sailing single-handed

On sailing a Folksong – a Sunday sail in winter

/ Bill / 1 Comment

1030, Sunday 13th December

My first sail since the end of October.

Blue Mistress has ridden the storms reasonably well.

The forehatch has sprung a small leak. The sail bags are wet.

We have lost not one but two shackle pins on the stern lines.

Poor mousing on my part – (yes, I did use wire), and not helped by the vastly increased run-off of water from Dartmoor into the Plym.

~~~

The wind was easterly this morning and gusting. I left the Sound through the eastern entrance and sailed happily south – course 180 degrees (M), until Dodman Point opened up  in the west.

I turned for home about 1330.

There were one or two boats sailing and a number of small fishing boats. Mostly I had the sea to myself.

Looking towards Devon in the east to Great Mew Stone and the entrance to the Yealm

and towards Cornwall in the west – Rame Head with Kingsand and Cawsand on the right of the picture.

~~~

The wind decided to back towards north which was exactly wrong for re-entering the Sound.

I was concentrating on clearing the eastern end of the Breakwater, when four dolphins appeared from nowhere . . .

They were intent on play, appearing randomly around the boat, racing passed or lazily rolling under the keel.

As they levelled with the cockpit, I could have touched them.

Delighted, excited and entranced, the tiller in one hand, the camera in the other, I took lots of images – mostly of freshly disturbed water.

They lead me on – (note the rapidly approaching conical mark on the end of the Breakwater), and, when I looked up, I had missed the entrance and had to tack very quickly.

My new friends immediately disappeared, and I was reminded of the Sirens of Greek Mythology.

“OK, guys, joke over.”

250 yards on, I tacked back and there they were again.

They escorted me to the entrance to the Sound, before swimming off – no doubt chuckling all the way back to sea!

~~~

I was asked last week why I hadn’t taken my boat out of the water for the winter.

There’s your answer.

On sailing a Folksong – Matilda

/ Bill

One of the pleasures of writing this blog is to hear from other Folksong owners – in fact, that was one of the reasons I started the blog.

So, let me introduce Matilda.

Alex contacted me because he was looking for other Folksong owners for advice and comments.

He writes:

“Having recently bought my first cruiser, a Folksong called Matilda (Aug ’09) I am in the early stages of a major winter refit.”

“I was . . . hoping to find some other Folksong owners based on the south coast as it would be good to get in touch with them, with the thought of meeting up next year for a mini rally of sorts. Also I was thinking of setting up a Folksong website, but wasn’t sure how much interest there would be. What do you think? Incidentally do you know how many Folksongs were built and how many are still sailing in England?”

“One question that springs to mind is regarding the primary winch mounts you have. Currently I have large wooden blocks under the winches, which I found stop the water flowing along the deck whilst heeling and water comes over into the cockpit. I have tried to find some stainless steel mounts similar to yours but have not been able to find any. Do you know where yours came from?”

In answer to his last question I have sent the telephone number of the boatyard I use in Plymouth, but, like Alex, I would be interested if other people have a similar problem to his. As he noted from the images I sent, Blue Mistress has a stainless steel bracket for the sheet winches that allows for the free flow of water along the deck. We don’t have a problem with water entering the cockpit.

Out in the boat today, it seems that the boat has to heel at least 30+ degrees to bring water along the deck to hit the winch bracket.

Alex has started his own blog  and can be contacted here.

On the Ceres – 73 years ago today – not forgotten

/ Bill / 1 Comment

Ceres 1811 – 1936

As I write, I can hear the wind hammering the trees in front of the house.

The inshore waters forecast for here gives southwesterly 6 to gale 8.

For the Bristol Channel it gives:

Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel

The outlook for the 24 hours following 1200 Tuesday 24th November

Strong winds are forecast

Wind: Southwesterly 6 to gale 8, increasing severe gale 9 at times, perhaps storm 10 later in west

Sea state: Rough or very rough, occasionally high in west

Weather: Squally showers.

Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally poor in west.

I mention this because 73 years ago today, off Baggy Point on the north coast of Devon at the western end of the Bristol Channel, on a quieter, fog-ridden day, the Ceres foundered.

The report in the Bideford Weekly Gazette on 1st December 1936 is recorded below.

~~~

The following year, my grandfather commissioned Pelham Jones to commemorate her on canvas (above). The painting is a wonderfully optimistic depiction of a coasting ketch, albeit with her competition lurking in the background. It is a painting for her owner to enjoy.

I find John Chancellor’s painting of the Ceres to be equally optimistic. I suspect he painted her purely because he enjoyed painting ships and boats. This is a painting for the artist himself to enjoy.

Taking Bude After a Blow, by John Chancellor

~~~

Taken from an article in the Bideford Weekly Gazette dated December 1st.1936.

“FATE OF THE “CERES”

The 125 years old “Ceres”, veteran of the merchant service, her course now run, lies at the bottom of Bideford Bay, somewhere off Baggy Point.

The “Ceres” sprang a leak on Tuesday night while on a voyage from South Wales to Bude, and foundered after her crew had put off in her boat and had been picked up by the Appledore lifeboat. The Captain is Mr Oswald Jeffery, a married man, whose home is in Richmond Road, Appledore, and the mate Mr Walter Ford, a married man of Irsha Street,, Appledore. They reached Appledore in the lifeboat at about 11 o’clock, and on arrival the Rev Muller offered a short prayer of thanksgiving for their safety.

Captain Jeffery said,” We left Swansea on Tuesday bound for Bude with a cargo of slag. Because of the weather we intended to go in over the Bar for the night as it was to rough to venture on to Bude. At 8 o’clock I went below to rest for an hour, leaving the mate in charge. An hour later he told me there was water in the engine room. We manned the pumps. We tried to get the ship over the Bar, but the water made her roll badly, and I gave the order for the ship’s rowing boat to be launched. I fired two rockets, and we abandoned the vessel. We lay in the shelter of the “Ceres” which was sinking, and were taken onboard the lifeboat.

Dr. Valentine stood by in case medical assistance was needed, but although wet through, neither the captain nor his mate appeared any the worse for this ordeal.

The “Ceres” was owed by a Bude firm of coal merchants, and was built in Salcombe.

Ketch Ceres 1811 – 1936.

Built in Salcombe, Devon in 1811.She carried stores as a revitaling ship at the blockade of Brest during the Napoleonic wars. Was the oldest sea-going vessel afloat until she sank in Croyde Bay one November evening in 1936. My late father Walter Ford always maintained that she sank because the vessel had recently had a new timber set in, and this had swollen and had displaced the much older timbers which surrounded it.

The night she sank was flat calm and the sky clear.”

For further posts on the Ceres here.

For love of a boat – Birling Gap

/ Bill / 1 Comment

Birling Gap 2009

Here is a problem most fisherman don’t have to face. Note the tideline.

Not only has the boat to be dragged up the shallow beach out of the tide’s reach, but, having hauled it up the scaffold, there is the further irritation of the gear falling out.

The Birling Gap section of this very beautiful coast is eroding faster than the rest, the buildings at the top of the cliff heading for the sea.

Seven Sisters, East Sussex 2009

For the origins and full set of images in this series, here