Fantastic Sailing on OneOcean’s One Day Sail Taster. Saturday 3rd October 2015.
OneOcean ran our first Sailing Taster Day on Saturday 3rd October on Tiger 2, a Bavaria 37, with skipper and principal Meuryn Hughes and 5 budding sailors on board: Richard, Martin, Christine, Nick and Andrew. The forecast was for poor visibility in the morning with light and variable conditions.
We decided to run on an ebbing tide west towards Nash Point. Following the initial welcome tea, coffee and nourishing croissants the crew were taken through a full safety briefing covering every aspect of safety from lifejackets to liferafts to using fire extinguishers to sending a mayday by radio.
By 1030hrs we were singled up and ready to depart Penarth Marina. We locked out of Cardiff Barrage at 1100hrs and ventured out to a smooth sea with calm conditions; visibility was moderate and lifted as the sun rose higher. Ideal conditions for novices, though for some a little more wind would have made the day a perfect day at sea.
We sailed with the ebbing tide running west towards Barry. A loose fender demanded a quick MOB recovery exercise which enthralled everyone on board and demonstrated how things can change quickly in a blink of an eye. The fender was retrieved without drama and the whole exercise was noted with great interest to all those on board.
We ran through a series of tacks whilst in Penarth Bay in order to show the crew how responsive Tiger 2 was, and soon we found ourselves west of Sully Island. the decision not to anchor for lunch was unanimous and we headed west of Nash Point where winds remained light and variable throughout.
At 1500hrs we decided to run for home and headed out to the mid channel to find more wind. Though the wind was forecast to be NW we found mostly the wind from the south and west and used it to make good progress on our return.
A run around the islands of Flatholme and Steepholme was abandoned when poor visibility returned and we wondered if the engulfing fog would force us to navigate blind in to Cardiff. In the event, visibility remained poor but we were able to make out the sector lights in to Cardiff and a safe return to Penarth Marina for 2100. The crew thoroughly enjoyed the day having got a great taste of sailing at sea in pleasant conditions.
We look forward to running this one day sail taster on a monthly basis so if you are interested then email us for the next scheduled sail.