need her moving at the end of August just shout.

Hi MRC

Thanks for that - I did think about asking, but I figured that given that you had guests on board, and the weather was so lovely you'd probably be away somewhere. But thanks anyway.

I did actually manage to get to the Orange shop myself on the way back to the airport yesterday, and bought a mobicarte voucher for my own wifi. All very easy - I went to the shop just off the other side of Place General de Gaulle (in the middle of town). Conveniently they've got a list of the vouchers, validities and prices on the cash desk so you can just point at the 'mobicarte recharges' that you want. Then, stick the sim in an unlocked phone, dial #123# and follow the instructions to add the voucher to your sim. Ping me a note if you get stuck.

PS Nice piece in the magazine this month (it's full of forumites this time!). Where was your main photo taken?

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[jfm]

Beaulieu I reckon

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Re. the jumping pics, I suppose that shooting a clip instead of photos would have been not challenging enough?

Yeah good idea - if I hadn't already drowned my supposedly waterproof GoPro camera...!

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

The "little" boat is a Mangusta 92 or 108. I zoomed but the pic wasn't good enough to tell. If the hull portholes to the front cabin are in the coloured hull band it's a 92, and if they're below it's a 108. Can't tell any other way from a photo like that where I only have 20 pixels to go on

Any better?

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[Hurricane]

Several times I've been out on my own and gone for a swim but the boat has always been anchored.

I dont know about you, Jimmy, but it always goes through my mind - what happens if you cant get back to the boat - sometimes there's a wind which kicks up a form of tide which can be quite difficult to swim against.

Doesnt stop me going for a swim - but what I always wonder - what if I couldnt get back!!!

Must have a go at taking a pic though - sounds a challenge

 

[jfm]

Any better?

A gusta 92

Nice ghost of her to the right in the second pic. Lady Moura is shiny (but ugly...)

 

[Richard Shead]

Yep, why not? No tide, no current, no breeze, flat sea. I suspect the riskiest part of my day was the scooter trip between the airport and PV.

Cheers
Jimmy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CahcqFwnRfM

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CahcqFwnRfM

Thanks for that Richard. Don't they all get eaten by giant flesh eating squid in the end?

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[Richard Shead]

Thanks for that Richard. Don't they all get eaten by giant flesh eating squid in the end?

Cheers
Jimmy

If the truth be told I have never watched it to the end....first time was on a boat the second was on a plane and both had water underneath...its all in the mind..

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Several times I've been out on my own and gone for a swim but the boat has always been anchored.

I dont know about you, Jimmy, but it always goes through my mind - what happens if you cant get back to the boat - sometimes there's a wind which kicks up a form of tide which can be quite difficult to swim against.

Doesnt stop me going for a swim - but what I always wonder - what if I couldnt get back!!!

Must have a go at taking a pic though - sounds a challenge

I think MapisM is right about this - it's actually dodgier if the boat is anchored (in which case we usually trail a floating line off the back of the boat). If both you and boat are adrift, and the conditions are otherwise benign, about the only thing to worry about are the jellyfish.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[PEJ]

Several times I've been out on my own and gone for a swim but the boat has always been anchored.

I dont know about you, Jimmy, but it always goes through my mind - what happens if you cant get back to the boat - sometimes there's a wind which kicks up a form of tide which can be quite difficult to swim against.

Doesnt stop me going for a swim - but what I always wonder - what if I couldnt get back!!!

For the benefit of curious forumites, next time you two try this could you tie a long rope to your waist and tread water for a few minutes. See if you drift away from the boat and if you do, haul yourself back in.

JtB - Could you nip down tomorrow and try this out for us

 

[mjf]

JtB - why not get to know the crew of one of the big jobbies - I'm sure if they are there for the summer or know who is they could help with short notice moves. I'm not suggesting the superyacht skipper but one of the Mates would do it surely?

On the solo swim I used to use a fender on a long line just in case something silly happened - at least I had another target to aim for if mothership was too difficult.

 

[Hurricane]

We usually have a floating line with a tiny little fender (even too small for a dinghy) on the end.

But you've got me thinking

How about a floating line with an inflatable sofa on the end?

 

[Portofino]

Nice one Jimmy an inspiring post .

 

[gjgm]

Having been watching the 10m olympic diving, I can only assume the cheap camera is doing you no justice at all.
Your speedos have stretched down to your knees for one thing, Jimmy.

 

[MapisM]

I think MapisM is right about this - it's actually dodgier if the boat is anchored...

Precisely. That's actually pretty obvious when you think about it, but for some reason most people intuitively think the opposite.
None of the friends I've had onboard in many years have ever raised any objection to jump in all together while anchored, but most of them were fearing that we could have lost the boat when swimming offshore...