Summer Cruise 2023 Participants

Purrfect Tale Hanse 348 Michael and Gillian

Xtract – XC 302 Dudley Stock, Katie Vigar and Pat Dolby

Dino Volante Sigma 33 Pat, John, Paul and Stephanie

Zampa XC45 Ian McDougall and Kirsten Hunter

Stealth of Brighton Sea Ray 13.5m Fred and Diane Ward

Karisma Bavaria 34 Bryan and Britt Hughes

Diva Arcona 370 Rebecca and Paul

Passion XC45 Paul and Maxime

Dawnrazor Elan 384 Hugh & Natalie Lumby, Alex & Jo Davison

Original Plan – That was subject to much change!

Date	Day	Start Point	Destination	Distance	Comment
14th July	Friday	RSrnYC		–	Bastille Day – Pre Summer Cruise Supper
15th July	Saturday	Hamble	Lymington	15nm	Dan Bran Booked – 1 night Haven Restaurant Booked 19:15 PHW1047
16th July	Sunday	Lymington	Weymouth	40nm	Weymouth Berths Booked- 2 nights PHW 1138hrs Departure Time Lymington 1000hrs
17th July	Monday	Weymouth	Explorer Day	–	Crustaceans Restaurant 19:30
18th July	Tuesday	Weymouth	Dartmouth	W-Bill 7nm Bill-Dart – 45nm Total – 55nm	Dartmouth Harbour – Walkashore Pontoons booked – 3 nights Spring Tides Portland HW – 0808 Portland Standstill – 1100 then turning West Departure time Weymouth 0930
19th July	Wednesday	Dartmouth	Explorer Day	–	Evening – no formal organised event
20th July	Thursday	Dartmouth	Explorer Day	–	Dinner Royal Dart YC – 1930
21st July	Friday	Dartmouth	River Yealm	30nm	Mooring – mid-river pontoon – 2 nights YHW 2102 Departure time Dartmouth 1300hrs TBC
22nd July	Saturday		Explorer Day	–	Supper Yealm YC – 1930
23rd July	Sunday	River Yealm	Fowey	25nm	Mooring booked – 2 nights YHW – 1003 Departure time 0900
24th July	Monday	Fowey	Explorer Day	–	Dinner TBC
25th July	Tuesday	Fowey	River Helford	25nm	Dinner TBC
26th July	Wednesday	River Helford	Explorer Day	–
27th July	Thursday	River Helford	Falmouth	8nm	Berths booked for 2 nights 27th and 28th End of Cruise Dinner Royal Cornwall Yacht Club 1930
28th July	Friday	Cruise finishes on 27th July.  Berths booked for all boats on 27th and 28th July.  Return to Hamble under own arrangements or  in with other participants as locally agreed.  Advice on hand for those who would like support planning return trip

Sunday 16th July – Preparations to Leave – Mercury Marina

Preparation for the Summer Cruise started about 48 hour previously. The intent was to have left todfay – Saturday for Lymington, overnight and then on to Weymouth for 2 nights. But there was a large low which was tracking sfrom SW (Mid-Atlantic) – NE that hit the UK on Saturday. Winds were forecast to be 30+kts and over 40-50Kts through the Needles. So at the Moules Supper in the RSrn on Friday a decision was made to postpone the start till Monday. Some boats did leave on the Sunday – Xtract went to Cowes, Diva and Passion got to Newtown Creek for lunch with the intention of getting to Lymington this evening. Dawnrazor delayed her deaprture on Sunday but was planning to go straight to Weymouth on Monday.

All these changes required some rejuggling and negotiations with Lymington, Weymouth and Dartmouth Marinas as well as Haven Restaurant (Milly) and The Crustacean Restuarant (Gary – Weymouth).

Gillian and myself came down around 1230 to back the boat ready for Monday. Fridge stocked with wine, milk, and cold meats with the tins and wine port side in the saloon. I filled the diesel container down at Port Hamble and used it t top up 10ltrs in the main tank and kep 10ltrs back for emergencies – provides around 3 hours motoring – about 15-18nm.

The afternoon was then spent watching Carlos Alcaraz play Novak Djokovic play each other in the Wimbledon Men’s Single Final. Although not a great tennis fan, this was a fantastic matach – the old v the new guard. Novak was extremely grateful in defeat.

In the excitement we managed to work our way through a bottle Vecciano Toscana Red Wine.

Meanwhile on Karisma – they were making the most of their time alongside today!

Monday 17th July – Hamble to Lymington

I had studied the various weather models the night before and whilst it looked windy it seemed to indicate that we would have 18-20 kts of wind – perhaps even less. In the morning the wind at Mercury was very light – almost pleasant. We had bacon and egg for breakfast before starting to get the boat ready to leave. Departure was as planned at 1000ish and it was a quiet motor down the river. Looking at real time weather information it was clear that the winds were going to be stronger than predicted. Gurnard was already 22kts as was StonePoint. We made a decision to put in two reefs and use only a small amount of foresail. We had left just before the tide turned so the initial sail out of Southampton water was not too bad. With a SW it is always a long flog with multiple tacks to clear Southampton Water and feel that you are in the Solent. By this time it was around 1130 and we definitely had wind over tide. We were now facing 22-26kts gusting 28-29kts. Gillian could best be described as stoic. It was uncomfortable and not pleasant.

The boat handled very well – better than I had expected. She was light and responsive on the helm and took the seas with good grace. It was surprising given the weather how many boats were out. Quite a few French and Dutch as well as UK flagged boats. Each tack we would pass each other as we all made our way down the Solent.

We arrived off Lymington around 1300 and taking down the sails was not too bad. The foresail had to be winched in as there was just too much flogging of the sail to get a grip of it. I probably should have come a little onto the wind and that would have made it a little easier. Coming down the channel into Lymington we had a ferry that was just behind us – I was very impressed with his patience as he clearly knew we would have to cut across in front of him to get out of the shallows. Coming alongs side and being blown off in 18kts of wind was a bit difficult but Dudley was already there and together with Pat (rowing) they took our lines and hauled us in. Karisma arrived about 30 mins later and rafted up next to us.

We both wandered across to the Haven restaurant to sort out the evening meal as well as have an excuse for a drink ourselves. Milly was around and sorted out our table for the evening. Upon return to the boat I had the annual Summer Cruise job to do – each time we go on this cruise our toilet packs up! Took it apart to clean the seals and I am hoping it will last us till Dartmouth where I have pre-ordered a service kit.

A lovely meal at the Haven. The first award of the Duck was made to Pat (Dino Volante) for looking after her crew one of whom was not well – her first time at sea – what a baptism of fire for her.

Meanwhile Passion and Diva were in Studland. Dawnrazor was in Lymington Yacht Haven and was planning to leave at 0400 tomorrow to go straight to Dartmouth whilst our plan is Weymouth.

Tuesday 18th July – Lymington – Weymouth

Not too early a start. We were tied to the flow through the Needles which commenced around 1130. A tidy departure from the Dan Bran and sails were soon up. We motor sailed past Hurst Castle close inshore. We had intended to race and started the ‘clock’ at the North Head Green Buoy. However there was very little wind. We motored for about 1.5hours and then attempted to sail but wind was still too little. In hindsight what we should have done was motored sailed South to get a good angle back towards Portland/Weymouth when it picked up later in the day. So in effect we wasted a lot of time and fell far behind the remainder of the rally. I eventually called it a day and turned bow to wind and motored past St Albans Head and over the ledge. To be honest it was a bit of a flog. Weather was okay but not exactly summer heat and whilst the views along the coast were as ever spectacular there was an impatience to see the miles eaten up.

Towards 1600 the wind did pick up and in about the right direction so we had a couple of hours of engineless sailing. By the time Weymouth entrance was in sight it was nearing 1800 and we were both ready to come alongside. I had briefed Gillian on a port side to but noticed that everyone else was starboard and they were waiting to take our lines. For a few minutes Gillian was a little cross but as there were plenty of hands to take lines – we were last in – it turned out okay in the end.

We quickly packed the boat up in record time and gulped down some Rose wine which was nice and chilled. Fred and Diane had invited everyone onto their boat for pre dinner drinks – yet more wine consumed! The Crustacean restaurant was but a short walk away along the quayside. Everyone remarked how nice Weymouth was – a beautiful seaside town – clean – lively and they had kept the architecture which gave the whole place a ‘traditional’ feel. Lots of yachts in rafted up and fishing boats washing down after landing their catches.

Crustacean was lovely. Very friendly staff who were thankfully expecting us and we all turned up and were all happy with the menu choices made a number of days ago. Well at least no-one grumbled to me! Food was brilliant. I had the Crab Thermidor followed by seafood chowder and I then got greedy and had the cheesecake. Oh – yes and a bottle of Rose between Gillian and myself. The duck was awarded to Paul and Maxine on Passion who had lost their foresail halyard in the winds on Monday as they sailed down to Studland Bay where a fix was made with a beautifully spliced line.

1st prize for the race was awarded to Pat who came in before Dudley by some margin!

We walked back to the boat with Fred and Diane to find a small yacht rafted outside of us. Two young men on board who had arrived from Portland Marina for the night.

For some reason we decided to have another glass of wine before bed. I remember dropping off to sleep thinking that I was going to regret this in the morning!

Wednesday 19th July Weymouth – Dartmouth

I was up early to wash down the boat and fill up with water. Which was just as well as I got the message that our boat had to move by 0900 to allow the small rowing ferry boat to come in and pick up/drop off passengers. There were a couple of options 1) go alongside Diva or wander out into the area between Weymouth and Portland Bill – effectively drift down on the tide till it had turned. We chose the later. Gillian used the time to make some sandwiches and I wrote up the log from yesterday. We put the sails up late as there was a WSW wind that would have blown us too quickly down the peninsula. However we were well positioned to enter the race just as it was turning. We were to be fair perhaps a little early. The sea was unpleasant to such an extent that Gillian became very ill and spent the next hour leaning over the toilet. We eventually emerged from the Race around 1230 having entered it around 1100.

There was sadly no road to recovery for Gillian until near the end of the trip. Hence it was single handed sailing for the rest of the day. To begin with the WSW was quite strong and I could zip along under sail at a reasonable speed albeit going deeper into the bay. Diva was a few miles ahead on the same track and Pat on Dino who was able to sail a little higher crossed our stern.

However after a couple of hours it became clear that with a dying wind and given its direction this could turn out to be a very long day. So reluctantly I turned on the engine and began what would become 9 hours of motoring dead into wind. I went downstairs to set up the bunk in the saloon for Gillian so she would be a little more comfortable. I then stayed on deck monitoring what was happening around Purrfect Tale – not very much – trying to read or relax which was not very successful. I did take down all the sails as with head to wind they just flapped about were at risk of some wear and tear.

By 1800 Gillian was beginning to feel better – the sea had calmed and the wind had dropped. We spent the next few hours on deck as we watched the Dartmouth Headland slowly approach. Pat on Dino Volante was about a mile behind us – still sailing which was extremely impressive. As we neared the headland the dolphins came out to welcome us which is always an uplifting sight at the end of a long day.

A large commercial vessel came across our bows about a mile ahead making its way into Exeter and we then had to move to avoid a fishing vessel which was intent on holding its course. The sails finally came down in the entrance to the harbour and we then made our way up river looking for the DA pontoon – a bit further than we expected. We rafted alongside Karisma where there was a welcoming committee from both Karisma and Zampa. Ian and Kirsten had laid on welcome drinks and eats in which we eagerly partook! Tidying up the boat could wait till the morning. A 12 hour day!

Thursday 20th July – Lay Over Day

This was the day we had a choice to make as there was another weather-front coming through at the weekend. We either stayed at Dartmouth till Monday or left on Friday to go to Newton Ferrers – Yealm River. This impacted marina and restaurant bookings as well as individual boats plans. Gillian and myself walked into town for breakfast at Alfie’s to fill in time before going to the marina office. The initial decision was to go to Newton Ferrers but after consideration and consultation we all decided to stay in Dartmouth. This was mainly driven by the lack of walk ashore in Newton Ferrers, no wifi or mobile signal and the rain forecast. So it was going to be a 4-day stay in Dartmouth which also meant this would be our last stop before making our way back East. There was a mixture of feelings – after 3 hard days sailing it was nice to have a rest and time to look around Dartmouth but a little disappointing that having crossed Lyme Bay we did not take advantage of the lovely ports of call in Devon and Cornwall.

The decision having been made, I dropped by the Marina Office slightly worried that they would not be able to accommodate an extended stay – but these turned out to be baseless worries and they were more than helpful. We then made our way across the river to Kingswear to visit Dart Haven Chandlery for our heads service pack. We were due to have Mark and Jan visit us for tea and I hoped to get it fixed by then. I just about did! Both of them had had a tough year – one with prostrate cancer and the other with breast cancer. Both had come through and looked well and very upbeat. it was great to see them again.

That evenings as supper at the Royal Dart – one of the few bookings that had not changed! The Duck went to Stealth of Brighton (Fred and Diane) for hosting the entire fleet on board their boat when we arrived in Dartmouth. We both slept well that night.

Friday 21st July – Lay Over Day Dartmouth

Maggie had stayed with us overnight having come down to Dartmouth to visit friends and catch up with the Rally. We all had breakfast together in the morning on board. As we were staying till Monday we did need to take on board more water and as we would have to leave the mooring we thought we would also top up with fuel. Maggie kindly lent a hand and refuelling was straight forward. When it came to water I did not quite get the approach right in a strong ebb tide and there is some polishing to do when we get back to the Hamble! We were now alongside with Karisma outside of us and whilst waiting for them to return as well as Fred and Diane we shared shore side duties preventing other boats taking up our booked slots on the pontoon.

We had decided to take a ferry up to Greenaway House, the holiday home of Agatha Christie and then across to Dittisham to the Ferry Bridge Inn. The trip up river took around 30 mins and gave us a different perspective of the River Dart, passing Noss Marina where Mark Spicer kept his boat and then into a more ‘rural’ section as we approached Dittisham. The walk up to Greenway House was via a steep path and by now the weather had a feeling of summer. The house itself was very interesting with excellent guides in most of the rooms. It has been donated to the NT by Agatha’s son and daughter. It had the feel of a lived in house with all the clutter that comes with a home. They were great collectors.

The Drawing Room is furnished with items from Agatha’s childhood home in Torquay, Ashfield. This is where the family would gather for games and to hear the first readings of Agatha’s new manuscripts. It’s also home to Agatha’s Steinway piano. Although Agatha trained as a concert pianist, she was too shy to perform in public. Her Steinway is a Boudoir Grand Piano and dates back to the late 1800s.

At the front of the house, Agatha’s bedroom has some of the best views of the River Dart. The bedroom includes Agatha’s mother-of-pearl inlaid chest which she had specially imported. Agatha described it as the ‘sort of furniture that reminds one of fairyland.’ It has occupied the same place in her bedroom since she brought it to Greenway.

A 5,000-strong book collection is held at Greenway with much of it contained in the lower bookcases that line the walls of the Library. The subjects range from translated works of Agatha to gardening and even children’s books. Upstairs in the Fax Room, rare first editions of Agatha’s novels are on display. The Library also holds an unexpected treasure: a frieze painted during the Second World War by a US Coast Guard in the run up to the D-Day landings.

Throughout Dartmouth there were reminders and memorials to the US Forces who had operated from the area during the war and in preparation for D-Day landings. Standing in the room looking at the frieze it runs through your mind what happened to all the soldiers that stayed there.

After the house we walked around the gardens down to the Boathouse. The hydrangeas were in full bloom and looked amazing.

Towards the end of the afternoon we took a small ferry across to Dittisham to visit the pub for a drink. I was surprised how many buoys there were scattered around the river. We were tempted to come up here for a night before returning to Hamble. But the weather windows were not quite right. The pub at Dittisham was small and very full – we were not quite in the mood to linger and after a drink caught the ferry back.

That evening 5 of us (Pat, Paul, Maggie, Gillian and myself) went for dinner Bayards Cove. We had a table by the window and watched as the Navy Officer Cadets from Dartmouth Royal Navy College walked to and fro in their blazers, ties and chinos. It brought back memories of Sandhurst! It was a little subdued as particularly I was very tired with the last few days having caught up with me. We avoided the hospitality on the other boats when we returned and went straight to bed.

Saturday 22nd July – Lay Over Day Dartmouth

In the morning after serving breakfast of bacon and egg, we gathered in the cockpit with the cover up and were joined by Pat and John from Dino in pouring rain to watch the start of the Fastnet Race. Pat’s son (Sam) was competing on Mzungu in two handed class. The weather in the Solent was poor and there was talk of a delay. However the race started as planned and we all watched on YouTube on two iPads the start of each class and its progress down the Solent. By the end of the next 24 hours just under a quarter of the boats had retired. However Sam went on to finish much to mother’s relief! This took us through to 1500. The rest of the day of spent shopping and wandering around a very wet Dartmouth.

Late lunch was in the RockFish Restaurant – where Gillian bought a fish cookbook. We then bought some more cushions from a little boutique shop along with a very large woollen blanket and 4 new mugs. On the way back we popped into M&S for a top up of supplies and met Pat, John and Maggie doing likewise.

That evening we had invited Ian and Kirsten across for one of Gillian’s ‘Canned’ meals of chorizo and beans. Prior to this we had drinks aboard Karisma with Bryan and Britt. Quite a few of us crowded into their saloon whilst the rain continued outside – Pat, Maggie, John, Dudley, Katie, Jo, Britt, Bryan, Gillian and myself. A cosy snug fit. Back on Purrfect Tale we were joined by Ian and Kirsten for supper – not too late a night.

Sunday 23rd July – Lay Over Day Dartmouth

Sunday we skipped breakfast but spent some time organising our route back to the Hamble. We had 3 options – Weymouth/Portland, Studland Bay or Worbarrow Bay. (Mupe Bay) The favoured was the latter but that depended on when the ranges at Lulworth Cove – if they were firing until late in the afternoon we would have to make a decision to either go on to Studland – another 3 hours our divert into Weymouth which would make Tuesday long. Not much we could do till we were on our way on Monday.

I walked into town to the Marina Office to meet Jack who was our point of contact for the rally. I spent a little time with him answering his questions on the new booking system, how other marinas managed rallies and what I felt they could do to improve the experience. On the way back I met Paul and Anne Ellis in town and they handed me a guide of a walk on the other side of the river. Foolishly I had not read the small print at the bottom of the walk description which described is as strenuous. The guide took us along the coast then up to the Daymark above Dartmouth entrance.

We took the foot ferry across and climbed the hill via a road on the Kingswear side of the river. A bit steep but tarmac road. We then turned right off the path down some step steps. There was a plaque on the side of the steps which dedicated the walk to Colonel Herbert Jones VC OBE who was killed commanding 2 Para at the battle of Goose Green in the Falklands in 1982. Whilst I did not know him having served in Para Signals around that time and was with 1 Para in Northern Island at the time of the Falklands it resonated with me. The step steps down went on for some time and we then had an equally long and step climb out of the valley to a wooded cliff top. It was turning into a very strenuous walk and with the knowledge that we would have to retrace our steps we re-evaluated what we would do! Shortly afterwards we turned back before dropping down another step hill to the ‘Lookout’. We eventually ended up back at the Royal Dart around 1330 where we stopped for a drink and a packet of crisps! We were both quite tired and a little disappointed it was not the walk we had expected.

The afternoon we bought 4 pasties – 2 for the return trip and 2 for a late lunch on the boat. Gillian popped into a shop to buy some early Christmas presents before getting back on the boat.

Ian and Kirsten had organised a final supper at the Royal Castle Hotel that evening to which we had 22 people. I used the remainder of the cruising fund to offset the cost of the meal which meant it was only around £9 per head. We had Paul Blainey and John on our table by the window and had a pleasant Sunday roast. Bryan gave a very generous thank you to Pat, Dudley and myself as well as presenting us with a present each. In my response I remarked upon the number of emails it had taken to organise and re-organise the rally and ended with the comment that the last one I wrote was to the British Library letting them know that they should change the ISBN of the Skipper’s Handbook from non-fiction to fiction!

Back on Purrfect Tale we ensured she was set up for the trip back – packing everything away and setting up the bunk in the saloon. Reveille was planned for 4:30 am.

Monday 24th July – Dartmouth – Mupe Bay

Maggie had left us the previous evening to stay with her friend. The plan had been that she would leave her car near the boat and depart at the same time as us on Monday morning. But on Sunday she discovered she had a flat battery so she pleaded for a bed ashore so she would not be stranded at the roadside at 0430 in the morning!

Bryan was away quite swiftly which left us the last to leave. The tide was flooding and I decided to use the bow thruster just to get our bow out and motor forwards off the pontoon. It was still dark as we motored down the River Dart – it was clearly the popular moment to leave as there were around 8 other yachts leaving at the same time – 0500. We all knew that we would have around 3-4 hours of foul tide from Dartmouth across the beginning of Lyme bay byt this was necessary to be sure of getting to Portland Bill with tide in our favour. Once clear of the Mew Stone Southerly Cardinal we put up the mainsail and continued our crossing under motor. Gillian went down for a couple of hours as I took the first watch. Dino Volante and Karisma were ahead of us together with Zampa who was some way distant – they were aiming to get back to the Hamble by evening. Behind us was Diva who had left about 30 minutes later.

There were some dolphins about but a little distant from the boat. The sea was calm and much different from our crossing a few days ago. I was a little relieved and hoped for a more pleasant trip.

Gillian came up after a couple of hours and I managed to get my head down. We made around 4.8kts for the first 4 hours but steadily picked up speed as the tide grew in strength in our favour. I had estimated that we would get to Portland Bill around 1400 but we made better time than expected and got there by 1300. We shared the pasties we had bought the previous day which kept us going and it was good to see that Gillian was sufficiently well to eat.

As we neared the Bill, Diva took the inside passage as they were going into Weymouth to join Dawnrazor whilst we had aimed for a point about 3 miles off the Bill. The wind had picked up a bit and we did have a couple of hours of sailing as we made our way inshore towards Worbarrow Bay to the east of the Shambles. We had chatted with Dino and Karisma coming across as we tried to work out if the Ranges were operational – key if we were to be able to anchor in Worbarrow Bay. Bryan rang range control and discovered there was no firing that day which cleared the way for us to anchor in the bay of choice.

Worbarrow had been chosen as the forecast was for Northerly winds which made Studland less suitable. The Bay itself is very wide and open from the South and you have two options West or East Side. We decided on West – Mupe Bay – as it seemed to have better holding and if there was a SW slightly better protection.

Both Dino and Karisma were in before us and warned us of the number of lobster pots scattered around the entrance and in the bay itself. We anchored in about the same location as the boat below. IT did take two attempts – the anchor dragged first time which I think was due to insufficient chain being laid. I have quite a small anchor for the boat and I have found that I need to be generous with chain. Second attempt was fine although I was still a little nervous.

We were the only 3 boats in the anchorage. Gillian cooked the frankfurter and Lentils meal and we shared a couple of glasses of wine. The evening was a little cool to sit outside but it was a wonderful view from the boat – back down to the Bill and in the Bay itself with the white chalk cliffs towering above us.

We had hoped for a quiet night but around mid-night the wind got up and from the SW from which we had little protection. I had planned for an emergency move if we had to by leaving the anchor locker open, power to the winch on, torch and head torch to hand as well as easy clothes to slip into. I went up on deck to check all was okay – especially as had a little trouble setting the anchor when we first arrive. But all seemed to be holding well and from the anchor app we had not moved. Nevertheless the next couple of hours were without sleep before the wind died down. Thankfully Gillian was so tired she went back to sleep quite quickly.

Tuesday 25th July – Mupe Bay to Hamble

This was to be our last day on the boat and I hoped it would be a good end to the cruise – and it was – for most of the day! We had to leave around 0830 as the ranges would commence firing at 0930. An hour gave us plenty of time to lift the anchor and be away. Dino had to lift by hand as they were without a winch and Bryan although he did have a winch it only worked letting chain out not bringing in – so they were a little behind us. The tide did not turn around St Alban’s Head till 0930-1030ish so we aimed for the outside route. The sea was very calm and again little wind. We had all decided on the North Head route into the Solent rather than the main Needles Channel as all 3 of us decided to make our way back to the Hamble rather than overnight in Yarmouth. I cut the corner around St Albans and Dunstone as the sea was calm and what wind there was was with the tide. It was an unremarkable motor across Bournemouth and Christchurch Bay but as we neared the Dolphin Sand the wind picked up from the SW – 10kts increasing to 17kts. We were able to sail to North Head buoy and up the north channel into the Solent. It was a bit wild with 10.5kts at times over the ground. I should have taken this as a warning and shortened sail as soon as we entered the Solent – but I did not which came back to haunt me!

We were more or less on a dead run down the Solent. We did have to gibe and rather than Gillian winching and letting out the main I asked her to take the helm. Sadly due to a lack of communication on my part whilst the boom went across under control Gillian was unable to hold the helm to stop the boat being taken by the wind. I rapidly grabbed it but it was an unfortunate incident which blemished the last days sailing……. and then it got worse.

I had taken in the headsail and we were just on main – another error on my part. As we neared Central Solent and Thorne Channel the wind had increased significantly 21+kts and we were still under full headsail. I did not want to sail up Thorne Reach with wind on the beam and a full sail so decided to take down where we had plenty of room – but not well executed. We first ended up with a crash gibe and then in taking the mainsail down we lost the main halyard which dangled from the top of the mast. There was not much we could do and it would have to wait till tomorrow. From here it was a silent (in terms of chatter between myself and Gillian) motor up the Hamble river and into our berth. As we passed the Clubhouse both Karisma and Dino were alongside and cheered us past. Fortunately the berthing went well and we were able to relax.

That evening we had invited Dex and Julie to the Gaff Rigger for supper as we had not seen them for some time. After a shower and change we wandered up for a pre-supper drink and a lovely evening with them. They could both see we were pretty exhausted and it was not too late a night to bed.

Wednesday 26th – Mercury Marina

The day was set aside to sort out Purrfect Tale. We started to pack up the clothing whilst waiting for Pat or Maggie to arrive. It was a bright at this stage calm day. Pat was the first down and we set up the spinnaker halyard and electric winch handle ready to go up the mast. I had untwisted the main halyard as much as I was able and it looked to be a simple task of being winched 3/4 of the way up, grab the line and come back down again. It was the first time I had been up this mast and the first time I used the climbing harness rather than a bosun’s chair. Gillian acted as the go between from me to Pat on the winch. After trying a figure of 8 and putting it through the two loops on the climbing harness Pat began to winch. A little hesitantly at first as she worked out speed and pressure on the winch. Whilst little effort was needed by her the ergonomic design of the handle was clearly for larger individuals who ironically probably would not have needed a winch! Nevertheless it did not take long and the halyard was retrieved. I had thought of taking the phone up to take a picture but felt that I needed to concentrate on the job in hand and get it done!

Upon reaching the ground and feeling that it was a job well done, Pat noticed that the halyard had come down between the spreaders and was not running straight – so we had to repeat the exercise again. Anyone going up a mast in a marina attracts onlookers who are probably all thinking – thank goodness it is not me! At the top of the mast Pat also suggested I check it was not twisted around the topping lift – which is was! So two jobs to do which was managed with relative ease. Meanwhile Maggie had arrived to complete the trio of supervisors – Pat, Maggie and Gillian. Once down Gillian fixed a coffee for a short wash-up on the summer cruise.

Once they had departed we finished off the boat and once cleared, put up the cockpit cover to dry off whilst we had a late lunch in the Gaff Rigger. Eventually all was done and we bid farewell to Purrfect Tale after another summer cruise.