Sunday 19th February 2012

Location: The Five Pointed Star, West Malling

Present: The Kipper, Bobbie D, Steve E and me acting as scribe

I think one of the first things that struck me when we were all seated with or respective glasses of wine and beer in front of us is that this would be the first time the four of us have sat down together since about 1996.  Back then of course we were all considerably younger.  All three of them were present on the very first trip I did on the Lincoln Imp - my first ever outing on a small yacht - and I remember how they all seemed to me to be sailing legends.  Without wishing to build them up too much, the reasons behind this were as follows. 

The three of them were not at all phased by the fact that the boat was tipping over at such an alarming angle, they knew what to do with the flappy things (sails to you!) and how to make the boat move forward, they could tie knots, lift heavy things, navigate, cook whilst under-way, sing sea-shanties in the bar at night...I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture.  As a complete novice and first time sailor, let me tell you, I was impressed - well, up until the point where I started to feel seasick and then I had different ideas. 

My one enduring memory is of me clutching the windward rail while the lea rail was pretty much under water (see... some things don't change) and all The Kipper was concerned about was the fact that he hadn't been presented with his customary slice of Genoa cake with his afternoon cup of tea.  At that point, I realised we weren't going to capsize, sink and die; we'd probably be okay - unless of course we'd run out of cake!

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since that trip and from that point on having been well and truly bitten by the sailing bug I went on to do quite a bit of time on the water myself.  I think it fair to say that I just about know now what to do with the flappy things - general rule of thumb - let 'em out 'til they flap, bring 'em in 'til they stop - I can just about make the boat go where I want it to go, I too can lift heavy things, I can tie a bowline under pressure. I can navigate, cook and do all that stuff but I still refuse to do the sea-shanty thing.  The noise abatement society complained about the increase in their workload.

So, after years of heading off in seperate directions we were all back around the table, wide-eyed with excitement - well, in Bobbie D's case - about the forthcoming trip.  The Kipper kicked off the meeting by producing the chart showing our intended route from Falmouth across Biscay to Cape Finistere.  He had helpfully drawn a straight line course for us to have a look at: if we can sail it, it will be a miracle given that the wind is generally blowing from the south west.  We discussed the best tactics and the fact that if it's blowing a howling gale when we're approaching Finistere, we may chicken out and go around the outside of the shipping lane to ensure we have enough water to play with; we'll perhaps need to have a good look at a more detailed chart of that area before coming to any earth shattering decisions.  At one point, I glanced around at my fellow sailers and I had to chuckle when I realised that everyone around the table was wearing glasses.  No surprise with the The Kipper who has always worn spectacles but when I saw first Steve and then Bobbie D reaching for theirs I decided to concede and join them.  I couldn't read the chart without mine so vanity succumbed to practicality.  When did we all get so old!!!

Once we had finished poring over the chart we put that to one side and began discussing other things.  We began with the watch system: it was proposed to use a four-person system that runs with one person on watch, one person on standby ready to leap on deck to assist the on-watch, one person completely off-watch (unless of course all hell breaks loose) and one person who will be on mother watch.  Mother will run from midnight to about 2 am the following morning.  That way, you get a full night of uninterrupted sleep and you are then responsible for cooking the meals and cleaning the boat (below decks) during the following day.  Your down time is there for you to catch up on sleep, read, go to the pub or pop out for a paper and then re-join the watch system that night. 

Steve expressed concerns about the fact that this would take you out of the swing of the watch pattern and that it might be difficult to re-adjust to it after a day as mother.  We discused the logistics of how the sleeping arrangements would work.  During the day, the off-watch could bunk down in the aft cabin where they can nest away with the door closed and hopefully get some sleep.  That leaves the saloon and galley free for mother to clean and prepare food without waking the off-watch.  The person on standby can either bunk down in the sea berth in the saloon or in the forepeak - weather depending - then, during the night, the off-watch and stand-by can take the berths in the saloon.

This is very much a work in progress and we are still looking to find the best solution.  We have the luxury of four people who are all capable of standing a watch and so, from my own experience of working a watch system for a long period, it seems like a good idea to be able to take a night off.  We'll no doubt have more to talk about with regards to the watch system and will eventually settle on somethig that we are all happy with. 

Finally, on the subject of sleeping arrangements, Steve put in a formal request that the aft cabin be a 'fart-free' zone.  This may be a necessity on his boat but I think it highly unlikely such a rule will be invoked on Petra.  She will no doubt be sweet-smelling and fragrant for the majority of the time....

....and then I woke up!!!

We continued the evening discussing equipment and it was agreed that we would all bring our own life-jackets and waterproofs.  The Kipper has two spare gas cylinders and bulbs for the lights.  The Kipper went on to brief the chaps on the fact that there are new in-date flates onboard along with an EPIRB, new fire extinguishers and a fire blanket in the galley.  The conversation moved on to the more sinister subject of man overboard and the equipment and methods to recover a casualty from the water.  We discussed sourcing a scramble net, a lifting strop and some form of tri-buckle sling: The Kipper went a bit pale thinking about the additional costs so we put that to one side and spoke briefly about stories of death on the high seas: cheery sort of stuff. 

We spoke about medical cover and established that none of us hold a valid first aid certificate.  I will look into a refresher course for my tickets and will report back.  On the subject of medical, we also established that all-in-all we are a pretty healthy crew.  Bobbie D takes tablets for blood pressure but other than that he's a picture of health and vitality.  He has a slight allergy to Ibuprofen - it upsets his delicate little tummy so we'll make sure we have alternative pain relief available for him.  Steve and The Kipper have nothing to report - well, other than the fact that The Kipper has a troublesome back complaint that kicks-off every now and again and when it does flare up, we'll all know about it.  He will sort out the necessary medication he needs on hand should the worst happen and he is laid low. 

And just in case anyone was wondering, I have nothing to report although if the rest of them have any sense about them they won't let me anywhere near any sharp knives because I have a bit of tendency to self-harm!  No, not in that sort of way,  I mean in the being clumsy and stupid sort of way.  In short, I managed to quite spectacularly stab myself with a Leatherman whilst trying to cut the ropes to release the guard rails in order to assist The Kipper who was laid low with his back.  Lots of blood - impressive I thought - lots of tutting from the other member of crew, a trip to the local GP for stitches and then I was all sorted.  These things happen and I did clean off all the blood from the decks myself so no harm done.

We moved on to discuss food and dietary requirements:

I quote Bobbie D, "Yes please, lots of it and I'll eat anything".

Steve and The Kipper both report that they will also eat anything.

I however, will not...

I have a list of things that I will not go anywhere near.  It's a long list.  Top of that list is celery.  Probably best to leave that there but suffice it to say I'll proably be heavily involved in the victualling before we leave Falmouth so I'll be able to control what comes onboard.

We again discussed fresh water and the amount of emergency rations we would need to take.  It was agreed that we would ration 2 litres per person per day.  We have yet to establish how much the water tanks hold - 80 litres we think:  I know, I know...I'll get back to you.

We should be able to carry enough fresh food for at least a week if not longer depending on the sort of fruit and veggies we purchase.  We will try to source a butcher in Falmouth who will deep-freeze and vacuum pack our meat supplies thus ensuring it will last for several days of the trip.  Once all the fresh is gone it'll mean getting up close and personal with a tin opener.  The boys got very animated about fishing - we began the stories about 'The fish I have caught and eaten' and 'The one that got away'.  I have tried the fishing off the back of the boat thing whilst on passage from Las Palmas to St Lucia - it was left to the the chaps to catch and dispatch the fish and I must say this did tend to bring out the 'hunter-gatherer' in them.

On to other things; it was confirmed that the plan is to leave Falmouth weather permitting on Monday the 18th June.  The Kipper is looking to leave Chatham on the 20th May to head along to Falmouth.  Bobbie D and possibly Steve might be available to assist with this leg of the trip as well.

The Kipper has looked into the costs of a visitors berth in Falmouth  but apparently it is somewhere in the region of £350 for the time he would need it.  Yikes!  He has decided that he will book a swinging mooring and will only bring the boat alongside when we are in preparing to leave.

We discussed crew shirts and it was decided that we should go ahead and order 3 large for the boys and a medium for me.  The polo shirts will be a dark burgundy colour with gold writing and we will also see if we can get plain white tee shirts with perhaps the boat name and call sign, crew names and details of the trip printed on the back.

Getting back to the more practical and far more important things; The Kipper confirmed that he has an SSB receiver and a VHF radio onboard.  We will no doubt all have our own phones but of course after we lose sight of the coast so we lose our mobile receptions as well.  Someone suggested hiring a satalite phone for the trip down to Gib but the cost of this rules it out.  Steve E suggested it would be a good idea to put things in place before we all leave: by this he didn't mean that we all ensure our Wills are in order!!  He means that when he completed a delivery across the Atlantic last year, prior to leaving he put together a list of people that his nearest and dearest could contact should there be a problem.  For example, he has a friend who is a qualified back-doctor-person...don't make me try to spell osteopath...and so if anyone needed help in that direction, they could contact him.  If the car broke down, he had an emergency friend who could be contacted for help; if the pipes burst...and so on.  It seemed like a really good idea and will probably be adopted by all.  Steve said that one of the problams with contacting home while you are away is that you suddenly get inundated with all the problems that are happening at home and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it because you are about two thousand miles away.  This just takes the edge off your big adventure, causes stress for everyone at home and has the potential to ruin things.  None of us have the desire to sail away from the south coast with complete disregard for the responsibilities at home so this seems like a really good way of keeping everyone as happy as they can be while we are away.

We put together a spares list and the list of remaining jobs (to follow on another entry).  I conducted the crew interviews for most memorable and worst ever sailing trips and again, I will list these under a separate heading.

The meeting was adjourned just before kicking out time; The Kipper confirmed that the boat will be lifted in on either the 31st March or the 1st April dependig on when the marina can fit him in.  I for one left that evening feeling excited about the forthcoming trip because it is shaping up to be a lot of fun and at the end of the day, sailing with your mates can only be a good thing.

Sunday 14th February 12

The kipper has delivered his old and out-of-date flares to the coastguard station in Dover.  He describes the encounter with said coastguard officer as being memorable only because he was instructed to stand out in the cold in the doorway and the gentleman who spoke to him was clearly having a bad day.  The word 'grumpy' was used in the narrative which by the sounds of it, adequately describes the both of them!

We went to Petra today to crack on with a few more jobs.  We had planned to begin the cleaning and polishing of the hull but the weather is doing it's very best to put us behind schedule.  Crewman Bobby D arrived to assist but was aplogetic because his plans to stay for the day were scuppered by family commitments.  We spent the time down below chatting about the trip and adding yet more things to the jobs list. We decided it would be a very good idea to fit a 'bum-strap' in the galley to assist the person on mother watch when cooking or working at the sink.  When Petra is on a starboard tack things are not so bad but when she's on a port tack, staying in the galley can be problematic if she is heeled over.  It often involves clinging to the bar in front of the stove with one hand whilst giving the pot bubbling away on the stove a quick stir.  Then, when the boat takes yet another lurch to starboard (usually a sign that The Kipper is playing the let's not reef too soon game) there follows a random visit to the chart table.  Of course it never hurts to check the charts but you can go too far and The Kipper gets awfully cross about spaghetti bolognaise all over the GPS and his Yeoman Plotter.

We discussed the freshwater capacity - 80 gallons we think but we're not sure.  The Kipper says he will try to find out becuase this will be fairly crucial info when planning the emergency reserve to take with us.  He would also like to purchase more anchor chain and warp for the bower anchor that he will carry on the stern.  The amount of extra chain will very much depend upon how much space there is in the anchor locker.  Just as soon as we can gain access to the forepeak and are then able to access the cover over the anchor locker hatch, he'll let us know.  At present, the forepeak is the storage area for - well, everything so you literally cannot get through the door.

We discussed medical provision for our trip.  This will be discussed in more detail at the first crew meeting but we will need to source a good medical kit for our trip.  My Medical Care Afloat certificate is out of date so I feel a refresher course coming on unless of course one of the chaps has an in-date ticket. 

We did manage to get a couple of jobs finished today.  I removed all the curtains and cushion covers for their annual trip to the washing machine while the Kipper and Bobbie D worked on replacing more of the head-lining panels in the aft cabin.  The chaps put in a valiant effort working on deck (banished up there becuase the spray-adhesive they were using was lethal below decks): in the end, the cold weather got the better of us so we put off for another day all thoughts of cleaning, polishing and buffing the hull. 

Crew CV - Bobbie D

Introducing...

Bobbie D & Petra!

Bobbie D has been sailing for years and in the past enjoyed joint ownership of a Seal 22 named 'Sammy' and a Seal 26 named 'Silver Seal'.  Both had lifting keels and he describes them as being fast for their size but in Bob's own words, "A bit tippy-uppy".  He lists amongst his other hobbies and interests walking dogs and drinking beer and he very much looks forwards to the day that his kids have finished uiniversity!

(Ed note: actually, I made up the bit about the dog walking...it is an assumption based on the fact that he has been a police dog handler for as long as I've known him!)

Bob also sailed on the previously mentioned Lincoln Imp and lists the annual Kent Police East Coast sailing regatta of 1996 as his most memorable trip to date.  I think that it would be fair to say we all ejoyed that trip in 1996.

His qualifications include the Coastal Skipper practical ticket and his Yachtmaster theory ticket.  He decided that he should refresh his theory ticket and so booked himself onto a course this winter.  When last we spoke, he said the course was going well and he was thoroughly enjoying it.  Bob also holds a Padi Advanced Open Water Dive ticket - always handy for those occasions when you pick up fishing line around the keel or a fishing pot around the prop - and a Powerboat level II ticket.   

Bob lists his least enjoyable trip as being on a Contessa 26.  He crewed for a chap who was already on the triple whiskeys by 7.30 am.  They were entered in a sailing race: from the look on Bobbie D's face as he recounted the story; it didn't go well.  By the end of the day, they had to carry the skipper off the boat and into the bar where he was revived with a stiff drink.

Bob remains as excited as ever about the forthcoming trip and is keen to put the mileage to good use towards his Yachtmaster practical ticket.  He mentioned that if at all possible he would like to practice using a sextant and so The Kipper is now brushing up on his Oeanmaster skills.  

Finally, I can now confirm that he has taken the decision to tell Kent Police that he will be retiring perhaps a little earlier than he had planned and I believe he has thoughts about booking passage from Chatham to Greece: I know The Kipper won't have any objections.         

...more pictures

New headlining in the aft cabin

Old headlining in the aft cabin

New headlining in the heads

...And now for some pictures!!!

The Kipper in action in the cockpit preparing to install new winches...

The Kipper drilling holes in his boat...

The Kipper putting those polishing skills to good use

One new self-tailing winch - port side