Latest positions image

0900UTC 15th

Position 4226N 01014W with 550 miles on the clock. 25 - 30 kts, lumpy 3-5 metre quarter to beam sea with waves breaking across the boat. Uncomfortable but getting us south reasonably fast averaging about 5 kts. Faster possible but not sensible.

Another proper breakfast just past - we have changed medical practices since I last wrote. The Dublin Doctor and his assistant Dr Gordon have achieved such international publicity since they started looking after us that their Consultation schedule leaves very little time for us. Accordingly, we have transferred our business - at the recommendation of the RNLI in Crosshaven - to a smaller practice in Cork where Dr Murphy and his senior consultant Mr Grindy have regular surgery hours. Dr Murphy looks after breakfast and other odd times, while Mr Grindy provides embalming fluid for those moments when nothing else will do.

Once again - knees wedged under nav table, fingers more or less steadied to type this by wrists braced on the fiddle - we thing about 5 days at least from here to Gib. Appendages crossed please that the Levanter is not blowing out of the Strait.

Some administrative stuff - Steve W in Sydney will check the gustbook on the old site and berrimilla2@gmail.com for any messages and forward them to us every Monday and Friday. For anything more urgent, he has the satphone number as do Hilary, Isabella and a few others. Please keep sending us stuff - makes life much more interesting.

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Disturbances in The Link

Paul and Pauline kindly made an alteration in their brilliant video
for reasons that need not trouble you all - and so the link I sent
earlier now won't work.
Hopefully, this one will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-TUJ-J5fgA

Isabella

Video Link

Just received from Paul and Pauline of Falmouth Photos: a link to
video of Berrimilla leaving on Friday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDIfLrH-osk

Isabella

The Black Dog

And what to do about him. It's not unusual to experience massive mood changes out here, especially if, like Muggins, you worry about stuff. Yesterday was an awful day - first the wind generator and then the little red sail proved more or less conclusively that it won't do what I wanted it to do, which was to act as a furlable downwind sail for twin poling in heavy weather. It acts just as I feared it would - when trying to roll it in with any wind at all in it, the lower part of the luff winds up bar tight and the top third is a flogging mess and almost uncontrollable. Sad - I had hopes for that baby and I'm thinking of a workaround. A sniffer wont do it but perhaps if I lay it out in Gib, put the hanked storm jib over the clew and more or less line it up with the after third of the red sail, draw a line on the red one up the luff of the storm jib, roll in the red one to that line as tightly as possible and then bind the rolled ends every few inches down to the top and bottom of the marked line, so - I hope - stopping it from unrollimg more that storm jib size and - again, I hope - make rolling in a very much smaller sail just possible. Us'll see.

Today, running south down 01013W, so clear of all the shipping inshore, but smack dabbety in line for tomorrow's 30 knots all down the coast. Poo. We're at 4428N, 428 miles clocked.

But 5 hours of good sleep (3 + 2) and a proper Berri breakfast of a guinness and a bacon sanod with lashings of tabasco and all's well - Black Dog banished into the outer darkness for the mo.

And Pete's colourful nethers are on the improve - still very sore but he's smiling a bit more. The Doctor for breakfast always helps.

For those of you who need to know, the satphone is up running and tested. If you want to talk to us, remember to hang up before it goes into voicemail (5 rings) and keep ringing back till someone answers.

Steve, got your message, thanks and Mon/Fri is fine. Bleep the satphone at other times.

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For info: position just given from Alex

The plan - such as it is

We're at 4602N 00944W with 325 miles behind us. 30 knots forecast for tomorrow and the next 2 days to the south of us. We will try to run south along a line just west of 10 W to about 36 N and then turn East for Gibraltar. In the meantime, I hope we will find out whether we can get the generator fixed in Gib - or, as an extreme option, one of us could fly to the UK with it. If all goes well we should be in Gib in about a week to ten days. Anne H in Falmouth - if you'd be so kind as to email the OCC Port Officer in Gib, we'd be very grateful.

Not having it working is not s true showstopper but it does make things much more difficult and this early in the trip and so close to potential help, I think it is sensible to try for the fix.

There seem to be echoes of that first voyage all through this - the unplanned stop in NZ and generator problems later.

Anyway - POO!

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Pearshaped again

Our wind generator has died. Again. It did not seem to be working properly from the start as it was not switching off when the battery was charged but instead winding up to 16+ volts. Battery frying stuff. Now it is in both Charge and Brake mode and doing neither. We've dismantled the 3 way switch and bypassed it but no go so it's internal somewhere. We are thinking of going into Gibraltar. G or I, could you possibly ring Keith or Nigel at Greenham Regis at Shamrock Quay Southampton and ask if they would be able to send us a new one to Gib plus a new 3 way switch and the wiring? Don't need blades. If they can, it seems to be the best option. We probably have enough diesel to charge, make water etc to Cape Town but not really sensible. Shades of the Falklands last time.

Or we could turn around and slog back into wind. 'orrible idea.

I'll try to get the satphone cranked up and call you in a couple of days but please also email to the sailmail address.

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A pretty red prawn net

An interesting 36 hours, in the Chinese sense. As some of you will know, Pete is taking things a bit easy for a few days - resting, one might say, on his rather colourful laurel and Muggins is the bod in charge of Doing Stuff. Three reefs and the pole more or less routine, though knackering but I've just spent the last couple of hours trying to get the new sail set up to twin pole. There are 6 bits of string coming out the front of Berri's mast and 4 from the back. Then there are sheets and downhauls to control the pole and each sail. All of these must be sorted so that when it goes up, the sail is not fouled around any of them and it flies free with its sheet, halyard, downhaul and topping lift correctly led. There is so much power in even a small sail like this that the consequences of one foul lead can be very messy. I started from scratch on a heaving deck with water washing across and trying to manage a harness and tether at the same time (for you lot at Crosshaven, as per promise!) Anyone who has tried it will know just how complicated, frustrating and difficult this can be.

Long story - so I got it all sorted which took about an hour of very intense endeavour and brought up the sail (modified, David C, as you suggested - how good is that!). Got it all connected to its bits of string and its pole, set up the boat to run downwind on the other poled out sail to cut down the apparent wind and - gulp - hoisted it. Foolishly, I hoisted from the mast because when, inevitably, it got away from me and unrolled itself, I had no control over it cos no turn on a winch. Boat doing 5 knots, sail pretending to be a thrashing prawn net in the water, Muggins cursing and pulling it in bit by bit and re-bagging it, but no longer neatly rolled so no chance of an immediate second go.

At this point, after clearing away pole and attendant clobber, engaged in Long Consultation with Wendy's Friend from the Liffey and reconsidered. First, the sail must be woolled just like a kite but second - why ever did I try to put it up with the pole and all the clobber already rigged? Upped the complication by a power of 10. Should have just thrown it up and got it properly tensioned and then set up the clobber and unfurled it.

A rest and another go and I'll get it right. Immensely useful but frustrating - you really learn when you have to do it yourself and get it right first time.

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4903N 00546W

About 70 miles down the track, just north of the separation zone. 2 reefs and poled out headsail and lumpy.

I got to Falmouth in early May and Gordy and other mates and I did huminomungous work on the old barge, startring with clearing the grass and dead leaves out of the cockpit and we launched her a week or so later to find all the other fixes that were needed - including the gearbox and the generator and the nav lights - all very expensive but essential. And Crosshaven and the Fastnet interspersed with weeks in Falmouth's rather grimy harbour gathering slime and grot.
which leads me to the surge of joy Berri and I and probably Pete feel now that we're actually off and the slime and grot is washing off and the old barge is alive again. About 2 tons heavier than for the Fastnet and every nook packed with stuff. My joy tempered with a bit of quease and some well polished apprehension - the more I do, the more polish it gets. Interesting. More on this later - seems it's quite common. But I need a GRIB

And I wish, oh I wish that I understood what regulators regulate and how they do it.

PS Already USB gadget is misbehaving. Just tried to send and Airmailk crashed. I shall have to resurrect all those Ps - patience, perseverance...

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Wide Blue Yonder

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Falmouth Farewell : Crew and Well Wishers Assemble

Falmouth Farewell: A Sister Inspects

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Past The Manacles

We left as intended at 0630 UTC with lovely send off. Out into lumpy wind against tide English channel with the new sail up for the first bit. Pics from Isabella in due course. Good NE breeze and we're heading west of the Ushant separation zone. Berri very heavy and sluggish but we're still making 7+ knots. Boat a bit of a mess while we get things sorted - I'll try to send this then big sort out.

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Caroline's photos

These images were sent to me (Alex's sister, Isabella) by Caroline G
who went down to Falmouth this week and took the photos. They show the
new sail made for Berrimilla in Falmouth.

Not today after all

Small hitch and we decided to postpone departure for a day. ETD now 0630 UTC  tomorrow, September 11th. Isabella and Graham are planning to be on Pendennis Point under Henry's castle so there will be some 'there they go' photos on these blogs shortly, just to prove it really happened. We will perhaps be able to fly the new red sail for the record. Sorry we couldn't get you to make it, Brian - just a bridge too far.

Pete says thanks for all the Gustbook birthday wishes

Happy Birthday Pete and other stuff

Tomorrow is Pete's burf. Happys, boyo!

And we are go for departure on Thursday morning barring the absolutely pearshaped. We've got a new experimental (for Berri anyway) downwind furling headsail - put it up today and it just might work. Photos when Caroline downloads - Thanks Carol and huge that you came all that way with a hot water bottle and your favourite plastic Dr G's bottle for us.

Thanks for  your messages all y'all. TellyKelly, good to have you in the mosh pit with the rest of the mob. K, L and the DD - watch for our red sail and madly waving old farts in imaginary dreamboat.

From tomorrow we'll be back to the idiosyncrasies of HF radio and sailmail so these posts will arrive whenever...

We love youse all.

How it used to be done

Couldn't resist this - don't know what it's called but a sort of coracle - wooden frame with leather or fabric skin, thole pins and rough oars and a shrimp net (made of nylon...) to feed the family.

Pot of gold?

Yesterday morning in Falmouth - looking East from Berri's cockpit and still raining and blowing about 25 kts. Lots of interesting detail - pick the 'man' overboard, complete with run for life medal, the square rigger, the old workboat, the Fosters logo and heaps more. Gerry, if you're out there, the Pilot boat, which is usually in the berth across the jetty, has a permanently rigged MOB system - a small crane with a winch and a scoop which looks like a very wide roll-up ladder with closely spaced rungs.  Hence the 'man'.

Berri now almost loaded - she's about 2 tons heavier than for the Fastnet judging by the new  waterline. We did a huge shopping trip this morning and that all needs to be packed into all the little odd shaped spaces and wedged in.  But the weather in Biscay is still iffy http://www.passageweather.com/ but is predicted to improve mightily next week so, unless things change we intend to leave on Sept 10, which happens to be the day after Pete's birthday and the 4th anniversary of a little swim in the Atlantic off the Cape Verdes.

We are looking seriously at the possibility of going home via South Georgia - a must-visit-once-in-a-lifetime place. Will depend on the weather patterns when we hit the southern hemisphere, but if we do get down that far, it also puts the Kerguelens more or less in range if the Examiner is sloppy.

Tomorrow I will be handing on all my NW/NE passage data, Admiralty Pilots etc to an old friend from way way back who is thinking of having a go. I'll get 'em back if we decide ever to try again with the Russians.

Sue, Z is cool - enjoy the cruise. Naramas - go well. STS 128 yay!

Test

Testing new blog address.

My favourite pub and a windy day near Hurst Castle.