winter sail (more motoring than sailing...)

muckle moose's picture
Submitted by muckle moose on Sat, 02/22/2014 - 22:34

Forums:

Hello all,
Finally got out on the water in the Mirror yesterday, the first time since November. I found a small window of opportunity between the relentless gale force winds we have been having this winter. It was a quick dash over to Mousa Island (motoring most of the way there and back...no wind...), and anchored up in the bay for a walk round the island looking for any useful flotsam and jetsam on the rocks. Apart from the two polyform buoys I found which i was pleased about, I was over the moon to find a 'Message in a bottle' washed up at the foot of the Iron Age Broch. I've always scanned the beach for one of these messages and so pleased to find one, especially since this one was thrown into the sea by some young lads from the Faroe Islands! I told my 5 year old daughter "We'll need to write back to them" and she asked if we would be using the same bottle! Made me laugh! Has anyone found anything interesting on their travels in the Mirror? I've got my eyes peeled for whale spew so I can pay off the mortgage...
Euan

curlew's picture

curlew

Sat, 02/22/2014 - 23:57

Well done, Euan, getting out on the water. I once found a home made ship, made with a plank of wood and some sticks as masts. It was aground, so I set the sails and sent it off to sea once again. Quite interesting making boats for kids that way.
David

PuffinInTegel's picture

PuffinInTegel

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 14:35

We had brilliant weather here on Saturday with 11°C and winds 4-5 (see
http://www.windfinder.com/report/wind/berlin-tegel/2014-02-22 ) so I couldn't resist getting out on the lake. It turns out that I picked the windiest period, being out at ~ 14:00 to 16:15, so it was a fairly strenuous early season start but hugely enjoyable.
Ambergris (I assume that's what you meant by "whale spew") is not that valuable any more, apparently the perfume industry uses synthetics nowadays. However you could always look for that Norse treasure hidden somewhere on the island. Or find a "help me" note from a kidnapped millionaire who then pays handsomely for your help in getting him free ;-{)
That reminds me, I still owe a little girl upstream from us an answer to a letter in a bottle I found a while ago.
Cheers,
Gernot H.

P.S. I just noticed that one of the local yacht clubs has a webcam that permits you to review the last 30 days, so you can see what Saturday 22 Feb. 2104 was like here at noon :
http://www.lookr.com/de/lookout/1230040809-Schulzendorf#action-play-month

muckle moose's picture

muckle moose

Thu, 03/20/2014 - 21:43

I've just put together a wee video of my last trip out in the Mirror. Not much in the way of sailing in this one, but it's short and It reminds me of what the sun looks like for when it next makes an appearance! The forecast for the next few days is not looking good for sailing, I may dig the surf kayak out instead...

here's the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF0QlpICxL4

Cheers,
Euan

PuffinInTegel's picture

PuffinInTegel

Thu, 03/20/2014 - 21:56

Euan, how much water gets in the suit when you use the LiLo as a dinghy?
Have you answered the message in a bottle ?
Cheers,
Gernot.

muckle moose's picture

muckle moose

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 20:13

Hi Gernot,
That 'LiLo' was found on my walk round the island, I'm not too sure where its from, possibly a fishing boat, but it's the second one I've found and decided to hang on to it as a make shift seat. I would normally have a light line attached to the crown of the anchor and led ashore to make retrieving the boat easier, but alas I didn't take the extra line with me on this occasion. I've had that dry suit for 10 years now (replaced the latex neck seal myself last year) and very pleased with it. It keeps 99% of the water out, but as it's non breathable I do get some condensation (sweat) inside the suit, which can make you feel wet when you cool down. I wear the drysuit out kayaking in the breaking surf (spending much of the time upside down) and even in these conditions I remain quite dry inside.
No, I really need to reply to the message this weekend...
Cheers,
Euan

beermatt's picture

beermatt

Sun, 06/22/2014 - 14:52

One of the best advantages of the Mirror for me is it's flexibility. It's stable, seaworthy, rows well, motors well, and sails well. Not many boats that size can say the same!

I try to sail whenever possible, and find oars a more practical auxillary than the outboard. If I take the engine the mast etc has always stayed on the shore so far. I've used it before on the sea as sort of a utility boat, but quite rarely so far, it's main advantage for me is the rivers and canals. They're all quite thin and sheltered around where I live, and quite inpractical for sailing. A tour through York and the surrounding countryside in the summer under power is very nice and comfortable with plenty of room for 2 ppl.

Some may argue it's better to be green, and while I agree with that, my little 2.5hp four stroke uses about 1 litre every 4-6 hours. Compare that to a 20ft speedboat that burns through 1 litre every minute puts it in perspective for my conscience!

mirrorpete

Sun, 06/22/2014 - 02:54

Are you by any chance near the Norfolk Broads?

Pete

beermatt's picture

beermatt

Sun, 06/22/2014 - 14:51

Not that far away but not exactly close either. I live pretty much right in the centre of England (South Yorkshire), there are motorways running up and down the centre of the country which makes most places a fairly quick drive, but the Norfolk Broads are sort of out on a wing on the East of the country where the motorways don't go so it's a much longer drive than other places of the same distance. When I have the opportunity to go that far I'd go for Wales, Scotland, or even the South Coast. Although compared to the size of America I guess everything in Britain is only a short drive!

I've been to The Broads once as a kid and from what I know about it the rivers/canals are much more expansive (and nicer) than around here. There's a few that are OK for a leisurely day trip though. I recently discovered the "Peak Forest Canal" which surprisingly never heard of before despite being less than an hour away, hoping to do that this summer. Looks nice at a glance, has an aqueduct too!