BRISTOL SAILING ASSOCIATION

Newsletter June 2010

Contacts:Gordon Ogden (Commodore)01275 462473

Jock Playle (Secretary)0117 973 8855

Jane Jenkyn (Treasurer) 01275 880318

Paula and Alan’s friend David was welcomed as a visitor at the June meeting.

Future Trips

1.1Bill Thomas will skipper a weekend from Plymouth on August 13 - 15. This is fully booked, and will cost £105 per person. The balance payments of £55 are due on June 12th.

1.2Alan Howells will skipper a weekend from Plymouth on August 20 – 23. This is fully booked and will cost £105 per person. The balance of £55 is due on July 19th.

1.3Phil Steele has reported that it proved impossible to make arrangements which suited all those interested in a charter in Turkey in September this year, and this proposal has been withdrawn. A similar charter with Phil as skipper will be arranged for next year; this is potentially fully booked.

2.Recent Trips

A summary of all trips reported at meetings is given here, or a full report, if available. Members reporting at a meeting are reminded that a full version of the report should be provided, either written or emailed. If this isn’t available, then only a short summary will be given in the newsletter. Full reports will be included in the next newsletter following receipt.

At the June meeting there were reports by Chris Baxendale on a weekend charter from Plymouth, skippered by Bryan Thomas, and by Alan Howells on a cross-Channel trip on the late May Bank Holiday. Jane Jenkyn reported on sailing on the Norfolk broads in a traditional boat with no engine, and Malcolm Price gave a brief report on sailing in Corfu. Bob Buchanan described an unusual trip – up the River Avon on a hovercraft, accompanied by Bristol’s Lord Mayor, fundraising for the RNLI. He then described an eventful sail with a series of gear failures on board Becca Hayward’s “Lady Emma”. These reports follow (except for Malcolm’s whose email attachment disappeared into the ether).

Before these reports, here is “Dumbledore”s happy crew, as reported last month.

Trip on ALUDRA, skippered by Bryan Thomas

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Late May Trip to France – report by skipper Alan Howells

This was on Anodyne from Liberty - very well equipped and in excellent condition. We were able to complete the handover early and left promptly after fuelling accompanied by Simon to ensure that we started with a full tank.

A Northwesterly mainly about F4 meant that the broadest reach we were able to sail left us heading fairly well to the West of our intended destination requiring a gybe to make some easting for a while. The wind became light for a couple of hours so we motored before sailing again when it returned from the West. We gybed back and approached the coast. All navigation had been done by running a plot after the last two visual fixes (Eddystone and Bolt Head) had disappeared.

It was a little misty as we approached the coast but the lighthouse Les Heaux de Brehat eventually became visible and we approach closer to pick up the cardinal La Jument and finally red can Basse Crublent. Dropped the sail in the main channel as the wind died again and motored following the pilotage to Treguier, which we reached at low water. For the only time I can remember we were met by the harbourmaster staff and directed to a berth. According to the sounder we were touching the bottom on the way in but we felt nothing and the chart showed it dredged to adequate depth – probably set up with a bit more of an offset than we were told at the handover.

The meeting and greeting was apparently due to them wishing to organise matters to deal with an expected large racing fleet from Guernsey, who we were warned would party into the early hours but that never materialised.

There was plenty of eating, drinking and visiting the huge chandlery in the lovely Treguier prior to leaving on Sunday morning at high tide for a beat to Port Blanc where we stopped for lunch.

The sail back was initially hard on the wind which later veered Northerly and finally died so we had to motor. In contrast to the crossing to France this one was mainly electronic and the AIS was overlaid on the chartplotter enabling contacts to be monitored in the variable visibility. Using the CPA facility we altered course for one ship which was eventually passed at just under half a mile. Not being able to resist a bit of real navigating I calculated a course to steer some six hours out which was dialled into the autopilot and left alone. Our final approach without making any adjustment was towards a point half way between Rame and Cawsand where we anchored for more food.

The rest of the day was spent with a bit of sailing practice around a course set by Phil.

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Electronic Discussion

A few points about AIS, radar and GPS were originally in the above talk and resulted in a discussion and a number of other observations. Alan was asked to include a note of that discussion, and this is at the end of this newsletter. It also includes extracts from an article by Peter Clare, the Phoenix Yacht Club Training Officer, which appeared in the PYC newsletter “Smokescreen” in May.

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An Authentic 1930s Norfolk Broads Sailing Experience 24th – 29th May 2010

Report by Jane Jenkyn

Sailing on the Norfolk Broads may sound an easy option, but on a yacht without an engine, tacking down narrow rivers to reach the Broad water, it was very much ‘hands-on’ sailing.

On Monday 24th, we arrived at 10.30am to take over ‘Wood Avens’ a 24’ wooden Gaff-rigged Sloop with a self-tacking jib at Hunters Yard, Ludham. Antje is a very experienced sailor and a lot younger than me, so was skipper. Built in 1949 to a 1933 design, she has 3 berths in 2 separate cabins. In the fore cabin is also a hand basin and toilet. Plenty of drawers under the berths and in the cockpit. Well equipped with willow pattern china, cutlery and glasses for 4 people. The cooker – 2 gas rings and a grill, was in the cockpit. 2 pillows and 2 blankets provided for each berth, you bring your own sleeping bag.

Once we had stowed our gear, Jim arrived to show us how operate the unique features of this boat. The boat has a heavy canvas cover which provides extra insulation at night or privacy in the cock-pit when moored if needed. This has to be folded and stored in the fore-hatch. The cabin roof is also raised for extra headroom, when the boom has been raised and in its cradle. So we learnt how to lower the cabin roof. The next step was lowering the mast, which has to be done to pass under bridges. Not a difficult procedure if there is sufficient weight put on the counter balance at the base of the mast, but neither Antje or myself were heavy enough to do so without difficulty. Without an engine it is also necessary to quant under the low bridges, with the tide - impossible against the tide! The Quant is about 15 feet so a heavy weight to handle and quite an art to use. It has a pronged bottom to avoid sinking into the mud.

Jim came with us as Antje took the helm and we sailed down the Staithe to the river and turned towards Potter Heigham. Here there were fields either side and she sailed well so Jim soon jumped ashore and we continued towards Potter Heigham. Once we came to the riverside bungalows, the wind was much more fickle, we tried tacking but decided to turn round and tack down-stream through the open countryside, to get used to the boat. We were so absorbed with the boat and getting used to avoiding other craft on the river that it was 3pm before we found a suitable bank where we could tie up to some bushes for a welcome cuppa and lunch. We continued tacking along the river and turned into Ranworth Broad in the early evening, where we sailed around hoping for a quayside mooring. Of course these were all taken by the motor cruisers which are very prevalent on the Broads. So we sailed to a quiet spot and dropped our mud weight. Because of the muddy/sandy bottom it is not possible to anchor in the Broads. We dropped the sail, raised the boom and the cabin roof and enjoyed nibbles & a glass of wine as we prepared the evening meal.

Tuesday we sailed to Horning and tied up by the village green so we could have a pub lunch and shop. Notices said ‘no mooring’ but these wooden boats are given a few privileges. A good wind took us into Salhouse Broad. Whilst looking for a place to drop the mud weight, a sudden gust of wind pushed us into the reeds. Fortunately a Broads Warden came along and towed us out to bank marked ‘stern mooring only’, which is not possible in these wooden boats, we have to tie up alongside. Here we could go ashore and walk along the nature trail to the village.

Wednesday we sailed on to Wroxham Broad where with plenty of room the boat showed us how well she could sail. On the river again we slowly tacked to moor by Wroxham bridge and hop ashore for fish & chips. By now there was hardly any wind, especially with houses along the river bank, we drifted with the tide, back into Wroxham Broad where we picked up a buoy for the night. There is a very prestigious yacht club here and as it was Club night, racing started and it was lovely to watch the many classic yachts, as we were having our evening meal.

As we finished our meal a launch with two Club officers came across to speak to us, we asked if we could stay on the mooring for the night and after giving us and the boat a good look over, they said it would be o.k. We later found out that ‘no one is allowed to pick up their moorings’ so it seems that once again, being in a classic yacht had its advantages.

Thursday no wind, so had to wait for the tide before leaving the Broad and we very slowly drifted down the river, even the Mallards and Coots with their chicks overtook us. Stopped at a Nature Reserve for an hour. With hardly any wind as the river twisted and turned we drifted with the tide towards Horning. Finally, at 7.30pm we were offered a tow, which we gladly accepted as it was getting late and we wanted to reach Horning and moor before the tide turned.

Friday left at 5.30am with a good breeze and had a lovely sail to Potter Heigham and tied up by the Bridge. After shopping, as we were on a lee shore, we realised that we could not possibly turn into the wind, so we asked the Bridge Pilot to tow us to the other side where we could raise our sail and tack back to Ludham.

It was wonderful experience, we had good weather, not too many other craft on the river. In the season or even at weekends, it must be very hazardous in the rivers avoiding the many cruisers who are just told to keep to the right and do not realise that we cannot always do likewise. We did not go under any bridges as there were plenty of places to sail to without taking down the mast. It was very peaceful, we had time to appreciate the countryside and all the birds, swans and geese. Watching the Coots build their nests and chasing the bigger ducks, or the Heron as they were motionless until they dived into the water for fish. There are lots of lovely thatched-roofed dwellings with beautiful gardens and smaller chalets & bungalows, no high-rise, everywhere green and pleasant. So it was a lovely 5 days.

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HOVERCRAFT FUND RAISING FOR LIFEBOATS

Report by Bob Buchanan

O n 22/05/2010 at Shirehampton Sailing Club, we had eight RNLI hovercraft raising funds with a trip up the Avon to Netham weir and back.

There were two seats reserved as agreed for using our slipway, The first seat was won in a lottery by myself, the other seat was occupied by Mr Colin Smith, the Lord Mayor of Bristol.( no, I don’t think he bought a lottery ticket)

After a photo shoot with the Lord Mayor wearing his chains of office, we had a quick safety briefing, fitted with ear defenders, (you needed them as you were sitting just in front of a large propeller that was driven by a 90hp BMW engine) put on our floatation jackets and prepared for launch (or should that be lift off?)

With high water at about 15.00 we launched at 12.30.

The sun was out and the wind was very light, we turned east to go up the Avon. The hovercraft has to get up to over 6mph to clear the “hump wave” they create to get going. We were cruising along at 20mph, (the top speed of the one I was in is 65mph) around horseshoe bend, under the suspension bridge, past the entrance to the docks, up past the dogs home, then the hardest bit up to Netham weir. It was like an obstacle course, the water was about six inches deep in places, and there were rocks and rubbish everywhere, the biggest obstacle was shopping trolleys, there were lots of them.

When we arrived at Netham weir the Lord Mayor was dropped off, as he was on a one way trip, (by then he was the wettest and muddiest Lord Mayor you are ever going to see). After a short stop we started our trip back, zigzagging our way around the shopping trolleys, back under the suspension bridge, and back to Shirehampton sailing club.

We got back into our compound and some of the hovercraft gave short trips on the river.

The hovercraft that the Lord Mayor was in (a big bright red one) was used in the rescue of the Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay and also in one of the James Bond films (don’t know what film).

The afternoon was spent having a B.B.Q and talking to the owners of the hovercraft.

A young girl came around with a sponsor form asking for donations,(it was for the Portishead Lifeboat) when she got to me I gave my donation and said to her that I had been yacht and dinghy sailing for many years and had never had the misfortune to have to call out the lifeboats.

Having said those last few words takes me on to my second report.

SOLENT SAILING ON “LADY EMMA”

Skipper. Bob Buchanan

Crew. Becca Hayward (boat’s owner) Becky Goddard, (both Bristol sailing) Alberto Paulino, (Becca’s boyfriend) Kevin Lay and David Winks, both regular crew

We all met up at Ocean Quay on Friday 28/05/2010. It was the usual get together with a meal on board (one of Becky’s special pies etc) and time to get to know Becca’s boyfriend Alberto, affectionaly known to us as Bert.

Saturday, we got up to find the weather was not too good, it was raining and the visibility was poor. After breakfast we had a safety briefing, as Bert was new to us. The first thing we found was Bert was not a good swimmer, so after fitting him out with his wet weather gear, we fitted him out with a life jacket and explained how to use it. We told him to treat it as if it was his best friend. We then told him that there was no way we would let him fall overboard, and the chances of the boat sinking were very remote!

We left Ocean Quay at 11.00 in a F3/4. The no.2 Genoa was tied to the toe rail and we decided to raise the main with two reefs in. We got to the top of Southampton water, pulled up the main and Genoa. Becca was on the helm and we were sailing close hauled towards the Solent. By now the wind had picked up to F4/5. This was excellent sailing although we could not see very much because the rain and visibility was getting worse. When the wind got up to the top end of a F5 Becca called for a change in Genoa as the boat was getting too much to control. I was standing in the companionway watching Becca in complete control of this 42ft yacht explaining to Bert how a sailing boat sails. As I went to get up on deck I looked down and said to myself, **** we are sinking. The boat didn’t have a lot of water in it, it had a hell of a lot of water in it, and the waves inside the boat were bigger than the ones outside, also the water was lapping at the main battery switch! I stuck my head up on deck and said to Becca; hold your course a minute I think we are sinking. I went below and into the aft heads. The heads are on the port side and we were on a starboard tack. I saw what I really wanted to see, water was pouring up and out of the sink, and I opened the cupboard door and shut the sea cock. I went back on deck, explained what I had found and hoped that was the problem solved.

It was decided to get the Genoa down, then get the main down and get the boat on an even keel so we could bail out the water and make sure we were not taking on water from any other source. We pulled the Genoa down, tied it to the toe rail, (Lady Emma has hanked on sails and the main has no lazy jacks) the wind was now at the top end of an f5 gusting f6.

Becca had now gone down below with Bert to start bailing out, Kevin was on the wheel, and Becky, David and I were on the deck to pull the main down. Kevin started the engine and drove head to wind. When we were head to wind the boat carried on and went beam on to wind. We asked Kevin what was up and he said the boat was not responding very well. We said give her some more revs and go head to wind again. As we went head to wind again the boat carried on and went beam to wind on the other tack. Kevin said the boat was not responding. I went back into the cockpit and spun the wheel left then right, the main shaft that the rudder is fitted to did not move .Kevin and I lifted up the rear lazarettes and saw the control wires on the steering wheel had come off. We decided we could refit them in about five minutes.

With Becca and Bert bailing out, Becky ready to get on the radio, David on deck as lookout, Kevin and I got our heads down to try and repair the steering. After a few minutes we got the wires on and thought “sorted” We tried the wheel and found it still did not work. Becky was straight on the radio and gave out a “Pan Pan” “Lady Emma” loss of steering and taking on water. I thought to myself, if that does not get them out, nothing will.

Up on deck we were now into the bottom end of a F6, visibility was getting worse, we thought we were sinking, our steering had gone, we were in the middle of Southampton water with our main up, nothing else could possibly go wrong before we pulled the main down and got out of here.

I was wrong; Out of the mist steaming straight towards us was the biggest tug you could possibly find in the Southampton area. As we were beam on to her with “Lady Emma” on our dodgers showing, I thought don’t rev up and try to get out of her way as all we might do is round up and end up ramming her, just stay as we are, get on deck and start waving. (Yes, we all got that signal right) As the tug got nearer, Kevin said, I don’t think she is going to stop. The John Laing youth training yacht was also standing by as she had also picked up our pan-pan. I said to Kevin, yes she will stop, she will have got our pan-pan and knows exactly where we are. I looked at Kevin and he smiled (or was it a grimace) because he didn’t jump, just as the tug put her engines into reverse and stopped just a short distance from us. With that we then pulled down the main and put the emergency tiller on.

As we got going trying to steer a 42 ft yacht in a F6 was not easy with a tiller about 2ft long. Also the first 30seconds or so on the tiller, I was totally disorientated as to where I was. With the boat going round and round, being upside down in the lazerette, visibility very poor, and not knowing what side of the starboard buoy we were on, (it was the only one we could see) After getting our bearings, we headed back to Ocean Quay. Minutes later the Hamble Independent lifeboat pulled up alongside us. There were three men in a large rib. One of them boarded us and made sure we were under control and were heading back to our berth. Then he went down to check with Becca about the water in the boat. He checked the water tanks and found that they were both full. I was not clear if the water in the boat was fresh or salt because there was so much rain about.

He stayed with us until we got back to our berth, and was satisfied we were not taking on water, we had to fill in a form and that was it. Since then we have all chipped in and sent a donation to Hamble lifeboats .That afternoon we tried to fix the steering but found the problem was in the wheel steering gear, and we didn’t have the tools to repair it.

That night we all went out and had a very good Indian meal, then it was back on board for a few drinks and talk about our exciting day’s sailing

We asked Bert what he thought of sailing, and did this experience put him off. He replied, no it did not put me off, but can we do a few more hours next time?

Total Mileage 7nm Time at sea 3 hrs

AOB

3.1Yachtmaster theory refresher. Dave Lloyd, whose son Ryan has been crewing in the West Indies, gave a report of Ryan’s transatlantic return trip as far as the Azores. On Ryan’s behalf, Dave is asking if anyone would be interested in an intensive Yachtmaster theory refresher course, possibly followed by the YM practical course and exam. This would be with Devon Sailing at Dartmouth. The theory course would cost about £270, and the practical, for the usual five days followed by the exam, about £595 plus the usual RYA exam fee.

3.2GPS and AIS discussion. After Alan’s cross-Channel trip report he added that the AIS was a very useful tool but we noted that four large naval vessels off Plymouth did not choose to participate.

One point to watch on the chartplotter is that there are two positions shown at the top of the screen: the yacht and the vessel being tracked. It would be an easy mistake to write down the wrong one when plotting positions if you were also running a manual plot of GPS positions.

Further comments were made by members about occasions when large cargo vessels, who are obliged by law to transmit on AIS, were not in fact doing so.

Attention was also drawn to an article by Peter Clare, the Phoenix Yacht Club Training Officer, in the PYC newsletter “Smokescreen”, as follows:

Peter was sailing on a barge from Maldon, whose mate was a commercial Master. Peter wrote “There was a discussion with the Mate about the use of AIS, and his view was that the system had been over-promoted in the yachting press as an aid to safety. Asked to explain, he pointed out that an AIS receiver assumed that the transmitted GPS information was linked to the same horizontal datum as that of the receiver. All calculations by the receiver relating to Closest Point of Approach (CPA) and Time to CPA (TCPA) are based on this assumption.

In an area such as the English Channel or even the Solent, large commercial vessels are of many nationalities. Their electronic chart systems may therefore be related to a locally used datum rather than the more common WGS84. For example, an Australian-registered vessel might be using charts based on AGD66 (Australian Geodetic Datum 1966), and would have set their GPS accordingly. However, the receiver on a UK yacht would assume that the information received is based on WGS84. This could lead to a discrepancy of up to 200m in the large vessel’s position as read by the yacht’s AIS, together with potentially disastrous errors in the CPA and TCPA.

Experimental work with AIS and different datums has shown that errors in position between transmitter and receiver can be up to 0.3NM, or around 600 metres. There are, of course, many amusing anecdotes relating to these errors. One that I particularly like is when the master on the bridge observed another vessel heading towards him. He checked on the AIS to establish a safe course and was surprised to find that the other vessel was shown as still being in dock. He called the other skipper on VHF to clarify the situation, to be told that as their AIS had been faulty, it had been left behind on the dock, still transmitting!

The serious point to all this is that it is dangerous to reduce the circle of safety below 0.5NM, or to assume that a CPA of, say 200m, is a safe margin. AIS does not remove the skipper’s responsibility under Col Reg 5 to maintain a proper lookout by sight. Whilst AIS is undoubtedly a valuable aid to safe navigation for yachtsmen, you must not assume that information provided will be absolutely accurate, and you should act accordingly.”

Peter has since compared the positions given by GPS when set to two different chart datums – WGS84 and OS GB 1936. The Ordnance Survey datum gave a position 50m S and 100m E of the WGS84 position. He also says that Australia is moving to the GDA 94 datum, compatible with WGS84 to less than a metre.

Alan continued: Anodyne is equipped with a first class GPS chartplotter which, on the occasions when I looked at it in harbour, showed us as being at the precise berth. During the handover we were also shown the radar which appears as an overlay on the chartplotter in the form of purple blobs. Gratifyingly they were precisely aligned with the features on the chartplotter that would reflect radar. When we were sailing around the outer part of Plymouth Sound on our return we switched on the radar as Don was particularly interested in seeing the effectiveness of the stealth naval vessels (very good by the way). Interestingly the purple blobs were now no longer aligned with features such as the Mewstone, but about 100m out. Most probably the radar was the more accurate. I have reported substantial temporary GPS errors on occasions in the past and other members pointed out occasions where they have had similar experiences. The fine print always makes clear that GPS is only an aid to navigation and to seek confirmation from a separate source.

A further oddity was the fact that the SOG (displayed at the helm – the chartplotter was covered) was consistently 0.5 – 1kt faster than the boat speed through two tide cycles. This was to the extent that Phil suggested the log could be under reading, which would have been significant as I was navigating traditionally at the time. However the estimated positions had aligned with the visual fixes when they were available and the shipping lanes appeared at the predicted time so the log appeared to be correct. Either the SOG calculation in the GPS was wrong or the speed calculation (derived from correct distance) in the boat electronics was wrong. Either is difficult to explain persisting for an extended period.

Secretary’s note: I hope that nobody would continue without carrying out appropriate action if either radar or AIS indicated a CPA of less than half a mile. From my own experience, crossing the Channel in fog at night last year, AIS was much better than radar – you don’t have to do a plot to establish the CPA, and, with appropriate software, the courses, speeds, and CPA of all vessels within several miles are listed explicitly as well as being on the (electronic) chart. Last month, when sailing from Plymouth to St Helier in hazy visibility another advantage of AIS became apparent. In this case, the AIS information came on screen long before the other ships were visible, so you knew where to look for them to appear, and already knew which ones were going to pass well ahead or astern and which ones might pose a problem. This was valuable when faced with crossing a steady procession of large, fast vessels in limited visibility.

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