Folk boats and genoa runs..

Fresh from the Boatshow and time to get out on Sparrow as the end of the season is fast approaching - my lift out is the 9th October, which is just the weekend after next, but add in some time to drop the mast, and also time to get the sails/boom off her, and I have a little over a week of available sailing time.

Weird old trip, in a weird old wind direction, but needs must...  😏

The strange wind directions continue, this time NE'ly, and as ever with winds with east in the direction, it was fractious and slightly bad tempered...   the temperatures are dropping as well - suspect the final trip(s) will now all be long trousers, and ..  intake of breath... socks...  😕

Remembering the last trip, I decided to do a genoa run down harbour - a northerly is almost dead downwind for a trip to the harbour so a main sail will always shadow the foresail rendering it useless...  I think in hindsight it wasn't the best decision, but that's sailing and learning...

So - engine on, warps off, and down the ditch again - I shall miss it over the winter, but I've done it dozens of times now... autopilot on while I sorted out ropes and halyards, and singled up the sail ties on the main ready for when I'd need it...

Just past Northney I rolled out almost all the genoa, and gradually edged further off the wind as I progressed - tracking the starboard channel markers. Main still down and stayed down until I eventually got to the bottom of the harbour. A long old run, in the sun, coffee in hand, fishing rod deployed, chatting with other boats as they passed.. lovely.

What a beauty - passed me as I was running down wind on just headsail..

All good things come to an end though - and as I've said before, for every downhill there's an uphill, and the wind was freshening (local weather beacon saw it edging into a F5), and undoubtedly I would need reefs in main and genoa for the beat up the harbour. 

Rolled in some genoa, engine on, turned into the wind, pilot on to keep her head to, main up, reefs rolled in, and then bear away slightly for the first beat... sounds simple, it wasn't...😁 

Few lessons learned, next time I'd roll all the genoa away - it easy enough to roll in or out, and means it's not flapping like a banshee, while heading into the wind and you're focussing on reefing. I also didn't have enough rev's on the motor to keep her head to wind properly - a few more would have helped, and when I later dropped the main to head home, proved to be the case. 

Cracking beat up harbour - tide was running so they were quite flat, but every tack was good for 200 or so metres towards the goal - four tacks, and we roared past Marker, spray over the deck, few more tacks and I was at the end of the channel for Northney and rather than drop sails in a confined space I headed into the wind and took everything in..

My mate Julian was out on his boat and got the following, which is always very nice...

Clean bottom apparently...

Neat as a pin...

Back on the mooring and the aforesaid Julian came past on his tender - club bar was still open - seemed rude not to!!  😀

• Oil levels checked - mid line..
• Couple of litres left in the tank - will need a top up

Log:

Distance: 8.2 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction):  Both ends of a F4; NNE
Sail Plan:  Genoa down, reefed main and 60% genoa back
Speed (Max/average in knots):  4.5 / 2.3

Southampton Boat show

Slightly overdue but have just been to yet another totally awesome Boatshow in Southampton...  

Accompanied this time by just the brother-in-law, as my sister who was also coming had gone down with some lurgy...  Bro in law had a load of suppliers to talk technical with (he works for Clipper) so I got to mooch the stands and marvel at all the things I never knew I needed, while he talked the aforementioned technicals, and then meeting up every now and again to browse some more...

General observations were that it was back to its pre-COVID levels of business - we went mid-week and it was still heaving, and for all the nay sayers who say every year it's "getting smaller" and is "less relevant" - based on what I saw and overhead, it is still a major force - there was a lot of money being spent, and the boat business looked to be in rude health.  "Hot topics" this year - SUP's/inflatables, and electric power/engines, were everywhere...

Just inside the entrance I spotted this one ==> 

I've probably mentioned before that I generally accept that my almost lifetime interest in sailing was sparked by Arthur Ransome and the "Swallows and Amazons" series of books he wrote - still read them now on occasion - well this is "Swallow" that featured in the 1974 film (not the later remake) ... just lovely...

Pausing only to watch a fascinating live demo on the English Braids stand on how to splice an eye into a cored rope (seriously - it was very good! 😀) I then went and did my sole shopping of the day - three sets of 6mm braid on braid destined to replace the original, and now manky/green, topping lift, main halyard, and genoa halyard on Sparrow.. three 20mtr hanks from the remainder bin came to just over 45 quid - which I reckon was a bargain, as the quality is excellent - not your usual soft mush....

On the pontoons - this one caught my eye ==>

Think I'd have to beef up that bowsprit anchor point though...  😁

Jeanneau Sun Fast F3300 - scow bows on production boats - who'd have thought it?! Super fast, and as I am currently following "Team RockIt" which comprises Shirley Robertson and Dee Caffari on YouTube (WELL worth watching) racing the same class of boat, I was interested to see it in the flesh...  beauty is in the eye of the beholder with scow bows I suspect, but I love them - very purposeful. 

Bit of a first - my first million pound plus production yacht - I don't doubt there were others round before, but that's the first time I've seen it on a price tag on a boat...  happily, it includes VAT...  😏

This one is the one I'm trying to persuade Rodders to get the Royal Marines to replace "Ocean Waves" with..  😂

You can see why we would never be allowed to take it out even if they did actually buy one!

Picture courtesy Hallberg Rassy

Then last of all - loved the look of this one*, Cornish Crabbers biggest boat, I think. Yellow looks good on a boat...👍👌

* but not all the woodwork that would need looking after! 

Few pints in the 'Dancing Man' and off home - bloody brilliant day out...

Swimmers and Sunbeams

A surpassingly enjoyable trip out for what was only ever going to be a short jaunt due to tide times...  I really enjoyed it...

Just a short trip then because, as mentioned, HT was 0500 and 1700 and as there was no way I was getting out of my pit at that time of the morning, the evening tide was the one...  on the boat by 13:30, and as the tides are Neap she was already floating, just about... 😀

Tidied up, checked the conditions at the bottom of the harbour (N/A looked like they had server issues as none of the beacons was providing data), had already taken reefs out from last time, so fired up the donk and dropped the mooring at just shy of 1400. 

More interesting wind this week being a NW'ly/N'ly this time - whatever happened to the 'prevailing' SW'lys?! According to my logs the last sailing SW'ly was beginning of August, and the whole year seems to have been a flavour of easterly...  either way, that NW'ly means a run/reach down the ditch, so the main was out just after Northney, genoa shortly after, and there then ensued a goosewing down to the end of the Emsworth Channel, followed by a bear off, and an almost downwind run to the bottom of the harbour...  not quite 'dead' enough to goosewing, and not quite broad enough for the genoa to fill...

Passed 13 long distance swimmers on the way to HISC (they were swimming in aid of the RNLI and the Fire Fighters Charity - more on last year's event here [clicky]) who were swimming from the Hayling lifeboat station to Emsworth - a long old slog, albeit with the tide thank goodness. When I got to within sight of HISC I could see the bottom of the harbour was rammed! Wall to wall keel boats racing up the harbour, mostly Solent Sunbeams...  so many of them criss-crossing it was kind of difficult to keep track never mind figure out if I was getting in the way! 

Lone Sunbeam at the head of the fleet - I was soon surrounded!

Diverted through the line of anchored cruisers to get out of the main channel, but they were there too... clearly no holds barred, and any advantage taken, they were all, however, in a good mood... 😁 They really were a glorious sight and because my photo is seriously underwhelming, this one is from the Haines Boatyard website (link above)

Glorious...

Either way traffic was getting dense, and I was well aware I had a long beat back to home (for every downhill there's an uphill) but just for once had enough of the tide left to give me a helping hand..  turned at NE Pilsey and started to beat back up the harbour. The run down had hidden how fresh some of the gusts were, but what a cracking beat..  most enjoyable.

As the wind was blowing direct down the ditch, sails down by Fisherman's and then a gentle run under motor home - that wind was brisk..

I'll miss that view over the winter... 😕

Back on the mooring, tidied away, and time to sit in the sun for a bit...  I have a lift out date, the summer is coming to an end, but on the plus side there's still time for a few trips, and I have Southampton Boatshow coming up next week...

Log:

• Oil checked and topped up

Distance: 8.66 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): Both ends of a F4; NWxN through N
Sail Plan: Full main/90% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots):  4.1 / 2.7

Shooting into the brown..

...or maybe just kissing it..  😏

Fresh from the jaunt with the Three Amigo's, and with the prospect of at least a week of unsettled weather coming up, I was kind of keen to get out before this slightly Indian summer we're having disappears down the drain..  

The only issue was tides, which as we're in one of the 'off' weekends were 6/6.30 - there was rain in the forecast so I didn't fancy an all day'er, which left the later tide, and with my mooring, and the tides being Spring'ish meant just over 3 hours before..  eminently do-able..

Was on the boat by 2.30, tidied away and rigged up shortly after, and then dropped the mooring for a bash at the ditch in what was a fresh SE'ly'ish..

Left the reefs from last time in, and as I knew there was little or no chance of getting to the bottom of the harbour without some significant motoring, which I really didn't fancy, I settled for the 'pleasures' of some tacking practice..  

Loads of water slopping about, all adverse 'natch; on the starboard tack you could see the opposite shore slipping sideways (the wrong way 😀) which wiped out lots of progress on port tack which was more or less into the tidal stream..  I reckon a couple of knots worth??  Anyway - couple of hours of  enjoyable tacking along the 1 meter depth lines ensued, before I decided enough was enough and it was time to head for home..

Dropped the main, but not paying attention while I packed away the shemozzle of ropes and drooping sail saw me kiss the mud, and come to a gloopy stop..  buggery... genoa rolled away, engine on, reversed, that got me a few feet, engaged forward helm hard to port, and the nose came round and a couple of minutes later we were back in sailing water..  no harm done, and if I had stuck, it was still an hour and  half or more to HT and I'd have floated then..  

Back to the mooring under motor (I'd planned to do it under genoa which was why it was still out as I kissed the brown stuff, but was not up for chancing my arm again.. ) for a tidy up, and all done..  not sure when the next one will be - looks like I need to pick my window carefully..

Apropos of absolutely nothing that takes me through 100 miles this season - most I've done since 2018.. 😎

Log:

Distance: 6.74 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): Both ends of a F4 ; SxE
Sail Plan: Reefed main/reefed genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots):  4.4 / 2.8

The big blue meany flies again..

Time again for the Jolly Boys to go forth upon the ocean one more time..  always an amazement we get home alive..  this time a reduced number since one Dave has knackered his elbow badly (two plates and multiple screws following unforced error on his mountain bike) and is in recovery mode, and t'other Dave we believe was attending either a funeral, or the wake (not clear)....  

So it was that the Three Amigos conjoined at 9'ish for a quick and uneventful trip down to AmiLy where first order of the day was to test fly the blue meany..   the last trip out had been partially successful but Rodders had re-rigged the top of the snuffer/swivel/halyard attachment, to allow the sail to one rotate more easily, and two allow the snuffer to deploy more easily..  it was an unqualified success... so much easier..

Snuffer popped completely shortly after the phot was taken - typical.. 😁

Cleared and tidied away we then dropped the mooring and headed to the harbour entrance - almost dead low so not much water, and one point she definitely smooched the mud, but the channel the ferries opposite the mooring cut with prop wash is metres deep (they push all the mud into Rod's moorings so they have to dredge once a year.. 😏)

Not much going on out ion the Solent , but this thing dominated the horizon all day..

Pic courtesy Sky News..

...this is Price of Wales, one of the two new carriers (the slightly newer one), that had left for a courtesy visit to the US a few days before, but had then broken down just the other side of the Isle of White.. she was towed back to the big ship moorings in the Solent while the damage was assessed (external propeller coupling on the starboard engine, apparently - dry dock job). 

By way of tribute we flew the meany in anger, and we think it was probably good for an extra knot and a half, may be two, as winds were stupidly light, and fluky, and offshore..

Bit older than Prince of Wales, this is paddle steamer Waverly taking advantage, to run sightseer trips of the carrier..

Sails dropped and in to East Cowes for a cracking lunch, FANTASTIC mooring - right on the very end of the berth holder pontoons, open ended and facing the river, just idled in, and when we were done idled out..  amazing. 

Lunch in the Lifeboat, followed by a slow and idle motor back to the mooring, into a very low wind and strong tide - but it was warm, and sunny, and it was still September. Quick drop off at the fuel pontoon to top up the tanks, and we were in the The George pub for a pint on the way home by half seven'ish - brilliant day out, more wind next time, please..

Log:

Distance: 27.39 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction):   F2 all day ; Morning NNE/Afternoon SWxS
Sail Plan: Full main / blue meany / motor for return trip
Speed (Max/average in knots): 6.9 / 2.8