Love Sailing

Elektra’s relaunch date had been set for the 4th of April but on the 3rd the boss of the boat yard go in contact to say it was delayed by a day due to a problem with another boat which was now on their trailer. Most of the launch day was fine but rain started just before Elektra floated off the trailer and came down heavy as I was motoring her out to her swing mooring. I managed to hook the buoy first go and pulled the mooring strop aboard. Then the normal checks followed looking for leaks but hoping not to find any, all looked good and locked up and left in the dinghy back to shore.

The next day I had to work, but I planed to use Good Friday to clean some more and a few jobs aboard. This is what happened and on the evening tide I dropped her swing mooring and motored Elektra up river to her gale proof trot mooring in Carne Creek due to a forecast of east wind on Saturday (Elektra’s seasonal swing mooring is open to the full force on the English Channel when the wind is from the east). On Saturday I had to work again.

I had been in contact with Matt from “Allspars” of Penryn for work on Elektra’s mast before she had been launched. Matt had contacted me again earlier in the week to say they could have the mast craned on Tuesday 11th of April but had got back to me again just before the Easter holidays to say the weather wasn’t looking good for Tuesday and he would let me decide to come or not. As Easter holiday weekend passed I could see the only day which was possible was Sunday. I wasn’t able to contact Matt to ask if this was ok but decided to motor Elektra over anyway.

I contacted my sailing friend Robert who owns a Sadler 34 which is ashore in the boat yard next to “Allspars” to ask if he could take a photo of the fishing boat, so I knew what l was dealing with and would he be able to take my lines on arrival. Robert kindly took some photos and suggested it would be a good idea to look first.

So on Sunday early I moved Elektra from her gale proof mooring in Carne creek to her swing mooring in Gillan Harbour before returning home for breakfast. Then l drove the 16miles to Penryn in about 40mins to check out for myself, 2hrs had passed before l got home again. By which time l needed to get out to Elektra again to motor her the 7.5nm which would take 1.5hrs to Penryn. After mooring Elektra up to the fishing boat and setting some weights on the springs with the help of Robert, l could leave for home as Vicki was waiting to pick me up.

Matt contacted me early on Tuesday to say they had arranged mast lift for 0930hrs, l replied to say l was driving over and would be there around 0800hrs. When l arrived there wasn’t anywhere to park and an artic was waiting to load a yacht and needed to turn around first. Matt said they could do it all, so l handed over Elektra’s keys and left them to it.

I then drove down to the outboard repair shop and dropped off my outboard for punt which had developed a gearbox problem after only a few uses this season. I have a spare outboard but it hadn’t been started for 3.5 years, l didn’t know how good it was. I needn’t of worried as it started on the 3rd pull having been laid up properly after it’s last use.

Matt emailed later on Tuesday to say Elektra’s mast was down and they were getting on with the jobs. With updates over what can only be described as atrocious weather, heavy rain and gales. Matt then emailed me again on Thursday to say all was done and the mast was back on Elektra and she is ready to go. The jobs had been new top of mast sleeves, new steaming light, new LED dusk/dawn anchor light bulb, re-run topping lift, refit wind index, new back stay tensioner and wash under side of spreaders. On Saturday after another day of strong winds Vicki drove me back to Penryn and l motored Elektra back to her mooring in Gillan. There in the afternoon l bent on her new set of sails for the first time, Elektra was now ready to go sailing.

The 2nd hand water tank proved to have a leak when l filled it up for the first time, so in the end needed to be removed again. Which left me with a dilemma of finding a new replacement. In the end l ordered a new solid plastic one from TEKTANKS, not a cheap option but a long lasting solution. I ordered 2nd of February and it was delivered on 29th March, with Elektra’s relaunch set for 4th of April didn’t leave a lot of time for fitting, plumbing in, then cleaning and loading Elektra’s cruising gear.

The new solar frame and 2 new 80W solar panels had been fixed and the wires and cables run though the tubes, though the cockpit coping (l hate cutting holes in my boats) and on foreward to the chart table and switch panel. The wires and cables had been wired in and all was working. The AIS was working much better with the antenna moved from inside the cabin(as recommended by marine electronics guy in 2021) and outside onto the new solar frame.

Back in December l had bought from Mike Lucas new stanchion deck inserts, at the time l didn’t think l would have any spare time to fit this winter. But with the second half of January and all of February being so dry jobs had gone quicker than expected and l had some spare time.

So l chose a dry day to chip out the starboard side inserts, it took about an hour per inserts, l found the best method was to use a hammer on a 1/2″ wood chisel. The problem came with the new inserts were a little oversized. Having made contact with Mike again for advice, l had the new inserts turned down on a metal lathe. The delayed the job by which time the rain had started. So it was a case of waiting for a dry day. After 10 days a dry day arrived and l got on with the job again. The new inserts went back in with plenty of sealant very quickly, so l started on the port side. I must have learnt something from the starboard side as the 4 port side inserts were chipped out cleaned up in 2.5hrs. I am pleased with the final result.

The normal winter jobs of antifouling, engine service etc had gone on in between the other work, Elektra is due to be relaunched on the 5th of April.

Elektra had come ashore at the end of October for easy access by marine trades for work needed. But getting trades to do anything had proved difficult.

I had been busy working in November and December but had allowed myself the whole of January to get on with jobs aboard, first on the list was fit a bespoke black water tank which had been made in 2021. I would never have beleaved it would take so long to fit! But like all boats access proved difficult and some other jobs were added to the list. Our shower mixer tap had been broken since we owned Elektra, we hadn’t ever used, it seemed sensible to replace while l had the head out but if l knew it would take one whole day to remove, l don’t think l would have started! So it was the end of the second week before the job was completed and l could refit the head.

Then came the turn of a replacement water tank. Our 50lt pillow water tank had proved to be on the small side for our off the grid cruising, only enough water for 5 days. We had been carrying 25lts in a can stowed in the wet locker giving us enough for 7 days. I had managed to buy a second hand bigger bespoke solid water tank which had come out of a Sadler 29 which had crossed the Atlantic. The first job was getting it into the fore cabin!

I had to remove the steps to get though the companion way hatch and then remove the doors to get into the fore cabin, once in place it didn’t look so big anymore! The plumbing in proved to be much easier, the only real problem came getting the new filler pipe run in, but done in the end.

At the beginning of November l got onto the stainless manufacturing company having back earlier in the summer agree a price. Sandy the boss came over to St Anthony to measure up and told me the earliest would be Christmas for delivery. Christmas holidays came and went, l finally fitted the new frame this week gone. The solar panels had also arrived the weekend before, l am now in the process of making aluminium frames for the solar panels to connect onto the stainless frame.

Work is on going, will post more info later.

Most of my early boat ownership didn’t involve a delivery passage because I built them myself in our garage.

But when we bought “Gala” our Hurley 22 she was in Emsworth on a trailer. We were living in Cornwall, 6-7hrs drive one way. We went to look at her in August 2005 checking one road going and another coming back, looking for roads without any steep hills. Liking what we saw made an offer subject to survey and “Gala” became ours in September.

Now to tow her home! I am well used to towing trailers as I have done 75% of my working life, reversing isn’t a problem for me. I checked with my friend “Jay” a engineer what I needed to check re bearings of trailer, he said to jack up and check movement, should spin easy but there shouldn’t be any lateral movement. I checked weights the HOA website said the yacht weight was 1.75 ton (I found out later after the tow, that this weight was dry hull factory weight and didn’t include anything else). The van I was going to use for the tow was rated to 4 ton all up gross including van weight. The trailer was 1/2ton, the van was 1ton and I allowed 1/2ton for extra’s, which added up to 3.75ton, with in limits I thought!

Early in September we set off in my van to tow “Gala” home, checking another road for steep hills on route. By the time we arrived up to Emsworth the second time we had checked 3 roads all of which had a steep hill somewhere, so we were going to have to try another road which we didn’t know yet. Not being rich we stayed aboard “Gala” that night and I remember sitting in the cockpit a lovely starlight night and watching the lights of the planes fly over head. Next morning I was out early doing my bearing checks and the boatyard pulled “Gala” out onto the exit road for me to hitch up on tarmac. Mast strapped down to “Gala” and “Gala” to trailer. I checked the height of load in case of any low bridges, she was a lot taller than the van.

Then we were ready to go, the time had passed, it was 11am. We had looked at the road map book again and decided to go north up the motorway and join the A303 running west. This we did “Gala” was towing well but there was quite a rattle coming from the trailer, I pulled over to check, it turned out to be the solid brake rods rattling in their holders. It was slow going, our max speed was 50mph because she would snake above that speed. All was good until where the A303 passed over the A350, we came along a level to the bottom of a steep hill and I thought to me self this is going to be a tester! We were in the crawler lane and cars even lorries were passing us up the fast lane, we were in 3rd then down to 2nd and then 1st. We almost made it to the top! The van stalled just before the hill started to level out. Well we couldn’t stay there on this busy road, so I reversed back down over the hill in the slow lane to the level and parked up. I crossed the road on foot and asked a farm worker if the minor road (cut though to A350) I was standing in was steep, he said “no, it’s a gentle incline compared to the A303” I thanked him and crossed the road again backed to my van. My next problem was crossing the A303 from inside to turn right onto the minor road, I am glad to say other motorists stopped to let me do so, she was heavy and slow to get moving, one moving I didn’t want to stop, up this minor road we went and out onto the A350 heading south, up the slip road to turn right back onto the A303 heading west!

Continuing west each hill after that, the thought in the back of the mind was are we going to make it! But all was well until Honiton the A30 had been blocked by a landslide and we were diverted to join the M5 at Cullompton. We decided stopping at the Exeter services was a good idea for food and toilet break. There we would of stopped for the night but it wasn’t permitted. We decided the A38 wasn’t a good option due to the steep hill so we went on west on the A30. After Okehampton we turned off a minor road to Roadford Reservoir carpark for the night. That evening I phoned “Jay” and explained the problem with hills! I asked weather he would come out with his works Landrover if we couldn’t get up a hill somewhere, he thought for a bit and then said, “I will give you a route to avoid steep hills” which he did. Next day we carried on west on the A30 to Blackwater Roundabout and then we went back to Truro on A390, Truro to Falmouth on A39, Falmouth to Helston on A394, then on to our local roads, we had to go to Gweek to avoid another steep hill and on out onto Goonhilly Downs to avoid another, but we got back home in the end. The total journey time had been 11.5hrs excluding stops. Having done that tow, I said “never again!” But I did tow her to and from the water with my Landrover Discovery at the beginning and end of seasons for a number of years until I saw sense and used a local farmer with a 4×4 tractor.

“Gala” ready one season between 2011-2014 for the 2 mile tow to the sea.

When we sold “Gala” in 2017 the new owner arranged with a boat transport company to tow her to South Wales, the companies base was Porthtreath in north Cornwall, the owner came with a Landrover to tow “Gala” on her trailer to his base where she was loaded onto a low loader for delivery.

This my last photo was “Gala” awaiting Landrover tow to Porthreath, and then low loader to South Wales.

I read a post from another blogger a few days ago, which talked of the feelings of selling a past yacht, having bought bigger or for another reason.

This got me thinking of my past boats and yachts. My father being a teacher thought very quickly I wasn’t going to have brains to go to university so encouraged me into using my hands and later a trade (in later years I realised I was dyslexic). So dad thought building a dinghy from plans would help, so one winter at the age of 12, I built an plywood 8ft pram “Scamp” dinghy. The following summer in Gillan Harbour I was pushed off from the shore to find out how to sail the hard way. I found I loved sailing. This dinghy I kept, it was used as a punt in later years to get out to other bigger boats on swing moorings, until around 15 years old it started to rot and it ended life on a bonfire. But I still have it’s mast.

The following winter, I bought a plywood kit “Embassy” 10ft dinghy which I built, more sailing at Lochwinnock, later I had my one and only sailing lesson on Loch Lomond with my uncle John who was a dinghy instructor, I learnt a few things but mainly the calls for going about and gybing. I sold this dinghy to buy the next sailing dinghy.

At 15, I bought a 14ft “Enterprise” dinghy which I sailed lots over the next 3 years until I got interested in sea kayaking and sold her on after not sailing much for 2 years.

At the age of 17 after I had started my apprenticeship as a carpenter, I built a plywood “Falmouth Bass Boat” from plans, we used for a few years but it wasn’t a sailing boat, she was painted orange and called “Outspan”. It got stored ashore in a barn at a local farm one year. The barn had fallen down around it by the time we got her back 23 years later, the local young farmer who drove the tractor couldn’t believe boats had been built of wood! The plywood had rotted and the cost of replacing was more than the value of the boat, so this was another which went on a bonfire!

“Outspan” the Falmouth Bass Boat I built around 1977 before she got moved to the farm shed, she was collected again around 2000 but rotten was later burnt.

At 18 I got into sea kayaking and bought a new GRP “Baidarka Explorer” I called her “Banana Boat” which I paddled over 4000nm during the next 5 years, mainly on the West Coast of Scotland, when I moved to Cornwall in 1982 there wasn’t any other’s doing this sort of kayaking (in Cornwall at that time was surf kayaking) This kayak I sold in around 1990 having not paddled for years.

The only photo I have of me kayaking

At about 18 I bought my first GRP boat a new 16ft “Plymouth Pilot” called “Sara May” (inboard open motorboat) hull and deck to fit out. This fitting out I did during holidays in Cornwall, so took me 5 years to complete. She was first launched in 1982 and I took up fishing but soon found I didn’t like fish much. I sold this boat in 1988 having not put on the water for a year.

Here is “Sara May” still being fitted out, sometime around 1980, I think that’s the back of my head at the aft of the boat.

I got married in 1986, my wife came from a farming family and liked cattle, so I left the sea for a while, we lived on a small holding we kept a sucker herd of Herefords until my wife left around 1998. After that I played golf for a while, I loved the game but I gave up playing in the spring of 2009 because I needed to work some of the time!

In 2003 I met Vicki and she moved in spring 2004. I continued to play golf but we wanted something we could do together, I suggested sailing. Vicki hadn’t ever done any but had been on a few canal holidays. So we hired a dinghy from Sailaway at St Anthony, Vicki loved it from the get go. We hired a few more times though the summer and then bought a “Bradwell 18” called “Acorn” in August, which we used the rest of that summer and during the season of 2005. Although “Acorn” was a lovely day sailing yacht, she wasn’t a cruiser, it would have been camping! So we started looking for a bigger yacht.

Around August 2005 we set off to look at a “Hurley 22” called “Gala” in Emsworth. She had a fin keel but came with a trailer, which was the main reason we went to look, as the cost of buying a new trailer was nearly the value of the yacht. We made an offer subject to survey, which was excepted. It was an interesting road delivery but that’s another story! Over the winter 2005-06 I did my RYA Day Skipper and RYA VHF/DFC Radio. We sailed “Gala” over 5000nm during the 11 seasons we owned her, including 3 passages (60nm) to and from The Isles of Scilly, only once having to return via Newlyn due to a bad CG/ Met Office forecast in 2013 and that poor forecast was my reason to buy my first smartphone later that year. As yachts go 22ft is small but “Gala” was a very capable little yacht, we had been at sea a few times in a force 7 without any problems. I did a complete internal refit during ownership including a new inboard diesel. We sold “Gala” in the summer of 2017 having bought a bigger yacht “Elektra” at the end of 2016. We got a lot less than we had paid for her back in 2005 but I wasn’t too worried because we paid about £12-14,000 less than the 2005 value buying Elektra. Values of yachts fell by half between 2008-2013 and it was a buyers market between 2014- 2020.

Boats come and go, all you can do is look after them while you own them. It’s no good getting to upset when you need to sell, hopefully you well have enjoyed sailing them during your ownership. The best you can hope for is the new owner, gets as much enjoyment. Sometimes it’s better not to know what happened to your last yacht or boat. “Gala” didn’t go to a good home, I think she may have been launched in 2018 but then laid up in a boatyard and she hasn’t been back in the sea since.

But I have a theory about yachts/boats and their use……….. 50% never go in the water and 25% never leave their moorings. 12.5% only leave their moorings when there isn’t any wind! Only 12.5% go sailing when it’s windy and half of them are racing yachts………… When cruising, we see the same cruising yachts again, again and again though each season. And on a nice windy day sailing, looking around, there are very few other sails, and I think to myself where is everyone?? So when you have to sell your pride and joy, the chances of her going to a good home is only 12.5%.

We had been thinking of a bigger yacht for a few years. In November 2016 we bought Elektra which this blog is about. Since owning Elektra, I have met her PO and we chat when we see each other. Elektra was his first yacht which he bought in 2010, he traded her in for a new Bavaria 33 at the London Boat Show 2016.

Elektra had been launched after a rush 4 days to get the jobs done on April 5th but she wasn’t ready to sail. It took most of April to load the stuff needed to go cruising and I only managed one day sail alone during April logging 11nm.

Still not ready in May we only managed one weekend away (to find out what we had forgotten).

It was the beginning of June before we managed to do much sailing at all, out most weekends and a week long holiday at the end of the month which turned out to be wet and windy! We logged 130nm in June.

It was July before the real summer weather started and with it the dry slowed the grass so I could have another holiday, this month we logged 97nm.

But by August the dry weather had stopped the grass altogether and we were able to get away for 2x 10 day holidays, the first of which allowed us the time to sail east to Salcombe. With this fantastic weather we also had good winds, which don’t often go to together. The 2nd holiday we just sailed around our local area and managed to log 197nm in August.

With September came the rain and we only managed one weekend away.

I only managed 2 day sails in October and Elektra was pulled out for the winter on the 28th.

The numbers are, we were aboard 62 days, 45 nights, 34 of the nights at anchor. We sailed 36 days logging 513nm which isn’t much but better than any one of the last 3 seasons.

In resent weeks a few yachts have come onto the market which would have suited us. Having been converted from fin keel to bilge keel we don’t want to go back, not many bigger yachts have bilge keels. The cut off seems to be about 35ft possibly because of the yachts weight at that size.

We have been spoilt with our Sadler which were designed to sail well even with bilge keels or as Sadler called them twin keels. Many of the Westerly’s look like the bilge keels are an after thought!

Anyway a few weeks ago a very nice twin keel Sadler 34 came on the market which had been completely updated since 2017, I saw the add 2 days after it was posted and contacted the owner by which time there was an interested buyer flying back from the Med to see her. Needless to say the yacht was sold inside a week so I mist out. There was another Sadler 34 up London way, although 10 years younger the present owners hadn’t spent any money on her during the last 10 years so she was in need of a major refit, having seen her details we weren’t interested in looking partly because of the 6.5hr drive one way. I told the agent she was overpriced, he suggested putting in an offer. We thought about it a little longer but having priced up work she would need, we decided against. Sailing friends were suggesting a very low offer but refits aren’t just money they are time as well. It had taken us 6 years so far to update Elektra and not finished yet, we didn’t want to start again!

Then a Sadler 290 came on the market. S290s are a more modern design, we had looked at these a few years before but with only 48 built they didn’t come on the market very often and we couldn’t find any. I enquired about this 290 but being 60k she was out of our price range.

Looking at all these yachts got me thinking of just how much time and money I had spent updating Elektra and I went to the effort of writing it all down. You sort out a job but you don’t remember what it was like before. Looking at the list made me think, why change now we have the yacht nearly like we want her?

So there it is, after looking and pondering about buying a bigger yacht we have decided we are happy with Elektra.

Elektra had a new furling gear in the late summer and I ordered new set of sails at the end of the summer, these were delivered the day before Elektra was pulled out for the winter, so ready for next season. Our solar frame was always an add hoc arrangement and we had thought of replacing it but we never had the funs. So this winter a new frame has been ordered and 2 new 80W solar panels are also on their way.

Then after arranging all this another excellent bilge keel Sadler 34 came on the market at the end of November, everything had been updated in resent years, for a little while this chucked a spanner in the works while we decided what to do! I contacted the owner and we were going to view but after a day or two Vicki and I confirmed to each other, we were happy to continue to sail Elektra until age or bad health stops us, she is big enough.

The weather was poor though October, one low following the next, finding any time to go sailing was difficult but I could see a possible day out and having sailed the last time in almost no wind I didn’t want that again.

So it was Wednesday 12th October when I went sailing next, The forecast was SW force 4-5. Being alone again I didn’t pull up the main just sailed on genoa alone. I decided to sail east round Nare Point and Southeast to Manacle Buoy then close on the wind South until I felt I wanted to turn around. This is what I did, following Elektra out of the Helford River about 1/4nm behind was another similar sized fin keel yacht under full sail. I hadn’t really looked at the tides but being springs the tide must have been running south at 2-3kts off the Manacles. I was seeing 7kts SOG most of the time, Elektra was going like a train!

I continued to sail south for another 2nm or so before going about. Then I could see the tide stream when heading north, even with Elektra was surfing down the waves her SOG had slowed to 3-5kts. It was a lovely sail, I picked up Elektra’s mooring 3hrs after dropping having logged 14nm. On the GPS the fastest speed was recorded as 7.8kts!

On the 16th of October I moved Elektra into her Carne Creek mooring as there was a easterly blow coming and there wouldn’t be enough depth to move her in there later in the week. The wind has continued to blow and we are now waiting for the boat yard to pull Elektra out for the winter.

I had been busy at work over the last fortnight but was keen to get out sailing again but Vicki wasn’t interested as she thought it would be to cold on the water, so I said I would go out alone on Saturday 8th.

The tide was dropping away fast as I got the dinghy down to the water. Not deep enough to lower the engine but deeper than wellies depth, so I rowed into deeper water and then lowered the engine. Getting out to Elektra it looked like it was going to be a nice day. I set about getting Elektra ready to leave the mooring, I have to be more ready when sailing alone, have the tiller pilot plugged in and ready to use.

I dropped the mooring at 1000hrs and motored her gently out of Gillan into Falmouth Bay and set all sail but almost no wind! I sailed around a bit at 1-2.5kts for a bit before giving up and motoring in towards Helford. We hadn’t been into the Helford River all summer, so it was nice just to doodle along and look at the yachts. I dropped anchor off Portnavas Creek at 1200hrs and put the kettle on for lunch.

After around 1.5hrs I pulled up the mainsail and pulled up Elektra’s anchor, she started getting a little close to a moored motor launch so before stowing I went back to the helm and turned her to starboard across the river before walking back to the bow to stow the anchor in locker. Then I motored Elektra back out down Helford River, in the narrows the tide was running in at about 3kts so a little slow going for a time. Once clear of the narrows I started sailing Elektra towards Durgan, this was good but when we tacked south back across the river the wind died off so I had to motor again. As we neared Mawgan Sheer the wind filled in again and we were sailing at 3-4kts. Almost sailing due east, I continued like this for a while before going about and heading back to Gillan. I picked up Elektra’s mooring at 1530hrs having logged 14nm in 4hrs.