With 2003 well underway we are once again preparing to venture forth onto the high seas. With house moves completed, but not the work, we look to have more time this year to actually sail. Hooray.

First off was a visit to the Boat Show in London. Just had to go to the last Earls Court extravaganza didn't we. Purchased some items we needed and booked a flotilla holiday for the end of the year in the sunshine.

Now must get Dixie ready for the season. There is no longer a craning in day, since the harbour now has a fork lift type boat craning thingy, so there is no mad rush to fit things into the available days. This means that I've got more opportunity to tidy things up this year before launching, which can be on any day we like. We'll probably delay the launching to ensure everything is up to scratch.

Started at Easter by antifouling the bottom and rubbing down ready for revarnishing. Put the mast back up. Unfortunately we didn't take it down, someone else did, so all the rigging was disconnected. And some so and so has pinched the bottlescrew from the end of the forestay, so had to get a new one made up, complete with it's wire strop. This was somewhat of a rush since the mast was up supported by the jib halyard and the weather turned windy (pronounced Gales). Anyway it's back up and ready.

Engine is next. Still got the somewhat temperamental Vire in there. Wondering if the cost of re-engining with a small diesel would be worth it, or just carry on with the auxiliary outboard. Looking for a secondhand diesel as an option.

Much fiddling with engine done. Being a petrol engine there are lots of electrical bits which naturally survive for ever in a damp salty environment. The starter switch was completely shot so has been replaced, and the regulator box has had to be stripped doen and all it's contacts cleaned up. Having charged the battery up twice at home and lugged it up the side of the boat it now appears as if it has seen better days and is losing charge. Best get another one which isn't too bad as it's rating only needs to be 25Ah as a minimum.

Apart from that all is about ready to go. Will be sticking with the outboard as a backup anyway for now so arranged with Bob the harbourmaster to have Dixie put back in and onto her mooring. Nice new buoys and chains with proper mooring strops have been laid over the winter, which will do away with the need to hang over the side tying knots.
 

June 2003

Hooray we're afloat again. Bob has put Dixie in the water and moored her in the run. Popped down at the weekend and retrieved the road trailer, so that it can have it's wheels and brakes checked out, and any rusty parts tidied up. It hasn't been on the road for two years so should really be sorted. Obtained nice new battery to replace knackered one but Sunday was one of those lovely days where it rained so hard we could have sailed in the garden. Next weekend, definitely, no question.

Weather forecast for a sunday with a midday tide:  Hot with a gentle breeze.
Weather on a sunday with a midday tide: Cool with a hefty offshore blast

We went anyway, allthough the wind made steering an inflatable slightly more interesting than usual. Anyway, once on board and everything tidied away the infamous Vire inboard is once more tweaked and fired up. Hooray, it works and is putt-putting away quite merrily. Cooling system is operating nicely and the engine responds to the throttle as it should. Left it ticking over to warm up for final adjustments. Sudden loud bang type noise, but engine is still running. Now there is blue smoke coming out of the engine box, so off it goes again. Diving into the innards reveals the source of the smoke. If you connect a steel manifold to what appears to be an alloy expansion system and inject seawater at the same place, what do you get. According to my old chemistry teacher it's called a battery, which works by galvanic degradation of one terminal. Said terminal is the alloy bit and has nicely corroded on the inside and then blown out under exhaust pressure. And it's been flushed with fresh water to deal with this anyway. So that's it for a piece of historical machinery. Weighing up the dangers of petrol fumes and with it's reliability history the Vire has reached the point where it is no longer worth the effort. Not that it can be removed afloat, but the petrol tank is now empty and will stay that way. Whether to remove it and the propshaft completely or replace it with another engine is still an option, but we'll stick to an outboard for now, although a remote controlled, electric start one would be more convenient than the one we use at present, since we no longer have battery charging capabilities.

So there we are at the moment. Next decent day we'll be out there.
 

July 2003

All we have to do then is get the outboard on the back of the boat. Once again finding the right time to get out there presents difficulties. Having to work limits us to weekends mainly, more's the pity. But one weekend fits nicely and out we go. Tying the dinghy up alongside allows us to get the outboard up and into the cockpit. Putting it on the bracket at the stern is another matter. It's weight prevents you from holding it out at arms length, and the backstays get in the way for lowering it anyway. But there is a solution and it's called low tide. Ah, the benefits of a drying harbour. So the outboard is stored away in the cabin for now, while we just sit out in the harbour, surveying the world. It's so peaceful out here, away from the crowds. Anyway, the following friday is a day when work finishes early and low water is early evening. And it's a lovely afternoon so the trusty pedal bike is out of the shed and I've cycled 12 miles to Wells. (Must do me some good they tell me.) Walking out across the sand is the easiest way to do this. Climbing aboard is easy with the low freeboard, plus the boat actually sits in a hole in the sand. Before long the outboard is mounted and adjusted for the correct angles etc. It's so much easier doing this standing up, and there's less chance of losing anything in the wet stuff. I should think one or two of the passing tourists wondered about the nutter on the sandbank, walking backwards, crouching down and looking at a yacht. Honestly, I was checking the angles and depth.
 

August 2003

Finally on the first weekend in august we've got a day to go out. Weather forecast is for a lovely sunny day with a breeze from the north west, not too strong. Just right for us and high tide is at 10:30. Arriving on the quay at 8:30 finds a dull misty day with no wind. Not to worry, the sun is peeking through so all should be well. Unload everything and start off down the harbour. To avoid carrying the Tinker we put it on its trolley and wheel it along the wall. Female skipper is carrying the oars etc. Then she managed to find a bloke walking his dog and next thing he's carrying the oars for her!!!  Out we paddle, climb aboard, fire up the outboard, get everything ready and down the harbour we go. The sailing club dinghies have just been towed past as there is still no wind, but several other yachts are motoring seawards in anticipation of winds offshore. The convoy of yachts gets to the lifeboat house and we pass the dinghy fleet, sitting there under gently flapping sails. Still no wind but there is a ripple further out, together with a mist. At 4 knots on the outboard (which is better than the 2 we ever managed with the Vire) we continue down the channel and over the bar. Out in the north sea at last and heading for the Fairway buoy. Still no wind. Further out from us are several more yachts, searching for the wind. One of them is the 'Juno', a modern built but traditional Gaff Rigged boat. It has all sails up, including tops'ls and is a magnificent sight, but doesn't appear to have found any wind either. We motor along the coast towards Holkham, but there is nothing other than a gentle ripple in places. Elsewhere the sea is glassy calm. Should have brought a fishing rod! Still motoring round we head back in towards the channel and back to the lifeboat house, where the water skiers are out, but not the windsurfers. Partway up the channel is another yacht with all sails up. Gallic shrugs all round at the lack of wind. The sailing club dinghies are just about moving under their own steam, but it's hardly a race. So we go back to the mooring and practise picking up. Perfect. As the tide is now starting to turn anyway we sit there with the tea brewing and a bacon sandwich on the go, dangling a crab line over the side. Don't drop the crabs in the cockpit, they try to go down the drains and get stuck! The rest of the big fleet starts to return, having obviously given up on the wind. Now however as the land warms up a northerly sea breeze picks up, just enough for the dinghy fleet to gently ghost up the channel. Even with the sun now blazing away the breeze has got an edge to it, coming straight from the north, but it's still pleasant just sitting out here. Next weekend has an early evening tide so should be a better bet. And we've thoroughly tested the outboard so we have no worries about getting becalmed, and are confident of it's ability to run for more than an hour without trouble. So roll on next weekend.

Strange. Got home friday night and found a large yellow object in the garage. One of the lifejackets has gone off. Not been raining, no moisture in garage, just been hot. Oh well. Bought re-arming gubbins and repacked it fine. Nice to know thay work I suppose. But saturday has a 5:30 pm tide, and there is some wind so off we go. Motor down the harbour for a while, raise the sails and away. Part of a long convoy of boats all going the same way, out to sea. Once past the last channel buoys we're out in the North Sea again, under sail and heading for the Fairway buoy. Upwind, downwind, across the wind, we practise all of them. Wind is somewhat light and variable and we've picked up some crud on the log impeller so we've no idea how fast we're going, but we're going and it's great. Offshore it's misty and we hear Humber coatguard calling for anyone in the vicinity of somewhere on the Lincolnshire coast, which is miles away. They are searching for two kids who've drifted off on an inflatable toy and disappeared in the mist. When will they ever learn? Found them quite quickly which is good. Yarmouth coastguard sound to be doing the same sort of thing elsewhere. Before long though it's time to go back in. We know this because everyone else is doing the same so we tag on the end of the convoy and start to sail back in the channel. The wind is still light but we're moving up the channel quite nicely when we realise we're catching up with the boat in front of us. Now we're not into racing or anything like that but it's amazing how you suddenly get this strange urge to overtake someone. So now we're trimming sails like Ellen McArthur (who also started with a Corribee) to squeeze that extra little bit of speed out of the boat. Slowly but surely we catch up and overtake the boat in front of us and begin to overhaul the next one. However, by the time we reach the lifeboat house the wind is falling away and it's time to turn the outboard back on and get the jib down. We leave the main up to use what wind there is and approach the pool buoy, where there is a sharp turn in the channel with sandbanks either side. As we round the buoy a speedboat coming up astern goes round us on the outside, between us and some boats pulled up on the opposite bank. Needless to say he doesn't slow down very much and next thing we find is his wake charging up behind us alternately lifting the outboard out of the water and then dunking it deeply back in. We're glad to see him go away from us. Unfortunately this sort of thing happens all too often. Most of the power boat users are very good and take care near other boats, particularly the dinghy fleet, but there's always the odd one who seems oblivious to anyone else. So up to the mooring we go, turn into the wind and drift sideways up to the buoy and the dinghy before picking up the rope and securing ourselves back to the mooring. After clearing everything away and tidying up we sit in the sun for a while and watch the rest coming in before it's time to row ashore and go home. Great evening, nice and hot and some fine sailing. Now just have to wait for next weekend. Where's the tide tables?

10:30 am tide on a sunday. What more can you ask for. Arrive at quay at 8 ish and unpack. It's been hot all week without much wind to speak of but today there is a gentle Nor'easter which is strong enough to blow an inflatable off course. Before long though we're away down the channel under motor. This Nor'easter is actually quite nippy and out here it's jumper weather. At some point in the channel we head into wind and put the sails up, only to find that we've just run onto the edge of the sand and have stopped moving. This sand bank is getting bigger! But we soon come off on the rising tide and down the channel we go. Or rather near to the channel we go. There is quite a swell in the channel and the dinghy fleet is flying backwards and forwards, so we stay clear of them and zigzag to the last bend. Then it's a beam reach all the way to the bar. The swell in places is several feet and we're soon sailing up and over, flying spray and everything. At the end of the channel it's really lumpy where the swell is trying to cross the bar and one yacht coming the other way is surfing down the fronts of the waves. So we do an about turn at the last buoy and take up surfing as well. On a beam reach with a following sea we are getting close to 6 knots from 21 foot of boat with a waterline length of only about 16-17 feet so we are flying. Further back into the channel the seas moderate and the wind is steady, so we practise gybing and tacking round the buoys, avoiding the fishing boats and the dinghy fleet. Before long it's back in time so we drop the main and carry on up the channel under main alone. As the wind is steady we carry on like this until we reach the main set of moorings where we fire up the outboard. But we can see our mooring, there is a clear run to it, we are moving steadily and there are no other boats about so leave the outboard ticking over in neutral and sail up to the mooring. We've never tried to pick up the mooring under sail before, mainly because there's not always that much spare room, but today the wind is in the right direction and if we overshoot we'll have pots of room to go round again so we go for it. On a beam reach, spilling wind from the main, and heading into the ebbing tide we managed to approach the mooring buoy so slowly that all that was needed on arrival was a sharp turn into the wind and we stopped next to the buoy. It was actually smoother and neater than motoring up to it. Considering that some people always do it this way I suppose it's time we did as well. Must try sailing off the mooring next time. Tea and bacon sandwich time. Rowing ashore is fun, as the wind is trying to push us ashore but we're soon ashore and ready to pack up the dinghy. Another dinghy has just come ashore and we talk for a while about the harbour with it's occupants, who've just brought their boat up for a week or two, and are considering a permanent mooring. As I pack the tinker away into it's bag in less than five minutes the other bloke is telling me how it takes half an hour to put his away, and he's quite impressed with the tinker and starts asking all sorts of questions. Oddly enough someone else was asking about tinkers when we started in the morning and I've extolled the virtues to anyone who asks about them. Perhaps I should get a commision from Henshaws? Tide next weekend is in the afternoons and it's a bank holiday weekend so the likelihood is we'll be out again.

Bank holiday weekend. Weather forecast is for wall to wall sunshine and gentle north easterlies. Saturday it rained. Sunday was cloudy but warm with quite a stiff nor'easterly so out we went for a 5:30 tide. Place is heaving with tourists and there must have been half a dozen visiting yachts along the quay. We've got the sails all ready for hoisting and the outboard is ticking over, so we drop the mooring and drift onto the edge of the sandbank! The wind is stronger than we thought. Anyway, with the outboard in reverse we're soon off again and down the channel. There is an enormous dinghy fleet out today, both the sailing club sharpies and no end of visitors dinghies, so we have to pick our way between them carefully. Way out over the bar there are white horses breaking so we don't think we'll get far today and neither does the sailing club as they're dropping one of their markers on the other side of the channel. Round the corner and up goes the main. Straight away we're off at 4 knots with the wind on the quarter and heading for the main run of the channel. In comes the fishing fleet at about 50 knots. With all the dinghies and the fishing boats to avoid we soon find ourselves on the leeward side needing to tack and with no room to do so, so briefly we're back on the outboard to prevent us going aground on the beach. That would give the tourists a laugh. Once clear the jib goes up and we're steaming back along the channel at nearly five knots. There are now about fifty boats out here, most under sail, not counting the windsurfers who are really shifting. The larger boats are somewhat restricted by draft and need to stay in the channel, but there are about 8 of us going backwards and forwards. It's a real crowd and we need to keep a good lookout, but everybody seems to be sticking to the collision regs. And with the wind we've got today everybody is flying. So we take the opportunity to play around with the sails to find the best balance and get the best speed. For a small bilge keeler Dixie is certainly easy to handle on any heading and will tack in a very short distance indeed, which is handy given the crowded conditions. All too soon though it's time to head back in, and as we round the pool buoy we drop the jib and carry on under main alone. In the channel the wind is lighter because of the land, but there is more than enough to drive us towards the mooring. As we approach the mooring we've got the wind abaft the beam. Oddly enough I've been reading Tom Cunliffe's book 'Easy on the Helm' again, in which he extols the virtues of trying things out under sail, rather than firing up the engine at the earliest opportunity so we carry on towards the mooring just with the main. Of course with the wind abaft the beam the one thing we can't do is stop so we work out the best course of action and start the outboard just in case. Approaching the mooring we turn across the channel, close hauled, and tack back towards the mooring buoy. At just the right moment it's turn into the wind time and the boat stops head to wind with the buoy just under the port bow. Easy. No straining and heaving, just pick it up and drop the strop over the post. Done. Down with the main and pack it away. Time for home with the prospect of another day out tomorrow.

Or not as the case may be.

Oh well, next weekend has tides in the middle of the day so we'll just have to wait.
 

September 2003

At last another glorious day. 9:30 tide and it's a big one so we're out early and away. Today it's a southerly breeze so we're downwind out of the harbour and off onto a perfect near-smooth North Sea. Taking the opportunity to try out different things we spend our time sailing around without using the rudder. With the correct settings of the sails we find we can go in any direction except dead downwind just by adjusting the sails and steering that way. Great fun and all added to the learning curve. Oddly enough there are few local cruisers out considering the conditions. We practised speed control using the sails only and found we could keep the speed down to about 1 knot and up to around 4 knots, although try as we may, we never seem to get much above this speed except in bursts. I know we had 6 knots the other week but we were surfing down waves at the time. So it would appear that 4 knots is probably the best we can hope for, and goes some way to verifying the old square root of the waterline length rule about maximum speed. So when the time comes to go back in we are West of the harbour entrance and a couple of miles out. This is handy as the tide along the coast runs West to East. Being a big tide it's also running at a fair rate. We find ourselves being set Eastwards as we sail in against the wind. Close hauled our best speed is only about 2 knots and before long we find ourselves approaching the Fairway buoy. Sideways. The bow wave from this buoy is something to behold. It's enormous and the buoy is leaning over at an alarming angle. At 4 knots into the tide we are going backwards relative to the buoy, so the tide must be running in the region of 6-7 knots. And there is no way a little 21 foot bilge keeler can sail across this run into the wind. So it's outboard time just to get us back into the calmer water inside the tide run. With the outboard and the sails, lee-bowing the tide we cross into the channel entrance without getting set towards Holland. With any other wind direction we wouldn't have had a problem, but todays wind is still from the south and is only a gentle 6-8 knots anyway. Before long though we're back at the mooring. Heading into the tide and the wind the log reads 3 knots as we approach the buoy and drops to 2 as we stop alongside, stationary relative to the ground but still moving through the water. Picking up the buoy is so simple.

Now we need to see if we can get out anymore. We're off on our hols in October (sailing of course) and need to get Dixie out at some point, so whether we get out again remains to be seen. At least getting Dixie out is something we can leave in the capable hands of Bob the Harbourmaster. Just have to finish servicing the trailer.

Well the weatherman was wrong again and the next weekend saw a lovely sunday with a south westerly. Tidal range was not much but we went out anyway. Lost shades over the back of the boat while firing up the outboard. Superb sparkling effect from the sunshine as they dissapeared into the deeps. Lovely bit of sailing, but with such a short tidal range we had to stick to the channel. Yes, you've guessed right, we strayed too far off one side and went aground on Bob Halls sand. Rapid action with the outboard and backing the jib finally got us off and back to the channel. Sailing club rescue RIB came over just as we got going again, which is reassuring. Must buy the man a pint. First time we've really gone on the ground. Broke watch at the same time. Back to the mooring and cup of tea time. Another boat coming in loses engine power in the channel and drops anchor. Ex liverpool class lifeboat which does harbour trips kindly gave him a tow back to the top of the harbour. It is great to see how everyone on the water will help everyone else when necessary.

So this was probably our last trip out. Only visits now will be to prepare for removal from the water.

Trailer brakes have been cleaned and checked. New tyres all round, since the old ones were cracking up and one of them dated from 1981, according to my friendly tyre supplier. Took the trailer back to the compound at Wells on the Sunday and walked out at low tide to lower the mast. One of the shrouds has unscrewed so put that right, but I can't see how it happened in the first place as it's all clamped up tight. Went back on Monday to request a lift out and found it's already been done. Such service. Now have to wait until the end of November to take Dixie home for some work, mainly removing the inboard and rebuilding it. We're off on a sailing trip to sunnier climes for a while.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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