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Shorts and tshirts... for me that's what sailing is all about.. you can forget the salopettes and wet weather gear.. 😀 |
Amazingly, this is my eleventh year as owner of Sparrow and apart from the utter confusion as to where those years have gone (it only seems like yesterday that I first drove into the car park in Bosham, saw her at the back, and just knew she was the one I was going to buy 😍), I still have absolutely no interest in parting with her - she does everything I want in spades... so the following is some happy memories of good times, bad times (few or none of those to be honest this year), warm weather, sunshine glinting on the water, and fair weather sailing in shorts and t-shirt... so without further ado...
The big event for me this year without a doubt was the new engine! The trusty, rusty, Suzuki had done me proud, but an oil leak (query sump seal shot) that we'd attempted to repair over the winter had failed and started dripping again, and in the end I just decided life was too short, and as the engine is a vital part of the sailing experience, and I needed one I could rely on, I went out and bought the engine that I'd had before, and which was stolen [clicky] back in 2019.
I'd always liked it, it was powerful (Sail Pro version with the low rev's propeller for extra grunt) and never gave me any issues - for a little less than £1400 it was, to be honest, a no brainer... I am a cheapskate sailor normally, but as I'm now retired, and the sailing is a key part of that retirement the 'current' Missus told me not to be stupid and just go do it... I'm delighted with it, and am just about to get it in for its first service...
What was the biggest 'downer' of the year?
Few issues this year - although it's my first summer being retired (which I'm still kind of getting used to but means that theoretically I can sail when I like), the need to get the new engine mid/early season (after wasting a lot of time trying to resolve issues with the old one), and having my car totalled by an 18 wheeler just before Christmas and having to arrange a new/second car right at the point when I am usually busiest getting the boat ready, kind of put some flies in the ointment.
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| So many expectations at the beginning of the season as they came to lift her in.. |
As of this moment work has not really started on the winter jobs list, but
as usual she is scraped and cleaned, and to all intents and purposes is
ready to go back in the water except for a coat of anti-foul. There aren't
really any essential jobs this winter, which makes a nice change, nothing
mission critical, and other than the aforesaid antifoul she could go back in
the water tomorrow if I wanted...
- the washboards which were showing signs of water ingress have remained good despite the bodged repair a couple of years back and there is still currently no need to replace them - they'll need a coat of paint and a bit of love this winter layover though..
- I was looking at the cabin wiring the other day and while it all works, and is mostly tucked away, neat it isn't - some ducting perhaps, and I need to label it better in the switch box..
- the gelcoat is beginning to get thin in places - not surprising after almost 55 years of exposure to the elements. I am not painting the whole boat, that way lies madness, but the patch repairs I did last layover [clicky] have worked well and I'll be doing more, but with a better colour-matched paint!
- I am still toying with plans to install bilge pumps - I have a manual one but perhaps something electric this time. The complication for me is the Hurley 20 under water profile which has two half depth bilge keels, meaning two pumps are needed...
- the new tender needs a little care and attention... needs a bit of glass fibre'ing minimum, coat of paint... this is my priority job for the winter... once my garage at home is re-wired, then Rod the Mod and I are hoping to get her in to it using his trailer..
- ...and I need (another) windex [clicky].. 😏
Overall though I would say I had a good seasons sailing in what was a pretty mixed bag of weather - it was one of Britain's hottest in years (if not ever), but funnily not the very best season I've had either in 'Sparrow' (or my old boat 'Papillon' for that matter). It was way better than two and three years ago, but looking back there were three main reasons for the mixed views
One, as mentioned was the weather, which probably gave as much as it took...
- April was stormy and resulted in a late lift [clicky] in for me (which was my choice) - I finally went in on the 21st, two or three weeks late
- May I was mostly sorting out the old engine which was idling poorly, and then racing most of the time, and then started dripping oil again.. funny old month dominated by Easterly's..
- June I was sorting the new engine, but with a week away in Greece the first proper sail of the season wasn't until the 23rd (4 weeks after launch) - so I was definitely slow off the mark!
- July - windy, also rainy.. was picking my days but lost a fortnight at the beginning of the month to poor weather..
- August - probably my best month for trips out but weather continued to be changeable and inclement weather continues here in the south of the UK with the jet stream [clicky for a forecast/view from the met office] now an almost constant topic of conversation at the sailing club as dinghy race after dinghy race is cancelled due to high wind. ..
- September - glorious.. Indian summer, but windy!
Three/last, I had a huge
(compared too previous years) number of trips out with the Jolly Boys -
always good fun, and always longer trips than Sparrow, we're all retired now so I look
forward to that continuing... the downside though is that also means less time on Sparrow... but I can live with that!
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| East Cowes Jolly Boys trip - weather glorious, carb poisoning imminent..😀🍔 |
Twenty four trips this year (c/w 21 last year) of which eight were in the
Solent either on 'AmiLy' (Rod's boat) or 'Kings Ransom' (t'other Dave's
boat) so not included in my totals. No Jolly Boys (extended) Cruise this
year - our usual ride (Ocean Waves) was in for repairs after another
bashing, we all agreed AmiLy was on the small size for 5 old blokes, and
then we agreed to just go out more often on day trips..
...I'm going to go with the nose repair, as I had been contemplating it (and
putting it off) for years! Milliput is the dogs nadgers for this kind of
quick repair..
The cockpit locker lids - which must be about the third iteration, are at the moment, still behaving... I've taken them off the boat for the winter and put the old ones covered in plastic bags in their place.
...so, along with a smooth off of the anitfoul, the aforementioned paint
patching and new running rigging, I would say it was a good year for
maintenance and projects - go on then, 8/10.... 😁
Like a spider dipped in blue ink and left to wander all over Google
Earth - here's where Sparrow went this year.. yeah, not enough Solent
venturing but I did get further south than I did last year...
😏
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Number of visits down to the boat (ie. actually on it): Difficult to say, but about 25+... best of all though, 14 sailing trips c/w 15 last year, even sitting on your boat on the mooring (and I did that more than a few times - usually flat calm), or even in the car park come to that, is preferable to not being on your boat at all... sometimes you just miss that "boat smell" 😀
Total distance sailed: Just shy of 116 miles , better than
some recent years, but not as much as I was expecting given
retirement.. hey ho, I had excuses.. 😏
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...one of a number of goosewing runs up the harbour this
year... |
Nights on board: Nada - 'nuff'ing.. I've done it before and
it's usually cold and uncomfortable.. 😏
Crew on occasion: Just the one.. fantastic day the Grandson came out with me for the first time [clicky].. hoping he'll come again! The rest of the time I'm my own good company.. if I start talking to the tiller pilot (who I love by the way) I know I've got a problem.. 😜
Crew on occasion: Just the one.. fantastic day the Grandson came out with me for the first time [clicky].. hoping he'll come again! The rest of the time I'm my own good company.. if I start talking to the tiller pilot (who I love by the way) I know I've got a problem.. 😜
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Grandson's first cruise.. |
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| Tack! |
Biggest Cruise: This one was easy - the
camber clamber [clicky] was a glorious days sail despite those wind shifts and
changes..
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| Three metres under the keel and all is well with the world.. |
Best Cruise: A few to choose from this year,
Grandsons first trip out [clicky], the
Camber Clamber [clicky] and the curiously satisfying day I spent so much time tacking it was a wonder I actually went anywhere! [clicky], but probably the
'sniffing the Solent' cruise [clicky] when I went to Eastoke, and the weather was lovely, and it was so good
to be on the water...
...I think without a shadow of a doubt there should also be an honourable mention for the day sail to Seaview on Kings Ransom [clicky] but more specifically that night time return to the mooring was a thing of joy.. the Jolly Boys were like a well-oiled machine!
Smithy's awesome video of our slow approach in the dark.. 😁
Worst cruise: Well "worst" is a stretch, in fact "cruise" is
also a stretch, but
the day I lost the shackle pin [clicky] from my brand new, and slightly expensive, mooring shackle was a
contender... yee gods how I cursed...
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| Man at peace with the world.. |
Oddest cruise: Every wind direction [clicky]
you could think of in a single 2 hour cruise.. mad, but I did
catch a fish.. 😁
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| ...there you go.. 14:15 to 14:25.. 70 degree shift in 10 minutes.. then a 40 degree shift an hour later.. 😏 |
Best anchorages: None - all moorings and pontoons this
year..
Best mooring: …the waiting pontoon at the sailing club [clicky] while I waited for my lift out - so warm for October,
and a lovely opportunity to catch up with a lot of members I hadn't seen
all season..
Worst mooring: I'll nominate/proxy t'other Dave for this one [clicky], as somewhat amazingly I had no bad moorings this year - they were
all good... 😁
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"Groovy, baby"... get it? There's a Croc down there
somewhere 😁 |
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No Jolly Boys cruise currently planned, but Rodders is dying to get
us to go cross Channel (tenner he mentions it in the next few months
😁)..
- Looking forward to getting Grandson out in the boat again
- Smiffy has bought a GP14, looking forward to going out on that.. maybe some racing?
- Looking forward to being able to sail Sparrow on more occasions next season...
Riveting video award:
No review of the weeds on the bottom this year as I removed them too
quickly... so you'll have to make do with this one... 😏
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2023: (Click on the date to go to the log entry
post) |
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NB.* Means mileage not counted in year total... probably because I'm on someone else's boat, or it was all on engine... |
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| Date | Distance: | Wind: | Direction: |
Sail Plan: |
Max Speed (knts) |
Avg Speed (knts) |
Comments: |
| 28th Feb | 5* (0) | . | . | All motor | . | . | AmiLy delivery to summer mooring on a bitterly cold Monday! |
| 4th April | 33.46* (0) | F4 mainly F3 | ExS through SxE | Full main and genoa | 9.3 | 3.0 | First Jolly Boys sail to Cowes - glorious sunshine and a curious alarm.. 😏 |
| 19th May | 25* (0) | AM: F2 PM: F3 | AM: SSE PM: WNW | Full main and genoa/asymmetric | 7.8 | 2.2 | Over to Cowes for fish and chips and spotted a dolphin on the way |
| 23rd May | 2.38 (2.38) | F2 | SE | Genoa | 4.5 | 1.0 | Quick shakedown sail |
| 27th May | 7.56 (9.94) | F3 | S/SE | Full main and genoa | 4.9 | 3.1 | Tacking practice and then a glorious goose wing home |
| 31st May |
29.39* (9.94) |
F4 gusting F5 | NExE | Reefed main and full genoa | 7.4 | 2.6 | Carb overload in the Ferryboat.. 😀 |
| 15th June | 28.28* (9.94) | F1 gusting F2 | All over | Full main and genoa/asymmetric | 3.7 | 2.8 | Windless and hot trip to the Folly |
| 24th June | 11.95 (21.89) | Both ends F3 | SWxS | Full main and genoa | 4.3 | 2.8 | First major trip on the new engine - "racing" a Leisure 17 |
| 30th June | 8.0* (21.89) | F5 gusting F6 | WSW | Double reefed main and reefed genoa | 6.8 | 3.9 | Very windy day in the Solent => pub!! |
| 2nd July | 7.81 (29.7) | F4 gusting F5 | NWxW | Reefed main and reefed genoa | 4.4 | 3.3 | There and back - soldiers wind down the harbour |
| 7th July | 10.53 (40.23) | F2 and building | SExS going SExE | Full main and genoa | 5.1 | 2.6 | Seal, light winds, lovely run back |
| 12th July | 30.7* (40.23) | F5 gusting F6 going F6 gusting F7 | W | Double reefed main and genoa morning / full genoa (only) afternoon | 7.5 | 3.3 | Hard, hard, work getting to Cowes but worth it for the trip back |
| 20th July | 9.28 (49.51) | Both ends F3 | WSW (but veering W and S of this) | Full main and genoa | 5.3 | 2.8 | Seals sunbathing - best speed (SOG) of the season so far under sail |
| 3rd August | 11.23 (60.74) | F4 going F2 | NNW going N | Full main and genoa | 4.3 | 2.6 | Both ends of the harbour |
| 7th August | 8.23 (68.97) | F5 | SW going WxS | Reefed main and reefed genoa | 6.1 | 3.1 | Feisty trip out - far windier than expected - 7.1 kts seen on the log! |
| 10th August | 30.15* (68.97) | F3 going F2 | SExE | Full main and genoa | 6.7 | 2.9 | Two carriers and a lamb burger |
| 15th August | 10.37 (79.34) | F3 | W | Full main and genoa | 4.2 | 2.3 | Sniffing the Solent! |
| 16th August | 4.0 (83.34) | F1 | SW | Full main and genoa | 4.2 | 2.3 | Grandson's first trip |
| 30th August | 26.8* (83.34) | F4 | W going NWxW | Full main and genoa | 5.0 | 3.5 | The Jolly Boys go to Seaview, and come home in the dark |
| 5th September | 12.44 (95.78) | F2 going F4 going F3! | ExS going S going SE | Full main and full/reefed genoa | 5.0 | 2.8 | Camber/Snowhill on a day when I got every wind direction and strength known! |
| 14th September | 3.98 (99.76) | F1 gusting F2 | Between WxS and SSW | Full main and genoa | 4.2 | 1.6 | Sunny morning drift |
| 29th September | 8.77 (108.53) | Both ends F4 | NW occasionally NWxW | Reefed main and reefed genoa | 4.4 | 2.9 | Feisty NW'ly |
| 1st October | 7.22 (115.75) | F4 | SSW | Reefed main and full/reefed genoa | 4.1 | 2.5 | Tack, tack, tack, tack, dodge, tack... 😀 |
| 26th October | 15.31* (115.75) | F4 | W | Full main and genoa motor sailing | 6.4 | 4.0 | Kings Ransom delivery to LSC.. |
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Summary:
2023 total (in Sparrow): 115.75 miles
2022 total (in Sparrow): 124.72 miles
2021 total (in Sparrow): 44.5 miles
2020 total (in Sparrow): 0 miles (COVID)
2019 total (in Sparrow): 77.59 miles
2018 total (in Sparrow): 151.12 miles
2017 total (in Sparrow): 141.91 miles
2016 total (in Sparrow): 138.29 miles
2015 total (in Sparrow): 141.29 miles
2014 total (in Sparrow): 137.98 miles
2013 total (in Sparrow): 113.73 miles
2012 total (in Papillon): 173.29 miles
2011 total (in Papillon): 193.41 miles
2010 total (in Papillon): 154.23 miles
2009 total (in Papillon): 125 miles
2021 total (in Sparrow): 44.5 miles
2020 total (in Sparrow): 0 miles (COVID)
2019 total (in Sparrow): 77.59 miles
2018 total (in Sparrow): 151.12 miles
2017 total (in Sparrow): 141.91 miles
2016 total (in Sparrow): 138.29 miles
2015 total (in Sparrow): 141.29 miles
2014 total (in Sparrow): 137.98 miles
2013 total (in Sparrow): 113.73 miles
2012 total (in Papillon): 173.29 miles
2011 total (in Papillon): 193.41 miles
2010 total (in Papillon): 154.23 miles
2009 total (in Papillon): 125 miles
