Hoisting the Masts: On Kayak and Sail Boat

I put the mast up on the Hurley Felicity about 2 weeks ago during a flat calm, no wind was stirring. My sister came at 6am and we went down to the mooring and got her ready for the lifting. I had a new idea of using a series of pulleys for hoisting the mast. These pulleys were connected to the fore-stay and the sheet was led back to the cockpit. The idea was to raise the mast by hand as far as I could lift it then use the pulleys to hoist her fully up. My sister was there just to see that if it lent one way she would correct it, it was a trial and error situation. It did not work!! The pulleys kept on getting jammed, i adjusted them so the sheet stayed on the wheels, but they kept on jamming. In the end i asked my sister to pull on the fire-stay and the mast went up easy enough!

Then we had gales so the the next week I could not do any sailing, the winds did not abate and I decided to try out my design of the Lateen rig on my Gumotex kayak. I had been designing and building a rig over the winter. The sail was made from tarpaulin and i had a short un-stayed mast. When hoisted the sail sat at 45degrees to the hull with little head room clearance. The foot of the sail had a spar.

My first tempt was a success, she sailed Ok, the winds were slight and there was a few days of quiets winds, excellent conditions for the first sail. It took me ages to set up, but when hoisted I found she was good sailing down wind on a run, and tacking into the wind she was Ok. One difficulty I had was when sailing on a tack I would use the paddles as a rudder so I needed 2 hands to control the paddle and also to control the main-sheet. This was a problem as either the main-sheet could not be adjusted efficiently or the paddle was not stable.

The latest sail was done over a 2 day period, I slept on the Felicity and tried out the kayak during the day. I changed the sail so the yard was close to the small mast pointing upward, brought into the top of the mast by a pulley. I fixed the bottom of the yard to the middle of the mast. I also strengthened the mast by fixing a bunji cord as a fore-stay. This helped me to hoist the sail in close to the mast without it moving too much and for the mast to get in the way of the paddle and my face! With the yard vertical the spar and sail had enough clearance for me to use the paddle in a more effective way. Also I cleated the main-sheet so I could paddle/steer off the wind so I could have the sail working in conjunction with the paddle, sometimes I would stop paddling other times I would steer and other times I would paddle...or drop the sail if it became in-effective.

An Unpredictable Day

The day started off routinely, I cycled to the boat intending to clean the inside ready for painting. I checked it for water in the bilges. There was quite a bit of water but it was fresh water it was not from the sea, I have no idea where it is coming in from. I played flute for a short while, made a coffee... Then my friend and his 2 children came over and the kids climbed on board and came in the cabin. They were asking a lot of questions about the boat and they had never been on board a cabin boat before. They asked questions about sailing and other nautical things "how do you know what 3 knots is?" errrrrrrrr! I did not do any painting as the tide rushed in and as I was closing up the cockpit and preparing to leave my friend started talking to me about his new love in his life. We headed back to the shore and went for a walk around the village. As I was leaving I realised I had left my bike bag on the boat with all my tools, phone etc lying in the cockpit. I thought to leave it until another day but it could get stolen or I could have a puncture and walk home. So I decided to wait until the tide went out. I calculated it would be out about 7pm, it was 3pm when I realised so a long wait was in store. I laid down and watched the sky pass above me, but it was cold the wind was blowing the clouds by, so I got on my bike and headed out past Bowness along a small road along the salt marshes. I had not biked along that road for decades and it was lovely, quiet and windblown. I headed back to the boat but the tide was still coming in. I cycled in the opposite direction and walked for a bit by the shore, getting chilled as the wind got stronger. I cycled back and then I cycled again towards Bowness. It was getting dark when I reached the boat again and there was my friend waiting in his car. He had come back with a flask of coffee and prepared to wait it out with me. We had a nice chat and as 7pm approached he drove off leaving me to wade out to the boat in freezing water in the darkness. I took off my shoes and the icy water went above the knees and they went numb. I got my bag and returned and realised I had forgotten my phone so back I went this time inside the cabin searching in the darkness for my phone. Luckily I noticed some beach shoes in the cabin and wore them so no stub my frozen toes on the rocks. As I jumped down from the boat my sole of the beach shoe went through a spike that was in a fishing weight on the sea floor. If I did not have the shoes on I would have had a 4cm spike through my foot, as it hit the sole it bent and missed my heel by millimetres. Then I cycled home without lights on my bike, when a car came towards me I used my mobile phone light as a lamp light. I got home about 8.30pm.

Pipes, Concertina and Boat.

I have been back from Madrid now for 4 days and I have busy with one thing and another.

Monday i went to the boat to check on her, she was fine, the strong winds had blown off a section of tarp and i tied it down with more ropes as the strong winds are not finished yet and bailed a little water out from the bilges. I brought the seat covers home to be cleaned.

I tired busking in Carlisle from 4pm until 6pm tuesday and wednesday, but it was slow. It is a time i normally do not play, but since i was going to be in town in the evenings i thought i would give it a try, anyways it is good for practising if nothing else.

Thursday, I played some European melodies on the concertina: Galician, French and Swedish in preparation for a practise next week with the harpist. Later, I got the Border pipes out and practised for tomorrow's session in Langholm with 2 other Border pipers. The melodies are long, and I am out of practise with the runs and keeping the instrument steady, but they sounded good and relatively in tune to concert pitch "A"...amazing. I mended the strap on my bellows to make it more secure, as it has a habit of coming off in mid-tune. Played more in the evening until my ears rang!

Spanish Gaita and Uilleann Pipes

The Irish music session at Taberna Elisa last night was even better than last week with tunes coming fast and furious and with a lot more energy. An addition of an fiddler and a guitarist who also played button accordion made a fuller sound. Pennie whistles were brought out to play along with the flutes. What attracted my attention was a man who played one of these whistles also took out a Galician gaita/bagpipe and played along with the Irish melodies. I had seen this man before at the Spanish Jam session on a Friday night, and I had meant to ask him about his pipes. They were in the key of D/Re which is perhaps is unusual as most of the gaita players play in the key of C/Do. The chanter was smaller than the C chanters in fact the over all bagpipe was smaller to what I had seen before and higher in pitch. With this smaller chanter he could over blow into the 2nd octave and achieve a larger range of notes that the C chanter could not get (an extra 4), reaching a top C/Do so it would fit quite well with Irish melodies, also it had the European open fingering technique so it was fully chromatic within 2 octaves, quite a versatile instrument. His drone arrangement was standard: one D/Re bass drone over his shoulder and a smaller tenor drone across his chest also in D/Re. What was unusual was he would remove the top end of the drone and this would give him a drone sound in E/Mi so he could play melodies with a drone accompaniment in E minor/major. He has a excellent mastery over the instrument and played Irish melodies with the Uilleann piper. This video proves it:

Taberna Elisa: Bluegrass Jam Session

I have attended over the past weeks various events at the bar "Taberna Elisa" in down-town Madrid and i have enjoyed all of them. They must get 100s if not 1000s of people in through their doors and yet they are always welcoming and have, in my opinion, a good attitude to music and musicians. It is a unique place as i think about it. As The Clash once said "you just plug in and play" and in a way it is what happens at Elisa. In the various rooms/basements strains of various instruments: Highland bagpipes, gaitas, guitars, tambourines, flutes...filter through the Bluegrass, Spanish, Breton, Irish...CD recordings behind the bar. The concerts are always well attended and have a great relaxed atmosphere, friendly and one is able to meet people, dance, jump up and down...join in with the music. The session nights have excellent musicians and, to me it shows the ability of Spanish musicality. They have gotten behind the musical notation (if that is what they use) and adopted their chosen musical style whether it be Irish, Breton, USA....with feeling, style and good technique. For me personally, I love the gaita, and I have enjoyed listening to the pipes there, the flauta y tamboril (pipe and tabor) come a close second but there is a variety and I have learn a lot. I hope these videos from Taberna Elisa show a little of what I mean.
This video is of the Bluegrass session held on a sunday night, audience participation is welcome and in the close proximity of performer and audience it is easy to get into the evenings music.
The video is of a song I use to play in my own band, an old Bluegrass favorite called "Salty Dog Blues".


This next video is the version of "Salty Dog Blues" we played in the group as you can see it was a little different! It was recorded in London, my group was called "The Virginia Vagabonds". We were formed in August 1988, a meeting of two 3 piece bands busking in Amsterdam´s Leidseplein. The two bands, ´The Lonesome Pump Attendants´ from Carlisle and the ´Cottonpickers´ from south London fused to become The Virginia Vagabonds consisting of 2 banjos, 2 guitars, a double bass and a fiddle. The following five and a half months we played over 60 gigs in clubs, colleges and pubs in and around London. We disbanded in 1989. This video represents us towards the end of our career. R.I.P.

Spanish Jam Session (29.01.11)

It was my first time back in Madrid for some time. We decided to go to Taberna Elisa for a firday night out to see what the Spanish Jam session was like. i had forgotten the good atmosphere from the place, beautiful old pub with photos on the walls of the musicians who had played there. Tonight was a mixture of Spanish music and Celtic melodies, all done with a Spanish accent. In the back room there clustered around the walls were some of the musicians warming up, we asked if this is where the music would be, thinking it was a little too small and cramped to let all who wanted to see enjoy the music, but we were told that when they felt like it they would come on stage. Impromptu sessions like this always seemed to spring up often when the main act was on stage! Tonight there was guitars, Galician bagpipes/gaita, percussion with a good atmosphere. An Italian man got up to sing a few Irish songs, and another man got up on guitar to sing Irish songs and play on his guitar with the backing of the Spanish session musicians. It was all un-amplified, fine for the musicians but the vocals needed a little help.

Martina Quiere Bailar (Martina Wants to Dance)

(5.2.11) As the band came on stage the audience came in and it filled up nicely, the band consisted of 2 violins fronting the stage and to the rear an accordionist and a guitarist. The accordionist was from Italy and he had some of his Italian supporters in the audience one of them being a tambourine player who hit hell out of his tambourine later on in the night as he joint the group on stage for a number, beating out a rhythm that made his thumb bleed. The rest of the group were Spanish and the mixture of nationalities blended nicely as did their melodies, rhythms and presence on stage. They were not static, especially the 2 female violinists who played their music intertwining their melodies and harmonies with each other, as well as their body movements. As the tune progressed all four of them seem to come together and dance and sway often forgetting that an audience existed. The audience did exist and Martina and many others did dance! This music was made for dancing and I got enjoyment in watching the audience, sometimes set dances other times excited leaping up and down always with couples and the slower tunes were met with intimate close contact dancing. Their melodies lasted a lot longer than the average 3 minutes, melodies were repeated 3-4 times to let the dancers enjoy the rhythms and to let them get into the swing. This could have been boring to the non-participants but it was not so bad as the on-stage movement made the performance enjoyable and watching the dancing made up for any musical repetitions.

Andaraje Concert

(4.2.11) A short walk from Alcobendas (Madrid/Spain) to the next area of San Sebastian Los Reyes, where the lesser known bull racing takes place each year in august on the streets. We were there to attend a concert of traditional choral music sung by the group "Andaraje" a 5 piece ensemble who sing religious and folkloric songs from the southern areas of Spain, Andalusia and Murcia. The event took place in the Ethnographic museum of El Caseron which holds musical events every friday nights at 7.30pm. We have been there a few times to see various groups and it is not only a concert but made for instruction also so there is a rapport between group and audience introducing them to style of music many are not familiar with or have forgotten.
"Andaraje" are mainly a choral group singing in close harmony, often monophonic or a call and response between men (2) and women (3). AS I do not speak Spanish I can not tell the content of the words but there is a mixture of religious folkloric content often religious themes were used a song about the "10 Commandments" or references to Mary etc other times thematic songs about the sea or humorous songs which tickled the audience.
Instruments were not used that often a guitar was played twice a finger picking style to accompany the singers. The mainly instrumental accompaniment were with wooden and metallic percussion instruments such as triangles, bells, rattles...these were shaken while singling perhaps to religious songs and occasionally hand gestures to explain the text and meaning of the song, syncopated clapping was also in a few pieces.
I recorded the show but there was about 25 minutes of song while the rest of the concert (total 1 hour) was with a dialogue with the audience.
Sometimes the performance was a little flat, they read the lyrics from a paper and this stunted their performance, i felt the songs should have been more from the heart and spirit, to sing out and with more feeling and personal interpretation as it would in a rural church and in the village life, it was not "felt" more like a classical concert. Often the singers were looking at the leader to start the song off giving the feeling that they do not rehearse so much now (?).
Here is one of their livelier songs.

Irish Jam Session

Taberna Elisa look rather empty at 10.30pm when we arrived to hear some Irish music. We chatted to the barmaid about which nights they had music and took our drinks to a table. In the basement we could hear the strains of the Highland bagpipe behind closed doors and waited for the Irish music to start. Start it did about 11.30pm when an Irish bagpipe player, 2 flautists, a harpist and a bodhran player sauntered on stage. It was a very informal and relaxed session, music well played and enjoyable to listen too. At one point the harpist did a few solo numbers that had a Breton feel to them and later one of the flute players got out the Highland pipes and did a few numbers that were well executed with good gracing and tempo.

Really enjoyed the night all the more enjoyable as it was the harpists birthday and she had made a cake which she passed around the small crowd!

Cruising Area

Reviewing my video clips from last year brought me to sun and warm weather, lazy days sitting by the incoming tide and enjoying the vistas out to sea. My cruising ground is a small area between Port Carlisle and Drumbrugh a distance of 4 miles by road but by sea it is a depending on tide, wind, currents and how lazy I am on the day. The area can be a pleasant afternoon's walk, from Port Carlisle past its canal basin and docking area of the harbour walls where a fleet of ships once unloaded cargo and took passengers to far off places. Continuing along the coast around a headland one comes in contact with very few people. It is quiet and peaceful. If the tide is in then you have to negotiate fences and and if the tide is high then keeping to the old canal/railway track is essential. Sailing in the bay i have seen porpoises and an occasional seal poking its head out of the water and overhead geese heading off to colder climates. Looking forward this this years sailing in that area and others too.

Iranian Tar

The other day I got my hands on (for the first time) an Iranian Tar. I have only seen photos and video clips of this instrument so I was interested to see it close up and to play it. It is heavy due to the solid wooden body, and it has a wider neck than i thought. There are 3 double strings with gut frets across the neck.

There is a tight skin over the body of the tar and its peculiar shape of the body is by hollowing out 2 pieces of wood and joining them together to give that "8" shape. The most enlightening part of the instrument for me was the plectrum, it was solid brass and cone shaped. It was difficult to hold and the owner said that players often put wax over it so the fingers can grip it securely, but it is the brass that makes the loud sound and the resonance from the body and strings are amplified by such a hard material as brass. The owner said the tar is the leading instrument in the ensemble and the loudness can rise above the other instruments. Some pictures of the tar I held:

Ana Alcaida at Taberna Elisa

A good concert in Taberna Elis (Madrid/Spain) by Ana Alcaide and her fellow musicians. Three people in total giving a full sound with instruments such as the Swedish Nickelharper, the Iranian Santur, the Arabic Ud, the medieval Cittern, various percussion including a water pot! a Bouzouki and Guitar. Some songs with vocals and a mixture of Sephardic and Spanish songs and some others I did not recognize. The sound was not that good I think a proper sound check with the sound system could have had a better concert with the group running through a few numbers to get the levels earlier in the evening, but it was done just before their performance and half way through, the time in messing about made us miss the last of the concert as we had to get the metro home. Some really beautiful melodies and a nice blend of instruments giving it a nice acoustic relaxing atmosphere. The audience was attentive even telling the louder ones at the back to be quiet! The small bar was full with people standing outside peering through the windows. Here is a video clip from the gig.

Radio Cumbria Interview

It took a while in getting but I finally got a copy of the interview I did at Radio Cumbria a few weeks back. I include it here. It went well I told the basics i think, about the Northumbrian Pipes, the Border piping tradition we have in the Scottish Borders and a little about the music that is played in those parts. Besides the interview there are 3 melodies and I added some pictures to the interview.

"Radio Radio..."

The recent interview at Radio Cumbria was a recording for annual Robert Burns' night, which is taking place at the end of January. The interviewer asked me about the Northumbrian pipes the Border tradition of piping and the melody of one of Burn's melodies "The Banks and Braes of Bonny Doon". The event got me thinking of other radio sessions I have done. Besides this one, I have another Radio Cumbria interview that was done while busking in Carlisle. A radio presenter came across me busking and happened to have his DAT recorder with him and recorded an interview about the pipes and I played a few tunes, this recording I have put on the end of my 2 CDs.

Another radio interview about the pipes was done in Istanbul, Turkey in the late 90s. I had brought my pipes to Istanbul as I was involved with a few folk musicians and I was spending a lot of time there and needed the pipes to practise and to keep in contact with my north UK roots. I did not know what was happening but one day at the conservatoire a Turkish piper turned up and invited me to be interviewed on a radio programme. I was invited along to the Radio Istanbul studios, which was in a back street in Taksim, and there beside me was another piper. He was Turkish and he played the Tulum, a Turkish bagpipe from the north east of Turkey near Georgia, Azerbaijan and along the Black Sea. It is mouth blown and has no drone, only a bag and 2 melody pipes in one stock and a wooden 'horn' at the end of the chanters. The holes in the chanters are not the same so when played it has the effect of having 2 melodies played at once. The radio programme was about these 2 pipes, their comparisons; we both played a few tunes and chatted about construction etc.

Another radio interview was when I was playing in a band in Amsterdam. "The Lonesome Pump Attendants" were a 3 piece band whose members were once in the "Red Aligatorz" a rock-a-Billy group from Cumbria, UK. When the Aligatorz split, the singer and I moved to Amsterdam playing skiffle songs with guitar and t-chest bass. Later the double bass player from the Aligatorz came over and the 3 of us played in Amsterdam for about 6 months, touring all over Holland. The radio interview was recorded in a squat/pirate radio station. A New Zealand biker did the interview with his Dutch assistant. WE performed 3-4 songs and I remember the first song when the presenter asked us to play he did not know how loud we were, his recording nearly blew his speakers!

The last radio interview was with the Red Aligatorz in Carlisle, again Radio Cumbria in the early 80s, with the presenter asking about the band and the gigs etc. I remember it being a lot of fun...but not sounding so cleaver!

Dreams of Easy Sailing

The roads to the coast were covered in a thin layer of black ice due to the heavy rain during the night. The back wheel slipped and skidded up hills and over the roads, while I kept the front wheel straight and tried to turn by using my body weight. Luckily I had no accidents, but it was unexpected and it took me longer to get to the boat. When I did I saw the tide was already creeping round the harbour wall and I had about 10 minutes to get inside and check the bilges for water (a little in the bottom) and sponge it out. Then I checked the plastic covering over the boat and making it more secure with more rocks to keep the wind from blowing the edges away from the hull. The sun came out and the wind died down, the sea was calm and I wanted to raise the mast and sail. The raising of the mast takes quite a bit of effort and planning, it can be quite a task to haul it up; it is not a task that takes a few minutes so preparation is needed if one wants to sail. I stood enjoying the good weather and looking at the boat visualizing how I can make the process of sailing easier and quicker. The main problem was erecting the mast, but if I changed the sail and had a smaller mast I could erect it by myself and without stays and less halyards, I could have it ready to sail in a comfortable time. I have just completed designing a mast and sail for my kayak by using a Lateen rig (1 short mast, 1 triangular sail, no boom, no stays) and this design could also be used for the boat by using the existing mast and boom and mainsail. The boom could become the mast and the existing mast could be the yard that supports the sail. All I needed to do was to make a support so the boom could be made secure to the top of the cabin. By this time the sun had melted the ice and the roads were better, I got home with a glaring sun in my eyes all the way, and the odd sheep dog barking at my wheels.

In the afternoon I played Border pipes practising tunes and working on the reed. I noticed that the edge of the reed was cracked. This could be the end of the reed but I have had such problems with my Northumbrian pipes many years ago and I glued it together. I dropped a bit of glue over the cracked edge and continued with the tuning. In the end I admitted defeat, I could not get a perfect “A” (440c) chanter, it was flat somewhere between a G# and A. But it was in tune and if I did not play with others it was fine. I tuned the drones to the chanter and enjoyed playing and memorizing tunes from the Border repertoire.

Later I got a phone call from BBC Radio Cumbria arranging a date for recording a programme for them for Burns’ night.

A Forgotten Manuscript

I am planning a busking route through the Basque country and northern Spain this year and sorting through my maps and books in a pile of travel information, I came across an old black book I recognized from years back covered in dust. Inside were mostly blank music manuscript pages, but in the front of the book using my hand writing were traditional melodies from various countries: Lithuanian, Sweden, French and Slovak. The key signature of the notation told me that I had collected these melodies for playing on my Russian accordion that was in the key of A major, but other keys showed I was thinking for the Northumbrian pipes as the keys were also G and D major and were in the range of the pipe chanter (an octave and a half).

My Russian button accordion I had bought in 1992 while I was living in Vilnius, Lithuania; researching traditional music. The accordion was a popular instrument for dances not only in Lithuania but in Poland and Russia and throughout the Baltic States. I had bought it in a music shop in Vilnius, I could not play nor had I attempted to play it before, but I had time in those changing days when Lithuania was freeing itself from the Soviet influence. I was studying at the Vilnius Conservatoire so I thought I could get advice from the people there. My accordion had a range of about 3 octaves, double reeds that was slightly out of pitch with one another that gave it its particular sound, but what I loved was the harmony buttons that gave me that instant “Russian” feel. I learned a Belo-Russian melody and used these harmonies which transported me to the literature of Bakunin, Tolstoy, and Dostoyevsky. I also learned a few Lithuanian melodies and used the more dominant harmony buttons, the style instantly changed into something more recognisable, more European perhaps; these melodies were dance melodies from the folklore tradition. It seems this is where my interest fell away as I could not co-ordinate my melody hand and harmony hand correctly, polkas, marches anything in 2/4 or 4/4 was fine, but I could not get the waltzes and 6/8 rhythms and if I could not master it there was no point in continuing with it? Anyways, my interests slowly changed later on when I met different, less academic, folklorists in Kaunas. These people were into wood and skins of the Baltic nature/villages, not metallic instruments of the Soviet cities; and even though I did continue play it for the next 2 years I never really progressed from these few melodies that I learned in 1992.

The melodies in the book were copied from scores in the Conservatoire, my interest in Swedish music was a long standing one, I had visited Stockholm in 1990 and came home with some records of traditional music: accordion, nickelharper, anthology of Scandinavian instruments, and of course the bagpipes, there is something about the Swedish lilt, style, and presence that is soothing to me, relaxing and touches my Celtic sprit. There are only 2 Slovak melodies in the book, not surprisingly quite different in structure to the other melodies. Apart from these melodies copied for accordion I had written next to certain scores “fiddle” so apparently they had been written for violin. A couple of French melodies were penned in ink as an afterthought, possibly done at a later date.

In the back of the book there are some of my attempts at folk melody composition; flute notation without any description; a Belo-Russian melody; Kankles melodies and some compositional workings on a musical project I wrote called “A Maiden Wreath Made of Lead” which was a composition using my experiences over 4 years in the Baltic States, the composition was written during my BA in Contemporary Arts (1994-7). This is followed by other compositional workings as a follow up from “Maiden Wreath...” called “Paths” which was a musical journey into religious music of India and Pakistan, especially Qawwali, where I went on a field trip in 1995.

Festivals 2011

Busking has been a good way for making contacts, it has its limits of course when compared to the internet, but it has offered a few opportunities in the past to break away from the streets and perform in more varied surroundings. I have been offer weddings to play at, festivals, on the spot radio programmes and recordings have happened, and it has led to TV appearances and even the occasional music promoter offering to promote me! People have offered job suggestions and many have taken my card and details with promises of future work, and the opportunity to sell my CDs which is a good chance to promote my work and ideas. This year there has been interest too and if everything happens as it appears then I will be doing a radio programme this week for Radio Cumbria. In March there will be a project to preserve the Border pipes that I will be attending. In June I am invited to play at the International Folk Festival in Pilzen, Czech Republic; and in July I have been asked to play at the Cockermouth Festival, Cumbria. Let’s see what the future holds?

Border Variations

The world at 8am is a dark and dangerous place for a cyclist heading for Carlisle on the Wigton road, it is rush hour and it is the main road linking several towns along the west coast of Cumbria with lorries roaring past, cars, vans and one lone cyclist all heading for Carlisle in the dark with rain beating down and an icy wind on my back. I caught the 9.10am bus to Langholm, about 20 miles over the Scottish border, where I was to meet 2 Border pipers for a session of playing traditional melodies of those parts. One piper lives in Langholm and the other comes from Hawick, we play generally from 10am until 2.30pm with a small break where we enjoy a soup and a chat. The melodies we play are a mixture of different tune books but all are traditional Border melodies with variations. I am a new comer to the group and I add my share of melodies from Peacock and Bewick to the eclectic mix. I sight read where I can to join in, I am not so bad in sight reading but I loose my way with the speed they play and the variations that are still unfamiliar to me. The variations are very particular to the Border piping repertoire, sometimes runs and arpeggios are reproduced in other melodies and after playing a dozen or so, one can see patterns, clearly formulating a style to these types of tunes. Often a melody can be found in a different manuscript under a different title, possibly suggesting that a common melody travelled well but that the names were not passed on. The main manuscript to be used is the once forgotten “Dixon Manuscript” brought to light again by Matt Seattle who reprinted it for general use. The style of the melodies are very different to the Scottish Highland pipe tunes or to other melodies from the UK and Ireland, they have virtually no grace notes written in to the score, whether they were played in a systematic fashion is hard to tell there is no reference either way, but the general thought is that they were played in a more “Northumbrian/Border” style with little gracing. When I started playing the Border pipes I found the variations difficult to enjoy, in fact I did not play them, but now I see them as being a part of my tradition, an important part of our ‘style’ and part of my culture. Variations look a little like ‘practise pieces’ one finds in music tutors, as though a pupil learns an instrument and has a series of finger exercises before the main melody begins. On the surface it looks like they are just a series of arpeggios and runs, less melodic and more rhythmic in style, a series of repetitions and an unusual use of the 7th note (flattened or sharpened) that in theory is used as a passing note not an important part of the melodic structure, when played this 7th note should clash with the drones but it gives it ‘its’ sound, the particular sound of Border piping. It takes a while to get use to this sound, these runs and repetitive arpeggio use, but when it does get into your mind and heart it is captivating and it is a window into a lost world into the music of the Scottish borders.

Coming home the wind was in my face and it took me ages to cycle home, when I did I flopped in front of the fire and to pass the time got out the concertina and played some tunes that I had memorized trying to add harmonies to the bare melodies. I play mainly 3rds and 5ths to the main melody notes trying to add a harmony where appropriate.

After dinner I went back to the Border pipes and made some changes that I had noticed in the afternoon: making them louder by opening the reed, trying to get them closer to concert pitch “A” but realising that the top notes were too sharp and so it needed flattened by pulling the reed out but this would make the chanter flatter, it could not be helped, an ‘in-tune’ chanter is better than one that is half in tune! So I will have to make do with a chanter that is just below concert pitch and hope it will not make too much difference. I also tried playing melodies from memory, so building a repertoire. In all it was a good day full of music.

Covering the Boat

The other day I cycled to the boat to see if there had been any damage after the hard frost we have had. The last time I was there, there was at least 1.5inches of frost resting on the ropes, hull and mast, a beautiful sight, picturesque but destructive. When I got there this time there was no ice to be seen, the cover that covered the cockpit was dry all frost had melted away. I had brought with me a very large piece of plastic to cover the top part of the boat. It was a farmers covering for hay and it had been dumped at the side of the road forgotten and left to rot, a pity as it was messing up the countryside and it was nearly intact. I bundled it onto my small trolley and pulled it by bike to the boat. I had to stop lots of times and the trolley tipped over. I got there after the tide had ebbed and stretch out the plastic on the sea bed, I placed one end into the cockpit and snaked the length around the side of the hull and over the cabin and foredeck and round the other side, it fitted perfectly and overlapped on the cabin roof. I crisscrossed rope to keep it held down over the windows and the foredeck (my main source of intake of water) and then placed rocks on the top to keep it firm against the elements. There was water in the bilges but not as much as I feared, I think it was melted snow/frost as it was clear. I sponged it out and checked the rest of the boat, no damage except for the paint that had been scraped off the hull with the passing ice. It all needed a good clean inside and a fresh coat of paint, also the little bit of wood decoration along side of the hull was looking very damaged and shabby, it either needs a lot of cleaning and preserving or to just paint over it to protect it for the future. I wish I could erect the mast and sail away it is always hard to leave it as it is just sitting there, not in use and waiting for the weather to change, at least enough not to freeze. Over head loud cries of passing geese were flying east wither it was too cold for them or to warm…here is hoping!

Tuning the Border Pipes

Today I got the Border pipes out of their old battered suitcase. It is a while since I played them and since I am having a session over the border in Langholm, Scotland tomorrow, I thought to get ready and dust of the fingers and try and remember some tunes. Remember I did, it all comes back after a few failed attempts, I played mainly Peacock melodies some new ones too. As usual I altered the reeds as I am trying to get the chanter in tune with the drones as close as I can to concert pitch “A” (440c), this is to blend in as much as possible with the other 3 pipers who will be turning up tomorrow also I wish to play with other musicians in time and the need to be compatible with other instruments is becoming quite important. I have played solo on the pipes for years and although it is very liberating to play what one wants, it can be quite isolating too. I put more thread around the sliding drones to make them air-tight and to stop them double tonguing. I also experimented in holding them, as they are not the most comfortable set of pipes to play. Old photos of the Border Piper have playing them with the drones set neatly across the chest. In practise this is not so easy; the drones are heavy, longer than the Northumbrian pipes, and flop around. I have had them over the shoulder, by far the better position, but a big separation between the chanter (melody) and the drones (harmony) I like the Northumbrian pipes as the chanter and the drones are relatively together blending nicely. I put the drones across the chest but it is very unstable under the bag arm, then I put them underneath the arm that they normally rest upon so they are lying downwards towards the ground with the arm over them. This is the best position as the chanter and the drones are sounding together, but the neck of the chanter was flapping around and also uncomfortable, more experimentation needs to be done. I pushed the chanter reed in as far as it would go, opening the end to make it louder and to flatten the top notes of the chanter. I have always tried to quieten the chanter as think it is too loud, but I now believe (because of playing on the streets and back ground noises) that louder is better to cut above the other street noises. It is a constant struggle between the reed and the chanter to get it right, very frustrating very tiring, all in aid to get it to concert pitch “A”, if I had left the reed the way it was it was a perfect match between pressure of the bag, drone reeds and pitch – a flat “A”, but problematic to play with others. Lets see what happens tomorrow at the session.

The "Jackie" Concertina

The “Jackie” English is a 2 octave chromatic concertina I bought from Barleycorn Concertinas about 3 months ago. I have been playing it nearly every day since I bought it trying to establish a repertoire I can busk with this summer as well as my Northumbrian Small Pipes and Border Pipes. It is my first concertina I own, I did start off with a Hohner Anglo 20 button concertina in Bb but it was badly out of tune and the bellows leaked. I had some music notation of the Northumbrian Pipes with harmonies and I wanted to play this music on the concertina, I found the 20 button Anglo limiting on the harmony line so I decided to switch techniques and buy the English system instead. I later found out that the harmonies are equally difficult to play on the English as the fingering is not as easy as on the Anglo, but with practice it is ok; but I do believe by trying the two systems out that the Anglo is the easier of the two to get a basic harmonic accompaniment for a basic folk melody.
The Jackie has accordion reeds, but the action is good, light and strong, the springs are good and I think will last a long time. The fingering is ok except for a few notes in the bass nearest the finger straps that are hard to get at, but again with practise and by using different fingers one can reach them alright. It is bigger and heavier than the Hohner but that is to be expected and it is quite loud and I think it is a good choice for busking or playing with a group, and since I play a range of UK and European melodies I can get the different semitones that sometimes occur in the scale of foreign melodies.
I enjoy playing melodies in their right key, and not having to think too much about in which direction to pump air. I am trying to memorize new melodies and relearn my pipe melodies, so I am concentrating on UK fiddle tunes: reels, hornpipes, polkas etc. As well as some melodies from Sweden and Spain, I am getting these into my head and starting to play them from memory, and trying to play around with the melodies to make them ‘live’ and not just to play ‘dots on a page’. It is progressing nicely.

Harp and Concertina

WE visited a harpist near to our home today. She has busked over Europe and now makes her living by playing small festivals and doing a lot of weddings. She is a good player and when we meet we tend to play European melodies mainly from Sweden, Spain and France, but also some melodies from Turkey, Czech Republic, Belgium and Medieval, but strangely enough not British or Irish! I play the Northumbrian pipes and the Turkish Ney - an open-ended cane flute. We have been playing together for a few months now and are working on a CD and a repertoire to go playing this spring, do a few gigs and some busking.
Later that evening at home I played my English concertina, trying to play from memory the tunes I have been trying to memories since I bought it (about 3 months ago). With this instrument I play English fiddle music, a few Irish melodies, and Northumbrian and European melodies. The beauty with the concertina is that it has a range of 2 octaves and it is chromatic so most melodies are in range for me now. There is no transposing or worrying about the range, it is already tuned and it is ready to play, and I do frequently. I played for about an hour and a half, but I need more practise if I am to busk with it this year.
I got an e-mail from a fellow Border piper arranging a meeting next week over the border in Scotland that is good as I would like to play Border pipes now; it has been such a long time!

The Galician Gaita

Being at home and not busking I am able to practice Spanish melodies, or more to the point bagpipe melodies from Galicia, north western Spain. I began lessons on my last visit to Spain in December 2010, when I visited a cultural centre in Alcobendas, northern Madrid. There was a school of Galician and Asturian pipers and I sat and listened for 2 weeks and given a chance to learn some of the Galician melodies. But first one has to learn the fingering that is played on their Gaita (bagpipe). The Galician gaita uses an open-fingering technique as opposed to the Asturian closed fingering, but these definitions can be changed and not fixed; different and mixed finger techniques are used depending on the chanter and maker of the Gaita. I learned this open-fingering from the band leader who told me to buy a cheap recorder/block-flute and bring it to him, this I did at the next session. He made the 3rd hole from the bottom wider thus making it a sharper note, so playing an F sharp instead of an F natural this suited the scale of the Galician melodies. The one octave scale is as follows: (c#), D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D. semitones can be obtained and a 2nd octave can be reached by using a cross-fingering technique. I was presented with many examples of notation written in the key of D major (the popular root note for the gaita is C major). So with my modified block flute as a practice chanter, and a wad of photocopied bagpipe melodies I am determined to practice.

"You must be completely insane"

Another puncture yesterday (24.12.10) on the way to Carlisle, continued by bus into town; the city centre had the South Americans setting up their amplification, loud speakers and digital programming all for their pan pipes and drums. They had on American Indian costumes in sub-zero temperatures when they play they drown out everything in the centre of town, no one can perform there, the Christian Bible Basher has to pack up and go, all other buskers are blasted out. A fiddler who comes from Edinburgh retreated down a side street but I guess even the panpipes would reach him there, he has amplification too, a small amp with the bass turned full up and the treble down, it is a nice sound and he is a good player. The South Americans also have their amplification with an extra bass boost; it stops the terrible feedback that often accompanies outdoor amps, but I ask myself is all this technology needed for a few acoustic instruments that have worked very well for centuries in South America, a radio mic was attached to the singers cheek as he walked around the pavement singing to no one; his voice unheard and a deep booming voice from 1000 of pounds worth of equipment. I wonder if it pays them to do it. I slipped my way to my other haunt to find it occupied by the guitarist and his friend singing for beer money, I turned and went to the other edge of town to go into the bowls of Carlisle in the subway. It is a dirty and damp place but has a stream of shoppers coming to and from the centre. I played and was doing ok until a friend I knew stopped and we talked for 15 minutes after that I was cold then I became blue with cold. I spied a ray of sun at the other end and I sauntered over there to take advantage of the glimmer of sun. It helped for a while. A parade of school kids must have gotten out of some x-mass pantomime and for the next 10 minutes I could not hear myself play due to the screams and shouts as they took advantage of the subway’s acoustics. After that I played until I could not feel my fingers and I was jigging about so much I must have looked like a jack-in-the-box. I called it a day when a couple passing said “you must be completely insane”. I packed up and thawed out over a coffee, did some x-mass shopping then caught the bus back to my punctured bike and walked home. Merry X-mass one and all.

Sweet Hesleyside

The day started with a flat tire on the way to Carlisle, I did think to walk back home a journey of 3 miles but I decided to get the bus into town and pick the bike up when I finished playing. This effort paid off as I had a good days busking by selling 2 CDs and getting an offer of playing a festival this summer at Cockermouth, Cumbria. It was still cold and people walked by not smiling too much, but there were a lot of people compared to other days. Last minute shopping before x-mass perhaps and a few people stopped and chatted, the odd drunk, and asking what sort of pipes they were? One elderly woman asked if I could play "Sweet Hesleyside" probably the most asked for melody, I had to prise the keys open as they had stuck fast with the cold probably due to the almond oil congealing. I was playing in the centre of town again and there is a noted difference in atmosphere as later I went back to my usual haunt down a small lane near to a church where a steady stream of people walk to and fro to their cars. The interest died off and the money became less, but the sun shone in my eyes and thawed my fingers out. Then I took the bus back to my wounded bike and walked home as the sun went down at 3.45pm, it became bitterly cold after that.

Entertainment for the Public

When I turned up yesterday to play in my usual place there was a young man playing guitar. He had a good voice and played the guitar with sensitivity. He sang modern pop songs and as young boy passed he joined in with the words. I thought this is what busking is all about...entertaining the general public. I play melodies from the 18th century and for many it is a dead art. in the 18th century the tunes I play were probably well know, played at festivities and perhaps the 'top of the tops' of their day, now they are forgotten liked by a select few who love traditional music. No one whistles the melodies I play although some old folk can recognise them (I would like to know from where they know them) but that not is to say they do not like the music. I am often surprised who does appreciate this music and instrument it is not only the traditional music lover, the passerby can be aged from 5 to 75 or older, male and female, often they are dressed in normal popular fashion from the big stores, but often I have been acknowledged by punks, skin-heads, crusties, mods and rockers etc. businessmen and homeless, junkies and musicians. They are not all interested in traditional music so what attracts them? For nearly 30 years I have busked and only on a few occasions have I been told that it sounds bad, so why do people like something yet do not generally listen to it? The people who dislike it are just as interesting as the people who like what I do, nevertheless more people like or else I would not be making a living from it!

Frozen Money

It never got above 0c today I was in two minds whether to go busking or not it was extremely cold, a beautiful day with sun but a fog over the fields and icy roads. I played from 1pm to 3pm and was not too cold due to the sun in my face, the people walked passed with not too much interest scared to fall on the slippy pavement. Some threw money in full momentum missing the case and landing on the floor when I had finished the tune I bent down to pick it up but it had frozen to the floor! I introduced a new tune to my repertoire “Sr. Charle’s Rant” a Peacock tune, one octave. It sounds different when played with the Northumbrian pipes compared to the Border pipes probably due to the closed chanter compared to the open ended chanter on the Border pipes. For a time the sun disappeared behind a building and it became numbingly cold and I noticed the difference when it reappeared. A nice cycle home with the sun in my eyes and it coming through the mist over the fields, I got home before the black ice formed on the roads.

A Cycle to the Artic

A frosty morning to go and check the boat, I pedaled 10 miles over icy back roads and when I got to the sea there were large blankets of ice flowing down with the ebbing tide, it reminded me of the ice fields of the Arctic on a much smaller scale! I parked the bike and gingerly waded out to the boat, underneath the water I could see the white of the ice still frozen to the gravel. I walked around the boat inspecting the hull and slipped, nearly ended up in the water as some submerged ice made the ground like glass. I climbed into the snow that lay in the cockpit and undid the lock, amazingly inside was ok, no leaks, only a small patch of snow inside, how did that get there? As I lifted the floorboards to see into the bilges I could hear the small pieces of ice scrapping the hull as the ebb took it along. The antifouling paint was scraped off in many parts of the hull down to the fibreglass itself, on the starboard side where the sun had got to it; on the port side where the sun could not reach the ice was over the hull half way up the boat with ‘veins’ cracked into the ice. I am not sure if the cracks were part of the ice or that the paint had cracked due to the cold. A line of ice showed where the water level had been. I made myself a coffee and noticed how neglected she looked, the weather was taking its toll on her and she badly needed some TLC. When spring comes she will get painted and a brushed up. The surrounding area looked beautiful, ice and snow covering the shore line, Scotland looking pink in the sun light, the few birds were searching for food, it would be nice to linger but I had a 10 mile cycle ride back home and it was already past 2pm and sun went down at 3.45pm.

Busking

Busking today was a cold affair, we had snow in the morning but the main roads kept clear. I cycled into Carlisle, a journey of 8 miles, went to my usual place but it was so quiet I headed into the centre and started to play. As long as I kept playing my fingers stayed warm but when I stopped I began to get cold. I played for about 4 hours and enjoyed it very much. I have enough one octave tunes in my head to play for 3 hours before I start to repeat them. I dislike repeating tunes. I did not see any other buskers, even the Romanian woman who sits and plays odd notes on her accordion was not there. I actually enjoyed the weather, it was clear and crisp, and the sun shone and altered my drones so much that there were to their full extent on the sliders. I played mainly Bewick and Peacock melodies from Northumbrian. The pipes kept in tune I was pleased with the sound and the playing. Sold no Cds though, everyone wanted to get home, no time for stopping and chatting, it was a rush to get home before it iced over. I cycled home with no problems.

DCA Article (Dinghy Cruising Association)

Today I received the new DCA Bulletin, and my latest article was inside! It is about my first sail on Sadaf, my 20ft Hurley Felicity. It has been shortened a little, but I am pleased with it, some nice photos of the area that have been contributed by other people. This is my 4th article to date. I hope to do more in the spring and possibility get further out along the coast.

A Return to Busking

I have been busking this past week on the streets of Carlisle. It has been a long while since I last busked but I never forget the melodies and I quickly regain my speed and lost titles come back to me as though they are waiting for me. I only have two places to play as my pipes are so quiet compared with the background noise that seems to be everywhere on the pedestrian walkways. Once a British man stopped to have a chat many years ago, he lived in France and was returning to his home in Carlisle, he remarked that compared to France the background noise was far greater in the UK. I find the general hum of noise quite bad too. when I started to play the pipes were heard in the centre of town, but now I cannot hear myself play, so I retreat down back alleyways and places where there are not many people or mechanical interference, this results in less money and less contact with people, but quality is important and I do not want to be playing when I cannot hear myself. Busking has changed for me over the years. I started playing full time in 2001 and I have continued playing while I am in Carlisle. It has improved my playing greatly and I sell my Cds to people who have an interest and who likes my playing.
I did not speak to many people this week, people where running from the cold. I only saw one other busker too, a young boy who was playing guitar. The cold effects the pipes too, the metal keys are not comfortable to play so I generally play the 1 octave melodies and leave the lower keyed notes to the warmer weather.

A New Look At Old Tunes

I have been relooking at some old tunes I have been playing for a number of years. I had not taking these tunes seriously before because I was playing a set of Border Pipes that were not easy to play so this did not inspire me to learn these tunes. These Border tunes were written with the Border Pipes in mind (whether they are traditionally accurate is debateable, due to them being written in the Key of A major with a sharpened 7th, and not the traditional flattened 7th). I got these melodies off a tutor for the "Half Long Pipes" by Cocks. The Half Long Bagpipes were the name I originally liked, but it has gone out of fashion with the pipers and the "Border Pipes" have become the norm. the Half Long Pipes were basically the same instrument except that the drone system was different, the Border Pipes had a drone system of A,a,a ('A/La' bass, two 'a/la'' tenors) whereas the Half Long Pipes had a A,e,a ('A' Bass, 'e' tenor, 'a' tenor) very much like the Northumbrian Small Pipes, both pipes were bellows blown, although a mouth blown version was used in the past.

These tunes were in the Cock's tutor book for the Half Long Bagpipes which I found in the Newcastle Library in the 80s. They are a bit faded and warn now, some of the ink has detached itself from the paper, but it is still readable and I am once again playing the melodies with a firmer intension of learning and memorizing these tunes.

I practise them on the practise chanter using the Scottish fingering style but with a very limited gracing. I used to study the Highland pipes but only briefly and it gave me an idea of the gracing involved, but I do not use it regimentally like the Highland players, I use it mainly when I think it fits. In the Cock's tutor there are grace notes used but very little.

Before I relooked at these tunes, I was playing a selection of melodies from the Bewick and Peacock manuscripts with their many variations, but these tunes are simpler, more basic and with very few variations. It was printed in the 1930s if memory serves me right (?) so it gives an idea of the repertoire used before they were broken tradition.

Some of the melodies I have been playing through have titles such as: Sandhill Corner, Sunderland Lasses, Follow Her Over the Border, Brave Willy Forster, A mile to Ride...

It takes me a while to memorize a tune, so I play it over and over for days, my practise chanter is an old style, it was given to me by my old Highland Pipe instructor, it is not in tune and I take the mouth piece off so I can blow it with the plastic reed in my mouth to reach the high notes and to try and keep it in tune, it works fine with a bit of puff.

A Glorious Spring Day

A Glorious spring day, the daffodils were out in abundance, the sun was shining, a cool breeze made cycling to the boat a pleasure. I was enjoying the country roads, dodging the flies and other insects that were trying to get under my eyelids and up my nose and into my mouth. I reached the boat and leisurely unpacked my things and undid the tarpaulin, a task all the more quicker now that the second tarpaulin had been stolen. I was preparing to sail today so I made the boat ready, but the tide was racing in and I had to climb on board long before I was ready and the rest of the preparation had to be done in a cramped and messy cockpit. I secured the tiller hoping that it would hold the rudder in place on her maiden voyage; I unfurled the main sail and secured it to the mast. I was trying a new system today instead of the normal way a Bermudan rig is set up with a mast and boom, I was dispensing with the boom altogether hoping to make the rig less heavy aft and therefore less dangerous. I did not know if this system would work it is not normally done, but I took confidence in seeing that a similar type of rig exists on boats that are sailed on the Persian Gulf and traditional Arabic Dhows still use them today. This system is called a ‘lanteen’ rig, it has a triangular sail that is connected to the mast and the free corner is connected to the mainsheet, as in the Bermudan rig style. Having no boom means there is no ‘shape’ to the sail, it flutters in the wind when not sheeted in. A boom helps the sail have a flattened shape, and makes it a highly effective power engine, catching the winds and making the most of them. Without a boom it is like a flag blowing in the wind the energy is dissipated until you pull in the mainsheet which tightens one corner and gives it s curved shape enabling wind to spill out easily. This makes the sail safer as more energy/wind is lost; having a boom makes the sail hold more wind making it more powerful and therefore easier to capsize with the inexperienced like myself.

As the tide was coming in I connected the pulleys and sheets and tidied everything as much as I could by throwing things from one corner to the other corner as I searched for missing items, the wind had picked up and black clouds where thrashing Scotland only a few miles away across the estuary. Sea fishermen had set up their gear on the shore opposite me, I could not sail now even if I wanted too, but it was a blessing as the wind picked up to a force 5 or 6 and we were bouncing around as the swells and wavelets, as a present from Scotland, came fast and furious. The wind swung me on the mooring chain, it came on strong and increased quickly, very soon there were white-tops hitting the shore shooting bursts of surf over the fishermen; the sun had gone and we were now a lee shore; it was a different scene from the beautiful weather when I had first arrived.

I still tried to put up the sail in the wind and found that if I pulled in the mainsheet from the beginning I stopped the ‘flag’ fluttering at its corner, this made it a lot safer as it was whipping around the cockpit like a Whirling Dervish, and the metal fixing was making it a lethal weapon. It took me a few tries of getting the mainsail up but when it was up it looked ok. I let go the chain that connected me to the mooring so I could put some distance for me to sail. I was not going to let go totally but have a length of rope connecting me to the mooring so I could get back when needed. All I wanted to do was to see how the mainsail performed in such winds and if I could tack without a boom.

I let out the rope for about 15 meters and I drifted with the tide which by this time was starting to ebb, I was side on to the waves getting bounced around and soaked by its spray as it “slapped, slapped” against the hull causing surf to hit me as it was carried by the wind, also it had started to rain heavily that made the sail wet and heavy pulling the mast backwards. The wind was on my port side so when I pulled in the mainsheet the sail took effect and the boat immediately started to move forward, the boom-less sail worked fine, but now I was running out of rope and starting to pull on the mooring chain. Fearing that I should pull-up the mooring or break the rope I tried to release the mainsheet and let the sail flutter. The wind was now behind me pushing the sail against the mast and shrouds, this was “running” with the wind and although I was happy that it worked also, it was not what I wanted right at this moment! I had to release the main halyard and bring down the sail altogether, in doing so the tide brought me backwards and saved the mooring.

My second attempt was to try and reef the sail, what followed was a clumsy attempt of rapping the foot of the sail around itself then tying both ends to stop it unfurling I then took up the tension on the main halyard. I did not really know what I was doing as I never had expected these conditions on my first attempt but I thought to give it a go as it is in such conditions that one needs to reef. I tried out my attempt and the sail looked a sorry sight, baggy and limp, but when the tension was taken up on the mainsheet, she did its job and I could manage the sail more easily.

By this time the sea fishermen had gone home it was too wet and too windy even for them. I admitted I could not do anymore too and took shelter in the cabin and waited until we bounced on the sea bed and then fried out. I packed up in the ever dimming light and struggled with a lock that would not open on the cockpit locker. The wind never abated and it was an icy wind that made work slow and uncomfortable; as I tried to cover the boat with the tarpaulin it was blowing away like a kite. I finally got on my bike as it was dark and cycled 10 miles home, tired and cold and ready to do the same tomorrow hoping that it will be another glorious spring day.

A Useless Creative Day

I came back from town soaking wet thoroughly dejected and frustrated that I cannot get out and do things I wish to do, it being Saturday I was hoping to get out and do some busking, no chance I was soaking wet and freezing. I came back home and read the recent edition of the DCA bulletin I began to feel better from knowing that someone out there feels the same about certain things.

I began thinking about erecting the mast on Sadaf and how to approach it single handed, erecting a pulley system and what rope systems to use to hoist it. Also perhaps about putting two forestays for added support, one from wire and the other from rope, as I now believe the sails are too heavy for the mast. By looking on the internet and studying the sails on other Hurley Felicities I think my sails are from a larger boat and made from thicker material meaning that there is too much weight on the rigging and that when wet the weight will be greater. I have already reduced the length to make it fit the boom and mast but having more support makes it a little bit more secure for the strong winds.

After pondering these things for a while, I went for a walk by the river. The sun had come out and I wanted to see a bit of nature. A few projects had been buzzing around my brain over the past few months and I needed to divert my thoughts from them as I was making no progress.

One of the projects I am busy with is how to make myself a harp. I saw an ancient African harp (an ‘Adungu’ from Uganda) in the Anthological Museum in Madrid and I liked its form and simple construction. We Brits can often make engineering quite technical and me not being from an engineering background I am often lost in the jargon. I liked the simple construction of this ancient African harp and I was thinking to adopt its form and have a go at making it myself. I wanted to try out a simple version to see if it is possible at first and then later make a better one, so I had been thinking about types of building materials and structures, remembering my old wood working classes as school and reading up on instrument making on the internet and library. My brain was starting to smoke and the walk by the river was to let it cool down and to see what wood was lying around and if any were suitable for a possible sound-body. At this stage any material would do: plastic tubing, wooden or plastic boxes, tree trunks or branches, planking etc.

Another project is an idea to make things from the beach by using what has been washed up and turn it into something creative and useful. In a previous journey to Paris I had visited a shop that sold interior furniture from the East, mainly South East Asia and India. There were some smaller objects like lamp stands and lamp shades, picture frames and pictures. Like ‘Poirot’ I logged these items in the “little grey cells” for a time when they might come in handy. Having the boat and being beside the beach a lot, and seeing these Parisian crafts made from natural materials I thought to give a try. Spending so much time besides the sea has helped me formulate ideas and observed the materials I have to play with, as well as giving me a new direction it has helped me bring out a creative side that I thought had been lacking of late.

It is more “strings to my bow” (or should I say harp) if I can set these ideas into action, but I find progress slow, not moving forward is very frustrating.
Beside the river there is a lay-by and a part from being a resting place for weary motorists its other function is as a dumping ground for unwanted rubbish. Sure enough there were a lot of uncovered ‘social archaeology’ to see and I saw several tires discarded which I could possibly use for moorings if I weighted them with concrete, and lying close by was a length of chain that could be used as a mooring or anchor chain.

Next to the tires there was a nice sized piece of plastic tubing that would be great for the experimental sounding body of the harp. I crossed the road to walk by the river and I noticed some willow trees and protruding from the dead wood was a ‘V’ shaped limb that would be good for the harp’s arms, this could logged into the plastic tubing so creating the body and arms of the harp. Further along, amongst the debris that the swollen winter waters had washed up, there was a piece of planking that when cleaned would be ideal for the sound board for the harp. I could not have wished for more.

I was turning to go when I noticed a fallen willow tree that has half submerged in the water, from its trunk where lots of willow branches beginning to produce new shoots of palm for the Easter season, I thought about the project of mine to make lamp shades from natural materials and this thin fresh palm would be supple enough to weave around a wire frame.

I came home thinking how a totally useless day had created a constructive day, and opened up for me lots of possibilities for me to follow through.

Off Again

It is the time to be travelling again, the itchiness in the feet has made me don boots once more and head off for the hills...well in this case it is Spain for a bit of sun and relaxation. Ironically it has started to get warm here. I left the boat yesterday in glorious sunshine. I was underneath the boat trying to apply marine sealant to the join between the keel and the hull as I think she has started to let in a bit of water. I was flat on my back squeezed between the hull and the water, sand and stones. It is a fiddly job and I do not think it worked. The marine sealant is noted for sticking to anything and everything and it certainly stuck to my hands and hair, clothes and parts of the boat that I did not want it to stick too, but it would not stick to the parts I did. Anyways, time ran out and I had to leave her alone on the beach. I watched the incoming tide and I wanted to sail away in her and to see a distant shore, but the wind blew me home, and now it is blowing me to Spain. Forever on the move. I once wrote "Movement is Life" and I think it is still true, to move on is something positive and healthy otherwise we can become to obsessed and too narrow minded. It is time for a break.

To Anchor Oneself

It’s only an anchor how complicated is an anchor? But laying an anchor took me about 6 hours of total concentration today! Laying an anchor consists of tying the end of the warp securely to the end of the anchor and throwing it over board when the time comes to lay it, making sure that the free end of the warp is connected to the bow of the boat, simple. The problems come with imagining how it all should be on the day when I am alone in the cockpit.

Before the invention of the outboard motor anchors were a very important part of the sailing manual, with different styles and different usages. In the ‘seamanship’ books of days gone by (and even good present day books) anchoring was an art and a skill. Anchoring was essential for stopping a boat, positioning the boat, and mooring. Kowing what anchors to use at different sea-states with different sea bottoms was important, as well as knowing what sizes, thickness and lengths of warps to use. Today it is less important, I know of a fellow sailor securing his grapnel anchor to the deck of his boat and leaving it there, never to be used. Motors make life easier (if they work when needed) and a helmsman can motor up to a mooring and position his boat relatively easily. But I did not want to use a motor except in emergencies so I wanted to use the anchors as I learn how they might be used.

I arrived at the boat when the tide was out, after uncovering the tarp that covers the cockpit, getting into the cabin and having a coffee (an essential part of the operation) and changing into something more appropriate it was time to unlock the hatches and look at the mess I had left it in on the previous occasion. Sailors are supposed to be neat and “ship shape” but in fact a lot of sailors are quite disorganized, I am one of them. Warps, lines, sheets, pieces of string and rope, what ever you wish to call them, all lay in a tangled mess at the bottom of the hatch. I picked up the lump of tangled lines and tried to unravel it, not an easy task at the best of times but when there is 30 meters to one piece of rope and 3 ropes to one mess it can take an IQ of 3000 to fathom it out. Since I have an IQ of 2 and ¾ (on the best of days) it took me some time to find the end and pass it through the many varied conglomerates of knots. In fact I am sure I invented a few good knots with my knotted problem and it did not help having the same coloured rope for all 3 pieces. I will now try and buy different coloured types of rope so to make identification easier.

You often see on films sailors neatly rolling up a 30+ meter length of rope over ones elbow and hand without the least bit of fuss then tying it securely and releasing it with out it tangling. It never happens to me, I forget which end I am supposed to let it out and the whole thing gets tangled and knotted. I did have an anchor system that worked quite well before but I had recently bought a new warp to make the length longer as the longer the warp the more chance of it holding on the sea bed, the shorter it is the more likely it will lift and drag and that could be very dangerous in a fast tide race.

I have 2 anchors; one came with the boat when I bought her. It is a grapnel anchor not a lot of use for the type of sea bed in my area as it does not dig in very well to the shingle and sandy bottom, but I intend to use it as a ‘break’ to slow the boat down and to turn the bow so it points into the wind and up stream/tide. My plan is to throw the grapnel over board and let the boat drift backwards with the tide, as the grapnel tries to dig in it will pull the bow up and keep her in that position until I am ready to use the other anchor. The grapnel will generally not hold as its ‘legs’ construction is not as good as other anchors but it will drag and stall and will slow the boat up enough to prepare for the real stopping anchor the ‘Bruce’ anchor.

This ‘Bruce’ anchor, so the sellers website information tells me, is used to anchor deep-sea oilrigs to the seabed and its holding power is immense. My little boat must be more problematic as an oilrig as the Bruce slips and slides at first but it does dig in and take hold eventually. And here is one of the problems: I have to estimate when to throw the grapnel (to slow the boat down) and when to throw the Bruce allowing for a slight slipping before it takes hold, I have also to allow for tidal flow that will direct the boat as it ebbs. Ideally after dropping both anchors I need to position the boat very near to the mooring buoy so I can take hold of it and fasten the mooring chain to the bow. If all fails and I miss the position of the buoy I will have to wait until the sea gets shallow enough to jump over board and position the bow of the boat to where the buoy is, so it is important that the anchors hold. If I have positioned wrong and can not manually secure the buoy to the boat I will have to let the boat dry out and try again when the tide returns.

So getting back to my knotted problem. The length of warp is important because the longer the warp the more holding power it has, the warp will stretch and this will help to hold the boat and to let the anchor dig into the sea bed. After sorting the mess of ropes out I lay them on the sand and look at them. Which one to use for which anchor? They are all different lengths and are all different thickness. Having a strong piece of warp is useless if the other warp is weaker. After some trial and error I choose a thick 15-meter warp for the Bruce, but it is not long enough as the required length for my boat and anchor weight (7.5kg) is 30 metres or more. So I have to connect one of two thinner warps to the thicker, both of them being 30 meters in length. At the end of the thicker I have a ‘D bolt’ and this I thread the end of the thinner warp, but I would like it double stranded so the warp does not fray and break so easily so I try and retry to make the bowline knot secure, but it is not doing as it should and I do not know enough sailors knots to make the join work. I was imagining letting out the warp to its full length and then the weaker snaps, as it is not think enough to hold the boat, of course it might be strong enough as it has a breaking strain of over 80kg. But with out trying it I have no idea.
After these musings I double the thinner warp over and pass it through the ‘D bolt’ this is certainly strong enough but makes the full length of the warp 35 meters not 45 which would be a lot better.

After a little more pondering I say enough is enough and turn my attention to the remaining Grapnel anchor and the other 30-meter rope. This is less of a problem, as it is not meant to hold anything for long.
So I thought I had 2 anchors ready to use so now to the problem of how to secure them to the bow of the boat. Easy I hear you say but how do I release the anchors at the bow of the boat when I am in the stern of the boat taking charge of the tiller, main sail and foresheet? I needed to work/control everything from the cockpit and not to go forward with a flapping foresail and the boat being out of control in the mercy of a out going tide; as a single handed sailor I have to do everything and everything is best done from the cockpit.

I had my old system of fastening the end warp to the mooring post at the bow and bringing the warp back to the stern cockpit by the side of the hull and letting the anchor sit on the cockpit floor. This worked fine, as soon as I threw the anchor over board the line paid out and held fast to the bow bollard. But now I would have 2 longer lengths of warp sitting on the floor of the cockpit and visions of ‘a tangled mess’ crossed my eyes and my legs getting caught up in it as the boat drifting towards the harbour wall (!) So I tried doubling and redoubling the length of warp from the bow to the stern and laying it along side the hull. This was fine but when I tested it by releasing the rope at the stern and pulling the anchor forward to simulate the boat moving backwards the line at the bow would not pay out, it was fixed to the ‘mooring post’ at the bow and this meant that it would remain only 1 length of the boats length and not the required 30 meters.

This experiment seems very simple but when I am moving 2 anchors weighing about 10kg back and forwards over 30 meters and retrying experiments that do not work it is began to get tiring. I thought to abandon the whole experiment and to fix a roller to the bow and roll up the warp after it had been paid out to keep the warp nice and tidy, this I could do from the cockpit, but my erecting of a make shift pulley did not work out so well and to roll up the warp was very time consuming and in the end it ended up a tangled mess once more.

The system I had of having the length of warp alongside of the boat worked well all I needed was a secure/fast releasing method at the bow. This is found in the ‘arms’ at the end of the bow mooring post. By looping the warp around the bollard’s front arm and holding it in place by the tension from the stern (secured to the stern post) I was able to triple the warp length along side the boat. When I threw the anchor over board the tension (as the boat went backwards) released the warp from the bollards arm, as it paid out I released the warp again from the stern post and let it pay out again. This worked fine.

My final experiment was to revisit the problem of the warps and connecting the 15 meters to the 30 meters so it holds and does not chaff and can be connected quickly with bad weather.
Having a small boat there is not a lot of room on deck, so having a lot of warp lying around is dangerous. I had the thicker warp secured to the bow mooring post and letting loose the free-end with the ‘D bolt’ attached to it so I could attach the extra thinner warp if/when it is needed. As time is precious when at the bow with the sea, wind, and foresail trying to knock you over board all one wants to do is get the task over and done with as quick as possible.
I tried having a single strand and the full 30 meters, then I doubled the warp to have 15 meters, but there was still a risk of getting it all tangled and a mess. In the end the 2 and ¾ I.Q. must have ignited as I decided to put another ‘D bolt’ on to the end of the thinner warp and double it over to make it a double stranded knot. If it is needed I would simple attach one ‘D bolt’ to the other D Bolt with no knots needed. Another version was to do away with the ‘D bolts’ totally and use have knot on knot.

As the light was fading I quickly threw all the warps, lines, sheets, and rope in the cockpit’s hatches as I had found them and thought to sort them out another day.

The Inner World of Migration

The new becomes routine. The unfamiliar becomes unnoticeable after a while, but once in a while an event occurs that makes me look at the familiar with a new vision and I wonder and I am thankful for the beauty of it.

I cycle to the sea two or three times a week in all weathers. We have had a very severe winter more so this year than previous years. As I cycle along the small country potholed roads week after week I forget to notice what is around me my mind is on other things and other people. I must think that journey boring as I do not notice it, yet if I had been incarcerated in a small 4 walled cell it must be like heaven to see what I see in those 3 days of cycling, I had forgotten to appreciate it. The winter cold makes me cycle hard and all I notice is how my sweat freezes and how the wind bites into my skin. But recently I have begun to notice the different bird life. At first it was the birds of prey, the Buzzards taking advantage of the air currents and floating effortlessly above the fields looking for prey, or just enjoying the gift of flight as they seem to be enjoying their experience hovering and gliding majestically without effort using what is natural to them and what is free to them. I have seen other birds of prey: a Kestrel had in its talons a small animal as it flew over my head heading for the next field to devour it; a Sparrow Hawk had what looked like a pigeon’s wing hanging down from its claws nearly as big as its own body. The birds of prey are easy to spot; they take my attention and demand acknowledgment.

More recently I have noticed smaller less unfamiliar types of bird doing beautiful and unpredictable things. Yesterday I saw a large flock of Black Birds in a farmer’s field all on the ground taking advantage of the worms as the tractor disturbed the ground. As the tractor approached the seated dinner party the front section of the flock rose in the air and flew obediently and in order to the back of the flock and continued to take advantage of the farmer’s fare but not as fresh and plenty as the front row. As the tractor came closer the next section of birds rose and migrated behind them, it was a constant movement a wave effect of rising and falling, a mass of blackness swaying with fluidity. It was beautiful, poetic, mesmerising and very natural; it was mechanical yet organic and although it seemed like it was programmed and fixed I knew it could reform and change, dissolve and fragment at any moment. I cycled on thinking of this apparition when I noticed a Buzzard perched on a fence post it slowly took flight and glided away from me unconcerned as though it was bored.

A while later I came to the hill where I normally get off my bike as my brakes cannot hold the descent and taking the bottom corner at full speed is not so wise due to the ever widening potholes that seem to get bigger each week due to the tractors that plough that country lane. By getting off and walking down the hill I noticed a tree trunk, the sun shone on its south facing bark but on the reverse side there was an exposed piece of trunk, bare except for a row of beautifully formed toadstools one above the other. It was so unexpected and lovely, the sun shone and I was taken by their colour and form. I felt happy to see it, not to own it or to cut it, possess it or to eat it, just to come across it and then leave it; leave it I did and continued around the bend. The road I have named ‘potholed alley’ for obvious reasons and after the recent snow and ice we have just had the small crevasses make the journey one of “find the asphalt”.

Before the village of Easton there are fields on either side of me I saw in one of these fields a large flock of Canadian Geese, the faded green field was a mass of dark browns and greys. I got off my bike and took out my camera to video the congregation, it reminded me as if they were waiting for their leader to give a speech at the annual ‘Canadian Geese Rally’ that is held in the dirtiest field at the north east corner of wintery England. Then I heard a sound of a small aeroplane coming towards me, the area is quite flat and it holds a few old aerodromes from the 2nd World War, as it turned away from that Geese filled field there came a mass cry and a beating of wings as the whole flock took flight. The Canadian Geese rose into the air on mass and criss-crossed each other away from me and then towards me, a mass of black shapes splitting into smaller flocks and then moving away from one another, splitting and dividing, then reforming again, chaotic yet repetitive. I had seen flocks of Starlings nesting before and it reminded me of them as they swirl and manoeuvre around the skies, but these were a lot larger and a lot noisier. The plane had also startled other Canadian Geese from other fields and these flew over from behind me and they were heading towards the others. They were regrouping, multiplying, and safety in numbers perhaps. They did not seem as though they were enjoying themselves, they were not like the Buzzard who loved to fly for the sheer glory of it; these bleating long necked birds were confused and were looking for a leader to reunite them to a quieter patch of ground; but they did not find it and they were still flying in circles when I left, they seemed to prefer fields a long way off from where I was.

The day was not boring nor was it lost in my own selfish importance; I took nourishment in its detail, in the fragments of not rushing, and I noticed other worlds at play and realised my life was as important as other lives even if I was think it is not. We do what we do without programming it, we think we make choices but we are regimental as the migrating geese or the relay of black birds or the sprouting of fungi, how arrogant to think we are any different.