Sad Day

 Sad day ERL 2007 has been sold to John Hackett at Bala Sailing club this morning  14th Sept 2024

my love affar for catamarans is now over , it wasnt being used and not sailed since August 2021

it took my 3 days cleaning the boat and all the equipment so John would be able to so it in good condition.

the road wheels were no good very rusty so they were replaced and the cover wasnt really usable 

I know john will get good use out of it as he has a Dart 16 when he sails 2 up.

down to the Eagle 525 now which is a project when its moved Nov 1st 

a new chapter will begin   happy Sailing on (ERL) John 

UPDATE======= John has named the boat Cyril , maiden sail was 11th october

i was at the club working on Aguila at the time 

final picture of ERL

John arrived back at Bala with the boat 

Sailing log since 2021 a sad story

 

another ERL 2007 update 18/07/24

 well 2024 isnt the season for me at the moment , car problems and then the incident when bringing  Aguila  https://spudsarchives.blogspot.com/ back to Bala and the damage to the trailer has made for a non sailing season so far , sadley ERL 2007 has still not moved from its spot, still there and in need of love and attention.

with my plans for 2025 already confirmed ( a mooring at Aberaeron Harbour for the Eagle 525 , im not sure what ERL's future will be , its a shame as its a nice boat. maybe i should clean it up and sell 

watch this space just incase 

ERL update

 sadley during 2022 i did not use ERL 

i sailed my D ZERO Mutley93 at New Quay and also crewd on Cara of Menai 

at New Quay 

The d zero was taken to bala for the august cup but then no further sailing for other reasons 

i am planning on a drascombe lugger and sadley ERL will be put up for sale 

more info later 

Sailing log 2021

 

25/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO 2H22 cruise 

19/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO race 32m + Cruise 

13/6/21 ERL2007 SOLO 5.8NM++ 1H30

13/6/21 ERL2007 SOLO 43M race not recorded

18/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO race 1H34M 

18/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO sail 1H41M  5.22m

25/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO race 1H4M no distance

25/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO race 49M no distance

25/721 ERL2007 SOLO sail 2h22m full length of Bala 

28/8/21 Mutley93 Dezero  R1 3.28NM 59M 

28/8/21 Mutley93 Dezero  R2 4.43NM 1H18M

ERL Goes home

 sad day when you have to go the club to get the boat home, no sailing till march 2022 at least for ERL

Set off at 8am and filled up the van the price was terrible after the fuel crisis 

£1.49.9 for diesel goes up almost daily.

after a bit of a scare after Corris (Possible speeding ticket) we took it a bit slower debating what had happened.

we arrived on time and set about loading ERL.

The recent floods were ok and never reached the boat, The water levels were really low now.

Mast came down no problem all taped up so no tangles in 2022. mast did have some water but not as much.

Boat loaded onto road trailer and straps applied  my brain fade made this longer than normal as i had to keep changing it.

All tied down lightboard added and tested 

we only took 1h30 as i had predicted.  we set off leaving Bala behind till 2022 maybe who knows.

a good journey home and boat tucked away to be cleaned and checked and maintained. Mast needs sorting again, oh well. 

Someone left the tap on

2.67m and rising 

2pm approx day before

Tegid Cup trophy

race tracks 250721

race2

race 1

cruiser meetup

 

2 weekends running

 with an incentive to test the new car it was off to Bala 0730 start. the car went well loaded with kit for ERL and a strap for Mutley93

after rigging the boat it was of for a good hearty breakfast from the cafe wind was picking up but dropped at the start, not good starts didnt help and was overtaken by keen toppers and picos. 

after the 2 races it was off for a sail during "lunchtime"  stuart and Andy were out on the cruisers so i decided to head down the lake to see if i could join them 

surprising i was at the weather mark in 20 mins and they were there.

so with photo s being taken we decided to head down to the bottom end we had a good breeze, better than during the races.

wind got light at the very bottom and we decided to head back , with much tackig later and a good breeze to finish 2h22 later i was back on shore 

boat spot was moved back to where it was and packed away .weather was still hot, a few sandwhiches later it was the journey home. pleased with the day and lots of pictures of ERL as well.

2nd sail of Season

 well the wind was forecast 6knots from 12pm onward , so it was ideal to take Mutley 93 to bala and have a sail.

with Mutley93 in a berth ERL2007 was rigged for the race, it was baking hot and the race was delayed till 12, i set sail or drift early to see if the wind picked up sooner , it did and we were off , a bad start on the line and we set off on a simple X 3 A 1 X course, we did 2 laps, everyone then decided it was dinner and went in.

ERL stayed out and found good wind and set off down the lake to the weather mark, the wind waas easing so decided to head straingt back rather than visit every mark like last time. As we got closer to the club the wind did pick up and had a nice downwind bit back to the foreshore. the weather was hot and lots of suntan spray was used, the new edition of a big lomax orange box i was able to take the phone and play spotify Pink floyd whilst sailing, what more could u ask 

ERL was put in a newer spot closer to the clubhouse and bedded down , the heat took its toll so i stayed a while trying to recover . pleased that i got out on the boat again .

Sailing log 2021

 13/6/21 ERL2007 SOLO 5.8NM++ 1H30

13/6/21 ERL2007 SOLO 43M race not recorded

18/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO race 1H34M 

18/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO sail 1H41M  5.22m

25/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO race 1H4M no distance

25/7/21 ERL2007 SOLO race 49M no distance

25/721 ERL2007 SOLO sail 2h22m full length of Bala 

28/8/21 Mutley93 Dezero  R1 3.28NM 59M 

28/8/21 Mutley93 Dezero  R2 4.43NM 1H18M

ERL's 1st race and sail of 2021

 7am start from home and off to Bala for a light wind sail.

after rigging main only and getting ropes in the right order and losing shackle pins i finnaly got on the water in what was very light winds, course was hard to remember, by the time i got to the last mark Dave messaged me via the rib i had been finished.

we hadnt even done a lap, i had smacked myself in the face with the tiller extension and also found the joint was about to break off as well.

i got back to shore and then looked for the d zero extension, a slight trim and i was back on the water. and dave said i was already a lap down on race 2 , i soon gave up and had a nice sail to catch stuart in his cruiser who was heading down to the bottom end of the lake.

i caught him and photos were exchanged, ssteve on his a cat joined us.

wind was filling in better down this end of the lake so went onto round the weather mark.

i then zig zagged all the way back down wind to the clubhouse at times i was going ok, the weather was a bit better and the lake was busy with SUPS and kayaks , getting back to shore i found the foreshore littered with non member cars and swimmers, a few choice words to get the area clear and finally i could get ERL away in his berth. overall a good day and enjoyed the sailing if not the racing.

a few parts needed now to get ready for the next outing

rigged and ready for 2021 season finally