The only way is Cowes

On Friday I collected the staysail from SO31 Ltd in Hamble, who had done an excellent repair job, including replacing the very worn UV strip.  I was joined in the evening by friends Steve, Janey and Isabella.  Two weeks previously I had sailed with them on their boat on the River Orwell: today they had driven across from Essex.  I brought them out by tender to Toucando's pontoon. where we had 7 vegetable tagine and various other bits and pieces, washed down by Toucando's stock of Guinness.

In the morning we had a leisurely cooked breakfast on a mirror smooth River Itchen, watching the seaweed and flotsam rising with the tide. We fed the seagulls stale bread, Isabella spotted the cormorant, my visitors walked along the pontoon to see the dunlins who take their morning rest a bit further along.  I put the staysail back on, and furled it so the UV strip could be admired.  It was a very good match with the Egyptian cotton (colour) of the original.

Eventually the tide turned.  We got ready to leave and set off down towards Southampton Water.  We were duly impressed by the size of the Wallenius Wilhelmsen car carrier that left her mooring just as we passed.  It had looked as if there would be little or no wind: in fact there was a very good sailing breeze.  We raised the main off Weston. then unfurled the staysail and sailed down the channel on a comfortable starboard tack.  It got even breezier out in the Solent, although it was variable.  We more or less held our course, heading towards Ryde, admiring Osborne House, before turning west towards Cowes.  We dropped our sails in good time and motored through the bottleneck that is the entrance to the River Medina.

Cowes Yacht Haven was full, so was Shepards Wharf: it was another busy weekend as people took advantage of the fine September weather.  Fortunately there were still spaces at East Cowes, one of which was allocated to us.  Some of the party took advantage of the excellent showers, whilst others headed straight to The Lifeboat pub where we sank some Guinness and Goddards.

Eventually we were all ready for a walk into town, via the chain ferry.  We checked out a number of us and restaurants before settling on The Red Duster where we enjoyed an evening meal of island fayre.  Eventually it was time to go home, so we caught the water taxi.

It was a leisurely start in the morning.  The weather had changed somewhat.  It was cloudier and colder, but at least to begin with there wasn't a lot of wind.  We topped up Toucando's water tanks and prepared to depart.  Getting off the pontoon went very smoothly and we motored north along the Medina to the Solent.  The wind was very variable in terms of strength.  In the interests of a quick and comfortable return passage we motor sailed on the jib and staysail, getting back to Toucando's home pontoon for a late lunch, so that our visitors could get on the road for their return trip to Essex.

Thanks to all three of them for crewing, and a special mention to Janey for breakfast cooking and washing up, and to Isabella for some expert renditions of the Essex vernacular.

Old Gaffers' Annual Race and Rally 2012

For something like 54 years old gaffers have gathered in the Solent for a race and rally.  This year the event started in Lymington on Friday evening, with a race to Island Harbour on the Medina on Saturday.  Toucando's crew on this occasion all happened to be based on the Isle of Wight.  They came over on the Red Jet on Friday morning and joined Toucando at Shamrock Quay for lunch before we set off.  We motor sailed most of the way (there wasn't a great deal of wind, and as usual it was from the wrong direction), although we did do a bit of sailing in the western Solent.  We were also slightly hampered by the lack of a staysail - it is being serviced by SO31, who are putting on a new UV strip.  We had a comfortable passage and crept into the Lymington River between the large ferries which ply between the mainland and Yarmouth.  We saw a lone gaffer sailing out by a minor channel as we went past the Enticott starboard post:

We got to the Dan Bran pontoon where we moored alongside Rula (Aeolus later moored outside us).  We were just in time to get ready to go ashore for our evening meal of fish pie at the Lymington Town Sailing Club.  There were a few announcements about the race, some music from a local band, and from the gaffers increasingly good shanty singers.

We were not taking part in the race, which meant we could have a leisurely start in the morning, enjoying the fine weather on the pontoon.

We were joined by John, a friend of Carole and Paul, so we had four on board when we set off.  It was a light airs morning.  We got the sails hoisted east of Lymington and had a good couple of hours sailing in the western Solent, practising tacks and gybes, and being carried ever closer to our destination by the rising tide.

Eventually the tide dropped to virtually nothing, and we were happy to drift while we had lunch enjoying the view of other gaffers trying to race.

 We dropped the sails off Gurnard and motored into the Medina.  Island Harbour has a lock, and because we wanted maximum flexibility regarding departure times we decided to moor on one of  the Folly Inn's pontoons.

John, Carole, Paul and Andrew aboard Toucando at the Folly

We caught the water taxi ashore and joined the festivities at Island Harbour... starting off with some excellent beer aboard Susan J, a 28' Falmouth Working Boat. Like Toucando her hull was built by Martin Heard of Gaffers and Luggers in Mylor, and also like Toucando the remaining work was done elsewhere.  Mike and Dan Shaw (respectively the National and Area Presidents of the Old Gaffers' Association) sailed Susan J around the UK and actually saw Toucando being built in Howth.



After the boat party we went to the Breeze Restaurant, where prizes were awarded, Miss Ningi an 18' open boat skippered by Bernard Bowes, coming first overall.  We enjoyed a chilli and were entertained by a bluesy cover band.  Eventually we caught the water taxi back to Toucando's pontoon.

On Sunday we left the Medina in very light winds and motored round to Osborne Bay where we dropped the anchor, enjoyed the view and had lunch.  Whilst we were doing so the wind gradually picked up, to a Force 4 in the bay, which meant it would be stronger out of the lee of the island.  We raised the hook and motored back home in a Force 5, gusting 6,with a couple of slight showers thrown in.  The main excitement on the way back was some high speed air sea rescue activity at close quarters (practice we presume).

We got back to the Itchen and returned to Toucando's home pontoon.  Thank you to Carole and Paul (and John on Saturday) for being an excellent crew.

Midweek Solent Cruise

Hugh and Colin joined Toucando at lunchtime on Wednesday 22nd August.  We agreed on a westerly destination... possibly Lymington, possibly Poole.  We set off down Southampton Water, raising the sails off Weston.  The wind came and went.  The forecast indicated reefing would be required, and this certainly proved to be the case when we came out of the lee of Calshot and turned into the "precautionary area" by the Bramble Bank.  The wind got a lot stronger... we recorded over 30 knots, and the waves rolling up the Solent from the west were quite big.  Unfortunately we let the staysail flog, and sustained a little damage.  We decided to go to Cowes where we found a berth at the yacht haven.  Fortunately it was very quiet (Cowes week having taken place the previous week).  We ate steak and mixed vegetables on board before enjoying a pint at the Anchor.

Thursday was quite a contrast.  Very light winds took us down the eastern Solent.  We had contemplated going out to the Nab Tower, for no particular reason other than it was there, but we weren't going fast enough for that.  Instead we went in to Chichester Harbour, Toucando's first visit, and anchored off East Head.  I haven't done a lot of anchoring in Toucando, and was pleased with how well it worked.  We had lunch below decks.  We became aware of a lot of masts going past at close quarters, and looking out of the hatch found that there were hundreds of dinghies racing about.  It was the week of the combined clubs' regatta in the harbour.  We had clearly arrived while they were all ashore for lunch.  Now they were all out again.  It was crazily busy, particularly so at the junctions of the various channels of the harbour.  While we were at anchor they all had to avoid us, but once our anchor was raised and we were under way we had the interesting challenge of avoiding myriads of small boats scooting around very fast, all of which had "right of way" over us.  We managed to do so, without putting ourselves aground or impeding any of the races, which was quite a feat. We then sailed off to Haslar, where we moored near the lightship. 

On Friday morning we were booked in to Sealift at 0900 for washing and replacement of specialist anodes.  Unfortunately the bow thruster propeller was lost overboard by an enthusiastic member of staff.... fortunately Sealift immediately set about sourcing a replacement (at their expense). This meant that ist was midday befopre the job was finished and we were on our way back to Southampton.  We had a good tri[p back to the Itchen and toucando's home pontoon.

Channel Cruise: Part 5 - Back to Southampton

On Sunday 5th August we set off for Southampton.  We asked the berthing master to help turn us around in the fairway and set off into Yarmouth Roads, where we got the sails raised with no reefs.  It was just about perfect sailing conditions, as we headed up the western Solent to Gurnard, before gybing, skirting the Bramble Bank and Calshot Spit and reaching up Southampton Water to Weston, where we dropped our sails.  We then headed up the Itchen, filling the fuel tanks at Itchen Towage before returning to Toucando's pontoon.

Just off Newtown Creek we encountered Four Seasons.  They had left Alderney a day after us.  It was good to see them again.  They seemed to be pointing cameras at us.  I am hoping that there will be some nice photographs of us in due course.

Thanks very much to Colin and Roger for crewing and enabling Toucando to make her first cross channel cruise from Southampton.

Roger and Colin somewhere in the English Channel

Roger and Andrew in the Solent - with a Dutch gaffer

Voyage of Toucando

Channel Cruise: Part 4 - Braye to Yarmouth via Poole

On Friday 3rd August we set off from Braye towards Poole.  It was a frustrating day as the wind was pretty much directly from behind, which may sound good, but isn't.  Boats roll about in such conditions and don't go as fast as you would like.  So although we sailed some of the way, most of the time we were motor sailing.  The only excitement came when we lost the tender, which we were towing, as a result of a poor round turn and two half hitches.  Fortunately it was spotted 200 metres behind and we had an interesting 20 minutes recovering it.  We were allocated our berth at Poole Quay and had the satisfaction of having completed a second channel crossing.

On Saturday we left our berth with some difficulty.  There was a brisk southerly blowing.  It would be hard to explain all the complications, but long keeled gaffers do not tend to go well in reverse at slow speeds.  Anyhow, we avoided hitting anything and warped ourselves round so we were facing the right way to go out forwards.  We motored out of the harbour, raised the main with two reefs, rolled out the staysail and had a good sail across Poole and Christchurch Bays.

We arrived at the Needles and sailed up towards Hurst very nicely.

The Needles (with the Bridge Buoy) from Toucando

We made pretty good progress until we were at Fort Albert when the falling tide slowed us right down.  It took a while to get up to Yarmouth, and then the lowering of the mainsail caused a little confusion.  Eventually all was sorted out and we made our way into the harbour where we rafted up on the green pontoon.

Andrew and Roger sorting out Toucando and the tender on the green pontoon at Yarmouth

We had a pleasant meal ashore at the Wheatsheaf courtesy of Colin, and were ready for the final leg of the trip back to Southampton.

Channel Cruise: Part 3 - St Peter Port to Braye Harbour

We didn't need to leave St Peter Port until after lunch, so we took the opportunity to do some victualling and in my case walk up to the museum.

St Peter Port Harbour with Herm across the water as seen from park

We set off having topped up the fuel tank and bought some more cooking gas and headed off back up the Little Russel.  The first part of the passage was fairly uneventful.  It was a slightly hazy day and we eventually sighted Alderney and the Casquests (the rocky islands to the west).  There was a real Atlantic swell rolling in from the west... big but very gentle waves, the remnant of some storm thousands of miles away.  Toucando rolled from side to side... all the crockery rattled as we went first one way then the other, and anything left loose  flew from side to side.

We had decided to approach via the Swinge - the stretch of water between Alderney and Burhou.

Alderney with Burhou in the top left and the Swinge in between

The Swinge is one of those places with a fearsome reputation, which proved well deserved.  We had been sailing, but took our sails down having conferred with Four Seasons over the VHF.  They said that it was "exciting".  We were certainly going fast with the help of the tide.  Ahead we could see a line of white breaking waves between the tip of Burhou and somewhere south of Braye Harbour entrance.  I took the tiller, and steered straight towards the wall of water: I wanted us to go into this head on.  Suddenly we were in a violent and confused sea, with standing waves, whirlpools and the rest.  It would not have surprised me to see the tentacles of a kraken reach out and curl round the mast.  We pitched back and forth, burying the bowsprit in the waves ahead, the stern sometimes coming clean out of the water and the tiller feeling light as there was nothing but air to steer by.  Each wave came very quickly after the other.  Our speed through the water was next to nothing, but over the grounds we were doing six or seven knots.  We were being hurled through the Swinge with the tide behind us.  Toucando shook and quivered with every wave.  It would have made a good video, but none of us were ready to do that.  Colin kept a watch on the chart plotter assuring me that there was plenty of sea room ahead.  I'm not sure how long it took... maybe a quarter, perhaps half and hour, but evenutually we were through it and out the other side not too far from the entrance to Braye Harbour.

It may or may not have looked like this

We turned into the harbour and started looking for a mooring buoy in the dusk.  Eventually we found one near the main harbour and secured Toucando before having a restorative beef goulash.  I had a can of Tanglefoot, my first alcohol in a year (not counting a very nice sherry trifle at Christmas). It had been an interesting day.

Toucando moored in Braye Harbour

In the morning we caught the water taxi ashore and walked up to St Anne's, the only town on Alderney. Although the population of the island is tiny, just over 2,000, it does feel like a little town, with a high street lined with granite houses, plenty of pubs, and shops which meet the island's needs as well as the whims of tourists.

Street scene in St Anne's, Alderney

We went our separate ways.  I wandered south past Crabby and various forts along the rocky coast line, looking out at the Swinge.  The tide was running in the opposite direction.  The confused water was in a different place, and I watched with interest a yacht try to make its way through against it.... very slowly indeed.

Alderney view... with fort and the Swinge overfalls clearly visible between the island and Burhou

I took a look around the museum in the afternoon, which had some interesting displays about island life, including the evacuation during the second world war, before doing another loop of walk north of Braye to yet more forts.

The whole Southampton Sailing Club party gathered together at the Braye Sailing Club before going to the renowned Chippy just by the old harbour.  It deserved its reputation: it was packed out.  I enjoyed haddock and chips with home made tartare sauce.  We exchanged stories about our experiences getting to Alderney... most of which focussed on the terrors of the Swinge.

Alderney Chippy

Channel Cruise: Part 2 - Cherbourg to St Peter Port

It was a fairly early start on Monday 30th July to get up and out of Cherbourg to catch the tide down to Cap de la Hague, the pointy western tip of the Cotentin Peninsula. We left our mooring without difficulty, raised the sails in the harbour and headed off into the Channel. It was motor sailing into a wind with a lot of west into it.

The sea was reasonably calm and we made good progress along the French coast, seeing the massive Joburg nuclear reprocessing plant high on the hill as well as a few small villages and the Cap lighthouse. As we approached the Cap the waves got bigger. Although we were a good few miles off shore we were clearly experiencing the effect of the tide rushing round the corner. Toucando pitched quite a bit, slamming down into the troughs between the waves. Eventually we got through it and were able to turn onto a more south westerly heading towards the Alderney Race. I had been through the race on Morwenna a couple of years ago. On both times the experience was similar... a lot of help from the tide, but no particular excitement. Unfortunately the wind still stayed on the bow so we continued to motor sail. Maybe next time I'll tack to windward, but on this occasion navigation and a timely passage was the priority.

We could see the other members of our fleet much of the time: Four Seasons, Sheena, Bianca, Siskin. We saw Alderney of to starboard, and the outlines of Sark, Herm and Guernsey ahead.

Alderney as we made our way to St Peter Port, Guernsey

We entered the Litle Russel, the channel between Guernsey and Herm. There are a lot of rocks about... mostly fairly close to one or other island, some more in the middle, but generally well marked. We made our way down to St Peter Port without any particular difficulty, lowered the sails outside the harbour, waited for Four Seasons to negotiate the mooring. We then rafted up alongside FS on one of the pontoons in the outer harbour (Toucando is too big and unmanoueverable to go into the marina.)

Roger helming us through the Little Russel

On Tuesday we spent the day sight seeing. My mission was to acquire a new Guernsey sweater. I had got one on my Morwenna trip, which had proved very good value: warm and very hard wearing. Roger decided to accompany me. The shop was on the western side of the island, although the bus driver claimed it had closed, a quick check on the iPhone established it was still operational. We caught the 7a - the bus which gowes round the island anti-clockwise. All fares are £1.00 - brilliant! The bus first winds through St Peter Port and St Sampson, then along the rugged north coast, full of cliffs and bays and forts. Eventually we got to Fort Grey, next to which the sweater shop operates. I was able to find one in a nice sea green. We had a cup of tea in the neighbouring cafe and walked out to the fort.

View from Fort Grey, Guernsey

We caught the next 7a to complete the circuit. We then went to a pontoon party on a couple of the SSC boats... bring your own crisps and ginger beer. Some of the fleet were going to continue south to Jersey and Brittany. Some had to go straight back home. Toucando, Four Seasons and Sheena were going off to Alderney. We said our good byes.

Castle Cornet, St Peter Port, by moonlight

We ate at the Swan pub that night. Fortunately it was not an early start for the north going tide so we were able to spend Wednesday morning having a further look around St Peter Port.