Friday 24 May 2013

OLD MEMORIES to share with you ( maybee boring )

Many year's ago when I was just a snip of a lad , I got into sailing because I had to give up football    ( dodgy back) I suppose I was around 25 years old , I brought a little Corribee mark 2 and kept her at Hoo Marina in a mud berth , Before that my only experience of sailing was when I was eleven years old , Lived on a farm up in a little place called Sudbourne in Suffolk , my stepfather and the farmers son who was crazy took me out in a cadet sailing dingy on the river down near Orford, I just remember it was a windy day, and I was told to sit near the mast while these two crazy idiots tried there best to scare the living daylights out of me, tacking up and down the river gun-whales under water, me baling them laughing, and me ,, well I was scared to death we were going to capsize or sink or both . That day must have been placed in my subconscious, and I will never know why I returned to do something I hated all those years later. Well back to the Corribee, she sat on that mud berth for a couple of months and I would go down a couple of times a week and sit and dream, but I was so scared to untie the ropes and go out and set sail. Eventually I did and after having the Boat ( Selene was her name ) I met a guy who had a little racing boat ( mini tonner ) and he asked me to race the boat for him, so without further ado got a crew and started racing on the Medway with a bit of success, we did Ramsgate week and everybody had a lot of fun.


Ozzeebee the original winning off Ramsgate
I then moved on a bit and helped build a quarter tonner that we raced on the east coast with not to much success but in 1984 we took her down the French canals and into the med 9 months off work , and were then faced with the dilemma of getting the boat back to the UK and only having £ 200.00 in our pockets , A Saga followed  and it is a long story but here are a couple of pics of this fantastic little boat .
Ozzeebee 2 sailing in the Med 1984 
     Briefly we took her through the canals to the Med , took 6 weeks and we had a whole summer down in the Balierics , run out of money and sailed to Gibraltar non stop , took 6 days , and we had already decided to sail non stop back to the UK ( non stop cos we had no money )
Shepherds Marina Gib the day before we left 

Looking back the trip was OK , but there were scary moments and when I say scary I mean scary , after 23 days we sailed into Brest after coming close with the elements and complete exhaustion.
Mick and Les in Brest 1984 drying out , no money but we made it so far
 We borrowed a fiver from a guy on a motor boat ( a fiver was quite a lot in '84 )
and in a couple of day's sailed out and up channel to Ramsgate and finally the Medway
Adventure over, next up was Tom Bombadil  a Peterson quarter tonner , I still can't believe 3 of us sailed it back from Falmouth to the Medway non stop with only a camping gaz stove that you sat on the floor of the boat and held onto while it boiled the kettle , Apart from John having hallucinations in the fog off the Isle of Wight we did it OK , and the next year raced it in the EAORA series on the East coast winning class 4 in the process .
Racing off West Mersea  in 1986

Just after the start in front of Local Hero
 We had a great year with Tom Bombadil but then I met a beautiful Lady ( OK it was a boat ) her name was Viola she was a forty two foot Fife and she was lying in the mud up at Ipswich looking forlorn and unloved ,,, well here goes it is another long story and we will not be going into to much detail here. Upshot was I spent a lot of time and money working on her and then with a gang of people went sailing across the bay of Biscay down to the Med , back out and down to the Canneries where I spent the winter , before once again running out of money ,,,,, sailed her up to Madeira, and then with two others sailed her back to Brighton non stop with just a sextant and log and a bloody great bilge pump  She leaked like a sieve and the most we pumped in one hour was 142 pumps , she had a single cylinder Ducati engine and when approaching the western approaches, the prop shaft came adrift of the aft end and in wide sweeps disintegrated the saloon till it stopped , Oh dear the saga's never stopped on Viola , but we had a year out sailing and it was another adventure under my belt , Viola has since been restored to original and is in La Rochelle with a very rich owner , and I am still waiting for my invite aboard ,
wow what a yacht Viola a William Fife yacht 1906
 well your almost up to date , but not quite , I will also just say that I took all my exams , Yacht master offshore and Ocean at the Greenwich college ( I think ) back in the early 80,s  ,,,,your now up to 1986 and more adventures are to come next time.

Wednesday 22 May 2013

BLOW ME DOWN 12 DAYS TO GO

Well , after organizing the Radio Marblehead Nationals at My home club Lincoln I was shocked to sit down and see the clock ticking . For those of you who are interested Racing Model Yachts is a passion of mine and late last year I agreed to put on a major event at our water , I gotta tell you it all went fantastic , and with some close racing the world champion proved his mastery by winning the event and adding National Champion to his long list of honors, It was not without a fight though , even though he looked tired after his recent marriage to Victoria ( just Joking ) , we presented them both with a belated wedding cake which I doubt lasted the journey home , Have a look at some pics and then we can start thinking about Simo ,
The wedding cake , only the best will do .

early briefing for the competitors 


a good clean start


the world champion

Our promotion gazebo with Chaz Colin and Clive
Pete then Brad
Brad then Pete

wind what wind
  
Ok so it went well , well for me I just hope the next two months go well , because in 12 days I fly down to Portugal , get all the covers off the boat give her a couple coats of anti foul , do a few minor jobs and 3 days later  slip her back into the water . I will then just motor round to the markets in Olhao and wait for Dave who fly's in on the 8th , we then need to stock up a bit on fresh stuff and go for a sail , a bit of a shake down probably head up to Portimao , and the on to Lagos which will be our final place for fully stocking the boat with fresh stuff for the 10 day trip out to Horta , Plan is to Leave as soon as we are ready , my guess is before the 14th which is a Friday, and we don't depart on Fridays ( sorry ) . I will be checking the gribs on the run up to our departure , but am thinking the Azores high should be well established by the time we leave , We will be meeting up with a few O.C.C yachts in Horta and are expecting some fun and games , cycle rides, dinner in the cafe sport and sailing in company to some other islands , I dare say we shall be climbing an extinct volcano somewhere, Hopefully David can do a bit of this stuff before he has to fly back to Zurich. I have just been to the Doctor's to pick up two months worth of prescription tablets as I will be away till the end of July, Had my haircut yesterday , and planning to go and buy some new sock and pants for the trip later this week. Most of you will remember the Dam Busters and as you know last week was the 70th anniversary, well me and Jackie were in the Dam Busters pub that night having a couple of pints and were treated to a fly past by the only remaining Lancaster, it was fantastic ,, well this Sunday there is a walk through Scampton airfield with a talk on all things about 617 squadron and the Lancs , I am trying to get a few mates to go along as well because I think it will be very interesting , I will let you know what is was like .
The Lancaster on Thursday 16th May 2013
 Jackie is out in the garden doing the lawn , amazing how it has grown in the last week , have we finally turned the corner on the cold weather, it really does seem to go on forever this year.
Glenn has been showing some interest in a Vertue that has been in a barn for the last 19 years, It is called Elusive Vertue , and has only had one owner since new , it is about 50 years old just like Simo , I cant give any more info at the mo as it is top secret , as Glenn wants to Buy a Vertue and sail back to the west coast of the U S of  A , taking in the French canals the  Med and Caribbean then thru the Panama , what a trip that would be , if it comes of for him , I just found out today his flight is booked for the 26th June , so he should be in Horta when we arrive, as he is just doing the return to the UK bit with me . We intend to stop at a few places coming up channel the first being Falmouth for fish / chips and a pint , probably Dartmouth , to see the Guy who runs wooden ships , and sometimes has Vertue's on his listing , all my cousins and family around Shoreham , then a quick dash to Ramsgate for a visit to the Royal Temple Yacht club . its all getting close now and I can smell the salt spray .
All those years ago, Simo leaving Falmouth Marina for the bay of Biscay .


      all for now catch up soon