The nautical adventures and misadventures of Hejira, her skipper, and all who sail in her…
Having made significantly better progress than feared, we decided that, with over a week before our flights home from Faro, we could relax and ‘hop’ down the Iberian West coast to Cape St Vicente and our destination on the Algarve. We have visited Muros and Bayona in Spain and Viana do Castela and Porto so... Continue Reading →
Peter Hoade had crewed from the Azores back to the UK in 2016 and is one of the four of us on this next leg. He had recently moved to the western edge of Dartmoor and kindly met Dave and I in Plymouth driving us to spend an enjoyable afternoon and overnight in his delightfully... Continue Reading →
After months of planning and preparation our adventure is finally underway. Leaving Port Solent lock, we responded to the lock keepers enquiry of ‘when are you back’ with a jaunty ‘in about two years’ which was quite satisfying ! For this first leg to Plymouth, I had the very best of crews in Dave Cooke.... Continue Reading →
The winter programme of jobs is well under way with Hejira ashore for a 6 week period. I am always reluctant to lift ashore for the coldest months (this is only really possible in a marina situation) as the sea, perversely, is something of a ‘warm’ radiator and affords protection against freezing which is not... Continue Reading →
Having really struggled to find a solution to propeller fouling that actually works, I am compelled to broadcast what is, without doubt, the best I have experienced. My propeller was treated with Propspeed in 2016 and was immersed for 15 months before lifting in February 2018. There was absolutely zero fouling on the prop and... Continue Reading →
2017 will be remembered as a compromised sailing year with Hejira spending too much time on her mooring. This was as a result of building an extension to the house (yes after the children have left home, we need more space……), the death of my wife’s father while she was away and several big family... Continue Reading →
Notification of a Cruising Association Winter talk on Tuesday 10th of October 2017 at The Upper Thames Sailing Club, Coldmoorholme Lane between Marlow and Bourne End, SatNav post code SL8 5PT. Talk starts at 20.00, bar opens from 19.15 Entrance: CA Members £3, Guests £5. All welcome. Fingers crossed !!!!!
As featured in the August 2017 Yachting Monthly 'The Confessional' - 'Unconventional mooring methods' Special mention of Dave Cooke who was an innocent victim !
Yachting Monthly Letters May 2017 Well, it won a bottle of rum as the 'Letter of the month' but the picture they used for the instruments was clearly just an 'archive instrument picture' and I am not sure if those old instruments even had software to update! Here is a picture of my instruments so... Continue Reading →
Following my 'Change of plan' blog, the question of insurance cover for single handed sailing has been raised by correspondents. I had already discussed this with my insurers Pantaenius and their helpful and positive response follows:- Dear Mr Mines, It was nice to meet you at Southampton, and I hope you enjoyed the show. Thank... Continue Reading →
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