Love Sailing

January, Getting on with the joinery work

February, New 220ha battery bank

March, Anti-fouling in the mud, never again!

April, Elektra goes back on her mooring early, she was a bit lonely being the only yacht there

May, Summer has arrived and with it very light winds!

June, Porth Conger, St Agnes, IOS, having had a fast passage the light winds returned

July, We visit Gorran Haven and found the best Fish&Chips

August, Cawsands, during a week aboard for the southwest SSOA 40th party in Sutton

September, There was some good sailing

October, Our last weekend aboard, just the best weather anyone could wish for!

November, Unloading for the winter

December, Laid up for the winter up a creek safe from the winter storms

January, Ready the launch

February, Launch day

March, Awaiting delivery

March, After delivery passage, on winter mooring waiting to go sailing in April

April, First weekend away

May, Our first Sadler Rally in Fowey

June, Drying out to scrub “Elektra’s” bottom at Place in the Precuir River

July, The Cove, St Agnes, IOS. Our first visit to Scilly on Elektra

September, What happened to the rest of the summer! This was the last weekend aboard.

October, Elektra sat on her mooring unused

November, Laid up safe from the winter storms up a creek

December, Time to start on the winter joinery work

Sunday 4th November

On the next spring tide, this time low pressure I was able to a just Elektra’s mooring lines to bring her in closer to the shore so she dries out on more solid ground and she isn’t to far down the bank in the mud. Not too close because want to get her out again in the spring! 

I needed to do this because of the need to get to Elektra’s stern this winter for work on her rudder, boarding ladder and back stay.

At the beginning of the season we had a 80W solar panel, controller and meter fitted by a pro, this has worked much better than we expected, never once being short of power. We kept the old batteries making one bank of 210ah and added another bank of 220ah, these two banks were then used alternative days with the solar changing both banks as needed. I knew the old bank was in a poor state and would need to be replaced during the season sometime but with the solar charger they lasted out the whole season but will need replacing before next season.

We sailed to Fowey in May we had an excellent 10.5hr sail from The Helford River to The Isles of Scilly (60nm) in June but had to motor back to the mainland at the end of the week. Sailed to the Yealm River and Plymouth area in August for the southwest SSOA 40th, apart from those passages we stayed local due to there not being much wind.

We only used our cruising chute twice during the season, even with the wind being light, I expect its because we are normally sailing somewhere else and not just going out sailing for the day, the wind never seemed to be blowing in the right direction to use the sail! I am thinking of leaving it at home next season because of lack of use and uses to much stowage space.

We have ordered a new spray hood and cockpit enclose to be made the start of 2019 season. I have a few external stainless steel jobs to arrange allowing for time and money but on my to do list. The southerly storm “Callum” in October, took Elektra’s VHF antenna and the wind index with it, I never found out until last weekend, so there is another job!

2018 has been the best summer since I returned to sailing in 2004 for getting out on our yacht, it was a summer to remember. The numbers are, we spent 80 days aboard and we sailed for 59 of them. We had 58 nights aboard and 45 of them were at anchor, the weather was great but the winds were light, sometimes taking 4hrs to log 9nm so not the fastest sailing, for all the time we were aboard we still only logged 666nm

First thing was to lay the winter moorings, its a sticky job getting down in the mud but with know how it can be done without getting stuck. I use wadders for this and walk down the stream which is has a stoney bottom. I set two 15kg Bruce stern anchors  in the deep mud with 20m of 8mm chain on each, pulling each chain back up though the mud towards the shore, then we are set up for bringing Elektra up Carne creek for the winter.

Then it was time to start unloading Elektra into my pick-up. Once done back home and unload truck, then lunch. Then back to St Anthony again to pick up punt and launching trolly, once that was done it was time to go back to Elektra and get her ready for moving up the creek.

Here up Carne Creek Elektra will be safe from the winter gales, only floating high water on spring tides over 5 meters, most of the time she will be aground. 

[wpvideo S9WTmWYN

After a very nice weekend at anchor, we had a lovely fast sail home, this video is going south in the Carrick Roads into a 2kt north spring tide, we only sailed on our genoa.

Saturday 20th October

Today was the main “Sadler & Starlight Owners Association” AGM and 40th anniversary party in Poole which we may have gone to but in the end decided to put the cost towards a new cockpit enclose planned to have made over winter.

Instead we were on the water enjoying our Sadler and the surroundings, there was little or no wind forecasted for Saturday and Sunday, then a north-easterly blow set for Sunday evening into Monday, which was due to ease over Monday afternoon. Our plan was to enjoy the October sunshine of Saturday and Sunday at anchor, let the blow go though and sail “Elektra” back to Gillan on Monday afternoon and leave her to dry on St Anthony beach to unload gear on Tuesday ready for getting her onto her winter mooring on the evening high water.

Saturday turned into a wonderful day and we sat in the cockpit enjoying the sunshine and reading, I pumped up the dinghy and paddled around for photos, also went ashore for a walk

Sunday was a little bit more of the same but with the weather so good we were making the most of it before the time came for us to set sail for home.

After the blow Sunday night, Monday weather was just as nice in the morning , so a little more of the same before we had to get back, we needed to leave by 1440hrs, this was a down-wind sail NNE force 5 running against an incoming spring tide of 2kts, we just sailed on the genoa but we were still making 4.5-5kts SOG south down Carrick Roads.

I was thinking there would be more wind in Falmouth Bay bust this wasn’t the case until we were nearing Gillan. The wind picked up then just when we wanted to slow down and we sped in the entrance at 5-6kts logging 9nm in 1.75 hours. Then came the problem with picking up the tender off our mooring in a lumpy NE swell, we managed on the second try. We then motored Elektra into St Anthony’s beach to dry out tomorrow for her unloading ready for laying up.

Friday 19th October

With a chance of one last weekend aboard before Elektra is laid-up for the winter but the forecast was showing little or no wind again! It had been blowing strong east and north easterly in the last few days.

We loaded the punt and headed out to Elektra bobbing up and down in the remains of the easterly swell, loading up the stores and making ready to leave, only the grill pan on the floor of the galley was the only thing out of place after the blow. Unzipping the sail-pack, starting the engine, all was going well until I pulled up the mainsail, all the flies in the area had decided to hide in our mainsail, black with flies!

At 1400hrs we dropped the mooring and headed out to get rid of the flies, after motoring out of the creek we tried to sail for 1/2 an hour but we were only making 1.3-1.5kts so I started the engine again. we motored across Falmouth Bay and north up Carrick Roads to Channels Creek having logged 9nm in 2hrs. Here we dropped anchor as close in as possible.

We had only been there for 20mins and up the Carrick Roads came a floating crane with 2 tugs, not something you see every day I got some photos and some videos.