Still here!

Another week in Hooe lake. While scrubbing the boat this week, I noticed the nylock nut loose on the bolt that holds the port side rudder on. Further inspection revealed the bolt had corroded away due to galvanic action to leave only half a bolt. All replaced for a fiver. Hoping to set off for Poole tommorow.

Where we lived this week

After our barbi on Thursday 3rd with Sam & his mate Paul at Barnpool, we dropped them off at Mayflower and did our first sailing at night, which was quite an event finding & picking up a mooring buoy in pitch dark with a spring tide. We sailed up to Cawsand the next day and anchored next to our old neighbours Rod & Margaret who came across for a tea. Saturday morning we went ashore to buy eggs & sausages for a fryup and again later for the rest of the afternoon for the photos and to laze on the beach in the sun with the crowds (Mayuri being the accountant counted 65 boats anchored at dinner time!) We bumped into Martyn & Anne as we dingied back to Janix, and then John, Wendy & their freinds came aboard too. We went across to UFO later that night for drinks with Martyn & Anne, but as I forgot to turn on the anchor light before we left, it seemed a long dark trip into nowhere motoring the dingy back later. We left early the next morning to catch the tide into Hooe lake where we've being anchored until today (Fri), sheltering from the bad weather. We became proper liveaboard sailers on Thursday when we took the dingy up river to do the shopping at Morrisons, and beat the record time for getting out of the dingy and onto the boat on Wednesday night as I rowed back to the boat after dropping Sam off ashore. Just as I got to the boat, a big black head came out of the water. I think now it was a Sealion or maybe a dolphin, but at the time I didn't know what it was and didn't want to be in a rubber dingy next to it!

More work

After leaving Cawsand on Tuesday, we went back to Cellar bay to park on the beach and fit new annodes. After one night on the beach we anchored off a few metres and stayed another. The weather was perfect - just like the med, but for the temperature of the water!

We picked up supplies from the chandlery at Mayflower on Thursday and moored on a buoy in Plymouth sound until some navy jobsworth chucked us off. We motored across to Jennycliff and anchored there for the night (still the only boat at anchor in the sound) before coming back to Yachthaven this morning, just before the first rain fell for a week! Booked in here for a week now.

Alternator - again

Did all washing and shopping yesterday, ready for a trip to Fowey today with UFO a Maldives 32. Just before we pulled out of our (very tight) berth I found the batteries were being cooked. Three hours later with the alternator in bits we left anyway, with the plan to use our £33 B&Q generator to charge the batteries via the 240v charger. Unfortunately by the time we got out it was quite late so we decided to visit Cellar bay on the Yealm.

Out of the marina

Left yachthaven on the 28th for a week of living off the boats supplies of water, food, fuel & power. As there were strong wind warnings we only went across the river to Millbrook in Cornwall. Our new (1999) charts for the laptop got us as far as the multihull centre before we grounded on the mud for the night. We were offered a place on a pontoon close by which we accepted the next day when we refloated on a slightly higher tide and stayed for most of the week, while we visited Cawsand & Kingsand, walking & biking. We spent the last two nights on mooring buoys before returning to yachthaven today. It was a great experience. We now know that the boat won't be sucked down into the mud never to reappear (Mayuri), not to ride on the pontoon on a foldup bike across hosepipes & to make sure the seat is tight before attempting Mt Edgecombe (me). To fill a bucket of water before the tide goes down to flush the toilet with and that the seacocks will fill with mud if you don't shut them.

Spring clean

Parked on the beach today to scrub two years of slime & barnacles off the bottom. I stood the sea for an hour then came in for a cold shower to warm up (Guy - you still have my wetsuit!). All worth it cause it's really fast now.

Another hard day at the office

Or just another boring book ?

No car !

No car, broken alternator, long walk, severe NW gale & horizontal hail :-(

More visitors

Daniel, Caroline, Graham & Stacey came down on Friday afternoon. After tea and a tour of the boat Graham & Stacey took the water taxi across the river into Plymouth where they sensibly had a hotel booked and Daniel & Caroline went to meet them later, returning on the last one.

As usual the forcast was wrong and the wind was gusting 20kts on Saturday morning. After spinning the boat around by hand we got out into the river, dodging the dingies and set two reefs in the main. As we got into the sound, the wind calmed a little and we had a nice sail around the sound. It dropped off even more as we approached the bridge, so we motored through to the beach for dinner. Mayuri did pizza's and Daniel thought it would be a good idea to test the new barbi (see pics for temperature). It did turn out ok apart from a 12mm socket and a sausage going overboard. After dinner, the girls stayed inside and the boys sailed back to the marina.

The wind was too strong for Daniel & Graham to go diving on Sunday morning so they left at dinner, taking our car with them. We have to learn to sail now.

First visitors

Mum & Rob came down on Sunday afternoon. We stayed in the marina for the night and on Monday afternoon, turned the boat around by hand (to drive out forwards this time!) and stayed the night on a mooring buoy in the Hamoaze. It was very calm and after breakfast we motored up the Tamar, saw the warships and submarines and moored up under the Tamar bridge, then motorsailed back to the beach at Mount Edgecombe for dinner. We arrived back at tea time for them to set off for Falmouth.

Near miss

Went out for about four hours today (two at anchor having dinner at mount edgecombe). It's the second time we've left this new spot in the marina. As it's quite narrow we can't spin around, and as it's a dead end we have to reverse out. With the wind & tide pushing us onto the pontoon, my springing technique didn't spring us out far enough and when we started backwards we started to drift onto the boat that had been behind us. Mayuri gave us a little push and the boats didn't make contact. Then we skimmed past inches away from the next boat (all 21m of brand new princess luxury motor boat) and just began making steerage way as we got into open water. Overtook our first boat in the sound and went through the bridge with sails up & 20kts!

Away from civilisation

Set off for the dandy hole on the river Lynher at about 1400 yesterday. We beat into a headwind all the way but gave up at the start of the Lynher (and the narrow navigable channel) when it increased to 25kts, and motored the rest of the way.
After anchoring about three times (the depth gauge started playing up just as we needed it), we finally shut the doors and had dinner. I went to bed at about 2100, but woke a few hours later to the sound of rushing water. I didn't realise the tide would be so fast and wished we'd set the anchor more carefully. I didn't sleep much again. Things floating past hit the side, and I wondered how we'd end up at 0200 when the tide was out - on our side if we weren't properly in the hole.
Everything ended up ok, and we had an easy downwind sail (just the genoa up) all the way back to yachthaven this morning. - Until ten minutes before we berthed and the wind went back up to 25kts just as a final test.

Great day for sailing

Washed all the bed covers this morning in our new washing machine (two 25l B.T. buckets), to save us a fiver at the launderette. Shorts, sunglasses & flipflops all day, but we didn't go sailing as the boats being used as a washing line :-(

Risked life & limb on the rocks off Mount Batten pier to recover a nice piece of teak that I don't need (getting too much like dad) to add to the Princess fender that we found on the beach yesterday that I did need - our new neighbour's engines failed as they parked up and he collided with everyone down the row. I'll probably get my own back on him as he's in front of me now and I haven't practised getting out of this new space yet:-)

our new berth

Trying to flog a few things on ebay, but typing in a F9 is not easy! Our washings hung out under the cockpit tent, which is struggling to hold on. If it lets go during the night, I'll be wearing the clothes I've got on for the rest of the year.

Into the English chanel (for 10 mins!)

Set off at 1200 to fill up with diesel. Full tank & a 5 gallon drum for £30. Told to move to another spot when we return from our sail.

Spent three hours in the sound learning reefing & unreefing? in 14-23kts of wind. Finally made it out of the breakwater - on the third attempt. The tide had started to flood and the first two attempts saw us pushed too near the breaking waves next to the lighthouse on the western edge of the breakwater. 10 minutes later we gybed and came back through the eastern entrance, past an Aussie navy ship and home to our new berth in front of Lady Holland.

Man over Board - well dingy

Went out at 1200 for a couple of hours today. I'd been playing in the dingy yesterday and thought it would be ok to tow it behind Janix.

The was just over 20kts of wind when we went out. We put 2 reefs in and went into the sound to play. The spring tide was ebbing as we tried to sail into the Hamoaze (in the shelter from the wind). Every time we tried to tack, the bow never came through the wind and we were blown back downwind. The rocks got really close at one point and I was seconds from starting the engine to get us out of trouble.
So we gave up and decided to have one blast around the sound before going home. I turned around a few minutes later and saw the dingy, outboard and oars about 100m away. I went into M.O.B. mode and for a couple of seconds started working out which way to turn for a close reach approach, but then remembered unlike the drills, we had an engine that worked. We dropped the sails and motored back, circling it until Mayuri had sorted out the lasso (as we had no boat hook) she drove while I lassood the outboard and retied it to Janix. The glue patches that stick the metal eyes onto the dingy had come off.
We put the sails back up and sailed back home.

Cutter rig at last

Went out for two and a half hours today (1330 - 1600). Just 8kts of wind. From the end of the Mount Batten breakwater, we sailed to fort Picklecombe. We were thinking of going out the breakwater for the first time until we were headed off at the western entrance by an Aircraft carrier with its two tugs and defence police ribs and boats. We did get the stay sail out for the first time and became a proper cutter.

Lost

In the sound tacking & gybing. Everything good until we berthed. While I was putting up the cockpit tent, one of the poles went over the side - only 7m away but lost for good in the deep mud bottom :-(

Anchored

Motored up to Mount Edgecombe national park as no wind and put the anchor out for the first time. Spent a couple of hours, me redoing the wood with teak oil, and Mayuri reading (Skipping Christmas, John Grisham). Just far enough off the beach so the party of schoolkids couldn't hit us with stones.

More practice

Tacking practice in shipping channel up to navy buoys. Still freezing.