we meant to

Of course we meant to float about the harbour in  a semi-uncontrolled way. We faked the outboard cutting out just so we could have a closer look at another boat - obviously. The perspiration on my brow was real though - but one is a good actor. We faked the stumbling aboard Freyja, our wee boatee too. Makes everyone feel so much better when they see others almost falling in.

A mentor of mine, them lovely full time boatists aboard the good ship Hannah in Stornoway  harbour at the moment told me that's the way to go. Toots and her human pets Mick & Bee live aboard this wonderful boat all the time, sailing here and there around the globe leaving a trail of friends in their wake. I'm amazed they stayed two nights here since the place feels like Southampton with all the people, sailing boats and cruise ships in the place. If it wasn't for our Freyja being in the harbour, qi gong being run in a place in Stornoway, the arts centre, Eve's work and a lot of my work being there too, I'd stay here in Tolsta till it get's quiet again. But it is busy. I blame the papers telling everyone how nice it is here..... STOP IT!

Eve's steers the blow-up back to land using the mechanical paddling device while Hannah fills up with ,,, something - perhaps it's ice for their gins :-) 

Back on Freyja, Eve reads all about the en-suite. Of which the less said the better.

A block of floating flats in harbour disgorges its inmates into Stornoway while I cower below.

Apologies for the snaps again. I have a enough problem stopping myself taking a swim the cold sea to use a proper camera - hence the Konica Point & Shoot and 400s film in ID11. Old re-used several times ID11

Near Freyja

Freyja, our little super-yacht will now be nestling somewhere near here, biding her time till we return from England. Eh? Yes, we have been away. relatives and all that.

Putt putt.

Freyja

Drop mooring rope, untangle dinghy painter from tub Freyja. Putt putt, putt etc. Sunshine, breeze, up sail, bob bob bob turn bob bob turn, bob bob uncontrolled pirouette, flap flap flap, bob bob turn bob bob sail down putt putt putt Sunshine putt putt. Pick up mooring rope. relax. Smile. Enjoy.

What a lovely morning for sailing it was. I enjoyed it anyway despite barely going into the outer harbour. Look at the weather, lovely.

Iron Bark

There was another lovely boat lurking marina-side as I dinghied out then in. Called Iron Bark she spent the winter iced in at Greenland. Madness. See his blog here. Apparently, friends with Mick, Bee & Toots.

Blow up

There she is; that one down there with the mechanical paddling device and all that. The one next to the one with an engine. See it? If you look very carefully you can see the name of the tub Freyja scrawled on her rubber bits. No, sorry, that's rubbed off as we have had some rain recently. Hard to believe but there you are. It has water in it too. Should be just on the outside I'm told, but it fills up with the rain. I hope it's the rain anyway.

Did a bit of soloing yesterday. On this little blow-up and on the good tub Freyja. Hoisted the sails and everything. Did a few gybes, drifted around a bit, sailed backwards, bobbed a bit, tangled and un-tangled the big string, wrestled with the recalcitrant mechanical paddling device, cursed politely at the furling thing when the string fell off the drum thing. Had a fine old time all is all and entertained the Stornoway massive in the process.

I even tooked some snaps.

Carbon

In our insatiable search for oil, huge constructions get towed around the place. Recently, you may know, an old rig on it's way to be cut up in Malta went aground on the west coast of the island. Only 53,000 gals of oil has escaped - so far and the thing is still stuck there.

Now artists such as Alex Boyd and John Maher have trekked over the hills to photograph the wreck. I haven't. You are not meant to either. The road to the beach where the rig is located is closed by the police and there are notices all over that side of the island forbidding one to go there.

 To be totally frank, I'm not sure the sheeps can read that notice stuck to a rickety gate down the west side somewhere. It hardly registered on my Polypan-f film in my Zorki6.

The up-side is that we now have more tug boats and salvage related boats in Stormaway harbour than cruise ships for a change. I snapped this snap from our wee boatee Freyja while out for a sail the other day using a little Pentax Espio P&S and good old Polypan-f film zapped in PQ developer.

Masting

It's up again.
Did the deed of re-upping the mast in the corner of the harbour between some old fishing boats - which did indeed make our little tub Freyja look very tidy indeed. We had the mast down after a little incident at sea a few days ago. Today, despite the breeze, rain and what have you, and a lot of help from Eddy and Gerald, the thing is now pointing up the right way, the wire string is all attached in the right places and most of the piles of gull-poo has been washed off the deck.

I might even go out next week and attach the sails again, have a little bob around the outer harbour, sing laugh and shout. Hopefully, no-one shall hear me.

yes we used to sail

 

And dressed like this when we were going to sail. When the weather was good. Warm even. Obvs :-)

We haven't got the old tub Freyja now having given her to someone who says he will have a better use for her. And sadly, we don't miss her either.

waiting

We are on tenterhooks here. The weather people tell us there is a big blow coming in. Hurricane force and everything. Seemed fine today though with the sun shining.

I've tied everything down all the same. The buses are cancelled on Friday and the schools shut but the good tub Freyja is out on her hopefully sheltered mooring!

Point & Shoot?

I mess around with cameras - all sorts. Old and very old cameras. Ones that work properly and ones that don't. Complicated ones, manual ones and in two cases, automatic ones. Like the Minolta Point & Shoot camera I have. Paid all of 99p for it but, and here's the rub, works really quite well. Makes up somewhat for my incompetence. And I wouldn't matter if I dropped it in the sea either - although I'd hate to lose a roll of film in the process.

Ok, it's not completely in focus but the exposure is fine. And the subject - Leigh on the good-tub Freyja - is great. And yes, the developing leaves a bit to be desired. But otherwise it's lovely don't you think?

Guilty as charged

I haven't actually been charged with anything I'll have you know but the good tub Freyja is waiting patiently for us to give her a good scrub. The green stuff is slowly growing in her and we haven't had the mind or the energy to go and sort her. I feel rather guilty I must say. Must sort it soon as would love to sail over The Festival of Conspicuous Over-Consumption.

On another watery note, I managed to flood the darkroom last night so I'm hoping not to have trench foot at the end of today .

Floaty things

I have just finished my cup of green tea - the sort that does you a world of good. Apparently. I rather like the stuff to be honest but this time there was a flyette in there. Made me thing about all sorts of floaty things - like our wee boatee that still - hopefully - bobs around in the harbour awaiting me to find enough energy to likt the thing out. Should have got the crane man to do it really when he 'did' the others a few weeks back. That's what they were doing in this here snap.

Freyja needs a good clean, a bit of varnish, some paint and tlc before we embark on our next transA..... transA... Transharbour escapade :-)

Not sure where Roy came from!

Roy snook in earlier. Earlier than I had planned - badly it seems. So, in recompense, here's a snap of Freyja coming home courtesy of The Crofter prior to the big-blow that never came. I didn't want her blown to bits in the wind so now she's sheltered between the hooses for the while. Till I'm better and everything.

Been sailing

See http://freyja-yacht.blogspot.co.uk/ if you want

Sun, sea and sod all else

Sunday didn't quite work as intended.
The Mechanical Paddling Device on Freyja refused to play so we couldn't get off the mooring without risking a grounding.

From another day

My last sailing till now with David, the village person from the village. He almost looks happy despite this being after the sail. Perhaps it's because we'd just got out of the wee-blow-up after the trip back from the tub Freyja. It was, as you can see a majorly stormy day.

I took the snaps with the XA2 I had about my person. Here with the Sgoth lying alongside the marinar thing opposite the castle. I don't live there.

David does live in  a Castlely place. In the Village.

twiddling big string

That's Eve on the pointy end of the wee boatee Freyja. Doing something with big string we keep up that end for something or other. Not exactly sure what for to be honest, I keep myself to myself in that department - unless I sail on my own then I just pile the big string and whatever else is up there up on the front bit and leap for the steering stick before I run aground [again]. Works for me.

what........

Another snap from my occasional series - "Can't think of what to post".

They were CaNadien or something - making a lovely squawk as they performed at the opening of the marina on the pontoon we clouted somewhat ungracefully with the good tub Freyja the other day.

I snapped them up with the Zorki-4 armed with a Jupiter12 lens. The darkroom revealed this. Eh?

On the nice Kentmere Fineprint finegrain fb paper. No longer made sadly.

Sailing

I know I usually post snaps of sailing over at http://freyja-yacht.blogspot.co.uk/ - d*g*tal snaps as well. However, we've just been sailing on holiday. Not proper sailing you understand but sailing on the lovely Norfolk Broads - where a slight slope is considered a hill.  We hired a lovely old boat - Zoe which was 120 years old. Well, the keel and the design was 120 years old. The rest of it was a bit like Trigger's broom. Lovely boat though if a little hard work to sail.

Since I had a film camera with me I took the liberty of taking a snap or three. Here's the first three.

Sorry about all the shades of colour. Not sure how it works to be honest.

So quiet and contemplative that sort of sailing - especially on the rivers. Nicely quiet sailing at 1-2knots with only the sounds of water rippling, the mast creaking and some light murdering on the bank as some poor chick meets its maker courtesy of a raptor or something.

Even the long necked white ducks were playing along, keeping their little foals on their backs as we glid by.

Twicer

You may have seen this image before of the Tweed Ride but this is the lith print on Slavich Unibrom. Unibrom is a truly wonderful lith paper - from Russia with love.

Until recently, the waether has been playing well. Sun and calm conditions tempted us out on the old tub Freyja but there was too little wind really. Still, nice bobbing about a bit.

Sailing by

Yeay! We have a wee boatee. The sort with a big pole sticking up, lots of wire string, an engine and that sort of thing. Look, it's got a thing that wobbles around when you move the boat too. Supposed to tell you which way to go or something. Might have to learn that bit up!

The wooden bit is the front door into the housey bit. Very small housey bit without any room for a darkroom more's the pity. Yes, that's the pole bit laying on top of the boat. It's not meant to be like that. It has to stick up in the air so you can hang a blanket or something from it to make the boatee move.

Look, that's me 'sailing'. Granted the boatee was on the trailer in the yard and the pole thing was still down but my visualisation is very good you know. I had a lie down soon after since I was getting sea-visualisation sick.

She's called Freyja [The Fishwife].



Now go and listen to this - eat your heart out Mrs Up Yours