April showers

I managed to get away a little earlier than planned for and arrived at the berth a little after 1300 on Friday afternoon. It was dry but was blowing half a gale from the west. Micheal fish must now be working for Windfinder.com. I was caught out in the gales that hit UK in the late 80´s I was windsurfing in northern Holland and had a fantastic time..! Back to the present ..i took my time packing all the gear on board, do I really need that much food and stuff for 4 nights away ? Finally with everything stowed in the fashion of what has become a case of "junk on bunks" I sat down and had a cup of coffee whilst contemplating the situation.. There was no other boats getting ready to sail..mm what to do ? Strong westerlies meant that the water level at my berth were becoming low, if I did not sail soon we would be sitting on the bottom if the wind kept up. Because of the shape of the fiord the prevailing wind acts like a tidal machine pushing the water in and out. So decision made I was going to set sail.. First of all a reef was required.. I was reminded by something Steve wrote to me, "if you are thinking about it, it´s too late.".So reefed down and nr 2 Jib set I left the berth under motor for the first 200 mtrs. to windward. Then Helm over sheets in and off we went ! Flat water and a beam reach.. with F6 of wind ..wow exhilarating to say the least.. swiftly passing Gull island I headed NEast and on a broad reach was soon up to 6,8 knts ..without a tide ! Toy Box was low in the water due to all the stores but she seemed to really like it. We flew towards the first navigation point which is the " Enge" it is a sandbank that reaches left and right into the deep water channel making it a maximum of 40 meters wide at this point. We slipped through here with a current that pushed us through despite being in the wind shade of a stand of large trees. I passed the sandbank about 15 meters of my port side. Then followed a quick crossing of the open water and into the small winding stretch of the fiord the Missunde Enge..

 Still under sail we carried on nort east with the plan to drop Anchor near the small island that would shelter us from all directions.. Fishermenn seemed to have taken a last resort chance to lay nets along every stretch that I thought suitable to stop over.. A quick look at the Chart and decided to go for broke at the next cove ahead.. Forecast was westerlies becoming south and then strengthening from the east. Dropping the hook with its new ground tackle in what was to be an ideal place to stop over.. The wind died down and apart from the sounds of nature I was alone with several million mosquitoes.. This was not discovered until I arose at 0530 to find the boat covered in them.. I had not one single bite though... do the things metamorphose or something..into biting machines.?
I slept well with the knowledge that the anchor was going to hold no matter what.. The forcast Easterlies were not there.. it was blowing strongly from the Northeast and looked like rain.. I decided to get under way on motor and see what the day brought me..

I managed to stay under motor for the next 4 hours with rain and wind becoming more severe as the morning went on. I passed the SS Alexandra as she left her berth in Arnis for the trip back to Flensburg.. Steam and the smell of coal filled the air..
I simply carried on and decided to stay over at Maasholm untill the weather cleared on Sunday afternoon.I am now in Kiel and will return to Maasholm tomorrow afternoon.

Other Owners..

I have just finished packing my kit for "The Cruise" .. I am off from Friday sailing until Tuesday..Forecast has changed once again.. it is going to be a case of suck and see..

I have today received Emails from two other Jidzo owners, one from Germany the other from UK .. I am hoping they will contribute a few pics and stuff to the  "Jidzo" site" as well as exchange ideas and experiences with our boats.  Perhaps if interests grows I can add a simple forum to the site. I wish both of you safe sailing and a "hand spans water under the keel" ..

This is Cheap Cheap owned by Alex in the UK.. I really like the way the nonslip areas are in blue.. I am tempted to follow suit but with grey once I get around to giving Toy Box a facelift..A nice looking boat Alex.. If you have any more pics I would be pleased to see them.. How is the cockpit drained on your boat? I need to look at the way mine is set up.

My new Anchor chain is fitted, 6 meters of 6mm (1900kilo breaking strain) weighs about 6kilos  attached to my 5 kilo Bruce and the rest with 12mm (2400kg) line.. I used 8mm stainless shackles which are rated at 3200kgs ..so Toy Box is going to be pretty safe sitting at anchor in future..Nothing like being sure when sleeping aboard to be still in the same place when you wake up. I have a Fisherman's anchor as a spare on board but do not like the bloody great thing with it´s flukes. But a kedge anchor should be carried...

I was asked about weight distribution on board.. I have all my kit placed either in the centre or as near as possible to it. with toolbox etc under the V bunk to balance the outboard out.. I feel she is fairly good balanced and even with all my cruising gear she still makes a good speed..( I logged 6knots last weekend).

So Folks next posting is going to be over the weekend when I get into a harbour with WLan.. If you are out sailing take care..

Weekend Sailing

I spent yesterday (saturday) out on the water after first fitting a few bits and bobs to Toy Box, main one was a bungee strap to hold the GPS unit in eyesight instead of swinging about. Under the Nr jib we managed 5,7 knots in a light breeze and I was pleased with the result of the other job I "botched" the depthsounder still requires the transducer to be fitted propery again.
Today I was out on the Schlei again .. just another day on the water really to get used to the boat again after the long winter break.I have ordered a new anchorchain this should be here this weekso will fit that on Saturday before setting out for my cruise.
The weather forcast for next weekend is looking really good  .. I have Monday and Tuesday off so I will attempt to cross over to the Island of Langeland about 25 miles of the German coast.I have invited a friend along for the trip. I like to have company on board and it also keeps the costs down going 50/50 onboard. So keep your fingers crossed for me on this .

Sailing with my son

I have my son visiting me this weekend and as the weather was good it was decided a trip on Toy Box was called for. we set sail under a cloudy sky with a fresh breeze from the west. Toy Box romped along with over 5 knots under full Mainsail and Jib.and we quickly crossed bot the "Kleine & Große Breite" and into the narrow straits towards Missunde ferry. We simply upon reaching it turned around and had a spanking sail back to the berth. Although we did change the head sail for the Gennny, it was not really needed and Toy Box simply heeled a little more rather than gathered speed. it was nice to try it out though.
Ulli was on his berth when we returned and I helped him rig his sails, lending him a jib sheet in the process. His little boat looks a lot better on the water than out of it.! I look forward to sailing in his company this year.

Motor recoil unit

Well Lutz Clausen managed to repair my recoil unit and I refitted it to my motor this afternoon. I then realised I had a complete spare set of mooring lines in 8mm on board I had considered these as not strong enough at the time of taking Toy Box over and so they will now have a life aboard the little boat of Ulli´s, as it is less than half the weight of mine they will suit him well.

 I managed a quick look f the boat this afternoon, with a few jobs to do still she will be a nice little vessel when she is finished.I look forward to seeing him out on the water later this month.

A decent sail at last

I managed to get out on the water today the sun was shinning and the forcast was for a light breeze out of the west.
I fitted the new Tiller extension I had made from Larch before setting out, I also had to visit Lutz Clausen before setting sail as my Starter rope on the outboard had snapped causing the reciol spring to unwind in it´s housing. I have "borrowed " a complete unit from him untill mine can be repaired,after fitting the borrowed reciol unit the motor started straight away.
 I sailed out and simply enjoyed the afternoon whilst not really going very far. I was pleased with the extension it makes ballancing Toy Box a lot easier as sitting in the stern makes her drag and stops her from picking up speed. Despite her weighing over a ton she is still "tender" to weight distribution.I have even considerd stowing the outboard inside but decided it was too time consumming and probably damaging as well.

As you can see I sail under a German tricolour.. I assure you it is not my choice. I do however fly a Red Ensign from the Port Spreader...
I made a short video today whilst sailing and have added it to You tube my first ever..Jidzo on You tube. I shall have to make a few more of  my travels.
The forecast for the rest of the week is dismal.keep you fingers crossed for better weather. !
I managed to snap the starter chord for my outboard..unable to fix it myself I turned to Lutz Clausen at
CL Boots Service Schleswig and he promptly offered to lend me a starter unit untill he could repair mine.. Which he has now done..I was able to pick up the replacement unit on Sunday from his home and can collect my orignnal unit tomorrow (Wednesday).. What a brilliant service.! I can recomend him for any outboard issues you may have.I know at least one of my friends has also bought a motor from him and is more than pleased with his work..!

Harbour day ..

I drove to Toy Box today to check that all was well and pick up a sail. I am going to sell my spare set of sails they are the ones that  came with the boat and are a little on the small side and I assume from another boats model. The money raised will be added to purchase a new mainsail. I have had a very good offer for a cruising mainsail and wish to get one before the season gets underway. I can sell the other mainsail i have once the new one arrives.
A new working jib would be nice as well but that will have to wait.
I have been thinking of selling Toy Box this season and getting something a little larger.This would open up other destinations to me. We will wait and see what the season brings.The forecast for the coming Easter weekend is pretty drab.Oh well I can hope things change quickly as I am itching to get sailing again.

Over the winter I have been in contact with the chap in this picture. He sailed his Jidzo from the west coast of France to the Mediterranean with a couple of friends and also wrote a book about it. He has kindly sent me a signed copy of his book which unfortunately is in french!  I am struggling to get through the first chapter still.
I will add more info reference this book at a later date.