Captain Slog 2
Date 02/05/2008 – Bucklers Hard to Weymouth
We arrived on board lunchtime on Friday, and after
handing over a wad of cash to the harbourmaster, and
cadging a lift out to the mooring, motored boat down
to visitors pontoon for the night and retired to the pub!
for the rest of the afternoon. In the morning we slipped
our mooring at 08:30 and began motoring down stream
at an easy pace whilst eating bacon sarni’s and drinking
mugs of tea, the weather was glorious, everything was
green and it was looking like it would be a fab spring day.
As we meandered down the river towards the Solent a
light breeze from the South east made its self known, I could not believe our luck, we crossed
the bar at about 09:45 headed due south for about 10 mins whilst I set the mainsail, turning to
the west I set the jib and stay sail and turned off the engine. With a good S/E 3 or 4 pushing us
along at about 5 knots and a fair tide we were soon abeam of Yarmouth and heading towards
Hurst point, I had decided to take the inshore route as there was plenty of water about. We
crossed the needles channel, which was a bit swirly but nothing to bad and passed Hurst Castle
at 11:30 after sighting the staboard hand mark at the western end of the channel we pointed
the boats head towards Swanage and Poole Harbour aiming to leave Hengisbury Head about 1
mile to starboard. The weather was glorious, sunny, warm, good wind and the sea was blue,
after some of the weather we had been through since leaving Wart on the Noze! It was really
encouraging to have some decent sailing conditions, ‘May Queen’ seemed to be performing well
and could have handled a bigger jib, but as I was happy to let her sail at between 4 and 5 knots,
I kept her as she was. After a glorious few hours we were rapidly approaching the fairway mark
and so quickly jibed round and headed down the fairway, by this time we had been joined by a
massive flotilla of boats all heading for the narrow entrance to Poole Harbour and the limited
number of available alongside berths at the marina’s but more importantly the cheaper option of
the Town Quay. We were being overtaken by just about everybody as we were still under sail,
with the engine on but not in gear, like an F1 grand
prix when the safety car comes out the playing field is
somewhat levelled, Poole Harbour’s version of the
safety car is the chain ferry that crosses the
narrowest part of the entrance, all the boats in front
stopped to allow the ferry to cross as we made a
sedate dash down the inside (right) and got through
in front of nearly everybody, not that it’s a race.
After a sweetly sedate sail past Brownsea Castle we
waited for the pack to open up again and turned
into wind to drop the sails and haul the bowsprit in
before motoring round to the Town Quay,
even-though it was early, only about 15:30 just after
lunch! But there were boats rafted up 4 abreast, however having a 6 ton gaffer with a lot of
standing rigging poking out from the side makes for some special treatment, and we were
allotted a berth alongside a large fishing boat, so apart from a little hunter 15 footer we were
left alone. That night the wind blew up and a few of the rafts broke lose, I was quietly
sniggering behind my hand at one boat who had refused to come alongside as he was worried
about his gelcoat, he was at the end of the trot being bounced
around all night, whilst ‘May Queen’ hardly moved, poetic justice I
call it. We hit the pubs, there are some great pubs in Poole, the
quay has been tidied up somewhat, but the pubs are still as
vibrant, and welcoming as they have ever been. Badger beer, Roast
Beef, a half decent pub rock band, a stroll back to the boat at
midnight, a nightcap, and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. The next morning we
awoke to an overcast sky and very little wind, the gale having
blown itself out in the early morning, the tide however was flying
out and even with the engine on full revs astern I could only just
get the weight off the fore spring, Poole harbour has a strange
tide flow due to the narrow entrance and there is a ‘stand’ after
about 90mins of out going tide, so we waited for that and slipped
our moorings at about 11:30 and proceeded out of the harbour
towards ‘Old Harry’. Approaching St. Albans Head I could see a bit
of white water but did not think it would be that bad as we had
the tide pushing us along quite nicely, it was a bit rock and rolly for
about ten minutes but nothing to serious, I thought the same at Anvil Point. With water flying
everywhere and the boat stalling at every third wave and being tossed around like the proverbial
cork, six tons of cork, I made a mental note ‘ I do not do tidal races anymore’. There was still no
wind and visibility was starting to close in to about 2 miles, as we crossed Weymouth Bay. Out of
the murk loomed a ship, at anchor, I kept a close eye on it as anchored ships have a habit of
getting under way when you least expect them, tell tale signs are starting of radar scanners, and
black smoke from the funnel. We passed safely astern and made our way towards the now visible
entrance to Weymouth Harbour, it was just like coming home, I love Weymouth, it is just such a
quaint old place. I called up the harbour master and he gave us a berth right outside the office,
we settled the boat down and celebrated our arrival with glass or two.
We arrived on board lunchtime on Friday, and after
handing over a wad of cash to the harbourmaster, and
cadging a lift out to the mooring, motored boat down
to visitors pontoon for the night and retired to the pub!
for the rest of the afternoon. In the morning we slipped
our mooring at 08:30 and began motoring down stream
at an easy pace whilst eating bacon sarni’s and drinking
mugs of tea, the weather was glorious, everything was
green and it was looking like it would be a fab spring day.
As we meandered down the river towards the Solent a
light breeze from the South east made its self known, I could not believe our luck, we crossed
the bar at about 09:45 headed due south for about 10 mins whilst I set the mainsail, turning to
the west I set the jib and stay sail and turned off the engine. With a good S/E 3 or 4 pushing us
along at about 5 knots and a fair tide we were soon abeam of Yarmouth and heading towards
Hurst point, I had decided to take the inshore route as there was plenty of water about. We
crossed the needles channel, which was a bit swirly but nothing to bad and passed Hurst Castle
at 11:30 after sighting the staboard hand mark at the western end of the channel we pointed
the boats head towards Swanage and Poole Harbour aiming to leave Hengisbury Head about 1
mile to starboard. The weather was glorious, sunny, warm, good wind and the sea was blue,
after some of the weather we had been through since leaving Wart on the Noze! It was really
encouraging to have some decent sailing conditions, ‘May Queen’ seemed to be performing well
and could have handled a bigger jib, but as I was happy to let her sail at between 4 and 5 knots,
I kept her as she was. After a glorious few hours we were rapidly approaching the fairway mark
and so quickly jibed round and headed down the fairway, by this time we had been joined by a
massive flotilla of boats all heading for the narrow entrance to Poole Harbour and the limited
number of available alongside berths at the marina’s but more importantly the cheaper option of
the Town Quay. We were being overtaken by just about everybody as we were still under sail,
with the engine on but not in gear, like an F1 grand
prix when the safety car comes out the playing field is
somewhat levelled, Poole Harbour’s version of the
safety car is the chain ferry that crosses the
narrowest part of the entrance, all the boats in front
stopped to allow the ferry to cross as we made a
sedate dash down the inside (right) and got through
in front of nearly everybody, not that it’s a race.
After a sweetly sedate sail past Brownsea Castle we
waited for the pack to open up again and turned
into wind to drop the sails and haul the bowsprit in
before motoring round to the Town Quay,
even-though it was early, only about 15:30 just after
lunch! But there were boats rafted up 4 abreast, however having a 6 ton gaffer with a lot of
standing rigging poking out from the side makes for some special treatment, and we were
allotted a berth alongside a large fishing boat, so apart from a little hunter 15 footer we were
left alone. That night the wind blew up and a few of the rafts broke lose, I was quietly
sniggering behind my hand at one boat who had refused to come alongside as he was worried
about his gelcoat, he was at the end of the trot being bounced
around all night, whilst ‘May Queen’ hardly moved, poetic justice I
call it. We hit the pubs, there are some great pubs in Poole, the
quay has been tidied up somewhat, but the pubs are still as
vibrant, and welcoming as they have ever been. Badger beer, Roast
Beef, a half decent pub rock band, a stroll back to the boat at
midnight, a nightcap, and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. The next morning we
awoke to an overcast sky and very little wind, the gale having
blown itself out in the early morning, the tide however was flying
out and even with the engine on full revs astern I could only just
get the weight off the fore spring, Poole harbour has a strange
tide flow due to the narrow entrance and there is a ‘stand’ after
about 90mins of out going tide, so we waited for that and slipped
our moorings at about 11:30 and proceeded out of the harbour
towards ‘Old Harry’. Approaching St. Albans Head I could see a bit
of white water but did not think it would be that bad as we had
the tide pushing us along quite nicely, it was a bit rock and rolly for
about ten minutes but nothing to serious, I thought the same at Anvil Point. With water flying
everywhere and the boat stalling at every third wave and being tossed around like the proverbial
cork, six tons of cork, I made a mental note ‘ I do not do tidal races anymore’. There was still no
wind and visibility was starting to close in to about 2 miles, as we crossed Weymouth Bay. Out of
the murk loomed a ship, at anchor, I kept a close eye on it as anchored ships have a habit of
getting under way when you least expect them, tell tale signs are starting of radar scanners, and
black smoke from the funnel. We passed safely astern and made our way towards the now visible
entrance to Weymouth Harbour, it was just like coming home, I love Weymouth, it is just such a
quaint old place. I called up the harbour master and he gave us a berth right outside the office,
we settled the boat down and celebrated our arrival with glass or two.
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Having decided on the colour scheme for next/this year, PH and I met up in April to do some prep work and
also remove the stove from the cabin, this will have a new home on dry land when it has been overhauled.
You might be thinking, why get rid of it? and the answer is 'space' it took up a huge amount of space in a
vessel where space is at a premium. Plus, when we lit it, it would suck all
the oxygen from the surrounding county, you could heat a small country
with a stove that big. It will be replaced with a small pot bellied stove I
acquired last year. It took two of us to lift it out of the boat so I guess
there will have to be some ballast transfer to compensate, which in itself
will free up some space.
also remove the stove from the cabin, this will have a new home on dry land when it has been overhauled.
You might be thinking, why get rid of it? and the answer is 'space' it took up a huge amount of space in a
vessel where space is at a premium. Plus, when we lit it, it would suck all
the oxygen from the surrounding county, you could heat a small country
with a stove that big. It will be replaced with a small pot bellied stove I
acquired last year. It took two of us to lift it out of the boat so I guess
there will have to be some ballast transfer to compensate, which in itself
will free up some space.
We steamed under the two Tamar bridges that
connect Devon with Cornwall and found a free
alongside berth at Jubilee Green, having put the
boat to bed and noticed that the bilge was still
empty I suggested a trip to the pub, namely the
Two Bridges, which is possibly the best pub in
Saltash, although if you are coming from the water
the climb up the hill can be a killer, but it is well
worth the effort as the Courage Best and the
atmosphere are something else. We were invited
to participate in yet another Pub Quiz, and having
entered one the night before in the Bullers Arms,
Landrake, we were confident we could make a
good impression, sadly we were badly beaten into
second from last place.
connect Devon with Cornwall and found a free
alongside berth at Jubilee Green, having put the
boat to bed and noticed that the bilge was still
empty I suggested a trip to the pub, namely the
Two Bridges, which is possibly the best pub in
Saltash, although if you are coming from the water
the climb up the hill can be a killer, but it is well
worth the effort as the Courage Best and the
atmosphere are something else. We were invited
to participate in yet another Pub Quiz, and having
entered one the night before in the Bullers Arms,
Landrake, we were confident we could make a
good impression, sadly we were badly beaten into
second from last place.
PH and I had done all the prep. work for the repaint, so I had another run over to Plymouth in
early June and started the first coat on the hull, the idea was to get the whole hull painted, but as
you can see I only managed one coat on both sides and the transom, the bulwarks will be gloss
black and the toprail and cap rail will be a sandy/buff colour. Cabin sides will be dark blue and the
cabin roof will be buff. All paint is Epifanes single pack as the general reports are that this goes
on and looks better than Blakes or International. The starboard bow deck planks had been
replaced where the rot had taken hold and the European Larch used look's great, I have since
discovered that the port bow needs similar work. Over the winter I had removed the hatch cover,
tiller and Anchor Winch for overhaul and varnishing etc. The winch was exceptionally rewarding
as I did not think I would be able to get spares, but a request for information placed on the Classic
Boat Forum provided a wealth of info and a web site where spares could be obtained, plus an
exploded view, so anyone looking for details of a Simpson Lawrence Hi Speed, look on the forum.
early June and started the first coat on the hull, the idea was to get the whole hull painted, but as
you can see I only managed one coat on both sides and the transom, the bulwarks will be gloss
black and the toprail and cap rail will be a sandy/buff colour. Cabin sides will be dark blue and the
cabin roof will be buff. All paint is Epifanes single pack as the general reports are that this goes
on and looks better than Blakes or International. The starboard bow deck planks had been
replaced where the rot had taken hold and the European Larch used look's great, I have since
discovered that the port bow needs similar work. Over the winter I had removed the hatch cover,
tiller and Anchor Winch for overhaul and varnishing etc. The winch was exceptionally rewarding
as I did not think I would be able to get spares, but a request for information placed on the Classic
Boat Forum provided a wealth of info and a web site where spares could be obtained, plus an
exploded view, so anyone looking for details of a Simpson Lawrence Hi Speed, look on the forum.
'May Queen' had been out of the water about 3
months longer than I had wanted and her seams below
the waterline had opened up a bit, I had contemplated
re-caulking the whole hull below the waterline, but after
consultation with the yard, we decided to wet her and
see if she would take up, so after a few days to allow
into the water and held in the slings for a day until the
seams had swelled sufficiently for the bilge pump to
cope, she was kept alongside until the morning of the
8th July and then lifted so I could anti-foul the hull.
months longer than I had wanted and her seams below
the waterline had opened up a bit, I had contemplated
re-caulking the whole hull below the waterline, but after
consultation with the yard, we decided to wet her and
see if she would take up, so after a few days to allow
into the water and held in the slings for a day until the
seams had swelled sufficiently for the bilge pump to
cope, she was kept alongside until the morning of the
8th July and then lifted so I could anti-foul the hull.
MD and I flew over to Plymouth and put a
coat of anti-foul on her bum, before the
boat was launched the following morning,
after a brief panic with the engine start
button, we managed to fire up the engine
and check that all the electrics and nav.
gear was working ok. I was pleased to
see that the ingress of water was minimal
and this would probably reduce further. I
had planned to leave Boating World an
hour before high water, so at 17:52 the
engine was again started and on a
steadily rising tide, we slipped from the
pontoon and turned towards the viaduct
under which we had to traverse.
coat of anti-foul on her bum, before the
boat was launched the following morning,
after a brief panic with the engine start
button, we managed to fire up the engine
and check that all the electrics and nav.
gear was working ok. I was pleased to
see that the ingress of water was minimal
and this would probably reduce further. I
had planned to leave Boating World an
hour before high water, so at 17:52 the
engine was again started and on a
steadily rising tide, we slipped from the
pontoon and turned towards the viaduct
under which we had to traverse.
As we headed for the navigable channel through the
arch I missed a red pole, which to be fair, was actually
on the river bank, not exactly where I was expecting it
to be, and we promptly ran up onto the putty, and had
to wait 10 minutes or so for the tide to lift us off.
(strangely enough the last time MD was on board we
ran aground!) The weather was glorious as we wound
our way down stream towards the Dandy Hole and
onward to the broad expanse past Ince Castle and
Jupiter Point, with the engine ticking away like a
sewing machine, the world was good.
arch I missed a red pole, which to be fair, was actually
on the river bank, not exactly where I was expecting it
to be, and we promptly ran up onto the putty, and had
to wait 10 minutes or so for the tide to lift us off.
(strangely enough the last time MD was on board we
ran aground!) The weather was glorious as we wound
our way down stream towards the Dandy Hole and
onward to the broad expanse past Ince Castle and
Jupiter Point, with the engine ticking away like a
sewing machine, the world was good.
| Farewell to the stove April 2009 |
| 2009 Pub Quiz Tour |
July 8th 2009 Boating World-Plymouth
July 9th/11th 2009 Plymouth - Falmouth
July 9th/11th 2009 Plymouth - Falmouth
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