The Kindness of a Stranger
avanti
Eleanor Tims, aka Ryllis Tims
Mon 7 Jan 2008 18:06
|
THE KINDNESS OF A
STRANGER
An alternative title could be "Sea
Trials of Both Kinds"!
Avanti had to be rescued from her temporary berth
of abandonment in Dartmouth, not only because of the expense of having
her moored there, but also because of the distance from home and the
impracticability of looking after her. No electricity or water on a
mid-river pontoon.
I needed help. And a stranger came to
help. Alan J. Morgan. I could not have had a better aide: a
professional skipper who gave four days, four very cold winter days, of his life
to helping me bring Avanti back to the berth she had started from two months
previously, at Quayside Marina in Southampton.
We studied the predicted weather and found a slot
when the winds were supposed to drop right away for two or three days.
Perfect. So we took various trains down to Paignton, meeting up at Bath
Spa en route, where we both had had to change trains. Taxi from
Paignton. Water taxi in Dartmouth. And this is where our troubles
started, out in the middle of the river, with darkness falling.
Too much wind to leave that evening, which is what
we had considered doing.
OK, what is the British solution to every
problem? Put on the kettle, of course; make a cup of tea.
Only I couldn't.
No gas. All three tanks empty. I had
been absolutely certain there was a full one, but clearly two had been connected
together, while we shivered in Plymouth, before Christmas.
No gas meant also no heating and the boat was icy
cold.
Solution? Dig out the emergency one-ring gas
cooker; make a cuppa.
Look at the evening meal. Ready -prepared, it
needed to go in the oven. Instead it went in the frying pan. Not the
best way to heat a fish pie with prawns, but in an emergency anything
goes.
We sat in the cold cold boat, wearing our full
out-door clothing; ate our supper and longed for
some whisky. It was a couple of days before I
succeeded in unearthing the secret cache - a half bottle of Bell's.
Joy!
Slept fully clad; up early; listened to the weather
forecast. It made gloomy hearing. A lot of wind was
predicted.
However, we decided to get out of Dartmouth, see
what conditions were like out there, but first of all go to Brixham, about
10 miles north up the coast, to fill the two tanks with
diesel.
When we got to the marina, there was no sign of the
fuelling barge: it had been moved to where it itself could be refilled!
Two hours later, we got our diesel. By that time there was a Strong
Wind Warning out on the radio which was soon upgraded to Gale Warning. We
realised we had to stay put. Managed to obtain the one and only propane
bottle 6kg refill in Brixham.
Another long and cold day. Alan spent some of
it sorting out the rigging on the two masts and inspecting the sails. He
was not impressed at what he found, and I learned things I hadn't known about
rigging reefing lines, among much else.
Next morning the weather report gave warning of the
possibility of very strong winds. After a discussion, Alan decided we
should set off, (you can well imagine we were pretty fed up), but we were
both aware of the fact that once we had left, there would be no turning back,
with the wind more or less behind us.
So, off we went: the delivery of Avanti back home
had begun. I was pleased to get the electronic chart working on the
computer, showing our track. Alan had his own gps chart map, which he
stuck up in the cockpit in front of the steering wheel.
During the day the wind increased; we had our genoa
(foresail) partly out, and our mizzen fully up (that's the small sail on the
smaller mast at the back of the boat). The mainsail could not be used
because a fitting had fallen off the end of a batten. We ran both motors
at just under 2000 revs, using the auto-helm. The sea was building all the
time; the wind about force 6; and it was very cold. Although Alan did the
lion's share of the sailing, we did do turn and turn about to an extent, but I
tried to provide hot meals three times a day.
When we were off-watch, I found it difficult to
rest because I was so cold! I'm a person who likes temperatures which
start at about 80, and keep going up! One excellent thing on the boat
turned up to be a canvas shelter I had had made, which could totally enclose the
cockpit, but allowed good visibility through its large plastic windows.
This enclosure almost completely sheltered us from the following wind.
Without it I felt sure I'd have died of cold! And yes! I know some
of you will say, "Well, how come you can go skiing and enjoy it?"
The difference is moving and not moving, of course.
While we were en route we made some unhappy
discoveries. One was that the starboard hull had quite a lot of diesel
fuel sloshing about in it. As this is the second time this has happened
it's obvious there's a leak somewhere in the pipe-work on that side.
The next discovery was that both engine spaces had water in them. The
electric pump coped with the starboard engine space and adjacent bilges but the
port side was a different and an alarming matter. There was so much water
in there that the battery was in danger of being swamped. When I switched
the bilge pump on, it seemed as if I was pumping half the ocean back out, plus a
LOT of gear box oil (ATF).
This port engine was the engine and
gearbox which had been fixed in Plymouth, when a broken oil seal had been
replaced. We were unable to determine whether the sea water was coming in
through the valve which brings the cooling water in, or whether it was coming
through the place where the prop-shaft goes out through the boat, because it's
impossible to see it; it's under the machinery. Either way, I found it
alarming. Not only from its being very dangerous, but also because it
is going to cost me a lot of money if the boat has to be lifted ashore and
engines taken out again.
After 15 hours of motoring, we ended that day in
Cowes, found an empty pontoon. Up by 7 next morning, and to our joy found
the weather was perfectly beautiful, and not just cold, it was extremely
cold. When we motored into our berth at Quayside, the pontoon was shiny
and slippery with frost. Someone saw us arrive, though it was still early
morning, came to take our lines. "Didn't expect to see you for a few
years" he exclaimed.
A couple of hours later we both made our way to the
train station, thankful to be back in Southampton, and happy to be going
home. I slept for hours and hours, after my shower; I was
shattered.
What now? Initially, go to Avanti; fill my
car with damp bedding and so on, bring it home. Go back another day and
start the unpleasant task of cleaning out the bilges.
After that? Who knows? Sell this
expensive liability? I fear I'd get very little for her. Or, work on
her and sail her away in the summer?
On the financial side, this whole sorry saga has
cost me nearly £1200, with more expense to come.
On the plus side, I have gained a new friend
. My 'stranger' is Alan Morgan; he has a CV which runs to 5 pages.
Just reading his qualifications and huge amount of experience makes my eyes
swivel. He must be the most experienced delivery skipper ever. He has
a web-site too: Blue Water Sailing Adventures. Below you can see two
photos of him.
On the plus-plus side, he is the nicest person and
has been so very kind to come and help me with Avanti and to give me so much
helpful (and much needed) advice. Alan, if you see this page, I hope you
will realise that I am so very grateful to you.
Eleanor.
|