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.

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 

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      all for now catch up soon

46 days to go

Well there is lots going on at the moment with planning for the Radio Marblehead Nationals that is being held at our local Model yacht club on May the 18/19th , Just counting down the day,s to the big event of the year for me and that is getting Simo back to the UK, in a little Video I have explained a bit about the trip ( wont get an Oscar for the performance ) , if any body wants to know more detail just email me on  v113simo@yahoo.co.uk  and i will do my best for you. enjoy the video and have a good old laugh,  The video is on you tube so just click the link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoFkb8C8UhI&feature=youtu.be

54 DAYS TO GO

Well doesn't time fly when your having fun , I just looked at the wall planner and added up the days till we get Simo back in the water , and ready for her trip , I have been busy at home and just the last couple of day's managed to do a bit in the garden , made a new piece of fence and put it up, had a bit of a bonfire , the Missus has been sorting out her plants and hanging baskets , and of course the dreaded weeding , funny but she's on her knee's weeding and I took a cup of coffee out to her ,, I just don't get it, I asked her if she enjoyed the weeding bit ,,,, !!!!!!! yes she said I really enjoy it , when I clear a space and its nice fresh soil" ( dirt I call it ) "it gives me a great deal of pleasure ,, "what I don't understand" she said "is how you get any pleasure out of sailing ,, either the models you race,  or even worse , out on the Ocean where you are wrapped up like Michelin man freezing cold and some body keeps throwing buckets of salt water at you ,,, how is that fun" , and somebody please tell me what a pleasure sea sickness is cos I just don't get it "  we finished our coffee , and without another word spoken ,,,, agreed to disagree ,

 

Funny really but a good job we are all different , I have been practicing a bit of elementary baking , in preparation for the trip, cos as you know we now have a little oven , OK I have perfected the bread loaf , and very tasty that was to and two day's ago I tried a recipe for carrot cake, at this stage i should say that both the missus and me are on a diet ( slimming world ) and hats of to us she has lost a stone and I have lost a stone and a half , now when she saw the carrot cake with all the lovely frosting on top she went bananas,, " how can you do this the day before we go to fat club " she said , so I put it in the fridge , at a guess I would say it lasted no more the 2 hours in the fridge, when we both had a little try ,,, It was Delicious,,,,  I mean not just tasty but bloody fantastic

bloody delicious

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              

 

 

 and this is all that's left after 24 hours ,,, Now , I guess I will be doing most of the cooking on the boat , and If every now and then I can conjure up something like this , I am confident the crew will be happy ,, I also have some tines of thick double cream on the boat shrrrrrr don't say a word . I looked at the grib files earlier today and whilst it is still early days the Azores high is fighting and pushing the lows onto a higher latitude than we have seen the last month or so , David is the expert on these things, and we are both hoping the high establishes early this year , and strays a little more North than normal , whatever it is we shall deal with it , I got a hero go pro camera for the trip so we will have plenty of on board footage to sift through , I am hoping we will do a kind of video blog every day , and discuss how we feel and all sorts of stuff the camera is waterproof as well so it don't mind getting wet , not like the missus ,. well that's about it for now , I am busy planning the Radio Marblehead Nationals that are being held at our club in May , its a big event and the world champion and all the best talent from the UK and Europe will be there , so we must work hard and get it right for the competitors ,
hey see you soon

Mick David and Glenn oh and of course Simo

VIDEO OFFWIND SAILING

Simo in 2011 after the aborted trip back to the UK because of an Engine fault , this leg was from Sines to Lagos on the west coast of Portugal , with the light north wind we bounded along at 5/6 knots .

BACK HOME FOR A WHILE

Well after the fiasco of the recent trip to Olhao with all the rain and stuff , we now have the coldest March on record in the UK , Lovely,

Anyway I found out at long last, my results in the recent Ranking races for model radio yacht racing , and secured one of my best places on the Sunday ,10th ,after a bit of tinkering by Brad
 ( European champion ) not so good on the Saturday but still a respectable 16th, so am now ranked at 15th in the UK ,

Castle Semple 2012

Ok so we move on , I have been having a bit of a saga with a company called ADVERC  it is a battery monitor basicly but it smart charges your batteries , and so on , well last year back in April I started to get a few problems with the monitor , sometimes when you touched the select function the screen would go blank , so I phoned the company and they said to send the unit back and they would sort it , well I had to wait till I was back on the boat in September ,,,,

The new unit

 I sent the unit back to them from Portugal and also sent an email telling them to expect it , after three weeks I had not had a reply so decided to call them using Skype , I had to call back the following day but they assured me that Brian had sent me a reply , (Funny I never got it ) I spoke to Brian and he said he was going down to the works that afternoon and was sure they would be able to get the unit posted out latest on Monday ,,,,,, Great i thought I will get the unit before I fly home ,,,, the unit did not arrive and I flew home , at the end of NOVEMBER, me thinking I will collect it from the boat yard when I go out in March no probs , I flew out on the 2nd March and Sergio at the yard said he had not had that package , but there were others waiting for me ,, next day I phoned Adverc , Brian not in call back tomorrow , so I did Brian still not in , but the girl had followed the paper trail as she called it , and funnily enough there was an email which seemed a bit odd .saying the unit could not be repaired it was full of corrosion and would I like to buy a new one at discounted price , £ 150.00 with the vat etc I NEVER GOT THIS EMAIL supposedly sent in November .

I then told the lady I would be back in the UK 17th March and would call to sort it out , I called and spoke to Brian he said the unit was not reparable because of corrosion !!!!!!! that cannot be my unit !!! he said they cant be mixed up , and a few other things , do I want a new one YES i said and paid for it there and then , I asked for my original unit to be returned to me ( IT IS MY PROPERTY )  oh he said we destroyed it back in January the workshop was full of junk we just had to get rid of ,,,, !!!! but they never followed up with their Email asking if I wanted to go ahead , what was I supposed to do leave all the wires dangling , I think this is very bad form and almost a con they destroyed my evidence of my unit,,, and had me over a barrel to purchase new , I am sure by law they should return my old unit , I think somebody is pulling wool over the eye,s re emails and somebody is covering up .

I don't like there style!!!!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ??? 

OK so we must move on Glenn is finalizing his travel plans and aims to be in Horta on the 1st July , and because we never got launched in Portugal last time the launch will take place on the 5th June , the boat has been covered over with garden net from head to foot and has been sledged around the other side of a big boat so the southern sun can,t get to her Sergio as ever has been very helpful, David is coming down early 8th June so we could be heading out as early as the 12th June ,, another thing I forgot to mention was I asked them ( the yard ) to make me a new servo pendulum for the Hasler just in case we have a breakage ,,, well he made two of them so I have a spare for a hasler sp2 if anybody wants one , let me know , At the moment I am trying to put a short video together of the boat yard , I will post it when i have done it , but it is a learning curve and I am not great on the techo stuff , It would seem that David is our man for all that so I am expecting full coverage 24/7 on Sky news of our trip all the way I am pretty sure he has the APP for it , we were even looking at a kite cam , but could not find a harness big enough for me to fit in . Hey that's it for now I may post a you tube video on the site just to keep your taste buds going ( mine too ) 

keep warm BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

THE RAIN IN PORTUGAL !!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone , It has been a while since I posted an update , so after a thrilling weekend in Portishead i flew out of Bristol on the Monday morning , the pilot warned of strong wind and rain and said it may get a bit bumpy ,,  well we landed OK but it was like a monsoon , and to cut a short story even shorter today Sunday almost a week later is the first day it has not rained , and we all went off to a very expensive 5 star hotel to watch England win by the skin of there teeth against Italy , It is now almost ten o'clock so i doubt if I shall finish this tonight , The plan was to launch Simo this weekend and take her round to the Guadiana river where i have a little mooring , I had a fair bit of work to do , Prime the bottom ready for anti fouling , coat up the mast with Deksolj and re step plus a whole host of other little jobs , I had been looking at the grib files all week and there was to be no let up in the weather rain and all , I managed to get the mast rubbed down , but could not get any ACID OXYLADO , to get rid of the grey area's , I finally got it coated on Saturday morning having already aborted all plans to launch this month , and told David not to worry about coming down this time ,

I got on and did the best I could and two hours after doing the mast the heavens opened , but i think it had tacked of enough , so the mast goes back in on Monday , i have checked everything and put a new radar reflector up to replace the old one from the sixties ,

I manged to get the primer on and next day with help from a nice french man we rushed around and got a coat of anti fouling on , I got the name on in a howling gale of wind so it may just look a little crooked .

The mast don't look to bad considering ,

So all in all the jobs have come together OK , I am still happy not to have gone ahead with the launch because it is blowing force 7/8 outside , with pretty big rollers and the entrance to the river just ain't very deep with a foot or so clearance at low water , and of course I didn't want to put David off before we got started .

When the boat is out of the water everything seems to be in a mess, and when it's raining and your trying to do stuff under a tarp it's even worse , by the way the ten boxes of food and stuff arrived OK from the UK I was a bit concerned about where it was all going to go but after hoicking it all up on deck in a bucket and the stowing down below I can tell you i slept well that night , and was so surprised that it all went in easy as pie , i reckon there is enough food for a year in those lockers , and we still need fresh when we finally go ... we look that's it for now I will just do a spell check and then publish so you will get it soon I have also done the spot update and will try and put that in the next post in a couple of days ,

all the best from rainy Portugal

Mick