make the return possibly more hazardous
than carrying on. How angry I was with
myself for not fixing the little drips in
Jersey! Each time a wave broke over the
bows I ducked below and mopped the
worst with a towel. I tried to divert the
dribbles from the electrics panel with bits
of tissue stuffed under the side deck
headlining but it seemed like I was fighting
a losing battle.
I decided that to carry on was the safest
option, and possibly pull in to Guernsey if
conditions showed no sign of improving.
I contacted Jersey Radio and let them
know my intentions – the duty officer
kindly wished me a safe passage.
As I cleared the south-west corner of
Jersey the sea, although still very rough,
began to become more orderly and I was
able to do a better job of drying up below.
I felt more comfortable with the situation
now, especially as the electrics, so far, had
held together.
The early morning forecast was giving a
north-westerly Force 4-5 dropping to a 2-3
1
Don’t ignore repairs that need
fixing! The quicker you see
to them the easier, cheaper and
safer it will be.2
If you always seem to have
water in the bilge hunt down
likely places it might be getting
in. Look for dribble marks under
windows, moist sections of
headlining and loose deck fittings.3
Always carry a roll of gaffer
tape on the boat. You can use
it to make emergency repairs in
many different situations.LESSONS LEARNED
*Send us your boating experience story and if it’s published you’ll receive the original Dick Everitt-
signed watercolour which is printed with the article. You’ll find PBO’s contact details on page 5.kept pretty busy. Again, as if planned by
some celestial power with a wicked sense
of humour, just as I managed to adjust my
drip catchers to achieve their objective,
the rain stopped. Start Point came into
view, the sky started to lighten and the
wind, which had lightened to almost
nothing while the three hour ‘shower’
was going on, picked up from
the west-north-west and I
was able to relax.
Finally, I could enjoy
completing what had
been the most
harrowing
passage in my
sailing
experience.
As I passed
Salcombe, blue
sky even came out
to greet me, and the
sail from there to
Plymouth was as near
perfect as you could hope
for. I arrived back at the
breakwater at 1930, exactly 24
hours after I’d set out, exhausted but
relieved that my little drips had not
reached their frightening potential.
I called up Brixham Harbour Radio to
report my safe return and as I spoke to
them my radio went dead (apologies to
Brixham for an unfinished call). One of
those drips had got through to its target.
‘Ha, we were only playing with you,’ it was
as if they had said!
It took me about three hours to fit a new
forehatch and fix the leaking windows.
How good it is to have a dry boat once
more and how solid a lesson I’ve learnt –
don’t ignore little drips. They can do much
more than make a small damp patch on
the upholstery!and possibly going north-east, with
showers likely. I decided to push on
directly to Plymouth and busied myself
sorting things out down below, fixing drip
catchers of one sort or another.
I considered the possibility of putting
tape around the outside of the windows
but I had none on board that stood a
chance of sticking to damp surfaces. The
drip catchers were going to have to work,
come rain or shine.Into the shipping lanes
Around noon, as I entered the shipping
lanes, as if organised by King Gremlin
himself, the sky closed in and the
‘showers’ started. Visibility went down to
less than two miles. Hey ho – here we go
again! Between ducking behind ships
intent on occupying the same spot in the
Channel as me, and ducking below to
keep an eye on the drip catchers I wasEnglish
ChannelLyme Bay
River TamarJERSEYGUERNSEYALDERNEYCHANNEL
ISLANDSFRANCEENGLANDDEVONSt Peter Cherbourg
PortSt HelierEddystone
Lighthouse Casquets TSS
Separation zoneInshore
traffic
zoneSalcombeSaltashWeymouthStart PointNoirmont PointPlymouthNkilometres040DRIPS AND A DELUGE