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I’ve had an idea – and I think it’s a good idea
In the world of “Lifting” and “Working at Height” all the gear needs a regular inspection. Generally every six months, unless a competent person decides otherwise. With large items it is quite easy to label items and keep a log of the inspections but for small lifting gear such as shackles it can be very…
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Velsheda J Class Yacht K7 May 1987
I know the subtitle of this website is “Adventures of a small yacht” but I recently posted a picture on Instagram of the time when I chartered Velsheda for a weekend. I had a request to see more pictures – so here we go. I’m not too sure who actually took the photos but, as…
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Sumara’s Ropes and Rigging
The Standing Rigging Reading time: 12 minutes November 2021 There is the age-old debate for when is the correct time to replace a yacht’s standing rigging. All my rigging has been changed at least once over the thirty-one years that I have owned Sumara. With my planned expedition trip to Scoresby Sund in 2022, I…
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Barnard Castle in the Van
18th November 2021 I was up in Oban working on the boat with Tilman – our Parson Russel Terrier – and decided that a 12 hour drive back to London wouldn’t be fair on the dog, or me for that matter. I had managed to break the northbound journey in half by staying with my…
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Scoresby Sund Expedition Update
Dunstaffnage 16th November 2021 A little bit of progress has been made but on lots of fronts. I’m currently up in Scotland carrying out a few little jobs on Sumara, most importantly winterising the engine but also a few domestic improvements like installing the diabolically expensive new sink pump. Running Rigging Back in town, I…
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Marlow Half Marathon 2021
This race has become a bit of a ritual for me and only partly due to the fact that my sister lives in Marlow and treats us to a calorie busting and cholesterol loaded lunch after the run – and she looks after the dog! But the race itself is wonderfully organised and takes you…
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Crowborough in the Van
31st October 2021 We wanted to go for an autumnal long-distance walk but it seemed diabolically difficult to get any Bed and Breakfast accommodation so we decided to just get out of town in the camper van. As we didn’t want to spend our precious little time driving for too long, we decided to book…
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The Taylors Paraffin Cooker!
The look of dismay on Dom’s face when he saw that Sumara had a Taylors paraffin cooker was rather alarming. I think he might have even exclaimed something unpublishable. Memories flooded back of him attempting to light the very same beast on Will Stirling’s yacht in Greenland. The burners needed to be pre-heated with both…
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Varnishing – with traditional yacht varnish
Reading time: 20 minutes The most common comment that I receive when people walk past the fully varnished Sumara is: “Looks great but, wow, what a lot of work!” It does indeed involve a lot of work to keep a varnished yacht looking nice and shiny, but probably not nearly as much as many people…
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It’s a total cover up!
Probably the best investment I ever made for Sumara was her heavy canvas cover. It was Coombes Boatyard in Bosham who organised my first one which was basically a rectangle of heavy tarpaulin canvas with eyelets around the edges. It lasted over 20 years. My new one is marginally shaped at the bow but overwise…