Summary of the Year

stav

stav

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Anbody else wishing to share their sailing experience of the year.
The old girl just manged to clock up the last 12 Nm to 1008Nm on the GPS log yesterday for the year.

That is three days over Easter in Treguier/Lezardruier and did the Passe De La Gaine.
Several trips to Sark,
2 sails with just my 5year olddaughter for crew.
2 seperate days at anchor with family on boards, (Me, SWMBO, and two daughters 5 and 1)
Two weeks attempting to get to Ireland with a mate at the end of July (complete failure but got to Falmouth via Dartmouth and Plymouth and then went to France). Some really great sails though and brought home how enjoyable just good sailing is in a decent breeze.
Around the Island race (Jersey) 5th out of 7, in our class.
Took a nmubr of people from work sailing and quite a few evening sails around the rocks.
Looking back a surprisingly good year.

Boat wise.
Started the year by removing the pilot berth and making the cabin bigger.
Removed and checked the chain plates. Found one corrode nut in the hanging locker.
Adjusted the pitch of the propellor, several times and now get 3500rpm max and can cruise at 6 knts.
Dried out the chart plotter after being pooped in the swinge and changed the starter key for a water proof switch.
3 coats of varnish.
And have just done the 500 hour service on the engine

Additionally I built my first dinghy. 9'6" flat bottomed wih double chine designed last year on plyboats whilst sat at home waiting to go to hospital with my wife who was in labour with our second!

Not sure how she puts up with me really!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3EWdz-irrE


Have a good New Years All.
 
Is no one else willing to share what they did last year.

Did I post this in the wrong place.
I hope my post did not sound 'show ofeee'? I did not intend it to be, I was just pleased with what I had done this year (as I have done nearly nothing for the previous two years as I was doing up a house) and hoped others might share their experiences.

Should I have posted this in the lounge? Never been therenbut will go and have a look now.
 
Log shows 846 nm; translates to estimated 930 over the ground; 23 days with the family on board; 26 lads behaving badly type days on board; 82 hours on the engine...much spent at tickover holding station for the marina lock; nonwhere really special just the usual South coast places; allowed the dog on board for the first time!; best recorded sustained speed on log...9.4 kts; shallowest patch...aground on soft mud in Gosport marina; coldest daySat 10th Jan..ice on deck.
 
2009

.
Not the greatest season as too many family committments and other things cropping up combined with the wettest windiest Summer up here for a while.

cc2009.jpg

Chentlemans's Cruise, Sound of Mull

There was some quality sailing though. After the Chentleman's Cruise in May (which as usual reached Tobermory) our next trip was out to St Kilda during the first two weeks of June. Fabulous weather and some great sailing - our best sail of the season was coming back across the Minch from Lochmaddy to Canna in a solid F6, beam reach the whole way and constantly over six knots.

taransay.jpg

Fairwinds anchored at Taransay

(See HERE for some more photos of the St. Kilda trip)

After that just a few day sails and a long weekend round Mull when we visited Lunga in the Treshnish Isles.

lunga.jpg

The anchorage at Lunga

We also had a 'local' weekend away in September when we visited the other Lunga and I climbed Scarba on my birthday.

scarbaview.jpg

Looking to Seil from the summit of Scarba

Probably less than 700 miles in total, not so far but all quality sailing. I love this place.

- W
 
Just the usual knocking about around the Solent but a pretty good year all in all.(A bloody site better than the two previous because of the weather conditions).
Some cracking good sails in pretty windy conditions & unlike on previous occasions I sailed with a crew."Romeo" & I shared some pretty good adventures.Good sails.....relaxing weekends spent loafing & wonderful experiences with Nature/peace & quiet.The odd wonderful wildlife experience peppered with the odd lovely sunrise & sunset.
(Not without alarming maintenance problems like an un glued mast & the usual sail repair problems but what do you expect when you run a 50 odd year old boat on a shoe string!).
Not ready to take up golf just yet ;)
 
A Snappy 24 needs a bit of time to get anywhere and with a disabled SWMBO as crew, I can't be too adventurous, but we had some great times pottering around the Solent. We shared some good meals and a nice bottle with some lovely sunsets in Newtown Creek and the Medina.

We did get as far as Weymouth on the summer cruise, which is as far west as I've been on my own boat. Plans to go further were scuppered by a dodgy forecast and I got into trouble with SMBO when I thought F4-6 S becoming SW was an OK forecast to scuttle back to Poole ahead of an Atlantic depression. The S was right, but the SW was more like W, which in the 6-8 we got, built up a lovely cross sea! Still, Jissel didn't mind nearly as much as SWMBO, which built my confidence for future longer trips. A round GB tempts for soon after I retire in 5 or 6 years, but I suspect that'd be a solo venture
 
Stemar said:
A Snappy 24 needs a bit of time to get anywhere and with a disabled SWMBO as crew, I can't be too adventurous, but we had some great times pottering around the Solent. We shared some good meals and a nice bottle with some lovely sunsets in Newtown Creek and the Medina.

We did get as far as Weymouth on the summer cruise, which is as far west as I've been on my own boat. Plans to go further were scuppered by a dodgy forecast and I got into trouble with SMBO when I thought F4-6 S becoming SW was an OK forecast to scuttle back to Poole ahead of an Atlantic depression. The S was right, but the SW was more like W, which in the 6-8 we got, built up a lovely cross sea! Still, Jissel didn't mind nearly as much as SWMBO, which built my confidence for future longer trips. A round GB tempts for soon after I retire in 5 or 6 years, but I suspect that'd be a solo venture
Click to expand...

With a forecast that comes anywhere near a force 6 my wife gets the extra thick lines out and straps us to every cleat going so don't knock her...at least you had a great sail
 
Managed 2700 miles this year. Two trips across the North Sea to Holland and lots of short trips around the East Coast.
Looks like all single handed sailing next year, daughter has gone and got a job!
Chris
 
Hmmm. Not a clue about the mileage. Sold the old boat and bought the new one in early spring bringing her down from Pwllheli (even learned how to spell it) to Cardiff via Aberystwyth, Fishguard, Dale, and Oxwich bay . Then the weather broke and with a few jobs to do, the boat didnt get much use until hoiked out for epoxy and coppercoat at the yard end June.

Whilst that was going on, I crewed a friends boat up the Irish sea again and to Oban. Much anchoring, lots of lobbies, crabs and clams from our own pots and the skippers diving. Visited Skomer for the first time and it wont be the last.

On return the boat was relaunched and the excellent weather we had broke once again. It was miserable and wet so not much use other than the odd trip to Watchet or Swansea. Even the club cruise to the Scillies got called off.

Start of September and the racing began - first in light airs when we got no better than third place and then in continuous heavy weather when we won. The boat has been raced on almost every weekend since September ( 19 races so far) and in weather as bad as a steady 40 odd knots. Friendly race boxing day and new years day.

So it's the usual story. Racing with a full male crew you go out any time - and the club never cancels races because of weather. Cruising with SWMBO, you wait for the good weather only to find that you can't make use of it because ................... :(

Doubt whether I made 1000 miles this year but certainly had some fun.:D
 
bobgoode said:
With a forecast that comes anywhere near a force 6 my wife gets the extra thick lines out and straps us to every cleat going so don't knock her...at least you had a great sail
Click to expand...
Yes, it was good, but a bit hairy, Both reefs in the main and enough genny to balance, heeled over around 45% and 6 1/2 knots on the log, until SMBO decided she'd had enough, so away with the genny (I'd have done better to lose the main, but I really didn't fancy the trip to the mast) and we motorsailed, which was, I have to admit, a lot more comfortable. With a couple of experienced, tough crew, it would have been fine, but a disabled SWMBO & me really had no business being out there. As we headed into Poole harbour, the wind was strong enough to raise a close to 3ft swell with only the fetch of Studland bay, which was quite impressive. We anchored tucked in behind Goathorn Point and at low tide, the anchor chain disappeared in a straight line into the mud, with only about 3 of 18m visible. We had to motor the anchor out next day!

She says next time, she's taking the bus - and I'm only allowed out in those conditions after I've made my will and got the life insurance up to date!
 
Last edited:
I love reading about the cruising other people have done (much better than working) and gives me the ambition to go further.

Your Albin Vega looks lovely Webcraft.

I have added a couple more video clips of the summer sailing on youtube instead of doing some work! I have had a busy morning learing about video editing (not) and uploading.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL3yQ2zk0nA

Photos of the dinghy are on the camera on the boat,doohhh.
 
Lovely Scottish photos from Webcraft Nick!

Havent done a lot of sailing this year - our engine blew up in the summer, but I have just bought a new second hand Volvo 2003 (non turboed!) from Power Afloat in Christchurch to replace the old 2003T.
Got it while on a 2 week trip to Britain just before Christmas - it will hopefully be in a container on a Geest reefer ship soon heading for the Windies.
Even went Solent sailing on a wee Snappie, on a voyage from Gosport to Wooton Creek - bloody freezing, but good fun!

Changing tack, a question for Stav - re your Plyboats programme, are you still running it on a very old machine? I have been using Plyboats for the last 10 years or so, and think it is an ace programme - have designed and built a few dinghies using it, and even designed the hulls for a 50' power cat 9 years ago (the one in my avatar photo).
But it is a DOS programme and it doesn't seem to like running on newer computers - I was runing it on a very old laptop that had Windows 3.1 on it, but it finally expired last year.
I dont want to drift your thread, so could you perhaps PM me re how you are using this programme now?
 
Two months singlehanded in the Hebrides in Feb and March. Left Shetland with my wife at the end of April and reached the northernmost point of Norway 2 June (five days SW7 gusting 9 and temp 5 degrees max). Pottered south in sunshine, NE3-4 and temp in the twenties. Held up just north of Bergen by late summer gales crossing the North Sea. Back in Argyll for the last couple of days in October.
 
A week from Tuscany to Sardinia via Elba and Corsica last March. And some nice outings with my wooden dinghy after work and on weekends - but too few due to family commitments... (fourth crewmember born in summer).
 
2009 was my first season as a boat owner- even if it is just a Wayfarer :)
Learned to singlehand in the sunny afternoons before going to work- absolute bliss- sailed in company with another W, always good fun, especially an overnight camping trip to a sea loch ten miles to the south, away from any roads/houses etc. Good times.
Later on in the year won the Sail Hebrides dayboat challenge, which I attribute mostly to my excellent crew.
A week later I got married, on a pier, with a friend's SCOD moored in the background, along with one of the traditional clinker lugsail fishing boats that we sail around here.
The wife is now hooked on sailing and we are hopefully graduating to an Albin Vega in the very near future. 2010 looks set to be a good year!
 
flaming said:
Slightly miffed I don't feature, but I did enjoy Cowes TV's summer memories video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgZMWYV6m_U
Click to expand...

Good solent summary Flaming!

I much enjoyed the year mostly racing on the Mustang with a couple of bits on the mantlepiece for our trouble. Also particularly satisfying was a solo overnighter to Bembridge which was charming although my walk to view the ledge through the woods after a couple of pints in total darkness was a tad spooky.

Anyway after 3 seasons I have sold the boat and I had probably 6 reasonably serious enquiries in all which I thought was excellent - all from private ads. Who needs a broker eh?

So now it's what next - a possible share in something with better accomodation is a possibility or hitching a ride here and there while we help finance two daughters through uni. Not sailing is definitely not something to be considered!

Best wishes to all for 2010.
 
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