Author: Nick Mines

Having sailed for most of my adult life, I retired (took a step back) from my companies Atom and Thorp which continue in my partial absence, producing really excellent work and run by gifted teams of loyal employees. I now sail my Southerly 135 and crew on various friends yachts, just enjoying being on the water. I continue to 'nudge the tiller' at the studios, probably more often than really necessary or welcome!

Routine

Hejira being a heavy solid cruising yacht, needs a ‘bit of a blow’ to get her going. The light sailing conditions experienced since the period of squalls has provided good relaxed sailing but it has also meant that the lightweight production yachts have ‘got away’ and we have slipped back down the fleet. As we... Continue Reading →

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BLISS !

At last! Wonderful sailing. No purple patches on the radar, a steady F4 on the beam, full sail and ‘munching the miles’ at a sprightly 7 knots. We even have some patches of blue sky. All is well again. Stephen, who crewed on the Trans-Atlantic to the Caribbean, contributed so entertainingly to the blogs, adding... Continue Reading →

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Chafe

When running downwind, it is usual to hold out the jib using the spinnaker pole or the whisker pole. The sheet ‘works’ across the end of the pole as it stretches and this, over a period of time can badly damage the sheet. Our solution was to ‘serve’ some dymeema outer sleeving over the sheet... Continue Reading →

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On the cusp

With such a featureless horizon, the passing of a cargo ship one and a half miles astern becomes noteworthy. The AIS data suggested it was heading for Portsmouth but not whether that is Portsmouth Virginia or Hampshire but judging from its course, it looks like Portsmouth UK although that is a Naval port

.. The temperature... Continue Reading →

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Squall dodging

The early promise at dawn soon condensed into heavy cloud and with lightning and thunder came torrential rain. I couldn't understand why a yacht in front we had been tracking on AIS, turned left and ran at 90 degrees to its previous course but this soon became clear with the massive wind shift that accompanied... Continue Reading →

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