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Elegance & endurance Sailing in the Broads 18-hour Three Rivers Race
MORBIHAN MEMORIES BRIDLINGTON COBLES TEA ON THE HAMBLE GIRLS AT SEA SURVIVING THE OSTAR STORM 1927 FASTNET WINNER SAVED
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Contents
50 Editorial
5
Blessings of the sea
56
Signals
6
Teens afloat
62
Keel bolts. If you have a design that uses them then they need checking
Cheeki Rafiki trial; ISCA collection up for sale
Mike Palmer, the ‘Sailing Vicar’ reviews the boats he’s owned Sea Rangers seek challenges and fun aboard Thalatta and Pioneer
Association news
10
This cruising life: Going inland
66
Around the yards
12
Man Overboard!
70
The Post
14
A Flicka called Wookie
72
Classic Coast and Smylie’s Boats
16
Joints
74
Andrew Bray
17
Welcome to my weld
78
Nardi’s nods
19
On Watch
86
Three men, three rivers
20
Off Watch
88
The storm-tossed OSTAR
28
Shoreside
89
Tally Ho meets her saviour
32
Shoestring sailing
90
New series: What to do when you can’t sail
91
Artist of the Month
92
Big Blue Zoo
93
Calendar and Next Issue
97
The last word: Tall histories
98
Sailing Barge special: race reports, TV exposure New boatbuilding course at Falmouth; classic restoration at Portsmouth; Devon Lugger business for sale Bow thrusters – yes or no? Invisible America’s Cup and more Anglesey coast and Cornish crabbers In-depth view of shallows Contessa 26
The most challenging race on the Broads 22 entered, only seven finished. We talk to one of the latter The Albert Strange-designed winner of the 1927 Fastnet Race was facing the chainsaw. Then Leo Goolden turned up
East Coast Classics: the Stella perspective They have their own class start – and their own battles
Semaine du Golfe: the Breton way Flotillas go where they will... and no racing!
Tea and cake and Betsie
Gael Pawson goes for an afternoon cruise on a restored classic
Cobles back at Brid
Once there were only three of these north-east coast boats still seaworthy. Now they have their own festival, in its second year
38 42 48 50
So... is canal cruising really cruising?
It may never happen, but what should you do if it did? Love at first sight for Chris Vassiliou. But also a lot of work Making a hooked scarph David Parker finds out about metal-bashing Kit for crew and ship Venables in Cuba, plus Books Move to NewtonFerrers, visit Torsa, relax in Marlow Saving money with secondhand sails Maritime museums and attractions: HMS Trincomalee Flo Snook
All about whales
Forthcoming events, and what’s coming up in the next Classic Sailor A cautionary tale from Trevor David Clifton CLASSIC SAILOR
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Signals Cheeki Rafiki boss found guilty, 270 boats of international collection go to auction, Ainslie vows he’ll be back, Lakes get UNESCO heritage status WINCHESTER CROWN COURT
Cheeki Rafiki was sailing home to the UK when her four crew were lost at sea
Cheeki Rafiki trial guilty verdict
EYEMOUTH, CARDIFF, LOWESTOFT
Historic ISCA collection in auction As we go to press an online auction is due to take place to sell the entire collection of rare and important vessels which made up the International Sailing Craft Association (ISCA) collection. Some 270 boats from all over the world are due for auction on July 26 following the personal bankruptcy of Andrew Thornhill the tax QC who ran the charity EISCA (Eyemouth International Sailing Craft Association) that kept the boats in locations at Eyemouth, Lowestoft and Cardiff. The boats range from Indian dug-out canoes or an Arabian Pearling dhow to classic racing dinghies, Trans-Pacific and other competition craft along with many workboats. Some go back 500 years; many are from the 19th century.
Many are the last known survivors of their type made of reed, wood, various metals and glassfibre. They were collected, from 1968 by the late Major David Goddard (below) as part of Exeter Maritime Museum. There were efforts to keep the collection in one piece and there are many who believe the collection should return
to Exeter, feeling that it was unfairly removed from the museum when it got into financial difficulties in 1997. There has also been criticism of the care of the collection with boats missing their proper gear and with many breakages due to poor storage. But hopefully many of these important boats wil be saved. More next issue.
US NAVY
Male, 22, from Southampton, as well as Steve Warren, 52, and Paul Gosling, 56, both from Somerset. They were sailing home from Antigua Week. The court heard how the US Coastguard called off its search for the men after just two days, but restarted it after intervention by the British government. The vessel was eventually found turned turtle sans keel with her life raft but no sign of the four men. Their bodies have never been found. Innes, 42, of Whitworth Crescent, Southampton, was convicted of failing to carry out proper checks to the vessel; keelbolts had been broken “for some time” and the yacht was described as unsafe. On hearing the result the RYA suspended Stormforce as an RYA centre and stripped Innes of his RYA teaching qualifications.
CUMBRIA, UK
Lake District a UN Heritage site
GUB GUB AN TING
Douglas Innes, who managed the vessel Cheeki Rafiki has been found guilty of failing to ensure the safety of the yacht which capsized in the Atlantic with the loss of four lives in May 2014. In the trial which lasted over a month at Winchester Crown Court his company Stormforce Coaching was also convicted of the same charge of breaching Section 100 of the Merchant Shipping Act with the jury voting on a majority of 10: 1. However after four days deliberation the jury of 11 were unable to reach verdicts on the four manslaughter charges against Innes and so were discharged. Innes could face retrial on these. The four crew on Cheeki Rafiki, which capsized when she lost her keel 700 miles off Nova Scotia in F7 winds with 5m waves, were skipper Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham in Surrey, with James
The English Lake District has been added to UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)World Heritage List. Campaigners hope that the new status will lead to new investment in the area’s cultural and natural environment, communities and economies, although there is no automatic UN funding from this. They have refuted some claims that status will lead to stasis and say change is inevitable. However whether the status means that plans for re-wilding the fells will be shelved remains to be seen.
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After four days deliberation the jury of 11 were unable to reach verdicts on the four manslaughter charges against Innes and so were discharged. This means Innes could face retrial QUAY PEOPLE
BERMUDA
Js gather to see America’s Cup go south In the end it wasn’t to be for British hopes and Ben Ainslie to win back the America’s Cup this year. The £80m funded BAR project ended prematurely with the team dropping out in the semi-final stages of the challenger series in early June. Despite winning the world series last year which led up to the events in Bermuda, the analysis of team BAR was that their 49.2ft (15m) AC class catamaran Rita just wasn’t fast enough. Early gear breakages to the wingsail in the first race and a collision which nearly sank them all contributed to the early bath which came on June 8 with BAR losing to New Zealand in the semifinals.
Susie Goodall has secured DHL Express sponsorship for her 2018 Golden Globe race. Goodall (27) from Worcestershire, is the youngest among a 30-strong entry list and one of only two female competitors to take on the tough challenge – to sail solo non-stop around the globe, starting from Plymouth UK on 30th June 2018.
New Zealand, which been ridiculed for using bicycle power for its grinders decisively won the cup 7: 1 against the American Oracle defenders on June 26.
Team Oracle had by then also installed a bicycle power system as the New Zealanders were demonstrating 40% more power with it. BAR meanwhile, say they will be back.
Meanwhile Bermuda saw seven J Class race for the first time in a concurrent series which was won by JH1 Lionheart
PANGBOURNE
Pen Hadow is planning to sail to the Arctic in August as part of a mission to discover how much sea ice coverage there is in summer. Taking two 50ft yachts the expedition is expected to take six weeks and cover 3,500nM. Its findings may help create protection for the North Pole’s marine wildlife.
Beale Park Thanks to all our readers who stopped by for a chat at Beale Park in early June. As is often the case we were blessed with some good weather and the show was as convivial as ever. Quite a serious canoeing contingent brought some new energy to the show, with daily demonstrations of handling open Canadian canoes that went well with the traditional sailing, steam, rowing and other powered craft on Beale’s lake. Heritage played its part as with these twin brothers Thomas and Lawrence Feeney who brought their Cockle Mk VII Argo – one of just eight left of these WWII canoes used by the Cockleshell heroes.
SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW
Get out on the water Getting out on the water will be the theme for this year’s show running from 15 - 24 September at Southampton’s Mayflower Park. Passenger trips up and down the river, free Try a Boat schemes with dinghies, canoes and paddle boarding will all be on offer with a special “river experience” on site for families to try canoes and paddleboards. There is also the Global Challenge experience,
on a 72ft yacht run by the Tall Ships Youth Trust for a two hour jolly (@ £60). This year’s Tall Ship is the Kaskelot and her historic decks will be open as a star attraction. With the London Boat Show going to five days this has become the UK’s main boat show. And we’ll be there, in the Ocean Hall - Stand J028 sharing a stand with Team Sailing, so please do visit us!
Twin brothers Thomas and Lawrence Feeney are World War II Cockleshell hero re-enactors taking their seaworthy original MkVII Warwick Aviation-built military canoe out to sea, or to shows (see left). WWII Raids like Blondie Hasler’s on Bordeaux in 1942 were the original Missions Impossible.
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NORFOLK 3 RIVERS RACE
3 men on 3 rivers Over a day and a night the Broads’ Three Rivers Race is one of the longest river races in Europe, and probably the most challenging, as William Loram with Rich and Bill, sailing Zoe, discovered. Photos by Maurice Gray
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have one bit of advice about competing in the Three Rivers Race – the premium sailing race of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads: if you get the opportunity, do it. If you are used to sailing wide open seaways, and rivers wider than a couple of boat lengths, then this will be an experience you will never forget. And if you are as unfortunate as 84-year-old Derek Gibbs, you will become addicted to it. He has clocked up 49 races since the first Three Rivers race in 1961.
This year the weather was kindly, and did not produce the storm conditions of that first race, and so when arriving from a trek across the breadth of England, I found a stunning big sky landscape, with enough windmills in various states of repair to rival Holland, and the surreal sight of sails gliding through marsh meadow. When you think of epicentres of sailing, Norfolk does not spring immediately to mind, but in the 1890s the Yare claimed to be the biggest sailing club in the world
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OSTAR 2017
Surviving the OSTAR storm John Clarke, the Principal of Team Sailing, interviews Neil Payter his chief instructor, following Neil’s completion of the recent OSTAR transatlantic race.
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n 1959 the Royal Western Yacht Club responded to a request from Lt Col H G (Blondie) Hasler to organise a singlehanded race against the prevailing winds and current across the Atlantic. The 1960 Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) was the result. Five yachts sailed from Plymouth to New York and, remarkably, all five finished with Francis Chichester coming first in Gipsy Moth III. The second OSTAR (now from Plymouth to Newport, RI) in 1964 had a significant impact. The race was won by Eric Tabarly in Pen Duick II who, on his return to France, was fêted by the public and honoured by President de Gaulle. Out of this grew the French obsession with long-distance single-handed racing. JC. Neil, I happen to know that your parents were not sailors, and that your trade was as a plumber. So how did you get involved in sailing? I learned to sail with my grandfather on his Mirror Offshore, a 19ft sail boat, in Langstone and Chichester Harbour. For me it was mostly so that I could go fishing. At the age of fourteen I got a job (when I should have been at school) working as a deckhand on a charter fishing boat out of Langstone Harbour. But I packed that in when the owner bought the little ferry which runs from Portsmouth to Hayling Island, and I didn’t fancy working on that for the rest of my life. In the eighties, I went to Rhodes in Greece working as a deckhand for a season
with a yacht charter company, and then the next year I found myself skippering for them.
JC. And your first single-handed experience? I first sailed single-handed in 1988 when I was in my early twenties. I had bought a little 22 ft mini-tonner Caramel Last 22, which I fitted out myself and I took down alone to the Med and around the Med. Eventually I sold her in Fuerteventura in the Canaries. Since then various cross-channel and south coast sails. In 2015, I entered and completed the solo AZAB (Azores and back) race on Solent 1. And then in 2016 I went in the single-handed Fastnet Race, which I must say I found extremely tough – tougher than the AZAB.
Neil with his OSTAR medal, presented before the race started. Solent 1 was one of the seven boats that finished
JC. What on earth made you want to do the OSTAR? I read about the race as a teenager, and was inspired by those early pioneers of solo racing. I think with hindsight that all my sailing since then has been subconsciously with this end-point in view. I provisionally entered immediately on my return from the AZAB. JC. Tell us about your boat, Solent 1. She is a Yahama 33 footer (10m) built in 1981, designed by Peter Norm in the ¾ tonner class. She spent 31 years in the Solent and Channel as a training boat, and I’m sure
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BERMUDA
that many CS readers will have done their Yachtmaster Exam on her. Then my partner Maria and I bought her about 7 years ago. She (the boat, not Maria) is a single-spreader masthead sloop, with slab reefing and hanked-on jibs. Though I had a small bowsprit added for the reaching sail, with a self-furler, especially for this race.
JC. There were twenty-two entries in the race, and only seven finished. To what do you attribute your surviving it and to what do you attribute such a high attrition rate? I can’t really comment on why the other boats did or didn’t survive or retired. I feel that the reason Solent 1 came through it OK was as a result of being an older and stronger boat. Those GRP boats built in the eighties were all extremely well-built, with matt and resin the thickness of your hand,
unlike the modern boats which, although built in temperature and humidity controlled environments, are extremely thin. Also, the modern trend for simply having a matrix surrounding the keel, as the recent disaster with Cheeki Rafiki illustrates all too sadly, shows the hazards all too well. They may be good Channel and Med boats, but would they have survived the storm we encountered? I don’t know. All I can say is
“I feel that the reason Solent 1 came through it OK was as a result of being an older and stronger boat”
that I was extremely lucky. There were many occasions when the boat was on her ears, and the loose cooker, for example, could so easily have smashed through a window, as happened to poor Mervyn Wheatley.
JC. Let’s move on, and tell us all your tactics during the storm. It wasn’t so much tactics as thinking on my feet. Just using my initiative. As the storm began to impact I was thinking about taking in the storm jib and deploying the drogue, which as you know we had practiced using in March this year in the Solent. But unfortunately, the working jib was swept overboard, because I negligently hadn’t secured it properly to the deck and it was acting as a sea anchor, with the tack still attached. This left me dangerously beam on to the seas. I therefore had no option but to deploy the
Neil's boat, Solar 1, a 33ft Yamaha, with a small additional bowsprit for the reaching sail
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TALLY HO
Tally Ho gets a lifeline
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he restoration of Tally Ho has been a long time coming. For three decades the Albert Strangedesigned winner of the 1927 Fastnet Race has languished under a tarpaulin in a boatyard in the American port of Brookings, Oregon. In 2008, the port authorities, which had assumed ownership against unpaid storage fees, sold her to boatbuilder Manuel Lopez, who began work on her, but died in 2010. In 2012 the port did a deal with the Albert Strange Association which set up a company to hold title to the boat, paid storage fees, found a member, Pat Kellis, to keep an eye on her and advertised her for sale at £25,000. But earlier this year the port embarked on a programme of clearing and smartening up it, and gave the ASA a deadline of June to take Tally Ho away or face the prospect of having her broken up. At this point, enter Leo Goolden, the young British boatbuilder who had already made a name for himself with his restoration of a 1947 Folkboat. He paid the ASA the proverbial £1 for Tally Ho, found some land in Washington State, some 600 miles away, moved Tally Ho there and set to work. Which all sounds very straightforward if you write it quickly like that. For a more realistic picture of the work involved – ground clearance, truck manoeuvring, and a guided tour of Tally Ho herself, see Leo’s video blog at his sampsonboat.co.uk. website. Sampson is his middle name, which bodes well. We caught up with Leo just before this issue went to press, and pitched a few questions at him, starting with the traditional “How are you feeling?” “I’m still feeling really excited and happy about the project at the moment. I’ve had to leave the USA for a few weeks, and all I can think about is getting back to Tally Ho to get started. I do sometimes wake up wondering what the hell I have got myself into, though. I usually feel confident about it again after a cup of tea. “I’ve moved her to a site near a town called Sequim, in Washington State on the Olympic peninsula. It’s a remote but very beautiful area, with pleasant (if a little wet) weather, great timber, and access to traditional marine trades in nearby Port Townsend. I have access to a workshop there and have already built a large cover over the boat.” Do you have a plan of work yet? “I do have a vague plan, but it will obviously evolve as the project gets underway. The first stage is to get the workshop and accommodation sorted. I have some optimistic ideas about the timescale in my head, but I’m trying to avoid talking about it too much, as we all know that these things take longer than expected!” How much needs doing? “It might be easier to describe what I think could be saved; the ballast keel, the huge (teak!)
Right: The Beken photo of Tally Ho in full sail for the start of the 1927 Fastnet Race – note her race number, 5, on the mainsail Below: June 2017, Tally Ho on her trailer bound for her new life with Leo Goolden at Sequim (pronounced Skwim) in Washington State
We talk to Leo Goolden who has saved the Albert Strange designed 1927 Fastnet winner from the chainsaw – plus a vivid account of the race itself by Thad Danielsen
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1927 FASTNET WINNER
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BRIDLINGTON SAILING COBLE FESTIVAL
Cobled together Its second festival has confirmed Bridlington’s status as the sailing coble capital of the British Isles Story and photos by Paul L Arro
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he month of June was always looked upon as the start of summer, with the Longest Day quickly followed by Midsummers Day, and thoughts of long, dry periods of settled weather and sweltering heat. Sadly, this year the last week in June proved to be anything but! Certainly, the north-east coast of England in particular, in fact the whole of Britain, was battening down the hatches to prepare for a low that would sit firmly over the country for much of that week. The weather
forecasters were correct. Heavy rain, together with near gale force winds, lashed Britain and the North Sea coast of East Yorkshire did not escape, with severe weather alerts and flooding predicted for Bridlington. Members of the organising committee of the second Bridlington ‘Sailing Coble Festival’, set for the weekend of the 1st-2nd July, had their fingers crossed and were seeking out every piece of wood to touch in the hope the meteorologists were correct in their predictions that the coming weekend would be ‘more like summer’. As with any
PAUL L ARRO
Madeleine Isabella and Gratitude Left: Preparing to sail 50 CLASSIC SAILOR
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THE SAILING VICAR
Blessed with a love of boats Clergyman Mike Palmer reflects on the boats he and his wife Nettie have owned in a lifetime combining saving souls with sailing the seas
EMILY HARRIS
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think that I might have been one of the first subscribers to Classic Sailor having responded as any sailing vicar would have done to the ‘Divine Subscription Offer’ illustrated so graphically by cartoonist Guy where the vicar has replaced the bible on his lectern in church with a copy of Classic Sailor. He then calls for a period of “quiet contemplation” while he reads it to himself! Now this perverse predilection which our editor Dan has for teasing vicars is no new thing – I have already suffered at his hand myself in the past! That was in his previous incarnation as editor of another magazine when he used his not inconsiderable journalistic skills to describe our West Solent One Design Winnie Marie which my wife and I had built new in 2010. In that article entitled ‘Blessings from Above’ he portrayed me as a somewhat eccentric clergyman who keeps saying “Bless you my child” and who is not averse to a glass or two of wine even before midday! To put the record straight the only wine I drink before then, strictly in the line of business, is communion wine! I have of course forgiven him, for that is the proper thing for a Christian to do, and despite all this we remain good friends.
Mike and Nettie sailing their present yacht Winnie Marie, a West Solent One Design built for them seven years ago
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BLESSED WITH A LOVE OF BOATS
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SEA RANGERS AFLOAT
Girls on deck Ilford Sea Rangers found fun, adventure and challenge aboard the Thames barge Thalatta and smack Pioneer – and tell about it in their own words
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he Sea Ranger Association is a National uniformed youth organisation for girls and young women with a particular emphasis on nautical training and outdoor activities. Each crew takes its name from an adopted Naval ship. The Ilford crew SRS Barnehurst have been offering boating opportunities to local girls since 1943. Adventurous activities and fun have been the crew’s main objectives. In October 2013, following an extremely successful residential trip to our Thames training base, Leaders, Jenny and Julia from the Ilford Sea Rangers felt the girls were ready for a sailing challenge outside their comfort zone. Research was surprisingly easy, we considered a classic sailing vessel suitable but stable enough for an all girl crew aged 10-16 . We contacted ASTO UK Sail Training and visited the Maldon Regatta. By good fortune, we bumped into Piers Alvarez a friend and past shipmate who recommended the perfect vessel. The Thames Barge Thalatta, recently refurbished with a rich history of safe sail training for young groups. Piers described the Thames sailing barge, famous for its flat bottom, simple sail plan and cavernous cargo capacity, as akin to sailing an enormous shoe box. Traditionally sailed by a man and a boy, the Thames Barge is ideal for introducing young people to a different experience. We visited Thalatta and her master, Cyril Varley, in Heybridge Lock, Essex, her winter berth. Nothing quite compares with stepping aboard a wooden ship below deck – that familiar smell of sea, wood, canvas, tar-oil and rope creates the warmest welcome. Her cargo hold had been beautifully refitted into a light, open accommodation area, a sea chest beneath each hammock and a large central mess table. Her galley spanned beam to beam creating a catering space that would be the envy of some tall ships. The permanent crew enjoy private cabin accommodation fore and aft. The renovations also included two separate leader’s cabins. Thalatta has an impressive record of successful educational voyages for young groups, evidenced by the many school
or youth group crests that decorated the bulkheads of her mess deck. We introduced our proposed sailing adventure to our Sea Ranger crew at next Friday muster. After a short presentation, with photographs, the subsequent excitement and questioning were electric. We emphasized the traditional values of the vessel. Mobile phones or electronic devices had no place in the adventure with only restricted kit that would fit into a sea chest allowed. All 10 berths sold out in a week. The subsequent three-day May half term voyage by Ilford Sea Rangers was a bench mark in the crew’s history. Erin,11: “felt like time travellers as we sailed down the River Orwell singing Sea Ranger songs”. Passing the river’s commercial, north shore, cranes and cargo ships, Thalatta’s successors, looked like beasts from another world. Thalatta was queen of the river again – helming the barge was very popular with the girls, drawing admiring waves or flashing cameras from passing vessels. The girls soon understood the routine of clearing the waist of the barge when changing tack. The gaunt mast of HMS Ganges stood among the trees near Shotley. We tacked into the River Stour enjoying an afternoon of sail handling and winching lee boards. We Thames barge Thalatta, recently refurbished
dropped the hook off Wrabness just as the North Cardinal blinked its first white light. The girls and leaders on galley duty had cooked a sumptuous evening meal. Lisanne, 10, presented our crew crest SRS Barnehurst to Cyril as a mark of thanks for the crew’s amazing experience. All up on deck for a last look at the evening stars, lights of the land and to enjoy the gentle breeze and river’s evening noises as the tide gurgled round Thalatta’s stem. The following day, after a welcome run ashore, we sailed off the anchor and headed back up the Orwell still singing but saddened our trip was almost over. Watch Leader Aimee, 16: “The experience on Thalatta made me feel privileged to be a Sea Ranger as we are unique. The group experience drew us much closer together
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as a crew and the girls learned a lot about themselves and sailing. I feel the only regret the trip was not long enough.” Following the success of the 2014 Thalatta voyage, the Sail in Company Project 2015 was born to provide the opportunity for 20 girls and five leaders to sail on a five-day voyage in two classic sailing vessels exploring the Essex East coast from Fambridge Essex. The faster ketch rigged fishing smack Pioneer and the 90ft Thames Sailing barge Thalatta owned by independent charitable sailing trusts, made a spectacular combination sailing the River Crouch. By definition, the project offered classic sailing as a shared adventure for girls looking for real challenge. Last years older girls joined Pioneer for a voyage to further their
RYA sail training putting into practice all the shore based activities. Steve, Pioneer Mate, said “I was surprised how much these girls knew about sailing.” Aimee, 17: “Having previously sailed aboard Thalatta for a weekend last year, I was intrigued to see how life aboard Pioneer would differ from my previous trip. Apprehensive about complex rigging and restricted space. Charlotte, 14 was daunted by the sea toilet ( head ), “A complex instrument, squeezed into its tiny cupboard. I learnt the hard way not to get caught in the head when Pioneer changed tack. The vessel seemed to delight in these little quirks.” Later leader Rebecca marvelled at the incredible feat of the full roast dinner cooked in Pioneer’s tiny galley.
Whilst aboard Thalatta two Sea Ranger crews, SRS Frobisher and SRS Barnehurst combined for a five-day team building life experience. All last year’s ‘Thalattas’ helped new girls settle in, stowing kit or demonstrating how to sleep in a hammock. Divided into two watches, they shared Sea Ranger stories, creating their own entertainment, with a confident social interchange. Evie, 12, commented, “The fiveday voyage made us feel more like sisters. Who needs TV? I have experienced so much my classmates will never do, I feel more organized with myself, I would love to come back and learn more.” New skills were discovered when Emily, 15, from SRS Frobisher proved to be an excellent helmsman. One evening both
Teamwork and helmsmanship
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MARINE MOTORING
Is it cruising if it’s on inland waterways? Helen Lewis recommends cruising through the centre of France, with some caveats about the very different hazards from those found at sea
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n the last issue of CS we were enjoying Bastille day just outside Paris. As I write I find myself again in France, again on Bastille Day. This time on a dedicated voyage inland. Gently rocking on the canalised river Meuse deep into rural Ardennes. There is much to recommend the cruising life. One of the things I particularly love is the variety. I know for those of you wedded to the sea you may consider the inland waterways akin to scurrying up and down
ditches with nothing about it to entice you to lower your mast and risk scraping your bottom. For many of you your draught may make the whole thing impossible but if it is a possibility I would highly recommend you try it. But first let me discourage you a little before I tell you about the joys of it. For starters rivers and canals are not the easiest form of boating. What you gain from not having to worry about immediate weather you lose in entering a contact sport. Helming has to be accurate and
Approaching le Pont d’Avignon, or what’s left of it
take into account water depth, air height, currents from weirs and emptying or filling locks, and most importantly the muppets on other boats. Your crew will find their vessel intimately close to lock sides and metal monsters. Fenders have to be lined up correctly and lines dispatched swiftly. Actions involve fast judgements and clear indicators to the helmsman. On the major canals of Europe the barges are monstrous and unlike with a large ship at sea you are up close and personal. Years ago when we took our chippy little Sealion to Oslo we once, and only once, both got off, tenderly holding his lines and balancing ourselves on wooden bollards in the middle of a waterway. It nearly cost us our boat as his modest 4 tons got sucked away from us by a working barge. These barges push water in front of them. As you look at them approaching you can see the water level rise in a swelling bank and fall away behind them. Their propellers are mighty affairs and in a lock the effect of a busy barge keeping its engines going rather than tying up can be daunting. As they leave the water rushes towards you, pushing you further towards the lock gates at your stern.
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THIS CRUISING LIFE: PART 11
Confronting them on the move can also be interesting. If there is poor visibility they may sneak up on you and so mighty are they you had better hope they have their radar on and you are showing up as they find it as hard to see you as a large ship at sea would. The wrinkle is that they are likely to be much, much closer to you. If a blue board pops up there is no compromise, they can’t get round the bend port to port and you are required to move swiftly to the other side. The other day the Skipper and I had been on the move for a long day. We had started to scout about for a pretty place to spend the night. Now, you know those eye-watering mooring fees that we are required to pay when we want to use a coastal harbour? Well forget everything you know! The inland waterways in France demand a licence. In Germany, Wallonia, Poland and the Netherlands this is not the case AND the mooring is either free or a pittance. You can usually choose between a pretty village mooring, a small town or go rural. If you stop in a village or town there will be water and electricity in most places for a small fee and sometimes showers and loos. You will
have the added pleasure of a boulangerie to tempt you and often fresh local produce. A lot of locks will let you stay overnight on the waiting pontoons but do watch out for the moorings reserved for working barges. There you are unlikely to receive a welcome. A small illustration. As I said we were on the hunt for a mooring a few evenings ago and found one marked Sauf Les Plaisanciers.
An elderly barge hoved round the corner and two very cross bargees glared across the canal at us Delightfully deep and nestled amongst wild flowers, good solid mooring bollards and within sight of the ecluse. Great, we thought. Niftily twirling our lines from boat to bollard, a fine ratatouille bubbling on the stove, beastly crew jostling to be the first to alight and a chilly white wine awaiting us we felt quite smug. Fenders were adjusted and springs applied. Beasts were escorted along the tow path to pick a few flowers, a bit of
wild mint and oregano and complete other things unmentionable and the Skipper and I settled down to another idyllic evening afloat. Quietly confident of no rafting or moving or suchlike and no harbour dues. Enter low rumbling from the wings. An elderly barge hoved round the corner and with much clanking, shouting and gesticulating two very cross bargees glared across the canal at us. I was minded of the wonderful description in Roger Pilkington’s Small Boat Through France (The ‘Small Boat…’ series is a great read if you won’t take my word for it that the inland waterways of Europe are magnificent). This is a description from 1964: “It is a curious fact that the cretinous barge is invariably manned by individuals whose action is inefficient. It runs aground, the rudder jams, the baby falls into the coal hold. The cooling system is blocked, the dog is left ashore and a hen blunders into the lock. The laundry line collapses, the portable pump has to work overtime to keep the water in the bottom from rising over the floor and wetting the cargo of flour, into which grandma throws the scraps which the hens scratch for greedily…”
Above: Lighting our way through a tunnel on the Meuse. Left, top: Barge traffic; below:Gralian in the StrépyThieu boat lift, second biggest in the world
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Joints: the hooked scarph joint
2:1
Step2 50mm
Step 4 Marking out the Lip
Cutting line
<400mm>
50mm
7mm
Step3b
The scarf line for the first 1/2 of the hooked scarf joint
Step 5
Step3a 50mm 50mm
7mm
The second 1/2 of the hooked scarf joint
Lip
Step6 Step1
Marking Up a Hooked Scarf joint
The technique for making a hooked scarph joint as demonstrated by IBTC’s Ian Cook. Words and photos by Richard Johnstone-Bryden 1
B
olted scarph joints are used whenever key structural components of a boat such as the stem have to be made in more than one section. The variations of the bolted scarph include the plain scarph, tabled scarph, hooked scarph and the hooked table scarph. The joint’s strength is provided by a combination of its scarph ratio and the glue. The scarph ratio is determined by the joint’s length in relation to the thickness of the piece of wood. Lloyd’s rules specify that a minimum ratio of 6:1 is used for bolted scarphs.
Step1
Fig 1 To clearly illustrate the techniques involved in the making of a hooked scarph joint, Ian uses a 600mm x 400mm piece of timber. Fig 2 2 step 1: We will be working within the constraints of a 600mm length of wood. Therefore the process begins by marking 50mm in from each end of the wood. 2 step 2: Measure 400mm in from the lines marked out in step 1 to indicate the overall length of the scarph.
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Due to the length of the scarph Ian uses a No7 plane, which is ideally suited to longer surfaces, to trim each half 2:2
2:3
2:4
2:6
2:6
4
6
7
2:5
3
5
2 step 3: Measure in 50mm from the line marked in step 1 to indicate one end of the scarph line. 2 step 4: Use a set square to mark off this line on the top. 2 step 5: Set the marking gauge to a depth of 7mm to mark off the lip to provide the second point that will be used in the creation of the scarph line. Repeat the previous steps to mark out of the second half of the hooked scarph joint on the other side.
2 step 6: Mark out the scarph lines ready for cutting. Ideally, the gap between the two halves should be approx 3– 6mm Fig 3 The hooked scarph has been clearly marked out ready for cutting. As can be seen, the gap between the two halves has been kept quite narrow and should be approximately 3mm to 6mm in width. Fig 4 For convenience Ian uses a band saw to cut out the two halves of the joint.
Fig 5 The two halves have now been cut out and the pencil marks indicating the extent of the two recesses can be clearly seen. Fig 6 Ian uses a marking gauge to mark out the required depth for the lip at the end of the scarph Fig 7 Due to the length of the scarph Ian uses a No7 plane, which is ideally suited for working on longer surfaces, to trim each half.
8
Fig 8 Both halves have now been planed so that they fit together tightly Fig 9 Ian clamps the two halves together so that he can mark out the two recesses. He begins by marking pencil lines that he will use to line up the two halves together. He then marks out each end of the recess before separating the two halves to use a marking gauge to indicate the required depth of each recess.
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