Don’t Look Back – Too Often.

Yea - sometimes I wear a tie - now that I don't have to

Its better, I find, not to look back too often. What is ahead is infinitely more interesting that what has been

done. One time each year however, Susan and I like to review progress and share aspirations – she for her art, garden and potager, me for the boat, writing and my guitar playing. And then there is the joint stuff – house renovation projects, trips and voyages. The discussion, which we refer to as the ‘shareholders’ meeting usually takes place at this time of year in front of a log fire with a special heart-warming dinner and a bottle of better than average plonk. So, this year our meeting will be on Saturday evening on my return from Jersey where I am undertaking a writing project at the moment.

With the meeting in mind, I found myself reviewing my boating year the other day. How was 2013 as a boating year? Well pretty good considering I didn’t have a boat on the water.

Winter last year was exceptionally long – at times it felt as if spring would never arrive. But then in May the weather improved and Mother Nature made a dash for summer. Without a sailing boat, the two man sit-on-top kayak was the way to get afloat – and I have to admit it provided a lot of fun – paddling up creeks and into waters hidden from and denied to larger deeper drafted vessels, harvesting wild Samphire and cockles from mud banks inaccessible to everyone else. Something good about paddling too – getting the winter chill out of the old bones and sinew.

But then, toward summer I was invited to sail La Passagere – a heavy old wooden gaff ketch. We even took the mayor of Plouer out for a sail and showed him bits of his parish he had rarely seen.

Full summer, and I had the opportunity to crew a Moody 33 from Plouer to St Valerie en Caux – a delivery trip – a forty hour, 200 mile voyage north through the Channel Islands and the infamous Alderney Race, out into the English Chanel and then East, passing Cherbourg, Caen, Le Havre, the mouth of the Seine, Dieppe, and on to our destination, arriving at dawn, a half hour before ETA.

Autumn, and I managed to crew a friend’s newly bought Cornish Shrimper, an unexpected bonus. He’d bought her to renovate and discovered that she was in very good order and there was no reason not to launch.

Late autumn completed the circle – I was back with the canoe and foraging for wild fruit along the estuary shores, pretty good for a guy living through a boat famine.

Memories such as these led me to digging out log books from even earlier voyages aboard my old sloop Seaward Lady a  24ft Macwester Rowan Crown and later aboard Susan of the Seas a twin engined Channel Islands 22. Glancing through the books over a glass of wine by the fire is certainly an instructive, if not always an enjoyable, occasion. In truth it’s a history of highs and lows - dates, times, distances, courses and compass headings – data that serves as a reminder of the successful and not so successful trips. Logbook data has its obvious uses at sea while on passage but  it’s often the comments made in the margins that are the most telling. ‘Skipper has close family connection to Captain Bligh’ was one that made me wince.  Another salt-stained almost illegible comment contained the words ‘skipper’and ‘pollark’ I think that’s what it said anyway. Surprisingly enough, I also came across a poem of sorts –

We were out one day down Carteret way

The waves were high and rollin’

Bail out! Sue hollered

But she needn’t have bothered

The bucket had a hole in.’

But enough of looking back! A free copy of the local tide tables landed on my doormat this morning and the shortest day of the year is already passed – sure signs that its time to get back to the boatyard.

For other aspects of this frugal life please read Frugal Living in France

Seaward

Ocean Kayak

So two days of public holiday, no boat except for a Kayak. We launched at the home port of Plouer Sur Rance, Brittany, France and decided to paddle up the estuary and into the river. The weather was changeable, sunshine followed by cold showers. I didn't care. Susan sitting up front has a unique paddling style which sends sheets of water in my direction with every stroke. Rain or fine, I'm always soaked on the kayak. Well at least the wind was light.



Now, to set the scene, a few words about this neck of the woods. Brittany's first inhabitants were Celts and Britons displaced out of England and Wales by successive invasions - Romans, Angles, Saxons etc.. that's why this region of France is called Brittany (little Britain). Towns and villages here which have a Plou or Plou prefix are ancient British settlements. Across the estuary is Mordreuk (the place of the Druids) and further upstream there is an old tidal mill with the unfortunate name of Moulin de Pratt!. The river Rance by the way translates as the 'Rancid One' but don't let that put you off, this is a truly beautiful place.

Further upstream, the estuary tapers to a narrow channel, with old fishing platforms on either side of the river and then you are at a village called Livet, locking out of the estuary and into the placid fresh waters of the river itself. A short paddle, through the increasingly beautiful wooded valley brings you to Dinan, a walled medieval town which is a delight to stroll through. If you had a sailing boat drawing less than one meter, you could drop your mast and continue by canal southwards from here right across the Brittany peninsular to the Atlantic. I'll do that one day, but for now, its time to dry out at a riverside cafe, for gallets (a sort of pancake made with buckwheat) and sausages, washed down by several glasses of rough local cider, followed by a stroll along the ramparts and the enjoyment of  almost free music supplied by very capable busking musicians along the way.

Returning, Jack our Jack Russel, embarrassed himself by falling off the kayak as we made our departure from the town. I estimate we were making about five knots at the time, trying to impress the locals, and so for a moment Jack's nose made a significant bow-wave for such a small dog.

Back in the salt-water estuary, we pulled ashore to harvest young Samphire spears, the best of all vegetables for a low cost cruiser, and to collect as much driftwood as the kayak could carry for the log burning stove at home. For the last few miles, we trailed a lure in the hope of catching a sea bass or maybe an early mackerel. No luck. So we ended the day, scratching a low tide sand bar for clams and cockles and took a mighty haul!

The shell fish were cooked with garlic, white wine and cream on the log burner, and the samphire was lightly boiled, tossed in butter and served alongside, with plenty of sourdough bread to mop up the juices. Susan will post the recipe shortly on our 'View from the Galley page'. Cost of the day? - eleven euros ( lunch for two paid for) Savings for the day? evening meal, that could not be beat. Best bit? Drying out, toasting toes by a free log fire with a perfect shellfish dinner inside you. Such a perfect day.

NOW an Apology to John the unlikely boat builder, who commented on an earlier posting and recommended seeking the perfect boat by considering local designs. He quoted Howard Chapelle as a designer who draws inspiration from local traditional boats. I confused Chapelle with another famous US designer  Nathanael Greene Herreshoff. "Captain Nat," as he was known, revolutionised yacht design, and produced a succession of undefeated America's Cup defenders between 1893–1920. I confused the two hence my incorrect reference to Chapell's designs as 'Ocean Greyhounds', Mea culpa!  I need to learn more about Chapelle. Sorry John!

Meanwhile if you're interested in the Ocean Kayak - you can get it here
Ocean Kayak Malibu Two Tandem Sit-On-Top Recreational Kayak (12-Feet / Yellow) (USA Readers)






Seaward

Beating The No Boat Blues

Low Cost Ocean Kayak

Ok well, I finally did it! Faced with a sailing famine and no prospect of sailing until I have identified and renovated a low cost cruiser, I bit the bullet this weekend and, on the advice of friends, found a cheap second-hand two-seater, sit-on-top kayak – an ‘Ocean Kayak’ Malibu 2XL (scroll down for link). She’s the largest in this particular manufacturer’s range and carries the name XL because of the added buoyancy in the stern - probably a good idea, given that I’m not exactly a small guy.I also looked at an Intex Inflatable Kayak that I could have bought new for the same price. It was a close call between the two, the Intex could have fitted in a bag in the boot of my car and later could also have been stowed on the boat.The Ocean Kayak though, was here in someone's back yard and ready to use. I would have had to order and wait delivery of the Intex.

The Kayak came with seat, paddles and wheels for towing from car to water and she seems ideal for short cruises in relatively sheltered water -should be good as a fishing platform too.

Daytime temperature was only eight degrees C here in Jersey today, but the sun was shining and there was a neap tide (currents not so strong) so it seemed like a good day for a trial sail off the shallow and sheltered east coast of the Island.

The experience was great fun and we discovered that with two paddlers, it is possible to attain and maintain a reasonable speed through the water. It can be hard work against the wind though. I took up the rear berth and Susan, being much much lighter than me, settled in the bows with our on-eyed dog (Jack) and paddled from there.

Initially, I was pleased to be wearing a wet suit, partly because the water at this time of year is distinctly chilly, and partly because for much of the time, I was under a constant deluge of water, a by-product of Susan’s somewhat personalised paddling technique. Later on, after an hour or so paddling, I was happy to take it off.

If I were writing this for a commercial publication, I’d be quoting weights and comparing prices and handling characteristics. This isn’t a commercial site but suffice it to say that the Kayak did pretty much what I expected, it was easier to handle that I thought it would be – and here is the real bonus – it was remarkably stable. There was never any question of rolling or falling out.

Another unexpected bonus was that we discovered that you can ‘sail’ a kayak. Well that might be a bit of an exaggeration but on our way home, with the wind on our backs, Susan opened an umbrella. We stopped paddling and my handheld GPS recorded 5 knots over the ground for a good couple of miles, our efforts were restricted to simply sticking a paddle in the water now and again to maintain direction. Now that’s the sort of kayaking that I like. Question is, has anyone ever thought of adding some kind of temporary keel and a sail? Maybe this summer isn’t going to be so bad after all.

Seaward

Sea Kayak

Well, it certainly seems as if I am getting closer to describing the sort of boat I want to buy… more of that later.  For the moment I’m preoccupied in contemplating a summer kicking my heels on the shore. Even if I found the boat today, given how little money I have to invest in her, I can’t imagine she will be in commission this year, and in any case, it seems that in any given year there are good times to buy and other good times to sell a boat.

My frustration is that I would like to be afloat this summer. People selling boats understand this; they clean up their craft and advertise in spring hoping for a quick sale at a good price to people like me, eager to fulfil this need. So spring is a ‘good time’ to sell.

By September however, boat sellers know that fewer people are looking to purchase. They also know that few boats look attractive sitting in a muddy boatyard under a dripping tarpaulin. They may also be frustrated by the continuing mooring or storage fees, the insurance renewals and engine servicing they may have to pay for throughout the winter– all for a boat they no longer want.  Autumn / winter therefore is a ‘good time’ to buy. Prices drop and boats are sold in end of season condition.Ideally then, I should wait a few months before buying my boat, BUT the prospect of getting no further to sea than the pier head doesn’t feel good.

So yesterday, I took some time out to visit a few friends who may have a partial solution.  They have an ‘Ocean Kayak’, two-seater open (sit-on-top) canoe.

I’m no great lover of traditional kayaks I have nightmares about rolling under with my legs and feet stuck inside – upside down and drowning, flailing and tearing at the spray-skirt in a last desperate attempt to regain the surface… choking on huge lungfuls of heavy cold salt water … I won’t go on, you get the idea.

These kayaks are different though. You sit ‘on’ not ‘in’. Roll it and you’ll fall out. There are techniques for scrambling back on board, not dissimilar to getting back into a swamped dinghy. This is more like it, something I could probably do.

So, according to the guys I spoke to yesterday, I could be afloat for a small outlay, and so long as I stay in reasonably sheltered water, like the estuary and the bay, Susan and I could enjoy, fishing, beach bar-b-ques, exploring creaks and ditches that no other craft could get near. The whole kit is car-topable, so what I lose in length of cruise, I can make up by launching from a variety of locations – various beaches, river banks  canal sides and lakes, and when the real cruiser is launched, I can sell the kayak on, and recover some of the outlay at least.

Beautiful! - talkin' 'bout the kayak of course!

There are plenty of open-top kayaks but those produced by ‘Ocean Kayak’ seems to be particularly popular. You’ll find them at   www.oceankayak.com/ . and, you can get one here.

Ocean Kayak Malibu Two Tandem Sit-On-Top Recreational Kayak (12-Feet / Yellow) (USA Readers)

OCEAN KAYAK FRENZY Yellow (UK Readers)

Feeling better already!

Seaward