Marica goes clockwise

Vessel Name: Marica
16 December 2017 | Slipper Sailing Club
08 November 2017 | South coast
07 November 2017 | Newhaven
06 November 2017 | Beachy Head
05 November 2017 | Rye
04 November 2017 | Rye
03 November 2017 | Rye
02 November 2017 | South Coast
01 November 2017 | Thames Estuary
31 October 2017 | Harwich
30 October 2017 | Southwold
27 October 2017 | North Sea
25 October 2017 | Lincolnshire Coast
18 October 2017 | Yorkshire Coast
17 October 2017 | Bridlington
16 October 2017 | Flamborough Head
15 October 2017 | Whitby
12 October 2017 | Yorkshire coast
10 October 2017 | Geordieland
09 October 2017 | England!
Recent Blog Posts
16 December 2017 | Slipper Sailing Club

Epiblog

I met fellow Westerly Centaur owner Tom Bedford in Milford Haven. As it turns out we also share a fondness for real ale and the band Steely Dan. Tom is a freelance journalist and when I got back to Emsworth he suggested writing an article about my trip. I agreed without too much reticence and he sent [...]

08 November 2017 | South coast

From Shoreham

I checked the live wind at Chichester Bar this morning on the Chimet web site. Force 4 northerly. Hey! we could go somewhere, Little Hampton (LA) or even further. I might just make it for the 9 o'clock lock out. I called them and they said I would be going out of the smaller Prince George lock. I had [...]

07 November 2017 | Newhaven

From Newhaven

On Tuesday morning we wake to a southerly force 6. The sea state was expected to be 'moderate' and waves were crashing over the harbour breakwater. George and I had porridge and reviewed the situation. He decided caution was the better part of valour and I walked him to the train station.

06 November 2017 | Beachy Head

From Rye

My dad joined me on a frosty Monday morning for our leg from Rye. His name is George so he is the original George according to my sister, or he is George V for this trip. I thought Eastbourne would be a suitable port to make for, and could be completed in daylight hours. Dad had suggested Newhaven so [...]

05 November 2017 | Rye

More water problems

I started the engine this morning, whilst Marica was afloat, to check the repair on the throttle linkage. It was fine but there was no cooling water flowing through the engine. I assumed that mud was stuck in the inlet pipe. All the boats settle in this soft smelly stuff to the top of their keels. So [...]

04 November 2017 | Rye

Bailing Out

This morning (Saturday) I found the cutlery drawer full of water. It's just underneath the cooker. I was wondering where the water had come in last night. The boat had obviously been heeled over at a bigger angle at the top of the tide. There had been water in the washing up bowl, that I had not tested [...]

From Milford Haven

13 July 2017 | Irish Sea
Force 1 to 6, dry
On Tuesday I fitted the fuel return to the diesel tank. I had the engine running, but not well and with little water flow. I sorted this out on Wednesday and was joined late in the evening by Richard. We had a few beers with John, Nicky, Sarah, Pete and dog Wilson. Richard and I decided to set off early the following morning and I paid my Marina bill and checked the lock times and fuelling arrangements. For the 5 o'clock lock we needed to get fuel at 4 am. Given that it was close to 2 am at this time I opted for a 6 am lock out and 5 am fuelling.
In the morning the engine started kicking over then nothing. I found the main fuse had blown and replaced with some fuse wire. We missed our fuelling spot, but would have been OK but another boat took forever. So we missed the lock time and had to wait until 7:30 for free flow into and out of the harbour.
The engine appeared fine manoeuvring around the marina. I had to remember the forward and reverse had swapped round from the previous Volvo. Out in the Milford Harbour channel the engine died. Richard deployed the jib, while I got out the fuel and got the faithful Honka started. We tried the Volvo again later and it appeared fine. We decided to head out for 30 minutes to see if it behaved. It did so we pressed on.
No wind for the first couple of hours and the Volvo died again. The prop shaft housing was very hot. We packed the stern gland with grease and continued under sail and outboard for an hour.
The wind picked up a bit and we were making good progress. We saw dolphins, puffins and a large seal. About 4 pm we crossed into Irish waters. The sea had been smooth and wind SW Force 4. We had been doing between 5 and 6 knots most of the way. About 15 miles off Ireland the tide was against us. Progress became extremely slow by sail. Then we had a wind shift and it picked up to around Force 6 for about half an hour. We were fighting wind and tide to make slow progress into Kilmore Quay. The sun went down, the lights and charts were a little confusing. We eventually headed closer to shore to try and get out of the strong wind and tide. We opted for the less favourable route to the leading lights for the harbour through some fairly rough waters, rather than go out again and use Salty Sound between two islands. Getting the sails down was difficult in the strong winds.
The engine faltered and we had to keep the revs up for it not to stall. Richard did a magnificent job following the leading lights into the harbour with a strong cross tide. We crabbed in to the entrance. The engine would only run at high speed so we spent about 30 minutes trying to manoeuvre around and glide into a berth, forwards, backward or sideways. We eventually grabbed onto another boat and rafted alongside around 4:30 am. Time for a whisky. Shortly after, with the light returning, a Plymouth Cutter came alongside us. They were from Dublin down for a rally, they had opted for the Jack Sound passage after seeing the rough water on the St Patrick's Bridge route we took.
We got to bed about 6:30 only to be woken at 9 by the boat on the inside wanting to leave. It had been Richard's birthday, so one he'll remember.
Comments

About & Links