D-Day

We cast off to make the 09.30 lock out. Matthew and George had just arrived and waved us off ( which made me a little nervous. I could have reversed a bit straighter )

     We tied up in the lock without any drama and watched as another yacht looked very clumsy tying up behind us. That would have been us pre tuition. 

    The current wasn't turning down channel for a couple of hours but we had decided to finish any jobs whilst bobbing about. At least we had got the lock over with. 

    The Chart Plotter wasn't responding and kept emitting three loud beeps. Eventually sussed out that it was the 'man overboard' alarm. Must've pressed the wrong button. 

       We had decided to follow the way points that Mick had put in for us. We couldn't have done any better. Unfortunately the wind was blowing WSW and yes you guessed it, that was to be our course. We had to tack or go back. We tacked. We could have easily made it to Brighton and waited for a favourable wind. But we continued through the night. I wouldn't advise it. It was very tiring and when the tide turned we actually went backwards. 

I like the auto pilot me. 

After this shot we put on our Gill offshore gear and life jackets

   The 4 hour shifts didn't happen as we were reefing or tacking together. We pirouetted a couple of times trying to sail to windward. No problem, just try again. Alison was having a bad day emotionally, up one minute, down the next. She sympathised with me afterwards. 

   We sailed as near to the shipping lanes as we dared, to get the best angle in, to make some headway. 

A passing tanker

The last tack was huge, it gave us chance for a breather, apparently I was snoring whilst Alison kept watch. We got within 200 yds of a tanker and then turned to make the Isle of Wight. 

    Then the Dutchman mainsail control line snapped, giving a flapping bad shape to the sail. We took it down and just with the jib we were still making 6.5 kts. Cool!

    What now? Go on or go in? We didn't have much in the way of pilotage and marinas although plentiful in that area were difficult to find on the chart plotter. 

      If the wind dropped the jib alone wouldn't cut it. We radioed Solent Coastguard to recommend us a nearby marina that was easy to get into. Gosport was the answer. We had the Premier Marina booklet for that one!

     Looking harder and harder on the plotter the detail is there if you persevere. Although the Solent map is packed with contours, tidal diamonds, buoys etc. it's not as bad as I had feared. 

   On entering Portsmouth harbour there was a multitude of yachts streaming out in a race. Ferries going backwards and forwards, power boats, jet skis, tugs, fishing boats and a paddle steamer and a hovercraft.

JESUS! MARY! & JOSEPH!

  

    

     

Friends at Sovereign Harbour

We test drove the boat with Freddie the next day and again the day after. 'Your driving' he said, and gave me some great instruction. 

The outboard engine works!

    We were now waiting on the weather which had turned stormy with high gusts.

 No one was going out except a few hardy fishermen when there were small gaps in the weather system. 

       Moored near the fishing boats, Alison said 'Good morning' to the guys who passed. They looked a bit surprised but 'Morninged' back. 

    We got chatting to the owner of the nearest boat, John, who turned out to be a really nice bloke. He brought his other half Jill down to meet us, whom suffers from a similar condition to Alison. 

They compared symptoms and we all got on really well. We went round their house for a return visit and met the family, and the three dogs, two cats, two parrots, Dollar fish....  The list goes on. Jill has a strong caring motherly instinct, I think. 

John and Trevor the dog ( they say owners look like their pets HeeHee )

    Alison asked John if he knew any other yachties in the harbour. 'Not really' was the reply. 'If they were all like you, my job would be great.'

Lovely Jill

   At the harbour we also met Mikey. A young man originally from Yorkshire. A good fisherman and charter boat operator. 'Misty Blue' if you fancy a fishing trip. 

   He is always at the Harbour and popped on board most days for a chat. 

Never a dull moment with Mikey. 

    When we eventually get going we will miss the friends we made at Sovereign Harbour ; Ray and Sally T at the Chandlery, Tim, who sorted out our batteries as well, ( he does charge, but he's worth it ) Kev with the power boat ( FPB eh Kev! ) and Mick, owner of EmmaLouise the smartest charter boat in the Harbour and also recommended, who showed us how to use the Chart Plotter. Then there was Matthew and son, George, who gave us endless support and advice. Matthew took us out sailing on 'Artemis' as he knows the yacht like the back of his hand, having worked on and crewed on her for the previous owner. What a master class that was. No wonder they call him 'Neptune'! Would that make George 'Nemo'?- just a thought. 

Alison repairing the Autopilot steering system. 

    The weather was forcast to turn good on Friday 20th September so that was when we would set sail. 

  On the evening before, John and Jill insisted on taking us out to dinner and we said our fare wells. 

The scene was set. 

    

Back in the Water

After 2 weeks on the hard we are back in the water. Thank God. 

The anchoring set up is just about sorted, 

I did that 

the engine has been serviced and purrs nicely and Matthew has tightened and strengthened our wobbly push pit railings. 

    The weather has changed and its feeling like Autumn. We have just read and viewed pictures online about the severe flooding back home in the North East. 

We are getting itchy feet. The last bill has just come in and southern climes are beckoning. Thought we'd have a practice manoeuvring the boat around the marina. 

It didn't go well. 

We started the engine and cast off. Forward, reverse, forward, reverse, the engine revved up but everything I didn't want to happen err did. I got a handful of reverse and then no control whatsoever !

   Wind assisted and with lots of shouting (screaming more like) we careered into the fishing boat behind us. We still had the inflatable dingy on the davits and it was almost squashed flat! We rebounded off and the wind pushed us back towards the pontoon where Alison managed to jump on and tie up. 

  We were both in shock. 

It turned out that the gearbox controls hadn't been tightened back up after the service.

 To be fair the boat hadn't been 'signed off' by the yard yet. We were very lucky. The fishing boat wasn't damaged - told the owner when we saw him - no damage to our boat or us. 

   Our confidence is rather shattered at the moment. But we've decided to have another go tomorrow. 'Get back on the horse' as they say. I'll be checking forward and reverse while still tied up mind you. 

Life in the yard

We have been lifted out for a week for essential repairs that the surveyor had advised. We have been told we can stay on the boat. That will save a B&B bill. (Update : apparently your not allowed to stay on your boat when out of the water and the new Marina manager, Dan, came to tell us, nicely but firmly. Freddie sorted us out with somewhere to sleep at a very reasonable rate)

      Most of the sea cocks were seized due to lack of use - only one needed replacing. 

The prop shaft and propeller anodes are to be replaced. 

Cutlass bearing to replace. 

A couple of blebs on the hull to be treated. 

Holding tank to inspect. 

Engine service. 

Steering to service. 

It got worse and then better. If that makes any sense. 

The holding tank is in a sorry state and needs replacing. The prop shaft has damaged threads and needs replacing. 

We decided to sort out the anchor locker, so the masses of chain and rode were lowered to the ground only to reveal no windlass !

The yachts details said it had one, but no it ain't. 

This is looking expensive. 

The hull blebs turned out to be nothing and we decided to have fresh anti foul applied by Matthew and son George who know the boat very well. They have both sailed on her in the past and think she's a fantastic yacht. 

The teak curved cockpit seat that we were very impressed with was hand made by Matthew. 

They know Artemis inside out and take pride in doing an especially good job whenever they work on her. 

The engine has passed initial inspection by Roy with just a section of flexi exhaust hose to renew and an ancillary gasket. 

    The holding tank nightmare is well on the way to being resolved thanks to Tim, (Tim Nicholls Yacht Services) who wowed us with his 'can do' attitude and empowered us by getting us cracking clearing out a deck locker, removing the batteries and taking out the floor to get at the tank 

He and his lads removed the old tank and a new one was ordered the same day. 

A windlass installation that wasn't going to be ideal and very costly has been abandoned and replaced be some helpful, practical advice on manual anchoring with the aid of a cockpit winch. Tim again. 

  I sawed off the rusty anchor shackles that needed replacing. Although they looked horrendous on the outside, when cut they looked 99% good on the inside. 

  Going to replace with stainless steel as we will need to undo them for different anchoring techniques. 

  Alison has polished the hull sides and things are looking up. 

   The boat yard faces the rear of a line of busy restaurants. After the workmen go home the noise increases as the night goes on. Not very tranquil. Bottles are crashed into recycling bins and voices are raised as the restaurants get busier. 

    We can't sleep very well and it's been very warm. And we are knackered from all the work we have been doing. Oh and up and down that ladder !

  Last night we were mistakenly locked in the yard. We had to pee in a bucket. Alison was not amused. 

  The boat yard is a very sociable place and with have met a lot of nice and interesting people. Other boat owners and staff. 

    Looking forward to getting back in the water though. Will be a few days longer because of the wait for the prop shaft to arrive. 

Sovereign Harbour

Eastbourne's Sovereign Harbour is a lovely place. Probably where Hartlepool Marina got its ideas from. 

  The yacht basin is protected from the sea by a locking system and sheltered by the many apartment blocks that circle it. 

    The one inconvenience for boats and pedestrians alike is the north and west footbridges. They need to be raised when a vessel wants to get from one part of the marina to another. They have been going up and down like yoyo's all week.  

    We walked to the brokers office - the bridge was up. So you have to wait while  1, 2, or 3 boats go by. This is rather nice the first few times. 

We walked to the Chandlers - the bridge was up. We walked to Asda - the bridge was up. We went to get a bite to eat. The bridge was up. 

And again

What make is that?

Faac!

Now, if the bridge is down when we turn the corner we start running. Yesterday 3 girls successfully ran past the sirens and closing barriers to cross the bridge, only for one of them to drop her jacket before crossing. Nice try!

     The lock was very busy yesterday with lots of boats going out to get a good view of Eastbourne Airshow. A couple had to be towed back due to engine failure. 

Not so today. Overcast, blowy and colder than recently. "It's 'orrible out there" I heard someone say. 

The Marina's barbecue on the beach was cancelled. The wind is howling. We chucked all our winter clothes in the bin or took them to the charity shop. 

On with the dressing gowns. 

I'm battening down the hatches tonight. 

     

Rubber Flubber

Today we thought we'd check out the inflatable dingy. 

    Alison inquired at the Harbour office if there was a compressor on site. Unfortunately no. So the foot pump was put to use. Not as arduous as expected, Alison pumped it up in a matter of minutes. 

    It looked pretty dirty so we gave it a scrub. First asking a member of the marina staff if it was ok. Yes, as long as we use marine detergent. 

Before

After

Alison then rowed it around the pontoon to test it out. 

"Your being watched by camera you know!"

The man doing the Harbour tourist trips shouted.

We couldn't understand it. A look online at the marina rules confirmed that you can only propel with an engine. Oops!

Steady now. 

Sorry - not allowed. 

  Also you can't have it tied to your boat, so up on the davits it came. 

After a walk to Asda via the Chandlery to order some maps, it was time for dinner. 

  How do we get in the gas locker to turn the gas on with the dingy in the way?

Alison devised a method of removing the helmsman's seat, on knees, sticking head and arm through bathing ladder to open locker and turn tap. Simples. 

Work in progress

A couple of guys turned up this afternoon to check our batteries and discuss options for a wind generator. 

That's a big one I didn't know we had. Don't think batteries and fuel is a good mix in the same locker. Will have to reorganise. 

This morning Michael checked our rigging and Yesterday David repaired the cracks in the fibreglass at the base of the mast. 

Cracks all gone!

     This is due to our pre purchase survey carried out by Rupert Smith. A lot if little jobs are getting taken care of, organised by Richard at Bates Wharf - thank god. We wouldn't know where to start. 

     Artemis is being lifted out for a week shortly for repairs to the rudder stock,  sea cocks and some very small osmotic blisters. 

The engine is going to be serviced and the holding tank repaired. 

Seems a lot but we did get a considerable chunk off the asking price to allow.

     A bit frustrating but we want the boat to be safe and at least right to start with.

   The navigational electronics are a bit daunting, having being used to basic training boats. 

    It took me half an hour to find and turn on the VHF radio. Not wall mounted but a handset ( two of them though ). We've been listening on the marina's channel and know just what to say when we want to lock out. 

There is Navtex to get my head around and two Raymarine E80 Chart plotters with fish finder and radar.

Gizmos

   Today we finally emptied the car and found storage places for everything. We thought that we had brought far too much stuff but there is more storage places than first meets the eye. 

      The 2 big problems are the folded inflatable dingy - which we are going to blow up tomorrow and hang on the davits - and all them sails that are just hogging all the space in the V berth. On a sailing boat what could be more important than sails? Mustn't grumble.

   We have been sleeping soundly in the nice aft cabin and its starting to feel like home.