Toucando 2015

Ahoy! After a long absence the blog is back.  Following "Round Britain Challenge" in 2013 two things happened.  First my professional skills suddenly became in very high demand and I made a return to the world of work.  Second, I looked at Toucando's varnish and saw that it was shabby.  Fortunately the work enabled me to pay for lots of varnish, although deprived me of as much time as I would like to put it on.  However with the help of friends and crew quite a lot was done.

Toucando looking shabby

Toucando looking smart

After several years at Kemps Quay on the Itchen we relocated to the Elephant Boatyard on the Hamble, mainly in order to enable their people to undertake some of the more highly skilled maintenance tasks.  This had the added advantage of walk ashore pontoon mooring, and easy accessibility to "The Jolly Sailor".  I had hoped that the work would all get done quite quickly and Toucando would have some sailing last summer.  But it just didn't work out.  This year will be different.

There is still some work to be done, however it will not impede a sailing programme.  The ongoing varnishing can be done between voyages, or on a quiet day in harbour.  There are some tasks that will have to be done before we can set sail... mainly reattaching all the ironmongery that was removed to get access to the woodwork.  April will see this done, along with other necessary pre-season servicing, and in May Toucando will resume her true vocation as a sailing vessel.

The core of the programme will be the Solent Gaffers' events. For those that don't know, gaffers are traditionally rigged boats, with four cornered mainsails... and also the people who sail them.  A gaffers event usually involves sailing from the home port to an agreed destination, where there will be some form of communal event, such as a barbecue or meal ashore.  And then sailing back.  Gaffers tend to like real ale and folk music, especially sea shanties... so think CAMRA, folk festival and sailing boats and you will have a good idea what to expect.

We will also do occasional weekend sails around the Solent and nearby as and when it seems like a good idea to do so.  The great thing about the area is that there are so many destinations available, rivers, harbours, cities, anchorages, marinas.  It is possible to go somewhere different pretty much every weekend in the summer months.

Toucando is privately owned and definitely not a commercial vessel.  I go sailing with friends with the objective of having a pleasant voyage and visiting interesting places.  I worked my way through the RYA training scheme, culminating in becoming a commercially endorsed yachtmaster and cruising instructor.  I am happy to take complete novices, as well as experienced sailors.  And I have all the kit you will require, including oilskins and lifejackets. All that I expect of crew is a willingness to share in the life of the boat.  You will get to helm, do sail handling, make cups of tea, share your life story (if you wish), contribute to the navigation and passage planning, etc..  I am always keen to welcome those new to sailing, or to the gaff rig.

Toucando has a fore cabin with a double berth, a small single quarter berth, and two pilot berths in the main saloon.  In theory another two people could sleep on the lower saloon berths.  I tend to sail with me plus one, two or three others.

So what do we hope to do?

The first event will be the Chichester Rally. We will set sail on Friday 1st May from The Elephant Boatyard at Old Bursledon on the River Hamble heading towards Chichester Harbour.  On Saturday there will be an event in Chichester Yacht Club, on Sunday we will return to Bursledon. http://www.oga.org.uk/solent/events/chichester.

The highlight of the year for many traditional sailors in the Solent is the Yarmouth Old Gaffers' Festival, also known as YOGAFF.  I will be sailing there on Thursday 28th May (half term week), and back to Bursledon on Sunday 31st.  I may do some day sailing on Friday and Saturday, but will not be racing. http://www.oga.org.uk/solent/events/yarmouth-old-gaffers-festival-2015. 

On Saturday June 13th we will be taking part in the Solent Gaffel Race.  This is a completely new event for us, inspired by our Dutch friends.  You can start the race when you want, you choose your own course, and time your finish.  The whole thing takes place out of the Hamble, and we are pleased to welcome young gaffers to take part.

The Poole Rally take place on the weekend of 10th-12th July.  We sail from Bursledon to Pool Harbour, anchoring in Black Deep.  Barbecues and a meal ashore are features.  We return to Bursledon on Sunday.  Currently I have a full crew for this event, but I might be able to squeeze in one more, or start a reserve list.

The big one this year will be the St Malo cruise:

Proposed cruise schedule (Subject to weather, of course!)

Saturday 25th July: A nice sail from Bursledon to Yarmouth.

Sunday 26th July Depart Yarmouth, IOW

Sunday 26th - Monday 27 July Cherbourg or Alderney, to be decided by consensus

Wednesday 29th July St Peter Port, Guernsey

Friday 31th July St Helier, Jersey

Monday 3rd August OGA fleet arrives St Malo

Tuesday 4th August British & French parade of sail following 'la Recouvrance' (perhaps)

Thence back to England so we are safely on the right side of the Channel for the weekend of 8th/9th August

I have one crew member confirmed.  For this event I will require experienced crew as long passages are inevitable in sailing grounds with huge and fast tides.

http://www.oga.org.uk/events/yarmouth-iow-st-malo-britanny-cruise-company

The Bursledon Regatta takes place from Friday 21st August to Sunday 23rd, at the Elephant Boatyard, Toucando's current home port.  It is really a village fete combined with a lot of watery activities.  The only sailing we would do might be to go out on Saturday and watch the racing on the Solent while having a bit of a sail round.  There is lots of entertainment in the boatyard: fancy dress, fireworks, hog roast, etc. etc.. Visitors are very welcome to come and sit aboard Toucando and drink grog.

The Solent Gaffers Annual Race and Rally takes place the first weekend in September.  On Friday 4th we would sail to Cowes Yacht Haven.  A quick hop over the Solent. On Saturday there is a race to Portsmouth Harbour.  We will be stopping at Haslar Marina in the evening.  I am not committed to racing, and would only do so with a very experienced crew.  However it would be a nice sail anyway.  On Sunday we return to Bursledon.

The final scheduled event of the summer is the Centenary Chase.  This takes places at Yarmouth and involves sailing from Bursledon on Friday 18th September, sailing about in the western Solent on Saturday and returning to Bursledon on Sunday.  I would only race with a very experienced crew... otherwise, we would just have an enjoyable day sail at a safe distance.

Other nearby destinations for occasional weekends could include: Bembridge - a recently improved harbour at the west end of the Isle of Wight; the Beaulieu River and Buckler's Hard; Lymington; New Town Creek, and indeed Southampton.

Anybody interested in varnishing and boat maintenance, will be handsomely rewarded with tea, biscuits, lunch, beer, etc.. Especially in April as we get Toucando into sailing condition.

Things that you need to know.  The Elephant Boatyard is near Bursledon railway station and bus routes between Southampton and Portsmouth.  There is a large free car park at the station.  If you are interested in any of these events... or just generally in the possibility of sailing with Toucando please get in touch: toucando[at]citybeat.org.uk.

The great maintenance project

At the start of April Toucando relocated to the Elephant Boatyard on the Hamble. There was a list of jobs that needed doing, mostly cosmetic, a few comfort-related (leaky portholes and deck seams). What started as a small project has grown into a full scale refurbishment.

I had never seen so many barnacles when Toucando was hauled out. I put it down to a very warm winter on a nutrient rich river.

With help from friends, as well as the professional services of the Elephant we started cleaning her up and stripping of the old, worn "varnish" (actually polyurethane). Instead of patching her up I decided Toucando needed rather more work.
She has been reprinted, anti fouled, and is looking a lot smarter. Our attention is moving from her hull to the deck, cockpit and coachroof. With luck she should be relaunched the week after next, a and the rest of the work will be done afloat.



One of the consequences of this is that I have cancelled my previously mentioned plan of joining the Dutch Gaffers' inland cruise of the Netherlands. I am concentrating instead on completing the renovations. We'll be at the Elephant for a few weeks more, before returning to the Itchen. Anyone interested in sanding, varnishing or polishing would be welcome. You will be handsomely rewarded with ginger beer or some other appropriate beverage. I hope that a local sailing program will commence in August. I'll post details nearer the time. Crew are welcome, as always. It will be good to revisit some Solent ports, and maybe take part in local Gaffers' events.

I hope to see friends old and new before long!

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Maintenance and Sailing

Toucando has had a lot of engineering work over the winter. Most of the engine hoses have been replaced; we have a new exhaust elbow; the alternator has been serviced; etc.. Last weekend we moved to the Hamble where attention is turning to the hull and the deck.









I am hoping to get lots of sanding, varnishing and painting over the next couple of months. Anybody who enjoys that sort of thing is welcome to come along and help in exchange for beer and sandwiches. Email me: toucando(at)citybeat(dot)org(dot)uk
I hope to be ready for the Yarmouth Old Gaffers Festival Thursday 29th May to Sunday 1st June. I hope to do some weekend sailing in June, then in July we'll head east towards Holland. This will probably take the form of a series of weekend hops along the coast (I'll have to go off and do some work midweek). Then there will be the Gaffers' Dutch cruise, as described in the previous post. Potential crew are welcome to get in touch.


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Location:Lands End Road,Southampton,United Kingdom

Happy New Year: Toucando's plans for 2014

Happy New Year!

After a year in which I did only one trip - a circumnavigation of Britain lasting three and a half months - the time has come to plan something for this year. So what might we do in 2014?

The centrepiece of the summer will be an inland cruise in the Netherlands from Friday 25^th July to Sunday 10^th August, taking part in the celebration of the 10^th anniversary of the Dutch OGA.  The Dutch were quite a large contingent in Round Britain and I am sure they will organise something very special.  There will be an opening event at Wemeldinge on the Zeeland Delta  on 25^th July, sail through the canal system to Amsterdam, then proceed to the Ijsselmeer (former Zuiderzee) for some inland freshwater sailing in open water, finishing at the Dutch naval port of Den Helder in the north by the Frisian Islands.

I would plan to leave Southampton at least two weeks,  before joining the fleet in Wemeldinge, and with a local shakedown cruise in the Solent before that.  so the itinerary looks like this:

5th to 11th July: Shakedown cruise in the Solent - visiting local destinations such as Bembridge, Cowes, Newtown Creek, Yarmouth, Lymington, Beaulieu, the Hamble, Porstmouth, Langstone and Chichester Harbours.

12^th to 18th July: a sail up the Channel taking in such English and French ports as suited, dependent on wind and tide.  This could include Cherbourg, Honfleur, Boulogne, Chichester, Brighton, Dover, finishing in Ramsgate.

19th to 25th July: a sail to Wemeldinge with possible stops at Dunkirk, Ostende and the wonderful medieval Flemish city of Antwerp  before going into the Dutch canal system at Vlissingen (Flushing), then to Middelburg, Veere and the Veersemeer, ready to join the fleet at Wemeldinge on 25th July.  (You can look all these places up on Google Maps).

25th July to 1st August: From Wemeldinge to Amsterdam via the Dutch canal system: itinerary informed by Dutch Old Gaffers plans. We would have a fortnight with the OGA fleet. I would anticipate some very good parties and some excellent sightseeing opportunities, including some wonderful Dutch towns and cities.  It is possible to sail on the canals (I did so when I took my Dayskipper Practical), although tacking to windward is not really feasible.  With prevailing south westerlies there is a reasonable prospect of getting through most of the system under sail.  

4th to 10th August: The middle weekend would be in Amsterdam and we would get to Den Helder by 10th August, ready to set off into the North Sea.

From Den Helder we might wish to visit the Dutch Frisian Islands (Texel, Terschelling) before heading down the coast and before crossing back to th English east coast (anywhere between Lowestoft and Dover, including the Rivers Deben, Orwell, Stour, Colne, Blackwater, Crouch, Thames, Medway, etc.  Then on to Ramsgate and Dover, finishing by the weekend of 24th August.

As always, I am dependent on crew.  I have had Yachtmaster Instructors and complete novices on board.  It is more important to be willing, enthusiastic and a full participant in the life of the boat than to be a hugely experienced sailor.  Our day to day plans are within the limits and abilities of the crew.  We eat well, mainly cooking for ourselves aboard, but with occasional, well chosen meals ashore.  Your financial contribution will be towards day to day running costs, food, fuel etc., and will be kept as low as possible.  Your travel to embarkation and from disembarkation is at your expense. (There is a very good integrated transport system in the Netherlands by the way, so getting from Hoek van Holland or Schipol to and from wherever Toucando may be is reasonably straightforward.)

I am not providing you, neither are you providing me, with a "service".  If you join up it is as part of a crew comprising friends and fellow sailors, and enjoying sailing and shore time together, and the wider companionship of the yachting, and specifically the Old Gaffers, community. Please get in touch via toucando(at)citybeat(dot)org(dot)uk.

Royal Clarence 14th and 15th September

Sail to Portsmouth Harbour next weekend... Southampton Sailing Club is organising a rally to Royal Clarence Marina in Gosport on 14th and 15th September.
Toucando will take part if crew is forthcoming and the weather is ok.  It's a relatively short trip, about three or four hours each way and we will be stating at the very attractive Royal Clarence, which was a victualling yard for the Victorian navy.
You would need to arrive at Kemp's Quay in Southampton promptly on Saturday morning (Friday evening would also be fine); and we will get back Sunday afternoon. Please message me if interested.

Autumn Plans

Toucando and I are enjoying a rest after completing our circumnavigation of Great Britain. I hope to do some weekend sailing in the autumn.  The events events which are in the calendar are:

• 6th-8th September: Solent Gaffers' Bembridge Rally
• 14th-15th September: Southampton Sailing Club Portsmouth Rally
• 20th-22nd September: Solent Gaffers' Centenary Chase (Yarmouth) Toucando will NOT be racing

I will only participate in these events if the weather is appropriate (i.e. I will not be motoring into adverse winds and tides for the sake of getting to a rally).  Toucando will start and finish in Southampton. Shared expenses will amount to a maximum of £25 per person per night covering mooring, fuel, food and snacks on board, but not meals ashore.

Other weekends (or short weekday trips) are possible. These are likely to be in the Solent or possibly to Poole or Chichester.  Daysails are also possible if the tides are right.  I hope to make occasional trips through to the end of October.

If you are interested please get in touch by email at toucando(at)citybeat(dot)org(dot)uk

Circumnavigation complete

At about 1430 this afternoon Toucando crossed her outward track near Calshot, thus (arguably) completing her circumnavigation of Great Britain via the Caledonian Canal. At 1630 she was at Shamrock Quay on the Itchen in the centre of Southampton and unarguably was back where she started on 4th May.
Thank you to all 24 of the people who crewed for me, to the skippers and crews of the other Round Britain Challenge boats, the national and local organisers of RBC and all the events ashore, all the harbour staff and others who helped get us round. And thank you to Toucando for looking after me and the crew.

I will be writing a post about the final sections of the voyage and the fantastic Jubilee Festival at Cowes... But for the moment I am just glad to be back at my home port having had an incredible voyage over the past three and a half months.



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Location:Bond Street,Southampton,United Kingdom