I have been back in Southampton for a few days resupplying and doing a bit of maintenance. I have also been waiting for a weather window to move West. It looks like I have at least 5 days of good winds so I’m off.
I hope to get down to Cornwall and if the weather holds, go around lands end, cross the Bristol Channel, then up the Welsh Coast to New Quay. I am in no rush and may need to shelter somewhere if the weather changes.
After the gales, I decided to go out to the South of the Isle of Wight to bigger winds and seas. I have been nervous of doing this and to be honest, putting it off. I had a great time and my confidence in myself and the boat are massively boosted.
The sail to just before St Catherine’s point went really well. I was keeping pace with a yacht about a mile ahead of me. Then a big squall came in so I hung back waiting for it to pass, I was on a southerly tack at the time. The clouds stopped in front of Mr, I waited, they waited… OK, tack back toward the island and then back out to avoid it. It was about then the tide turned so now I was fighting some big currents but making progress. Then the wind changed more North Westerly, that was in my favour so now I was winning… and then the winds dropped from 15-20 knots down to 7 or 8, I was going backwards 🥴. It was getting late so I decided to turn back and head into Chichester Harbour again. It was a great downwind run with tide behind me as well.
Although I did not get around the island, the day was a massive success for me. I tackled 4-5 meter swells, winds ranging from 4 to 30 knots and some big currents. I got back safe, nothing broke and neither Dotty or I got seasick.
My water pumps have been playing up recently plus I found that under the heads sink was not a good location because of the damp caused by condensation. I decided to move the pumps to the engine compartment and strip them down to see what’s wrong with them. Moving them was easy enough, I had to move the hoses and power as well but on stripping them down I found the cause of the problems. There was debris in both of them blocking the pump diaphragms. OK, my bad design error but fixable. I have ordered two replacement pumps plus inline mesh filters. The sea water pump was really bad so I will replace that, the second pump is to be a spare, it’s bound to happened again, even with a filter. I got it all working, and then this happened…
I think its a manufacturing flaw, but it does mean waiting for more parts 🙄 some days you take two steps back for every one forward.
The forecast was for severe gale force winds overnight and for once the forecasters got it right, including the timing. Most of the big ships anchored in the Solent reported to Southampton VTS that they were heading out to drift beyond the Nab tower for safety reasons. They are safer out there using their engines to hold position than risking dragging anchor in a narrow channel. The Normandy ferry used two tugs to get in and out of her berth and the Coast Guard reported an unmanned boat adrift in the Solent. Amongst all this, one small yacht in Chichester Harbour lost a set of oars when her tender flipped over (me). I think I got off lightly.
Here are some of my Facebook posts documenting it in real time…
30 knot winds and the anchor dragged, only about 10 meters but enough to trigger my anchor alarm and raise my pulse. Second anchor now out.
half hour after high tide, waiting to see which wins, tide or wind to see how she turns. I am hoping wind so I stay nose to the wind, if tide wins, I will have stronger winds later from aft.
Dinghy started to take off, thought I must take the oars out before I lose them, coat on and as soon as I got on deck the dinghy flipped. Apparently my oars float, I watched them float off 🤔
Everything is under control.
Gusts over 44, predicted to go up to 55. I have another 4-5 hours of this 😳
The wind is easing now, back to a more moderate 😳😅 30knots and dropping. It maxed at over 52 knots, over the last few hours it has averaged over 40. It’s been an experience. I learned a lot.. the main plough anchor can hold up to 30 knots in mud, the main anchor plus the secondary danforth anchor together can hold over 50 knots in mud. I learned not to leave the dinghy out in high winds but to tie it to the deck or deflate and stow it. I learned the boat sits well facing the wind even in high tidal flow and I learned I feel safe and comfortable on the boat in a gale.
Learned something else… it ain’t over until mother nature says it is. I was woken by the sound of high winds and boat bouncing.so switched the instruments back on.. over 40 knot winds 😳 dying back again now so hopefully just a squall.
Lady Cindy is a 32 foot, long keel yacht and was one of the first GRP production boats ever built. She was built in 1965 by Halmatic and Camper Nicholson. More information about the Nic32 can be found on the Nicholson 32 association Web site. I have yet to find a definition for a classic boat, but I think she qualifies.
She has a very thick hull and topsides and 3 tonnes of lead ballast in her full length keel. Nic32s are renown for their safe and kindly behaviour, a big factor in my choice of boat. She is slow in the water compared to modern lighter boats, but I am in no hurry to get anywhere and I do want to get there safely. They suffer from osmosis like all GRP boats but Lady Cindy has previously been properly peeled back and treated and shows no signs of problems since.
Lady Cindy was originally purchased new by a syndicate (hence the name) and has been kept for most of her life in the Portsmouth area. I think I am the third owner in her 56 year history; that is if you count a syndicate as one owner.
I bought her in the late summer of 2020, just before the second wave of Covid 19 in the UK. My intention was, and still is, to live aboard and explore the world.
Over her years, she has been well cared for and essential work done as needed. However, she needed updating especially the electrics, plumbing and eventually the engine. Priorities were the electrics and navigation, followed by the plumbing, both unsuitable for liveaboard. I have blogged the work done so far.
The engine, a Yanmar 2gm20, is old but serviceable, it’s got a few years left in her but I cannot see me doing 6 knots of speed for several hot and long days that would be required for Panama or Suez canal crossings. She has been serviced regularly and only smokes at startup, which is normal for these engines.
Rigging and sails were all in good condition as was the hull. I got a couple of spare sails with the boat but the storm sail will need replacing, it is the original 1965 one. She has a slab reefed mainsail, furling genoa and a spinacker. The cockpit is deep and a good place to be in bad weather. Although all sheets and the furling genoa run to the cockpit, you still need to go on deck to raise, lower and reef the main sail, running at least the main halyard to the cockpit and investigating lazy Jack’s and single line reefing options are on my list of jobs. I want at least enough control from the cockpit to get the mainsail down if I get caught out by high winds, ideally reefed from there as well. I will seek expert advice from a rigger for this.
She has two anchors, the original Danforth in a factory fitted deck locker plus a plough anchor mounted on a bow roller with 40m of chain and an electric winch.
The interior retains much of the original teak and is in the original mark V layout. This includes a galley, nav station and 3 bunks in the main cabin, a heads area and two v bunks up front. Eventually I want to improve this layout by converting the two bunks on the port side to be a wide single with storage over the top. The existing bunks are very narrow which is fine on a passage but not good for livaboard. The forward v cabin is where I sleep but condensation is a problem here. In time I want to improve the insulation and ventilation and move the chain locker and winch further forward and seal it from the berth area. Sleeping next to a smelly chain is not ideal.
The galley has a sink, gas cooker and there is a fridge under the nav station. I want to improve the cramped storage here by putting in a cupboard above the sink.
The heads has a jabsco hand pumped toilet that uses sea water to flush. There is no holding tank so I need to do something about this before visiting places like the USA where you must have either a holding tank or a composting toilet. I have heard a lot of good things about composting toilets but these are expensive. I can get the special seat to make one fairly cheaply so I may end up making my own that is built specifically for the space. The hull rise and the mast make it a difficult place to fit factory produced toilets. The sink now has running fresh and salt water, as does the galley sink, these are fed by pressure sensitive pumps. The taps have a shower attachment so showering in the heads area and using the bilge as a drain is possible. I do use it over the sink to wash my hair to minimise soap in the bilge.
After leaving Southampton, I stayed off Calshot for two nights, there has been little wind in the morning but biting cold Northerlies later. I did a bit of fishing with no success, even a collapsable crab pot I put down overnight was epty in the morning, I was hoping to catch something to use as bait on the hook.
While there I read a lot and fixed the damage to the hatch I caused when I had to break in. I have secured a stainless steel plate to both sides. Now even I would have trouble breaking in.
My plan when I left was to start heading West, a big storm is due Monday and Tuesday and needed to be sheltered from South Westerly winds. My plan was to get to Sandbanks bay which has a suitable anchorage but if I had problems, I could go to Chistchurch or Portland harbours. So off I went, heading toward the Isle of Wight initially due to the wind direction. Just before tacking to go West, my mum text me. “Its a shame you are not still in Portsmouth as the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier is duw out today. OK – see that and shelter from the storm in Chistchurch harbour or head West, turn left or turn right?… I turned left (Port). I am glad I did,
I had a great sail down the Solent in really challenging wind conditions. Twice the wind direction did a full 360 around me and at one point the mast top wind speed was zero but I could feel a good 6-8 knots on my face. I first thought the anenometer was broken – it worked fine later on A couple of times I was becalmed so did a bit of mackeral fishing (fishing is not the same as catching).
I arrived at a spot just outside the main shipping channel just before it widens out, hove to and put the engine on as there was a strong current. I got it all nicely balanced so Lady Cindy was not drifting and waited , and fished, and took some practice shots of passing traffic.
The wait was well worth it, altough the Police rib came and “had words” with me. I was outside the channel and holding station (not moving) but my bow was pointing toward the channel. He asked me to turn a few degrees to port, I did and of course that upset the boat balance so she started a slow drift. Luckily too slow for me to have to do anything to correct it.
And the second Queen? That was the Queen Mary 2 who left while I was returning to anchor. I am back at Chichester for a few nights. There are gale force winds forecast for Monday night and Tuesday morning so want to be sheltered.
After two days resupplying and meeting my mum, stepdad and uncle, I cast of from the marina late morning and made my slow way down the Solent. Winds were light to non existent but I had plenty of time so resisted the urge to turn on the engine. Tacking back and forth across a busy shipping channel is fun. A couple of times I turned off the wind to allow big ships to pass. I don’t think the rule power gives way to sail applies when the sail is a tiny boat and the power is a container ship.
I am anchored off Calshot for the night. The wind is forecast from the North so although its a bit bumpy as ships pass and currents are strong, I will be sheltered from the wind. I will be monitoring the anchor alarm a lot while here.
Today I sailed to Southampton to resupply and pick up some deliveries. I will be at Town Quay Marina for two nights. The wind was very calm today which meant I had to motor some of the way. Some interesting sights on the way, including a tall ship at anchor.
Lady Cindy was fitted with a monitor wind vane steering system in 2006 by the previous owner. Just before I bought the boat it was removed and sold separately from the boat. Wind vane steering uses the power of the wind to keep a boat on course much like an autopilot would. If the yacht wanders off course, the perceived wind direction changes, which pushes a vane over, which adjusts the steering to bring the boat back on course. It requires no power so is perfect for long voyages.
I managed to contact the buyer to see if he had fitted it to his boat and would he be willing to sell it back to me. After several months, he agreed so today I sailed to Portsmouth, did the deal and together we fitted it back on Lady Cindy. Fortunately I was able to redrill out the original mounting holes so the whole process was completed in less than three hours.
The trip back was ‘fun’. 25 knot headwinds and 3-4 meter swells. I decided to motor back rather than sail and I am glad I did. Another yacht was under sail and had to tack about a mile to my starboard side and back several times. I overtook him and got back before him plus had a more comfortable ride with my bow to the waves, he had the waves on his beam giving him a very rolly ride.
I was involved with another emergency with the coast guard on the return. A mayday call came across the radio but the vessel did not respond to the Coast Guard calling back, a DSC distress message also came up on the radio. A short while later a yacht about 1/2 mile behind me made a pan pan call saying they were taking on water but pumps were controlling it. I thought it was all related but later the Coastguard put out a call asking if anyone else heard the mayday. It turns out they were seperate incidents. I reported what I had heard and gave the MMSI number from the DSC message. Later they reported the incident was closed.
I have spent the last two days ripping out the old sink plumbing, laying new hoses and installing new taps and water pumps.
Originally there was hand operated pump taps at the galley sink and in the heads pumping fresh water from a 150L fresh water bladder tank. Have you ever tried to wash your hands and pump water at the same time? They leaked and the galley counter top has rotted around the taps. They had to go.
My options were a foot pump or electric pump, I found a water pump with a built in pressure switch, I was not sure if it would work without a pressure vessel but they were not expensive so thought I would give it a go. I mocked up a system before starting to rip out the old taps and it worked.. really well 🙂.
The taps are designed for hot and cold water supply, I don’t have hot water but I do have sea water, a very big supply of it. Most people seem happy with salt water washing and fresh rinsing so I plumbed the ‘hot’ supply to sea water from the toilet supply through hull. This line has its own seperate pump mounted slightly higher to keep it above the waterline (in case it leaks).
Both taps have pull out hose attachments so now I can take a hand held shower. Water can drain into the bilge but I will make sure most of the soap goes down the sink and I run a flush of water down afterwards. My bilge pump is in automatic and in testing coped well with the flow.
I read a lot of conflicting views online on using the bilge for this. Many reported no problems, others said yuck it will smell. Time will tell but my view is as long as I run lots of sea water through the bilge at the end of the shower, this may result in cleaner bilges.
Due to the rot around the old galley pumps. I sacrificed a chopping board to cover the old holes, create a mount for the new tap and provide a watertight seal to halt the rot. Visually it’s not great but it is functional. At a future date I will replace the entire counter top.
Somebody broke into the boat today
Scandalous!!! OK, truth time.. it was me 🥺. I was planning to run upriver in the dinghy to meet my mum to collect some deliveries and do some shopping. I got everything ready and locked the boat… and then remembered the keys were still in the boat.. sh$t! OK, use the spare hidden one, that is behind a sun cover… the cover that I did not put back yesterday so was still inside the boat… sh$t, f$%k, said repeatedly, good job nobody was there to hear me.
Eventually after a bit of fettling, including to my knuckles, I got it open with minimal damage. I now have another repair job 😥.
By this time, my mum reported from shore that the location I planned to land was mud flats, plan B, go to a marina and if doing that I might as well book in for a couple of nights and use the facilities. So that’s where I am, just back from a hot shower, glass of wine in hand and chilling. My mum ran me to a chandlery and to lidl so it turned out to be a very expensive but enjoyable and productive day.