Cruising on Moonfleet - happy friends

I've recently recruited two keen crew for Moonfleet: Andy and Paul. Paul has proved himself a good helmsman [good = even better than me! Ed]. Andy is a former skipper with experience measured in decades and boats much bigger than my little cruiser. Their experience and enthusiasm is proving valuable: Moonfleet certainly seems happier with more people aboard. We spent a happy Friday evening finding Moonfleet from under the algae and mould which accumulates depressingly quickly before taking a slow potter out under the swing bridge and off towards Beccles. We were there mainly to make a list of everything that needed doing. Coming home we proved the navigation lights worked more for a test than because of the encroaching gloom. I knew most of them worked but had been a little concerned about our green starboard lamp. We returned on Saturday for cleaning mark II 'Algae, meet your nemesis' and maintenance part I 'Look linkages, this is grease!' Lunch was an assortment of butty's and cake purchased at Somerleyton Post Office and Tea Rooms, an excellent and friendly little retreat we visited on our way down to the boat. The maintenance had used most of the days sunshine but only half the hours of daylight so we pottered off down the broad towards Reedham under clouds and through intermittent showers. We found The Bell Inn at St Olaves for a swift diet coke and then decided to press on towards Reedham to see what was out there. The answer, from our low deck, was not a lot apart from reeds. One advantage of bigger boats with fly-bridges is you can see more over the reeds but conversely have to wait for swing bridges to open while Moonfleet can potter underneath closed bridges. Our trip back was enlivened by a thunder storm so we used the Nav lights again and appreciated why we were one of the few boats out for a cruise. It was great fun being so close to the storm, just sheltering under a bit of awning. By the time we moored the storm was over, everything had that 'just rained on' freshness and it gave us a great opportunity to enjoy Moonfleet in her glistening cleanness. We had debated cruising with the canopy down but were glad we hadn't. Maybe we'll save that for a summer day, after all, this was only August! Andy announced the boat is 'much prettier' without it's canopy but the showers and subsequent storm proved that keeping the canopy up was a really good idea, even if it was prompted by laziness. We now have a list of things to improve, kit to buy and more questions to answer.

Three Easticks Meteors

My great thanks to Woodwindmark for providing more details on the Easticks Meteor. There are at least two capable of floating but spread widely round the country. My own, Gesine, is still awaiting restoration. I have received some lovely pictures of Tarka and am hoping for some information about Scintilla soon. The brochure Mark allowed me to see shows a lovely small yacht. One day my yacht will look as good as the ones on the cover photo.

Calling WoodwindMark

Hi Mark, I am not sure you saw my reply to your blog comment and would love to get in touch directly. My internet connection is flaky at the moment and I an travelling a bit please email the promised information to me at ttibben at gmail d o t com I hope you can fill in on history of the Meteor class and give me a few clues on what inspired Gesine.

To Saturation Point and beyond

I have spent some quality time over the last 2 Saturdays with Darryl from Peeks Driving Tuition Limited in Lowestoft. He has patiently explained, sometimes several times, how to survive on a motorcycle. Last week I managed to reach saturation point, physically in the rain and mentally processing the advice I was being given. It doesn't matter how gently the rain is coming down you still hit it at 60mph if that is how fast you are riding. I even found puddles which meant my waterproof trousers were being filled from the bottom up as well as the rain coming down. Despite wearing alleged waterproofs I was still soaked to the skin. The rear seam on the waterproof trousers had failed which didn't help me stay dry. It was so wet Darryls professional biking kit had only just dried out when I went back, which was today: a week after my original soaking. He'd spent the intervening week sunning himself somewhere warm on holiday. I'd spent the week in the office and buying replacement waterproof trousers. This morning I was woken by Christine from Peeks telephoning to invite me to come back and finish the course just after lunch. The weather was cool, dry and sunny, much improved from the week before. I'd venture it was ideal biking weather. I walked down to the school, got into my replacement waterproofs and jammed my head into the biggest helmet the school could lend me, along with the earpiece so Darryl could instruct me. I still wobbled a bit but felt so much better. I went round corners comfortably, enjoyed the sunshine and even managed all of the required manoeuvres: I have, at last, completed my motorcycle CBT ( Compulsory Basic Training ). The ambition to ride a motorcycle had been a dream for decades: Thank you Darryl and Christine at Peeks for finally making one more ambition come true.

Moonfleet re-visited

Moonfleet has spent the winter on her moorings. Today's weather was glorious sunshine, though chilly in the breeze, so I took a train out to Somerleyton and walked through the woods to the boatyard in order to check Moonfleet and find her trailer. Moonfleet was still floating and her engine is still in working order: Not bad for a boat which has been left alone over winter. I also managed to finally locate her trailer which had, on previous visits, been hidden by weeds. The trailer needs air in one of it's tyres but otherwise appears in good order. I now need a reliable way to get a tank of petrol, air pump, wheel brace and other voyage essentials out to my lovely little boat without investing in another car.

Burning Bridges - A Bad Thing

I have seen a number of individuals write down bad things about current or previous acquaintances or employers. This is a bad thing, mainly for the person posting the comment. If you call someone nasty names what will prospective employers think you are going to say about them? Will they take the chance that you won't say something similar about them? I have seen some absolute howlers festering for decades out on the internet so prefer to follow this advice: "Never type when angry or drunk" coupled with "if you can't say something nice, say nothing". If you write something in a public forum be certain you will be happy if it is read by your partner, priest, parents and colleagues.

1950's Meteor Yacht Specifications

From a photocopy of a book which also includes a sketch of Meteor

Meteor "L.O.A. 21ft L.W.L. 17ft 6in Beam 6ft 5in Draft 2ft 10in Sail area 175 sq ft This boat, designed by Arthur Robb, has a very large midship cockpit which provides ample space for the crew when racing or for picnic parties. There is a separate cockpit aft for the helmsman, the floor of which is raised above the level of the forward cockpit. The reynolds Tube aluminium alloy mast is rigged with only one shroud a side and no crosstrees. The mast is stepped on the after end of the short coachroof. The hull is clinker built and the short cuddy at the forward end of the cockpit in the type "A" provides protection from rain and spray. Additional " This is where the photocopy ends but I think there should be more detail. Can anyone identify the book from this passage?