Baby Steps

Roaringwater Bay

I owe Eileen a pint! She was right as usual. The boat was launched on Friday 11 July. We arrived in Ireland on Saturday and arranged to meet Tiernan on Sunday for the handover. First he'll show us how everything works, then sail with us over to Baltimore. Con has offered to lend us one of his moorings near the pier. 

We meet up in Baltimore and Tiernan leaves his van there. We drive over to Roaringwater where Tiernan has borrowed a mooring. As we approach the pier the heart rate accelerates. Are we really up for this? I start thinking about rocks and hazards and tides and the steep learning curve ahead. I've never sailed a gaff rigger. I calm down a bit by reminding myself that the weather is good and Tiernan is coming with us. 

The small concrete pier is used mostly by fishing boats and mussel farmers. Not much activity on a Sunday morning. I'm looking around and all I see are commercial craft, nets, cranes, barrels, and equipment. Not a pleasure craft in sight. Tiernan points to a speck way off in the distance and says "There she is!". Talk about building up the anticipation. We don't have a dinghy yet and Tiernan generously offers the use of his punt. I'm thankful because it will allow us to try out a hard dinghy before deciding between an inflatable and a hard tender. Rowing out across the bay seems to take forever. We're getting closer now and I'm glancing over my shoulder as I row, catching my first glimpses of the boat. She looks stunning! We bring her in closer to the pier. The tide is falling so Tiernan stays aboard while I return for Laura and Eileen in the punt.

Tiernan takes us through the boat systems. Throat and peak halyards for hoisting the main, hanked-on staysail, roller-furling jib. Reefing lines. Centre plate, engine, electrics, safety. I try to take it all in, but it's a bit overwhelming. Information overload. Finally we are ready to head off. We motor out the first bit as there are mussel farms everywhere at the mouth of the bay. I ask Tiernan to take the helm since he knows the area well. Soon we are out beyond the endless strings of barrels and we hoist the sails. It's quite breezy so we start off conservatively with single reefed main and staysail. We sail past Kilkoe Castle, which has mellowed to a lovely yellow ochre colour. We tack our way down out of the bay and soon we are turning in at the Easter Skeam. The boat moves along nicely under reduced sail, just showing some weather helm without the jib. We pass through the sound and arrive in Baltimore harbour and tie up to Con's mooring. What a feeling of satisfaction!

The following days go by quickly, taken up with visiting family, farming and shopping, but no boating. Con has lent us a boathook and a rubber dinghy, so we can return Tiernan's punt. I've been spending a lot of time at CH Marine in Skibbereen stocking up on fenders, mooring rope, anchor, and chain. I've been patient thus far, but now I'm getting grumpy. I want to go sailing!

The new boat on her mooring

The forecast for Friday is good so we plan to take our first sail by ourselves. We are relatively inexperienced sailors, on a new boat with unfamiliar systems, in a relatively tricky area that we don't know particularly well so we all agree to take it easy and just sail around Baltimore harbour. We ferry our gear out to the boat and go through the process of preparing the sails. I'm trying to remember everything Tiernan said, and most of it comes back. One thing I can't remember is how he attached the staysail sheets to the clew of the sail. It's a continuous line and I just can't figure out what he did. I end up taking the ends out of the cleats and making a cow hitch. But the rope is a bit of a tight fit in the cleats so they end up being rather difficult to feed back through. Other than that, everything seems straight forward and we are soon ready to head off. I take the helm while Eileen drops the mooring. Here we go! We motor out into the harbour a bit and Laura takes over at the helm. She keeps us head to wind while we hoist the main and staysail. We leave the engine running in neutral just because we are unsure of ourselves. Eventually we start to relax a bit and unfurl the jib. Everything works really well and the boat sails beautifully. I just can't say how pleased I am. Thank you Messrs Dix and Roe!

Over the next two weeks we make several more timid outings into Baltimore Harbour, slowly getting to know the boat better. I figured out that I can make a butterfly knot in the staysail sheet instead of the cow hitch, we're getting good at picking up the mooring with Laura at the helm and Eileen on the foredeck, and we are getting to know the harbour quite well. We even stayed aboard one night to try out the sleeping accommodation. There was a slight chop in the harbour, but we managed to sleep well and an Irish Breakfast in the Jolie Brise the next morning made for a wonderful start to the day.

Of course not everything goes perfectly, and we have had a few minor problems. One time it was quite gusty as we were preparing to leave the mooring, and Laura got a bit scared and didn't want to go out. Once we left the mooring, raised the sails, and after trying to tack to windward we noticed that we were making an unusual amount leeway. Click! A lightbulb goes on in my head as I realise we left the centre plate up. I must make a checklist for leaving the mooring. We always used checklists before and found them really useful. Gear-wise, we also have a few small things to iron out. The depth sounder is very erratic, the sheets have a lot of friction in the cleats, and the sliding hatch sticks in hot weather. We are using Navionics on the iPad as a chart plotter, and it can be difficult to read in direct sunlight. Also, the mainsail is quite a handful when it comes down, filling the cockpit. Maybe we need lazy-jacks? Another problem is that neither Eileen nor Laura are able to start the outboard, and ended up flooding it a few times. Not sure if they are wimps or what?

But these are small things and I'm feeling more and more confident as the days go by, ready to sail a bit farther afield. I'm getting comfortable with the boat and really starting to enjoy myself, but I notice that Eileen is not following the same trajectory. It becomes obvious to me one day when we are out in light but steady winds with flat water, sunshine, warmth, and beautiful scenery. We have all three sails up and we are sailing along at two or three knots. Heading out towards the harbour's mouth I'm admiring the Friary, the cliffs along Barrack Point, the Beacon. I'm really enjoying this, but Eileen keeps fretting about getting too close to the Lousy Rocks, too close to the shore, too close to the path of the Sherkin ferry, my head getting too close to the boom.

Sailing in Baltimore Harbour

I'm still dreaming of trips to Cape, Schull, and beyond, but It's going to be a longer process than I thought. I really want to bring Eileen and Laura along with me on this. I'm convinced that you can't beat sailing for quality time together as a family. I think we'll make memories that we'll cherish for a lifetime. Times that we'll look back on fondly when we are old and decrepit. But too much stress might put the girls off sailing altogether. So I have to be careful not to take them outside their comfort zone. Baby steps...








Logbook

Sunday, 13/07/2014

Roaringwater to Baltimore

Approx. 10 miles, breezy (10-15 kn; dry; high 17°; 1014 hPa, falling)

Main with 1 reef and staysail

With Tiernan

Friday, 18/07/2014

Baltimore Harbour

Approx. 7 miles, light winds (5 kn; dry; high 19°; 1008 hPa, steady)

3 full sails

Sunday, 20/07/2014

Baltimore Harbour

Approx. 5 miles, breezy, F3 gusting F5 (10-15 kn; dry; high 19°; 1016 hPa, rising)

Main with 1 reef and staysail

Wednesday, 23/07/2014

Baltimore Harbour

Approx. 3 miles, F1 to F2 (0-5 kn; dry; high 20°; 1020 hPa, falling)

3 full sails and a bit of motoring

Thursday, 24/07/2014

Baltimore

(5-15 kn; dry; high 23°; 1018 hPa, steady)

Slept aboard on the mooring

Friday, 25/07/2014

Baltimore Harbour

Approx. 5 miles, F1 - F3 (5-10 kn; dry; high 23°; 1018 hPa, steady)

3 full sails, hot and sunny

Friday, 1/08/2014

Baltimore Harbour

Approx. 3 miles, F1 to F3 (5-10 kn; cloudy with light rain; high 17°; 1004 hPa, falling)

3 full sails, light rain then clearing

With Marion

Ready or not...

Plan B: Cornish Shrimper

The boat's not going to be ready this summer. I'm convinced. Positively certain. We visited Roeboats in April, and while things were coming along nicely, I just don't see how everything that remains to be done is going to get done between now and the beginning of July. Tiernan seems confident that we are still on schedule, but surely he is being over optimistic. I've spent the last year looking forward to sailing our own boat in West Cork this summer and I just can't bear the thought of standing on the quay in Baltimore, boatless. I need a Plan B. 

I start looking at adds for small boats in Ireland. Maybe we could buy a second hand boat for this summer and sell it again next year, by which time our Cape Henry would be finished. The most suitable candidate I can find is a Cornish Shrimper for sale in Waterford. If I could negotiate a good price I might not lose much money when it came time to sell again. Depends on how eager the seller is to sell. And how eager I am to buy. I could end up being very eager...

I share my nightmare scenario with Eileen and she tells me I'm being ridiculous, that Tiernan knows what he is doing, and she'll even bet me a pint the boat will be ready. We shake on it. I'm convinced she'll be buying me a pint this summer, but in any case I still need to prepare for Plan A, just in case. 

Boating in the British Isles is remarkably free of bureaucracy. Nearly anyone can buy a boat of nearly any size and simply head out to sea. Still, there are a certain number of hoops to jump through. I need to find more information about things like boat registration, VHF licensing, and insurance. 

My dealings with officialdom are never straightforward, and this is no exception. The Irish insurance companies I contact will only insure Irish residents. The French companies want their boats based in France. Eventually I come across Transmer, who will insure the boat but are not crazy about the fact that she won't be kept in a marina. They adjust their prices accordingly. 

I contact the Irish Department of Transport who inform me that my French VHF license is not recognized in Ireland. Only Irish, Finnish and German SRCs are accepted in application for "authority to operate" which is needed to get a ship's radio license, which I will need to get an MMSI for a VHF-DSC radio. Strange, because the French are trying to make it easier for people to use VHF, concerned that leisure sailors will just use their portable phone instead. The Germans seem determined that leisure sailors meet strict professional standards of practice. I'm with the French on this one. It's better if people are not put off buying VHF radios. But the Irish are with the Germans, and the end result is that I will have to redo the exam in Ireland. 

Photoshopped image of Cape Cutter "Halcyon"

On the boat building front, we've picked Sunbrella Natte "Carbon Sky" for the interior upholstery, but we still need to decide on a colour for the hull, and to choose a name for our future boat. I mocked up some different possible colour schemes on a photo of a white Cape Cutter, and we have a short list of possible names (current front-runners in bold):

• Curlew

• Bainne (milk)

• Relativity

• Gosling

• Leoithne (breeze)

• Cromadh Amach (to lean out)

• Claonadh (leaning towards, inclination)

• Mo Chroí (my dear, my darling)

• Drithle (sparkle)

• Teaspaigh (exuberance)

• Treo or Threo (direction, bearing, of drift, current etc.)

• Figary or Fegary or Figairy (folly or crazy idea)

Somehow the last one seems most appropriate ...

Schizophrenia

Karver furling drum

Planning always has to keep one step ahead of execution. The hull and interior layout have been pretty much decided on and work is advancing. But decisions need to be made on fittings, standing and running rigging, sails, and equipment. Anything that will have to be ordered has to be ordered now so that we're not stuck waiting for stuff. 

The schizophrenic nature of this boat has me looking at some very different bits of hardware. Modern, light, high performance, high tech versus traditional, solid, hefty, reliable low tech. Aesthetics versus performance. This is no racing boat, but it's not a heavy long keeler either. So like a kid in a candy store, I hesitate between the bewildering choice of boat candy. 

I'm sending Tiernan links to bronze winches, hemp-coloured rope, Griffiths hatches, Karver continuous-line furlers, Dyneema, torque rope. I soon get sidetracked by Classic Marine and Toplicht and their incredible selection of gear from a different age. Wykeham-Martin furlers and Davey wooden blocks, bronze cleats and portlights. Varnish and teak and oil lamps. But it's a slippery slope when you start looking at classic hardware. If we put this bronze bit here, will that plastic thing there look out of place? And if we replace that plastic thing with a wooden thing, will this stainless steel piece look wrong? And then if we go with galvanised instead of stainless ...

Davey ash block

Tiernan tries to bring some order to the ambient chaos by asking what kind of aesthetic I'm looking for: classic yacht or workboat? This simple question brings immediate clarity. The Cape Henry is styled after the Northern European workboats of the 19th and early 20th century. It's not a gentleman's yacht. So galvanizing is in, and wooden blocks are out. But what about tufnol? Perfect. And so certain compromises are made. Hemp-colored rope and Spinlock clutches and cleats. Bronze furler and winches. Wooden cleats. I think the end result will be visually coherent and practical and functional. 

Tiernan sends photos of the work in progress. Cockpit lockers, steel centre plate, epoxy coatings, paint. Laura asks how come Bainne isn't in any of the photos? I pass the message to Tiernan but he's slow to take the hint. April holidays are coming up and we've decided to go to Ireland for a week. I feel like there are some things that need to be sorted out in person. In particular I want to talk to Diarmuid at Atlantic Boating about a trailer and outboard engine. 

Griffiths hatch

The Atlantic Boating website mentions Nautilus trailers, and when I say this to Diarmuid he says that their website hasn't been updated for a few years. They are very good trailers, and during the Celtic Tiger years they brought them in by the lorry load. But those days are long gone, and now they bring in the odd Indespension trailer from the UK. I explain that I would prefer a sprung trailer, and that since we live in France we try to support the local economy whenever possible. He says he'll be going to France soon and he'll see what he can do. He's also a distributor for Yamaha outboards (assembled in France!) and he can get the small ones in two or three days. 

We're also thinking about where to keep the boat when she's out of the water, and I've been looking at prefab steel sheds. We mention this to Danny and he says why don't you put her in the old dairy? We would have to put a roof on it first, but it would be nice to put the old building back to use. Things are falling into place nicely for another Big Adventure™ this summer. At the same time, a small worry is niggling at the back of my mind. But what could possibly go wrong?