Still going, still busy.

Life seems to have been conspiring against my blog over the last month. First I lost my wallet and when I cancelled my cards, I missed a payment on my Blogger wallet for media storage. The new cards didn't turn up for twelve days, and so everything was shut down. Once I got everything sorted my computer decided to go into retirement and now I have intermittent router problems.

But despite all this, work continues toward launch day for the Sona. Progress has been made and the 'mighty' Heron was sold a couple of weeks ago. It's going to remain in Dunbar which is good news and hopefully the new owner, Alan, will get as much enjoyment from it as I did over the last nine! years.

On the Sona I've been doing some major cleaning which can be seen in the above picture of the cabin sole ( halfway done). After a lot of experimenting, the cleaning product of choice is Dettol Mould and Mildew Remover, a stiff scrubbing brush, lots of elbow grease then Flash wipes to clean up.

I've also turned my hand to minor carpentry to extend the bulkhead to the keel box. I made up the lower part today and have stained it to match. I know that the grain is running in different directions, but that was the way the ply was on both sides. The fake brass clock and barometer will be fixed to it along with a couple of shelves for mugs, books etc.

The re-wire is also coming on, although every now and then I find new mysteries to confound me. Above is the supply and return for the VHF with fuses on both sides? I've also managed to get the Mariner 6hp going again. There was a fuelling problem at the remote side which was fixed easily enough by cutting away de-laminated hose and cleaning up the breather on the tank. I've also ordered new cap-shrouds from Jimmy Green Marine.

And speaking of engines. I yet again got roped into the annual task of putting the saab diesel back into the yacht Carioca. It was out for new engine mounts this year.

It is a cramped engine compartment and the only way to access it is to hang upside. Long arms and a lot of patience is required! Outboards definitely have advantages.

So just a couple of weeks to go. I still need to get the mast put together and a test raising to see how the new rigging will work out. I also have to make up various new bolts and pads for the outboard mount, and the rudder box is still awaiting welding. The sea also needs to be reminded that the sailing season is about to start!

Breakfast on board

There was little to see on Saturday morning in Dunbar. A thick east coast sea fog, or haar, had silently stolen into town overnight. But if you looked carefully in the early morning light, there was a quiet group of sailors scuttling around their little yachts, dropping the moorings and heading out of the harbour.

I was on the Heron, Stuart on the Seline, Davey on the Wee Beastie, and James and Gordon on the Freedom. The sea was like glass without the slightest breath of wind as we slowly motored along the coast in a little flotilla.

The fog drifted in and out but navigation was never a problem. The coast appeared through the mist and we would gently adjust the heading.

Along past the wildfire rocks, and the wreck of the Ponderosa,  it was easy to sea how a ship can be lost.

Further west and the South Carr loomed out of the fog and we could here the moaning calls of the seals on the rocks. Then it was time to turn into the shelter of the secluded bay at Seacliff.

As we dropped anchors and rafted the little boats together, the sun began to burn through the fog and the temperature started to climb. The sea was gently lapping on the sands, the kettle was whistling as I brewed up some coffee and bacon was frying in the pan.

We sat soaking up the early morning sun and enjoyed breakfast. There were a few people walking on the beach and a couple of horses came down to the shore. One rider brought her horse in for a swim near the boats and somehow I didn't take a photo.

 

The morning passed as the boats swung languidly on their moorings.  Eventually we felt the gentlest stirrings of a breeze as the tide turned. Without too much effort, anchors were hauled, stowed and lines were cast off.

 Banks of fog drifted through on the light easterly breeze as we headed around the South Carr and on to a rough bearing of 150 degrees.

An hour or so and we were back to civilisation.

That might be the last outing of the sailing season. If it turns out to be, I'm not complaining.

Hell hath no fury...

I think I bought the Heron nearly eight years ago. Time certainly flies by and I just thought that the wee boat seemed slower due to me becoming more familiar with it. I have however noticed that the foresail in particular was just getting too saggy to create any sort of decent shape. So a couple of weeks ago I bit the bullet and ordered a new furling genoa.

The last couple of weeks have had some fine sailing weather but unfortunately the dredger Shearwater has been back digging holes and breaking down. On Sunday the weather was overcast but very hot. The dredger eventually stopped about 2:30pm and I was off out of the harbour for a sail.

 

I passed Jamie on the "Ambition" with his daughters. He had hoped to sail along to Belhaven beach but it was getting more overcast and the girls were looking a little green when they sailed beyond the shelter of the rocks. A little further out another couple of yachts were motoring in.

 

They all disappeared into the harbour and that left me alone on the Heron with an empty sea ahead. Clouds were gathering but I had a new sail to play with and there was a good hour of tide left before I had to get back to my mooring.

And what a revelation the new genoa was. It's actually a little smaller than the previous one but far closer to the recommended sail size. There was a little weather helm, nothing to worry about, just enough to know the boat will round up in a blow. When I turned on to a reach I realised just how slow the old sails had been. I had to use two hands to sheet-in and will have to get the little winches running again. Brilliant!

I just sailed around the rocks, tacking for the sake of tacking and enjoying every minute. But time and tide don't wait, even for the mighty Heron, so too soon I had to squeeze back in between the dredger and the wall and pick up a connection to the land again.

Above is the stern of a boat built in the 1960's. Below is the stern of a boat built in the 1960's, although from an older design. I know which I prefer. Bob Clunas has done a wonderful job restoring the "Mareen" and she should be attending a few classic boat meets this season.

A great little Sunday afternoon sail, although the Heron might just be coming up for sale as I have been coveting another boat recently. A faster, flighty younger model. The poor Heron may be scorned!

Sailing, and breaking, boats.



My apologies for not posting at the weekend. The computer has been playing up and although I've got it running again, I'm using and old browser and have lost loads of settings.

But back to some lovely sunshine over the Easter Weekend. On good Friday Stuart gave me a hand and we soon had the mast up on the Heron. We celebrated with a barbecue on the yacht Seline. 

The diverter on the furler wasn't sitting straight but I wasn't too worried as I was sure it would slide into place once the foresail was bent on. I should have got on with sorting the sails and boom but cracking breeze got up in the afternoon and the Seline was ready, so we went sailing.

 



 

Out from the harbour and with three of us on board we quickly switched off the engine and sailed out between the rocks.

 



 

 

The sun was bright on the water and the easterly wind had us pushing the boat over on to her rails with a fastest recorded speed of 6.8 knots. If we had put a bit of effort into sail trim and a couple of tweaks on the rigging, I'm sure we could have gone faster.

 



But whats the point in trying to get the journey over as quickly as you can when you are enjoying it so much?

 

 

 

Whilst we were out we heard a Mayday call from just outside Dunbar harbour. We contacted the Coastguard to notify them that we were in the area (probably about four miles away) and were asked to proceed with best speed. It turned out that a visiting Anstruther motorboat had lost all power and was afraid of being washed onto the rocks. He had put out an anchor and was quickly towed to safety by the RNLI inshore boat. All the excitement was over by the time the Seline sailed back in.

 

On Sunday I finally got around to fitting the sails. Remember I mentioned the diverter that I thought would be ok? Well it wasn't and as I furled the sail there was a bang from the top of the mast and the halyard came tumbling down.

 

 

'Oh dear' I said, or something similar. Worse was to come, I climbed up onto the pier and took a picture of the top of the mast with the full extent of the zoom.

 

The forestay has twisted and there was no option but to undo all the weekend's work and take the mast down. I've ordered up a new forestay and a couple of lengths of new line, so hopefully I can get it all rebuilt next weekend. Despite all, it was still a great weekend.

Anstruther and a distinct lack of cycling.

On Saturday I made the long journey around the Firth of Forth to deliver Stuart's outboard motor to the Yacht Seline in Anstruther. Stuart was already there, having travelled over by train on Friday. The Seline won't be moving for a few weeks yet, but it was a good excuse for a night away

 I took the On One Fatty in the hope of a cycle along the East Neuk; Fly came too. I was able to park on the pier and went down to the boat to catch up with a few other friends who were also visiting.

This was Fly's first experience of being on floating pontoons and she was absolutely terrified. I tried carrying her aboard but she was shaking with fear.

I put her back in the car and as I headed back down the pontoons the rest of them were coming up. It seemed that a few others weren't too keen on being aboard in the blustery winds. There was no other option but to retire to The Ship, honest.

Now visiting the Ship is always a pleasant experience with Dave, mein host, laying on free pies, but pies, pints and good company are not the best motivation for cycling.

The late afternoon and early evening was spent between the Seline and wandering around the waterfront.

The Katie L is still sitting quietly awaiting a summer of different adventures during her hiatus from turning left.

Fly found lots to inspect, then, inevitably the sun set and we did what sailors do when in a "foreign" port and stopped looking at the views and started looking at the pubs.

Sunday dawned bright and clear, unlike my head.  I didn't manage a cycle but did have some nice coffee in the morning sun.

A fine wee break and I may have to make up for the lack of cycling this week as the car has just failed its MOT test this morning. Time to dig out the panniers for the commute.

Sunny Sunday just being busy doing nothing

It's been a strange old weekend. Saturday was spent travelling to Fife, laying carpet, receiving abuse, and generally wondering about families and why I feel I must support an uncle that I have no feelings for. As a child, my sister and I dreaded his visits. He never did anything inappropriate, but he has always been a belligerent character.

As an adult I look at him and see an unfortunate personality and probably a low grade paranoid psychosis. Since my fathers passing I have found myself taking on family roles that I don't want but feel obliged to accept. I suppose it's just part of growing older....and that Scottish Presbyterian work ethic. ...Aye...

Any hoo, Sunday was warm and bright.  Stuart has had problems with his outboard missing on one cylinder. Off I went on the Surly LHT, multimeter in hand and a lot of faith in my diagnostic abilities.

Parked up in the sailing club. The dog at the door is Bouncer. A regular face around Dunbar harbour.

Yamaha 6hp, lower plug doesn't have a spark. The impedance over the secondary winding's seems way off target, so swap coils and we have a spark at lower cylinder but not top. Time to find a new coil! 30 euros on Ebay but anyone who has owned a  2 stroke motor bike will tell you that you can pick up a Nippon coil like that for pennies.

So with Stuart and Scott considering how to source a new coil, I sat back and watched the the local Scottish Coastal Rowing cometition in the company of assorted lifeboat crew and various passers by. We somehow also got convinced to help lift the boats back out of the water onto their trailers.

 That's my foot after wading into the water to lift a boat! I have a similar one on the other side.

The skiff crews had traveled from all over the east coast of Scotland for a hard day of rowing and enjoyed a good days racing in perfect conditions.

Some folk just enjoyed a beer in the sun.

On the way home I spotted Alan Kelly with his very orange Brompton. I'm not wholly convinced about small tyre bikes but I freely admit that the way a Brompton can fold up is well impressive. 

Not a lot of cycling, not any sailing, but a day in the sun just doing what I wanted, which may seem frivolous to some, but is very important to me.