Autumn Merge

SD MARINE—NEWSLETTER
Quarterly newsletter from SD Marine about SD Marine!
ISSUE 03 AUTUMN 2015
Chocolate Eclairs
vs Pasties
THIS ISSUE:
Flying Hawks
Cans Challenge
Southampton Boat Show
Boat Show Offers
A story by Roger Moon about a
hairy and dirty Channel
crossing
Hawks fly over the marina in an attempt to scare
the starlings away from depositing onto our boats.
Late last year MDL, after much moaning from their
tenants, started work to clear the bank between the
Elan Yachts at SIBS
water and the marina on the point. Their next
strategy was to let hawks fly as a predator to
educate the starlings to not come back to this spot.
MDL informed the tenants that this would need to be
repeated again the next season, so this September
the hawks are flying again.

S. D. Marine Ltd UK Elan Dealers for Elan Yachts
Cans Challenge for Elan/Impression Owners took place
The Cans Challenge took part on Saturday 26th September in the sun, with very light
winds. Fortunately the winds picked up by the time the 3 teams on board Fish Pie,
Cheeky Monkey and Waimanu were ready to set out for the start line. Tristan in his rib
was in place to set them off. A couple of hours later all 3 finished the challenge and made
their way back to the marina, moored up and made their way to The Point where SD
Marine had set up a couple of gazebo’s and the Barbie was hot.
Everyone enjoyed a bite to eat whilst awaiting the results, which were duly made known.
Each team was given an Elan bag of goodies, and the winners—CHEEKY MONKEY, Chris,
Sarah & Izzy Blake, were presented with the Cans Challenge ‘can’.
The general concensus was that it was a very enkjoyable day, the weather and conditions
made it idyllic, and to be repeated.
Impression 45 and Elan S4 at the show
We enjoyed a relatively busy boat show, with some lively weather at
times. The boats were placed very well with good footfall . We believe
the numbers were every bit as much as the previous year. There were
many highlights including the Red Arrows.
The boats are back in the marina now and available for viewing and
test sailing. We are busy chasing up the leads and hopefully
cobverting them into sales.

Special Boat
Show offers for
all models!
Elan issued special
incentives for all
the models at this
years Southampton
International Boat
Show, giving
amazing savings
for boats secured
at or just after the
boat show.
Alongside the
standard boat
specification was a
B&G navigator
pack, plus 2 or 3
extra pieces of
equipment,
dependant on the
model some had
cabin heating
included and
Furling Furlex
system.
Fantastic value for
money as the Euro
is still relatively
weak against
Sterling.
Many offers are are
available until the
end of the year, so
if you would like
more information
about them, please
do get in touch
with SD Marine Ltd.
Designed to ensure
maximum comfort the
Impression 45 is a dream to
sail as well. Performance has
always been a factor with all
models and the 45 will not
fail to impress!
The Impression 45
is currently afloat
at Hamble Point
Marina and
available for
viewings and test
sails on
qualification.

Eclairs vs pasties? ……. By Roger Moon
Back in the mid eighties I had to commission 2
boats and sail them back from St Malo to
Hamble. My colleague was Nick Lewis, Nick
and I went down to Portsmouth where we got
on the ferry along with a kit bag each holding
anti fouling, sand paper, rollers, brushes and a
change of clothes and some food.
We got onboard, it was a night crossing so we
got our heads down, arriving early morning in
St. Malo. We went ashore and walked down to
the marina where we waited for the boats to
arrive from the French Manufacturers factory,
one was a Feeling and a Gibsea, both about 35
foot.
We had a light breakfast of croissants, the
lorries duly arrived with of course only french
speaking drivers, so we had to brush up on our
French and hand movements. I went and
arranged with the boatyard to unload the
lorries and get the masts off, because we
wanted to get on with unwrapping the masts,
which is quite a lot of work. Nick and I worked
on one boat then moved onto the other one.
We set up all the rigging and duly dressed the
masts and then it was time to step the masts. By
the end of the first day both masts were stepped
and the boats were launched.
Once in the water the rigging could be set and
we could start commissioning the boats –
guardwires, stanchions, lifelines etc. The plan
was for us to get a bite to eat in one of the
French cafes and catch the midnight tide to sail
across to Hamble arriving the next morning.
The forcast was blowing up and would only get
rougher as the evening went on, so we would
need to keep our whits about us, no room for a
beer or two.
We finished commissioning the boats about
10.30pm and went to a café in St. Malo, had a
typical french evening meal – a burger and
french fries! On the way back to the boats I
decided we should get some ‘gut luggage’ to
while away the hours sailing back at night. It
had to be something you could grab and chuck
into your mouth. Nick agreed and he went for
pastries, pasties, sausage rolls etc, but I had a
sweet tooth at the time so I went for the
chocolate option, croissants, eclairs etc. for lots
of energy. Got back to the boats, got geared up
with oilies, boots etc.– as don’t forget we’re
both sailing single handed with no instruments,
so everything had to be quick to hand. I had an
old compass selotaped to the tap in the galleyy
so I could look down and see it, no mobile
phones, we did everything by dead-reckoning,
and I put my chocolate goodies in the sink so I
could quickly nip down and grab something. I
had a piece of rope which could be tied round
my middle to act as my lanyard, tied off on the
toerail designed to keep me in the boat should
it get a bit rough.
Just after midnight we set off motoring out of
the harbour. First couple of hours we spent
tweaking the rigging finishing off the last parts
of our commissioning. Nick was on the Feeling
and I was on the Gibsea, 50 yards apart I
suppose, we could see each other at that point
because we had the mast lights on.
After 3-4 hours the wind started to get up, Nick
approached me and asked if everything was
okay, Yes the sails were all setting okay, we had
decided to reef down because we could see the
wind was going to pipe up, we had a couple of
reefs in and a small jib headsail on each boat.
We were doing good boatspeeds and thought
we would get to the Hamble about midday.
The night threw everything at us, I believe it
went upto about Force 8/9, big waves and I
remember at one stage looking behind and the
waves were growling, I’ve never heard them
growl before, they were massive. The Gibsea
was tiller steer, Nick came across at one point
and said to make sure I held the tiller with both
hands it’s getting heavy. I did everything I could
to brace myself and hold it and keep it in a
straight line, running down waves was amazing!
I never realised they could get so big in the
channel, grey, cold with big white caps coming
over the cockpit to such an extent I was floating
in the cockpit! I was singing my head off
because I was so scared. I had to keep looking
at the compass – I had a torch on my head –
had to keep the bottom washboard in, I had to
go upto the mast a couple of times to sort out a
couple of the lines, at one point I was beating
and there was an almighty bang, a mainsheet
shackle had come undone, the main flew across
the cockpit pinned itself onto the cap shrouds,
so I had to throw a rope round the back of the
boom to try and pull it in to take the weight off
the shrouds to save the sail, so I was up on the
deck trying to do that. No Autopilot remember,
so I had to lash down the tiller to keep it in a
straight line. Nick’s
headsail was flagging and
I saw him up on the bow
trying to sort it out, I think it had jumped off
the drum. He managed to reduce sail as well, so
I’m now sailing under a very small jib, mainsail
lashed, tightened the broken shackle with a
piece of rope to keep the mainsail sheeted in
and we went on through the night.
As we approached St. Catherines Lighthouse we
weren’t sure which way to run in because there
was a quartering sea, and it looked very tricky
to get in through the Needles, so we decided to
run higher and bear away to come throught he
Needles. At one stage I vividly remember
looking to my right and seeing the whole of the
keel on Nick’s boat as he cam through a wave. If
only I had a camera – as if I had time to take a
photo. He later told me he was thinking the
same thing of me. It was scarey!
To show you how big the waves were, we were
crashing down this wave and as we got to the
bottom there was a big oil tanker going right
scross the front of us – we didn’t even know it
was there! The next minute he was above us
and we were at the bottom, it was so unreal.
Eventually we sailed into Hurst Point into the
lee of the land, so we could catch our breath
and clean up the boats ready for arrival in
Hamble Point Marina.
We had been in for half an hour, just getting
ourselves sorted out, when Nick motored
round to me, and as I looked over to him I saw
his ropes were all neatly put away, the sails
were all neat. He looked over at me and said
‘You’ve obviously had a rough night Rog, spot
of diarrhea? You seem to have got yourself into
a bit of a mess there!’ I looked up and then
looked back down at the cockpit and it was
smeared with brown stuff! I had at some point
in melee stepped onto the eclairs and had
trudged the chocolate all around the cockpit
looking as if I had indeed had a upset stomach.
I wouldn’t mind but that was the reason I was
so hungry, I hadn’t had time to think about
food!!!
If you have a story to tell, please
email it to us.
S. D. MARINE LTD
Hamble Point Marina
Unit 6, Firefly Road
Hamble, Hants
SO31 4NB
02380 457278 ph
info@sdmarine.co.uk
www.sdmarine.co.uk