Start Yachting

This is what I learnt from my Start Yachting Course in September.

Tides.
The tides influenced where we went, and to an extent, what time of day we sailed. Water sweeps up the English Channel and back, and our route was designed to travel with the tides rather than against them.  A table gives the time and height of low and high tide for each day of the year using universal time (which we know as GMT so add one hour in British Summer time). A series of charts show the direction and speed of the flow at high tide and at each of the six hours before and afterwards.

Sleeping.
There is a cabin in each of three of the corners of the boat with the heads (toilet) and water tanks etc in the fourth.  These cabins sleep two quite cosily if there are eight on board, or one more comfortably if there are only five, as we had. You still have to get in the bed from the head end.  The other two beds are on the bench seats either side of the table. On these you can swing your legs over the side, but have to prevail on one of the cabin occupiers to store your kit during the day.

Slip Knots.
Before we set off, the ropes that secured us to the jetty are replaced by ropes that are not tied to the dock (or slip).  Instead they are simply looped around the cleat, with both ends secured on the boat. When we are ready, one end is held and the other released, so the boat can slip away.

The Motor.
Although we came to learn to sail, there is no escape from learning to use the motor. As well as being able to get home if the wind drops, the motor is needed for navigating in and out of harbours and berths.  Sometimes the mainsail was up and pulled tight while under motor. A cone with the apex down hoisted in front of the mast indicates to other craft that the boat is under motor.

Mainsail and Topsail.
From my dinghy sailing, I am used to calling the Topsail a jib. We had a Genoa, which is similar but larger, extending beyond the line of the mast. Using the term Topsail avoided having to make this distinction. It was furled and unfurled by a pair of ropes running down the port side and cleated near the stern. These were the only ropes I could see that were cleated by hand. For the rest I needed to learn about winches.

Winches.
On my dinghy, you can cleat the jib sheet, or just hold it with one hand. This is out of the question on a larger boat with a larger sail. You can pull the sail from one side to the other by pulling it by hand, only after it is wound twice round the winch, to pull it tighter, the rope goes another two times round and into a guide that makes the fifth turn hold it tight, so that it can be turned using the winch handle.

The tricky bit to learn is winding the three extra turns. You have already pulled it hand tight, so you do not want to lose that by letting go. You wind it using one hand drawing a wide circle so your hand does not caught, and you wind each one higher than the last to avoid them crossing each other and prevent them turning.
The strenuous bit is turning the winch handle. You brace yourself with one leg either side of the inside edge of the deck, facing forward so you can see the sail. You will be on the lower side of the boat if it is heeling. Especially in a race, it needs to done quickly, but in your haste you do not want to start turning the handle before it is fully inserted.
On the next tack your job is easy, simply release the sheet so that your partner on the other side can pull the sail to his side, then wind the sheet twice round ready for the tack after that. In a narrow channel with the wind against you, the tacks come quite often, and it can be hard work.

Eight Cleats and two Winches.
On either side of the cabin hatch are one winch and four cleats holding four ropes, each of which can be tightened using the winch. I did not fathom what they all were. One was the main sheet, three were reefing lines, and three were halyards, which makes only seven.  The cleats had long handles, they needed to be lifted up and pushed forward to be open.

Steering the Boat.
I have to say I did not master this. It is different using a wheel, there is a mark to show where straight is, but I did not keep track of it very well. I tended to over steer, perhaps because the boat takes longer to respond than a dinghy, perhaps because I lost touch with where straight is. In rough sea, we had force 5 and for 6 winds, the waves and gusts meant you were continually having to correct the direction, easier with land ahead than behind. Also you had to brace yourself against the movement of the boat, using other parts of the boat, not the wheel. Unlike a dinghy, you did not have hold of the main sheet, and you were not taking action to keep the boat level and avoid capsizing.

Setting the Sails.
There was little fine tuning of the sails. Very largely they were set for the course and left for the duration. In the open water we kept the same course for long stretches and the wind direction did not vary much. We did slacken the main sail for some gusts, but I suppose the gusts just turned the boat to windward, not a problem in open water.

Stugeron.
Once you feel seasick, it is a little late to take Stugeron, and it is easier to feel yuk on deck than to go below deck to fetch it. I was fine when we were sailing, but when we went heave to I started feeling nauseous, and another crew member was sick. I joined him and one other at the second occasion we were heave to.  To Heave to, steer into the wind, when the topsail backs the other way turn fully the other way and lock the wheel. You can drift safely, but as I discovered not necessarily comfortably.
Whether I was better the next day because I was used to it, because we did not heave to in open water, because the water was calmer or because I took Stugeron the night before, I do not know.

Man Overboard Procedure.
We practised it like this. Skipper throws bucket and buoy overboard. One crew member keeps his eye on it and points towards it till it is picked up, but taking care not to be hit by the boom. Helm turns to wind and start the engine. When the engine is started the jib is furled.  The boat approaches the buoy at right angles to the wind direction, aiming to arrive just upwind (not down wind as in a dinghy) slowing the motor and using reverse if necessary.  As the boat drifts toward the buoy it is picked up using a boat hook.
A real event involves throwing a lifebelt, either one attached to the boat, which avoids the need for the manouvre if the man overboard can grab it, or the one that signals by light and radio beacon its location, and therefore the approximate location of the man overboard. Meanwhile a crew member sends a distress message on the radio, first an automatic message by holding the button in for three seconds, and second giving the same information by reading out the information from the board behind (name of vessel etc) and the instrumentation (exact position) and the nature of the distress.

Coming into Berth.
Approaching the harbour requires local knowledge, whether to keep strictly to the channel or whether you can take shortcuts when the tide is high. The channel for Lymmington begins what seems like half way across the Solent. Poole harbour has a bridge that is only opened by request at half past each hour. Once the motor is started the topsail is furled and the main sail lowered.
Then the fenders are moved into position along the side from the stern where they have been for the journey. A length of rope is loosely tied to the shroud near the centre of the boat, run to the Fairlight at the front, and then secured to the cleat using an OXO knot, round once, two diagonals and round again.  A second rope is similarly prepared at the stern end. As the boat comes in, two crew members untie the end from the shroud, step outside the rail, holding the shroud and facing into the boat. As soon as they can they step backward onto the berth and secure the rope around the cleat on the berth, simply holding it tight until they tie a knot. After this a further line is attached at the middle, but I will have to learn that next time.

Visitors' Berths.
When visiting a harbour, there may be limited space for visitors, so boats will come alongside the ones already there, and tie on to them. Unless your boat is shorter which makes it problematical, a second set of lines will pass round the first boat to reach the shore. You have to walk over the first boat to reach the jetty, and etiquette demands that you walk across their bow, never across their cabin.  At Lymmington we were the third of four, so we needed to negotiate with the fourth boat to accommodate our early start.

A Good Start.
It takes a five day course, or three two day courses to achieve the competent crew qualification. There is still much to learn, but this has been a good start. A big thank you to my colleagues you bought this taste yachting experience for me on my retirement.

Laser at Killington

I had a great introduction to sailing the KSA club laser this weekend. I was encouraged when I arrived on Saturday morning to find another club member had been sailing it, so it must be all present and correct. I was discouraged that the lake was largely flat and he was bringing it in because there was not enough wind. But I saw how the mast fit together and noticed the spare boom which would have confused me otherwise. When, after looking at the map to plan a walk and chatting to the people doing a power boat lesson... the wind seemed to be picking up a little, I gave it a go.
I was confused at first looking for a halyard, until I realised the sail slides onto the mast. The boat has a very long main sheet, and a very long out haul, all tied up neatly round the boom. I used this to hook the dagger board onto, because I could not find anywhere better.
It was a very gentle wind, and a nice gentle introduction to boat. It moved along quit nicely in the light wind, though it did not feel like it when sailing with the wind, the stream of water at the stern showed it was so. Later the wind grew a little stronger and there was a reassuring splash of water from the bows as well.  I found the tiller very low over the stern, so that it caught against the cleat on the deck.  Altogether the boat felt very secure, probably slightly less tippy than the RS Feva always feels after the Wayfarer.
There was some sunshine, and there were dark clouds, and the lake looked very beautiful at points.
I brought the boat in gently enough, with the sail gently flapping, then I took the gooseneck off, which was a mistake. The sail curved nicely, and started pulling the boat away from me. I started untying the long end of the out hall, till I realised that all that was needed was to unclip the hook at the clew.  Packing up the boat was OK, except that several of the ties are missing from the cover.

The next day was quite a different experience, with a force 4 or 5 wind. The sea scouts were out in force, John the rower was there a younger realtive, and there was a club member sailing a Pico with his daughter. Later the strong winds brought out a couple of windsurfers as well.
The laser certainly zipped across the lake at an impressive speed, which was very exhilarating. The boat was responsive, and felt very reassuring. I could understand why it is a popular boat for racing.
I capsized twice, and it was easy enough to right, and to climb back on board. The second time I noticed the rudder was out of its catch, (not sure whether that caused the capsize?) and I was unwilling to right the boat until I had fixed it securely. It was a bit a a struggle locating it above the water, and I was impressed that the boat had not turned turtle in the delay. By the time I was back on the boat the sea scout safety boat had arrived, which was good of them.
The scariest moment was during a gust while sailing with the wind. I felt out of control of the boat, none of the normal instincts kicked in. I have never needed to do more than avoid a jibe when sailing downwind before. The boat started swaying from side to side which was disconcerting, so I turned from a broad reach to a beam reach and it felt much better.
The sheet had just one pulley, which I found not much in the strong wind. The centre main was fitted with ratchet block, but even set as tight as possible I still found holding the sheet quite heavy. So I found my self using the cleats, despite the risk.  I found there are two ways of getting wet using cleats. I avoided the obvious one, not being able to let the sheet out in a gust, but when you tighten the sheet, but fail to get the cleat to grip properly before you let go, the boom swings out, and the boat tips back, and that was my third dip of the day.
I never quite found how to avoid the sheet getting caught occasionally round the stern of the boat. It was easy enough to turn to wind and release it, but you would not want to be doing that in a race or in a more crowded lake.
All of which makes the boat sound quite a handful to control, which was not the impression I had at all. It felt very secure, impressively sporty and a lot of fun.  A great couple of hours sailing.

2011 Sailing

At the start of the year, each sailing session had its own blog post, but that seemed to peter out in May, so this looks back at the whole season.

I was pleased to have most of the family sailing this year, including Chris on Easter Monday, and John Kim and David in the summer. It was great to have all three Pendray men together in the boat, and Kim seemed to enjoy the experience, even when the helmsman did not have his full attention on the boat.

Three Pendray men in the boat

Enjoying the experience, even when the helmsman did not have full attention

John got a second go at helming, as he was with me for two days when I took the boat to Glenridding. He took to it quite well, but did not really get the bug.
David got three sessions altogether, with Chris on Easter Monday, with John and Kim, and with Claire and John (G) at Glenridding, when he swapped boats and sailed with Tom on his Nimrod.
John (G) loved the experience, having raced as crew for several years in the past. No cleating the jib for him, he held it by hand and was ready to make the minutest adjustment at a moments notice.
Another of my days at Glenridding was with Dave, where we had a good force 2 wind, just right for introducing someone to sailing. Dave especially enjoyed taking the helm, and feeling the surge of power during the gusts.
The strongest winds I experienced was probably another day at Glenridding, when I came with two work colleagues. They were not content with sailing back and forth in sight of the sailing centre, so we headed up Ullswater, past Howtown and Watermillock and getting in sight of Pooley Bridge. I forgot to take my watch that day, so we turned back in good time. After a while when it seemed to go calm, a steady force 5 or stronger picked up, coming from the south, so we had an hour or two of sailing into the wind. Waves were splashing over both bows, so both colleagues got splashed quite a lot, while I stayed relatively dry at the back.  I was quite relieved to get back in the sight of the sailing centre again.
Jeff, who experienced the strong winds in May had so enjoyed it that he bought his own wetsuit, and enjoyed  another day of strong winds at Killington, toward the end of the season.
Sadly, I did not get to sail with Dave, who learnt to sail on the same course as me, although we did meet up when he very kindly let Jeff borrow his wetsuit. On a much sadder note, Neil Murphy who taught me on the level one course, was tragically killed in a road traffic accident on his way to work one day this year.  Ellie, who was on the same level one course now has her own gaff-rig boat at Watermillock, where we had a very gentle sail in a force one wind.
As well as the company, I had several days sailing solo, sometimes having not just the boat but the whole of Killington lake to myself. Sailing solo is good fun as well, the main problem is not being heavy enough to stop the boat heeling. The other problem is knowing when to let go of the tiller and reach for the jetty. I made several approaches that fell slightly short, and started drifting back, getting the mast caught up in the branches of a tree.
This was the point where the forestay snapped, which made life interesting. With the mainsail further back, it took the jib to get out of irons and sail round to the slipway. Once in shallow water I lowered the sails, starting with the jib - the wrong choice - the jib was all that was holding the mast up. It is great keeping the boat at Killington, as within a week Pete Lawson of Sail Blades had repaired the stay and I was sailing again.

Winder Hill & Killington

I went up Winder Hill by Sedbergh ten days ago. I had forgotten to pack my walking boots, but my trainers were up to the task.

It was a gentle day. The second hand bookshop in Carnforth is good for maps, as the 4 lake district ones do not cover Sedbergh and the Howgills. I enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee and Carnforth station, and considered a gentle walk along the Lune, but there was no very obvious place to park along the road from the M6 to Sedbergh.  I drove North of Sedbergh and enjoyed some great views over the river the Lune valley from the road up to Howgill, and then returned back to the centre of Sedbergh as there was no obvious place to park on the Howgill road either.
Winder Hill is access land, which means you can wander wherever, but the route up is marked by a closely cut grass path. Three paths meet at the top, two ascending from either side and one leading North to Bram Rigg and the Calf.  There are no rocky outcrops here, it is all grassy hills and valleys, with a gentle beauty.
There is a great view of the town of Sedbergh, which sits in a lush valley that widens out to the West to join the Lune valley running from North to South.  Looking East, you can pick out the Rawthey valley leading to Kirkby Stephen, the Gardsdale valley, leading to Wensleydale and Yorkshire, and the Dee valley, leading to Dentdale.
At the top, I saw a  group of two or three people a mile or so away to the North, but apart from that I did not meet anyone from leaving the road until rejoining it. Stopping on a bench to eat an apple, I did get overtaken by two walkers, they were part of a walking group from a church in Formby.
From the top I could see Morecambe Bay, and a little nearer, Killington Lake, but I could not see that anyone was sailing there.
There were people sailing at Killington on the Sunday.  Lancaster sea scouts were on Toppers, Sedbergh school were on a Laser 2000, and I made use of the club RS Feva.  The wind was quite strong, enough to bring a couple of wind surfers out, and with quite strong gusts forecast I thought the Feva would be easier to right and continue sailing than the Wayfarer. It certainly zipped along very nicely.

Force 5 at Killington

Jeff and I had a great days sailing on Monday, with thanks to Dave for lending the wetsuit, and to Pete and Gareth for giving us the confidence.
Pete had been teaching some beginners in the high winds all weekend, but had reached the limit of what he could show them, and had decided to postpone for a quieter day when they would be able to take the helm. They were disappointed, and so were we as we hoped to have the benefit of them being on the lake. But Pete encouraged us, so with a reef in the mainsale, (thanks to Tony last week), the jib furled but ready for use if needed, and the centre board only half down, we set off to see how it went.
We were not alone on the lake, for as Pete and Gareth had predicted, the high winds did bring two windsurfers out. We were glad for their company and glad that there were other users on the lake.
The wind was strong and coming from the North East. I had only seen a northerly wind once before, on Easter Monday, but then it was nearer North, and was blowing down the channel on the other side of the island. This day the channel was in the lee of the island, and quite calm.
It was a great day sailing.  After some tacks to and fro across the lake we headed up wind, the north east corner seemed to need repeated short tacks to get there, but we managed it OK each time.
There was definitely less healing with less centreboard, but even so there were some interesting moments with the gusts.  With no jib, there was less for Jeff to do as crew, but he got the hang of moving about OK.  It was generally quite easy to see the wind direction from the waves, and the gusts from the darker patches of water, although sometimes the gusts started with a change in wind direction, causing the sale to flap before hitting it with force.
It was a sunny day, and when the wind eased off and we had time to look around there were some glorious moments, with the sun shining across the water.  We had two or three breaks, and I am glad to say I did a better job of brining the boat into the jetty that the previous week.  Most of the time we stayed fairly dry, but when the wind was at its strongest there were a few splashes coming over the bows, which added to the fun.

Toward the end of the afternoon, the wind grew stronger again, and it was even more of a struggle to keep the boat steady, so we came in and called it a day. A great Day.

Easter Monday

On Easter Monday I went sailing at Killington with Chris and David.
We could see one boat already on the water as we left the motorway, but as we arrived Ian & Geraldine were just finishing, so we pretty much had the whole lake to ourselves.  There was one young lad getting a canoeing lesson, watched by his Dad, and we enjoyed the company of Jane, who was doing some repairs to her Laser in the clubhouse.  Later, Tony Longworth arrived to do some strimming around the grounds.
It was quite blowy, so we put a reef in the sail, not very expertly, and the sail creased badly and the boom was very low until Tony showed us how to tie the clew to the outhaul first, and round the boom if at all afterwards.
Given the wind conditions, David decided that reading in the fresh air or in the clubhouse was better than sailing, though after we came in for lunch the wind dropped a little, and he was enticed out, and quite enjoyed it.
I need more practice at coming into the jetty, and after one near miss turned round and ended up being hit on the head by the head as we jibed.  Thankfully this was when Tony was there and he talked me through the next approach, steering three boat lengths downwind of the jetty before turning to wind.
With the sail set better and the boom higher things felt much better, and Chris took the helm and did very well. It was after that when I was helming that we had a particularly strong gust, and we stayed upright by letting go of the tiller and sheet, effective but not very good at keeping control. There was quite a bit of water beneath the floor boards after that.
We have no pictures to show, although I brought a camera we never took it out, partly because it was quite busy sailing and partly because there were no other boats on the lake. Still a good days sailing.  A rare day, a force 3 coming from the North.

First Sailing

The weekend of 9th & 10th April was my first weekend with the Wayfarer. It took about an hour to set up the floorboards and seating. During this time the Lasers were getting set up ready for the open races. It was a fine sight seeing 21 lasers altogether on the water.
I was sailing with Greg, Jack Lawson's racing partner, who did not want to race Lasers until he got his own boat repaired, and he helped me get the boat rigged, showing me how to put a double purchase on the halyards.  After the first ten minutes getting the feel of the boat, I let Greg helm, which he did very well, inspiring confidence. After lunch we had two extra people, Richie, who had come to watch his son race, and Karen, Greg's mother. It could have been awkward but it wasn't, all credit to Greg. He sat well back in the boat, accommodating three crew much better than I managed last summer. We kept out of the way of the race, but sailed behind the starting line for the last race. Pete Lawson did not come first, but was beaten by his brother, David. We sailed close to him at one point, and admired his concentration and how level he kept the boat.

When I arrived on Sunday morning the lake was as flat as a pancake, good for the canoeists, but not for sailing so I drove up the M6 to Tebay, and to Bretherdale, parking near where the road becomes a track and forks in two.

I took the left hand fork called Breasthigh Road, which crosses the ridge and looks down at the A6 and Borrowdale. The hills the other side of Borrowdale looked inviting. I stopped at the top and looked down before retracing my steps back to the car.  At the start I saw some folk on trail motorbikes, and on the ridge I met two cyclists, aiming to complete 30 miles with lost of hills in one day, but apart from that I did not meet anyone.

I drove back on the minor road on the other side of the valley from the Motorway, and got some great views of the River Lune, before crossing the river at a very narrow bridge at Beck Foot.

When I got back to Killington the wind was a little more promising, and I had a an hour or two sailing in light winds to enjoy before packing up and coming home.

Glenridding in March

I called in at Glenridding Sailing School on Saturday. It was great to see many of the folks. Both my instructors from 2009 were there, Pete had brought someone to the first aid course for instructors, and Neil had brought his RS Vision there for the season.  Another couple had brought their Swift 18 for the season.  It looked very impressive, an 18ft yacht with a retractable keel.
The first aid course was taking place in the new block - a classroom, office, plumbed in toilets changing rooms with a shower. It was all very impressive.
Tom was there with his Nimrod, another boat with a retractable keel. Like last year in March, he took me out in it, and it was great. It felt so good to be out on the water again.
There was a mixture of clouds and sunshine, and the hills and and water looked great and as the light and shade was constantly changing the colours around us.
A couple had come from Lincoln to sail their Laser 3000, which looked great with its spinnaker up.  They had each fallen in multiple times, but were nicely warm in their dry suits. They were very exhilarated when they came in.
So thanks again to Tom, sailing without having to prepare for getting wet does have its attractions.

Last Sailing

It was a beautiful day on Saturday 20 November, sunshine, a steady force 2 breeze, a wonderful day for sailing at Killington.  There are just two things that might have made it better.  I was the only person sailing at Killington that day, and it is usually more fun with someone else on the lake as well.
After a very enjoyable couple of hours, I brought the boat in and was intending to tie it onto the jetty. Thinking that I had come in a little too fast, I came alongside the jetty but then started getting pushed back along its length.  That would have been alright but I had forgotten about the pulley, and I ended up with the main sail pushed back against the pulley. I could not sail away, and I could not lower the main sail either.  Eventually I did get away with a tear in the main sail, but then the wind was taking me past the slipway to the weir, and with the main sail lowered I could not sail back upwind. Happily I was able to jump out into shallow water and drag the boat back to the slipway.  A sad ending to an otherwise enjoyable days sailing.

Sunday 21 November was a slightly colder day, but plenty of people around as they came for the Sunday racing.  I was going to go out in the RS Feva, but then a friend of Jack's said why not sail with him in his father's Lark. He was not very familiar with the boat, and we were still completing the rigging when the race started, but we were soon ready, and set off in hot pursuit. A minor part of the delay was adding a second extension to the tiller, with a view to leaning out.  However I was a bit hesitant to lean out too far as the boat seemed very quick to right itself when the wind dropped or was pointed closer into the wind. We ended up not pursuing the other boats, but just getting the feel of the boat ourselves.
The wind strengthened to a force 3 at times, and we had quite a lot of fun.  I had the helm for a bit, and I got the impression of a boat that was a little faster and a little more tippy than a wayfarer.  We could have started the second race, but I was a bit pressured for time, and it was getting a little cold. In the end it was a tug  of war between the cold, persuading us to go in, and the stronger breeze, persuading us to stay and enjoy the fun.

That turned out to be the final day's sailing of the year.  I was intending to come up the following Sunday, but that was when the cold weather began.

When I came back on the weekend after that, Sunday 6th December, the boat had two inches of snow, and the lake was frozen over.

It was very beautiful.

Now the seats and floor boards are stored in the shed, with the Jib, while the mainsail is still with Pete Lawson for repair.

Weekend Sailing

Some folk who are thinking of buying a Wanderer borrowed my Wayfarer to see what a similar boat was like, and seemed to get a favourable impression, even though one of the bungs was broken, and the boat started filling with water!
What was worse is that the front buoyancy tank filled with water, possibly from two no longer used screw holes that are now covered with Duck tape (thank you Ian).  The result was that on Saturday the boat was impossible to move, or tip back and drain, until some serious bailing had been done.  I am grateful to Ian and Geraldine who leant their support and strength to get the boat tipped up and starting to drain. It went on draining for quite some time.
The boat was on the path rather than in the berth, which is not surprising; it is harder to move on the gravel of the berth than the concrete of the path.  What is amazing is that they managed to get the boat up the slope at all. When they told me of the problem, I did not think that much of it, as I expected to be there within a week or so. With Ann being ill last month, the boat was blocking the patch for a matter of five or six weeks. How embarrassing!
When I realised the bungs Ian had leant me were not the right shape for the fittings, I decided to buy replacements later, and sail the club RS Feva instead. There are days when no-one else is sailing at Killington, so I was glad to be sailing while Ian & Geraldine were around as well.  The winds were light, and they were making good use of the Spinnaker, which I hope to learn next season.  I packed up when they did.
Just before I left Myles arrived with a group from Sedburgh school, and I was tempted to go back out. I enjoyed watching Myles skilfully talk a lone sailor back to pick up her partner, when she had unintentionally drifted off without her.
On Sunday morning I found that the replacement bungs I had bought fitted fine, and I would not need to replace the fittings they plugged into as well. Everything was fine, except that there was no wind, and the lake was as flat as a mill pond.  This did not deter the group that had come to go canoeing, but it was a show stopper for me.

The lake was as flat as a millpond

I was at a bit of a loss, and I had not brought my walking boots with me.  I went to Kendal and bought some inexpensive ones, but I noticed walking back to the car that there was a little breeze now.  I decided to walk on Farleton Fell, but call at Killington on the way. I was just in time to see the canoeing group pack up, and there was a light pleasant breeze, so the sailing was on.
Even though the winds were light, sailing the Wayfarer is an enjoyable experience and gives a good impression of speed.   It was good to be out on the water.  It rained briefly, but I did not mind. The sun came out briefly, and it was beautiful.  I heard yesterday that there was a fishing competition today, there were certainly a lot of them, so I kept away from that shore.
I thought the wind must be getting stronger, as it was really hard to keep the boat from turning into the wind, but after a while I realised the rudder down haul had come loose.  When I took a longer look at the sail, I realised that it was not that the kicking strap was too long ( I had tied a know to shorten it) but that the goose neck, boom and mainsail were too low.  I stopped in the middle of the lake to make an adjustment, then realised it was not enough, and stopped to make another, and another. I think it was quite good by the end.

This had been my first time sailing the Wayfarer alone when there were no other people using the slipway.  It is hard work pulling it up with just one other person, and mighty hard doing it alone. I was glad to reverse the car down and tow it up the slope.
Now I have checked the diary it is nine weeks since I had the boat at Glenridding, and I was very pleased to be out on the water again.

Week at Glenridding

Now that I have a combi trailer I can sail on different lakes, and my first journey was to Glenridding, where I learnt to sail last summer.
Pete & I had already fitted the launching trolley onto the road trailer, and the main task was to take down the mast, a job probably made easier by the branches of the trees, which meant the mast was supported to some extent at the top.  I would have got some help from a water board employee who arrived to check the water levels, but I found I had to disconnect the kicking strap from the boom, and did not like to keep him waiting.
The next task was a journey to Kendal to buy an extension for the tow board electrics, as my 12ft cable was not adequate for the 15ft boat. Having found the retail park at the South, the people at Homebase were able to point me to the one in the north, where Halfords is on the road leading to Shap.  Back at Killington I had to pull the boat with the car, as one of the road trolley wheels seemed reluctant to move from its rut in the gravel which covers the surface of the berth area.
The journey via Penrith and down the west side of Ullswater took an hour. I travelled at 60 on the motorway, and overtook just two vehicles, an old VW camper van and one truck just before Penrith.  It all went smoothly although I did find when I arrived that the bolt keeping the two trolleys together was partially undone and sticking out at an angle.
I managed to set up the mast OK, but did put a dent in the corner of the car roof as I lost control at one stage. I asked for help getting the launching trolley off the road trolley.  It was then time to set  off to rejoin Ann for the evening, so no sailing on Monday.
Tuesday was nice sailing, a fairly happy force 2, and nice sailing from about 11.00 till about 2.30pm.
On Wednesday & Thursday I was joined by Wendy. Wendy tried the helm on Wednesday but the gusts and variable wind direction were a bit much. At one stage we followed another Wayfarer, and were puzzled by their change of direction, but when we got to where we were we did just the same.  We followed them on a course turning 270 degrees, while sailing close hauled on a starboard tack the whole time. Such are the variable winds from the valleys round Ullswater.
Wendy was at the helm the whole three hours on Thursday, and took to it very well. The main problem that day was two episodes sitting in areas of the lake where the wind had dropped altogether, but they were not long lasting.  We raced against a Seafly at one point, very close around Norfolk Island, and then we won getting to the one near the sailing centre. It was actually very difficult. A starboard tack took you to the shore opposite the sailing centre, as the wind came from the south, and a port tack took you back down the lake as you caught the wind coming down from Glenridding valley. Without the challenge of the race we would probably have stayed out nearer Norfolk Island.
Friday did not look particularly inviting weather, but Pete said it was a good wind, steady and not very gusty. Ellie arrived at about 11.00 and soon we were out on the water not noticing whether it was raining or not. We each had a share of helming in force 2-3 winds, and we sailed close to one of the Hawk 20, the one with a cabin.  Then the wind stiffened to a force 4, and it was quite fun. It was quite noticeable that the balance of the two sails was well behind the pivot point, and that I had to pull the tiller quite hard in the strong winds to stop the boat turning to windward.  We raced around with very little other craft to be mindful of.
We could have done with tightening the kicking strap in the stronger winds, but we had another problem caused by the strong winds, which was the goose-neck, very happily lashed to the mast in a force 2 or 3, started to work loose and we then found that the boom was no longer attached to the mast.  Ellie was helming at the time, so we swapped around and sailed away from the island, and Ellie did a passable job at tying it back.  It held fairly OK as we made are way back to the sailing centre and we brought our exciting session to a safe close.
Later they fished out a goose-neck that had brackets to clasp onto the mast, so we made a swap and I am looking forward to trying out the new one soon.

Combi-Trailer

I had a great afternoon yesterday sailing the Wayfarer single handed in a force 3 wind at Killington. The boat zipped along very nicely, and I had no idea that 2 hours had passed when I came into to sort the problem with the goose-neck.
I went up simply to swap the boat from the original trailer onto a second hand combi trailer I had bought. Pete Lawson was teaching a level 2 safety boat course, so it was quite comforting to know that there was a safety boat on hand. They were the only other people there when I arrived, although a couple arrived after me and took out their Enterprise later on.
When Pete had finished teaching, he showed me how to attach the launching trolley to a tow bar, which makes it easier to get up the ramp, and how to load the launching trolley on the road trailer. I may leave it off the road trailer most of the time, as it was a little awkward.
We also ran through the procedure for taking the mast down. 1. Make the boat level, 2. undo the side shrouds, 3. undo forestay keeping it tight until you can get in and hold the mast, 4. secure the stays to the mast with tape, 5. lift the mast and place it on the ground, 6. hold it vertical against the side of the boat as you get out, 7. hold the bottom in place with a foot as you lower it to horizontal. It is easier with two people at 3 5 6 & 7.

Wild Sailing

The wind was quite wild last weekend.

On Saturday I sailed the RS Feva at Killington. I stayed close to the clubhouse sailing on a beam reach across from one side of the lake to the other. It was quite fun. It was a little difficult getting it to turn and a few times I was blown back onto the tack I was just turning from.  I got the hang of tightening the main sale and being quick to tighten the jib after turning.  

After about an hour I capsized, my first time in the Feva. It came up OK, but then it went over straight away.  The second time I got on OK but capsized again quite soon afterwards. This time it did a total inversion and I was getting quite tired. After a bit I was sat on top of the upturned boat again, resting to get my breath back, and thinking that the vague thought that it might be foolhardy to take a boat out when no-one else was around that I had before I started was beginning to feel a bit more real. I began to wonder which bank I would end up drifting onto.

Once I got my breath back I got the boat upright again, but did not have the energy to clamber back onto it.  I held onto the side while it sailed to the side, just downwind from the clubhouse. I was very glad to be able to pack up the sails and walk the boat back to the jetty.

Some one else did arrive as I was walking the boat back, and after I had got changed and had some lunch and was about to leave, a couple arrived to go windsurfing.   Windsurfers like the strong winds.

When I arrived at Killington on the Sunday, the only people there were just taking some boats away, so I drove on up to Glenridding. Pooley Bridge was in bright sunshine, and the middle section of Ullswater looked very windy. I arrived at Glenridding just as some folk were leaving after a great time on the Laser Stratos, that ended with needing to be rescued, and Pete said to leave it for five minutes to see what the wind was going to do next. 

I went out on a Topper Topaz, and it was great fun. I was going across from one side of the lake to the other on a beam reach, and it did not take long to get from one side to the other.

The sheet tended to get caught in the cleat without really trying, which concerned me a bit, and like the day before I found it was difficult to turn all the way through a tack. I ended up in irons a few times, but it turned easily enough by lifting the dagger board. After a while I started sailing closer to the wind on the starboard tack, and nearer a broad reach on the port tack. I expected the broad reach to seem quieter but the boat seemed to be zipping along at great speed. It was certainly lots of fun.

I capsized after a short while, as I kind of expected to when I opted not to reef the sail. Then after about 45 minutes I capsized again.  I recall this well, it was just on coming out of irons again.  This time the boat capsized immediately after I righted it, and then again shortly after I had climbed back on.  The lads in the safety boat explained that I had the sheet in the cleat, and they waited nearby to see if I could resolve it.

I did try again, but this time I was getting quite tired, and I was very glad they were nearby as my last attempt failed and I found the boat drifting away from me.

Later Steve showed me how to remove the sheet from the hook near the cleat altogether, which I will remember for next time.  He also explained how to lift the sail briefly out of the water repeatedly until the wind is coming from behind you, before bringing the boat upright.  Righting a capsized boat, so easy in a force 2 wind, does seem to be more challenging in a force 4, and not one that I can say I have mastered yet.

It was great to be rescued, get changed, and enjoy a nice lunch in the sunshine looking over the lake.

Some folk were taking a catamaran out, and that was certainly displaying a very impressive turn of speed. 

Killington & Windermere

Last Saturday was very windy, force 3-4 with stronger gusts.  So I went out in an RS Feva, one of the club craft at Killington, rather than risk capsizing the Wayfarer, which is easy enough to recover, but a pain to empty of water afterwards.  I nearly went in the Pico, as there were two lads preparing to take the Feva out, but in the time it took me to get changed, they had launched, capsized, floundered, been recovered, and were packing up.  They were just about to take it back to the berth when I asked them to leave it there for me.
It was a while before I got out on the water, as I wanted to have the mainsail only, and there was no forestay, and it was only the jib acting as the third stay.   Thanks got to Miles and Paul for sorting this out for me. Killington is indeed a very friendly and supportive sailing club.
Pete was there as well, but he was OOD (Officer of the day) for a series of Miracle Dinghy races.  Miracles are a little like Mirrors, but bigger, and they seem to have most of the advantages of a Wayfarer, except for cruising, where there was less storage space, but lighter and with transom flaps, making for easier emptying after a capsize.  All of them were timber, or at least timber decked, but I am told there are GRP ones as well.  There were a couple of boats still on trolleys in the car park, as the owners had looked at the wind conditions and decided not to go out in them.  During the day I met Ian & Geraldine for the first time, Ian is the membership secretary, and Lydia another committee member (I think) who was helping Pete.  I missed being sociable when the racers were having their lunch break, as I had only just got out on the water by then
The sailing was great.  The wind had probably dropped a little, but it was still quite strong and very gusty, providing quite a bit of excitement. For all the Feva feels more tippy than the wayfarer, it felt very secure in the gusts, with time to sheet out or turn to the wind to control the heeling, with no sense of being out of control.  I have yet to discover how easy it is to right a capsize.  What I did struggle with twice was being late straightening the boat after a turn, and continue to pivot round. I certainly got knocked on the head at one stage after going about, when it continued turning and the boat jibed.
After lunch the wind eased and I went out with the Jib as well.  More thanks to Miles and Paul again. Altogether a great day.

Sunday was much more relaxed, and Rod who had sailed with me in May joined me again. When we got to Killington, it was a pleasant surprise to see Dave waiting for me, as I had not been on facebook on Saturday to see his message. We decided to go to Bowness, to sail in his Wildfire on Windermere, which was a very different experience.  Windermere is a beautiful lake, and was at its best in the bright sunshine we enjoyed on Sunday.
The boat took a bit of time to set up, and when the mainsail would not reach the top of the mast we decided to put a reef in rather than spend further time trying to right the problem.  Dave kindly let me helm to start with, and we made our way upwind to the South getting past Storrs Hotel before turning back, and then eating our lunch while sailing downwind.

The Windfire has a good turn of speed, which was especially evident every time we got some slightly stronger wind, and even with the reef in we kept up credibly well with the handful of yaughts that were out and about and under sail.  Rod, who was sat at the front, did find that the water was splashing over the bows when the wind grew stronger and we were sailing upwind.
One feature of the Wildfire is that it would be very easy to sail single handed. The jib sheets run along way back, and are in easy reach of the helm.  Dave did a much better job of keeping out of my way than I managed to do when he took over the helm, and after a while I joined Rod sitting in the front.
By Sunday afternoon we were by no means the only dinghy on the water as we seemed to be in the morning.  There was a whole fleet of dinghies from nearby club out enjoying Windermere at its best. What a great way to enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Thanks Dave, for a great day.

Irons

A sailing boat is in Irons when it is pointing too close to the wind to catch the sail, and with no speed, you cannot use the rudder to turn away from the wind.
What I learnt on Sunday is that even if you are not sailing forward, you my be sailing backwards, and so using the rudder may be of use, but you have to turn it the "wrong" way.  If you attempt to steer away from the wind, all you manage to do is turn towards it.  To the extent you are sailing backwards, you can turn the rudder towards where you want to stern to go.
In open water, you are not particularly worried as to which direction you point, provided you do not turn back towards the wind by not recognising the rudder works in reverse.  You can always sail backwards intentionally, by holding the boom out to the side, but it is worth knowing that you may be sailing backwards even without holding the boom.
If I had realised that, and had my wits about me, I might have remembered a simpler way of getting out of irons. That is raising the centre-board. Instead of pivoting about the centreboard, you start pivoting about the rudder.
Finally there is the solution that was not available to me, as I was sailing with a single sail.  You can tighten the jib, so that it catches the wind a turn the nose away from the wind

Weekend Sailing at Killington

Another Great Weekend Sailing at Killington.
I did not want to capsize on Saturday, not least because I was not wearing a wetsuit, in solidarity with my crew, who joined me on the spur of the moment that morning.  Rod, a volunteer with Cockermouth mountain rescue, a keen walker, rock climber and trail cyclist, is particularly sensitive to sloping floors, does not like the movement on ferries, and rarely if ever sails, but he chose to join me on Saturday. I am pleased to say that we did not get wet.

I am grateful to Pete Lawson who showed me how to reef the sail, and even with the reef we still managed a good turn of speed in the blustery conditions. Rod was a great crew, alert and responsive to the need to move about the boat.  He also managed to take a few pictures.
On Sunday I was quite happy to capsize, and took out the club RS Feva. Again I was grateful to Pete for showing me how to rig it. Definitely more tippy than the Wayfarer, it felt very precarious for the first half an hour.   I was glad that it did not blow up as strong as it looked it might, and glad to get used to the boat with a single sail.  As to how easy it is to recover after a capsize, that I will find out another time.

I had lunch with Pete and the couple from Edinburgh who were learning on the timber decked Seafly he was selling to them.  Just before lunch I had set off from the jetty to bring the Feva round to the slipway, as Pete was going to use it in the afternoon, so they could each sail a different boat single handed.  He used my example of how not to do it to teach us all how to get out of irons.
There was just a short session after a late lunch, and I had a brief sail in the Wayfarer before packing it away ready for next time.

Reefing

My first thought about reefing was the ties around the boom along the foot of the sail, that are each tied with a reef knot, but these need to the the last thought, not the first.
At either end of this line of reef points is a cringle, a ring in the sale, one on the luff, that becomes the new tack, and one on the leech, that becomes the new clew.
First, obviously, lower the main sail partially, then using a length of thin rope, tie the cringle in the luff (nearest the mast) to the boom.
Then using another length, pass the rope between the cringle on the leech (side furthest from the mast) and the clew, getting as tight as possible, then, at the cringle, tie the rope tight round the boom.
Once the tack and the clew are resolved, then the ties along the boom can be tied, using a series of reef knots.

How to rig an RS Feva

I sailed with just a single sail, so these notes deal with the main sail only.
The two ends of the halyard appear to be interchangeable, as neither run inside the mast.  One had a ball at the end, so I attached that to the head.  Then, starting with the head, the luff of the sale feeds into the mast as you tighten the halyard.
Tighten the halyard as hard as you can; it does not matter if there is a gap between the boom and the sail; get the sail as high as you can.  The halyard was fixed with a cleat, pulled from top to bottom.
The boom has part of a circle which fits round the mast, just above a rest on the mast.
Next attach the Tack (corner between mast and boom). We used a short piece of thin rope.  I guess this could be tied onto the tack, but we tied one end to a bar on the cleat piece, passed it through the tack, and down to the cleat.  Even pulled tight, there was a gap between the sail and and the boom.
After the tack we tightened the outhaul. This was another length of thin rope, tied to the clew, round a hook at the end of the boom and pulled tight by a cleat on the boom.
Finally tighten the kicking strap.
So, the order is halyard, tack, outhall, kicking strap.

Wonderful Weekend Sailing at Killington

What a wonderful weekend sailing.  It started off slowly, fitting the floorboards and seats after their stay in the shed over winter. Then Ellie arrived and we had a cup of tea, before fitting the main sail to the boom and seeing how the goose neck worked on the new bracket attached to the mast. When all the sails were up satisfactorily..... we took them down again while we got changed.
Then the sailing began.  It was a beautiful day, bright sunshine and a steady force 2 wind.   We sailed back and forth and up and down, round the buoys, and practised our man overboard procedure.  Ellie had just been on a rudderless sailing course, and demonstrated how to turn the boat using the jib and leaning the boat. We had the lake to ourselves in the morning, and at lunchtime we were joined by one laser and one scorpion - a beautiful boat with polished wooden deck.  The sun kept shining, the wind kept steady and it was glorious afternoon.

The next day looked dark and gloomy, and quite uninviting, but I was glad to give my new spray top and salopettes an outing.  The wind was a little stronger and there was a group kayaking from the nearby Bendigg centre.  There was also a group from the scouts getting their boats ready, and they got on the water while we came in for lunch. It is great now that there is more water and we could leave the boat in the water tied to the jetty. The wind was stronger after lunch, and the scouts had already capsized some of the of their smaller boats.   We sailed amongst them for a bit and then charted our own course up and down the lake, while the wind grew stronger. There were more white horses about so I guess it was force 4, and the waves were coming over the bows and giving our spray tops a run for their money.

It was me at the helm when we capsized. The annoying thing is that it is difficult to remember exactly what happened. It was just after going about.  With Ellie's dry suit and the thermals under my wet suit it was no great shock to slide gently into the water.  We were both well trained at Glenridding, and righting the boat, and getting both of us on board went like clockwork.  Limping back to the jetty with the boat full of water was not too difficult. The real problem was when the boat was on the cradle pulling it out of the water.  Even with a lot of help it was no mean feat. we got it up enough to bale water out without it flowing back in, and then, when it was light enough, up further to let the water drain.  Thank you to all you helpful people at Killington Sailing Association.

Altogether a wonderful weekend

Sailing a Nimrod with Tom

It is always good to call in at Glenridding, not only because Steve makes coffee almost as good as Costa do, but you also meet some great people.
Tom was not sailing on Saturday, as he does not like the rain, in fact when sailing his Nimrod he does not get wet at all.  No wet suit, no capsizing, such are the joys of sailing a boat with a keel.  What is great about the Nimrod, is that it is fast and handles more like a dinghy.
Sailing on Sunday looked unlikely, as there was thick fog at Kendal, all the way up to Kirkstone, but it seemed to change at the top, becoming cloud rather than fog. Then a quarter of a mile past the top there was .. sunshine.
Tom is a retired teacher, and he was soon instructing me on how to handle things when I fumbled with the sheet and tiller extension when going about; he demonstrated turning the boat without using the rudder; and was teaching me a thing or two about sailing up wind.
There are three ways of flattening a boat when it is healing (leaning over), and they are not interchangeable in Tom's book. We had learnt to continually test how close we could sail to the wind, but he put a different gloss on it. First of all, you lean out to reduce the heal, and when it gets too much you turn into the wind, the third option, loosing the main sheet, he never does, in fact he keeps it cleated. Sure you lose some speed as you turn into the wind, but what you lose in speed you gain in direction by getting up wind further.
I found not loosing the mainsail quite hard, both from a panic point of view, and because it tugged quite hard, with only one pulley. Tom likes to feel the responsiveness at low wind speeds, and is happier using a cleat.  By contrast the rudder was not pulling away from you sailing upwind, as Tom has leaned the mast forward slightly, to lessen the pull towards the wind from the mainsail.

So, what is a Nimrod?  A Westerley Nimrod 18, is a small yaught, eighteen feet long, a small cabin, and a retractable keel.
You can stand in front of the cabin, and there is a railing, but there is no railing at the back, you are able to lean out just as much as any dinghy.   The cabin is quite small, plenty of space for storage and space to sleep, if you really have to.  The keel is raised and lowered by a hand winch, so that the boat is very stable when it is down, and quite tippy when it is up.  The boat launches from a normal trolley, and sits low, like a dinghy when on shore, but it still weighs half a ton so you need a tow to launch and recover. The hull is quite flat, so that the boat can be made to plane like a speed boat, which adds to the excitement, although we did not quite manage it.
Tom chose it because it gives him all the excitement of dinghy sailing, with the bonus of not getting wet. It extends the season, sailing when it is too cold to risk capsizing, and he has even sailed it in gales off Whitby.
Thanks Tom, for a great day.