Afloat Again

Christmas seems a long time ago now. I hope the New Year has seen all your resolutions come true.

Ellie, Jeremy, Emily, Mum and Ben

Ours started with Jeremy having a chest x-ray and finding out that a shadow remained. He took another course of antibiotics and had to wait until February, when a third chest x-ray gave him the all clear. Meanwhile, Sal Darago stood untouched in the boatyard without her winter covers and it began to look like there would be no sailing for us in the spring.

We went to the Boat Show in London and optimistically enquired about the cost of a new engine and gear box and new paint for the topsides. These were to be the BIG winter jobs.

Previously, I had found out about local sail makers who would wash and repair our sails, canvas sail cover and canvas dodgers. Sail Medic in Ipswich offered the best price and included storing our sails for the winter. Unfortunately, as Tom began to remove the old sacrificial strip from our genoa, in order to replace it with a new one, the sail material began to tear and although it looked all right, clearly it was sun damaged and the 7 year old genoa was only fit for the bin.

There would be no paint job this year and no new engine either. We needed to order a new genoa. After many quotes and much research on the best sail cloth for cruising, we chose Sail Medic.

Meanwhile, Jeremy researched gear boxes and managed to find a brand new one at a reasonable price on e-Bay.

Other jobs squeezed into two and a half months included: cleaning most of the lockers and painting those above the water line, rebedding the push pit, pulpit and all the fittings that support the standing rigging and refurbishing 6 of our 9 portholes. Three of these were completely removed using drills, hammers and brute strength, taken home, stripped down to the bare aluminium and repainted, each one taking many hours to complete.

The Rayner Plate

The flexible water tank (made from the skirts of hovercrafts) and located under the front cabin berths had started to disintegrate and leak. Jeremy contacted the company that made it and ordered a new one. He took out the old tank and replaced it with the new one. We have to be careful not to add too many sterilising tablets this time!  Then there were the usual jobs to do – antifouling, polishing the topsides and putting on the running rigging and sails.

Newly painted new gearbox

During the last week of April, we provisioned and returned to Sal Darago everything that was stored in our sheds and loft. Jeremy serviced the outboard engine and we retrieved our dinghy from our shipping container. We were ready to go and splashed gently into the River Deben on 1^st May.

Emily and Simon, our excellent party stewards

And now for our other news. Our first visitors to stay overnight in our new house were John and Chris from S/V Sara II. We firmed up the offer we had made to crew for John in September, when he hopes to sail Sara II across the Indian Ocean from Malaysia to South Africa.  Simon and Erin had a night with us before we took them to Ely, as they sought a train route home to Edinburgh avoiding the chaos of the holiday rail closures. My Mum came to stay with us for 10 days early in the New Year. She is finding stairs quite challenging now but she managed with help from Jeremy and me.

Erin and Kathy lead the dancing

Towards the end of January the Westerly Owners’ Association held their AGM in Cambridge. As it was so close, we went to our first ever AGM and took the Rayner Plate with us, polished by Jeremy the previous night, so that it was ready for the presentation to this year’s winners. Imagine our surprise, when our names were called and the Rayner Plate was presented to us for the second year running! We were truly honoured to receive this prestigious prize again, this time in front of 150 WOA members.

Kathy and Jeremy prepare to cut the cake

We celebrated our Ruby Wedding Anniversary at the end of March and decided to have a party. About 40 family and friends came to Hacheston Village Hall for a buffet lunch, dancing and speeches followed by tea and coffee at our house. Everybody had a good time as you can see from the photos.

Grand finale

Not long afterwards, we went to visit Jeremy’s aunt, Dodo , in Mull. First, we spent a night with nephew Julian and his wife, Claire, only 3 weeks after seeing them at our party. It was good to chat properly to Jemima and Amelia. The next night was spent with Chris and John in Milford on Sea discussing in detail our sailing trip in September. Then it was off to York to spend a night with nephew, James, his wife, Juliette, and children, Alice, Anna and Daniel. We had 3 nights in Mull and were looked after very well by Eiligh and John at Ivybank, next door but one to Dodo. We were sorry that Dodo was housebound by cellulitis and hope this clears up soon. On the way home we had lunch with Jeremy’s brother, Gavin, and his wife, Eileen along with niece, Helen, and her children, Joseph, Benjamin and Kristian. After a night with brother, Ritchie, and his wife, Catherine, we took Auntie Joyce out to lunch in Lincolnshire. It was good to be home again after this whistle stop tour, but only a few days later my cold developed into an upper respiratory infection and it was my turn to be on antibiotics.

Escape to Mull

About this time, my cousin contacted me to say my Auntie Elsie had died. We drove up to Lancashire for the funeral meeting my Mum and sister, Pat, at Manchester Airport after their flight from the Isle of Man.

Jeremy adds the final touches to the antifouling

We are almost ready to set sail for Holland, on our way to Denmark to visit our friend, Robert, his wife, Lene, and their children Julian and Patrick. Naturally, we hope for fair winds and calm seas as we have been landlubbers for 8 months.

Sal Darago about to be launched

We’ll let you know how we fare.

Happy Christmas from Campsea Ashe

 

Giving a talk to Westerly owners and friends

Instead of a newsletter, we thought we would continue our blog. You can read all our news from January to September in the posts already published. So what have we been doing?

The garage begins to look organised

Sal Darago was hauled out at the end of September and is on the hard at Melton Boatyard, near Woodbridge. She was still in the travel lift when a voice called out, “So, you made it then!” It was Mike, a fellow yachtie whom we’d met quite randomly in Antigua. He had recommended Melton Boatyard, known locally as Skeets. We were amazed, as we had no idea that he was returning to Suffolk.

Handy sheds in our garden

We stayed with Emily and Ben, who were very patient with us as we went through the process of becoming landlubbers once more. We bought a seven year old Ford Focus Estate, signed the contract on our new house and started to empty our savings accounts.

Jeremy painting our bedroom walls

We were very honoured to be presented with the Rayner Plate by the Westerly Owners’ Association in September. A presentation evening was arranged for us at Woodbridge Cruising Club and we were presented with the award by the club’s President, Andy Truscott. He and his wife had travelled all the way from Dorset for the occasion. In return, we gave a short, illustrated talk of our world sailing adventure.

Kathy helping to cut the grass at Em and Ben's

On the day that we completed and became house owners on, October 3^rd, Simon and Erin arrived for the weekend. We had an empty house as all our possessions were still in our shipping container, so we all stayed at Em and Ben’s and had a great weekend together, with Ellie being the centre of attention, of course.

Sal Darago in her new home

For the next two weeks, Jeremy and I decorated, starting with the kitchen. Appliances were ordered, boxes of crockery and cutlery were found and the house began to function as a home. I went to Lancashire for five days to meet my sister, Pat, and my Mum. I stayed with my friend, Pat, for three nights and was able to catch up with Lynda, a colleague from work, and ex-neighbours, Sue, Ruth and Frank. I really enjoyed meeting up with you all. Mum, Pat and I stayed in a hotel for two nights and took Mum out to have lunch with 3 of her friends from Blackburn. Mum and I went to see my Auntie Elsie, who is in a nursing home in Blackburn.

The kitchen is nearly ready

Back in Suffolk, Jeremy had finished the decorating our bedroom, the study and the lounge/dining room. He had prepared a candlelit supper for my arrival home.

Ellie helping to empty our container

That was our first night together in our new home. Now, six weeks later, all our boxes have been unpacked; our container is empty except for our dinghy; Sal Darago is almost empty and the house, sheds and garage are full to bursting. Jeremy is slowly recovering from flu followed by a chest infection and not enjoying the first December in the UK for seven years. I am OK, awaiting allergy testing next month to try to find out the cause of a cough I’ve had for 20 years.

Candlelit supper in our new home

Although we miss our friends and neighbours in Lancashire, we are beginning to settle in here in Suffolk. Em, Ben and Ellie are less than 10 minutes’ drive away and we enjoy seeing them all regularly, sometimes helping out with babysitting.

Did we order too much wood?

We’re looking forward to Christmas as Simon and Erin will be joining us and we’ll all be together as a family for the first time since 2007.

Home sweet home

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Stonehaven to the River Deben. The End or The Beginning?

Erin, Simon and Kathy enjoying the August weather

We were very happy to arrive at Stonehaven and spend the weekend with Simon and Erin, who came up from Edinburgh by train. We had a lovely sail to Eyemouth, where we spent one night, followed by a gentle motor to Lindisfarne for lunch on the Sunday. We motored back to Berwick upon Tweed for the night. Simon and Erin had to scramble up our rope ladder as there were no steps on the harbour wall. They caught a train back to Edinburgh. We were in England again.

Early morning in Berwick upon Tweed

The southerly winds returned and we bashed into the wind and swell,  taking the inshore route past the Farne Islands and the spectacular Bamburgh Castle. We had hoped to stop at Amble but the swell was too big to risk entry so we turned away and beat out to sea again. Blyth Harbour was only 8 miles away and we were made very welcome by the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club.

Lindisfarne Castle

The next day was a pleasant 15 mile passage to Sunderland Marina. We met up with Jeremy’s brother, Gavin and his wife, Eileen. They joined us for dinner at the marina and we spent the following day with them in Cleadon. Thank you, Gavin and Eileen, for the use of your washing machine, tumble dryer, lunch and dinner.

Bamburgh Castle

Next stop was Scarborough. We’d taken off our thermals and the sun came out, reminding us it was August after all. We met up with James, Juliette, Alice, Anna and Daniel again. It was lovely to see Anna looking so much better. We all had fish and chips on board Sal Darago and sang songs together. Scarborough Marina was one the most expensive marinas so far at 30 pounds a night.

Approaching Scarborough

The passage round Flamborough Head and past two wind farms on the way to the River Humber was quite gusty. We anchored for the night at Spurn Point and bounced uncomfortably on the ebb. We had to leave at 4.40am in the dark to take the south flowing tide for 10 hours. It was difficult to identify the buoys we wanted as we crossed the shipping channel. Later, the sun came out and we had a pleasant motor sail with a following wind. We took a detour to avoid the wind farm north east of Sheringham Shoal. When the tide turned, we took an inshore route in the hope of avoiding the strongest foul tide as we continued south along the Norfolk coast. We had been taking on water and expected this to stop when Jeremy replaced our raw water pump in Oban. It didn’t. The culprit turned out to be the exhaust box. Jeremy monitored it and we pumped out the bilges regularly until it could be given a temporary repair in port. Soon after passing Eccleston on Sea, night fell. Delight at the beautiful sunset was enhanced by a perfect crescent moon. Just before midnight on 31^st August we tied up to another yacht on the visitors’ berth at Lowestoft Marina.

Passing Southwold. Ben's granny lived in the white house on the left

At 7.30am the next day, we were on our way again motoring into moderate to strong southerly winds. We experienced a confused sea with wind over tide at Orfordness. I steered into the River Deben, unaware that a new port hand marker had been added to the buoyage, believing it to be a fishing pot marker as it was so small, I missed the new dog’s leg and watched the depth sounder plunge alarmingly. Soon we were in deep water again and no further navigation problems were encountered all the way up the River Deben to Ramsholt.

Reunited with Ellie

We needed to find Nick Deacon’s yellow mooring buoy. Jeremy spoke to George, the Harbourmaster, and he gave us its location. To our surprise, there were 4 vacant yellow mooring buoys. We chose the lemon one, which turned out to be the right one, and tied Sal Darago to it. Our daughter, Emily, and granddaughter, Ellie, came aboard in the afternoon. It was lovely to be with them again. On Tuesday 2^nd September, Emily returned to collect us and we became landlubbers once more, staying at Emily and Ben’s house until we can move into our own home in October.

Future crew for Sal Darago

Oban to Stonehaven

Anna was in hospital for two weeks. She had two operations to remove abscesses and after lots of antibiotics she began to improve. Everyone was relieved when she was allowed to go home. 

Mirror images at Ballachulish Village

We hired a car and drove to Edinburgh to meet our daughter-in-law’s parents, Jim and Christie. They were staying with Simon and Erin for a few days. The weather was awful as the tail end of Hurricane Bertha gave Scotland a whipping. We all wore full waterproofs to walk to The Witchery under the Castle for lunch. We ate heartily and enjoyed each other’s company. Thanks for lunch, Simon and Erin. The drive back to Oban was slightly drier and that night we welcomed Jamie and Bugsy on board to sleepover. They caught the early morning ferry to Mull the next day.

Ballachulish Bridge, Loch Leven

We continued north in cold and rainy weather and tried to anchor three times off Eriska in Loch Crearan . Each time we dragged, so as soon as the tide eased we motored back into the Lynne of Lorne and anchored at the first attempt in Airds Bay just south of Port Appin. The tide runs strongly through all the narrows between the islands and at the mouths of lochs, so we had to leave Airds Bay at 6.30am to arrive at Loch Leven at slack high water. The clearance under the Ballachulish Bridge is 17m at the highest spring tide. Our mast plus the boat is 16m high. Would we make it under or would we lose our VHF/AIS aerial, our wind direction indicator and our tricolour? It was a close call and I shouted, “Turn around!” as I did not think we would fit under. Well, Jeremy likes a challenge and he continued. We slid under with barely any clearance. Later, we read in another pilot book that the bridge is only 16m high.

Entering one of the staircase locks

We had a peaceful night in Loch Leven on a mooring which was kindly offered for our use. There was little space amongst the many moorings to anchor. The next day we pushed the end of the tide up Loch Linnhe to reach Corran Narrows at slack water, then on to Corpach where we entered the Caledonian Canal via the sea lock. Once the fees were paid (180 pounds for a transit) we joined two other yachts and went up Neptune’s Staircase, assisted by Errol, who kindly offered to be a rope handler for us. We spent the night at Gairlochy, enjoying the new shower and laundry facilities.

Tied up on the Caledonian Canal

The weather continued to be awful with further gales and severe gales raging out at sea. We crossed the first loch in strong winds and pouring rain, tying up for the night at Fort Augustus. It took two hours to go down the staircase of locks the next morning.  We entered Loch Ness with the wind behind us and regular showers of rain reduced our visibility considerably. We didn’t see the monster, but a dark and ominous shadow appeared on our depth sounder as we crossed the deepest part. Perhaps it was Nessie! That night we tied up to a pontoon in Dochgarroch and filled up with water in the rain.

Inverness Castle

We were able to take on diesel at Seaport Marina the next day, go down the 5 locks at Muirtown and exit the canal at the sea lock. We spent two nights in Inverness Marina waiting for the rough sea to settle after the gales. We sailed all day and overnight on the 20^th and 21^st August, as all the north facing harbours on the Moray Firth were too dangerous to enter. 

Unique war memorial at Stonehaven

We were goose-winged with full sails in brief sunshine when 24 knots of wind came from nowhere and the mainsail, which was on a preventer, backed. The genoa was quickly furled and the main gybed, so disaster was averted after a few worrying moments. After that, we had two reefs in the main and a small genoa as the force 6 wind blew. After a week of northerly winds, the first southerlies were forecast as we rounded Rattray Head and headed south. We had to motor into the headwind making just over 3 knots in cold and uncomfortable conditions. Why did we leave the Caribbean?

Stonehaven Marina