Well it is just as well we are completing a 9 day combined course as we have the option to do the classroom side of the course whilst the deluge goes on outside and the winds blow most of the beaches in Torbay onto the roads!
The guys have survived the washing machine effect of the marina in these conditions and are now looking forward to shipping out tomorrow to start the practical side of the course.
Will keep you updated as we go.
Blog soon
So the boat buying process is on the back burner for a while… today I start one of our 9 day offerings, RYA Day Skipper theory and practical all combined together. Andy and Simon joined the boat last night and it’s quite fortunate that we are classroom bound for a couple of days as the charts are not looking to good.
If you fancy becoming an RYA Day skipper in just one week then why not join us on one of our Day Skipper combi courses, the next one starts on the 30th of June. Click the link below, to read more about it and please feel free to contact us to discuss.
It was at times bemusing as there was a boat show at Port Hamble Marina over the weekend as well. So we had booked viewings on several boats at various marina’s along the Hamble ( I am so glad we sail in Devon, the Hamble is like the M1). Our first visit was to Hamble point to have a quick nosey around what was there, lunch at The Bugle in Hamble le Rice and off to Swanwick to view a Bavaria 37, a nice boat but I couldn’t stand up straight by the fore cabin, so it was a no go, we then looked at a Bavaria 40, a bit older but very nice….. Bam Bam was her name, so one in the frame.
Next stop Mercury marina to have a look at a Bavaria 38 ‘Barbossa’ a nice boat that needed a big hug as she was a little unloved, excellent spec with deep lead keel and performance sails but she was a real oddball, with some very curious and quirky omissions and additions, nothing I couldn’t sort out though. So that was it for the day, off to the bright lights of Southampton then.
Sunday we went to Hamble point again for a good look round this time, it was a huge site with yachts everywhere, we looked and searched and only found boats to big or not to our liking, the last compound we looked in there was a possibility in the form of a Sun Odyssey 37 ‘B Natural’ I had a quick trip up the ladder for a nose, then we went to speak to the broker,a coffee was calling as the only way to get Fi up a ladder was with bribery…… a Hot chocolate and a brownie for dutch courage we got her up the ladder. She is a very nice boat, a very good spec, deep keel, full spinnaker, loads of electronics – if a bit out dated – but another possibility. That was the end of boat hunting as we had run out of options we could afford, so it was to Ikea!!!!!!!
Keep you updated to how we go forward on this.
Blog soon
Tim & Fi
Fiona and I are off to Southampton this weekend to go and have a look for RumRunner`s replacement. We will be looking for a 3 cabin boat from Bavaria, I like them, hopefully with a deep keel, so we can keep Steve on his toes and maybe do a spot of racing in the Bay.
We`ll post up some pictures of the contenders if we find anything suitable.
Blog soon
Tim
During the last week aboard Biscay Dancer I had a phone call from the Broker selling RumRunner to say that we had an interested party, ok I thought no problem these things take a couple of weeks to go through……………
How wrong was I by thursday She was sold and on her new berth in Torquay!!!! So I find myself without a our trusty B34, very sad to see her go as it was our first boat, she has been a superb yacht taking Fiona and I on many journeys along the coast and across the Channel and has put many a student through their paces, be it as crew or Skipper training. I know her new owner Mike will look after her.
So to new things and exciting times to try and fill the void left by the sale of “Rummy”, we are looking for a nice 3 cabin boat up to 38 feet long, a little older that Rummy but it will be as good as her as I love tinkering and refitting boats.
Keep you posted on how things are going in the search for the new “RumRunner” we have kept the name as it was the name we came up to for our first boat.
Blog soon
We finally managed to get going on tuesday morning after a failed start due to the bow thruster prop falling off! We left Fox`s yard Ipswich at about 1030 and slid our way down the Orwell towards the mayhem which could have been Folkestone docks…… not to be, they were very quiet, so out we slipped into the Thames estuary.
The visibility was less than a mile so it was a good time to try out the new radar system on the boat, well that works, the HD images were different to what I am used to but spotting gert big ships was a breeze…….. a small,pod of dolphins came to play a few hundred yards off the bow! It is a good job those guys use sonar as the water is so mucky there.
About 9 hours later we slipped into Ramsgate harbour at the end of an interesting daysnavigation of the Thames estuary……. it has changed a bit since the 3 years since I was last there, windfarms everywhere……….
Day 2
We set off from Ramsgate with little wind again but superb visibility….. made a change! Dodging the ferries round Dover then the long motor to Eastbourne was done……
Blog soon as an early start tomorrow.
