I'm exhausted and putting together a load of photos and videos (which we have) is tiring work so I'm going to sort it tomorrow. Hopefully by then we'll also have a load of photos taken by all the people who came to wave at us as we entered Whitby Harbour.
Will fire out a notification email once I've put it all up.
Can't believe how far we've come. Can't believe how long that Lowestoft to Scarborough trip was now I've stuck it on the progress map. Google says it was 160 road miles - that's a seriously long way!!
Hehe!!
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Hi Aggy. Cheers!! Gazette hopefully this time will publish a link to the Just Giving page. We've got literally 100s of photos from all the people on the pier and abbey plain - and a boat came out to meet us and took photos also. Will post them up shortly.
Popped into your pie shop last night to say hi but you were at a Christening apparently. Got to say it looks flippin amazing!! The pies sound fantastic - looking forward to mine! I notice you don't do a steak and stilton though - can you add it to the menu for me?
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Well done - all 3 of you. Fantastic achievement!! - Next stop the Caribbean???? I have enjoyed your posts, following your journey and Lunar's excursions (and I always thought cat's had nine lives!!). Perhaps a full write up in the Westerly Owners magazine would be good as well.
Nice One!!
Rob (still stuck in Plymouth - but hoping to get further afield!)
PS. Are you 'Rob' formerly of Westways? That we know?
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Sorry - different Rob. I am Rob, formerly of no brokers whatsoever............but we did nearly meet once, you motored past our mooring in your Centaur and we exchanged waves!! Oh and you had that serious look on your face at the time!!
Have we already spoken about you seeing us/me passing? It's ringing a bell. Quite possibly I was alone on the Centaur and fairly stressed, so I stand by my decision to look serious Where was it?
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Just past the Torpoint ferry. You were heading upriver. Our mooring was on the outside just above the ferry. I remember thinking that your Centaur seemed to go like stink under engine as you passed by in a flash. Strange but we subsequently went on to buy a Westerly after that season - I suppose we are on the same part of the learning curve as you, well we were until you sailed halfway round the country. Bet you aren't as nervous now!!! I shouldn't say anything about looking serious because my girlfried reckons I look like ex US president Jimmy Carter when I have my sailing face on - not a good look for anyone. She even starts huming 'hail to the chief' when i'm doing it. I just hope it looks authoratative
Sometimes I'm more relaxed these days, yep. But sometimes more scared than the first few trips. I don't think my apprehension levels match the actual danger of a situation though - if it's sunny and warm I seem to feel far more confident than if it's dark skies and a bit chilly, almost regardless of anything else that's going on.
Oh and if nobody is looking when I'm parking I'm 100% better than if there are people watching. But _everyone_ stops to watch when you come in to park in a marina! Why do they do it!!!?? Aaggh!!
I do it too though!!
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I know what you mean - totally. Must admit we tend to avoid marinas because parking can be a bit hit or miss. Mainly miss if there is an audience! When we bought our first boat in 2007, we had to move it from Weymouth to Plymouth. We made it into the lower harbour in Weymouth below the bridge and tied up on the waiting pontoon for a quick brew to steady the nerves. When we left it was heaving - everyone stopped to watch us leave. One old dear was heared saying she couldn't possibly move as she was riveted to the spot with excitment. Needless to say we scraped the aft quater of the boat on leaving. I swear the old woman was going to produce score cards out of her handbag!! I think stress levels are always dependent on the weather, think about it, T-shirt and shorts you could sail and park anywhere, jacket and salopettes = focus dude, full oilies = find me locked in the heads!!!!! Nice to know that I am somewhat normal when it comes to anxiety on board. Everyone else always looks so calm and relaxed - I just look like I'm about to go to war with Russia
Weymouth to Plymouth - quite a substantial first voyage!! Rounding Portland Bill on your first trip out in a new boat must have been quite daunting! Did you go inside or outside the race? Did you do it in one go, or make stops along the way?
In 2007 I took our Centaur from Totnes up the Dart to Weir Quay up the Tamar (Plymouth, for anyone reading this who doesn't know where that is). Had to motor all the way as we'd not put the sails on at that point. I spent the entire trip thinking that the engine was going to fail. The original 30 year old Volvo was loud and the temperature on the gauge varied erratically. I was a nervous wreck. After a year of use though, the engine had never failed to start or run - waste of worrying time - and with a legacy that means I now hate motoring even with our nearly new Beta engine on Isabella. I can't help noticing (or thinking that I'm noticing) note changes. I keep telling myself that I've done all I can to ensure it _doesn't_ fail (regular checks and timely servicing) and if it _does_ fail it's really not the end of the world, but 5 minutes later I'm going, "aaaagh, what was that noise" while my heart skips a beat.
Perhaps the old salty seadogs who've been at this for 10 years or so start to feel calmer about it all - something to look forward to...
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First trip was Weymouth-Torquay-Salcombe-Plymouth. We did bring a friend who was quite experienced with us for a bit of moral support. Turns out it was useful because our tiller snapped off Portland Bill and in the confusion someone stood on the engine controls and revved the engine until it was throwing white smoke out of the exhaust. I could only stop it by shoving a tea towel up the air intake. We went neither the inside or outside route - it was neaps and calm weather so we went down the Bill and then straight off towards Torquay. There was no race forming as it was the 'right' time to go. Unfortunately I don't remember crossing Lyme Bay as I had taken a stugeron tablet (just in case) and it interacted with some medication I was taking at the time and knocked me out for about 7 hours. The repaired tiller did break again off Start Point on the same trip, but that's a whole different story! We went round the Bill in our Discus last year as we had bought her in Southampton and were delivering her back to Plymouth. That time we did the outside route (properly) going Hamble-Portland-Salcombe-Plymouth. I am also paranoid when motoring long distances, even though we now also have a nearly new Beta engine. I am convinced I can hear a change in revs or see a difference in the amount of water coming out of the exhaust, though this never appears to be the case in reality. Incidentally we were based at Weir Quay for our first year (2007), but found it a bit too far to motor down and back on a weekend.
Wow! Tiller breakage sounds exciting - especially there!
Where were you at Weir Quay exactly? I spent a lot of time aboard at Weir Quay in the summer of 2007. Also concluded the same about motoring down but I really loved it up there. Got some cracking photos on occasion which the BBC stuck on their website...
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We were fin keeled so were in the middle of the river about 60 or 70 metres up from the slipway. I loved it there too. We were a blue hulled Trapper 500 at that time. Might have seen each other at the toast racks fetching our dinghy. Walt Disney was right ............it is a small world after all!!!!
Too right it is! I don't know one boat from another but must have rowed past you repeatedly! Where did you find the link to our blog in the first place then?
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Where was it?
