Charlie Pitcher’s Atlantic Record Rowing Attempt

 

I would appear to have an obsession with following Charlie Pitcher on his rowing adventures. I have mentioned or featured him in 6 previous postings! The truth is that what he is doing is amazing, and yet he makes it all sound so commonplace. Attempting to row across the Atlantic all by oneself and at the same time pushing hard to break the record for doing it in the least amount of time, is no mean feat. He has prepared well by training for the task in hand and by appropriately equipping his boat, which is probably the most technologically advanced for such an attempt.

Now, if you are interested, you can follow him daily by visiting his website. Via his blog he speaks the truth as it happens. He tells of not being able to keep his body clean because conditions haven’t been calm enough for him to have freedom to do it, and yet he knows how important it is to look after his body. At the first opportunity, when the sea is calm enough he will give himself a body wash and have a shave.

He knows how important it is to eat well and drink sufficient fluid for maintaining his health and for providing the energy required for putting in the miles. He knows how he must maintain a rhythm and pattern, and yet be flexible by adjusting his rowing schedule to fit weather conditions. Getting sufficient sleep is important.  His mental attitude is crucial for success. Just now he compares the present voyage with his previous Atlantic row and he feels lonelier. The striped fish and the bird that keep him company are of little consolation.

Having contact with the outside world by an Iridium Satellite phone is positively helpful, because being able to talk with others reduces his sense of isolation. Charlie greatly appreciates his weather guru, Andrew Wise. So far, everything Andrew has forecast has come about. Knowing in advance what weather to expect, Charlie can make contingencies for what the future holds.

Until recently the wind has been from astern, but yesterday it backed. This is not helpful because the boat is being set to the south, and Charlie has to work at keeping on track. However, he’s chuffed, because he is ahead of his theoretical position for achieving his goal of breaking the record.

If I wasn’t a Christian I might be foolish enough ask the ancient Greek god Zeus to look upon him kindly, but the real and only true God who dwells in Heaven, knows the whole story from beginning to end.

Proverbs 5:21 ‘For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths.’

See also Acts 17:22-29

Links

Transatlantic Solo

http://transatlanticsolo.com/ 

Charlie Pitcher to Row the Atlantic Again!

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/charlie-pitcher-to-row-atlantic-again.html

Topical Maritime Happenings

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/topical-maritime-happenings.html

Boat Chitchat

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/boat-chitchat.html

 ‘JJ – Insure and Go’, Charlie Pitcher Atlantic Rower

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/jj-insure-and-go-charlie-pitcher.html

Congratulations Charlie Pitcher, Atlantic Rower

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/congratulations-charlie-pitcher.html

 ‘Within’, Greg Kolodziejzyk

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/within-greg-kolodziejzyk.html

Iridium

http://www.iridium.com/default.aspx

Zeus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus

View from Thorpe Bay

 

Looking towards the Entrance to the Medway and the Isle of Grain Power Station

The scene is tranquil enough, but under the water by the entrance to the Medway there is a lurking time bomb - one that could devastate the nearby port of Sheerness and cause a metre high tidal wave in the Thames estuary affecting places like Southend-on-Sea and Canvey Island.

In 1944 the SS Richard Montgomery, a US Liberty Ship, loaded with 7,146 tons of munitions dragged her anchors off the entrance to the Medway and became irretrievably stuck on a sandbank. Only approximately half of her deadly cargo was retrieved before her bow section flooded and she sank. The mission had to be abandoned. Since then she has broken in two; her masts are still visible above the surface of the water.

I have sailed by this forlorn wreck on several occasions, knowing full well that if something caused her cargo to explode, I would be destined for extinction, but my soul would live on.

1Thessalonians 4:13, 14 ‘But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.’

Links

The SS Richard Montgomery

http://www.yachtrhumbdo.co.uk/ss_richard_montgomery.htm

SS Richard Montgomery structural collapse 'getting closer'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14809752

Hydrographic Thermal Images of the SS Richard Montgomery

http://medwaynavigation.co.uk/services.html

Old Isle of Grain Power Station

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grain_Power_Station

New Isle of Grain Power Station

http://www.power-technology.com/projects/isleofgrain/

A Jackdaw of Memories

 

Scavenger at Thorpe Bay

When I was first into my teens, a friend had a jackdaw as a pet. His father reared the bird from when it was a chick. The unfortunate creature had fallen from the nest, or perhaps it had been thrown out by mum or dad. Maybe his brothers and sisters no longer liked his company.

Jack, as he was called, lived in a homemade, wooden and wire mesh cage that had a boxed section at one end where he could rest or sleep on a perch. At the other end of the cage there was a feeding tray and a space where he could strut and hop. Two more perches, one higher than the other, completed his playground. Almost every day he was taken out his cage and he was allowed to roam around the garden. Needlessly the tips of his wings were clipped to dissuade him from flying away, but as far as I was aware he had no inclination to scarper.

Jack would always respond when spoken to. His repertoire was somewhat limited, but he would say, “Chack, Chack,” over and over again. He quite liked a cuddle and would come when called, especially if tempted with a morsel, a worm or a sprinkling of grain. I would feel sorry for him when other jackdaws flew overhead, completely free to come and go, and yet he never seemed interested in them. I think he thought he was fully human, just like his adoptive dad and the dad’s son who was like a brother to him. He saw me as his friend, the one who liked to stroke him on his nape.

 Jack would never mate and build a nest of twigs lined with grass, sheep’s wool, horse hair and moss. He would never find a partner for life, as his brothers and sisters. He would never feed his chicks, see them grow and see them make their first faltering flight. He would never join the wheeling throng; twisting, diving, soaring, racing, or engage in banter while roosting in autumn trees.

If he had not been found by my friend’s dad, feeble, tiny chick that he was, he would surely have died. As it was, he lived for many years, and I was truly sad when I heard that he had been buried at the bottom of the garden. At least there, he could rest in Valhalla with other pets that had gone that way: three gerbils, two mice, a tortoise and a rabbit. The chickens never got that far; after a lifetime of laying eggs, they were strangled, their necks broken, feathers plucked, roasted and eaten.

Links

Western Jackdaw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackdaw

Jackdaw

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/j/jackdaw/index.aspx

Jackdaw

http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/birds/jackdaw.htm

Jackdaw (Comprehensive information here)

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jackdaw

Jackdaw

http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/jackdaw.asp

Peacocks Tearoom – Ely, and a Little Motorboat

 

You haven’t lived until you have sampled tea at Peacocks Tearoom beside the Great Ouse. Their website says it all.

Well, last summer wasn’t much of a summer, but on a day when the sun shone I had the pleasure of sipping Liquorice tea, number 21 from their selection of 72 variations concocted from numerous varieties and blends of tea.

Suitably refreshed, I strolled along the footpath beside the river observing vessels moored to the bank and others on the move. There were quite a few narrowboats, motor cruisers, runabouts and Dutch barges that had been converted into houseboats.

There was one little double-ender that caught my attention because of her pronounced sheer. She was a runabout with an inboard engine, and she could be hired from the Boat Yard for the sum of £20 an hour. ‘Sea Pearl’ was a simulated clinker vessel moulded in GRP, requiring little maintenance. She was large enough for four passengers and a helmsman. I assume the owner of The Boat Yard would provide lifejackets to those hiring the vessel.

Links

Peacocks Tearoom

http://www.peacockstearoom.co.uk/  

The Boat Yard - Ely

http://www.the-boat-yard.co.uk/  

River Great Ouse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Great_Ouse

Reeds Small Craft Almanac

My iPhone dictionary defines an almanac as ‘an annual publication containing a calendar for the coming year, the times of such events and phenomena as anniversaries, sunrises and sunsets, phases of the moon, tides, etc., and other statistical information and related topics.’

That’s not a bad description of Reeds Small Craft Almanac which has been compiled for those who sail small craft around the coasts of Great Britain, and North-western Europe between the northern-most tip of Denmark and the northern half of the Bay of Biscay as far south as the Gironde Estuary.

 

Information can be found within five chapters: Navigation, Weather, Communications, Safety and Tides. By far the largest part of the book is devoted to Tides, their times and heights at standard ports. Each area has its own set of tidal flow charts. For me, this section is the most valuable, for I have to make the best use of tides because my small boat has an average speed of less than 3 knots.

 

The Navigation chapter is the next most useful. It is subdivided into areas, for example, Area 4 stretches from North Foreland to Berwick-upon-Tweed. That includes my home cruising ground: ‘Thames Estuary – Northern’ section. Buoys and lights are listed with their characteristic shapes, colours, identification marks and most importantly their positions in terms of latitude and longitude. This allows me to check their positions, especially if I have pre-programmed them into my ship’s GPS. Such practice is always advisable, because the positions of buoys on the East Coast are often changed by Trinity House on account of moving sands.

The Communications chapter is useful, particularly for obtaining details of VHF frequencies of Port and Coast Radio Stations.

There’s a nice little map in the Weather chapter that shows areas covered by the Shipping Forecast, Thames, Dover, Wight, etc. It’s good to know where one area ends and another begins. However, the Shipping Forecast Record page has almost become obsolete because weather forecasts can so easily be obtained from the Internet. A good, reliable smartphone can give access to detailed weather charts, including wind speeds.

An advantage of this 15 cm x 22.5 cm x 2.2 cm almanac is that it does not take up a lot of space and it only weighs 1 ¼ lbs. At £16.99 it is excellent value for money.

Shackleton Epic Expedition

I mentioned this extraordinary adventure in a previous posting.*

Tim Jarvis and Barry Gray, along with support man Paul Larsen have just completed their hazardous crossing of South Georgia. After rowing and sailing 800 nautical miles with three other crew members from Elephant Island, Tim and Barry were faced with the challenge of scaling mountains and crossing crevasses to reach the old whaling station at Stromness.

 

All of this was done with the men wearing clothing and using equipment identical to those of Shackleton’s party almost 100 years before whilst on their survival mission to seek help for those left behind on Elephant Island .

Nick Bubb, Seb Coulhard and Ed Wardle, the other crew members of the 22.5 foot replica lifeboat Alexandra Shackleton were highly praised by team leader Tim Jarvis. He and his team had experienced cramped, wet and freezing conditions during the 800 nautical miles voyage. At times the swell was eight or more metres and winds reached speeds of 50 knots.

Congratulations to them all.

* ( http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/topical-maritime-happenings.html )

Links

Shackleton Epic Expedition

http://shackletonepic.com/

Shackleton Epic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ2oKdS6KSs&feature=player_embedded#!  

Short Visit to Smoke

 

Last Wednesday morning I had cause to be on the platform at East India DLR station, and the view overlooking the River Thames towards the O2 arena reminded me of when I first visited London.

I was sixteen at the time, and having lived a somewhat sheltered life in rural Somerset, the big city, known as Smoke, was a bit of a shock. The approach was by train on the Great Western Railway, terminating at Paddington. I was with my brother who was reading theology at Kings College. I told him I did not like the big city which was crowded and dirty. I couldn’t understand why so many people were crammed together in terraced houses, street after street. He wanted to show me Cable Street where, nearby there was a tiny house in which two Franciscan friars lived. The road was a real dump. People were standing around chatting, and it felt somewhat threatening.

Inside the terraced property there was a room that had been converted into a miniature chapel. Within it there was a wooden table, on top of which was a wooden cross. Half a dozen upright chairs completed the furnishings. A bible was open before the cross. Only one friar was there to greet us. He welcomed us into the living room, which was in effect a kitchen with a table, a couple of chairs and a settee. The doorway through which we came led directly to the street. Beside the door there was a small sash window almost hidden by dark curtains that did their best to keep any light out. 

 My brother and I relaxed on the settee while the friar made tea. At that moment there was shouting in the street. Pulling a curtain aside, the friar took one look through the window and said, “Stay put.” He calmly went outside, and within seconds brought a young man in and sat him down on one of the upright chairs. The distressed youth was bleeding from a wound on his forearm. We gathered he had been involved in a fight outside the house. The attacker, still wielding a knife, fled after the friar bravely intervened.

 Our host carefully washed the wound and dressed it with strips torn from a pillowcase. He then made a fresh pot of tea. All four of us sat together with few words spoken, until the one who had been wounded felt it was safe to leave. My brother and I gave it ten minutes before we left too.

I have other memories of my short visit to smoky London, but that was the most vivid. I marvelled at the bravery of the gentle friar who was dressed in a brown robe. Around his waist there was a threefold knotted rope to remind him of his vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Links

Friars and Monks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friar

Cable Street

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Street

The O2

http://www.theo2.co.uk/

Smoke, or The Old Smoke

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,,-196814,00.html

Mystery Sailboat

 

I came across this small sailing yacht by chance. Does anyone know who designed her and what class of yacht she is? I would say at a guess she’s about 18 feet LOA, and with her bowsprit which I don’t think was an original fitting, she would be 21 feet. I reckon her beam must be approximately 6 feet. She has a large centreplate and a transom hung lifting rudder. Her draught when the plate is up must be about 1 foot, perhaps 3 foot 6 inches when down.

She is for sale and in need of a lot of TLC, but for someone who wants a small classic, shallow draught yacht built in the late 60s she could possibly be brought back to life. The asking price is £350.00, but I think you might get her for free. It is my opinion that whoever buys her will have to fork out at least £3,000 to bring her back to good condition.

Reasons for the high cost of renovating her are numerous. She will have to be taken from the yard by road, because she is not in a state for sailing away. That will mean hiring transport or buying a trailer. The craning out will be for free. While renovation takes place, ideally she will need to be under cover. Most of the interior will need rebuilding. Some frames may require doubling, and she will have to be re-caulked. Her mast is far too long and it has been extended with a wooden section at the base. Even if her sails are good, they will not fit when the mast has been shortened. Shrouds and stays will have to be shortened. Therefore she will require a new mainsail, and possibly new foresails.

Why am I bothering to explain these things? I can’t bear to see a lovely boat deteriorate and die. If there is someone reading this and who is prepared to spend time and money renovating her, I will give you details as to her whereabouts, but I take no responsibility for your decision to buy her. She may have rot in her bilges, in her centreboard case, in her transom and in the forepeak.

It’s such a shame to see her die. I cannot afford the money and the time for re-commissioning her, because I have my own little boat ready for sailing this coming spring and throughout the season.

This is food for thought. Do you know what class of boat she is?

Alan Buchanan Wooden Yawl

 

 

Continuing the Nantucket Clipper theme initiated on Tuesday, 5^th February with a photograph of a classic yacht resembling the aforementioned class of yacht designed by Alan Buchanan, I had the good fortune to meet her owner today. He told me she was for sale at £25,000 which corresponds with the second link below to Essex Boatshed. Wooden Ships still has her at £26,750, so there’s been a recent reduction in the asking price.

Apparently she was built at Gweek on the Helford River in Cornwall by Mike Johnson in 1974. She’s Pitch Pine planked, with copper fastenings onto oak frames.

For anyone looking for a 32’ classic gaff rigged yawl, ‘Reynardini’ of Falmouth may be a dream yacht. She’s well equipped and ready to go. Even her keel bolts have recently been replaced, and she’s freshly painted and antifouled. Once owned by Jon Wainright, author of ‘Only so Many Tides’, she was cruised by him to the Baltic.

There are excellent photos of ‘Reynardini’ at both brokers’ sites: Wooden Ships and Boatshed, along with full specifications and inventory. There’s a great photo of her under sail showing her high aspect mainsail and topsail. 

Links

Gaff Yawl for sale £26,750

http://www.woodenships.co.uk/sailing-yachts/gaff-yawl

Alan Buchanan Wooden Yawl 32 Gaff Rigged £24,995

http://essex.boatshed.com/alan_buchanan_wooden_yawl_32-boat-145326.html

Only so Many Tides by Jon Wainright

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-Many-Tides-Alan-Cameron/dp/0953818039

Gweek

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gweek

Baltic Sea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_sea

Privateer 20 and Clipper Bows

Privateer 20

Privateer 20 bow

 

Weekender

 



 

'Cutty Sark'

I highlighted a Nantucket Clipper in Tuesday’s blog which brought some comment. Both Patrick and Max were not enamoured with her clipper bow, and on that particular vessel I’m inclined to agree. Somehow it doesn’t look right. I immediately thought of the Privateer 20, a trailer sailer which has a clipper bow, but with her I think it works. Another small sailing boat with a clipper bow is the Weekender, and again, I think she looks right.

I suppose it is a case of personal preferences - aesthetics as judged by individuals. What one likes, another may not. When it comes to functional aspects, a vessel like the Cutty Sark had a clipper bow possibly for cleaving waves when running in big seas and for providing lift. Such a bow could also have been effective when on the wind for establishing grip and to help minimize leeway.

I confess I like both the Privateer 20 and the Weekender; they are jaunty, piratical looking vessels.

Dimensions of a Privateer

LOA : 5.94m (19ft 6in)
Beam : 2.03m (6ft 8in)
Draft : 0.36m (1ft 2in)
Max : 1.37m (4ft 6in)

Links

Privateer 20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9wqWWWrIgM

Privateer 20 for Sale £3,700

http://www.yacht-shop.com/yachtsforsale/ys1592.html

Privateer 20 Owners’ Yahoo Group

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/privateer20/ 

Privateer ‘Tern’ is Sold

http://www.easternyachts.com/tern/

1975 Privateer 20 (Lifting Keel) - £3,400

 http://www.topsail.co.uk/boat.php?refnum=1429

Privateer 20

http://www.sailingtheweb.net/barca-vela/?STWcode=S02819&units=mt&account=1&lang=EN

Weekender

http://www.stevproj.com/PocketYachts.html

Cutty Sark

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_Sark

Jaguar 24 twin keel yacht ‘Jisme’

 

Not so long ago I saw a bilge keel Jaguar 24 for sale at Clark and Carter at their Burnham-on-Crouch Yacht Harbour office, and according to their website she’s still for sale at £9,950. She was £12,495!

A 1997 boat with 4 berths in two cabins and 5’ 9” maximum headroom might represent good value for money.

She has a 2-cylinder 9.9 HP 2010 Johnson outboard mounted in a well in the cockpit. A Hood Seafurl 705 headsail system will make handling her a doddle. She comes equipped with an anchor, chain and warp, a stainless steel transom mounted boarding ladder, a spray hood cover, mainsail cover, named dodgers, mooring warps and 6 fenders.

‘Jisme’ has the usual electronic gear, a VHF radio, an echo sounder, a speed/log, wind instruments and navigation lights. Her cast iron twin keels were professionally removed, re-bedded and refastened with upgraded fittings in 2012.

She looks like a pretty clean yacht in nice condition. I don’t covet her, but if I had the money to spare I would go along and have a look.

Links

Clark and Carter

http://www.clarkeandcarter.co.uk/ 

Jaguar 24 for Sale at Clark and Carter for £9,750

http://www.clarkeandcarter.co.uk/brokerage-boats/index.php?type=Sail&keel=Twin+Keel&make=Jaguar&model=24&minprice=&maxprice=&minlength=&maxlength=&SimpleSearch=Search+Boats+for+Sale

Full details of the above Jaguar 24 can be found by downloading this hefty PDF file

http://www.clarkeandcarter.co.uk/brokerage-boats/siteimages/full-pdf.jpg

Some nice photos of ‘Isme’

http://www.clarkeandcarter.co.uk/brokerage-boats/searchfullspecs.php?DocumentID=4037569

Another Jaguar 24 at Plymouth for Sale £9,500

http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/advert/jaguar-24-wier-quay/38600390

Yet another Jaguar 24 for Sale at Plymouth £10,850

http://www.networkyachtbrokers.co.uk/boats_archive/Jaguar_24_Yacht_For_Sale-10881.html

Nantucket Clipper

 

Alan Buchanan designed the Nantucket Clipper. For sure, this is a wooden version, perhaps a prototype. Until I saw her I thought they all had fibreglass hulls and superstructures. She has the original underwater profile with the rudder adjoining the keel. Later versions had different rudder configurations. I’ve even seen one with a spade rudder.  This particular boat is at Bridgemarsh Marina, with access to the River Crouch via the creek behind Bridgemarsh Island.

Links

Offshore Yachts: Class Owners’ Association (Nantucket Clipper Mk 111)

http://oycoa.org.uk/offshore-yachts/nantucket-clipper/index.php

Buchanan Owners’ Association

http://oycoa.org.uk/offshore-yachts/nantucket-clipper/index.php

Nantucket Clipper 31

http://www.western-horizon.co.uk/archive_boat.php?boat_id=232

Nantucket Clipper for Sale £10,750

 http://yachts.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=158328

Nantucket Clipper for Sale £15,500

http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/644879/  

Nantucket Clipper for Sale £17,950

http://cowes.boatshed.com/nantucket_clipper-boat-134004.html

Nantucket Clipper for Sale £17,995

http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/540581/

Nantucket Clipper not for Sale – she has a different keel/rudder configuration

http://www.boatshed.com/nantucket_clipper-boat-16315.html