That was the year that was ... 2014

Although we're well into 2015 it dawns upon me that I haven't summed up and summarised our first season cruising with "Erbas". So here it is. Oh and be warned, it's not short! ...

At the beginning of the year I started a Yachtmaster Theory on-line course. It got off to a flying start but after a while I have to admit it became rather boring and I let it slide. A year later and I still haven't finished more than about a quarter of the course material and, if I'm totally honest, I don't feel I'm learning a great deal as yet. Brushing up a few things, yes, and adding a little to my existing knowledge for sure but basically it turns out that I'm already pretty well informed on the topics covered. I shall have to get back to it though as I'd really like to finish what I started!

In February, the Bosun and I fitted a new sink drain sump pump amongst other maintenance works during a weekend visit on board. (The sump pump worked fine for a few months until it stuck on one day and burnt out the switch. It also suffered from poor design and had a tendency to leak. It went in the skip and we reverted to the manual pump switch for the time being). During that visit we also sorted out a lot of the storage and equipment.

March saw Jane and I down for a long weekend on board with lots of little jobs done. Then at the back end of the month it was in with a fairly big chandlery order or two for all the bits needed for fitting out ready for the sailing season.

And as we moved into April, the motley crew of myself, Rik, Glen and Mark converged on Fambridge for a fitting out "weekend". In fact, I was on board for five days with the others coming and going as it suited them! New spreader boots and a spinnaker halyard block at the masthead involved hauling Mark up the mast. I serviced the engine, Rik did some things, and by the end of the trip Erbas was ready to go sailing.

Later that month it was back to the online chandlers to order all the necessary bits and bobs to put together a decent emergency grab bag. Then we had a family weekend on board which was supposed to be a training weekend but in the end the weather wasn't really suitable. It was the first sail of the season though as we voyaged from Fambridge to Burnham on the Saturday and then back again the next day.

The Spring Cruise 2014

The big epic of the year was to be a reprise of our attempt two years ago to head North in Brigantia. It really was a case of digging out my outline passage plans for that excercise, dusting them off and having another go.

Fri: My arrival on board was a somewhat hairy experience. Our 7' GRP stem tender is not the most stable of beasts and although it was a gloriously sunny spring afternoon the breeze was kicking up quite a chop on the river. I half swamped the dinghy and nearly went in!

In hindsight, given the forecast, it would have been more sensible to have delayed travelling down to the boat until the following morning when the moorings trot boat would have been running. Although had I done so we might not have collared a berth on the inside of the visitor pontoon where it is sheltered from the chop raised by the prevailing Sou-westerly breeze.

Sat: The weather had in no way, shape or form moderated by the next morning and as I had a "do" to attend that night I had to choose whether to go for it or stay put and drive. As beer would be involved I went for it! I made no bones about it - although I was ready to set some sail if an emergency arose, this would be a passage under engine from start to finish. The passage was made safely but not without some excitement, it really was a wild day out on the river with gusts of well over 30 knots.

Sun: Rik arrived at Burnham by car, loaded his gear on board and then parked the car up at Fambridge, catching the train back to Burnham. The weather was definitely saying "stay put" so we did!

Mon: And at last we get to go sailing! It was a mixed bag of a day weather wise but we made a good passage to Harwich grabbing a very nice spot on the inside of the pontoon at Halfpenny Pier

Tue: With Rik still a little under the weather (he'd not been well the previous week and indeed his joining the ship had been in some doubt at one point) and myself feeling rather jaded, we were not enticed to go sailing by a forecast stiff breeze and heavy rain.

We therefore elected to remain in port for the day and explore the historic sights of Harwich. You might be surprised, if you dismiss Harwich out of hand as people often do. There's more to the place than you might think and I urge anyone who has an interest in history and who hasn't visited to make it there sometime

Wed: We planned to sail to Lowestoft. We didn't make it that far!

It was a challenging day under sail but very satisfying from the skippers point of view. Rik enjoyed it rather less though! It gets you that way some days, later in the trip the roles would be reveresed with Rik thoroughly enjoying a day that I just wanted to get over and done with!

Today though I greatly enjoyed making a passage almost entirely under sail that, in the past, would certainly have had me resorting to the engine. With the stiff breeze heading us as the day wore on Lowestoft became an increasingly unappealing prospect; we'd have had to motor most of the day to make it at a sensible time and there was no pressing need to do so. Southwold was altogether more enticing and achievable under sail to boot. We did motor the last mile up to the habour entrance as the tide had turned foul and it would have taken an age to claw our way up to it by sail.

Thu: And we were starting to settle into a pattern here. After a very brief debate about pushing on up to Lowestoft, we decided to stay put for the day.

It was a lazy day in the sun, beer was involved. Very pleasant and relaxing. Oh apart from the sink sump pump failing. Oh well.

Fri / Sat: It ocurred to me, as I perused the charts and tide tables, that we could simply skip Lowestoft altogether and make an overnight passage with a fair tide to Wells-next-the-Sea (hereinafter simply Wells) arriving on the rising tide after dawn on Saturday morning.

This was such a good plan that we went for it!

We left Southwold at about half past midday and motored out of the river. Off we set on a downwind sail although after a while we bore off onto a very broad reach to cut the rolling and went outside the Scroby Sands rather than take the inshore passage. As the sun set it took the wind with it (as it so often seems to do, bearing out this bit of old sailors folklore for which there is no scientific justification whatsoever!) and we motored for several hours into the night.

The breeze got up again as midnight approached and we made sail and stopped the engine after which Rik went off watch. But not for long as within the hour I called him on deck as we needed to put a reef in with the wind rising to 18 to 20 knots.

Dawn found us off Blakeney Point with no wind and a sea like a mirror. It was back on with the trusty diesel and soon we were dropping the anchor just off the bar at Wells to wait for the tide to rise. We were a good hour too early to attempt entry even in such idyllic conditions.

An hour or so later and it was on with the engine and up with the hook to motor into the tricky channel down to the visitors pontoon in the rather lovely Wells harbour.

A few hours sleep saw us refreshed and looking for trouble. OK, so we weren't looking for trouble but it sounded good! Actually, we were looking for bread, milk and cigars which we duly found.

Later we were looking for fish and chips followed by beer and we found those in copious quantities and excellent condition too! Far from the early night we expected to have, we were happily esconsed in the bar of the Albatross listening to a very good three piece rock / pop covers band until chucking out time.

Sun: Having got this far, we were going to make the most of it! Although our beer consumption of the night before did lead to a rather lazy start to the day. A wander round Wells led to the discovery that at least some buildings from the market garden that my ancestors once ran hereabouts still remain extant. And a local chandler supplied a bulb to repair the forward nav light that needed fixing.

We once again boarded the Albatross, this time for a lunchtime pint or three and more excellent live music, this time with a Latin flavour, on deck in the sun. Later on, and sober, I went for an explore around the harbour in the flubber dinghy. Fish and chips and a sensibly early night followed.

Mon: My golden rule is that we must be heading homewards before the halfway point in the cruise. We were already in breach of that rule so tempting though the prospect of a visit to Blakeney Harbour was, the plan was to head South for Lowestoft.

The tides dicated a relatively late start time of 08:20. The morning was spent under sail although with an Easterly breeze we had to claw our way offshore, close hauled on starboard, and then tack back in towards the coast. This was a frustrating excercise and when the wind got up, the chop got worse and our progress slowed to a snails pace enough was more than enough and it was on with the engine, apart from a brief spell of motor sailing, all the way to Lowestoft.

This was the day that I did not enjoy. Rik had fully recovered from his pre-cruise illness and perversley enjoyed himself mightily. I was definitely suffering from a touch of sea sickness and I was very glad to roll our way into Lowestoft in the dark and get alongside the pontoon at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club after a 14 hour passage. What a shame the bar was shut!

Tue: After yesterdays exertions we awoke late and it was no great hardship to decide to stay put for the day. Some general maintenance was undertaken, a can of diesel and fresh supplied procured from the local Asda superstore and in the evening we dined ashore in the sumtuous surroundings of the yacht club, having spruced ourselves up a bit beforehand!

Wed: The forecast out to the next 48 hours was not looking promising so we decided to make for Woodbridge at the top end of the Deben. It would make a good bolthole to shelter from the overnight heavy weather plus we hadn't been there by boat as yet (we were, of course, reasonably familiar with the place as we purchased Brigantia there back in 2011)

We had to motor to begin with then eventually we got to do some sailing including our first spinnaker hoist. The last time I flew a spinnaker would have been about 1980ish I guess and that was on a dinghy, not a yacht. It's a faff to set up but once up it really gave our speed a boost. What goes up must come down though and all too soon it was time to start the engine and motor into the Deben

The Deben entrance has a deservedly wicked reputation with tales galore of groundings but we made it safely without drama. Our usual luck of avoiding heavy rain whilst on the move deserted us however and we were most thoroughly rained upon arriving in the Tide Mill Yacht Harbour rather soggy but otherwise OK.

A rather long hike took us to the recommended pub, passing several rather less salubrious (but probably, in hindsight, perfectly adequate) establishments along the way. Never mind, the beer was good and the food was excellent. The evening was only marred by my taking a potentially nasty fall in the pitch dark and pouring rain as we walked back to the boat. Fortunately no great harm was done.

Thu: The weather wasn't great, we were not feeling great, it was great just to stay put.

Fri: A motor down the Deben, an exciting thrash out over the Deben Bar, followed by a downwind sail up the Orwell to settle for the night at Fox's Marina. An umremarkable and nice enough day.

Sat: Heavy rain kept us down below to begin with and we made a delayed departure from Ipswich intending to head for Shotley. However, on reflection I decided to brave the weather out in the Wallet and make for Brightlingsea instead. Contrary to accusations from the crew, this was not entirely so that we could meet up with our sister ship "Apogee" who had decided not to tackle the Wallet in the weather conditions.

Certainly the prospect of company for the evening was enticing, however so was getting to within an easy sail of home given that we were getting down to the wire time wise. I didn't really want to run into a third week, although I had a couple of days in hand if necessary, and getting the Wallet out of the way made a return to base on Sunday a near certainty. And I will confess that after feeling rather less than comfortable on board during the run from Wells to Lowestoft I felt the need to test myself in less than ideal conditions. If I can't handle the Wallet on a lumpy day I need to know it.

As it turned out, it was actually a very good sail! Under double reefed main and with two reefs rolled away on the genoa we had a surprisingly comfortable sail despite the occasional heavy shower and squall. There were an astonishing number of yachts going the other way though! I've never seen anything like it, at one point there must have been fourty or more sails in sight, all heading North. We seemed to be the only people heading South. Worrying, that!

A night on the town with our friends Ian and Jo off our sister Sabre "Apogee" ended all too soon as we had to catch the last ferry ride back to the river pontoon.

Sun: Today was just a run for home. We motored from Brightlingsea down the Ray'sn, across the sands and into the Crouch and then we were able to set sail which we held onto all the way upriver until just shy of the moorings at Fambridge.

Mon: It was time to go home. We offloaded our gear, tidied the boat, filled the tanks and so on before departing howewards. As another boat had pinched our mooring "Erbas" was left on the pontoon for the lads to move her to where she belongs when they've sorted it out.

Summary: It had been an excellent fortnight. We made the sensible decision not to push the envelope too hard although in fact we put in some quite long days. To follow a long day at sea making a passage, some of which were quite challengine, with a day in port relaxing and seeing the sights is surely the way to do it.

We covered a total of 334.4 miles in 83 hours and 48 minutes at sea.

We sailed for 44 hours and 20 minutes covering 177.4 miles at an average speed of exactly 4.0 knots.

We motored for 39 hours and 28 minutes covering 157 miles at a shade under 4 knots using rather more than 40 litres of diesel in the process.

Joyful June and beyond ...

Friday the 13th saw Jane and I risking the wrath of the Gods and driving down to Essex for a weekend on board. The main purpose of the weekend was to potter round to Bradwell on the Saturday to meet up with "Apogee" and collect the Avon RIB that we've purchased off Ian and Jo for a song to replace the grotty GRP dinghy.

The trip round to Bradwell was a drag, frankly. The evening in the marina bar was very pleasant and then the trip back on Sunday was yet another drag only more so. The reason things were dragging is because we were quite literally dragging - a vast garden of weeds and barnacles on our bottom.

What little sailing we attempted during the trip was an excercise in frustration and basically we motored virtually all the way there and back

Happily, we had already booked a heavily discounted (compared to the cost earlier in the year) Summer Lift Out with the marina. So after removing the genoa and bagging it up, we left "Erbas" on the pontoon when we headed for home on the Monday.

The following weekend saw Glen and I back in Fambridge on Friday evening and by early Sunday afternoon, when we headed for home, "Erbas" had a clean bottom, two coats of antifoul, a repainted boottop (the white stripe at the waterline) and polished topsides. And very smart she looked too!

Sadly, that's the last of the Jotun Seaqueen a/f though so I don't know what we'll use next year

The beginning of July saw me and my good friend and sometime colleague in matters sound and light Tony aboard for a weekend on the river. We pottered down to Burnham under just the genoa on Saturday, stayed there on Sunday, stuck our noses out of the river on Monday morning and then we pottered back upriver again on Monday afternoon! "Erbas" was back to sailing well with her clean bottom, we even manged to overtake another boat for once!

Mid July would see Jane and I aboard for our a long weekend. We'd arrived on board on the Friday to find no room at the visitors pontoon but happily the new RIB proved it's mettle by ferrying us and our kit out to the boat and then giving us a safe and secure ride ashore for an evening in the pub and then back aboard afterwards.

Ian off "Apogee" had dropped off our liferaft and joined us for a swift drink part way through the evening. Ian and Jo had split the cost of having it serviced with us in return for the loan of it for their trip across the channel (and of course they'll be welcome to borrow it any time in the future when we're not out) and now it was back complete with a service certificate good for another four years.

What wasn't looking so good was the weather and we made a dash for the pontoon as the twilight faded, even abandoning half a pint, to make it on board barely five minutes before the heavens opened. That was followed by a fairly spectacular thunderstorm.  It was the first time we've spent the night on the buoy in four seasons at Fambridge

An idle start to the next day was inevitable after the disturbed night and with a desperate need to get on shore power due to rather low charge in the domestic batteries we pottered down to Burnham Yacht Harbour once again for the night.

Sunday saw us ghosting round into the River Roach eventually fetching up at anchor in the Yokesfleet for the night. Then on Monday we had a very satisfying sail all the way from the Yokesfleet to within yards of the pontoon at Fambridge, only starting the engine to power the anchor windlass at the start and actually come alongside at the end.

Our last day aboard for this trip saw every locker on the boat emptied out and reorganised, the galley stores replenished, the stocks of booze supplemented, all in preparation for our upcoming London cruise. Then is was off home the next morning with work looming over the horizon

Not The London Cruise

Friday the 8th of August saw Jane and I on the road straight after finishing our night shifts. After shifting ourselves and our gear out to "Erbas" in the RIB, we got our heads down for a few hours before heading downriver to anchor in the Brankfleet ready for a pre-dawn start in the morning.

My alarm was set for 3:00am however some seriously windy weather came through in the early hours and by two I was up, coffee in hand, and firing up the VHF and the laptop to get the latest news.

As if the ongoing Mayday whilst the Harwich lifeboat and various fishing boats and even a couple of ships tried to locate a yacht over-pressed by the weather whose dingy had gone west and whose electrics had all but failed wasn't bad enough, as soon as Channel 16 was clear the Coastguard issued an imminent gale warning for the Thames area.

My gut feeling from the synpotic charts was that the worst had, in fact, already blown through but the conditions would still be far from ideal for a passage to the Medway as we'd intended. I'd been exchanging texts with Karen aboard "Laurin" - they'd dropped out of the Yacht Harbour onto a buoy at Burnham ready for a similarly early start - and we spoke on the phone briefly to confirm that we all felt the only sensible course of action was to get into the safety of the Yacht Harbour without delay.

That we did in the dark, despite the tiller pilot throwing a wobbly, and despite nearly fetching up on the mud at the marina entrance! Jane went back to bad whilst I visited "Laurin" for a coffee and a chat before turning in myself.

Stormy Weather

When we surfaced late in the morning it was blowing top end of F4 with gusts of F5 to F6 and a rather nice day to boot. That's good, if brisk, sailing weather is that! We decided to go out for a play with our storm jib and three reefs in the main. It's not a setup we'd tried as yet and I was keen to see how she sailed under this rig.

I was pleasantlt surprised to discover that she handles rather well under such shortened sail. She was even making progress to windward against a slightly foul tide in about 18 knots of breeze which is very reassuring.

We do have a storm trysail which is flown instead of the mainsail in severe weather but I honestly cannot see it ever being used. With the third deep reef in the main that's all the reduction in sail area we are ever likely to need and then some. The storm jib, on the other hand, is I think worth the locker space it occupies.

We were still harbouring (geddit?) some hopes of making London but the ongoing forecast on Monday morning put paid to that. We visited London by train on Tuesday, generally messed about in Burnham on Wednesday and did some work on "Erbas" on Thursday.

Throughout the period, whilst not extreme, the weather remained just on the wrong side of the "go, no go" line as far as maintaining a happy and cheerful crew was concerned. It really was very much a case of we would if we had to but we didn't have to so we didn't!

The weather finally moderated on Friday and we were off to Brightlingsea in loose company with Laurin. We had a good but rolly polly sail up the Rays'n, a thorough soaking from a serious bit of impressive weather frontage (that had me going round and round in circles thankful I'd had the sense, as soon as I saw it coming, to get the canvas down and hit the engine starter. Couldn't see a blasted thing, the rain was so heavy!), and a slightly eventful arrival on the pontoon at Brittlesea when I had a complete brain freeze and forgot to allow for the tide.

I was only slightly mollified to learn that Karen had done exactly the same thing. Jane was slightly more mollified to learn that Karen too had felt queasy in the rolly conditions earlier.

The evening passed in much pleasantry aboard "Laurin". Food, beer, guitars and scotch were all involved, I vaguely recollect!

No room at the basin

The plan had been to head down to Heybridge Basin but when Karen contacted them by phone she found there was no hope due to two party bookings already clogging the place. I suggested Tollesbury and that's where we went. Jane even had a sucessful hour or so on the helm! That bodes well for the future and it also allowed Laurin to catch us up and allow us to lead them in

We found Brigantia back up for sale again in the yard at Tollesbury Marina. I wasn't wild about the new colour scheme but she looked smart and well presented. Apparently the chap who bought her off the chap I sold her to then landed a job in Greece or some such.

(She disappeared of the brokers website shortly after our visit and from the yard too by later in the year. I have no idea where she is now, I hope she's in the hands of someone who'll get as much fun out of owning her as we did).

After a night in Tollesbury, we had to regretfully get on our way back to the Crouch. The "Laurins" had another week of their two week cruise to go, we had to be back by Sunday or Monday at the latest and the weather forecast was looking iffy again a day or two out.

So Saturday saw us heading back to Burnham via the Spitway for once - having to wait until a couple of hours before high water to escape the clutches of Tollesbury ruled out our usual shortcut over the sands. We had an excellent sail out making such good progress that the tide was still foul when we came round into the Whitaker Channel and started the slow process of beating into the Crouch

This is always savage amusement and on this occasion it was made doubly so by a piece of utter stupidity on my part putting us well and truly aground on the Foulness Sands. Somehow, with amazing good fortune, we got off after about fifteen minutes despite the falling tide otherwise we'd have had a miserable three or four hours waiting for the water to come back.

Enough was enough and we motored into Burnham for the night where we were joined on board by the crews of "Sirenia" and "Alchemist" for a booze and natter session of epic proportions!

Sunday saw us back to Fambridge for a night on the pontoon before heading for home on Monday morning. All in all, despite the weather, a most enjoyable week (drawing a veil over the grounding!)

Unfortunately, the problem with the tiller pilot proved to be terminal and there was no option but to spend the considerable pile of pennies necessary to buy a new one. Thus did August finish on an expensive note.

Into the autumn ...

As September came around, the 4th saw Jane and I make a mid-week bid for freedom from the daily grind,arriving on board on a warm and sunny Wednesday morning. The usual story ensued - grab some sleep, get our kit on board, go to the pub!

Thursday saw a gentle meander round to the Yokesfleet where we anchored nice and early for the night. There were a couple of motor boats in the anchorage when we arrived but they both left later leaving us in splendid isolation.

Friday came around and we made an unremarkable passage up to Shotley. I'd hoped for Halfpenny Pier but the only vacant berth was on the outside which can be uncomfortable so over the river we went.

Saturday morning, with no breeze at all, we just motored the five miles or so upriver to Wolverstone Marina. We'd considered picking up a buoy somewhere in the viciity of Pin Mill but nothing doing as far as we could see. A fair hike up the hill to Cholmondiston enabled us to procure some essentials like coffee and sugar, then we called in at the Butt and Oyster on our way back for food and drinks. The walk back through the woods to Wolverstone is not too far, even in the fading light although a torch was a definite must. Then it was an early night.

Sunday morning dawned very foggy indeed. So foggy, in fact, that the booming foghorn and gentle wash of a passing coaster making her way upriver to Ipswich docks was all we knew of her despite her passing the marina within a stones throw.

Once it cleared we went for a drift downriver, and it really was a drift too with barely enough wind to fill the sails. Drifting around Felixstowe Docks was not, I felt, a wise move so once we finally got that far downriver I started the trusty diesel and got on with the job.

We motored into Hamford Water for the night, the first time we've anchored in the main part of the backwaters (previously I've gone for the more sheltered but tricky to get into Stone Point anchorage). Later in the day the breeze got up rather too much from the East, the one direction in which the anchorage is exposed, and for a while I thought we might have to cut and run for a more sheltered location. Given the looming night and the tide, it would have had to be Shotley, about an hour and a half under motor, rather than a shift of anchorage as I didn't fancy mucking about in the shoals in the dark on a falling tide. Happily, as the night settled in properly the wind dropped and the anchorage calmed down, precisely the opposite of what had been forecast!

Monday morning dawned bright and beautiful and we considered our options. Had we not had to dumo the 5l petrol can for the outboard at the start of the trip (on arrival at Fambridge it was found to be leaking so we donated the contents to the jerry can on the decks of Ironsides and threw the can away) we might have considered leaving "Erbas" at anchor and taking a dingy ride the four miles or so up to Walton-om-the-Naze

Looking back, I'm glad that wasn't an option without spare petrol as we'd have only had time for a fairly short visit. Instead, we motored around into The Twizzle and picked up a buoy near the entrance to the creek up to Walton. On the second attempt, I got through to Bedwells and confirmed that we'd be able to find a berth in the yacht basin. We gave it an hour or so to let the tide rise and then felt our way up Foundry Reach with one eye firmly glued to the echo sounder!

Arriving in the basin, we moored to the end pontoon, tidied the ship and then headed off into Walton for a day of exploring. We even walked as far as the tower on the Naze and climbed to the top. It was a very pleasant day! We dined aboard before repairing to the Walton and Frinton Yacht Club for a couple of drinks. A truly magical place.

There are still a few gems on the East Coast, Walton, Pin Mill and Southwold spring to mind, where time seems to have passed by.

Tuesday was another glorious day in the sun. The factor 30 was much in evidence even though it was technically the autumn. The tidal gate at the entrance to the yacht basin dictated a very civilised start at just gone eleven in the morning and we motored out past Stone Point with the wind virtually on our nose. Once clear of the shallows, we were able to come across the wind, stop the engine and beam reach across Pennyhole Bay in fine style.

Once clear of Walton Pier, it was time to hoist the spinnaker as we were virtually dead before the wind. Much faffing about later, the thing was finally up and set although by now we were almost abeam of Clacton. In hindsight, I should have had everything ready for the hoist before we turned before the wind but never mind.

Once up and drawing we took off like a scalded cat! We were able, by dint of some very careful helming and trimming, to cling on to the spinnaker all the way to the Inner Crouch buoy. The value of that being proven by our reduction in progress as I doused the spinnaker in the last of the daylight and set the genoa again. We went from making two or three knots to a virtual standstill!

That was clearly no use so it was on with the engine for the short thrash round into the Brankfleet where we anchored close to the Eastern bank for once, to gain a more sheltered position. A quick dinner and an early night followed.

A late morning start, as dictated by the tide, and a gentle goosewinged sail upriver brought us home to Fambridge on the Wednesday in time for a pub lunch. Then we tidied the boat and made ready for the journey home tomorrow before once more repairing to the pub for the evening.

And then it was off home on Thursday morning after a most enjoyable week aboard.

 Late in the month. Jane and I had a weekend aboard where we entertained a couple who I'd made contact with through the YBW forum. They were in a similar position to us a few years back and I'd invited them for an afternoon aboard "Erbas" to see what it was like.

That went well and we dined pleasantly in the dining room at the White Hart in Burnham. Yes, we were once again back in Burnham Yacht Harbour! Sunday morning saw us at the Burnham boat jumble where I resisted the temptation to buy a Taylors paraffin heater (and have been wondering ever since whether I should have) and failed to resist the temptation to buy a plastic sextant.

The we had a pleasant sail back upriver to Fambridge, a night on board and away home in the morning.

The Blackwater Booze Cruise - take two

Glen and I had planned this trip for last year but our unexpected purchase of "Erbas" got in the way. So now we were back for another attempt at drinking the Blackwater dry. Actually, these days that's probably beyond us as even the Bosun's legendary appetite for beer has been somewhat curtailed by the passing of the years.

We made the usual Friday afternoon run down, dined in the pun and retired early. Saturday saw a an uneventful passage under motor to anchor in the Pyefleet for the night.

A sunny afternoon in the Pyefleet

With the weather looking a bit iffy from Sunday evening onwards for a day or two, we decided to head for Heybridge Basin. Martin seemed a little surprised to have a visitor so late in the year but more than happy to lock us in and find somewhere to hang us off. With the boats in the basin for the winter we'd have to raft up but that's fair enough.

We had ample time in hand so we ghosted upriver almost to Maldon itself before turning tail and making our way into the lock. Oh, I must admit to running "Erbas" out of diesel off Osea Island. I knew she was low but the gauge was at the top of the red and I hoped we'd make it. I know better now (and I would never have risked it under more dangerous circumstances - as it was we just drifted for the quarter an hour or so it took to put the spare can into the tank and bleed the system!)

We awoke on Monday morning to the sound of heavy rain, much as forecast. Happily, later in the morning it cleared and whilst it remained threatening all day held off apart from the occasional light shower whilst we set off on foot to explore Heybridge and Maldon.

My maternal ancestors were, en passant between Suffolk and Sunderland, resident in Heybridge and Maldon for three generations so this was something of a family pilgrimage. Not to mention a pleasant meander around a very pleasant town - Maldon that is, I'm afraid Heybridge doesn't have a great deal to commend it being little more than an industrical suburb of Maldon these days.

Tescos by dinghy

Tuesday would be another day in Heybridge, this time chiefly concerned with replenishing the diesel which entailed two trips by dinghy up the canal to the Tescos in Heybridge. It;s somewhat over two miles for the round trip and we used somewhat more than a tankful of petrol in the outboard. Useful to know - we've got a reliable range of about four miles on the tank at full throttle (more, no doubt, if we throttled back) or to look at it another way a bit over an hour of running time.

Wednesday saw us lock out of Heybridge Basin in the dark at 05:30 for a motor down the Blackwater in a flat calm. Off Bradwell the visibility began to close in and in hindsight I perhaps should have bailed out and either gone inshore and anchored or headed into Bradwell marina

As it was, by the time we were feeling our way into the Colne the visibility was less than 100 yards, if that, and I was very glad to work our way round into the Pyefleet and pick up one of the visitor mooring buoys for a few hours. After a morning nap, we found the fog had cleared and with the tide on the turn we let go to ghost upriver to Wivenhoe.

The pontoon at Wivenhoe has two visitor berths on the inside of the outer pontoon but they are very tidal. We stuck briefly getting in as it was quite early but made it OK. After an explore and a pint, we were back at slack water and I decided to move to the downriver side of the pontoon as this would make our exit in the morning easier and we could make a later start too.

Then it was back ashore for the evening. It was not unpleasant but the night was disturbed by the angle at which we settled when the tide went out and the creaking of the pontoon as it dried out. There isn't really enough at Wivenhoe to overcome these drawbacks although it does have the significant benefit of being a rare free walk ashore mooring. Will we be back? I think Jane and I might give it a go sometime and see how it goes.

Thursday we elected to return to the Crouch in good time and, inevitably, after a cracking good sail we fetched up in Burnham Yacht Harbour once again! Then on Friday it was a gentle amble back to Fambridge, and home on Saturday. The early finish had been dictated by some pretty breezy weather being forecast and proved to be a wise decision.

And so the season draws to an end ...

The first weekend of November saw me making a rare solo visit to the boat with the sole intention of moving her round into the marina for the winter and putting her to bed for a couple of months. I arrived on Friday, had other things to do on Saturday, and carried out the primary purpose of the visit on Sunday before heading for home.

We knew it would be January before we'd be back again.

Summary

FYS = Fambridge Yacht Station
BYH = Burnham Yacht Harbour
Total Hours, Total Miles, Ave Speed (Sail; Motor)

Sat 11 Jan :- Boat show weekend (night on board, Skipper and Bosun)

Fri 21 Feb :- Maintenance Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Bosun)
Sat 22 Feb :- ditto

Fri 14 Mar :- Maintenance Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Sat 15 Mar :- ditto
Sun 16 Mar :- ditto

Fri 4 Apr :- Fitting Out Weekend (night on board, Skipper, 1st Mate, 2nd Mate & Bosun)
Sat 5 Apr :- ditto
Sun 6 Apr : ditto (Skipper and 1st Mate)
Mon 7 Apr :- ditto

Fir 25 Apr :- Training Weekend (night on board, Skipper 2nd Mate, Purser and Crew)
Sat 26 Apr :- FYS to BYH, mostly under sail
Sun 27 Apr :- BYH to FYS, mostly under sail (night on board)


Spring Cruise
Fri 9 May :- Spring Cruise (night on board, Skipper)
Sat 10 May :- FYS to BYH, under engine 1:23
Sun 11 May : In port, Burnham Yacht Harbour
Mon 12 May :- BYH to Harwich. 7:43 33.1m, 4.3kts; (3:46, 14.6m, 3.9kts; 3:57, 18.5m, 4.7kts)
Tue 13 May :- In port, Harwich (Halfpenny Pier)
Wed 14 May :- Harwich to Southwold. 11:30, 41.2m, 3.6kts; (10:36, 38.7, 3.6kts; 0:54, 2.5, 2.8kts)
Thu 15 May :- In port, Southwold
Fri 16 May / Sat 17 May :- Southwold to Wells. 18:40, 69.8, 3.7; (11:30, 49.0, 4.27; 7:10, 20.8, 2.9)
Sun 18 May :- In port, Wells
Mon 19 May :- Wells to Lowestoft. 14:03, 62.2, 4.4; (4:15, 19.6, 4.6; 9:48, 42.6, 4.3)
Tue 20 May :- In port, Lowestoft
Wed 21 May :- Lowestoft to Woodbridge. 10:57, 45.9, 4.2; (4:21, 18.0, 4.1; 6:36, 27.9, 4.2)
Thu 22 May :- In port, Woodbridge
Fri 23 May :- Woodbridge - Ipswich. 6:21, 24.1, 3.8; (3:56, 13.3, 3.4; 2:25, 10.75, 4.5)
Sat 24 May :- Ipswich to Brightlingsea. 6:59, 30.0, 4.3; (3:03, 14.2, 4.6; 3:56, 16.0, 4.1)
Sun 25 May :- Brightlingsea to FYS. 6:18, 23.0, 3.7; (2:52, 9.9, 3.5; 3:26, 13.1, 3.8)
Mon 26 May :- disembarked for home

Fri 13 Jun :- Summer Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Purser)

Sat 14 Jun :- FYS to Bradwell
Sun 15 Jun :- Bradwell to FYS
Mon 16 Jun :- disembarked for home

Fri 20 Jun :- Lift Out and Antifoul Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Bosun)
Sat 21 Jun :- ditto

Fri 4 Jul :- Grumpy Blokes Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Tony)
Sat 5 Jul :- FYS to BYH
Sun 6 Jul :- In port, BYH
Mon 7 Jul :- BYH to FYS via Raysand Buoy, disembarked for home

Fri 18 Jul : - Early Summer Cruise (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Sat 19 Jul :- FYS to BYH
Sun 20 Jul :- BYH to Yokesfleet
Mon 21 Jul :- Yokesfleet to FYS
Tue 22 Jul :- In port, FYS
Wed 23 Jul :- disembarked for home

Fri 8 Aug :- FYS to Brankfleet
Sat 9 Aug :- Brankfleet to Burnham
Sun 10 Aug :- In port, Burnham
Mon 11 Aug :- In port, Burnham
Tue 12 Aug :- In port, Burnham
Wed 13 Aug :- In port, Burnham
Thu 14 Aug :- Burnham to Brightlingsea
Fri 15 Aug :- Brightlingsea to Tollesbury
Sat 16 Aug :- Tollesbury to Burnham
Sun 17 Aug :- Burnham to FYS

Wed 3 Sep :- Autum Cruise (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Thu 4 Sep :- FYS to Yokesfleet 10.7
Fri 5 Sep :- Yokesfleet to Shotley 36.8
Sat 6 Sep :- Shotley to Wolverstone (for Pin Mill) 6.5
Sun 7 Sep :- Wolverstone to Hamford Water 11.6
Mon 8 Sep :- Hamford Water to Walton Yacht Basin 3.6
Tue 9 Sep :- Walton to Brankfleet. 9:20, 32
Wed 10 Sep :- Brankfleet to FYS 8.3
Thu 11 Sep :- disembark for home

Fri 26 Sep :- Just Another Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Sat 27 Sep :- FYS to BYH (again!)
Sun 29 Sep :- BYH to FYS (night on board)


Fri 10 Oct :- Blackwater Booze Cruise (night on board, Skipper and Bosun)
Sat 11 Oct :- FYS to Pyefleet 17.5
Sun 12 Oct :- Pyefleet to Heybridge Basin 19.4
Mon 13 Oct :- In port, Heybridge Basin
Tue 14 Oct :- In port, Heybridge Basin
Wed 15 Oct :- Heybdridge to Wivenhoe via Pyefleet 21.7
Thu 16 Oct :- Wivenhoe to BYH 27.7
Fri 17 Oct :- BYH to FYS 5.3
Sat 18 Oct :- disembark for home

Fri 31 Oct :- Laying up weekend (night on board, Skipper only)
Sat 1 Nov :- ditto

Conclusions ...

I spent an astonishing 74 nights on board "Erbas" this year. We do get some use out of her! Jane, inevitably, was aboard a good deal less but that is expected and accepted.

We got around a bit too.

Reaching Wells-next-the-Sea and the North Norfolk coastline on the second attempt was extremely satisfying and extremely enjoyable even if the run back wasn't. To put the question mark that some have raised beyond issue, yes I had planned for the possibility of reaching further North, even perhaps as far as Sunderland, but it was always a case of getting as far as we got.

Changing the plan in the light of the prevailing circumstances is never a failure. It is failing to change the plan that is likely to be a failure. I plan, I sail, I adapt the plan. The time spent on the original planning is not wasted either, one day we'll make those passages and every time you plan a passage you increase your knowledge of the art of navigation and of the waters in which you'll potentially be sailing. Nuff said.

Jane and I did a great deal more this year than we'd ever managed on "Brigantia". The greater comforts and the more secure feel of a larger yacht suit Jane much better and I think she'll readily agree that she's felt a lot more involved. I have also made more of an effort to involve Jane in the planning and taken into account her expressed desire to spend time in port when we do reach somewhere, rather than just up and leave again the next morning!

We explored new bits of the local area as well as further afield. Heybridge was a great location, Wivenhoe perhaps less so. It would have been nice to reach London by boat but we'll have another crack at that in 2015

We did spend quite a lot of time in Burnham Yacht Harbour it has to be admitted! Mind you, then again, why not? It's a handy port of call just downriver from our home base, there's  a selection of shops, pubs and restaurants, and it's available to us in any weather.

I don't have an accurate mileage figure readily to hand. The logging all went a bit awry during the course of the year. The mobile phone apps all failed to keep the track at one time or another and on several occasions I forgot to switch on the GPS tracking bug. The chart plotter is sadly lacking in logging facilities too, it's track log function being so basic as to be all but useless.

We sailed or motored about 730 miles over the season. It's an estimate, but a fairly accurate one. The two week cruise to Norfolk accounted for 330 odd miles of that but we managed to cover some 390 miles or more in and around the Thames Estuary during the resr of the season and that despite effectively losing most of the London Cruise week to bad weather.

We were somewhat over budget on both the sailing and maintenance accounts. Having to replace the tiller pilot broke the budget on the latter, the sailing account was more a case of choosing to spend the money for the sake of comfort and pleasure but we'll have to be a little more judicious next year with less guaranteed income to rely on

All in all, a most sucessful season. Cheers ...

.

and goodnight ...

Back to the real world ...

And a bit of catching up ...

Last weekend, Jane and I paid a brief visit to Erbas to check all was well. Apart from some of that weird blue dusty mould that invaded the fo'c'sle last year it was. Happily, the mould was only in a few patches on the pillow cases so they were stripped off the bedding and consigned to a bag for a hot wash in the machine at home

We spend the night on board and then visited the Boat Show at London Excel on the Monday. It was a small show and not terribly useful in that we didn't see the things we wanted to see but it was a day out. Then it was straight home from London

Fast forward a week and yesterday saw me trogging back down the A14/M11/A120 etc on my lonesome this time. On board Erbas, all was well and I got the heating cranked up and the bedding airing ready for my overnight stop before heading down to Burnham to go over the work that needs doing on a friends boat. Friends they may be and I'll do the best deal I can do but it's still quite a lot of work and it'll consequently be quite a big bill!

After we'd spent several hours working our way through the list and mulling plans and options (with only one area of disagreement over the type of light fitting but hey, they're the customer and what they want is what they'll get ... if I can't convince them otherwise!) we switched into social mode and went for a curry before I headed back to Fambridge mid-evening

One beer is never enough and the lone bottle of Spitfire I'd consumed at the curry house was begging for a pint of IPA to keep it company so it was into the Ferry Boat for a reasonably swift pint. Then it was back to the boat where I hit all the "on" switches on the heaters, wrapped myself in a sleeping bag inside a double quilt with a layer of fleece blankets on top and sparked up the laptop to watch something instantly forgettable on demand TV over the (now very good it must be said) marina Wi-Fi

I set an alarm on the off chance that I slept in and it was a good job too because it was that which awoke me this morning. I made a coffee which was just barely drinkable but then the water has been in the tanks for about three months now. Time for a refresh next visit but there wasn't time today. Swiftly putting Erbas back to sleep I negotiated the frosty pontoon, gazing in disbelief at the ice on the surface of the creek (salt water remember!) and it was off to Limehouse Basin in East London



A broken down vehicle caused chaos on the A13 but happily I had bacon butty and bucket of coffee on the go from a garage along the way so it was just a case of grind my way around, through and along. Driving in London is never for the faint of heart or the impatient and I've done enough of it in the past to know the score.

I got to Limehouse a little later than planned but no matter. I spent some time aboard the potential clients boat and we sorted out what he needs and where it's going to be fitted. The core of the job is installing an isolating transformer in the incoming 32A mains plus replacing and relocating the rather antiquated 12v fuse panel from the engine room to the now designated electrical cupboard where the mains consumer unit is already located.

With that job sorted and the parts on order, I repaired to our friends boat "Ocean Lady" just next door for a coffee and a chat with Mark. Unfortunately, the other boat I'd been going to have a look at was scrubbed as the owner had to dash off to a domestic emergency but we'll pick that up next visit

And then it was back on the road to home again before the traffic built up.

My next visit to Erbas is likely to be work related again. I'll have to decide how much or little of the work related activity to cover in this blog which is, principally, intended to be about our sailing but as the two are somewhat connected it's going to be interesting to find the balance!

It's that ideal boat again

It's that time of year again. The long dark nights and the lack of action on the water tend to lead one to reflect upon idle dreams and thoughts. One of the recurring idle thoughts is just what would be the ideal boat for our purposes. It's a hoary old chestnut but I'm going to revisit it anyway because I've had a bit of an epiphany on the subject.

Now let us not get carried away here - "Erbas" is and will remain the ideal yacht for our needs unless and until we can spend a great deal more time on board, and a great deal more money running the boat too for that matter. Whilst a bigger boat would be nice in some respects, when our time aboard is limited to a few days to a couple of weeks at a time, a twenty seven footer is ample big enough

So anyway, if ever we have the money and the means (and that is by no means an impossibility) what would we be looking for as a perfect boat for our needs?

I must address a critical matter straight away and that is the balance of priorities between aesthetics, sailing ability and accommodation ...

From the top, let's rule out ocean crossings and world girdling blue water cruising. It's not our thing. We're talking live-aboard in the UK for most or all of the year and spending the summers cruising around Northern Europe.

We like to day sail from location to location and then spend at least a day in each new place exploring. Ideally, especially when there is just the two of us aboard, we like to keep the legs at sea below 8 hours duration. So straight away we can see that, normally, in any 48 hour period we are aiming to spend no more than 8 hours at sea (and therefore 40 hours at anchor, in a harbour or in a marina)

So less than a sixth, or about 15%, of our time aboard will be spent at sea ... at most because that doesn't take into account the winter period when we'll be tucked up in a suitable sheltered berth nor does it allow for the times when we'd spend two or three days in one place (although to be fair nor does it allow for the probably rarer occasions when we get under way two or more days on the trot or put in a passage).

Anyway, whatever the figure might ultimately be, clearly we are going to be spending a LOT more time stationary than under way. Whilst a nice looking boat that sails well is a desirable thing to aspire to, a boat that meets our needs accommodation wise is a great deal more important

Moving "on deck", we have to consider that we sail short handed most of the time. Sailing as a couple is best considered as single handing with help - Jane does her best but the arrival is more her thing than the getting there! (Which is a roundabout way of saying that the sailing is a means to an end and not the end in itself and she'd be just as happy, if not happier, motoring everywhere)

(We do, though, like to ship family and friends along as crew and we're fortunate in having a pool of family and friends to call on so all is not lost when it comes to longer passages and more demanding sailing from time to time)

Much as my heart might desire a ketch rigged gaff cutter, my head is in no doubt that a Bermudan sloop with roller reefing headsail and in mast or in boom furling main is the bunny for us. Easy up, easy to handle and easy down again. Pass me a beer whilst I watch everybody else struggle to put their sails away!

And then we need to address the issue of sailing anyway. We've already seen that we'll likely spend less than 20% of our time aboard under way, but just how much of that time will we actually spend sailing? Experience, ours and others, would suggest that being realistic we'd be doing well to sail 60% of the time compared to motoring at least 40% of the time. We are simply not going to spend several hours flogging backwards and forwards against a foul tide and a foul wind when we can be tucked up in shelter in an hour or so under power. Nor are we going to anchor in the middle of the North Sea to wait for the tide to turn like my forebears did. They had no choice, we'll be reaching for the engine starter!

So a motor sailer should not be ruled out and given the British climate a covered steering position would be a definite plus. That said, I'd rather sail than motor so some pretence of reasonable performance under canvas would be nice!

And one last thing to add to the list ... the ability to dry out upright. The British coast has numerous little harbours (and not so little harbours for that matter), creeks and hidey holes for the yacht which can take the ground to tuck into. If the ability to dry out can be coupled with shoal draft without too much compromise of the sailing performance all the better

So where does that leave us ...

We want a yacht with ...

• A decent and private double cabin with storage and seating
• A crew cabin usable by two singles or a couple
• A comfortable saloon
• Decent galley with ample space for cooking and storage
• Good sized heads c/w shower
• Simple Bermudan sloop rig with roller reefing genoa and mainsail
• Wheelhouse, pilot house or internal steering position
• Lifting keel or bilge keels
• Reasonable performance under sail and motor

Ideally it will be under 36' in length, certainly no more than 39' at the most (due to running costs apart from anything else). And ideally it won't be embarrassingly ugly to look at or sail like a pregnant slug either!

And finally, we've got to have some realistic prospect of being able to afford one at some point in, say, the next six or seven years or this is a total waste of idle speculating time!!

So, dear reader (if you haven't given up in disgust by now) I give you ...

The Southerly 115 Mk.1









LOA: 36'10", Beam 11'11", Draught: 2'3" / 6'0", Displacement approx. 7 tonnes

A good example in the current market place will set you back around £50,000 (or about five times what "Erbas" is worth and about ten times what we could afford right now). She does, however, tick every single "must have" box and that with very few compromises or drawbacks

So on deck she looks like a pretty straightforward looking example of a centre cockpit deck saloon modern "average white boat" but she's got some tricks up her sleeve

Let's get down below first of all. Remember that we decided this has to be where our priorities lie ...





First thing to get to grips with is that she isn't actually a deck saloon design. The raised coach roof is over the galley and navigation area with the saloon forward under the nearly flush deck.

However, let's start at the stern and work our way forwards. Here we have the aft double cabin. Critically for our needs this version, the Mk.1, has a double to port and a good sized settee to starboard (later versions have a larger central double and no settee).



This layout is more suited to our needs because it offers the ability to use the aft cabin as a private day cabin as well as sleeping space. Even with just the two of us aboard, having space to go our separate ways (for want of a better way of putting it) for a while is vital for long term marital harmony!

The aft cabin has a good sized vanity and storage unit although the configuration of the double means that a degree of clambering and disturbance could be in the offing for if the outboard incumbent wanted to get up in the middle of the night!

And talking of night time calls of nature, there is an "en suite" in the passage between the galley and the aft cabin.

However, I am of the opinion that this is a waste of valuable space and I'm not alone because it is absent from later models of the 115 and even some Mk.1's have storage in this location instead.

It would not be beyond the wit of man to remove the heads and refit this area

Whilst we're in the vicinity, opposite the second heads and behind removable panels is the engine compartment.



The standard mill seems to have been 36hp Bukh or occasionally a 30hp Yanmar. A modern replacement or recent professional rebuild would attract a premium price, otherwise the possibility of major engine works would need to be taken into account

The engine bay doesn't look overly cramped though.

Emerging from the crouch necessitated by the low deckhead in the corridor (the aft cabin does have full standing headroom though) we find ourselves in the excellent galley ...



The blue water sailor who spends days and weeks at sea will rightly point out that this isn't a galley you can really tuck yourself into and cook whilst the boat is standing on her alternate beam ends. That will simply not be an issue for us as we will never be at sea in those conditions or for that length of time.

This is a galley that is ideal for cooking decent meals in at anchor or tied up in a harbour or marina. And the chef will enjoy the panoramic view from the windows as well as the ample worktop space, excellent stowage, good size fridge, cooker and twin sinks. Adding a small freezer into the equation would finish the job off to perfection

Cooking is one of our primary shared hobbies by the way so a galley like this really is ideal

Opposite the galley on the starboard side of the raised deck area is the main heads compartment

This is a good sized space with some woodwork exposed but mostly GRP. No bad thing really when you consider that most examples of the 115 come with a shower (and one would easily be, and would be, fitted if needs be)

A shower may be considered a luxury but given the state of some marina and harbour facilities ....

Forward of the heads is the navigation and internal steering position. Some examples of the marque were either supplied without a wheel or have had the wheel removed and thus rely on altering the heading on the autopilot to steer from below decks

Later models have no wheel and a large nav table ahead of the seat.

I rather prefer to have the wheel I think but I wouldn't rule out an otherwise perfect boat on that basis alone

The internal steering position has good all round visibility in the warm and dry. What's not to like?

And





Stepping down into the saloon, we find a short settee to starboard (which really shouldn't be counted amongst the berths but often is!) and a u-shaped settee to port

The table slides up and down on the compression pillar - it can be slid up right out of the way, dropped down to use as a table or dropped further down and a cushion infill inserted to convert the settee into a second double berth

A clip on extension for the table is stowed above the berths forwards as is the infill cushion

There is ample stowage behind and beneath the saloon berths although there is nowhere to fit a wall mounted heater

The forward cabin consists of two single over and under berths rather than the conventional v-berth



This has the considerable advantage, for our purposes, of being ideal for accommodating two singles or a couple (albeit they won't be cuddling up!) without compromising the saloon. This is much more convenient for all concerned as it means people can get up and/or go to sleep as they will without disturbing the sleepers in the main living area


Let's get up on deck now ...



Well, she isn't drop dead gorgeous but she's not a minger either.



Most examples seem to have the deck above the aft cabin finished in teak. That's OK if it's in good condition but replacing it could be costly. There are, however, cheaper alternatives.

The cockpit looks well laid out with a good seating arrangement for the helm (often complete with cushions in other examples seen online). The lack of a secondary winch to starboard seems a little odd but I'm guessing this boat is not set up to fly a kite and the secondary winch to port is probably set up for handling the genoa roller reefing

I'd be looking to add a pod for a chart plotter, or if money permitted a networked multi-function display, above the steering binnacle but that's no big deal at least technically



There's plenty of vents and hatches on deck but there's still space for some solar panels which we'd be wanting to keep the batteries topped up (I'll come back to that in a bit).

The mainsail sheeting arrangements may be a little compromised for ideal performance but they do keep the whole arrangement out of the cockpit and well away from the appendages and outlying regions of the crew!

In then we have that devils curse - the in mast furling mainsail. Well, according to some it is a devils curse. I am not, frankly, so sure. Yes, it does somewhat compromise the ability to shape the sail to the last teeny bit of perfection and yes, if it goes wrong it could be a nightmare

But in reality just how often does a properly maintained and properly used in mast furling system fail? And consider the advantages of being able to set, reef and stow the main with the same ease as a roller reefing genoa! No more fighting with acres of billowing stiff sail cloth trying to persuade it to lay on the boom. No more bruises from flying sail ties. No more soggy wet sail covers to stow and handle

What, I say again, is not to like?

Right forward we've got an anchor well which houses the windlass and so on.. Actually, I'm not sure what advantage putting this lot in a well really offers but it doesn't greatly matter

The mast is a conventional twin spreader masthead rig of conventional design

There looks to be good conditions for working on deck with plenty of hand holds although I would be looking at the availability of clip on points as you transition from the side decks to the mast and fore deck areas where there seems to be a lack of hardware on this boat at least

Moving right aft, there is space on the stern deck for a canister life raft (although I would prefer it mounted outboard of the pushpit rail and I'd also consider fitting it on the aft deck with an automatic release)

Many examples of the type have dinghy davits fitted and that is a good thing because one area where the design is compromised is in respect of "gear storage".

There is one large locker under the cockpit seat to starboard and that's the lot so being able to keep the dinghy on davits would be a plus




In any case, the usage we envisage would likely mean the dinghy being used quite a lot - we'd be anchoring off whenever possible and only going into costly marinas when we needed to - so being able to keep it ready for immediate use on davits would suit us perfectly.

If for some reason we needed to stow the dinghy, it would have to be lashed on deck

Finally, we come to one of the biggest pros, and by no coincidence also one of the biggest cons, of the design.

In common with all Southerlys, the 115 has a aerofoil section cast iron lifting keel mounted into a cast iron grounding plate, the two combined being the ballast. The keel is lifted by means of a hydraulic ram powered by an electric pump with a manual backup and it can be locked in the raised or lowered position

With the keel up in standard trim, the 115 draws just 2'3", six inches less even than "Brigantia" and fully nine inches less than "Erbas"! She can happily dry out on any flat surface - mud, sand or gravel - with the keel up

The keel position can be seen through the box by the galley

With the keel down she has a good reputation as a sailing boat although the 115 Mk.1 does have a tendency to be hard to steer in a heavy quartering sea due to her rather shallow rudder design.

Later versions of the 115, along with other newer Southerlys, had a twin rudder design to overcome this problem (however, they are much more expensive to buy and design changes below decks are not ideal for our needs)

The problem really only manifests itself in conditions that would have us staying in shelter anyway and can be overcome by altering course or motor sailing if necessary

Oh and there is a very rare ketch version too ...

Although whether the extra cost and complication is worthwhile is another matter. This example also has twin headsail furlers with a big light winds genoa outboard of the working genoa (an idea I'm toying with for "Erbas" as it happens"

So there we have it, the Southerly 115

It's not a gaffer, it's not made of wood, it's not sexy and it won't turn heads or win races

But it's a boat I could see us living on all year round and cruising all over Northern Europe for many years

In the next instalment I shall explain why I've decided to buy a Thames Sailing Barge, or perhaps not!!!

P.S. Sanity shall return shortly with actual serious plans for sailing in 2015 plus the occasional mention of my foray into working on other people's boats to pay for my sailing rather than making travellers cups of coffee for a living!

P.P.S. I KNOW there are other lifting keel boats out there, some of them might even be better than the Southerly. Some of them might even be as affordable (or not) as the Southerly. This is an exercise in idle speculation though so it doesn't really matter! Although if we win the lottery ....