Rolling Down Channel

The morning after the Swale race Tim and I woke at 5 am to find a fine dawn with a light Easterly breeze.  We set off accompanied by four or five other gaffers and motored most of the way to the North Foreland after which the wind built up enough to be useful.  We had a fine fair wind sail down channel, rolling along past the Kent and Sussex beaches and cliffs under a blue sky in bright sunshine at a steady 6 - 7 knots.  We felt sorry for all the poor people ashore trying to avoid getting heatstroke.  We were still going well when we passed Beachy Head at dusk.  But off Brighton the wind eased away and we motored through the night and most of the rest of the way to the Solent.  Still, we had a run from the Swale to Gosport in 30 hours which is pretty good.  We tied up in Haslar Marina and went in search of showers and a late cooked breakfast - both very welcome after a night at sea.

STS Tenacious

Portsmouth harbour is always interesting as there is so much traffic on the water and many interesting boats. The first picture above shows the Training Ship Tenacious. She is a newish wooden square rigged ship that is adapted for taking disabled crew members. This does not by any means restrict her to gentle cruising.  She recently returned from a round the world trip which included a stormy passage in the Southern Ocean and round Cape Horn which was distinguished by a record quantity of broken crockery.

Hugo Boss

The second picture shows the Hugo Boss, here motoring along quietly. This high technology sailing boat rises out of the water on hydrofoils and can achieve speeds of 30 - 35 knots during ocean passages. There are some dramatic videos of her achieving amazing speeds in rough conditions.

The third picture shows the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth viewed here from the Gosport waterside gardens. The QE is huge, and the entrance to Portsmouth harbour has had to be specially dredged and straightened to enable her to squeeze in.  New marker posts have also been installed to guide her safely in.  There is obviously no margin for error.  She may have state of the art defences and no doubt will be a formidable fighting force when she has some aircraft on her decks.  But she wouldn't be much use protecting British interests on the world stage if she couldn't get out of port.  What would happen if some unfriendly power perhaps sabotaged a cross- channel ferry so it sank in the entrance to the harbour?  No doubt there are top secret contingency plans to prevent this sort of thing, which are not obvious to a couple of tired yachtsmen.

On a more mundane level, there are a couple of gaffers here in preparation for the Cowes Rally - East Breeze, and Rosebud, an impressive looking nearly new steel gaffer from Gravesend in the Thames.

46th Swale Race

Saturday saw the Swale race, which is the only race where Thames Barges, smacks, Gaffers and assorted other elderly craft compete together. There are usually a couple of old steam ships as well.

On the morning of the race the river Swale is a fine sight with many anchored vessels getting ready for the start, as shown in the first photo. On Bonita we had Tim, D and Sarah as crew. It was hot and sunny with light northerly winds. Certainly the sort of day when its better to be afloat than ashore. Everyone had a fun day although as usual Bonita just missed the prize list.

Several of the Gaffers are heading off down channel after the race to get to the Old Gaffers celebrations in Cowes in a few days time.

The second picture shows the contented crew enjoying a snack while on the run to the finish mark. The unseamanlike-looking umbrella gives some protection from the hot sun. There are quite a few Gaffers astern, though it would be better had there been rather more.

No blog is complete without at least one useless but vaguely relevant historical fact, and 1888 was also the year the British public started enjoying bananas. In this year Edward Fyffe, a London tea merchant started importing bananas from the West Indies. 

Crew training

We went for a short sail in the Swale with Allan, Alice and Toby. It was a warm day with a light NE breeze. Toby is now 16 months old so takes a lively interest in activity aboard, helps with pulling on ropes and loves waving to people on passing boats. A friendly wave from Toby always gets a gratifying response.

The first picture shows Toby in Bonitas cockpit chair - designed so its occupant can see whats going on and offer advice without getting too much in the way.

Toby in charge

The cockpit chair was originally made about 30 years ago for Allan - seen steering in the upper photo but occupying the chair in the picture below.

D and Allan in Bonitas cockpit

Visitors

On Thursday were were visited by Gerald Lewin and David Munge. They came chugging through the Swale from Queenborough in a little motor launch on the rising tide. Both are old members of Erith Yacht Club and remembered Bonita from when she was kept at Erith further up the river Thames. Bonita was based at Erith between 1937 and 1968. We had the EYC burgee at the masthead to mark their visit.
Gerald had particularly fond memories of Bonita and Dad. He was last aboard when he was 13 and Dad had invited him to help crew in a race. He was entrusted with taking the tiller, but found that the downside of this is that the helmsman gets a steady stream of well meaning advice from the rest of the crew who feel the course being steered is not quite as perfect as perhaps it could be. Previous to this he had only sailed in dinghies: the old Hamble Stars which were kept at Erith. Dad always thought that dinghy sailors made better helmsmen as you get immediate feedback in a dinghy.

We talked about happy memories of Erith which in the days when the river was much busier and more polluted could sometimes be an exciting place in which to learn to sail. Sadly Gerald and David  did not have time to come for a sail on Bonita on this visit before returning to Queenborough while there was still enough water in the river.

                                                         Gerald and David


Today was a bright and blustery day and we went for a sail with Vic and Mark. Most of the boats out had a reef in but we did not seem to find this necessary. Vic of course is an experienced Bonita sailor - specialising in sunbathing weather- but today was Marks first time afloat in her. We charged around the river at top speed before picking up the buoy under sail at the top of the tide.

                                                    Vic with Mark steering

Mast stepping

Bonita was craned back into the creek at the beginning of the week. Worryingly she often leaks a bit after being lifted back, probably as the hull must distort a bit while propped up ashore and also while hanging in the crane slings. However the leaks usually dry up in a few days. No doubt the tenacious Faversham creek mud, which seems to get everywhere, helps in this process. We will keep Bonita in the mud for a few more days to let things settle before taking her out to her mooring in the river.

Yesterday we reattached the rigging to the mast and had it lifted back into the boat. Its customary to put one or more copper coins under the base of the mast before it goes back in. Some purists would say that the date on the coin should be the year the boat was built, but with a Victorian boat this seems an unnecessary complication. Putting coins under the mast is a very ancient tradition and is supposed to bring good luck.  Archaeologists  excavating Roman ships have found coins placed under the heel of the mast by the original builders.

                                                     Two 2p coins in the mast step 

The reason for this ritual is not hard to see. The base of the mast sits in a mortice in the keel and any water collecting there cannot drain away. The copper salts from the coin will help inhibit the fungus that causes wood rot. While the coins themselves may or may not bring good luck, clearly any rot that develops at the base of the mast is very likely to bring bad luck.

Owners of boats with metal masts need not worry about rot but it seems that they too often want to benefit from the good luck associated with the traditional coin under the mast step.  The trouble is that a copper coin will quickly cause electrolytic decay of the aluminium. It would be logical to use an aluminium coin: some of these were minted during the period of hyperinflation in Germany in the 1920s, but they are not now readily available and may not be considered very lucky.  Apparently the recommended solution is to encase the copper coin in epoxy or silicone to insulate it from the mast. Even cruise liners and naval vessels it seems sometimes have coins welded to the base of their steel masts to bring them good fortune.

A curious example of an old tradition turning into a new superstition.