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 1 - Southampton to Cherbourg

The crew assembled on Friday 27th July. Toucando had been victualled and prepared for the voyage. Roger of Southampton Sailing Club, and Colin who had sailed on Toucando recently both came to Shamrock Quay in the afternoon.

We set off shortly after 1700 towards Yarmouth, our chosen first night destination. Our voyage was to take us across the English Channel and to last nine days... Toucando's longest trip since her passage from Dublin last year. The cruise was in company with several other Southampton Sailing Club boats, led by Four Seasons.

We were able to sail some of the way down to Yarmouth, but needed the engine as well. We found a mooring buoy outside the harbour before darkness fell. We ate a Mediterranean chicken stew on board and got ready for an early start the following morning.

Our mooring buoy off Yarmouth

To get the best of the tide through the Needles Channel we aimed to leave at 0515 on Saturday 28th July. We actually slipped our mooring ten minutes later. We soon got the sails raised and were able to sail down the last few miles of the Solent, past the Needles before turning left and steering 185 degrees for Cherbourg.

We were on a pleasant starboard tack, with just the right amount of wind... an unusual experience. Toucando made a decent speed and we progressed steadily, making one (probably unnecessary) deviation for large shipping. As planned we arrived uptide of Cherbourg and were able to slide into the Western Entrance of the Grande Rade diagonally, to the astonishment of the crew who were slightly alarmed that we appeared to be heading straight for the harbour wall.

At 1703 we were the first to arrive, and had made an excellent time. It took slightly longer than we had expected to get the mainsail down. The wind had got a fair bit stronger in the final hours of the crossing. When we entered La Chantereyne Marina we had expected to be greeted by a lady in a red dory... but she was nowhere to be seen. We did a quick circuit before retreatring to the Petit Rade to await the arrival of Four Seasons. It seemed that the marina had not reserved places for us, so we wnded up distributed all over. Toucando finished up on the waiting pontoon... not connected to dry land (but we are used to that). We had a bolognese aboard.

Toucando in the sunset at Cherbourg

Sunday was a free day. We had established in a morning trip ashore that nothing much happens in Cherbourg on Sunday, and unfortunately the convenient Carrefour supermarket just by the harbour is being rebuilt, making any significant shopping difficult.

In the afternoon the skipper took advantage of visiting the Cite de la Mer, a major tourist attraction. Although it was only a frw hundred metres from where Toucando was moored it was a long (but not unpleasant) walk round the harbour to get there. It is based in the old liner terminal and one of the first rooms you go in is the baggage hall... quite impressive, I thought.

Liner baggage hall in cherbourg, now part of the Cite de la Mer museum

That room told the story of French emigration to America. Other parts of the museum were devoted to the Titanic (which stopped in Cherbourg for one and a half hours en route to Queenstown, and thence to its nemesis); diving and submarines (including a decommissioned nuclear sub), and a rather atmospheric aquarium.

Jellyfish

(I could post a few more like this.)

Nuclear submarine

I would recommend Cite de la Mer to anybody with a day to spare in Cherbourg. In the evening the whole Southampton Sailing Club part gathered in the Yacht Club restaurant where we enjoyed some French Cuisine... a duck and anchovy salad, a salmon steak, and creme caramel in my case. The following day we would be setting off towards St Peter Port Guernsey. (To be continued.)

Yarmouth Old Gaffers Festival 2012

For me this is one of the best events of the summer: it's an annual gathering of traditional boats at Yarmouth, a small harbour town at the west end of the Isle of Wight. Although the boats are at the centre of things it's a festival for the whole town and beyond.  There is an international street market, craft tent, vintage car rally, entertainers, dogshow, lifeboat display, etc..

Toucando was joined in Southampton by Lesley and Carole on Thursday.  After some lunch on board and familiarisation with the ropes, we set off.  The wind was variable.  It started off in the north, went round to the south, then the south east, then the south west.  The only consistent thing about it was that it tended to blow from the direction we wanted to go.  We raised the main off Dockhead in a blustery Force 4 to 5 from the south east and motor sailed down to Calshot.  Once in the Solent we were able to start beating down towards Yarmouth,  but  by this stage the wind had dropped and backed to south west and we were not making very fast progress.  The crew however got pretty efficient at tacking.  We completed the passage in very light winds arriving in Yarmouth at about 1930.

After securing Toucando we went for a barbecue and were joined by Carole's husband.  Unfortunately the lawn at the Royal Solent has been turned into a builders' compound so we were in the shed at the back of the car park.  Nevertheless it was good to meet up with the gaffers again.

Friday was shore-based... there was plenty to see.  Toucando seemed to enjoy being on one of Yarmouth's new walkashore pontoons between some Memorys including Sepia and Nipperkin.

In the evening the shore entertainment was laid on by Rob Da Bank or Radio 1 and Bestival fame. 
He does a lot of stuff on the Island and brings a new dimenstion to Friday night at Yarmouth.  Cuban Brothers were headlining, but my recommendation for top band was Skinny Lister.  This five piece sings folk songs, shanties and their own material, while passing around a couple of earthenware cider jugs.  It's about time for another folk revival, and Skinny Lister brings a new energy and enthusiasm to the genre.  Best of all they seem to attract a young following who belt out the choruses with real enthusiasm.

Saturday was the day of the race.  Since Toucando will not race until a regular crew has been found I enjoyed spectating from the end of Yarmouth Pier.  Despite the blue skies it had blown a gale overnight and was very blustery in the morning.  Most of the small boats decided to stay in harbour.  Miss Ningi bravely ventured out, had a brilliant start, but had to return when waves started flooding her.  The crowd repeatedly opined that it was "blowing old boots" and that (most of) the competitors were "going like a train".  I haven't the faintest idea who won, but it all looked good.

I decided to give the Abba, Queen and Rod Stewart tribute bands a miss on Saturday night... or at least listen to them from Toucando.

The homeward crew comprised Lesley and Michele.  The wind had dropped considerably.  We sailed quite slowly up the western Solent and Southampton Water.  It was very crowded as youy might exect for the first really warm weekend of the sailing season.  We got back to Toucando's home berth on the Itchen at about 1430.

Thanks to Carole, Lesley and Michele for crewing and miscellaneous old gaffers for the benefit of their advice.

Easter Cruise 2012

I had spent a couple of weeks on pre-season maintenance, including supervising a few engineering jobs, so Toucando would be ready for her Easter cruise - the first of 2012.  I was joined by Peter and Stewart on Thursday evening.  Our first task was to take Toucando over to Shamrock Quay so she could fill her water tank and enjoy a night plugged into the mains.  The crew checked out The Waterfront, while I prepared dinner.

In the morning we made ready to go.  Getting off the berth avoiding the enormous Sunseeker moored behind us was not easy - the tide flows at right angles to the pontoons, but we managed eventually and made another short hop to the fuel barge where we took on 100 litres of diesel, before heading under the Itchen Bridge and out into Southampton Water.  Peter and Stewart raised the main... encountering a few snags and tangles (we got a lot better at it over the course of the weekend), and we motor sailed towards the Solent.  The forecast was for moderate northerly winds, which would have been ideal for a trip west, but the wind was very light and of indeterminate direction.  Our initial thoughts of heading for Poole had to be abandonned, and we settled for Yarmouth instead.  We got some sailing in which was good before motoring in and berthing on the new pontoon by the lifeboat.

We went and had a beer in the Royal Solent (ginger beer in my case), which is part way through a major refurbishment.  Dick and Pat Dawson showed us the work in progress.  We moved on to the Bugle before returning to Toucando for a Pirata Carbonara.

Saturday seemed like a good day to head to Poole, which is what we did.  Crossing the bay was easy, but we really had to fight the tide in the harbour entrance. Poole Quay Marina told us they were full (there's a wretched Sunseeker taking up the space for abour four sailing boats).  Fortunately there was space on the quay itself, which gave us the opportunity to use the fender board which has only had one other use over the past year.  It was towards low tide, and we had to climb up a horrible ladder to do the mooring.  As time went by and the tide rose we had a convenient step ashore from deck to quay.  Three other boats moored alongside us, and negotiated out departure time the following morning.  I did a little revictualling.  There was a rabbit in charge at Tesco... ok, a person dressed as a rabbit.  She tried to sell me some carrots, which I thought was quite amusing.  We had a (ginger) beer in the Jolly Sailor with some pub grub.

Toucando on Poole Town Quay

On Sunday we headed east, towards Cowes.  There was not a lot of wind to begin with, but once we were inside the Solent we did a training run, gybing our way to our destination.  By the time we took down the main off Gurnard there was a Force 5 blowing.  We went to Cowes Yacht Haven and found a suitable mooring before going ashore and enjoying some (ginger) beer and more pub grub at The Union Inn.  We helped the people at the next table in the quiz... well, we think we helped them we didn't stay for the answers.

Monday the wind had blown up.  A gale was threatened.  We reefed Toucando and set off.  It was blowing Force 7, gusting 8.  We headed north across the Solent and up into Southampton Water. We motored.  Those boats sailing were all well reefed: one was even using its bright orange storm jib and trisail.  In less than two and a half hours Toucando was back on her mooring.

It would have been good to have had a little more wind earlier in the weekend and a little less at the end, but nevertheless was had a good trip to four ports.  Toucando has emerged from her winter somnolence and is looking forward to more sailing.  She may be a little disappointed over the next month, as my priority will be to complete four assignments for my course but by the end of may we should have a pretty busy schedule.  Thanks to Peter and Stewart for crewing this weekend and getting to understand the running rigging of a gaff rigged cutter.

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.

A trip to Yarmouth (almost)

Michele and Ava joined Toucando for a trip to Yarmouth.  It was to coincide with the Solent Gaffers' "Centenary Chase".  We left at 1330 with two reefs in the main.  We got the sail up as soon as we were off the mooring and had a very nice sail down Southampton Water.  The barometer had been falling steadily, and Southampton appeared to be under a black cloud as we looked back, but it was fine where we were.

We turned towards Yarmouth after Calshot Spit, putting on the engine to get through the "precautionary area".  The wind picked up to a Force 7 (32 knots) from the SSW (the direction of Yarmouth).  We made slow progress.  We had a go at tacking, but our progress was not good.... another trip with a Force 7 from the wrong direction!  We considered the merits of working our way to Yarmouth, but decided to head for Cowes instead.

We got the sails furled in the Medina and found a berth at East Cowes.  We caught the bus to Yarmouth and arrived in time for dinner at the Royal Solent.  Only five boats had taken part in the Chase, and many of the participants had themselves come by land, or ferry.  The winner of the open boat class had taken a bang on the head from the boom, and had had a trip to A&E as a result.  He managed to get back in order to claim his prize.  Our decision to stop at Cowes was probably the prudent one.

On Sunday we headed back to Southampton.  It was an almost perfect day for sailing... a Force 4 from the west.  We sailed in a nice straight line across from Cowes towards Hillhead.  Then we had to make a few tacks to get into Southampton Water and past the oil terminal.  We then managed to have a long close-hauled tack most of the way up Southampton Water, during which we had lunch.  We dropped the main just off Weston Shelf and headed for the Itchen.  At that point the rain came, heavy and intense... the worst I can recall on Toucando.  Fortunately there was not much wind at that point. We huddled in our waterproofs with the hoods pulled well over, and motored up to the pontoon, where we made a perfect landing.

And so ended Toucando's last scheduled event of the season.... However there will be more weekend sailing, providing the weather is ok.  I have just heard a forecast suggesting we are going to get heavy snows in October.  I hope that is wrong.

A proper summer weekend

Most weekends this summer have been marred by: 1. too much wind; 2. too little wind; 3. rain; 4. plague... etc.. In other words a typical British summer.  This one was rather better.  Charlotte and Michele joined Toucando on Friday, and after a crab salad we set off for Yarmouth.  We had a pretty good sail down Southampton Water, then tacked down the western Solent.  Yarmouth unfortunately had its "Harbour Full" sign up, so we went to Lymington instead.  We had a few exciting minutes stuck on the mud by the Lymington River channel, but were helped off by a passing rib (rigid inflatable boat).  We stayed on the excellent Dan Bran pontoon.
On Saturday we had thought about going to Poole, but it would have meant a ridiculously early start, so we went with the tide to Gosport instead.  Haslar Marina gave us a good berth - easy to get on and off.  We had a walk around the town centre and up to Royal Clarence yard: then curry on board Toucando and a viewing of "Deep Water" the documentary about Donald Crowhurst's ill fated participation in the 1968 Sunday Times Round the World Race.
On Sunday we thought we would take advantage of the tide and sail east first towards the Nab Tower and then come back into the Solent and up to Southampton with the tide.  It all worked very well.  We went on every point of sail and only had to tack twice to get all the way back from the Nab to Weston Shore and the entrance to the River Itchen.  Thanks to Charlotte, Michele and some decent summer weather.
I am going to try and upload a video: let's hope it works.

Round the World Racing

Vic and Andy joined Toucando for the weekend.  They arrived on Friday morning and we made a fairly prompt start heading for Yarmouth.  We got in some sailing after Calshot, but the wind faded to almost nothing as we passed Newtown Creek, so the engine was required to get us to Yarmouth.  We had a pleasant stop there, but decided against going on to Poole on Saturday... it would have been a long motor.  Instead we went to Cowes, passing through some racing fleets on the way.

A race heading our way in the Solent

A view from the High Street in Cowes

The flagpole and a couple of starting cannons at the Royal Yacht Squadron

A boat shed

On Sunday we set off for Southampton.  There was a useful easterly breeze, and we sailed fairly slowly across the Solent and up Southampton Water with a view to seeing the Clipper Round the World racing yachts head out of the city down to the Solent.  We loitered off Weston until the ten racers emerged, followed by HMS Invincible and hundreds of small boats and spectator craft.  For a while the wind picked up to a Force 5 as they made their way to the start line.  We left them to it and returned to our mooring on the Itchen.  Thanks to V&A for a pleasant weekend cruise in the western Solent.

Vic on the hem of Toucando, with a Cornish yawl in the background

The Clipper Round the World Race fleet coming down Southampton Water

Not quite Poole

It was the weekend of the Gaffers' Poole Rally. We were looking forward to anchoring in South Deep and having a barbecue at the Royal Motor Yacht Club. Two crew joined Toucando - Lucy, who normally sails from Ramsgate, and Terry, the owner of Irene, a Memory 19.
We were up at four and on our way just after five. It was a nice morning and we had a good sail down Southampton Water. When turned west into the Solent at about 0730 the wind went up a few levels and was right on the nose. We had a fair tide until about 1100 - then it would be against us. Toucando was slowed down by the relatively large swell. We decided that a twenty mile beat across Poole Bay would not be much fun, so instead put in at Yarmouth.
We had an early lunch, a bit of rest,a walk along the seafront, a drink at the Royal Solent, a "barbecue" aboard, and sang some shanties accompanied by Terry's accordion and a bottle of Merlot.
Other notable events: Terry whipped the ends of lots of ropes (thank you) and we followed the rescue on Channel 16 of a Bavaria 38 which had been blown onto the beach at Alum Bay. We had heard the rockets go of and watched the lifeboat speed out of the harbour. Thestricken vessel looked ok when she was towed in later.
Sunday started grey, but soon brightened up. We had a leisurely breakfast and then went out in near perfect conditions, practising tacking, gybing and heaving to, under main, staysail and jib. We headed home to Southampton, only dropping the sails 50 metres away from the berth, just using the motor for the final approach.
It's a fantastic day today (Monday) and I am planning tomorrow's maintenance day. I also hope to add a few pictures soon.

 Andrew and Terry sailing back to Southampton on a perfect day

 We seem to be going quite fast!

Yarmouth Old Gaffers' Festival 2011

Toucando set off for Yarmouth on Thursday 2nd June, with crew comprising Lesley, David and Andrew (skipper).  First job was to top up with diesel at Itchen Towage.

We had a bit of a sail down Southampton Water, but a light westerly was not helpful when it came to the Solent, so we motored the rest of the way.  Toucando wore a good selection of flags, like the other gaffers.

She was much admired.  Several people remembered seeing her at Brest in Brittany with her previous owners.
On Friday we enjoyed the shore entertainments, including Rob da Bank of Radio 1 (who lives nearby) and a range of musicians.

Saturday was an opportunity to go sailing.  Toucando did not join the race, but instead went out and practised tacking, gybing and different sail settings, with a crew comprising Andrew, Anne, Lesley and Paul.

Tall ship under the boom

Paul, Anne, Andrew and Lesley... back in Yarmouth

Saturday night was very windy... blowing from the northeast straight into the harbour.  Even Toucando at 11 tons was bouncing about, and the mooring lines were creaking and groaning.  At 0130 the lifeboat went out on a call.  As we were moored just 10 metres away we couldn't help peer out through the portholes as it went off on its mission: it would not have been a nice night at sea.

On Sunday we returned to Southampton (Andrew, Lesley, Paul and Vee).  We had a little excitement when the engine started smoking just outside Yarmouth.  After a few moments thought we checked the cooling water strainer and removed a large clump of seaweed.  As is so often the case the wind was blowing the wrong way, so it was more of a motor than a sail.  Toucando arrived back on her berth in the Itchen in the late afternoon having enjoyed the festival and welcomed five new crew members over the weekend.