Seeing it is a rainy day today and Dave has decided to do some cosseting of his much beloved engine, leaving me the chart table to sit at as everywhere else is occupied either by bits of table or tools, I thought it would be a god time to catch up on the blog.
We are still at Swansea, but getting quite excited now as it is getting closer to leaving. Just a few bits and pieces. But first a story.
The scene: Dave and jenny are sitting at the table doing the crossword at the end of another eventful day.
Dave leans over and says ‘This is for you’. I look up and in his hand there is what appears to be most of a rather decrepit tooth and filling.
‘I don’t want that’
‘Now there is the biggest hole in the whole wide world in my mouth’ Heart sinks, this is something to deal with tomorrow.
Tomorrow sees me on the phone trying to find a dentist – come back Rosemary, we have a place for you on the boat! Multiple calls later and magically we find one with a cancellation if Dave left immediately. So next find a taxi, and then try to decide how to explain where to pick him up to a rather dozy girl in the taxi office. We finally get him there and a bit later I get a call from him while his mouth is going numb. ‘Jen, do you think I should tell him about the other tooth that’s not right?’
‘What other tooth Dave??’
‘The one that’s been wrong since we left and I forgot to say and hoped it would get better.’
I was really very cool and restrained in answering that teeth don’t magically get better, and yes, he had better do something. It turns out that Rosemary our lovely Tobermory dentist had suggested he get it fixed but he ‘forgot’. So now we have another week to get this one fixed as it needs a crown replacing. Meanwhile I keep sanding woodwork (until it rains).
So we have a fixed tooth and happy Dave and a crown coming express delivery at the end of the week and a bill to make your eyes water as there is apparently no NHS dentists doing emergencies.
I have had a good look, but I don’t think there are any more bits of us to break before Biscay, but you never know I guess.
Friday 30 April 2010
BISCUIT
THE BEST OF CREW MEMBERS
When telling of the various bits of our boat I forgot to mention of the favourite crew members – Biscuit the Dog.
Years ago when I had the little workshop at Mansefield, I was given a bag with the makings and instructions for a ginger fluffy dog. It stayed in the cupboard until we were packing, and I thought it would be a good thing to do on the boat for little Alex. So one day I got it out and started. It was a rather terrible job. There were hundreds of little shapes to knit, every row had to be crossed off, and I was left with a stack of bits to sew together. Not an easy task, as some of them were very similar and all in all it took quite a few nights and far too much ‘reverse sewing’ for my liking. At last he was ready to stuff, and I brought out my bag of stuffing which promptly all disappeared into the front feet. Biscuit was no going to be 12 inches high as I thought, but much, much larger and too holey for little fingers. Not daunted I thought maybe he could go to the God daughter in South Africa. So off I went and bought three more bags of stuffing and Biscuit grew and grew and grew. He sat on the seat and looked at us and said ‘I’m much too big to go in the post, and you need a dog, and I will make a very good hat stand’. All of this was so true, that Biscuit sits and looks after my favourite hat and gloves and is a welcoming presence to come home to. Very low maintenance too.
THE BIRMINGHAM NAVY
The above is a term that is evidently used to describe the strange phenomena that is repeated weekend after weekend here in summer. We have watched with interest what is going on around the large number of very large motor cruisers that are tied up here in the marina. As mentioned before, most appear to go nowhere, and the ones that have appeared to go somewhere have just gone around the corner to be scrubbed and valeted for the owners and restored in tip top condition to their moorings. They are all fitted with any instrument invented and sport Satellite telephone aerial, radar, the works. At least they know where they are in the marina. Some run their engines once a week while tied up, most just put the heaters on at night, filling the marina with the throaty hiss of multiple Eberspachers.
But things change on Friday afternoons. Then a steady procession of teenage girls appears on the pontoons, each carrying the obligatory phone attached to her ear, and dragging a suitcase on wheels while tottering down the walkways on clattery high heeled sandals. They are followed by Dad and Mum and the groceries in a trolley, and all settle into the family boat for the weekend. There is also the parade of the family pets, ranging from golden retrievers to small furry balls of much yappiness, and near us we even have the household budgerigar in its cage – fine weather it sits on top of the hood, a bit of rain and it is in the back on the table while its owners turn ever redder in the sun. During the sunlight hours there is much sitting on the boats catching the rays, and in the evenings much eating and drinking.
Come Sunday afternoon the process is reversed and the suitcases are rattled back to the cars and the dogs and birds are taken off back to their familiar surroundings. Then life returns to its usual leisurely pace with the few liveaboards, most of whom are in yachts, carrying on the task of getting ready to go to sea. Apart from the occasional small fishing boat going in and out for the day it is mainly the yachts that move.
So said, it could well be that the Birmingham Navy looks at us with a great deal of amusement as we wield paint brushes and sanding machines in the sun. Or maybe they would like to tell us that the garden umbrella is lowering the tone of the neighbourhood!
But things change on Friday afternoons. Then a steady procession of teenage girls appears on the pontoons, each carrying the obligatory phone attached to her ear, and dragging a suitcase on wheels while tottering down the walkways on clattery high heeled sandals. They are followed by Dad and Mum and the groceries in a trolley, and all settle into the family boat for the weekend. There is also the parade of the family pets, ranging from golden retrievers to small furry balls of much yappiness, and near us we even have the household budgerigar in its cage – fine weather it sits on top of the hood, a bit of rain and it is in the back on the table while its owners turn ever redder in the sun. During the sunlight hours there is much sitting on the boats catching the rays, and in the evenings much eating and drinking.
Come Sunday afternoon the process is reversed and the suitcases are rattled back to the cars and the dogs and birds are taken off back to their familiar surroundings. Then life returns to its usual leisurely pace with the few liveaboards, most of whom are in yachts, carrying on the task of getting ready to go to sea. Apart from the occasional small fishing boat going in and out for the day it is mainly the yachts that move.
So said, it could well be that the Birmingham Navy looks at us with a great deal of amusement as we wield paint brushes and sanding machines in the sun. Or maybe they would like to tell us that the garden umbrella is lowering the tone of the neighbourhood!
Saturday 24 April 2010
TERRY THE TILLER
TERRY THE TILLER
When there is no wind at all and we are motoring, we attach Terry the Tiller to Harriet.
Dave made a bracket and mini-vane for Harriet and the tiller pilot motor pushes the the vane back and forth to mimic the action of the wind, and the servo pendulum then works on the wheel as normal. The two make a great pair.
HARRIET
HARRIET
Harriet is our windvane auto pilot and a trusted member of the crew. You can see her on the stern, and for those who are unfamiliar with a wind vane, I thought I would give a little run down. She has a hat (the blue vane) and the wind works on the vane and by the gears works the paddle on the end of the leg (photo2) and this by a series of strings works the wheel. It is simple and very effective, especially in strong winds. She has a second bigger vane for very light winds. Best of all is she uses no electricity.
THE KEDGE ANCHOR
THE KEDGE ANCHOR
The next bit of work completed is the anchor launch pad, and you will be able to see from the photo that it is a sturdy piece of kit. Our Dave does not do things by halves! The device was fabricated by an engineer in Tobermory to a design by Dave. The anchor had been cut down to make the device smaller, but in the end it could have kept its shank as the slope was determined by the need to miss the bottom of the boat when it is deployed. The chain and rode for the anchor is ready in the cockpit locker, so all that has to happen if we need it is to open the locker, pull out the firs bit of chain and shackle it to the anchor and then let it go. Retrieving it is easy too as the rode can be put on the primary winch in the cockpit. One can add the thought that it is unique, I don’t think we will see another just like it.
DINGHY
We had decided to stay this week to get the dinghy and finish painting the deck, and great progress has been made. I have been sanding and oiling woodwork, and Dave has been patching and painting. The new colour is fabulous, a light beige, and all the old blisters and blobs have been rubbed down and filled. Now we won’t be able to walk on the deck at all without carpet slippers if Dave has his way. This will last about a week and then it will be business as usual.
The new dinghy has arrived and is just wonderful. It comes apart and is made of Kevlar and is really light and manageable. Here it is in 2 parts, stacked on inside the other, and it goes on the deck like this but upside down. The next picture is it joined up. It can be rowed or have an outboard
Monday 12 April 2010
STILL HERE
SWANSEA 12 APRIL 2010
I know it has been a while since the computer and I have made contact, but life can be more hectic than you realise for the retired person supposedly at leisure!
We are now in Swansea, south Wales, after making the dash from Ireland a week or so ago. We tottered from Howth to Arklow, a journey which should have taken about 5 hours and managed to make it a journey of 14 hours. We had looked at the weather maps, got the relevant forecasts, and were expecting the perfect breeze to help us south, but once out of the harbour we were confronted by wind coming exactly the wrong direction and too strong to motor against. So we sailed and sailed and sailed, but only made about 3 miles south in the hour, spending more time going cross wise then downwise on the chart. Lovely day though, even if we did leave the harboutr at 4:30AM. And the engine died again on the approach into Arklow harbour – so a quick turn around and out with the kedge. This time fixed in record time as we wanted to get in before the light failed as it was a bit of a tricky entrance. The only place to stay was alongside the pontoon int the river, and was not very comfortable at all as the scend coming in from the harbour made the boat continually surge back and forth on the warps and fenders, squeaking and squawking as they did so. We found out that yachts are not welcome at Rosslare, our next idea for a stop, and then we looked hard at the forecasts and realised that if we did not make Swansea in the next couple of days we would miss Easter in Oxford as there would not be another chance for days after. So another 4:30 start and we set of the cross the Irish Sea for Milford Haven. Super day, but not enough wind to sail and make the tides, so we motor-sailed the day. Dave’s addition to Harriet the wind vane, called Terry the Tiller, worked a treat. Basically he has adapted an electric autopilot to work on a stubby form of Harriet’s windvane he made. We have been unable to install any other powered autopilot due to the configuration of the steering gear and the size of the boat. So this allows us to use a device made for smaller yachts by using Harriet’s servo gear when there is not enough wind for Harriet by herself. Certainly beats hand steering all day. We made the tides and anchored in a little bay in the entrance to Milford Haven. This was the first test of the new anchor and modified chain locker and all went like clockwork. Next day to Swansea, another motor sail, but lovely and despite trepidations about the entrance into Swansea, made it through the locks and swing bridge to the allocated pontoon with no dramas.
So here we are, surrounded by a modern housing development, right in the middle of the city. Not many yachts, mainly huge power boats, some of which have even been seen to move. Shopping centre a short walk away, as are Tesco and Sainsbury. Dave has relatives here, so we have also been well looked after. Then it was the hire car and the round robin trip to see the family. Wonderful to see the children and little Alex, and we managed to kidnap Damian and Michael to help sort out our computers. We did feed them afterwards so i don’t think they minded too much. So now Dave knows how to get his rugby and cricket on iplayer and I have had my itunes and photos retrieved after they were scrambled when the little man who transferred the stuff from my old computer to the lap top made a mess of it.
We are stuck here till our new dinghy is finished. It was due last week but we find that some parts have not arrived. But time is not wasted, as the launch pad for the kedge is being put on, the deck is getting done and loads more. The sun has been shining and the shorts have been out (shame about the white legs). When we were in Guildford Rachel and I went to get a baby car seat for Alex and at the same time I bought a garden umbrella for the cockpit. Dave was a bit aghast I think, but having experienced the joy of lunch in the cockpit under the umbrella, has been won over. We have a large awning as well, but that is more suitable for very hot places, and can only be used when the boat is at anchor for some time – it is not a device to take up and down every day. The sun is still out today; several days of sunshine in a day is something we have not experienced for years I think. It might be time to think about going head down under the front bunk to find the rest of the summer clothes – don’t want to jinx things though!
I know it has been a while since the computer and I have made contact, but life can be more hectic than you realise for the retired person supposedly at leisure!
We are now in Swansea, south Wales, after making the dash from Ireland a week or so ago. We tottered from Howth to Arklow, a journey which should have taken about 5 hours and managed to make it a journey of 14 hours. We had looked at the weather maps, got the relevant forecasts, and were expecting the perfect breeze to help us south, but once out of the harbour we were confronted by wind coming exactly the wrong direction and too strong to motor against. So we sailed and sailed and sailed, but only made about 3 miles south in the hour, spending more time going cross wise then downwise on the chart. Lovely day though, even if we did leave the harboutr at 4:30AM. And the engine died again on the approach into Arklow harbour – so a quick turn around and out with the kedge. This time fixed in record time as we wanted to get in before the light failed as it was a bit of a tricky entrance. The only place to stay was alongside the pontoon int the river, and was not very comfortable at all as the scend coming in from the harbour made the boat continually surge back and forth on the warps and fenders, squeaking and squawking as they did so. We found out that yachts are not welcome at Rosslare, our next idea for a stop, and then we looked hard at the forecasts and realised that if we did not make Swansea in the next couple of days we would miss Easter in Oxford as there would not be another chance for days after. So another 4:30 start and we set of the cross the Irish Sea for Milford Haven. Super day, but not enough wind to sail and make the tides, so we motor-sailed the day. Dave’s addition to Harriet the wind vane, called Terry the Tiller, worked a treat. Basically he has adapted an electric autopilot to work on a stubby form of Harriet’s windvane he made. We have been unable to install any other powered autopilot due to the configuration of the steering gear and the size of the boat. So this allows us to use a device made for smaller yachts by using Harriet’s servo gear when there is not enough wind for Harriet by herself. Certainly beats hand steering all day. We made the tides and anchored in a little bay in the entrance to Milford Haven. This was the first test of the new anchor and modified chain locker and all went like clockwork. Next day to Swansea, another motor sail, but lovely and despite trepidations about the entrance into Swansea, made it through the locks and swing bridge to the allocated pontoon with no dramas.
So here we are, surrounded by a modern housing development, right in the middle of the city. Not many yachts, mainly huge power boats, some of which have even been seen to move. Shopping centre a short walk away, as are Tesco and Sainsbury. Dave has relatives here, so we have also been well looked after. Then it was the hire car and the round robin trip to see the family. Wonderful to see the children and little Alex, and we managed to kidnap Damian and Michael to help sort out our computers. We did feed them afterwards so i don’t think they minded too much. So now Dave knows how to get his rugby and cricket on iplayer and I have had my itunes and photos retrieved after they were scrambled when the little man who transferred the stuff from my old computer to the lap top made a mess of it.
We are stuck here till our new dinghy is finished. It was due last week but we find that some parts have not arrived. But time is not wasted, as the launch pad for the kedge is being put on, the deck is getting done and loads more. The sun has been shining and the shorts have been out (shame about the white legs). When we were in Guildford Rachel and I went to get a baby car seat for Alex and at the same time I bought a garden umbrella for the cockpit. Dave was a bit aghast I think, but having experienced the joy of lunch in the cockpit under the umbrella, has been won over. We have a large awning as well, but that is more suitable for very hot places, and can only be used when the boat is at anchor for some time – it is not a device to take up and down every day. The sun is still out today; several days of sunshine in a day is something we have not experienced for years I think. It might be time to think about going head down under the front bunk to find the rest of the summer clothes – don’t want to jinx things though!
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