Thursday, July 26, 2012

 Bill from Conwy in Salcombe
 Catherine
 Falmouth
 Eddystone lighthouse from seaward ( on a calm day)
 HMS Bulwark
 Plus Helicopter
 Portland Bill - close in!
Salcombe
Sorry they're not all in order but you get the drift of the week.  The only down side is the lack of company on board  - I've read most of the books and the CD collection is now wearing out.  Never mind great week over all - now off to see the sights of falmouth
Additional donations received with thanks from Cath and Bill. Also Malcolm Morling at Portsmouth ( Great Mechanic) Falmouth Marina - all will be added to the just giving page on my return. Many thanks to Premier marinas for hospitality at Eastbourne and Falmouth.
 Beachyhead
 Portsmouth
 Solent (Athos) Too busy avoiding others to take other photos
Weymouth
At lastI I've found an internet point in a marina that isn't flakey. I am In Falmouth after a busy week. I can't believe it that it was only a week ago that I returned to the boat.  Since then I have a number of long days sailing in great weather. So good i thought I was back in Greece. 

From Eastbourn I did a long hop to Haslar marina in Portsmouth. Slight mistake in planning the next day not to realise that it was the first hot Sunday we have had this year - resulting in wall to wall boats of all description.  The main problem was that evry other boat believed they were the "stand on vessel" and I was the give way vessel. If ever there was a case for mandatory licensing of boats the Solent gives the evidence. There are some very professional people down here and there is another school of  the not so clever.

I should have realised as I emerged from the marina there was a constant flow of VHF messages asking the coastguard for radio checks - not something that is heard elsewhere in the Uk.

I sailed down the Solent to the Hurst narrows and then set off for Weymouth.  This was a fanmtastic little place with a great atmosphere. I arrived just a day before the security systems were to kick in for the Olympics. Even so i was made welcome and found a space virtually in town and next to a pub and coffee house; with a supermarket just round the corner - bliss.

When I left Weymouth I sailed past HMS Bulwalk, I also saw the Lazer Teams coming out of Portland for a practice. There were also lots of helicopters and rigid inflatable speedboats whizzing around looking at passing yacIhts.

From Weymouth I moved onto Salcombe. This is a beautiful little placed which seems to be totally geared to yachting. I moored on a buoy in the fairway and then went for a pint. When I returned to the boat via the water taxi I was amazed to see that a boat had rafted up next to me on the same buoy. The boat was from Conwy and belonged to Cath and Bill who I'd had a drink with in Conwy Marina on my last night before setting off - coincidence or what ( must buy a lottery ticket). I had no idea they were down here.

From Weymouth it was another long haul to Falmouth where I am sorting the boat for my final big right turn round Landsend. All the photos are on the next post.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Just a reminder that the direct donation link is:-  http://www.justgiving.com/Ian-Papworth
Just a note of thanks to the people who have given me donations that I haven't been able to get onto the just giving site. Thanks to the teams at: Shotley marina; Dover marina; Eastbourne Marina - particularly Oliver Carpenter for his personal donation; Handel Phillips; and James Castle. The money you have donated will be passed onto the Just giving site next week when I get home . Many thanks
White cliffs of Dover
This is Ramsgate to Dover. We didn't get any photos of the trip from Dover to EastBourne as we were primarily focused on pointing the boat on each tack through the 3 metres waves!
not sure whats happening with this blogspot as it keeps resetting. Sometimes things go on twice and then have to be deleted. This is my third attempt at a post.

We took a small weather window and escaped from Dover and we are now in Eastbourne ( Sovereign marina which is actually a 45 minute walk from Eastbourne.

The trip down was a little uncomfortable but we really didn't want to stay in Dover. The marina staff were friendly ( and gave £5 to the charity) and there was a nce bar at Cullins yard. The only other redeeming feature was it was a handy stop off and the yacht club is great ( fantastic proper cider)

I'll try to post some photos but this thing keeps crashing Thanks for your help James.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

It was an interesting trip down the coast and across the Thames. I don't think the Thames is quite as busy as the Humber or Harwich now but there were a large number of  giants trying to get through narrow gaps with not much water underneath them. The sandbanks can be seen - even at half tide in some places.  The size of the wind farms , and the physical size of the windmills is a lot bigger. Also the nautical traffic hazard of lots of fast cat style wind farm boats zooming backwards and forwards. There were row after row of service boats in Ramsgate and Dover - seems to have taken over from Fishing completely.  They are desperate for crew and would have even taken me if my tickets were still valid..

Buffer is however safe and sound in Dover where she may stay a few days due to strong winds - which characteristically are still on the nose.... More pictures next time as I am on a public computer at the moment

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Buffer now has a new crew - James Castle. he hasn't brought the good weather  with him but we seem to be making good progress - now in Harwich.  I'll miss Handel . It took me a while to give up trying to figure out why he always gave me 2.5 chocolate digestives with my tea.  Handel eventually told me - 2 is never sufficient, and 3 biscuits would be greedy!!

Friday, July 6, 2012

This post is a bit of a step back as I thought I'd lost these photos - like I lost the ones on Ben Nevis. This was the first  "May Day" we came across on our trip - this is actually on the west Coast of Scotland. Tim was aboard at the time. The motorsailor had started taking in water and the owner abandoned ship into the life raft leaving the boat afloat in  a channel two mile wide. The wind wasn't above a 4 and the small motorvessel saved the liferaft ( and owner of the "stricken vessel") the lifeboat then took the boat in tow back to Oban.  The boat was a modern Fisher Motor sailor worth about £100k. Wish we'd got there first!!!!!.
Sunset at North Haisboro bank
Lowerstoft

From Grimsby we did a 17hr passage across the Wash to Norfolk and Lowerstoft. Again there was plenty of traffic but it was a pleasant trip - if not a bit long.  Lowestoft is  great  and the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk is a welcoming place with great facilities. Its really posh and a bit above a Tyke like me.  The chairs in the bar are leather; there's a restaurant and its ..... well,nice!  The photo is of the Sunset as we approached the Norfolk coast.

My thanks to Handel Phillips - great crew and good company. Its his 40th Wedding Anniversary and on Saturday 7th there is a party for him and his wife Jane.  I hope they have a great time, the tension was obviously building up during the week as his daughters and wife kept the phone calls going . I began to suspect that they may be worried whether he'd be back in time for the party. Great bloke - hope he joins us again.

Now waiting for James castle to join me in Lowerstoft. We are hoping to do a week on the East Coast rivers before leaving the boat at Dover for a break at home.
The next bit of the journey envolved actually getting into Grimsby Fish Dock. Grimsby is a very friendly place with nice people but it is the most appropriately named place I can think of. I didn't get any photos of the dock as we went in late and came out early - didn't stay long for our £20 but the place was a useful stop over . We did however get to play with the "big misters". Here is an example, I wouldn't want to park this in a crosswind.
Although the attraction of Scarborough and the nostalgia were magnetic it was time to move on as soon as we could. I was becoming a regular at the Leeds Arms!  We set off into strong winds(yet again) but this time no rain - at least for a while. The weather made up for this by giving us Fog. I could hear Flamborough Head as we went past ( slowly) but i couldn't see it. When we did eventually reach the Humber we couldn't dock at High water as the tide was too high and the lock was shut to prevent flooding. we anchored at Spurn head next to the Lifeboat Station - the only 24hr operational station in the UK

Monday, July 2, 2012

Entry to scarboroughThis was on the first entry. We tried to leave two days later but got beaten back by a strong southerly wind. We are therefore still in Scarborough waiting for a weather window to make for Lowerstoft. I haven't much confidence in the Met office anymore as they have consistently got the weather wrong over the last 2 weeks.  I am now getting fed up of Scarborough - there is a limit to nostalger over childhood holidays ( have I spelt that right?  The only thing for me left to do is to see the Model Ship battle at Peasholm Park ( I know how it ends as I saw it when I was 6) or to go on the beach and dig sandcastles in the rain ( ah!! memories...)

Hopefully, that now that we've found a spot on the seafront that sells decent coffee and has wifi, we'll be in touch more than once a Preston Guild.