Gusty High Winds Delays PicoMicroYacht But Some Progress Made

The plan was to circle the Isle of Wight anti-clockwise between the 29th April and the 2nd May, but it didn't work out that way due to the higher winds. These kept peaking in the day at force four with gusts up to force five, too much.

PicoMicoYacht can cope with this in a straightforward situation, but not going past the St Catherine's race on the southern tip of the Isle of Wight or passing through the Needles channel. Curiously the winds would peak when PicoMicroYacht was to be out voyaging and using the tide. Below shows and example of the peaking on the Saturday 30th April.

So the plans were changed and PicoMicoYacht was taken by ferry and on the Saturday a clockwise direction was taken within the confines of the Solent, protected by the island. According to Shakespeare's Falstaff  “The better part of Valour, is Discretion; in the which better part, I have saved my life.” I agree with him.

On the other days, I was to follow the FourDaysRunners as they did their 112 K jog round the island, but walking.

But on the Saturday I set off from Yarmouth at the western end of the Island to go down the Solent to Bembridge. The wind was light - but I knew it would pick up later on.

 A helicopter came overhead to take a look.

                                            Soon I was nearing Cowes and avoiding a carrier.

                                                                           Then looking back at Cowes.

I was now passing the Ryde pier and took a risk cutting across the notorious Ryde sands only to run aground and then have my rudder jammed in the sands, the wind pushing me on. The only way I could remove the rudder release was cutting the cord (to the left of the mizzen mast; the centre plate to the left of this had been removed when I ran aground).

The sands were now receding into the distance, the sea breaking slightly over it, the green sea and  yachts with their billowing sails in the background.

As the wind increased I now passed Seaview and it was getting more bumpy.

The wind got up to force five and it was as case of stopping rowing, taking my little sails down and being blown down the final mile to Bembridge and into the harbour. The staff in the sailing club kindly letting me use their pontoon.  

The 22 mile trip had been a true adventure. PicoMicroYacht's AIS system had tracked the route.

 PicoMicroYacht now needs to return to the Isle of Wight to complete the voyage. 

'A Calm Sea and a Prosperous Voyage' for PicoMicoYacht circumnavigating the Isle of Wight starting next Friday?

PicoMicoYacht prefers a calm sea and this means anxiously looking at the weather charts for the start of the voyage round the Isle of Wight this Friday. 

But there seems to be low pressure forecast over the British Isles and a cold front - but then again the isobars are not too close - so who knows what will happen?

But then the wind is forecast to be 26 knots at St Catherine's Point, south of the Isle of Wight, too much for PicoMicoYacht - but who knows? It is too soon for accurate forecasts.

I am hoping for 'a calm sea and a prosperous voyage, but it might be possible on Friday.

By the way 'A calm sea and a prosperous voyage' comes from two poems by Goethe, set to music by Beethoven and then Mendelssohn.  I always thought the calm sea would produce the prosperous voyage, but I was wrong.

The first poem is about the calm sea before the days of steam being not such a good thing

A calm sea:

Deep stillness rules the water
Without motion lies the sea,
And sadly the sailor observes
Smooth surfaces all around.
No air from any side!
Deathly, terrible stillness!
In the immense distances
not a single wave stirs.

In the second, the wind gets up and the voyage is prosperous.

A prosperous voyage:

The fog is torn,
The sky is bright,
And Aeolus releases
The fearful bindings.
The winds whisper,
The sailor begins to move.
Swiftly! Swiftly!
The waves divide,
The distance nears;
Already, I see land!

Ludwig van Beethoven - Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt

'A Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage'

PicoMicroYacht to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight

PicoMicoYacht is to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight. The word 'circumnavigate' seems a bit melodramatic for going round the Isle of Wight, that not quite so large island on the south coast of England, but will be an adventure for PicoMicroYacht. 

According to the Wayfarer Association, who organise events for their 16 foot sailing dinghies to circumnavigate:  'It is suitable for advanced sailors only who are able to deploy good seamanship skills and helm for long periods of time.' 

But being smaller than a Wayfarer and having no room for crew will mean stopping off in ports and using beaches to break up the 75 mile distance.

This is to coincide with a group of very fit people from South East London running round the Isle of Wight between 29th April and 2nd May to raise money for CASPA, a charity that works with children and young people affected by Autism. 

This group called 'The Four Day Runners' do crazy things that PicoMicroYacht can't do, like run for four whole days and in the middle of it run a marathon (some drink local Ale in the evenings).

some four day runners training

PicoMicroYacht can't keep up, so the soft option is to row and generally do things that make it easy, like go with the tide to help get there more quickly.

The four day runners will be looking down on PicoMicroYacht as it passes iconic places such as the Needles on the Western side of the Island and St Catherine's Point on the south side, as they run along the cliff tops.

The total journey promises to be a true adventure. Click below for further details.

The Planned Voyage

PicoMicroYacht and the joy of fixing boats

I am convinced that some boaties like working on their boats almost more than being out on the water.

My brother has taken more time building his canoe than he will be using it and he just loves his old Stuart Turner engine for his 23 foot yacht, even though it is most unreliable piece of equipment he has (apart from his Seagull outboard) - but the joy of fixing it is clear.

Just listen to an old Stuart Turner R3M go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sqmks0W87I and you will see his point.

For PicoMicroYacht getting the job done and being out rowing as quickly as possible is the priority.

But it is a bank holiday and a tyre of PicoMicroYacht's trailer need replacing and the replacement turns out to be the wrong size. And the WaterRower I use to train on is in bits because the tank has just sprung a leak and the temporary repair didn't fix it.

Even though the WaterRower is the best bit of kit I have bought, it has a flaw - the drum that contains the paddle that provides the resistance to the rowing action is joined together by a central seam that is prone to leaking.

The temporary fix was unsuccessful

It has to be taken apart and mended properly, which the suppliers will do.

So no rowing over the vacation period until I get one of these fixed.

Was PicoMicroYacht the last solo to row the English Channel?

The French 2013 ban for cross channel rowing is still in place.'Channel rowing' can be done but the voyage is half way across from the English side and then back again.

Two polish gentlemen had a go illegally recently because they wanted to find work in France,  rescued by the RNLI after bravely rowing fruitlessly into a strong head wind for two miles.



To get round the ban people have planned to row 50 miles to Belgium instead, a more challenging crossing because of the less predictable shipping routes. I hope these Bournemouth hotel employees who planned to row to Nieuwpoort did well - I haven't heard whether they have done it yet.



So was PicoMicoyacht the last solo voyager? No - for two reasons. Harry Uglow rowed across a month later than PicoMicroYacht, in 2012. Harry was the youngest solo voyager at 15 years. I think he was the last to make it.



Harry did it in a Janousek coastal sculling boat, a remarkable achievement given it was not exactly calm throughout and he did it in less than five hours.

Secondly, PicoMicoYacht had two small auxiliary sails, although the power from these was counteracted by the 3-4 gusting 5 close head wind from the East. PicoMicroYacht could not land because of the rough sea and had to be content to arrive at the point the chart said no water at low tide.

2012 was also a bumper year for UK celebrities rowing across the channel, including  Davina Mcall, Denise Lewis, Freddy Flintoff and John Bishop photographed in Dover. They obviously enjoyed it at the end, but John Bishop had then to run to London, having cycled to Calais from Paris. That far away look reflects his fatigue level.



The end of an era possibly.

When I'm 74

The Beatles song:

'When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now ... will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four?'

I ponder now whether PicoMicroYacht will be still out there, shall I say, not 64 but 74?

A cousin is still rowing competitively, having started nearly 60 years ago. The photo below is him winning on that famous old rowing course on the Thames, at aged 71 years, so it is possible.

Sean Morris winning the Henley Masters 70 - 74 years old competition. 

Over ninety years ago another relative was winning on the same course, and Gallaher's cigarettes decided to cash in, perhaps reducing longevity for others.

According to Geoffrey Page, in his book 'Hear the Boat Sing: A history of Thames Rowing Club and Tidway Rowing,' it was a tough one. 

Exiting the Western Solent

PicoMicroYacht was to exit the Western Solent on the South Coast on a spring tide and cross Christchurch bay to Christchurch harbour. The tide through the exit is somewhat treacherous as it squeezes out through a narrow gap between the Isle of Wight and the mainland Hurst Spit.

According to Peter Bruce in his book 'Solent Hazards' (5th Edition), 'The constriction of the tide flow caused by Hurst Spit creates very strong tidal streams, circular areas of flat sea caused by up welling water and unusually spiky waves'

The strategy is to turn to starboard through the North Channel to avoid being swept out past the famous landmark the Needles and risk being destroyed by large and steep breaking seas.

But if you make a mistake the tide will get you in it's grip and push you south west across the infamous Shingles Bank where, as Peter Bruce has put it, 'Even if the slightest swell is running, ugly waves can appear as if from nowhere to capsize even quite sizable vessels.'

With this in mind I set off from Keyhaven, the first part of the voyage exiting the sheltered harbour close to Hurst Point.  Soon I was opposite the lighthouse with the Hurst Castle to my left, the sea revving up.

The next stage was to hug the Hurst Spit around the castle, but first I had to get through some rough water as the tide bore down on the spit, the waves refracting off it in a commotion. Photography was difficult as I had to concentrate.

But soon I was through the worst and heading into the Hurst Narrows.

I now had to stick close to the Hurst Castle but also avoid hitting the groynes or a sandbar called 'the Trap' that stuck out into the channel, the tide sizzling past.

I could see what I had avoided and was glad now to be rowing safely onward  as I looked back at the turmoil through the camera zoom.

Out to sea was the Needles, across the hidden Shingles banks.

The sea calmed down and a friendly gaffer passed by under motor, stemming the tide.

Soon I had crossed Christchurch bay helped by a north easterly wind that started when PicoMicroYacht was half way across. When PicoMicroYacht arrived at the harbour entrance the tide was still streaming out, so it was beached on a sandbank for a while.

Various boats and canoes would exit the harbour but with the tide too strong for them to re-enter and this kept me interested until it was time to finish the voyage.