SailGP14 action...

Hanoly - our ride for the day - ready to go...

Trust me no foils... SailGP this isn't, this is SailGP14..  far more civilised  😁

Was feeling a bit fed up that the season was over on Sparrow earlier than I would have liked, when Smithy pipes up and offers me a ride on Hanoly his lovely GP14, and the apple of his eye..  bit his arm off if I'm honest..  I'd even bought a shorty wetsuit last year in expectation of getting out on her, but what with one thing and another (sailing on Sparrow mostly 😏) I'd not got round to it - but now there was no excuse! Good forecast for the Friday (and it actually delivered what it was forecasting which was a bonus) so the date was made..

Back in the day, Smithy (and the other Jolly Boys) and I used to sail and race windsurfers together - our race track was the top of Langstone Harbour, and one of our favourite races was what we called the north west passage - a small channel that runs between North Binness Island, and the edge of the Farlington Marshes. Depending on wind direction you could do it one of two ways, north to south or opposite, but either way it had been an age since I'd done it so we thought we'd give it a go in Hanoly for old times sake.

Rigged up and on the slip for 10:45, HT was 13:20 and a biggy (4.3 mtrs) so Smithy's plan was to be back for high water, as hopefully the tide (which for geographical/geological (?) reasons runs permanently east to west between the two harbours) would have slackened by then making it easier to get back through the bocks of the old Hayling Billy line to the slip. All a fresh challenge to me as I don't have to do this on the other side of the bridge where I moor..

Not my photo [clicky] but these are the blocks - the slip is over there top right, Langstone harbour is to the left, ingress and egress between the pool and the harbour is between the two metal objects in the centre of the blocks (which are the remains of the old swing bridge)

Launched, through the opening in the blocks sweet as a nut, and then a lovely run, some of it goosewing, to the northern end of the passage, where it then all went pear shaped three quarters of the way down the channel 😁 While we'd been wending and chatting our way over the wind had gone round and was almost southerly, so a trip through the channel was always going to be a 'challenge' - wind head on, and the channel is only 10 yards wide at high water..   n'er mind, me over the side, manually haul her round, and sail out...  nothing harmed but the copious mud.. most of which I managed to get off.. 😏

"Northwest passage"..

Having turned her round it was then a beat back to the beach at Southmoor, before tacking to head off down harbour, and then tacking again just past the small island (Round Nap Island) on the south eastern corner of South Binness Island. A cracking smooth reach/run down Binness Rithe and past Baker's Island and we came up to the southern end of the passage which this time, we completed successfully..  it is a magical thing to run down there under sail, just the breeze and the sound of the water at the bow.. cracking..

...and that was largely it - a four tack beat back to the blocks, before cutting through the entry and getting back to the slipway error free..  wash down of the boat and packed it away, and for the first time in an age, a warm shower after a sail - that took me back!

Brilliant fun - would love to do that again..

Addendum.. So Smithy has a Garmin watch which gives you all manner of stuff...   from it I took the message that sailing is healthy for you (anaerobic), and that two hours on a dinghy is worth two pints of beer in calories! 😁

Log:

Distance: 9.25 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction):  F3 gusting F4; SSE going SxW
Sail Plan: Full main and jib
Speed (Max/average in knots): 3.5 / 9.3 (!)

Season over..

..well for Sparrow anyway.. 😏

Events conspired to us getting together to drop the mast a whole lot earlier than I would have liked but in essence - the tides next week (the last week before lift out) were not optimal for sailing (early and late), I had sailing commitments elsewhere that would also chew up the time (two delivery trips and a duty on the first day of the lift out) and the weather was on the turn. I had originally scheduled next Sunday for the mast drop which would have allowed today and or tomorrow for sailing but look at it...  disgusting...

...and this was my fall-back day..  also disgusting..

...so enough's enough - the mast came down today - and on a fairly blustery day yesterday I took off the sails and boom..

...and installed the mast crutch..

Boats don't look right without sails... 😏

Then today - I borrowed Mylor (the club launch) and took Smithy, Rod and I out to Sparrow and did the drop itself. No need to go into huge detail (it's all covered on my mast drop/raise page [clicky] if you're interested) but once again it was a faultless drop - it takes longer to connect all the ropes, halyards, and the A frame, than the drop, which literally takes just minutes...  

She's all ready to come out in a fortnight, but first I have some sailing on other peoples boats to do, not the least of which is a trip on Smithy's GP14 tomorrow!

Southampton International Boatshow 2024

It was a busy old week last week, what with sailing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but after a (much needed) lie down in a dark room with a damp towel on the brow on Thursday, I managed to score a cheap ticket for the Boatshow and went on Friday.. the forecast for the weekend was hideous, and weekends are always busier at the show anyway, and as it turned out I was glad I had gone when I did..

What follows then is just my view of the show - lots of people have gone, and still to go, and all have their own view of the success or otherwise of the show all of which are valid, but hey, this is my tiny little corner of the interweb, so clearly I'm right.. 😏

Cards up front then - overall, I thought it was a good show - better than last year for sure, and I think getting back to those levels of excellence last seen before Covid - unlike last year there was a good amount of chandlery present, but more next year please. 

Themes for the year seemed to me to be, electric, electric, electric, in all forms of propulsion- and a continuing focus on polarising markets - mobo's seemed to be focussed on smaller (ribs and Axopar style) while yachts (with one or two exceptions) are getting bigger..

'From the sublime' - as I mentioned - the range and depth of electric outboards is now huge compared with even a year ago - this (following) was mainstream internal combustion supplier Mercury's offering..  

That 75e at the front develops the equivalent of 10HP (they also have a bigger one capable of giving 15HP as well), and the middling one on the right is the one I was (mildly) interested in, the 35e is their approx. 5HP model - it weighs 47lbs (not including battery/s) c/w with 55lbs for my Tohatsu, BUT, the battery weighs the same again, and the 35e needs two of them, and also the hardware to tandem the two batteries together, oh, and the charger...    and from what I'm seeing there's not much change out of £14K for that little lot, the battery's are £2.5K a piece themselves!! That would buy you a lot of Tohatsu's.. 😁

..'to the ridiculous'..  biggest HP I saw at the show competition, this one was a Mercury (others do them too - I saw a Honda and a Suzuki version), but yes, that's a 300HP V10... almost as tall as me..  you can also get a 600HP V12, didn't see one though.. 😳

Time to head for the pontoons...  which were looking busy!

Highlights...

Ever since we chartered a Halberg Rassy for some of the Jolly Boys trips I've had an interest in them - they are a glorious boat - my HR choice for this year was a 44.. £700-800K going on current prices..

This one (following) was my 'boat of the show'..  the Dutch make glorious boats.. more here [clicky] on this one, but powered by sails and an electric engine (Torqeedo 3.0 POD) and note the integral solar panels just in front of the mast and up to the nose.. yours for anything north of  €70K (ex tax) depending on what extras and stuff you want - this one was simply stunning with that deep red hull..  no good for me though, as quite apart from not being able to afford it, it's also a fixed keel.. 😏

Saffier SE 24 Lite 😍

What comes around, goes around - Sparrow was fitted with roller boom furling back in 1967, still works, all manual and the sail wraps externally, but the concept appears to be making a come back, albeit hydraulic and wrapped internal  these days..

Seen her before but this one is pretty - IF I was to buy one this is the one I'd probably go for..  carbon mast and boom, couldn't be doing with the wooden spars..  much more manageable this one at approx. £30K. More here[clicky]

Hideous - following - this one fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch going down - 90 foot of butt ugly..  purely my view 'natch... 😁 They're selling well I understand, so clearly that is one, a good thing for British boat building, and two, a number of people who disagree with me.. 😏

Next - was good to see "Boleh" (means 'Yes' in Malay apparently) again, it was a while ago I last saw her up close [clicky]

Always a sucker for a square rigger, and they always seem to get one at the show - this year it was the Dutch training ship Thalassa [clicky]. Despite her looks she's a youngster, even when compared to Sparrow. Built in 1980 near Amsterdam, the hull was originally from a Dutch fishing ship the "Reliquinda", an old side trawler. In August 1984 it sank after hitting a wreck from the Second World War. She was refloated, gutted and rebuilt, relaunched and renamed in 1990 and then went on the Tall Ships circuit in 2004.

...and there you have it - my experience of the show...😀  

Only one thing to finish the day, a beer in the Platform ... well done to the organisers, a cracking show..