DARTMOUTH EVENT REPORT: 27th -31st August 2015.
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Once again the weather played its part in trying to spoil the day. But not this day. Hardy sailors had set off from various ports west in 20 knt winds determined to get to this RNSA 80 Central event led by RC(C) Tim Clark. He had a rough trip and got knocked down by the heavy seas on Thursday.
Portland had five boats attending. A truly good result for us and Plymouth did well with its 12 boats too. A special mention for Rick Thorne, a veteran of NL70 who once again came up from Falmouth but sadly without his beloved Maureen who was lost at sea this year. Should you ever see her bobbing about please carry out a MOB drill and deliver her safely back to Rick. |
MAUREEN. LOST AT SEA.
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Passage to Dartmouth:
We at Portland had boats coming from a couple of closer ports but two sailed all the way. Bob Myers(Skipper Moonlight) was considered to be the most experienced among us so he and Bob Tuckwood(Skipper Windhorse) discussed departure plans and it was considered that the seas would still be very moderate and so they elected to delay departure until Thursday night. The Bill tide gate was reviewed and it was agreed that 20:30 would be the time to go round the Bill. I was pleased as it checked with my nav data(20:35). I always recommend to allow 1.5 hrs to get from the moorings to the Bill. However we left later at 19:30. The waves at Grove Point were big but they were smooth this time. We went round the Bill at 20:50 but it was getting dark so we only just made it. The gate would have been wider but it would be too dark to navigate safely and being blinded by the Bill lighthouse. It was after the immediate passing of the Bill that we hit really nasty waves, from the west side eddy, that threw Moonlight around. I was very worried for Loui; Bob's lovely black dog Loui, who was clinging on with his claws as the tranquillisers hadnt click in yet. Windhorse, being a much heavier boat crashed into the waves like a Hump Back but was riding smoother than we were. I took first watch and I was glad as Bob took Louie below. Slowly we pulled away from the Bill as we had some foul tide left. Windhorse stayed close astern but she was drifting left to right and back as her mast head light changed from red to green and back.
Bob had set up his nav aids to stay on a straight track from the Bill to Mew Stone. I had my nice woolly hat on with fleeced lined Jacket so I was nice and cosy. The full moon gave a nice light on the sea. I reached into my pocket for the first cigarette. Smoking was permitted at the stern end.
The hours ticked by with the Yanmar keeping a steady beat to drive us towards the Mew Stone. This target was set in as the tide would turn again before arrival so we would need to be north of the Dart entrance on arrival. I got my Hudl with me so checked out the Navionics and it was showing a dead straight path from the Bill. Bob has a Raymarine Auto helm which is coupled to his Furuno GPS. The GPS did all the cross track calculations and fed it back to the autohelm. So once set up and wind stays on reasonable bearing you are totally hands free. Brilliant.
Dawn started to break and the familiar line of the Devon coast from the Exe down to Start point began to sharpen until the Mew Stone became visible. The autohelm still doing its job but then a large net marker buoy was seen dead ahead. Bob was still resting after doing his watch. I needed o change course but did not know what would happen if I put an input to the autohelm. I had no choice so set it to standby then auto. A plus ten input was set and the boat came around to clear the marker. However I had now lost the track control so had to continue to input to it. The situation did not warrant waking the skipper so I brought the boat to within a half hour from Mew Stone and called the skipper. We then found if you carried out the two button command to the autohelm the track was reset. We did not have to reset the GPS. It was now 09:30 and we expected to be on the mooring by 10:30.
We had plenty of water under us to cut the corner off and pass between the cardinal markers and Mew Stone. We made our way towards the entrance to the Dart and were surprised by the swell. Though not large I had read that this can be large against a strong blow from the south west against the out going stream of the river. Passing the Castle to our port the town of Dartmouth opened up before us and we continued past the Royal Dart Yacht Club to our right just south of the lower ferry. The river was alive with traffic of all types. HMS Monmouth and a Tall Ship were moored just the other side of the lower ferry. As we passed HMS Monmouth the crew saw our battle flag and wished us good morning as we passed. It amazes me how such ships are handled with the strong flow of the river and such a confined space. Must employ exclusion zones when such ships come in.
Weaving our way up river,dodging all the craft we approach the higher ferry which tows itself across the river on two hawsers. Windhorse is behind us but the ferry has left the east side. I am told it cannot stop but I cant believe that however there may be a serious safety issue that the river flow could impart on the ferry if it stopped. Windhorse had not cleared yet when a large blast on the ferry horn meant she was in an obstructive situation. Windhorse did the best thing and kept on coming as the river was on the ebb and it may have been dangerous for her to swing around as the river was so busy.
She cleared in time but there was also the danger of the cables fouling Windhorse as they were pulled up from the bed of the river. Windhorse cleared and we had no further issues. We located the moorings and scouted around to see how they lay, what pick up mechanism they had and the river current at that point. We picked up A5 and attached both lines. Windhorse went to A4 and rafted alongside CHANTAN 11. Later we were joined by Pickle(Ian Walker). Things were stowed and we decided to get some rest for a couple of hours.
We at Portland had boats coming from a couple of closer ports but two sailed all the way. Bob Myers(Skipper Moonlight) was considered to be the most experienced among us so he and Bob Tuckwood(Skipper Windhorse) discussed departure plans and it was considered that the seas would still be very moderate and so they elected to delay departure until Thursday night. The Bill tide gate was reviewed and it was agreed that 20:30 would be the time to go round the Bill. I was pleased as it checked with my nav data(20:35). I always recommend to allow 1.5 hrs to get from the moorings to the Bill. However we left later at 19:30. The waves at Grove Point were big but they were smooth this time. We went round the Bill at 20:50 but it was getting dark so we only just made it. The gate would have been wider but it would be too dark to navigate safely and being blinded by the Bill lighthouse. It was after the immediate passing of the Bill that we hit really nasty waves, from the west side eddy, that threw Moonlight around. I was very worried for Loui; Bob's lovely black dog Loui, who was clinging on with his claws as the tranquillisers hadnt click in yet. Windhorse, being a much heavier boat crashed into the waves like a Hump Back but was riding smoother than we were. I took first watch and I was glad as Bob took Louie below. Slowly we pulled away from the Bill as we had some foul tide left. Windhorse stayed close astern but she was drifting left to right and back as her mast head light changed from red to green and back.
Bob had set up his nav aids to stay on a straight track from the Bill to Mew Stone. I had my nice woolly hat on with fleeced lined Jacket so I was nice and cosy. The full moon gave a nice light on the sea. I reached into my pocket for the first cigarette. Smoking was permitted at the stern end.
The hours ticked by with the Yanmar keeping a steady beat to drive us towards the Mew Stone. This target was set in as the tide would turn again before arrival so we would need to be north of the Dart entrance on arrival. I got my Hudl with me so checked out the Navionics and it was showing a dead straight path from the Bill. Bob has a Raymarine Auto helm which is coupled to his Furuno GPS. The GPS did all the cross track calculations and fed it back to the autohelm. So once set up and wind stays on reasonable bearing you are totally hands free. Brilliant.
Dawn started to break and the familiar line of the Devon coast from the Exe down to Start point began to sharpen until the Mew Stone became visible. The autohelm still doing its job but then a large net marker buoy was seen dead ahead. Bob was still resting after doing his watch. I needed o change course but did not know what would happen if I put an input to the autohelm. I had no choice so set it to standby then auto. A plus ten input was set and the boat came around to clear the marker. However I had now lost the track control so had to continue to input to it. The situation did not warrant waking the skipper so I brought the boat to within a half hour from Mew Stone and called the skipper. We then found if you carried out the two button command to the autohelm the track was reset. We did not have to reset the GPS. It was now 09:30 and we expected to be on the mooring by 10:30.
We had plenty of water under us to cut the corner off and pass between the cardinal markers and Mew Stone. We made our way towards the entrance to the Dart and were surprised by the swell. Though not large I had read that this can be large against a strong blow from the south west against the out going stream of the river. Passing the Castle to our port the town of Dartmouth opened up before us and we continued past the Royal Dart Yacht Club to our right just south of the lower ferry. The river was alive with traffic of all types. HMS Monmouth and a Tall Ship were moored just the other side of the lower ferry. As we passed HMS Monmouth the crew saw our battle flag and wished us good morning as we passed. It amazes me how such ships are handled with the strong flow of the river and such a confined space. Must employ exclusion zones when such ships come in.
Weaving our way up river,dodging all the craft we approach the higher ferry which tows itself across the river on two hawsers. Windhorse is behind us but the ferry has left the east side. I am told it cannot stop but I cant believe that however there may be a serious safety issue that the river flow could impart on the ferry if it stopped. Windhorse had not cleared yet when a large blast on the ferry horn meant she was in an obstructive situation. Windhorse did the best thing and kept on coming as the river was on the ebb and it may have been dangerous for her to swing around as the river was so busy.
She cleared in time but there was also the danger of the cables fouling Windhorse as they were pulled up from the bed of the river. Windhorse cleared and we had no further issues. We located the moorings and scouted around to see how they lay, what pick up mechanism they had and the river current at that point. We picked up A5 and attached both lines. Windhorse went to A4 and rafted alongside CHANTAN 11. Later we were joined by Pickle(Ian Walker). Things were stowed and we decided to get some rest for a couple of hours.
THE RUN ACROSS LYME BAY.(Click on 1st Photo and use paddles to pole through.)
Friday fun:
After a good rest it was time to make a run ashore for Louie's sake. Bob got the Tender ready and Louie was pacing around in the cockpit. "Come on Dad I'm bursting". The technique to get a big dog like Louie into the Tender has been well practiced but I want to see for myself. Bob sat back on the outer sponson and called Louie. The dog climbed up on the high transom and then went under the wire and slide down the vertical 2 1/2 feet back using the transom ladder to slow his decent as he then lunged onto the Tender. I recalled asking Bobs wife Laura what happens with the dog if we launch the life raft. "Simple" she said. "He gets in first"..
It would seem the Tender was tough enough to stopped his claws going through it. The same techniques are employed when we get to Sand Quay and Louie jumps ashore onto the Pontoon. We don't make it to the woods before Louie has to do what a dog must do and guess what Bob has forgotten the Poo Bag. So there we were looking down at Louie who was well pleased with himself and then looking down at the other thing on the pontoon. Two naval sentries were looking at us. I spoke quietly to Bob. Push that large training pinnace back and I will kick the other thing into the river. Now before you think anything bad of the three of us just think of the things that are pumped out from all those yachts moored in the Dart. Louie's thing is just as good as the next dog's.
The dog is not done yet. We wander Sandquay on a reconnoitre and Louie wanders up the steps past the figureheads of the ship Hindostan. There is a tree. Now we have had lots of rain and this tree was not thirsty but when Louie started he went on and on and on. Bob says he's a Camel. I said if you have engine pump failure just connect the dog to it. Should be ok for an emergency.
We find the showers and plan a return very soon but now we have to head to town to get some supplies from the Chandlers and some Cigarettes from the Newsagent. So we get back in the tender and moor up to a pontoon that seems to be unattended and we get ashore with dog. On returning from town its time for tea.
After a good rest it was time to make a run ashore for Louie's sake. Bob got the Tender ready and Louie was pacing around in the cockpit. "Come on Dad I'm bursting". The technique to get a big dog like Louie into the Tender has been well practiced but I want to see for myself. Bob sat back on the outer sponson and called Louie. The dog climbed up on the high transom and then went under the wire and slide down the vertical 2 1/2 feet back using the transom ladder to slow his decent as he then lunged onto the Tender. I recalled asking Bobs wife Laura what happens with the dog if we launch the life raft. "Simple" she said. "He gets in first"..
It would seem the Tender was tough enough to stopped his claws going through it. The same techniques are employed when we get to Sand Quay and Louie jumps ashore onto the Pontoon. We don't make it to the woods before Louie has to do what a dog must do and guess what Bob has forgotten the Poo Bag. So there we were looking down at Louie who was well pleased with himself and then looking down at the other thing on the pontoon. Two naval sentries were looking at us. I spoke quietly to Bob. Push that large training pinnace back and I will kick the other thing into the river. Now before you think anything bad of the three of us just think of the things that are pumped out from all those yachts moored in the Dart. Louie's thing is just as good as the next dog's.
The dog is not done yet. We wander Sandquay on a reconnoitre and Louie wanders up the steps past the figureheads of the ship Hindostan. There is a tree. Now we have had lots of rain and this tree was not thirsty but when Louie started he went on and on and on. Bob says he's a Camel. I said if you have engine pump failure just connect the dog to it. Should be ok for an emergency.
We find the showers and plan a return very soon but now we have to head to town to get some supplies from the Chandlers and some Cigarettes from the Newsagent. So we get back in the tender and moor up to a pontoon that seems to be unattended and we get ashore with dog. On returning from town its time for tea.
A DAY ON THE DART. (Click on 1st Photo and use paddles to pole through.)
Master and Commander (Of the Gally.)
Bob Myers is not a Master Chef but he can fly his cooker like a Typhoon fighter. Strict protocol is observed when flashing up the burners and shutting them down again. The delights of the fare included Quiche Lorraine heated in a frying pan with a try placed on top to form a mini oven and cooked on a very low heat. Burgers, onions and Lasagne. Not for those on diet control. Baked Bread. Better done on the bars of the oven shelves as they tend to stick on a baking tray which caused some burning. Boiled eggs and scrambled eggs with baked beans. Night watches were sustained with cocktail sausages and pork pies. Watch changes were accompanied with half cups of coffee. Full ones tend to be spilt. However the amount of Cafe Noir was by the desert spoon but it did the trick of keeping us awake. Now I was introduced to Bob's pièce de résistance. Bratwurst Sausage cooked well in the Pan. Throw in some tinned potatoes and brown them in the juices. Add to this some baked beans in a separate pan. Serve hot. Now add the special condiment of dry curry powder and tomato ketchup spread on the top of the hot Bratwurst Sausage. OMG. They tasted really good and I wasn't ill.
So you may ask where did Bob learn such skills. Well Bob's life in the Artillery Regiment was not wasted. Having to keep the men under his command happy he would rustle up this fare in the back of Armoured Cars. The result of this was a strong fighting unit that would deter any enemy merely by the smells coming from the Armoured Car. Well done chef. Louie did not go hungry.
Bob Myers is not a Master Chef but he can fly his cooker like a Typhoon fighter. Strict protocol is observed when flashing up the burners and shutting them down again. The delights of the fare included Quiche Lorraine heated in a frying pan with a try placed on top to form a mini oven and cooked on a very low heat. Burgers, onions and Lasagne. Not for those on diet control. Baked Bread. Better done on the bars of the oven shelves as they tend to stick on a baking tray which caused some burning. Boiled eggs and scrambled eggs with baked beans. Night watches were sustained with cocktail sausages and pork pies. Watch changes were accompanied with half cups of coffee. Full ones tend to be spilt. However the amount of Cafe Noir was by the desert spoon but it did the trick of keeping us awake. Now I was introduced to Bob's pièce de résistance. Bratwurst Sausage cooked well in the Pan. Throw in some tinned potatoes and brown them in the juices. Add to this some baked beans in a separate pan. Serve hot. Now add the special condiment of dry curry powder and tomato ketchup spread on the top of the hot Bratwurst Sausage. OMG. They tasted really good and I wasn't ill.
So you may ask where did Bob learn such skills. Well Bob's life in the Artillery Regiment was not wasted. Having to keep the men under his command happy he would rustle up this fare in the back of Armoured Cars. The result of this was a strong fighting unit that would deter any enemy merely by the smells coming from the Armoured Car. Well done chef. Louie did not go hungry.
DINNER AT THE FLOATING BRIDGE:
Tim Clark had prepared the ground well. Issuing several planning notices all with different times but finally settling on 18:00. Bob, Louie and me were already in town but we ran out of time to go back to change but we were acceptable. We did get the locality wrong as I thought the restaurant was at the lower ferry. So we had to make a dash back to the upper ferry. Sadly poor Louie, lovely though he is, was not allowed in. I had social commitments to this dinner but I was not going to desert a member of Portland branch so stayed with Bob until he decided to return to the boat and have a meal there.
Bob said if you are hungry there will be some spare lasagne when you get back before the late night movie. So after having a drink with Bob I joined the dinner guests and apologised on behalf of Bob. The guests thought it was a great shame but there it is.
The food was excellent thought maybe not in the quantities served up on Moonlight. We were divided into two groups just because we couldn't pre book but we were close together as Tim and Nikki Pugh had guarded the tables but we gave one up to allow a family to get seated. A great gesture Tim and Nikki. Bob and Debbie Tuckwood explained to me why they appeared to drift on their passage. Their autohelm had packed up and they had to tiller all the way!!! Some of us were eating and others were ordering but that did not matter and we had a great evening. Tim and Nikki gave small speeches thanking everyone for making the enormous effort to get here despite the very poor weather. I managed to spend some of my cruising budget on some wine for the tables but had to persuade the restaurant manager to serve us as this was normally done via the bar. Our numbers had the required pulling power to achieve this. So its time to get back as the river would be closed for the fireworks so I managed to get a lift from Steve and Christine Bramley. Thankyou.
Tim Clark had prepared the ground well. Issuing several planning notices all with different times but finally settling on 18:00. Bob, Louie and me were already in town but we ran out of time to go back to change but we were acceptable. We did get the locality wrong as I thought the restaurant was at the lower ferry. So we had to make a dash back to the upper ferry. Sadly poor Louie, lovely though he is, was not allowed in. I had social commitments to this dinner but I was not going to desert a member of Portland branch so stayed with Bob until he decided to return to the boat and have a meal there.
Bob said if you are hungry there will be some spare lasagne when you get back before the late night movie. So after having a drink with Bob I joined the dinner guests and apologised on behalf of Bob. The guests thought it was a great shame but there it is.
The food was excellent thought maybe not in the quantities served up on Moonlight. We were divided into two groups just because we couldn't pre book but we were close together as Tim and Nikki Pugh had guarded the tables but we gave one up to allow a family to get seated. A great gesture Tim and Nikki. Bob and Debbie Tuckwood explained to me why they appeared to drift on their passage. Their autohelm had packed up and they had to tiller all the way!!! Some of us were eating and others were ordering but that did not matter and we had a great evening. Tim and Nikki gave small speeches thanking everyone for making the enormous effort to get here despite the very poor weather. I managed to spend some of my cruising budget on some wine for the tables but had to persuade the restaurant manager to serve us as this was normally done via the bar. Our numbers had the required pulling power to achieve this. So its time to get back as the river would be closed for the fireworks so I managed to get a lift from Steve and Christine Bramley. Thankyou.
DINNER AT THE FLOATING BRIDGE:(Click on 1st Photo and use paddles to pole through.)
AN EVENING AT THE FLICKS:
Louie poked his head out to repel boarders but stood back when he recognised me. It must have been the bribery I gave him earlier. Steve and Christine returned to Surprise and Bob had ate half a Lasagne. So we were ready to settle down to a film using the in sail movie show. The Phone Booth is a thriller made in a week but the dialogue, although very strong is sharp and crisp and makes the movie in its own right. Its available on You Tube but if strong language is not for you then don't watch it. Prior to retiring I went up for my late night cigarette and watched the Dart valley train come down to Kingswear. I loved seeing the flashes of light that were infused in the steam as it left the stack at the front. It just shows how intense the boiler fire is as it passes through the tubes and mixes with the steam from the pistons exhaust in the stack to create a turbo effect. Great design.
Louie poked his head out to repel boarders but stood back when he recognised me. It must have been the bribery I gave him earlier. Steve and Christine returned to Surprise and Bob had ate half a Lasagne. So we were ready to settle down to a film using the in sail movie show. The Phone Booth is a thriller made in a week but the dialogue, although very strong is sharp and crisp and makes the movie in its own right. Its available on You Tube but if strong language is not for you then don't watch it. Prior to retiring I went up for my late night cigarette and watched the Dart valley train come down to Kingswear. I loved seeing the flashes of light that were infused in the steam as it left the stack at the front. It just shows how intense the boiler fire is as it passes through the tubes and mixes with the steam from the pistons exhaust in the stack to create a turbo effect. Great design.
THE JOURNEY HOME:
The alarm had been set for 05:20. Very early for Bob. We had to get the boat ready for sea and stow a lot of gear using the saloon cushions to jam in all the stuff on the shelves. That was done so time for an early morning coffee. I like tea first thing but orders are orders. We had breakfast of scrambled eggs and beans. My poor stomach. Bob says it staves off sea sickness. I thought it better otherwise the fish would be well fed. All cleared and we are ready to depart. The river is on the ebb even though the tide outside has 6 hours to run easterly. We have to make Portland bill by 18:00. Bob estimates 18:30 to 18:45. I hope we will make it otherwise it could be an outer path and we would not get home before dark. We need to top up with diesel and Bob elected to put some red in as he won't be going to France this year. Bob swung Moonlight to face upstream and I jumped on board the fuel barge. Met the skipper and said I'd love a cigarette now. Only joking. Boom comes quite sharply into focus. Fueld up I pass the pump nozzle back pointing up so not to spill fuel on the lovely clean deck of the barge. The skipper of the barge wished us well and we slipped away stern first and swung around to face down stream. We are now on our way for Mew Stone and Bob re-sets the track. With the good tide we were soon heading away from Mew Stone when Bobs sees something in the water. "May be a cormorant," We wait for it to surface but not a sign. Bob shouts "there". I turn to catch a glimpse of a dark back and Dorsal fin. A lone Dolphin came to wave us off. We did not see him again. It's now 12:30 and a check on the Hudl shows we have 28 NM to the Bill. I squeeze a few more revs out of the Yanmar. We are now on foul tide all the way to the Bill. I check our speed. 4.1knts. We are going to be an hour late. The east bound inshore at the Bill is a much narrower tide gate. I notified the skipper that we have got to squeeze out another knot from Moonlight if we are to get to the Bill at 18:00. The wind had dropped from 22 knts down to 16 knts so Bob unfurled the GiB just enough to get that extra knt. We have made up time and we are going to get there early however you have to approach the Bill from the west side otherwise you can get caught in the stream and get pushed into the the race. On this day there was little sign of the white water that quickens the heart. It must have been due to the wind coming from the North West. I would have aimed for Weston but Bob went much higher into Chesil cove. I said " Have you come up high to burn off time. That's what is recommended if you are early. "Safety and Comfort is the order of the day" came the reply. We started to accelerate as we came down the west side and rounded the Bill at 18:10. My wife Pam was there to see us. The east side was very flat and we soon arrived at the eastern entrance to the harbour. Here Bob introduced a new feature to the autohelm. If you input a +1 and +10 it reads as +100. Moonlight swung around from the current track and was now aligned perfectly with the entrance. However we we a bit close to the left hand fort so Bob requested a come right by 10. Seated on the port side I looked down and pressed the right hand 10 button. Fatal error on my part. The autohelm whirred and we were now heading straight for the rocks. I saw the error and punched in an opposite 10 but it was not enough. Response times of my brain and the autohelm were too slow. Bob had also seen the error, knocked the autohelm off and hand steered us out of danger. This incident goes to prove my saying. "The most dangerous thing on a boat is a stranger". On reflection I should have thought more on the perfectly correct command. To come right is to turn to start board. The green button. Tiredness and unfamiliarity played its part but if Bob had been a lesser Skipper we could have well ended up on the rocks and this would have been a different story.
The alarm had been set for 05:20. Very early for Bob. We had to get the boat ready for sea and stow a lot of gear using the saloon cushions to jam in all the stuff on the shelves. That was done so time for an early morning coffee. I like tea first thing but orders are orders. We had breakfast of scrambled eggs and beans. My poor stomach. Bob says it staves off sea sickness. I thought it better otherwise the fish would be well fed. All cleared and we are ready to depart. The river is on the ebb even though the tide outside has 6 hours to run easterly. We have to make Portland bill by 18:00. Bob estimates 18:30 to 18:45. I hope we will make it otherwise it could be an outer path and we would not get home before dark. We need to top up with diesel and Bob elected to put some red in as he won't be going to France this year. Bob swung Moonlight to face upstream and I jumped on board the fuel barge. Met the skipper and said I'd love a cigarette now. Only joking. Boom comes quite sharply into focus. Fueld up I pass the pump nozzle back pointing up so not to spill fuel on the lovely clean deck of the barge. The skipper of the barge wished us well and we slipped away stern first and swung around to face down stream. We are now on our way for Mew Stone and Bob re-sets the track. With the good tide we were soon heading away from Mew Stone when Bobs sees something in the water. "May be a cormorant," We wait for it to surface but not a sign. Bob shouts "there". I turn to catch a glimpse of a dark back and Dorsal fin. A lone Dolphin came to wave us off. We did not see him again. It's now 12:30 and a check on the Hudl shows we have 28 NM to the Bill. I squeeze a few more revs out of the Yanmar. We are now on foul tide all the way to the Bill. I check our speed. 4.1knts. We are going to be an hour late. The east bound inshore at the Bill is a much narrower tide gate. I notified the skipper that we have got to squeeze out another knot from Moonlight if we are to get to the Bill at 18:00. The wind had dropped from 22 knts down to 16 knts so Bob unfurled the GiB just enough to get that extra knt. We have made up time and we are going to get there early however you have to approach the Bill from the west side otherwise you can get caught in the stream and get pushed into the the race. On this day there was little sign of the white water that quickens the heart. It must have been due to the wind coming from the North West. I would have aimed for Weston but Bob went much higher into Chesil cove. I said " Have you come up high to burn off time. That's what is recommended if you are early. "Safety and Comfort is the order of the day" came the reply. We started to accelerate as we came down the west side and rounded the Bill at 18:10. My wife Pam was there to see us. The east side was very flat and we soon arrived at the eastern entrance to the harbour. Here Bob introduced a new feature to the autohelm. If you input a +1 and +10 it reads as +100. Moonlight swung around from the current track and was now aligned perfectly with the entrance. However we we a bit close to the left hand fort so Bob requested a come right by 10. Seated on the port side I looked down and pressed the right hand 10 button. Fatal error on my part. The autohelm whirred and we were now heading straight for the rocks. I saw the error and punched in an opposite 10 but it was not enough. Response times of my brain and the autohelm were too slow. Bob had also seen the error, knocked the autohelm off and hand steered us out of danger. This incident goes to prove my saying. "The most dangerous thing on a boat is a stranger". On reflection I should have thought more on the perfectly correct command. To come right is to turn to start board. The green button. Tiredness and unfamiliarity played its part but if Bob had been a lesser Skipper we could have well ended up on the rocks and this would have been a different story.
THE JOURNEY HOME:(Click on 1st Photo and use paddles to pole through.)
My sincere thanks to Bob and Louie Myers for allowing me travel with you on Moonlight.
I would also like to thank all those members of Portland Branch for braving the weather to be at this event.
A special thanks to Tim Clark and Nikki Pugh for the work you put in to make this event a great success.
The use of Sandquay facilities and the moorings was very much appreciated. Bravo Zulu BRNC.
Finally to our Plymouth friends it was great to see some of you again and for the use of Windfall. Sadly the weather did not allow a better chance to chat. Never the less it was a great event.
Brendan Moore RNSA Portland Cruising Secretary 7 Sept 2015.
I would also like to thank all those members of Portland Branch for braving the weather to be at this event.
A special thanks to Tim Clark and Nikki Pugh for the work you put in to make this event a great success.
The use of Sandquay facilities and the moorings was very much appreciated. Bravo Zulu BRNC.
Finally to our Plymouth friends it was great to see some of you again and for the use of Windfall. Sadly the weather did not allow a better chance to chat. Never the less it was a great event.
Brendan Moore RNSA Portland Cruising Secretary 7 Sept 2015.