Author: Yrvind

After sleeping a night on my decision to end my voyage here I realesed that I would miss the sea to much. Therefore the new plan is to sail to Martinique instead to Florida.

I will probably start early in october.

There are two major problems with the boat. The first is that I got the mast to far forward. That means leehelm. That means that the chinerunners and the rudder are fighting each other. Instead of adding their forces they are cancelling them giving the boat very little lateral resistance.

I still think chinerunners are excellent but they have to be done correctly  like Matt does it.

The secound problem is that the boat got far to heavy. Thats because I have a tendency to overdo things, to make everything far to strong.

Vector a freindly German Yacht gave me a tow out of Kinsale. the weather was not good but it was getting late in the season so worse was to be excepted later.

The course was to windvard. When the other boats put up their sails they went much closer to the wind and of course also much faster.

Being heavy my boat took  much water over her but I had to keep fighting becouse I wanted to get outside the contenental shelf as fast as possible.

One night I was woken by heavy winds and rain. When I opened the hatch I was blinded by the rain on my glasses. At the same time a wave broke over her. I got a lot of water in the cabin.

To save windresistance I have no halyards. To get the sails up I use a stick. Unfortunatly now somehow the sails had got stuck. There was no other way to get them down than to climb the mast. It is not to difficult to do on land. In water, in calm water in a harbour it is also possible but more difficult. Now wind the wind blowing on a dark night half blinded I did not know what to do.

Unfortunatly there was nu volenters. I therefore took a deep breath and maneged to climb to the top of the mast and get the sails down.

Everything went well but later I was much more careful not to carry to much sail. Progress was therefore much slower.

It will take some time before I get organised and can write something useful about my trip. Here is only a commet on my water consumption.

I do have some material in the boat with witch help I probably can in a survival situation catch enough water to survive.

On my recent trip from Kinsale to Ireland I started with 45 liter water. I still have about half left more than 25 liters maybee more left. No problem. I have plenty of water.

The morning I sighted Porto Santo the wind died down. At sea I had been navigating without navigation lights saving my electricity for the AIS- and radar-transponders. So close to the shore I planned to put up a LED light powerd by AAA-batteries. It did not work. I had tested it before departure. I changed the internal batteries for lithium ones. It still did not work.

I decided to try to scull. The yuloh oar had only been tested a few minutes. It was a new design. But I had forgotten an important detail concerning the balance. It was difficult to work. After ten minutes I was tired. After half an houer I was more tired and already had blisters in my hands. Harbour was still a long way of.

I have a freind Rune Larsson. He is a ultramaraton runner. He can run 250 kilometers in 24 houers or something like it. Its super-humman. I have tried to make him teach me the secret. It must be fun he has repetedly told me.

In my difficult situation I was thinking of Rune. It must be fun I told myself and struggled on. At 72 years of age I dont have the force and stamia of my youth. On the windward side of the island the swell was choppy. The boat was rocking the oar went out of the water it was a fight with the oar. One houer went, two houers went. I was thinking of my freind Rune for him this would be nothing. He has also rowed across the Atlantic. I got the bright idea of putting on a pair of glowes to protect my skin. I changed the grip on the yuloh. I was tired and decided to make a shortcut over reef inside a small island. It was getting dark but the moon came out.

Once commited to the shortcut I just had to keep going. It was a question of life and death. The breakers on the vertical rocks was heavy and there was no way I could clime then. I have a tendency to put myself into interesting spots. I just had to keep going.

On my first visit to Madeira 1969 I had an second hand American chart. I still had that chart. It was from the 1930. I thought the rocks hadnt changed. Well they had not but more of them had been discovered. Finally after some breakers I came through. Next problem there was ny yacht harbour on my chart. The marina was not even here 1979 last time I was here, Finally in the dark. I tied myself up behind a very freindly Brasilian Catamaran from Bahia. I had been sculling for more then ten houers without a break. Thank you Rune. Fanny thing my body had no pain the next day. I am in excellent shape.

I was in calm water and safe. I was glad to bee alife. I was eager to start building my next boat. I decided to end the trip now and here and try get the boat shipped back to Sweden. At sea I had spent much of my time working on a new design and had many a wonderfull ideas of improvement. Learning by failure and learning by hindsigt.

This night I arrived in porto Santo after 30 days at sea most of the time on the  Bay of Biscay. It has been a difficult voyage. I am tired and will write more about the sailing later. The good thing is that I am in a excellent physical shape.. The news about the boat is not as good, but more about that later.

Thursday 11 Augustn is a possible date for departure from Kinsale. I will sail towards Madeira Island. To my uneducated eye the weather forecast is not be the best. On the other hand from now on statistically the weather will detoriate and I have a small boat. Therefore if no sudden changes occor Thursday will be the day.

On sunday the Fastnet race starts with several hundred boats crossing my course. I like not to get into that fleet. I like to be gone before they reach here.

As my estimated average speed is 2,5 knots it will take me between 20 and 30 days to reach Madeira. More if I get much strong headwinds in the bay of Biscay.

The boat is only sailed about ten houers and have no selfsteering. I hope I can find a way to balance her so that I do not have to steer by hand.

She is also more heavy than planned. It will be interesting to see how she will behave in big waves offshore.

I will send positions from my SPOT. Testing hass shown that it works from inside my top window.

Respecfully yours Yrvind.

Everything is OK here at the Kinsale Yacht Club. I meet a lot of interesting sailors and everyone is kind to me. Now with a fairly long ocean passage down to Porto Santo in the Madeira island group in front of me I indulge in icecreams now and then I also buy books.

The weather out in the Bay of Biscay is not at its best but in a weeks time or so it seams to improve, but it is a long shot.

Jonas Åkerblom has succesfully delivered my car and trailer to Hunnebostrand in Sweden where it is now waiting for my return which might be arund Christmas.

Tomorrow night at about 7.30 I will give an illustrated talk in Cronins Bar Crosshaven for details call Tom Harding 087 9858029 everyone is welcome.

Hopefully the weather will improve.

Respectfully yours Yrvind

To day I have bottom painted my boat and put her in the water. George from Kinsale boatyard kindly towed me to the marina at Kinsale Yacht Club where the boat now occupy a nice spot. Everyone here is very kind and helpful and everything is fine.

I will now sort things out, rest and plan my next move.

This morning I finally reached Kinsale and the boatyard where I am going to launch the boat. I am at the moment sitting in the Kinsale Yacht Clubs club room.

It has been a tiring drive but  very interesting. Like at sea I use no radio for entertaining but listen to my inner voice.

I have crossed four major water barriers whith my car and trailer. First on the new long bridge from Sweden to Dennmark. Then on a ferry from Denmark to Germany. Luckily I passed Hamburg and Bremen late at night. The next day I came to Calais in time for an afternoon ferry. The ferry company told me that if I waited to past midninght the price would be less than half and even that was not cheap. Therefore a few hoers waiting saved me a lot of money.

I drove past London during the night avoiding a lot of traffic. Next day I had missed the Fishguard Rosslaire ferry to Ireland by five minutes. Next one was 2 30 in the morning so not much sleep this night either.

Luckily I found my way without to much trouble to Kinsale Boatyard. George, the boss promised to help me and gave me a good price.

At the boat yard I will bottom paint her and put up the masts.

I also met some nice people on an old Colin Archer who told me the could help me to bring the boat to the boat club marina.

Now I am very tired and it is a long walk to the boatyard therefore this is all for today.

I have now reached Fishgard in Wales and I am waiting for the ferry to Rosslare Ireland to depart. It will do so  2 45 in the morning. Missed the previus one by five minutes, so a tvelve houer wait. The positive is that I have been able to drive relaxed not worrying abut time.

Last night in Calais I met a catamaran sailor he told me he was going to Cornwall wich was about the same way. By luck I saw him at unloading and followed hin thruogh the London night. He was a good guide. and six a clock in the morning I could lay my head to sleep after driving from just west of Bremen for close to 23 houers. I have now past all the big citys in the night with little trafic. The specially made TK-trailer has behaved excellent.

I hope to bee soon in Kinsale there I will launch the boat. Jonas Akerblom a freind who has with his wife crossed the Atlantic in a boat of my design will drive car an TK-trailer back home.

I plan to leave Västervik tomorrow monday 25 of July after breakfast.

I hope to leave my home port trailing the boat behind my car, beginning of next week. The planned route is thrugh Denmark Germany Belgium France England Wales Ireland. The destination is Kinsale Ireland.

There the boat will be launched. A freind will come by airplane and drive the car and trailer back to Sweden.