Neyland - 03/04 June 2006 (day 14/15)

Yacht Gothik

Neyland Yacht Haven

Brunel Quay

Neyland

Pembrokeshire

04 June 2006

Click here to see a map.

Logged distance: 119M

Chart distance: 122M

Time under way: 24h 25m

Saturday 03 June 2006

The original plan was to set sail to Milford Haven but after looking at the charts and pilot books, Neyland, a bit further up river, seemed a much nicer place to be. The marina in Milford Haven is situated in the old dock in front of the town while Neyland marina is nestled in a steep sided tree lined valley. Far prettier and still a large enough marina to have the kind of facilities we need to make repairs to the headstay and roller furling. I estimated 24 hours for the passage under engine and main sail since the foresail could not be used. Little consideration was necessary for the tides so it meant we could leave whenever we felt ready.

As it happened we got up at a reasonable hour and had a slow morning before finally turning the engine shortly before 11 o'clock and casting off a few minutes later. It was another perfect sunny day again. It was a shame to think the engine would be running for the next 24 hours but even if we had wanted to sail we would have found it difficult in such light wind. Away from the anchorage and out on open water the sea was smooth, clear and a soft grey-blue. Aside from the occasional fishing boat it was empty of shipping from horizon to horizon. These were ideal conditions for Keith's first watch on his own.

I made lunch, and left Keith by himself while I had a nap. On returning to the cockpit I could see he had become entranced by the surroundings. There is something uniquely special about being out of sight of land and any other vessel on a calm smooth sea. Especially when you have to sit there by yourself for a few hours. I never find myself getting bored, instead I end up feeling deeply enriched by the contemplative mood that sets in. No rush, no hurry, no sails to tend, just time to sit and think and observe.

Just before the end of my watch, at around 6 o'clock in the evening, I thought I could see a few splashes half a mile or so distant. Taking the binoculars I went forward on deck to get a better look. Yes I did see splashes, they were getting closer - a pair of dolphins (or porpoise), large grey ones, heading south. Keith had just appeared for his watch and reveled in his first time sighting of such creatures. Later that evening, during my watch at around 10 o'clock, three more dolphins appeared but this time they stayed with the boat. Keith was still awake and now he got a real taste of the magic of the sea. The three dolphins played in our bow wave for a full 20 minutes. Keith and I were up on deck to get a close look at them jumping and diving. Occasionally one would swim on its side and look up at you. I sat on the toe rail with my boots skimming the surface of the water and they would almost brush your feet.

Three more times in the night three dolphins joined us. Only for five minutes. I suspect they were the same dolphins although it was too dark to see. Keith got to see their outline illuminated underwater by the phosphorescence. Only once before have I seen this. Plankton in the water will glow green when the water is agitated. On some nights the phosphorescence is particularly pronounced and wave tops and the boat wake will give an eerie glow. If something is swimming in the water, such as a dolphin, it will light up.

Sunday 04 June 2006

By daybreak there was a great deal more wildlife to be seen. Many types of seabird. Some solitary, others in groups. Many sitting on the calm water, others in flight hugging the surface of the sea. Keith got to see three Puffins, to this date I have yet to see my first but I'm sure we will encounter more.

The morning was slightly misty. Before the coast of Pembrokeshire came into view, puffs of light wind would touch the sea surface and change its appearance from smooth to frosted glass.

Eventually land appeared and we could see a few tankers lining up in the entrance of the Haven. Such a contrast to the natural sights over the last day and night. As we approached I reported our presence to the harbour control on the radio - they were polite but obviously not interested so we made our way through the shipping and upstream. Aside from the tanker terminals, oil refineries and towns, the banks of the river were covered in trees. Unspoilt, this natural safe haven must have been sight to behold.

By 10:15 we were abreast of Milford Haven town and by 11:15 we were inside Neyland marina. The place was tremendously busy - it being a hot sunny weekend I suppose. There were no free berths and so we were directed to tie up alongside another boat. The marina was clean and tidy and in a pretty spot but it was maybe a little too standard after the sights of the Scillies.

We used about 25 litres of fuel to motor all the way from the Scillies to Wales. At 55p per litre (red diesel) that cost Keith and I £6.87 each!

Monday 05 June 2006

Made some enquiries as to where to find a rigger - that took all of five minutes, they were located just outside of the marina. At first I was a little sceptical as they advertised themselves as a sailmaker; Stephen Ratsey, Sailmaker's, but the scepticism lasted as long as it took to find them. Spoke to a very helpful chap by the name of Denzel and between us we discussed the likely causes of the problem. His suggestions were meaningful but just to be sure he agreed to come to the boat to look at the masthead pictures I had taken.

He said the most likely cause was due to the halyard twisting around the top of the headstay. It made some sense but I really was not convinced this was the whole problem. Anyway, the headstay needed to come down for replacement and hopefully this would give me the opportunity to dismantle the furling gear and see what else may be going wrong. Denzel was hopeful he could make up the replacement headstay before the day was out - music to my ears.

To get the headstay down required being along side the dock. The harbour master came into play here - some negotiation was needed as there were no berths. However he managed to squeeze us in to a berth and as long as we were off again before dark no one would be upset. It was good to have a bit of a deadline to get all the jobs done otherwise the temptation to sit in the sunshine and have a beer would have overcome us!

We moved the boat to the new berth and Keith hoisted me up the mast. By the time we had removed the headstay and got it to Denzel it was half past four but he was still happy to get it finished before the end of the day. Keith and I then set to examine the furling gear. Instinctively I felt the problem was here. After the mast was restepped in Brightlingsea the rigger had trouble putting a holding pin back into the base of the furling drum - in fact he did away with the old pin and replaced it with a pin of smaller diameter. I thought this odd at the time but it seemed to work and, well... what do I know - he was the rigger, not me.

Not questioning this at the time was not only the rigger's

mistake but my mistake. Now I really wanted to know the answers. Keith and I persisted until we had the thing dismantled right down to the ball bearings. After cleaning everything in petrol I found the exact problem. The wrong size pin had allowed one of the bearings to dislodge from its race and occasionally become wedged in a hole used for applying grease. This in turn had caused the furling drum to jam relative to the headstay. When unreefing the headsail would fill with wind and impart a large twisting force and cause the headstay to unwind. We were lucky no other damage was done.

It took several more hours to regrease and reassemble everything including another trip up the mast. We moved Gothik to her previous location and went out for a well deserved dinner. The only outstanding item now was to find a pin that exactly fitted the hole at the base of the furling drum. Of the many spares I had on board nothing was quite perfect.

Tuesday 06 June 2006

Back to the sailmaker to see if he had any pins of the right diameter. Almost but not quite. The next stop was Ron Smith in his engineering shop. I took him an example pin (of the wrong size) and a drawing showing the new dimensions. When I explained we were on passage and would like it ideally before the end of the day he simply said "Gosh, you boys..." but then followed with "It will be done by four o'clock". Splendid.

Our new sailing companion, Ben (my cousin, Keith's son) arrived late in the afternoon. My auntie, another cousin and Ben's girlfriend also came along for a 'bon voyage' meal. Before dinner Ben started by learning a few of the essential knots. This put the wind up Keith since Ben managed to get the bowline pretty much down pat in a few minutes! Something Keith had practiced hard to get right.