Mighty Atom at Ferryside Carmarthenshire

Towed her down the M4 to Ferryside for a peacefull couple of days on the river Towy.

Friendly folk at the Towy Yacht Club helped with local knowledge etc . Had a gentle sail on the Estuary then dried out on the sandy beach for the night.

First Sail in 2011

I towed the Mighty Atom over to Cardiff Bay YC for a couple of days sailing on the Bay. Embarassed to say I havent done any maintenance at all since i parked her on our drive last September. The varnish is peeling and whole boat needs a good clean,hopefully now after a couple of days enjoyable sailing i will be more inspired to get a bit of work done on her.

Bit of sailing on Cardiff Bay

Spent the day sailing on Cardiff Bay. First time with 3 aboard.One person needs to be in the cabin and 2 in the cockpit or other way round when the rain started though they were kind enough to pass out my coat :-)

Have got the launching and recovering pretty well sorted now ,I do have some ideas in my head for a modification to the trailer to lift the bow up a bit as we are winching her on. At present I have to winch her up a few inches then physically lift the bow up onto the back of the trailer then winch her fully on. Its not heavy but just a bit awkward singlehanded as it could slide off again until the slack on the winch wire is taken up.

Lawrenny Cruise

I towed M.A. to Lawrenny Quay on the Milford Haven Estuary.Good Slipway and parking, friendly people and a pub and cafe close by.

Launched the boat then made upstream to Langwm for the night.Very peacefull sheltered inlet off the river. Mighty Atom sat happily on a gravel beach for the night .I relaxed in the cockpit eating a meal and drinking some wine as the sun went down then a comfortable night asleep until the tide returned at 0445 when I motored out bleary eyed to a deep water mooring then turned in again until about 0800.

Sailed down to Milford Haven town pontoon had a visit from the marine Police in their rib,as a major oil port Milford is a bit of a sensitive area these days but the police were pleasant and just asked me my intentions for the day.

After lunch sailed back up to Burton for the night had a pint in the Jolly Sailor prior to a deep sleep on the Pontoon by the pub.Larger boats may be unwelcome for overnight stops as its meant to be a landing pontoon only but M.A. is small enough to not be noticed so much :-) Last day had a leisurely walk and breakfast before leaving Burton and sailing back upstream to Lawrenny to recover the boat and head for home.

Mostly good weather and North Easterly winds sometimes a bit strong but manageable in the sheltered waters.

Cardiff to Weston cruise.

Took advantage of the quiet weather this week for an overnight cruise across the Bristol Channel to Weston super Mare and back.

Most visitors to Weston only see the town beach and pier but tucked away out of sight in the western corner of the bay is the River axe which can be entered at about half tide and has the Weston Bay YC boat moorings, their clubhouse and landing pontoon.

Locked out of Cardiff at 0900 Wednesday morning in light winds and drizzly rain,almost cancelled due to the poor visibility but this improved as the morning went on so luckilly I decided to push on. Used the outboard quite a bit as we were sailing but not quick enough to get there and enter the river.

Finally the wind picked up ,rain stopped and enjoyed a great sail for the last hour before reluctantly lowering the sails and motoring up the river at about 1230.

Spent the day lazing about and chatting to the other boat owners who were about.Then heated up a curry on my little coleman stove and walked up to the pub later for a few beers .Wobbled back to the boat and slept like a log until 0900 (unusual for me).

Tide returned about 10 ,30 then set off back with a perfect sailing breeze sun shining sea sparkling etc. So glad I didnt cancel due to the rain on the way over.

Locked back into Cardiff at 1345 having only used the motor to clear the river and get back through the Cardiff Barrage Locks.Really impressed with the Voyager now, She handled the small sea and swell very well for her size, hardly any spray or water on deck and never much weight on the helm.

Pictures

Was lucky enough to get a friend to take some pictures as I sailed past the club today. Started off in light airs then a perfect sailing breeze later.

Chocks to hold lowered mast.

Made some wooden blocks to hold the mast when lowered.Will make it a bit more secure and save it scraping the paintwork.