Winters Work - A Moveable Feast

A post that will move in time over the winter as I record the jobs I need to do and when I have done them.

The Mast

There are a number of jobs that I need to do on the mast. Having discussed them with the yard I've decided to have it unstepped, do the work at ground level, then get it stepped again. I can then work at my own pace and ensure that the work is done to my satisfaction.

I no longer have a head for working at height.

The Windex

The windex has a habit of 'helicoptering' on certain points of sail, it whizzes round and round, as the masthead lights give an odd airflow. Which while not critical is a mild source of both amusement and irritation.

Either I need to raise the pointer higher on the antenna or get a new bracket to move the entire antenna above the level of the lamps.

Radar Reflector

On several occasions I've had halyards get trapped behind the radar reflector, easy to do it you are single handed and not controlling tension on the line, but a real pain in the butt to get the line back to its correct place.

My cunning plan is to run a line from the port shroud round the front radar reflector, perhaps with a clove hitch round the reflector, and connect it to the starboard shroud. The idea being the halyard cannot get behind the reflector.

Lazy Jack Connectors

Currently the lazy jacks run about three quarters up the mast, go through a block that is connected to the mast via a couple of D connectors that are pop riveted on. As a result I consider the slot that the sail falls into when lowering to high and narrow.

Planning remove the D connectors and blocks from the mast and have the lazy jacks over the spreaders, perhaps in plastic tubing to prevent chafe.

Mousing Lines

I've lost one of my mousing lines!

This needs replacing. I suspect that I'll just get all the halyards in place with the mast down.

Sail Track Clean

In my ownership I've not cleaned the sail track, just added more and more silcone lubricant. Now it the time to give the track a good clean.

Steaming/Deck Lights

The bulb of the steaming light is unknown and the deck lamp is missing.

Need to record the steaming light and sort out a deck light.

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Updated:25/11/2024

OYT: Trip 46 of 2024 - Day 1

Sunday 22^nd September 2024

0830 hrs

I climbed on board the train for the journey east to Southampton for the last trip of 2024 on Prolific. As ever the rain was hammering down, that is sailing in late September and early October for you. Part of my journey was to be by a rail replacement bus, a first for me.

At Gillingham in Dorset we de-trained and headed for the buses to take us to Salisbury, all quite painless if a tad damp. The unexpected drive through parts of the country I'd not seen before was enjoyable, but the grey sky dampen the mood.

While waiting at Salisbury for the connection to Southampton I spotted a couple with luggage who were clearly going on a cruise and we joked about the weather that we might encounter. They off to the Mediterranean and me round the Solent.

With the bus arriving to collect us outside the station we all clambered on and found a seat. Beside me was a retired Australian General Practitioner who was doing some travelling after a life of looking after patients. We chatted in detail about how the UK and Australia dealt, or did not deal, with the COVID pandemic.

1330 hrs

The bus deposited us outside Southampton Central railway station and headed off to its final destination. I then headed down to Ocean Village to await Prolific arrive from one of her short day sails and set up the camera to take some pictures of her arriving at her berth.

Prolific heading towards Ocean Village.

1600 hrs

Once Prolific had tied up alongside I made my way down to the boat to join here. The crew would be arriving tomorrow.

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Crew: Constantinos, Lauren, Glyn, Cathy, Lima, Rose and Sandy.

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Sunrise: 0552 hrs Sunset: 1802 hrs

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Weather: Forecast valid from: 01:00 (UTC+1) on Sun 22 Sep 2024 until 01:00 (UTC+1) on Mon 23 Sep 2024

Dover, Wight

Variable becoming east or southeast, then veering southwest later, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 in Wight. Smooth or slight. Thundery showers. Good, occasionally poor.

© Met Office Synoptic Chart 22/09/2024

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Delivery - The Exe to Plymouth

Monday 19^th August 2024

I had answered an email from Halcyon looking for local crew on a delivery between the Exe and Plymouth and had been accepted.

After a few WhatsApp messages and a call with the skipper, Tris, we arranged to meet with the owner selling the boat at 0500 hrs beside Lympstone Sailing Club.

0530 hrs

Lat: 50° 38.65'N Long: 003° 26.13'W
Off Lympstone, Devon.

An early start and a short drive to Lympstone to meet up with Tris and the selling owner. A quick handshake and we all jumped on the dinghy for the ride out to the boat.

The owner talked us through the boats systems. We had been advised that there would be no kettle onboard and I had spent some time rummaging in the shed for my old camping Trangia kit, last used some 20 years ago, dug out the kettle and spent ages cleaning it only to discover some spiders in there not previously known in East Devon. Much to our surprise not only was there no kettle, there was no way of lighting the stove and as neither Tris or I smoked.

Given we were racing the tide there was no time to head back to shore, dash to the village shop for a box of matches - there would be no hot drinks or food today!

We were later to find that while the boat had lots of engine spares, filters, fan belts and that sort of thing there were no tools onboard.

The current owner having finished the handover departed on the dinghy and we cast off from the mooring. As I had previously had a boat on the Exe I was given the tiller and not steered a boat with a tiller for some time it felt a bit odd.

Kingfisher on her mooring at Lympstone
© Tristran Brooks 19/08/2024

I was quite surprised to discover how much the Exe had changed. It felt like I was leaving a new harbour again.

Tris had opted to take the 'short-cut' as we left the river and cut the corner heading straight towards Dawlish. In the past I had always gone out to the safe water mark, but time was of the essence.

0700 hrs

Lat: 50° 24.22'N Long: 003° 28.10'W
Off Dawlish, Devon.

The morning is grey and overcast. Very few boats out on the water. Under motor as the wind is on the nose.

Note to self: Invest in a decent pair of gloves even though it is August it is quite chilly.

0920 hrs

Lat: 50° 33.94'N Long: 003° 25.25'W
Off Berry Head, Devon

Tris popped below and comes back on deck to say 'we've used 10 lts of diesel!', engine to tick over and fill the tank from the spare 10 ltr jerry can and ponder popping into Dartmouth as Kingfisher was drinking fuel at about 2 lts an hour.

We ran the engine up again, but with lower revs having come to the conclusion that the hull was foul with weed. While Dartmouth was an option as a refuel stop I calculated it would add another three hours to the passage time and the weather forecast, so far, had been pretty accurate.

1200 hrs

Lat: 50° 13.73 'N Long: 003° 39.22 'W
Noon Position

1230 hrs

Lat: 50° 11.85 'N Long: 003° 39.99 'W
South of Start Point, Devon

Just off Start Point we found some sailable wind, the forecast was proving to be very accurate as we now had a F6/7 with wind over tide. Tris hoisted the main which promptly got stuck half way up the mast!

On handover we were assured that all the running rigging was working perfectly!

Tris ventured onto the deck of this 24 foot boat, doing its best to be a bucking bronco fairground ride, and worked to fix the problem for about 20 minutes with only the 'occasional swear word' being heard in the cockpit as I was threading the vessel through mountainous seas - well they looked big in this tiny boat.

1500 hrs

Lat: 50° 15.90'N Long: 003° 58.87'W
South West of Burgh Island, Devon

A cracking sail, double reefed, but a serious lack of tea!

Not the only boat out on the water
© Tristran Brooks 19/08/2024

1600 hrs

Lat: 50° 17.58'N Long: 004° 04.59'W
South West of Yealm Head, Devon

The fog had descended and we were sailing blind. With two to three metre waves we threaded our way into Plymouth Sound, the far end of the breakwater only visible when there was a lift in the fog.

Once inside the breakwater we turned on the motor and dropped the sails.

1730 hrs

Lat: 50° 21.99'N Long: 004° 09.26'W
King Point Marina, Plymouth, Devon

The new owner took our lines and we tied Kingfisher up in her new berth at King Point Marina, Plymouth.

Kingfisher at King Point
© Tristran Brooks 19/08/2024

After the handover the new owner kindly drove me up to the train station and I headed back to Lympstone to collect the car and head home.

A comment from a friend who watched us enter King Point, you can't go anywhere without being spotted, was, 'your either very mad or very brave to be out in that wee boat on a day like today'.

All times are UTC.

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The Log

	Distance NM	Underway	Avg SOG knots	Max SOG knots	Night Hours
Day:	55.00	12h 00m	5.00	9.00	0

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Crew: Tristran Brooks (Skipper) Sandy Garrity

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Sunrise: 0542 hrs Sunset: 1931 hrs

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Weather: The shipping forecast issued by the Met Office, on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, at 00:15 (UTC+1) on Mon 19 Aug 2024 for the period 01:00 (UTC+1) on Mon 19 Aug 2024 to 01:00 (UTC+1) on Tue 20 Aug 2024.

Portland, Plymouth, North Biscay

Variable 2 to 4 becoming southwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later in Plymouth. Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later except in southeast Portland. Rain later, perhaps thundery. Good, occasionally poor later.

© Met Office Synoptic Chart 19/08/2024

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Astronavigation

In the Begining

I have had a love/hate relationship with Astronavigation since first looking at it in school. I studied for a Navigation 'O' Level back in the late 1970's. It has always been something I wanted to be proficient with, but was totally discouraged 'put off' due to the rather bamboozling text book, Mary Blewitt's Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen ISBN-13 : 978-1408132128. Clearly written for a different era. I'd suggest the Jurassic age with enough spherical trigonometry to put me off geometry for life, but there has always been a little voice inside that said, 'You should really understand this stuff'.

Playing with the Subject

Over the years I've had books out of the library that I've picked up, looked at, tried to get my head round some of the language and concepts then quietly returned them to the librarian just as confused, sometimes even more so!

A Quite Night at Anchor

From time to time you sail with some amazing people. One such occasion we were sat quietly at anchor and the subject of astro came up in conversation. The skipper spent about half an hour explaining the basics and that little voice inside said, 'see I told you so – it is not that difficult'.

A few months later I was sailing with the same skipper and explained that I had a 'bad experiance' with the Blewitt book and could they recommend something that led me by the hand in very small steps. They kindly suggested David Burch's Celestial Navigation: A Complete Home Study Course ISBN-13 : 978-0914025511, one birthday present sorted.

Celestial Navigation: A Complete Home Study Course

The book arrived and a quick thumb though it and it was exactly what I needed. Step by step with worked examples and a bit at the back with all the details, the boring bits well hidden until you were ready to read and digest them. Even so it was some time before I got stuck into the book, but thankfully there was not a haversine in sight!

With the wet, miserable winter of 2023/24 I had no excuse as there was little work I could do on the boat, it being so cold and damp. I set too working my way through the chapters slowly working out in my head what I needed to do and how to do it.

I did take a look at David's YouTube Channel, but quickly left as he rambles on like an absent minded professor and is extremely frustrating to listen to! After several weeks of reading and a lot of Internet searches I found The Nautical Almanac where they post both the Nautical Almanac and Sight Reduction Tables (Pub 249). In turn that has lead to me printing out the daily pages, tables and sight reduction tables for the days and latitudes that I'm sailing in allowing me to great my own document.

The Sextant

The decision to buy a sextant was logical, I really did need one, but which one. I've played with a Davis Mark 25 for some sun sights, but my research suggested that it was not great for stars and planets. The one that a lot of diffrent sources suggested was the Celestaire Astra IIIB so I dug deep into my pockets and contacted Alice at Crews Navigation in Plymouth and ordered one.

Astra IIIB Deluxe Sextant
Picture: Celestaire.com

My initial thoughts are that the instrument has a more solid feel that the Davis and once the boat is back in the water, June 2024, I'll need to put theory into practice. I'll mention in posts how I get on.

Given what I now know I wonder if picking up Mary Blewitt's book would be a good idea?

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OYT: Trip 09 of 2024 - Day 4

Friday 26^th April 2024

0000 hrs

Lat: 50° 45.70'N Long: 001° 17.67'W

1300 hrs

Slipped lines and headed out past the the Cowes Breakwater. On the main hoist a line got tangled and it took some time to fix. I helmed, attempting to keep Prolific 'on station', using a couple of transits. A useful exercise in keeping the boat still.

1500 hrs

An afternoon in the east Solent tacking and gybing in some fresh winds.

1900 hrs

At anchor in Ryde Bay, dinner and sorted out the night navigation exercise back to Ocean Village.

2100 hrs

Anchor raised crew take over command and pilot Prolific into the north channel, then up Southampton Water to Ocean Village.

0000 hrs

Tied up alongside, time for a coffee and then bed.

All times are UTC.

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The Log

	Distance NM	Underway	Avg SOG knots	Max SOG knots	Night Hours
Day:	20.00	9h 45m	10.00	17.00	3h 00m
Trip:	148.00	7h 15m	3.80	17.00	3h 00m
Year:	140.00	31h 26m	3.84	17.00	3h 00m

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Crew: Constantinos, Lauren, Glyn, Katie, Willoughby, Vince, Sandy and the school crew.

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Sunrise: 0425 hrs Sunset: 1950 hrs

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Weather: Forecast valid from: 01:00 (UTC+1) on Fri 26 Apr 2024 until 01:00 (UTC+1) on Sat 27 Apr 2024

Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth

Cyclonic 3 to 5, occasionally easterly or northeasterly 6 in north Wight and north Portland. Slight or moderate, but rough for a time in west Plymouth. Rain or showers. Good, occasionally poor

© Met Office Synoptic Chart 26/04/2024

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