Wednesday 11 December 2013

Merry Christmas From All on Yacht Phira




 
 
Well it's been so busy the last few months on Phira but we have finally put our Christmas tree & decorations up. I have been taking some pictures of the interior of Phira after having so many requests from our blog followers, I will put them live over the weekend for you all.
 
Much love
 
Sam, Adrian & Kalvin xxx

Wednesday 28 August 2013

August 25th 2013 - a great day's sail to Spurn Point

All our sailing had been either around the area near the marina, or up river.  We wanted to sail down the Humber to Spurn point and have a bit of time in the open sea and the weather and tide times were ideal today.  Kal the cat was delivered to his big brother Gareth's home and Andy (Sam's stepdad) joined us, complete with his recently acquired fishing rod!  We penned out of the lock at about 1130 and found near ideal force 3-4 wind from the NE, giving us a good beam reach most of the way.  The combination of wind and tide saw us making our fastest SOG to date, with 10.6 knots being achieved.  We overtook two other yachts and enjoyed a great sail, with such ideal conditions.  I would normally allow about 4 hours to get to Spurn, but we made it in less than two and a half hours, sailing close by the Bull Sands Fort which is a fascinating structure from the Frist World War, built to guard the entrance to the Humber.  Whilst rather derelict looking, it is still an impressive sight and well worth a look.  We sailed on past into the open North Sea, Phira going like a dream.  We decided to anchor up for lunch and went back to the sheltered area in the bight of Spurn Point, which is a popular anchorage for small craft.  In 2.8 metres of water, Andy manhandled the anchor and chain and it soon took hold on the sea bed.  It was a beautiful day and sitting at anchor, eating bacon butties was a wonderful feeling - one of those 'this is what we do it for' moments.  Andy got his fishing rod set up and with some bacon fat bait, cast into the water.  It wasn't long before he got his first bite! We watched in anticipation of a fine cod, or such like.  Up came the line, with a small crab on the end!  Tenacious little devils, he finally gave up his grip on the bait and fell back into the water.  Andy cast again.  A couple of minutes later, another bite.  Another crab.  This process was repeated about half a dozen times, sadly all crabs being way to small to eat!  Upping anchor was trickier than we expected - we don't have a windlass and it took a lot of heaving to release the anchor - well done Andy, you'll have muscles like Popeye after doing this a few times!  It was 1615 and we set course back towards Hull, again sailing well, spotting a seal close by, and keeping out of the way of some vast commercial shipping.  A few motor boats came by near the exit from King George dock, seemingly unaware that the huge Pride of York ferry was just emerging.  It was quite scary seeing them 'buzzing' around the ferry like flies round a bear, obviously oblivious to where they should be on the river.  We arrived at the marina just in time for the lock opening and were back on our berth at 2000.  A great day's sailing, with a few firsts to chalk up.  Well done Sam, for helming most of the way back and learning to read the chart and thanks to Andy for the winching and heaving!

August 18th 2013 - Bron and Tim get to sail at last!

Tim has helped enormously with jobs on the boat, having been to the top of the mast and helping to sort everything from sails to electrics and he and Bron had been really looking forward to going out for a sail.  It wasn't ideal conditions for a first sail - wind force 5-6 and against the tide, making it a very 'lumpy' river.  We sailed with just about two-thirds of the Genoa out and made good progress with this.  It was exciting, but not exactly comfortable, sailing and after an hour Sam went below and reported that Kal had been seasick again.  This is quite a problem, as the first few sails he had experienced he had been quite happy, wandering around the boat.  As we plan to sail off round Europe, he will inevitably encounter the occasional rough seas.  We love sailing and our boat, but love the cat too, so we'll have a chat to our vet to see if there are any solutions to this dilemma.

June 16th 2013 - Our first race and seasick crew!

Hull Sailing Club run a programme of races throughout the year and we decided that we felt confident enough to enter.  Our dear friends Bev and Patrick joined us and we penned out of the lock at 1015 onto a very windy and choppy river.  We started the race heading down river with full sail up, overtaking two boats that should have been much faster than us - but our success was short-lived!  The course required us to go about and head back up river and I decided that we needed to reef the main, which caused a few problems, losing us a place.  This was compounded some time later as I noticed that the main was looking a bit saggy and realised that the main halyard was loose in the jammer and consequently falling down.  Sorting this took longer than expected and as soon as we were back on track Sam went down below to check on Kal (the cat), finding that he had been seasick!  She set about cleaning up down below, but then I noticed that poor Patrick was also looking a bit green round the edges!  We decided to retire from the race and made our way back to the marina.  I was pleased with the boat in general, though for racing the handling will need to be much slicker.  We'll try again another day.

Thursday 30 May 2013

May 26th 2013 - There and back again!

A warm early summer's day and light evenings meant a sail up past the Humber Bridge was clearly on the cards.  Lynda and Andy joined us and we penned out from the marina at 1710.  A convenient Force 3 from the south and favourable tide saw us making 8.4 knots (SOG), practically whizzing past the bridge and past Ferriby.  Of course, wherever we get to, we've also got to get back from before the lock closes, so we turned back, pushing as hard as we could against what was left of the tide with a wind that was becoming a breeze! Firing up the engine we motor-sailed back, getting back on our berth at 2200, happy with the boat and a good evening's sailing.

Friday 10 May 2013

May 6th 2013 - Sunny sailing, drifting and Lydia's first sail.

Bank Holiday Monday and the sun is shining, with temperatures above 20 degrees - unheard of here in the UK!  Today we had Gareth and Lydia with us, this being her first time on a sailing yacht. 

Leaving Hull Marina (thanks for the pics Patrick).

We went out onto a very calm river and very little wind - rarely moving the anemometer cups.  We enjoyed drifting on the river and enjoyed a really great vegetarian picnic that Sam prepared.  Most of our motion was due to the tide, but eventually the wind did get up to a Force 2 / 3 and we were able to get some more positive forward motion, making around 4.7 knots for a while. 
Gareth - check out the guns.
Sam and Lydia, basking maidens on the foredeck.


Yours truly at the helm - getting dazzled by the bright sunshine (honest!).
Lydia - not looking too afraid of the monstrous waves.
 
Kal - our nautical cat (just checking that we're keeping the sails trimmed correctly)
 
A lovely, if rather leisurely sail, but so pleased we went out - and once again managed to get back onto the berth without drama - and a little help from Patrick.

May 4th 2013 - Star Wars Day! Lynda's first sail.

Lynda and Andy joined Sam, Kal (the cat) and myself for a sail up the Humber.  We left the marina lock and joined a very choppy river, with winds gusting over 25 knots.  To make life as pleasant as possible for Lynda's rather nervous first sail, I decided that we would sail under Genoa alone and beat our way up river and under the bridge, making a cracking 7.7 knots.  Nearly a year since her last sail and Phira reminded us of how impressive her sailing capability is, especially considering that she carries all our worldly goods down below, adding considerably to the weight!  The run back to the marina was very comfortable and we were gaining ground on a new Dehler 39 and stormed past other boats of similar size and with similar sail configurations. 
Lynda's first sail - and she's smiling!  Andy has the calm look of a seasoned sea dog!

Sam took the helm for much of the return to the marina, looking the part and keeping a good steady course - not always as easy as you might think.

Sam at the helm - deep in concentration (aiming for The Deep!)



That's more like it - a smile!



A great sail and Lynda did so well, especially given the fairly blowy conditions.  The icing on the cake was our return to the berth, where we gently reversed straight onto the berth, no bumps or grinds and we even had a witness in Bob, who helped us with mooring lines.

Thursday 25 April 2013

Engine woes

Our sailing season for 2012 was seriously curtailed when returning to our berth one day after a lovely sail with Gaz and Laura, the engine refused to go into reverse (astern).  So, rather than move gently backwards onto our berth, we carried on drifting towards the rather large and expensive motor yachts at the end of the pontoon.  Luckily, there were quite a few people who saw our predicament and despite the embarrassment of being the centre of attention when something goes wrong, I was grateful that people were there to fend us off.  We got back on the berth, going in bow first and manhandled the boat round to moor up stern first, as we usually have Phira (the best and easiest access being from the transom ladder).

I would never have believed how difficult and time consuming it would be to get the problem sorted. 

Marine engineers that work on small boat engines are few and far between.  Official dealers wanted travelling time, accommodation, etc., paid for on top of the repairs.  The marina recommended someone who had been a chief engineer in the merchant navy, who had recently set up in business.  He came to look at the engine, admitted he'd never seen one before (it's a Yanmar 2GM - one of the most common engines on yachts - it would be like a car mechanic saying that he's never seen a Ford Focus or something similar!).  I also had to explain to him what a saildrive gearbox was and he went away with my workshop manual.  Returning a week later, he gave me a list of parts that he considered necessary, along with the instruction that the boat would need to be craned out for 5 days, a shipwright would have to be employed to take out some of the GRP moulding and wood round the engine housing.  Along with his estimated labour costs, the total came to well over £3000!  I wanted a second opinion, especially as he hadn't instilled me with great confidence in his ability.  Another marine engineer, based at the marina, was very ill at the time and was unavailable, but promised that when he was better he would get in touch.

Despite many phone calls, I had no luck finding a local engineer and I really wasn't prepared to pay over the odds for what I was sure was a relatively small job.  To end this tale of woe a little more promptly, I saw the 'ill' engineer recently and he reported that he was working again and would come and start work.  After trying a few simple solutions with adjusting cables, etc., he took off the plate with the gear selector mechanism - bingo! the shaft had on it the inner ring from a bearing, the rest being somewhere inside the top end of the saildrive unit.  Bits were retrieved using a magnetic device and a new bearing, which cost all of £7 was fitted and the engine was back to it's usual reliable, smooth running! Can't believe how simple the job was in the end.  Ironically, the bearing wasn't on the extensive list of parts that the first guy had given me.  Don't know if there's a lesson to be learnt from this incident, but I will certainly be cautious about who I get to work on our boat and maybe sign up for some engineering courses!

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Restoration

Phira was out of the water at Beverley Beck when we bought her.  The main work needed to be done on the interior and I set about getting woodwork dry (it had become wet and some had delaminated) and then sanding it back to good wood ready for revarnishing.
The saloon as we first saw it.

Woodwork all sanded and rubbed down ready for varnish.
 
The tatty old carpeting was taken out and new TekDek flooring painstakingly put down.  It took a bit of nerve to glue and stick down the first strip, but apart from aching knees, the rest of the job just needed patience and taking notice of the old advice to 'measure twice, cut once'.
Flooring strips getting cut, ready for glueing.

Sam, on a day off, getting strips measured and cut.
 

The finished floor.  Made such a difference to the look of the interior.


We also had to sort out getting cushions reupholstered and new curtains, etc. - all perect for Sam, as she's an interior designer.  Colour schemes and fabrics were chosen with great care - this was going to be our home, after all.  Sam did some sewing herself, her mum did the curtains and a former work colleague did other stuff.
Newly varnished wood and new curtains fitted.

To begin at the beginning...

So, some years ago, Sam and I decided that we'd like to live on a boat - lots of reasons, but I won't bore you with them all.  We also love travelling to other countries, so the choice of the type of boat was pretty much made for us - no way we'd be able to afford fuel to travel beyond the River Humber, so sail power it was... the wind is free!
After much searching and negotiating, we bought Phira in July 2011.  She had been rather neglected, but was structurally sound.