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I’m definitely not yet used to being unemployed or not having the little red flashing light of a blackberry in my life. It’s Tuesday morning and everyone has gone back to work after the Easter break and I feel like I am pulling a sickie or something. I’m also on my own now. After a shade over two weeks since the start of my trip and having spent a lot of time with family and friends, it is just Max and me for a while.
Thank you Sarah, we had a great weekend didn’t we. We went back to Emsworth Yacht Harbour yesterday so Sarah could get to the station and ultimately back to London and I didn’t envy you having to leave this place.

My last blog was from Dell Quay. From there we went on to Bosham which was only an hour or so away. The Harbour Master’s number was in the almanac and in keeping with this place he was incredibly friendly and really helpful. Its clear that I am dealing with good people who love what they do.
We had the choice of picking up a mooring buoy or mooring up alongside the town’s quay, which is what we chose to do. There are some nasty looking piles there so you need fender boards so as not to damage the side of the boat but the harbour master supplied these so soon we were all settled right in the middle of the action with the busy sailing club right there, a beautiful view of the church, village green and we even had access to water and electricity right next to Fiesta.
I am officially bored of seeing myself type this but here I go again…… Bosham is simply beautiful! Bosham is a National Trust site so is protected against any dodgy development and beauty is everywhere you look. Honestly, it makes your neck ache in the end and my chin hasn’t spent so much time on the floor since the first time I went to Stringfellows so you can imagine the constant stream of OMG’s and ‘Marrrrk I love it here’ coming from the Canadian! We had a good look around, a couple of beers in the local pub followed by dinner onboard Fiesta. What a place to visit….

We backed out of the quayside on Monday afternoon and I was nervous. There were many opportunities to f*ck it up in front of a fairly big audiance who will only ever remember the cock ups. Im so used to sailing on my own that I find it hard to delegate any responsibilities but I did and Sarah nailed it. She’s not a bad crew you know.
Once you are away from the wall it is fine but we had five lines tied to the wall to keep us still and away from sharp edges so its about releasing the right ones at the right time and slipping out astern trying to look cool while quietly sh*tting yourself.

I’ve added another page to this site called ‘Other bits’ where our exit can be seen. It also shows some good crew progress by way of a newly acquired ability to coil a mooring line rather than just dropping it on the deck! Top marks for you there girlfriend. I tell you, this is a swell ship for the captain but a hell ship for the crew!!!!

Moored up at Bosham Quay

Not a bad spot to live

Here is Bosham Sailing Club, Fiesta’s mast visible over the wall

He loves a pint

On Good Friday Sarah, Max and I went for a long walk around Emsworth, Prinsted and Thornham Marina. Poor old Max was totally shattered and whilst I insist on marching and Max has to keep up, Sarah takes a different approach and slows down to Max’s pace which means she will probably be back onboard by about Tuesday.

Yesterday (Easter Saturday), we went into town for some supplies, filled the tanks with water and once there was enough water over the sill we left Emsworth bound for Dell Quay. It was one of those seemingly rare occasions when the engine was only on for about ten minutes and then switched off in favour of sails for the next two hours all the way to Dell Quay. I completely get the popularity of this place; it is stunning. I have never seen so many people out and about enjoying their boats whether motor boats, sailing boats – modern or classic, kayak or stand up paddle boards. This place has it all and is beautiful. We had a gentle sail round to Chichester Marina and then headed beyond the deep channel up to our anchorage opposite the Crown & Anchor pub which we visited as soon as we got the dinghy launched. We kept a close eye on the state of the tide because Fiesta was going to be high and dry once the tide went out and although I think it is possible to walk across the mud back to the boat, Sarah informed me in no uncertain terms that neither she nor her purple trainers would be prepared to do that!
We made it back in good time with about two feet of water around Fiesta, settled down for a BBQ and watched the sun go down. Fiesta took the ground on a perfectly flat bit of mud, the stars came out and once I had bound and gagged Sarah all was still and the silence was golden. What a beautiful little anchorage this is.

It is now 8am on Easter Sunday and the tide has been in, gone out again and once again we are high and dry although this time Fiesta has found a hard bit of sand at one end and a soft bit of mud at the other so we sitting a little down hill but the sky is blue and the sun is out so all is good in this little world…. Once the tide returns Max will need a comfort break ashore and the plan to is head to Bosham where I think we might get a spot alongside the quay but if not, we will anchor again for the night.
First job today is breakfast, second is to walk Max and third or fourth, untie the Canadian.

One of them looks happy

Going from Emsworth to Dell Quay

The tide going, going and gone

The Crown & Anchor

The old Doris and I had a lovely few days here. We got out and about with the dogs and walked a lot of miles. To be honest, I have walked poor old Max a bit too far because he’s got a bit of a limp going on. That is either his way of trying to get attention or it is because of too much walking on his 15 year old legs. He has had plenty of attention over the last few days so its definitely the latter. Going to give him a bit of a rest.
I haven’t had much luck in getting Fiesta booked into any other marinas. I wanted to go to Thornham Marina just around the corner from here which completely dries out at low tied so is pretty popular with catamarans or any other boat that can take the ground and remain upright. However, they have just started their early season dredging program and have removed some of their pontoons so again, there was no room. Should I be taking the hint by now? Instead of visiting by boat, Mum and I toured Chichester Harbour’s marinas by car. Firstly we went to Hayling Island where Sparkes Marina is. There was a regatta on at Hayling Island Sailing Club with about 100 boat taking part, all youngsters (bloody hell, I used to be one and now I’m referring to them as youngsters which makes me sound well old). We sat on the beach for a while and watched everything going on. After Hayling Island we worked our way around first to Northney Marina, then Thornham Marina where the dredging is taking place then on to Chichester Marina which is huge and very impressive where we stopped for lunch. The best thing about our land based exploration was that to me, although all the other places were good, Emsworth Yacht Harbour is definitely my favourite. So, staying here for almost a week now has been excellent.

Joanna, James and the boys came down yesterday and we had a great day together. Funny how it was a bit of an emotional farewell when I departed the River Crouch at 4am on the 2nd and yet a week and a half later, we were all together again! We had a good wander around Emsworth, ice creams, coffees and then lunch at the cafe here in the marina. What a great day and thank you very much for lunch Joanna.

By 4pm yesterday the silence was deafening as I was all on my own again. Joanna, James, Tom and Jack went back to find their caravan, or take someone else’s, I’m not sure of the etiquette amount travelling folk and Mum left to go back home.
So Max, its just you and me. After nearly two weeks away we have been left to our own devices……..Hang on, who’s that? Oh yeah, its my girlfriend!!!!
After some very typical Sarah like and totally infectious enthusiasm for this ‘beautiful little place’, an incredibly emotionally charged reunion with Max and a peck on the cheek for me, we headed into town for a few beers.
Welcome aboard Sarah, its really good to have you here.
We are having an Emsworth day today and plan on heading out into the Harbour tomorrow, hopefully to find a nice spot to anchor for the night. There is lovely little place called Dell Quay with a great little pub and if we can reach it by dinghy then that could be our stop for tomorrow night…….

Lovely morning in Emsworth Yacht Harbour

Chichester Marina

Sunset looking out of Emsworth Channel

The old dear on the whisky

Those boys have got really tall since I’ve been away

I left my lovely little anchorage at East Head at about 9.30am on Sunday. What a perfect little spot and although I always feel a little uneasy about dragging the anchor throughout the night, I slept very well with the soothing sound of water running by the hull and a gentle bobbing up and down. Bliss.

Mum left home in Burnham-on-Crouch at 8am and had her journey planned as if it was a military operation. I called Sparkes Marina where I had agreed to meet Mum but unfortunately there was no room at the Inn. I had assumed there wouldn’t be any need to book in advance because I have never been to a place in the UK where sailors are so keen to get out on the water so early in the season. I jumped into action and called the other Chichester Harbour marinas and after a couple of knock backs I called Emsworth Yacht Harbour and they had room. Phew!
I nervously called the Mother ship with the change of plan and once the news was accepted and the sat nav reprogrammed, the plan was all good again.
Emsworth Yacht Harbour, funnily enough is in Emsworth, right up in the drying part of the harbour accessed by a very narrow, shallow and winding channel where any deviation from the marked channel is going to result in over 6 hours of dunce hat wearing embarrassment while you wait for the next tide to float you off. This is perfect catamaran territory. I only need 2ft 8” to float so we crept in without any drama. Its a very tight entrance into the marina and you go over a sill that holds enough water in the marina to keep all the boats afloat when the tide drains out of the main harbour outside. When we went over the sill there was about 6 inches spare under the keels.

Ok, I feel guilty about exposing this secret. Who has been keeping quiet about Emsworth? What a total delight this place is! Barely a corporation in sight other than the world’s smallest Costa Coffee and a small Co-op. An absolutely beautiful place with lots of pubs, lovely walks, excellent views and really friendly people. Long may Emsworth tell the big corporations to do one in favour of the small independents. Its a step back in time here and its great. As for Emsworth Yacht Harbour itself, the same applies here. It is one of only a few remaining privately owned marina’s / boat yards left and its absolutely spot on. The family that run it are very helpful, there is lovely cafe (licensed!) overlooking the marina and its simply perfect!
The old dear approves too and despite being chastised for my late change of plan, order has been restored and mummy’s little soldier is back in favour again! About time too after providing breakfast lunch and dinner, all you can drink and a thousand apologies for cocking up the other marina! I’m only joking Mum, you accepted your new set of instructions reasonably well!

Yesterday (Monday) we visited a beautiful little village called Prinsted which was a 45 minute walk away from Emsworth Yacht Harbour. A real gem of a place and the stuff that chocolate boxes are made of. I don’t know how I knew that it would be beautiful here, someone must have told me but it is and I love it.

It’s Tuesday now and Mum is going to stay until Thursday because then we can have a full family reunion as the other part of the family, the pikey contingent, are in the New Forest in their caravan so they are going to drive over to find us on Thursday. I need to remember to tell the Harbour Master to expect another car in the car park but must also remember not to tell them that they have come from a home on wheels. I don’t want to be responsible for a wave of panic throughout this peaceful unspoilt place…….

Fiesta moored up in Emsworth Yacht Harbour and a view of the entrance between the red and green posts

Along the walk to Prinsted

A few local birds

The pikeys are coming…

The glorious sun has definitely been kind to me so far. I know I will get my fair share of not so nice weather in due course but so far, choosing the UK over the Caribbean is ok by me!

I got the mountain bike out on Thursday and had a great ride up to Beachy Head. Last time I biked it up there I did what most blokes do when you get on a bike and became 10 years old again. I came hurtling down the hill and wiped out in front of about 10 OAP’s having afternoon tea in the cafe at the bottom of the hill. They laughed as I spat grass out of my mouth and walked back up the hill to pick my glasses up. I had to get back on that horse and this time when I went passed the same spot I got away with it. Great ride, I loved it.

Yesterday I spent the day with the Nurse family. Justin took me for a spin around Hastings old town in his beach buggy. The beach buggy is brilliant, a total laugh and it has the same effect on Justin that my bike has on me which is a good thing. No one really enjoys acting their age do they? Fortunately what with Justin’s hazel hair he can get away with that!
Dinner was mob handed at an Italian restaurant for a fine feast. Thank you family Nurse – it was a great day.

Today I did what I said I wouldn’t and that was to head out without any wind and motor all the way to Chichester which took about 8 hours. I think the wind is due to blow out of the west after this weekend and I didn’t fancy beating against that but once in Chichester Harbour there is loads to see and do so I decided to get it done rather than be faced with a tough sail against the wind or staying put in Eastbourne for a few more days. Also, the old dear is coming to see me tomorrow for a couple of days and we planned that to be in Chichester so I wanted to make it happen.
Unfortunately that meant leaving in thick fog this morning. That makes it the fourth time ever that I have been out in the fog but the first time that I have volunteered to be. I think its better to learn by putting yourself in that situation rather than being caught out by it and with AIS and radar there really shouldn’t be an issue especially as there isn’t the shipping traffic that there is at Dover. When I called the harbour master to ask if I could lock out of Eastbourne I was wondering if there was a hint of ‘Are you sure about that son?’ in his voice but I hoped I was imagining that and out I went. Blimey, I wouldn’t have seen any less if I had sh*t in my eyes! It was so thick but I avoided the temptation to stare blankly ahead and instead I followed the same track (in reverse) as I did on my way in and trusted the radar. There was nothing visually to get a fix on so I relied on the chart plotter for my position which I kept plotting on the paper chart as a back up. The radar was picking up everything including Beachy Head and a few fishing boats and after about an hour and a half the sun finally burnt through and there was Beachy head. I don’t know why it was a surprise to see it there when the radar and chart plotter were telling me that the whole time but still, it was! Lovely when the fog lifted, and relax!

In my last post I said ‘the auto pilot didn’t miss a beat’. Why did I say that? Today it missed a beat and stopped completely. It has never done that before in three years of sailing this boat. I was actually on the foredeck starting to write this when I noticed that the sun was on the side of my face where it had been behind me and thats what made me realise Fiesta was off course. I managed to get it back online again but it crashed completely a couple of hours later and didn’t recover so it was hand steering from that point. Obviously I would have preferred it not to go wrong but that’s boats for you. A job will always present itself and I’m living the dream with this trip so I don’t really care – I will get it sorted…….

Getting into Chichester Harbour was easy and for the first time on this coast I saw single figures on the depth sounder over the shingle bar. It got down to 9 feet and I felt like I was back on the East Coast again.

I anchored up, launched the dinghy and took Max ashore. What a lovely place this is with a stunning sunset and the smell of beach bbq’s to complete the picture. Getting here is a bit of a milestone for me because this is the furthest I have been on Fiesta and being in a brand new place makes me appreciate that I am now properly on my way! Happy days!

Time to tidy the ship – VIP turning up tomorrow!

Boys toy

The fog (again), thick, going and nearly gone!

Lovely anchorage

Leaving Dover was easy. Firstly because the fog finally lifted and secondly, because its a sh*t hole. I don’t mean to be unkind and I am not referring to the Marina. The Marina does exactly what it is meant to do, its just that as soon as you venture in to town in and around Market Square you start to feel scared for your wallet and pretty much everything you are standing in. Its not a nice place to be! The local council know this because they applied for funding to have the Market Square area regenerated. The funding was declined! Sorry Dover, looks like you are on your own…..

Departed Dover at 07.30 on 5th April 2017

Once out of Dover Harbour any nervousness of ships and being told off by port control were gone and with a light northerly breeze, the sails went up and we headed for Eastbourne. Now, I love sailing on the East Coast and I always will but an enormous amount of time is taken navigating around sandbanks, over the shallows and constantly keeping one eye on the depth sounder and to be fair, this in part is what makes it challenging and fun. Not on this coast! Immediately out of the harbour it was nearly 100ft deep, the sails went up and the auto pilot got switched on and it was a straight line for over 20 miles then a slight change of course to get round Dungeness and another straight line of about 20 miles to Eastbourne. Beautiful day with a lovely gentle breeze which meant I could sit on the foredeck in the sun with Max and chill out. The sails didn’t need adjusting and the auto pilot didn’t miss a beat. We were in the lock at about 15.30, the Harbour Master came aboard while the water in the lock was rising and assigned Fiesta a berth. I like Eastbourne.

The ship always seems to get messy after being at sea for a while so I was in the middle of clearing up when some hoodlum threw something at the boat. I looked outside and there was Justin, Tracey and Eddie Nurse standing on the quayside. So one penny richer (fortunately it landed on the boat and being unemployed, it went straight in my pocket) we went for a beer in the sun followed by a popadom frenzy and a curry. Lovely and good to see you all.

Leaving Dover, Max sporting his crew shirt bought by Sarah, along the way, Eastbourne lock, beer in the sun and curry house

Entrance to Eastbourne Harbour this morning 

After a six month countdown, leaving day was here. There was a slightly mad rush Saturday of random last minute things to do but finally I left my flat ready for its new tenants, loaded my mountain bike, fresh food and a few other last bits onto the boat and by about 3pm Fiesta, now fully loaded and sitting a bit lower in the water, became home.

I was joined on my first leg by my very good friend Adrian. My family came down at 3.30am to see me off which was lovely of them and after a farewell at the dockside we left at 4am. There wasn’t really any wind so we had to motor. When there was wind it was in the right direction so the jib did get rolled out a few times. The tide helped us for most of the way, we made good time and had Ramsgate on our right before we knew it. All plain sailing in bright sunshine after a lovely sunrise until we were about three miles from Dover’s entrance and a sea fog moved in really quickly.  There were a lot of ships to be seen one minute and all gone in the fog the next. Cool, calm and collected? No! I was absolutely bricking it! I hadn’t considered fog for a second and yet here it was. There were only two things to do at this point…..  Look to the Lord above and ask for guidance as to how to work the two grand chart plotter that I bought last year. It worked…..

There is a process to go through on approach to Dover and that involves regular contact with Dover port control and basically doing what you are told. Our instruction was pretty much ‘Can you see the harbour wall’? ‘Yes, we can just see it looming out of the fog about 100m away’ ‘Ok, come towards it and follow it along until you find a gap and thats the East entrance, come straight in’. Once inside we were given permission to clear the West entrance and we were in. Quite strange following along a massive concrete wall, hearing ships and fog horns all around but not being able to see a thing. So, good trip and Fiesta was soon tied up and sorted.

Dover Marina is good albeit not pretty but the harbour master was welcoming and got us sorted. When I was filling in the form I had to add my address. Hang on, I haven’t got one  so I told the man that I was on a trip and he said to write ‘Care of boat’. So, thats my new address then. I like it.

Today Adrian’s wife Jo came down with their boys for lunch and to pick up Adrian and now the crew is down to Max and I! If this fog lifts, it might be Eastbourne bound tomorrow…..

First light, sunrise and then the fog……..

 

Up nice and early on the 4th March. Genoa on the new furler, boom on, main on, lazy jacks and stack pack on, secondary fuel filter changed on the engine and I managed to find the source of an annoying rattle. One of the nuts on one of the engine mounts was busy vibrating off and the washer was rattling around. Will be checking that and either changing to nylocks or putting some thread lock on. With that sorted away we go!

Engine was running a little rough but it just needed a nice little run. New roller reefing is a dream, one handed now instead of having to wrap it round my waist and walk away from it!

I motored towards Fambridge and then turned and put the sails up. Nice force 3 made for a lovely little shake down. Went in to Burnham Yacht Harbour and had a little fun manoeuvring in the force 5 that had built. I feel rusty but it will come back!

Love being back onboard in the best escape module I know! Yeah Fiesta!

It’s Tuesday night (28/2) and here I am sitting down, heater on listening to the water lapping at the hull and the wind whistling through the rigging. To me, this is Heaven on Earth! I actually feel like this trip is happening now that Fiesta is back in the water and my list of jobs is almost complete, well as complete as any job list on a boat gets!

Apparently I looked different when I face timed Sarah from the boat at the weekend! So there you go, four months of me stressing and wanting the boat to be ready now now now have finally melted away. I hope I haven’t  been an ass and Sarah assures me that I haven’t (she’s very kind)  but I know she is right, I am different. I just love Fiesta being afloat and ship shape and immediately I am back in my old habit of finding any excuse to leave my flat and head to the boat just to chill, update this, sleep onboard, head for home in the morning, shower and then on the train to work! I love it here.

One month until the start of my trip!

So the up to date position is that Dave at DRS rigging, who has been spot on, has told me that we could be ready to re step the mast in a couple of weeks. This is weather permitting of course but this does mean that I am officially excited again.

John at Bridgemarsh has started the polishing job in order to get Fiesta shining again and once the mast is up its antifouling time and then IN!!!!!! I can’t wait for that and this is good timing because my job list is nearly complete although as Sarah, my girlfriend, will attest; the amount of time I spend down at the boat hasn’t decreased! I just work more slowly and enjoy being onboard!!

Come on good weather and lady luck, lets get the mast up and get Fiesta floating again!!!!!

Happiness is a man on his floater. Oh, that doesn’t sound right but you know what I mean!