Having relaunched AS and completed just
enough of the 'must do' jobs on my very long list of never ending
boat jobs and after spending a day in Chatham Marina with the family
I motored out and of the Marina on the Bank Holiday Monday 27th May
bound for Eastbourne for Thursday 30th May, via Stangate
Creek for the night and then Ramsgate or Eastbourne where I would
have to leave the boat for 10 days and return home to look after
Kayha our ageing Alaskan Malamute while the rest of the family were
away visiting Sharon's family in North Carolina. I was due to return
on Sunday 9th June and planned to depart on Monday 10th
June to continue the passage to Plymouth.
On the way down the river I rang Bernie
who I knew would be returning from the Hoo Ness club rally to
Ramsgate. We arranged to rendezvous in Stangate and he turned up at
2230 after a long slog back. He rafted up and we had a chat and
supper of Baked Beans on Toast on AS. He left around 0500 Tuesday
11/6 to catch the last of the flood up to Hoo and I left around 0700
to catch the ebb out and then the next flood around the North
Foreland.
We had a very pleasant sail on a lovely
day and made good enough progress to make Dover that evening. Moored
up in the Marina and had a quick walk around the lower town and docks
where I noticed the rather ironic hoardings proudly exclaiming the
renovation of the Western Docks curtsey of grants from the European
Union! The next day the wind was on the nose and so it was time for
the 'new' Bukh's first sustained period of service. For the first few
hours all went well and I even emailed all my pals to announce the
good news. A fatal mistake! Within the hour the engine faltered and
stopped and I was still East of Dungeness with a boisterous headwind.
The account of that episode is written up in full on the blog entry
“Arctic Smoke and the RNLI”. Despite much advice and help and
fitting replacements for the Lift Pump, the High Pressure Pump and
the Injector and it proved impossible to get the Bukh back into
service.
Time for my next decision. The staff at
Eastbourne were wonderful but the marina fees were costing me a
fortune and given my complete failure to earn any money over the last
six months I had to get out of there. Should I pull out of the
Challenge and sail back to the Medway or carry on without the engine
and hope to get it going in Plymouth. I very nearly decided on the
former. Next to staying put until the engine was fixed it was the
most obvious thing to do. However, it seemed to me it was not really
in the spirit of the Jester. The whole point it seemed to me was to
overcome challenges where possible. There were risks of course but it
did not seem to me to be reckless. AS was a sailing boat after all
and in days gone by plenty of sailors (albeit far better ones than
me) had sailed the route without the aid of an engine. My decision
was made. The most difficult part of it was explaining it to Sharon
and knowing that she and the rest of the family would now worry even
more. To her great credit she took it like all my other crazy sailing
decisions and wished me well.
Next I organised a tow out of the
marina and at 1530 on Tuesday 11th June, two of the lovely
ladies from the marina office towed us out to the safe water mark off
Sovereign Harbour. As we moved out a light breeze was blowing from
the South. Once I was cast off it died completely and so I anchored
to wait for the tide to carry us round Beachy Head. After an hour or
so a breeze came in and so got the anchor up and set course to round
Beachy Head. The breeze stayed light and fitful but gout round Beachy
Head with the tide's help. Light winds and a foul tide meant little
progress for the next few hours. A light north easterly was forecast
and so I was hopeful we would make progress soon. By 2200 with a fair
wind and tide we were making 7k over the ground towards Saint
Catherine's Point on the Southern corner of the Isle of Wight. We
rounded St Cat's in the early hours and then had a very slow leg to
Portland in light winds and a good dose of the inevitable foul tide.
The weather was pretty miserable too – wet and cold. My biggest
fear at this stage was getting sucked into the Race off Portland and
losing all the precious Westing we had made. The Pilot described the
Race as “quite simply the most dangerous headland in all England.
Ships have been known to get sucked into it never to reappear”! The
calm weather meant the Race should not be dangerous on this occasion
but I wanted to be well clear and therefore stayed a good five miles
off shore. I had contemplated anchoring somewhere to wait for the
tide but even if I spend a few hours going backwards it would take
less time than the detour to anchor.
That evening whilst still South East of
'The Bill' and barely stemming the tide in light airs a 'PAN PAN' was
issued by a yacht to the west of 'The Bill' and a couple of miles
further inshore. They had suffered engine failure and were drifting
into the The Race becalmed. A tow was organised by the Coastguard and
they were towed safely into Portland. This made me extremely nervous
and I hoped I was far enough out to avoid the same fate. The thought
of calling for help again so shortly after the previous incident was
too much to contemplate! I avoided that fate but did indeed spend a
couple of hours going backwards. I thought my electronics had gone
awry. We were heading South East but the plotter showed us going
North!
After getting round 'The Bill' I laid a
course to round St Albans Head and the pattern of the previous 18
hours repeated itself with some great sailing mixed in with calms and
light airs and once again we were virtually becalmed in a foul tide
as we attempted to round the Head outside the notorious overfalls.
The Pilot makes the place sound almost as bad as Portland! Again I
had to make sure we kept well South of trouble. By 0900 on the 14th
June we were still East of the Head and it started blowing hard –
around Force 6 on the nose! I put two reefs in the main but left the
Genoa fully set. I wanted our windward performance to be as good as
possible and I new AS went well under this configuration. I say two
reefs but in fact having invested in a fourth reef point in the
Canaries the main is now rigged so that the second reef is in fact
the first and the fourth the second. Got that?
Sure enough we ran out of fair tide
well before the Head. After a tack to the South and in the
increasingly shitty night time weather I decided I had had enough and
would make for the shelter of Start Bay. I'd lose a lot of time but
this was not fun. To my surprise however we made rather more westing
on the next tack and for a while it looked as if we might even lay
Plymouth. I therefore decided to carry on. In the event we did not
get around the Head on that tack but at 1945 had to make another
short tack south about 5 miles south of Salcombe in order to lay
Plymouth. At 2040 we were able to make our final tack and head
directly for Plymouth. The wind gradually eased on our approach and
by 2300 I had to shake out the reefs in the main. At 0100 on the 14th
June we passed the western end of the breakwater.
I got on the phone to Bernie and
discovered he was moored up the Tamar at Cargreen, north of the
bridges. When I asked him what his plans were for tomorrow he said to
come to wherever I ended up and help me try and fix the engine. What
a 'Jester'! With 4 hours of flood tide still left I had enough time
to get up there too and so decided to attempt just that. The wind
would be fair for the most part and although there was a risk of
losing it here and there due to shelter, I reckoned the flood would
see us up to Cargreen. Bernie said he was happy to stay up and guide
me to a buoy or help me raft alongside Mischief. I estimated we
should be there by 0330.
It was by now a very pleasant night and
the sail through the harbour and up the Tamar in the dark was
delightful. I had a few anxious moments navigating through 'The
Bridge' the short narrow channel to the west of Drake's Island and
the mainland that provided a short cut for small vessels into the
harbour. It was in the lee of the wooded hills and so the wind was
light and fitful. Every now and then we drifted on the current before
and after 'The Bridge' but got through without incident. There was a
decent breeze through the main harbour but that then died
considerably after rounding corner south of the (real) Tamar Bridge.
I had steerage way but with the wind directly behind us I doubted we
would be able to stem the tide in the opposite direction should the
need arise. The next obstacles before the bridge were the three chain
ferries. At that time of night they should be pretty quiet and so
there was every chance I could carry straight on. That indeed proved
to be the case with a Ferry commencing its crossing just after I
passed. Next up the Tamar Bridge. Plenty of air draft but even with a
following wind in can be fluky going through the gap. Bernie
recommended going through the central gap but there were two, I went
for the eastern one and survived just fine. The current was racing
through and the wind picked up two so we shot through like a cork out
of a bottle. The Tamar River Sailing Club was on the eastern bank
just south of the bridge – they were hosting a BBQ for us Jesters
later that night and the Jester Briefing and Dinner on Saturday
night.
We continued up the river on the last
of the flood and arrived at Cargreen right at the flood's end.
Perfect timing for manoeuvring under sail in confined waters. The
only problem was the wind was decidedly iffy – sometimes a gentle
breeze otherwise nothing. I soon spotted Bernie's lights and he had
previously sent me a WhatsApp message to explain he had rigged lines
and fenders on his port side. I did the same with the plan being to
pass round his stern and turn into the wind and remnants of the tide
and drift onto Mischief. Fortunately Bernie had the presence of mind
to heave a line into my cockpit as we drifted by because it was
unlikely we would have had enough way on to carry against the tide.
It was 0400 and between us we shortly had everything squared away.
Time for a cup of Bernie's special Hot chocolate and Co Co mix and a
chat before a bed that I was really looking forward too.
Passage over!
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