Royal Vic, back in the day

This article appeared in the Daily Telegraph on Monday 29th October 2018:- The RVYC was founded on 24th May 1845 by Prince Albert to give Queen Victoria a Yacht Club on the Isle of Wight near her residence at Osborne House having been denied membership and access to the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes on... Continue Reading →

It’s a start

With the new Polyethylene (HDPE) water tank delivered by courier to the south of France, the task of fitting it has loomed huge and daunting in my autumn eyesight. Looking on the bright side, I am seriously blessed by the very kind assistance of John Coe who is a major technical stalwart who I am... Continue Reading →

Snuffer downhaul

Yachting Monthly Letters November 2018 :- Snuffer downhaul Duncan Wells’ article on ‘Mastering downwind sailing’ shows the cruising chute snuffer being pulled down by the crew using the downhaul directly to the snuffer collar. While this is fine in this case, may I suggest that on bigger yachts with larger, more powerful sails, the downhaul... Continue Reading →

Rain Shields

Ventilation for cooling in warmer climates is always a challenge, particularly at anchor where the Air Conditioning is less practical. Leaving the coach roof port lights open is an option but sometimes a mistake as the 14 on the Southerly 135 open inwards and are angled so that, especially in the Caribbean where a torrential... Continue Reading →

Aftermath

So, on my return to the UK, there are a number of issues to understand and address. Among these, why does my propeller anode last less than a month before disappearing? A call to Bruntons to put them on the spot suggested, from their demeanour, that it is not a unique problem and it would... Continue Reading →

Arrival

Having replaced the prop anode in Ibiza and tightened the screws with as much force as I could muster, imagine my disappointment when having a dip, to see that the anode was missing again ! So, the mission was to replace it with one of my spares before the prolonged period in Baie des Anges.... Continue Reading →

Fabulous Cannes

St. Raphael should have been a delightful stop over and apart from being in a goldfish bowl with every mouthful of our dinner inspected by the passing throng, it was looking good - until... When approaching midnight, the disco struck up seemingly 2 metres from our mooring! We simply closed the hatches, pulled the curtains... Continue Reading →

Little and Large

Reluctantly leaving Port Grimaud, we made our way through the manic St. Tropez bay under engine alone in less than 1 knot of wind. We had managed to secure a berth with the very polite and efficient staff in the Vieux Port at St. Raphael which had been recommended. On our approach, the port didn’t... Continue Reading →

Anything but Grim !

Ever since I spent a summer month in Grimaud with a French ‘pen pal’, I have been fascinated by Port Grimaud. In 1969, (when I was 15 and fell in love with Chantal...)  it was still under construction and, it wasn’t finished until 1980. Since then, I have visited several times in various yachts and... Continue Reading →

Shore Leave

Weighing anchor and heading east, the wind picked up as did the sea but as it was at our backs, the motion was not unpleasant – or so I thought… The Marina at Cavalaire-sur-Mer was not as dismissive as most and suggested we call on VHF as we approached to check availability. Not surprisingly, they... Continue Reading →

Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.

Up ↑

 

Enjoying the blog?

 

Comments, suggestions and greetings are very appreciated

 

You can add yours at the bottom of the page

 

You can also subscribe and be notified of any new posts