Force 8 Expected Soon
Friday 28th July Red Bay near Cushendall, Co. Antrim
I had hoped by this time that we would be safely tucked away somewhere between Islay and Jura, but we are just inside Red Bay and expecting a force 8 in the next 24 hours. I am sure that in the eyes of proper sea-folk my panic is ridiculous and that we have good shelter, good anchor gear and that the blow will not last long, but there is always the fear of the unknown, and I have not been out in an 8 before, not even in a ferry.
At the moment the bay is glassy still and there is a fluffy covering to the mountains around. We have loads of anchor chain out and I know that this boat was built for bad weather and an 8 is just standard stuff for the Shetlands fishermen. Skipper is doing more engineering - we seem to have lost the use of one or more fuel injectors and fortunately managed to get some ordered so they might arrive tomorrow Saturday. In the meantime there is some diagnostic work to do and we are using the hand-cranked harbour set to generate power. Noisy and smelly but so effective. This old Lister has earned a big dirty place in my heart for being so utterly dependable.
We noticed an unusual amount of smoke from the exhaust and started to worry about what might be happening. The main worry was that we were in a bay with no harbour and the storm was predicted to be a force 8 from the South East. We had some shelter from the bay, but the sea tends to ignore headlands and sweep in anyway. The water is mirror calm at the moment and the only indication of a change in the weather is the mist appearing at the tops of the mountains.
The noises and smoke from the engine Skipper thought might be a problem with an injector.
So the main engine did not start. It looked like perhaps there was not enough charge in the batteries so we decided to run the harbour set for an hour or so. Unfortunately, because it uses so much force to spin the alternator the fan belt sometimes slips. The adjustor was broken before we had her and must be held in position with mole grips. How these fishermen ever survive one wonders. Not surprisingly 34 trawlers were lost around the UK last year and there were 9 drownings, which, statistially, given that there are so few trawlermen left makes the business one of the most dangerious.
I had hoped by this time that we would be safely tucked away somewhere between Islay and Jura, but we are just inside Red Bay and expecting a force 8 in the next 24 hours. I am sure that in the eyes of proper sea-folk my panic is ridiculous and that we have good shelter, good anchor gear and that the blow will not last long, but there is always the fear of the unknown, and I have not been out in an 8 before, not even in a ferry.
At the moment the bay is glassy still and there is a fluffy covering to the mountains around. We have loads of anchor chain out and I know that this boat was built for bad weather and an 8 is just standard stuff for the Shetlands fishermen. Skipper is doing more engineering - we seem to have lost the use of one or more fuel injectors and fortunately managed to get some ordered so they might arrive tomorrow Saturday. In the meantime there is some diagnostic work to do and we are using the hand-cranked harbour set to generate power. Noisy and smelly but so effective. This old Lister has earned a big dirty place in my heart for being so utterly dependable.
We noticed an unusual amount of smoke from the exhaust and started to worry about what might be happening. The main worry was that we were in a bay with no harbour and the storm was predicted to be a force 8 from the South East. We had some shelter from the bay, but the sea tends to ignore headlands and sweep in anyway. The water is mirror calm at the moment and the only indication of a change in the weather is the mist appearing at the tops of the mountains.
The noises and smoke from the engine Skipper thought might be a problem with an injector.
So the main engine did not start. It looked like perhaps there was not enough charge in the batteries so we decided to run the harbour set for an hour or so. Unfortunately, because it uses so much force to spin the alternator the fan belt sometimes slips. The adjustor was broken before we had her and must be held in position with mole grips. How these fishermen ever survive one wonders. Not surprisingly 34 trawlers were lost around the UK last year and there were 9 drownings, which, statistially, given that there are so few trawlermen left makes the business one of the most dangerious.
posted by Pomme at 9:05 pm
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