Back onboard

It has been a strange few days without the boat. I awoke 10 days ago to feel dizzy and nauseated, and felt very unsure as to what was happening, it was so bad that I had to hold onto the bed whilst laying on it as i thought I was going to fall off ! After a weekend of worry and fear for the worse I was diagnosed on the Monday afternoon as having an inner ear problem, this after a CT scan to make sure I had no brain..tumour..I was advised that the only way around it was to carry out a special manoeuvre which entails throwing ones upper body and head into different states of repose holding the pose for a minute and then doing the same again on the other side.. the problem is getting better.

I left Toy Box to her own self for the whole time. I returned Saturday and fitted her with the new solar panel I had purchased with 20wts it is double the capacity of the old one.The weather was not as fore casted...again and so I decided to make the most of it and went window shopping instead.
Sunday lunchtime saw me on board and I actually went for a short sail around the local harbours, a bit daft as the dizziness is only being suppressed with drugs. I am to see a specialist tomorrow I hope he can help clear this problem once and for all.
As you can see from the picture it was a little bit dark at times even in the middle of the afternoon, though it never rained.
I did my good deed for the day by rescuing this lovely toy for a chap who said his rudder had stopped functioning.. Seems it shot off into the distance and simply stopped working.

I reunited the owner with his expensive model declining the cash reward.. I can be nice sometimes.. I now await 1, a favourable visit at the Doctors and 2, favourable weather for the weekend, being a public holiday thursday I have taken friday off to elongate the weekend.!

Sunshine and a light breeze..!

I returned Sunday afternoon to find all well apart from the howling of wind through the stays and lines of every boat moored. Weather for Monday was promised as being a Northeasterly which was going to be great for the trip back down the Schlei, it runs roughly Southwesterly from its start all the way to Schleswig..I slept well on board and was getting used to being on board. It is nice to get back on the water and meet new people I find boaters especially sailors to be friendly bunch in Germany with less of the snobbery one finds in England. this is reserved for the "new rich" here, or at least that is how it appears to me.Maasholm is originally a fishing village.
The Statue is a reminder of how Eels were caught in the winter months to help them get over the long winter months. They were simply skewered with the fork in the mudflats.

Long winter months .. to the south there are summer like temperatures but up here in the north it is still chilly at the present with 10 deg C..Monday is going to be 15 deg so keeping fingers crossed.

  Monday morning and the wind from last night was gone and instead the sun was shinning at last..After a leisurely breakfast I sailed away from Maasholm with a following wind..Slowly.as the breeze was light.It was to be the same for the remainder of the day  under a blue sky I sailed down the Schlei untill I dropped anchor in a small anchorage and simply watched the day end with a meal of bacon and mushrooms..luverly grub

 Here a few pictures seen from my boat as the evening drew to a close.The young couple were simply passing through and I thought it looked too good a picture not to take it.

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The sun sunk behind "Burg" the hill top used to be a "Viking" settlement and still shows traces of the fort etc if you take a walk around. The whole of the Schlei is steeped in history I would love to write more on the subject from a laymans point of view. I think I shall have to do some serious research for that.

Tuesday morning I awoke at 0530 as the boat was swinging around on its anchor as the wind had increased causing the water to reveres it´s flow or something . I actually felt dizzy laying in my bed with the view constantly changing so swiftly. I decided to get up and make a move back to my berth in Schleswig. Mike Fish or who ever it is had forecast a stiff breeze and at 0630 it was already blowing a good F4 and I didn´t want to risk being stuck in the Anchorage all day through too much wind even if it was from the right direction. Under main alone we were swept along at 4,5 knts and quickly made it into the berth.. I am not too pleased at the German style of berthing with poles and jetty.. bloody difficult to jostle around with 4 lines at the same time with a stiff wind from astern trying to shove the boat at an angle to the berth.
I took the idea this trip not to use the motor unless really required and that plan i stuck to. Apart from Saturday morning when wind rain etc made it a must i only used the motor to give me steerage way through the bridges and at anchoring up when I had to test the depth the old way.. I must get the transponder sorted asap.. All in all I am pleased with the way things went.. Costs were 5 liters (actually a little less) and 16 Euros berthing fees for the two nights in Maasholm. So not an expensive trip by any means I and I have left enough tinned food and water on board for another trip later this month should the weather allow.!
Thanks for reading the blog.. drop me a line or leave a comment.. cheers.. Jim

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.