It turned out that 2021 was our final season with Aurora. Though Niki and I had a very pleasant stay aboard during the summer, she had become very frustrated with the lack of internal space and it was clear that if we are both to enjoy sailing, a bigger boat would be needed.
I was just getting my head around the idea of parting with Aurora, when someone contacted me through the class association, asking if I knew of any cape cutters for sale… Long story short, Aurora has moved on to new adventures with a new owner and we are now the proud owners of a Cornish Crabber 26, called Molly of Mylor. So this will be my last blog post of Travelling Aurora, so thank you to those of you who have told me you enjoyed reading my ramblings and encouraged me to share my experiences. I hope you might follow my new blog Meandering Molly and share our travels in the new boat.
Aurora is safely tucked away now under her cover, but yesterday I had the chance to see how a larger boat is prepped for the winter haul out. A friend at the my sailing club has a Crabber 26, Perrantide, and although the rigging has a lot a similarities with the Cape Cutter, everything is on a much larger scale!
When I de-rig Aurora, I generally leave the sails, running rigging and shrouds in place. However, as Perrantide will spend her winter in the yard, the sails and rigging must all be removed, so both they and the boat can be cleaned. This process was completed on a pontoon berth prior to lift out and was pretty straightforward and we first removed the main sail, gaff and then boom. This was followed by the staysail followed by jib. The running rigging was removed as we went along, apart from the jib halyard, which was needed to lower the mast.
Lowering the mast took three people. First, the bowsprit was raised until its water stay was almost vertical, so that its far end was as high as practical and this provided the angle to lower the mast. A line from the bowsprit was secured to the tabernacle – this was to prevent the bowsprit from falling once the mast was lowered. The bowsprit stays were tightened, to prevent lateral movement of the sprit. The jib halyard ran from bowsprit to mast head and then to a deck winch. Whilst one person tailed the winch, two of us guided the mast downward – at first it needed a little encouragement to begin moving and the winch had a lot of control over the mast. As the mast lowered, the control diminished and we two guiding the mast prevented any lateral movement and lowered the end onto the pushpit (protected with a sturdy seat cushion). The weight of the mast was considerable and the trickiest moment was when it was necessary to move from coach roof to cockpit. This task was accomplished on a very light wind day in a sheltered location at low tide under the lee of the quay.
I did not think it would be possible for two people to carry the mast, but the weight of rigging is very considerable and once all of the running rigging and blocks had been removed (and labelled) and particularly also the shrouds, it was perfectly possible to carry the mast, through it needed a third person to assist whilst lifting the mast off the boat. It was also quite interesting to guide the mast around corners on the pontoon and across the car park! Nevertheless, the mission was accomplished in good time. That only leaves the cleaning and varnishing…
The wind had been consistently in the NE, so we knew our passage back to Gosport would be a beat. However, with the recent full moon, we had the assistance of strong spring tides. The tide was early, so I left Niki sleeping(?) down below and slipped the warps on my own. I had been concerned that it might be tricky getting off the berth, but conditions were not like they had been the previous day. For one thing, the NE wind which had rocked the boat most of the night and created the usual chorus of halyard slapping in the year, had died. For another thing, it was low water and the tide in the harbour was slack. I motored out of the Eastern entrance to the harbour and set all the sails. The first tack was to make some offing and though the wind was light, the sea was calm and Aurora moved out into the channel to catch the tide. Once I was sure that I could fetch down the island shore, I tacked away and began to move towards our destination. Progress was good, aided by about about 2kt of tide, but the wind increased from f1-2 to f3-4, with some bigger gusts. Sadly Niki came on deck just as I needed to tack and we were heeling considerably in the gusts, which she does not find comfortable. It also emerged that she had not had a good night’s sleep either, and was not enjoying the proceedings. Having tacked, I heaved to, took in the Genoa and reefed. It might have been better to have proceeded on Genoa and main only (perhaps with a reef), but discretion suggested reefed main and staysail. After all, there was plenty of tide. Aurora does not have the weight to push through even a light chop, so progress was much slower, which I alleviated by firing up Henry Honda. By the time I reached Gilkicker Point, there seemed little point in sailing on, so I dropped the sails and motored directly for the Harbour.
This was the end of our trip, but the early start gave us most of the day ashore, which gave us time to have a walk and do touristy things. It also provided Niki an opportunity to use the club sewing machine to make some repairs. She skilfully repaired the stitching on the sail cover, as well as some small fraying to the boom tent and even to rescue the rather worn Cape Cutter Association burgee.
With the wind set in the northeast, Cowes was the most sensible destination, being a simple run down from the Hamble. It’s a short distance and Niki fancied a wander around the shops. Although Hamble Point marina seemed quiet, there was a bit of Hamble Scramble”, with a procession of boats making their way out through the narrow mouth. There are five marinas and countless moorings in that two-mile stretch of water, so there’s always a lot of traffic.
A container ship in the distance Same ship five minutes later
Once in Southampton Water, it varies between a training run and a reach down towards the Solent. We were entertained by the flotilla of little dinghies in the sailing school at Calshot, commercial shipping, ubiquitous ferries and numerous pleasure craft. The water was rather choppy and confused with wind over tide but we made good progress with reefed main and staysail only.
We’ve been sailing in the Solent area on and off for the whole time we’ve had Aurora, but have never been up Southampton water. Most of our passages have been East-West, but the North-Easterly currently prevailing makes North-South passages more appropriate.
So it was we went to Bembridge yesterday and chose the Hamble as our destination today. Matt, skipper of Skylark, has his berth on the Hamble and gave us some encouraging recommendations.
Our floating palace
We left Bembridge as soon in the morning as there was sufficient water for us over the bar, which meant we left before the main procession. Having motored out into the main channel we hoisted all the canvas in the NE f3-4 and beat clear of the shore and then fetched past the edge of Ryde sand. At this point we were able to bear away onto a comfortable reach, which took us right across the shipping channel, past Gilkicker point and along the shore by Lee-on-Solent. It was just as well we were on a favourable point of sail in smooth water because the wind had moderated somewhat. Nevertheless we made a steady 6kt with about a knot of tide under us and enjoyed the views over Southampton water, with beach huts on the eastern shore and the industrial vista of Fawley oil refinery on the western side.
Tenacious in the distance
We spotted the square rigger Tenacious on her mooring; she had been out and about in the distance at the weekend. We could see that most of her yards did not have sails, so she would sail on no more than two courses and topsails, though we hadn’t spotted her with more than one sail set. I wonder how many crew she needs to set the sails? Perhaps that’s why she seemed to be mostly under motor.
On reaching the mouth of the Hamble, we began to beat up the channel, but the strong ebb made for particularly slow progress, so we proceeded on engine. Once in Hamble point marina, which seemed quiet, we were able to enjoy some much welcome sun, after a hitherto rather grey and cool day, followed by a pleasant woodland walk into the village and a lovely dinner at the Victory pub.
Aurora dwarfed as usual Walking home through the woods Hamble Point at night
We were pleased to meet up with fellow Cape Cutter Skylark in Bembridge. As we left Portsmouth, we were treated to the spectacle of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales leaving port. I had heard a “pan pan” warning that the channel would be closed, and as we nipped out, police boats were stopping traffic coming in and we were among the lash boats allowed out.
Niki helmed us reaching back and forth among the many other boats in the shallow area south of the channel waiting to see the carrier squeeze through the narrow harbour entrance.
The previous day, we had visited the excellent Portsmouth museum and I was fascinated to discover that in the great days of sail, warships would have their guns unshipped in order to pass into harbour, which is why the fleet would usually anchor outside at Spithead off Ryde. It was a lovely thought that this most modern of warships would pass out of the same narrow passage at high tide as it’s illustrious predecessors such as Nelson’s Victory with lies within sight of Prince of Wales.
The carrier left harbour assisted by a fleet of tug boats and all other shipping paused. The island ferry paused and even a large container ship held far out in the main channel. Prince of Wales made a fine sight as she emerged and soon moved off, leaving traffic to return to normal.
Traffic returning to normal
We had a fine sail down to Bembridge – a training run with all three sails. We were able to sail our way all through the channel right into the inner harbour before motoring to find our berth on the far side of the pontoon and meet up with Matt, skipper of Skylark.
We spent a sunny afternoon chatting in the cockpit as the water drained away around us to reveal the mud and signal dinner time for the waiting birds. We had our own dinner at the Vine pub, after a pleasant walk along the stone wall across the lagoon and up the hill into the village.
East Head is one of our favourite anchorage sites- its only a couple of hours sail from our home berth and is a serene and beautiful site. Last night we had a wonderful downwind sail in a gentle F2-3 and ghosted into Chichester harbour. Choosing our favoured spot to drop the anchor, Niki expertly helmed us into position under sail, so we don’t need to fire up Henry Honda.
Leaving Portsmouth – a landing craftThree-sail run
The anchor on the Cape Cutter gives great holding and we felt very secure, just feet from the edge of the sand. It was a lovely evening to drink a couple of glasses of wine, watching the night fall. We could hear the birds around us and the gentle rippling of the water.
There was a fair bit of traffic mid-evening which made us roll from time to time, but after that it was supremely peaceful – the light wind died completely and the water’s surface was mirror smooth reflecting the lights on the boats at anchor. The full moon rose late in the night and all I could hear was the sound of water flowing gently under the hull and the ever present sound of distant waders.
I awoke early, just after the tide turned. We had just touched the bottom at low tide but by the time I was ready to leave, there was plenty of water. Niki repeated her helming trick and we sailed off with troubling Henry again. The wind had swung round to the SE but was very light, so progress was very slow at a dead run. Niki went back to bed and I persevered for a couple of miles and then put the engine on and motored back to our berth.
Almost exactly a year ago, during a lull in the pandemic, I managed a trip on Aurora with my friend John Kingsley and I shot some nice video clips with my phone and with my drone. I edited the video some time ago, but my “production” lacked a sound track. I decided that a sea shanty was needed and so I modified the words of a traditional song to suit “this fine boat” and recorded myself. Click on the picture to see the result.
It was our pleasure that Aimee asked to join Niki and I for a short trip, bringing her friend Shore, who had never sailed before. Aimee prefers a lively breeze and was not disappointed on this trip. The four of us left Portsmouth in late afternoon and caught the ebb down to Cowes.
The wind was whistling in the marina, so we set out with a reef, but shook it out before we reached Gilkicker point. The wind was a F4-5 SW, so we ended up beating on full main and staysail. The Solent was very busy, though the weather was disappointing for August. Aimee helmed for a good portion of the way and then passed on some of her skill to Shore, who took to it really well.
It’s interesting how much difference four people make to the amount of sail Aurora will carry. Sailing upwind, the most comfortable arrangement is for three to sit on the windward side and the fourth to sit on the companionway step. The result is that Aurora can carry full main, when usually a reef would be needed.
Cowes offers the option of a number of marinas and this was just as well, as the first couple we tried had “no room at the inn”. Fortunately, East Cowes Marina had a space for us and we gratefully tied up and found our way to a curry house for our meal.
Racing yachts at Cowes, with a container ship leaving Southampton in the background
The next morning needed a snappy start, to vacate our spot (the berth holder arrived back just as we were leaving) and the plan was to travel to Yarmouth via Newtown Creek for lunch, but the weather was grey and drizzly, so we decided to make straight for Yarmouth. I was hoping the forecast WNW would let us fetch along the shore, but sadly the wind persisted in the SW, so we had a beat back and forth between the island and the mainland. The wind picked up to F6, so it was a spirited sail initially on full main and staysail and then reefed main and staysail.
The Solent was thick with yachts beating to westward and it was lovely to see so many boats out. Above us, we were treated to two low passes of the air-sea rescue helicopter, as well as a Spitfire performing aeros.
There were many power boats out too – we watched a big power boat motor upwind less than 10m from a yacht sailing downwind, leaving the yacht thrashing in its wake with spinnaker tangled round forestay. I’m often struck how some power boat helms seem oblivious to the impact of their wake on other boaters – a small course correction to avoid such a close pass makes little difference to them but has a big impact on sail craft.
On entering Yarmouth harbour, we were led to a convenient spot by the berthing master and were able to dry out our damp gear, whilst we had lunch, followed by a restful afternoon. Shore tried his luck fishing off the pier, but did not have any luck. Sadly there was some water down below which had wet the quarterberth cushions – the outboard bracket had vibrated loose (in fact one nut had dropped off into the scuppers!). I tightened them up and hopefully we’ll be dry after this, though we could wish for more sun to dry things out.
Yarmouth was very busy – this is the “staycation summer” and everywhere was packed. It took us a while to find a restaurant with space for us, but we were very pleased to get a table at Cucina, where we rounded the day off with some good seafood.
The following day saw our return to Gosport and I was relieved that the wind had remained in the west, so we would enjoy some downwind sailing after all our beating. The east-flowing flood tide was not until the afternoon, so we decided to work against the tide as far as Newtown Creek, eat lunch and wait for the tide to turn.
Despite the neap tides, there was still a considerable foul tide to work against in the light winds and we crept along close to the shore, out of the strongest tide, deep downwind on full main and engine at low revs.
None of the other crew had visited Newtown Creek before, so I was keen for them to see it. However, the weather was grey and rather drizzly, so it wasn’t at its best. Nevertheless, it was a relaxing time to watch the water ebb away and the mud banks emerge from the waters, seals haul out and waders strut about probing for food. Shore spent some time fishing, but succeeded in catching only sea squirts, despite using several different rigs. The fat seals resting on the bank nearby kept waving their fins to encourage him, but to no avail!
High tideLow tide
By the time low tide had passed, the weather had brightened somewhat and we had a fast and very enjoyable sail downwind and down tide. The Solent was busy and I love watching all the activity around us as we sail along. Just as we watched many yachts beating the previous day, today we could see an armada of yachts running in the same direction as us; some on genoa only, others goose winged but relatively few with spinnaker. We also saw a couple of large container ships in and out of Southampton water, one smaller ship passing quite close.
We sailed much of the way on main only; I keep meaning to make a whisker pole, which would have been useful to pole out a jib. However Aurora made over 6kt the whole way, so we had no complaints for speed. We made great time back to our home berth and rewarded ourselves with a fish and chip dinner.
Whilst most Cape Cutter 19s are GRP, a number plywood boats have been built from designer Dudley Dix’ plans. Merilee is just such a boat, being built in Suffolk. Lovingly constructed over a period of five years, she is a beautiful boat and the fine craftsmanship is evident. It was fascinating to chat today with builder Kevin Pugh about the challenges of construction and to spot the small differences in design compared to the fibre glass boats.
Port side lockersCabin interior looking aftBow looking aft, the blue tape marks where a semi-circular cut will be made, for the bowsprit. Interior; notice at the top the cuts in the plywood to allow it to be bent. Exterior of port lockers and, in the foreground, interior of the starboard lockerCockpit, with box for electric outboard controls
A significant modification of the design was at the stern was to allow an electric outboard – the hull shape needed modification to fit the pod of the motor. A dedicated engine battery will be fitted under the cockpit, which is expected to provide several hours of thrust at moderate power. When sailing, the prop blades will provide a trickle charge to the battery. I for one would be very happy to be rid of the noisy outboard, and this solution provides a similar power output to a 5HP outboard.
Travelling Aurora - journeys of a Cape Cutter 19 