Passage To Poole

First stop: Swanage Bay

In a comfy corner to windward of the wheel, I stretched and put the paws up. The perfect location to supervise André the owner, Bernard the RYA Instructor Magnificent*, and the Can Opener as he rocketed about as ‘Skipper-of-the-Day’. 

I’m a low key manager who likes to rule from behind by dint of a nuclear-radiating personality and the occasional swipe to the Achilles’ tendon. A kind of Chaircat of the Board, if you will.

Every minute you spend planning is repaid many times over. We knew this when we were doing the passage planning and chartwork the day before we set off to Poole. But seeing the plan executed really underlined Bernard’s message.

We were up bright and early, breakfasted and doing boat checks while the dew was still on the deck. Tidal calculations were checked and rechecked. The weather report noted and compared for continued compatibility with our plan. We were headed out the famous (and challenging) Needles Channel in a blow, so the plan had to be perfect. All was set to go. And so we went…

Through Needles, the sea state was ‘rough’. The Met Office defines this as about 8 to 12 foot waves. And this narrow channel is bordered on both sides by enormous pointy rocks rearing out of the sea to the east and jagged pointy rocks lurking below the surface forever to the west. 

Of course, you never think to take photos at the time (the Needles photo above is from another calmer day…). You’re riveted on the sailing.

 

The first night of the passage we picked up a mooring buoy in Swanage Bay (see leading photo at top) just south of our final destination. 

The second day, after skills drills allllllllllll day with Bernard, we pulled into the night-calm harbour at Poole. The glorious sunset made it all worthwhile.

 

Destination made: Pulling in to Poole

Could we have packed any more learning into our time with Bernard? I think not. 

Passage planning, berthing, anchoring and mooring practice, even some crew overboard work. It was a fantastic and very full training schedule. And much appreciated. 

The entire team has loads to think about and much to practice going forward.

 

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

* Bernard Mitchell works with the Hamble School of Yachting. Ask for him by name. He’s in great demand. Plan ahead.

Southern Shore England

‘Old Harry’ – limestone cliffs worn by the sea near Poole, on the southern shore of England

Yes, indeed. We are steadily mile-building. 

We picked up a new crewmate in Poole two weekends ago – a friend of André, the owner – and moved Un Tigre Beau back along the southern shore of England, past the famously jagged ‘Needles’, up the Solent and back to its regular resting place in the Hamble. 

 

‘The Needles’

 

 

Entering the Solent on the approach to the Isle of Wight

 

A feisty day, force 5 – 7 winds the whole way. I was particularly pleased with the Can Opener’s steering through some nasty swell coming into the Needles Channel.

Must say that this sailing gig is quite exhilarating!  

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Sea Knowledge And Training – Updated

 

Here’s the sea knowledge and training programme I’ve planned for the Can Opener – with updates: 

On the Water 

• RYA Yachtmaster Offshore

Theory

• RYA Yachtmaster Stellar Navigation theory – done!
• RYA Yachtmaster Coastal/Offshore Prep Theory   done!
• RYA Day Skipper Theory   done!

Specialist 

• Diesel Engine Maintenance
• Marine Radio Short Range Certificate/VHF Operator – done!
• Sea Survival/ Emergency Preparedness
• Offshore Safety
• Veterinary Offshore First Aid
• RYA Offshore First Aid – scheduled 

Other

•  Courses run by manufacturers on servicing and maintaining their equipment – Feb 2013 – done!
• Electrical Systems and Solar 
• Spanish 

That should do it… till I think of something more to decree the Can Opener shall study.

The best thing about sailing is there is always something new to learn. Constant challenges and education. What could be better?

We’re getting there! 

Any other critical courses / topics to add to the study list? 

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Sailing 2013 Begins!

Spring Events Schedule

What‘s on in Spring 2013?

We’ve scheduled ourselves for every lecture we can find in our area, some good courses, special events and even some brave-the-elements sailing! 

If we can find more, we’ll add to the list as we go along.

Here’s our list for Spring 2013:

• Boat Show lectures
• Cruising Association lectures
• 2 Cruising Association seminars
• Red Tabby lectures  
• Red Tabby’s Boat Show Cocktail Party
• RYA first aid course
• RYA sea survival course  
• Red Tabby Sailing Forum!
• passages with Cap’n Davie 
• Red Tabby J80 sailing?
• and, of course, the Red Tabby Cruising Committee dinners!

(OY! There’s research, organising and work to be done for the Cruising Committee too, Furrball! Not just mealtimes!  Speak for yerself, Oh Opposable–Thumbed-One…)

Great Bastet, it’s gonna be great!

 

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Sailing Again!

We’re racing on an Arcona 37 this weekend – a nifty Swedish racer-cruiser with a fantastic new captain! 

I am eager to get down to the water, so am currently standing over the Can Opener while he packs the necessities: pet life jacket, fuzzy cat suit, smoked clam rations, Jackie Chan movies on the ipod and the working tiara. 

I am becoming concerned everything will not fit in my taxi (You’ll be taking the train down to the water with me, bud. …Like all the other cats…)

This weekend is double great because we are not just getting in a race with a new team, and not just because we get to learn about a new deck layout and another boat’s systems – we also get to fit in two passages, there and back, to reposition this boat from its home berth, nearly a day’s sail from the race site.

We’re are pysched and ready to go! Right after the Can Opener finishes polishing the motivational sceptre.

 

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Gone Sailing – Back soon!

 

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Cruising Castles – South Shore Of England

Why do we love cruising?

It’s the places you go, the people you meet, the food, the wind on yer whiskers… but last weekend it was the castles. 

We raced out of Poole on the Sunday and there, at the harbour mouth as we headed out to the start line, was sparkly Branksea Castle just glowing back at us from the shore. 

We get a kick out of castles, thinking about the history and who’s lived in them, the stories. Sweet to view them from the water too.

We can’t find too much info about the history of this particular castle, but it sits on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour – the island where Lord Baden-Powell and his boy scout camp started it all. 

Cruising makes learning history seem not just painless, but fascinating.                            

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Reflections On A Delivery

Reflections on the delivery from Spain to Greece

What we learned…

Well, 1553 nautical miles later – we were thrilled that we made it and learned so much! We’ve taken a little time to reflect and map out the topics that were most important to us on the Spain~Greece delivery.

Of course, with cruising there’s always tons more to learn. That’s the great thing about it – lifelong learning. Always something new to master or finetune.

A few areas in particular, however, really stood out for us. Here they are:

Cruising Skills 

1.  Dealing with customs and borders when entering a new country on a boat

3. Weather watching and getting info in new countries and foreign languages

4. Planning the route – pace, waypoints, planning refuges 

5. Some engine skills

6. Provisioning and on the water cooking skills – cooking for varied tastes and crew preferences

7. Choosing a good team 

8. Teamwork – clear roles 

Why we still really want our own boat

This delivery was a fantastic experience and it was a great team to be on. So many people in a small space for 3 weeks and everyone got along for the whole trip. Surreal-y well actually.

But to keep good crew harmony requires compromises – compromises that were duly made and with good cheer. 

But long term, we realised there are some key reasons we still want our own boat rather than just continuing to sign to crew on other peoples’ yachts. Our long term cruising plan remains unchanged…


So here’s why we still want our own boat:

1. Choosing food – when, where, what 

2. Choosing safety equipment and maintenance 

3. Choosing where, when, how we go

If you’re reading The Cruising Kitty, you probably are thinking about cruising at sometime in the future – if you are not there already.  

What are the key reasons for you for getting/having your own boat?

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

RYA VHF Radio text – Reviewed!

I assigned this book to the Can Opener to read while we were on the Spain to Greece delivery. He ploughed through it quite quickly – clearly a riveting read.   

Also required reading not just by me, but by the UK Coastguard too. Anyone who operates a VHF* on their yacht must also have a VHF license. 

VHF radio equipment is regularly used for sending and receiving boat to boat, boat to marina and boat to Coast Guard messages. It is an important piece of safety equipment on most yachts.

I’ll be dragging the Can Opener with me on a course to get our licenses soon. And this is the textbook that goes with the RYA licensing course…

How do you use a VHF? What can it be used for anyways? How do you send a distress message properly? 

These answers could save our lives one day, so I made sure the Can Opener paid careful attention to this valuable little book.

Best Thing About This Book

• clear
• concise
• has all the info in it we need to know to get our VHF Operator Licenses
  

Wild Wishes

• There was no brand to brand comparison of VHF equipment – just general explanations of what an average VHF looks like and how it works.
• But hey – that was not the goal of this book. This little book did the job it promised to do.
  

Conclusion 

We like books that do their job. And if you are going to get your VHF license with RYA… you kind of have to buy it. So we did.

Fortunately this is a well written and useful little text.

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

* Very high frequency (VHF) is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz…Currently VHF is at the low-end of practical frequency usage, new systems tending to use frequencies in SHF and EHF above the UHF range…. 

Common uses for VHF are FM radio broadcast, television broadcast, land mobile stations (emergency, business, private use and military), long range data communication with radio modems, amateur radio, marine communications, air traffic control communications and air navigation systems (e.g. VOR, DME & ILS). –wikipedia

In the US

 
In the UK

Book Reviews
Next: The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat, by John Vigor
Previously: Celestial Navigation, by Mary Blewitt

Home At Last

Home At Last…

‘Course the first thing I did was check the answering machine. And Pussy Galore did not leave a single message.

She must be having technical difficulties.

–Captain Cat

 (transcribed by the Can Opener)