Sunny Snowhill

What a cracker....

13:00 high tide, a spring (4.3 mtrs), sunny, a reasonable breeze, and I've got tomorrow off as well... not a lot more could have gone better...

Got down to Sparrow at 10:00, and swapped over the roller furling line for the new one I got at Netley Boat Jumble - a huge improvement, it's not 6mm as advertised though, I reckon it's 5mm - a little hard on the hands when furling, but on the other hand it goes on the furling drum much more neatly...

Job done, engine on, and cast off and I was heading for Northney by 10:15....   interesting winds today, veering between NW and W, and between F1 and F4... goose winged down the channel and doing a nice speed despite the adverse tide..

Joined the queue of boats heading south out of Emsworth ("take a number and wait to be called"!) and was pleased to see that Sparrow more than held her own even with the small jib...  was decidedly chuffed to pass a Sonata...

Target for today was Snowhill Creek - I've been following the blog of a chap sailing from the East coat along the South coast in his West Wight Potter (a mini cruiser only 14' long) and he mentioned that he'd spent the night in this little creek - so I thought I'd go and see what it looked like....

Made my way down the harbour - turned north at HISC (needed a loo break!) and then headed direct for the creek - as it was height of tide I cut the corner rather than taking the long route

Snowhill Creek looking south west

"Busy" about sums up what I found when I got there....  huge numbers of boats heading to and from Itchenor, or anchoring off East Head and in the Creek...  

Never seen it so packed - clearly the first decent day of the summer had got everyone out - all you could see was wall to wall smiles.. and even the motor boaters were waving today.... 

Superb trip back, wind was building now but being south of west it was a fast old reach all the way - hauled the sails down off Northney and motored back to the mooring  for a sit in the sun and a bottle of Coke.. and while I was there I out together the sail ties from the bungee I bought at Netley, and some (very colourful!) nylon/plastic balls I got off of eBay - jobs a good'un and for a fraction of the price of ready made one's..

Google Earth view - Snowhill is bottom right (it has it's own mark which I didn't see today...  next time)

Scores on the doors:

Distance: 12.09 miles (cumulative total in the 2013 mileage tab at the top of the page)
Wind: Force 1 to force 4.. started West, then NW, and then ended south of West
Sail Plan: Full jib and main - engine for manoeuvring..
Speed: GPS track says max speed was 5.7 knots (under sail) - average speed: 2.9 knots.

....and finally a (evening) sail

So Thursday evening it was sunny (tick), not raining (tick), and also not blowing old boots (tick), wife & spuds at work (tick), high tide as I finished work (tick) so not surprisingly I legged it down to the boat for a quick sail...  managed to be on the boat by half five'ish, which with tide and light gave me an hour or so for a sail...

Engine on, cast off, and then a very restful and enjoyable sail - winds were not stupid - I'd say top end 2, but Cambermet says 3, and just south of south west direction so pleasant reaching back, and beat to the end of the channel.... 

Gave me an opportunity to test drive the latest two additions to the cockpit....

...the cockpit tidy and GPS holder (v.1!) were knocked up out of some spare bits of wood left in the garage after various other projects - the mini washboard is one of the last slats left over from one of the little'uns old pine bed....  the tidy is an old pine shelf with a bit of picture frame backing front and back...  three coats of hard furniture stain and job's a good 'un..

GPS holder is v.1 as the next iteration will have cut outs to sit over the brackets for the cockpit tidy ...

Anyway - this trip was really nothing to write home about, I was only out an hour, but the above worked, the boat hook was used the first time in anger, the outboard started, there was only a pint of water in the bilges after some astonishing rainfall, and the sun shone, and I was the only one out....  lovely.... 

Trip statistics:

• 3.45 miles (miles to date in mileage tab above)
• Maximum speed 4.7 knots (under motor back to the mooring)
• Average speed 2.9knts

Netley Boat Jumble...

....weather has been pants round here for the last few weeks and the all too short trip out a couple of weeks ago seems like months ago. Tides are either rubbish, or when they're good it's too windy/wet...  overnight Tuesday we had gusts of Force 9, and a months rain fall in one day - I saw a gust of force 10 off the entrance to the harbour....  and it's cold...  and and and.... 😏

So last Sunday was an afternoon tide, but with a windy forecast, I decided to forego the sail and go to a sale (good eh..) as it was the yearly boat jumble at Netley - glad I did as I have a number of items I was looking for...  either way a very productive shopping trip, spending a fraction of what I would have done for new....

• pad eyes - I wanted one to allow me to lead the main halyard and topping lift back to the cockpit following an idea Jellybean Phil saw on a fellow bloggers site....managed to get two practically new for a pound each...
• double block - for the same project - couple of quid - deal done!
• 
  jamming block for the kicking strap (like the one right) - bargain this one - couple of quid for the same block I've seen for £15 in the chandlers.....  saved my petrol and entry on this one alone... double block with integral jammer allow more easy adjustment of the kicker while sailing..
• boat hook - didn't have one on the boat, wanted a nice heavy traditional one like the one that went with Pap - saw just the one I wanted as the chap in front of me picked it up and parted with the cash... 😁  N'er mind got a totally suitable standby for a fiver...... 
• obligatory rope and stuff - 16mtrs of 6mm (for the roller furling) and some more bungee (sail ties this time) for £10..  difficult to beat.......

So all in all a good result...  boat hook was given 3 coats of varnish and has already been used in anger (see later) the other stuff will be fitted as and when I get time...

Fog

Rubbish tides all weekend but if any day was going to be the one for getting out on then Bank Holiday Monday was it..  10:10 high tide so with 2 or 3 hours before and after that should be a pleasant days sailing on what was being forecast as the  warmest  day of the year...

Problem was, two hour before high tide it was like this....

...and it stayed like that for the next hour, and when the fog finally lifted (or got burnt off) it was a glorious morning but with not a breath...  ah well - no sailing but there's always work to do so I pushed on with that...

...three coats of exterior masonry paint on the hatch covers (which were uncured/painted fibreglass) was a marked improvement for them...  managed to get a grey/blue colour which is close enough to the cabin/deck GRP that once they get a little lived in they should meld in nicely... 

...I'm building another cockpit tidy modelled on the one I built for "Papillon" [clicky] bit bigger, wider and incorporating lessons learned from the first one, but once again made from remnants and cast off's from the wood pile in the garage......  it's now built so I took the opportunity to offer it up for fit and it was perfect - more  pictures when it's finished and in situ...

...I also bought out a "mini washboard" that I'm going to use for my GPS, to try for size, also perfect...  that's now being varnished (with the deck tidy)...

...I've ordered a replacement cooker - the old one kept going out - looked like the gas feed was clagged up - then I'll need a kettle - the old one went with Pap... man cannot live on a boat without a cuppa and a sausage sandwich....

...lastly I've also ordered a new mushroom air vent to replace the remaining broken one...

..all go!!!