Forethought 1997 log

January 1997 Finally the hull was dry enough for the boat to be moved inside again for heated dry-out.
Feb-March 1997 The epoxy layers were then built up and filled before priming and antifouling.
March 5th 1997 Forethought was finally re-launched on March 5th 1997. Almost immediately the stern gland started leaking and squealing while the engine was running. After about a day of poking, probing and getting wet trying not to sink the boat with water gushing in, it was concluded that he gland itself was leaking, not its connection to the hull.
The squealing is to do with something outside of the hull, as it occurs even if the engine is stopped and in gear.
As the leakage rate is under control: about a pint a week, we will wait for the mid-season scrub off before replacement of the stern gland.
16 April 1997 Already the greenery is re-growing on the rudder because of the warm weather. It seems to be a particular problem in our corner of the marina. Fortunately the local swan is keeping down the green to a depth of about a foot.
Couldnt think of anything to buy in Aladdin's cave so I bought an automatic halon engine fire extinguisher, and fitted it. May 1997 Buy new stern gland and finally realise that the grease has vanished from the old one. So that's why it leaks. The Volvo glands normally do leak when put back in the water, untill the air is squeezed out. I still expect that the old gland will need replacing.

May 1997 A real rescue.
Approaching Hurst Castle at the West of the Solent, we passed a motor yacht that was making a lot of smoke. It stopped as it passed us and the crew waved us over. They were on fire, with dead electrics so they had no VHF radio.
So we had to 'rescue' the crew from their rubber dinghy and call up the Coastguard, who decided to call the lifeboat out to put out the fire. As it was the fire died away by the time the lifeboat arrived but everybody was rather glad that we were there.
Meanwhile we were treated to a display by two lifeboats, the large one from Yarmouth and the inflatable from Lymington. The Yarmouth lifeboat had fire fighting gear, the Lymington one was used to carry people back and forth.
The people on the motor yacht had already had their car break down on their way down to the sea. It sounded like they had just bought the yacht secondhand and it was their maiden voyage. As we waited for the lifeboat we could see green antifreeze solution coming out from the motor yacht where normally sea water coolant would be appearing.
Sailing further on we noticed a lot of weed and plastic bags in the water about where the motor yacht had come from. I wonder ?
Conclusion: The microphone lead on the Seavoice VHF is too short to be able to see outside while talking on the VHF. It was quite difficult to keep in touch with the Coastguard and see what was happening.
Either I will have to move the VHF or extend the cable about a foot and fit an extension speaker.

May 1997 Finally we get a CHS rating and sail number (GBR 9624R) and enter the Round the Island race, just in time, helped by a work colleague who delivered the entry by hand to the ISC. We seem to be almost the slowest boat in the slowest CHS group. Counted 125 other entrants due to start with us !
Have had a third row of reefing points added to the newer mainsail, and a cunningham eye.

May 1997 Round The Island This race was unusual in being sailed with the wind from the Southeast. It was our first experience of going around, and as part of it we logged a total of 70 miles from marina to marina.

On the way around we saw how the Varvassi wreck at the Needles is in fact clearly marked by an assortment of severely stopped yachts.

The wind direction led to a 4 hour port tack at the end of which we hit gusts off the cliffs at St Catherines of 30 knots apparent wind. We still had the No.1 up, and no reefs in the main at the time. It was too much. Shortly after we went into a quiet patch that lasted just long enough to have lunch.

After that, through the swirls off Dunnose head. The crew reported seeing things like white sticks hanging vertically in the water, which vanished as waves broke.

Then we had the only seasickness on the windward rail, from the windward rail. The crew members had become cold and bored. I will not feed the crew pork pies again.

They were playing I-spy on the beat and kept on coming up with 'Y'. There are Yaks on the Isle of Wight you know.

The most spectacular part of the race for me was watching another GK24 go almost airborne on the fetch to Bembridge. I think the helm misjudged a wave.

Then a few minutes we were overtaken by 'Jolie Brise' which had finally got onto her best point of sailing and overtook in a cloud of spray.

Conclusions Unfortunately I took too little notice of the tide on the beats, despite the crew on the rail telling me off. It cost us an hour of elapsed time (about 0.5 knots worse than the leading GK24)

The seasick crew member had been on a Sigma 33 crew training course. I think that there's something else they need to teach :-).

July 1997 Summer cruise Log of 2 weeks on a GK24

August 1997 Went to Cowes fireworks display. Anchored in 40 feet of water out by the Admiralty buoy and in 3 knots of tide. It was difficult to get the anchor up.
On the way out we had noticed that there was fog around. We left early at 1900 for the fireworks to get a good place so we didnt suffer the fate of later leavers who were fog bound.
We did find the fog on the way back, just as well we had the GPS full of waypoints for the Solent as buoys disappeared at about 0.1 mile distance in the murk. With the GPS, we did not have to play follow-my-leader back into the Hamble.

Re-painted blue stripe on sides. Starboard side is OK - keep on suffering rain or dew on the port side, so I will have to rub it down and start again. All this because we have a stick-on name for Forethought, and we want to put it on properly.
Bought a new genoa halyard and some rope clutches.
Fitted rope clutches and re-sited winches to allow them to serve for more than one halyard. 15 pounds worth of M5 bolts. (would have been cheaper in Aladdins cave - Hamble price e.g 25p per M5x30 bolt, 20p in Aladdins Cave).

We continued to sail Forethought up until December, with a lift-out planned for late December. Our final sail on 13th December was preceded by washing the ice off the decks with sea water.