Cardurnock Flatts

A few days sailing off the coast of Bowness-on-Solway took us to the sands of Cardurnock Flatts. The wind died away quite quickly and we were left floating admiring the still currents as they still worked and changed which left the sea silent yet busy. We tried to paddle to the shore by using a kayak oar to skull but we ended up going round in circles, so reluctantly we used the electric motor.which took us to the sands where we dried out. We experienced an amazing mirage… it seemed like the tide was drying out very fast revealing an encroaching sand mass moving our way. We thought we were going to be left high and dry by this sand mass that seemed feet in height and drying out the sea. It turned out to be the ripples on the water as a slight breeze came at last, but the impression was of a sand barrier, very strange.

We dried out on the Flatts for the night admiring the expanse of sand and open sky with an amazing sun set in the evening. Sadaf rested without problems on the sand but a little too into the channel for comfort, a fast tide race would lift us tonight about 12 midnight so we would have to move later into the shore to avoid the anchor dragging. This we did later, but it was still amazing to feel how the power of the channel span us around and moved us fast down tide.

We prepared for the night, 2 people on a boat can always find things to do and there is always things to put away and prepare for the next tide.

On our last day the wind was fresher and Leila took the helm for the first time. She had been crewing for me and she did a good job to get us back to the mooring, but she complained there was not “enough wind”!!!

A Path of Colour – Summer Flowers

There has been a few entries in this blog about the journey getting to/from the boat in different seasons of the year. Summer is upon us and sadly disappearing. When I came back from Sweden I noticed how ‘green’ our roadsides and fields looked compared to the multicoloured equivalents in Sweden, “What has happened to our wild flowers?” I thought. 
Recently I have noticed a change in our country roads, there is more colour, more natural growth of different varieties. I do not know the names of these flowers (there is no need to know to appreciate their colour and beauty) I am just happy there are there; and perhaps they are becoming more widespread than compared to other years, I hope it may continue in years to come. I also notice fields being left and wild flowers growing, if this is EU policy or Farmers taking the initiative, so may it continue

Coast Guard Activities

(8pm) As I waited for the tide to arrive I saw 5 ‘haaf netters’ go out to meet the first of the flood tide, behind them came 2 boys with fishing  rods to perch themselves on top of the harbour wall to do a bit of fishing. The tide barely lifted the boat but the weather had changed from a windless sunny evening to a cold easterly wind, a moonless night followed. I was bounced around while the keels scraped the bottom. The haaf netters returned happy as they had caught a salmon. As darkness came on and the tide ebbed I noticed a car with lights pointing towards the harbour, I thought it was the kids parents coming to pick them up from the harbour wall, then I noticed flashing lights on the Scottish side of the estuary that looked like an ambulance and police car, then a flare went up into the sky. I poked my head out of the cabin I heard radio signals and I put it all together and realised it was the Coast Guard and they were sending a boat out to look for the kids. The car’s headlights turned onto my boat as a land mark for the Coast Guard to head for, and as I could not see anything for the glare I went for a walk to the harbour. I met a coast guard carrying the smaller boy on his back and then followed the older boy. I asked if anyone wanted any hot drinks but the coast guard said “we are loosing water we have to go” (spoken in a Scottish accent, so different from the Cumbrian accent which is only 2 mile across the estuary). The boys had southern accents and were on holiday, they had gone fishing thinking the tide would be out soon but as it comes in fast it went out slow and the cold wind and the darkness made a girlfriend at the caravan park phone for the Coast Guard. The younger boys were not bothered explaining that they had seen several “large fish!” They were dressed in t-shirts; the older boy said “never again, I will now get in trouble off my girlfriend!” They were driven home by the man with the car, it was mid-night.

The authorities have closed the permanent Coast Guard Station at Silloth, now the nearest Station is in Liverpool. These men must have been volunteers on the Scottish side; they did not know the area as the man with the car who evidently must have been the Coast Guard on the Cumbrian side, told them to head for Annan as there is deeper water even with an ebbing tide. With such dangerous waters surely ‘cost’ should not be an issue?

Heeled Over…on land

I knew the tide would be low over the next few days, but my thought of sailing was put aside when I saw the position of the boat. It had landed on top of the mooring and was heeled over at quite an alarming angle. Of all the area to choose from the boat had got her keels trapped on a large stone that sat on top of the mooring and this had kept her stationary while the tide ebbed, as she dried out she must of keeled over and stayed that way. I took off her plastic covering and then went to get some bottles of fresh drinking water from Bowness. On returning I attached a rope from her bow to a disused mooring that lay a few meters away I hoped to pull her off the stones if/when she floated at the next tide. I knew the tide was getting lower so there might not be enough water to get her off. As the tide came in I got onto the boat and waited until she floated, load creaks and groans as the boat lifted and shifted her weight. I waited until the tide was full in and then tried to move her. The rope eventually pulled her off the stones as there was no wind and little water. I kept her far from the mooring until the tide went out.

More Enjoyable

After writing so much about designing a new rig for the main and the genoa/jib, it is about time I described how they perform. In short very well indeed, I went out over a 4 day period with 2 tides per day and sailed in the morning and evening tides. There were winds from the east and south west and in general moderate winds with occasional Force 4-6, but a steady Force 2-4. I played safe and reefed even when there was little chance of a blow, but for the first time it was wise I did not want the rig to break when I was out there. The rig held well, performed well and I felt I could relax, enjoy it more and not worry about tipping over.
I made some adjustments but basically it was good sailing, she handled well in choppy seas where the channel is narrow and the wind is blowing hard against an ebbing tide, deep troughs were passing underneath her hull and as she was more upright than before she took them better and I did not have to worry too much about those troughs coming into the cockpit. I could turn in these troughs and head back to shore on a broad reach without the rush of speed, which is fine but if one cannot see the bottom it is quite a worry if we are going to scrape the bottom and damage the keels.

Sadaf dried out on the sands.

Lack of speed could be a disadvantage if one is after a racing experience, she moves slower, or perhaps seems that way as before she was heeled over most of the time it was difficult to tell whether she was going fast or slow. But now with her upright hull she moves against tide as well as with it, I can point more into the wind and this makes me sail more in the direction I want too. With less sail up I am surprised how she sails with slight winds. The hardest blow I had she performed well, heeling slightly and responsive when I let out the mainsail. I cleat the jib and as it is self tacking I sail off it. I reef before I sail and have had no need to reef another time.

In total I enjoy it more, I relax more and I worry less. So it is not a bad thing really is it? when I think of it with all the worry, planing and construction i am pleased that it has worked so well. Now maybe I can get some serious sailing done!

All halyards, kicking straps and sheets fed back through the mast

Wind Gusts

The evening of the 22nd looked promising, Sunday evening and the sun was out and the wind had died down to a breeze on the way to the boat. I brought out the mainsail hoping to mark reef points onto the sail but this was difficult with the midges attacking from the gorse bushes nearby. As the sun set I hoisted the sail to test it out, not a great success, so I dispensed with the lower baton and furled it around the boom, it set fine. I packed everything away as the wind came back and remained with me all night; I made food and prepared to sleep. I did not sleep much as the wind howled and rocked the boat. At 4am the tide came in and Sadaf began to scrape on the stony bottom, then she heeled drastically as her keels got stuck on the stones and the wind pushed her over, she skidded and slid away and came up again. When there was depth she danced around the mooring as the wind pushed her about. She would get a gust on her beam and she would heel over and come into the wind then would right herself. Often the gusts would blow her to her mooring chain’s length then she would jerk forward. I did not sleep at all, the rain pelted the cabin, we were tossed around, and the sounds of the jerking and heeling made it impossible to feel calm.

When the tide was out I ate, read then slept until about 1pm. I went for a walk and saw a mass of pink flowers along the saltings; I walked over the sands out to the low tide mark. The wind was shrieking across the shallow pools leaving dark streaks on the water, shaking my hands as I took the videos. The wind increased when I got to the tide, it was lifting the waves and throwing them over the surface as spray. In the distance the dry sand of Rockcliff Marshes was treated in the same way making it look like the Sahara in a dust storm. I turn and faced the wind and it nearly blew me over. The center of the channel was a mass of white tops and I noticed that the tide was advancing against the wind, tide was coming in and I was a long way from Sadaf. There was a channel between me and the boat. I walked fast but was hampered by the wind, I ran and could hardly make headway so strong was the gusts. I waded through the channel and headed for the boat, reaching it as the tide encroached.
On the boat there was a repeat as the morning, but with more wind strength and gusts that heel Sadaf drastically and pulled at her mooring chain with loud bangs. I changed into my wet suit and put on my life jacket, I also got ready 2 anchors incase she pulled from the mooring. After a while I got used to these conditions and read and cooked, amazing how you can get used to new situations. I videoed the sea but the wind’s strength actually flattened the waves and made it look quite flat on the video.

A brief shower brought with it a glorious rainbow over the estuary. The Shipping forecast for that day reads: Irish Sea, Gale warning issued 23 May 15:30 UTC. Storm force 10 veering westerly and decreasing gale force 8 imminent
• Wind Westerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 at first, decreasing 5 or 6.
• Sea State Moderate or rough.
• Weather Showers.
• Visibility Good.

Reefing the Jib Spar

It was not the best of days to test out my jib reefing system but in another way it was ideal. Heavy rain and gale force winds blew me and the jib all over the place, but these conditions I would have to reef while out at sea so I tried to do it while I was learning how to do it. In the end after trying different ways I settled on the hanks remaining in place (around the forestay) while I attached the last one to a shackle on the spar. I then furled the jib around the spar but I found it just as effective to slap reef it and tie the loose jib to the spar with reef knots. As the jib became smaller the end of the spar was sticking out with the jib not supporting it so it was dipping down onto the hull. I fixed a rope from the top of the jib down to where I wanted the spar to be and tied it off, this enabled the spar to be at the correct angle away from the hull and side stays as it swung (as the jib got smaller this rope had to be shortened to keep the spar at the right distance).
I had marked where the reef would be so it matched where the hanks were situated, when I had shackled the hank I could position the marking on the spar and bunji strap it, this gave me the correct distance between the two reef points. The rest of the loose jib I reefed with ties. As the jib was now shorter I had to make the rope shorter too to compensate and keep it off the deck and swinging freely. If I pre-mark the points where the rope needs to be shortened and using a quick release shackle I can complete the reef faster. In total there will be 3-4 reef points the last being so small as to make it a storm jib.

Spar on the Jib

I finally sorted out my oversized genoa problem and reefing problem. I fitted a spar to the foot of the genoa and by rolling up the excess sail from the foot and tying it off with bunji straps effectively making it a jib. I fix the jib sheet to the spar (and not to the sail); I fix the other end of the spar to the jib forestay and attach it also to the hull by shackles/rope. The spar is cut to length so it will miss the side stays and swing easily. I use one jib sheet that goes inside of the side stays and I bring the sheet back to the cockpit.
I can roll up the jib for reefing in the same way by attaching the jib slug to the spar and tying off the other end, but I cannot do this from the cockpit…yet, but it does reduce the sail to a manageable size and it seems well balanced compared to the other ways I have tried.
By having a spar on the jib it will be more stable and less likely to flog in the wind, I think performance will be improved by having it. I can drop it quickly when needed and raise it just as easily.

A Problem with the Rig…again!

It was the first time this year I had a chance to go sailing, but although the weather conditions were nice my bilge keeler was not! She had not been tested since I put the mast up in April. The mast was too far forward so when I hoisted the genoa the luff was slack. I began to reposition the stays, slackening the forestays and tightening the backstay until the mast head was pointing backwards slightly. Hoisting the genoa this time meant that the luff was tight. I then tried to reduce genoa size my wrapping it around the forestay but the wind took it and it started to unwind. I noticed that the tack was not cut right, and the corner tension was not right, this is why it was flapping. Whoever had sewn this genoa had done a bad job. I was getting quite mad, 2 years of trying to get this boat to sail is wearing me out.
I decided I could dispense with the furling idea, and dispense with the badly sewn tack. I would reduce sail permanently by rolling up the foot of the genoa around a boom. The boom would be long enough to go past the side stays without touching them, in effect making it a self tacking jib.

I next tried the mainsail and after a few tries I reefed the main to a modest size. I am concerned about all this as I realise one of the faults with the Hurley Felicity is that the keels are too small, so when out at sea with full sail she heels over rather badly. All last summer I was sailing in strong winds and she was heeled over most of the time. So I have decided to reduce the sail area so she will be more controllable and pleasanter to handle. There was no reefing system on either of the sails so I have had to make my own, but finding a badly cut genoa is too much for me to correct. So I hope by getting it out of the way completely will make a small jib easier to control.