Always have a plan B

So, last weekend I had work committments that ruled out being on the water, what could we do this weekend?

As predicted, a high pressure system arrived UK, and as before, it brought 'not a lot of wind'.

Conditions were almost ideal; sun, reasonable temperature, etc, just no wind.

I did go and have a polish of the Gull's hull, around a couple of scratches I noticed. Which gave me a chance to loiter around the sailing club for a while. I did have to finally accept that it just wasn't going to happen. There were some fingers of wind to be seen on the water, but in fairness to the duty crew, I decided to give it a miss - didn't stop some troublemaker with a windsurfer getting his kit out though.

So, what else can you do on a Saturday afternoon with otherwise good weather?

Triumph Bonneville 865cc

Riding my Triumph Bonneville around Somerset for a couple of hours is a reasonable plan B.


Next Saturday, of course, there's the RYA Dinghy Show in London - fingers cross for Sunday's weather.

Bobbing around for a while.

So, Saturday arrives and with -4 degree C ambient temperature off to the reservoir at Cheddar for around 9am. It was noticeable that the promised wind hadn't bothered to turn up. Still, maybe later.

Took my time rigging the boat and donned my dry suit with multiple layers and down to the slipway.

Lots of water in the reservoir at the moment, virtually no slipway left above the water level.

I'm ready to go at about 10:30, when the OOD hails me (as they say), explaining I may have been a little too keen to get into the water. I thought sailing started at 10am, but apparently this is when the safety boat crew turn up and they needed to get their life sorted etc. After a friendly bit of banter, I agreed that if they were happy, I was happy to take responsibility for my own safety in the meantime. Given there was about zero knots of wind, this wasn't in fact that brave.

Paddle away from the slipway and out onto the reservoir. One of these weeks, I'll sail away - hopefully.

Commence bobbing about a bit. There was the occasional bit of pressure, but the fastest my GPS registered was 2.1 kts, but this may have been under paddle power. Typically, I was lucky to get up to 1.5 kts under sail, even then, only occasionally.

With the sun out, it's pleasent enough just being on the water; not exactly exhilerating but what the heck!

I got a visit from the safety boat after about an hour and a half - apparently to check that I was OK; with maybe a little undercurrent of 'what are you doing out here you idiot'.

Whether it was a hint or not, I did start to meander at 0.5 to 1 knot, toward the slipway. The forecast was supposed to be some light wind early on and dropping off after lunch. I don't think the 'light wind' actually arrived and we went straight to 'not a lot of wind'.

So, out of the water and derigged by 1:30pm. Quick hike around the reservoir, coffee and chocolate and homeward bound - with a bit of a sailing tan.

I had posted a question on the Gull forum about sailing in low temperatures. The biggest problem I had today was getting the centreboard down; it was frozen in place. Managed to free it up by pouring water over it from the reservoir. There was a little frozen water in the boat, as might be expected from the small amount of water that found its' way under the cover. No problem with that, other than the sponge I keep in the boat had frozen into it. Pouring water over it eventually freed it up enough to be able to use it - although there was ice on it when I came out. Personally, I was warm in my dry suit. Hands warm enough in my 5mm neoprene gloves. I did start off with a wooly hat, but swapped it for a peaked cap - just for the low sun. So, no problem with the temperature.

Some wind would have been nice!

Fingers crossed; again.

So, back to studying the weather charts.

By Saturday, it looks like we will be in the influence of a high pressure system, and I'm promised; cloud, 8 - 10 MPH winds and 5 degree C temperature.

Time to finish off the new tiller extension I think.

(I've mentioned before that the tiller is, in my opinion, too long and probably not meant for my dinghy. I believe, rightly or wrongly, that Hartley's put a Wayfarer or Wanderer size tiller on my dinghy. Consequently, not only is the tiller too long, the tiller extension is also too long - it snags on the main sheet at the transom occasionally.

So, I'm trying to recycle an old 4-iron shaft and making one out of that. It's just the universal joint that is currently giving me a problem. But I can try out my latest idea on Saturday - hopefully.

Sometimes, it's just not meant to be.

On Saturday, I was supposed to be on a safety boat course, giving a RYA Level 1 certificate - which is nice. Given that I have just bought an outboard, for use with the dinghy, it could be fairly useful.

However, with a forecast of -5 degrees C, the course was called off. I have to admit to being a bit peeved. My intention, as I now have a dry suit,  is to be out on the water whenever possible, so I was up for it. But, no matter, it is now put off until April.

As it happens, due to unforeseen circumstances, it turned out to be just as well. So, a return journey to Heathrow instead - not quite the same as a day on the reservoir, but there you go.

However, the forecast for next Saturday looks promising!