To say is was a stormy day in Carrickfergus is a little bit of an understatement. as we had gale force 10 winds, but we still had fun, ticked off one of our jobs on our to do list and got out and explored the countryside.

New camera mounting equipment

Just recently we have purchased new camera mounting equipment so that we can take more views of in and around the cockpit area, so the equipment we have bought are:-

• New selfie stick - the one we chose was neat and compact and had an integrated tripod. Hopefully as it is a little bit more robust it will stand the test of time but only time will tell
• Mini clamp - we bought this one for mounting a camera on the back arch
• Articulated arm mount - this one is for mounting one of our phones inside our cockpit hood

We decided to test them out in the cockpit area and we were in the process of testing them when single handed yachtsman Garry Crothers turned up with his friend Ken. It was great to have a chat and listen to some of his sailing adventures.

Winch Servicing

Once we had chatted, it was down to the task of the day which was servicing our winches. This was a task that I was really dreading, but in the end it was surprisingly easy to do and it was just a case of being methodical about it and marling up where things go.

Equipment

• Screw driver
• Clothes
• White spirit
• Tooth brush
• Grease
• Something to mark up where bits go

Depending on what your winch is, dictates how it is secured, In our case our winches are secured with a screw, but I have seen other winches secured with a circlip. Regardless of how the winch is secured, once you have removed the faster, the winch just comes apart, so it is very important to mark up where all the bits go. We just used a cereal box with the letters T for top, M for middle and B for bottom and Aft and For for the two cogs. Once you have got everything apart it is just a case of cleaning the various parts with while spirit and then greasing them before putting them back together. We cused an old cereal box around the winch, this did keep the spray of the white spirit contained when I was cleaning the main body of the winch

Surviving storms

Well it was force 10 in the maria but we were well set for it, so before the storm hit we had

• Turned the boat so that the nose was pointing towards the wind, with a marina you only have two directions that you can turn the boat in the slip but do the best you can
• Make sure your spring line keeps the boat from hitting the pontoon, We had two, but we should of set them shorter as our back training wheels bent when they hit the pontoon
• Storm lines, these are just back up lines in case the first line wears, these lines are for the over cautious which Beverley is

Wee trip to Portmuck

The great thing about being in Northern Ireland is that we have access to a car, because Beverley's mum has let us have hers. Its great to just go places and enjoy some of the Irish country side. So the great thing about Portmuck is the fact that you can find fossils, as well as flint which used to be used for making arrow heads. We also found some interesting rocks made from some sort of calcium base which was actually being eaten by a small organism. Quite close to Portmuck is the Isle of Muck which is connected to the main land at low tide. Conversely if you are a small boat then you can sail between the island at high tide. Just off the Isle of muck there are rip tides and confused seas which is why you should sail a mile out of the coast line at that particular area.