Never under estimate the power of mother nature! When you sail on the water you are her guest. She will let you glide and then toss you around like a washing machine showing you her capacity for brute strength. Sandpiper looks magestic in the sunshine and I marvel frequently at her sailing ability yet my romantic vison changes in a frothy sea when she is dwarfed appearing like a toy boat amongst towering waves and strong winds.
Having fun is important and so is safety. The howl of the wind around the mast and the odd slap on the hull inspired me to tell you about our safety routines. All pretty basic stuff to be honest but when the sun shines and the seas are like glass we like everyone else can get complacent. Routines work for me and they set boundries for all on board Sandpiper. Our safety routine is followed rain or shine in the hope that it will go some way to protecting us from the rath of mother nature when she creeps up behind hoping to catch us wowfully with our pants around our ankles. Weather changes in a moment and not always as forecast.
Choose your destination and safe havens with care
As I think I have said before we live our life around weather forecasts and the ships barometer. Comparing and contrasting to find favourable sailing conditions whilst considering tides and currents. Without fail I will fill in our navigation book and place all necessary charts on the navigation table. I take great pride in placing my pencil case, plotter and dividers close by. I note safe havens along the route in my navigation notes, along with weather forecast, tides, vhf comms info and significant hazards. Some may think this over the top on a familar short passage but it maintains the skill and forms a habit that in a horrid moment of huge stress our lives may rely upon it. I also log and plot the course steered as the passage progresses.
Keeping the place ship shape
Imagine being able to live wherever you want, travelling the world whilst having everything you need with you in your own cosy home on the waves. However this does mean you need to be a magician at keeping your essential and treasured possessions safe. When the wind picks up the boat tips to one side and if its not tied down things go crashing across the floor or worse still it flies at a rate of knots through the air. Everything we own inside the boat is held in position via velcro, magnets, cleverly designed stashes or wrapped in the bedlinen for the duration of the passage, as is the case with an ornament given to me by my Granda. I can guarentee if I dont follow my routine of stowage and work systematically from the bow to the stern then something will be missed and it will break or become a trip hazard. It takes 5 minutes and it ensures we can live a mobile lifestyle without giving up the homely ambience.
Life Jackets and life lines
Sailors enjoy the feel of sun and spray. So it's tempting to boat without wearing a lifejacket especially on nice days. But most boating related drownings happen on nice days. Therefore we police each other in always wearing our life jacket when sailing. Ruins the tan but we are here to mock at the tan lines and enjoy life together. Should the seas get fiesty we clip on too. This is a pain and without practice it is clumsy so I amuse myself every now and again by doing this on the finest of days.
In order to stay on board we also police each other to hold on. One hand for the boat and one for yourself. We plan our routes to the mast by the windward side and only go forward when necessary. We tell each other when we are going to make maneuvres and what activity we plan to do on or below deck. No one wants to be in the heads when a tack is required! Holding on sounds so simple but sometimes we think we are invincible and i would rather my hand holds were second nature so when the shit hits the fan this is one less thing to think about. My brain is cluttered enough without having to think about secure hand holds. Practice makes it a habit.
Reef early
Always a good policy when the weather turns heavy. Better to shake it out when proven to have been too cautious than fighting with a ton of sail cloth in the turbulent waters and being over powered in heavy weather. When in doubt .....reef'er!
Thankfully we have a furling head sail now as whilst the hank on sails were great for racing with a crew I would have struggled on my own for sure. We put netting around the boat as when i scrambled around on deck lashing the hank ons down I so easily could of shot under the guard wire. Although we dont have hank ons now we kept the netting as a safety precaution.
The main is the most powerful sail on our rig and quite frankly massive. When the winds blow with force the loads are tremendous. Everything needs more strength and this is where Gary handles the sails and I helm a close hauled steady course. Gary lifts the boom, eases the boom vang, slowly partially lowers the sail and secures the cringle before tensioning the halyard and reef lines. We have 3 reefing points which gives me some peace of mind.
Don' t be too proud to ask for help - Catching a tow
Twice now on Sandpiper we have accepted a tow due to engine problems. Both tows have been from the outstanding crews of the voluntary services of the RNLI. I realise when you accept a tow you are putting the fate of your boat in the other parties hands so it is not something we take lightly. Most recently when leaving Carbost on Skye our engine spluttered to a haul. Luckily we were motor sailing and the winds were starting to pick up. Gary investigated the problem whilst we sat bobbing and found that the injector banjo bolt had stripped its threads empting 20 litres of fuel into the bilge. We sailed to Mallaig and requested a tow at the approach of the harbour entrance. Mallaig is a busy working fishing and ferry port so sailing in was not an option. The RNLI came to our assistance with an enormous powerful vessel no way would we be slipping in quietly! The turbulance from their twin engines tossed us around like a wet lettuce, the tow line thrown was weighted with a monkey knot. This made it so much easier to throw and catch. We pulled the bridle on board, it was a long, strong and stretchy floating line. Gary attached the bridle whilst I communicated with the RNLI captain, informing him that the bridle was secure and that we were ready to slowly increase speed. As we approached the harbour the RNLI crew shortened the line and we came alongside. The next maneuver was executed with precision as they nudged us into the finger berth directly ahead. These teams make it look easy but I assure you it is not. I was complemented by a few seafaring on lookers and the harbour authorities on my VHF communication skills which made me thankful of my training and my regular review of the procedures and protocols.
I hope you enjoyed my safety share, I irritatingly have many more routines but 5 is enough for today.
Take care my friends.
Fearless Feat Inspiration
There is no call to go talking of pushing or pulling. Boats are quite tricky enough for those that sit still without looking further for the cause of trouble.
J.R.R.Tolkien
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