Ladies' Saturday Sail
Published 13:43 on 9 Nov 2023
Excited, apprehensive and bleary eyed after the cruiser laying up supper, five ladies who cruise left Salcombe for a Saturday Skills Sail with SeaRegs in Plymouth. "why didn't we just meet for a coffee and natter, it would have been so much easier!" said one of our number, voicing the thoughts of the rest of us. However the weather forecast turned out to be better than expected which meant that we only needed thermals and two layers topped with salopettes, jackets, hats & gloves.
After coffee, cake and planning we stood on the pontoon at Yacht Haven in Plymouth beside Phoebe, our 36 foot Bavaria home for the day. Wind in the rigging of the yachts in the marina was whistling at 22mph and gusting 31mph so we talked about 'Man Overboard' and what we would do in the unlikely event that our partners hadn't clipped themselves on and therefore fallen off the boat. Rick, our patient skipper showed us a purchase system with block and tackle for getting our loved ones back on board and suggested using the spinnaker halyard to haul them out. We were also taken by the idea of netting along the side of the boat to grab onto if possible (more on this later).
It was time to sail. The wind was NW and was pinning Phoebe's bow onto the pontoon. How do we leave? This question taxed us but Carole quickly gave the correct answer of springing the stern away and so we set to work with the lines whilst Kim stood by the wheel ready for when the boat was free from the pontoon. Unfortunately the area where Rick had planned for us to sail was full of gig racing so, with Kim at the helm, the sail (with two reefs) was raised, the engine turned off, and we headed for Cawsands to play. When the sails were up and we were moving fast, Rick suggested that we Hove To to stop the boat, radio a Mayday, take the Jib down, put netting alongside and attempt to deal with our overboard partner. We tried it; without the problem of course.
Wendy then took the helm. As a 'Tiller Girl' she was unaccustomed to steering with a wheel and, when the gusts came, was inclined to turn the wrong way. However after another Hove To, a couple of tacks and an attempt to pick up a mooring buoy we were planning on anchoring for lunch. Kim and Martine went forward to be shown how this worked.
Lunch was a leisurely, shared affair with soup, breads, cheese, pate, fruit, cake and flapjacks. It was important to keep our skipper onside and we were able to have a bit of a chat about sailing from a Crew's point of view and share our experiences.
Kim and Martine went forward to pull up the anchor and, after Wendy had helmed astern to free us it was the turn of Carole, our other Tiller Girl to helm us back to Plymouth. The wind was now beginning to calm a little and was gusting a gentler 24mph from an average 17mph. It was still a fairly fast sail back. Carole's task was to enable the crew to easily pick up a mooring buoy. Liz and Martine then took a turn on the helm. Rick suggested that we keep the mooring buoy in sight between the forestay and the shroud and then let the wind or tide gently bring us alongside. This of course helped with our 'Man Overboard' worry as well. Unfortunately time was running out and we didn't manage to 'Bash into Pontoons' but we did do some rope handling and practised our knots. We all found the Admiralty Stopper Knot most pleasing to look at and easy to do. It was nearly time to head into the marina so we lowered the Main and prepared the mooring lines and fenders in good time. Sadly none of us was offered the opportunity to bring Phoebe in because Rick was worried about the next boat along. As if……………… ! The debrief was accompanied with tea and cake before collecting our bags and disembarking.
We had a great day which has given us confidence for next season. And the main lessons learned were to ask our Skipper lots of questions and to Practise, Practise, Practise.
By Wendy Nurser.
