Pete-the-knife has offered us the use of his smacks boat Papa Stour for the Stour Sailing Club regatta this weekend.
She's on a half tide mooring at Wrabness so we motored over at high water and Alison hopped aboard with some rowlocks and untied her and rowed her out to deeper water while I picked up a buoy. It isn't something I've done often single-handed but I tied a line on at the bow and brought it back to the cockpit and motored up to the buoy and it all worked nicely.
It had been a dull and wet morning but it cheered up. The ebb was running hard but once it slackened we took Papa Stour out for a sail to get used to her and make sure we knew how to rig her.
Later Melvyn turned up in Hester and we had a nice evening in our cockpit catching up.
Thursday, 18 July 2019
Wednesday, 17 July 2019
A quiet day in the Stour
I had a lazy morning while Julian fretted about the electronics,
then we hauled up the anchor and sailed off under stay sail. We
raised the main and let out the jib, and had a lovely sail to Harwich
were we went onto the pontoons at Halfpenny Pier.
We had the engine on the whole time to charge the batteries, and were glad of it as we were sailing on starboard tack, and the inevitable pumping began after ten minutes. Hopefully, sometime in the next two and a half weeks this will stop as the seams close up.
After lunch we hopped onto the harbour ferry and went over to Landguard. This was the first time we had tried this, and were slightly disappointed at how far away from Felixstowe Town the ferry dropped us. We had an interesting walk along the foreshore in the hour before the ferry returned at 15:30.
Mooring at Halfpenny pier is free between 10:00 and 16:00, so our visit cost nothing (unlike yesterday’s stay at the Neptune Marina). We set off back to Copperas bay (on port tack this time) and anchored without incident, or pumping, to spend another peaceful evening.
We had the engine on the whole time to charge the batteries, and were glad of it as we were sailing on starboard tack, and the inevitable pumping began after ten minutes. Hopefully, sometime in the next two and a half weeks this will stop as the seams close up.
After lunch we hopped onto the harbour ferry and went over to Landguard. This was the first time we had tried this, and were slightly disappointed at how far away from Felixstowe Town the ferry dropped us. We had an interesting walk along the foreshore in the hour before the ferry returned at 15:30.
Mooring at Halfpenny pier is free between 10:00 and 16:00, so our visit cost nothing (unlike yesterday’s stay at the Neptune Marina). We set off back to Copperas bay (on port tack this time) and anchored without incident, or pumping, to spend another peaceful evening.
Tuesday, 16 July 2019
Up the Orwell and down again
We woke late, to a wonderful cloudless morning. After a day of
working on Robinetta she now has properly painted white
bulwarks, a fully functioning tiller pilot mount, a properly run
depth gauge/Sonar cable to the chart plotter, and the iCom radio
back in place. At some point Julian will write this up!
Suffolk Yacht Haven is a great place, but lacks any food shops apart from the basics in the chandlers. We decided to head up river to Ipswich and shop, so cast off at 09:30 to take the tide up river. What little wind there was was on Robinetta’s nose, so we motored, testing out the tiller pilot mount on the way. Everything worked, apart from a loss of power to the pilot that had Robinetta gently swerving to starboard towards the shallows. Luckily we were looking for problems, so quickly corrected it.
We monitored channel 68 on the radio, listening for ship movements at Ipswich and as we neared the Orwell bridge realised that a cargo ship would be swinging to come out of her berth just as we expected to be near the docks. Not a problem, as we could cross the river and be out of her way among the Orwell Yacht Club moorings. Crossing the river meant that we saw Melvyn Fox on his Heard tosher Hester, and said hello. He reminded us that there would be a regatta at Manningtree at the weekend, so we may well meet him there.
A barge was being pushed around by a tug as we neared Ipswich lock, so we made sure to stay out of her way, then went through the lock on free flow, an hour before high water.
We took a berth at Neptune Marina for a short stay (half the price of an overnight) and did our shopping then had a rather good vegetarian lunch at Hullabaloo. After that it was back through the lock (not on free flow this time!) and into the river.
We had hoped for a nice reach down, but the wind had shifted and risen, so was now on the nose again! We raised sail as we passed beneath the Orwell Bridge, and started beating down river. We had the tide with us again, but this raised wind over tide, and the river had a noticeable chop in places. Robinetta began to pump whenever she had been on starboard tack for a few minutes. We were not going very fast, so I tried releasing a handful of sawdust beneath the water, but I doubt any got pulled in by water flowing through the planks; we were going too fast for it to work.
Just past Pin Mill Julian asked if we should reef, and I said an immediate “Yes!”. It was not just our normal “if we think of reefing we should”. Robinetta felt distinctly overpowered. Once reefed sailing became easier, and we continued tacking down the Orwell until we reached Harwich Harbour.
By this time it was 17:00, and our original destination of the Walton Backwaters felt a bit too far, so we headed round the Shotley Horse buoy and into the River Stour. We were now on a lovely broad reach, without wind over tide, and we had a delightful sail up the Stour past Erwarton to Copperas Bay where we decided to anchor. I furled away the jib then went forward to lay out 20m of chain, while Julian sailed us into the shallows.
I had just finished laying out the chain when Julian called, “I think we’re aground.” We were. I could see the bottom, and we were not going anywhere despite Julian putting the engine in reverse. We stayed put, side on to the wind, which made getting the sails down more difficult than it should have been. We did not expect to be there long, because we stopped at 18:18, which co-incidentally was low water Harwich. Our transom mounted depth gauge showed 1.2 m, and Robinetta stayed upright, and rocked gently. We had obviously got stuck on a raised area of mud.
Julian put the anchor down on about 5m of chain, so that when we came free we would swing to it, then we turned the engine off and waited. I kept watch, while Julian had a play with the Standard Horizon AIS radio, proving to his own satisfaction that it did not work to show AIS targets. Since that was the only reason he had bought it it will be returned.
We floated free an hour after low water, with the depth gauge showing 1.6m. Julian hauled up the anchor and we motored into slightly deeper water and anchored again, in 4.5m of water. Dinner soon followed as we enjoyed a peaceful evening in a lovely spot.
Suffolk Yacht Haven is a great place, but lacks any food shops apart from the basics in the chandlers. We decided to head up river to Ipswich and shop, so cast off at 09:30 to take the tide up river. What little wind there was was on Robinetta’s nose, so we motored, testing out the tiller pilot mount on the way. Everything worked, apart from a loss of power to the pilot that had Robinetta gently swerving to starboard towards the shallows. Luckily we were looking for problems, so quickly corrected it.
We monitored channel 68 on the radio, listening for ship movements at Ipswich and as we neared the Orwell bridge realised that a cargo ship would be swinging to come out of her berth just as we expected to be near the docks. Not a problem, as we could cross the river and be out of her way among the Orwell Yacht Club moorings. Crossing the river meant that we saw Melvyn Fox on his Heard tosher Hester, and said hello. He reminded us that there would be a regatta at Manningtree at the weekend, so we may well meet him there.
A barge was being pushed around by a tug as we neared Ipswich lock, so we made sure to stay out of her way, then went through the lock on free flow, an hour before high water.
We took a berth at Neptune Marina for a short stay (half the price of an overnight) and did our shopping then had a rather good vegetarian lunch at Hullabaloo. After that it was back through the lock (not on free flow this time!) and into the river.
We had hoped for a nice reach down, but the wind had shifted and risen, so was now on the nose again! We raised sail as we passed beneath the Orwell Bridge, and started beating down river. We had the tide with us again, but this raised wind over tide, and the river had a noticeable chop in places. Robinetta began to pump whenever she had been on starboard tack for a few minutes. We were not going very fast, so I tried releasing a handful of sawdust beneath the water, but I doubt any got pulled in by water flowing through the planks; we were going too fast for it to work.
Just past Pin Mill Julian asked if we should reef, and I said an immediate “Yes!”. It was not just our normal “if we think of reefing we should”. Robinetta felt distinctly overpowered. Once reefed sailing became easier, and we continued tacking down the Orwell until we reached Harwich Harbour.
By this time it was 17:00, and our original destination of the Walton Backwaters felt a bit too far, so we headed round the Shotley Horse buoy and into the River Stour. We were now on a lovely broad reach, without wind over tide, and we had a delightful sail up the Stour past Erwarton to Copperas Bay where we decided to anchor. I furled away the jib then went forward to lay out 20m of chain, while Julian sailed us into the shallows.
I had just finished laying out the chain when Julian called, “I think we’re aground.” We were. I could see the bottom, and we were not going anywhere despite Julian putting the engine in reverse. We stayed put, side on to the wind, which made getting the sails down more difficult than it should have been. We did not expect to be there long, because we stopped at 18:18, which co-incidentally was low water Harwich. Our transom mounted depth gauge showed 1.2 m, and Robinetta stayed upright, and rocked gently. We had obviously got stuck on a raised area of mud.
Julian put the anchor down on about 5m of chain, so that when we came free we would swing to it, then we turned the engine off and waited. I kept watch, while Julian had a play with the Standard Horizon AIS radio, proving to his own satisfaction that it did not work to show AIS targets. Since that was the only reason he had bought it it will be returned.
We floated free an hour after low water, with the depth gauge showing 1.6m. Julian hauled up the anchor and we motored into slightly deeper water and anchored again, in 4.5m of water. Dinner soon followed as we enjoyed a peaceful evening in a lovely spot.
Sunday, 14 July 2019
Sailing in the Stour and Orwell
With the way Robinetta had leaked on starboard tack on the
way into Harwich harbour taking her cross channel to Holland as we
had planned was not going to happen. We knew the planks in the bow
were taking up, but the leaks there were too slow to cause the
excessive pumping, so once we were moored up in Shotley I took up the
floor in the cockpit. Water seemed to be seeping in along the rudder
post, but not fast enough to be where the water was coming in so
quickly when under way. We decided that next day we would to go for a
sail up the Stour, driving Robinetta as hard as we could, and
see what happened.
We came out of Shotley lock on free flow and I got the bowsprit out and the no1 jib rigged, then came back to the cockpit to raise the main. We were being carried gently up the Stour by the current and the staysail with the engine in idle, and Julian decided it would be interesting to get the main up without using the engine. Keeping Robinetta head to wind was not easy for him, and he had to put the tension on the gaff throat halyard for me as well but we managed as a joint effort.
Although the day was overcast we had perfect sailing conditions
I was coiling the ropes when Julian decided to get the jib flying, and (training fade) he did not remember to keep tension on the Whickham-Martin line. A loop promptly dropped off the spool and got caught underneath with the jib half out. The only answer was to drop the jib, haul the jib traveller back, unhook the line…. We got the whole lot sorted out under sail and finally got going properly at 11:15.
There was a small gaffer ahead, sailing along quietly on main and jib, and we slowly began to overhaul her. She turned out to be My Quest with Barry sailing her single handed.
Robinetta was going beautifully on starboard tack, but she
began to pump fifteen minutes after we got her going, and then,
regular as clockwork, every fifteen minutes the pump started again. I
had a look in the bow, but there was nothing there to suggest that
much water was coming in, so I got the cockpit floor up, and saw the
water streaming in on the port side, mostly at the stern but also in
a lessor way along a metre long plank edge. I had found our leak.
We continued sailing up the Stour on starboard tack until we neared the Holbrook cardinals, then tacked round to head back down river on the port tack. Checking the cockpit showed that the leaking plank had stopped letting in water, and there was nothing significant coming in through the starboard planks in the cockpit.
We encountered Charm on the way down river, out for a sail and intending to rendezvous with My Quest at Wrabness for a drink. We did not join them, as we wanted to get to Suffolk Yacht Harbour, with its classic marine and general chandlers, in time to go shopping.
As we passed the Felixstow Docks, keeping well over to the Shotley side we spotted Shoal Waters, a cruising gaffer much smaller than Robinetta, much closer to the container ships that we like to be!
We sailed as far up the Orwell as the Pepys buoy, but with wind and tide both against us put the engine on and got the sails down. We pumped only once when we were on port tack or under engine, so the only bad leak is the one at the stern on the port side.
We were moored up on a pontoon at 14:45, and once Robinetta had her sail covers on we went to the chandlers. Tomorrow will be a maintenance day.
We came out of Shotley lock on free flow and I got the bowsprit out and the no1 jib rigged, then came back to the cockpit to raise the main. We were being carried gently up the Stour by the current and the staysail with the engine in idle, and Julian decided it would be interesting to get the main up without using the engine. Keeping Robinetta head to wind was not easy for him, and he had to put the tension on the gaff throat halyard for me as well but we managed as a joint effort.
Although the day was overcast we had perfect sailing conditions
I was coiling the ropes when Julian decided to get the jib flying, and (training fade) he did not remember to keep tension on the Whickham-Martin line. A loop promptly dropped off the spool and got caught underneath with the jib half out. The only answer was to drop the jib, haul the jib traveller back, unhook the line…. We got the whole lot sorted out under sail and finally got going properly at 11:15.
There was a small gaffer ahead, sailing along quietly on main and jib, and we slowly began to overhaul her. She turned out to be My Quest with Barry sailing her single handed.
 |
| Barry on My Quest |
We continued sailing up the Stour on starboard tack until we neared the Holbrook cardinals, then tacked round to head back down river on the port tack. Checking the cockpit showed that the leaking plank had stopped letting in water, and there was nothing significant coming in through the starboard planks in the cockpit.
We encountered Charm on the way down river, out for a sail and intending to rendezvous with My Quest at Wrabness for a drink. We did not join them, as we wanted to get to Suffolk Yacht Harbour, with its classic marine and general chandlers, in time to go shopping.
As we passed the Felixstow Docks, keeping well over to the Shotley side we spotted Shoal Waters, a cruising gaffer much smaller than Robinetta, much closer to the container ships that we like to be!
 |
| Shoal Waters with a small part of a container ship |
We sailed as far up the Orwell as the Pepys buoy, but with wind and tide both against us put the engine on and got the sails down. We pumped only once when we were on port tack or under engine, so the only bad leak is the one at the stern on the port side.
We were moored up on a pontoon at 14:45, and once Robinetta had her sail covers on we went to the chandlers. Tomorrow will be a maintenance day.
Saturday, 13 July 2019
Sailing and pumping again
With the reassurance of a fully working engine I untied our rope from the staging, passed it to Julian, and edged up the gangplank before pushing the gangplank back onto the staging.
Next thing I knew Julian had untied the bowline. Now there were several problems with this for me. I was going to ask Julian to helm us out, and he was at the wrong end of the boat. He had forgotten to ask if I was ready before undoing the line, and now I was stuck with trying to undo the stern line, hook it on the staging, and steer backwards (which Julian is much better at). I also needed him to pull the bow towards the staging and he had moved too far back in the boat in order to loop his rope over the staging to get any sort of leverage to do this. Shouting ensued.
I eventually got him to move back to the bow, so he could pull the bow in which would put the stern in a position where I would not hit the boat behind when I went backwards. Barry Watt who was watching on the shore took the line from him, and we were off.
Julian hated being shouted at, and he was very critical of how close I actually went to the other boat as I reversed round it to head out of the creek. He had a point. We were closer than I would have been comfortable with if he were on the helm...
After we both calmed down we agreed that he should not have let off the bow line without asking if I was ready, and I should have told him to retie it rather than trying to go when I was not prepared. Peace was restored.
After the fraught start we had a lovely trip out of the river Blackwater. We were under sail while still in the Tollesbury Leavings, and since we were at the top of the tide we could ignore the sand banks and the Nass Beacon and head due east into the Blackwater.
As we sailed along past Mersea Flats we saw a smack coming towards us. It turned out to be Ellen, also out for her first sail of the season. She rounded Robinetta, then headed back to the Colne.
After that we headed up the Wallet to Harwich Harbour. The wind went light a couple of times, but with the tide under us and the wind far enough off the bow to sail we kept the engine off and stayed on port tack until we got past Walton Pier. At this point the wind shifted though a full 90, and we went onto starboard tack.
I had noticed that Robinetta's topsides had dried out a fair bit, and was not too surprised to see water seeping though them as she took up. The pump went after three hours, then again an hour later, which was nothing to worry about. However once we changed tack the float switch began to work every five minutes. There were not just dribbles, but ten seconds of strong pumping every time. Down below the seams were streaming, but possibly not enough for the water we were seeing being pumped out...
As we went onto a broad reach/run to head up the Stour towards Shotley marina the pumping stopped. Julian thinks it might be the garboards working, but we can't be sure.
When we pressed the button to start the engine before getting the sails down nothing happened. we had to turn the key off then on again before it worked. We need to talk to Barry again...
I called up Shotley Marina and we entered the lock at 17:00. It is years since we were here, but as we waited for the lock to fill Mike Garmin, Robinetta's previous owner, who sold her to us here, called down from the lock side to say hello.
It almost felt like a home coming.
Next thing I knew Julian had untied the bowline. Now there were several problems with this for me. I was going to ask Julian to helm us out, and he was at the wrong end of the boat. He had forgotten to ask if I was ready before undoing the line, and now I was stuck with trying to undo the stern line, hook it on the staging, and steer backwards (which Julian is much better at). I also needed him to pull the bow towards the staging and he had moved too far back in the boat in order to loop his rope over the staging to get any sort of leverage to do this. Shouting ensued.
I eventually got him to move back to the bow, so he could pull the bow in which would put the stern in a position where I would not hit the boat behind when I went backwards. Barry Watt who was watching on the shore took the line from him, and we were off.
Julian hated being shouted at, and he was very critical of how close I actually went to the other boat as I reversed round it to head out of the creek. He had a point. We were closer than I would have been comfortable with if he were on the helm...
After we both calmed down we agreed that he should not have let off the bow line without asking if I was ready, and I should have told him to retie it rather than trying to go when I was not prepared. Peace was restored.
After the fraught start we had a lovely trip out of the river Blackwater. We were under sail while still in the Tollesbury Leavings, and since we were at the top of the tide we could ignore the sand banks and the Nass Beacon and head due east into the Blackwater.
As we sailed along past Mersea Flats we saw a smack coming towards us. It turned out to be Ellen, also out for her first sail of the season. She rounded Robinetta, then headed back to the Colne.
 |
| Ellen sailing past with her family aboard |
After that we headed up the Wallet to Harwich Harbour. The wind went light a couple of times, but with the tide under us and the wind far enough off the bow to sail we kept the engine off and stayed on port tack until we got past Walton Pier. At this point the wind shifted though a full 90, and we went onto starboard tack.
I had noticed that Robinetta's topsides had dried out a fair bit, and was not too surprised to see water seeping though them as she took up. The pump went after three hours, then again an hour later, which was nothing to worry about. However once we changed tack the float switch began to work every five minutes. There were not just dribbles, but ten seconds of strong pumping every time. Down below the seams were streaming, but possibly not enough for the water we were seeing being pumped out...
As we went onto a broad reach/run to head up the Stour towards Shotley marina the pumping stopped. Julian thinks it might be the garboards working, but we can't be sure.
When we pressed the button to start the engine before getting the sails down nothing happened. we had to turn the key off then on again before it worked. We need to talk to Barry again...
I called up Shotley Marina and we entered the lock at 17:00. It is years since we were here, but as we waited for the lock to fill Mike Garmin, Robinetta's previous owner, who sold her to us here, called down from the lock side to say hello.
It almost felt like a home coming.
Engine Maintenance
Robinetta went back
in the water on Friday 5th July, and Paul helped me put
her on a temporary berth much closer to the open end of the creek.
His help was needed for two reasons; I did not know where I was
going, and the engine throttle cable had broken, so any revs above
idle needed someone to manually adjust the lever on the engine.
We got Robinetta on
the berth without problems, and Barry promised to get the engine
fully serviced before we needed her. He spotted us aboard this morning, and came over with a list of completed work.
Remade contact on
key switch
overhauled starter
motor
replaced engine
anode
replaced raw water
pump seals, impeller, and gasket
replaced engine
control cable
unseized cable
swivel on control lever and enlarged hole for cable
remade alternator
connections
remade bracket for
stop cable
replaced raw water
inlet pipe
re-routed positive
cable to starter motor
replaced oil engine
filter
replaced oil
This was Robinetta’s
first major engine service since leaving Holyhead, and some things
had obviously been needing doing for a while.
Friday, 5 July 2019
Summer Scrub
Robinetta is currently on the Hard at Tollesbury, having been hauled out on Tuesday for a pressure wash. The marine growth was not too bad given she has been in the water since March 2018, mostly weed round the waterline, so the TeamacD did a good job.
The main reason for the haul out was to give Robinetta a new coat of antifoul, and Toplac all over, so she looks smarter before we set off on our summer cruise at the end of next a week. She is due back into the water today so there was not much time to do more, but a couple of non-cosmetic jobs were also done.
I had a look at the top rudder pintle that I had noticed being worn when launching at Bristol. It survived last season without mishap, but the metal is even thinner now so something must be done soon. Luckily Paul Drake the shipwright who did a lot of work on Robinetta when she was based at West Mersea was on site, and came over for a look. He agreed that the pintle needed work, probably replacing at the end of this season, but was more concerned about the next bracket down, that moved when the rudder did and had a screw head projecting. He tried tightening the screw up, and found it was broken. Further investigation revealed that only one of the screws holding the bracket on were doing their job, with the others being so corroded they broke on removal. He drilled out the remains, then re-fitted the bracket firmly with new larger screws. An hours work from a skilled shipwright that might prevent a disastrous rudder failure.
The depth gauge has been unreliable lately and there was no time to embed a new transducer in the bow, so Julian bought a transom mounted Garmin unit. This can be linked directly to our chart plotter so the electronics are easy, as is the fitting. My only worries are about how easily it might get caught up on things, or damaged in its rather exposed position on the stern.
The main reason for the haul out was to give Robinetta a new coat of antifoul, and Toplac all over, so she looks smarter before we set off on our summer cruise at the end of next a week. She is due back into the water today so there was not much time to do more, but a couple of non-cosmetic jobs were also done.
I had a look at the top rudder pintle that I had noticed being worn when launching at Bristol. It survived last season without mishap, but the metal is even thinner now so something must be done soon. Luckily Paul Drake the shipwright who did a lot of work on Robinetta when she was based at West Mersea was on site, and came over for a look. He agreed that the pintle needed work, probably replacing at the end of this season, but was more concerned about the next bracket down, that moved when the rudder did and had a screw head projecting. He tried tightening the screw up, and found it was broken. Further investigation revealed that only one of the screws holding the bracket on were doing their job, with the others being so corroded they broke on removal. He drilled out the remains, then re-fitted the bracket firmly with new larger screws. An hours work from a skilled shipwright that might prevent a disastrous rudder failure.The depth gauge has been unreliable lately and there was no time to embed a new transducer in the bow, so Julian bought a transom mounted Garmin unit. This can be linked directly to our chart plotter so the electronics are easy, as is the fitting. My only worries are about how easily it might get caught up on things, or damaged in its rather exposed position on the stern.
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