Oxwich to Dale - Monday 17th July
The main engine would not start, so we fired up the Lister, the auxilliary generator, known as a "harbour set" but soon discovered that the new alternator we had installed back at Sharpness was a duffer. So, flat main batteries and no means of generating power. Fortunately with the sense hard won through experience, Skipper had bought a full spare set of new batteries at the very last minute, they were connected to the main battery using jump leads and the big Cat sauntered into life, leaving is the alternator problems for later in the day.
So, we were underway again, with the sun shining, the water a glassy film around us. The Severn has widened into the Bristol Channel and we feel that we are really at sea now, for the first time. I will leave all the glorious descriptions of a perfect summer's day on the water to greater writers than me, esp those what know the grammar, there is no point trying to paint a picture with words when Mr. Turner did it so brilliantly with paint.
Just to spoil the beauty of this scene - and for those of a tender disposition who do not enjoy the less lovely details of the quotidien please look away now. The sea bog has broken; as of day one in fact, not that it was ever great, it needed pumping full of water and then pumping out afterwards, but now there is nothing, just a bucket. At least there is a bucket each.
In the afternoon the mirror calm continued and with a light frothy mist on the horizon it felt like being in the Mediterranean. Skipper's No. 2 son (our temporary powder monkey) made the best of the weather to top up his tan and catch up on some reading; "Supernature" by Lyall Watson is being read by a new generation. Heroine surged through the water, leaving a beautiful white wake. About half way to Dale we had some visitors, about 15 black and silver-grey dolphins (we now know were "Common Dolphins") came to play in the bow-wave. Skipper's son and I both raced to the bow to lean over to watch them, and amazingly we saw them, one by one, turn to swim on their sides so they could see us looking at them. Seeing this kind of thing on television is one thing, but having some large wild animal meet you eye to eye feels like a priviledge. I was wondering how we might ingratiate ourselves with them and wished we had some spare fish, but what would be the point? They can get all the freshest fish they could want.
However, to offer a townie view, it is true that being at sea simplifies life to concerns about how dry one's bed is, food, water, and of course, the bucket. This has the effect of releasing the mind and mine has gone away on holiday, probably to a small, chic health resort in France.
Our next visitors were on a fast, black, and rather sinister patrol boat for the artillery range through which we had been making our way, who politely but firmly told us that the huge explosions we could hear were shells being fired into the area and would we go away.I hope they never hit any of the dolphins, but it could explain why there was no other sea traffic in the area..ahem.
In the evening at Dale, a lovely bay outside Milford Haven the day ended hot and flat calm. In about four dinghy journeys we took on board Skipper's other children, a soon-to-be son-in-law and his parents. Heroine's deckhouse roof is about ten feet off the water and is a great diving platform, somehow we managed to feed 9 people with steak sandwiches, and thank goodness Skipper's daughter's almost mother-in-law brought some huge and meltingly summery, home-made Pavlovas.
The serenity of the peacful anchorage at Dale is sometimes broken by speed boats towing ski-iers up and down, fortunately they stay far enough away not to create anything more than a temporary buzz and distant shrieks of delight. We are anchored in deep water away from the yachts, and because we are so big and dirty no one seems to want to anchor near us. Good. We have seen too many boats all moored up against one another in marinas, and one might as well be sitting in a tiny garden overlooked by all the neighbours.
The sea was like the Mediterranean sea can be, barely a crest but smooth shining curves. Our visitors left just before dusk and in the peace that followed the sea was like mercury, reflecting the sky and leaving a dark yacht in the distance almost suspended in nothing where the horizon disappeared.
So, we were underway again, with the sun shining, the water a glassy film around us. The Severn has widened into the Bristol Channel and we feel that we are really at sea now, for the first time. I will leave all the glorious descriptions of a perfect summer's day on the water to greater writers than me, esp those what know the grammar, there is no point trying to paint a picture with words when Mr. Turner did it so brilliantly with paint.
Just to spoil the beauty of this scene - and for those of a tender disposition who do not enjoy the less lovely details of the quotidien please look away now. The sea bog has broken; as of day one in fact, not that it was ever great, it needed pumping full of water and then pumping out afterwards, but now there is nothing, just a bucket. At least there is a bucket each.
In the afternoon the mirror calm continued and with a light frothy mist on the horizon it felt like being in the Mediterranean. Skipper's No. 2 son (our temporary powder monkey) made the best of the weather to top up his tan and catch up on some reading; "Supernature" by Lyall Watson is being read by a new generation. Heroine surged through the water, leaving a beautiful white wake. About half way to Dale we had some visitors, about 15 black and silver-grey dolphins (we now know were "Common Dolphins") came to play in the bow-wave. Skipper's son and I both raced to the bow to lean over to watch them, and amazingly we saw them, one by one, turn to swim on their sides so they could see us looking at them. Seeing this kind of thing on television is one thing, but having some large wild animal meet you eye to eye feels like a priviledge. I was wondering how we might ingratiate ourselves with them and wished we had some spare fish, but what would be the point? They can get all the freshest fish they could want.
However, to offer a townie view, it is true that being at sea simplifies life to concerns about how dry one's bed is, food, water, and of course, the bucket. This has the effect of releasing the mind and mine has gone away on holiday, probably to a small, chic health resort in France.
Our next visitors were on a fast, black, and rather sinister patrol boat for the artillery range through which we had been making our way, who politely but firmly told us that the huge explosions we could hear were shells being fired into the area and would we go away.I hope they never hit any of the dolphins, but it could explain why there was no other sea traffic in the area..ahem.
In the evening at Dale, a lovely bay outside Milford Haven the day ended hot and flat calm. In about four dinghy journeys we took on board Skipper's other children, a soon-to-be son-in-law and his parents. Heroine's deckhouse roof is about ten feet off the water and is a great diving platform, somehow we managed to feed 9 people with steak sandwiches, and thank goodness Skipper's daughter's almost mother-in-law brought some huge and meltingly summery, home-made Pavlovas.
The serenity of the peacful anchorage at Dale is sometimes broken by speed boats towing ski-iers up and down, fortunately they stay far enough away not to create anything more than a temporary buzz and distant shrieks of delight. We are anchored in deep water away from the yachts, and because we are so big and dirty no one seems to want to anchor near us. Good. We have seen too many boats all moored up against one another in marinas, and one might as well be sitting in a tiny garden overlooked by all the neighbours.
The sea was like the Mediterranean sea can be, barely a crest but smooth shining curves. Our visitors left just before dusk and in the peace that followed the sea was like mercury, reflecting the sky and leaving a dark yacht in the distance almost suspended in nothing where the horizon disappeared.
posted by Pomme at 9:02 pm
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