To Alderney

17 September 2017

It was time to go sailing again.  We'd nip over to Alderney and visit our old friend Jonathon.

We left Noss at first light (this occurs at exactly the same time that I first open my eyes each morning ... so we always leave a little after first light).  The forecast was NW F4 becoming NE later.  The wind was NE F4 all day.  We stonked over to Alderney on a beam/close reach and got there by 1745. The Casquette Traffic Separation Zone was interesting.

We moored in Braye, Jean cooked a Spag Bog and we slept very well.  Braye is unusual, being one of the few harbours that is consistently rolly inside even when it's a flat calm outside.

18th September

Unfortunately, for us, our old friend Jonathon was away on holiday.  So we went for a walk and I worried about how we were ever going to get back to Noss (bearing NW) in the forecast F5 NW.
Supper (F&C) at The Braye Beach Hotel was good. 
As we were going to have to motor all day to get back to Noss, I gave the engine a good talking to and randomly adjusted various nuts and bolts to show I meant business ....without breaking anything of note.  Coolant has been leaking from the (err..) cooling system for years so, having carefully cleaned the offending leaky area I carefully applied some AbroSteel (epoxy stuff), squishing it deftly into position using Jean's toothbrush handle.  At last a proper fix for our engine!

Thoroughly fixed leak

19th September

Up at first light (etc.). We left at 0700 having spent 20 minutes unplatting our mooring lines.
We had very strong adverse tides for the first 3 hours. I calculated an ETA at Noss of 0400 next day.   We bashed along motor-sailing (more motor than sail) almost head to wind.  I went to bed. The tide turned, the wind backed and Jean tacked and we were flying.  ETA Noss now well in time for supper. Even better our trusty engine was no longer leaking. No more red coolant dripping out.
Having managed to avoid a minor tornado (see picture), we even turned off th engine and sailed the last 12 miles towards The Dart.

 A distant tornado

Arrived  1730.  Not even quite dark. 
Unfortunately, I later discovered that the coolant had in fact been leaking all day long .. just slightly more discretely from behind my carefully applied lump of AbroSteel.

Four stay on a boat together

15 August 2017

After lunch at home, we packed all our stuff and got in the big blue car with a propeller on the back.
And then we went to Noss Marina. On the way we played a game where we guessed how many cars were be coming the otherway. Grandpa made up the rules. Grandpa won the game.

And then we put the stuff from the big blue car into the little green boat. then Grandpa took the propeller off the big blue car and fixed it on the little green boat. And then we put on our life jackets and  Grandpa told us not to fall in the water. And then we set out across the river in the little green boat and arrived at a big white boat called "Albatross".

We explored Albatross and its bedrooms and outside. Then we had tea and after that we had supper.  Granny cooked bolognese with rice.   We had Shloer and Granny and Grandpa had a bottle of Ribena.

 

And then we went to sleep.

Next day we packed our stuff into the little green boat, then into the big blue car. And then we drove back to Granny and Grandpa's house. Grandpa won the game on the way back too, although the rules were slightly different.

40th Anniversary

29 July 2017

We celebrated our 40th!

  Almost all of us in the rain 

We did lots of crabbing.

And we had a BBQ

July Cruise II

16 July 2017
Al joined us for our annual cruise together. This was very nice.

From the Dart we sailed and motored to CSB (Cawsand Bay).  An eddy helped Doris  get around Start Point.
We anchored and had spag bog.

17 July
We motored in a flat calm to Falmouth.  The Visitors' Marina.
We rafted on the outside east-facing side next to Pipedream and Stuart with whom we had a very nice chat. Supper F&C.

18 July
Returning from a walk and a pastie we found many boat in trouble in the wind (F7 Easterly).
Wind. Thunder. Rain. Waves.
The Visitors' Marina was barely tenable but also inescapable.
A local sailor said it was common knowledge that boats were at risk of damage in strong easterlies.
We put 15 fenders  including a car tyre between us and Pipedream and spent the afternoon stuffing them back down whenever they popped out. Eventually the wind dropped and the waves settled and we returned variouse fenders to various kind sailors whose boats were moored in better shelter.

 

Albatross and Pipedream and 15 fenders 

I had a chat with the man in the marina office.
Our chat involved ideas like "duty of care" "absence of warning" and "negligence".
He kindly gave us a refund. 'nuff said.

19 July
We motored well up the river to a nice sheltered pontoon and went for a very pleasant walk in Malpas followed by some very pleasant beers in the pub.

20 July
A broad reach in F5 to QAB Marina Plymouth.
Saw several Harbour Porpoises and some White-Beaked Dolphins (possibly).  Linda would have known which was which.
Arrived in QAB before a stormy evening and night.

21 July
We had a day off in QAB.  This included walking to Cornwall, a boat trip back to Devon, a long walk in the rain  and much interesting siteseeing and eating and possibly a little beer.

23 July
According to The Captain's Log  Star Date 22-07-17 is absent from the current year's calendar.
Anyway, we left at 0555 got to Start Point by 0830 and were happily moored on the Dart for lunch.

A very pleasant trip with great company  in awful weather. Nothing much changes, eh?

July Cruising

3rd July 2017

Our holiday with Tim and Linda.

Tim and Linda joined us.  This was good.
We set off for Salcombe (The Bag).  The wind and the tide  ganged up against the five of us so we motored the last 2 hours. Doris didn't mind.

We saw dolphins (or possibly  porpoises). This was very good.

I tested next month's entry for PBO's "most worthwhile project competition". This clever device not only holds essential refreshments, but also indicates whether of not the boat is properly level or "on its ear".

The "Albert Ross Soft Drink Holder and boat level indicator (Mk1)"

The Bag was quite crowded. We rafted next to a boat whose owner said he didn't mind us rafting, but he did have to be off at 0800 or possibly 0730 or possibly his neighbour did. Doris wasn't bothered.

4th  July 2017

We set off at 0730 and motored to the Yealm  ("Yam"). Our neighbours were not up when we left.
We didn't see any dolphins but the Yealm was nice and we had a good walk. The flubber didn't sink.

5th July 2017

We motored to the Fowey  ("Foy").
It was hot and sunny, but there were no dolphins.
Fish and Chips at the Yacht Club. Very nice.

6th July 2017

We sailed (mainly) to Cawsand Bay (just outside Plymouth ("Plymouth").

 

 Cawsand Bay  (photo by Doris)

We didn't see any dolphins despite tempting them with fine music.

We anchored and discussed (amongst other things) the difference between a Yawl and a Ketch.

We went swimming.  It was lovely and warm.

It is of course the bobstay that pulls the bowsprit down.

We like Cawsand Bay.

7 July 2017

To Dartmouth.  Unusually, there were no dolphins today.

Thanks to all for a very nice trip.

June Cruising

2 June 2017
Martin joined us.
To France!
We left Noss for France, stopping only to buy a new nav light in Dartmouth. 
We left the Dart at 1200 and set sail for L'Aberwrac'h.  Arrived 0630.  Pretty quick, eh?

 A gratuitous picture of a swan

On the way Doris died. (Doris is the autopilot). We had to steer ourselves.
The plotter went on the blink ....  literally.

Bacon and eggs on arrival.  Sleep.  Lunch. Supper. Bad weather forecasted for 2 days time.

3 June 2017
We mended Doris!  Hoorah!  A broken wire in the lazarette.  Now there were 4 of us aboard again.

4 June 2017
Sailing to South Brittany now looked even more difficult and we risked "being Laberwrached" if we waited for a weather window.   So off to Morlaix.
Doris took us quickly to the Channel de Isle de Batz.  All easy till Martin suggested (and I agreed) that it would be easier to take down the mainsail on the run, than to mess around with all that  "going head-to-wind" stuff.   I nearly went overboard.  Martin's shout of "hold on" may have saved the day.
We rush up the river to Morlaix on a falling tide.  Had we run out of water, we would have been DOOMED but we didn't so all was well.  We were the last boat to lock in.
Morlaix Marina was being dredged. I had toothache.

5 June 2017
1500 small children cycled through Morlaix on Le Petit Toure de France.

6 June 2017
The very nice lady in the Tourist Information Office telephoned some local dentists for me.
" 'Av you an appointmont pour dis old inglish chap wiv dee toothake, per favor?"
Dentist 1:  "Not till September"
Dentist 2:  "Non" (or possibly something briefer)
Dentist 3:  "Maybe phone back tomorrow"
so .. off to Brest Hospital.  Nice ride on nice train. Nice walk in nice city. Intersting wait in what appeared to be a maternity clinic.  Very pleasant chat with most pleasant dentist.  Pleasantly reassured that my own treatment (random ingestion of random time-expired antibiotics and analgesics) was doing the job.  All sorted for 23 Euros.  Train back Morlaix.  What a nice day!

Leaving Morlaix

7 June
To the Penallan anchorage.
We picked up a mooring.  Martin wound a mooring line around his leg asI tried to pull his arm off with a boat hook. It will heal with time.
Supper aboard.

8 June
To Roscoff Marina.
Roscoff Marina is new and very nice and clean and shiny.
We had a walk to the old town and the new supermarket and then got lost on the way home (Jean suggested a short-cut .. I note this because it is normally my job to suggest poorly planned last minute route alterations).

We fixed a bad connection in the battery bank and, at a stroke, increased our Albatross' apparent battery capacity by about 400%.   If I had done this sooner we would not have had to turn off the fridge at night ever since our arrival in Troon in 2012.                     
I jest not.

9 June
To Dartmouth. A weather window beckons.
Up at 0400.   Much too dark to go sailing... we had forgotten that French Summer Time means it's still dark in France when it's light in England.  We left at 0500 FST.  Arrived in Dartmouth 2000 BST. Broad reach all the way.  Slept on board. Back to SG, then back to Essex. Bonzo was fine.

15 June 2017
Angela had joined us. This was very nice.
We drove to Noss with the outboard on my new bracket on the back of the car.
A man at Noss Marina asked me if I thought that the Skoda was really sufficiently bouyant to be used as a boat.

 Outboard-powered Skoda

To Salcombe. We sailed.
Jean lost my hat.

16 June
A beat to the Yealm. No problems. A lovely sunny day. Busy but room on the upper pontoon.
Brittany cake for tea.
A nice day!

 The Yealm

17 June
A day off in Newton Ferrers.
I changed the engine oil. We had supper at Yealm Yacht Club.
I watched a man paddling a stand-up paddle board from the kneeling position whilst his dog stood at the front apparently trying to sniff out fish. I thought that the driver was supposed to to stand up on a stand up paddleboard not the dog.  Bonzo would have been furious.

Man and dog on SUP

18 June
Fowey.
A beautiful hot sunny day.

Fowey (note blue sky)

19 June
To Plymouth. Mayflower Marina, very good but a long walk to the city.

20 June
Farewell Angela. A walk to see Lizzy.

21 June
The three of us (just Jean, Doris and me) sailed and motored back to the Dart.

To The Dart

26-27 April 2017
Plymouth Yacht Haven to Salcombe and The Bag to Normandy Pontoon

Key points:

1. Forecast NE 4/5 with no mention of squalls from ESE.
2. It is important to be careful when reversing in a marina in current.  Just because you have escaped from the berth does not mean that you have also got out of the current.
3. First voyage anxiety is normal.
4. Salcombe is very quiet on the last Wednesday in April.
5. "The Bag" is a simple and easy place to berth but the WIFI doesnt work.
6. Just because there is a strong current 20 metres out from the pontoon does not mean that there will be the same current alongside the pontoon.
7. Fenders are a good thing.

28 April 2017
Salcombe to The Dart


We made it, without undue excitement, all the way to our new mooring at Noss on Dart.

The flubber trip to Stoke Gabriel Pontoon took 40 minutes with the tide.

 The Pontoon at Stoke Gabriel

Spring Cruise completed without misshap.

The Truth

Hello Again Dear Reader(s).

You will of course remember (and will perhaps still be anxious about) the cliff-hanging end to our 2016 Epic Adventure.

What indeed, was the sinister reason for our engine's enfeablement?

You last heard of Albatross while she was resting ashore at Plymouth Yacht Haven Quay.
On close inspection we had found little to explain her problems.  Some barnacles on her bottom (but who hasn't?) and many on her prop.
Jean duly pollished the prop and I painted her bottom.

A nice man who normally fixes car engines extracted and re-threaded Albatross' broken exhaust stud (£26) and our favourite motor factor sold me 4 new studs for a couple of quid.  Eat your heart out Yanmar.
A marine engineer said we needed her back in the water to test the engine.

We put her back in the water. We tested the engine. The engine is fine !

So it was just a dirty prop.

We had sailed from Spain to Plymouth, enduring the near-death experiences of electrical storms, sterngear entangements, chronic sleep depravation and channel shipping (not to mention wanton hyperbole) ... just because of a DIRTY PROP.
  
Sorry Martin.

 

A dirty prop.