Practical_Boat_Owner_-_November_2015_

Learning from experience

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don Fitzroy Smith sails Aoife,

a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 32.

Don has chartered, sailed

widely on sail training yachts

and his family sail, too. He

has a Yachtmaster Ocean qualifi cation.

Drop-in service and

a smashing time

W

e sailed from our

Conwy base round

Carmel Head and

paused overnight at

Holyhead Marina

before sailing for

Dún Laoghaire the next day. As we

departed we were making 5-6 knots in a

good southerly wind but it deserted us, so

we handed the genoa and motor-sailed.

The fl ood tide was running north and

was stronger than anticipated so we were

concentrating on keeping clear of the

Carmel Head TSS if possible – and if not,

crossing it appropriately.

Off South Stack, a Sea King helicopter

was exercising with a Smit workboat and it

then fl ew our way, did a half orbit around

us and came to a low hover 50m off our

starboard quarter. We could see the crew

in the starboard door very clearly, but the

tremendous din and clatter drowned their

fi rst attempts at communication. The

handheld VHF in the cockpit was barely

audible as the crew came up on Ch16

again. ‘White yacht out of Holyhead, sail

number 8713T, this is Sea

King two-two, over.’

On the working channel,

all became clear: they

wanted a new playmate.

Exercising with the

high-speed ferries doing 30

or more knots is one thing, but it’s quite a

different proposition with a yacht doing

six knots. I confi rmed our course and

speed to the Sea King as my son Peter got

his Go-Pro camera and took up a vantage

point in the pushpit.

My wife Melanie was at the helm,

steering as straight a course as she could,

which became far more challenging as the

across from the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

It was a good vantage point: there was

lots going on as dinghies and keelboats

were launched for races and recovered

afterwards. Sailing is a serious business

in this town, with four major clubs based

here. Security was effi cient via fi ngerprint

recognition at the gate, so there was no

number to forget after a good run ashore.

The marina was close to town and the

railway station, so we went to Dublin

(family ticket n19.65), getting off at Tara

Street on the south

bank of the Liffey.

From there we went

to Trinity College

Dublin and then it

was a mandatory stroll

up Grafton Street, past

the buzz of all the street artists and

entertainers, to Bewley’s coffee house,

oft frequented by my father and sister

in their undergraduate days. When we

were scarcely inside the heavens opened,

accompanied by thunder and lightning,

and there we stayed to enjoy the old-world

charms of this famous establishment.

A violent thump

Moving on to Howth, we were berthed on

a hammerhead once more, adjacent to a

secondary fairway leading to the public

slipway. We had visited Howth before and

had enjoyed it and the local seafood, but

this time would be different. I was below

passage planning for our return to

Holyhead when I became aware of a

motorboat approaching. The noise rapidly

In the space of a short cruise between Conwy

and Howth, Don Fitzroy Smith’s boat gets used

for a winching exercise – and target practice

helicopter got

nearer and nearer.

The noise increased,

there was spray

everywhere and

a wicked

downdraught.

Foreign objects

and debris (FOD)

are a problem for

all aero engines,

so it was off

with our caps as

I posted them down

the companionway, along with anything

else that might become airborne. Despite

sheeting the main in tight amidships it

protested quite a bit in the downdraught,

and Melanie had her hands full.

The winch man dangled, spinning

slowly, as he tried air-walking to

maintain a forward view while the aircraft

crept closer. Communication in our

cockpit was diffi cult, so we shouted

with cupped hands. I was unlikely to

hear the handheld VHF I was holding,

but in the comparative quiet at the chart

table it would have been better. Creeping

closer and closer, the winch man reached

out and fi nally touched our pushpit, then

the helicopter pulled away, dunking his

feet before hoisting him back aboard.

Objective achieved, they signed off

and fl ew away to RAF Valley, leaving

us to appreciate the quiet but also the

benefi ts of exercising winching with

a helicopter in daylight and good

conditions. Should we ever require

their assistance in a real-life situation,

my family feel a great deal more

confi dent about the prospects.

Off Dún Laoghaire we dodged and

weaved our way through the yachts racing

offshore and were offered a hammerhead

berth close to the marina facilities, just

Dún Laoghaire

South Stack •• Holyhead

North Stack

Carmel Head

DUBLIN • •

Conwy

WALES

IRELAND

Anglesey

• Howth

It was a fusion of comedies – Captain

Mainwaring appearing on deck, fl ushed,

spectacles and cap askew, spluttering...

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NM