The wee giggle

Got it

chuckle happy in her berth

Chuckle has had a lot of attention over the weekend fixing all those little things before the summer season. friday afternoon i went crazy busy cleaning scrubbing sanding and painting all those areas needing attention. saturday more painting and making of rope ladder.sunday the family came out and we had a breezy sail.

My first boat affair

Fergus with his dads old toy boat.

So my first love of boats or at least a specific boat (because I was already in the habit at around 7 yrs old to spend as long as was allowed in any news agents to goggle at the classic boat magazine) began when on holiday some place I can not remember, where I spotted this toy and by some mirical got my hands on it. Picture above is of my son Fergus who on Sunday discovered the forgotten toy in the house of my parents while on a short holiday catching up with relatives and friends. Fergus it appears is suffering very similar symptoms I had with said boat, practically cuddling it for extended lengths of time and wanting to exhibit it to anyone interested or not. Poor boy, just like his dad. After nagotiating with granny to take possession of the wee vessel he has been proud as punch at the prospects of this tiny floating dream, imagining its floatings and telling us from the back of the car how good a boat it is, such conviction of its success afloat without ever having seen it on water. The imagination is a powerful thing. Having been reminded by my dad just how he witnessed the hitmatising effects this toy had on me it is funny to see my own son fixed on it with so much admiration. A mans lot, wee or not is his world and no one can take it away. For me it appears that comparing this wee boat to chuckle is like seeing dreams come true. Wow, it is true if you can dream it and hold on long enough (in my case 30 years) dreams do come true.

james wyness sound recording link of chuckle on the seaway:

http://soundcloud.com/wyness/below-deck

Soundings

Well this was an interesting change to my normal crew. James Wyness is an artist in sound and composer, living in jedburgh. He requested the opportunity to take a trip on chuckle to record the sounds she makes on the seaway. James' plan was to try and pick out sounds with his selection of special microphones, sounds that i and the crew hear as feedback as to chuckle's progress through the water and general health, like a doctor listens to your hart or an engineer listens to an engine. It was very funny watching him and relaxing in a funny way, slowly moving his microphones round the boat almost hunting out sounds. I was pleased to find he recorded the sounds he had hoped for from the creeky wooden hull and spares of wood and will use these to compose/create a piece of sound art. For more information and where to find his art when it is made public in Eyemouth i think, visit his website: http://dippinlug.wordpress.com/

Inspired

Well this is new to me and lots of fun painting with my ipad, it's so

reversible and a different way of doing it, how do you like my memory of

Saturday morning? Only missing the crew, but we were all there having

breakfast cooked for us as we sailed out the harbour in the dark to be

greeted by the sunrise  half an hour later. Fergus and Freyja very excited

to see the lighthouses and take some bearings and make a fix on the

chart, wooow!

On Friday 15 Feb 2013, jenny and I planned over lunch while the kids were still at school to take the afternoon off our work and chores and prepare kit and food for an overnight stay on the boat. The weather was going to be perfect for gentle sailing, but we were not sure how we would fair in such cold temperatures, forecast 2-3 deg. C that night.
On picking the children up from school they were happy and excited at the announcement that we were going straight to the boat with change of cloths for them on the back seats.  This is not always the case, in the past Fergus has kicked up a storm with such surprises, but we had not spent a night on the boat for months and over the last few weeks we had talked about it a lot, and generated much excitement for the prospect.
All went well loading and preparing chuckle, with so many little hand eager to help we were all ready in under an hour. chuckle is left empty in the winter to minimize dampness inside and staining of cushions, so an hour seemed quite good with all the other stuff we had to load and the dog.
So why not we started cooking lunch and in such calm and well ordered conditions we took chuckle out to enjoy dinner on the seaway heaved too and enjoying the sun set. This was great practice for all, as i cooked, jenny managed the helm and Fergus and Freyja got used to the idea of being out as it got dark and looked out for lighthouses. Fergus and Freyja, became very excited after dinner when we got the compass out to take bearings of light houses and mark a fix on the chart. They were not so enthusiastic when i teased, that we would stay out all night heaved too drifting and asleep, very wise.
Coming in we sneaked a birth for the night on the posh pontoon the other side of Eyemouth harbor for the night. It was like being on holiday easily jumping on and off the boat to walk the dog and exercise the children, quite different to our usual birth along side the quay and big fishing trawlers. Perhaps the extra money in birthing fees might be seen more favorable by the finance director (Jenny) also considering the damage incurred rising and falling with the tide next to bigger boats and heavy mooring lines ripping gear of the rails.
Having got the children to sleep early with all the excitement the returned the favor by getting up at 5.30 am, I did plan to rouse them at 6 on our way out the harbor or even on the seaway, so i could tease them again that they had been out all night after all. Jenny having found her sea legs cooked porridge as we tried and failed in sailing out the harbor (not to be repeated). After starting the engine and clearing the rocks out the bay we heaved too in time to eat our porridge on deck in the twilight and watch the sunrise up over the sea, Fergus especially was mesmerised.  We then tried and gave up plotting a course to a wreck mark, using the GPS instead. we tried some fishing over the wreck and came in, Freyja was showing signs of discomfort, which turned out to be early signs of getting cold. Gentle words were briefly said about the responsibility of wearing appropriate clothing over a well deserved round of beans on toast bacon rolls and mugs of tea in the fabulous 'Harbor Cafe'. I must remember to check the wee ones apparel more frequently.
What a great night we all had, it was a genuine adventure holiday, perhaps the harbor onlooker used the correct term in naming us the 'outward bound family', when we told him our plans while loading chuckle on friday night, why do people find our adventures such a surprise?