Bank holiday sail at Rutland Water

Seizing the moment - and before the,‘ Aqua-park' season - this was an enjoyable sail in F4 easterly conditions.

13.0 nm

Rutland Water

It's not been a great September.  The Hickling Broad rally had to be cancelled due to a poor forecast.  The diary dictates that October may well not be any better.  This weekend had the potential to be a mini-cruise but yesterday's weather destroyed that prospect.  So, today's sail was just a token of what might have been. 
As wild as conditions were 24 hours previously, today they were almost benign.  I had to row out of Whitwell Creek before there was any sense of a breath of wind.  But then things picked up for a pleasant, if slow sail up the northern arm of the water. 

5.5nm

So, it could well be that this is the last sail before mid November - but we'll have to see what opportunities open up. 

Rutland Water Rally, July 7th 2018

Splendid view of Rutland Water.  Winds were light, but once they got going there was sailing to be done!

This was the first time I had tried organising a one day rally - that is: turn up on the day, sail and go home.  The rally happened this way really out of necessity, and was a qualified success.  The sailing was great, but it would have been good to meet up and chat with some of the participants.  I didn't really manage to meet everyone.

Lugger Florence

Participating boats were:
Coasters: Daisy II, Bundy Bear, Eileen Rona
LBC: Rachel
Luggers: Florence, An Dobhrain
Dabber: Gannet
BC23: Kestrel
Lune Pilot: Moon River

Drascombes mixing with the locals. Rutland Water is the largest inland lake in the UK by surface area, eclipsed in volume by the deeper Kielder Reservoir.

 We spent the morning struggling, in varied winds, to navigate the northern branch of Rutland Water.  We returned to Whitwell Creek for lunch.  In the afternoon, a slightly steadier breeze helped us over to the southern branch.

Fellow Drascomber bringing along a Lune Pilot, Moon River, for some variety

Coaster Bundy Bear



Daisy II



With the GoPro fish-eye view, this shot up the mainsail didn't really work...!

I left the ship's battery at home; this track was made using Strava, pretending I was in a kayak, since this App doesn't have a sailing option...14.8nm

Rutland Water - pre-rally sail

Next week sees us return to Rutland Water for a another Drascombe Rally.  We haven't been there for a while.
More to the point, I haven't been to Rutland on a hot summer's day for many years - ever?  It was very busy - they've opened this Aquapark thing which rather gets in the way, but once out on the water, it's just as splendid a place to sail as ever.

Daisy II waiting patiently amongst the froth...

Once out on the water, conditions were pretty much perfect.

 Winds were F4/5 E, with occasional lulls.  It's always good to sail at Rutland since there are no tides and they don't permit engine use.  Leaving the big lump at home lightens up the stern, and we can really see how our boats perform.  Today was all about exploring both arms of the water, ready for the rally next Saturday.

15.3nm

Rutland Water

A hugely enjoyable if rather cold day sailing at Rutland Water...

11.6nm

Rutland Water, 2nd October

Traditional rig on Rutland Water

The season is fast passing by and, even before allowing for inclement October weather, precious few free days remain in a busy diary. So, it's important to seize the day with a quick Sunday trip to Rutland Water.

Dabber Serendipity from a distance

Let's enjoy the view while we can

|Looking across at the south shore

9.9nm

Rutland Water and gunwale maintenance

'Twas branded a birthday sail this, since the skipper has one such event on Monday.  Hence, Daisy II was once again graced with crew.  In fact, five filled the cockpit and there seemed to be space for us all.  Rutland Water was the venue, for my first time this season in a Drascombe.

Winds were generally exceptionally light so we were never going to trouble any distance records.  In fact, it made better sense to stick around the Whitwell Creek area just in case we had to row back - there being no private outboards permitted on this reservoir.

What follows is nothing more than a set of family snaps.  But, they do confirm once again that happy sailors are Drascombe sailors!

5.2nm

Ongoing maintenance

The other weekend activity has been a complete rethink on the wooden capping on the gunwales.  Previously, I've been an advocate of Sadolin which has served well whilst the boat is on a mooring since it maintains its colour throughout the season, is tough and durable.  However, it is just brown paint, at the end of the day, and the wood probably deserves better than this. Now I'm keeping her at home, a more aesthetically pleasing solution is called for.  So far, I've used a mixture of Nitromors and general scraping to bring the stern end back to bare wood.  Fortunately, it's been a remarkably straight forward job thus far.  Watch this space!

Rutland Water, Drascombe Association Rally, 10-11 May 2014

Coaster Valentine enjoying a reach up the northern arm of Rutland Water in a rare moment where winds eased sufficiently to deploy the camera.

A return to Rutland Watersports at Rutland Water for a second Drascombe Association rally in recent years.  Last time, two years ago, the weather was perishingly cold.  This time, true to the forecast, conditions were very breezy with frequent passing squalls, although the Met Office's predicted winds averaging 22 knots and gusting to 38 knots ( that's F6 gusting 8 on my Beaufort Wind Scale) always seemed a little overstated except perhaps during the squalls.   The prospect of this put off some skippers and those who attended wondered whether any sailing would be done.  In the event, seven boats attended with three other groups of association members attending without boats but to enjoy the spectacle, camaraderie and sailing which was challenging but somehow didn't really seem quite as bad as we had been led to believe.

Boats attending:
Coasters: Daisy II, Martha, Valentine and Pamela.
Dabbers: Teifi Bach and Bob'n Annie
Scaffie: Scylla

Launching for most was on Saturday morning; others turned up later.

Coaster Pamela negotiating the slipway on Saturday evening.

Dabber Teifi Bach rigging on Saturday morning.

Facilities at Whitwell Creek (Rutland Watersports) continue to be very good with an excellent, wide slipway, and plenty of room for laying up.  The sports centre are also very accommodating and helpful.  They have finally added a second pontoon and were happy for three coasters owners to sleep aboard on Saturday evening.

Dabber Bob'n Annie readying herself for sailing action

Coasters Daisy II and Martha with Dabber Bob'n Annie

Valentine departs for a sail

Winds were westerly F5 with stronger gusts.  Whitwell Creek itself was nicely sheltered from this hefty breeze but, out on the water, the fun started and it was rather difficult to use a camera.  Hence, action shots were limited to the one shot of video above of Valentine during a comparative lull in the weather. In general, jib and mizzen were the order of the day with trips limited to relatively short outings, usually abruptly ended by being chased back into Whitwell Creek by an oncoming squall!  However, Daisy II's maximum speed of 7.0 knots was clocked up on a run soon after the above video was taken - 7.0 knots with part-furled jib and mizzen might give an idea of the strength of the wind during some of those gusts!

I was grateful to Rob for crewing all weekend - unusual for me not to be sailing single handed.

Daisy II

The following pictures were taken by one of the participants who came without boat but made good use, nonetheless, of the excellent land-based amenities at Rutland Water.

Bob'n Annie and Daisy II readying themselves for cast off

Daisy II unsuccessfully racing the kayaks in flukey winds

Bob'n Annie casts off

Daisy II on the water

Back to my own pictures...

Coaster Pamela returning to base

Dabber Bob'n Annie returning from a sail.

Orange, yellow and green tracks on Saturday; pink on Sunday.  Total distance sailed 10.8nm

Next week's plan is to return to the Orwell for four months of east coast based sailing until the Broads rally in September.