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Round the Island Race

2009-06-22T12:17:00.013+01:00

This year's Round the Island race was an interesting one.
Once again I was on 'Storm' in the Beneteau 40.7 Class with JP Morgan staff & clients.
It is common for me to sail with novice crews, however it was a pleasant surprise to have an experienced team this time round; some had crossed several of the world's oceans & the youngest at 18 was a couple of weeks into training for the 2009/10 Clipper Race.
Our race was fairly uneventful until we reached the approach to Bembridge, when the wind inshore dropped to nothing creating an enormous log-jam of yachts. We managed to avoid the worst of it & kept what little wind there was further offshore. Rounding Bembridge we must have passed 200 yachts or more, which I reckon put us somewhere near the front of our fleet.
Unfortunately a little further on, whilst short tacking along the edge of Ryde Sands, I managed to park us on the beach for 25 minutes, much to the amusement of other yachts passing by...
Fate dealt us another blow 100 metres from the finish, where we were rolled by 3 others in our class, causing me to tear out large chunks of hair...

Anyway, I think everyone on board had a good day, so thanks to Mark, Annette, Luke, Phil, Keith, Gary, Martin & Samir for their efforts & excellent company. Likewise Harriet, my 1st mate.

Info, images & video can be found on the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race website here.
One of the videos contains two short clips of 'Storm', & can be seen here. One clip clearly shows half the crew drinking mugs of tea whilst sitting on the weather rail. I don't recall getting one...

Lutine Lineslip Regatta

2009-06-08T21:46:00.003+01:00

Managed by Britannia Events, this annual Regatta for the Insurance Sector took place in the Solent last Wednesday & Thursday. Ordinarily I would have been on board 'Storm' for this one but circumstances dictated otherwise, so on Thursday I spent a pleasant day on a rib & photos of the day can be seen via the gallery page.

The Shrape Mud..

2009-05-25T18:06:00.003+01:00

to the east of the entrance to Cowes Harbour is very shallow at low water. Shallower still, when you arrive at the beach...
I am led to believe that what you see here was entirely expected by both skippers, as they were apparently having a luffing match near the finish during the recent Bank of England Regatta ...

Who won?
Neither - we were in the bar a long, long time before either of them!

(Sorry Jacko, had to go on...)

Endurance returns

2009-04-10T14:29:00.012+01:00

You could be forgiven for thinking that something had gone badly wrong here...However the ship in the middle is HMS Endurance, which was badly damaged in Antartica in December. The one at either end is the Heavy Lifting Vessel Target, slowly flooding down to allow Endurance to float off. She was later towed into Portsmouth, where she will undergo repairs & maintenance.
Target is the second of six single hull tankers to be converted into heavy lift vessels for Dockwise. Designed to transport complex, high-value cargo, she has a deck area of 45 x 130 metres & a carrying capacity in excess of 35,000 tons.
Photo taken on a compact at 0630 on 01/04/09, Eastern Solent

Delivery of 'Wendy Ann II'

2009-03-11T23:58:00.027Z

This is crewmate Seb Pattenden & Wendy Ann II, a steel Admiralty tug built in 1939. Seb bought her as a rusting wreck in 2006 in a moment of madness (the fact that he agreed the purchase whilst neither drunk nor stoned is testament to his insanity), with the intention of converting her into a live-aboard.
The entire story can be read on his blog "The voyage of Wendy Ann II".

Three years later & after an incredible amount of hard work, a frightening amount of money & a few tears, she floats & is (almost) ready for fitting out.

Here we are at anchor outside Littlehampton waiting for the tide, having just towed her along the coast from Saxon Wharf, Southampton.
The trip was fortunately uneventful & the weather kind; Jan (BP Norse Marine & the owner of tug Storebror) & I amused ourselves during the trip by constantly suggesting to Seb that his pride & joy was slowly sinking. It didn't.

With the obligatory pilot on board we entered the river at Littlehampton with Wendy Ann alongside & eased her into her mud berth at the top of the tide.

Seb seems happy enough...

Perils of a Lee Shore

2009-02-28T22:49:00.022Z

This hot air baloon was being inflated for promotional purposes just before the start of some stages of the Sunseeker Motor Rally at Somerley Park Hampshire.

I wondered why they chose to do this 10 metres upwind of a very large tree. Not being an expert on the intricacies of hot air balooning I kept quiet.

The inflation was impressive to watch but once fully inflated nature took over. It seems a lee shore can be a hazard on land, as well as the sea...

Berth 202

2009-02-27T19:46:00.007Z

'Storebror' & Hopper Barge VR49 alongside Berth 202, Southampton, during dredging works. Photo taken from a cage attached to the arm of the digger.

T is for Tanker

2009-02-23T17:27:00.006Z

and W is for someone who forgot the Colregs...

Left For Dead - The untold story of the tragic 1979 Fastnet Disaster

2009-02-09T00:17:00.004Z

I have just finished reading this book, written by Nick Ward & Sinead O'Brien. Having seen Nick's picture in the book I realised that I had spoken to him on many occasions when I visited the chandlery at Mercury Yacht Haven on the Hamble. I have done a few Fastnet's over the years in conditions that varied from frustratingly calm to bad enough to make the bars of Plymouth the only option, so I started the book (the first I have read on the infamous '79 Fastnet) with a great deal of interest. It didn't dissapoint. If you have ever been to sea it will put you right back there, & you'll find it impossible to put down.
A brilliant, scary read & a must for anyone whose done it, or thinking of doing it.
You can get a copy & read more reviews here: Amazon Product reviews

Storebror returning to Langstone

2009-02-04T17:44:00.004Z

"Storebror" approaching the entrance to Langstone Harbour after a silt drop at the Spoil Ground..

Some of Murphy's Laws...

2009-01-16T20:55:00.005Z

Put up one foot of sail & you get ten feet of wind
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
He, who laughs last, thinks slowest.
Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.
The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those who got there first.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.
A Flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in the dark.
When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Seasons Greetings

2008-12-23T21:40:00.002Z

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you all!