Waiting For The Spare Part
Day 5 - Saturday 20th May 2017
There was nothing else to do but wait for the spare part to arrive. The engineers had kindly said they'd fit it for us if it arrived during the morning.
The facilities at Milford Haven were very good. After showering we had breakfast and looked at the list of minor jobs to do.
The jackstays we'd fitted needed to be re-routed to allow us to go to the foredeck whilst remaining clipped on.
The next job was to make getting on & off the boat easier. Kathryn, the skippers wife & 'first mate' found the pelican hooks on the guard wire gates difficult to clip & unclip. Erni and I soon sorted that by...
Stuck in Milford Haven, 'Water in the Engine Room'
Day 4 - Friday 19th May 2017
After a good night's sleep in the marina and a tasty breakfast we set to work on some jobs. The first was to fill the tanks with water. The next was to look at a minor water leak we'd spotted in the engine compartment during our passage the previous day.
We dried the floor and laid some sheets of kitchen roll, then started up the engine. There was a drip coming from the joint between the exhaust pipe and watertrap / muffler. We needed the toolkit. The toolkit was stowed in the lazarette locker. It has steps on the side walls to climb in and out! The hose clamp on the leading joint wasn't tight, so we tightened it a little. The drip become a trickle. Bugger! It looked like the watertrap was causing the problem.
The on-site marine engineers were called and after inspection and discussion, quickly confirmed that the watertrap had...
Newlyn to Milford Haven
Day 3 - Thursday 18th May 2017
I woke with the alarm at 0320. Too excited to roll over and fall back asleep, I put the kettle on and got dressed. Waking Mr & Mrs Skipper with a mug of tea I then donned my sea boots & oilskins and went topsides to see to the mooring warps.
There was a light breeze on the starboard side and we were berthed port side to the finger. The skipper's plan was to reverse out into the fairway. We needed a long bow spring and a short stern warp. I walked the boat back a metre too so the bow would be clear of the walkway when we made the manoeuvre. The fenders at the aft end wouldn't be needed so I used some of them to protect the bow.
The instrument lights were blinding in the surrounding darkness. When skip changed the settings from...
Round the Lizard, Britain's most southerly point
Day 2 - Wednesday 17th May 2017, Mylor to Newlyn
I woke early and looked at the pilot book and charts. The distance from Mylor to the Lizard was about 20 NM and Newlyn about 15 or 16 miles beyond. How long will it take to get there & what is the cruising speed of Wind Song? The forecast Wind direction was 'on the nose' so we would probably have to motor.
The book said the best time to round the Lizard was two hours before high water Dover. It also recommended a call to Newlyn harbour master to find out if they had a berth for us. It even had a phone number just to make life easier. Once the skipper was up, we established the cruising speed was 7 knots, taking about 3 hours to get to the Lizard. So we planned to set off at...
Morecambe to Falmouth
Day 1 - Tuesday 16th May 2017, Travelling to Mylor Yacht Harbour
Deirdre dropped me off at Morecambe station in time for the 0823 train to Lancaster. I bought a coffee & waited for the crowded 0857 southbound to Crewe. It felt like a day off with no charts, pilot books or almanac to plan the voyage. So I settled in with my notebook to write a short story about the trip for our blog.
The skipper, his wife and crew Erni met me at Crewe for the onward leg to Falmouth by hire car. Their yacht is a Gunfleet 43 sloop and it's about to leave Mylor for a summer season sailing in Scotland. They've asked me to sail with them & provide some coaching during the passage.
In the car we talked about possible routes for the trip. Should we sail up the west coast of Wales or...