Wet, wet wet

Good grief. Left the boat in the water a little too long this winter. Certainly chose the worse day for the year so far for the extraction. My new friend Gerard Henry or Henry Gerard (I'm too embarrassed to ask after three lift operations) appeared on time, complete with towing tractor, to control the crane.

First though, I had to get the nameless one from the berth to the crane pier, alone, with stiff south-westerly blowing straight up the lake, into the port and shoving me and das boot into the shore. Would the wonderful Johnson 2-stoke, 8hp (less than 6kw, should the lake polizei be on the look-out - no powerboat licence required!!) burst into life at my command and assist in an uninterrupted fashion to get me to the crane. It took a bit of effort, but once I realised that the choke needs to be properly out, rather than lingering half-heartedly, to actually have any impact we were off in a blaze of smoke.

Lining up for the pontoon assault was amusing, especially since a downwind at speed approach is necessitated by the layout of the harbour. One bump later and we were snug alongside. Some nifty work was required to get the backstay detached and the boom off too - especially with no shackle key. Memo to self - always, always have a shackle key. Even if just visiting the Bistro du Port (nice Gamay available in a pot, very reasonably priced).

Horizontal sluicing with rain did nothing to deter M. Henry/M. Gerard, who operates the crane in summer wearing a Greek fishing hat and in the rain, a so'wester. Very dapper. Usual aplomb and one boat, one trailer combined. The jet hosing revealed nothing sinister. Still some paint peel due to lack of adherence to old coat of copper-bottom.

Overall a job well done and nicely placed in prime viewing spot for all those in the bistro to choke with laughter over their gamay as we struggle to make the nameless one ship-shape before next season. Interesting fact: there are now two Neptun 22 in the harbour. A trend has been started. Must find out the name of the other one.

Weekend Worrier

What a great weekend. Two trips onto le lac, both times with good wind. Learnt an invaluable lesson regarding the intracacies of roller-furling. Check it works or even how it works before loading family onto boat. Mucking about at the bow whilst the swabs are stripping the interior looking for biscuits and the first mate is impatiently basting in the cockpit is not a good way to start. However, we have now had two out of three headsails up and the overlapping genoa (non-furling) was a revelation.

On Saturday we were suddenly over-powered for the first time, so feathering the main to reduce the heel was the best way to keep the first mate happy. The swabs were down below at this point still searching for biscuits.

On Sunday we headed west towards St Aubin, past our Scottish mansion - ours because whilst we don't own it it it looks like a house we'd like to own and the lake does look like a lowland loch at this point - perhaps the Trossachs or Lomond - reminding us of our honeymoon. We sailed the whole way under the foch (gotta love that bit of German, although I think it is actually a genua, but hey don't let fact get in the way of a more emotive expression). Picnicking without the main up is another revelation. No risk of to life as the boat goes into an accidental gybe because one of the swabs has knocked the tiller over in a rash move to secure another slice of concombre. OK, I made that up. They were really after another biscuit.

Just before St Aubin we anchored up - another story of miscommunication with the first mate - and had the most wonderful swim off the back of the boat. Snorkeling, diving, floating in the danbouy (misuse or unlawful?). On the way back we put the swabs in the dinghy and towed them home. How peaceful. I even think I saw the first mate relaxing for a moment.

If only we could have secured a takeaway curry in the evening. Sometimes one's greatest concern might appear trifling to others. But when you've lived in a village of 600 that still has 4 curry houses within a five mile radius, to not find one in a town of 20,000 is genuinely worrying. Sometimes they just don't get it in la belle Suisse.

What are we going to call the boat...

New ambition for the Swissboat

Still need to apply for my practical test and summer almost over, tant pis. We had another covert sail (how covert two adults and three children might be is open to debate). Good one though, despite some rust in the sail hoisting department, where a badly located traveller caught under the lip of a badly tightened screw and started to lift the track out of the deck. It took numerous different tools (the right one, a simple screwdriver, had been left ashore) to free the offended screw whose nose had been completely bent out of joint. Once free of this impediment a fab sail and picnic lunch was achieved, followed by a swim at anchor off Pointe du Grain.

A second covert sail would have been achieved on the following day - perhaps the best sailing day on Lac Neuchâtel all year - had we not got some tidying up to do chez nous and a bbq planned with friends in the afternoon. A more ruthless approach is called for.

Still, two weeks in the UK at the Rolex Fastnet helped shape some planning for the future. For a short, possibly ghastly, moment I signed up for the 2011 South Pole Race (get your sledge out) until the prospective team leader's wife told him it was the Pole or his family. For a moment I saw hesitation in his response and a misty look of the snowblind about him, before reality hit home. So, I'm going to do the 2011 Rolex Fastnet instead and in the same week got an offer of a ride. Hence, the MTB is out and training has commenced. Hopefully, it will be more regular than this blog.

OOODALALEEEE

ha ha ha. It only took 4 months to soak up all that French and the inland rules of the road. Actually, about 2 months to do that and 2 months to get round to booking the exam. But fear not I passed the theory bit - only one mistake, something about admission of engines. Frankly, I'm not concerned by engines!

Now I have to pass a practical test - at least it is not an exam. The funny bit of course is that I might fail to reach the level required by Swiss maritime authorities. Now that would not be good for morale. Still we had an excellent (but unlawful) sail a couple of weeks ago. Taking the boat out in unpromising conditions, finding some wind and getting all the way across the lake and back under sail. Thrilled, to say the least.

BITS OF THE BOAT DEFINITIONS - PART 1

Hauban (shroud) - le hauban est un câble qui assure la tenue tranversale (lateral) du mât (mast), par exemple hauban de hune, hauban inférieur et hauban supérieur
Barres de Flèches (spreaders) - barres de flèches sont les renforts transversaux de soutien (support) et renvoi (direct) des haubans vers le pont (deck)
Etai (forestay) - l'etai assure la tenue longitudinale du mât par un câble vers la proue (bow)
Mât - le mât est la pièce principale de gréement (rigging) et fait office (acts as) de support des voiles
Tête de mât (masthead) - la tête du mât est la partie supérieure du mât
Balestron ou Latte à Voile (batten) - le balestron ou latte (board) à voiles est une fine et souple (flexible) latte qui s'enfile (slides) dans un fourreau (sheath) dans la voile afin de soutenir (support) le rond (roach) de la chute (leech)
Pataras (backstay) - le pataras assure la tenue longitudinale du mât par un câble vers la poupe (stern)
Chute (leech) - on nome chute la partie arrière d'une voile, du point de drisse (halyard) au point d'écoute (clew)
Bôme (boom) - la bôme est une vergue (yard) transversale du mât sur laquelle est frappée la partie inférieure (foot) de grande voile (mainsail)
Ecoute de Grand Voile (mainsheet) - l'écoute de grand voile est un cordage (line) sous formé de palan servant à orienter le grande voile
Barre (tiller) - la barre est une levier (lever) pour actionner (operating) le gouvernail (rudder)
Safran de Gouvernail (rudder blade) - le safran (blade) est la partie immergée (immersed) du gouvernail
Tableau arrière (transom) - c'est la partie plat (flat) à l'arrière d'un bateau
Quille (keel) - la quille est un aileron (fin) fixe et lesté (ballasted) sous la coque (hull)
Carène - la carène est la partie imergée d'un bateau (part of hull in water)
Ligne de flottaison (flotation line) - intersection de la surface de l'eau avec le flanc de la coque (hull) du bateau ou muraille (wall)
Balcon avant (pulpit) - structure métallique enforme de chaire (pulpit) pour le maintient des filières (guardrail) à l'avant du bateau
Chandelier (stanchions) - tube métallique sur le pont pour le maintient des filières sur le côtés du bateau
Hale-bas de bôme (kicking strap/vang) - le hale bas (downhaul) de bôme et un palan (hoist) pris entre la bôme et le pied du mât pour maintenir la bôme aux allures portantes
Grand-voile (mainsail) - voile principal arrière
Foc/Genois (jib/genoa) - voile triangulaire avant (triangular foresail)
Balancine (topping lift) - drisse (halyard) de soutien (supporting) la bôme au repos

GENERAL DEFINITIONS

Arrimer - Fixation avec des cordes (moored)
Bateau en stationnement (stationary) - bateau qui est à l'ancre (anchored), amarré (moored) à la rive ou échoué (run aground)
Bateau faisant route (making way) - bateau qui n'est ni à l'ancre, ni amarré à la rive ou échoué
Nuit - periode comprise entre le coucher et le lever du soleil
Jour - periode comprise entre le lever et le coucher du soleil
Amont - désigne (pointing) la direction ver la source (upstream)
Aval - désigne la direction ver la mer (downstream)
Sous le vent - désigne le côté opposé au vent (downwind)
Au vent - désigne le côté exposé au vent (upwind)
À la derive - un bateau qui est à la derive est considéré comme un bateau faisant en route (a boat adrift is treated as making way)

I HAD A BOAT IN SWITZERLAND

I had a boat in Switzerland. Not quite as dramatic as Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke, but it's as good an opening as I can come up with.

The boat in question is small, with a blue hull and a white deck. Currently, it's buried beneath two feet of snow in a boatyard on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel, in the Canton of the same name.

The aim of the blog is to help entertain me as I attempt to learn the necessary knowledge required to obtain a Permis de Navigation since, despite holding an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore (Commercially Endorsed), under Swiss Law I'm not fit to operate a sailing vessel carrying over 15m2 of sail. The easy answer would have been to buy a boat with less than the aforesaid 15m2. But by buying something smaller I would have missed out on some moments that have made me laugh hysterically, sob with frustration and curse uncontrollaby as Swiss beaurocracy meets British gung-ho head on.

Not that any of that was my intention. We live by a lake, we like sailing, so we bought a boat. Simple really. Not this boat, not in this country.