Woke up to a perfect sailing day, bright sunshine and a nice fresh breeze. I thought the wind was a bit too fresh for our no1 jib, but Julian thought we'd be okay, and he was right.
We sailed off the mooring at 0930, just before high water Wrabness, and were past Harwich Shelf cardinal by 1100 after a gorgeous sail down river. The wind felt stronger once we rounded the Naze and began to fine reach, so we dropped the stay sail once we passed the tower at 1200.
We put a reef in and changed down to the no2 jib (with the staysail up again) to have lunch in comfort, but the wind felt more on the nose all the time, and we were beating to no effect by the radio tower at New Holland for a long time before we gave up and put the engine on at 1415. We normally try to work the tide in the Wallet, but the timing would not just not work for that today.
Despite keeping the stay sail up to steady us Robinetta rolled uncomfortably, and the engine at full tilt is not restful. We unfurled the jib, and motor sailed with the foresails only as they let us sail closer to the wind than the main.
Both the engine and us had had enough by 1600, so we put the full main up again and began to beat against the tide again. We saw Deirdre well inshore of us, motor sailing with the main up. She pulled ahead of us before we reached North Eagle where a gust made us decide to put a reef in the main again.
We got round Colne Bar at 1815 and began beating up the Blackwater, but we were both tired having been on the go for nine hours, so at 1905 we gave up trying to sail, put the motor on, and got the main down. The parel line had worn through at some point, and Julian only found one of the beads (although I found another later hiding in the staysail folds). We need to make/buy some more.
We got onto the mooring at 2030. I'd done a fair bit of tidying up while Julian helmed us past the Nass Beacon, but it still took another 45 minutes to pack, get the sails stowed, and put the covers on before we were ready to leave. We won't be back for three weeks, so I took most of the food off with us. Our preserved chorizo, which is supposed to be good until September, had gone mouldy, so we'll need a new one.
Worm was very full of baggage, but with only an hour to go before high water we headed for the slipway rather than the pontoon and soon had everything in the car.
It felt like a very long trip home, especially compared to the lovely fast sail on Friday.
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Saturday, 14 July 2012
RHS Race
No, honestly, we were racing. Charm and Robinetta got a bit close and we had to fend off. I had to walk right to the end of the bowsprit to push their bowsprit away. All at a speed of about 0,1 knots.
The amazing thing was that we were first over the start line, and actually held the lead for 15-20 minutes! All the other boats overtook us before we passed Holbrook cardinal though.
The whole race was SLOW. Only Transcur managed to finish, making Shotley Horse and back to Wrabness in over 5 hours. We got just beyond Erwarton before giving up, and Charm had just reached Parkeston Quay. Apparently Bona got to within 20 yards of Shotley Horse, but just could not get round it with no wind as the tide turned.
It rained almost all afternoon, but cleared up in time for the barbecue in the evening, and a great time was had as always!
The amazing thing was that we were first over the start line, and actually held the lead for 15-20 minutes! All the other boats overtook us before we passed Holbrook cardinal though.
The whole race was SLOW. Only Transcur managed to finish, making Shotley Horse and back to Wrabness in over 5 hours. We got just beyond Erwarton before giving up, and Charm had just reached Parkeston Quay. Apparently Bona got to within 20 yards of Shotley Horse, but just could not get round it with no wind as the tide turned.
It rained almost all afternoon, but cleared up in time for the barbecue in the evening, and a great time was had as always!
Racing without wind (with rain)
Robinetta's hatches leak. We always knew the foredeck one did, but we've never slept on board in the rain without the cockpit canopy on before. It's disconcerting to hear water gurgling over the ribs from the cockpit into the bilges when the boat rocks.
We got up early and put the cockpit cover over by 0800. The sail was sodden though, so drips kept coming in.... Julian made porridge, and the winter breakfast went with the dank weather.
We gathered on Wrabness beach for a race briefing, and the rain decreased to drizzle, then stopped. It stayed dry as we returned to Robinetta and raised sail on the mooring. We tried to sail off, but the wind was so light we had to put the engine on to get to the right side of the start line. After that it was a case of a carefully timed drift down with the tide.
We got up early and put the cockpit cover over by 0800. The sail was sodden though, so drips kept coming in.... Julian made porridge, and the winter breakfast went with the dank weather.
We gathered on Wrabness beach for a race briefing, and the rain decreased to drizzle, then stopped. It stayed dry as we returned to Robinetta and raised sail on the mooring. We tried to sail off, but the wind was so light we had to put the engine on to get to the right side of the start line. After that it was a case of a carefully timed drift down with the tide.
Friday, 13 July 2012
Up the Wallet
We meant to go to Robinetta last night, but it was dark, and raining, by the time we were ready, so we slept at home instead. We were out of the house at 0600 in daylight with no rain, and the tide was right to let us float Worm off the slipway which is much easier than using the pontoon.
Julian stuck a couple of small patches on the damaged main sail, then we were off the mooring by 0815. I made bacon sandwiches for breakfast under way, a real boat breakfast! We reached Bench head by 0935, and had a rather uncomfortable run past Colne Bar and North Eagle, but we were very broad reaching before Clacton, and had a fast trip, to round the Naze by 1235.
After our breakfast under way we decided to stop off at Harwich Halfpenny pier for a late lunch at 1430. We dropped sail just outside the pontoon, then motored in and rafted up along side Charm (the Walton one). We had a nice lunch of Bagels and smoked salmon, sharing a bottle of Cava with Charm's owner. He was on his way to Wrabness for the rally too, but waiting for Charm's co-owner to arrive from work.
We left Harwich at 1610, then sailed close hauled up the Stour to Wrabness. We found an empty mooring nice and close the the beach hut and were on it by 1800. Mike motored by in Lillibulero about half an hour later, and asked us to move because he thought we were on the mooring he was supposed to use as committee boat, but he called over almost immediately to say he'd found the real one, so we stayed put.
It was lovely evening, cool for the time of year, but dry and bright. We were lulled into a false sense of security and did not put the covers on. Big mistake when it started raining in the night!
Julian stuck a couple of small patches on the damaged main sail, then we were off the mooring by 0815. I made bacon sandwiches for breakfast under way, a real boat breakfast! We reached Bench head by 0935, and had a rather uncomfortable run past Colne Bar and North Eagle, but we were very broad reaching before Clacton, and had a fast trip, to round the Naze by 1235.
After our breakfast under way we decided to stop off at Harwich Halfpenny pier for a late lunch at 1430. We dropped sail just outside the pontoon, then motored in and rafted up along side Charm (the Walton one). We had a nice lunch of Bagels and smoked salmon, sharing a bottle of Cava with Charm's owner. He was on his way to Wrabness for the rally too, but waiting for Charm's co-owner to arrive from work.
We left Harwich at 1610, then sailed close hauled up the Stour to Wrabness. We found an empty mooring nice and close the the beach hut and were on it by 1800. Mike motored by in Lillibulero about half an hour later, and asked us to move because he thought we were on the mooring he was supposed to use as committee boat, but he called over almost immediately to say he'd found the real one, so we stayed put.
It was lovely evening, cool for the time of year, but dry and bright. We were lulled into a false sense of security and did not put the covers on. Big mistake when it started raining in the night!
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Weather strikes again!
When I checked the OGA website for details of the RHS rally we were meant to be going to this weekend I discovered it was cancelled due to poor weather, with winds forecast to gust over 30knots. The forecast was spot on, so we did not head for Robinetta until Sunday mid morning when the wind should have been lighter.
We dropped into the chandlers before launching Worm, and bought some new rope. Julian wanted to get some for the peak tensioner, and a smaller gauge to tie the stay sail onto its new club foot. I'd given the new spar a couple more coats of varnish during the week, so it's had enough to last the season now.
The weather's been pretty wild recently, and after our last abortive trip I've worried about the way we left Robinetta. It was dark by the time we tidied her up, and we only meant to leave her for a day, not over a week. As I rowed towards her I could see that the cockpit tent that we tied on as a sail cover had vanished.... Julian and I started talking about claiming it on the insurance, but we realised almost immediately that it was still there, just not covering the sail as we expected.
More damage became obvious as we reached the bows; there was no sign of Robinetta's bobstay. Julian investigated, and, like the cover, it was still there, just not where it should have been. The brand new shackle holding the chain to the ring had vanished, but the tricing line held, and held the chain up out of sight.
We lost another shackle too, the one holding the stay sail halyard against the shrouds. The halyard had wound itself round the rigging, but was still in easy reach, so no real problem there.
What with restoring the shackles, replacing the peak tensioner rope, and bending on the stay sail there was no way we could get to Tollesbury for high tide at 1145, which had been our tentative plan. We got Robinetta sorted out instead, and watched the dinghies coming past to race in the shelter at the top of the Ray channel.
After lunch on the mooring we headed out for a short sail. The wind had eased, and the sun was shining as we headed down the Ray, and we got the main sail up before we reached the packing shed. We flew the No. 1 Jib, and were sailing soon after we passed the Mersea Quarters cardinal.
I made tea as we reached across to the Bradwell shore, with the sea so smooth I almost forgot to put the fiddle bar round the hob, and it seemed like we were in for a pretty idyllic afternoon sail.
We tacked up river to beat against the tide, and the wind increased as the sun went behind a cloud. We were close hauled on that tack, Robinetta began to heel, and our speed became exhilarating. So far, so good. I was glad I'd remembered the fiddle bar though!
She felt a bit heavy on the helm, and every now and then the jib would flap horribly as there was a lull in the wind. Julian took the helm, and had the same problem. We decided to change down the jib, so I went forward to do it.
By the time the No. 2 jib was ready to fly the wind had increased still more, and the sky ahead was black. I took the helm while Julian put in a reef, but the wind in just the stay sail was enough to give us steerage way against the tide.
Looking back we could see sun shine over the wind farm, while there seemed no fun continuing up river. We turned to broad reach down river, and Robinetta flew with a reefed main and stay sail. We never did fly the No. 2 jib....
By the time we got level with the Nass beacon we knew we were never going to catch the sun, and with a strong blustery wind sailing felt more like hard work than pleasure so we decided to head home with plenty of time before low water. The sea was kicking up a bit in the Mersea channel with wind over tide, and I began to regret not dropping the main before passing the beacon, but the sailing felt quite good again...
Dawn had anchored close to the Mersea Quarters cardinal and her guests were watching us sail in, so we decided to give them more of a show, rounding up just past them to go head to wind and drop the main. Julian got the sail down beautifully in less than a minute, and then we sailed off again on just the stay sail. I don't know if they could tell we also had the engine on!
The wind was so strong that most boats were lying to it, rather than facing into the falling tide. The long keel boats could feel both, so lay across the channel, making picking our way up the Thornfleet more challenging than normal. Most of our power came from the stay sail, and I kept the engine in very low revs, just enough to keep us safe if the wind dropped.
Passing the piles I put the engine in neutral, wanting to get a feel for how the tide would slow her as we neared out mooring. The answer? Not a lot, we were making against the tide with stay sail alone by at least two knots...
Worm lay on our mooring heading into the wind, and the channel felt too narrow to turn round in at that state of the tide, so I decided to go straight for the buoy rather than rounding it. Julian headed forward with the boathook, and I dropped the stay sail as we passed the motor boat on the mooring closest to ours. We could always use the engine to reach the buoy if the tide stopped us short. In the end I had to use quite a lot of reverse to stop us over running the mooring!
Julian and I put the new sail cover on. It turns out I should have put on more tapes, so we used some sail ties as well. We do not want a repeat of last time! While re-flaking the sail for a proper stow Julian discovered something really annoying. Our brand new main sail now has a rip in it. Not a big one, only about 2cm long, but still... It looks like the same high winds that almost took the boom cover off made the shackle on the gaff span chaff persistently against the sail cloth. This time Julian tied it down separately.
The wind was up again, and I dreaded the row back to the pontoon, but it was not too bad in the end. The tide was right out, so no taking short cuts across the shallows, but Julian hunkered down in the bottom of Worm to reduce windage, and it was surprising how much difference that made.
Not a great day's sail, but it blew the cobwebs away. Fingers crossed next time will be better. I need to mend the main sail first though....
We dropped into the chandlers before launching Worm, and bought some new rope. Julian wanted to get some for the peak tensioner, and a smaller gauge to tie the stay sail onto its new club foot. I'd given the new spar a couple more coats of varnish during the week, so it's had enough to last the season now.
The weather's been pretty wild recently, and after our last abortive trip I've worried about the way we left Robinetta. It was dark by the time we tidied her up, and we only meant to leave her for a day, not over a week. As I rowed towards her I could see that the cockpit tent that we tied on as a sail cover had vanished.... Julian and I started talking about claiming it on the insurance, but we realised almost immediately that it was still there, just not covering the sail as we expected.
More damage became obvious as we reached the bows; there was no sign of Robinetta's bobstay. Julian investigated, and, like the cover, it was still there, just not where it should have been. The brand new shackle holding the chain to the ring had vanished, but the tricing line held, and held the chain up out of sight.
We lost another shackle too, the one holding the stay sail halyard against the shrouds. The halyard had wound itself round the rigging, but was still in easy reach, so no real problem there.
What with restoring the shackles, replacing the peak tensioner rope, and bending on the stay sail there was no way we could get to Tollesbury for high tide at 1145, which had been our tentative plan. We got Robinetta sorted out instead, and watched the dinghies coming past to race in the shelter at the top of the Ray channel.
After lunch on the mooring we headed out for a short sail. The wind had eased, and the sun was shining as we headed down the Ray, and we got the main sail up before we reached the packing shed. We flew the No. 1 Jib, and were sailing soon after we passed the Mersea Quarters cardinal.
I made tea as we reached across to the Bradwell shore, with the sea so smooth I almost forgot to put the fiddle bar round the hob, and it seemed like we were in for a pretty idyllic afternoon sail.
We tacked up river to beat against the tide, and the wind increased as the sun went behind a cloud. We were close hauled on that tack, Robinetta began to heel, and our speed became exhilarating. So far, so good. I was glad I'd remembered the fiddle bar though!
She felt a bit heavy on the helm, and every now and then the jib would flap horribly as there was a lull in the wind. Julian took the helm, and had the same problem. We decided to change down the jib, so I went forward to do it.
By the time the No. 2 jib was ready to fly the wind had increased still more, and the sky ahead was black. I took the helm while Julian put in a reef, but the wind in just the stay sail was enough to give us steerage way against the tide.
Looking back we could see sun shine over the wind farm, while there seemed no fun continuing up river. We turned to broad reach down river, and Robinetta flew with a reefed main and stay sail. We never did fly the No. 2 jib....
By the time we got level with the Nass beacon we knew we were never going to catch the sun, and with a strong blustery wind sailing felt more like hard work than pleasure so we decided to head home with plenty of time before low water. The sea was kicking up a bit in the Mersea channel with wind over tide, and I began to regret not dropping the main before passing the beacon, but the sailing felt quite good again...
Dawn had anchored close to the Mersea Quarters cardinal and her guests were watching us sail in, so we decided to give them more of a show, rounding up just past them to go head to wind and drop the main. Julian got the sail down beautifully in less than a minute, and then we sailed off again on just the stay sail. I don't know if they could tell we also had the engine on!
The wind was so strong that most boats were lying to it, rather than facing into the falling tide. The long keel boats could feel both, so lay across the channel, making picking our way up the Thornfleet more challenging than normal. Most of our power came from the stay sail, and I kept the engine in very low revs, just enough to keep us safe if the wind dropped.
Passing the piles I put the engine in neutral, wanting to get a feel for how the tide would slow her as we neared out mooring. The answer? Not a lot, we were making against the tide with stay sail alone by at least two knots...
Worm lay on our mooring heading into the wind, and the channel felt too narrow to turn round in at that state of the tide, so I decided to go straight for the buoy rather than rounding it. Julian headed forward with the boathook, and I dropped the stay sail as we passed the motor boat on the mooring closest to ours. We could always use the engine to reach the buoy if the tide stopped us short. In the end I had to use quite a lot of reverse to stop us over running the mooring!
Julian and I put the new sail cover on. It turns out I should have put on more tapes, so we used some sail ties as well. We do not want a repeat of last time! While re-flaking the sail for a proper stow Julian discovered something really annoying. Our brand new main sail now has a rip in it. Not a big one, only about 2cm long, but still... It looks like the same high winds that almost took the boom cover off made the shackle on the gaff span chaff persistently against the sail cloth. This time Julian tied it down separately.
The wind was up again, and I dreaded the row back to the pontoon, but it was not too bad in the end. The tide was right out, so no taking short cuts across the shallows, but Julian hunkered down in the bottom of Worm to reduce windage, and it was surprising how much difference that made.
Friday, 8 June 2012
Foiled
Got up at 0500 to get to West Mersea before 0630 so we could row over and move Robinetta to deeper water before low tide. We then intended to head over to Brightlingsea for the East Cast Race tomorrow.
Julian had spent yesterday making a new club foot for the stay sail, while I did some more work on the sail cover, and we were going to fit both on the way. We knew the weather would be a bit dodgy (it was why we headed straight home from the Swale) but it was not until we reached Mersea that I realised how bad it actually was.
The strong wind and rough chop off the pontoon made launching Worm a major undertaking, and trying to row out to Robinetta unsafe. We left the dinghy on the car, and drove over to Brightlingsea instead.
Julian had spent yesterday making a new club foot for the stay sail, while I did some more work on the sail cover, and we were going to fit both on the way. We knew the weather would be a bit dodgy (it was why we headed straight home from the Swale) but it was not until we reached Mersea that I realised how bad it actually was.
The strong wind and rough chop off the pontoon made launching Worm a major undertaking, and trying to row out to Robinetta unsafe. We left the dinghy on the car, and drove over to Brightlingsea instead.
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