Poole of Oil

We spent the first night at anchor in the bight of South Deep near Green Island. We set an anchor alarm which went off a lot, but we didn't actually move. We had a restless night but chilled out the next day, writing blogs, and reading. Andy went for a swim but the Northerly wind was a bit too cold for Ruby to brave the water. There was an amazing sunset, we cooked some food on the boat and chilled out on deck playing cards.

We decided to move to Arne Bay on a recommendation from a couple we met in Yarmouth. We sailed through the narrow channels 90% of the way to Shipstall point, it was great fun manoeuvring the boat in the tight bends of the channel. We slept well that night on a mooring buoy near the bird reserve. It was very beautiful there and we saw a seal swimming by in the morning.

The next day was a hot day, we headed to Studland for a swim. The wind had died right down but the predictions said it might pick up later. We were hoping that Studland would be sheltered when it picked up. We motored over to Studland bay, there was plenty of motorboats creating lots of wake as we were leaving the swash channel towards Old Harry Rocks. We moored up on the eco-mooring buoys which are there to prevent people from anchoring in the seagrass beds where the sea horses live. These moorings are very far out from the beach and it was quite the row in Tender Terrance to the Bankes Arms. You can see the tiny dot that is Fathom in the photo below.

We enjoyed visiting the Bankes Arms as this has always been an annual pilgrimage for us. Apart from 2020 we've been there every year for beer.

There was no food apart from scampi and chips as the kitchen had been overrun all week with 40 orders a minute coming through the kitchen. The staff were very frazzled, we're sensing a theme of not being able to find food out and about. Luckily scampi is a favourite of ours.

After a refreshing few pints and some food, we began the long row against the wind out to Fathom. She felt like she was moored at the Needles it took so long. We've devised a new rowing strategy where we paddle Tender Terrance like a canoe with one of us on either side. Tender Terrance has been suffering for some time with a slow puncture and this didn't fill Ruby with much confidence as we slowly deflated on our way out to sea towards Fathom.

We arrived safely but we were in for an uncomfortable night as an Easterly wind blew in. At first light around 4:00 we decided that trying to sleep on an over-enthusiastic seesaw wasn't going to happen. Much laughter ensued and we stumbled up to the wheelhouse to get underway back to the shelter of Poole Harbour. We anchored up in South Deep again and slept for a few hours before deciding that after a few days it was definitely time for a shower.

Cobbs Quay in Poole was our chosen watering hole, we tried to get into Poole Quay but it was fully booked with those middle finger wavers. Cobbs Quay is just up the river but you have to pass under two bridges to get there which open once an hour. We negotiated the bridges and arrived at Cobbs Quay around 19:00 where we were once again the last people to be able to get dinner in the restaurant as they'd run out of food. We booked in to stay for one night but little did we know what was lurking beneath the engine in the bilge.

One of Andy's favourite things to do is to clean the bilges, he's never happier than when pulling gross water out of the very bottom of our boat. He prepared himself by stripping to his pants before diving head first into the engine bay. He discovered 6 litres of oil floating on top of the seawater that normally fills the bilge. He shouted with joy "we've got an oil leak! A big one!". A quick check of the dipstick confirmed, that there was no oil in the engine. We began seeking the leak and found that a cover that had been removed during our cleaning week where Andy spray painted the engine to hide the rust had not been put back on. This cover went directly into the oil reservoir just above the tappets. Luckily an easy enough fix but the feeling that this cover had been open on our journey from Yarmouth to Poole was terrifying.

Suddenly a mad dash ensued to get some engine oil (we need a special type) before the shops shut. Andy found a bike to rent and zoomed off to get several litres of classic car mineral oil. We booked in to stay another night at Cobbs Quay to give us time to check the engine over and run it for a while before we left for Weymouth. The hero returned, engine oil in hand and we filled up the old girl checking for leaks.

The next day we prepared to leave Cobbs Quay and anchor up in Poole Harbour for another night before we left for Weymouth. We left the marina to catch the 16:30 bridge opening but as we approached the bridge we hit something under the water and the engine cut out. Andy thought the prop had sheared off on a trolley and we swiftly anchored directly opposite the RNLI lifeboat headquarters, providing entertainment to the lifeboat people on the terrace. The prop was fine, but the engine wouldn't start, the bump must've dislodged something. in the diesel tank. We set to clearing the fuel lines and bleeding the engine. Finally, we were sucking diesel and she started but we noticed a big leak coming from the fuel lift pump. Not too worried about this so we shoved an oil-absorbing pad underneath and shut the lid. We ran the engine for a while and it seemed fine we had 2 hours to wait for the next bridge lift. We decided to play it cool and play a game of cards on deck as if nothing had happened and we'd just anchored in the channel for fun.

The next bridge opening was at 18:30, at 18:20 we started the engine, all was going well but then it was racing up and down the revs and went kaput. We saw the first of the bridges open in the distance, we quickly changed tanks again and re-bled the engine in record time. All seemed well and we made it out into the main harbour and to an anchorage, where we kept running the engine for a few more hours to ensure all the air was out of the fuel lines.

Exhausted, Andy finally got dressed and wiped the oil from his hands onto his shorts. We slept and relaxed, enjoying a couple of days of sunsets (with our trusty bit of marine ply that works hard as hatch curtain, dining table, dinghy seat and wood repairs) whilst we waited for enough wind to take us to Weymouth.