About five Wardley’s boat sailed over to Piel Island off Walney Island during the recent bank holiday weekend, some on differing days. Everyone reported having a great time and feeling exhilarated to be back on the open seas.
The weather was absolute great. The winds were fair and the sun was out for most of the time.
(Comments at work during the following week: ‘Now what exotic place did you fly off to during the bank holiday Simon’?).
The title photo above is a telephoto image, from the jetty, of Kyle 2 (Snapdragon 24) approaching the island. For all intents and purposes it looks like Andy Sargent is about to be gobbled-up by an angry orange monster, but rest assured, the windfarm service boat was some distance behind.
Link to PHOTOS – will open in Microsoft one drive:-
(Note: all are hi-definition photos, so feel free to double-click on any to zoom in )
RNLI rescue
Later on that evening, we witnessed a late night rescue! The first we realize something was going on was when the RNLI station suddenly lit up like Piccadilly Circus, then the big boat came splashing down the long slip like a giant Log flume ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. The smaller inflatable rescue boat also was launched. Then for several hour we were treated to the spectacle of boats rushing up and down the channel with eye dazzling spotlights panning in all directions. At regular intervals, serious firework style rescue flares hissed up into the sky with a loud pop, lighting up the water below and creating a feeling excitement and trepidation. We learnt the following day that a tender had got loose from a moored yacht with no oars or outboard. The poor chap on board got whisked off into Morecambe Bay in the dead of night on a powerful tide. He/she must have been terrified.
(Above: our Commodore Steve Adams handing over to the RNLI the money raised at our Christmas dinner)
The Wardley’s Marine Yacht Club 2019 crane-in day was a massive success! Everything went according to plan.
Hats off to everyone!
Crew members waiting for the action to start.
Plenty of members came, and there was no protesting going on! Formidable looking ‘Les Gillets Jaunes’ characters were everywhere, but in the case of WMYC it was all a magnificent effort laid on to shift boats around a yard and to put boats in Morecambe Bay.
It was a tight fit, our crane driver for the day was the boss Mr. Daley himself. He confidently drove his big vehicle in and amongst our boats. As can be seen, he struggled to find space such was the crammed nature of our boat yard!
Crane assisted flying boats were soon seen hovering over head.
Higher and higher they got!
Jamila is next. No bumps and damage to the mast this time around.
Yo ho the drunken sailor! Well, not really, unfortunately the new mooring was laid too close to a big hump, which threatens the rudder.
A WMY crew member, early on good Friday, enjoying the last drop of sleepiness before the fun begins.
Two Wardley’s boats safely tucked away in the Fleetwood marina.
And finally a big thanks to all who lent a hand in any shape or form. And in particular, to our banks-man Michael Morris (directing the crane movements). And also to the wonderful ladies in the club house who supplied us with food and drink throughout the morning.
In the summer of 2018, three WMYC sailors go for a sail up to Whitehaven. Please sit back and enjoy the video slide show. Do click full screen if you can.
This post constitutes a refresher session on classic sails and rig configuration, there’s plenty of pictures and videos further on, but first an extract from a book called The Sailmaker’s Apprentice to set the tone: –
SEE HOW SHE SCHOONS! Cutting a feather in
a four-lower breeze, sails filling in powerful
curves and pulling like the muscles of a draft horse
with a heavy load; sails straining under the relent-
less force of the wind! By moonrise, the wind’s diminished to a
whisper—hardly a ripple on the water as she
ghosts slowly along under light sails; great cloth
phantoms tranquilly billowing in the moonlight.
Or in an oily calm, the limp cloth slats and slams
from side to side, awaiting the day when it might
explode from its boltropes under the force of a
howling gale and be lashed and beaten to useless
shreds. Harmony and discord in the marriage of
wind, wave, wood, and cloth.
A few weeks ago, on Saturday afternoon a group of Wardley’s sailors were sat happily in the lounge area of the club house talking boats as usual. The conversation turned to sails and rig configuration. We started to talk about gaffs and gunters, and lugsails, topsails, skyscrapers, real canvas, and the days before the utilitarian convenience of plastic sails and aluminium masts. It was a lovely conversation that went on for some time while outside the light faded as the tide slowly ebbed from the creek, and the only thing missing was a nice glass of whisky in hand. We’ve got to admit though, although we all roughly knew what we were talking about — we certainly all had wonderfully romantic images of brightly varnished spars hauling red coloured cotton sails high aloft, ropes smelling of tar leading down to banks of belaying pins and the like — it would be fair to say that we DIDN’T really know our gunters, from our dipping lugs!
Having just recently swotted up on the matter, I thought to try and address these evidently grey areas.
You’ll get refresher on: –
1. Square Rig
2. The Dipping Lug Rig
3. Balanced Lug Rig
4. Standing Lug
5. The Gunter Rig
Ok, let’s go.
1. Square Rig
An ancient sail and most effective on big ocean going sailing ships. Mast stepped centrally. A wooden ‘Yard’ up top. Sail cut square. No boom down below (loose footed). Equal sail for and aft of mast. Powerful on broad reach and off the wind, jibing not a worry. The square Rig. Can be a bugger to tack. (see the video)
As said above, square riggers are a bugger to tack, take a look at the Star of India trying. As you will see its not a walk in the park. Built in Ramsay IoM back in 1853. Now thousands of miles away based in San Diego (USA). The oldest working square rigger on the planet.
2. The Dipping Lug Rig
A dipping lug
A variation of the square rig. A very powerful and effective arrangement on all points of sail. The best up wind of all the Lugsails. A bugger to tack though, having to drop the sail and re-hoist on new tack. With a central mast, a long gaff up top, and a loose footed below. The sail’s tack fix-sheeted well forward of mast. Can have a split configuration on the same gaff see the second boat in the image.
2. The Balanced Lug
Mast forward of centre plate, Gaff hoisted up top and pulled close to mast, and peaked high abaft. Sail laced on boom at bottom (can just be held at the tack and clew). Boom tied down by tack down haul to foot of mast. Sail cut out-of-square to accommodate the peak-gaff. Sail laced to gaff. (Junk rig is a fully battened variation.)
A balanced lugLug sail
Two cracking little balanced lug tender dinghies. They’re probably more fun than their mother ships.
4. Standing Lug
Mast up forward of centre plate. High peaked gaff hoisted up mast. Loose footed, or a boom, at foot. Sail laced on gaff. Tack retained at foot of mast. The ‘Drascombe Dabber’ is an example with a loose footed main sail.
Standing LugStanding Lug sail plan
5. The Gunter Rig
This is the most common one you will see. The gaff is held to the mast by jaws at the bottom, and by the halyard keeping it almost vertical at the top. At the bottom of the mast can have a boom or it can be loose footed.
The Gunter rig
Now, the ultimate gunter sailing dinghy of all time must be the Mirror Dinghy. I learnt to sail in one and I’m certainly not the only one to have done so.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Over the coming week I’ll try to extend this post to include the more modern arrangements commonly use by Wardley’s sailors.
As you will probably know by now, the authorities are worried about the possibility of serious flooding in the vicinity of our yacht club.
In brief, they have done some computer modelling, and can now confidently predict that 600 houses could be flooded-out when the next mega storm comes along. That is to say, when, an astronomical high tide, a very low pressure front, and a strong westerly gale come hurtling up the river Wyre together!
Further more, from recent similar events around the country, they’ve worked out how much the average claimant needs to spend to repair the resulting damage and cover temporary relocation costs. It all amounts to quite a lot! They believe, therefore, the effort and resources put into the Scheme will be money well spent.
That said, it doesn’t appear that they are particularly worried about the Wardley’s Marine Yacht Club. We will of course be on the wrong side of their magnificent scheme. Still, that is probably where we would want to be anyway, if we want to retain unfettered access to the river. The main blight envisaged at this stage, is possibly the inconvenience caused during the works and maybe reduced access to our land at the upper reaches of the creek. At the recent public meeting we voiced these concerns, and as you will read in the document, they have affirmed that the scheme’s designer/planners will consult with WMYC during the planning.
Please read the attached document to gen up on the finer details. Questions 1 and 11 are of particular interest to us.
Hambleton suburbs expected to flood if the worst comes to the worst.
A friendly base for Yacht Cruising on Morecambe Bay
