Cruises of 2022 - and maybe time to move on!

My first trip to sea this season had been intended to be a cruise of three weeks beginning 6^th May. I had planned to launch at Arisaig Marine before sailing out to Loch Scavaig on the south coast of Skye, to meet up with a group of friends for a few days rock climbing in the remote and magnificent Cuillin. Unfortunately this initial part of the plan had to be aborted because of an appalling weather forecast, gale force winds and heavy sea’s swept over the region forcing all medium to smaller sized vessels to seek shelter. After the storms had abated a full week later, I trailered Bunty B the long drive north to the West coast of Scotland. The next two weeks also proved to be very unsettled which seriously curtailed my cruising ambitions, although I did manage a couple of solo passages which, included a sleepless overnight anchorage in Loch Moidart, due to the boat swinging around violently in strong winds and tide. The following day also proved to be a rough ride back to my rented mooring at Arisaig Marine in Loch nan Ceall. My time most days was confined to the boat due to the poor weather and, on one particular stormy evening I was unable to paddle ashore in the dinghy because of the high winds and rough water conditions. My second and final week faired a little better, being able to enjoy a couple of fine day sails with a friend who had travelled up to Arisaig for the week.

Launching at the Arisaig Marine slipway into
Loch nan Ceall (on a good day!)

 

Perfect conditions for lunch at anchor behind Eilean nan Gobhar (Goat Island)
at the entrance to Loch Ailort.

Later in the year 25^th August, I was back at Arisaig with two friends for a circumnavigation of the Small Isles. On this occasion we were very lucky and enjoyed ten days of superb weather. We went ashore to explore the islands of Rum, Canna and Eigg, circumnavigating the group in an anticlockwise direction, the lads were camping whilst I slept on board. I used the drying out legs for the first time on both Rum and Eigg, allowing Bunty B to dry out on the sand, a wonderfully liberating experience.

By the old jetty on the beach of Loch Scresort, Rum. I placed a stern anchor

 and two lines aft to prevent her swinging into the wall.

Dried out on the beautiful beach opposite the Yacht Wall at Galmisdale, Eigg. 
My friends camped on the grass right next to the beach.

Canna Harbour - Bunty B is the smallest yacht to the right of the bay.

Bunty B is a small but beautiful sailing boat that turns heads wherever she goes. I have fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition to build my own boat and since having done so she has carried me safely over 1000 miles, however my horizons are widening considerably to an extent that is above and beyond what my small boat is capable of. I have therefore decided to search for a larger vessel, perhaps a Contessa 32, Nicholson 31 or similar, that I can restore/improve and fit out to make ocean passages. To enable me to fulfil these ambitions I will reluctantly have to sell Bunty B. It’s going to be a wrench and break my heart but, it’s something that will be necessary to continue on my journey of discovery. I have already been in conversation with a broker who has agreed to market her and will likely be taking that route in the New Year. 

I will keep you posted.

Round up of the sailing year 2021

 

Previously I had stated that I would not add future regular posts to my blog due in part to the perceived lack of interest in continuing with the voyages of Bunty B, however I have received some encouragement to do so and therefore provide this update to some of the most notable improvements that I have carried out during the past year including a brief summary of some of the voyages that I have undertaken.

Despite the restrictions imposed on our movements throughout the year to stem the spread of the Corona Virus, I have managed to log 666 nautical miles. The resultant experience has proved invaluable and provided me with the insight and knowledge to make some important alterations and improvements. 

Apart from the initial launch on Lake Windermere and another overnight excursion a few months later, all of the voyages aboard Bunty B have been at sea which, at times were in challenging conditions and mostly undertaken single handed. This has exposed some shortcomings which needed addressing. 

Improvements

Tiller Pilot: The single most important installation. 

The Jib is easy to control single handed because of the Wykeham-Martin furling system, operated by the furling line taken back to the cockpit and cleated off on the coaming, however the Main sail proved to be a bit of a handful whilst both hoisting and reefing. With a blow and a bit of a sea running it was impossible to hold the bows into wind, the combined forces of wind and waves just pushed the bows over to face the oncoming elements broadside, on more than one occasion I was caught out with the main sail partially hoisted with the alarming result of almost being blown flat. There was also the problem of continuously having a hand on the tiller which, on a long passage became really tiring. Something clearly had to be done. 

I had wrongly assumed that I would simply be able to install perhaps a Raymarine tiller pilot with an integral fluxgate compass, unfortunately further investigations revealed that the close proximity of the magnetic field surrounding the outboard motor which is further amplified by the installed alternator, would interfere with a device of this type. I proved the theory by passing my handheld navigation compass close to the motor which revealed an immediate sharp deviation. The only option available was to install a remote electronic compass well forward in the boat away from all possible interference from magnetic fields. I purchased and installed a Raymarine Evolution tiller pilot system which includes an EV-1 Sensor Core (electronic compass), ACU100 Actuator Control Unit, Autopilot Control Head and a Tiller Drive. This is an expensive system and installation took around a week which required the design and manufacture of some custom made components and further alterations, however the installation has been a complete game changer and proved to be a valuable and indispensable addition which, has completely revolutionised the handling of the boat. 

During August I sailed single handed across the Irish Sea from Whitehaven, England, to Douglas on the Isle of Man, the tiller pilot proved its self beyond measure for the ten and a half hour passage out and nine hours back. The following short video clearly shows the equipment in action.

 

Mainsail: From the very first time that I hoisted the mainsail, there was a crease/ruck right across the sail from the Throat to the Clew. The only way to eliminate this was to considerably slacken the Clew outhaul, unsurprisingly this allowed the boom to drop way too far below the Foot. Over the following months I spent some considerable time pondering the cause of this crease/ruck. I removed the sail and laid it out flat on the floor, it was then that I noticed that the Head of the sail was not straight, from around mid-way along its length, the Head of the sail curved down towards the throat, when the sail was laced to the Gaff which is designed with a slight curvature, the two opposing convex shapes distorted sail. To test my theory I progressively slackened the lacing towards the Throat which allowed the sail to hang approximately 60 mm below the Gaff at the point of the Throat attachment, unfortunately this also pulled the Luff away from the mast, however this did remove the offending crease/ruck across the sail. I concluded that the head of the sail needed to be straight, I therefore contacted the sailmaker who agreed to make the necessary alterations free of charge. When the sail was re-fitted and hoisted it set correctly. 

Whilst sailing solo the mainsail handling proved to be problematic. I have already mentioned in my previous post ‘Voyages and Further Improvements’ 7th October 2020, that I designed a simple topping lift/lazy jack system to solve the problem of the boom dropping when the sail was lowered with the unfortunate result of the sail enveloping the cockpit, this simple but effective solution has proven itself however, further improvements were required to assist with mainsail handling. 

To avoid the amount of time spent forwards at the mast, I have lead the Throat and Peak halyards through a system of blocks and bullseye fair leads back to the cockpit. I can now hoist and lower the main sail from the cockpit, maintain the tension by a cam cleat dedicated to each halyard before making fast on traditional horned cleats bolted to the coach roof. Over a period of time hauling on the halyards the paint began to wear away on the aft edge of the roof so I fitted a stainless steel rubbing strip as protection. 

Going forwards to the mast to carry out reefing is unavoidable, however I have made some improvements here too. During the latter part of the season whilst moored at Ardfern Marina on the West Coast of Scotland, I met Stuart MacDonald who has written two books, ‘The Long Way Home’ the story of his single handed circumnavigation of the globe and ‘Sail This Way’ an excellent book of straightforward advice giving an insight in how he sails his boat. His suggested tips on reefing inspired me to look again at how I was securing the sails reefing cringles to the hooks on the boom gooseneck. My version of his recommendations was to pass a short piece of line through each eye with a stainless steel ring tied to each end, this retains the assembly on the sail and makes reefing easy by simply passing the rings over each hook either side. I also numbered each cringle from 1 to 3 and as Stuart does drew a smiley face at no 3, a small but reassuring psychological pat on the back to confirm that things are not too bad despite the need to put in a third reef!  To accurately lower the sail and to enable the reefing cringles to line up with the hooks, at each reef where the throat halyard lies by the securing cleat, I have marked it with indelible ink one, two and three markers respectively. 

At the Clew of the mainsail I have devised improvements for control of the outhaul. I experienced difficulties with the reefing comb which forms part of the architect’s design of the boom, there is quite a bit of friction generated where the line passes through the comb and this made it difficult to apply adjustment and sufficient tension. 

I have solved the outhaul problem by rendering the aft pair of holes redundant, instead I fixed a pad eye to the top of the boom just aft of the mainsail Clew, the sail is then attached to this with a long shackle. The outhaul control line is anchored near the end of the boom then passed around a small swivel block attached by a shackle to the Clew, it then leads aft to a single upright block mounted at the very end of the boom, passes down through a hole drilled through the boom, then around another upright block fixed to the underside then forward through a bullseye fairlead before terminating at a cam cleat fitted with a wire fairlead. Control of the outhaul is now quick and easy whilst seated in the cockpit. The photograph better illustrates how I have configured this arrangement.

The Clew Outhaul arrangement.

The reefing lines also suffered from poor handling due to the friction from the reefing comb. I have solved this by inserting three small single through blocks allowing the lines to run freely without friction.

Since this photograph was taken I have installed Cam Cleats with Fairleads dedicated to each halyard, just forward of the horned cleats

Stove: Whilst this is not a new installation or addition, to date I have omitted to mention this essential item of equipment. Since the initial launch, Bunty B has been fitted with this gimballed Jet Boil, it’s an absolute godsend producing boiled water for hot drinks in any conditions. I also carry another disposable gas canister stove and use both for cooking meals. 

The stainless steel plate fitted behind the stove is to prevent damage to the surface of the bulkhead when the stove swings aft.

A brief look at some of the voyages.

Erraid: Each year a group of us undertake a rock climbing expedition, this is usually in Scotland although not exclusively, in more recent years we have travelled to the Hebrides off the West Coast. This year’s extravaganza began at the beginning of June and our mission was climbing the pink granite cliffs surrounding the bay of Traigh Ghael on the island of Erraid, just off the far South Western tip of the Isle of Mull. I sailed out solo from Dunstaffnage Bay just North of Oban and four of the lads launched their kayaks from the beach at Fidden before paddling their kayaks the few miles to the bay. The lads camped amongst the sand dunes at the back of the bay and I dropped the hook and slept aboard in the famous anchorage of Tinkers Hole. My voyage out there can only be described as challenging, with a fair sea running I saw not another vessel until just of the anchorage and they were both yachts of 40ft plus. Bunty B is tiny wee boat to be negotiating the uninterrupted North Atlantic Ocean Swell. I was out for over a week but it was a fantastic and challenging trip.

At anchor in Tinkers Hole.

The lads coming ashore at Traigh Gheal.

Traigh Gheal.

Climbing on the rough pink granite surrounding the bay.

Loch Spelve.

The Firth of Clyde: My wife joined me for our ten days of pleasant cruising exploring the Islands and bays of the Firth of Clyde. No dramas on this trip, just a very enjoyable holiday which included walking trips ashore.

On a swinging mooring in Lochranza Isle of Arran.

A pontoon berth in Rothesay inner harbour Isle of Bute.

Sailing by HMS Tenacious anchored off the Isle of Bute.

Anchored off Brodick Castle Isle of Arran.

The Distillery cruise: On 8^th September I set sail from Ardfern on the West coast of Scotland Bound for the Isle of Jura, I have called this the distillery cruise due to the fact that the islands I planned to visit were the homes of various distilleries. In addition to Jura I visited Islay, Gigha and the west coast of Kintyre.

A swinging mooring in Ardminish Bay Gigha

Ardminish Bay at sunset.

Arisaig and the Small Isles: This was the last trip of the year and in mid-October quite late in the season. I hired a swinging mooring at Arisaig for a week but experienced less than Ideal weather, nevertheless I went out to sea every day except one when a storm blew through. Most days were rough and wet with the exception of the final day of the trip which was calm and beautiful.

Bunty B Moored alongside the yacht wall of the pier at Galmisdale Point Isle of Eigg.

The View from the yacht wall. In the centre of the photograph is An Sgurr, a distinctive gigantic block of volcanic rock visible for miles off, when you spot An Sgurr you know you’re heading for Eigg. During June of 2018 we climbed two routes on the steep South Face, here illuminated by the sun. Real adventure climbing. 

Hopefully this gives a brief overview of the voyages of Bunty B during 2021, although there were other trips and the sun doesn’t always shine, I only use my camera when conditions are good, I experienced a good proportion of inclement weather and rough seas and in such conditions I do not take photographs, because my hands are already rather full. 

And so to 2022. There are already several trips entered into my diary and it’s very likely that I will be undertaking quite a few more, watch this space.