4th July – Testing the Boat

Danny was on a stag party in Amsterdam for a few days and we had suggested to Alice that she might like to come down to the boat. We were joining a Royal Southern Rally in Bembridge on the Wednesday and it would be a good opportunity for her to see how the babies took to the water. Gillian brought them down from Uxbridge whilst I went straight to the boat having travelled down earlier for a meeting to plan the Royal Southern Rally events for 2024. After 3 trolley load of kit from prams, to cushions to nappies to sleeping cots we managed to get everything onto the boat. It was not quite as tight as we had expected. Alice slept in the stern cabin, we took the front cabin and the babies were in bassinets in the main cabin on the additional bed we could install. The rest of the day was settling in and letting Penny and Noah get used to their new surroundings. We had dinner on the boat and settled down for the night around 10pm. They slept for about 3 hours before needing feeding and Gillian got up each time to lend a hand.

5th July – Hamble to Bembridge

(Richard and Dot, Paul and Anne, Maggie, Bill and Nicky, Dudley, Bryan and Britt, David and Judith)

The forecast was for very blustery winds but from the SW/W which would mean that they were behind us and tide with wind. So I was not expecting a too stressful sail. We left around 0930 without a problem and put one reef in the main as we entered Southampton Water. The sail down the North Channel passed Hillhead and Browndown was uneventful and indeed very pleasant. The babies seemed quite happy and Gillian spend time down below helping Alice. At this point in their lives, the routine was sleep, cry, feed, play, sleep and repeat. They needed a lot of holding and soothing – not in a demanding way but just liked being held. The wind slowly started to pick up and was becoming strong by the time we got to No-Mans Fort. At this stage Gillian was down below and I was sailing solo.

The first issue was the self tacking jib – which is you have the wind behind you can flop from side to side. Normally this is not an issue but I had not appreciated how much noise it made below which was becoming irritating for the remainder of the crew! I then had to jibe twice to get around the Fort and onto a track for Bembridge entrance. By this time the winds were very strong and the crew were feeling less comfortable. Fortunately is was a short leg to the entrance and Gillian came up to help take down the sails.

Motoring into Bembridge was without incident and I had radioed ahead for berthing details and to ask for some help from onshore. I had a feeling that we would be placed upon a pontoon were we would be being blown off. This makes it very hard to come alongside – as soon as speed comes off the wind takes control and you are blown away from where you want to be. We were going to come in stern to to make it easier to get on and off the boat. The approach was good and we got lines ashore easily but the tying off proved challenging as they did not tie off the stern quick enough so I could motor forward. However I knew this was likely to happen and was prepared for this situation. There was a fair amount of heaving and sweating of lines before we were tied up by around 1230.

We quickly relaxed and had bacon sandwiches for lunch before settling down for a chatty afternoon holding on to Penny and Noah. Gillian went for a deep sleep while Alice and I chatted. We were the first boat to arrive but overt the next couple of hours the remaining 7 boats caught us up. The plan was to have a BBQ ashore at 6pm. It took us around 30 mins to unpack and put together pram, sort out BBQ food, plates and cutlery plus wine. When we got up there Richard and Dot had got the BBQs alight. 2023 standard BBQ fare was chicken breast wrapped in bacon. Unsurprisingly Penny and Noah attracted a lot of attention and love.

The evening went very well – so well that I had to return to the baot for a wine refill! We did not stay too late in order to get them both down to bed. As they were settling down we had a very rich hot chocolate before we too went to bed.

6th July – Lay Over Day Bembridge

They both sept exceedingly well, through to just after 3pm before the first feed. A slow start to the day with Alice enjoying a lie in!

After breakfast of bacon and egg we decided to go for a walk up to St Helens.

Granddad was put in charge of the pram as we walked up the hill to the village. We stopped at the Vine Inn for lunch. A nice, basic pub that provided a good hearty food. We were all feeling quite relaxed after a lazy lunch and decided to risk walking across the Causeway back to the marina. I had run across it previously but not with the view of taking a pram over it! It was not too bad, there was only one section where Gillian and myself had to physically lift the pram down a number of steps and back up the other side dodging the water that was coming in on the flood tide. Alice looked around the art gallery whilst I wandered around the back of the marina to look at a very nice house for sale – bit too remote for us!

The remainder of the day and evening was spent in the cockpit of Purrfect Tale with the cover up, chilling, chatting and slowly supping wine. We had the evening meal on board – pork tenderloin skewers. We were returning to the Hamble the next day and we had two options – the original plan was to leave at 1200-1330 in the afternoon a couple of hours before high tide and the other was an early start which got earlier and leaves at 0500 in the morning a couple of hours before low tide. As Bembridge has a bar at the entrance you have to time your entry and exit to ensure you have 2m plus clear for the keel of the boat. Whilst a later start would provide a lie in it would mean a very late night for everyone. Gillian had to take Alice back to Uxbridge and then come home and I had the boat to clean up in preparation for the Summer Cruise. So we opted for an early start on the basis that the babies would be awake. So once they were down at 10pm we quickly got changed for bed.

7th July – Bembridge – Hamble

0430 came around quickly. It was not quite light outside but there was very little wind. Alice had taken the babies into the cabin with her whilst we prepared the boat to leave. It was very dewy on deck and despite brand new non slip shoes I ended up falling on my hip trying to get to the bows of the boat to chat with Gillian. A bit of a bump and bruise developed. We slipped our lines quietly and motored out into the Solent. A number of fishing boats were leaving at the same time but once out it was vey peaceful and quiet. The sunrise was stunning.

I had put the foresail up but left the main down – there was too little wind to sail down in a decent time to Southampton Water. Gillian was up on deck with me and we each had a porridge watching the world slowly come to life. There was one other sailing boat on the water – one of the larger single handed yachts who crossed our path. A couple of Isle of Wight Ferries and that was about it. We were back alongside in Mercury by 0900. Dominic the marina manager was out and about and kindly took our lines. After another hearty breakfast I helped Gillian and Alice pack the car and they departed for Uxbridge. I then spent time clearing the boat and packing my car. I had dropped into the Gaff Rigger for a drink when Paul Scott and Rebecca Butler asked if I would like to join them as they were out walking their dogs. After a very pleasant hour it was back to work on the boat and taking out to clean the log. A bit of a messy job as essentially you create a hole by taking it out which lets in sea water before you replace the log with a blank and then the same happens when you put it back in. So a bit of a wet exercise.

However at last everything was done and it now my turn to drive home.

A great few days and we both felt very privileged to have spent that much time with Penny and Noah.