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

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.

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.

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.