March 02, 2010

Unseen Ninjod OSTAR Pictures

Uwe of FanFan very kindly sent me these pictures yesterday. The head torch is an indication that I had been down below messing with water ballast levers.

Posted by ninjod at 09:40 AM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2009

All Over

I had to make a decision today. Having worked on the boat all morning the decision was pretty much made for me. Those 1st 3 days had taken their toll on both me and on Ninjod. When cleaning out the water from her this morning I discovered the following damage to one of the bulk heads.

Hugh came with a battery tester to check my service batteries. They were fine !! Why then could I only pump in a relatively small amount of power? The answer came in the guise of a very small green wire. This small green wire is responsible to the regulator sensor and mine had broken. Once reconnected everything began to do what it was supposed to do.

I am covered in bruises. Some of the more easier to photo are:

Royal Cork Yacht Club Marine have very kindly giving me free berthing for a few days while I sought my problems out. My father is currently scheduled to arrive tomorrow. The plan is to get back to Suffolk before next weekend. This is my last OSTAR blog..Next in 4 years !!

P

Posted by ninjod at 03:36 PM | Comments (7)

May 29, 2009

Change of plan - Into Cork

The wind has backed further and Paul found in teh night that he couldn't lay Land's End and was making a lot of leeway in trying. The new plan is to get into Cork, which he is laying. He should be there early tomorrow with any luck.

Posted by ninjod at 08:46 AM | Comments (5)

May 28, 2009

Back to Falmouth

I have just spoken to Paul and he is now making his way steadily back to Falmouth. He was less emotional than this morning, and mainly annoyed at himself for not buying new/spare wet gear. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I guess whatever may have broken on the way we would have thought we should have fixed earlier. Still, he is safe and that's all I am interested in. He asked me to read him some of the messages on the website, and was very grateful for everyone's best wishes and the fact that you were all watching his progress. As well as the comments that appear here, there have also been many phone calls, emails and texts from people wanting to show their support, which is great. I will continue to update until he back safe on dry land, where many decisions will need to be made...

Posted by ninjod at 07:31 PM | Comments (6)

Turning round

Those of you that are picking up the wav files will know already that Paul is making his way into Falmouth. He has had no wet gear since day 1, having been knocked by a wave which led to them ripping very badly. Tape didn't do the job so he ended up very cold and without any more dry clothes. On top of this one of his diesel cans leaked (my fault), leaving him feeling sick to the point where all he has had since he left on Monday is half a packet of peanuts. And then his ballast tank started to leak. He made the very tough decision this morning to turn round and head for Falmouth. There he can rest, get some wet gear and decide if he wants to continue. He is gutted as the boat was doing pretty well and he was really ready for this challenge. We are all gutted.

Posted by ninjod at 11:54 AM | Comments (9)

May 25, 2009

The Start

I know that Paul and Ninjod have many followers so I (Jan) am going to do my best to keep you up to date with information. Of course the blog will be updated daily, but I plan to keep in touch with Paul too so will post any additional news. I know he really appreciates all of the good wishes be has been receiving, so if you have any comments please post them and I will try to ensure that they get through.

So...the start. The wind was light this morning and in the North - kite start! No pressure. We rigged the boat and then said our goodbyes. Paul was very nervous by this point. I managed to get a ride out to watch the start with Colin Drummond on Sleuth Hound, which intially I was very excited about, but then did not know if I coud cope with being that close to the action. We were expecting a very line shy fleet, especially given that the penalty for being over the line at any time after the 10 minute warning signal was 30 minutes for every second over the line. With 1 minute to go, Paul still did not have a headsail up and I was starting to think he did not know when the start was. He then jumped into action and pulled the headsail up. Rob in Jbellino and Barry in Dinah made a real race of it, and were first and second over the line. Paul got a pretty good start, about 8th over the line, and most of the fleet were over the line within a couple of minutes. It turned out to be quite a shy kite and only a couple of boats went for it. Oscar on King of Shave was one and we all feared he wouldn't lay the breakwater. We cheered everyone over the start line and I got some pictures which I hope to upload tomorrow.

Posted by ninjod at 04:50 PM | Comments (3)

May 24, 2009

The Microblog

During the race the micro blog will get updated

CLICK THIS LINK TO BE TAKEN TO THE MICRO BLOG

Posted by ninjod at 11:06 PM | Comments (2)

Race Day Looms...

I am currently sitting in a hotel room typing this ahead of tomorrows start. It has been a bit of a roller coaster day for me.

The skippers briefing took place this morning and I wasn't feeling my best during that. No big surprises during the briefing just an early start tomorrow.

Jan and my father helped me a huge amount today by taking NINJOD off to a remote mooring to meet a diver called Nick. Nick then cleaned the bottom of the boat making sure no nastiness was clinging to the bottom. It all counts !!!

During the afternoon the boat was cleaned, non slip stuff was stuck on the floor beneath the steps and everything else was stowed. Everything not needed for the crossing was taken off of the boat.

A large chunk of my family then made me very happy by turning up to wish me well. My fave cousin Laura and her smashing husband Chris turned up. Laura made me a lovely cake shaped like a lady !!

My brother Daniel, his lovely wife Clare and their young son Charlie arrived. Charile came aboard and met Monty. They seemed to get along very well.

My other brother Marc, his wife Clare and their children Charlotte and Calum arrived. Charlotte is in love with her boyfriend and Calum is a rocking drummer.

During beers with the entire clan there were moments when I felt a little emotional and overwhelmed by it all...

Posted by ninjod at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2009

Shore Crew arrives!

Jan arrived just after midnight last night after a long drive from Suffolk. Most of the final jobs have been done now and we are just stowing everything ready for the off.

Posted by ninjod at 05:53 PM | Comments (2)

Bonding

This afternoon RWYC arranged for the OSTAR competitors and their chums to take a river boat trip to the idilic location of Pentillie Castle.

When we arrived we were presented with lots of Isle of White Vodka ( thanks to Hannah's sponsor ) and some rather lovely food.

Posted by ninjod at 12:05 AM | Comments (3)

May 21, 2009

New Pole

Finished sorting out my new spinnaker pole today. The challenge was to make a multi purpose pole one that is sorted for both symmetrical and asymmetrical kites.

The new pole has bungi spectra bridles top and bottom. Snap shackles replace the fixed shackles that attach the bridle to the pole down haul points on deck. This is the standard configuration for my symmetrical kites.

When asymmetrical kites are required the snap shackle is removed from the center of the pole and attached to a webbing strap. The 2 snap shackles connecting the the lower bridle blocks to the deck are moved forward to a pad eye and the end of the pole becomes very stable and restricted in its ability to move aft.

Posted by ninjod at 07:10 PM | Comments (0)

Even More Arrivals

Today saw more of the fleet arrive in QAB. Some of the fleet anarchists went straight to a more cosy marina ( can't say I blame them... snag... snag... ).

Having dismissed all his own advice about early preparation and an early arrival Jerry on Q2 ( the lovely boat below ) arrived today.

Posted by ninjod at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2009

More Arrivals

Some more arrivals today...

And.. my replacement AIS unit arrived. I have just finished installing it and it all now works.

Posted by ninjod at 05:37 PM | Comments (1)

May 19, 2009

Solutions

Thanks to the team at Allspars the new forestay is now installed and the rig has been completely checked and tuned.

Finally the kind people at Weatherdock, makers of EASYTRX, my AIS transponder have shipped me a replacement unit free of charge to solve my firmware upgrade problem. It should be here tomorrow.

Posted by ninjod at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)

This mornings arrivals

Rob and Karen on Jbellino, Will on Elmarleen, Rubicon and Calystene

Posted by ninjod at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Problems

Currently sitting on board NINJOD without a forestay. Turns out the rod that was put on back in 2007 was at the limit of its capabilities and susceptible to a fair amount of stretch. Allspars are currently building the new beefed up forestay.

Also following a firmware upgrade on my EASYTRX AIS unit last night it decided to stop working. I get some data out of it but it never actually fully boots up.

Ho hum..

Posted by ninjod at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2009

Registration Complete

Armed with a pack of paperwork I went off to the race office at 10:45 this morning. The race office team sped through the process of ensuring I had all the right documents. I am now pleased to report that I have ticked all the right boxes and am registered in the race.

The OSTAR flag sits in the cabin as it is still blowing 30 knots here.

Posted by ninjod at 01:09 PM | Comments (1)

First Get Together

With RWYC closed a crowd of 13 including a number of skippers and their shore support/family went for a couple of beers and some grub last night at the Barbican in down town Plymouth. All very sociable and nice to finally put some faces to the names I have seen so many times on emails and mailing lists.

Posted by ninjod at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)

Pure Solo

Hannah and her man ( sorry, dont know his name )arrived yesterday evening in Pure Solo, her Figaro 2

Posted by ninjod at 07:46 AM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2009

Job Done !

Jan and I arrived at QAB in Plymouth on Friday night. We spent all day Saturday and most of Sunday morning completing the last few tasks ahead of the race. The weather this weekend has been pretty poor with strong winds and rain being served up most of the time.

After numerous shopping trips to the local chandlery and supermarkets the boat is stocked up and everything has been stowed away. More meths for the stove, more fresh water for drinking and more mars bars for when eating is important but conditions prevent food preparation.

The galley is now organised. We have made use of the space beneath the stove by installing a webbing bag across the space. large items (pots and pans etc.) sit behind the bag while utensils required for cooking sit in the bag.

There is no wet locker as such in NINJOD and where to hang wet gear has always been a problem. Jan purchased some M8 eye nuts and attached them to the back of the studs from our previously installed external grab bars that are just outside of the hatch. She then cut cord at different lengths, put a hook on each cord and tied them to the eye bolts. With the same thing on boat port and starboard we know have lots of hanging hooks and space for wet gear.

With Jan now on her way home I am now alone on NINJOD. Tomorrow morning I will take my pack of documents up to the race office and register.

I write this from NINJOD while listening to Fever Ray wondering what to do now.. Perhaps some beer !

Posted by ninjod at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2009

Saturday Morning - 35 Knots in QAB

Jan and I arrived last night, had a quick beer and climbed on board NINJOD. It wasn't the best night as the wind has been blowing hard since we arrived. We are rafted out beside DINAH and have a large Sigma outside of us.

There are a few competitors here now.

Posted by ninjod at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)

May 07, 2009

Pole Envy

I have to admit something publicly. When I arrived at Plymouth and saw Dinah I got spinnaker pole envy. Dinah's spinnaker pole looked lovely and on NINJOD aside from the hull the spinnaker pole was one of the few things I had not go around to replacing.

The problem with being ready a few weeks ahead of race day is that you start to go through everything over and over again, "am I ready??", "what if I break this.. " etc. etc.

By yesterday morning I was convinced my asymmetric spinnaker performance was going to be impacted by my old shoddy spinnaker pole.

By this morning I had ordered a new spinnaker pole from Andy and the chaps at All Spars in Plymouth.

"But its an upwind race" I hear you cry..

"But what if bits of it are not" is my response and justification for the expense.

Oh dear..

Posted by ninjod at 03:59 PM | Comments (3)

May 05, 2009

Plymouth Delivery Trip

On Friday at 1730 Jan, my father Phil and I left Suffolk Yacht Harbour at Levington bound for Plymouth on our non stop delivery trip.

The first part of our trip, down the east coast from Harwich to Dungeness was dictated by wind direction. Basically with the wind on the nose we did a fair bit of tacking. Our route took us out to Long Sand Head, around the outside of the Thames Estuary and around the outside of the Goodwin sands. At one point during the night we were contacted by a patrol who redirected further east around some unlit structures that are destined to become another wind farm.

Tacking between the shipping lanes and a few miles offshore in fairly light winds ( 10-12 knots ) we made slow progress. When the tide turned against us our over the ground speeds dropped to between 3.5 and 4 knots. Things became very depressing during those moments.

Still we soldiered on past Beachy Head, Selsey and St Katherines point. At one point while offshore between Swanage and Weymouth we actually found ourselves going backwards on one tack.. Grrrr the tide was strong !!

When we got into Lyme Bay the wind freed a little. We were still heading upwind but the wind angle finally allowed us to make our course without tacking. Boat speeds rose into the 8/9 knots region. The wind speed rose and at one point in 25 knots true we briefly considered a putting a reef in the mainsail.

Finally, 2 days and 15 hours later we arrived. The direct route between our home berth and Plymouth is 300 nautical miles long however I guess with all the tacking we must have covered at least 350 nautical miles.

Posted by ninjod at 11:18 AM | Comments (1)

April 26, 2009

Glassy Smooth

NINJOD was lifted out of the water on Friday for a thorough clean and smoothing/flatting of the hull. As you can see from the picture above the underside is now very smooth and has an almost glass like finish. My thanks to Olly and Ian at Speedmarine for helping me out.

Good hull prep is important, even a 0.1% speed improvement can make a massive difference over a race like the OSTAR.

The new bits for the first aid kit were put on board today and a final ISAF category 1 check was also completed

Next stop Plymouth.. We leave Friday evening.

Posted by ninjod at 08:53 PM | Comments (1)

April 20, 2009

Weather to sail

This last weekends work was all about weather. Jerry of Petit Bateau had organized sailor and meteorologist Chris Tibbs to run an OSTAR weather training session on the Isle of Wight in Cowes. Jan and I arrived Saturday afternoon to participate in the prize giving and the drinking of beers for the RIOW solo race at the Island Sailing Club.

I was clearly moved in someway by all of this on Saturday night, perhaps it was the wine, perhaps it was seeing old chums, in either case later that evening I ended up sleep walking through the halls of our hotel naked before bumping into other guests. On Sunday morning I was not sure if it had all been a dream or not but when Jan pointed out that the hotel room door was open we hastily had some breakfast and left for the Cowes Combined Clubs.

Chris Tibbs gave the skippers and shore crew of the 7 boats present an excellent insight into what can be expected in the OSTAR 2009 race. In summary :

Phase 1 - Navigating the headlands and out of the English channel approaches past the South West Coast of Ireland. We discussed wind tunneling effects between peninsulas/headlands.

Phase 2 - The open water leg. Upwind with depressions (lows) rolling over the top of you on a regular basis. We talked about how to navigate the many weather fronts we will encounter and where best to position ourselves to take advantage of the weather systems.

Phase 3 - Nearly there, tired and approaching the Grand Banks. The final thousand miles or so and depending on how far north each skipper decided to go during phase 2 we will be faced with fog and the potential of ice bergs. The currents of the gulf stream are strong and run in the opposite direction of travel, slowing down the boats considerably.

By the end of the day many, myself included, where asking why the devil we are doing this daft race. Nobody really had a convincing answer yet I doubt any will pull out of it, I don't plan to !

Posted by ninjod at 05:38 AM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2009

NINJOD Qualifies for OSTAR 2009

Today I received confirmation from the Royal Western Yacht Club that NINJOD and I have now qualified for the 2009 OSTAR. Next stop Plymouth.

Posted by ninjod at 06:05 PM | Comments (0)

April 14, 2009

Sleep and sailing alone

Where do you sleep ? Do you anchor when you sleep ? How much sleep do you get ? I have been asked all of these questions on a number of occasions. Every skippers answers will differ. Mine are as follows:

Where do you sleep ?
NINJOD has a lot of space below for sleeping. I use the main saloon area. Either side of the main saloon is a long seat that doubles up as a bunk. Each bunk has a very large lee cloth that stops me falling out when NINJOD is leaning over.

The port (left) side is my dry bunk. It has a waterproof Ocean Sleep Ware sleeping bag and an Ocean Sleep Ware pillow case. The dry bunk is only used when I take all my wet gear off (rarely !!) or am in port.

The starboard (right) side of the main saloon area is my wet bunk. I picked this side because it has the chart table on it and I am very likely to sit at the chart table in wet gear. I spoke with Clare at Ocean Sleep Ware and after some discussion she made me a couple of 2 meter square Ocean Rugs. These are basically micro fleece blankets backed with a waterproof Exeat outer layer. One of the blankets is wrapped around the cushion, the other covers me and moves about the boat as required. I have another Ocean Sleep Ware pillow case this side, these are basically waterproof fleece pillow cases that you can put what you want in. In my case some of my spare clothes live inside them.

The roaming rug is very nice in the cuddy. Over easter while out in the North Sea it started to rain. I sat with the blanket wrapped around me in the cuddy, the waterproof outer backing layer kept me dry.

Very warm, very functional, very comfortable.

Do you anchor when you sleep ?
Nope, I try to keep the boat moving. I have a number of electronic systems and alarms that keep me on course and let me know if anything starts heading towards me. Most of the time NINJOD is steered by its NKE autopilot. The autopilot steers a course relative to the true wind direction. The wind is rarely constant in direction or force, each little knock or gust (lift) is automatically handled by the autopilot. If a large wind shift occurs, something that will change my course significantly, a loud alarm sounds.

How much sleep do you get ?
This varies from skipper to skipper, for me on NINJOD I have system that seems to work well. My alarm clock is a Screaming Meanie 220, it is VERY loud. I try to write a log entry every hour or so and as evenings draw in I use an hourly cycle to manage log entries, watch keeping and sleep.

For example, if I log at 20:00 I then spend the next 30 minutes checking navigation, keeping watch, trimming sails etc. The final 30 minutes of the cycle are spent sleeping in the wet bunk. When the Screaming Meanie sounds at 21:00 I get up, have a quick look about, log and start the process over again.

Obviously conditions dictate a lot of what can be done and when it can be done but this simple routine works well for me. If I get thrown out of sync I do my best to get it back in a routine as quickly as possible. I don't usually feel tired the following day with this pattern, If I do I pop a 30 minute sleep in during the middle of the afternoon.

Posted by ninjod at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)

March 30, 2009

Sailing & Snagging

Lots of upwind sailing this weekend.

The 1st problem encountered happened as soon as I hit the auto button on my autopilot remote control, we instantly veered off course. After much swearing and cursing I discovered my spare autopilot remote control in the chart table under lots of stuff. The buttons on it were being pressed in.

The plate around the mast at deck level was lifted and re-bedded. Hopefully the indoor shower leak I had has now been resolved.

Some new heavy duty Wichard blocks from Proboat have been installed.

My Iridium satellite phone hookup has been tested. I am using UGRIB for weather data and ONSATMAIL for onboard email and access to weather fax/ice charts.

Finally Monty had a super time...

Posted by ninjod at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2009

First Sail - A Success

Saturday Jan, my father Phil and I finished off the last few jobs and cleared all the power tools off of NINJOD. With only 7 to 10 knots of wind we dropped our mooring lines and headed out into the river Orwell under engine power.

We pointed NINJOD into the wind and hoisted the mainsail, putting all 3 reefs in as it was hoisted. The headsail followed the mainsail and as we bore away pressure built and the engine was stopped.. phew what a relief to actually be sailing after all the hard work that has been put in.

The light winds gave us a chance to really look at everything. The hanked on headsail set nicely, the batten tension was good and after some adjustment the lazy jacks stopped their flapping.

We headed to wind beating up the river and as the boat speed rose the apparent wind speed increased. With 15 knots of apparent breeze the wind generator spun at a spectacular rate, generating enough power to run all the instruments, the laptop and the autopilot that was steering the boat. The bus voltage was pushed up to 14 volts and 2 amps were being pumped into the batteries. This was really good news as it means that in relatively light conditions I can generate enough power to match the amount of power I consume.

After sailing up and down the river a few times it was time to head back to the marina. I wanted to see what would happen if I let the halyards holding each sail up run free. The headsail was first and as hoped the sail dropped nicely onto the foredeck with minimal hassle and, thanks to the hanks, with no chance of the sail going over the side. We headed into the wind again for the mainsail drop. As the mainsail halyard was released the sail fell at speed. The lazy jacks did their job and gathered the large sail into its folds with no assistance.

Although I do not plan on fully dropping the mainsail in the race there will be occasions when I might have to drop it slightly for reefing or even fully if the weather becomes very extreme. The lazy jacks provide a great way of managing the mainsail and give me a chance to sort myself and it out without filling up the cockpit up with it or worst still, loosing it over the side.

Posted by ninjod at 05:53 AM | Comments (0)

Food

A fair bit of thought has had to go into food for this trip. What to take, how much of it to take, the constraints of storage and preparation, these points are all more complicated when discussed in the context of living aboard a 35 foot yacht for 25 days (or more).

On the advise of some other more experienced sailors I contacted Ian at Expedition Foods. Ian very kindly sent me some samples of freeze dried products that we tried on sunday while working on the boat.

I now have an assortment of meals all carefully sealed in orange bags. Everything from porridge and sultanas to shepards pie is now stowed aboard NINJOD. The plan is to boil a kettle in the morning and fill a flask each day, pouring the water into my orange packet as and when I have time to eat.

I also purchased a second type of meal from Ian at Expedition Foods. These come in 2 parts. The 1st part is the meal itself, precooked in a vacuum packed bag. The 2nd is a heat bag. These bags have capsules in them that when mixed with a small amount of water generate enough heat to warm the food to a pleasant enough temperature to eat. These are my emergency meals because there will be days when I will be busy or it will be too dangerous to boil a kettle.

Finally I anticipate taking a few treats along to compliment the freeze dried food. Not sure what yet but know chocolate will be in the mix.

Posted by ninjod at 05:23 AM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2009

Some Introductions

A little under a week a go I met Pip Hildesley and her yacht "The Shed". Pip had recently arrived home from a 6,500 mile solo voyage from Uruguay back to Levington. Pip and "The Shed" are also competing in the OSTAR. Pip's race preparations now kick off at full speed.

Also last week while wondering through Spitalfields market in search of lunch I met Montgomery (Monty). We discussed sailing and he turned out to be keen on the idea of helping me out. As a result a financial transaction took place between myself and Monty's owner and I am now pleased to say that Monty will be making his way to Rhode Island with me via his own custom made swing (made by Jan). The new internal grab rails are proving to be useful already !

Posted by ninjod at 05:46 AM | Comments (0)

Charging Extravaganza

On Saturday my father Phil, Jan and I set about installing the solar panels and wind generator.

I wanted each of these components to be easily removable for when NINJOD is not participating in long offshore events.

The wind generator mount can be fairly simply and quickly removed and the cabling is split at deck level with a fairly heavy duty deck plug/socket combination. The solar panels proved a tad trickier as they are mounted onto either deck at the stern of the yacht. To achieve this expensive flush fixings with an internal M5 thread were bonded into the deck, 1 for each corner of each panel. When the bonding agent hardened the panels were screwed into the fixings. Each panels cabling is again split at deck level with a heavy duty plug/socket combo.

Switch on was very impressive. The wind generator spun into action fairly quickly and once we had worked out the different switch positions (brake, charge and something else) we saw power pumping into the batteries. The Morningstar MPPT solar regulator and array just worked,even in low light towards the end of the Saturday the solar array was producing 13.5 volts. When we returned on Sunday in glorious sunshine the batteries were fully charged and the array was producing over 17 volts.

Posted by ninjod at 05:25 AM | Comments (0)

March 08, 2009

Mainsail on. Lazyjacks tested. Windgen mount installed

Emily, Jan and I had a busy morning on the boat. 2 large boxes of stuff got taken to the boat and stowed away in different locations. Emily kept track of what went where so the stowage chart can now be updated.

The lazyjacks work well and the wind generator mount us now installed. It was very windy today so installlation of the generator itself will take place next weekend.

Posted by ninjod at 01:10 PM | Comments (1)

March 05, 2009

Lazy Jacks

I just arrived back at my desk to an email from Scott, my local sailmaker and chap responsible for building my lazy jack system. It turns out he has fitted them onto Ninjod. Here is the picture he sent me.

These should help me manage my rather large fully battened mainsail.

Posted by ninjod at 01:21 PM | Comments (0)

March 02, 2009

Nearly Ready

NINJOD came out of the shed towards the end of last week. Consequently instead of heading south to the Solo sailing festival Saturday and Sunday were spent completing jobs from the list.

The electronics have been re-commissioned
New clutches have been installed. New cams were installed for some of the existing ones.
The new water ballast pump was installed
The cuddy was installed
The new stove and gimbals were installed
Solar panel cabling and controller were installed
A huge amount of cabin bags were installed
The steps and chart table were sanded down and re-varnished.

We ( Jan, Phil and myself ) finished late on Sunday evening. I just managed to grab some snaps.

NINJOD will be put back into the water this week. The rig is due to be tuned, the lazy jack system is due to be installed, the wind generator platform will be installed this week and finally I will get my headsails back with hanks installed.

Posted by ninjod at 07:08 AM | Comments (1)

February 23, 2009

More refit news

After spending a week training in extreme temperatures (skiing) in Norway over half term I went to visit the boat yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by progress.

Mr Stainless has done a super job constructing my internal handrails. Basically they follow the lines of the headsail car track bolts. This means I have port and starboard grab rails the full length of the main cabin.

Mr Stainless also finished 2 new vanes for my ATOMS wind vane.

The reconstruction work around the keel pan looks like it is almost complete with the bilge having had a fresh flo-coat paint job.

A trimmed cuddy with window holes cut out was positioned for the last time and marked up for final trimming. Putting all the original shed related comments I received aside I must say I am pleased with how this is shaping up.

The tuff luff has been removed from the forestay ahead of the move to hanks for all headsails.

Ninjod is scheduled to come out of the shed this week. Next step is to fit all the new components that remain on the floor of our dinning room. Specifically, solar panels and new charge controller, windgen, stove, internal led lighting etc. etc.

Posted by ninjod at 05:54 AM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2009

Cuddy

The advice from those who know much more than me about OSTAR’s and solo sailing upwind was to get myself a spray hood or cuddy. Apparently it will be a “life saver”.

Sunday the 8th of Feb saw us sizing up version 1 of our JOD cuddy. The whole thing is designed to have me sitting inside it on washboard shelf protected from the elements, having tea and being able to play the piano...

Version 1 now needs 3 inches taken off the bottom of it as well as being shaped for the coach roof profile. Window positions have been decided and will now be cut out and installed on either side and on the front face. Winch handle testing was done and some minor modifications need to be made for me to be able to winch without hassle. Finally it will be painted.

Posted by ninjod at 09:59 AM | Comments (3)

January 19, 2009

New Year.... New News..

OSTAR Qualification Update

First off qualification. After trying to qualify and failing at the 400 nm mark (see previous post) it became apparent that qualification in late 2008 in the North Sea was going to be impossible. I made one more attempt at it but failed due to lack of wind. Basically Poor conditions, longer nights and a delay in getting the boat back after the 1st attempt were the cause. I know plan on qualifying in late March

Some more news..

My insurance renewal came around and Richard at Fastnet Marine did an excellent job of securing me general cover as well as cover for the OSTAR. A condition of the insurance was a survey so having investigated local surveyors I settled on Ian of ANDMarine Ltd. He did a super job and during the process discovered some gel cracks around the keel. As a result of this Ninjod was hauled and peeled to investigate the issue further. Following on from that NINJOD’s rig and keel have now been removed while the crazing is fixed under the supervision of Ian. The work is due to be complete in February.

I met some other OSTAR competitors at the boat show, Rob, Will, Oscar and Katie. We all swapped preparation stories. Aside from my keel problem, which is now outsourced to SYH, I think I have had it fairly easy.

This years boat show purchases include an AirBreeze wind generator and a new MPPT solar panel controller from Morningstar.
I have removed gas from Ninjod and plan to go with a Origo 3000 meths stove.

Mr Stainless at SYH are busy constructing new vanes for my Atoms as well as bespoke interior handrails and 2 external handrails.
Pretty much every Sunday between now and the end of February has been booked out for finishing off the jobs list.

Once re-launched I will commission every instrument, do some local sea trails and then head to the Plymouth qualifying on the way.

Happy New Year to you all.

Posted by ninjod at 04:19 PM | Comments (1)

August 26, 2008

OSTAR Qualification Cruise Update – The Problem

The reason for my engine failure turned out to be fairly simple, 2 gallons of sea water was found in my fuel tank. After a lengthy process of trying to work out how in got into the sealed tank Paul Peggs, owner of the original water ballasted JOD35 Audacious pointed me in the right direction.

Basically when the tanks were originally installed the starboard tank was left with the fuel tank breather running through it. This last winters rebuild of the tank must have damaged the hose because when tested under pressure it was found to leak.

I merrily sped across the North sea with my starboard tank full of sea water and every time I charged my batteries I pumped water into my fuel tank. Grrrr how annoying !

I now have to wait for the work to be completed on Ninjod before collecting her from Yarmouth and taking her back home to Levington.
I then need to attempt the qualification cruise again as (and understandably so) my 400 troublesome miles sailed last time were not enough and consequently not accepted.

Posted by ninjod at 07:06 AM | Comments (0)

August 19, 2008

Ostar Qualification Cruise..

Saturday morning and I arrived at NINJOD ready to undertake our OSTAR Qualification Cruise of 500 nautical miles. With spare fuel cans filled up and batteries completely charged I departed at 0830 UTC 16/08/2008.

At 0937 UTC I logged my passage information with Thames Coast Gaurd and headed towards my 1st mark just off of Texel. Wind conditions were excellent with an average wind speed of 20 knots true. The 1st leg to Texel was fast, we did it in 17 hours at an average speed of just under 8 knots.

Sleep management the 1st night went well. My screaming meanie woke me without any problems. I slept for 30 mins at a time. I logged hourly and spent my time trimming and keeping warm.

After turning back to England the wind was dead behind us. I then reached, gybe'd and reached my way back across the North sea making another fast passage with my speed over the ground regularly in excess of 10 knots.

My new AIS system was working well, sending out my position and allowing me to watch the shipping in my vicinity. I spent a lot of time staring at the screen and data on it. My pilot had done all the hard work at the helm.

My log then reads..

"Disaster, Big sqaul came through, reefed main, went to start engine to fill ballast tank and engine died. After much swearing and erratic course changes got engine working. Back on track but hand steering."

I managed another 26 miles or so in the right direction with the engine running however when I switched anything on that consumed any serious power plumes of smoke would come out of my exhaust and the engine would die. With the prospect of no power for any of my systems at just after 1900UTC I changed my plans, switched every non essential item off and headed towards home.

My 2nd night was a tough one. My Atoms windvane had broken (vane snapped off), my autopilot consumed too much power to be used and consequently I had to hand steer through the night. The south easterly wind direction meant I headed towards Cromer before then tacking out into the North sea again. My logging was non existent and my nav was driven by my handheld plotter that I switched on hourly before steering a compass course.

Between 0300 and 0400 on the morning of the 19th I went through the Viking offshore Gas field. While in there the wind dropped to under 5 knots and I struggled with both fatigue and conditions to avoid colliding with anything. Tiredness can kill and yes I did need a break but it was not possible. At one point I was convinced my love was on board and that I had a conversation with her. It was all very strange!

The wind built steadily after the Gas Field fiasco and averaged 25 knots true with a top gust just below 40 knots. Very tired I began to think about what I should do. I was beating into weather with no ballast on board and no functioning way of getting water on board (My manual pump decided to pump water into the boat instead of the ballast tank). My voltage was low, my VHF was reporting low voltage and I did not know at what point my basic instrumentation would stop working. A dash back to the River Orwell meant another day and night at sea or at best an arrival in the early hours. I knew I would not manage that in these conditions without any rest so I looked for an alternative. I decided on Lowestoft.

I sailed on towards Lowestoft with 30knots plus of wind over the deck. I got to within a hour or so of Lowestoft and called Yarmouth Coast guard to ask for assistance in entering the port. It was decided that Lowestoft was not the best place to attempt to get into given the conditions and that Gorelston lifeboat would attend to tow me into Yarmouth. At around 1230 (I think) the lifeboat arrived. The swell prevented the crew from putting anybody on board so I was asked to sail to shallower water following them in the hope that a boarding might be easier. Unfortunately this was not to be and hearing our plight a local dredger offered to create a lee for us. In dropping the sails before the attempt at boarding took place I was thrown violently across the boat onto my back; I landed on the boot rail. I screamed with pain and then attempted to carry on in serious discomfort.

With sails down and the lee in place the crew expertly positioned themselves and boarding was successful. Once in place a long tow was configured and a drouge laid out behind Ninjod to stop her surfing past the lifeboat in the huge swell.

With my back damaged and top half of my my right leg experiencing an extreme pins and needles type pain a paramedic was asked to be at the town quay in Yarmouth to check me out.

When we arrived (not sure what time!!) the lifeboat crew expertly secured Ninjod and I got checked out by the paramedics. The pins and needles was my sciatic nerve playing up after the fall. My back is very badly bruised.

The Coast Guard were waiting to talk to me when I was finished with the paramedics. They, in conjunction with the lifeboat crew recommended I see Goodchild Marine services. I called them and Harry, an engineer arrived was on the boat just after 0800 this morning to work out what is wrong with the engine.

I now write this update from somewhere inside the broads at Goodchild Marines facility after a somewhat eventful tow from Yarmouth town quay.

2nd update.. My fuel supply had lots of water in it.. not sure why as filler cap's o rings are good and cap was tight. Goodchild continues to investigate.

The picture below is what I actually ended up doing. I sailed 400 nautical miles... I will submit it to the Royal Western along with this account in the hope that they accept it as I dont see another 500nm mile attempt possible this year.

Lessons learnt

I had lots of backup systems for everything except power generation. I had solar but nowhere near enough and there was not a lot of sun about during the trip. I will investigate what else I can use for power generation (Wind, Fuel Cell, Genset etc.. )

I am not sure why the vane on my wind vane snapped off.. The bottom half of the vane is still in its mount. Need to work out why !!

Sleep management was good when everything worked and impossible when everything broke. What do other people do ?? Need to investigate

Portable logging.. I was stuck on helm. I needed a pocket log and had nothing.. I will get one !!

What was wrong with my manual pump for the ballast system. Beating without ballast in a JOD solo in strong winds is very hard !!

Qualification cruises in the North Sea are very hard even before you have problems.

Posted by ninjod at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2008

OSTAR Qualifier

This coming weekend Ninjod and I make our first and hopefully last attempt at a qualification cruise for next years OSTAR race. We have to sail 500 nautical miles non stop without aid from anyone else.

The plan originally was to sail to Oslo but as with all plans this year this was subject to change. Consequently now the qualification cruise will now start and finish just outside of Suffolk Yacht Harbour with points in between dictated by weather and conditions. Texel and somewhere north of Bridlington are current favorites.

I plan to send position reports each day at midday and these will be found here..

Posted by ninjod at 10:33 AM | Comments (1)