Bristol - 4th & 5th September

[Matt]

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Administrator's warning

On page two of this thread, the description decribes finding a body flaoting in the water. It is not particularly gruesome, nor detailed, but you may wish to avoid reading it. If so. Please ignore this thread.




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Trying to organise a flotilla to Bristol City Docks next weekend and staying overnight, weather permitting. LW is at 9am so hoping to lock out around that time. Boats currently committed:

Katey (Julian)
Sequel (Alan & Sue)
Molian (Rhian & Chris)

This is a good trip for any novice or veteran as it is quite local and a lovely sightseeing trip up the river Avon, not to mention the many bars and eating houses next to the marina.

Matt

[Xanadu]

Count Xanadu in on this one.

[Deleted]

Would've really liked to join you, but I'm away again that weekend.

Make sure and post plenty of comments, directions, photos etc. so we can have a guide for the future

Peter

[Viv]

Tony Burris is also suggesting and end of season club cruise to Watchet on this weekend. Text messagegs have been sent out to those on the text contact list and emails will be sent out next week by Huw to those on the email contact list.

[clarinettist]

Might be up for that, work permitting. Is it Bristol or Watchet?

[gofa]

Hi all
could Bristol be put back to coincide with the Cabot cruising club weekend I believe 10/11th of Sept I am sure we would be made welcome, their notice is in the club with details

Regards

Gofa

[Camelot]

I've held off sending out an email about the coming weekend because of the confusion:- I know Tony was keen to arrange a trip to Watchet, however, there seems to be a fair amount of interest in Bristol, though as Ray says the following weekend would coincide with the CCC weekend.

As I said to Tony I'm working next weekend so can't make it myself anyway - so it's not in any way my decision to make. Therefore I suggest you all suggest your preferences on here asap, and I'll put out an email to let anyone else know wants going on. If there's no clear preference by tomorrow (Wednesday) evening I'll put out an email letting everyone know about both trips.

As Ray says the CCC weekend could well be a great trip so I'll include that either way.

[Matt]

Thanks for the replies.

Personally I can't do the weekend after (11/11th Sept) as I'm off to the boat show and then off to Turkey so will be doing Bristol anyway this weekend. Ray, I know that Julian (Katy) is in Watchet meeting friends all this week and not home until Friday so he wanted to do Bristol and Alan (Sequel) did Watchet recently so was keen to do Bristol, I contacted him yesterday by text and mentioned Watchet instead but he said he would rather Bristol both have never been up the Avon. Alan is in St Austell until Friday. Neither are able to view the forum until Friday when they return.

There are only a few of us going and the others may want to do Bristol again the week after. I certainly don't want to discourage people from going to the Cabot cruising weekend as I know these kind of events help gel bonds between clubs in the Channel.

Bristol is still on therefore for 4th/5th Sept for those that are interested. Here are the tide times (Cardiff). The intention being to be at Cumberland lock for HW Saturday.

Saturday 4th HW 02:56 9.2
LW 09:05 4.0
HW 15:40 9.7
LW 22:03 3.6

Sunday 5th HW 04:31 10.0
LW 10:40 3.1
HW 17:04 10.7
LW 23:17 2.5

Hope this is okay.

Matt

[clarinettist]

Its looking promising for me this w/end and I haven't been up to Bristol so quite keen to do that. Hopefully see you in the lock sat morning.

[Matt]

Looks like most of us will now be locking out at 9.30am. See you there!

[Xanadu]

We also can't do Bristol on 11th as we are racing in the Nimrod Cup, so will be going to Bristol with Sunbeam etc as planned. Probably lock out at 10.00am though.

[Matt]

Mike, no doubt you'll catch us up (as I'm on Katy) somewhere along the route!

We will be using VHF channel 77.

Yachts confirmed:

Katey (Julian & Matt)
Sequel (Alan, Dean & Sue)
Molian (Rhian & Chris)
Xanadu (Mike & Rhiannon)
Clarinettist.


Matt

[sheila]

I think Vince would like to go, but I don't think I shall be going. Maybe someone can persuade him tonight to go along.

[Matt]

Sheila, glad to see your back posting on the forum. Hope your not climbing the walls too much with all this nice weather were having. Would love Vince to come if he can make it.

Regards.

Matt

[clarinettist]

Sorry everyone, looks like Alegria won't be joining you this w/end.
Have a great trip.

[Matt]

This weekend went well apart from Sunday mornings weather. In all 6 boats took part -

Xanadu, Sequel, Molian, Katy, Moontide, Preceptor

Myself, Dean ant Tomas crewed on Katey which was skippered by Julian. Cardiff to Bristol was quiet with only a light breeze so when near Weston the engine was fired and continued until Bristol city docks. The sun was poking through now and again and it was a pleasant journey up and then waiting in the lock quite a bit for the girls on Molian who, running on fumes managed to get a tug from a passing rib.

We hit the town Saturday night with one group going to the 'Shakespeare' pub and crews of Katy and Molian starting at the 'Pitcher and Piano', then onto a bar with a dancefloor. Had a boogie ;-) Greasy take away food followed back at the boat with nibbles and wine. We had drunken far too much and by 3am we turned in but Dean and Tomas were out clubbing until 5am so we left the washboards out.

Sunday morning it was the Bristol Marathon and we were awoken by a guy on a tannoy speaking things that were illegible but this kept on all morning. We walked to ASDA to get fuel and saw all the runners (mostly women). The guys used this as the excuse as to why they didn't cop on last night as "all the girls must have been having an early night ready for the race and not out" ;D.

We locked out at 4pm and shadowed the girls on Molian but half way down the Avon the girls discovered a dead body floating face down in the water. Both Molian and Katy stood off, called the police who arrived in a fast black rib about 10 minutes later with 6 policemen who looked very serious in their official uniforms. They pulled the body out and zipped it in a body bag. We didn't look to see the body turn, I was already feeling a bit sick. They thanked us all and took details from the girls who discovered the body. After we continued on our way doing a bit of night sailing which I've not done before, this time we had a nice downwind breeze all the way back. Really interesting trying to make out the buoys in the background of Cardiff lights. Locked in just before 10pm and put Katy back on the trot mooring. In bed at 12.15am for a good nights sleep.

Back in work now wishing it was still the weekend :-(

A big thank you to all who came, especially Julian who made us feel at home on Katy.

:-) :-) :-)

Matt

[Deleted]

There isn't much I can add to Matt's account, except maybe to fill in a bit of background info for those not familiar with 'Molian', a titchy 22 footer from CBYC. Rhian and Chris (a female Chris) are friends of Matt and I have also met them previously as they came on the CYC trip to Uphill (Weston-super-Mud).

It was a bit disappointing that we had to motor almost all the way to Bristol. The weather can almost be forgiven for no wind if there is brilliant sunshine to compensate, but we had neither. In fact visibility was quite poor to begin with, although as Matt said, the sun poked its nose out a few times later, and it didn't actually rain.

I think everyone had a great time in Bristol with copious amounts of alcohol being consumed by all. I seem to remember a group of people standing on the pontoon comparing hangovers on Sunday morning, although I can't be sure who was amongst them as everyone was a bit blurred. :-)

High tide was approx 17:00 (we looked in 2 different places and got 2 different results) and most wanted to get back before dark, so the others left the visitors moorings by the Arnolfini at 13:30, intending to punch the current in the Avon and the remaining tide in the Channel. Molian, on the other hand, has an ancient outboard that is well past its sell-by date and probably produces much less than its 4.5 hp rating, and so couldn't do this. As Molian are Matt's friends the crew of 'Katy' agreed to wait until later with them and offer a tow if necessary. We hoped to exit the lock into the Avon approx 1 hour before high water with tow rope at the ready.

As it turned out we were lucky enough to go almost straight through with only a small amount of waiting for the swing bridges. We cast off at 15:20 and were in the Avon just before 16:00 and proceeded to escort Molian against the last of the tide.

We were motoring side by side down the stretch where there is a railway bridge parallel to the river. I would have dismissed it as a floating bin bag, but Molian, who passed closer to it than Katy shouted across that it was a body. I didn't really believe them, so Katy doubled back to make sure.

***** DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH *****************

As we got closer the 'bin bag' turned out to be a black jacket and the back of a head became visible, with short hair waving like seaweed in the ripples on the water. Only the upper part of the back was visible above water, with the arms and legs hanging down like tentacles. Everyone aboard Katy said they immediately felt queazyand we backed off.

******* NOT SO BAD NOW **************************************

The coastguard had said to stay with the body to mark its position until the police RIB got there, but don't touch it. (Yeah! Like we were going to!!!) Molian didn't want to stay, and they also couldn't afford to drift back with the tide, so they carried on while Katy did large circles around the body at a distance where it could be regarded as a bin bag again. The police RIB arrived very quicky. I waved to attract their attention and kept pointing at the body until they acknowledged and went straight to it. We finished off our final circle as they pulling it out of the water into a body bag and we left them to it.

************ TAME NOW ************

Once they were finished the RIB soon caught us up. They thanked us for our help and sped on to Molian to take their details. The police said that someone had been reported walking across the M5 motorway bridge about an hour before, so it appears to be a suicide.

It was very quiet aboard Katy for a while, so we put the genoa up and tried to sail the last section of the river to take our minds off recent events.

****** ALL OVER ****************************

There was a breeze in the Channel going towards Cardiff, so we thought we'd hitch a lift. It frequently faded away and left us doing 1.4 knots, but having motored most of the way to Bristol the consensus of opinion was that nobody was in a huge rush, so we would attempt to sail all the way back. In the end we just failed as there simply wasn't enough wind to get across the last section of the channel before the tide swept us past Cardiff, so the engine had to be started, but it was only for the last half a mile or so.

We locked in on the 9:45 and I dropped my 'crew' off on the visitors pontoons, thinking that with the light breeze it will be easy to put Katy back on the trot moorings alone. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind when the wind started increasing rapidly.

Many thanks to Matt for staying to help me get Katy back out on the trots. In the new wind strength it was a struggle with the two of us and would have been incredibly difficult, if not impossible, on my own. Where was that wind when we needed it?

Julian

[ishtar]

Wow. That's what I call an eventful weekend.

[sheila]

Julian & Katy, how is that where ever you seem to go, something untoward always seems to happen. Is it you J or the boat?

[Camelot]

I can't believe how casually Matt wrote his post! I had to read it twice.

[Deleted]

I don't know which one of us it is Sheila. I wish I did! Perhaps I ought to lend Katy to someone to take out when I'm not on board and see if anything happens!

[Deleted]

...or offer myself as crew on someone else's boat. Do you think anyone would be brave enough to take the risk? :-)