17 June 2020 - Launch Day
With her mast dressed (nautical term meaning that we had attached the spreaders, the shrouds and the backstays), Mini Skippy was ready for re-launch.
It was a wet morning but the sun came out at lunchtime in time for us to prepare for the hoist. This involved setting up the lifting strops for a single-point lift which suited the South Pier crane very well.
Mini Skippy has 3 strops and most of the weight is supported by the central green strop which is attached to a keel bolt. The two white strops help to balance the load and are attached to the running backstay padeyes. We also ran long lines from the stern and from the bow to allow us to control the boat as she is hoisted. It is important to keep these lines under tension to stop any swaying or unwanted rotation.
All went well and Mini Skippy was ready for her mast to be stepped. Because her mast is stepped on the keel and passes through the deck, we used the crane to lower the mast into position before securing the shrouds, the forestay and the two backstays.
I hadn't yet sorted out an outboard bracket so was very grateful for a tow from the South Pier crane to Mini Skippy's berth in the St Helier Marina.
20 June 20 - First Sail / First Adventure
After three days hard work cleaning the boat, replacing lashings, tensioning the shrouds, Saturday evening came and it was a beautiful evening with 5 - 10 knots of wind and a calm sea. No outboard yet and I hadn't fixed the bowspirit either but I had a mainsail and a jib so I decided to go sailing!!
Getting out of St Helier marina under sail was quite an experience - there's not a lot of space in the fairway and the buildings surrounding the marina mean that the gusts can be very unpredictable. Getting an outboard bracket sorted moved to the top of the job list.
But for now, I was sailing - on my own, on my own boat!!!! It really was a beautiful feeling after so long waiting for Mini Skippy to be ready. I headed out past the pier heads, through the small roads and headed into St Aubins Bay.
The breeze started dropping as the sun went down but I was still having fun and wasn't ready to go in.
Becalmed...
Then, the breeze dropped completely and without an outboard, I was left bobbing in the middle of the bay, drifting gently on the current towards Noirmont.
I had water, food and warm clothes and a torch on board so I wasn't unduly worried - I was able to keep myself out of the strongest current by paddling. I texted my family so they'd know I was going to be out a lot later than I'd thought. I put on my warm clothes and started waiting for the wind, any wind. I dropped my jib and my mainsail to avoid the sails flapping on the swell.
It got later and a few RIBs flew past - I thought I'd try and flag one down but none came very close to me and I wasn't quite sure whether to hail on the VHF because strictly speaking, I wasn't in danger.
As it got later, there were no longer any RIBs screaming past but I saw the Goodwill leaving St Helier - I paddled for a few minutes to make sure I wouldn't be in the shipping channel. And continued bobbing around.
I'd left St Helier around 17h and it was now getting on for 22h but there was finally some breeze coming - I could see the ripples on the water.
I hoisted my sails again and turned towards St Helier - I didn't trust that the breeze would last so I wanted to get in when I had the chance. The breeze filled quickly and there were soon 10 - 15kts - I was going to make the harbour!!!
Berthing under sail
Now the next issue was berthing safely - I had missed the marina gates so I had two holding pontoon options, Albert Pier or La Collette. I chose La Collette because the Albert Pier pontoon is very busy in the summer and rafting against larger yachts is not that comfortable for Mini Skippy because of her comparatively low freeboard.
The trouble with La Collette as I was soon to find out is that since Mini Skippy is less than 8m long, she has to tie up on the inside of the holding pontoon. The now E'ly wind meant that the approach to the pontoon was downwind and effectively a dead end with a pontoon at the end.
I had fenders out and mooring lines ready. I dropped my mainsail as soon I as was on the correct side of the holding pontoon and was now under bare poles!! But I wasn't slowing down - Mini Skippy is very lively but as I was discovering, marinas are not a strong point. The high aspect rudders stall fairly easily and the rudder stops (to prevent the autopilot overloading itself, the tiller bars or the rudder mounts) mean that rudder movement is limited.
The dead end was looming and it was very much time to turn around now - I had spotted a RIB and intended to come alongside it. I putted the tiller over and hoped - the turning circle was just small enough to allow Mini Skippy's bow to clear the RIB but I still needed to slow down.... It was time to jump off with a bow line and slow down that way.
Although it was late and now dark, I was very glad to see my sister and her boyfriend waiting on the pontoon to help me finish mooring up.
I could breathe - I was safe and I hadn't crashed !! PHEWW!!!!!!
Credits:
Julian Adamson