Last Friday was a strange serendipity. We'd had a gig booked the diary for months, yet after last Saturday's gig, Jay (my brother, our bassist) mentioned that Matt (our guitarist and adopted brother) had told him that he was away this weekend, had told me, so wasn't playing any Friday gig.
Which would've been the second diary catastrophe he's had this year. Unusual, out of character, but stupidly infuriating. I went to bed that Saturday night (well, early hours Sunday morning) angry, to say the least. Woke up Sunday morning, decided I'd go sailing before confronting him and dealing with the problem.
In between races, I had a text message from the Friday venue's contact, apologising profusely, but explaining he'd double booked us so they'd have to cancel. He promised he'd make it up to us with next year's bookings. Bemused at such a turn of luck, I gracefully accepted the cancellation, and perhaps failed to mention that he'd only just beaten me to the punch with the cancellation.
Later on, finally talking to Matt, he explained that he'd got himself in a muddle talking to Jamie, and once he'd got home that night had checked his diary, realised that the gig had been written in for ages (in his wife's handwriting) so he wasn't going away for the rest of the weekend with his family until after the gig had been done.
I told him the gig had already been cancelled. And, despite the temptation to hold the details back, did eventually explain to him why, and that it wasn't his fault.
Somethings are meant to be. Somethings are clearly not.
All this is merely prelude, however. With the gig cancelled, I took a look at the forecast for the weekend. Friday was gorgeous: clear skies, wind F3 to 4 from south of south-east, temperature in the mid-20's. Saturday's forecast was squally rain and generally quite horrid. Sunday was grey, a little cooler but with Saturday's squalls blown through, leaving a light breeze still south of south-east, and the possibility of showers but not until the afternoon.
Friday 7th : Portishead to Cardiff
(18.8 nautical miles, 3 hours 55 minutes underway)
The Bristol Channel Cruising Association was holding a rally on Mermaid Quay in Cardiff over the weekend, alongside an "International Food and Drinks Festival" being held by the town on shore. Dad had mentioned an interest in going; the conditions looked so very tempting, so I booked Friday off work and Dad booked a 1300 lock that would take us down channel with the Friday afternoon ebb.
Friday morning was fraught and rushed, a dentist appointment at 0900 followed by an unexpected trip to the vet with Lottie for 1000, a critical visit but nothing serious. But all ran to the clock, and with dentist and vet done I was on the road with Dad and heading down to the marina for a little after 1100.
By 1250 we'd been aboard an hour already, the boat set up to depart, and were casting off for our 1300 lock. The sun was bright above, the day lovely and warm. Nudging out of the lock gates to join the falling tide at 1315, we found the estuary waters barely ruffled by a fresh breeze coming fine off the land. Within ten minutes, the engine was stilled and the sails up, the first reef in the main and a couple of conservative rolls left in the genoa.
We were heeled over, close hauled to port, Welsh Hook a little under a mile ahead of us, making 8.5 knots over the ground with the running tide. The breeze was a steady F4, peppered with the occasional gust that heeled us hard over and challenged the autohelm to stop the boat from rounding up into the wind in surrender.
By 1400, we were passing Clevedon, and slacked off onto a beam reach, laying a course for the Welsh shore. The wind had eased a little and, no longer close hauled, Calstar had stiffened up, so I eased the rolls out of the genoa, but left the reef in the main. Despite the lessening wind, we were still covering almost 8 knots over the ground. Except for a single sail far astern of us, perhaps coming down from Thornbury with the tide, the only other company was the dredger Arco Dart, holding stationary against the tide off English Welsh Grounds as she worked at keeping the shipping channel clear.
An hour later, approaching the spoil ground north of the sandbanks that marked the outside of the Cardiff and Penarth Roads, the wind failed completely. As the ground speed dropped to less than a couple of knots, we furled the headsail and started the engine, motor-sailing the last couple of miles under main.
Entering the Wrack Channel that leads up to the Barrage a little before 1600 on the still falling tide, we had less than half a meter of water left under our keels as we felt our way up the channel and into the outer harbour. Barrage Control cleared us in, directing us to lock 2 for 1615. We locked into the bay with the lock entirely to ourselves, and were putting to alongside Mermaid Quay amidst a flotilla of other yachts already moored up half an hour later, a little under 19 nautical miles behind us.
Saturday 8th : Mermaid Quay, Cardiff
(ashore)
Saturday was a pleasant harbour day, wandering about Mermaid Quay, browsing the stalls of the food festival, ducking into a lovely little café for a mug of tea and a still warm, Nutella filled doughnut they'd baked and filled fresh that morning. Dad had an Americano and an equally fresh cheese and onion pasty.
Afterwards, we tried to walk up into Cardiff City Centre, about 30 minutes or so from Mermaid Quay, but the afternoon rain set in with earnest intent and so, wet and bedraggled, we abandoned our efforts about half way there and headed back to the shelter of the boat.
That evening we had an early supper at an Italian restaurant, Signor Valentino, overlooking the bay.
Sunday 9th : Cardiff to Portishead
(18.9 nautical miles, 4 hours 35 minutes underway)
Low water Cardiff was at 0607 Sunday morning, so we cast off from Mermaid Quay a little after 0700 and took the 0730 lock out through the Barrage in the company of three other yachts and a charter boat full of keen anglers and their tangle of rods and reels.
Of the other yachts, one was a pretty, green cutter-rigged boat called "Niarbyl" that I recognised from Portishead and the other a single handed yacht who's skipper had cheerily informed us was out of Thornbury. I suspect he was the sail we'd seen astern of us coming down with the tide on Friday.
At 0745 the lock gates opened, disgorging us out into the outer harbour. We followed the Thornbury yacht out, the skipper of Niarbyl courteously inviting us to go ahead.
In an orderly procession, the five of us made our way down the Wrack Channel and out into open water. the sea was calm, a light breeze blowing towards us from the North Somerset shore. The charter boat's engines roared as she set her course to clear Lavernock Point to the south, leaving the rest of us to raise our sails and set our own northerly course in relative peace and quiet.
We set full sail, and settled onto a close hauled course to starboard, tickling along with the flood tide, covering 4 or 5 knots over the ground, but not quite laying the eastern channel past the still distant sandbanks of the Middle Grounds. With everything so calm, Dad went below to sort out our breakfast; a very welcome mug of tea and a bacon roll. He makes an excellent galley slave.
To leeward, Thornbury held a similar course, slowly pulling ahead. Astern, Niarbyl had set her main, but had clearly elected to motor-sail in the light conditions, heading directly out towards mid-channel, perhaps hoping to find better tide and a kinder angle to ride it back to Portishead.
It was nice, easy sailing. A light but steady wind and a tide that lifted our course as we approached the banks of Middle Ground so that we stood easily clear of the shallows and made the channel of the Bristol Deep off Clevedon without any undue drama or even the need to tack.
The sky was grey with the occasional crease of blue behind the clouds, but not particularly cold and the rain, aside from the merest hint as we made the Kings Road past Clevedon, held off beautifully.
Thornbury pulled inexorably ahead and Niarbyl dropped gradually astern as we made our way up channel. The wind freshened a little with the threat of a shower, but eased shortly after, the threat unrealised.
By 1045 we were off Portishead, engine running and lowering our sails. We locked in at 1100, the lock to ourselves, and a short while after that, with a stop via the fuel berth to top up our tank, we were safely back in our berth, the weekend all but done.
Postscript: Niarbyl, Portishead
We found out later that Niarbyl ran into some drama when she made it back to Portishead herself, and locked in about an hour after us.
From the Portishead RNLI site:
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Just as the volunteers were tidying up and preparing My Lady Anne, your Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat, for service again, a call came in to one of our crew from their daughter. She asked if we were still at the lifeboat station and knowing that the crew are trained in casualty care, she said that a person was laying in the Marina lock next to their sailing vessel and she was concerned for them.
Just a couple of minutes away by foot, the crew grabbed medical equipment and blankets and made haste directly to the Marina.
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| photo: RNLI, Portishead |
An ambulance had already been called so the volunteers went through their assessments whilst waiting for them to arrive. The RNLI volunteers called for support from Avon Fire & Rescue Service so that they could start planning the safest evacuation for the injured man. The casualty was constantly being assessed and once the Ambulance Service arrived they were able to administer pain relief to help make the casualty more comfortable. It was then agreed that the safest evacuation would be to use the Fire Service crane. Once safely away from the lock the crew member was then taken to hospital for further treatment.
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It transpired that the skipper's crewmate, whilst they were coming alongside in the lock, slipped and fell off the boat onto the concrete pontoon. Thankfully (all things being relative) what was initially suspected to be a back injury resolved into six broken ribs, some in multiple places.
An awful end to an otherwise fine weekend. I very much wish him a full and speedy recovery.
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