TopCat Cruising School and Seanavigate.com

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First five day course of 2010  will be 18th - 23rd April unless anyone wants to get out there earlier? (2 places left)

Then 9th - 14th May,      23rd - 28th May ( 3 places left).

6th - 11th June, ( 2 left)   20th - 25th June

26th - 1st October 

 

Longer distance trip next July?  Norway via south and east coast? 14 day cruise. About 7 in UK and across north sea. ( Stop in Lowestoft to re victual ) Aprox 750miles. Four or five days cruising around Stavangar in SW Norway.  Only 2 places left on this one so if you want to go? don't hang about. Call me!  I am taking  an extra to make watches a little easier on this longer distance trip. So there will be six of us. 

This one will start from Plymouth on Friday 9th/ 10th July. 
Flight back from Stavangar - London is about 60 quid.  on 23rd July

Amsterdam - Plymouth. Yes Dutch inland waterways (with our mast up) from Amsterdam down to Vlissingen.( Flushing) Then where ever the winds take us on route to Plymouth (  North French coast and Channel Islands) You will have to get to Amsterdam, but that's not too tricky and cheap to fly! 

This one starts on Sunday 5th September through 15th.

Own boat tuition? Any time, as are one and two day cat familiarisation courses. Just call. 01752 823360

 

 

 

                                                                  

 

 

 

A taste of Norway                                                                                  This is up the Lysefjorden near Stavangar. Its 405 metres vertical to the water below!

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In July this year "Mago" will be in this picture                      

  Privilege 39 "Mago Merlino"  Check the Spec!

 

New Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster shore based correspondence course available now! www.seanavigate.com  for details

Correspondence course in Navigation and Seamanship.

The RYA Day Skipper or Coastal Skipper shore based courses are now available from us as a correspondence course on CD ROM. www.seanavigate.com

 

 

 

Contact Jim for details Jim Duerden (Principal)  

June 99

Catamaran Familiarisation Courses details

4^th in the Three Peaks race!

In June 98 we competed in the Three Peaks yacht race. A grueling sailing and mountaineering race.

Starting in Barmouth in North Wales. Race to Cearnarfen, run up Snowdon. Through the Menia straight and north up the Irish Sea to the Tiny hidden harbour of Ravenglass. Run up Scafel pike. Off again for Fort William to run up Ben Nevis! No time off unless your runners are on the mountains and that ain’t long, they're fast and I think a bit crazy. (Not many people want to set out to run 33 miles in the black of night in the middle of a warm front!)

We were first over the start line, with force six gusts coming down off the mountains. A dead run for Bardsy Island was not our best point of sail and we were slow to hoist the kite so lost some ground. We tacked down wind, the others in the main, ran for it. Our tactic won out and we were 4^th into Caernarfen. Pete and Bruce did a great time on Snowdon and off we went down the straits at about 0700. We made it as far as the Railway bridge but then the tide stopped us dead. we tried for a while to sail up the back eddies, but it was useless, so we picked a mooring and got 2 hours kip.

Later we charged out of the Straits like a bullet! and then onto a broad reach for Ravenglass. Fast spinnaker work was hard on the nerves and with only two people confident to helm in those conditions, skip and the mate had a very hard day. Finding Ravenglass in the gathering dusk was interesting!? No lights and a treacherous sand bar. I hate to admit it, but the GPS got us in.

A black night full of rain and wind. I was glad to be in my bag, high and dry on the sand, while the runners, god love em, slogged it out. Incredibly at about seven the next morning they come galloping back as if they’ve just been out with the dog!?

We charge off having taken a large chunk of time out of the Tri, Kaos. Going out over the bar in a big sea, but thankfully near high water. Bruce looking aft from the comfort of the saloon says" whats that?" Jim "its a life raft" "Its our ******* liferaft!" The hydrostatic release had failed and we lost our raft.

Liferaft overboard drill took a good twenty minutes and Koas was long gone by the time we got our selves out of Barmouth. ( The raft is an 8 man type and cannot be lifted by one man on land! I have always advocated using a dinghy in these type of situations, but a tremendous strain was put on all gear involved in the rescue, due to the large seas running at the time) Close Hauled for the Mull of Galloway we could not lay the course, but tide and a backing wind meant we scraped past with a cable to spare. We had been racing hard against another cat. A Dazcat "Specially Selected" and she just beat us around the Mull, but had daggerboard damage and had to put into Portpatrick for repairs (Luckily for us).

We had a hard night of rain and poor vis up to and past the Mull of Kintyre. Spinnaker run all the way though with some 10 knots or so and them some when surfing. As dawn broke such as it does in the Scottish Isles! ( A hundred shades of grey and black, lurking in the drizzle) We were off the gulf of Corevreckan,. a very fast tidal area and with the tide against us. No choices, we flew the kite in too much wind and charged across the mouth of the gulf at a tremendous pace. Just made it into an eddy and BANG goes the port clew and foot. Kite in ruins, I’m depressed and I’m going to bed (I’ve been up all night) One hours sleep and amazingly the spinnaker is ready to hoist! The crew have made a new clew and sewn in a bolt rope to produce a new foot. It didn’t look pretty, but it went up and worked the rest of the trip.

Seeing a tide advantage, we sailed up the East side of Kerrera Island ( Protecting Oban) and thence up Loch Lynne. Still carrying tide we shot through Corran Narrows and flew our "re-cut kite" all the way to Fort William.

Away went our two madmen for their jog up the Ben! Claire and Toby ( My wife and 4 year old) shore crew put me in the car to meet the lads coming down again with a drink and some support. I promptly went to sleep in the back of our car and missed them.

A great race, great team efforts by all the boats (we didn’t touch our oars, but many teams rowed all night trying to get through the Corran Narrows)

Very hard, but I’d do it again, if anyone's keen?

Contact for details e-mail Jim Duerden (Principal) or Snail-Mail

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