Heritage Race 2014 and Our one year anniversary.

Hello!

Wow , since April things have been none stop, both Simon and myself have started new jobs and we moved into a new flat, also Simons parents were over from France so been busy bees. It has been great to have a focus and a job to go to everyday, I had decided to leave my job in February thinking that it would be easy to find another, well it wasn't as easy as I thought. Two months of being unemployed did nothing for either my confidence or our bank balance, I am so grateful to have a job and a income. I did feel at one point like everyone was against us (we have had a tough few months) but now things are on the up which is wonderful!

This brings me too the Heritage Race which takes part in Brixham every year in the last weekend of May / first weekendin June. I have been taking part in this event from a young age, on various different boats throughout the years. It is always a lovely race to take part in , and one that I really enjoy being a part off. So obviously as boat owners me and Simon were keen to take part and enter our own vessel, but sadly this was not to be, her mast having been glued back together was not quite ready and it was worth risking any more breakages.

As you may know already my Father is the owner of a 1921 built Cornish Looe Lugger called Iris, she is a beast at 45ft and when she gets going she can really stonk along. We like to joke that I know more about sailing luggers than my father the very able seaman , spent has his whole life at sea. I happened to sail on a lovely lugger called Varsaity three years running and win the heritage race in our final year on taking part. Anyway my father's knowledge of boats and the sea is indescripable and exstensive, so I knew we would have a good day.

My boyfriend Simon who has been helping my dad Toni with work on Iris was very keen to take part, his history of sailing is mainly dingys and plastic sail boat rather than traditional wooden boats, He was eager to sail IRIS and see what she was capable of.

We had a cracking start to the race we were in the right place at the right time and at one point in the lead, we were beating Legrandlejon our main rival in our class and beautiful lugger from France. The wind of the day was quite flukely and we we reached the second buoy off Torquay we lost of wond and momument! Alas our radio on board was not charged up and we had not been informed that the course had changed and the position of the buoy had been moved. Vital info lost! We soon managed to get back to where we needed to be when the wind picked up and we managed to come second in our class!

It was great to have her on the water and for us all to take part in the race, my father has been restoring IRIS for a long time so it was really great to see him happy and enjoying the sail.

The day was also special as it marked a year that myself and Simon have been together, this last year has probably been the hardest and most rewarding year of my life. Meeting Simon has changed everything for me an brought me so much happiness,  I am positive that we have a long lovely future together ahead of us (with lots more sailing involved too!)

 

An ace day had by all!!

 

xxx

To sell or not to sell?! That is the question.

When I tell people that I am a co- owner of a folkboat people look at me as if to say "Really?!" This doesn't surprise me at 25, I never thought that I would be fortunate enough own a boat either. 

But the reality isn't always as glamorous    as the dream. The reality is hardwork and  a lot of exspense. Which to be honest at the moment we haven't got. 

So myself and Simon are faced with an incredibly difficult decision to make. Do we cave in and put her up for sale or do we keep trying and hold on to her ???

Very hard choice on one hand I feel that having a boat offers us a different lifestyle, and a form of freedom from the daily grind. 

But notoriously boats tend to be owned by people that have a large income, Simon and myself are not these people. 

I shall keep you informed of our decision, which I know niether of us are looking forward to making!

Jessica and Simon 

A Sunny Weekend...

Last weekend the weather was breathtaking, after what seemed like two months of non stop rain it has been wonderful! Luckily Simon had the weekend off so we were able to enjoy the lovely weather together. So we spent our time working on Sylmara which has been lovely and rewarding. Things are starting to take shape, Simon has and does work most days on the boat when he has spare time but he isn't the tidiest of creatures! ;) I never used to be but lately I cant seem to work properly unless everything is in order.

So firstly I helped Simon to clear out all the crap he has been hoarding on the boat since we got her. I made sure that his tool box is more accessible and he can actually put things away. The difference is remarkable. I also cleaned the inside of the boat which made such a difference, I wiped down the ceiling and wood and it looks so much better and smells better too!

So we got on with sanding, varnishing and painting! It was so lovely to be able to sit on the boat in such gorgeous weather, in between working , Simon made me a little cosy spot on the back on the boat where I could sit and chill in the sun. Absolute Bliss!

 

 

Simon got cracking on making some more shelving and locker lids for putting items away in. Also Simon came across a lovely surprise, he had to take one of the painted panels of the walls to fit the cupboard in and in doing so he discovered the original name plates! which obviously we put back on straight away, what is so lovely is that the colour is the same as the yellow we painted the boat.

Such a lovely surprise, I also attacked some of the brass on the boat with some brasso and it came up a treat! Sylmara is constant , something always requires work and attention, but it is so rewarding. Owning a wooden boat is not easy , it can but very frustrating at times with it is well worth it!!

I hope you got to enjoy the sunshine too! If so what did you get up too?

Jessica

A days work with my Muma

A couple of weeks ago I went and spent the day with my Mum and her partner Dee at their place of work. They run their own business which is far from ordinary. My Mum / Kay is a very talented seamstress she used to make ; Curtains, baby clothes, Wedding dresses and now she makes Yurts! Well they mainly work with canvas so they make canvas covers for Yurts. Tipee's, Gur's all sorts.
In the last few years we have seen "Glamping" - Glamorous camping become increasing popular, lots of festivals now cater for "Boutique Camping" fields and fields full of yurts and tipees set up ready for revellers arrival.

So I haven't sewed for a good few years, the last project I distinctly remember working on was in my late teens I made a pair of high top trainers (using my friends pumps which she left at my house! oops) This project took me about three days and I did all the sewing by hand and I loved it. They had inrdescant tounges, gol stitching of my intinials on the back and a flash of purple. They proved very popular at fancy dress partys people asking where I got them from! Anyway my sewing experience is limited and my Mother is a bit of a perfectionist not surprisingly.

To begin with my Mum gave me some very simple sewing exercises to practice, literally just sewing in a straight line on the canvas without going off! I had never used an industrial sewing machince before, what I can liken it too is braking on a car (which isn't something that I am great at!) Obviously learning to apply the right amount of pressure on the pedal without running my fingers over. I found it easiest when I took my shoe off and just wore my socks. But actually I was quite impressed with the results my sewing was surprisingly neat and straight.

My first practice piece.

This was slightly harder, I had to sew hems , I had to fold the material as well as sewing it in a straight line. I think because I am left handed this was a bit tricky at first but I carried on.

Excited that I wasn't a complete failure at sewing I asked my Mum if could make a canvas bag. She showed my a very simple way to make a bag which didn't involve any cutting at all. Just some very simple sewing! Firstly we decided on the size of the bag and obviously the colour of the canvas (the picked my favourite colour!) then I folded the canvas at the top and the bottom and sewed the folded material, to strengthen the bag. Then we sewed the sides together, and we then measured the bottom and drew a diagonal line which we then sewed across and then cut the excess off. After doing this on both sides we turned the bag in side out (but the right way) and voilà! A bag, so just added handles and your bag is ready to use!

I Love it, and have used it pretty much everyday since I made it!!

Today was a little taster to see how I got on and if I can actually sew, My mum and her partner are moving to a bigger unit as their current unit is to small and business is busy :) I am hoping tat after they move I can go at least once a week and start making things for Sylmara. (with my mums help of course!) One thing in particular is our cockpit cover which is literally falling apart, so we shall definitely need a new one. However myself and simon have been thinking and we like the idea of not just a cover but more of a tent of the bacl of the boat. So on a evening we can sit and dine under the cover, kinda like an exstenstion on your house like a conservatory. We have had a little look online at some images, so now it is just a question of designing it and trying to make it.

This is similar to what we are thinking of, I think it looks great and it practical as well, adds character to the boat. The photo below is a picture of my own tent and that my Mum me for Christmas a couple of years ago. The whole idea came about as a joke when I said to Simon we could stick my tent on the back , but actually it could work with some adjustments , of course.

The rest of the afternoon was spent putting up a Gur! which was extremely fun and not as hard as it looks. Here are some photos for you to enjoy....

We didn't put the walls on they just wanted to test the roof and to see if it fit properly , also the sun was started to go down. haha I had a wonderful helping my Muma and Dee, also quite an inspiring day too!

What do you think of our boat cover idea? Let me know...

Jessica