Pilsey shuffle..

After the last trip out I think it fair to say that there was a slight sense of unfinished business about the dock side.. 😁

Wednesday looked promising, but there was a clear requirement (from the forecast) to get going as soon as possible so as to make the most of the westerly wind before it started bending round from the south (guessing they were foreseeing a growing sea breeze)..  things didn't start well when I go to the club only to find I'd forgotten my phone..  not mission critical, but if I wanted any photos, or music to listen to, I was going to struggle.. 😏

Half an hour later I was back at the club, once on the boat I filled up the outboard fuel tank with 5 litres of fresh fuel (took half a litre of the old stuff home and put it in the car), covers off, engine on to warm up, mooring dropped at 11:24. With a HT at 13:45 I could have used the 30 minutes I lost to make some south'ing, but the wind was light anyway so I guess I didn't miss much..

As is usual with these westerly's the main went up in the pool by the bridge and then I bore away for a run down the ditch.. left the engine running until well past Emsworth Beacon before turning it off and trying without.. winds were light and fitful, but every now and again there would be a useable gust but all in all it was quite frustrating, and with a huge spring tide there was a lot of water to fight head on..  shades of the last trip!

With more fuel on board though I put the engine back on and motor sailed down past Marker, only to find the wind filling in, but only as it moved southerly..

..hitting the overdrive for the return trip on the last of the incoming tide..

N'er mind - a lovely single tack down to the Pilsey buoys (there are two of them) saw me almost at HISC before I tacked and bore away back to Verner - glorious speeds SOG saw me at Verner in a quarter of the time it had taken to go the other way, but when I gybed to head back to Pilsey it was clear the wind had filled in very quickly indeed and was now more than enough to start the sails flapping.. 

Tacked again and headed for home - I'd had a cracking sail, and it was time to head for home... sails down just shy of Sweare Deep and I was back on the mooring 3 hours after I'd left..  brilliant..

Sparrow's bigger brother - a Hurley 22 - met her on the way back..

Notes:

• 5 litres fuel added

Log:

Distance: 8.64* (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F2 going F4 ; W going SWxW
Sail Plan: Full main / full and 90% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 5.3 / 2.7

*includes distance covered while the GPS needed a battery change.. 😁

In and out..

Not much of a trip - had hoped for more (clearly.. don't we all?! 😏), but lack of wind stopped play...

Two and a half hours before HT (12:23 and 4.10m) saw me on Sparrow after a chat with my mooring neighbours Jolly Boy Dave and Simon, covers off, engines started, and I dropped the mooring at about quarter past ten...

What wind there was was westerly so I put the main up by the bridge as is becoming the norm, and then headed off down the ditch after Simon. Motored all the way to just before Sweare Deep where (as usual) the noise of the engine finally got to me and I turned her off, and then I sailed for all of, oooh..  15 minutes (?) before the wind dropped completely, and I ended up going round and round in circles heading back towards Emsworth Channel..

Didn't have enough fuel for an extended motor to the bottom of the harbour so decided to call it quits..  the forecast is good this week - there'll be other opportunities..

Time to get some fuel..

Log:

Distance: 3.57 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F1 gusting F3 ; between W and S 
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 4.4 / 2.7

Make do and mend..

Little make do and mend session last week - we've been on the water couple of months now, and sun, rain, and UV never let up, and it was time I attended to a couple of things that I'd been noticing..

Locker lids:

Those of you who follow this nonsense will know that I have a hate hate relationship with these..  my fault assuredly as the ply they are made of is rubbish..  worse than rubbish..  anyway, those of you who follow will know that I'd already treated these over the winter [clicky] but some cracks on the edges of this one needed to be treated quickly lest the damage get much worse very quickly..

... regrettably though the damage on this one was done a long time ago, and it was shot.. look away now if you're of a nervous disposition...

..look at the quality of that ply - utter rubbish wood scrapings barely glued together..😐

..my plan had been to slip some epoxy into the crack using some thin plastic sheet to get it in but it failed completely when I then applied some pressure to press the sheets back together while the epoxy dried..

So....  what to do..

I can make a new one - but I need new supplies of ply, and I want time to find either a good source of marine ply, or ideally plastic/UPVC, to do this permanently - there's sailing to be done so I've bodged it to get me through to the end of the season...

I glued all the dust and scraps back together, and then glued two squares of 3mm plastic card, one either side to hold it together in a sandwich, and then clamped it for 24 hours to let the glue go off..

Tidied up the excess glue the next day, gave it a couple of coats of paint, and then reattached the locking hasp...  it's not pretty (ain't that the understatement of the year), but it's sound, and more importantly will last me to the end of the season.. 😏

Gel Coat:

This has been on my mind (and the job list) for a while - Sparrow is 60 next year and her gel coat is getting thin in places. Just to be clear, I will not paint her (that way lies the madness of endless patching and maintaining on a huge scale) but I do need to stop further UV damage to places where it is thin - see following... 

Previous experiments [clicky] have proved to be fairly good, and it was time to do a few more... 

The hardest thing is getting the paint colour to at least a reasonable approximation (which I haven't done 😏), but the most important thing is that the damage is now covered, and the maintenance of these patches is far simpler..

Now - let's go sailing..

Ferrys, trains and automobiles... redux..

..the end of the week and it was time for me to pop over to the island to help Rodders and his missus crew AmiLy back to the mainland..

Train, Fast Cat ferry from Portsmouth (of which I'm becoming a fan 😏)..

..sun deck is a glorious place to be on a hot day!

...and then soon enough in Ryde..

...how many bearings have been taken using Ryde church spire over the years I wonder..

...it was one one of the hottest weeks in the UK on record - and I'm not sure I'd have wanted to spend it on a boat given the heat we saw (high 30'sC) - but when I saw them, they said it had been a cracking week - visiting various places on the island and basically keeping cool and hydrated, much like the rest of us..

After a hot walk to the Lifeboat for some lunch, it was back to East Cowes in a growing breeze..

By the time we'd dropped the mooring and got into the Solent minds were already made up - no sailing today - F5 gusting F6 (I was seeing 39 knots on the wind instruments, despite apparent wind/tide!) and Easterly - bang on the nose - so we motored and let the engine take the strain.. what a glorious day though, sunny. warm in the breeze but cooler than without it..  fantastic

...back!

Log:

Distance: 12.86* (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)

Wind (Speed; Direction):  F5 gusting F6 ; ExS
Sail Plan: None - motored
Speed (Max/average in knots): 4.6 / 4.1

Planes ..err.. Ferrys, trains and automobiles...

Hurrah - time to take the ladies to Cowes for lunch - which is basically just an excuse for Smithy and I to get out on AmiLy for the day to help deliver Rodders and his lady to their holiday spot of a week in Shepherds Wharf in west-Cowes..

We enjoy this one (we did it for the first time last year) as it involves almost every type of transport system known to man (other than helicopter) to get back afterwards (as the boat stays in Cowes)..

Either way - met at my gaff at 08:30 before all 6 of us piled into Rod's trusty Landrover Disco (I got the boot seat again!) for the transfer to the boat..

Glorious weather and a surprisingly 'vibrant' breeze blowing when we got there, and from the east..

Filled up with water, got the sail covers off, singled up the lines, and we dropped the moorings 09:20 before heading into the harbour - did a U turn off the dockyard to head into wind in order to get the main up, and then rode the outgoing tide to the inner swashway..

I think that's the ex-HMS Montrose (left) and Westminster (right) - they're in the dockyard waiting on news of their likely demise..

The ex-HMS Westminster - a Duke-class Type 23 Frigate (as was Montrose)

..and then had a long uneventful run to Cowes - ended up taking the genoa in as the main was covering it, popped the auto pilot on, had a chat, ate some biscuits, drank some tea, sweltered in the heat..  fantastic..

Lunch was at the Island Sailing Club where, sitting on their balcony under a large umbrella and drinking beer, was quite possibly the best solution to the day...

Lunch over, it was time to bid Rod and his missus farewell (though I'll be coming over on Thursday to help bring the boat back) before we caught the chain ferry (mode of transport #3 of the day), and then walked up to the shops in east Cowes to get the bus (#4) to Ryde, where we then walked to the end of the pier to get the fast cat (#5) back to Portsmouth to get the train (#6) home. Suffice to say that the bus/ferry/train took as long as the sail and I know which one I preferred!

More reading on Montrose/Westminster here [clicky] if interested

Log:

Distance:  40.27 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)

• Sail : 14.06
• Bus :  8.9
• Ferry : 5.2
• Train : 11,4

Wind (Speed; Direction):  F3 gusting F4 ; ExN going SE
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 7.3 / 3.5

Completed job list '25/'26 lay up..

By way of record keeping, and to remind me in the future - here's the completed job list from the winter layover...  all in all I would say it was a busy one with some major jobs done.. 

Next winter will be quieter and I think probably the major job will be the companionway hatches..  I'll do the cockpit hatches (again!😏) at the same time..  

I just need a better quality ply this time round though, as the last lot was utter sh*te!

Completed list...

1. Standing rigging - this was last done in July 2013,  so 12 years of light use (including one year when the mast never went up thanks to COVID), but for reference the following is the order, ...
   
   
   
   
   
   • 2 cap shrouds, and 2 pairs of lower shrouds, in 4mm 1/19 stainless steel wire with 5/16th rigging screws (Swage stud to Fork) and new swage eyes.
   • backstay in 4mm 1/19 stainless steel wire using a triangular plate with new bottle screw and new eyes and forks
   • forestay in 5mm 1/19 stainless steel wire with swaged eye at the top and the lower end.





2. At the same time I also replaced the roller furler which came with the boat when I bought it all those years ago, and originally came from (I think) a much bigger Beneteau or Jeanneau - it was old, a massive beast, and had been cut down to fit Sparrow so remained heavy to operate all the years I had it..
   
   The new one is a Furlex 50S, and is the very opposite of that and is utterly fantastic..  so light to roll in and out, almost does it itself..  an absolute joy.
   
   In order to get my genoa to fit however, I did have to get the luff bead replace with a smaller diameter bead
   
   
   
   
   

   

   New and old side by side...

   
   
   Huge thanks to Luke and Andrew at Holman Rigging [clicky] for a very classy set of wires, their service, and the suggestion for the  the furler - second, no third, time I've been to them for rigging on my boats and once again they didn't disappoint..  recommended..


3. Boom/sail cover replaced - last one I bought it in 2019, so it lasted 7 odd years albeit we had a year of Covid where it didn't get a lot of UV. Compared with the previous ones, from the same source/supplier, I would say this one is not of as good quality - the material seems flimsier - but time will tell..
   

4. New windex - fitted, and still there.. it's quite a chunky beast and my impression is it can be a little slow showing direction when the wind is light, but hey, it's still there.. 😏

   

   "Aramox Marine Weather Vane Wind Direction Indicator 304 Stainless Steel"

Regular/annual items:

1. Installed the temporary winter cockpit locker lids and brought the proper ones home to keep out of the winter weather; they're looking ok


2. Rub down and coat of paint (as needed) - 


• Locker lids - locker lids were filled and sanded, and had two coats (of paint) 


• Wash boards - lower was repaired and painted June '25 but needed more work this winter - both were sanded and filled and two coats applied, in addition the upper has had some UPVC reinforcement along the lower edge


• Tiller pilot support - two coats


• Tiller pilot clip rest  - two coats


• Cockpit hatch cover - done June '25


• Forward hatch cover - done June '25


• Rear hatch cover - done June '25


• Tender - an additional keel plate reinforcement was attached, and the bottom painted
  
  
  


3. Rub down and coat of wood preservative or varnish (as needed) - the purchase of a new orbital sander this spring helped enormously with this one..


• cockpit board - rubbed down and two coats of preservative


• outboard pad - rubbed down and two coats of preservative


• rubbing strakes - rubbed down and patch repairs June '25 - rubbed down again and two coats of preservative this winter


• hand rails - are largely OK, one spot-sanded and coated with varnish


• tiller - rubbed down and two coats of varnish


4. Antifoul - one coat Tiger Extra applied 
   
   
   


5. Serviced the outboard  - no major issues - thanks Bursledon Outboards [clicky]!


6. Serviced and inflation tested the Life Jackets - going to need some new ones at some time - they're perfectly good but looking tatty.. 😏


7. Pick up chain - nothing needed this year - brought the top tackle home for the winter as usual though


8. Pre-launch wash and Oxalic, I also went round the waterline with a detail sander and removed as much as I could of the ingrained green staining she's picked up over the years - she looks a ton better

There and back.. and back again..

Too good an opportunity to miss as the wind was still blowing westerly (in fact looking at my log for last year it was doing the same this time then too)

Bit more southerly in it this time though, but either way I was on the boat three hours before HT (which was 13:25 and a mahoosive spring at 4.6mtrs) and practice makes perfect, I had the engine on the covers off and the mooring dropped just shy of 11:00 with 0.1 meters under the keel..  plenty.. 😏

Long slow run down the ditch under main (which I had again put up in the pool just in front of the bridge), fishing rod deployed (with no success), past Northney, and as I approached Sweare Deep I was hardening up enough to clear, and so roll out the genoa..

Single tack to the bottom of the harbour, gusty conditions, using the heavier gusts to ride up wind to help the angles but even against that massive tides she was romping along at 4 knots..  lovely sailing, just needed a little more sun..

Turned for the top of the harbour just after NW Pilsey as the wind was picking up further and I'd ruled out another Eastoke visit, and lit the afterburners - 6.7 and 6.9 knots SOG (tidal assisted😏) seen as we tore up harbour - was going so fast I almost missed Jolly Boy Dave out for a similar day sail on his boat..

Jolly Boy Dave out on his boat 'Kings Ransom'..

..in fact I enjoyed it so much I turned and headed back down harbour at Verner before turning again at NW Pilsey and finally heading for home - cracking trip - more, please!

Thoughts now turn to a little make do and mend session, got some painting and gluing to do around the boat...

Log:

Distance: 10.42 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F3 gusting F4 ; WSW going SW
Sail Plan: Full main and 90% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 6 / 3

Soldiers wind..

So after two solid weeks of wind and rain, at last the summer seems to have returned to the UK after lulling us into that false sense of security last month.

First sail since I got to take the Grandson out all that time ago, and not a world of a lie it's been low pressure after low pressure ever since..  a constant succession of F5 and F6 days, usually with rain and or hail..  and after those record breaking temperatures last month, last week the central heating thermostat was kicking in! 😏 Suffice to say that the Jolly Boys, who were due to get away for the first overnight of the year in Lymington last week, were not happy when that trip went down the pan..

Fair to say then that the forecasts were being poured over on a daily basis looking for the break, and it was finally spotted this weekend - yesterday and today were looking good (and there are hopes for next week as well)..

Picked the Saturday in the end, as the forecasts were showing wall to wall sunshine and a little more breeze than the Sunday (and as I'm writing this on the Sunday I can confirm they were right 😁)

So on the boat by quarter to nine for a 10:37 HT, which was a Spring, interesting forecast for wind direction turned out to be bang on the money..  dead westerly...! A soldiers wind ..  a beam reach either way if I wanted to head to the bottom of the harbour, and who wouldn't.. 

Decisions to make when I got on the boat though - the forecast was saying 4 gusting 5 occasionally, but local conditions, and a check of the weather stations at the top and bottom of the harbour were showing less...  they do say that if you think of reefing, you should do it, but in this occasion I ignored it and went for a full main..

Mate of mine was out on the water and got a few shots of me and Sparrow doing our best..  thanks Martin..  😁👍

Dropped the mooring at 9'ish, motored gently up wind to the bridge in the pool and put my main up before turning for a long glorious run down the ditch, past Northney, and on to Sweare Deep where I hardened up for the (as forecasted) reach to the bottom of the harbour..  slightly feisty conditions, the occasional gusts were a bit spicy, but it was sunny (although cold - layers were going on) and the harbour was full of my fellow sailors all thanking their lucky stars that they could finally get out on their boats! I could probably have done with having a small reef in the main, but most of the time she chuntered along quite nicely, even if I couldn't always sheet in as much as I wanted..

Returning the compliment - looking good Martin!

No plans other than heading to the bottom of the harbour, and a solid 4 knots against tide almost all the way saw me there far quicker than I thought - it being a Saturday of course, and the first decent break in the weather, it was like Piccadilly Circus in the harbour mouth - every boat in the harbour was heading for the Solent. Who was I to disagree.. so when I got to HISC I just kept going... 😁

Now many years ago I was dismasted not far from here [clicky], and just after I had had standing rigging replaced, so my plan for today was to lay more ghosts to rest - as I'd just had the standing rigging replaced.. 😏

Happily, no repeat of the issue, and just after Eastoke (where it happened last time), and with a view if the Solent in all it's sunshine glory, and at stand of tide..

"Piccadilly".. 

...I tacked and headed back in..

...for a long beat up harbour as the wind had got some north in it at just the wrong moment, no worries though, single tack saw me at Sweare Deep, and with the wind freshening all the time I abandoned ideas of going back down the harbour, dropped the sails, and motored back to the mooring..  stupendous sail..  but a bit warmer next time, please!

Post script..  Martin got this as I was going past HISC on the way back, you can see what I meant about the main could have done with a reef..  more main sheet and it would have set nicely, but I'd just let it out for a gust.. 😁

Log:

Distance: 10.56* (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction):  Both ends of a F4 ; WSW going WNW
Sail Plan: Full main/90% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots):  4.6 / 3.4

*includes distance covered while the GPS needed a battery change.. 😁

Grandson cruise

A quick sail to keep the grandson occupied on half term holiday week - who was I to say no? 😁

I was aware I needed to keep it short - he's 12 and with the best will in the world is not super keen on sailing so originally I'd planned it to be more of a fishing trip under motor than a sail, but with the harbour currently chock full of weed the lure fishing soon paled, so I suggested we put the rags up and have a sail. 

Bless him .. he said "sure".. 😏

Easterly, and the sails went up just off Emsworth Beacon before we made the best course for Marker we could get in what was a fairly fluky south easterly (it was veering between SE and SSE, but trending more southerly by the half hour).

Eleven tacks to Marker and he'd made me aware he wasn't enjoying the tacking, so we bailed just after Marker (furthest south so far this year but that's not saying much!) turning for home with a long comfortable run in the sun back to the mooring..

What can I say - I enjoyed* it anyway.. 😁

* apart from the bit where I lost my glasses over the side 👓

Log:

Distance: 5.88 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): SExS ; F3 (occasionally gusting F4)
Sail Plan: Full main and 90% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 5.0/2.4

Shakedown..

At bleeding last..  the first sail on Sparrow for the new season - almost three weeks later than last year.. 😏

No major reasons or excuses for the delay, it was just a matter of weather and tides..  we had a stonking week of warm weather the week after I launched but there were no tides that week, and then a period of rain and cold settled in - hail, sun, wind, rain, repeat.. and then I needed to get the mast up....   and and ad..  If the weather gonks are to be believed next week we're getting a heatwave, I'll believe it when I see it..

Either way today looked to be the best bet to get the sails up and the first miles under my belt, and it turned out to be.... OK... 

Don't get me wrong it was bloody awesome to get the sails up and go sailing, the new roller furler is an ABSOLUTE joy, but it was grey, and it was chuffing cold in the wind..

Anyway, on the boat for half 10 which was two hours before HT (12:40), sail cover off, tender secured to pickup buoy, engine started and cast off...  with the wind being almost westerly (almost - there was a tadge of south in it), I took the opportunity to put the main up in the pool by the bridge, and then bore off for a gentle run down the ditch for the first time this year..  big tide - 4.7m - but even so we were seeing 3's...

Rolled the genoa out as we went - fantastically smooth - and just kept going, bearing up as we came round the corner by the beacon..  winds were a fairly solid F3, but every now and again something really fractious would come through, definitely higher F4. Tacked up and lit the afterburners to head back to Northney - despite what the GPS reports I was seeing 5.8/5.9 and 6 SOG (tide assisted 'natch 😏)

Tacked again - headed to Marker - almost got there, but it was so damn cold I bailed..  I had three layers on and it was still cold. Enjoyed that immensely, but now I'd like some warmer weather, please..

Sailing club duty tomorrow - I'm duty helm on the rescue boat for the second launch week..  should be fun but must remember a coat... 😁

Log:

Distance: 5.84 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F3 gusting F4; WSW
Sail Plan: Full main/90% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 5.6 / 2.8

So little expected..

..yet in the end so much delivered!

First though - I've treated myself.. Back in 2015 the Jolly Boys were there when one of the preliminary races for the 35th America's Cup were held in Portsmouth - fantastic day out, we anchored in the middle of a plethora of other boats, watched some racing, had no idea who was doing well or otherwise (better to watch it on the haunted fish tank if you want an idea of who is actually leading or not) but the atmosphere was excellent, and back then Ben Ainslie Racing had no connection to INEOS/Ratcliffe.. indeed his primary sponsor was Land Rover of all people. My baseball cap for that years team is one of the most comfortable I've had (I have a big head and it just fits well 😏) but not surprisingly 9 years of sun, salt, a couple of immersions, oh and some oxalic acid, has taken it's toll - and then I found a replacement on eBay - I'll leave you to guess which is the old and new one in the following.. 😁

How smart is that...

Anyway - new hat safely ensconced on bonce (with a bungee to stop it blowing away) and Tuesday morning found the Jolly Boys round Rod's gaff at 0830 for yet another day on the water - just the three of us this time as the Smithster had other things to do..

After a period of quite glorious highs, warm, sunny, and with a tide that was in totally the wrong place and time - we have entered a period of lows, with northerly winds, and a noticeable drop in temperatures..  the day we picked was the best of the forecasts, but the wind was far from being the best direction - it was showing light'ish and westerly.. dead upwind for anywhere west of Portsmouth, and dead downwind for coming back...

On the boat by 0915,  sails read and we cast off at 0930 with obligatory cup of coffee and pastry in hand..  the dockyard was almost empty as we came round the corner - both of the carriers are out at the moment and although it was clearly busy it looked weird not seeing Big Lizzy or the Prince in..

Main went up just off the ammunition pier, and we moved off nicely down harbour in a reasonable breeze.. as we came round the corner of Fort Blockhouse at the harbour entrance we were met by a decent breeze..  rolled the genoa out switched the engine off, put her hard on the wind, and gave this guy a little "race"..

..he was going well, and left us behind in the end, but we had a brilliant sail to the island, fast, single tack, unbelievable - there was more north in the wind than we expected!

Ended up putting the engine on and dropping sails at Castle Point before motoring in for a stupendous lunch at the Lifeboat in East Cowes (we toyed with the idea of the Island Sailing Club for a change, but we love the food at the Lifeboat and decided to go with our usual..)

Always some lovely boats to look at in Cowes, this is the Reichel Pugh designed 42 footer ‘Khumbu’ - more on her here: https://www.owenclarkedesign.com/128m-fast-40

After the almost set in stone requirement for a nap following the carbohydrate overload, we eventually dropped the moorings at about half 3 and headed for the mouth of the ricer in what was looking to be an increasing breeze..  now that was what the forecast has promised but on the sail home, in challenging downwind conditions (it was veering almost constantly between the north and south of SW'ly..  which made sail balance difficult) but with tidal assist, we were absolutely motoring.. the afterburners were definitely lit.. I was seeing medium 20's in knots on the wind instruments even going downwind! All in all we were pleased we'd put in the reef when we left Cowes.

Brilliant days sailing..  and the hat stayed on... 😁

Log:

Distance: 25.86 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F3 in the morning/F4 gusting top F5 in the afternoon; SW'ly
Sail Plan: Full/reefed main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 7.7 / 4.3

Catch up... mast up...

Bit quiet on the log here but things have been going on..

First and most importantly, the mast is up, and this time no (major 😏) issues or concerns like we had last time. A close eye was kept on the flag halyards and they remained well behaved and out of the way - in fact the mast positively shot up, and before I knew it the mast crutch was down for the first time in just over 6 months, and the various wooden supports and the A frame were packed away for yet another year, libations were poured to skipper, boat and Neptune (in reverse order), and my mast raising crew lounged in the cockpit in the sun drinking beer, eating pork pies and talking nonsense..  it was a good mast raise and the Jolly Boys did me proud (as ever)

So I mentioned no major issues - just a minor one - despite having checked twice that all was clear at the mast foot, the cable for the mast head light got trapped in the gap between mast and tabernacle! Irritating but not a show stopper - one, I haven't ever used the mast head light in anger since I bought the boat and installed it, and two, if I have a moment this summer I can just cut either side of the trapped length of cable, connect in a new length of wire, rewire the pug to the new cable and ignore the bit that is trapped until I drop the mast at the end of season (when I'll just throw it away, anyway)..

Then a couple of days later and still aching in every bone (and also with a bad back - I must have twisted awkwardly when raising the mast 😐), I went out to put the sails on..

Again no issues, just a few technical challenges..  

The main was first, which requires main halyard and topping lift to be installed/routed, and also the mainsheet and kicker to be attached, but all done, and a quick raise of the main to confirmed it was running free. Flaked it down and then fitted the new sail cover*.. 

Then it was time for the genoa - now we'd found when we trial raised the mast a few months ago that the luff bread on the genoa was too big for the new furler - simply out it was too thick and wouldn't fit. I'd taken the sail in to the local sailmaker to have a new one fitted, but this was the first opportunity to see if  it would now fit, so there was slight trepidation.. 

Happily no issues at all with it and it fitted exactly, though the slot is definitely snug..  even had to use my old windsurf downhaul tool (like the one pictured left) a couple of times just to get the necessary grip but either way it was up, I then, for the first time ever, got to roll the sail away and my goodness, the difference between new and old was chalk and cheese..  it practically rolled itself away!😁

Shame it rolled the sail inside out (so the UV strip was on the inside), but having unrolled it completely and then rolled it the opposite way and all was done.

Pausing only to tighten the stays slightly, and then put some temporary lockwire on the bottle screws (they'll need tightening again I suspect after the first shakedown sail) to stop them coming undone, I called it a day and dragged my sorry arse, err back, home for a well deserved beer - now all I need is  a decent time of  tide for the first sail of the year - but before that the Jolly Boys are going sailing beginning of next week!

*quality of this was a little disappointing, to be honest - I don't expect them to last for ever, usually I get about 6 years out of them before the material basically disintegrates (and at roughly £60 that works out at a tenner a year - good value basically), but this one is a bit flimsy by previous standards, time will tell...

I'm in!

..long old day but I'd had a phone call the night before that the lift in team had managed to complete the 'workaround fix' to the hoist that I mentioned in the last post, and that it was working well, so I might be able to go in the next day - albeit late, as they had a lot of boats to catch up on..

"So many expectations..

...at the start of a new.. etcetcetc" 😏

...you can see the 'workaround fix' in the pictures above..  we used two large lifting straps to replace the damaged wires at the back..  the wires give additional vertical adjustment to the arms of the hoist (which also go up and down), so we lost the additional adjustment, but the straps worked well enough to lift any of the boats on the yard..

...and after a quick and painless wet launch direct from the hoist (usually I get put on the mud and float off), ten minutes later I was back on the mooring...  so good to be back out there...

Guess I need to start thinking about a mast raising party!

Should have..

..been in by now, but here she is still sitting in splendour in the car park at the club! 😏

About four boats in, on the first day of the lift, the hoist developed an issue; one of the lifting wires was fraying. All further launches were halted/postponed while the team went to work trying to find some replacements so my launch was one of the casualties..  no worries, it is what it is, and these things will happen - happily no people or boats were hurt so it's a win win, most of the guys who were going to launch have just found further bits of work to do on their boats!

I was no different so the following is now done, 

• having assumed I was going in, I have 5 litres of fuel on board
• the engine is on - with lock
• I took the opportunity to fit the new Windex - a thing of shiny beauty that will probably last all of 5 minutes 😏
  
  
  
  
  
• I've got the tender ready - she's  now sitting upright following a winter upside down
• ..then last of all, the traditional very last job, it was time for harbour plaques to go on!
  
  
  
  

That's it - I'm calling the winter maintenance over, done and dusted - I am more than ready for launch if only for a rest! 😁

Postscript: the hoist really needs both wires changing but our supplier only has one in stock which will arrive Monday - the guys think that will be enough (there's a 4 week delivery for the second one!) and they can bodge a solution with some heavy duty straps to at least start the launches going again - just waiting on the word when I need to make myself ready.. 🤞

First trip of the year ..

.. had to be Cowes didn't it..   😁

Turned out to be a day of two halves weather'wise..  the morning wind was very light, so motoring was the order of the day. To be fair we didn't mind - it was good to be on the water and although a little chilly, the sun shone - apart from when it started to rain! We'd been watching the clouds in the distance dumping loads of rain - it was so bright elsewhere you could see the clouds joined to the sea so it was only to be expected that we got a bit as well - first time I've worn foulies in I don't know how long.. 😏

That said it was a massive tide and the 'Solent travellator' dropped us off in Cowes in quite possibly the one of quickest transit times we've had..  

Always know it's Cowes when I see that crane..

..so quick in fact that at a little over two hours door to door, we was too early, and the pub wasn't open! 😏 

Having grabbed a lunchtime berth in East Cowes we went for a walk out along East Cowes sea front until it was open.. which was then followed by an absolutely cracking lunch in The Lifeboat - absolutely stuffed, we lounged on the boat until the travellator was due to turn at about 3'ish..

Where we then had one of those classic sails back to Portsmouth - it was just south enough to bring the wind over the quarter and allow both sails to do the pulling, and once it settled down, we had a lovely F4 all the way home..

Cracking days sail rounded off by an international show of might in the dockyard..

Ukrainian minesweepers here on training I believe, a Portuguese frigate (NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida - F334), the UK Type 45 Destroyer HMS Daring (and unidentified partner), and the German frigate Saschen (lead ship of her class)

Log:

(NB. My Strava was playing up so I had to rely on Smithy's Smart watch for the following 😁)

Distance: (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top) 22.21 miles

Wind (Speed; Direction): F2 (AM) F4 (PM); S (AM) SWxS (PM)
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa on the way back - motor out
Speed (Max/average in knots): 4.8 / 7.6