Thank you so much! It was very kind of the incompetent sailor to tell me what he had done! And a good repair which the gentleman was kind enough to settle in full. Your days are getting shorter! Are you still sailing? ATB James
Samingo Sailing No, the season has ended now. This weekend we will make Argo ready for the winter ❄️ we will be filming, and that will be in the last episode of Sailing Argo this season. We already have the first snowfall and the temperature have been down to -9 degrees Celsius so it’s about time to end the season. Marena and Roger
Terrific sail James. Very pleased to see the damage when your beautiful boat was hit was limited, and expertly repaired. I loved watching your staysail working so nicely in the stiff breeze returning from Belgium. I will be joining your club with a furling inner forestay in about 10 days! My Isabelle was jealous of Talisker. :-)
Hello Patrick. I'm so looking forward to seeing your new stay sail and set up. It really does work so so well for the Typhoon. I think a newer boat would have have been holed by the day boat. He made quite a mess of his own bow roller. But he was kind enough to contact me. Many would not have done so. A gentleman! I'm now out of the water. Lots of winter work to do. I hate being high and dry AND trapped. I hope your still sailing! We must meet up again next year on our travels! No doubt we will exchange emails over the winter. ATB James
I'm still good for another month or so of day sailing James, so will get to test my new staysail. Will send you a note with my first impressions. Initial thoughts for next year are west coast of Ireland --- and then a circumnav of Iceland, and return via the Faroes. Just tentative planning for the time being……. Let's stay in touch in case our wakes cross.
I would love to see how you and your experts have designed the chain plate for the stay sail. It's very interesting how we solve the bespoke stuff. Only my mast remains of the rig I bought! Faroe and Iceland are still very much on my mind although I will be happy to get back to Norway and sail north to the Arctic Circle. Any north easterly winds, like this year on departure time, will have us down Channel again but then hopefully heading for Ireland west coast and north from there. But as usual it will just be the next port for safe arrivals. I will want to get away mid May if possible. When did you leave this year?
Ahhh… Svalbard is on my bucket list James, but I think Iceland will be my target for 2019. I left La Rochelle for Shetland in early April this year. That was about a month too soon. Still quite chilly (but surprisingly, only had one 'near gale' to deal with). I'll delay my departure for Ireland/Iceland until end April/early May in 2019. Will send photos/drawings of inner forestay chainplate. I'm paying 1600€ just for the chainplate installation (designed by a local marine engineering firm). Ouch! Take care my friend.
Yes! I think I will be aiming for a May departure if its the N of Norway or Iceland. I'll be happy wherever I go. I have friends who spent seven weeks just enjoying Shetland. I completely understand that. Come what may, wherever I'm heading I will be thinking Scarborough, Ramsgate or Netherlands first! Each small step at a time :-)). Yes please to a drawing of the chain plate. Have a great winter. Kindest regards to you and yours from chilly Suffolk. James
Nice one James. Very informative and enjoyable viewing as always. Not my part of the UK so great to see the details on bideo and nav charts. Thanks for sharing Who the heck gave this a thumbs down??? I guess jealousy is a cruel mistress.
Hi Nick. Very kind of you to watch the video and thank you for your comment. Just an ordinary sailor sailing a little further than most! But not nearly as far as some :-)). ATB James
Comfortable ships at sea our westerly'eh, I have the 33 ketch, first sail last Friday in heavy seas, performed well, good video, much enjoyed, showing well the route and markers, many thanks!
Hi James: I just finish a marathon watching of all of your videos. They are just wonderful! I too have done a bit of single handing, but not on voyages as long as your 1400 mile trip from the Azores. I have some questions, as I don't get to communicate with singlehanders very much. -You chose not to have a wind vane (gutsy for a 1400 mile trip) but indicated that for a longer voyage you would get one. Do you favor one in particular? And what is your autopilot? -I note netting on port and starboard from amidship to the bow. Is that for safety or to keep sails on deck in the event of a change or perhaps both? -What do you use as a sleep pattern, if any and how does it vary, if it does, between your trips that are closer to the shore where some boats (e.g. fishing) might not have AIS vs. in the further out ocean were the number of boats without AIS are minimal? Thank you in advance for your responses, and again your videos are just super.
Hi Ron. Thank you so much for watching. It's really about an ordinary, but careful, sailor sailing just a bit further. The Single-Handed thing is an attitude thing really. Much better sailors than me find solo impossible. Although social on land I prefer to be alone at sea. If the budget was big enough I would have wind vane steering. Probably Wind Pilot. But the state of the art Raymarine electronic steering has done the job superbly for four years. It is the Evolution Type 1 Linear Drive. It is exceptional. It steers the boat superbly in all conditions ... SO FAR. The old 6000 is the spare. The netting is just to keep stuff on the foredeck. My stay sail was a hank on and is now on furling gear. It was very useful with the stay sail before roller reefing. I'm afraid in days gone by a single hander had to rely on a little luck to sleep. But ... I never sleep close to land and traffic EVER when underway. In the open ocean you have to be pretty unlucky to hit something. You can go days and days without seeing anything. With radar and AIS alarms today we give ourselves greater protection although I don't trust them 100%. A friend did Portugal to the Canaries single-handed and certainly a hundred + miles off the African coast there were a few vessels without AIS. If I don't eat, sleep, and drink and look after myself the boat would be disabled. The same goes for injury so I take great great care. I try to sleep at least six hours in twenty four. Never in one go. If I sleep an hour in one go I will have been fortunate. A slight wind shift or change in the way the boat is working will wake me immediately and I'm up to attend to the boat. The alarms do wake me up. You eat less at sea and you have to force yourself occasionally, but drinking and sleeping is an absolute must. I arrived in Falmouth after eleven days feeling not in the least bit tired. I was pleased I'd managed myself that in turn let me manage my ship to the best of my ability. Thank you for your very kind comment. I'm flattered to be asked so many questions. Fair winds and stay safe James
Very enjoyable, I like to see what fellow solo sailers get up to. I followed Patrick’s vlog as well. I sailed around Britain (via the Caledonian Canal) this year mainly solo, might take a Go Pro next year and try posting some video. Your repair turned out well.
Hi Niall. Many thanks for watching. I'm always interested in other peoples travels in their boats. Well done with your voyage this year. I love the waters to the north. I greatly enjoyed Orkney, Shetland and Norway last year... and the year before. Have you got plans for next year yet? You might be interested in my voyage to Madeira and The Azores this. The videos are on my channel. Fair winds and stay safe. ATB James
Samingo Sailing Hi, I’ve watched your other videos, I’m planning to go back to Scotland next year. I had a couple of weeks in Scotland but want to explore more.I have a Moody 31 and I’m based in Mylor in Cornwall.
Hi Niall. Hopefully catch up one day on the water. I don't know Cornwall at all well but loved St Mawes when me and 'Talisker 1' spent a few days in late July this year. ATB James
Hello James, another great sailing! It was very nice to watch it. I have a question - how do you deal with spending night anchoring alone - do you keep some watches or just set electronics to warn if you move?
Hi Marek. I'm pretty relaxed really. Choosing the right place for the conditions and then anchoring correctly. It varies as to where you are and what the bottom is. In our part of the east coast we are mostly muddy. I will set an alarms for when the tide turns just to make sure we've reset. Then straight back to sleep. I'm less relaxed if the conditions are not ideal of course. Thank you so much for watching. ATB James
I noticed that on return to the U.K., you went round the “roundabout” just outside Harwich in the wrong direction. I always wondered what the rules are on such a system. Is one allowed to go around it in the opposite direction, or only in a small craft?
The roundabout is 18 NM from Languard Point. The important thing is not to impede shipping at all! I tend to clear areas like that as quickly as possible. Inbound I was well to the south of the roundabout to clear Long Sand Head and make for the Medusa Channel. Outwardbound I was even further south. Thank you very much for watching. ATB James
Seems that you are not a shrinking violet when it comes to choosing an anchorage and yet you seem to have a CQR.Do you have infinite faith that it won't plough, have you upgraded ,or is it simply down to long term knowledge of the bottom ?
Hello Swalemouth. After about 30k NM in the Thames Estuary I've never yet dragged!! Nor have I dragged in Scotland, Orkney Shetland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Holland, Spain, Madeira and the Azores ... I'm not a bit gung ho about anything boating. I endeavour to do things right. If you lay the anchor correctly, anchor in a suitable place and lay enough chain you should be fine. I enjoy being at anchor. I like the independence. I will often make sure the anchor has reset when the tide turns. Not sure if this helps and yes ... the CQR has been fine so far. ATB James
Sorry,no suggestion of gung -ho intended.A better phrasing would be : As an experienced and well travelled single hander your views on the CQR are of particular interest.So many thanks for covering it .Here's to the new season and more of your videos.
I hope it was helpful. I did try to fit a Rocna but it just would not work satisfactorily with my bow roller. I then decided that as the CQR had worked for me I just went up in size to 44lb. Thanks so much for watching. ATB James
Wayne. With the greatest of respect this is not true. I COULD have repaired the damage in the water. Indeed ... it would have been permanent. But I would never have got the colour match as well as a professional. The perpetrator of the damage wanted to pay and was very happy for it to be done by a professional. No GRP expert would agree to do the work in the water. They pride themselves on making the repairs invisible to nearly all but themselves. ATB James
Hi, that’s some brutal sailing.👍 Happy to see the repair turn out so nicely. Love from Norway.
Thank you so much! It was very kind of the incompetent sailor to tell me what he had done! And a good repair which the gentleman was kind enough to settle in full. Your days are getting shorter! Are you still sailing? ATB James
Samingo Sailing No, the season has ended now. This weekend we will make Argo ready for the winter ❄️ we will be filming, and that will be in the last episode of Sailing Argo this season. We already have the first snowfall and the temperature have been down to -9 degrees Celsius so it’s about time to end the season. Marena and Roger
Terrific sail James. Very pleased to see the damage when your beautiful boat was hit was limited, and expertly repaired. I loved watching your staysail working so nicely in the stiff breeze returning from Belgium. I will be joining your club with a furling inner forestay in about 10 days! My Isabelle was jealous of Talisker. :-)
Hello Patrick. I'm so looking forward to seeing your new stay sail and set up. It really does work so so well for the Typhoon. I think a newer boat would have have been holed by the day boat. He made quite a mess of his own bow roller. But he was kind enough to contact me. Many would not have done so. A gentleman! I'm now out of the water. Lots of winter work to do. I hate being high and dry AND trapped. I hope your still sailing! We must meet up again next year on our travels! No doubt we will exchange emails over the winter. ATB James
I'm still good for another month or so of day sailing James, so will get to test my new staysail. Will send you a note with my first impressions. Initial thoughts for next year are west coast of Ireland --- and then a circumnav of Iceland, and return via the Faroes. Just tentative planning for the time being……. Let's stay in touch in case our wakes cross.
I would love to see how you and your experts have designed the chain plate for the stay sail. It's very interesting how we solve the bespoke stuff. Only my mast remains of the rig I bought! Faroe and Iceland are still very much on my mind although I will be happy to get back to Norway and sail north to the Arctic Circle. Any north easterly winds, like this year on departure time, will have us down Channel again but then hopefully heading for Ireland west coast and north from there. But as usual it will just be the next port for safe arrivals. I will want to get away mid May if possible. When did you leave this year?
Ahhh… Svalbard is on my bucket list James, but I think Iceland will be my target for 2019. I left La Rochelle for Shetland in early April this year. That was about a month too soon. Still quite chilly (but surprisingly, only had one 'near gale' to deal with). I'll delay my departure for Ireland/Iceland until end April/early May in 2019. Will send photos/drawings of inner forestay chainplate. I'm paying 1600€ just for the chainplate installation (designed by a local marine engineering firm). Ouch! Take care my friend.
Yes! I think I will be aiming for a May departure if its the N of Norway or Iceland. I'll be happy wherever I go. I have friends who spent seven weeks just enjoying Shetland. I completely understand that. Come what may, wherever I'm heading I will be thinking Scarborough, Ramsgate or Netherlands first! Each small step at a time :-)). Yes please to a drawing of the chain plate. Have a great winter. Kindest regards to you and yours from chilly Suffolk. James
Wow Jessica was thrilled to be on your film. She loves seeing you.
Jessica is wonderful! And what a sailor! And I love seeing her too xxx
Very enjoyable and you handle quite a large yacht beautifully on your own. I can only aspire to such expertise! Best wishes and thank you
Get instruction and practice, practice, practice and it could be you too.
Hi James. Thank you very much for watching. It's all cheating really. Just lucky enough to spend so much time on the water. ATB James
Nice one James. Very informative and enjoyable viewing as always. Not my part of the UK so great to see the details on bideo and nav charts. Thanks for sharing
Who the heck gave this a thumbs down??? I guess jealousy is a cruel mistress.
Hi Nick. Very kind of you to watch the video and thank you for your comment. Just an ordinary sailor sailing a little further than most! But not nearly as far as some :-)). ATB James
Comfortable ships at sea our westerly'eh, I have the 33 ketch, first sail last Friday in heavy seas, performed well, good video, much enjoyed, showing well the route and markers, many thanks!
You have a very good boat. Thank you for watching the video. Fair winds and stay safe. James
Hi James: I just finish a marathon watching of all of your videos. They are just wonderful! I too have done a bit of single handing, but not on voyages as long as your 1400 mile trip from the Azores. I have some questions, as I don't get to communicate with singlehanders very much.
-You chose not to have a wind vane (gutsy for a 1400 mile trip) but indicated that for a longer voyage you would get one. Do you favor one in particular? And what is your autopilot?
-I note netting on port and starboard from amidship to the bow. Is that for safety or to keep sails on deck in the event of a change or perhaps both?
-What do you use as a sleep pattern, if any and how does it vary, if it does, between your trips that are closer to the shore where some boats (e.g. fishing) might not have AIS vs. in the further out ocean were the number of boats without AIS are minimal?
Thank you in advance for your responses, and again your videos are just super.
Hi Ron. Thank you so much for watching. It's really about an ordinary, but careful, sailor sailing just a bit further. The Single-Handed thing is an attitude thing really. Much better sailors than me find solo impossible. Although social on land I prefer to be alone at sea. If the budget was big enough I would have wind vane steering. Probably Wind Pilot. But the state of the art Raymarine electronic steering has done the job superbly for four years. It is the Evolution Type 1 Linear Drive. It is exceptional. It steers the boat superbly in all conditions ... SO FAR. The old 6000 is the spare.
The netting is just to keep stuff on the foredeck. My stay sail was a hank on and is now on furling gear. It was very useful with the stay sail before roller reefing.
I'm afraid in days gone by a single hander had to rely on a little luck to sleep. But ... I never sleep close to land and traffic EVER when underway. In the open ocean you have to be pretty unlucky to hit something. You can go days and days without seeing anything. With radar and AIS alarms today we give ourselves greater protection although I don't trust them 100%. A friend did Portugal to the Canaries single-handed and certainly a hundred + miles off the African coast there were a few vessels without AIS. If I don't eat, sleep, and drink and look after myself the boat would be disabled. The same goes for injury so I take great great care. I try to sleep at least six hours in twenty four. Never in one go. If I sleep an hour in one go I will have been fortunate. A slight wind shift or change in the way the boat is working will wake me immediately and I'm up to attend to the boat. The alarms do wake me up. You eat less at sea and you have to force yourself occasionally, but drinking and sleeping is an absolute must.
I arrived in Falmouth after eleven days feeling not in the least bit tired. I was pleased I'd managed myself that in turn let me manage my ship to the best of my ability. Thank you for your very kind comment. I'm flattered to be asked so many questions. Fair winds and stay safe James
Very enjoyable, I like to see what fellow solo sailers get up to. I followed Patrick’s vlog as well. I sailed around Britain (via the Caledonian Canal) this year mainly solo, might take a Go Pro next year and try posting some video. Your repair turned out well.
Hi Niall. Many thanks for watching. I'm always interested in other peoples travels in their boats. Well done with your voyage this year. I love the waters to the north. I greatly enjoyed Orkney, Shetland and Norway last year... and the year before. Have you got plans for next year yet? You might be interested in my voyage to Madeira and The Azores this. The videos are on my channel. Fair winds and stay safe. ATB James
Samingo Sailing Hi, I’ve watched your other videos, I’m planning to go back to Scotland next year. I had a couple of weeks in Scotland but want to explore more.I have a Moody 31 and I’m based in Mylor in Cornwall.
Hi Niall. Hopefully catch up one day on the water. I don't know Cornwall at all well but loved St Mawes when me and 'Talisker 1' spent a few days in late July this year. ATB James
Hello James, another great sailing! It was very nice to watch it. I have a question - how do you deal with spending night anchoring alone - do you keep some watches or just set electronics to warn if you move?
Hi Marek. I'm pretty relaxed really. Choosing the right place for the conditions and then anchoring correctly. It varies as to where you are and what the bottom is. In our part of the east coast we are mostly muddy. I will set an alarms for when the tide turns just to make sure we've reset. Then straight back to sleep. I'm less relaxed if the conditions are not ideal of course. Thank you so much for watching. ATB James
I noticed that on return to the U.K., you went round the “roundabout” just outside Harwich in the wrong direction. I always wondered what the rules are on such a system. Is one allowed to go around it in the opposite direction, or only in a small craft?
The roundabout is 18 NM from Languard Point. The important thing is not to impede shipping at all! I tend to clear areas like that as quickly as possible. Inbound I was well to the south of the roundabout to clear Long Sand Head and make for the Medusa Channel. Outwardbound I was even further south. Thank you very much for watching. ATB James
Great video, what boat is that?
Hi. Westerly Typhoon. 'Talisker 1'. Thanks for watching. ATB James
Brilliant.
Thank you so much for watching
Seems that you are not a shrinking violet when it comes to choosing an anchorage and yet you seem to have a CQR.Do you have infinite faith that it won't plough, have you upgraded ,or is it simply down to long term knowledge of the bottom ?
Hello Swalemouth. After about 30k NM in the Thames Estuary I've never yet dragged!! Nor have I dragged in Scotland, Orkney Shetland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Holland, Spain, Madeira and the Azores ... I'm not a bit gung ho about anything boating. I endeavour to do things right. If you lay the anchor correctly, anchor in a suitable place and lay enough chain you should be fine. I enjoy being at anchor. I like the independence. I will often make sure the anchor has reset when the tide turns. Not sure if this helps and yes ... the CQR has been fine so far. ATB James
Sorry,no suggestion of gung -ho intended.A better phrasing would be : As an experienced and well travelled single hander your views on the CQR are of particular interest.So many thanks for covering it .Here's to the new season and more of your videos.
I hope it was helpful. I did try to fit a Rocna but it just would not work satisfactorily with my bow roller. I then decided that as the CQR had worked for me I just went up in size to 44lb. Thanks so much for watching. ATB James
nice repair but so easy to do in the water ? and easy diy ?
Wayne. With the greatest of respect this is not true. I COULD have repaired the damage in the water. Indeed ... it would have been permanent. But I would never have got the colour match as well as a professional. The perpetrator of the damage wanted to pay and was very happy for it to be done by a professional. No GRP expert would agree to do the work in the water. They pride themselves on making the repairs invisible to nearly all but themselves. ATB James
thanks for reply hope to see more vides soon
Wayne. Many thanks for watching. ATB James
How long until the next adventure?
I'm just home from sailing yesterday. I sailed from Gran Canaria to Martinique and then down to Grenada. ATB James
Very nice will you be sharing on youtube?@@samingosailing
Hopefully! There is some nice footage.
Excellent I really enjoy the content you produce, fair winds and following seas.@@samingosailing
I hope so. Many thanks - James
Sorry about the boat:(
But a positive outcome. The person who did the damage told me immediately. Many would not have done so. Fair winds and stay safe. ATB James