BLUEMOMENT

I thought that this would be an interesting thing to do, and that I'd probably learn something useful out of it, so decided to do the test.
Any advice for me?

Geoff

I did the test last year (and passed!). I had helped someone with the shore-based course the previous winter which was a good revision and I would certainly recommend a review of running fixes, lights, shapes, tidal calcs, etc. and stick a few ntm updates on your charts. I seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time sitting at the nav table doing blind navigation using log, compass and depth.
Probably the most difficult thing for me was switching from single-handed to communicative skipper mode. My examiner had a distinct sense of humour and had me reversing onto pontoons at Kip - something you and your Rival will enjoy!
Lots of tea/coffee/biscuits and decent scoff .... and, of course, successful completion of SIPR would be a guarantee of success.

Another Alastair

Thanks! Sound advice there.
In preparation I thought to update my charts. Some are black and white engravings with fathoms! There'll be a few ntm updates to do to even new ones.

I too have to switch from single handed to skipper mode. Most sailing is either single or two handed (son), but the examiner suggests 2 of a crew. (anyone want to come for a ride that night? PM me if you're interested. Rhu departure 7/10/14)
Its a 2pm start, out till midnight.

Now about successful completion of SIPR.... I'm determined to finish next year, and having been there once before it might be easier to do that. But we'll retire again if that's the most sensible option I guess.

It was interesting totting up my logs. Require 2500 miles. I've got about 2492 in the last 3 years.

Rival 32s are more difficult to reverse than a wild ram. But Kiwis are expert with sheep!

Practice your MOB technique - make sure one of the crew becomes "spotter". My examiner didn't like my mooring pick-up - stopping on the buoy dead-to-wind is apparently not as good as reaching onto it with sails flapping. Do you have NP218 with its handy tidal stream calculator and Reed's with tidal curves - I can lend you mine though I reckon the rates in NP218 are a load of mince!
I have not planned my October yet but if you are desperate for crew drop me a line.

Alastair,

Thanks for your comments and offer.

Currently waiting confirmation of availability from 2 previous crew, should know in next 2 days.

I use the tidal flow tables a lot, but usually ignore the numbers, and rather use the size of arrow as being indicative only. Our tables are pretty old, but I figure that like known rocks, these things don't change much. It's only the man-made stuff that people fiddle with and cause charts etc to get out of date. (though new rocks do get discovered, and a good example demonstrated by Antares charts in the bay in Wee Cumbrae. A rock that's not in the normal charts, but I'd seen this washing in F7 last August while dragging anchor past there!!

The most useful tidal flow chart I've come across is on the back of a sales pamphlet from Ballycastle Marina (or something from there), showing the directions of flows at various times of tide round Rathlin Island. I was there again this year and circumnavigated Rathlin to see if it's right. Pretty good info, and can enable the use of the various back eddies shown to get round this area. And its free. I cut it out and laminated it for future use.

I spent some time wondering about the merits of the ways of approaching a buoy. Here's my conclusion. Can anyone add to it?

If you sail to a buoy with a view to mooring on it, to stop dead into the wind means stopping at the buoy, but with no immediate means to move forward again until the boat slews off wind allowing the main to be sheeted in and gain some forward speed. This could mean meanwhile drifting downwind and possibly down tide a little (or a lot) before getting under way again.
If approaching on a reach, then merely sheeting in the main would give almost instant movement forward again. It might not be the best direction, but once some forward velocity is achieved, then turning is possible. In other words, more control could be achieved by approaching on a reach in the event of not getting the rope on the buoy.

Of course in real life the engine might help? But I do remember in my teens that we hardly ever used the engine it was such a faff to use, that we sailed onto and off everything, even a pontoon. But that was then...

I think because it was the way I was taught in Loch Longs and dinghies and because getting it right gives me a degree of satisfaction, I try to stop dead on the buoy. Doing it single-handed allows me to stroll forward to hoick the pick-up out the water before the bow blows off. Geoff's way of reaching in is probably better in many respects and gives a "Plan B" when it goes wrong but I have tried it and still return to the dead-to-wind approach. If I cock it up, I'm either moving too fast, in which case I can easily go round again, or I come up short and then have to use reverse rudder to swing the bow, not a good thing in a congested anchorage like Cardingmill Bay where I tend to chicken and use the donk anyway. Writing this makes me realise that it all depends on wind, tide, sea state, other boats around and the handling characteristics of the boat. I seem to make main only/jib only/full sail, direction and speed of approach decisions depending on the wind/tide/sea without much effort and get really annoyed with myself when I get it wrong.

How instructors manage to convey this and all the rest of the myriad nuances of sailing to Dazed Kippers in a mere 5 days when it's taken me a lifetime, and I still get it wrong, beats me!

marisca wrote: ..... though I reckon the rates in NP218 are a load of mince!
.....

Sorry to drag this off topic but it is apposite you mention NP218.

This probably sounds like rubbish (and probably is) but we are convinced that the tidal data is not as accurate as it was - this means the tides must have changed !
I realise that atmospheric pressure has a big influence but could it be possible that we are in some kind of long term cycle and each year the tides are diverting more and more away from the data shown in NP218 ?
Told you it was rubbish but something seems to have changed .....

Sorry again for o/t and good luck with the YM

.....
[/quote]......... but something seems to have changed .....
[/quote]

I think, myself, that the earth`s axis has changed slightly over the last few years - about 2 minutes of arc, I`d say .

I think these deviations of topic are useful and that's one of the best aspects of these forums (fora?).

The poles keep changing, the moons orbit isn't exactly the same, the sun must be loosing mass, (coronal mass ejections must eject something of mass?), so it seems sure that the tides must change a bit.
Tides round Ireland must change for sure to be sure.
And datums (data?) must surely change. Otherwise why are the Marshall Islanders worried about going underwater? Their tide must be coming in.

And where did those raised beaches on Jura come from if that wasn't HWS sometime in the distant past?

we're always learning something.

mm5aho wrote:the sun must be losing mass

It's only about 4.3 million tons per second and so nothing to worry about. Over it's entire remaining life it's reckoned it will lose about 0.034% of it's current mass.

Did someone mention thread drift?

bit of tidal drift perhaps
anyway best of luck in the ym

I watched a programme last night about the Moon. Apparently it's moving away from Earth at the same speed as our nails grow.

I think my nails grow faster when I'm on the boat compared with dry land.

DaveS wrote:I watched a programme last night about the Moon. Apparently it's moving away from Earth at the same speed as our nails grow.

but our nails all grow at different rates and my toenails are slower than my fingernails.
Not sure how to relate this to the moon......

Back on thread, be normal, do what you would normally do and keep your eyes open for the curved ball.
I was reversing and the examiner cut the engine and said we had a rope around the prop - that was fun!