Well it all started fairly slowly in Feb 2011 we launched Kittiwake after spending most of the winter on a full refurbishment. The first voyage was a fairly serene affair with a slight breeze. Andy Young, his Daughter Jasmin, Ellie and I set sail for a couple of hours before heading back for hot chocolate at Nichol End.
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| Jasmin and Ellie |
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| Full load test. |
It was on this day that Jude took one of my favourite pictures.
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| Maiden voyage |
Over the next few weeks Ellie and I put her through her paces on Derwent but never getting very far, it was either to windy for my limited experience or we ended up with the oars out as we were just drifting.
Well the summer came and so did the tourists but more importantly I had promised myself that I would finally get the extension finished and get the completion certificate. So between May and September she stayed in dry dock (the garage).
Soon enough September came and some inspiration from Chris Abela (see his blog) who was organising a Gull sailing week at Ullswater so out she came for a few more sails on Derwent before meeting up with Chris at Ullswater. Autumn wind seemed to be a little more predictable than the spring wind and I managed get some really good sailing done. Finally getting to the southern end of the lake.
In early October Doug and I headed over to meet Chris and Jo at Ullswater. A windy old day showed that my experience was still lacking..... but we survived.
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| Chris and Jo aboard Aurora |
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| Doug and I |
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| Starting to feel the wind. |
I had two more sails in 2011 the first with Ellie and the second solo; both were on Derwent and both really good. Ellie the lookout didn't see Swarf Stones approaching; luckily we tacked just before running aground!
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| Swarf Stones |
Then it was the end of November after a very enjoyable year I decided that some mods were required, not sure if it was to satisfy my tinkering fetish or because she was really lacking in any way. I ordered some new sails which turned up three weeks later.
To go with the new sails I had decided that I needed better hiking ability so decided to add some extra width to the Gunwales.
These will be great for sitting on when hiking out.
So now she's just being varnished, I've a few mods to do on boom and mast to allow reefing of the new sails then she's ready for 2012 and some more exploring. Coniston and Windermere are on the to do list.
