Welcome to my Round Britain Experience Blog

Its now tomorrow…….couldnt face doing this blog again after what happened!  So upset – never mind – onwards and upwards – photos to be added later!

The boat was Round Britain Experience University today!  A hive of activity and study.  Chris lost her phone last night so went into Paignton today to get a replacement, so she avoided most of the “angst”  I locked myself into my cabin as I couldnt bear to hear about all their calculations of tidal curves, secondary ports from Pete and John.  You see, I havent reached that part of the manual, and still getting to grips with port and starboard tacks so it just added to my feeling of inadequacy   So, i-pod in ears and doors firmly closed I continued my own personal study – getting no where fast!

Excellent students at work

A good example for yacht master studies

Chris finds a nice quiet spot!

I sat next to a lovely family from Holland who were leaving for London and gave them tourist advise – with text consultation from my guide down there – Francesca!

Next I sat by Paul – friend of Sonya and Jim who had just arrived having sailed from Edinburgh via the West route.  His eyes were blood shot – I wasnt sure if it was the Doonbar he was drinking or the fact he didnt sleep last night as his boat “was in pain in Loo”  Strange these sailors!  He explained what that meant, but Im not going to tell you here as I think you will have more fun without the facts thinking about that one!

I told him how I was trying to block out Pete and John’s chat about tidal curves as I’ve not got to that bit yet – and he said – “I’ll tell you what you need to learn” and as anticipated, he reached into his pocket for his i-phone as it has an ap which does instant calculations of this for you.  I said “I dont think that will cut the mustard with the examiner in my Yacht Master exam, he told me that I will have to be firrm and tell them “there is nothing wrong with using a f***kin i-phone……….I will remember that one!

A couple of pints of Doonbar later we returned to the boat and I crashed out ready for study tomorrow…….First Aid!

Day 11 RBE – Rest Day in Dartmouth

Spent a lovely day moored up on the town jetty in the sunshine.  Had loads of exercise – walked to and from my cabin to use the loo and even managed the 100 yards to the local Coop to buy some bread!

I have, however, managed to do some studying and am on page 48 of the day skipper manual!  Wow – I have realised unfortunately, I have read the easy chapters (how to hold a fire extinguisher etc) and have now reached the part where it starts to become technical – gulp!

The sun has been shining all day and my tan is developing nicely.

The RBE is a bit Big Brotheresque – we have all been thrown together, having never met before and now in a very small living area and tensions easily rise but today has been a day of real bonding as some conflicts have been resolved – no further  comment!

I have grown a bit short of “one-pan recipes” in my head and resorted to the BBC Food website and made a chicken and vegetable casserole – made on the hob as the oven is too much of a challenge,.  I bought a lovely chicken which was on offer – and far too huge for the job and couldn’t work out how on earth it would fit in the pan.  I attacked it with a knife and managed to get it in – but no other ingredients would fit – so I had a brainwave and used 2 pans!  I didn’t go to University for nothing!

During the day a couple walked by and stood at the side of the boat smiling – they were delighted to find a boat “Round Britain Experience”  as they were crew 10 years ago!  I’ve taken their photo which I shall post here, and they came onboard and we talked for ages about their experience.  They invited us to meet up with them later.

Sonya and Jim who completed RBE 10 years ago

The town jetty really is in the heart of the town which has mixed blessings – view is fantastic but you do become the local tourist attraction!  Also – other craft are allowed to raft alongside (this is often the case) and we had loads of room around us until 3 this afternoon when 3 boats arrived in convoy – 2 mooring up ahead and one rafting alongside!  We now have about £2million worth of boat around us!   We passed lines onto our boat and secured the one alongside then asked them to put a shore line on – which they did with grace,  However – John was not satisfied with the way they had set their lines – and we rearranged it to our satisfaction!

Once the ferries stop running about 5pm boats are allowed to moor on the outside of the jetty, but have to leave by 8.30 next morning for the ferries to start up again.  This means we no longer have queues of day trippers alongside (bloody tourists!) but it does mean we meet some interesting characters and boats.  Alongside us was a lovely boat – an old trawler done up which served as a party boat for “Denise” (we joined in the chorus of “Happy Birthday” you see).  They consumed just a few bottles of Cava…..

Just some of the remaining empties as the party guests abandoned the boat!

We enjoyed the chicken casserole as the sun went down then decided to go and meet the couple mentioned earlier – Jim and Sonya were moored by Dartmouth Yacht club, so, armed with a couple bottles of wine and 5 glasses in our bag we went to view their boat.  We had a treat of an evening all squeezed into the cockpit of their boat – a  Trintella 29 (which meant nothing to me until I had seen it)  They kept us well entertained with their sailing tales and their experiences of doing the Round Britain Experience 10 years ago!  They are a lovely, interesting couple who clearly love one another and love being on their boat together and have a life time of adventure ahead of them!  They maintain a blog if you want to check it out – http://www.sailfettler.blogspot.com/

All good fettlers together!

The’ve sailed from Edinburgh – having have given up their jobs and are sailing to Brazil where they are planning to live for a couple of years!  Thanks for the Glenfiddich Jim!

The spot where they were moored gave us fabulous view to the entrance of Dartmouth out to sea and it looked so beautiful as the moon was rising

Beautiful view of dusk on the River Dart

Back on the boat past midnight – there is a party going on nearby at a gorgeous yacht which moored earlier

A boat used to train teenagers how to sail, and apparently, how to party til 2am!

……….its now 1am,  RoBE is now happy in his new bed

RoBE is happy in his new place

 – goodnight!

RBE Day 10 – Sailing from Dartmouth to Brixham to “jetty bash”!

Wow – Day 10 already – this trip is flying by.  Its 7.20 right now and Im sitting in my cabin with a cuppa.  Pete generally gets up around 6.45 and its difficult to sleep after you been disturbed – its hard to creep around on a boat and impossible to make a sneaky cuppa!

Sun is shining and it is difficult to believe the gale warning I heard yesterday on the VHF.  We are planning to sail this morning to Brixham and practice “jetty bashing”! OMG!

One of the things I’ve been fearful of during this trip is parking this damn thing in marinas.  My old car is testimony to my poor skill in spatial awareness so mooring this 45 foot beast into a small space alongside other craft worth hundreds of thousands of pounds is indeed a challenge!  Wait and see – cameras will be at the ready!

Will update later!

Its now 9.30pm and it has been an interesting day indeed!  Went to Brixham as planned and was met by a gorgeous Nic Nak who took my stern line – bless!  Nice to see her and Stu again, (Nicky and Stuart White), I bought myself a lovely sailing book and it was then back to hard work.  However, Nic uttered the lovely words – “have you any washing you would like me to do – its no trouble”!!!  Much to the envy of the other crew, I stripped my bed and sorted her 2 loads to do (so grateful to you Nic)

Now back to “Pontoon Bashing” and Duncan put me on 1st turn.  Its amazing how a good skipper can make manoeuvring a boat look so easy, but really, it isnt, believe me!  However, with strict instructions from Duncan, our trusty skipper, I managed to berth RBE onto a pontoon (with only a little bump – sorry Neil and Keith!) and did it a 2nd time too!

It was Johns turn next

Just look at that concentration on his face!

Dunc says “Perfect” to John!

he managed it beautifully – Duncan actually uttered the words “perfect” – what a class swot!

How cool does she look!

Next on the helm was Chris and she was fab too!

RBE rafted along on the town jetty in Dartmouth

Brixham marina on a Wed morning is normally a quiet place but it soon seemed like a Saturday afternoon on a bank holiday weekend as every boat in the area seemed to arrive!  We soon lacked any space on the visitor pontoon to practice boat manoeuvres so we left and headed back to Dartmouth – without my washing!!!!

Practising berthing in Dartmouth was a trickier event altogether for this time there was tide to consider – AND crowds of tourists who enjoyed this free entertainment!  However, Mike did a fabulous job and brought the boat to the pontoon within inches without any lines (and just a touch of help from Duncan, or am I just being jealous?)

Alongside this, we were also learning how to lasso a line around a cleat on a pontoon – Duncan made this look so easy!

Mike tried it first, but it would be rude of me here to mention the fact that he let go of the whole rope turning the lasso into an unreachable pile of rope on the jetty!

My turn came and I managed to wrap it around a light at the end of the pontoon – something I couldnt possibly repeat even if requested!

Eventually finished at 4.15 and we brought the boat to our final mooring.  I then breathed a sigh of relief thinking I could rest – oh no!  We now had 90 mins of study as we needed to finish our “Diesel Engine Management Course”  I had to learn about cooling systems, alternators, fuel injection….so many more words to add to my vocabulary!  I am now learning how to check that a diesel engine is functioning well!  I might have to get this particular book out again.  However, if the engine fails – Im rather hoping I can do something about it rather than having to call a man to help out – fingers crossed girls!

During this lesson, I prepared food for dinner whilst studying diesel engines (multi-tasking at its best – thumbs up or down for feminism!)

Having finished that, I cadged a lift back to Brixham to pick my washing up from Nics.  All clean, dried and folded  – god bless you!

Back on the boat – finished dinner (Spaghetti Carbonara) and to a relaxing evening.

We now have 2 days off before starting our shore based courses – First Aid, RADAR, VHF, personal survival, day skipper theory which starts on Saturday.  I have so much studying to do – and somehow think these 2 days off will not be much of a rest!

The boat is moored right alongside the towns pontoon – just a step into the centre of Dartmouth.

View from our boat

Its a fabulous position as Dartmouth is a fascinating place to visit – but we are a bit of a tourist attraction here and a real attraction for the seagulls during meal times!

Time for my sleep now – I’ve missed out on my nap today……..goodnight x

RBE Day 9 – Sailing from Chapmans Pool to Dartmouth

Anchored overnight in a lovely little sheltered cove off the Dorset coast.

Anchoring Chapmans Pool at dusk

Anchorage secure but as the wind changed overnight, Duncan had to lay more chain to provide stability.  This was at 4am and I was blissfully unaware of this as I slept my way through the night having the best sleep so far.

Duncan had told us we only needed one crew member up to make an early start and as Pete was usually the first one to rise in the morning it was planned for him to join Duncan – we were all told we could have a lye in.  Why is it that when you know you can sleep late you are awake so early – it couldn’t be the fact that there was a 52 Hp engine right at the side of me roaring away.

A misty morning today and time seemed to pass by slowly.  Just before 10am I popped to my cabin to go to the loo, then sat on my bunk, then found myself lying down, then snuggling down under my duvet.  2 hours later I surfaced after a lovely deep sleep – I cant believe how much I’m sleeping!  The only reason I woke was because of the smell of cooking bacon reaching my olfactory bulb……John fixing bacon and egg sandwiches for all of us – what a little darling!

Interesting to learn about tidal races – important to know when passing headlands – particularly Bill of Portland

Bill of Portland

This really is a luxury trip – for I have my own hairdresser on board.  Chris, who has raised 3 girls asked if she could French plait my hair.  Look what a fab job she has done!

Duncan said I had to behave like a Princess now – Im not really sure what that entails – I’ve checked out the Sunday Times and see that Kate Middleton is having dinner in Los Angeles with Nicole Kidman and Tom Hanks – I really think I should be invited!

We are heading into Dartmouth tonight and Duncan has promised to take me into the Cherub- the oldest pub in Dartmouth dating from 1380 – it is the oldest building in Dartmouth too.  Im hoping we will meet more plonkers in blazers and cravats!

I’ve been spending time (when not sleeping) doing some serious study (honest!) and practicing my knots.  Apparently Im at “Competent Crew” level and will soon be issued with my first certificate, first of many in my collection!

Entering Dartmouth – beautiful!

Arrived in beautiful Dartmouth around 3.30 and we moored alongside a beautiful boat – so glad it wasnt me steering RBE into the little space with so many people watching and a very expensive boat to attach ourselves onto!  Soon will be though – tomorrow we are practising this very thing apparently.

I set straight to making dinner – a chilli this evening and everyone tells me they like it hot – so watch out!  Food prepared, it was then left to me to make G&T’s.  Unsure if John wanted one, he was on the telephone, I assumed it was his daughter so I shouted out “G&T darling?” he answered yes – turned out it was the Bishops PA he was on the phone to – good job thats all I shouted!

Darmouth seemed so busy during the afternoon, then everyone seemed to disappear as evening appeared.  We went to the Cherub

The Cherub

and enjoyed a couple of pints of real ale sitting on some interesting seats

They have the strangest seats in the Cherub – doesnt Duncan look comfy!

I was asked where I wanted to go next – I said somewhere thats not modern, with character and with characters in….it was a struggle and we ended up in the Castle Hotel.

Knackered once more, to bed at 11.30.  Got to have my wits about me tomorrow trying to park this boat…………

9RBE Day 8 – Sailing from Cowes to anchor at Chapmans Pool

9am arrived and Duncan headed off to the chandlers for a replacement shackle whilst I took advantage of a Sainsburys just around the corner from the marina to stock up on goodies to feed us all with.  I luckily saw Mike there – he came in for a bottle of water and ended up carrying all the shopping back to the boat – perfect!

Beautiful morning, lovely sunshine but less than a knot of wind – seems we either have too much wind, broken equipment or no wind – we will make it around Britain somehow!

Cowes

Its now 11am and with out boat fixed we headed out of the marina and went looking for wind.

One of the many craft in the Solent – but FRENCH!

Motoring along the Solent, avoiding other traffic and eventually passing by The Needles

The Needles looked so beautiful in the sunshine

Cap’in John!

Chris steers us safely away from The Needles

Tiger bread seems to have been a big hit with the crew and there lurked a left over baguette which I made up into French Bread Pizzas for lunch – yum!

John said he didn’t realise there was tiger bread left over – as he would “have been at it all night – the tiger bread that is”!  He is funny!

A lovely lesson this morning on management of “heads” (thats toilet not mental health by the way), at each head there is a holding tank which normally empty into the sea.  However, Chris and Pete’s head became blocked and the head was 75%full.  This meant it needed forcing out by dismantling the pipe from the vent outlet, attaching it to the bellows (are you following me so far?) and increasing the air pressure in the tank to force it out to sea – what a shit job!

Its now 2.30 in the afternoon and we have been sailing for an hour – managed to pick up some wind now we are out of shelter of the land and we are tacking, achieving just over 4 knots – speed over ground. We should make it round the coast of Britain in time for 2020 at this rate!

Beautiful afternoon and we are all enjoying the sunshine which is more than compensating for the lack of wind – a couple of hours with the sails up before we reverted to motor power.  The beautiful Dorset coast came into view – Jurassic Coast and we planned to anchor for the night.

The beautiful Dorset coastline

Chapmans Pool

Duncan brought us to a superb spot when we dropped anchor at Chapmans Pool, just round the corner from St Albans Head.  What a beautiful spot to spend the night!  G&T fixed for us all

I teach the module on fixing a perfect G&T 100% pass rate only accepted

and Pete set the crab line into the water – I ordered a large Tuna, but think I might be asking a bit too much from him.

Pete Multitasking – fishing and enjoying a G&T

For dinner tonight I cooked Chicken enchiladas – made a huge pile with only a small portion left over – so another successful dinner!  Lovely to cook for appreciative stomachs!

Teaching never stops….

But always enjoyable – even the skipper smiles on occasions!

Time for some private study too

Managed to take a look at my photos for the day and we decided that Mike looked like something from a Kay’s catalogue

Mike AKA Kay’s Catalogue Man

Settled down to sleep by 11 – its amazing how much the sea air makes you feel tired at the end of the day with or without a siesta along the way!

Speaking of which, John managed a pre-dinner snooze and I set up a photo opportunity for the baked bean hating man!  Did I mention he ate the sausage and bean casserole the other day?

Its now official – John loves baked beans!

John loves baked beans so much – he keeps them close whilst asleep!

Day 7 RBE – Sailing from Gosport to anchor out

Beautiful day which started with a full English breakfast Al Fresco – the works – yum!

Easy Sunday morning, quick shower (only the 2nd on my trip so far – what a minga!) quick clean of the boat then time to practice my knots…..honestly!

Its 3 in the afternoon and we are about to head out!  Leaving Gosport – lovely views of Plymouth and heading out to find somewhere lovely to anchor for the night.

Well – things didnt go according to plan!  Started sailing, really getting a feel for it when one of the shackles broke!  I suggested we use one I seem to have tied to my ankles keeping me in the galley!

Change of plan meant we now had to motor into Cowes to be able to visit the chandlers.

Time for some study however!

Served my liver, bacon and mushroom casserole – a risky move on my part but 5 out of 6 enjoyed…..sorry Duncan!

Beautiful evening and retreat to the pub to sample the Tribute and watch the guys poncing around in their blazers!

Difficult to control long hair whilst sailing!

We eventually made it into Gosport Marina and I was at the ready to tie on my fenders and managed to fail at my first test as I tied it to the guard rail which you remove to exit the boat.  Anyway – I was then ready with my stern line having secured it correctly on the cleat on the boat, but we were being blown away from the pontoon so Duncan took my line and in James Bond style jumped onto the pontoon relieving me of my duty!

10am –  Brighton marina is a lovely place, fantastic facilities so we arranged the weather to give us an excuse to stay here just another day!

We did plan to go, but the weather forecast which hedged its best with “slight” “moderate” and “severe” quicky turned to a gale warning!

So – we are starting our diesel engine management course shortly and this afternoon doing “splicing”  I asked if that was similar to Salsa and got the lovely sarcastic look from our skipper!

Anyway, its now 10am – we had our first lecture in diesel engine management.

Chris and John get stuck in checking the engine!

They spend so much time there – we all wonder if Chris is really in John’s confessional!

So I take a peek via the side doors – to find…they are really checking the engine after all!

Look at John with his Portugese Plait!

How studious are we!