ALL AT SEA | JULY 2010 | news@allatsea.co.uk
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CREW AND CONTENTS Sea talk.. ......................................................... 2 Consultant Editor Bob Satchwell
News........................................................ 2-15 Date with dinghies..................................... 8 Liverpool Boat Show.. ............................. 11 Shelley Jory-Leigh............................. 12-13
Ad Manager Katie Hawksworth
Geoff Holt.................................................... 15
Katie.Hawksworth@ cslpublishing.com
UK Staycation guide................................ 17
Kit................................................................... 16 RYA.. ............................................................... 20 Sticky............................................................ 22
Managing Director Sue Baggaley
The Green Blue......................................... 24 Engine Quest............................................. 27 Cowes Week preview.. ....................... I-VIII Book reviews.. ............................................ 29 In the drink................................................ 30
Sales Support Administrator Michaela Kingshott
Private adverts................................... 31-32 Marina Guide...................................... 33-35 Small at Sea......................................... 36-37 Classifieds................................................... 52 RNLI.............................................................. 54
South Coast Rep. Bill Oakley
Tidal predictions...................................... 54
Designer Flo Terentjev
The views and opinions of the contributors to this publication are not necessarily those of the Publishers. Accordingly, the Publishers disclaim any responsibility for such views and opinions. Printed in Cambridge by Cambridge Newspapers. Copyright 2010 CSL Publishing Ltd. ISSN 1475-8237
Production Controller Anthony Gibbons Web Editor Jane Rickard Contributors Shelley Jory-Leigh Sticky Staplyton Paul Antrobus Geoff Holt Joe Adams Published monthly by CSL Publishing Ltd Alliance House 49 Sidney Street Cambridge CB2 3HX Tel: 01223 460490 Fax: 01223 315960 Subscriptions: 01442 879097
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Lessons to learn from self-inflicted troubles Seatalk By Bob Satchwell
I KNOW it’s a cliché but confession really is good for the soul. So here goes: I ran aground last month. So what? I hear you say. Well, the awful thing is that we had been aboard for all of 15 minutes. It was bright, sunny and warm with a gentle breeze - a perfect evening. What’s more we were motoring quietly from our home base down Portchester creek en route from Portsmouth to Cowes – a trip completed safely and efficiently a thousand times previously. But we still ran aground. You get the picture. Hence the need for this groveling, acutely embarrassing, public admission of guilt. It is required mainly because there are one or two valuable lessons from this painful event. Oh, and too many people knew about the incident to try to keep it quiet. As I say, this was a regular route out of harbour. We had just set sail so we could be expected to be fresh, alert and as excited as at any embarkation. We were through the worst of the bendy bits in the channel. There was not another moving vessel near our course. The autohelm was set for the channel entrance. I went below briefly to change channels on the VHF leaving my companion, who also had some experience of the channel, on watch. Perhaps a minute or so later I returned to the cockpit. The first sign of trouble was when, surrounded by what appeared at first glance to be deep water, I found myself asking: “Why are we not moving?” I was about to panic about a lost propeller when it dawned on me that the unusual noise in the background was the pinging of the
echo sounder alarm. “We are aground,” I announced incredulously – perhaps with an added curse. There had been no warning crash or lurch as we bottomed out. As our inability to reverse out the way we had arrived confirmed, we had simply motored at five knots into a patch of deep, clinging mud. Passing water skiers in a RIB tried in vain to tow us off. As one of them testified by standing up with his head well above water, we were firmly aground . . . and it was now two hours after high water. Had either of us smoked it might have been one of those Hamlet moments. A few more expletives later we settled into a calm resignation that we would not make fish and chips in Cowes. No worries. We had beer and other refreshing drinks. We had bread, we had cheese, we had bacon and eggs. The weather was benign. We were hard and high aground but we just might sit up in the mud. We could look forward to refloating just before dawn. We laid an anchor and thought of pumping up the dinghy to rest the boat on. It was a beautiful evening but I thought I had better explain to the Queen’s Harbour Master why we appeared to be setting up camp on what would soon be an island. He could see us on CCTV and radar, asked after our condition and comfort and, with a touch of sympathy, said he would let the Coastguard know where we were and why. As we began to contemplate life on the slant the Coastguard phoned to enquire about our safety and sanity. I assured them that we had all we needed to endure our self-imposed predicament. Would we mind if they sent a lifeboat round to look at us? GAFIRS – Gosport Inshore rescue service was exercising just outside the harbour.
I reluctantly accepted the kind offer saying it was our own fault, we would survive the night and so long as the lifeboat was not distracted from a proper rescue or going to the pub after training. As the tide was rapidly disappearing the rescue crew arrived, asked for a halyard, lifted the anchor, and told us to hold tight. Gently, ever so gently, they tipped us over with the main halyard attached to a long tow and after what seemed like an age, they carefully pulled us sideways and at an embarrassing angle back into the familiarity of the main channel. In fact our ordeal was over in minutes. It was a truly professional operation and after giving us a few moments to check for damage and inappropriate water ingress they were off with a cheery wave. For us it was a dash to Gosport, quick calls of appreciation to QHM and the Coastguard and into the pub just in time for late fish and chips, especially welcome because it was more than we expected – or deserved. And the lessons? Always treat the most familiar of channels with respect. Don’t assume that crew members, however experienced, are as familiar with the channel or the autohelm controls as you are yourself. Pay attention from the outset even in benign conditions. Above all, remember that nothing is too much trouble for the QHM, Coastguard and rescue services. They would rather be sure we were safe than let us suffer from our own indiscretions. I am just sorry we troubled them! GOSPORT and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service is an independent 24/7 service founded in 1969, providing cover from Portsmouth Harbour to Titchfield Haven. It costs £35,000 a year to run. www.gafirs.org.uk