My New Blog

Just a quick link to my new Blog about wood working. Learning traditional methods of joinery using only hand tools, where I will document my own progress as a complete beginner. http://woodbyhand.blogspot.com/ .

Enjoy...

Whales Azores - UK

A small piece of film showing the Whales that followed me for a few days while enroute from the Azores to the UK.

Falmouth to Brighton.

KATLA is now 'home' in Brighton marina and all is well after an amazing sail up from Falmouth.

With the South coast being so busy with pleasure boaters and shipping, instead of flying solo, this time I was joined by my very good friend Dave who came down by train from Brighton. It was really nice to have company and conversation (and sleep!) for the last 210nm leg.

We left the visitors Yacht Haven in Falmouth 'early' around 1100utc Saturday morning mainly out of boredom instead of waiting for the optimum tide around 1300utc to flush us out to the Channel.

Wiith barely any wind, we scratched our way East for the first 24hrs with around 10kn of wind from behind. Full sail - prevented mainsail, goose winged with poled out Jib and stay sail sheeted in tight gave us ~4kn of speed.

With the 48hr forecast threatening only 5kn of wind from the NW it was a surprise to be flying around the Isle of Wight at over 6kn on Sunday night in over 20kn from the SW! However, I still cant get used to sailing fast 'on the spot' due to tides!

Good progress and perfect weather gave us a sunny arrival in Brighton at 1100utc Monday morning. We had been a bit lazy and not made progress to windward through the early morning which meant we were over 4nm off course and wide of our planned approach but KATLA squeezed herself up tight to the wind for the final beat and made us proud, just making the marina entrance without having to tack. Sails down, fenders and warps ready - Its so much easier and relaxed with another person onboard. The outboard threatened to run out of petrol literally yards from the berth but Heidi was there waiting to catch a rope and save the day - a perfect end to an epic trip home.

210nm in 2 days exactly - not bad for an ickle 26ft gaffer!

After such a long voyage KATLA is in desperate need of some TLC, especially in the paint department, so I'll be posting more updates in the near future.

Stay tuned...

Here We Go Again ...

Follow my progress ...

Horta in the Azores to Falmouth Cornwall U.K. - ~1250nm

The forecast is far from ideal (little wind followed by Northerlies) but I'm really desperate to get going. I might be OK if I can get ~150nm north in the next few days. Ordinarily I wouldn't leave on this forecast but I have been here long enough and it's rubbish without the posse. It's also costing me money when I can be bored at sea for free! Besides, I'm mentally ready for another ocean crossing... Worse case scenario, I end up in Spain!

Sat Phone: 8816 316 67012

Send SMS to my Sat Phone for free here: http://messaging.iridium.com/

Send me a message! Just dont expect a reply - and YES 'It's working - I do receive them'.

The Satphone is only turned on periodically throughout the day.

View Katla

You can also view comments from friends on FaceBook - here.

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*Almost* Ready to go ...

So what have I been up to ... Well the 'To Do' list has been attacked further and I am *almost* ready to set sail bound for the UK.

• Two visits to the supermarket and I am ~100 Euros lighter. It's such a different (cheaper) experience victualling a boat in the Azores compared to Antigua.
• 100 Litres of the Azores finest H2O have been loaded aboard.
• Watch batteries obtained for the DIY Nav lights (thanks again Rob & Jo) and I have purchased a strobe unit (50 euros!) - hopefully I will now be more visible to the big scary commercial shipping.
• The AIS Aerial has been relocated outside the coachroof. It seems to work better but I need to test it outside the marina breakwater as VHF is 'line of sight'. Its certainly no worse than before!

I just have to 'lube up' the mast, gaff and boom jaws with the largest tub of Vaseline I have ever seen - I May do this tonight? Is it normal to buy it in 1Kg tubs? Either way I have bought one and shouldn't run out this trip!

Then its a quick look at the weather forecast - make yer mind up time - out with the wallet and boat papers in the Marina office and 'Adios Amigos' - I'll be on my way.

Boo & Katla.

Azores - UK Preparation.

After arriving at Horta in the Azores (from Antigua in the Caribbean) on the 14th June after 32 days at sea (my longest ever passage), its time to think about the final leg home to the UK.

After making landfall in Falmouth, Cornwall, (1250nm from Horta in the Azores), I intend on keeping the boat in Brighton on the south coast, another 210nm further East from Falmouth.

Jobs done so far:

Mainsail leech UV wear and damage from reefing - repaired.

Forestay & Jib Halyard - refitted after the (10mm! stainless Steel) shackle failed mid Atlantic leaving me without a jib for almost 2 weeks. Good job she's a Cutter! I also replaced the Peak and Throat mast shackles just incase they were also corroded. A gaffer without a mainsail may as well be dismasted!

The mast has been sanded and oiled (thanks to my girlfriend) after wear from the boom & Gaff.

I ran out of Vaseline and ended up using Non-melt Margarine from the Caribbean - it kind of worked and was better than nothing! I also made a new leather and canvas strop to replace the Parrel beads that 'saw' into the mast.

The boom jaws need re-leathering but I have simply fitted leather around the mast where the boom sits when sailing. In the future I would like to fit a gooseneck and gaff saddle as I think they both perform better, cause less mast wear and require less work to maintain.

All woodwork (bowsprit, cleats and blocks) has been sanded and oiled with Linseed oil. Whisker pole and other bits & bobs have been repainted where worn.

Monitor Self steering lines and the mainsail luff lacing have been adjusted to move the wear points. I always leave things slightly longer than required to get double life out of the ropes - Hey I'm a Sea Pikey!

The stairs have been refitted and the big bed will be stowed for this next passage. I think using the sea berths will keep my bedding dryer, now I'm further north I expect it to be a lot colder and wetter.

Still to do ...

Relocate the small AIS aerial outside the boat for increased detection range which is currently only about 2nm! Coax cable and fittings have already been acquired.

Food shopping and top up with water. I only used about 50 litres from the Caribbean so 100 litres will be ample. the extra 10 gallon plastic bottles previously aboard have been thrown away.

Once again I will be posting position updates on Google maps.

Stay tuned for my leave date...

Boo & Katla.

Homeward Bound...

Follow my progress home ...

Sat Phone: 8816 316 67012

Send SMS to my Sat Phone for free here: http://messaging.iridium.com/

View Katla

Back Home Again!

Well lets see - set my alarm for a 05:30am call. Still half asleep. Just missed a close call with the Norwegian anchored on my bow, I'm feeling relieved and lucky when I'm caught off guard by a gust. My clear exit suddenly vanishes as everyone swings on their anchor and I cant bear away quick enough with my mainsail full. Suddenly I'm feeling sick ... Bang!

Luckily it wasn't as bad as it felt and sounded. I've cracked a rib where the gunnel flexed and the cat lost some gel coat. I reanchored in deeper water and the owner came over. I paid a small amount for them to get it fixed and went on my way bound for Deshaise, Guadaloupe 50nm away.

After making an average speed of 6kn across the channel, ten hours later I'm barely making 2kn and scratching for wind in the lee of Guadaloupe - I never learn!

Making the anchorage in daylight is no longer possible. I finally get there around 10pm and despite it being straight forward and pretty safe, I'm still pissed off about the collision earlier. Sod it, I'm staying at sea!

The wind is now about 15-20kn and more easterly than I was expecting. I'm pointing at around 10-15 deg T meaning I can probably make English Harbour saving myself another horrible sail from Jolly Harbour. The last time it took me 11 hours so it's a sail worth not having to do unless required.

Short story, double reefed mainsail and reefed staysail (first time ever) and I'm still making 5kn over big bumpy seas. Sleeping on the egg timer doing 20 minute watches avoids most of the soakings as there is a lot of water over the boat. First light I can make out the Pillars of Hercules and one tack to remove the staysail reef sees me sailing into English Harbour at around 7am.

Anchor down in the usual spot (in the 'swamps') ... I'm home. Fade to Black!

Portsmouth Dominica

Well folks Im still alive after my first all night sail in a while. It was a bit of a shock to the system but I soon fell into old habits and arrived in Dominica. With the islands being pretty busy this time of year, I slept on the old faithful egg timer doing 20 minute sleeps between watches and while I was knackered on my arrival that was mainly due to not sleeping (or eating & drinking) when I should or could.

I checked out of Jolly harbour the day before leaving and was able to 'blag' not paying over a year of owed cruising permits, this must have saved me at least 200ec (50 quid).

The same day I also used my spare time wisely and rigged up my Sea Pikey A.I.S system as per the days of old in Doris.

It works to a range of about 2nm but I'll tinker with it to improve it. At least I have an alarm that should wake me up if any commercial shipping comes close.

I also re-fixed the old faithful dinghy...

I weighed anchor and left under sail around 0730. 2 reefs in the mainsail and my small jib, completely under canvassed I still romped along with the wind off the port quarter at around 5kn before adding the staysail making over 6kn+.

Making superb time I stupidly expected to arrive in Portsmouth harbour in Dominica around first light, that was until the wind machine stopped dead just after 2300. I was romping along, felt a slight gust and then nothing - dead calm.

Then it started, the boat started rocking and the sails started banging. As any sailor knows this is worse than any other known form of mental torture!

I had deliberately tried to stay out of the known wind shadow of Guadaloupe by staying at least 8nm offshore, without success. The last time this happened in Doris I had an engine to turn on - not this time. Ok that's a bit of a lie. I could see the end of Guadaloupe in front of me and decided that if I sat on the back of the boat I might be able to keep my outboard in the water for most of the time despite the swell to get me moving.

Twenty minutes later and with an arm that felt like it had been dislocated the silence was deafening, all except my screaming at the useless piece of $£%^& that calls itself an outboard!!!! Sod it, I'll wait and go to sleep... ten minutes later I'm back on deck armed with various tools and a can of WD40. Despite the boat rocking from gunnel to gunnel I never lost anything (other than my temper) over the side. Finally the sweet sound of a 4HP outboard filled the air.

Needless to say I made the end of Guadaloupe just as it was getting light using both sails and engine. Then the wind filled in and got stronger ... and stronger. In went a reef, and stronger ... the waves grew and next thing I knew i was beating against 30kn+ winds in 2m+ steep messy waves with double reefed mainsail and staysail. I got soaked to the skin. Slowly layer after layer of salt dried on me in the hot sun and I felt knackered and shitty. I had committed the cardinal sin of spending too much time looking after the boat and not looking after myself with the three essentials - food, drink and sleep.

In the waves progress to windward was very slow and frustrating and I was worried that I wasn't going to make the anchorage in day light (I hate arriving at night).
As the waters got flatter my pointing improved and I soon came into Portsmouth around 1700. Such was the wind I sailed in the last approach under mainsail alone while I dropped the staysail and readied the anchor, dropping it at the north end of the bay almost right in front of the Purple Turtle bar.

I tidied the boat and pretty much passed out for the night. The next morning I ached like I'd just come out of a heavy gym session. Sleeping for most of the day before venturing ashore to clear in. I have actually cleared both in and out having 14 days stay. Cost 6ec (~£1.50), slightly cheaper than Antigua!

Anyways, Im alive and well. The 'others' (Ben, Rosa & Armanella) are heading this way.

Stay tuned...

Haul Out - Feb 2011