Anyone for Applejack? incorporating 'Adventures of Applejack' ®

[frank]

great shots!!

between bridges and ruins.....really interesting

[GeeW]

Thanks Frank.

Once the mast was right side up with the dressing correctly adjusted we continued our sail and decided to moor at one of the staithes along the Sound Plantation. Another beautifully quiet night with only the hoots of Tawny Owls and the gentle wind in the reeds to listen to, and with a 3/4 moon to light everything, ideal!  It was however another chilly night with temperature down to 5° C by the morning necessitating the use once again of HWBs and kettle N° 2.

Morning broke sunny and the temperature soon rose. A full English breakfast with of course toast and home made marmalade to follow was duly prepared as it never fails with to make a good start to the day.
Admirals orders were communicated to the Sailing Master who was then left to carry them out as he saw fit. We were to proceed at best speed across Hickling Broad to re-victual (ie we needed bread and milk otherwise no more tea or toast) and then were to retrace our passage back to Horsey Mere as one of the twitchers she had spoken with had said that the seals were back at Bramble Hill which is a short walk from Horsey Staithe.
As we had a Westerly F3 the wind served for this small expedition and off we went. A fine sail across Hickling had us at the 'shop' which is actually one end of the public bar at the Pleasure Boat Inn. A very broad reach back across Hickling trying to beat a local boat which appeared to be a long ago converted day boat. Like most locals outboards are not considered worth their weight......I will leave you to guess who won, and who came in second.

Dayboat with cabin conversion but nicely done.


The trip through Meadow Dyke was yet again done with no assistance from the iron tops'l, three consecutive traverses without using an engine...a first for me.
Having moored back close to Horsey Windpump and walked the couple of miles across open land to the 30' high sea defences that help prevent flooding when the winter Northerly gales coupled with fast moving depressions sweep the UK. Once over the top, the wide open expanse of the Norfolk coast beach became apparent with miles of beach being visible. The North Sea even looked blue which is a pretty rare event considering how shallow it is.
Our information had been correct and the seal colony were demonstrating how to look properly relaxed on the beach. They are comfortable with people getting fairly close to them so long as you don't move suddenly or make much noise. It was the first time we had been that close to wild seals and spent a good while just watching them generally chilling out. I was surprised how big the Bull  grey seals were compared with the harbour seals we sometimes see in Chichester. It was a great experience.





Another short video clip
https://youtu.be/NHNhTyBKl8Q

And when the sun came out properly it became very obvious that this was what they came for!





By the time we had strolled back the day was done, so after using the good facilities of the staithe we walked down to Horsey Village to enjoy the bright lights and all it could offer.

[GeeW]

Well the village of Horsey is more of a hamlet to be honest and the only bright lights were those of the pub so of course in we went.
it is a very traditional pub that judging from the old sepia images that adorn the walls has been serving ales and sustenance for quite some time.
With only half a dozen tables you end up having to be sociable and we spent the evening with the skipper and crew from the Hunter 'L' class boat that I posted images of earlier in the thread, they were good company, and the food was excellent.
Apologies for the images in this post, all of which I have pulled from t'internet as my efforts were somewhat below par.



Around the walls there are many interesting objects to be seen. Ranging from gin-traps and various farming, thatching and sailing artefacts as well as a pair of original pins from Admiral Nelsons flagship H.M.S. Victory. These are in a glass case mounted above the fireplace.
Also on the mantle piece there is a splendid flintlock punt gun. These were essentially long range shotguns and were mounted in a punt to speed up the acquisition of decent numbers of ducks for the pot.




Duck punts have no fixed rudder or lee board and are very easy to make and great fun to sail. These days they normally sport an Optimist Dinghy mast and rig rather than a full blown punt gun.  And as we all know the Optimist was designed by the same designer as the ComPac 16.



video of duck punt sailing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ0KwXBUEjY

And firing whilst afloat, the second half of the video is the bit you want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2NUCJOYRE8

The walk back to 'Applejack' in the pitch dark just after closing time was fun, we chose the slightly longer road route back rather than across the fields with all the attendant fun of ditches and livestock to negotiate.
As the temperature was still on the low side the HWB's were reloaded, to ensure comfort as a prompt start was required the next morning for the visit of the Admirals grandson Tom for his first time afloat.

[GeeW]

At the appointed hour Tom (6) was duly delivered for his first taste of life afloat. He was OK about the wearing of a buoyancy aid despite being a good swimmer for his age. We motored out of the dyke and for a little while to allow him to get used to the motion and for us to explain what was going on and what we were going to do next.
He was a bit nervous to start with but quickly settled down, so at  that point up went the sails. Very deliberately we sailed up to the other end of Horsey  so that his mum could not see what we were up to whilst we started on the basics. Firstly getting him to pull bits of string at the right moment (always a crowd pleaser for small people) and then the idea of aiming the boat at a distant object, be it a tree, or cloud or whatever serves........

A bit of dual tuition with the Admiral to start with to get the idea of what to do



and after a short while some solo steering




He very quickly gained some confidence and we then used all the Mere so that his mother could also see us. By then the afternoon was nearly done so we downed the sails and allowed Tom to steer us back in, which he made a good job of as I had no need to intervene at all, and just adjusted power as required.



The afternoon was deemed a complete success by all, and Tom went away full of the joys of sailing. Just what we had hoped for!

[GeeW]

That evening saw us having a gentle sail back up to Heigham Sound via Meadow Dyke...and for the only time the wind was hard on the nose so despite all of my best efforts and patience I had to concede defeat and fired up the outboard for the middle part of the trip. A rather good dinner was cooked by the Admiral and wine was consumed whilst we talked over the weeks highs as this was the last evening. From the image below you will immediately spot that the temperature wasn't great and layers were added as the evening went on.




HWB's and Kettle N°2 were once again bought into action, by morning we had a frost over the foredeck and boom tent...time to go home!

Despite my worries (this being only the second time we had recovered) 'Applejack' was re-installed on the trailer in only a couple of minutes and we settled down to the lowering and stowing routine as well as enjoying a final breakfast before we set off for home.
We were really sad to be going as it had been a great week, with (considering it was September in the UK) excellent weather.



And finally one gratuitous shot of our little CP16/III 'Applejack' on Horsey Mere.

[tmw]

Looks and sounds like a great adventure.  Thank you for sharing.

[GeeW]

I realised the other night that Dylan Winter, whom I follow via his website http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk  on his sail around the UK has a video of his passage through this bit of the Broads which I hope you might enjoy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D6cVoofj-c

I really enjoy his videos, he has been on his UK circumnavigation for I think about 8 years and has probably not managed to get half way round yet owing to his penchant for sailing up any river/creek/ditch that presents itself ahead of his bow? Dylan's camera-work and editing is good, his humour is very British and he is very down to earth about all he comes across. I particularly enjoy the way (in his own words) how he 'mangles' (or perhaps re-interprets) parts of our history with a flourish......

And if you will indulge me just a little more, another video of Dylan's that I have watched more than a few times? I just like it, no other reason!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aO5tZgdJcg

Gordon

[GeeW]

Welcome back to the followers of 'Applejack', many apologies for the break in transmission.
Now that winter is receding we have started to work our way through the short-list of items requiring attention.
We had discovered that the kicking strap mount on the bottom of the mast was cracked so this was replaced. Luckily we have a very helpful dinghy store about 12 miles away who sourced an identical part in a couple of days.
Last weekend I striped a wheel hub out so that new wheel bearings and back-seal could be identified and acquired. This evening I installed said bearings and refitted the hub. Hopefully I will get to the other side of the trailer over the weekend or early next week.
Next item on list is to replace the standing rigging which will involve a trip down to the South Coast. I noticed when we bought her that the forestay is looking a little suspect at the top, so have decided to change the lot and have done with it.
The Admiral is busy selecting and ordering materials for her boom tent project for 'Applejack'.
So if all things pan out our first sail of the season should be second weekend in May (fingers crossed) unless family/work/real-life (delete as appropriate) get in the way in-between times?

Gordon

[jthatcher]

hi Gordon..  totally enjoyed the pics and video.. some close quarters sailing in some of those scenes!   looking forward to more!   jt

[GeeW]

Wheel bearings all done, 45 mins for the second wheel so getting quicker!

Admiral should finally have taken delivery of all items for the boom tent which assuming it doesn't snow (it did today here- seriously unimpressed) or rain this weekend we will make a start on.....
By 'WE' I mean I get bossed around and try to look like I know what and why I am doing ...whilst pins are inserted and strange commands are uttered by said Admiral. I will be taking images which will be posted in due course.

Gordon

[Salty19]

Gordon-I have been following your enjoyable posts closely and can only suggest to keep reminding yourself of the intended reporting structure between Admiral and Captain.
As well, to assist with the installation, I can offer a few phrases to memorize and repeat at opportune times during the grueling test fit process:

"Yes, Dear!"
"No, Dear!"

Repeat those several times-not too enthusiastic mind you,  then toss in:

"Great idea, teacup"
"Brilliant!, Love"

I'm sure you can think of others when the needs present themselves.  I trust you'll be judicious should the installation be less than smooth!

P.S.  Do you have the "Raven" model of the CP16?

[GeeW]

Salty
Just jotted those phrases down as an "aide memoire" for when things start to go awry.
'Applejack' is not a Raven,  just a plain Jane.

[GeeW]

And we're off......
The Admiral had made a good start in that the basic two runs of material had been sewn together and the side opening zips sewn in.



The day was spent (by the Admiral) adjusting and sewing the forward end and making the apertures where the shrouds will go....sorry I forget the proper 'seamstress' name for it....




The centreline eyelets were fitted which ties the centreline in the boom and the basic shape and forward panel were considered............I can honestly say I understood nearly 10% of the technical jargon used!



'We' finished today with a long discussion on the front panel, and a list of work that was to be accomplished (luckily by head seamstress) prior to the next fitting...didn't understand much of that either.....just agreed (not like me) and nodded with small smile a lot of the time!!!

[GeeW]

Another day was spent on the boom tent. Essentially, the forward and aft doors were worked upon. Lots of discussion (i e I had a few facts pointed out on the physics of sewing) and good progress was made. Images to follow tomorrow evening.

[GeeW]

The Admiral worked hard yesterday on the boom tent. My input was rather more modest and included being told to a) make tea,  b) go and do something else for a while and c) come and help when called.

Firstly, initial progress, images shows storm flaps over side zips



And a doubler on the inside between the side zips (still to be tidied and finished)



The finished slots where the shrouds will sit




Second fitting of the front panel (zipped on port side)



And finally, initial fitting using G clamps of centre zipped rear panel. For some reason this image will not rotate in photobucket so you will have to lean your head in the correct direction!