Travels and boat care
Ewan and Mike joined us for the first sail of 2024. Ewan has the honour of being on our last sail last season and this first trip!
This is our annual shakedown to check all the equipment, and put the reefing lines in the mainsail (this is much easier out at sea as we can get Molia into the wind). Not too much actual shaking! – as the wind was light and the weather fair. We sailed up-river for a bit then, checks completed, drifted back with a coffee and homemade afghans (many thanks Clare).
The ‘soft cabin’ uses a couple of curtains to provide some privacy for people sleeping on Molia’s port saloon (double) berth.
We started this idea in our first season, and had a first version finished for use for last season. We have recently finished an upgrade to the arrangement for the 2024 season.
The curtain rail is a Silent Gliss ‘topfix’ made of aluminium, and screwed to the cabin ceiling at about 20cm centres.
In this first version, the span over the hatch is made from net curtain wire, with a short section of rail aft of the wire. This meant that the long curtain had to be partly unhooked to draw it back.
The lateral curtain is fixed to the wall with self-adhesive Velcro pads, and is held back with fabric ties.
This is the first version with the curtains drawn back. The curtains can also be easily completely unhooked and stowed when not required.
The new version has a continuous long track that is bent to avoid the hatch blind. This allows the lengthways curtain to be drawn back without having to unhitch any of the hooks.
We have also added a curtain to the hull window on the port side.
A slightly wet day!
Jo has written about the summer cruise for the PCC website, based on her experience starting as a novice sailor, and travelling on Molia for over 1000 NM to Jersey and back.
See the article here.https://pccsail.com/molia-summer-2023/
Ewan joined us for our last trip out in 2023. We went around the Holms Islands, and this brings our total mileage up to 1184 NM this season.
We took a trip up to the bridge for lunch with friends Maggie and Ovi his son Lucca. Tim helped us run the boat.
Welcoming Andy Woodhead on Molia for the first time, we went up under the bridge and found the channel mark being repaired. Then back to Portishead via Denny Island,
A glorious summer day for our cruise to Cardiff for lunch.
Molia in tied up in Cardiff for lunch, and Scrumpy J (Portishead boat) outside Cardiff on our way back.
18NM 1035-1500 4h25m (includes locks)
A mid-morning start for the final leg back to Portishead.
In the lock.
Tim met us on the pontoon to take the lines. We celebrated the completion of the voyage.
Many thanks to everyone who joined us, met us, and supported us.
99NM 0400-2230 18h30m (includes lock)
We decide to stay on the English side for a bit after Hartland Point – its a slightly longer track, but with the wind in the south, the fetch creating any waves is very small.
Rain sets in mid afternoon. It becomes heavy as we manoeuvre through the Cardiff Bay Barrage lock and the marina in Penarth. This is a difficult mooring in the dark and wet!
After two consecutive early starts, and long days; and after the heavy rain yesterday, we stayed all of Thursday in Penarth.
A really excellent dinner at the Pilot Inn.