Katie Beardie, A Re-imagining.

Ooooh That sounds a bit pretentious! 

A long overdue update on the latest build at Port-Na-Storm. 

Katie Beardie at rest in Chichester Harbour. Al's Paradox anchored off. 

Katie Beardie, my sailing canoe of highest repute (above)  and well documented elsewhere in this blog has gone to the great Skip in the Sky.  Being left with the amas and sailing rig it made perfect sense to replace her sodden and broken hull with a fine replacement. 

No half measures this time, no sir!  

This time we'd (that's the Royal "We'd" here, there's only the one rooster in this coop) use the best quality materials and do the job properly. And while we are at it we'd take the opportunity to  make a few changes and adjustments.  

Plywood was purchased, the garage was cleared, and pencils sharpened. 

Well when I say cleared maybe I mean everything shoved to the side, 

remember what they say, Tidy Shed, Tidy Mind. 

Some Chance.  

Yes there are actual plans. Sort of. 

 Yours truly Gurning at the Japanese Pull Saw. 

Perhaps if you cleaned your glasses Old Man! 

The Centreboard Case and Bulkheads getting a layer of Glass-Fiber. 

Then the inside of the cockpit got the same treatment. This area needs to be pretty strong as it is open to the elements and where the skipper will be climbing in and out. 

The floor area midships needs to support the entire weight of the hull, amas and rig when the boat is on the trolley.  This is what finally did for Katie Beardie. An already compromised area finally gave up the ghost and was beyond economical repair. 

Joining all the bottom panels together. 

Butt Joints are good enough here, they fall exactly where the trolly will support the hull so the extra thickness isn't going to hurt and there will be a half bulkhead to beef things up even further later on. 

Every picture tells a story. 

Well not quite, there was quite a lot of pulling shoving and swearing to get to this stage, 

But that's another story, and this is quite enough for one day. 

   

 

Norway 2

 I was very impressed with Norway. 

They seem to have got everything right that we in the UK have got wrong. 

It was a glimpse of what Scotland could have been if the oil money wasn't pissed down the drain by successive Westminster Governments. 

Their infrastructure is amazing.

Their Island Groups are connected by a labyrinth of tunnels and bridges, and when they are too far apart the ferry network takes over. 

They make Caledonian MaBrayne look like amateurs.   

They have retained their National Identity while staying very connected to Europe. 

Globe Marking the Arctic Circle 

The Lofoten Islands appearing through the haze. 

And a bit too close to Russia! 

The dot on the horizon is a Russian Observation Tower 👀

Even their fishing industry is intact. 
These are Fish Heads drying before being sold to Africa of all places for Fish Head Soup, a trade which has been going on for hundreds of years. 

The short dumpy fishing boats are due to  licensing laws based on Length !  

Cod drying on racks for Stock Fish. 

Most of this is bought by the Polish who seem to have cornered the european market. They sell it into Germany amongst other countries where it was a traditional food in the days of Papal Decrees not to eat meat on the many fast days. 

You couldn't make this stuff up. 

Bergen. 

The last time I was there I was eleven. 

Our Ship tied up at the old fish market. 

Happy Memories. 

Norway 1.

We sailed with Hurtigruten on the MS Polarlys from Bergen to Kirkness and back. 

These are some photographs from the first couple of days from Bergen to Alesund and Trondheim 

Crossing the Arctic Circle