Welcome to Kelsall 39 sailing. Keep scrolling for the latest blog posts. Here in the beginning i have the frequently asked questions and answers! Common questions and answers:
- Firstly, what to pack? If going for a sailing trip it can be difficult to know what to bring! Actually there is a post here on the site where I talk about this. You can read about what to pack here.
- Secondly there is always the question of expenses. How much does it cost per day? This answer depends a little bit on which area which we are sailing. Eastern Europe is cheaper than England for example, and because we share all the food and marina/harbour costs that makes a difference for the daily cost per crew. To keep the long story short, what we do is that I keep a very careful note of every expense. Then as different people come and go we re-set the counter and share the costs of food, marinas, and fuel for engine (hopefully we don’t use it) and that’s about it. I really don’t think that I have been anywhere where daily costs go above 20 euro per day, but I think it is safest to calculate about 15.
- Thirdly, do you need to have experience? This question is also a very common one. I always try to explain that it does not matter if you have sailing experience or not. We organise the watches so that people of different experiences are together. The idea is to help each other and make sure that everyone is comfortable. If anything seems strange, or needs doing, then I am always close by.
Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy the blog posts here on the website!
- Dorset and Kent
It’s been a little while, and we have been busy with other things than me keeping the blog up to date. In part the sailing up past Dover, to where we are now; Sandwich in Kent, but also seeing friends in Poole, and various adventures on the way.
From Plymouth we sailed to Swanage, crossing Lyme Bay in a day, quite comfortably. The weather on Thursday was brilliant sunshine and Weasterly winds, and we arrived at Swanage by 2PM. The day at Swanage we spent walking the cliffs and visiting the National Park there. The weather forecast showed strong Easterly winds the next morning, so we moved to Poole Harbour for better shelter.
The sailing season is not yet active, it’s only April after all, so we could use a free mooring ball instead of having to anchor. This is when a dinghy is useful: for getting to shore. We went ashore on Friday morning, to escape the rain. The day was spent in Poole, a large part of it at the weatherspoons pub in the warmth.
It being good Friday there was a lively atmosphere in the pubs in Poole, even though outside the rain never held up, and the wind too was blowing it sideways. In the evening we found a live music pub on the waterfront at Poole, the Lord Nelson. Music, and later on the a DJ, we had a great time. By 1AM we decided to head back to the boat for some sleep.
Unfortunately for us, after the 2 km walk along the shoreside, we found that the dinghy we had left at the harbour was gone, stolen. Very unfortunate, as it’s only about 10 degrees in the water, and at 2AM, nobody about to give us a lift out. We ended up walking back into town, hoping to find a hotel or somewhere to sleep!
In the end we found no hotel, and all the online AirBnB and apps only allowed to book a place for Saturday to Sunday, not what we needed: a place for Friday to Saturday! So, in the end we found ourselves back at the Lord Nelson, and the few remaining people there were very helpful, phoning hotels for us and racking their brains fore where we could find shelter for the night.
Eventually we were offered a place to sleep at a someone who lives right in Poole centre in the old town, the gentleman – Sam – was very kind, and it just shows how kind people are. It’s easy to forget when you rarely find yourself in need in these times of wealth and individualism. So, many thanks Sam for you kindness, and for the breakfast omelette the next morning too.
After getting back out to the boat the next day we still didn’t have good conditions for continuing the voyage to Sweden, and we moved to a marina pontoon instead. The dinghy was never found, we did look through the bushes and in the reeds along the harbour, to see if it had been hidden somewhere, but no luck.
Anyhow, we stayed another night at a friend of mine who has a farm nearby, and on Monday sailed for the Dover straights. Perfect spinnaker sailing the whole way, and to the mouth of the river Stour, where we waited for the tide and motored the last bit up to Sandwich in the evening of April 22nd.
We now have to wait for the next weather window to sail to Germany, and for the next week it’s not looking very good. We shall see what we do to spend the time, but we shall certainly visit London a few days, pehapps Canterbury, and Dover castle too.
Poole Harbour 
Dover 
Seals at the Stour 
- Lyme Bay
The weather on Tuesday, our day at Plymouth, was solid rain all day. In the evening the wind picked up and rain, hail and a near gale blowing made for quite a grim evening.
However, what we ended up doing instead was having a big hot meal and drinks with my friends who live nearby Hope Lake where we were anchored. To stay in a warm house for dinner and in good company was the best thing we could have wished for! All the while rain blowing against the windows outside.
At 11PM we had to go back to the boat, before the dinghy would float no more on water, but get sucked in the mud as the tide goes out and leaves the whole of Hope Lake dry. The wind was still howling, and we had more rain and hail. The dinghy was half full of water, and had managed to twist its oarlocks and painter around the mooring lines of the craft moored at the quay. Some careful in twisting in the rain, without falling over in the mud was successful – but leaving us soaked through.
We paddled out to the boat, and took shelter inside, soon after we settled comfortably in the mud, and only the wind and rain continued to whistle in the rigging. There’s no better way to feel safe at anchor than when the tide has gone out and your boat is held firmly in the mud.
This morning we woke up to a fresh Southwesterly breeze, and bright sunshine. The day of departure for the next leg: to where, we were not sure – but by this evening I can say that the day’s sailing has been perfect! We made it in good time to Start Point, and now have had a broad reach all across the 50 miles of Lyme Bay.
We have a fair current round Portland Bill, and have just to finish the last few miles up the East coast and anchor at Portland harbour. It’s looking like we shall arrive at a civilised hour even – good enough to catch a nice night’s sleep.
Portland Bill coming up on the horizon - Plymouth in the Rain
Our departure from Morlaix was on Sunday at 19:37 CEST in the locks there. Winds light from the SW, and a forecast showing a large depression West of Ireland, bringing stronger SW breeze in the early hours of Monday. Swell almost 2 meters from the West in the channel.
The passage was a bit bumpy with the swell, but all in all we had enough wind and managed to average 6.5 knots without much effort, and using only twin head sails for the second half of the trip.
The autopilot does a good job, and energy consumption is around 1.5A, which we quickly recovered the next day with the solar panels. The wheel drive unit is from Raymarine, but the brains and motor control unit is by SENautic in the Netherlands. The Raymarine unit is not amazing. I’ll not be depending on it in anything other than easy helming conditions.
We arrived at low tide in Plymouth and had a call from the UK Boarder control which granted authorisation to enter the country. It’s all a bit more complicated than before, especially paying £16 for the ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) for each person on board (valid for 2 years, or until passport expiry). The call I received asked simply about persons and nationalities on board, and if we had any goods to declare.
The rain started more or less precisely the moment we arrived in Plymouth, and now, a day later it’s still falling. We found a pub on the Barbican with live music, a fire, and good ale. We warmed up and ate a takeaway fish and chips from the shop next door.
The next departure is on Wednesday 16th, but we won’t make it very far Eastwards before having to stop again over the weekend and wait out strong Easterly headwinds in the English channel. Perhaps somewhere in Lyme Bay is best, or at the river Dart – we shall see.
Anchored at Hooe Lake at Plymstock - Spring 2025
Good day, good day! It’s from sunny Brittany I write this blog post, where we are preparing the boat for sailing again – after a long winter where she has been waiting in harbour.
The winter has been mild, and the harbour is well protected, so everything is good with the boat. The new deck anti-slip paint job, finished last summer, still looks good and it is still grippy.
The planned sailing takes us from Brittany over to Plymouth, and then up the English channel, through the straights of Dover and up the coast of Holland, over the top of the Fresian islands to Germany and the Elbe river. There’s a town there called Brunsbüttel which is the start of the North-East Sea Canal, or better known as the Kiel Canal.
The canal is 50 nautical miles in length, and is usually a very nice experience. There are places to stop en route, and best is to do the passage on two separate days as it is a lot of time under engine. It’s worth it in many ways as it cuts about 600 miles off the route to Sweden, and saves you having to sail all around the North of Denmark.
The boat is in good condition, and there is a new permanent crew member on board: an autopilot! This is the first time an autopilot has been installed on this boat, after all the sailing over the years I finally decided to try it out. It means you can now read a book on your watch instead of sitting at the helm. We keep the manual helming for when there are nice conditions and the steering is interesting or fun.
Anyhow, the planned date of departure is not far off, so I will keep this blog post short, and get back to work preparing the boat instead. Hope to see you on board! I am looking for crew for this trip as well.
