I spent an interesting weekend at Bournemouth at the RYA Yachtmaster Instructor Conference. It was very well attended with participants from all over the world, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, Belgium etc. etc.. A particularly interesting session led by Tom Cunliffe looked at how to link up the RYA training scheme with National Historic Ships: the publicly funded organisation promoting and protecting out maritime heritage. It looks as though NHS (not the best acronym really) will endorse traditional boats and trainers, so that a special stamp can go in your RYA logbook to say you've done your Competent Crew, Day Skipper, etc. in a traditional setting. The scheme is not quite ready to go yet, but it all looks very promising.
Here's a link to National Historic ships to find out more about their work: http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/
Other sessions included a presentation by Sir Alan Massey, head of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (and former Second Sea Lord). He talked quite a lot about safety issues, and explained the plan to reduce the number of coastguard bases, but make them more resillient and focussed on rescue coordination. He gave some stats about accidents: it would appear the fishing industry is by far the most dangerous of any occupation in the UK. Then there was Captail Andrew Moll, Deputy Director of the Marine Accidents Investigation Branch, who talked about various interesting accidents, including a tanker that got kebabed on the leg of a drilling platform that had come adrift and got stuck point up in the middle of a shipping lane. Andrew is a Memory owner and a keen sailor of small gaffers.
I am studying virtually full time at Southampton University for the next few months, but I am looking forward to a long weekend cruise at Easter, and the Yarmouth Old Gaffers Festival in May. I hope to do a few more weekends as well: then some longer cruising in July and August. Meanwhile Toucando is my home base while I'm in the south. The diesel stove is getting plenty of use!
Finally, here's a plug for Steve Gravells and Technical Recreational Coaching. Steve helped sail Toucando back from Ireland to Southampton last spring. He is a very experienced sailor and trainer, having been in charge of Southampton Water Actrivities Centre (SWAC) for many years. I did all my shore-based training with him and would recommend his courses very strongly. http://www.technical-recreational-coaching.co.uk/
Monday, 30 January 2012
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Colour supplement
First of all: Happy New Year to all crew and followers. Thank you for making 2011 such a success. I am looking forward to the new sailing season with great enthusiasm. I hope we will be undertaking some longer passages. The first is likely to be over the Easter weekend, probably along the coast to Weymouth with stops in Poole and Yarmouth or Lymington. Meanwhile here are some pictures from the autumn. First the jib following "hurricane" damage. It is now expertly repaired and I can barely see how it was done.
Sarah and Michele on a trip which included a stop in Hamble:
Here we are in Cowes:
Jean and Roger on a very pleasant day in the eastern Solent:
Penny, Hugh and Stephen on an autumn trip to Yarmouth:
A view from the foredeck:
Jolie Brise - a very famous old boat:
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Update
You will not be surprised that I haven't been sailing for a while. That doesn't mean Toucando has been abandoned. I have been using her as my Southampton base while I do a part time MSc in demography (people counting). I wouldn't say it has been warm on board, but it hasn't been cold either. I've only had to put the diesel stove on about three evenings. There's not much action from the yachts, but the rowers still practise every day, and the usual commercial traffic makes its way up and down the river. Every so often the clam dredger comes and scoops up what it can from the bottom of Chessel Bay. I am working on Toucando's plans for next summer and hope to post something here and on toucando.net before long. Some longer trips including cross channel are definitely on the cards.
Monday, 7 November 2011
Yacht Maintenance
I had an interesting week learning about yacht maintenance through Hamble School of Yachting and Paragon Skills for Industry. It was a seven day course, the only one of its type anywhere, apparently. We started with a day of rigging, led by Jerry the Rigger. We mainly focussed on standing rigging, how to inspect steel cables and fittings; then we had a practical session looking over a few of Hamble's yachts and then on climbing the mast safely; back to the classroom for some splicing. Day two covered plumbing and winches. We took various things to pieces and reassembled them. Day three was electrics: we made up circuits, learned to use multimeters, etc.. Days four and five were on engines, and included disassembling and reassembling the main use serviceable parts; changing oil, filters, impellers, etc.. Days six and seven were on GRP repairs. All useful stuff. Now I am looking forward to some days when I can put some of these skills to practice on Toucando.
Monday, 24 October 2011
Autumn sailing
We had some amazing weather in the middle of October... bright, almost windless days, and cold nights. On Friday I had booked a lift for Toucando at Sealift in Haslar to replace her anodes, and get a bit of a wash. Hugh volunteered to crew. Our start was slightly delayed by the reluctasnce of the engine to start, which can be put down to the cold weather and relatively long period without a charge. Anyhow we sorted that problem out and had a pleasant motor for three hours to Portsmouth Harbour: there was virtually no wind, and the little there was came from the east.
We were entertained en route by the navy, or perhaps the army, conducting an exercise which involved sending landing craft from a large vessel moored in the middle of the Solent to invade Hampshire at Browndown. Other than that the sea was pretty empty: a pleasant change from summer weekends.
We arrived early, but they were quite happy to bring forward the time of the lift. Although it was only two months since the last one, there was quite a lot of slime and a few crustacea on Toucando's hull, and her anodes had been significantly easten away. I put the slime down to the amount of fertilizer running off down the Itchen, and the erosion of the anodes to the intense industrialisation of the docks. Anyhow, some below waterline attention was definitely required. We got our money's worth as a thorough jetwash was applied and the relevant bits of sacrificial metal were bolted onto the appropriate places.
After lunch we headed for home, and sailed back under main and (newly repaired) jib. The wind had picked up and we made good progress. Instead of her usual mooring we took Toucando to Shamrock Quay so she could benefit from a good period of mains electricity to bring all the batteries up to full charge. In fact, the motoring had topped them up pretty well, but it seemed a wise precaution.
On Saturday Michele came and we had to decide where to go. The barometer had plummeted from 1030 in the middle of the week to barely abover 1010. The winds were much stronger. In the event we decided to go to the Hamble, and berthed in Swanwick: Toucando's first visit. For afternoon entertainment we took the tender and explored the upper reaches of the river, beyond where all the boats are moored. We got up to the point where the river branches... one way to Botley the other to Curbridge. The water was too shallow to get any further - it was some hours before high tide. We returned and repaired to the Jolly Sailor in Bursledon for some soft drinks.
On Sunday the wind was blowing from the south east... we had a good sail back up Southampton Water with the wind behind us. In fact we were able to sail all the way to St Mary's before we needed to make use of the engine for the last few hundred yards approach to the pontoon.
Toucando is now safely back on her home berth looking forward to a relaxing autumn. No more cruises are planned, although some day sailing is not ruled out. It's maintenance mode now. Next week I have booked on to a week long "Yacht Maintenance" course at Hamble School of Yachting, when I hope to discover how much I don't know.
Thanks to Hugh and Michele for their contribution.
We were entertained en route by the navy, or perhaps the army, conducting an exercise which involved sending landing craft from a large vessel moored in the middle of the Solent to invade Hampshire at Browndown. Other than that the sea was pretty empty: a pleasant change from summer weekends.
We arrived early, but they were quite happy to bring forward the time of the lift. Although it was only two months since the last one, there was quite a lot of slime and a few crustacea on Toucando's hull, and her anodes had been significantly easten away. I put the slime down to the amount of fertilizer running off down the Itchen, and the erosion of the anodes to the intense industrialisation of the docks. Anyhow, some below waterline attention was definitely required. We got our money's worth as a thorough jetwash was applied and the relevant bits of sacrificial metal were bolted onto the appropriate places.
After lunch we headed for home, and sailed back under main and (newly repaired) jib. The wind had picked up and we made good progress. Instead of her usual mooring we took Toucando to Shamrock Quay so she could benefit from a good period of mains electricity to bring all the batteries up to full charge. In fact, the motoring had topped them up pretty well, but it seemed a wise precaution.
On Saturday Michele came and we had to decide where to go. The barometer had plummeted from 1030 in the middle of the week to barely abover 1010. The winds were much stronger. In the event we decided to go to the Hamble, and berthed in Swanwick: Toucando's first visit. For afternoon entertainment we took the tender and explored the upper reaches of the river, beyond where all the boats are moored. We got up to the point where the river branches... one way to Botley the other to Curbridge. The water was too shallow to get any further - it was some hours before high tide. We returned and repaired to the Jolly Sailor in Bursledon for some soft drinks.
On Sunday the wind was blowing from the south east... we had a good sail back up Southampton Water with the wind behind us. In fact we were able to sail all the way to St Mary's before we needed to make use of the engine for the last few hundred yards approach to the pontoon.
Toucando is now safely back on her home berth looking forward to a relaxing autumn. No more cruises are planned, although some day sailing is not ruled out. It's maintenance mode now. Next week I have booked on to a week long "Yacht Maintenance" course at Hamble School of Yachting, when I hope to discover how much I don't know.
Thanks to Hugh and Michele for their contribution.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Can you believe the weather forecast?
The first weekend in October enjoyed some of the best weather we have had for months... unfortunately I had to spend it ashore. In the following days the wind and the rain came back. Thursday night was particularly wild... the wind was howling in ther rigging and every so often Toucando made a small lurch to leeward in response to the gusts. I had plans to go out at the weekend and kept a close watch on the five day forecast: it looked as though things would settle down by then.
On Saturday morning Steve and Penny arrived first, followed shortly after by Hugh. We checked the inshore forecast for Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis: "northwest backing west 4 or 5.... occasional rain or drizzle," that didn't sound too bad. The outlook for the following 24 hours was a little more ominous: "west or southwest 4 or 5, increasing 5 to 7... occasional rain or drizzle." (A force 7 is a "near gale"). We decided that a trip to Yarmouth was in order... if it turned out to be very windy on Sunday then at least the wind would be behind us when we came back.
We set off down the Itchen, got the sails up off Weston and sailed down Southampton Water on a reach. We then tacked down the western Solent making good progress with a fair tide. The crew soon got the hang of dealing with the backstays. Conditions were almost perfect. The wind was as predicted, but with no rain or drizzle. We had some soup for lunch on the way. Just off Yarmouth Green we got the sails down and prepared to enter the harbour, which had spaces for once (hooray!). We successfully moored on the green pontoon. Hugh and Steve kindly helped with some DIY jobs aboard, while I made the spaghetti bolognese and Penny shelled the peas. After dinner we rowed ashore to avail ourselves of the showers and then strolled to the Royal Solent Yacht Club to enjoy some soft drinks.
We got up some time after 0700 and had our first breakfast of cereals with mugs of coffee. We set off at 0825 to get the benefit of the rising tide back to Southampton... the forecast remained unchanged. We sprang off the pontoon brilliantly, did a U turn in the narrow channel and headed out to sea. The sails went up near black rock and we turned the boat for home. We did a training run, gybing every 10 to 15 minutes... all well executed. Then at 0930 we hove to for our second breakfast which Hugh had cooked. Toucando was almost motionless with her staysail backed on starboard tack as we sat in the cockpit enjoying our bacon and egg. At 1000 we were on our way again. The winds were moderate, and the sky was increasingly blue. We continued our run up towards Calshot, and turned into Southampton Water.
Just after the oil refinery we did some man overboard drills, under mainsail and engine. I am pleased to report that all the "men" (fenders and rope) were satisfactorily retrieved in reasonable time. Congratulations to all concerned. We then had a late lunch. Hugh said he would like to try to sail onto a mooring buoy, so we headed up to Marchwood. You will have noticed that everything has gone perfectly up to this point, every manouevre executed with skill and precision. It was time for something to go wrong.
Even though we had checked the charts and we knew there was a shallow patch near the Marchwood moorings we didn't know it was that shallow. As we approached our target buoy slowly we suddenly realised we had stopped moving, and try as we might, the engine would not shift us one way or the other. The anchors were brought out of the lockers and we waited. It was just before low tide, so we knew we would be lifted off, but weren't sure how long it would take. In the event just over an hour after getting stuck we detected signs of movement and found we could reverse off. We pulled up the anchors and turned back for the Itchen. Sailing onto a mooring buoy will have to wait for another day. It was good to have solved the problem without external help.
We got back to the pontoon in the hours of daylight and did the necessary tidying up before the crew went ashore. Thanks to Hugh, Penny and Steve for their help in making successful passages to Yarmouth and back.
Can you believe the weather forecast? In my opinion, you can, and should. The wind came from the forecast direction and the windspeed was pretty much within the range indicated, sometimes a little less. The rain and drizzle never arrived, but I am not complaining about that. We all had our wet weather gear ready for the eventuality. In fact it was an almost perfect October weekend: we didn't have to use the motor to make progress, and we were never over pressed. Let's hope there are some more like that.
On Saturday morning Steve and Penny arrived first, followed shortly after by Hugh. We checked the inshore forecast for Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis: "northwest backing west 4 or 5.... occasional rain or drizzle," that didn't sound too bad. The outlook for the following 24 hours was a little more ominous: "west or southwest 4 or 5, increasing 5 to 7... occasional rain or drizzle." (A force 7 is a "near gale"). We decided that a trip to Yarmouth was in order... if it turned out to be very windy on Sunday then at least the wind would be behind us when we came back.
We set off down the Itchen, got the sails up off Weston and sailed down Southampton Water on a reach. We then tacked down the western Solent making good progress with a fair tide. The crew soon got the hang of dealing with the backstays. Conditions were almost perfect. The wind was as predicted, but with no rain or drizzle. We had some soup for lunch on the way. Just off Yarmouth Green we got the sails down and prepared to enter the harbour, which had spaces for once (hooray!). We successfully moored on the green pontoon. Hugh and Steve kindly helped with some DIY jobs aboard, while I made the spaghetti bolognese and Penny shelled the peas. After dinner we rowed ashore to avail ourselves of the showers and then strolled to the Royal Solent Yacht Club to enjoy some soft drinks.
We got up some time after 0700 and had our first breakfast of cereals with mugs of coffee. We set off at 0825 to get the benefit of the rising tide back to Southampton... the forecast remained unchanged. We sprang off the pontoon brilliantly, did a U turn in the narrow channel and headed out to sea. The sails went up near black rock and we turned the boat for home. We did a training run, gybing every 10 to 15 minutes... all well executed. Then at 0930 we hove to for our second breakfast which Hugh had cooked. Toucando was almost motionless with her staysail backed on starboard tack as we sat in the cockpit enjoying our bacon and egg. At 1000 we were on our way again. The winds were moderate, and the sky was increasingly blue. We continued our run up towards Calshot, and turned into Southampton Water.
Just after the oil refinery we did some man overboard drills, under mainsail and engine. I am pleased to report that all the "men" (fenders and rope) were satisfactorily retrieved in reasonable time. Congratulations to all concerned. We then had a late lunch. Hugh said he would like to try to sail onto a mooring buoy, so we headed up to Marchwood. You will have noticed that everything has gone perfectly up to this point, every manouevre executed with skill and precision. It was time for something to go wrong.
Even though we had checked the charts and we knew there was a shallow patch near the Marchwood moorings we didn't know it was that shallow. As we approached our target buoy slowly we suddenly realised we had stopped moving, and try as we might, the engine would not shift us one way or the other. The anchors were brought out of the lockers and we waited. It was just before low tide, so we knew we would be lifted off, but weren't sure how long it would take. In the event just over an hour after getting stuck we detected signs of movement and found we could reverse off. We pulled up the anchors and turned back for the Itchen. Sailing onto a mooring buoy will have to wait for another day. It was good to have solved the problem without external help.
We got back to the pontoon in the hours of daylight and did the necessary tidying up before the crew went ashore. Thanks to Hugh, Penny and Steve for their help in making successful passages to Yarmouth and back.
Can you believe the weather forecast? In my opinion, you can, and should. The wind came from the forecast direction and the windspeed was pretty much within the range indicated, sometimes a little less. The rain and drizzle never arrived, but I am not complaining about that. We all had our wet weather gear ready for the eventuality. In fact it was an almost perfect October weekend: we didn't have to use the motor to make progress, and we were never over pressed. Let's hope there are some more like that.
Sunday, 2 October 2011
View from the Itchen
It has been a wonderful week from a weather point of view: sunny, almost cloudless skies. The barometer has been way up. I have been busy with appointments ashore in Southampton, so no sailing was possible, but I have been working on Toucando's plumbing systems to make sure they do what they are supposed to.
On Friday I took the Red Jet over to Cowes for the Committee meeting of the Solent Gaffers. There was a lot of talk about how terrible the summer had been. Numerous events had been cancelled or curtailed as a result of high winds, not to mention people's cruising plans. I guess we have to try to make best use of the autumn weekends. Mike and Dan Shaw (respectively the national and local presidents of the Old Gaffers) remembered when they saw Toucando being built. They were circumnavigating Great Britain on Susan J, their 28' Falmouth Working Boat and had called in at Howth. David and Barry invited them up the hill to see Toucando taking shape. They had enjoyed they stop in Howth. I am continually meeting people who had known Toucando in her former life, and all have fond memories.
I have added some pictures to the earlier blog entry: http://toucando.blogspot.com/2011/09/windy-weekend.html ... thanks to Michele for providing them.
And as an extra treat here is a link to a Youtube clip of Falmouth Working Boats racing during Falmouth Week 2010. Local bylaws require that oyster dredging in the Fal estuary is done under sail, hence the continuing demand for working boats. Many of those in the clip are wooden, but they are also made with GRP hulls. Toucando is a larger version of the working boat, and the similarity in hull shape and sail plan is clear. Now, wouldn't it be great to get some footage of Toucando sailing like that? All we need is someone with a video camera and a rib... and a decent summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA3f5RGuVf8&feature=related
On Friday I took the Red Jet over to Cowes for the Committee meeting of the Solent Gaffers. There was a lot of talk about how terrible the summer had been. Numerous events had been cancelled or curtailed as a result of high winds, not to mention people's cruising plans. I guess we have to try to make best use of the autumn weekends. Mike and Dan Shaw (respectively the national and local presidents of the Old Gaffers) remembered when they saw Toucando being built. They were circumnavigating Great Britain on Susan J, their 28' Falmouth Working Boat and had called in at Howth. David and Barry invited them up the hill to see Toucando taking shape. They had enjoyed they stop in Howth. I am continually meeting people who had known Toucando in her former life, and all have fond memories.
I have added some pictures to the earlier blog entry: http://toucando.blogspot.com/2011/09/windy-weekend.html ... thanks to Michele for providing them.
And as an extra treat here is a link to a Youtube clip of Falmouth Working Boats racing during Falmouth Week 2010. Local bylaws require that oyster dredging in the Fal estuary is done under sail, hence the continuing demand for working boats. Many of those in the clip are wooden, but they are also made with GRP hulls. Toucando is a larger version of the working boat, and the similarity in hull shape and sail plan is clear. Now, wouldn't it be great to get some footage of Toucando sailing like that? All we need is someone with a video camera and a rib... and a decent summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA3f5RGuVf8&feature=related
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