Sunny Saturday and a grim Sunday.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny and I got some tidying done on the Heron as I continue to hope to sell her. I also took the chance to take some photos of the locker lids for the benefit of Steve on his blog, 'Yacht Sparrow'

I hope the pictures are pretty self explanatory, the wooden tongues go in under the back of the locker moulding so there is no need for hinges.

 

 

Fly was enjoying the sunshine too and we had a good wander along the shore seeing what the spring tides had washed up. I should really have taken advantage of the weather and got the LHT out for a cycle but I was in no rush as I had a plan for Sunday when using the bike would work out perfectly. Unfortunately the weather changed and by Sunday afternoon it was snowing and as the day wore on the rain hammered down.

 

Bit of a disappointment, but there's always next weekend.

So I bought another yacht.....

Well I've finally got around to the first post of the new year! I've not been out any distance on the LHT partly due to the poor weather, but mostly through apathy. During the working week I'm really busy, putting in extra hours at work in preparation for an audit and then studying at night. So what I probably need is a break at the weekend, de-stressing, getting some exercise. Instead I've just massively increased the stress and bought a bigger yacht.

Some may remember that I had been looking at another boat last summer. That was an E-Boat which unfortunately was bought before I was able to view it. I've kept looking and finally a friends Jaguar 23, Sona, came up for sale, and on Saturday morning we shook hands on the deal.
 

The Sona needs quite a bit of work; It was dismasted during a storm last year and some standing rigging needs replacing. The mast foot was also torn off, so I'll have some fun drilling, tapping, and riveting the alloy. The wiring seems shot and there is a lot of cleaning to be done. A rudder gudgeon needs some aluminium welding and the engine doesn't seem too keen on running..... I could go on.

 

 But it is a fast cruiser/racer with a lot of potential. There are a couple of suits of sails and the hull, deck and keel are in good shape.

The view from the deck is pretty good too.

I need to do some work on the Heron and then it will be up for sale at a cheap price! Meantime I'm goin to try to get some cycling in, but there are probably also going to be quite a few posts following the re-building and launch of the Sona. The target date is 4th of April, the Easter weekend!

Back to Sunday Cycling

All good things must come to an end and the Heron came out of the water for the winter last Sunday. The bigger boats are lifted out by crane so I have to get the Heron into place before all the chaos commences.

So with no sailing excuses this Sunday morning, off I went for a cycle around Dunbar and then down the coast.

There was nothing fancy this week, just a nose around town, then a quick spin down to Barns Ness lighthouse for breakfast coffee sitting on the beach. Chandra might be interested to know that this is a Stevenson Lighthouse, and there is a wind swept fence nearby!

I found some shelter from the wind tucked in under the marram grass, then it was time to sit back with a flask of freshly pressed coffee, watch the sea and enjoy the sunshine.

A simple cycle, some blustery wind, just enough to stretch the legs and get me back in the saddle.

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.

Sailing as it should be done.

Sometimes you just have to grab the moment and get out sailing. Last Sunday was as good a day for sailing as I've seen for a long time. The sun was shining, there was a light but steady breeze and there was only the slightest swell.

So the little outboard was fired up to get me off the mooring but as soon as I was out of the harbour entrance, the motor was off and the Heron caught some wind in her sails.

Davey came out for a sail on his yacht 'Wee Beastie' but was having problems getting tension in his mainsail.

It didn't matter too much, It's still a faster boat than the Heron.

Davey soon passed me and headed off into the distance. I just set the tiller and headed north.

I often take photos of the horizon when I'm out sailing. I don't post many because they don't convey what I really experience. In the pictures the sea looks empty but when I'm sailing it's full of movement, changing colours, birds, the sound of the water and wind and of course the insignificant dot that is the Heron slowly bobbing along in the midst of it all.

With the back of my neck suitably burnt I turned south to get a bit of sun on my face and headed along the coast to the east of Dunbar.

I gybed off the east beach the tried my best to goose wing back to the scart rocks. Having the wind directly behind you might sound easy but if you sail, you'll know how tricky it can be.

Back in the calm of harbour and the colours are changing again as the sun starts to get a little lower.
Then this weekend, the weather was really settled again on Saturday. There was no real wind to speak of but I wanted to get out on the water and so hatched a cunning plan to spend the afternoon practising the black art of anchoring. 

It's probably best not to tell anyone that you intend to drop an anchor as it is amazing how many experts there are out there. And none of them agree.

After dropping the hook a couple of times and feeling it set on different grounds I heard the buzz of an engine and Stuart appeared on the Seline.

My back was beginning to complain with hauling up 11 meters of chain so happily agreed to go for a motor to the yacht Carioca which we could see bobbing around a mile and a half off-shore.

We all rafted up and sat chatting and some cold beer was passed around.

The boats creeked and groaned and slowly swung around on the tide and soon Jamie appeared on the Ambition to increase the raft of sloth to four. As the tide started to ebb, the Carioca had to head in to harbour as it draws a lot more than our little boats. The change in the tide also brought a little breeze and we gathered ourselves together, cast off the lines and hoisted some sail to get home.

Days like these are few, and can be far between, but are good for the soul.