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A cosy boat

May - June 2017
Having spent a winter in Ireland, Eureka went brrrr! Read more
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  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 1

    Off to Falmouth

    May 28, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Having got Eureka to Ireland we spent the rest of the season day sailing and had a voyage as far as Castletownbere in West Cork where Maeve's brother in law was giving a talk on sailors from West Cork who took part in the battle of Jutland. It was as good a reason as any to head west.

    We had always planned to have heating onboard as the temperatures in the North Atlantic are much cooler than those in the Mediterranean.
    I had got a good quote at last years Southampton Boat Show but I had to bring the boat to them and not the other way around.
    So we were starting 2017 by heading to the south coast of England to get the heating fitted to Eureka.

    We put a plan together and basically it was to get to Lymington quickly, get the heating fitted and then cruise back slowly calling to the Helford River & Isles of Scilly before crossing the Celtic Sea for home.

    My brother Declan was joining me for the outward journey and Maeve, Chris and her husband Eddie would join me for part of the return journey.

    Maeve brought Declan and I to East ferry early but it was 09.30 before we were ready to leave. Then we remembered the spare bottle of gas.
    We had so send Maeve home again to get it and at 10.15 we were ready at last.
    We waved goodbye and motored down the ferry and set a course for Roches Point at the mouth of Cork Harbour.
    By the time we passed Roches Point at 11.20 we were under full sail and the engine was off.
    Outside the forecasted NE wind was in fact East and stronger than expected so we soon put a reef in the main and a few rolls in the genny and we raced SE towards Land End at 7 knots on a close reach.

    Unfortunally it wasn’t to last and in the afternoon it began to rain and the wind died but came back up later so we had plenty of practice taking out and putting back in, the reefs in the sails.

    We turned on the engine for an hour but that was only to charge the batteries. The rain eased and we had a pleasant night and calm seas.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 2

    A pigeon and sea shanties

    May 29, 2017 in England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We had picked up a stowaway, a racing pigeon, about 40 miles south of Ireland. We left a bun out for him and he made a great mess on the deck as he demolished it.

    The wind died during the night so at 03.46 we dropped the sails and were motoring towards the Isles of Scilly.
    We discovered that for some reason the domestic batteries were not being charged by the engine so we steered by hand the rest of the way to Falmouth.

    We were still north of Scilly at 09.15 when our stowaway left us. I hope we had brought him closer to home and not future away.

    As the morning warmed up it burnt away the haze and the sun came out, soon got hot and dried the decks.
    We began to slap on the sun screen and I was sorry I hadn't brought the bimini.

    Having gone south of the traffic separation zone we rounded Lands End at at 14.00 and headed east for the Lizard before then heading north towards Falmouth.
    It seemed to take ages to head around the Lizard and up close was much larger than I remembered.

    The wind picked up and we unfurled the genoa and we had a lovely sail until we reached the mouth of the harbour.
    We motored the rest of the way and having seen that the Harbourmasters pontoons were full with many rafted up, we instead tied up at the nearby Port Pendennis Marina at 19.30 and plugged in the shorepower to charge the batteries..

    Every body in the marina office had gone home so we just plugged in and wandered up the town to have a look around.

    I was surprised to see a banner hung across the main street for the ‘Molgoggers’ a local Cobh sea shanty group who were appearing at a festival in the town. Unfortunally I would be in Lymington when they were here.

    We had a pint ashore but as we were tired and soon returned to Eureka and had a pleasant night’s sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 3

    Bound for Lymington

    May 30, 2017, English Channel ⋅ 17 °C

    In the morning Declan who is training for a triathlon headed off on a run while I headed for a coffee and apple tart. Priorities, priorities!!

    After doing some provisioning I returned to Eureka and Declan arrived soon after.

    We left the marina at 13.30 and soon after we departed a Russian frigate arrived and sailed into the berth we had just left.
    It was lucky it had not arrived earlier as we would have given it a broadside of the few apples and oranges we had.
    The frigate was a replica of one built by Peter the Great in the 1700's. As it sailed into the port it fired a cannon and this reverberated off the town making it sound much louder than it actually was .

    We had a nice sail in the lovely sunshine out of the harbour but when we turned turned east and went on a broad reach, the wind eased.
    We headed south of the infamous Eddystone Lighthouse and set a course for the next headland on our route, Start Point.

    We changed course to go a bit more south and that instead put us on a broad reach rather than a run and we made better time.
    But even that didn't last and we eventually had to drop the sails and turn on the engine, motoring along on a calm sea and when night came, the clear sky gave us plenty of stars overhead. The lights of the towns ashore showed us where the coast was.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 4

    A detour to an island for a swim

    May 31, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    At dawn we could see the glow of the light on Portland Bill which we passed at 08.00, very slowly as the tide was against us.

    By the time we reached the Needles Channel at 13.00 we had the tide again with us and as Declan wanted to have a swim, we motored towards the Isle of Wight and anchored in Conwell Bay.

    We got to try out the deck shower when Declan got back aboard and then we headed for Lymington but not directly.
    The entrance to the harbour in at right angles to the main shipping channel in the Solent and it's very shallow on either side of the narrow dredged channel.
    We had a bit of fun when two Isle of Wight ferries appeared, one ahead after leaving Lymington and the other inbound from behind us. Was there going to be room for us?

    We managed to keep out of their way and entered the harbour and turning to port and enter the marina. We tied up in our allocated berth at 17.30.
    After doing the paperwork we explored the town and I recognised that I had been here before on a previous visit to the UK in the car with Maeve.
    We had a nice dinner ashore at a riverside pub and returned to Eureka for a coffee before bed.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 5

    Chilling out

    June 1, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    When I was organising the heating I was informed that it would be the 5th before they would be able to fit it.
    I had already organised crew thinking that a weeks notice would be enough. Then the weather was dictating when I travelled and here I was, a bit disappointed then they wouldn't do a bit of readjusting for an important international customer like me 😂
    I hadn't allowed for them being so busy that a weeks notice wouldn't give them enough time. Anyway the result was that I'd be spending six days at Lymington as it would take two days to fit.
    Lymington is a lovely place with some lovely marinas but it's not the cheapest place in the world.

    If I had more crew I would have liked to do a bit of cruising in the Solent rather than staying put here but Declan was headed home tomorrow so I decided to stay put as I'd be sailing singlehanded and I don't like getting into tight spots like marinas in those circumstances.

    On our first day we treated ourselves to breakfast ashore.
    We explored the town and in the afternoon Declan went for a run and I did a nice walk along a coastal path to the west of the town.

    We later met back onboard and had Maeve's dinner with pasta which was delicious and headed to the marina bar for a pint before putting our heads down.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 6

    Goodbyes

    June 2, 2017 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We had a slow start to the day.
    Declan was heading home today and neither of us was looking forward to it. We basically just wasted time, had breakfast and lunch before heading to the train station.

    The station was a good walk on the far side of the town so our slow pace wasted a bit more time.
    Hugs and Declan boarded the 15.00 train on the first leg of his journey back to Birmingham and work tomorrow.

    It started raining that evening and I visited the marina bar for a pint and the internet. They were having problems with the signal down on the marina.

    I wander back to Eureka in the rain that had started earlier and put my head down.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 7

    Market day

    June 3, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    I woke early but it was breezy outside and chilly onboard. I had no intention of getting up too quickly.
    It's the sort of morning that makes me look forward to having the heating fitted. Only two or three days now and I'll be toasting my toes as the hot air blows through the boat.

    Had breakfast aboard and then went for a shower.
    I found that the five star showers were being cleaned so I had to go to the three star ones nearby.

    I later walked up the town and discovered that there was it was market day with lots of stalls on the High Road and bought myself a pair of cheap deck shoes.

    I visited Tesco's and did a bit of provisioning which included a few prepared ready meals that looked appetising.

    There was an incident at the marina in the afternoon. A large motorboat was leaving the marina with it's new owner aboard with his wife and kids.
    The 'for sale' signs were still visible and it soon turned out that he was totally inexperienced.
    He left his berth very slowly and the wind blew him up against the bows of the boats opposite his berth. He panicked and opened the throttle and the noise of the scraping his boat against the pulpits, anchors etc. of the other boats was horrendous. Luckily a nearby experienced sailor jumped aboard and took over.
    I assisted in bringing the boat was brought back to its berth and everyone calmed down. Amazingly very little damage was done.

    In fairness to the new owner, he learnt his lesson that boats are not like cars and don't always go where you point them.
    I saw him a few days later with an instructor aboard. I hope he and his family had many enjoyable experiences with the boat in the years since.

    One of the Tesco's dinners was enjoyed later and as hoped was very tasty.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 8

    Only one more day

    June 4, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    It was cold and windy again today but people are going in t-shirts and shorts!
    Is there something wrong with them or is there something wrong with me?

    After breakfast I began getting Eureka ready for tomorrow. I was emptying lockers of clothes and moving the cushions to the forecabin to make space for the fitting of the heating.

    I emptied the jerrycans into the fuel tank and them went to the fuel berth and got them filled again.

    Later I went up the town and got a coffee and sandwich in Costa from a friendly German waitress from Dortmund.

    Having looked at the weather forecast, it doesn't look good for the week.

    Went to bed early to be up early.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 9

    Problems, problems, problems!!

    June 5, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    I was up early this morning so that I'd have breakfast out of the way and everything shipshape.
    I'm getting exciting and looking forward to being warm again. The last few days have been cold for this time of the year and I've been warped up well when going to bed.
    If I had thought of it, I should have brought a fan heater with me but it had been lovely weather when we left Ireland.

    Nine o clock and no sign of anyone, ten o clock, I'm getting anxious. Phone call made and I discovered that they didn't know anything either.
    Not good!
    They called back and it turned out someone had gone sick and they were now trying to get their 'Engineer' from Portsmouth to me.
    Feck, how long it that going to take, Portsmouth is over 40 English miles away.

    The reason I had berthed at Lymington was because their head office was just up the road, easy for them to get to me , easy for me too I thought at the time.

    Anyway, the engineer arrived at 12.30 and quickly got down to it. "Yes, I was an outlet in the aft cabin, the heads, the saloon and the forecabin".
    "The passage cabin? Na, wouldn't want the crew getting too comfortable"

    I left Eureka in this tender loving care (I hope) as they prefer to be left to it, without owners getting in the way. Totally understandable.

    I later returned and discovered that he was having problems finding a route for the duct to the forecabin.
    This company were the ones who fitted heating to Moody's as they were being built in the yard and knew their way around the boats or so I was told.
    In fairness I have discovered that changes were made to my early model later especially in the area he was having trouble.
    It was all doom and gloom as both of us searched for solutions and by the time he left for the day, I was accepting that I wouldn't have heating in the forecabin even though Richard (the fitter) wasn't prepared to give up . . yet.

    I had to eat ashore and even had only one side of the aft cabin to sleep in as the rest of the boat was out of bounds or dismantled at this stage.
    There was a nice smell of sawdust as I began to fall asleep thinking, how are we going to get into the forecabin?    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 10

    Eureka!

    June 6, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Rich, see we're friends now! Arrived early to make up for yesterday and was accompanied by Owen his apprentice.
    Yes, I checked the spelling of Owen's name and bored him to death explaining the difference between Eoin and Eoghan in Ireland.
    No, look it up yourself!

    Today I stayed around as Rich had by this stage realised I was half useful and wasn't getting in the way when not required.
    First problem of this morning, not enough space between the toilet bowl and the bulkhead.
    Solution? I offer to move it. Result? A happy engineer and another job for me to do later in replacing it.

    The toilet bowl was temporally relocated and the ducting were sneaking forward to the chainplates . . . . . . . . . and at last we found as way forward into the forecabin. Eureka!

    The lads stayed until 19.30, well after finishing time in commissioning the heating and Owen was returning in the morning to finish off the few bits and pieces that were left to do.
    I might even be able to set sail tomorrow.

    That evening it was again cold but tonight all I had to do was press the switch and feel the lovely warm air blowing around the boat.

    I later found out that Moody built in the heating ducts on their later boats even if heating unit was not being fitted. What a pity they didn't do it to them all.

    I wandered up to Lymington Town Sailing Club to get WiFi to check the forecasts. They we looking good for tomorrow but worsening on Thursday.
    If I could get away early tomorrow, I thought I'd get as far west as Dartmouth if I sailed overnight.
    I was due to meet up with Chris and Eddie in Falmouth.

    I walked back to Eureka in the soft misty rain but at least the wind had eased. Looking good for sailing tomorrow.    Read more

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