Single Handed - Plymouth Sound

The time had come to sort out some rusty skills and handle the boat on my own. I headed down to the boat and took ages getting her ready to take out. There is always some nervous anticipation the first time in a season when you let go or the pontoon or mooring on your own.

You know that you need to deal with anything and that is why I find single handing so rewarding. Got a problem, up to you to fix it.

Having 'faffed' about checking and rechecking things I finally set Aphrodite for sea, everything stowed below, sails ready to be hoisted and unfurled, engine on, spring line set and mooring lines let go. I was off.

Left the mooring without damaging any gelcoat, set off towards the marina entrance through Millbay, passed Drakes Island and into Plymouth Sound. Thankfully not too many boats about. Made my way over towards Jennycliffe to seek some shelter from the wind to haul the main sail and away from sets of eyes as I knew this was not going to be pretty.

Hoisted the main, a slight tangle in the lazy jacks that was easy to sort out. Settled down with the main up and the engine in neutral while I got used to the boat under sail again - it had been some time since I had last sailed. Finally pulled the genoa out to its first reefing point, turned off the engine and off she flew!

7 knots SOG and over 8 STW

With visibility beginning to close in, the Met Office had it right I dropped the sails and motored back to the berth.

Brian, who occupies the next berth, came over to help with the lines or perhaps to check I was careful with his gelcoat and I glided into my slot. Tidied up the sails and went below for a cup of tea. On emerging Drakes Island was shrouded in fog.

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Crew: Sandy Garrity

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Trip Stats: Distance: XX nm, Average speed: X.XX knots, Maximum speed: X.XX knots, Under way: X h XX m, Sailing hours: X h XX m, Engine hours: x h XX m.

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Weather: Inshore waters forecast to 12 miles offshore 01:00 (UTC+1) on Wed 2 Jun 2021 to 01:00 (UTC+1) on Thu 3 Jun 2021

24 hour forecast: Easterly or northeasterly, veering southeasterly, 3 to 5, then veering southerly or southwesterly 2 to 4 later. Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight later in lyme bay. Thundery showers, fog patches later. Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later

Relaunch and a Visit to SV Bora Bora

I got down to Mayflower marina for 0700 UTC well in time for relaunch. The lifting crew arrived and had a cup of tea, what better way to start the day, before starting up the lift and relaunching me.

Being invited to go onboard with the boat still in the strops, half in and half out the water so I could check the through hull was watertight was a bit odd, but I had witnessed a boat sinking at Topsham a few years earlier because the owner had not fitted a through hull, and thought it was a excellent way of avoiding a flooding. The team walked the boat round to the fuel pontoon and it was then my turn to put the kettle on for a cuppa.

With the new depth sounder uncalibrated I was surprised at how close it read to the original, about 0.20 meter difference.

As I turned on the engine ready for departure one of the predicted showers arrived, a French friend calls them "waso pepe", roughly translated bird pee as they are so short. Set the lines for my usual single handed departure and one of the lift team assisted me, perhaps they were keen for me to get a move on as the next launch was being lined up.

Chugging out passed the pontoons it was good to finally see water speed, depth and water temperature (still too cold for swimming in my book). Passing a big red vessel on one of the pontoons I noticed that it was flying an A flag and a couple of chaps were holding pipes over the side, so took a wide slow course round them and headed up the Tamar towards Saltash where I had arranged to raft up with Bora Bora and her owners Morris, Steph and the dog Lammy.

I had not been up the Tamar since doing my RYA Day Skipper some years before. Passing the naval dockyard at Devonport is always interesting with lots of activity then you need to pass the fearsome jaws of the Torpoint Ferry. Three chain ferries that cross the Tamar and have right of way over any other vessel. With the ferries to contend with and being followed by a Landing Craft it made for an interesting half hour.

Just as I passed the entrance to the River Lynher I called Bora Bora and arranged lines and fenders. Lined up with appropriate line of trot moorings and slowly worked my way up the line until I spotted the boat. Rafting up is always a controlled crash, at least I was doing about 0.5 knots when we came alongside.

All tied up, I stepped aboard and was warmly greeted with a bottle of whisky! 1000 hours is usually too early for a dram, but as this was a special occasion we took exception and poured a small "taster."

Steph and Morris on Bora Bora, Saltash

News and talk of our summer's sailing plans were exchanged and I departed for the return trip down river. This time with the ebb tide and the trip was done in half the time as I had made it up river.

After an hour in Plymouth Sound where I had some space to do some maneuvers under engine to get the hang of the boats handling characteristics as it had been some time since we had been out in her. As ever she was faultless under engine and I am convinced that there were a few odd looks as I performed figures of eight going forward and backwards.

Time to head in and have some lunch, I don't think I'll ever be comfortable entering marinas, but arrived safely back on the berth with no damage to the gelcoat - result.

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Crew: Sandy Garrity

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Trip Stats: Distance: 11 nm, Avg speed: 4.40 knots, Max speed: 9.00 knots, Under way: 2 h 30 m.

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Weather: Inshore waters forecast to 12 miles offshore 01:00 (UTC+1) on Fri 28 May 2021 to 01:00 (UTC+1) on Sat 29 May 2021

Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly

24 hour forecast: Variable, becoming mainly east or northeast, 2 to 4. Mainly moderate west of The Lizard, otherwise smooth or slight. Occasional rain. Mainly good.

A Clean Hull

Finally, the 2021 season is starting. After months of not getting out of the marina, UK COVID lockdowns and May having some truly unseasonal weather

I booked Aphrodite into Mayflower Marina for a lift, powerwash and overnight hold. The overnight hold was so we had time to sort out a through hull that had been fitted when the hull was coppercoated back in 2019. The fitting was so tight we could not remove the blanking plated to fit the speed, depth and temperature sensor and with the trip round the UK about two months away I wanted all the instruments working.

As this was my first trip out of the marina Steve from Red Snapper kindly offered to be a responsible adult onboard and we met up at about 1300 (UTC) for the lift out at 1500.

After leaving King Point we had some time to spare and really wanted a bit more tide as we were on large springs and headed over to Queen Ann's Battery before turning west and motoring round to Mayflower. Where on arrival be parked Aphrodite on the fuel berth, handed her over to the lifting team and watched her being lifted out.

Lift out

Having watched the boat being lifted out by crane on the Exe the travel lift was a lot less stressful and once she was safely parked on a block the guys preceded to jet wash her bottom.

Considering how little the boat has been used during the last 18 months I was delighted to see just a film of slime that came off easily. At this point we headed off for a cup of tea before checking anodes, they will last until October when I am coming out for the winter, and the main reason for the lift out - sorting the log's through hull that had been fitted at Mylor and no matter how much I tried I could not remove the blanking plate.

With the jet wash finished we popped a ladder against the boat and I climbed onboard, unscrewed the retaining collar and wiggled the blanking bung and got the usual 10 mm of travel. Returned to ground level and Steve and I found the "stage one" through hull removal kit, a medium sized hammer and an old broom handle. The moment of truth, and one that we hoped would happen, one sharp tap and the blanking plate and out it popped. Cheers all round.

An inspection if the blanking plate and through hull showed that either no or not enough silicone grease had been used in the fitting! Stage two of the through hull kit was deployed, a new blanking plate that had been well greased, that went in and out several times without any problem and then the water sensor was tested and that worked as designed.

Thankfully, the job went well and stages three and four were not needed, an angle grinder and new through hull. We tided up and headed off to find something to eat, and have a celebratory beer. I would return to the boat in the morning for the relaunch.

All times are UTC.

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Crew: Sandy Garrity, Steve Roffe

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Trip Stats: Distance: 3.20 nm, Avg speed: 4.00 knots, Max speed: 6.00 knots, Under way: 1 h 30 m.

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Sunrise: 0542 hrs Sunset: 1931 hrs

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Weather: Inshore waters forecast to 12 miles offshore 07:00 (UTC+1) on Thu 27 May 2021 to 07:00 (UTC+1) on Fri 28 May 2021.

Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly

24 hour forecast: Variable 4 or less becoming east or southeast 2 to 4. Slight or moderate in west, otherwise smooth or slight. Occasional rain later. Mainly good.

Plans for 2021

Like the rest of the world 2020 was a year dominated with Coronavirus and in the United Kingdom the exit from the European Union. Little sailing was done, but a lot of work on upgrading the systems on the boat.

Due to the uncertain travel situation I am planning to circumnavigate the United Kingdom during August, September and early October 2021, I have split the voyage into several legs and am inviting sailing friends to hop on and off the boat if they want to do one or more legs.

Leg One Plymouth to Ramsgate 250 nm (Two days sailing)

A run along the "La manche" in one hop with lots of diversion ports so that I can check that we are all set up for the trip.

48 hour stop over with possible crew change.

Leg Two Ramsgate to Edinburgh 400 nm. (Four days sailing)

Basically, getting to Scotland in one hop.

I am considering a five day stop over as my daughter might be in Edinburgh and I have family to visit this also allows for a crew change.

Leg Three Edinburgh to Stromness 215 nm. (Two days sailing)

This is where things start getting interesting and very weather dependent. I am aiming for Stromness on the Orkney mainland and a visit to Lyness where I spent a couple of years as a toddler.

Leg Four Stromness to Mallaig 250 nm. (No defined time)

This is where things slow down a bit and we can enjoy the west Highlands. Once round Cape Wrath I plan potter down to Mallaig over a few days. Places I want to stop include Loch A' Chadh -Fi where John Ridgway set up his outdoor center, Aultbea where we lived for about six months, Glenelg and Sandaig the home of Gavin Maxwell and Loch Nevis.

Leg Five Mallaig to Fort William 75 nm. (One day sailing)

A trip down past Mull then "home" to Fort William; there should be a new 40 berth marina there. I'm planning to stay for five days as I've lots of school pals to catch up with possible crew change. Aim to be here mid September at the latest.

Leg Six Fort William to Largs 150 nm. (Two days sailing)

Possible crew change at Largs.

Leg Seven Largs to Isles of Scillies 360 nm. (Four days sailing)

The run back south.

Leg Eight Isles of Scillies to Plymouth 90 nm. (One day sailing)

The run back to home port.

The Winters Work and Coronavirus Interrupts Play

My 2019 sailing season finished with a voyage on the Ocean Youth Trust South's vessel Prolific and I was looking forward to spending some time working on Aphrodite as there were a couple of major projects to do, specifically improve the electrical system as much of the wiring was over 35 years old and beginning to corrode, the telltale black copper showing at the joints that needed to be replaced with more modern tinned copper, and give the inside a lick of varnish as Aphrodite needed a lift inside.

I was fortunate to get early retirement in January at the age of 58 which allowed me to bring forward my plans by two years. Little did we know then that Coronavirus would sweep the world and the UK would go into "lockdown", a word I dislike, for three months setting my plans back a bit.

The Batteries

I had always felt that the batteries were on the light side for what the boat was being expected to do. Two led acid batteries: the 80Ah starter battery was not holding its charge; the house battery was only 100Ah and with just the engine or shore power charging was not keeping up on multiple day trips without using the engine more that I wanted.

With much research I decided to replace the current batteries with Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) ones as they have better resistance to vibration, can't leak acid if they crack, can be discharged to a lower voltage and the existing charger was able to cope with them.

After much searching on the internet I found a company that could supply low profile batteries that would fit the existing locations and worked out that I could fit extra batteries under the rear bunk thus increase my house capacity to 390Ah an increase of 390%.

That should keep me happy for a few days, especially as I'm reducing as much of the power usage as I can, LED bulbs and the like.

The Switch Panel

The original switch panel while working was of its time, the voltage and amperage instruments could not accurately display the boats actual usage as we were using far less power as over the years equipment got more and more efficient. Thus began the search for something up to date that would deal with modern power requirements and simplify things for single handed passages.

After much searching of the internet I found KDD Power in Cornwall that were producing exactly what I wanted and it got even better when they said that they could custom make a panel. Being pretty local I popped down to discuss my requirements and commission a new switch panel and VSR charger.