Lundy to Padstow

I got to sleep quite well at the anchorage at Lundy but around 4am the wind veered to the east and it got very uncomfortable.

We stuck it out until 5:30am, by which time it was light, and decided to make for Padstow.

Getting the anchor up was hard work but without incident and we motored off east with the stay-sail up to clear Rat Island, luckily since it was high water and slack we did not need to worry about the race to the south of it. The idea was to make towards Hartland Point and then hug the coast so we could see it.

Then the engine died.

We were right by what looked like a crab pot marker, although this is a no-catch nature conservation area and the waves kept pushing us towards it so we had to think quickly.

"Get the sails up" I said and went for the main. It is possible to raise Robinetta's main at least part way on any point of the wind and we had the stay-sail to help.

For the first time a hoop got stuck on the gaff saddle and I had to go and clear it and then, just when we needed the main, the parrel line came of the saddle and the gaff bounced forward of the mast.

I needed to drop the main and start again but we didn't have time. Alison on the helm desperately needed more way on so she could steer us clear of the dangers.

I unfurled the jib. Two headsails is not a great configuration but it got us out of danger.

Now I had time to lower the main, re-tie the parrel line and put it back up properly. Before long we were a proper sailing boat under full control and we could decide what sail configuration we really wanted. There was a lot of wind so we settled on about 80% of the roller reefing range on the main and the stay-sail. We could follow our course and start planning on how to get the engine working again.

The wind was strong and the swell was harsh. We hit 7 knots a few times and although we wanted to get inshore to enjoy the coast the swell was much more comfortable on the rear quarter than on the beam so we headed south-south-west at an angle to our planned course. That was really comfortable and the weather was fine. Only the worry of the failed engine stopped it being delightful.

Alison went forward and changed the no 1 jib for the number 2 in a wind lull in case I wanted to use it, but it stayed furled for a long time.

Once inside the shelter of Hartland Point the swell was much less and we carried on. We got the jib out and galloped along, Alison doing most of the helming. Once I could get my head around it I got out Nigel Calder's book on diesel engines and started working out what might be wrong. I'll put the trouble-shooting in a separate post. I got the engine working!

We got nearer the shore around Tintagel but I couldn't make out the castle. Then we had to gybe away from the coast and we picked up a large pod of common dolphins. They played with us for about an hour - wonderful! The wind was increasing though, and Alison wanted the jib away. Even when we slowed to 5 knots the dolphins kept us company.

Then we were near The Rumps and out of the shelter and the swell got really bad and the wind strengthened. I was down below reading the entry pilotage but Alison needed me on deck to help. I put the last of the reef in the main and that brought us back under control and we headed around Newland and the Rayner Rocks. The Polzeath anchorage already had two yachts in it, one of them being Moshulu who had left Lundy about the same time we did. We anchored nearby to wait for the tide over the Doom Bar.

Several other yachts joined us. The pilot book says not to enter before HW-2. The Cruising Association says HW-2½. One of the boats went in for HW-2½ and was ok. We left it until HW-2 and it was really easy.

We did lose track slightly getting into the harbour but the Harbour-master's rib put us right. We ended up against the north wall with lots of other yachts.

Wot? No fuel?

When the engine stopped off Lundy we got the sails up and ignored it.

Once on passage with time I started trying to work out what was wrong. As it had just stopped, it was probably a fuel problem but a quick check showed we had not run out.

I got out Nigel Calder's book on Diesel engines. The trouble-shooting guide confirmed fuel as the most likely cause and an air bubble as the likely problem. This didn't seem unlikely given the amount we had been being thrown about at anchor.

I started tracing the low pressure fuel system. Calder's book is excellent and I found the main filter, which unfortunately doesn't have a sight glass, and the lift pump and the secondary filter.

The lift pump doesn't seem to have a removable top so I got the bleed screw off the secondary filter and started pumping the lift pump manually. Nothing.

So I undid the fuel pipe to the lift pump. It was dry.

Finally, after much thinking I went to look for the impossible. It just couldn't be the cocks on the tanks. I looked at the port tank which we thought might be closed and it was closed so I opened it.

Then I looked at the starboard tank which we knew must be open because we had been using it for days.

It was closed.

That can't possibly happen. There is no way that cock can close on its own, you have to push it in quite hard.

It was closed.

As Arthur Conan Doyle said "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

That'll teach us.

The engine worked after I opened the fuel cocks.

Lundy Island

This evening was Worm's first use to go ashore of the season. Getting in to her was quite tricky with the swell bouncing her up and down but Alison handled the row to the landing place with ease.

Getting ashore was another matter. It was high water and there was only a little of the slip above water and nowhere to tie up to. We gave it a go but it was quite dangerous so we tried the beach instead. There was only a couple of feet of steep shingle showing but we managed to stick to it and clambered ashore. There was enough room to pull Worm above the high water line and leave her but it was a major scramble over the rocks to get to the road.

The road climbs steeply from the landing place past the big house to the farm. On the way up we fell in with a couple and chatted about the weather. We agreed the forecasts had been roughly right but not quite good enough.

The pub is at the farm and Alison checked we would be able to eat and we walked on to see a bit more of the island. It really is quite big though and we turned back to eat just as the arable land turned to rough pasture. We had a nice chat with the farmer on the way back. He had watched us motor in and had grand tales about yachts and bad sailors.

Food and drink at the pub was great. I had a trio of Lundy sausages on mash with carrots and broccoli. The sausages were lovely - a venison a spicy and a pork. The beer was specially brewed ashore for the island and was nice. The pub was busy.

Back at the landing place the tide had gone down by at least 2m. It was easy to get down the slip to the beach and round to Worm but launching was a problem. Alison said "how would you like to do this?" I answered cheekily "I get in and you do all the work." Under normal circumstances this is roughly what we do but this time we came a-cropper. We launched backwards off the beach and tried to turn round to row away and a big wave drenched the boat.

We got out and emptied the water out and had another think. This time we set Worm pointing out to sea in the shallows and Alison got in over the stern and went forwards to her rowing station at the bow. I pushed Worm further in to the water and got in. This way round, when the waves crashed they just lifted the bow as is supposed to happen.

Alison rowed mightily and got us out of the shallows. The steeply shelving beach helped and once in the deeper water the swell was less of a problem. It was a bouncy row back to Robinetta but Worm handled it well.

Back on board we decided the swell was too much to put the double berth out and we re-configured the sleeping bags for single person use so we could sleep fore-and-aft on the benches.

Swansea to Lundy

Friday in Swansea saw much progress from Julian in setting up the AIS unit we decided would be a good idea for this season. Rain poured down all morning, but Robinetta stayed beautifully dry inside, and warm with the electric heater going full blast. The promised strong winds did not quite happen, but we found plenty to do on our day ashore.

Mumbles in the distance

Saturday saw us locking out at the first exit of the day, one hour after high water at 07:00. By 07:25 we were motor sailing along at a relaxed pace just outside the Swansea harbour entrance channel. As soon as we cleared the Mixon Shoal the engine went off, and we sailing with no 1 jib and full main. The sea was absolutely flat and there was nothing to aim at so we thought about giving “George” the helm. The tiller pilot can steer a compass course much more reliably than a person.

When we tried turning George on nothing happened. Power was getting to the plug, but George was not responding. I continued to hand steer while Julian got to grips with George.

The wind ran out at 10:00 and I put the engine back on to keep up our speed. Helming was dull, but I kept a good look out, and saw something strange glinting in the sea a couple of hundred yards away. I changed course to have a look, and discovered a glitter covered helium balloon. Julian helped me retrieve it, and we pierced, then binned it.

I also spotted a ship coming down channel behind us, so we put the AIS on to check its course and how well it showed up on the chart plotter. Success!

Julian got George working by lunch time, and we put him to work, which gave us both a chance to relax. By 16:30 we were only an hour from Lundy, and the sea lost its flat calm, with quite a swell soon developing. Before we realised it George could not cope, and his attachment point to the tiller broke. We were back to hand steering again.

Approaching Lundy

The main Lundy landing area has several private moorings, which looked a lot like crab pots at first pass. Since it was high water some of them were half underwater, making for an interesting search for a good spot to anchor. In the end we went as close to the landing beach as we could, in 12m of water at the top of the tide. I got 36m of chain out, and the anchor set first time.

As soon as we were sure Robinetta was secure we got into Worm, and I rowed us ashore.

Watchet towards Swansea

Julian and I watched the weather carefully; the system was un-settled, and XC weather kept changing its forecasts. So far as we could tell we were best spending Wednesday ashore, then heading out on Thursday. We walked to Minehead on Wednesday morning, getting very wet after a dry start, had a good lunch by Minehead harbour, then caught the steam train back to Watchet for a fine afternoon.

Thursday’s forecast was slightly daunting. Westerly 4 gusting 6, moderate swell with some poor visibility at times. Friday’s was worse, then no wind Saturday and Sunday. The tides control when it is possible to leave Watchet, the flap gates open and shut 2½ either side of high water although the marina operator advises that it it better to rely on 2 hours either side. If we left on Thursday we would need to take the early tide, which meant 5 am out of the harbour at the latest, which would give us a hour to get back in if the sea state was too much for Robinetta. We learnt leaving Portaferry that “moderate” near the Irish Sea can be untenable in our boat.

We set the alarm for 4 am, and checked the weather on XC. Westerly 4 gusting 5. We were good to go. We left harbour at 05:10, with enough daylight to see well and sails ready to hoist as soon as we had sea-room. The swell was not terrible, and quarter of an hour later we had the no 2 jib, stay-sail, and main up with 1 roll round the boom and were heading across the Bristol Channel towards Swansea.

Our speed was good with the tide under us, and a rather grey morning gave way to a bright and sunny day. But cold, and very windy, with the swell confused by wind over tide. We did not even think about trying to rig the tiller pilot, conditions were way too rough for it. By 06:00 we had reefed the main down and dropped the stay-sail. I went up to the foredeck to pull it down properly and untie the lowest mast hoop on the main sail so we could reef further is we needed to. Strapping on was essential and I got very wet with waves swilling over the foredeck. By 07:00 we were fully reefed with the jib away and the stay-sail back up.

Robinetta coped with the conditions beautifully, although her bows were out of the water at the crests of the waves more than normal. Every now and then we could hear a wave thumping the hull, the foredeck was being constantly washed. An occasional lump of sea also made it over the bulwarks in the cockpit to run down and start the bilge pump. The scarf joint and its through bolt in the forepeak stayed dry, the mend carried out in Bristol had worked, but we did get some water running down the anchor hawser and round the forehatch. These were the roughest conditions we had sailed in since our arrival at Holyhead, and compared to that occasion we hardly pumped at all!

We got the Met Office forecast for 06:00 UTC for the Bristol Channel at 07:50. Westerly 5-6 backing Southerly 3-5, going cyclonic 5-7 later. We would probably have stayed in Watchet if that had come out before we left, but we never felt in any danger, and were making good speed (over 5 knots) towards shelter.
 
We had laid in an “ideal” chart plotter course, to the east end of the Nash Bank, then threading through between the Hugo Bank and the Kenfig Patches. This was the way we had left Swansea last October and it seemed to work for the wind direction. Half way across the channel we thought the tide was carrying us too far down channel and our course was taking us straight for the Scarweather sands, so we decided to head further west to leave them to the east of us. The wind did not co-operate though, so in the end we returned to our original plan, which was made easier by the tide slackening.

Stay-sail and fully reefed main saw us almost all the way across the channel. Julian asked for the jib again as I caught sight of the cardinal at the east end of the Nash Bank, and we easily threaded through between the West Nash cardinal and the East Scarweather cardinal. We were at low water Swansea now, and surf was breaking violently on the Hugo Bank, making it easy to find! Swells were also breaking on the Kenfig Patches, and the tide had started to run against us. We were nearly head to wind, in a place we did not want to linger, doing less than 2 knots, so I furled the jib and put the engine on for an hour until we were in more open water.

The sail across Swansea bay saw us shake out a little of the reef, but only a little, and Robinetta was still well heeled over. Now we had wind with tide the seas were much more regular and spaced further apart, and the sailing conditions were rather wonderful. The wind was rising again though, and we had had a long day, so neither of us were sorry to be putting the engine on again and dropping the main sail before heading through the breakwaters and into Swansea harbour at 13:55.

Conditions at sea had not encouraged us to eat. For the first time ever both of us had felt queasy when below. Two gingernut biscuits and a dry oatcake had seen me though the day, while Julian had managed an apple as well. Once we were booked in to the marina and tied in the berth putting the kettle on was my first thought. Then once Robinetta was ship shape and Worm securely moored too we headed for The Pump House, which serves food all day.

After eating we thought we should have a snooze, and the next thing we knew it was 06:30 on Friday!

A great sail

We agonised over leaving Watchet.

I had really wanted to sail along the Somerset and Devon coast but the wind was not going to let us. So Swansea it had to be.

We could either leave on the morning ebb or the evening one. But the weather on Friday looked dreadful so the morning it had to be. But high water was 04:23 BST. For once I checked sunrise. There was a nautical sunrise about 4:30. That's when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon and the horizon might be visible.

So we decided to leave at 5am - we didn't want to set the alarm earlier than 4!

The winds were forecast gusty but not too strong. It was the sea-state that worried me. A solid moderate. Myweather2 forecast about 1.5m swell. And it would be wind against tide.

We really didn't know how well we would point but we knew the tide would help and sailing was probable.

The forecasts also predicted showers and not much sun.

The reality was both better and worse than predicted. We had a great sailing breeze all the way. Right at the top of what we can handle by reefing but Robinetta was really nicely balanced. The sea-state was at least as bad to look at as I had feared. The sun shone and we had blue skies all the way.

The boat handled it brilliantly and for once, the wavelength was long enough that few of the waves stopped us.

Worm had an exciting ride, proving once again that Iain Oughtred designed the world's best towing dinghy. Once or twice she actually went flying off the top of a wave and she got thrown around a lot. But, as usual, she arrive in port safely with hardly any water in her.

Sailing needed lots of concentration and some effort and we were tired out by the time we arrived but it was a really fun and enjoyable sail.

Cardiff towards Watchet

All the problems appearing on our shake down cruise are annoying, and Julian has been working hard on fixing them. I did very little, because I came down with a horrible migraine on Sunday afternoon, and went to bed!

Both of us wanted a break on Monday, so we took one and played tourist in Cardiff. Very nice! This also meant an hour later start on our planned next leg to Watchett, which was not a bad thing.

Julian set the alarm for 06:00, and we consulted the weather and rechecked our tide calculations while we drank a cup of tea. We decided that locking out at 07:30 would be early enough to get us to Watchet while the flap gate was open, so were a bit more leisurely getting ready than we initially planned. Then all of a sudden it was 07:15 and we had to leave immediately to make the 07:30 lock out.

We went out in company with a charter fishing boat, and started getting the main sail up as soon as we were out of the Cardiff approach channel and could go head to wind. The wind was due to increase and get very gusty before we got to Watchet, so we bent on the no.2 jib, which meant we needed a couple of rolls of the main rolled round the boom to balance the rig. This revealed the next "shake down" problem.

When I rolled the reefing wire round the boom at Bristol I accidentally fouled the roller furling mechanism so it would not turn. Julian had to go forward to the mast and re-run the wire. Luckily this happened when we wanted to furl for balance, not because the wind had strengthened!.

We only managed about half an hour of pure sailing in the end. First the wind went too light for us to keep up the necessary speed to make the tidal gate, then went in came back it was on the nose. We put the main down, then got it up again, then put it down, but the engine was on at practically full throttle all day.

By the time we neared Watchet the wind was due south, and very gusty. The last couple of miles of the approach had Robinetta sailing on the stay sail in the gusts, then straightening up to head straight into the wind on engine alone in the lulls.

I phoned the harbour master as we approached and he told me to tie up on the fuel dock, and that someone would be down to give us directions to a permanent berth soon. We were tied up at 13:50, and moved to our own berth at 14:30. Julian grumbled a bit at the delay, because he wanted to go for a beer!

Robinetta settled gently into soft mud as the tide ran out, carving her own mud berth and settling perfectly upright. That's us safe for a couple of days!

Settled in the Watchet mud

Fixing the throttle cable

On the way from Mermaid Quay to Cardiff Yacht Club we noticed that we couldn’t get the engine out of idle. I guessed that the throttle cable had either broken or come adrift.

On Sunday morning we opened up the engine compartment and tried all the cables. It was quite easy to find the stop cable and check it was working, and the same with the gear control cable. That left the throttle cable identified as the remaining one and we could clearly see that nothing happened when we moved it.

So I started dismantling it.

The instructions for the remote unit were really clear about assembly so disassembly was straight forward at that end. There is a spring clip holding the out sheath in place and a nut holding the moving part in place. The nut is secured to the lever with a split pin which comes out easily if the lever is at the right angle. The nut was a bit corroded but just needed coaxing. Then it could be unscrewed. Below it is a locking nut and two rubber boots. Once these are removed the whole cable can be moved down and freed.

At the engine end there is is similar nut and split pin but the outer is connected to the engine block with two screws and a metal strap. One screw was quite accessible but the other one was fouled by the exhaust pipe. I managed to get the exhaust pipe off and then it was easy. Except as I removed the strap something plopped into the bilges.

I rummaged around with a magnet and miraculously found it. It is a straight plate which provides a stand-off from the engine for the control cable. I hope it isn’t essential because I dropped it again later and failed to find it.

As the cable came out one end fell off. Problem identified - the cable had sheared.

As I was extracting the cable Dave from Calypso came over. I explained the problem and he offered to drive me to Force 4 to buy a new one. This helped enormously. The cables come in set lengths and the shortest was 6’. At least a foot longer than our old one but I bought it.

Reassembly was really easy except for that strap on the engine block. The extra length of the new cable was fine.

The only thing to remember at the remote control end is that the locking screw and rubber boots need to be removed and put on in the right place. The boots come in place but not in position. Once removed the cable is threaded into the unit and the lower boot fitted between two parts of the unit and pushed over the outer sheath to stop dust getting in. The upper boot does a similar job for the cable itself. The lock nut goes on below the main nut and is tightened to it once everything is in place.

Back to the engine end. The strap has a ridge which fits in a groove on the cable, stopping it sliding backwards or forwards. The cable is sandwiched between the strap and a flat piece of steel and two screws hold it onto the engine block. I managed to drop the flat piece into the bilges. I put everything together without it and it seems fine.

Once the outer cable is locked in place it is clear that the nut needs adjusting to exactly fit into its hole. Then the final split pin can be fitted and the job is done!

Bristol towards Cardiff

Julian and I drove down to Bristol together on 20^th, and Julian got very grumpy about the state of the boat. There was too much to do before we left on the 21^st and the work we had had done was not obvious, except in negative ways. We bent the main sail on easily enough, but when I came to run the main sheet the shackle which held the block onto the horse fouled the tiller. It seemed as though when the horse was put back into the cockpit it was set about 5mm lower than before, so there was not enough clearance for the shackle when the tiller was centred. Julian ended up making a shallow grove in the tiller so the shackle could run freely.
I went up the mast again, to re-run the topping lifts. I had put the rope the wrong way round in the blocks before, so they were fouling themselves.
I suddenly noticed that the main cabin lights were on. I must have left them that way when I was last on the boat a fortnight ago. Then Julian checked the solar panel and realised that when he replaced my chock block connections with a more solid soldered one he had accidentally connected them up the wrong way round. Our battery had been trying to charge the solar panel not the other way round, and that combined with the lights being left on meant there was not enough charge left in the battery to start the engine. Even when we tried switching batteries to “both” the engine did not have enough power to start. Hand cranking did not help.
We bit the bullet and bought a new battery. It will replace the old one (which should have been replaced in 2016 at Tobermoray). Julian hunted on the web, and found the best deal was at GO Outdoors. Luckily there was a Bristol branch and I could drive and collect it in the morning.
I had damaged the water pump when fitting the new filter, resulting in a constant drip from the connector. Julian had a look at this while I drove to get the battery and some supplies, and decided that the simplest thing to do was replace the whole pump. The new pump solved the leak, so I filled the water tanks that I had cleaned on the last visit. Another job ticked off the list. What with £74 for the battery, £71 for the pump, and paying for a month and a half’s mooring at Bristol it felt like an expensive day, and we had not even left the berth yet!
When I got back with the new battery we found we could not get the old one disconnected and free from its snug housing. In the end we used the new battery to jump start the engine. This worked fine, and we warmed up the engine, then came off the berth at 10:30. Ready or not we were due at Junction Bridge for the bridge lift I had booked last week at 11:00. We motored out of the marina, and through a flock of small Pico dinghies, crewed by even smaller sailors, then headed up the harbour, to have a look at the SS Great Britain from the harbour. Julian bent on the stay-sail as we traveled.
The bridge swung for us (and only us) just on time, then we were in the Cumberland Basin and waiting for the duel carriage way bridge to swing and let us into the lock. We waited for what felt like ages, and I began to panic slightly. I was certain the harbour master had told me that once the Junction Bridge swing was booked everything else was too, but what if I was wrong? A slightly panicked radio call to the HM reassured me that they just had to wait for the crew to get from the Junction to the Basin bridge, and everything would happen...
We were in the lock, once more having it to ourselves, by 11:20. This was the last lock out of the day, nearly high water, and we only had to drop 2’ before we were released into the river.
Down the Avon toward Cardiff
We left Bristol in bright sunshine, and motored down the river. The depth gauge was not hooked up to the chart plotter yet, but at high water, and with our inbound track to follow I knew we did not need it. The river was just as interesting heading down as it had been heading up, but unfortunately the sky clouded over just as I suggested we should have our bread and cheese picnic before leaving the river.
Big ship entering Avonmouth docks as we exited the river, saw 2 other yachts heading for Portishead
I raised the main sail, it was past time I did that again rather than always leaving it to Julian, and bent on the no 1 jib. We then sailed most of the way to Cardiff, making 7 knots at times, but the speed mostly due to the tide as the wind was very light. Kept engine on most of the time to charge main battery, only used it once, in the middle of shipping lane when we lost steerage way and needed to get across pronto rather than drifting down the middle.
Took the inshore route, vie North Cardiff buoy, the one I had bottled out of when Julian wanted to take it on the way to Bristol. The river “water” was more like thin mud, with thick clumps of denser liquid swirling on all sides. I was sure that I felt the keel dragging on mud a couple of times, but we hardly slowed down, so I was probably imaging it. None the less Julian ducked below and connected up the depth gauge to the plotter so we could check the drying areas marked on the plotter had not moved too much and there was enough water. There was. We turned the engine off as we approached Cardiff, and the quiet was wonderful!
Once we reached the entrance channel for Cardiff docks at the North Wrass buoy the engine had to go back on as the wind was now on the nose. I dropped the main, then three fishing boats powered past us to make the 16:45 lock in. They were friendly and waved, but the wash was a bit nasty. I heard them calling up the barrage lock to ask which one to use, and they were told no 2. By the time I called them, at 16:40 just as Julian headed Robinetta into the side channel to the barrage lock, I was told no 3. They had obviously cycled the lock early since there were already three boats in it.
Hanging around in the lower lock basin for half an hour gave us plenty of time to get the bowsprit in and ropes and fenders sorted. Once in the lock (by ourselves again!) it was crash filled, with water surging everywhere. We were at dead low water, and there was a long way to go up. I was glad we were alone and tied on with our newest lines!
Our antics were watched by tourists on every side and when I waved as we headed out of the lock we got a lot of friendly waves back.
We intended to go to the Cardiff Yacht Club for the night. They had been very welcoming back in October and their free pontoon berth made them even more attractive! First we decided to go to the Town Quay “pay and display” pontoons; at £1 an hour, maximum stay 24 hours, it was not a bad price, and very cost effective for a larger boat. There was plenty of space and we could haul Worm out of the water onto the wide pontoon. After a good look round at the wide range of restaurants we ended up at Carluccio’s and had a very nice meal with wine.
We got back to Robinetta at 21:00, just as the last light left the sky. Once we had put Worm back in the water and switched on the running lights I backed us carefully out of the berth with Julian checkeing we were clear at the bow, then set off to follow our chartplotter track to the Yacht Club. Julian suddenly announced, “It’s dark. Lifejackets!” and dashed below to get them.
Once we were properly dressed I decided to speed up a bit, and put the throttle forward. Nothing happened. No change in the engine note, no increase in speed. We were in gear, and moving forward, but at only 1½ knots. Luckily it was not far to the yacht club, and the engine did come out of gear when I wanted to slow down in the approaches. Robinetta carries a lot of way, and it takes her a long time to slow down unless I give her a burst of power in reverse. I was sure that option was not available to us. We were safely tied up by 10:00, with Worm once again hauled up on the wide visitor pontoon.
The club house was deserted, so we lit Robinetta’s paraffin lights and relaxed for a little before getting out the bed and turning in. There was no point looking at the engine problem in the dark, especially after a bottle of wine!

Leaving Bristol

Julian and I drove down to Bristol together on 20th, and Julian got very grumpy about the state of the boat. There was too much to do before we left on the 21st and the work we had had done was not obvious, except in negative ways. We bent the main sail on easily enough, but when I came to run the main sheet the shackle which held the block onto the horse fouled the tiller. It seemed as though when the horse was put back into the cockpit it was set about 5mm lower than before, so there was not enough clearance for the shackle when the tiller was centred. Julian ended up making a shallow grove in the tiller so the shackle could run freely.

I went up the mast again, to re-run the topping lifts. I had put the rope the wrong way round in the blocks before, so they were fouling themselves.
I suddenly noticed that the main cabin lights were on. I must have left them that way when I was last on the boat a fortnight ago. Then Julian checked the solar panel and realised that when he replaced my chock block connections with a more solid soldered one he had accidentally connected them up the wrong way round. Our battery had been trying to charge the solar panel not the other way round, and that combined with the lights being left on meant there was not enough charge left in the battery to start the engine. Even when we tried switching batteries to “both” the engine did not have enough power to start. Hand cranking did not help.

We bit the bullet and bought a new battery. It will replace the old one (which should have been replaced in 2016 at Tobermoray). Julian hunted on the web, and found the best deal was at GO Outdoors. Luckily there was a Bristol branch and I could drive and collect it in the morning.

I had damaged the water pump when fitting the new filter, resulting in a constant drip from the connector. Julian had a look at this while I drove to get the battery and some supplies, and decided that the simplest thing to do was replace the whole pump. The new pump solved the leak, so I filled the water tanks that I had cleaned on the last visit. Another job ticked off the list. What with £74 for the battery, £71 for the pump, and paying for a month and a half’s mooring at Bristol it felt like an expensive day, and we had not even left the berth yet!

When I got back with the new battery we found we could not get the old one disconnected and free from its snug housing. In the end we used the new battery to jump start the engine. This worked fine, and we warmed up the engine, then came off the berth at 10:30. Ready or not we were due at Junction Bridge for the bridge lift I had booked last week at 11:00.

We motored out of the marina, and through a flock of small Pico dinghies, crewed by even smaller sailors, then headed up the harbour, to have a look at the SS Great Britain from the harbour. Julian bent on the stay-sail as we traveled.

The bridge swung for us (and only us) just on time, then we were in the Cumberland Basin and waiting for the duel carriage way bridge to swing and let us into the lock. We waited for what felt like ages, and I began to panic slightly. I was certain the harbour master had told me that once the Junction Bridge swing was booked everything else was too, but what if I was wrong? A slightly panicked radio call to the HM reassured me that they just had to wait for the crew to get from the Junction to the Basin bridge, and everything would happen...

We were in the lock, once more having it to ourselves, by 11:20. This was the last lock out of the day, nearly high water, and we only had to drop 2’ before we were released into the river. 

Engineer’s diagnosis

When the engineer came to look at Robinetta’s engine he was relatively encouraging. The white smoke we could see at high revs was the engine burning oil as we suspected, but this did not mean there was anything dramatically wrong. He put it down to the age of the engine, and advised we were perfectly safe, and that the engine would not fail dramatically and put us in danger. We just needed to start saving for a new engine, or plan to get this one hauled out and rebuilt in a couple of years.
He fitted the new solenoid for us, and tightened up the cover on the engine drive shaft, putting loc-tite on to try and stop it coming loose. Apparently there should be an extra nut on the drive shaft, so stop the main one coming loose, but Robinetta does not seem to have one, which is odd.

Getting ready for the season

It has been a while since I last posted about getting Robinetta ready for the season. Work has been been done though. At home Julian is busy getting the chartplotter, depth gauge, radio and new AIS to talk to each other via a Pi, and I am making covers for the new seats and back cushions that we bought at the boat show.

Both of us spent the long Easter weekend in Bristol working on various bits and pieces, and I have been down a couple of times by myself. Leaving at 05:30 to beat the M25 traffic, and not getting home until 21:00 makes for a long day, so I have not felt like posting the progress made!

Mismatched blocks on the horse

My first task once she was back in the water was to get the running rigging ready. We are still down 4 blocks, which were in too bad a state to use this season. Julian wants to remake them himself, but in the meantime we are using an odd collection of mismatched blocks!

Today I am spending the night aboard. I have been painting the cabin, which needed it desperately, and the paint fumes have driven me to the pub for the evening.

Tomorrow an engineer is coming to service the engine and have a look at the stern gland. A steady trickle of water is coming through it, and we may need to have Robinetta lifted on the slings while he fixes it. Here is hoping it will not have to happen!

Iteration 2

Ok, so while there is no Shanty festival in Paimpol this year there is a traditional sail festival and it's 10th to 12th August.

That's a bit soon before the Cowes festival but we should be able to get back to the Solent from Paimpol  in two 65 nm stages via Alderney.

And we have been looking at events in the south west of England.

The Cruising Association have a South West Rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Golden Globe race in Plymouth 8th to 10th June and then the Falmouth Classics are two weekends later.

So we could head from Scilly to Plymouth and then back to Falmouth and head to Brittany from Falmouth.

Or we could do as originally planned and cross to Brittany in May.

So for now we have a plan A and a plan B. If the weather is good in May we should probably head for Brittany as it might not be so good in June.

Here are our current two options.

								Plan A			Plan B
	M	T	W	T	F	S	S		From	To		From	To
	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	work			work
J	28	29	30	31	1	2	3	sailing	Padstow	Dourarnenez	sailing	Padstow	Plymouth
U	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	work			work		work + CA Rally
N	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	work			work		work
E	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	sailing	Dourarnenez		work/sailing	Plymouth	Falmouth
	25	26	27	28	29	30	1	sailing		Redon	sailing	Falmouth
J	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	work			sailing		Redon
U	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	work			work		work
L	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	work			work		work
y	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	sailing	Redon	Dourarnenez	sailing	Redon	Dourarnenez
	30	31	1	2	3	4	5	sailing	Dourarnenez		sailing	Dourarnenez
A	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	sailing		Paimpol	sailing		Paimpol
U	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	sailing	Paimpol	Cowes	sailing	Paimpol	Cowes
G	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	work			work
	27	28	29	30	31	1	2	work			work