Episode 11: Names, Testing Times and We Thought it was all Over ..

 

Names

In an earlier episode we talked about the need for our Tornado to have a name. We asked for suggestions and, unsurprisingly, we got plenty. Sadly none of them are reproduceable here – again, unsurprisingly.

Long story short then, we have gone for  …… drum roll ….

Double Sovereign

It nearly didn’t make it as it is one of the more expensive names to buy vinyl stickers for, but we thought it did the trick for all the obvious club and catamaran-related reasons, as well as being a little homage to our local lighthouse which, I’ve heard, is being ‘fully decommissioned’ (read-‘demolished’) and will be disappearing soon after 50-odd years of service.

https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/news/royal-sovereign-lighthouse-to-be-decommissioned

We also felt that this name was coastguard-friendly. We aren’t sure yet if we will be taking radios with us, but if we did we felt that we ought to be able to call up the coastguard without risking arrest.

 

Testing Times

Installation of the various bits and bobs that we have been buying and building has been going ahead and we have even managed to get out sailing and testing once or twice.

Having got various issues installed such as the righting pole, anchoring system spinnaker chute arrangements, jack-stays and harness lines etc etc, we thought it would be sensible to try the boat out in ‘fully’ loaded’ condition to see how she behaved. When I say fully loaded, I mean everything except food, water and the solar panel; so not fully loaded at all really.

This was as much a test of how to secure the load to the trampoline as it was of how the boat handled with the extra weight in it. It would also be a good test for the racks as well. We had a good day to try it, with a nice solid F4-5 blowing and some lumpy waves:

Photos by Nick Hart

There are also some video clips on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxMcugY554w&list=PLaSIPpzLoNIxZ2H3w4Xcq59ghWQk3VzdW

A few things made themselves clear to us on this test:

·         The racks work very well. They are comfortable, albeit the gap between the rack and the hull is a bit wide. But, in the sort of chop we had, we need to pay attention to the angles that the racks sit at. Windward rack needs to be flat (more so than shown in the photo above) and the leeward one needs to be lifted right up out of the way if the boat is to be allowed to heel to any degree in chop.

·         Strapping down drybags seems to work well, although having multiple bags in one pile is not so good. An investment in two more big drybags has been made and we will be going with a simpler 4-bag set up, one in each corner of the trampoline.

·         Main halyard tension – this needs a rethink. We had removed the original halyard lock in the interests of being able to reef easily. Instead we had fitted a 2:1 halyard with an old-fashioned horn cleat at the bottom of the mast. Unfortunately this is just too inclined to slip down, meaning that we can’t get any Cunningham tension on. We will apply our massive brains to coming up with a suitable alternative that can lock and yet that can still easily allow the sail to drop to reef it. Watch this space…

·         Weight … This really seems to have crept up on us. Obviously we fully expected the boat to be well loaded, but it seems to me to be just a bit more than feels right. We’d be ok sailing it at this weight but she runs a little low in the water and I think performance is a bit less than we’d really like. So, added to the j list will be an exercise in weighing all the ‘extras’ on the boat and deciding where we can realistically leave some things out. Again .. watch this space…

We Thought it was All Over …For a bit..

I’ve never been much of cyclist myself. Britain’s roads just seem to be overrun with car, van and truck drivers seemingly bent on running you off the road. Pole is a sometime cyclist. He is also an independent-minded fellow and for most of his life, so his parents have told me, he has very much done things his own way. So, no surprise then that in spite of having an endless choice of people who could run him off the road and do him an injury, he chose to do it all by himself.

The text message that began ‘I’m in A&E …..’ really had me thinking that the trip was all over before it had started. A broken hand is not conducive to good spinnaker trimming and although the great Paul Elvstrom managed to win a medal with a leg in plaster, I can’t really see a plaster cast surviving the soaking that it would get on our trip.

I’ll let Pole add the pictures if he wishes and they certainly looked bad enough to me, particularly his hand. Fortunately, our marvellous NHS saw right through him (well, the Radiographer did) and they realised very quickly that they were simply dealing with a massive case of Attention Seeking. Pole was sent home with an admonishment to stop wasting the NHS’ time, to man up and stop whingeing.

If this wasn’t bad enough, the week before we’d had to wheel Pete into A&E as well. This had us thinking that the ‘sprockets’ part of this adventure might have to be called off. Respecting Pete’s privacy, I will let him describe the medical details, should he be so inclined. For the avoidance of any doubt though and bearing in mind Pete’s previous career in the Navy, I should say that Pete’s medical condition was only temporary,  was completely socially acceptable and is responding well to treatment. So …. Thankfully, we are back on!!!