50:20.30N002:05.84W
Lady Corinne
iain and gaynor macalister
Wed 5 Aug 2009 15:03
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Back on the water feels good after
such a long time & so much work! Leaving Chichester was pretty
lumpy with wind over tide at the bar and we were taking quite a lot of waves
over the bow. Gaynor went below to check the forecabin
and found that the anchor chain seal had moved and water was coming in all
over our bags which we'd put up there,she got them moved out with Tristan's help
but not before they were both feeling pretty grim, and a little soggy.Just out
of the harbour when we had set sail we were hailed on the VHF by Angel Clipper -
Olly was onboard and after a chat they took off at what seemed like warp speed
towards Cherbourg. After an
uneventful sail through the Solent we decided to call in at Cowes and see Zara
so we picked up a mooring on the Folly inn jetty and went down to Cowes to meet
her for a drink with Steve and Sara. Cowes was full of life with
Cowes week in full swing. we set off at 7 this morning and expected
to see Zara at the needles as she had managed to get a place on Pindar for the
open 60's round the island race and was going to be doing the onboard filming -
Zara I don't think I ever realised just how tough your job really
is. On our way down to the needles we noticed that the Autohelm
compass was reading about 60 degrees more than both the ship and the GPS
compasses so we decided to swing it - this involves turning the boat round and
round in circles, we did this for quite a few revolutions and must have made an
interesting spectacle of ourselves to anyone watching before realising that
someone who should have known better,namely me ,had stowed a large metal case
containig a power tool,in the locker behind the bulkhead where the fluxgate
compass for the self steering is fitted causing the compass to misread.
Lucky I spotted it or who knows where we might have ended up. We are
currently motorsailing at 8 knots towards Portland bill and the weather seems to
be improving, Tristan has the biggest fishing lure I've ever seen and has
been hanging off the back of the boat for ages, I don't know what he expects to
catch but I,m guessing if it comes it's going to be BIG. We are all well
and enjoying the adventure, thanks so much to everyone who helped get things
ready in particular Derek and Vicky without whose carpentry skills and cake
making capabilities we would be a lot shabbier and hungrier. The
Duogen has been put to good use in both wind and towed modes and I can't praise
it enough and the same applies to your work Rob, thank you for doing all you did
to produce such a good bracket system - I realise that I ran off without paying
you for the last fix but I promise I'm coming back. I'm sure there
must be something I should be doing so I'll bid you all a fond farewell - Thanks
for all your kind messages and wishes for the trip they were really touching -
'till next time this is Lady C Out.
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