here is an edited version of the video ...
Here is the route and the Polar output ... I got some good exercise !
Wednesday, 1 July 2020
Laser Sailing 1st July 2020
Had a good sail today ... just enough wind to get the Laser going nicely ( and me ... ) ... still working on getting her in the water quicker so can do half day sailing quicker ..
here is an edited version of the video ...
Here is the route and the Polar output ... I got some good exercise !
here is an edited version of the video ...
Here is the route and the Polar output ... I got some good exercise !
Thursday, 29 August 2019
Skippy makes it to Waldringfield and back
After a certain amount of tuning I successfully made it to Waldringfield today testing 3 of the 5 possible methods of propulsion : Oars, Petrol Motor and Sail, singlehanded. The boat now officially operates to the G and T standard but this was not tested today. The other two methods of electric motor and pushing were not tested on this occasion. The engine has been serviced and starts perfectly.
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| all ready for the off |
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| Sails down and approaching Ramsholt ( special seat to enable rowing ) |
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| Cadets racing / training at Waldringfield ( takes me back to when I was at school ) |
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Back in the Laser
Video taken with Christmas present camera from Gill
Took the Laser up to Ramsholt yesterday and had a really good reach up the river with the tide ( high tide about 2 pm) , cleaned up the Skipper and had a spot of lunch.
Made a bit of a splash after lunch between Ramsholt and Felixstowe as I got my capsize practice in a bit early ( was going to do it during the Wednesday evening race in the presence of lots of rescue boats ). Fortunately my phone worked in the waterproof casing and I managed to reach John White the Felixstowe Ferry harbourmaster who came and towed me as by that time I had lost the mast. (Bad rigging on my part ) . Here is the video ( recommend the last 2 minutes which include the underwater sequence .. ;-) :-
Tuesday, 11 September 2018
Return from Aldeburgh to Felixstowe Ferry 19/8/18
So this was later in August and the hot calm weather we experienced going to Aldebugh had gone.
Gill delivered us to Aldeburgh about 10 am.
Arrived at the mooring with the ebb tide well underway but the boat was rolling well on the chop so was a bit of a challenge getting onloard. Fortuneatley another larger boat had decided to 'share ' our mooring with us so being effectively strapped to him our 18 ft tiddler was prevented from rolling too excessively while boarding. Good thing really.
The weather was characterised by a strong south westerly which was headwind all the way down the River Alde to the River Ore so we were motoring. Stopped at Orford for a chat with the harbour master Philip Attwood who patiently explained that there was a gale warning .... so we retired to the Orford Jolly Sailor for a spot of lunch and to consider the situation.
The wind then seemed to have dropped so we went back to the quay , met with the harbour master again who explained the the gale warning had gone away and that it was for Dover primarily so we proceeded down to the entrance of the Ore.
Made it through the bar and out to sea.
A good sea was running so it was good to see Solitaire's high gunnels being put t othe test to keep the boat dry. I ran Navionics on my iphone in its water proof case to check on our course at sea which worked very well.
Arrived mooring at Felixstowe Ferry @ 4.00pm and was collected by Gill.
Another interesting day of sailing on the Solitaire micro yacht.
These are the Ore and Felixstowe Ferry entrances charts which document the interesting geography.
Gill delivered us to Aldeburgh about 10 am.
Arrived at the mooring with the ebb tide well underway but the boat was rolling well on the chop so was a bit of a challenge getting onloard. Fortuneatley another larger boat had decided to 'share ' our mooring with us so being effectively strapped to him our 18 ft tiddler was prevented from rolling too excessively while boarding. Good thing really.
The weather was characterised by a strong south westerly which was headwind all the way down the River Alde to the River Ore so we were motoring. Stopped at Orford for a chat with the harbour master Philip Attwood who patiently explained that there was a gale warning .... so we retired to the Orford Jolly Sailor for a spot of lunch and to consider the situation.
The wind then seemed to have dropped so we went back to the quay , met with the harbour master again who explained the the gale warning had gone away and that it was for Dover primarily so we proceeded down to the entrance of the Ore.
Made it through the bar and out to sea.
A good sea was running so it was good to see Solitaire's high gunnels being put t othe test to keep the boat dry. I ran Navionics on my iphone in its water proof case to check on our course at sea which worked very well.
Arrived mooring at Felixstowe Ferry @ 4.00pm and was collected by Gill.
Another interesting day of sailing on the Solitaire micro yacht.
These are the Ore and Felixstowe Ferry entrances charts which document the interesting geography.
Wednesday, 22 August 2018
My other boat is a Laser ....
I have sailed Lasers @ Felixstowe Ferry (1980-2007) ,
Horseshoe Lifebelt Yellow something like this mounted at stern
A Marine flare is onboard on top of starboard ( RHS ) cabin locker.
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| Me @ Sheraton Langkawi Malaysia( 2004 ) |
Fox Cub 372 Safety Controls :-
Delorme Garmin satellite rescue tracking device
Charting Navigation Navionics working on ipad with bluetooth GPS and on Iphone
Horseshoe Lifebelt Yellow something like this mounted at stern
Shrouds replaced in the last 3 years
Installation of Lazy Jack system for quick handling of sails
Brand New Suzuki DF5A Outboard and backup nearly new Honda 2.3 ( on dingy but capable of pushing dingy and foxcub )
ICOM M93D Class D DSC radio on board with Mayday and other assistance ( eg tow required ) laminated scripts for use of all crew. OFCOM / RYA qualified operator onboard. With the DSC (Digital Selective Calling ) Radio I am a part of the GMDSS : “DSC distress alerts, which consist of a preformatted distress message, are used to initiate emergency communications with ships and rescue coordination centers.”
A Marine flare is onboard on top of starboard ( RHS ) cabin locker.
Wednesday, 8 August 2018
Trip to Aldeburgh
Beautiful weather ... again ..Bertie and I left the mooring @ 9.15 and were then 3 hours above low water exiting the Deben.
The video shows us heading towards the surveying rig .. we were wondering what it was ... . and then Havergate island just before we went aground on a spit ... all good stuff .. done with an editor called Videopad which I do not like .. .
Had a deliberately slow sail to Shingle street with low winds but with about one mph of current carrying us along.
Arrived at Orford Haven ( Ore Entrance ) 1 hour below low water and decided to attempt the entrance on the understanding that if as we approached the critical part of the entrance it got too shallow we should be able to swing round quickly with the fast ebb tide out of the Ore and get back out to sea if we needed to.
Entrance was successful and spent an hour sailing into the current in a stationary fashion before realising that we would probably miss the catering at the Jolly Sailor @ Orford unless we sped up a bit. So on with the motor and proceeded at a faster pace at slack water but just missed the catering at the pub.
On our way to Shingle street we had the VHF off and managed to sail through an exclusion zone that we were unaware of until we turned on the radio and received a message from the guard vessel.
On our way to Orford we received another 'Securitie' message which we thought was the exclusion zone again but it was the coastguard warning us about an unexploded shell at Shingle Street ! Poses some questions about what the shells were doing at Shingle Street ...? ( see here ) ...
After a lunch break at Orford we proceeded up to Aldeburgh this time with a good flood tide ... managed to misjudge the depth of the Havergate island spit and temporarily ran aground there.
Fortunately great work by Bertie got us off the mud promptly. Sailed past Orford Ness. I hadn't realised what a big establishment it was. Also massive aerial towers there as well . See link to the wiki. Arrived @ Aldeburgh about 4.30 pm and picked up a guest mooring and went ashore about 5 and made ourselves known as visiting yachtsmen and managed to consume another couple of pints before being collect by Jan. Thanks Jan !
Over and Out.
Here are the charts from Navionics
The video shows us heading towards the surveying rig .. we were wondering what it was ... . and then Havergate island just before we went aground on a spit ... all good stuff .. done with an editor called Videopad which I do not like .. .
Had a deliberately slow sail to Shingle street with low winds but with about one mph of current carrying us along.
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| Bertie at the helm |
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| Activity near the surveying platform ( diving ? ) |
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| Shingle Street in the distance |
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| Man with class D DSC VHF Radio |
Arrived at Orford Haven ( Ore Entrance ) 1 hour below low water and decided to attempt the entrance on the understanding that if as we approached the critical part of the entrance it got too shallow we should be able to swing round quickly with the fast ebb tide out of the Ore and get back out to sea if we needed to.
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| The interesting entrance to the Ore |
Entrance was successful and spent an hour sailing into the current in a stationary fashion before realising that we would probably miss the catering at the Jolly Sailor @ Orford unless we sped up a bit. So on with the motor and proceeded at a faster pace at slack water but just missed the catering at the pub.
On our way to Shingle street we had the VHF off and managed to sail through an exclusion zone that we were unaware of until we turned on the radio and received a message from the guard vessel.
On our way to Orford we received another 'Securitie' message which we thought was the exclusion zone again but it was the coastguard warning us about an unexploded shell at Shingle Street ! Poses some questions about what the shells were doing at Shingle Street ...? ( see here ) ...
After a lunch break at Orford we proceeded up to Aldeburgh this time with a good flood tide ... managed to misjudge the depth of the Havergate island spit and temporarily ran aground there.
Fortunately great work by Bertie got us off the mud promptly. Sailed past Orford Ness. I hadn't realised what a big establishment it was. Also massive aerial towers there as well . See link to the wiki. Arrived @ Aldeburgh about 4.30 pm and picked up a guest mooring and went ashore about 5 and made ourselves known as visiting yachtsmen and managed to consume another couple of pints before being collect by Jan. Thanks Jan !
Over and Out.
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| Overall route |
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| Deben or Ore |
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| Havergate Island |
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| Orford and Orford Ness |
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| Aldeburgh and Sloughden |
Thursday, 3 May 2018
Solitaire Foxcub 372 for Sale
My wonderful boat is now for sale
On mooring at Felixstowe Ferry with mooring possible at Ramsholt on the beautiful River Deben
£3000 including
low hours 4 hp Mariner outboard
Shrouds replaced in the last 2 years
2 coats of Hepel Tiger anti-foul applied in the last month
2 dingies ( 1 inflatable )
recently installed 'lazy jacks' to easy sail handling ( single handing )
Follow the menu to the right for more pictures and views of the river
On mooring at Felixstowe Ferry with mooring possible at Ramsholt on the beautiful River Deben
£3000 including
low hours 4 hp Mariner outboard
Shrouds replaced in the last 2 years
2 coats of Hepel Tiger anti-foul applied in the last month
2 dingies ( 1 inflatable )
recently installed 'lazy jacks' to easy sail handling ( single handing )
Follow the menu to the right for more pictures and views of the river
Wednesday, 14 June 2017
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Sunday, 25 October 2015
Saturday, 19 September 2015
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Sunday, 28 June 2015
Friday, 5 June 2015
And some more pictures ...
Very bad quality clip from blackberry while singlehanding .... under way at last ! :- :-
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| Easy boarding from the ladder |
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| Safety lines from well to mooring cleat |
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| Under sail and up the river ! |
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| Location of painter clips to get the dingy right next to the ladder |
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
All ready for the 1st sail , perhaps over the bank holiday weekend ......?
Went aboard today to check everything ... she's all ready for the first sail ...
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| All the gear ..... including safety harness for those going forward ... |
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| Sails Up !! |
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| Sail Cover repaired and in place together with rotating sea gull scarer .... sail cover applied in a rain storm hence bit lopsided ... |
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