Redbay - Rathlin Raid 2012

willk · 02 September 2012, 19:26

'Tis funny at times, the twists and turns of life. On Wednesday, donegaldan and tonymac both got tasked on alternative missions for Saturday. There I was, beached. There was, according to Mrs willk, no lookin' at me all evening

But on Thursday morning I got mail, fresh from the Redbay Benevolent Mission for Stranded Mariners - "There's a wee seat for you if you promise not to break anything..."

willk · 02 September 2012, 19:38

The feather warcast was for fresh breezes and it delivered them in tandem with some sun and scattered showers. Summer then. The carpark went from calm to a full-on Redbay launch frenzy - three tractors and nine ribs. That lad who was in trialing the wee dory... sorry mate!

Gulfstream (with the REAL teakwork) is (I think) the second nine meter built at Redbay - way back in the 90s. She's had a refit and is looking superb - a credit to the owner.

That's Conor launching his new 6.1m - nice boat, more of her later.

jambo · 02 September 2012, 19:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

'Tis funny at times, the twists and turns of life. On Wednesday, donegaldan and tonymac both got tasked on alternative missions for Saturday. There I was, beached. There was, according to Mrs willk, no lookin' at me all evening

But on Thursday morning I got mail, fresh from the Redbay Benevolent Mission for Stranded Mariners - "There's a wee seat for you if you promise not to break anything..."

Like eh SEATS !!

willk · 02 September 2012, 19:47

And my seat? Turns out it was on the Beast

So when the group were ready, with Tom on Helm and Gary on Nav we got clearance from the Tower and we were off up the coast, running at speed as close to the shore as possible to avail of the calm - it would be lumpy enough in the sound.

willk · 02 September 2012, 20:05

Rathlin Sound was the usual mix of calm and crazy. The tides meet up here and the resulting confused water needs to be treated with great care and respect.

We crossed it at over 50kts

Having arrived safely, I then moved across to Conor's new 6.1m for a bit of a play in the rough water. It's not a standard 6.1 - the hull was laid up using foam cores and a plastic deck to keep the weight down. That theme was carried over in to the steelwork and has resulted in a boat that performs like it had a 140hp when in fact it has 115hp. It's a direct comparison as I drove donegaldan's 6.1m 140hp recently and they are very similar on the water, each reaching almost 40kts. Interesting the loss of weight hasn't introduced any quirks in the handling - it's still a very sure footed and stable RIB. There are plans to build a limited series of them to mark the company's 35 years in business.

This one has a Garmin 750 fitted. I hadn't seen one before and I must say it was a tidy unit, very compact (no buttons) and works very well where there is limited space.

Pics of Rathlin, the 1050 and Bruce's Cave.

willk · 02 September 2012, 20:10

I didn't take any pics around the back of Rathlin - a phone camera couldn't do it justice. It's wild and unspoilt - sheer basalt cliffs with seabirds and the odd seal for local interest. After running round the island, we headed into Church Bay for "refreshments". I like Rathlin, you should go there

Poly · 02 September 2012, 20:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

I then moved across to Conor's new 6.1m for a bit of a play in the rough water. It's not a standard 6.1 - the hull was laid up using foam cores and a plastic deck to keep the weight down. That theme was carried over in to the steelwork and has resulted in a boat that performs like it had a 140hp when in fact it has 115hp. It's a direct comparison as I drove donegaldan's 6.1m 140hp recently and they are very similar on the water, each reaching almost 40kts.

Dan is built somewhat more 'robustly' than Conor if I remember right!

willk · 02 September 2012, 20:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

Dan is built somewhat more 'robustly' than Conor if I remember right!

Yeah, but we added an extra two teenagers to the load to keep the comparison fair.

willk · 02 September 2012, 20:27

And so we headed home, skipping over the Sound and into the calm water below the Torr. Here, an owner decided to Experience the Beast for a while and I took the helm of his 200hp 7.4 Open back to Cushendall. Lovely boat

After the recovery, we headed to the Boat Club for more "refreshment" and, just in case I wasn't "refreshed" enough, a trip to Harry's was made for the dinner that couldn't be beat. It's all kinda hazy after that. I do remember the "shirt" incident though

Many thanks to all involved, one helluva day!

jambo · 02 September 2012, 20:33

Looks like a great day all round. AH you must had some haunting memories of 1050 to say the least. Sure it would even make you want to buy the 'thing'

Poly · 02 September 2012, 20:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambo

Looks like a great day all round. AH you must had some haunting memories of 1050 to say the least. Sure it would even make you want to buy the 'thing'

I think he's just running up the miles on it to try and get the price down!

jambo · 02 September 2012, 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

I think he's just running up the miles on it to try and get the price down!

Good one neil and probably spot on

Portnahaven · 03 September 2012, 08:10

Great photos - i missed a great outing by the looks of things.
Ohhhh "the beast" a short run but a long experience.
"The Boss" told me yesterday the wind got up a bit livelier that predicted.

tonymac · 03 September 2012, 20:48

Well done Willk - cadging a lift on the Beast!!!

Much more interesting that my wee Humber! Come to think of it going across the Sound in the Humber on Saturday could have been much more interesting than in the Beast!!

willk · 03 September 2012, 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonymac

Well done Willk - cadging a lift on the Beast!!!

Much more interesting that my wee Humber!

Cadge?! WTF!

There was a Humber. I thought it did really well. It came up For Sale today if anyone is interested:
Raced once, Low Hours.

jumpinjack · 03 September 2012, 22:37

Looks great, I spent Friday night on rathlin, great meal in the manor house. Had a bumpy run across to ballycastle Saturday afternoon!
Pity I missed this though, hopefully my rib will be on the water from sunday and I'll make the next one.

willk · 04 September 2012, 18:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulbryson75

I spent Friday night on rathlin, great meal in the manor house.

That's interesting. We got FLASH traffic in Cushendall on Saturday to say they had run out of Guinness so we diverted to Bruce's Kitchen. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?

jumpinjack · 04 September 2012, 20:43

Willk, your info was quite correct I fear!
Arrived in manor house was told no lager on draught, and only two pints of guiness left on tap ...... Was 6 of us...... As such we where offered tiger beer bottles or this German bottled blonde beer (not good). After some tiger, then this german brew we moved onto corona.... ( we did feel we where being used to sup up the end of season dating bottles-unsuitable for the locals of course) After the excellent meal it was off to mc Cuaigs.... They had everything we needed (unfortunately) and they do not have a closing time it would appear

willk · 04 September 2012, 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulbryson75

....and they do not have a closing time it would appear

I believe it. We were gonna bring a couple of kegs to relieve the drought, but there were three weddings in Cushendall and we had to return there ourselves. So there was Rationing

I got my ration and at least one other lad's too