Raising the mast on the Heron (Alacrity 19)

This time last year I was out cycling, sailing, catching cod and generaly enjoying the days when it wasn't raining. This year's weather has been tough. It's cold, wet and windy. Although I launched the 'mighty' Heron a couple of weeks ago, I had still not managed to rig the mast. This morning was damp and foggy, but that means no wind!

This is what 7m (23 ft) of mast and furler looks like when balanced on a my dinghy. I thought it would be a simple enough task to row across to the Heron. The collected spectators on the quay side seemed to think differently and were generous in their advice!

It worked and with Stuart's help I got the mast footed and raised. Every one of the lines in the above pic has a purpose.

An hour or so of sitting in the quiet of the harbour, the boat gently moving on the flowing tide, and I was slowly getting there, just the running rigging and sails to sort.

Above shows the essential tools of rigging a sail boat.

All done save the foresail. The damp fog was rolling back in and the cold began eating into our bones. We had also ran out of beer so it was time to head home.

Lunch at Starvation Brae

The weather today was a real mix of sunshine and sudden showers in the gusting westerly wind. I had the day off work, and lots of other things to do, but I managed to fit in an hour and a half on the Long Haul Trucker at lunchtime.

I loosely planned to go up by Spott to stretch the legs with a bit of climbing and stopped to take a picture of this horse at Bowerhouse. As I stepped back to frame the pic, the mischievous nag took a bite of my saddle.

There is no major damage, just some splitting of the vinyl, and I should be able to glue it. I should remind the horse of where glue used to come from!

After the climb to Wester Broomhouse I took the old road down to Spott. This was stopped up a few years ago now and has become a lovely footpath. The hedges were bursting with birdsong and everything is finally becoming green.

At Spott I turned left up Starvation Brae; I have no idea where the name comes from. This is always a killer climb for me and I'm happy to admit I've never cleaned it. This time I stopped at the first bend and took a photo.

I was actually feeling ok but I knew that the next three bends each reveal another climb that just seems to get steeper and steeper.

I kept on going from there and finally topped out with jelly legs and the heart rate monitor insisting I call an ambulance.  It's satisfying to look at the drop back down to sea level.

I got in behind a wall to get some shelter from the increasingly cold wind and had lunch. Cheese and tomato rolls and a flask of coffee. I know how to live the high life!

It was very pleasant sitting in the sun, munching away and admiring the views. Unfortunately I didn't notice the cloud getting blown in from behind me until the sun suddenly disappeared.

The descent back down the wet roads with wet brakes was a wee bit alarming. 

I'll have to put some time aside to go back up this way and do the Brunt climb too. Meanwhile this rates as one of my better Tuesday lunchtimes.

Mid Week Cycle 8th May

What a difference a week makes. We've had a few days of sunshine and the temperature has crept up to something approaching normal. This has resulted in a sudden blooming in the hedgerows and spring is in the air.

The weather was pretty variable today with strong easterly winds and rain, but it settled down in the evening, so off I went for a pedal after work.

There is a new cycle and walking path along the side of the Biel Burn and estuary. It's a great new section of National Cycle Route 76 and avoids the tight bit of road through West Barns.

The day time wind had managed to back right around to the west and slowed things a bit as I made my way along to East Linton. Fortunately it eased as I climbed up to the Hailes Castle road. It's lovely to see the yellow of the Gorse and the smell of the flowers which, to my mind, have an aroma of coconut. The bird song up here was impressive too.

I just made it along to the castle as the sun was setting and quickly tried to get a couple of pics of the halls.

I'd brewed a flask of coffee before I left and it was appreciated as I sat watching the sun set, listening to the river with swallows feeding around the castle ruins.

As the sun got lower I went up to the main hall which was still catching the last rays. I'm sure that a good few folk have looked out of this window through the centuries.

Enough relaxing. Back on the road and I put the head down and got the heart rate up and pushed the pedals all the way home.

It wasn't too far tonight, only 16 miles, but I can't really think of a better way to pass a couple of hours after work.

Mid Week Cycle 1st May

I'm on a training course at work this week. This means days of sitting around boardroom size tables, trying to appear interested, interspersed with the humiliation of role play and reheated coffee. When I finally got home this evening I got out for a well deserved cycle.

The sun was out as I passed the cement works but as I headed down into the Borders cloud formed and the temperature began to drop. It's May now and the hedges are starting to bloom but we are still getting the occasional frost in the early morning.

It's pronounced Coe-burns-path.

After the village I headed under the railway line and along the Southern Upland Way towards Pease Bay. The track was a lot rougher than I remembered and I was going way too fast. Once I was back onto smoother roads I could hear an occasional ominous creak from the rear wheel. I'll need to take it off and check everything.

 

On the road back toward Cockburnspath the sun made a brief, but welcome, return.

I was running out of light so it was time to head back. Smooth winding roads and downhill too!

When I got back to Dunbar the sun was just about to slip over the horizon. It was 20 miles of varied cycling this evening with lovely views. The time flew by. I suspect tomorrows training might not pass quite so quickly.

Heron (Alacrity 19) launched

A quick post this evening. Today's weather forecast had suggested northerly winds with a resulting swell of 3-4 feet at Dunbar Harbour. By 0900 this morning it became apparent that the wind was backing and the sea would flatten as the tide flooded. 

Denholm was available to drive the wee tractor in exchange for a couple of beers, Stuart was willing to get his dry suit on and get up to his neck in the water, my dubious trailer was rolling and the Heron was launched. No-one drowned! That's a good launch in these parts.

I'm on a new mooring this year and I was a bit concerned if the chains I had sunk would work. I'd scratched out sums and various calculations regarding weight, length, depth, tide, swell, prevailing winds, and with a bit of guess work and it all seems to have worked out.

The Heron (Alacrity 19) sitting happily on her new mooring. No mast or rigging yet but I'll hopefully get that done this week. I'd planned to cycle over to North Berwick to see the Fat Bike folk having their jamboree this evening, but the conditions for launching were ideal, so I had to grab the opportunity. Here's hoping for more settled weather and maybe some decent sailing this year.

Mid Week Cycle 24th April

It's nearly the end of April and I've not been getting out enough. The cold weather and persistent high winds have slowed up the plant growth and left me procrastinating indoors. This evening there was still a westerly wind gusting to around 25mph but it felt warmer and the sun was peeking through the clouds. Time to get out and about.

I went out on the LHT to East Linton, up by Binny wood then back along the Tyninghame road and down by Knowes Mill. This is just down river from Preston mill but is pretty much a ruin. The local red sandstone glows in the evening sun.

I've owned a couple of dangerous Fords in my time.

I crossed the bridge and then headed along the blaze track beside the river. The trees are still bare but the Willows had catkins appearing.

This trail has deteriorated over the winter with lots of frost damage and some areas where the riverbank has collapsed. The trucker took a bit of a beating cycling along here and I felt a couple of bumps through the wheels, almost as if the tyres were a bit soft.

Obligatory picture in the arch under the Tyninghame bridge. The bridge was built in 1931, so although horses would have been led through these tunnels, they were not designed for them. They are just flood overflow tunnels. This one is now part of the John Muir Way.

It was a peaceful place for a stop to watch the river flow by. But time was getting on, so back up onto the road and along to Dunbar. As I pedaled past John Muir Country park I spotted Mark from the Dunbar Cycling Group adjusting a bike. He had a new rider out for a training run and pointed out that my new Continental Tour ride tyres looked a bit on the soft side. We chatted for a bit and he offered me the use of his track pump as we passed his home. Oh dear, the tyres were embarrassingly soft. Thanks Mark. I had a cheap track pump but it burst. I think I need to get a new one.

An enjoyable evening cycle, 14.5 miles about 8 degrees.

Sunday Cycle by Stenton

I've not been getting much cycling in recently so I grabbed the chance to get out on a breezy but mild Sunday this week. The long Haul Trucker has it's new Continental Tour Ride tyres and first impressions are good. 

I headed out through Hallhill woods where someone has been busy with a chainsaw.

It was a slow and steady climb up to Stenton. Most of the way the wind was on the nose and, as usual, I was passed by a faster cyclist on a road bike. I was quite happy, pedaling away, looking at the hedgerows and listening to the birds. I saw a Swallow for the first time this year.

On the outskirts of the village of Stenton there is a Rood or Holy well. This is attributed with healing powers but is sealed off with a little iron grill. The flowered finial on the roof of the well is thought to have come from the original Stenton church and may date back to the 14th Century.

There is a neat little garden around the well with blooming flowers and a couple of Bumble bees. Even more surprising the was a butterfly. Perhaps Spring is finally here.

Further on  I stopped at the Tron on the village green. This would have been used to weigh goods on market days. Stenton was at the centre of the local sheep farming industry and the balance would have been used to work out prices for fleeces.

On the road to Pressmenan I stopped for a coffee at a roadside bench and soaked up the views and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

It's the wee moments of peace that make the week at work a lot more bearable.

A long way back to the coast but at least it's downhill.

Ordnance Survey bench-mark on an old wall.

Back down towards Dunbar and there are buds appearing on the trees.

I stopped at the harbour and watched Dave wandering around in the water whilst I finished off my flask of coffee. He had become tail-tied on his yacht and was trying to free a line from around his prop. When I arrived he had swum over to Stuart's boat to borrow a dive mask. I didn't hang around to see what eventually happened.

21 miles overall and some lovely weather.