La Semaine du Golfe 2017

At last the much anticipated event had arrived - boat and car loaded I arrived at Portsmouth ferry to join the line of vehicles, many towing boats destined for the festival in the queue at the ferry port.

John and Mary Boston, towing 'Pamela' were in the same queue and we eagerly awaited embarkation.

This however was to be no easy task, as on the approach I suddenly thought "FLARES......." and sure enough the question was asked by the official by the inspection shed. I decided without too much thought to own up to the fact I had some on board, after all a search would discover them sat in their holders in the cabin and that would lead to a very red face. So I was waved over to a side bay and then into the shed where some eager, but very helpful and friendly officials descended on the boat.

However their eagerness diminished when the realised it would take me a month of Sundays to un lash the mast and gain access to the cabin. Solution..call the supervisor....after some minutes a harassed but very courteous man arrived and evidently my answers satisfied him and I was waved through..a lesson learnt - either make them accessible or leave then behind.

The other interesting story here was the questions about knives - did I have any on board...

Well yes..its a boat and knives are useful for all sorts of reasons - I also live on her so there is a full cutlery set as well...bemused faces...Do you ask these questions of the caravan and motor home owners I asked. No we don't...well think of it as a floating caravan...faces cleared, eyes winked and I was waved through.

I has elected to sleep in a reserved seat for the crossing, which was ok but not great and I envied John and Mary in their cabin, but St Malo arrived at dawn and we set off for Lamour Baden.

For those of you who fear trailing in France...don't...it is so much better than trailing over here - the roads are wider...in much better condition...less traffic...wonderful Aires or rest areas. Three hours or so with a stop at a supermarket saw us at the quayside where other members of the group who had arrived earlier in the week were already well established.

Rigged and launched we were soon tied to out allocated buoys. We ended up using a boat as a ferry boat to collect members of our group and take them to the 'party boat'  as we were well distributed amongst the anchorage. A dinghy would have been useful at times but the tide races through so not the solution to everything. The locals used ribs and water taxis and it was very easy to get in and out from the shore, although they did pack up quite early and not start til 9 or so.

The gang consisted of Andy and Annie Cooper on Coaster 'Gadfly', Marcus Niner on Drifter  'Sundance' , Andy and Judy Peter on Coaster 'Blue Peter', John and Mary Boston on Coaster ' Pamela', Jeremy and Kim Brett on Coaster 'Storm'. Alex Haig and his crew on his Deben lugger, James Willder on his lugger 'Tarka, myself on the Shrimper 'Daislebee' and later in the week we were joined by Jack O'Keefe and Pat O'Leary in Coaster 'Tyboat' and David and Euan Camlin in Coaster ' Delta'

The event was so busy and varied all the days seemed to run together. There were many memorable moments - Marcus getting Andy C into oyster shucking...they were ten a penny...almost literally and Marcus is quite the connoisseur, and we h,ad a good oyster and wine party on his boat - head stand diving, boarding ladder testing - not forgetting the story about the mizzen but that'll keep for another time

The event didn't start properly until the Wednesday when we sailed a route following a lead boat for our fleet.

The participants are placed in fleets according to their size and facilities - so open boats of a lugger size where in fleet 3 - cabin-ed boats of a similar size like ours were placed in fleet 3 bis  - 3 and 3 bis combined into a group of 100 plus boats under a lead skipper who motored the route with several ribs to assist. Each day we sailed from one venue to another, stopping of lunch and coffee frequently in order to wait for the ferocious tides to turn in our favour.

In all over 1400 boats took part in their various fleets, each nigh spent at a little port within the golfe where the town had a stage for music and entertainment, dancing, food stalls and a crews dining area after crews drinks had been taken. Each port seemed to be trying to out do the last for the scale of the entertainment and the warmth of the welcome - the locals were fantastic.

I have simply put a selection of pictures below to show the variety of the types of boats and some of the scenery.

The fleet in Port Navalo

Port Anna 

Port Anna

Port Anna

Port Bono - the river and bridge

Port Navalo

  

A variety of the big ships that attended

 The Drascombe 50 years celebration burgee flying proudly in the Morbihan

Port Bono

The other Shrimper

The image above is a french Shrimper owned and sailed by Christian Grouhel who was at the festival with his daughter and a friend of his. The boat is a distinctive brown and comes, I have learnt from the cappuccino range that was produced many years ago . he bought in in St Malo and keeps her in Port Navalo.

We took a lovely picture of entente cordiale having spent the day 'racing' each other... we moored up together at Port Anna and had a good chat with his English and certainly that of his daughters exceeding my very poor french - but beer is a good multi national currency.

Entente Cordiale - Christian Grouhel  - french Shrimper skipper

The final day was the Saturday with a Grand Parade from the entrance to the Golfe at Navalo all the way up to Vannes. We sat in the lee of an island and joined in as the smaller boats came passed.

1400 boats of all shapes and sizes in a swirling tide with cannon going off and crowds lining the beaches o n the islands along the route - quite fantastic.

Hard to take pictures but this link will give you a much better idea. Note that the boats aren't really sailing...just being swept along with the tide.

You Tube video of Grand Parade

We hauled out that day and used the boast as caravans for the next few days, visiting local towns and cities like Josselin, Vannes and Auray and giving ourselves a break from the water before finally packing up and catching the Tuesday evening ferry back home.

It was a wonderful trip, with great weather and good company, challenging at times but really great fun....I'd highly recommend it to anyone contemplating a visit to the 2019 event..and must say a massive thanks to all those involved in the organisation - it was so well done and can you believe,..no charges involve - no mooring fees, no launch fees, no crane fees, just food and drink and tips for the water taxis....well done Brettons you did us proud.

Footnote:-

Christian sent the photo together with a lovely little poem ..very touching

Semaine du Golfe 2017

To Richard

A friendly meeting

What nice days we had,

And I was so glad

To meet you

Retired too,

Sailing on a Cornish shrimper,

Built by Cornish Crabber.

Our two sister ships took their place,

Not for a race,

But for pretty trips, among the floats

Of hundreds of  tiny and  big boats.

Some of them were armed with guns, but not to fight,

Just to remind us the terrible fights

Which are marred in ours books of  history

Of ours two countries, formerly enemy.

A lot of spots of our coast

Remind us the cost

Of  lives paid, for peace

And let us pray for theses.

  

Come back again in Brittany

Our country is so pretty.

(Hope to see you in 2019 for the tenth Semaine du Golfe.)

Christian

Early season update

Seems awhile since I wrote a piece on here ..winter seemed to linger and then everything seems to happens at once. Lots to tell so here goes......

The flag has been raised on Daislebee's stern both in the yard, as shown below but also during a Solent cruise, about which more later.

I needed to rig her to get her on the water---god what a frustrating experience. I used my new lifter pole that worked ok and will certainly help in years to come but at the moment it is easier to push the mast up manually. I will take some pictures of the finished lifter for any of you that might be contemplating a similar arrangement.

Easier to lift ...but not when it needs to be done four or more times ....grrrr..I cannot believe how many lines got twisted, were incorrectly reeved etc etc ..but lessons learned.

I needed the mast up so I could launch and take the trailer for a service which I did at Fawley Trailers, with a big shout out to Adrian there who did a good job, and thanks also to Sharon at CBL for using her powers of persuasion and contacts to get it arranged for me.

Adrian did the job between tides and having got it to him at 08.00 that morning having launched the night before I recovered her that evening..all sorted. He commented as I arrived at the yard " You'll be needing new bearings then, I heard you coming down the road"....enough said.

The next job, believe it or not was to de-rig her ready for trailing to Cornwall.

I had arrange with Crabbers to give Daislebee a face lift and remove the scratches and polish a very faded gel coat. They also did all the wood work that looks like new now. We had a family gathering in Hayle, Cornwall so the journey down killed two birds with one stone.

Returned to Ashlett looking shiny and bright

I dropped her down the Ashlett the following Saturday, just glimpsing the departing tan sails of the 1st May rally as I came over the hill. I spent the Saturday rigging her and launching, ready for the Sunday tide. Sharon came down to visit Glenys who was camping nearby, so came out for a quick sail before the tide dictated that I set off for Cowes to meet up the the fleet.

Setting off - well wrapped up

I had a good brisk sail across to to Cowes and rendezvoused with the gang in Shepards Wharf where we adjourned to the pub for a meal.

Monday

The following day I wasn't certain if worked beckoned so set off back towards Ashlett, picking up a buoy in Owers Lake whilst I waited for the phone call and/or the tide.
Thankfully the phone call came first, I wasn't required....so I set off to Newtown Creek to catch up part of the fleet, some had gone to Ryde and joined us the next day.


Tuesday

A lovely sunny day that the others wanted to spend reading and sleeping...I set off for Lymington to do some shopping and collect a bundle of flares for Marcus. It was a great sail over and I managed to get onto Town Quay which was very handy - not something likely to happen when the season is in full swing.

Back over to Newtown for the night on the raft.


Wednesday

A very windy morning meant the raft had to split up and I went over to the Clammerkin side of the creek and picked up a buoy and watched a seal play around for awhile.
Once the tide had turned we set off for Ashlett once again and the sail back was great, even beating a Drifter, which doesn't happen very often.

The others recovered but I needed some work done on the trailer so stayed on the pontoon overnight.


Thursday

A quick trip to Adrian fitted the new bit and then I changed over the conventional strap and fitted a Dyneema cable and the turning bloc I posted about,  which worked wonderfully on recovery, taking the strain out of the winching. I'll post a picture of the arrangement soon but I have to thank Nick Payne for the idea. Whilst waiting for the tide I fitted some storage sleeves to the cabin sides - gradually the important items are finding places and the less important get left ashore - she actually looks quite tidy inside.

Once recovered I snugged her down - starting to get ready for the trip to the Morbihan at the end of the month.

Flag staff finished

Final coats on the wood, fittings fitted, flag raised..ready for adventures.....

Getting ready for the season

Launch day or rather lift in day went according to plan last week and the quay at the club is now clear of over wintering boats. Esso, quite surprisingly, issued an extended licence for this to happen. An extension I took advantage of to get some work done. The lease has been seen, signed and returned and is just waiting final agreement from Esso HQ before we are truly back in business.

With the extended licence I dashed straight down from work on Monday last week and rigged the boat so that I could take her off the trailer, which I did, and then on Tuesday morning rushed the trailer to Fawley Trailers in Badminston Lane, where I left it in the capable hands of Adrian to do a service, courtesy of some persuasion by Sharon from Churchouse.

Whilst Daislebee was in the water I gave her top sides a thorough clean and fitted the batteries properly. I was joined by Tony during the afternoon which somewhat delayed too much progress..... but the next morning, when I got the trailer back, running very nicely, I was able to get on with rigging and other bits and bobs.

Rigging ...grrrrr....up went the mast with all the halyards attached...only to come down again to put the wind vane and lights on.....up again......down again...a rope had come unsheaved....up again...only to discover the peak halyard and the topping lift needed to be swapped over...wrong blocks...it was about that time I gave up,,,,,and set off for home.

But most of the work is done and I have a list of new jobs to to next time I am down.

Back at home I am giving a few finishing coats to the flag staff I have mad to replace the one I snapped last year.  £30 odd from most chandlers...just a bit of broom handle surely....well it is now.

Just need to put the fittings on and its ready to go with the new ensign I got for Christmas.

I have also been lurking on E bay...dangerous place isn't it. The result, amongst other items, is some dyneema line on order , a hook and a snatch block.

The idea behind it is based on a successful trial a fellow sailor, Nick Payne, has had making the winching process easier by using a turning block to reduce the pulling load. I'll take some pictures of the arrangement when it's fitted and provide links to the items used...assuming it's successful.

Other items on order are the service kit for the engine, some car back seat tidys' to store items along the side of the cabin. LED bulbs are also on their way to me, to replace the standard bulbs with brighter, less current hungry navigation lights.

The mast lifter has been used quite a lot and is reasonably successful but needs some tweaks. When I'm happy with it I'll post some pictures.

All in all, once she's been to Rock for her hull re furb she is going to look cracking for the new season...can't wait.

Good news at Ashlett

Together with several Drascombers, and of course other boats owners, including I'm glad to say two other Shrimper owners, I have kept my boat at the sailing club at Ashlett Creek for the past couple of years.
Very much a self help club, and extremely tidal it is a delightful backwater just north of Calshot in Southampton Water.

It's history is that  it was the sailing part of the larger Waterside Sports and Social Club based in Holbury, the village up the hill, which used to be the Esso Sports and Social Club.

As time went on and social clubs became less important to business's, it was signed over on a lease agreement to a committee of members, with each sub club, sailing, tennis etc being run by it's own sub committee.

Shock horror at the end of last year when it was announced that the 'Top Club' at Holbury was going into liquidation and therefore, by default, so were all the small sub clubs........ This was just after the end of season lift out, and left members and their boats quite literally stranded. Doom and despair abounded and the end of the world was forecast........

However, a few forward thinking people on the current committee , and others, had taken the precautionary step of creating a dormant company, and through their diligence and hard work, Ashlett Sailing Club Ltd has been able to pay a satisfactory amount to the liquidator for certain club assets as well as take over the lease, having reached agreement with Esso.

So, the Ashlett or perhaps possibly to be renamed -  Phoenix Sailing Club
has risen for m the ashes and opens it's door on Sunday...well done to all concerned in the negotiations and hard work that was required to achieve this.

Ashlett Regatta 2016