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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A change of plan
My original plan for the 2017 season was a cruise through Holland, Keil Canal, Swedish Archipelago, Gota Canal, over the top of Scotland, Dublin and back to the south coast. I was facing some adjustments to the plan as two of my regular and dependable crew have unfortunately ruled themselves out until further notice on... Continue Reading →
A Salutary Lesson
If one of your winter jobs was to update the software of your instruments, you would do well to note my recent experience. Having been pleased to have navigated the myriad of menus within my instrument system and successfully updated the software through an internet connection, I was a little smug about having the latest ‘all... Continue Reading →
Blogging across the Atlantic
Yachting Monthly Cruising Log March 2017
Rant
How can it be that a replacement gas cylinder cost 11 Euros in the Azores and £32.99 in Port Solent ?
The End – really
Slipping the mooring buoy off Yarmouth, we motored sedately eastwards with the tide under our keel making good time in the early sunshine. We took the time to rig the courtesy flags of the countries visited over our yearlong cruise and they spanned from the starboard cross trees to the deck. The ARC flags and... Continue Reading →
The End – nearly
This post should have been published on Saturday morning having been meticulously drafted during the course of Friday spent tracking up the Channel. The excellent sailing wind dropped away and we flew the Parasailor while there was sufficient wind to still maintain sufficient pace with the Yarmouth deadline very much in mind. Resorting to the... Continue Reading →
One of the best
We closed land at dawn and the day started bright but not breezy as we motored through the channel inside Ushant. Our timing was perfect as we picked up the first of the ‘flush’ and we recorded 11.6 knots of SOG (speed over the ground) with the tide assistance. The loss of our rope cutter... Continue Reading →
Piccadilly Circus
Of the perverse activities since the last blog was our attempt at aerial photography using a kite and tiny waterproof camera, both presents from my daughter Rebecca. The kite flew a treat and with sufficient tension to support the weight of the camera. The problem came when the camera support frame was being hoisted up... Continue Reading →
Certainment Monsieur
One of the joys of the deck saloon layout is the ability to maintain a watch from inside in inclement weather. Maybe we are going soft but I call cold, grey and raining pretty inclement. Being able to sit at the chart table monitoring the radar and plotter for traffic in 5000m depth with therefore... Continue Reading →