Guests at Rye

Will and Margaret Rudd paid a visit to Renegade, well stuck in the mud in Rye harbour.

Avoiding steamers in fog on the Medway

A sure fire way of avoiding getting run down by something big when in fog, is to stay in shallow water, but Renegade's new radar proved to be invaluable when making our way up the Medway through the morning fog.

Radar reflections

The recent report on the sinking of the OUZO prompted an investigation into the effectiveness of radar reflectors, which makes disturbing reading. Follow this link to see the report and recommendations http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/Radar%20reflectors%20report.pdf
I have drawn the following conclusions from this report and that of the MAIB:
Radar reflectors perform badly when the boat is heeled and in rough water, beacause of "sea clutter".
Carrying AIS is not the answer, because commercial ships do not have to display AIS data on the radar screen.
Just because a ship alters course and appears to be giving way to you does not necessarily mean that you have been seen. (see MAIB report).
Gradual alterations of course can confuse observers on other vessels.
Having equipment which identifies a ship's AIS (including name, call sign and MMSI)might be of help, because a VHF call to the bridge is more likely to be answered.

Where's Renegade on 9th August?

Dennis reports the safe arrival of Renegade in Plymouth with Richard, Dennis and Mark aboard. The radar is now working and the rig has been professionally tuned.

The Yarn of the 'Nancy Bell'

The Yarn of the 'Nancy Bell'" first appeared in Fun 2 (3 March 1866): 238, and republished in the Bab Ballads, a series of humorous verses published in Fun and other periodicals between 1862 and 1871, with many illustrations by the author signed 'Bab' (Gilbert's nickname derived from his having been called "Baby" as a child). What distinguishes this particular poem is its having been rejected by the editor of Punch as "too cannibalistic for his readers' tastes" ("Preface" to Fifty Bab Ballads, p. vii). In its ballad metre, internal rhyme, and dual narrative voices, as well as its subject matter, it has often been compared to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (1798).

'Twas on the shores that round our coast
From Deal to Ramsgate span,1
That I found alone on a piece of stone
An elderly naval man.

His hair was weedy, his beard was long,
And weedy and long was he,
And I heard this wight2 on the shore recite,
In a singular minor key:

"Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold,
And the mate of the Nancy brig,
And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite, 3
And the crew of the captain's gig."

And he shook his fists and he tore his hair,
Till I really felt afraid,
For I couldn't help thinking the man had been drinking,
And so I simply said:

"Oh, elderly man, it's little I know
Of the duties of men of the sea,
And I'll eat my hand if I understand
However you can be

'At once a cook, and a captain bold,
And the mate of the Nancy brig,
And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite,
And the crew of the captain's gig.'"4

Then he gave a hitch to his trousers, which
Is a trick all seamen larn,
And having got rid of a thumping quid,5
He spun this painful yarn:

"'Twas in the good ship Nancy Bell
That we sailed to the Indian Sea,
And there on a reef we come to grief,
Which has often occurred to me.

'And pretty nigh all the crew was drowned
(There was seventy-seven o' soul),
And only ten of the Nancy's men
Said 'Here!' to the muster-roll.

'There was me and the cook and the captain bold,
And the mate of the Nancy brig,
And the bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite,
And the crew of the captain's gig.

'For a month we'd neither wittles6 nor drink,
Till a-hungry we did feel,
So we drawed a lot, and, accordin' shot
The captain for our meal.

'The next lot fell to the Nancy's mate,
And a delicate dish he made;
Then our appetite with the midshipmite
We seven survivors stayed.

'And then we murdered the bo'sun tight,
And he much resembled pig;
Then we wittled free, did the cook and me,
On the crew of the captain's gig.

'Then only the cook and me was left,
And the delicate question,"Which
Of us two goes to the kettle" arose,
And we argued it out as sich.

'For I loved that cook as a brother, I did,
And the cook he worshipped me;
But we'd both be blowed if we'd either be stowed
In the other chap's hold,7you see.

"I'll be eat if you dines off me,"says TOM;
'Yes, that,' says I, 'you'll be, '
'I'm boiled if I die, my friend, ' quoth I;
And "Exactly so," quoth he.

'Says he,"Dear JAMES, to murder me
Were a foolish thing to do,
For don't you see that you can't cook me,
While I can and will cook you!"

'So he boils the water, and takes the salt
And the pepper in portions true
(Which he never forgot), and some chopped shalot.
And some sage and parsley too.

"Come here,"says he, with a proper pride,
Which his smiling features tell,
"'T will soothing be if I let you see
How extremely nice you'll smell."

'And he stirred it round and round and round,
And he sniffed at the foaming froth;
When I ups with his heels, and smothers his squeals
In the scum of the boiling broth.

'And I eat that cook in a week or less,
And as I eating be
The last of his chops, why, I almost drops,
For a wessel in sight I see!

* * * * * *

"And I never larf, and I never smile,
And I never lark nor play,
But I sit and croak, and a single joke
I have--which is to say:

"Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold,
And the mate of the Nancy brig,
And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite,
And the crew of the captain's gig!"

 
 
 
Here are some photos from Renegade's recent cruise from amongst the spritsail barges of the Orwell to Guernsey. Along the way we celebrated a birthday and a national day, visited some favourite places, ate and drank well and made some new friends. All in all a success, despite the weather.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Faulty Radar

Having spent many hours fitting Raymarine radar to Renegade we were disappointed to get the "NO DATA" message on the screen. After exhaustive checking of the connections and finally sending a technician up the mast, a new cable and display connected to the "dome" confirmed that the fault was in the Raymarine unit.

Heading for home

Renegade is back on her mooring following a little shake down (or up or out) sail to the Blackwater. We tried the new cruising chute, which flew well except on a dead run and we will experiment with Dennis's faithful pole another time. We witnessed a beatiful sunset off Stone, which you can see on the Renegade homepage.

As the rest of the country sheltered from the rain, we experienced fine weather for a beat out through the Swin Spitway, a reach to N.E. Gunfleet and a beat back to Harwich in SW 4-5.

With Walton Tower on the horizon ahead, we are heading for home.

New chute

Dennis and visitors

European Medium range Forecast

Mean sea level pressure, wind speed at 850 hPa and geopotential 500 hPa Follow the link for medium rabge forecast.

New pushpit

Thanks to Mr Stainless of Levington

Ramshorn

Потёмкин

Renegade, 30 years on.

As Andy Morris informed me last summer, June 7th 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of Renegade's launch. I don't think we will make a return visit to Garstang, but we should celebrate the occasion in a typically Renegade manner; sounds like an excuse for a party.

Expedition Sail - Seal in Greenland, Spitsbergen, Antarctica, South Georgia, Belize

Expedition Sail - Seal in Greenland, Spitsbergen, Antarctica, South Georgia, Belize

Just another possible Renegade destination.

Work in progress

New galley worktop cut to size and it fits. Now for a durable surface finish.