End of an Era

1st. December 2009

Well, we’ve done it. Starquest is sold…and we’re still not sure we’ve done the right thing!

At six o’clock this morning I scraped the ice off the car windscreen and drove to Chichester. The air temperature gradually rose from minus three in the Cotswolds to plus three at the marina. It may have been three degrees above freezing but that did not stop the jetty being icy and treacherous.

I met up with the new owner and Ken from the brokerage. We started up the engine, did the checks, let go the lines and we were off. Well, almost off. The marina would not release the spare set of keys as “Mr. Taylor has not paid the mooring bill.” As I’d visited the marina office less than half an hour before and handed over a cheque I was less than chuffed. A phone call and they ‘found’ the cheque, it transpires there are three ‘Starquests’ in the marina – hence the confusion. But with time slipping away and the destination tide-critical we decided to pick up the keys later.

Quite a current floods in through the lock and Ken advised being locked-through even though free-flow was in operation. Clearly the right decision as we’d otherwise had been bounced all over the place and putting a dent in the proud new owner’s pride and joy would not be the best way for them to start a beautiful new friendship.

The sun was shining, the sky blue, it was a crisp morning with hardly a ripple on the water. If you have to move a boat in December we had picked the right day.

The destination was the Hayling Yacht Company which is tucked up a tiny creek with lots of opportunities to get stuck on the putty. Our delay leaving the marina meant that we now did not have a rising tide but were about to have a falling tide. One touch may mean a long wait. We managed to feel our way up the creek and tied up alongside a pontoon – although it was not at all obvious where we were supposed to go.

Sails were removed, keys were handed over, and I said farewell to Starquest. The old girl now has a new owner… I hope he looks after her.

It was dark when I left home this morning and it was getting dark when I got back. It was a dark day…. but we must look on the bright side. The search now starts to find Starquest II.

Remember Summer?

This was the scene one evening in May when we fetched up in Newtown Creek just to the east of Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

Why are we posting it now? Well, firstly it's a nice picture and secondly we have not been afloat for some weeks and so have no new snaps to share.

Sitting here in chilly Oxford the stillness and silence of the creek seems a million miles away. There is a salutatory lesson to be heeded from this tale.

The following morning we had a cooked breakfast (why is it bacon tastes even better when the smell drifts across a mooring?) and afterwards started the engine to return to Gosport. Well, to be more accurate, we tried to start the engine. It coughed and spluttered and it was pretty obvious this donkey was not for stirring. We did all the usual checks; fuel (60 galls), fuel pump (working), electrical connections (all looked sound). So, we reminded ourselves that Starquest is a sailing boat and as wind is her primary power we'd better sail out. There was a little breeze, luckily from the south, and so we slipped the mooring and with two-thirds of the genoa set we picked our way through the trots and into the Solent. Once out into clear water we hoisted the main, unfurled all the genny and headed east.

At Cowes we lost the wind and by Gillkicker we lost the tide. The donkey was still fast asleep and so we had to rely on the mercy of the marina for a tow in.

An engineer's report subsequently identifed the problem - no fuel. Yes, we'd run out of diesel! How could it happen we are always so careful and we'd checked there were 60 gallons of fuel in the tank. Well, it transpires the red diesel had stained the sight tube and what we thought was a full tank was, in fact, empty. Our peek into the tank gave us a false idea of what was there. A very shallow depth of fuel laying on the bottom of the tank reflected to look like an almost full tank. If only we'd dipped the tanks, but we could 'see' it was full and besides the sight tube 'confirmed' it.

We now have two dipsticks, monitor fuel usage on a trip-by-trip basis and still blush at running out of fuel.

I am so pleased we don't have a motor boat.

Blisters to be Lanced

Afloat off Thailand.

The time has come to break the news to the old girl that she’s going to be spending several months out of the water, those unsightly blisters will have to be lanced and she’ll have hot pads attached to her nether regions and all in the name of looking better. Think of it as maritime cosmetic surgery; on a woman it would be liposuction, or a boob job and would probably cost about the same! But on Starquest it brings all the joy of enhanced looks with a five year guarantee, now what cosmetic surgeon would offer that to ladies who go under the knife?

We now have the written quote from the company performing the ‘operation’ so all that remains is to move her – luckily it’s not far and can be achieved in an hour or so. She will spend the winter being dried out – think of it as detox for boats – which is where the hot pads come in. She will then be given a new coat – the more I do this the more I realise why boats are feminine – and come Spring next year she’ll be in tip top condition and be ready to take us south in search of the sun.

Once launched again next year she really will be in fine fettle. I think just about the only bits that have not been replaced will be the basic hull structure and bulkheads. She’ll be as good as new, in fact better than new, and fit for many years afloat. Now, if only I could do the same for myself I’d be a happy chap.

The Solent in Summer

Traditional local boatmen waiting to take crews to the Folly Inn at Cowes.

Autumn is giving way to winter and with it darker, colder nights and fewer opportunities to sail. What better way to cheer us all up then than a reminder of what life is like in the summer on the Solent. Just up river from the popular Royal Yacht Squadron lies the exclusive Folly Inn where intellect meets raw maritime skill across the tables bowing under the sheer weight of alcoholic beverages. The Folly Inn is well known well beyond these shores for its five star food, helpful boatmen (see picture above) and Saturday night cabaret performed by local traditional dancers. Entry to this nautical institution is strictly controlled and it is rumoured that the only way to gain membership is through inheritance; fathers passing on their privileged membership to sons and now daughters. There is talk of strange rituals having to be performed during a complicated, obscure and at times bizarre 'adoption ceremony' which is cloaked in mystery and, some say, dark practices. Former members have let slip mention of breast ropes, bare poles and tackle attached to a preventer. We plan to go under cover to the discover the truth about this secretive establishment and its members. Have you managed to get into the Folly Inn? Why is it called Folly? What secrets lie within? What did you discover? Do let us know. More details in a future bulletin.

I'm now off for a bight before I end up in the drink.

Sunset ...followed by new dawn

They say that nothing is as bad as a doctor telling you the worst but once you've accepted the diagnosis and have recovered from the shock things start to look better. Well, that probably applies to boats as well.

Having been told poor old Starquest had picked up the pox we were pretty devastated. Our plans to buy a new, bigger, cat and put her in the Med had been blown apart. The old girl will have to go into a 'home' for the winter and be given a new bottom. Things could be worse. True, it would have been good if she'd sold and we could move "onwards and upwards" in the words of a well known horticultural broadcaster (sorry Eric) but in boating, life is never that simple. We may be playing with the elements but most of the time the elements play with us.

We have spent a silly amount of money on Starquest, much, much, much more than was sensible and now we will have to spent even more but we will have a boat that's virtually new from stem to stern. I have no doubt she's the best Prout Quest afloat and after her osmosis treatment she'll be as good as new. Actually that's not true, she'll be a heck of a lot better than new. True when we set sail next Easter she will not be as big as we'd planned, she'll sail a knot slower, she'll yield to the waves a tad more than her 40 foot cousins but we'll have a well found craft, equipped with every known navigation aid and more comfortable below than any boat coming off the German production lines.

We have grown to have a deep affection for Starquest and to be honest we felt guilty at putting her on the market. But we needed a bigger boat, we needed a boat which could shrug off the worse Biscay could throw, a boat which could entertain eight people and not feel cramped but it was not to be. Well, not this (or next) year anyway.

The sale of Starquest has almost certainly fallen through. It's our fault. We spent far too much on the refit and although we have a boat that's a shiny example of her type, indeed the best of her type, we cannot afford to write off such an investment. We know how much has been spent on turning this boat from a tired wreck into a brand leader. If we'd known how much it would cost to renovate we'd certainly not bought her in the first place, but having now spent a small fortune we cannot give her away.

Fate dictates we are to spend some more time together.

Our plans, assuming the sale falls through which seems more likely than not, is to have the osmosis treatment done asap, and as early as possible next year head south as quickly as possible. We hope to transit the Canal du Midi and get Starquest into the Med for the summer.

As we said the worst news is the doctor saying the prognosis is not good...after that it all starts to look a lot better.

Pass the Med pilot.

The Pox

Not the boat but skin - but you get the idea.

If anyone should give you the choice of either owning a boat or having medieval thumb screws applied, opt for the thumb screws, it’s less painful.

Having spared no cost in having Starquest renovated we were proud of her and although we were looking forward to moving on to our dream 40 footer it was going to be sad to say goodbye to the old girl. Imagine our horror, therefore, to discover this Essex girl had picked up a social disease and her bottom was covered in ugly blisters.

The potential new owner had arranged for a ‘doctor’ to give her the once-over, a mere formality we imagined knowing that just about every nut and bolt on the boat had either been replaced or serviced. However, when she was lifted it did not need years of medical training or qualifications to see that all was not well below. She may have a stunning top but down below things were not good. The word Osmosis echo’d all the way from Chichester Harbour to here in Oxford. “Osmosis? How can that be? Her bottom was only given a good seeing to last year, coated in a protection that was supposed to last ten years and only a few months ago she was lifted and given a good hosing down under pressure. All looked well then.” Galloping osmosis has transformed a sleek, smooth, rather attractive bottom into a pitted, ugly, festering mass of pungent ooze.

Needless to say no one would blame a potential new owner for running a mile, that’s what I’d do, so the chance of rescuing the sale were zilch.

Osmosis, largely thanks to scare mongers in the yachting press, is the nautical equivalent of the plague. I hardly dare admit to knowing a boat, let alone owning one, which has the disease. It’s all very well the experts saying “It’s only cosmetic no boat has ever sunk because of osmosis” but who wants to be seen with a boat covered in blisters – even if the only creatures who’ll see it are fish, barnacles and plankton out for a jolly. Imagine the talk at the yacht club “He’s got osmosis you know” Oh the social stigma.

Cosmetic it may be but that does not make it any the more appealing. The hunchback of Notre Dame’s deformities were only cosmetic; Gordon Brown would be attractive except for his looks; take away the piercing and tattoos and Sid Vicious was a nice lad. Yes, just cosmetic veneers all of them. Cosmetic they may be but that does not make them any the more desirable.

So, here we are with a boat which has been thickly sheathed in fifty-quid notes only to discover she’s got a diseased bottom covered in blisters.

Bang go our plans to buy a new 40 footer, bang go our plans to put the new boat in the Med for 2010, bang goes our plans for a summer afloat on our new dream yacht.

But hey, it could be worse. The ‘doctor;’ could have found a terminal illness and given the old dear just weeks to live. In fact, he couldn’t fault anything else. So it’s not that bad. True it’ll take more than a pot of Max Factor to sort out the blistered complexion but a thick application of yet more fifty-quid notes should do the trick and the cosmetic surgeon I’ve spoken to assures me she’ll regain her youthful looks and what’s more he’ll guarantee the work for years to come. Blimey, wouldn’t mind some of that myself.

Here, have the keys to the boat and pass the thumb screws.

Women Drivers

FRIDAY 2nd. October

We hadn't even had a chance to mow the lawn before we found ourselves back afloat. Steve and Margie invited us on board Reflections, a Lagoon 380, for the weekend. This was a double treat; not only were we able to gain some experience of sailing on a Lagoon but we also managed to avoid the gardening. Now, given our recent horticultural history you may think we'd be pining for a dibber, a packet of seeds and a good hoeing but oh no. The sooner someone invents the garden that grows to maturity in a fortnight and then stops the happier we'll be.

We have been on Reflections many time, mainly to help Steve and Margie lower the wine lake which threatened to sink the good ship, but this was to be our first sail on her and as we are now actively looking to buy a 40-foot cat it was to be especially interesting.

We left the Gosport mooring mid afternoon on Friday and had a good sail to Cowes. Lightish winds from the West made sailing a bit of a challenge but she pointed well, much better than expected, and we did make progress towards Cowes but not enough if we were to arrive before the restaurants closed. We dropped the sails, stirred the donkeys from their slumber and zipped along at a very perky 7 knots.

Our first Mayday went out when we were about two miles from Cowes. Not us, you understand, we had not come to grief on the trecherous Isle of Wight coast, oh no, rather embasrrassingly, this was a sail training ship which had gone aground off the west of Cowes and the swell was giving her bottom a jolly good smacking. being an elderly lady she did not like it, nor did the kids on board who had just been given a lesson on how not to do it. Lifeboats were launched, vessels nearby went to the rescue and HM Solent Coastguard were hyperventilating i9n anticipation of the headlines, "Children saved from sinking training ship. Why did it happen ask HM Coastguard." Luckily, the rather sheepish skipper reported that he'd managed to wriggle free thanks to a tow from a passing boat and was now heading for Cowes. We met in the entrance with her lifeboat escort.

Cowes Yacht Haven was surprisingly busy but they found room for us to tie up. Not long after mooring a monohull with a crew of uncertain skill decided they wanted to moor behind us. There was barely room but we shuffled up and squeezed them on the end of the pontoon.

Dinner was taken at China China a splendid restaurant with great views over the Solent. An ideal place, we decided, from where to view disasters, collisions and the odd skirmish between yacht and ferry.

SATURDAY 3rd. October

After a great breakfast we left Cowes for a few hours sailing in the Solent. The forecast was for 25 knots out of the North and the forecasters were not wrong. So, we were in for a lively sail and it would be good to see how Reflections handled in a bit of a blow. Well, the words rocket and train are not usually associated with sailing but this Lagoon certainly gave every impression of wanting to emulate these other forms of transport. With 25 knots of apparent wind, a reef in the main and about a third of the Genoa out we shot along at 10 knots. There was probably a bit of tidal help but even so very nippy. What was also impressive was that Steve could singlehand her if needed and also the champagne glasses in the saloon stayed upright. One day all boats will have two hulls!

Our Second Mayday occurred as we were slicing through the waves north of Cowes heading for Southampton. Two racing boats had been in a collision and one of the crew had sustained a nasty crack on her head and was suffering concussion. This did sound more serious and an ambulance was despatched to meet the boat at Hamble Point. We never did hear if she recovered but reaffirmed our thoughts about racing sailors. Sometimes passing along the Solent is like being in a dememnted dogem race with boats coming every which way and many totally ignoring the rules of the road.

Having got dangerously close to the shops at Southampton we turned round and headed back to Cowes when the next emergency call crackled over the marine airwaves. This time a Motorboat with engine failure. Some day all boats will have two engines. They managed to get a tow and another disaster was averted.

We entered the Medina and Steve fancied sailing up to Newport, our next planned stop. There was enough wind in vaguely the right direction and apart from a quick burst of engine power to get us safely past the chain ferry we sailed right up to the moorings at Newport. It's the first time we've been there and what a pleasant place it is. On Saturday night it was very busy, no pontoon space for us so we tied up alongside a (smaller) monohull. Dinner was taken at the Bargeman pub, pleasant hostelry directly opposite the mooring.

SUNDAY 4th. October

The Lagoon 380 is a BIG boat and attracts attention. The woman on the boat alongside and her friend were keen to have a look round and so Steve and Margie started the first of the boat tours. The visitors were impressed.

We debated where to go next, anchor somewhere perhaps for lunch? The tides were not right for going East so we opted for lunch in the Beaulieu River which had the benefit of wind and tide being in the right direction. A brisk sail across the Solent had us overhauling a couple of monohulls and a rather smart looking gaff ketch. We entered the river, dropped the sails and anchored. Splendid place to stop for a bite.

After lunch we headed East for Gosport and carried the tide right into Portsmouth Harbour crossing via the North Swatchway with just inches under the hull... but it was a rising tide.

We tied up back at the marina having had a great weekend and having learnt so much about the Lagoon and life on a big cat. We had also had a Mayday free day.

Some day all boats will have two hulls and two engines.