The blog records the voyages of PicoMicroYacht, a seaworthy small sailing dinghy converted for rowing long distances. This includes the 26th July 2012 crossing of the English Channel, as well as rowing along the south coast of England, down the river Thames, around London and across Ireland. PicoMicroYacht is a converted Laser Pico Sailing Dinghy, with a sliding seat, riggers and cleaver oars, fitted with a shortened main mast and a mizzen mast and can be set up as a reduced rig sailing boat.
One of the things I enjoy about sailing is how to manage risk. In everyday life I find risk management is often done for you or it is so ingrained (such as when crossing he road), that you do not really think about it too much. However, when sailing I find you are constantly assessing danger and making decisions about how to avoid getting in a tricky situation. Sailors talk about being 'caught out' or 'badly caught out' and then describe in yachting magazines how they were caught out and had to cope with horrendous circumstances.
In PicoMicroYacht I am risk averse, because the outcome is potentially catastrophic if things go badly wrong. I find it interesting that when people see PicoMicroYacht going out to sea they feel it their duty to warn me of the risks.
When PicoMicroYacht left Newhaven on 23rd June 2018 a kindly person on their incoming yacht looked down and saw the PicoMicroYacht electronic system, with the ship radio and AIS. They put two and two together to make five and said in a slow and deliberate voice:
'You are crossing the channel today'
I replied: 'no - not today'
'Are you crossing?'
'No not today'
With a hint anxiety in his voice he said even more slowly and deliberately:
'be careful'
I proceded onwards, the plan being to row along the coast from Newhaven to Eastbourne, passing Beachy Head. As I got out the of the shelter of the long Newhaven pier the sea started to kick up. Despite low winds it became bumpy and choppy, or 'lumpy.' I spend about an hour rowing along the coast until I reached the end of Seaford beach. The lumpiness continued and at this point I had to make a decision about whether to keep going.
I spoke into my microphone to record my thinking at the time... should I turn back? The wind was a Sou' Westerly two to three, due to increase to three to four. I had another three hours of fair tide and it was neaps.
The latest edition of Practical Boat Owner has a useful comment article on do's and don't of naming a new boat. Don't use a joke name, such as Rogue Trader if you work for an investment bank .... don't use very long names such as three sheets to the wind, or ones that might cause confusion such as Starkle, that might be misheard as Sparkle when radioing the coastguard.
From the July 2018 edition of the Practical Boat Owner - What's in a Name?
The name PicoMicroYacht arose because I started sea rowing my Pico and I wanted it to reflect that I was treating it like a larger boat in terms of navigation. I do the same amount of voyage planning as in my larger 24 foot sailing boat, if not more. I follow the same principles, namely, check the weather, factor the tides into the passage plan, navigate using charts (at least in the planning stage), follow a course using a GPS or a compass, and use a ship radio. I take extra precautions such as usually reporting my passage plan by radio to the coastguard.
The boat is a Laser Pico, so this name was combined with 'microyacht,' the name given to very small cruising boats.
Micoyachts usually have an unusual appearance, such as this green Paradox class boat called 'Little Jim' and sailed by Alistair Laws on the south coast.
The wonderful 'Little Jim' - Paradox - to be seen on the South Coast of England
Paradox looks somewhat eccentric partly because the person sits in the cabin when they sail, the boat doing away with a cockpit.
It is actually well thought out. As a boat gets smaller, the dimensions are such that if you retain a large enough cabin the cockpit gets relegated to the back of the boat and the crew essentially is sitting right in the stern. So the solution is for the crew to sit in the cabin.
An extension of is the attempt at a world record by the 42 inch 'undaunted' who tried to cross the Atlantic in 2017, but has had to delay the voyage due to technical difficulties.
A very short microyacht
I suppose PicoMicroYacht is not really a microyacht, but a dinghy converted for very efficient sea rowing. But I find the name useful when, for example, contacting the coastguard, since it suggests my intentions. Also it is fairly distinctive and recognisable, although a bit of a mouthful.
By the way, a good seafaring tale that includes an intrepid voyage by Little Jim can be found in this video by Roger Barnes.
I tend to mention safety issues and mishaps on this blog, perhaps to remind myself not to be complacent about the dangers of being out at sea in a small boat. To put things in perspective, the largest group of people who drown in the UK are out walking or jogging and happen to fall in. But complacency at sea can provide the biggest risk.
I remind myself that accidents happen at sea. I recently posted on PicoMicroYacht's voyage from Littlehampton to Hove in which, at the end of my voyage, I went past Shoreham harbour in the dark, running into a fishing line off the pier. I was carefully looking out for craft entering or exiting the harbour and neglected to think about the fishermen. Bright lights shone down at me as they wondered what was going on.What if, distracted by dealing with the line, a fishing boat had exited and run down PicoMicroYacht?
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch recently reported on the sinking of a small fishing boat off Shoreham port. This was in the dark, in the early hours of the morning.
The navigation lights of the boat were inadequate and they were not keeping watch as they fished for mackerel. The boat was run down by a 144 ton scallop fishing boat because the person on watch was distracted by looking at their laptop.
The scallop dredging fishing boat
The small fishing boat was swamped by the bow wave of the larger vessel and sank in two minutes. Although there were life jackets on board, these were not worn. Only one out of the crew survived to tell the story, having clung to a buoy and being rescued five hours later.
The MAIB provide their account of the sinking and what went wrong
PicoMicroYacht was launched off the beach and gingerly passed the Brighton marina as boats were coming in and out. I looked wistfully into the marina entrance.
The wind moderated and the sea became glassy. I was careful not to run aground on this shore because the ledges could be hard chalk.
Along this coast kayaks would come off the beaches and some were fishing. It was hot.
It was only about seven miles to row and the Newhaven pier was close. An inflatable dinghy was out and about, reminding me that go to sea, you only need a very calm day, the back of a car, a pump and of course a mobile phone with the battery working and in a waterproof phone bag (see note)
Soon I was in the harbour, having called up on channel 12 to check whether the harbour was clear, and also the marina on channel 80. I was met by a marina worker, who helped me to my pontoon. We chatted about boats. His was a 37 foot motorboat that he had recently bought to do up and live on - sounded like hard work, but I was ever so slightly envious.
Radio use approaching Newhaven
He reminded me of the potentially rough water off Beachy Head, particularly on an ebb tide when the water coming from the east speeds up and passes over shoals. I realised that if I was to take the flood up to Eastbourne I should be well past the Head before the tide changes if there was any sort of sea or swell.
These kayakers know it can be lumpy off Beachy Head - From the Chelsea Kayak website
note: personally I would advocate lifejackets, a portable ship radio (having gone on a course to make it legal), flares, a waterproof torch and telling someone what you are up to.
PicoMicroYacht was launched off the beach in Hove for a short hop to Brighton Marina.
I was helped into the sea by Jim, one of the 'fourdaysrunning' charity fundraisers, who was running 120 kilometers along the South Downs. Remarkable fit, he seemed not to be bothered by walking down the beach after a long run.
The bank holiday sun had brought people to Brighton in droves and it was a little more peaceful out at sea.
The sun was setting as I passed the funfair at the end of Brighton Pier, listening to the screams (editors note - I have suggested this should be qualified - everything was alright).
On reaching Brighton Marina I called up on Channel 80. I found out they do not take craft without engines so PicoMicroYacht was beached just to the west of the marina.
I looked back and saw Brighton Pier silhouetted against an orange sky, the end to a fantastic day with the fourdayrunners and my little voyage along the Brighton seafront.
The video below shows the launch at Hove, the Brighton Pier and the end of the voyage (Steve Reich's 'Piano Phase' is used as the background music).
PicoMicroYacht was to go east from Littlehampton to Hove, this part of the coast sheltered from westerly winds by Selsey bill.
I found the hourly tidal streams for the east English Channel on visitMyHarbour.com.
This indicated the tide would start going east about five hours after high tide at Littlehampton. However, there was one snag. To take advantage of the tide would mean going against the advice for first timer's to enter and exit the harbour at around high tide.
The entrance to Littlehampton is not to trifled with. At spring tides the ebb can accelerate to six knots. and tidal streams sweep across the entrance. Just outside the harbour the bar is thought to dry to one metre.
As the tide rushes out of the harbour it meets the cross tide and any swell in the English Channel. At low tide there is the danger of breaking waves and insufficient depth over the bar.
This boat got it wrong and ended up perched on the training wall ....
I was somewhat overcautious and decided that it would be best to launch from the beach to the east of to the harbour. To make this possible I went slightly early, because the beach can extend to about a third of mile at low tide over softening sand, making launching more arduous.
Before I left I looked over harbour and saw that the tide seemed fairly benign. But I had decided to be cautious this time.
PicoMicroYacht was deposited by the sea and then dragged the last few feet for launching.
It was an evening row, planned to take five hours, starting at 5.30 pm. The sun would set at about 8.00 pm, which would give a further hour of twilight and an hour and a half rowing in the dark.
A large Union Jack flew over the beach as PicoMicroyacht departed.
Rowing along this coast is fairly straightforward. I had to look out for shallow water extending quite far from the shore and went aground on a few occasions. I keep the daggerboard kept down so it can be readily used to right the boat if it capsized. The PicoMicroYacht is very strongly built so it can survive a few groundings without damage. There were also the odd obstructions to avoid and many pot markers to enjoy rowing round.
Buoy marking a large metal obstruction between Littlehampton and Worthing
As I reached Worthing Pier, the sun set.
I enjoy evening rowing in good weather. There are no substantial noises or obstructions to interfere with the sunset and the twilight fades gradually over an hour in beautiful grey blues and oranges.
Then the sky shows the brightest starts or planets and as the sky darkens I can look up and observe the constellations. All this takes me closer to the physical world, in a little boat.
By the time I had reached Shoreham it was dark. I crept round the harbour entrance going slowly in case another boat exited at speed. Glancing round I saw right in front of me the silver appearance of a thin line obliquely crossing the boat. Just in time I was able to row backwards to avoid damaging someones fishing tackle.
The final row to Hove involved staring at the beach to make out the buildings that would mark my destination.
It was a long but relaxing row.
There is not really anything to see in this video but I like the music
Over the next few days PicoMicroYacht will be voyaging from Littlehampton to Eastbourne. So the weather has to be good enough and it seems to be.
There are light winds, the tide is turning to neaps and in this part of the English Channel there is no residual swell.
Of course it is always good to follow the Shipping Forecast, but I enjoy looking at other websites, such as the surfer ones. If it is bad new for surfers, then it is good new for PicoMicroYacht. Saturday to Monday looks particularly dismal for the surfers, but not for PicoMicroYacht.
So it won't be like this as I row along the coast.....
From MagicSeaWeed
More like this, as on the beach filmed near Brighton .....
