Let there be light

100th post on Fettler's Voyages!

A silly little job before bed.
When we were getting the mast ready to go back on the boat, I remembered noticing towards the end of last season that the steaming light wasn't working. A look inside the housing revealed corroded terminals and the multimeter showed the bulb was gone as well. New spade terminals were easily sorted so that just left the bulb.

No problem, right? Incandescent festoon bulb, quick visit to the auto parts shop, all well.
Not quite as simple as that. The bulb ends had dimples rather than the pointed ends on all the bulbs in the shop. Now, I could have raked around online and found a direct replacement, or...

Unfortunately the multimeter is on the boat, so I've no idea if the bulb survived the soldering process. We'll see tomorrow.

Update: According to the multimeter, the bulb should still work!

The never-ending list

Things have been a bit hectic in the Fettler household of late as preparations continue. The project is a many-headed hydra and it often seems that seven new heads appear for each one we strike off.

One of the early ones to be ticked off was vaccinations and medical kit. Previously we carried nothing more than a basic first-aid kit, painkillers and some household remedies and, on occasion, we did a bit of medical improvisation, especially with super glue. However, this time we took medical advice and stocked up the ship's medicine chest:

Hopefully we won't be needing this stuff. With thanks to
Drs Becky Sutherland and Robert MacFadyen for their advice.

We invested in a few more items of equipment: a second-hand hand pump-operated desalinator (after buying this we found the exact same unit in one of our rarely used lockers! Looks like we have one for sale now), a SPOT satellite GPS messenger, which has a very handy OK button, and a VHF radio with in-built AIS.

Last month we threw a party and suggested guests bring us a tin of something tasty to consume on the broad Atlantic (it was our tin wedding anniversary, after all). So now we have lots of treats for the ocean crossing and quick meals for after heavy weather.

Let’s hope we’ll get to use all of these. Thanks to all our guests!

Jim’s also been working hard on a new galley arrangement as we’ve decided to switch to paraffin. This eliminates the risk of a gas leak and avoids the hassle of different gas bottles in different countries. We were carrying paraffin anyway, for our Taylor’s heater, so it make sense to have one fuel for everything. Besides, the vent to the gas locker was in a bad position and needed to be ‘bunged’ up every time we were under way to avoid flooding. A fond farewell to that hole in the stern!

We managed to find a pair of beautiful British-made paraffin stoves on the internet, which had been languishing in some warehouse since the Sixties. With a bit of inspiration from the Atom stove, Jim designed a new gimballed housing for the cooker, which we had made locally by a fantastic metal fabrication firm called Pentland Tech. Now it just needs to be installed in situ.

The boat was launched again on 9 April, the mast is back up and we've almost finished recommissioning. A new sprayhood should be ready shortly. Could be time to go for a sail - if we can manage to find the time...

A slightly off-topic historical interlude

Our much-loved club - the Forth Corinthian Yacht Club - has a long and distinguished history. I recently came across these gems when rummaging through the club archives.

The year is 1971. The sport of offshore racing is experiencing a golden age. Only 3 years previously, the monumental Golden Globe round the world yacht race took place. Fettler herself has only been afloat 3 years and is currently somewhere on the west coast of Scotland, based in Ardfern.

The FCYC organised and hosted the Fair Isle race, sponsored by Benson & Hedges, which was the third-longest European offshore race at 360 miles, from Granton to Kirkwall via Fair Isle, and the first of its kind to be held in Scottish waters.

My Uncle John Beattie, a Scotsman employee for most of his working life, used to regale me with his tale of meeting Sir Alec Rose in Edinburgh and would wax lyrical about the load of whisky aboard Lively Lady and the prose of Scotsman reporter John Rafferty describing the start of the race. I only wish I'd come across this material when Uncle John was still alive, as he'd have got a real charge out of seeing the photos and all the press cuttings again.

On with the photos (ah, the good old days):

Gadie, skipper Angus McIntosh, FCYC entrant and the smallest vessel (19' waterline) in the race. Gadie's rudder broke off Ratray Head (the broken piece now constitutes the Gadie Trophie) but the crew fought on before being forced to retire and run for Fraserburgh, due to stress of weather, just 10 miles short of Fair Isle.

Crowds gathered at the north end of the Middle Pier to view the start of the race. 12 vessels took part in the first race, including entrants from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

Sailing mega-celebrities converge to kick off the race. Here Rear Commodore Robin Fowler shoots the breeze with Sir Alec Rose. Chay Blyth was also in attendance. These days, Robin is our very own Chief Engineer. It's hard to imagine where we'd be without him.

FCYC Commodore Bill Russell and Sir Alec Rose share a joke on the slip before the start. Why don't Flag Officers get snazzy uniforms any more?

Gadie jockeys for position on the start line. Note the iconic Edinburgh skyline, largely unchanged for centuries, in the background.

Think of it. Gadie: 19' waterline. The North Sea - capable of throwing up some of the nastiest sailing conditions anywhere in the world. Today's health and safety Nazis would never allow it.