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BOAT INFO
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NAME: Ceres
MANUFACTURER: Hallberg Rassy
LENGTH: 46
INFO:
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| CREW |
| David Lomax |
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| LOGS FOR THIS BOAT |
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log entry |
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DATE: 13 September, 2003
CREW: David Lomax |
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Ceres - from Norway to Ardfern David Lomax
It is awe inspiring when a friend entrusts you with his yacht and asks you to deliver her from Norway to Scotland, Ceres is a Hallberg Rassy 45 with a huge engine and lavish electronics. Her 18 tons and power winches are capable of doing great damage so at the end of July this year Judy and I set out from Lynghor in S Norway with a great deal of nervous caution and a bible of instructions. Our crew were Maggie Black who can cook in all weathers, the greatest of accomplishments, Vyvian, my nephew who has sailed before, Liv, his girl friend, who has not, and Sally who has sailed a lot but could only give us a couple of days.
From Lynghor we negotiated the Blindleia, that spectacular passage between the rocks and skerries east of Kristiansand then, after provisioning, headed west. The channel through Ny Hellesund, with a gentle wind astern, let us run through an amazingly dramatic route, all marked by beacons and cairns (varde) which lead you from one turning point to the next. At Mondal we came alongside and next morning with the promise of a developing high in the North Sea, set off in a spirited SW to round Lindesnes, the infamous SW tip of Norway. Some time later we decided we were obviously too early for the attempt. With 2 reefs in the monster main Ceres was smashing through lumpy seas at 7 knots and several of us did not find this pleasant. After 4 hours of this punishment we turned and ran for the shelter of Seil island, a delightful cove surrounded by rocks and fishermen’s’ cottages which are now only occupied in the summer. We decided to spend the next day pottering a bit further up the leads while the N Sea high became properly established.
Crossing the North Sea was an unusual anti climax. After the first day the wind dropped to a whisper and we had to motor, the only excitement being a night time negotiation of the spectacular Forties oil field. Finding Peterhead was easy thanks to GPS, radar and the chart plotter, although I did flinch at the thought of how we might have done it without the electronic magic. We needed these even more for the passage down the Moray firth, particularly for the last leg to Inverness with visibility of less than 50 metres.
In the Caledonian canal we changed crews and welcomed our son Alistair, Helen and their 2 year old Anna. This sort of sailing was the best way to introduce the young to a boat although 2 year olds have to watched at all times and with a persistent westerly we had to motor through Loch Ness and most of the channel. Negotiating the stair cases of locks soon became a matter of team work, helped by friendly staff at each lock. We took two and a half days to complete the journey and emerged at Fort William ready for the freedom of the sea. Two days later, after some spectacular reaches around Mull and through the Cuan Sound we cleaned up ship and arrived safely at Ardfern. Ceres was handed over intact to her relieved owner. He was almost as relieved as we were at the end of a delightful holiday delivery.
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