Tuesday 1st September 2009

Although we only stayed overnight in Dun Laoghaire the marina was one of the best on this trip. It was spacious with good facilities. We set off not quite early enough to get the full flood down to Tuskar Rock just off Wexford which meant a change of plan and a diversion towards Milford Haven and Padstow. The original passage plan was to sail straight to Falmouth. We had pretty fast sail across the Irish Sea during the night averaging around 8 knots. Once we made the turn at Milford Haven and headed across the Bristol Channel escorted for the 10 hours by dolphins. I am sure that we were going so fast they fancied a race either that or they knew we were about to have some engine problems.
We had just got Padstow so decided to start the engine and get ready to drop the sails when once again the engine started to increase and decrease in speed. We managed to limp into Padstow where once again we changed the fuel filters and checked the lines.
Padstow offers a warm welcome and the best organised Harbour wall facilities of our journey so far we were very impressed. Thinking all was well with the engine after checking most things I could think of and then several more items after speaking to the Resident Diesel Expert (Thanks Dad your advice is always so helpful) we set off. We managed to fuel up and then hit open sea before the engine decided to stop completely. Unfortunately Padstow is not somewhere that you can sail into with a boat our size. We already had the sails up so the decision was easy to continue and had around to Penzance under sail. During the voyage we made repeat attempts to start the engine however as we started to drain the domestic batteries we refrained from trying again. The passage was made in pretty good time until we round Land’s End when we hit the doldrums. As the light faded we managed to get a tow from a passing yacht before the rope breaking and the yacht leaving us to continue by sail. We pushed on towards Falmouth at 2 knots until about 0100 when the wind increased from F2 to F6 very quickly. When we tried to reef in the Genoa, we couldn’t which meant a visit up on the deck in complete darkness and mounting seas. We hove to for the next 4 hours, 8 miles out to sea from the Lizard drifting at 2 knots and then managed some shut eye on a short watch system 1 hour on 1 off. Day light came we sorted the sails and headed towards Falmouth making good progress until the tide turned and the wind dropped once again. Tacking slowly towards Falmouth at a speed of 2 knots, 15 miles seemed to take so long. We managed to get to within 2 miles of Falmouth before losing the wind again at which point we were able to organise a tow. The 12 hour passage to Penzance turned into 34 hours to Falmouth where we have now had the engine looked at fuel tank cleaned and all running OK.
Tuesday 22nd September we set sail for Plymouth only to get 30 minutes out before the engine started to play up once again. Creeping slowly back we managed to tie up once more. As I type the Engineer is back on board and after several checks the Fuel pump/governor is coming off and going to be checked and serviced (1 week) I seem to remember the Expert (Dad) saying some weeks ago when this first started that it sound like the governor was sticking looks like you could be right.

Journey So Far

14th September 2009

Well a slight delay in updating the blog mainly due to poor or no internet connections between Campbeltown and Dublin.
Wednesday the 2nd September saw Fiona and Candi departing from Campbeltown airport to get back for work and School. Peter and I spent Thursday carrying out some minor repairs to the boat, laundry and a visit to the local Library. It was not looking like the weather was going to break until after the weekend so we prepared ourselves to visit some of the local attractions.
I woke at 0500 on Friday to check the forecast and was surprised to find the forecast had decreased during the night from F5-F7 backing F8 to Backing F4-F5. We took the opportunity to go and were underway by 0600 and rounding Sanda Island off the Mull of Kintyre by 0800. The North Channel of the Irish sea can only be described as rough however we had the best and most exciting sail of the journey so far hitting 13.2 knots as we surfed our 15 ton boat down the following waves. We arrived in Bangor some 7 hours after leaving Campbeltown where we stayed overnight and left first thing the next morning after refuelling fully for the first time since Peterhead.
Sailing to Ardglas we started to see a change of wind direction from the North West to the South West which is not what we really wanted. We stayed overnight leaving at 1000 to head for Dublin unfortunately we had strong winds on the nose and we also developed an Alternator and Engine problem so after 2 hours we turned and came back to Ardglas for repairs and to sit out what developed into an pretty nasty day with gust at F9.
After a fuel filter, oil and filter change we set off the next morning toward Dublin. Once again strong winds on the nose meant slow motoring so engine off we sailed towards the Isle of Man before tacking back in towards Carlingford Lough several hours later. Weather forecasts looked grim for the following 2 days so we stayed in Carlingford leaving at lunchtime on Wednesday the 9th September 2009.
What a change in the weather no wind and plenty of sun not good for sailing of course we had to motor from Carlingford to Howth the day was beautiful and to see the Irish sea tamed (mill pond) was some sight. We are currently in Dun Laoghaire about to head south once again either to Wexford or the Isles of Scilly. We arrived here yesterday 13th September after a wonderful stay at Howth and catching up with the Irish Clan.
Thursday we had lunch at Deer Park Golf Course with Brendan, Marie, Jack, Celine, Joe, Breda (Thank You)it was lovely to see you all, what a view.
Friday Peter and I got the train into the city visited the building where Mum worked as a young lady. We walked to Guinness and did the tour courtesy of tickets from Brendan via Jack we bypassed the queue thank you. We then walked over to Cabra and had some lunch with Brendan and Marie before 9 holes of Golf with Jack and Brendan. The Fagan’s showed no mercy on the Bradford’s. We finished the day off at Sharon and Marks that evening with in Sharon’s words just a salad. If that was just a salad I don't know what I have been eating in the past. It was a wonderful meal and we had such a laugh thank you both.
Saturday Brain and Caraiosa and Children visited us and we took the boat to Lamby Island and dropped anchor had a swim and lunch before coming back to Howth and onto Brian’s House for the evening.
Brian and Caraiosa you have 4 truly wonderful boys, thank you for your hospitality (second to none) and also for doing our washing. Peter and I did not stop talking about the stay all the way to Dun Laoghaire. See you soon.

Ireland We Love You.

1st September 2009

Due to the sea weather creating large waves (wind against tide) on Monday 31st August 2009 we were unable to sail across to Ireland as hoped, so we stopped off in Campbeltown for the night and it rained yet again. There is lots of rain in Scotland.
We had to rearrange our journey home as Candi and I (Fiona) have to be back at work/school on Thursday 3rd September. We did have two cheap flights from Dublin, so we are now flying from Campbeltown to Birmingham and then taking the train to Benfleet tomorrow morning.
We anchored off of Loch Ranza on the Isle of Arran on Sunday night and caught mackerel for our dinner. P J caught 4, Candi 5 and I caught 2 fish. It was great and what a lovely fish soup was had by all.

Sunday 30th August 2009

On our way to the Isle of Sanda which is about 35 miles away. Will let you know how we got on later.

Saturday 29th August 2009

Had a wonderful day travelling through the Crinan Canal. We set off from lock no15 at 9 oclock. We wanted to leave at 8.30 but it took the staff all that time to get organised!!!!
It took 7 hours to navigate to the otherside on the canal.
The first couple of locks were electric. The rest were hand operated by the boats who went through. We went through with with another boat Amarilys - Wilson and Elaine and had a great time. Candi and P J manned the locks with Elaine, opening and closing them when appropriate and letting the water flood through.

Opening and closing the lock gates was quite hard because it took a lot of strength but it kept us occupied and was much more fun than the caledonian canal. We had to open and close the sluices to let the water flood through, the boats in the locks ahead forgot to close the sluices so the water was flooding through and the water was above the level it was meant to be. (by Candi Bradford)

Sailed over to Tarbert and stayed there for the night. Saw three dolphins!

Friday 28th August 2009

Left Oban marina on the Island of Kerrera and had a great day of sailing. We managed to get to our record speed of 11.1 knots while sailing. Yippee!
It was so windy we had to have the sails reefed in. Arrived at the Crinan Canal just before 5pm but couldn't get through as it was "home Time" for the staff, so stayed in the "basin" for the night.

Tuesday 25th August 2009 – Thursday 27th August 2009

Peter and P J fixed the mainsail so hopefully we can sail tomorrow. We also have charts to take us to Ireland. Hired a car as the weather was so bad and drove into Oban. The scenery is so beautiful . waterfalls, mountains and lots of woodland.
Motored on to Neptune’s Staircase. It rained all day. Stopped off and had lunch on the Eagle barge pub. What a great idea to turn a barge into a pub. Unfortunately the pub landlord’s had seen happier days. Today could have just been a bad day but I really believe they need to move on. There was no warmth or friendliness at all. Not to be revisited.

Monday 24th August 2009

We motored through Loch Ness to Fort Augustus Staircase. What a beautiful sight. We still have no mainsail but we do have some new ball barings.
Sunday 23rd August 2009

Sunday 23rd August 2009

We left Seaport Marina in Inverness at 12.30pm to enter the Caledonian Canal. We had four locks to navigate at first and then we were in the canal. We were quickly made aware of a lot of charter boats, some of who didn’t know much about boats and navigation.

Saturday 22nd August 2009

I arrived in Inverness on the sleeper train from London Euston to be met by Peter. Phillip, Louise and Logan came to visit.

Arbroath to Stonehaven

We were going to stay in Arbroath for a couple of days as the forecast wasn’t looking good however once up it looked OK so we made a run for Stonehaven, about 5 hours away. We left at 0800 and arrived at 1330 sailing most of the way between 7 and 8 knots. One hour out of Stonehaven the wind dropped so we put the sails away and motored into Harbour. We are currently tied up to the Harbour wall in a picture postcard Harbour. Weather permitting we will head to Peterhead tomorrow, about an 8 hour journey.

Eyemouth to Arbroath

Setting off at 0800 on Tuesday 11th August 2009 heading towards Arbroath we left with sunshine and light winds. Two miles out we set the main only to have the bottle screw at the top of the mast come apart and shower us with plastic bearings followed by the swift collapse of the main onto the deck. PJ quickly got ropes and the bosons’ chair ready and within 5 minutes we had him lifted to the top so that he could get the bottle screw back down. I know that PJ loves going up and has had plenty of practice however the light winds had picked up and there was a good swell throwing all over the place. Anyway he stayed aloft for approximately 45 minutes while I made repairs and we managed to get the sail back up (outstanding courage PJ). Its times like this that I realise how lucky I am to have PJ and Candi as crew. Candi was on safety rope and working hard holding the sail onto the boat when nature had other ideas. Some 8 hours later and after crossing a pretty rough entrance to the Firth of Forth we arrived in Arbroath and tied up right next to the Arbroath Smokies shop, lovely.

Eyemouth

We made it into Eyemouth on the 5th of August with the intention of stopping overnight. As we stopped the engine we heard a loud banging coming from the engine. The plan had been to sail to Granton so that it would be easier for Fiona to get to the boat from Edinburgh for her weekend visit. The decision was made to stay at Eyemouth so that I could inspect the engine. It turned out that one of the engine mounts had collapsed which will need replacing hopefully when we return to Chatham. I was able to carry out a temporary repair on Thursday which will get us through the journey time will tell. We hired a car from a small place some 34 miles from Eyemouth which meant a bus journey to collect the car then a drive back and then a 50 mile drive that evening to collect Fiona from Edinburgh Station. We had a lovely few days at Eyemouth topped off with Fiona coming up for the weekend. After dropping Fiona back and returning the car we had a further day, finally leaving on Tuesday morning (6 days after arriving).

5th August 2009

We left Blyth at about half five and put up the mainsail straight away, but there was very little wind. We motored most of the day but the wind picked up a little after the Farne Islands. There's allegedly the largest seal population in the UK in the Farne Islands, but we didn't see a single one. What we did though were lots of castles dotted along the coast and also our first mountains in the distance. As I write, we're just off the shore of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which means we'll shortly sail into Scottish waters for the first time. Eyemouth is in the distance and we should reach there in the next two to three hours depending on the tide.

Tomorrow we're hoping to sail up to edinburgh or Dundee and pick up Mum on the weekend. Where we go depends on whether or not we can find decent flights to Edinburgh or to Dundee. Edinburgh is a long way inland and it will add a day or two to our journey to go there, but maybe we will just for the experience.

4th August 2009

We finally, after 4 days in Hartlepool, managed to get going again leaving at 0630 catching the tide with a following wind of about F5 and headed up to Blyth about 30Nm. Dispite the swell we arrived 5 hours later just as the wind was starting to pick up a little. Blyth is not a Commercial Marina it is owned and run by the boat owners. At last the price dropped, we have been paying approximately £25 a night Blyth was £18. When we arrived the vistors Pontoon was busy so we were about to raft up when a couple of club members very kindly directed us to a single berth . The yacht Club is an old wooden light ship built in 1880 and had all the facilities we needed from beer to showers. We wandered into town (a distance of about 3 miles) to stock up on supplies. The local butcher was reasonably priced the quality was excellent with some beautiful white pudding. The rest of the afternoon we rested and popped into the yacht club for a quick drink and to settle the bill before an early night ready for an early start.

3rd August 2009

After Fiona and I came back by train at the weekend, Fiona to ready herself for work on Monday whereas I had a few things to sort in London. I finally made it back from London on the afternoon of the 3rd and was met at Hartlepool station by Peter and Candi. We Had some Lunch in town before wandering back to the marina and getting things prepared for the off the following morning. Hartlepool Marina and facilities were good however I am still waiting to see the prices drop as we travel further up North. If you are so inclined there are plenty of bars and restaurants surrounding the Marina.

1st August 2009

31st July 2009
Left Whitby at 12.20 to catch the 12.30 bridge and actually sailed without motoring for 4 hours averaging 7 knots. We did have to dodge lots and lots of lobster pots though but the views off the coast were magnificant. Arrived in Hartlepool at 16.45pm. Came into the lock with a small fishing boat which had just caught some mackeral and they gave us a couple. This was the most wonderful mackeral I have ever eaten. We are planning on 3 days stop over in Hartlepool before the next journey possibly to Tyneside/North Shields.

30th July 2009
Left Scarborough for Whitby at 9.45am. The last bridge after high tide was at 13.02, so once again we had to motorsail to get there on time and we did with 1 minute to spare. if we had missed this bridge we would have had to wait on the waiting pontoon until 9pm for the next bridge lift. When we first came into Whitby we didn't know what everyone was raving about but after being there for 24hrs it truly is a beautiful town and St Mary's Church sends you back in time giving you a real insight into how life was over 200 years ago.


28th July 2009
Candi woke us up at 2am so that we could leave at 3am but we went back to sleep for a little bit longer and got up at 4am and left at 4.15am. If only we had left that little bit earlier, we could have got into Scarborough. As it turned out there was not enough water in the harbour entrance so we had to anchor in the bay. We took watches to get us up to Scarborough as we anticipated that it would take us 24 hours continual sailing. Peter and Candi took the first 4 hr stint while P J and I slept a little bit longer.
P j and I were at the helm from 0800 until 1200. Thankfully the autohelm was working this time.
We got to Scarborough at around 3am after motorsailing all the way but couldn't get into the harbour until 6.45 as the depth over the sill was too low for our boat so we anchored up in the dark and caught a couple of hours kip.

Total distance travelled 131 nm.

Got into the harbour and moored up on the visitors pontoon which was a pleasant surprise as we were next to a trawler boat last year.

While Candi and P J were sleeping, Peter and I went and had breakfast in the cafe overlooking the harbour.

After catching a few more hours kip, we spent the day with my sister Anna and Jane. Had the best fish and chips in Scarborough.

25th July 2009
We had put into Lowerstoft to sort out a couple of problems one of which was the autohelm as we had planned to sail straight from Ipswich to Scarborough however we didn't fancy 30 Hours with someone at the helm throughout. After some soldering and fuse replacement we were ready for the off.

Stuck in Lowestoft

haven't posted for a while, so i'll quickly sum up the last few days and begin again in scarborough:
After leaving on Wednesday of last week, Mum and I sailed the boat up to Ipswich to meet Candi who had been staying at our Nana's, and Dad who had to work overnight in London. The journey was mainly good, winds were pretty high, but coming from behind, which made it alot more bearable than it would otherwise have been. The sun helped too, and Mum and I both got there with burnt noses. We ran the engine all the way there, which got rid of any of our fears about the engine overheating.
We stayed at Ipswich for a couple of days and then left at about midday on Saturday to Lowestoft. This time Candi and I sailed the boat while the parent's navigated from down below. We arrived in Lowestoft after a fairly uneventful journey with a Southerly wind, at about 8 o'clock. After mooring up, we had a swim in the marina since it's open to the sea. it wasn't as cold as you might expect but cold enough. We've been here since then, the weather has mainly been predicting force sixes, so we decided to wait before making possibly our longest single stint up to Scarborough.
Today, we hired a car and drove back to essex because we had some things to do, dad picked up his new phone case and when we got back, we were about to leave. last minute change of plans and even though we'd stowed everything away, ready to sail, the decision was made to leave in the early hours of the morning, to avoid sailing through the night if possible. Looks like we're going to have to anyway tomorrow night but hopefully we'll be in the routine of watches by then and it won't be so rough.

First day

We left to make our way to Ipswich yesterday, with gale force 5-6 winds. We wanted to get to the end of the river Medway before deciding whether the sea was too rough for us to spend an 8-10 hour journey in it. When we got there, there was an imminent gale force 8 warning from the Met office and we decided to go across the Thames and anchor up for the night, where we could buy some new batteries for the boat and also look at a niggling problem with the engine's cooling system. As we reached the end of Southend pier, the niggling problem became more serious and we were forced to drop anchor further out than we'd wanted. My dad took the engine to bits for a while, looking for something that might cause it and we found that strainer on the sea water intake was full of barnacles and sand. Once we cleaned it and restarted the engine, it seemed happy enough to run without the temperature going above 90°C where it had got up to 110°C before.

After we anchored in the place we'd originally planned, I dropped Dad off with the dinghy so he could get the batteries and pick up my Mum, with the plan of picking them up on the dinghy again in an hour or two. However, after 10 minutes of being on the boat, Dad phoned me to tell me to take the boat back to Chatham on my own!

I sailed back over the Thames with the genoa and put it away at the mouth of the Medway since I didn't think I'd be able to tack up the river on my own. This turned out to be easier said than done with some heavy gusts of wind causing a real mess of the cabin below, but eventually I was motoring back to Chatham. Had some trouble with two sailing boats, who felt they'd take the 'give way to sail' ruleto its limit and forcing me right to the edge of the river before tacking back out of my way.

When I reached the lock at Chatham, Dad and Peter from Ladylove took my ropes and I was safely home. The second boat into the lock behind me was one of the sailing boats who'd forced me to the side of the river. turned out while I managed to get the boat in on my own, he and a crew of 3 or 4 couldn't and they made a right mess of things, which cheered me up a bit.

Turned out our first day ending up being more of a sea trial, but the engine problem was fixed and we now have two new domestic batteries. We'll now set off properly next Wednesday.