Laying up - Bilge paint and engine service.

My last visit to the boat before Sancerre gets lifted out on Oct 22nd and two busy days.

After cleaning the bilge in late August  It was still rather smelly, partly down to not using the engine very much during my trip to Padstow and back so that there was very little water in the bilge and partly due to some oil and grease on the metal parts that, knowing they had to be cleaned immediately before painting, I skimped on last time. 

This time cleaning did not take long and to be on the safe side after rubbing down I painted all of it including the keel nuts, the three spreader bars and what is essentially a jack between the iron keel and the  mast support.

The forward bilge, painted last year, and the bilge under the engine still need cleaning and the latter possibly painting but hopefully it will now stop smelling. To reduce the labour required in the future and hopefully any smell, I have added a trap to reduce / stop spills from the engine and water & grease from the stern gland reaching the bilge. This largely worked in the first few years that I had Sancerre but for some reason I stopped doing it when my supply of pads was finished.

Oil Absorbent (Hydrophobic) pads in the aft part of the bilge
 in the saloon and under the forward part of the engine catch
hydrocarbons but lets water go forward into the bilge, when
dirty they are hoyed out and replaced hopefully reducing or
eliminating bilge smells and keeping the bilge reasonably clean.

The other significant job was the first part of the engine service. Now that the boat is coming out for an extended period after the season, I do the oil and fuel part as early as possible to get rid of the grotty oil but delay the water side until she is back on the berth after lift out, I can then leave the engine drained down during the winter months and put the new impeller in just before the first cruise.

This year I will also be replacing the water thermostat, looking though the workshop manual I found that this has a 2,000 hour life, but that is not reflected in the service schedule! Not a big deal as it is not far over, but I could have had problems if I had relied on the operations manual rather than buying the workshop manual.

Other jobs completed include getting the genoa off and back home and this year for the first time in a while also the mainsail and stack pack, the latter needing some work to patch a couple of small holes due to chafe.

Planning for Ireland 2026. Part 2 Baltimore to Lough Foyle

WIP

Lots of potential places to visit depending on the weather.
A few potential routes shown (from planning some years ago, to
be reviewed).

1st October.

It took well over a day but I now have a good selection of anchorages where, in the right conditions, I would be happy to stop over night. 139 of them from Carnsore clockwise to Lough Foyle, plus those on the east coast and the ones I have already used between Carnsore and Baltimore. Now as I sail round I don't have to plough through the pilot when at sea or at anchor, a glance at this chart on my iPads, phone or PC, then if there is more than one a more detailed review of the likely candidates.

I originally planned this as a route to St Kilda for 2022 but decided to prioritise going direct and later to Shetland, that took more years than expected to achieve. Hopefully in 2026 I can take a more leisurely approach, the original plan was intended as a passage rather than a cruise but it is a good starting point and so far I have just added days to allow for diversions on route although the mileages shown are direct. 

                                  NM  Days

To Baltimore                 220   7

Baltimore - Bantry Bay     36   3

Bantry - Ballycrovane         33   2

Ballycrovane - Valentia       33   2

Valentia - Dingle /Smerwick   24   2

Smerwick -Fenit               30   2 

Fenit - Carrigahold           27   2

Carrigahold -Doonbeg          33   1

Doonbeg - Inishmore           26   2

Inishmore - Clifden           42   2

Clifden - Inishbofin           9   1

Inishbofin - Blacksod         35   1

Blacksod - Broad Haven        31   1

Broad Haven - Kilcummin       33   1

Kilcummin - Teelin            30   3

Teelin - Inishkeel            29   1

Inishkeel - Arranmore         18   2

Arranmore - Sheep Haven       32   1

Sheep Haven - Lough Swilly    21   2

Lough Swilly - Culdaff Bay    21   1

Culdaff Bay - Islay           41   1

               Total direct  795  40

The distances don't account for stop offs / diversions from the direct routes so it will likely be over 1,000 NM and with weather delays probably 7 - 9 weeks.

Planning for Ireland 2026. Part 1 Milford to Baltimore.

Tides are generally not helpful when heading south west along the Irish coast - a spring tide is good to get a push west from Milford Haven starting around 05:00 but south from Carnsore Point the favourable tide would not then start until lunchtime. Streams are charted as weaker than further north but they get stronger round head lands and as many learn every other year during the Jester Baltamore Challenge, beating to the Fastnet Rock or Baltimore against the tide is not to be recommended. 

Starting on a neap tide means leaving Milford at lunchtime and arriving in Ireland in the small hours, not a major problem is some anchorages but could be in others, especially with lots of pot buoys around as I found during my trip around the Celtic Sea in 2022.

My preference would be a start close to springs, leaving Dale before dawn to hopefully arrive somewhere to get some sleep that night, but the weather will be the deciding factor. Southwesterlies would be a pain and I might well wait for better weather, north-westerlies would be ideal and easterlies would be good for a quick passage but would limit the number of available anchorages. 

10 year average winds during March at Clear Island
at the extreme south of Ireland.

10 year average winds during April at Clear Island.

Statistically the end of March or April should bring plenty of opportunities as it has in the majority of the last few years, strong N - NW winds have been a problem to me rounding Land's End and could make for poor conditions in St Georges Channel but once in Ireland a reasonably brisk north westerly should not be a problem as far as Baltimore.

St Margate's Bay, Carnsore Point is the closest anchorage to Milford but a beat in a west or north west wind and then I would have to go round or inside of the Coningbeg rocks to move further west. A destination further west is likely better, somewhere between Kilmore and Waterford (46 NM), Youghal (pronounced Yawl) is just over 100 NM so a overnight trip and an extra 20 miles would get me to Crosshaven and 30 to Kinsale.

There are a good number of places to stop in offshore winds, somewhat fewer in easterlies. Baltimore will be the first target, preferably via new anchorages, but a visit into Crosshaven or even up to Waterford would not be unwelcome.

Places to stop between Carnsore Point and Cork. Green Anchorages
not previously visited, Red anchorages visited, Purple Marinas not
visited, Blue manias visited.

Places to stop, Oyster Haven to Baltimore.

I'll think about likely start dates when Imray have sorted out their "Tides" app which is currently showing all tides as spring tides, or I get the 2026 Reeds. Unfortunately Euronav in the past have not issued the tide data for the new year until late December which is a pain and must be difficult for those those on long voyages or in the southern hemisphere during their high season.

Update: the 3rd of  April is a spring tide so if the weather serves a start somewhere around then, earlier rather than later, looks good, around the 21st March or the 19th April would also work..

Click here for Baltimore to Lough Foyle.

2025 Review and Stats.

 A very disappointing second half of the season, for the third year on the trot I had to cut short a cruise and this time rotten weather in September prevented a second cruise of any length so that despite an early start my distance sailed and days sailing were the lowest since the Covid abbreviated 2020 season. 

On the plus side I did spend a slightly higher proportion of my time at anchor and I avoided days stuck in horrendously expensive marinas that cost me so much in 2024. Also I had no breakages or breakdowns apart from the darn heater and diesel bug discovered when I got back to Milford Haven, but apart from labour and a few litres of fuel that didn't cost anything or delay me.

Statistics through September 2025 from my summary log kept in Excel:

Click to view,

2025 1st cruise: 84 days. 337.5 hours at sea, 27 night hours (minimal as many of the longer legs were in what counted for summer in Scotland), 1,602 nautical miles, 1,844 statute miles, 44 days at sea, 28 weather bound. 47 nights at anchor.

Second cruise just Milford to Padstow and back, 161 NM, 185 SM, 4 days sailing if you include the two short hops between Port Quin Bay and Padstow, 2 nights at anchor and 2 nights in Padstow. Very little diesel used on this trip 😀.

There was some excellent sailing around Scotland, Orkney and Shetland and the cruising chute and particulalry the spinnaker got a lot more use than normal. On the other hand there was still too much motoring for my liking, too many days weather bound (although well shy of the record in 2023) and I really needed the heater that broke down (again) shortly after leaving, I was using thermals almost every day until the middle of June - there was no heat wave up north! Thankfully there was little rain until I reached Stornoway on the way back. 

48 port / anchorage calls was well down on previous years but 29 of those where visited for the first time which was good.

Now a very long wait until next years cruise, starting in late March or April and probably around Ireland with an excursion to the Hebrides. Then after several aborted attempts hopefully the Channel Islands with a stop off in the Scillies one way or the other - or both.

Laying up - Running rigging.

It amazes me how many people leave running rigging and headsails on their boat all winter when they are not going to use the boat, even when it is in the yard!

Simply taking it all home for the winter is going to at least double it's working life through avoidance of UV light, the elements, microbes and birds. Giving it a good wash will help even more and ropes will be easier to handle next year and you will avoid smelly ropes.

A mousing loop at the tail of a halyard makes reaving a doddle.
A 100m of mousing line will knock you back £20 and leave
plenty for odd jobs such as securing the dodgers.

Tips:

• Don't forget:
• The halyards, halyards banging against the mast or rigging will, apart from being very annoying to others, wear them out and will increase windage - more motion when in the water and a greater risk of blowing over when on land. The investment in some mousing line and putting some good loops on the tail, will be well worth it.
• Webbing jack stays etc.
• Dodgers and other canvas.
• Spare cordage that has been squirrelled away on board - it tends to get damp and smelly which is not going to do it any favours. And they will help keep the boat damp.
• The washing machine speeds things up for those items without fittings attached but don't try it with fittings, even wrapped in cloth.
• Lines that are easily removed, such as spinnaker sheets, guys and headsail sheets are best removed between sailing sessions and stored below - a few sail ties are in any case better than securing a furling headsail with the sheets.
• Consider end-for-ending halyards after a few years to extend their life, the part inside the mast and the tail if stored in a bag will have been protected from UV and bird droppings. Splicing old rope that has been under load can be difficult but the very tail of a halyard won't have been. The same may work for spinnaker sheets and guys if most has been in a storage bag when not in use.
• Keep old running rigging to use during the winter when mousing is not appropriate such as a temporary mainsheet when you want to keep the boom in place.

Invest in one of these rope scrubbers to speed up hand cleaning.
this spinnaker sheet is 8 years old but looks and feels nearly new.

The first two batches through the washing machine drying ready
for storage until next season. Most of these are 7 or 8 years old
and have done almost 18k nautical miles. The D shackle on the main
halyard (white + yellow) was removed for washing!

2025 Sept 8th, Day 5 - Back to Milford.

Another quick passage, not quite as bumpy as outbound but quite a few squalls/ downpours, the cheap Guy Cotten fisherman's waterproofs and Italian working boots again proving their worth. 

One line squall came through at the top end of F6 that veered 30 degrees that had me bearing away to run off before it whilst getting another reef in the genoa, like the outbound trip I did not use the mainsail. After it had passed the wind was variable in direction and down to 5 knots for getting on for an hour, with a very lumpy sea I couldn't sail so motored for a while. When the wind returned it was from the SSW and back to F5 so it was a very broad reach with a reef in the genoa.

I made free flow with an hour to spare. That was particularly good news as the forecast for next morning was very bad and I would have had to wait to lock in that evening.

A thunder storm passing close astern after a frighteningly loud
crash of thunder, fortunately no lightning coming down that I
could see.

74NM in 16 hours.

Click here for my review of the year and some stats.

2025 Sept 7th, Day 4 - Portquin Bay

Back in Portquin Bay for a flying start early on Monday, forecast SW F3-5. I was rather worried earlier, they were not sure the gate would open after earlier problems but I was in luck.

The gate decided to open for me but it was a rush to get back
to the boat and out after paying the very reasonable berthing fee as
the staff thought they might have to close it in c 45 minutes, I
didn't hang around to find out why!

Pentire Point and The Rumps from the western side.

It was another uncomfortable night and this time I was not tired and slept badly so was away at 03:00 before the alarm. In retrospect I should have anchored further to the south east in the next little bay which would at least have been free of waves reflected from the cliff. Another boat arrived overnight and when I left she looked completely stable although some of that would be down to her being substantially bigger.

Sailed from The Doom Bar to north of The Rumps.
5.7 NM in 2 hours including faffing about at each end.

Click for The leg back to Milford.

2025 Sept 7th, Day 4 - Cruise abandoned.

Once I gave up on Land's End on day one I thought it would come to this, but looking at the various forecasts I could have got shuck for a long time on the south coast, instead of having the option of returning on Monday in what promises to be reasonable, even good, sailing weather.

The ECMWF and GFS models both show moderate to strong winds for the next 10 days with only short breaks, getting round Land's End to Newlyn would be a struggle with likely poor conditions there, added to that the met office "Long range" forecast has got progressively worse over the last 10 days and although there may be some spells of better weather it is unlikely I would get enough sailing in to justify spending a lot of time here, or else where, waiting for it.

ECMWF and GFS forecasts for next Sunday

Tomorrow looks better and is the longest window this week for a trip back to Milford and the forecast can be expected to be reasonably reliable a day out.

UKMO and ECMWF for Monday

Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel - Strong wind warning [from 07:00 today]

24 hour forecast: Southeast veering southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first, then veering west 3 or 4 later. Moderate or rough in west, slight or moderate in east. Rain at first, then thundery showers. Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: Westerly 3 or 4, backing southwesterly 4 or 5, then backing southerly 5 or 6 later in west. Moderate in west, smooth or slight in east. Showers, thundery at first. Good, occasionally moderate at first.

The harbour gate will be open tomorrow morning from c 04:32 until c 08:32 with 6m of water from 05:00, an 05:00 departure would mean fighting the last of the flood down the estuary and it would be dark, it is well lit so not a problem and there is much to be said for going out on a rising tide but, if the weather is kind I may go out at about 17:30 this afternoon and go to an anchorage, I could then make a quick getaway in the morning with an outside chance of making free flow into Milford.

Free flow through the lock into Milford marina ends at 19:30 so I'll probably not make that, especially if leaving from Padstow; rather than wait and faff around locking through in the dark I'll probably go into Dale anchorage, sort the boat out and go in between 07:00 and 08:00 on Tuesday in time to get a train home arriving at sensible time. Then back down by car to start winterisation, service the engine and get at least a coupe of loads of stuff home before lifting out on October 22nd.

Padstow is not as well protected from southerly

winds as I had assumed, at least with the gate open.

This video after the worst of it with the tide still making

wind against tide, with small waves coming in.

A short video, I had to rush to take their lines as they

took the berth  behind me, a good job that I did as with

the wind blowing them on to the wall and towards me

my wind vane self steering could have, and nearly

did, take a battering. 

P.S. As at Sept 14th there hasn't been two successive days of wind to get round Land's End and it would have been heads winds most of the way if I had tried going via St Ives. And it is worse until at least the 22nd, so a good decision.

Click for Portquin Bay.

2025 Sept 5th, Day 2. Padstow.

It was very uncomfortable first thing but improved during the day as I waited for the tide to move round to Padstow. 

The Mouls, waves pass between it and Rump Point (out of frame left),
not a problem in calm weather or when the boat points into the waves
but very uncomfortable when a combination of the ebb tide and wind
causes the boat to lie broadside to them.

The weather is not looking good with more strong winds showing up over the next ten days, as I posted on Facebook:

"I think there is a better than even chance that I’ll have to give up on this cruise, the latest forecast gives little or no hope of getting round Lands End or to the Scillies in the next 10 days ( I had hoped to be in Falmouth now) and for much of that time there is no place to anchor comfortably around here and there is little point in paying to stay In Padstow for the duration.

The weather should be good enough to get back to Milford leaving early Monday before and after that it looks very dodgy, I’ll make a decision on Sunday. Fortunately the lock times at Padstow, I am moving there this afternoon, are helpful for an early start, (Monday 04:40- 08:15) and the narrow channel is lit."

The trip into Padstow requires enough water to safely cross "Doom" bar and navigate the channel which looks more complicated than it is, I had plotted the route in Memory Map and transferred that to the plotter so that that in theory the autopilot could steer all of the way - that works if other boats don't get in the way! Several did.

The route in plotted on MemoryMap and the 1:25k and 1:19k
Admiraly chart before transferred to the plotter to drive the
 autopilot. That leaves me free to monitor what is going on.

This was a disappointment, I had hoped to follow this boat in as
she was ahead of me and draws more than Sancerre so would
have struck first but the skipper had other ideas and repositioned
himself to follow me.

Polzeath on the eastern side of the entrance.

It had started to spot with rain as I left Portquin Bay so I had got all of the water proofs on, when the sun came out I got rid of the top but was stuck with the salopettes which made for warm work as I approached the harbour. I had booked a place that morning but could not get berthing information until off St Saviour's Point only three cables from the harbour entrance, with moored boats and several moving plus shallow water to port and rocks close to starboard, it was a bit of a rush to get fenders and lines out, but I managed just in time without turning round.

The approach channel near low water, the chart shows it drying
by 3.5 metres at the Lowest Astronomical Tide, I suspect it has
more at the moment, it certainly appeared so as I entered but I
was busy at the time so I will certainly use the charted number
when I leave. Some charts don't show the final lateral marks,
the 2025 Admiralty chart and the Padstow web site do.

Along side in Padstow, the fender board getting it's first use
protecting from the excellent but protruding access ladder rather
than the wall.

The inner harbour gate close to low water.

HMS Warwick was commanded by Commander W.A. Rayner DSC and bar
an exceptional RNVR officer of WWII who wrote  "Escort: the Battle of
the Atlantic" that is in my view is the best book on convoy escort duty of
the period. After the war he went on to found Westerly Boats, probably
 the most successful builder of small to medium cruising yachts from the 70s
to the 80s.

I was not going to  lash out over £100 for a meal at Rick Steins
but I had to try the fish and chips from the take away - very
good,  although the Haddock was of adequate size rather than
generous (£18.50). It will be ships curry on Saturday.

5.4 NM in an hour and a half.

Slide show of more Padstow pictures on the next post.

Click here for Sunday.

 

2025 Sept 4th, Day 1. Portquin Bay

WIP

The trip down on Wednesday was not an auspicious start to the trip as someone hi-jacked my taxi, fortunately I fagged it down just as they realised they were in the wrong car, on our street of about 12 households  two of us had booked a car from the same company, at the same time and both to the station although I was going to Bicester Town, now known as Bicester Village 😡, whilst they were going to Bicester North. With that sorted I had a reasonable trip down arriving 20 minutes late.

Preparing to leave took rather longer than hoped with a couple of minor things to sort out, after a trip to the supermarket I found that I did not have any plastic food boxes I use for food storage so I had to go back and buy some more. I have had a feeling I was missing something for the previous couple of days and had gone through my check lists twice but they were not on it as they normally live on the boat, this time I had taken them home for a good clean, hopefully subconsciously these what I was worried about.

All this meant I didn't get to bed until gone eleven and for some reason I did not get to sleep until past midnight, not good with a long trip ahead, hopefully past The Lizard.

I was up at 03:15 to calm dry conditions, the forecast was for heavy thundery showers for some hours, rain is a pain but I can deal with that, lightening at sea is a different matter - potentially dangerous and always stressful, but the weather radar showed I should be clear of it by  nine or ten o'clock and there were no lightening strikes showing, so off I went leaving the berth at 04:15 as it started to spot with rain. by the time I was through the lock the rain was quite heavy and at times it was very heavy as I went down the Haven out to sea.

Unfortunately by the time I was past Turbot Bank I only had the midnight inshore forecast and the previous evenings downloads and with no phone signal could only wait for the Coastguard's safety broadcast which did not come for some time. What I had was not encouraging and, even past the often difficult water at the entrance to The Haven, known locally as "The Washing Machine", there were some very big sets coming through, certainly at the top end of the "Rough" category (2.5 - 4 metres) rather than "moderate" and I suspect it was occasionally "Very Rough"

I was not feeling well at this stage with incipient sea sickness. Complex pilotage at night in poor conditions frequently needing to check the plotter, radar etc., is one thing that can set me off  and I had forgotten the pill I take when this is likely at the start of a cruise and with the rain hammering down I decided, probably incorrectly, not to try and get below to find one. I was conscious that sea sickness can lead to poor decision making, so with all of the above, I regretfully decided against land's end and took the safe option and headed towards Padstow. 

The rain stopped at 08:30 as the wind quickly went from 4 knots to 15 from the NW so off went the engine and I was sailing under reefed headsail making better speed considerably more comfortable as the sail stopped the exaggerated roll to windward although it was lunch time before I was feeling fit again.

The wind backed a little but was reasonably stable from about 277 degrees +/- 10 at F4 but mainly F5 until I was about 10 miles north of Padstow when it increased on occasion to and not forecast F6.

As expected I missed the tide to get into Padstow although only by an hour but with a F5-6, even with the sea coming from only a tad north of west, I would not have attempted to cross the bar. So I anchored in Portquin Bay where it was safe but very uncomfortable with the boat lying accross the chop coming through the gap betwen Rumps Point and The Mouls.

Wind some times against tide made for an uncomfortable ride
but with good holding and miles (literally) of sea room down
wind it was perfectly safe and as predicted I slept through a
lot of it.

Click here for Padstow.

And he is off (Hopefully)

Tuesday 2nd September 

After 2 months ashore for the Memsahibs new knee, the weather looked, until late Sunday, as if it would be a while before I could go sailing, then a small window opened up. This morning it has opened a bit more and providing that tomorrows last appointment with the consultant surgeon goes well, and I can catch the train, AND its not too late getting to Milford, I should be off  well before first sparrow chirp on Thursday. If I don't make it I'll have to rethink as going south into the forecast head winds would not be much fun.

I'm not sure were I will be headed but as described in a previous post, the tide is good close in to Cape Cornwall from 01:00 on Friday to take me past The Lizard. But I am not convinced that the weather and sea will be good enough, also there may be some strong winds with south in them over the weekend and early next week. So, for the moment, the target is Rick Stein Ville aka Padstow and I'll make a decision on Land's End, or perhaps Lundy, when I am past Turbot Bank and hopefully have the latest forecasts and models.

With a very quick passage I might just scrape into the harbour on Thursday evening but more realistically I'll anchor in Port Quin Bay or Polventon Bay and go into Padstow on Friday (HW 04:31 & 16:51), or perhaps on Saturday if I decide to go for a local sail or have a day at anchor.

ECMWF & UKMO models for 04:00 Thursday as of Tuesday 03:00.
The ECMWF shows NW winds from c 07:00 reaching c 15 knots by
lunch time.

And for 17:00. A nice reach but it could get rather wet and bumpy
with swell & waves left over from earlier strong winds.

I'll want to be somewhere safe on Tuesday (and on Sunday).

Click here for Day 1 of the cruise.