Postcard from Dale

[ishtar]

Met up with Dave (Caswyn) on Thursday just as he had a call from some visitors to the area. We spent an hour or so in the sunshine outside the Griffin.



Went for a quick sail before once more being enticed to the Griffin by Dave, this time with another Cardiff sailor in tow.



We went aboard 'Shearwater of Sanday', Andy's Vancouver 28 before the pub, and a very lovely boat she is. Given Andy's description of her poor condition earlier this year, I was amazed at how much work he's done, and teh fact that he was just back from Waterford in her!

Sailed around a bit on Friday, Louise did some snorkelling:



before heading up river to avoid some strong Easterlies forecast for Saturday morning

[ishtar]

Spent a leisurely day on Sat, with some visitors



and the wind didn't seem that strong



Although we spoke with the water ranger who told us that, unfortunately, a boat belonging to a friend of ours had been sunk in big waves at Dale that morning. They managed to refloat the speedboat, though, which seemed to have suffered very little damage.

[ishtar]

We sailed back down river on Sunday. Winds 15-22 knots, Southerly. This was great, as it was the first time I had a chance to really sail with the new reefing system I installed on Ishtar last January. I was very pleased with the way it all worked, although some tweaks are in order. We'd heard that Chichester's 'Gypsy Moth IV' was in Milford, but she'd left when we called in to see her. Missed by a couple of hours, sadly.

I anchored in Chappel bay for an hour on Sunday afternoon, Louise went ashore.



Whilst the tugs and pilot boats maintained an exclusion zone around a departing LNG tanker

[ishtar]

Lastly, for annyone still following our fuel problems. We switched to white diesel earlier this year, stored in cans treated with a preventative dose of marine 16. I was under the impression that white diesel didn't get the bug. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.......