Good news ....London Boat Show special guests

Riley and Elayna, the YouTube couple sailing the world in their Outremer catamaran, are coming to the London Boat Show to give a talk about their adventures.

Scheduled to appear twice on Thursday 11th Jan, they are bound to attract a large audience. I, for one, will be trying to get there and here their story first hand.

As I mentioned in the previous post they produce good quality videos about their adventures that not only cover the good bits but also the occasional reality check.

I have sent them a cheeky email inviting them to the Drascombe stand while they are at the show.. ..we'll see.

London Boat Show - Sailing Blogs - my favourites

London Boat Show draws near and as usual I will be helping out Drascombe by Churchouse on their stand SB001 - come along and say hello - last year I met several people who read these pages and it was great to hear their thoughts.

Although it is a shorter show this year, there are two other events being run alongside which should ensure it is a busy place to be.

Video blogs - Vlogs

Love them...hate them.....there is a mixed bunch out there. I have to admit I alternate between extreme jealousy and bouts of frustrated rage that I can't be out there having the same adventures.

The best I find, strike a balance between white sand and palm trees, bums and bikinis and some real life experiences, dramas and the reality of sailing and living aboard a relatively small boat.

I have a top three  or four that I watch and find that they consistently deliver this mix :

Top without a doubt is La Vagabonde - which follows the adventures of Riley and Elayna, two young Australians who hooked up together to sail the world. 

Riley bought his first boat without any sailing experience or knowledge and taught himself by trail and error  - by the time he meet Elayna he had obviously learnt enough not to scare her to death and they continued on the adventures together - they fund their travels through a variety of means - their You Tube channel attracts Patreons and they have achieved a level of success that must be almost unique  - to the extent that they have managed to swop their faithful mono hull for a brand new 45 ft Outremer catamaran. They are currently in the Med and intend to spend the summer of 2018 in the US so some long trips ahead

Follow their adventures on their You Tube channel - La Vagabonde or visit their website 


A close second but with a slightly different take on it must be SV Delos. 

Brian, his brother Brady, Karin are the main crew joined currently by  Alex,, Lisa and Elizabeth are the current crew - between them they represent the US, Sweden, Austria and good old Blighty.
The boat, Delos, is a ketch rigged 53 foot Amel Super Maramu , built in 2000 in which they are travelling the globe.

The three permanent fixtures the skipper Brian, Karin and Brady have been joined periodically by friends and people who follow their adventures and are invited to join them. The main emphasis is sailing but they do explore the places they visit and using their network of 'followers' they get to see the local area and enjoy adventures away from the water.  They are currently in Recife, Brazil.

Their You tube channel is - SV Delos  and their website can be reach by this link



Third and perhaps not as polished as the other two is RAN Sailing

A Swedish couple, Malin and Johan, decided to give up the rat race in 2016 and set off from the cold climes of northern Europe on their adventures - they are currently in San Blas Islands, Panama.

Johan had travelled extensively before and many places are a return visit for him. For Malin it s all new territory.

Theur boat is a  custom built aluminium Beason 40 built in  1987. Easy to watch and with many practical issues to address it is interesting seeing their transition from the early days to their current location in Panama.

Their video log can be found at RAN Sailing and their website using this link 



No mention of San Blas, Panama can pass with out a look at White Spot Pirates - Untie the Lines.

These are the adventures of Nike Steiger, a young lady from Hamburg, who defines White Spots as undiscovered areas in the map of her life. She sold up and bought a fairly dilapidated boat she called KARL who is a Reinke Super 10, built in 1992 in aluminium. 

Together they have ventured as far as Cuba and it's fair to say watching the videos can leave you feeling exhausted. Nike is very practical and determined and seems to weather all sort of problems, certainly in the early days that would have made less resolute people run for the hills.

Her You Tube channel is here and her website can be found here

Do you have any favourites or recommendations??

Keep Turning Left seems to be the best of the UK bunch but I gather that Dylan Winter, the author, is in two minds whether to continue. I hope he does and I will look at his site again after Christmas but I do understand the pressures of keeping it up to date - even my little effort takes time which can be hard to find theses days.

End of season review

It always seems a sad time of year....packing up for the winter, putting all the toys away but it does seem to be eased by looking back though the entries for the year and re living the memories that have been captured.

This year I managed 40 nights on board looking at my diary, not all of which are reflected in the blog but then again some where just little trips or nights on the boat at the club and not strictly bog material.

I have noticed as well, that my blog entries are more sporadic and sometimes quite a while after the event so a note to self...keep on top of entries.
I have bought myself a little notebook pc which will be much easier to take on board and hopefully will get me into more regular entries next season.

It is a Lenovo Mix 320 - very compact - the keyboard is a little small after a proper one but once you get used to it works well.....the screen separates from the keyboard to run as a tablet which may be handy - so very pleased with it so far and unlike my poor old Dell laptop I won't be loading it with programs and documents so hopefully it will remain quick to start....I'll let you know.

Highlights of the season are pretty easy-

The trip to the Morbihan was as they say aboard super great...it really was...a superb experience in great surroundings with a great gang. I still look back though the pictures and feel the warmth....not only of the weather but the local people as well as the visitors. So good in fact we are seriously debating not going back...could a second visit ever be as good???

The other huge highlight of the year was the Drascombe Golden Jublilee at Weymouth - again the weather and the people made it fantastic ...couldn't have asked for more....some truly lovely pictures and memories....so many Drascombes and their owners in one place -  a scene not replicated since the last anniversary event 10 years ago.

We have decided that Weymouth was such a good venue that we will go back there...on a smaller scale...for an event every two years...with the intervening years having Drascamp in Poole as the focus.

The new dockyard cruises have proved great fun and it is nice to use the boat as a home to go somewhere and do something...much as I love sailing...it does add a new dimension and is more like the big boat cruising I watch with envy on YouTube.  In fact that has given me a thought , I might do a review of my favourite YouTube logs  - perhaps a poll to see if you agree--nice project for the winter months.

Inevitably  as I pack the boat up thoughts turn to next season - what do I need to keep on board...what was never used...what will I do for next season. 

I'll give it some thought and include it in th blog so I could look back and think...why ?

Things to look forward to -

We have our end of season dinner this weekend - always a fun time, even if the next day is a little cloudy....this year it is being held at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club so at least to start with we will be on out best behaviour . The day after the boat will be snugged down for winter and the Sunday sees us doing some work to maintain the water depth under the pontoon at the club...which will no doubt prove to be a messy affair...but with a small party afterwards should be fun.

Work is still getting in the way and I hope next season sees opportunities open up for me to pack up for good and earn a little pocket money elsewhere to fund my hobbies and interests...we'll see

Solent cruise - with another visit to the dockyards

October 10th - 12th

Monday 10th

The main fleet assembled at Ashlett - Stewart in Bolitho, Tony in Pellew, Ian in Moksha  , Jim and his daughter and son in law in Hippo and myself in Daislebee, together with Marcus with Sundance, who had come up from Newtown and had joined those that had launched over the weekend.

We departed on the tide and had a fair sail down to Yarmouth, using broad tacks to make our way down to the west, avoiding the larger waves being kick up in the main channel.

The sun was lovely as we tied up in the harbour with the dark sky behind setting the scene off very nicely

We ate in the Kings Head, not the best meal we have had, some good, some not so good but the ale went down well and we retired to bed ready for the morning.

Tuesday 11th

The plan had been to go up the Medina to Newport on the Island and visit our old favourite The Bargeman's Rest, but the forecast for Wednesday was not good so we decided to go direct to Portsmouth. With wind and tide in our favour it promised to be a swift passage and so it was. About a F4 with strong tidal assist made short work of the trip and the rain held off until we arrived so it was up with tents quick sharp.

Jim could only come out for the night so he departed for Ashlett whilst we carried on and soon arrived in Hazler again, this time opposite the Trinity Lighthouse boat that marks the Hazler entrance.

We decided to try the restaurant on the lighthouse and were very pleasantly surprised...... a very good time was had by all.

Wednesday 12th

The day dawned bright and cold...but with strong winds so our choice of direct passage to Portsmouth the day before was validated.

Stewart had pulled a muscle so elected to have a quiet day on board, whilst Ian was meeting Glenys later so Tony, Marcus and I set off on the Gosport ferry to visit the historic dockyards again. 

After coffee we headed to the Mary Rose and encountered a very smartly dressed Tom Richardson on the way..chat was kept brief as the heavens opened and we scuttled on our way.

The Mary rose is hugely impressive, not just the ship itself but the building and layout of the whole experience....well worth a visit and there are plans to add new timbers to the exhibit to complete the bow section we were told.

We re visited Boat House 4 where the restoration of small boats goes on and saw quite a lot of progress on some of the boats.

We returned to the boats quite early as visitors were expected...and sure enough before long Ali and Sharon, together with Brad arrived and the party got going.

We adjourned to Wetherspoon's after a while and were joined by Ian and Glenys before moving onto the Great Wall Chinese which is fast becoming a favourite venue.

The evening concluded back in the pub from where we made our way back to boats, cars or hotels depending on the choices available....

Thursday 12th

The wind had died down and the lunchtime tide was going to be ideal to make it back to Ashlett. Before we departed however, Marcus and I waked round to the Submarine Museum, stopping on the way to admire two small steel yachts who were rigged as square riggers.

We couldn't work out how people would climb the rigging to set the sail but the penny dropped after awhile....the yards are on a slider and can be lowered to the deck so the topsails can be unfurled then the yard raised and the lower set of sails unfurled in turn as the yards go up.

The submarine museum was a sobering place...what sort of people put themselves through that sort of experience....very brave ..or quite mad...

The outside is huge and a baby compared to todays subs

Inside is a mass of pipes

 We returned quite amazed at the bravery of the sailors who undertook missions in these sorts of craft.

Our sail back to Ashlett seemed very tame in comparison and all too soon it was over..probably the last sail of the season

October 2017 - Ezetil Cool box update

I can report that the Ezetil Cool box is still working well, although you may recall in a review after I had had it for a few months I mentioned the lid and handle come off quite easily.

Well the handle has given up and I thought at the time, oh well..look around for another one...but the thought occurred to me to try one of those Bags for Life...and it has certainly given my cool box a another lease of life....

Other 'Bags for Life' are available....

Portsmouth Dockyard Rally 29th Aug - 1st Sept

Four of the usual suspect gathered at Ashlett in the 29th Sept  - Marcus came up from Newtown to the quay in Sundance and Brad trailed over bringing Siobhan from Poole. Tony (Pellew) and I joined them and all were launch ready to depart on the Wednesday tide.

The destination was Portsmouth, so we set of when the tide allowed keeping close to the north island (north side of the Solent) as we headed east, to take advantage of the eddy that runs along the shore. Out in the main stream the tide runs west which puts quite a lot of extra time on the journey.

The wind was northerly and quite fair but it did start to rain as we arrived in Portsmouth Harbour.

Our destination was Hasler Marina on the Gosport side. Arriving first I was initially directed to the usual visitor pontoon area by the green lighthouse that makes Hasler so recognisable, but just as the others arrived and tied up we were directed to some other berths in the main part of the marina. It appears they were moving boats around so they could start their dredging program. So a strange sight of small boats, with their tents half rigged created a sight for the residents as we passed en route to our new berths.

Once installed on our berths we rigged up properly for the night.

The fleet

Siobhan and Daislebee

Pellew and Sundance

My tent is a D&D Hammocks 3 x 3 tarp. I managed to get it in maroon which fits in really well with my spray hood, sails and sail cover. Looking at their website more recently they don't seem to do this colour anymore but the quality and fittings are very good.

The sunshade option

As you can see from the picture below each edge has 5 attachment points as does the centre line - it can be used as a tent but on a small boat it makes and idela quick and easy tent to keep the cockpit dry.  Use this link to visit the DD tarp site

After paying our dues and settling in we decided to visit the fleshpots of Gosport - The Star , a Wetherspoons in the High Street being our target.

Brad was dressed for bad weather in his black mac and wellies - which, when he popped to the loo were swiftly utilised as decorating items...

The Wellie Chair

The late afternoon passed in comfort sat in the cosy armchairs but we decided to adjourn to the Great Wall of China for a meal..Tony remembered it from his misspent youth in Gosport  ..if fact I think he was worried some of the waitresses might mention him to their mums !!! The meal was great value at £16 a head for a veritable feast ..not perhaps gourmet but a fun meal for hungry sailors.

Thursday

Bright and dry we breakfasted on board before venturing off across the water to Portsmouth via the Gosport ferry, to join the queue at the historic dock yards...and boy was it a queue.

Just a note on the tickets - the full price for the Dockyards is something like £28 but they can be got on various website for £18 or so..they do last a whole year and as we found there is far too much to see in one visit.
Once inside we had a look at the Jutland exhibition and then took the ferry over ot the Explosives museum which with our own personal guides (Brad and Tony) was very interesting.

We also explored HMS M.33 which is the only remaining British veteran of the bloody Dardanelles Campaign of 1915-1916, and also of the Russian Civil War which followed. Apparently the ship is one of just three British warships from World War I still in existence.

It made a Drascombe/Shrimper look very comfortable.

We also visited Boathouse No 4 in which there are various attractions from yesteryear including an example of a Cockleshells Heroes canoe as used by 'Blondie' Hasler and his team. There are other interesting boats that have been restored as well as a large number, in the main arena, of craft of all shapes and sizes undergoing restoration - one of these included a very old landing craft that had Brad's attention immediately.
That was all we had time for..and indeed the energy for, but is was a great day and we will undoubtedly be back next year..it gives a great focal point for a rally.

Friday
We set off back to Ashlett, but in no particular hurry as we needed the water in the creek before we could pull out so we dawdled and Brad and I tried to 'snurgle' (1) into Hill Head harbour but decided to leave that for another day.
(1) Snurgle :- a term from the Drascombe dictionary..generally translated as trying to get in somewhere with too little water, too early on the tide.

We arrived back at Ashlett and made good use of the Tony Wood recovery service (his electric winch makes light work of recovery) before having what has been come to be known as a 'Drascombe cook in' in the club house.

Saturday
I departed after a bowl of Museli...leaving the others to enjoy their fry up. Marcus was still afloat, heading back to Newtown later that day..and I had a new car to collect.
That was all we had time for..and indeed the energy for, but is was a great day and we will undoubtedly be back next year..it gives a great focal point for a rally.

Friday
We set off back to Ashlett, but in no particular hurry as we needed the water in the creek before we could pull out so we dawdled and Brad and I tried to 'snurgle' (1) into Hill Head harbour but decided to leave that for another day.
(1) Snurgle :- a term from the Drascombe dictionary..generally translated as trying to get in somewhere with too little water, too early on the tide.

We arrived back at Ashlett and made good use of the Tony Wood recovery service (his electric winch makes light work of recovery) before having what has been come to be known as a 'Drascombe cook in' in the club house.

Saturday
I departed after a bowl of Museli...leaving the others to enjoy their fry up. Marcus was still afloat, heading back to Newtown later that day..and I had a new car to collect.

The Drascombe Golden Jubilee- 50 years of Luggering

In my last post, the small fleet that had departed Studland had arrived at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy (WPNSA) on the Wednesday afternoon/evening where we found Brad on Siobhan already waiting with beer in hand.

Thursday was arrival day for those coming by road and so the duly elected volunteers (pressed ganged) - Brad, Tony and Chis on slipway duties, myself and Ian on car park and rigging area and Glenys and Sharon on Reception went into action.

The first to arrive were Henk Wels and his friend Arend who had made the long journey from Holland. The trickle during the morning became a steady flow in the afternoon and then a flood as people escaped work early or completed long journeys from Scotland and similar distances.

Very hot day in the car park

By the end of a long day everyone had arrived and were enjoying the village atmosphere on the pontoons.

Sharon had arranged a Sailors Supper for the first evening and following this we gave a briefing about the plans for the weekend and some do's and don'ts on the site.

Each day started with a briefing at 09.30 and Friday's concerned the voyage to Lulworth for lunch.

The Briefing - Andy Cooper

It was a beautiful day with a strengthening wind and the fleet set out making an impressive sight across Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay.

Across the Bay - by Tom Richardson

En route to Lulworth - Mdb.photos

Leaving WPNSA - Mdb.photos

Yours truly - Mdb.photos

The fleet - Mdb.photos

Lulworth Cove - Mdb.photos

Entering Lulworth - Mdb.photos

Lulworth - Tom Richardson

The return journey was not so comfortable but all were in good spirits by the time they got back to WPNSA with many approaching me and commenting that that was their biggest and most adventurous sail in their luggers, or that they had achieved an ambition of visiting Lulworth by boat and many other heartwarming comments.

That evening was self catering with a large contingent visiting the Cove for fish and chips

Sunset at Chesil beach - viewed from the The Cove  - DP

Saturday was the day of the 'Pursuit Race' - now we all know Drascombes don't race...but if you are in front you want to stay there, and if you are not in the front you try and get there...if you fail you start fishing or similar..... and so it was our Pursuit Race was rapidly re named a Parade of Sail around a prescribed route, after the harbour master pointed out that to race required a risk assessment, written requests and a fee......

Laying out the course for the "Parade of Sail" - Ray Dittrich Photography

There was little wind to speak of to start with and it was less of a Parade..much less a race and more drifting in style.

Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Last resorts - Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Queen Mary Sailing Club Sailability Longboat "Zingaroo" skippered by David Jillings - Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Line honours - Dominic Jarman in Samphire - Ray Dittrich Photography

The afternoon entertainment consisted of a similar Parade buy on this occasion the competition was for the best dressed overall. To add spice to the occasion "Katharine Mary" the very first lugger every built, who you may remember took pride of place on the CB:L London Boat Show stand back in January, was back on the water. She was accompanied by "Zingaroo" the latest boat to be built who you may have seen in an earlier blog entry, was launched and named by HRH Princes Anne at Queen Mary Sailing Club for their Sailability section, only a few weeks before.

"Katharine Mary" the first Lugger built 50 years ago  - Ray Dittrich Photography

"Katharine Mary" and "Zingaroo" first and latest - Ray Dittrich Photography

"KM" - Ray Dittrich Photography

"Zingaroo"  - Simon Harwood and Kyle  Crew and  David Jillings helm - Ray Dittrich Photography

First and latest - Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

Ray Dittrich Photography

The Golden Jubilee dinner took place that evening with much merriment , some speeches and prizes awarded and some very kind impromptu comments from the audience.

© Andy Cooper

© Andy Cooper

© Andy Cooper

© Andy Cooper

© Andy Cooper

© Andy Cooper

© Andy Cooper

© Andy Cooper

© Andy Cooper

Sunday  was the last day of the celebrations for most and as a nice touch Ruth Worsely and her husband Howard had offered to conduct a short a simple service - although they had brought their Coaster along for the celebration weekend Ruth's full time job involves being the Bishop of Taunton and Howard is also involved in the church. So we gathered for a few hymns and readings, remembering Drascombers who are now longer with us, Hans Vandersmissen , Like Churchouse and Douglas Hopwood to name but a few.

Ruth Worsely - © Andy Cooper

Howard's rope trick - © Andy Cooper

The CBL crew - © Andy Cooper

Group photo time - © Andy Cooper

People began to haul out for the long journey home, with happy memories of a great weekend. Those of use who sailed from the Solent took advantage of the Sunday ceasefire on the range and set back across the bay to overnight in Studland, feasting on mackerel caught en route, and made our way back to Ashlett via Shepards Wharf over the following days.