We’ve been a bit slow in keeping the site updated over the past month – reason being that Rob and I went down to the Solent to do a Yachtmaster prep week and exam and we had to do a bit of swotting before we went! Good news is we both passed!! No surprises there then! ….thank goodness.
We decided to try Southern Sailing given the universal good press so ended up in a rather cold river Itchen berth on a rather old and tired Yamaha 33. I never knew Yamaha made boats but this was one of the few that ended up over here – not too dissimilar I guess to a Sigma 33. Southern Sailing describe their boats as tired and old and that’s no exaggeration. We had to laugh the first evening at the windvane giving off a greenish hue – turned out to be the tricolour mounted the wrong way round. Not funny though was the duff battery meaning poor starting and almost no heating (in a very cold April).
The course however was great with a good banter going between the crew and even getting Richard (the instructor) to join in. We spent five days criss-crossing the Solent sussing out all those tricky entrances we could be asked to negotiate at night time. The temperature was baltic. Although there was very little rain, the wind was easterly – straight from Siberia and by the end of the week was up to F6-7.
It was really interesting to sail in the Solent, quite a bit different from up here on the Forth. The biggest difference was the lack of rocks! There are almost none down there, with sand and mud being the order of the day. The other big one was the tide up and down the rivers and right through the marinas and pontoons. We’ve got it easy up here with minimal tidal flow when you are parking your boat. I can also see why the round the island race is so popular given the intricacies of the tide and winds in the area.
By the end of the week, we had had a thoroughly good time and Geoff and Bob, the other two students (in addition to Robert and I) were a great laugh. Shame that on Friday afternoon we were sitting waiting for the examiner to turn up.
The exam was done and dusted in 24 hours in mostly F6-7 winds with heavy rain and no improvement in the temperatures. We all passed – and the preparation that Richard gave us proved extremely useful. Both Robert and I also learned a lot during the week, which will help us greatly in the coming years.
After the drive back up to Scotland, we were both well and truly knackered and a good rest is needed this week.
With the YM out of the way, the plan is now to get Grand Slam kitted out for the extended trip south to Portugal. Plan is to leave late May. First task is to get the ssb radio on the boat (with a new antenna and ground system to put in) and get the radar and life-raft (just back from service) back on the boat. Rob’s working on the drinks cabinet. There may be just enough time for the odd sail! We’ve now got all the paper charts and pilot books and just need to get the electronic charts. Money, money, money……
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