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Magazine Articles for
2000 - retained
The Beaulieu River Beacon (From the 'Leading Lights' Journal) The text of the following article recently appeared in volume three number 3 of ‘Leading Lights’, the International Lighthouse Journal that my wife, Brenda, receives on subscription. Knowing the wide interest there would be amongst the many SSA members who sail in the Solent area, I contacted Peter Williams the publisher, who gave me permission to reconstruct the text of the article and generously loaned me the photographs shown. The original article was produced by Peter Williams and photographs were
taken by Joy Adcock. Millennium Lighthouse - The Beaulieu River Beacon Beaulieu River in the heart of England’s South Coast yachting area is has been known to seafarers since wooden ships were built there in the 18th Century. The wooden walls of Nelsons Navy slid down the Bucklers Hard slipways to defend the British Empire. The yard has been in the ownership of the Montagu family since 1724. It is now a prime area for yachtsmen with a 110-berth yacht harbour. The present approach to the river from the Solent has to be navigated by way of a relatively narrow channel between Beaulieu Spit and the Lepe Foreshore. The channel is marked by dolphin piles but is a difficult channel for navigation especially in strong cross tides and at night. A committee was formed with the aim of improving the navigation into the river, and at the same time celebrate the millennium with a permanent structure. The committee included the harbour master, John Edward, and some of the experienced sailors based in the river. The committee researched a number of ideas including leading lights and also held a design competition. The winning design was a sculpture incorporating a tide ball to replace one of the dolphin piles. This design proved to be prohibitively costly and was abandoned. A decision was made to build a traditionally designed lighthouse as the most appropriate way to improve navigation. Trinity House were involved in the early planning stages of the final design for a 25ft (7.60m) land beacon and its light. It would act as a daymark whilst at night a sectored light would help yachtsmen to navigate the channel with greater safety. The traditional design was chosen to be in keeping with the quality of the area and as a local feature visible not only from the sea but from along the coast and visitor area of Lepe Beach. The most suitable site giving clear visibility from seaward and an uninterrupted light beam was in the garden of Lepe House, owned by the Hon. Mr. Pease who readily gave his permission and donated the area for the lighthouse to be erected. A local architect, Brian Turner was given the brief to design the lighthouse with a sectored light mounted in a lamp room. The building work was undertaken by a local contractor Mark Keeping and the light a Tideland ML300 lantern was supplied by FPM Henderson Ltd of Glasgow. The money to build the lighthouse was provided by the generosity of the friends of the Beaulieu River and the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation The opening ceremony on Saturday July 8th was performed by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Mrs Mary Fagan, in the presence of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Ted Fort OBE (Chairman of the Beacon Committee), John Edward (Harbourmaster) local residents, river users and members of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers. Note - These are thumbnail prints can be enlarged by clicking on them.
For the technically minded Formal name : Beaulieu River Millennium Beacon
Leading Lights is published by: Don Harvey Parker 275/33 ‘Zest’
SEAL 850 T0 Cross The Atlantic A short time ago my wife, Brenda, received a phone call from a Graday Borrett who lives in Torrevieja, Spain informing her that she, and her partner, Gordon Reid, had entered their 22 year old Seal 850 in ARC 2000 (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). I followed up the call to get more information and spoke to Gordon directly. Gordon has been in Spain for the past ten years, and though he was once in the SSA, membership lapsed. However, he now intends to rejoin at the earliest opportunity. Gordon has owned the Seal 850, number 65, ‘Night Witch’ for all but the first 18 months of its existence and I am informed it is in first class condition. Gordon gladly accepted the offer of a Seal Flag to fly on the crossing that starts from Puerto Las Palmas on November 4th. The itinerary for Night Witch is as follows: October 19: Leave Torrevieja Following this they intend to be in Barbados around late December or early January. They will then travel up the coast of America hopefully calling in at all the interesting places (The Keys, Miami, Florida etc.). They should reach Cape Canaveral to pick up the Trade Winds about May to travel back towards the Azores. From there it is on to Gibraltar and back to Torrevieja around July. It will be possible to track Night Witch, and all the boats in the ARC, on the web at: http://www.worldcruising.net/ . For those not web enabled I will provide an update in coming Newsletters as Gordon has promised to keep in touch when on land. Background on the ARC This is an annual transatlantic rally starting each November in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The ARC is open to cruising mono-hulls from 27ft (8.23m) LOA and cruising catamarans from 25ft to 60ft (7.62 - 18.29m) LOA, with a minimum crew of two. This year the ARC boasts yachts from 18 different nations, the largest contingent by far from the UK with 97 entries, the next largest group is Germany (37 entries) followed by Norway (18 entries). Other countries represented include Brazil, Canada, Greece and Australia. Scandinavia is well represented this year with 32 entries from countries across the region. This year there are 225 yachts entered to date. The current ARC2000 entry list is available at: www.worldcruising.com/arc/entries.html . It starts from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands on Sunday 19th November 2000 and finishes at Rodney Bay Marina, St.Lucia. The 2700-mile passage will take most of the yachts between 17 and 21 days. Don Harvey Parker 275 ‘Zest’
Sail Trimming Once again I am indebted to Kemp Sails for sending me two further articles:
These are thumbnail pictures. Click on them to enlarge.
This is an account of a voyage by LIEUTENANT COLONEL R.A. PREEDY OBE across the Atlantic in his Seal 26 in 1985. Click here for a word edition. Click here to read on line
The Log of 'Zest' on a West Coast Cruise
The following details are taken from the log of 'Zest', a Parker 275, on a cruise to the West Country during July 2000. The cruise was in company with a second Parker 275 'Abacus' owned by Clifford Miller, and, for some of the time by two Seal 26s 'Heart of Glass' (Graham and Jan Reed) and 'Ariel' (John and Angela Brealey). This was first produced for the SSA Newsletter 2000/4 Friday 7 July (Wind E 2-3. Fine) Having loaded clothes and provisions the previous weekend, we only had to get ourselves down to the boat in preparation for an early getaway. We arrived at Bucklers Hard around 18.00 on Friday and met up with Clifford on board 'Abacus'. We were to sail together on this informal cruise to the West Country. A number of other yachts had shown interest in joining us but we were unsure how many would do so in light of the poor forecast. The start point was Weymouth, so we would have to wait and see who would make it. After a cup of tea with Clifford, it was decided to sail to Yarmouth that evening and make an early start for Weymouth the next day in order to try and beat the strong winds forecast for later that day. At least we would feel we had started the cruise if we got to Weymouth. So we set off around 19.00 that evening and had a very pleasant sail down the Solent, with the sun setting to starboard. Saturday 8 July (Wind NW 3-4, later 5. Cloudy) Saturday was an early (05.00) start. 'Zest' started with one reef and found the going relatively easy; able to fetch Anvil Point on one tack, passing at 08.00. Abacus started with full main, but stopped to put in a reef off Hengisbury Head. 08.30 saw Zest passing St Adhelm's Head still on the same starboard tack. As the tide was slack, there was a certain reluctance to tack in order to take the inshore passage (and chance lines from crab pots), so we continued on our starboard tack until Weymouth began to slip off to starboard. We then tacked along the shore until, finally, we were able to start the engine and motor into Weymouth. Approaching the town quay we saw 'Heart of Glass' (Graham and Jan Reed). Though they had earlier expressed a desire to join the cruise, their intention had been to sail from Poole to Dartmouth. Unfortunately, having taken the offshore passage to pass outside the Bramble Bank off Portland Bill, they had found the seas in Lyme Bay very uncomfortable and had turned back, inshore, and against the tide, to go into Weymouth. Brenda reminded me that Graham and Jan had welcomed us into Weymouth (with tea and cake) some six years before, when we had arrived there for the first time, in our Parker 21. On that day we had also met Frazer and Kathy Old in their Seal 22 and Chris Turner in his Seal 26. It was this meeting that drew us to join the SSA. 'Abacus' arrived some 45 minutes later and tied up alongside 'Zest'. Sunday 9 July (Wind W 4-5. Fine) A day of rest. Simon Griffin arrived to crew on 'Abacus' and the crews of 'Zest' and 'Heart of Glass' were invited on board by Clifford for drinks before dinner. Later that evening Wenna and Tony Tatham arrived, by car. They had been put off from sailing their Parker 31 by the very strong westerly wind, but hoped to be able to join us if the weather improved. Monday 10 July (Wind W 5-6. Occasional showers) The weather forecast was still not favourable for crossing Lyme Bay so today the 'SSA Ramblers Club' was formed. The first outing was a walk along the old railway line that runs between Weymouth and Portland. This has been converted into a walking/cycling track. Unfortunately, Clifford and Simon, who started some time after the rest were misdirected and ended up walking along the coastal path instead. Eventually we all met up at the Nature Centre and climbed to the top of Chesil Beach to see what we were missing - but when we saw the sea in Lyme Bay we were glad to be safely in port. That evening we all went to the Nothe Tavern on the hill above the Town Quay. The chef professed to picking up fresh fish from Portland daily. The brill eaten by the crew of 'Zest' was testament to this. Tuesday 11 July (Wind W 4-5. Occasionally sunny with some drizzle) The weather forecast showed promise for a crossing of Lyme Bay next day. The 'SSA Ramblers Club' caught a bus to Southwell and walked to Portland Bill. This time the sea looked much kinder and we hoped it would remain so for tomorrow. We all saw a single seal popping up close inshore. Brenda clambered down the rocks and managed to photograph it. On returning to the Town Quay we found John and Angela Brealey had arrived in Ariel (a Seal 26). The sail from Poole had been very uncomfortable and tiring, but they were willing to join us for the crossing of Lyme Bay the next day. That evening we all gathered on 'Ariel', and drank Gluhwein prepared by Angela. Wednesday 12 July (Wind W 2-3 [or so it was forecast]. Cloudy) Today we left Weymouth, encouraged by a forecast promising westerly 2-3. We had smooth water and next to no wind while motoring along the western coast of Portland having left Weymouth at 07.00. On rounding the Bill we were met with increasingly rough seas and a wind force 4 increasing at times to 5 as we progressed into Lyme Bay. We decided to continue deeper into the bay extending the crossing time considerably. With hindsight, this may not have been the correct decision. Meanwhile 'Ariel' surprised everyone by her speed as she effortlessly drew away from the rest of the fleet. We were even more amazed when we learned later that John had been sailing on autohelm while he and Angela took turns to nap below! Time dragged by until, around 16.00, we observed 'Abacus' had rolled in her jib and 'Heart of Glass' seemed to be heading directly into wind, so we deduced they had given up the fight and turned on their engines. Thankfully, this gave us the excuse we needed, and we were grateful for the 18 HP Yanmar to drive us forward. Gradually 'Abacus' was left far behind in the gathering mist; Clifford having an aversion to pushing his engine hard. At last Berry Head was left astern and we finally entered the River Dart and tied up at the Harbourmaster's pontoon some 13 hours after leaving Weymouth Town Quay! Lyme Bay had certainly lived up to its reputation. A dash to the nearest fish & chip shop followed, before it closed, after which all crews adjourned to the bar of the Dartmouth Yacht Club. Thursday 13 July (Warm and Sunny) This morning 'Abacus' moved across to the Dart Yacht Haven at Kingswear, 'Heart of Glass' moved to river pontoon, while 'Zest' and 'Ariel' moved 2 cables up river to the Ferry pontoons. All crews took things easy after yesterday and were entertained on 'Zest' at different times throughout the day. Friday 14 July (Warm and Sunny) Once more the 'SSA Ramblers Club' met and we all trekked to the Day Mark which stands on the hill to starboard of the entrance to the Dart. Once there, the party split with Angela, John, Graham and Jan walking on to Coleton Fishacre (built for the D'Oyly Carte family between 1925-26) then along the coastal path back to Dartmouth. Brenda, Simon, Clifford and I headed back for welcome refreshments at the Steam Railway Station restaurant at Kingswear. Today Sally Miller and Sue Griffin arrived by car to augment the crew of 'Abacus'. In the evening we all met at the Dart Yacht Club for dinner. This is recommended as a good place to eat for anyone mooring on the Kingswear side of the Dart, though with only a 60p ferry crossing it is equally convenient for those staying in Dartmouth. Saturday 15 July Warm and Sunny) The morning was spent building up stores to avoid the reported higher prices of Salcombe where we intended to head the following day, weather permitting. Later we took 'Zest' and 'Abacus' to Tomes, leaving 'Ariel' on a mooring at Dittisham. 'Heart of Glass' also stayed at Dittisham as Graham and Jan had arranged to meet friends there. The journey to Tomes started at the earliest possible time after low tide and entailed closely following the pilot instructions provided by the Dart Harbour Authority. All went well until Sharpham Point when, though indicating a depth of 3.6 metres, 'Zest' hit an underwater obstruction and stopped so suddenly that I was thrown forward and into the cabin. Concern about possible damage to the keel remained until some time later. Anyway, the cruise up river continued without further mishap and we spent a couple of hours in Totnes before returning to Dittisham where 'Zest' tied up alongside 'Ariel' and 'Abacus' alongside 'Heart of Glass'. Sunday 16 July (Wind N 2. Warm and Sunny) We were now beginning to think the summer had at last arrived. Today the fleet reduced to three as 'Heart of Glass' remained in Dartmouth while 'Zest', Abacus' and 'Ariel' alternately sailed and motored to Salcombe in a northerly force 2. Graham and Jan planned to spend Sunday at Blackpool Sands and then sail to Exmouth before returning home. The trip to Salcombe was uneventful and the three remaining boats ended the day on the pontoon in 'The Bag'. While the crews gathered on 'Abacus' for a 'sociable couple of hours', I donned wetsuit, mask and flippers and examined the keel and hull of 'Zest' for any damage caused by the earlier grounding. There appeared to be none, so after washing down I was able to join the jest. Monday 17 July (Yet again, Warm and Sunny) Each couple did their own thing today. We spent most of the mom mg and afternoon cleaning and sorting out the boat. I used the bottom scrubber, based on a design by Martin Hopton, to good effect. Later we showered on board 'Egremont', the floating base of the Island Cruising Club which is near The Bag. Not high class but handier than having to go all the way to the Yacht Club. We then had a visit from Martin and Sheila from 'Shemar', a Parker 27. They had sailed straight to Salcombe from Weymouth. That evening all (but Martin and Sheila who had earlier bought fresh lobster for dinner) joined John and Angela on board 'Ariel' for a trip up the estuary to Kingsbridge where John had booked a table at the Crabshell for dinner. After a very enjoyable meal we motored slowly back to the Bag pontoon on a falling tide. Tuesday 18 July (Very Warm and Sunny) Today John and Angela were leaving to head west, but before doing so they joined Brenda and me for a walk to Bolt Head. At the same time Clifford and crew went off in their dinghy for a day on the beach. During the day they met with Gerry and Barbara Turner the local SSA representative and they enjoyed a pleasant hour with them in the sun outside Salcombe Yacht Club discussing life, the merits of the SSA, Parker 21s and shortage of members in South Hams. Gerry and Barbara's Parker 21 was on its mooring close to our pontoon. After eating on 'Zest' we joined Clifford and crew on board 'Abacus' and motored to South Pool where we had drinks at the Mill Brook pub - full of character and worth a second visit sometime in the future. However, next time this will be by dinghy as there is only a small window suitable for taking a yacht to South Pool. Shortly after our return another Parker arrived and tied up alongside 'Zest'. This was 275 no 2 'Dream Too' from Plymouth, sailed by Tony Waite, who has been its owner since new. I passed him a member's handbook and encouraged him to rejoin the SSA. Wednesday 19 July (Fine and Sunny - no wind) We left Salcombe for Dartmouth at 0800 and motored until past Start Point when a sea breeze developed encouraging 'Abacus' to sail the last few miles to Dartmouth. After rounding Start Point I looked ahead and saw the recognisable shape of yet another Parker yacht. This turned out to be a 325, 'Sandbank'. We slowed down and waved and the crew did a double take on seeing two Parker 275s passing by. Earlier in Salcombe the owner of a Hunter had said he had never seen so many Parker yachts in the area. Eventually we arrived at Dartmouth once again and while 'Abacus' headed for the Dartmouth Haven Marina, 'Zest' took up a position outside of two yachts on the Ferry Pontoon, the inner one of which was about to leave for its homeport of Falmouth. In giving the crew a hand to slip out from inside the yacht to which 'Zest' was made fast, I discovered that all but the skipper of the yacht were visually or physically disabled. The one who was completely blind was said to be able to hold a course better than all the rest. One couldn't fail to be impressed by their achievement. The next bit of excitement occurred around 17.30 when the yacht inside of 'Zest' decided to move outside the Ferry Pontoon in readiness for a midnight departure. The problem facing 'Zest' was that she was stern to the wind and also to the incoming tide which was at its strongest. The best option would have been to sit tight for a couple of hours, but the skipper of the inner yacht was keen to move and anyway, we had shortly to get ready to go out to dinner. We threw caution to the wind and readied a roving line from the stern of 'Zest' and round the bow of the inner yacht textbook style. I started the engine of 'Zest' and put into slow astern to hold here against the tide while we slipped all lines of the inner yacht allowing her to motor out backwards. This is when it all went wrong. The combined effect of wind and tide pushed out the stern of 'Zest' before Brenda could make fast the stern line. She, together with Sue and Simon from 'Abacus' (who happened to be on hand having been passing by and invited on board for a cup of tea) had extreme difficulty getting sufficient slack on the stern line to make it fast to a bollard. It looked at one time as if all three would either have to let go the line or end up in the Dart. Thankfully two things saved the day, first a fourth pair of hands from the owner of a nearby yacht (who probably had visions of 'Zest' bearing down on him) and second the 18 HP Yanmar under the cockpit sole. I'm sure it was this that did it, for going flat out in astern (to compensate for the inefficiency of the folding prop in reverse), we slowly inched alongside the pontoon and made fast. I learned a lot from this experience and I'll never again bemoan the additional weight of the 2GM20. That evening, the crews of 'Zest' and 'Abacus' dined at the Castle Hotel (near the inner harbour). This had been recommended to us by a cadet from the Dartmouth College who we had met in the fish and chip shop on the night we arrived after crossing Lyme Bay. The recommendation was well founded and we had a super meal. This is another venue to mark down for a future visit to Dartmouth. Thursday 20 July (Warm and Sunny) Today Sally, Simon and Sue left, after which 'Abacus' joined 'Zest' on the Ferry Pontoon. At midday a representative group of the 'SSA Ramblers Club', now reduced to Brenda and me, walked to Bayards Cove (of Onedin Line fame), then on to St Petrox Church and castle at the entrance to the Dart. Clifford joined us for dinner on board 'Zest' that evening. Friday 21 July (NE 3, Fine and Sunny) 'Zest' and 'Abacus' left Dartmouth for a very pleasant sail to Brixham, the chosen launch point for the return across Lyme Bay. Both crews visited the Brixham Yacht Club where the Commodore gave us a warm welcome. Saturday 22 July (Wind 5-8, Fine) Last night was very disturbed by the increasingly strong wind. We were glad to be in harbour, though the long sea wall at Brixham seemed to offer little protection from any swell kicked up by strong easterly winds. The forecast was for winds E 5-6 (8 overnight), reducing to 3-4 by Monday, so it looked as if we may get away then. Today Clifford's second crew arrived consisting of Dennis Archard (whom we had met on the Seine Bay Cruise) plus Mark, Sam and Tom Venn. Late morning 'Abacus' left for a shake down cruise to the Dart, in very fresh conditions. The local lifeboats were very busy today. The Brixham boat was called out to a yacht dismasted in Torbay and the standby Lifeboat from the Exe brought in a boat that was being sailed solo, the helmsman having become exhausted. [The following information was provided by Clifford: 4fter a cafe' breakfast (7ater regretted) we set 9ffacross a choppy Torbay to Torquay and then back to Dartmouth. Those looking a bit green were put on the tiller or lobster pot watch and soon recovered We crossed the Dart by the car ferry and visited a real ale pub. Sea shanties in the cockpit provided the evening entertainment. Crew now acclimatized to rough conditions!] Sunday 23 July (Very rough and uncomfortable night in Brixham Marina) Brenda and I walked to Berry Head and visited the Napoleonic Forts. 'Abacus' with Clifford and new crew returned from Dartmouth and joined us in Brixham Marina. That evening Mark and Tom entertained us with music and songs, Mark playing an accordion and Sam various pipes. There was occasional applause from other boats in the marina. [The following was provided by Clifford: We went up the Dart with the morning tide to Totnes to visit the excellent Pete Goss/Team Phillips exhibition (free). The hulls were in the shed and looked to be in one piece whilst the two massive masts were outside. One was vertical and mounted in concrete and the other horizontal I do hope she is ready and safe for The Race starting January 1st January 200].We then motored down the Dart and sailed back to Brixham against wind and tide to rejoin 'Zest'. Rounding Berry Head seemed to take forever. Given forecast light northwesterly for Monday we changed the blade jib for the big genoa. ]Monday 24 July (Wind E 4-5. Cloudy) We made an early start from Brixham and set two reefs though intending to motor 'Zest' as we had no intention of repeating the outgoing trip across Lyme Bay. On clearing the breakwater we immediately had second thoughts as we were met with very steep seas and 'Zest' was crashing hard into the troughs. There was little to be gained by trying to take the sea at an angle as it was so disturbed. We carried on for half an hour hoping things would improve as we cleared Berry Head, but this was not to be. We decided we did not want eight hours of this rough treatment, so reluctantly returned to Brixham. 'Abacus' on the other hand was handling the conditions better, having five men to sail the boat, so Clifford decided to press on. We later heard they had experienced the bad conditions for over half the trip across the Bay so were not sorry we had turned back. 'Abacus' arrived in Poole around 22.30. [The following was provided by Clifford: The forecast wind strength and northwest direction for the Lyme Bay crossing were good but at 05.00 a strong easterly wind was blowing so we changed back to the blade jib and set of at 0600 for Poole. There were big seas outside Brixham harbour and 'Zest' advised they were turning back. We sailed until 13.00 and then put the motor on as we were way south of the Bill and the wind was dropping With reducing wind and adverse tide round St. Adhelm's Head and Anvil Point we eventually dropped anchor in Blood Alley Poole Harbour at 22.30. Getting to this anchorage in the dark proved interesting The 16'/2 hour voyage was not too strenuous with five of us working in one or two hour watches, and sleeping' eating as conditions allowed. More shanties with large whiskies and wine preceded a good tinned meat dinner and welcome sleep. ] Tuesday 25 July (Wind 0. Sunny) What a difference. Today we had to motor as there was not a breath of wind and the sea was flat calm. We saw dolphins around midday. Passing Portland Harbour we ventured in to see if it was suitable to spend the night on a visitor's buoy, but the water seemed too choppy so we headed for Weymouth Town Quay. As we left the harbour Seal 26 no 47,'Summer Wine' was entering. Both crews waved but we had no opportunity to meet. The following was provided by Clifford: Rhayader (Seal 28) also anchored in Blood Alley motored across for a chat and advised that Otesei (Super Seal 26) was not far away. I handed over completely to the crew who sailed us back to Bucklers Hard via the Looe channel, Hurst Narrows and up the Beaulieu River with a little help from the Yanmar in the Solent Triple-decker tuna and corned beef sandwiches sustained them.] Wednesday 26 July Wind SE 1-2, Sunny) We left Weymouth at 8.15 and called Lulworth range as it was in action that day. We were informed there would be firing and were asked to steer 130 degrees for nine miles to place us six miles off shore at the drop zone. In the event we heard no guns firing and saw no splashes from shells, so it turned out to be an unnecessary diversion. What we did see was an unusually long tail fm emerging from the water. We have no idea what it could have been. Eventually the Needles appeared ahead and a breeze began to pick up. We immediately hoisted the main in expectation of being able to sail down the Solent. As we passed through the Needles Channel and between the two castles, it seemed weeks since the day we had set off in the opposite direction under very different conditions. Finally we entered Beaulieu River and after refuelling, put 'Zest' on her swinging mooring. Though the target of Falmouth had not been achieved, and notwithstanding the occasional bad weather, we had thoroughly enjoyed the cruise to the West Country. Don Harvey 275/33 'Zest'
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