Welcome to the second   newsletter

 

07^th May 2008

 

Canasta of Lymington…

 

 

This is officially the boat that, for the foreseeable future, will be my home, my trade and my life. I’ve not had many opportunities to sail her since parting with the cash back in April but she has already proved to be beautifully balanced, comfortable and forgiving in the gusts. She sails well and seems very quick although that shouldn’t really be a surprise coming form the design office of the famous German Frers.

 

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with the previous owner who, besides showing me around the boat, showed me an article in Yachting Monthly dated March ’93 in which Canasta (then named Caro Nome from Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’) was reviewed. The full text will shortly be published on the w2n website at www.w2n.co.uk but essentially, the general opinion was unreservedly gracious. It was a three-page article studded with pictures and concludes… “The Grand Soleil 42 is by no stretch of the imagination a pure cruising boat. The decks are a little too open and the cockpit too exposed for most blue-water sailors. She is a fine performance cruising yacht though with a heavy-duty rig and a high standard of build, which should inspire confidence in all kinds of weather. She is stylishly yet sensibly fitted out down below and has the speed to match her good looks.”

 

I’m not sure I agree entirely with the conclusion. I mean, how can a deck be “too open”? It’s like saying “ too uncluttered” or “not quite cramped enough” The cockpit might have been a little exposed at the time of the article but the over-sized sprayhood in the pictures above is a recent, and thoughtful, addition by the previous owner.

 

Come Sailing With Me… Round the Island Anyone?

 

Ironically, I think I might be entirely responsible for the amazingly sunny weather we’re having. You see, I took delivery a couple of days ago of all my new Henri Lloyd wet-weather gear which seems to have prompted some of the finest weather so far this year! An Ocean jacket, Hi-fits, thermal base layers, Ocean boots, gloves and a balaclava have all been sourced directly from Henri Lloyd at very favourable rates so I’m grateful to them for that. So you’ll thank me for the fine weather but looking at the forecast, it’s going to be a while before I’ll get to use any of my foul-weather gear. I can’t complain really, can I?

 

So, now that the sun is shining, how do you fancy coming for a blast around the South Coast with me? There will be loads of opportunities over the next few months and I’ll be entering Canasta into the JPMorgan Round the Island Race on 28^th June. Some crew places are already taken but there’s still plenty of room for two or three more and those places are reserved exclusively for people registered for the w2n newsletter… you!

 

Email me at rob {CHANGE TO AT} w2n {DOT} co {DOT} uk if you’d like to join me on board for a day or two. You don’t need to be an experienced sailor and you won’t need your own life jacket or wet-weather gear – I’ve got enough to go around.

 

Fitting Out…

 

I mentioned in my last newsletter that Canasta is to be berthed until August / September on a mid-channel pontoon mooring at Wicormarine in Fareham. Well, she’s there now and settled into her new home (quite literally on the huge spring lows!) comfortably. From there, it takes just half an hour to sail out to the harbour entrance at Portsmouth beyond which lies the Solent. Wicormarine (www.wicormarine.co.uk) have promised to help source some of the items on my ‘shopping list’ at favourable rates and for that I am enormously grateful. Barden Energy Solutions (www.barden-uk.com) have agreed to support the project by providing two solar panels and all the associated battery charging hardware at cost price. Canasta is already fairly well equipped and as such, adding the solar panels will be one of the few major expenses to consider but the shopping list as growing by the day. I’ll be upgrading some of the navigation equipment by adding a Chartplotter, updating the Navtex, adding an AIS receiver, a DSC VHF and an EPIRB. Then, if there’s any money left in the budget, I’ll look into getting a satellite telephone. So, a lot of electronics but it’s all pretty standard stuff and shouldn’t take long to source or to fit. Everything up on deck is ready to go although if anything, she could do with a new mainsail. If my route takes me anywhere near China, I may have a new mainsail made there at a fraction of the UK cost but I’ll just have to see how it goes.

 

W2N Decals…

 

I had really hoped to have all the w2n decals on the boat in time for this newsletter but unfortunately, due to an incompetent courier, I’ve not yet received them. The printer; Wild Graphics (www.wild-graphics.co.uk) assure me that they were dispatched weeks ago but they’d have arrived whilst I was helping my friend Nicholas to deliver his 30’ Husar Prospero to the Frisian Island of Norderney on the North Sea coast of Germany. Anyway, the courier failed to leave any indication of their attempts to deliver the package. Nor did they advise Wild Graphics and as such, the decals have been gathering dust in a warehouse. So, I’ve arranged for them to be delivered tomorrow and will waste no time at all applying them to the boat. So, look out for the w2n branded photos in the next newsletter.

 

Norderney on Prospero…

 

I wasn’t going to dwell on this too much as I didn’t think it was appropriate to the w2n project. On reflection though, the short-handed delivery of my friend Nicholas’ 30’ Husar Prospero to the Baltics was an interesting exercise from which I have learnt many things… most of which, the hard way!

The plan was to sail across the North Sea to the Frisian Islands and then on to Cuxhaven before heading through the Kier Canal to the Baltics. It didn’t quite work out that way as we were denied by the NE winds and flew back leaving the boat safely berthed in Norderney.

 

Lesson number 1 - Embarking on this voyage the day after running in the London Marathon! Ok, so it wasn’t the aching legs that were the problem – it was the combination of extreme cold and a battered immune system. I had been advised (too late) that trying to run three marathons in quick succession would play havoc with my immune system. Perhaps, with hindsight, April was a little early in the year to be attempting the North Sea crossing as predictably, the increasing wave height and plummeting temperature were inversely proportionate! Prospero is a well balanced boat and coped well with the F6 gusts and the steep, confused waves. She’s smaller than Canasta though – 30’. As such, despite arbitrarily agreeing on a 3hr watch system, neither Nicholas nor I was able to sleep while the boat lunged and crashed through the waves. That first night was, to say the least, uncomfortable and to top it all…

 

Lesson number 2 – Despite planning to spend my foreseeable future floating around the world, I am not immune from sea-sickness! Indeed, embarrassingly, I suffered briefly from the dreaded ‘Mal de Mer’ during that lumpy first night. It didn’t last long fortunately but the same thing happened last year whilst crewing Zanzibar from Porto across the Bay of Biscay and I’m starting to think that maybe I should consider swallowing my nautical pride and with it, some medication!

 

Lesson number 3 – AIS rocks! Ask anyone where the busiest shipping lanes can be found and they’ll tell you “The Dover Straits or more generally, The North Sea”. Fortunately, visibility was good throughout our passage but the number of ships (for ‘ships’ read ‘tankers, ferries, cruise liners, fishing boats, trawlers and oil platforms’) was absolutely astonishing. Now, I sail regularly in the Solent and the amount of commercial traffic there comes as no surprise. In the middle of the North Sea though, at night, I was staggered by the amount of traffic and equally staggered by the efficiency of Nicholas’ AIS system. If you don’t know, AIS is now a statutory requirement for commercial shipping and transmits a digital signal containing information about their name, destination, position, direction, speed, weight, number of crew, and most helpfully, the distance at which they will pass if both courses are maintained. It’s not a legal requirement on smaller vessels but with a simple receiver connected to the regular GPS plotter, it’s possible to see at a glance the entire local commercial shipping population – brilliant. AIS is now top of my shopping list. You can read Nicholas’ blog at http://www.channelpilot.info/blog.php.

 

Lesson number 4 – Local knowledge is far more reliable than charts! I refer to our early morning passage into Norderney. On paper it was pretty straight forward and well buoyed. In practice, it was challenging – and dangerous. It was early in the morning and was not yet light. There were two approaches to the harbour and coming from the west, we naturally chose the western approach. The irony here was that Nicholas was cautious and would have preferred to wait until daylight.  We had averaged about 7 knots through the night though and despite lying hove-to while we cooked and ate a splendid dinner, we arrived early - in the dark. I couldn’t see the problem and felt Nicholas was worrying unduly. The first problem made no sense at all. From the fairway buoy, our approach followed a series of unlit port-hand posts to a lit green with the characteristic Fl G (2+1) 15s. We could se it, clearly, in completely the wrong direction. It was there clearly flashing twice then once every fifteen seconds but it was nowhere near where the charts indicated. Only after several minutes of indecision, Nicholas then spotted amongst the glow of streetlights, another lit green with identical characteristics. It was much less bright but was on the correct bearing. Confusing indeed. We headed for it keeping a careful lookout for the unlit posts and fought a strong cross-tide to stay on our bearing. Past one red post – no problem. Past another. I was below checking the charts when Nicholas called me on deck to the sound of breaking waves and the urgently beeping depth alarm. A look forward to the lit green and a glance back to the fairway buoy suggested we were only metres from our transit but it was enough to run us up onto a mercifully sandy shallow patch with the North Sea swell breaking around us. We were aground. Thankfully, the swell that was threatening to bump us further up onto the shallow ground was large enough to lift us clear with the engine hard astern. It was an anxious few moments but we found deeper water and continued our approach without further incident. We never did find the third unlit post but by then it didn’t matter – the sunrise revealed a clear, well buoyed channel around the west side of the island and into the harbour entrance. Then, exhausted, we slept! The following day, Nicholas spoke with the Harbour Master and was told that the Schluster channel was notoriously sketchy at the best of times but that this season had seen it rendered virtually impossible. How right he was!

 

 

Marathon Madness…

 

Yes, I know… I mentioned this in my last newsletter and it still has nothing to do with the w2n project but if you would indulge me for a moment, I’m trying to raise some money for Spinal Injuries Association by running three marathons in just one month.

 

Well, I survived the first two – just! The Flora London Marathon was the first back on April 13^th and what a fantastic day it was too. I finished in a very respectable 3hrs 37mins 38secs just one minute slower than my lifetime best. Then last weekend, the Neolithic Marathon across Salisbury Plain from Avebury to Stonehenge. This was always going to be the hardest of  the three as it’s very hilly and exposed to the wind. It’s a fantastic run though and despite starting far too quickly for the horrors that were to follow, I finished in 3hrs 38mins 32secs – very pleased with that! The last one is this Sunday and is the Halstead Marathon in Essex. I ran this last year after a disspointing London time so unlike the Neolithic, I know what’s in store. As far as I remember though, it’s fairly flat so provided the weather is not too hot or wet, I’m hopeful of a respectable time.

 

Currently, I’ve raised £378.70. That’s much less than last year and well short of my target. Thank you though to anyone who has pledged their support but to those of you who haven’t… shame on you!! There’s still time though. Please visit my justgiving site (www.justgiving.com/robclark2) to donate some cash today. SIA is a very worthy charity and as always, your donations are very gratefully received.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s all for now. Thanks for your interest in the w2n project and please don’t hesitate to contact me with your comments and thoughts. Please feel free to participate in the forum on the w2n website and introduce your friends to the project.

 

All my very best,

 

Rob