Home Port; on the Delaware River at Fox Grove Marina Essington PA.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

May 2010

Billingsport jetty and Mantua Creek entrance blue and white tanks.


Saturday May 29, 2010
Harbor Pointe to Billingsport Saturday afternoon.


Depart Harbor Pointe 1:15 PM with less than 5 knot breeze 2 hrs before high slack, just enough breeze for a gentle broad reach (2 knot SOG) to the up river end of Little Tinicum. Pass through the gap between Mifflin Bar and the sand bar, wind in the main river picks-up between 5 and 10 for a good dash (4 to 4.5 knot) across the shipping channel to Billingsport.

Slack tide at Billingsport and the breeze has again dropped below 5, tugs are marshalling barges up river in the Tinicum Range anchorage. My bearing to the next mark is into the breeze but tide would start to be in my favour soon, this would be a series of tacks can to nun to can but not at a speed to clear the channel for the barges.

Broad reach back to Mifflin Bar then breeze drops to almost still air, slow lazy tacks to the marina, close to marina drop and bag the genoa, motor on and drop and tie the main.

Begin my approach, motor throttle down, the outboard dies, check fuel, try to restart, nothing. Scull rudder so that my drift will be clear of the adjacent marina, untie and raise the main.

Begin my approach under sail, the tidal current has not yet picked up much, the breeze is still gentle and I will be dead to wind in the slip.

The marina had changed my slip to an inside slip from the end tee, I was using the more expensive end tee until the new occupant arrived.

Approach was at less than 1 knot, a gust picked up, my speed was above 2 knots, peeled off and circle at the fairway entrance.

Restarted my approach with main sheeted out and luffing, but speed in the fairway was just under 2 knots, passed my slip and rudder over to swing into the adjacent vacant slip dead to the wind.

Boat secured, 4:45 PM try the motor, starts first time?

Sunday morning motor started, adjusted idle, clean and greased throttle linkage and cable terminals. Motor out for a while, start, stop, forward, reverse then return to correct slip.

I will be practicing sailing in and out of my slip at slack tide, even when not perfect or intentional it looks cool.

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Ulladh

Ulladh pronounced "ul-la" (null lad).





Uladh the gaelic spelling for the territory of the U-Nail chieftains in the ancient Irish province of Ulster (English/Norse), originally the counties of Down and Antrim, but now including Derry, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, also referred to as Ulidia (Greek/Roman),.



Uladh was the home of a pre-celtic, cruithne (crew-en-ya) pictish tribe, who may have been descendants of prehistoric tribes indigenous to the British Isles since the retreat of the last ice age.



Evidence from cut marks on deer bones from more than 30,000 years ago found in the karst formations of the Burren probably from hunters suggest a homonid precence. Archeological finds date first inhabitants (DNA evidence suggests dark or black skin and blue eyes) to about 6,000 BC and trade goods from Rathlin Island, County Antrim off the northeast coast of Ireland made from porcellanite stone appearing in Egypt and Crete by 2,500 BC.



The early tribes of Ireland where displaced by later waves of migrants from mainland Europe; about 1700 BC by bronze age tribes, celtic tribes about 500 BC, and in the past two millenia; Roman trading posts, Viking settlements, English plantations... and in the 21st century a welcome increasing diversity from the European Union and the world.



SV Ulladh (for vhf clarity I use "sailing vessel ul-la") is named for the territory of the first peoples to settle in Ireland after the retreat of the last ice age.



Fisksatra

Since 1949 Fisksatra Varv in the coastal town of Fisksatra Sweden, built fiberglass boats from dinghies to a 300 ton minesweeper for the Swedish Navy.

The Havsfidra 20's were built between 1968 and the late 1970's to Swedish Navy and Lloyd's certification standards.

The Havsfidra 20 and a larger version the Storfidra 26 where sold in the United States by Continental Yachts and Trawler Agency of Atlantic City NJ.

Havsfidra; sea-feather?
(fidra; to touch or tickle with a feather -Icelandic-English Dictionary, Clarendon Press 1874)