23rd April Hamble – Cowes (in an around about way)

I had been trying to get Sue and Steve out sailing for some time but diaries and availability just never matched up. They had both been trying to buy a boat for well over a year – but it had not worked out for them. There was one promising yacht but this was scuppered partly due to some confusion over its VAT status post BREXIT. We only had a short time on board and the plan was to sail down to Lymington on Day 1 and then back to Beaulieu for lunch on Day 2 before coming back to the Hamble. The day dawned warm and still in terms of wind they were very light. Tide had turned against us as we were off Gurnard Ledge so decided that we would go to Beaulieu instead. Just off the entrance as we came to take in the foresail it refused to move! I was very reluctant to winch it in as this has caused big problems in the past when we came to get it back out again. So the only option was to take it down. Steve came up front with me as we grabbled with the sail. In truth it was not too bad.

I did think of returning to Mercury to sort out sail but this would have been a bit of a waste of a night for Sue and Steve so we sailed across to Cowes with just the mainsail up and berthed in Shepherds Wharf. We had the long pontoon to reverse down onto and there were a couple of school boats on the outside who lent a hand. We walked around Cowes before settling into a coffee shop for a chat and family catch up. This was after we had reset the foresail and hoped it would work for the next day.

That evening we had a BBQ on the boat and shared drinks around.

24th April – Cowes – Beaulieu – Hamble

We left Cowes around 0850 and had a lovely sail to the entrance to the Beaulieu River. Foresail had to be pulled out from the front and also pulled in from the front. I was tempted to sail up the river but my confidence in the foresail had been shattered and I did not want to risk getting to the marina at the top of the river and little room to sort out the sail. So we motored quietly and slowly up this lovely river in the middle of the New Forest. We had scrapped over the bar at the entrance about an hour after low water. We had about .5m beneath the keel. It could have been very embarrassing as the location I do some of my National Coastwatch Institute (NCI) watches from overlooks the entrance!

I had recently been to the Marina on the May Bank Holiday Solent Cruiser Race and had enjoyed the experience. We booked a short stay from around 1030 through to 1400. Sue and Steve went ashore for a look around this really fascinating location. I did a bit of tidying up and then went ashore myself for a wander and a catch up call with Gillian. Everyone enthuses about the Beaulieu and sometimes you forget what a magical place it is when you have not been there for some time. You can feel the weight of history around you. Ships of the line built and launched here that went on to fight in battles such as Trafalgar.

We left around 1330 and again motored slowly down the river enjoying the views and atmosphere. The sail back to Southampton was straight forward. Berthing at Mercury was tricky. We still had northerly winds and dragging the bow through the wind was a bit challenging. But we got a line ashore – thank you Steve! – and were able to sort ourselves out from there.

I caught up with Nigel Dixon in the Club for supper after cleaning down the boat ready for Cherbourg at the weekend.