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Nswsletter48 Fehruary l9q5 Secretary'sLog

LET ME START BY WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR. This is thEsECONd 'current' Log that I havewritten for the Newsletter.Regrettably the first pieceI wrote back in Octoberis now out of date.You will havenoticed that there was no Autumnedition. This is entirelydue to the fact that Stevewas unableto producea meaningfulNewsletter because of lack of copy!

I know I havesaid this before- as haveSecretaries before me - but at the risk of becoming a pain I mustsay that the Associationrelies totally on the participationof its membership. We haveover 90 membersbut only abouta dozenseem to wantto get involved.PLEASE PLEASEput pen to paperand let us know what you are up to.

O Wherehave you sailed? O What modificationshave you fitted? you? O What disastershave befallen 4 O What do you cook on board? O Wherehave you trailed? 0 How do you think the Associationcan be improved? O How shouldwe usethe moneygenerated from our subscriptions?

With the AGM comingup soonif you haveany questions,queries or complaintsthen now is the time to write to me andI will raisethese at the meetingif you are unableto attendin person.All our HonoraryOfficers would like to stepdown, but with the exceptionof our NewsletterEditor nobodyappears to want to pick up the reins. Noneof thesepositions is terribly time consumingand it would be nicefor somefresh impetus.

I will nowclimb downfrom my soapbox andwish you all a happysailing season and I hope to seeas manyof you as possibleat theupcoming A.G.M. o The Swift Association ANNI.JALGENERAL MEETING a Thisyear's A.G.M. will be heldat WARSASH SAILING CLT]B on SUNDAY, sth MARCH, 1995. The meetingwill commenceat 4 p.m. and finish no later than7 p.m. o WarsashSailing Club, ShoreHouse, Warsash, SouthamptonSO3 9FS

'Cir o This rssue's cover picture is Doug Angus' Mhor' negotiating Neptune's Staircasein the Caledonian Canal. CarelessConduct

HAVING BEEN CAUGHT in an embarrassing situation during the May Bank Holiday Swift Rally, I was blackmailed to recount the tale. Well here goes - perhaps they won't print the picture but somehow I doubt thatl We had spent the night at East Cowes marina where Lou does a great breakfast and decided to make a leisurely sail to Keyhaven for the Swift barbecue.As we had plenty of time, it seemedopportune to anchorjust outside Newtown Creek and await the other boatscoming out from Bucklers Hard. As is usual when I am not too sure of the bottom, I buoy the anchor with a small float. This is becauseI once had great difficulty with a lbuled anchor at Calshot. At about 2 p.m. I gave Windsong a call on the radio in order to be sure that the fleet were on their way. We decidedto weigh anchor and proceedonto towardsKeyhaven. There were no other vesselsclose by or any dangerous shore, so I thought we might as well sail off the anchorage. With mainsail raised, I hauled on the anchor and carelesslylet the anchor buoy float round the back of the boat. Heather did point this out to me. "Never mind" I thought, we did not have the engine going and it shouldbe easyenough to pull in the buoy. This was not to be - the buoy somehowgot caught under Tiger Lily and proved impossibleto retrieve. Well after much messing about with the rope and raising and lowering of the centreboard it was no better. We motored into Keyhaven, anchored, inflated the Bombard to see if the anchor buoy coulcl be seen from outsidethe boat. No it could not be seenlThere was nothing else for it, but to put on the wetsuit, find the mask and snorkel and go under the boat. Well the other boats started to arrive by this time and they were very puzzled to find Tiger Lily being motored off to a shallow part of the spit (to make it a bit easier). Under the boat, I found that the anchor buoy was tightly wedged up into the centreboard cavity. It took a great deal of pulling with feet firmly placed upward under the bottom of the hull. Eventually the buoy was tugged free and after getting my breath back we motored back to a more suitable anchorage nmongst the other boats. The moral of this story is that if you use an anchor buoy, then retrieve it when you pull in the anchor ancl do not let it float about thinking you will get it later. Murphy's Law states that if it can float into the centreboardcavity, then it will! Alan Murphy :: Tiger Lily S2l7 BUCKLER'SHARD GARAGE& MARINE BEAULIEU,BROCKENHURST, HAMPSHIRESO42 7XB

Tefephone:(O590) 616249

are uniquelyplaced to provide both o Outboard Engine Sa/es and Seruice o o Trailer Sa/es and Seruice o to both Solent-based& visiting members of the Swift Association. o

OPENINGHOURS:

Mon-Fri 8.OO-5.30 I Sat 8.00-4.00 Sun 9.00-1.00 (Sundays-ClosedWinter)

-page3- 'Owaar''94:solo round S

Dear Ed: The Association is'asking for'more articles, so. . . here is the log, story and 4O fairly representative pics. to choose from of one of my 1994 'long' 'sequel' voyages. lt is - but it was a log waY too! Perhaps two 'other' episodes? Or, if you have finally roused the 3OOor so members from slumber, perhaps you won't want more than iust the log, chart or pics - Your choice. - Keith Jacques.

o I'm sure that no-one who read Keith's inspiring account of his 1993 single-handed trip round the lsle of Mull would want me to cut a single word from his Skye log - which runs to over 12 handwritten pages of text, a Map and a summary log! To do it justice therefore I'm proposing to run it in two or three 'episodes' over the coming rssues. - Steve Har"t.

THIS TRIP WAS ENCOURAGEDby the successof a circumnavigationof Mull in 1993, JL but it wasrecognised from the outsetthat there would be an order of magnitudedifference 'Owaar in both the extent,the exposureand the generaldifficulty - particularlysince of Mercia' usesupper Loch Creranas her homeport!

As the accompanyingsummary log of the voyagewill reveal,these expectations were fully met. Superb,utterly exhilarating sailing days and fine scenerywere rewards for sometimes wearyingand once quite hazardous, days spent in secludedharbours and lochsawaiting the right combinationsof tide and wind. 'flamin' Overallpoor weatherthroughout June was not wholly unexpected- June' is quite well namedin theselatitudes (what a contrastto the EnglishSouth coast reports! At leastI hadgood'driving winds!') but I cancount a merefive daysout of eighteenwhen sunlight wassufficiently sustained to allow highspeed photography; three days were shrouded in mist 'lay-by' with only half-milevisibility; on four daysthe wind wasstrong enough - evenin shelteredanchorages - to give someconcern, and to demandextensive'anchor watch.'

Giventhat circumnavigationof Skyewas the objective,I had not plannedto linger in the manysea lochs of WesternSkye. Indeed many of theseplaces have a very poor reportfor violentsqualls from the hills. Loch Eishort,Slapin, Scavaig and Brittle on the SouthWest, and Lochs Sligachanand Ainort on the soundof Raasaywere all avoidedat the planning stagefor this reason.There is a limit to what a 60-year-oldamateur can safelyattempt in remoteplaces without courting trouble! Loch Scresort on Rhumwas likewise not in my plan.

The ideawas to includeas many interesting ports of call aspossible w\th20-25 mile passages betweenthem. In this spirit, the main expeditionroute was outlinedto includeDrom a' Bhuide(S. Oronsay),round the Ardnamurchan Point to Muck, thenceto SoayHarbour (half tide entrance),Loch Harport, Loch Pooltiel, Island (Loch Snizort),Rona, Poll Creadhaor the ,Caolas Scalpay (if weatherwas fair), throughthe Kyle of Loch Alsh and Kyle Rheato Isleornsayor Armadaleon the Soundof Sleatand finally to 'home' Arisaig(or to EileanChathasteil on Eigg - if weatherwas fair) beforecoming round the Ardnamurchanand back down the Soundof Mull.

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@rol* 1..$[[o'*sr5 Vr$u'..a.- -,a.rron) t, cro{ld.i -page5- (l ^"'crt".i. 1 t"loR VERJ So much for plans - roughly eighteendays of sailing, with enoughstores and water on board 'just for twenty six days in case.' The reality, excitingand fulfilling in many ways, had to 'warning' be somewhatdifferent! I had enough: three days to get up the Sound of Mull to South Oronsay, insteadof two; a waiting day there (this one quite expected)to get S/SW3 and a flooding tide to take me round the ArdnamurchanPoint - Four days supplies gone before tackling any of the bigger challenges!Yes! it only took sevensailing days to complete the clockwise circumnavigationand five of thesewere more than 30 miles (one more than 'continuously' 40 miles) with betweeneight and elevenhours at the helm - (my autopilot consistsof a 6mm rope stretchedacross the cockpitand linked to a pieceof shockcordand is satisfactorywith properly balancedsails in most winds F2-5). 'leap-frog' The approachmissing out someof my safehavens to take fullest advantageof fair tides and good winds, worked well and the diversions into Loch Carron and Loch Duich were rewarding in every way. However the bad days at anchor were somewhatof a trial: c One in particular in Loch ,spent between and draggingmy anchor on and off for 24 hours was absolutelyexhausting of nervousenergy and quite the worst 'sailing' experienceof all my various exploitsover the years.

More about anchor watches anon, but I rate this experience,single handed and with no possiblehelp to hand, as far, far worse than my later midnightarrival at Drom a' Bhuide Bhuide in a hailstorm (on the evening of Tuesday, June 28th after a late run round Arnarmurchan).This was pure exhilarationand achievementcompounded by the fact that I 'pulled had finally the loop tight' round the circumnavigation!!

. June | 7th: Going N. round the Ardnamurchan. SW F3-4. flood tide northwards. 'leap I havementioned the gentleart of frogging' to take advantageof the good daysbetween 'storms'. Such was the outgoing venture round Ardnamurchan.A SW3, fresheningaround lunchtime, had lifted me without incident, and with following tides, round to the west of Muck. 13.00 hours is a bit early to anchor for the day and the forecast Southerly F6, reinforced by increasinglygloomy skiessouthwards and some increasein the running swell, gave pausefor thought. Tomorrow would probably be a bad day, so should I tuck in behind SheepIsland (north Muck anchorage),or run on to CannaHarbour with a further 20 miles to do at least?The decision was to go aheadto the safer haven, but to take the inner route to the East of Rhum to gain some protection from bigger seaswhich might build up later. There would inevitably be a close-hauledreach acrossthe CannaStraight, once clear of the 'exposure' relative shelter of Rhum, but not more than an hour of there.

The plan worked, exceptfor the unexpectedsea fog which was the curtain-raiserfor the new southerly wind! I had just enough time to take cross bearingson Muck, the looming NW cliffs of Eigg, and the southernend of Rhum, before the gloom set in and scurrying showers reducedvisibility to half a mile or so. Broad reachingacross to Eigg and then back across 'rain b to the mouth of Loch Scresortsuccessfully put me into shadow' and brighter, if more 'wind gusty conditions(the hills of Rhum playing their predictablerole as funnels' in the S/SW wind).

A senseof achievementas the cliffs NE of Cannacame into view acrossthe sound! With a 'Owaar' reef tucked in made little fuss of the up wind, cross-tidepassage across into the shelterof Sandayjust in front of Canna.41 miles,eleven hours at the helm - my longestever day in the eighteenfooter, but a great land-coming!

June | 9th: Neist Point, NW SkVe "Where two arms of the tide meet . ."

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) After a stormy Saturday inside Canna Harbour, Sunday, June 18th came clear and with a gentleWSW3; photographsof distanthills (the Cullins, cloud-cappedas ever) and distant prospects(the outer Hebrides,N andW) do no justiceto a fine day's sail, pastIdrigill Point, 'meetings', NeissPoint (a placeof tidal white water and cross-chop)and finally round the bulk of Dunvegan Head and its adjoining weather-sculptedcliffs, into Loch Dunvegan.

Not wishing to sail or motor deep into Loch Dunvegan(only to reversethe mileageon the next leg) I choseto loop round into the channelbetween Isay and Mingay, isletslying within the protectivearm of Ardmore Bay in the mouth of Loch Bay. This is a recommended 'lumpy' anchoragein the Pilot with a note that it might be in a southerlyblow . . .

In the calm of Sundayevening a beautifulplace to anchorin l5-20ft. of water nearto the derelictcottage, near S.E. Isay . . . but not a beautifulplace in a wind-scoureddawn on Monday! [ was to spenduntil 16.00hours coping with a dragginganchor in a screamingF6- - 8 little hope in that narrow channelof an orderly departureto Loch Erghalla at the head of loch Dunvegan.Nothing for it but the risky procedureof firing up the Mariner 4 (ever reliable,thank goodness!)and trawling stern first for a firm hord!

Now,a 7 .5 kg. Steadfast,12 metresof five eights(yes, five eigths)chain and up to 60 metres l, of 14mm.cable aughtto hold a26footer in F8, letalonea lightweight'18'.Bur neitherrhe 'deep' shallowseither side of the passage,nor the (45ft.) mid channelseemed able to give me any grip at all. With rocksclose to leeward,the constantworry to avoid fouling the prop in the cableor in the trip line that I alwaysbend on, andthe hour-glassthreat of runningout of fuel (l've neverre-filled the outboardtank so fast before . . .) everyhour or so, this was a very stressfulday indeed. 'Owaar'pulled Finally, up shortand solid. At last!! But would it hold?At leasttime for somefood, coffeeand a sit down to think . . . The wind still too strongto risk haulingup andtackingupthelochtosaferhavens.. supper... dusk... stillholding, butfeaiing 'Atlantic' trouble. An extra pullover and a fresh dry jacket and then sleepin small shifts . ' . By morning the wind had moderated,the skiescleared again and a good opportuniryto sail off safely. So a good breakfast, another box of sandwiches(enough for two average 'equivalents'(!) days)two flasksof coffee (ditto apples,bananas, tomatoes and six Mars bar and up anchor for the next stage .

'solid' t) It took 20 breath-gaspingminutes to get the anchorne.ar the surface. . . my anchor was hooked to a lobster pot. One small cheer for lobster pots 'trawling' and so much for free-form with the anchor! I hereby give due WARNING that far from being a safe anchorage,the bottomof the Mingay/lsaychannel is composedof hard bed and flints, plus elusiveseaweed, and short of someoneputting a 2-tonneblock of concretedown with a 25 inch ball and chain, nothingwill ever enticeme into that placeagain. Even Dunveganpier might be a betterbet.

After that, Tuesday's winged flight acrossthe mouth of Loch Snizort, through the Trodday channeland down to AchairsaidMor, SouthRona was therapy indeed! Strong, stabbing gusts fall down from the Skye hills to the Raasaysound, but carefully 'lifted' anticipaied,they give a performance,with someof the fastestreaches of the tour - frequently 6.5 knoti with full main and a small-overlapgenoa - significantlybeyond the theoreticalfor this size of yacht with no more than 20-25 degreeheel.

-page8- I

. June | gth: The Cuillinsfrom the W. coastof Skve. A fine W4-5 blowinoacross.

'camouflage' Achairsaid Mor, hidden well behind its sentriesof rocks and the of Eilean Garbh was a most welcome haven after Isay. Amusingly, I detectedtwo yachts, both sails down and motoring around nonchalantly,who chose to wait until I had found the south channel entrance (which is quite well into the mouth of the SW running Rona/ passage)and then hurried in behind me, as if concernedto loosesight for one instantof the , elusiveentrance!! At least I was first in that evening,and had a nice choiceof anchorageNE 'islet'. l of the inner 'poor The pilot talks of holding in places'- confirmedthat night by a big motor yachtwho anchoredclose SE of the islet and was consequentlyfully exposedto the southwesterwhich chopped in early on Wednesday; He had to move across N of the islet; however I was 'secure' only 50 yards further to the N of her earlier position, in relative wind-shadow.

During Wednesdaymorning the wind shiftedsharply NW and blew a'hoolie', so it was not until 13.30 that I put my noseout double-reefedand with stormjib, to make my way into and down the Inner Sound.

'submarine Of courseit would be a exerciseday' with half of HM's navy keepingguard over a single conning-tower-sworth . . . I turned down a request(by loud loud-hailer)from the bridge of an escortvessel to communicatewith them on Ch 16. What logic was that since 'Ch.16' 'traffic' the only purposeof a local would be to direct the to anotherchannel, why "Ch. not tell me 12" or somethingstraightaway!! The Navy rather gave up on me after that, but my hope of crossing the Soundto the Crowlin Islandswas thwartedall afternoonby that damnedsub . . . Compensationthough, came from a bristling, sparkling beam reach under double reef all down the Raasay(west) side of the Sound.

-page9- TechnicalTopics

DO WE ALL SUITER from minor leaks from the centreboardcasing? I do in Tinkerbell usually when starting a weeks holiday!

Although I tighten the keel bolt and resealwith compound,after a while we still seemto get a weep out. This is not dangerousbut inconvenient.

I haven't fitted them yet but has anyone had any thoughtson fitting bottom boards in the cabin thus giving you a shallow bilge as all wooden boatshad?

This would savethe carpet getting wet. I expectmany of us haveput our foot in water when getting out of our bunks.

I think it is a very bad design to have the drop keel cover fixing screws screwing through to the water inside the drop keel case. I have thought of fitting somebrass plates Araldited to the side of the casing and tappedso that screws do not go through the watertight hull.

Anv ideason this? Casa *oef -l-"sc,ele _

fu"k 8res. PIJI ./0

t I Hrtl c"rfrt. Bryan Adams :: Tinkerbell SO404

For Saleor Wanted

MARINER5 h.p.outboard.Long shaft. Excellent condition. Approx. only 15 hoursrunning. l2litre remotetank. Current price new f 714 includingVAT. Willsell for f45O o.n.o.- Tel. Don Harveyon Maidenhead0628 32900. SWIFT18. 1985. SBSpiggy back trailer, rotostay, dinghy, many extras. Near Chester. - f 5800 o.n.o.- Tel.Mike Wellock 0352 741O38. SWIFT18. 1985.Sail No. 211. Goodcondition. Comprehensive inventory. Lying ashore at Sunderland.Complete with road trailer.- Contact: Peter Thirlwall,3 Longacre, Houghton-le-Spring,Tyne and WearDH4 sPY.Tel. (09115A42571. -pagell- Latesummer solent Rallies

O BANK HOLIDAY 27.28.29 AUGUST

'Windsong' Pafticipating Yachts: Alison, John and Jonathan Patmer. 'Polyanna' Janet and Lawrence Peacock. 'Tinkerbell' Eileen and Bryan Adams.

ON TTM, SATURDAY MORNING two intrepid crews were ready to launch at Bucklers Hard.

The forecastwas not too good, wind west F4 increasingto F5-6 later.

At about 11 a.m. both boatswere just aboutready to launch.Windsong went in first, but when Tinkerbell came to move it was found both breaks were locked on. After spending quite a time helping, for which I am very grateful, Windsongthought they had better leave and had a fairly comfortable trip acrosssailing with one reef. a

It's surprisingwhat a good thump on the brake drums with a hammerwill do. Tinkerbell thenlaunched at about 1.30p.m. After a pleasanttrip down river we foundwind againsttide in the Solent and wind as forecasted.

Quite a rough trip was had (surprising how quickly conditionschange). After about one and a half hours we reachedCowes and motored up river and found Windsong. We were glad the berth had been reserved.

In the evening we all gatheredat the Folly Inn which was very crowded but we all had a good time and a meal even though we had to eat outside. We all then returned to the pontoon, I think Jonathanbribed the ferry man for a lift back to the boats.

At about 8 p.m. Polyannaarrived after a rough trip. This madea gatheringof three boats - by chanceall the crews came from the Guildford area. t Sunday dawned with wind of about F6 and it was decided not to go to Wooten Creek. Pollyannahad to return and sailedabout 12.15 in a heavy rain storm. The other crews went ashorefor a walk.

Sundayevening we all gatheredon Tinkerbell and many hints and ideaswere discussed.

On the Monday morning, Windsong took advantageof a lull in the weather and sailed at about 8 a.m. for Bucklers Hard and Tinkerbell sailedup to Island Harbour as we worry out for the week.

If anybodyturned up at wooten creek we would like to apologiseto them!

Bryan Adams :: Tinkerbell SO404

- page 12 - O SEPTEMBER 24th & 25th

'Catriona' Participating Yachts: Mike & Val Knowles trailing from Welwyn. 'Tarim' Ivan, Denise and Rosemary Kirk trailing from Swindon. 'Tich' Colin and Catriana Jones. 'Helise' Alan and Lesley Probyn 'Windsong'John, Alison and Jonathan palmer.

ON THE SATURDAY MORNING the five Swifts met at Bucklers Hard. The forecastwas for E F4-5 with rain expected.After some discussionit was decidedto changeour venue from Warsashto Hythe Marina. And so, after booking somespaces at Hythe we left Buckers Hard at around I1.45 all with one reef in.

Our small flotilla being admired by other yachtscoming up the river. On the last bend of the river Tarim ran out of petrol, consequentlyrunning on to the mud bank! However, with Denise winding the keel and Ivan refuelling they were soon on their way again. Once out into the Solentourselves on Windsong decidedto shakeout our reef with the wind constant and quite a flat sea. It gave us a slight advantageover the othersbut there were times when we wished we had kept it in as we struggledto hold on!

We were all making very good progresswhen we noticed that Tarim seemedto be havins someproblems. Radio contactwas madeand they told us the news that one of their shroudi had broken away from the spreaders.Therefore they decidedto return to Bucklers Hard, confident that their gear would hold out until then.

The four remaining boats then continued, the weather improving all the time, arriving at Hythe Marina at 15.30. After a welcome cup of tea our four crews wanderedinto Hythe to survey the local hostelriesfor later on. Back at the marina we were pleasedto seeJanet and Lawrence Peacockon Pollyanna in the lock and Tarim's crew had arrived by car to join us for dinner.

At around19.30 a table for 14 was found for us in Hobbit'sBistro in Hythe, servingus with a variety of delicious, very reasonablypriced food. It was a fun, joviai evening. Thouse of us with children being the first to leaveat around22.30. Thoseof us who were the worst for wear were soon soberedup by the rain torrents from the overheadthunderstorm as we left the bistro and no doubt our hysterical laughtercould be heard throughoutthe marina!

The weatheron Sundaymorning was quite changeable,most of us taking advantageof sunny periods to dry wet clothes from the night before. After a lazy morning all 5 boats entered the lock at 12.30-Tich had a slight engineproblem in the lock, but we-eventuallygot under way together. The wind was SE F3-4 with occasional quiet periods and it took us approximatelytwo and a half hours to sail down SouthamptonWaier, againstthe tide.

On roundingCalshot everything was with us, and we flew down the Solent,sailing almost all the way up BeaulieuRiver, arriving at BucklersHard at 16.30.The whole weekendwas an enjoyablemixture of good sailing, good companyand a good venue. Thanks to all who joined us. Alison Palmer :: Windsong

- page 13 - Not arattling successo..

IN THE LAST ISSUE OF OUR MAGAZINE I said that I was going to try out spongey pipe laggingas a meansof eliminatingthe rattling of the cablesinside the mast. It was not a success! Fine in principle, but no good in practice due to a variety of obstructionsthat face the sectionsas they are fed - or rather forced - up the mast. The least of the problems are the sharp points of various self-tappingscrews, closely followed by the additional friction that increasesas the spongeysections go further up the mast. But the final stumbling block is the bar, inside the mast, to which the lower shroudsare attached.There was no way that I could push the lagging past the first of these. I am too much of a mechanicalcoward to attempt removing theseand so my spongey lagging only reachedthus far. However, it has madea differenceas only the top third of the cablesrattle now. Incidentally, if someonebraver than me fanciesthe idea and knows how to remove (and replace)these cross-pieces, then my advice is to glue the 1 metre spongeysections together 4 with Copydex or similar as they are inserted.This enablesthem to be pulled back out if necessarywith the assistanceof a screwdriver through the various accessslots to be found 'spongey along the length of the mast. I have no doubt that the lagging' idea would work on a larger mast on a bigger boat though. This winter I am going to try Don Harvey's idea using Evostick and thinners. Andrew Kaye :: 'Progress' (5189) K & H FABRICS Unit 1, EastlandBoatyard, CoalPark Lane,Swanwick, Southampton SO31 7GW a WehoW patterns for the itemslisted below and can supplysame at very competitiveprices. u

Pricesexcl. Vat SWIFT 18 SWIFT 23 SPRAYHOOD (Acrylic) fr98.20 f203.2s SPRAYHOOD EXTENSION (Acrylic) f223.50 f226.50 SAILCOVER (Acrylic) fs4.00 fs4.00 GUARDRAIL DODGERS (AcryIic) f33.00 f38.00 BIJLKHEAD CAIWAS (Acrylic) f62.s0 f62.50 INTERIOR UPHOLSTERY (Cloth) f433.00 f458.N COCKPIT CUSHIONS (Vinyl) f78.00 f82.00

- ASSOCIATION MEMBERS WILL RECEM A l0%oDISCOUI\T -

Shouldany memberrequire further informntion,please ring the number below and ask to speakto RoyHobbs or Barry King Telephone:01489583115 :: Fax. 01489570648 A CautionaryTale

'it DO YOU EVER HAVE THAT FEELING can neverhappen to me!" I certainlyhave and over 15 years of sailing both large and small yachts, I have never come near to having a collision.Even when a comingtogether might havehappened, some sixth sensehas always come 'starboard' to the rescueand the otherboat hasbeen spotted in time, or a shoutof hasawakened the complacentskipper and enabledavoiding action to be taken.Until this summer.

Last Septembermyself, Sandraand my brother-in-lawAdrian planneda leisurelyweekend - leisurelyonly becausethe wind was light and somewhatvariable. We launchedfrom Bucklers Hard early on Saturdayafternoon and mlde our way down tide past Cowesto Wooton Creek. Typing up at FishbourneQuay, we had a very pleasantevening. Our newly acquiredpuppy was havinghis secondouting in Icarusand was not enjoyingit very muchthough he did look smart in his lifejacket!Unfortunately he was not wearing it when he decidedto career at full speed down the pontoon about 30 degreesoff course, landing head first in the (very oily) water. Fortunately,he appearedno worse for this experience!

On Sundaywe made an early departurein a rising force 213. Adrian was at the helm and we were making only about three knots on port tack with the wind such that we could only just weatherCowes. Yours truly becameimpatient at this slow progressand reckonedthat he coull coax a lot more speedout of Icarusthan Adrian, andduly took the helm. Adrianjoined Sandra in the cockpitwhilst I spentthe next few minutesadjusting sails and direction and succeedingin increasingspeed to aboutfour knots - all this time spendingmore time looking at the sailsand the instrumentsthan at otherboats in the vicinity. Mentallycongratulating myself on this success, I was rudely awakenedby a sickeningcrunch as we stoppeddead in the water, then promptly 'by went aboutand droppedoff the wind, without so much as a your leave.'

We had hit a 30ft. Westerly, six feet from their stem,as they sailedon the opposite(starboarcl) tack. Looking back, we could not understandhow we hadfailed to seethem coming. During the passagewe had beenaware of otherboats and had, in fact, hadto altercourse about 10 minutes earlierto avoid anotherstarboard boat. The fact was thatno onehad lookedunder the genoafor at leastfive minutes,the Westerlyhaving been obscured by the sail for most of this time. a, What aboutthe lookoutaboard the Westerly? Well, theywere making their way fiom the Hamble to Cowes, headingtowards Prince ConsortBuoy. With a 2-3 knot tide running, their attention was directedto whetherthey would haveto tack in order to avoid the buoy. They say that they had seenus four or five minutesearlier, but had paid us no further attention. - Result a total of f2,350 worth of damageto the two craft, and all resultingfrom a short lapse in normal lookout procedureson both boats. The moral, of courseis that the skipper stroutO alwaysdirect a memberof the crew to be responsiblefor lookout,if necessaryby sitting on the leewardside so as to ensuregood visibility. The safetyof the boat and its crew must always comebefore sailingperformance.

A further improvementI will install next seasonis to raisethe foot of the genoaby at last 12 inchesso as to give somevisibility underneaththe sail. Chris O'Brien :: Icarus (SO23-001)

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