-
New Vertue Spotted – Merganser V47
We were launching our little dinghy during the bank holiday weekend that the weather forecasters said would be glorious blue skies with temperatures in the mid-twenties but were surprised to find ourselves wearing our Rab belay jackets and the poor dog started shivering! A nice man who I have met before and completely forgotten his…
-
Ben Lora
As Sumara is locked away in the shed and I am not allowed to work on her until Monday it means that I have some time to fill. As I sat in the campervan I could see a lovely hill across the loch, so I decided to climb up it. I say climb, but it…
-
New Vertue Spotted – Outlander Vertue II
Well not quite “newly spotted” as I knew that Ranulph had his Vertue 2 moored at Dunstaffnage. It has a small bowsprit which must add to the marina mooring fees, but as Ranulph is the Marina Manager I suppose that isn’t too much of an issue! There are many different rigs on Vertues. The common…
-
The Annual Maintenance 2021
Part 1 I’m now half-way through my allotted time in Scotland to carry out the annual chores, or maybe joys, depending on how things are working out. Firstly, I must admit, it is a bit of a pain having the boat 500 miles from home. You can’t just decide “Oh it looks like a nice…
-
I’ve just turned the fridge off!
The campervan fridge is set at 3 degrees and is working fine but, despite it being May, it is actually slightly colder outside! So, the beers will sit out there this evening while I bask under the Eberspacher heater to warm up. Yes, it is varnishing time in Scotland and it will pose the usual…
-
Mending things is in vogue! The Sailrite LZ1 sewing machine in action
South Dock 4th May 2021 A couple of years ago I bought a Sailrite sewing machine. After an initial burst of enthusiasm it ended up in the garage. If you don’t know these machines, they are seriously tough but they are also very heavy, so when a little mending job cropped up it was too…
-
Welcome to the NEW Sumara of Weymouth website!
Well, I’m say that assuming you are reading this in the middle of April 2021 but if by the wonders of Google you stumble upon this in April 2026 then “Welcome to the 5 year anniversary of the updated Sumara of Weymouth Website”. If you are reading this in 2026 can you tell me if…
-
What’s Bubbling for 2021 and 2022
It has been a longstanding ambition of mine to sail Sumara to Scoresby Sund. Scoresby Sund is the longest fjord in the world and is situated in the high Arctic on the Eastern seaboard of Greenland. We made a half-hearted attempt to get there after climbing Beerenberg on Jan Mayen in 2011, but in reality,…
-
Sumara of Weymouth has a ReFit
In 2018 the engineer at Pin Mill told me that he felt the life of Sumara’s engine was coming to an end and it could conk out at any time. He had replaced the inboard shaft bearing but it continued to spray some oil. Maybe the pressure was building up? Then my friend Philip told…
-
Scoresby Sund – or not?
Some people dream of rounding Cape Horn, some people dream of going through Havengore Creek – a far more risky adventure in my opinion. I dream about sailing to Scoresby Sund. We made a half-hearted attempt in 2011 after sailing Sumara to Jan Mayen but we were stupidly early and the ice was fast all…