Daislebee, Moksha and Pellew were launched as the water rose towards high tide in the early afternoon. There was the usual fiddling with rigging and general preparations for sea which is Pellew's case involved some adjustment to a rope on the fore stay....needless to say as Tony pulled and tugged, it parted and in a none too graceful dive he pitched head first over the bow. Ian and I, watching, immediately awarded him 5.6 for style and only a little more for content. Thank god for camera phones....
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| In..... |
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| Out ..... |
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| Shake it all about... |
A much less dramatic than our last crossing but still fun sail took us across to where Sundance (Marcus), Moonstone (Barry and Pauline) and Blue Peter (Andy) were already enjoying a beer. We joined them and then all adjourned to the Duke of York to eat.
Friday 27th May
Being the organiser I felt some sort of responsibility to get to the rally so departed just after breakfast to make the most of the tide taking us east. There was no wind to speak of so motoring was the order of the day. Sundance and Blue Peter joined me and Moksha caught up by about the submarine barrier off Portsmouth.
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| Blue Peter enjoying the sun |
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| Blue Peter, Sundance and Moksha - line astern |
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| Boat Beacon - Chichester |
There had been several arrivals already and launching was well under way, berths being found and acquaintances being made or renewed.
Although some arrived the following day 22 boats took part - interestingly only the one lugger amongst them. - 3 Dabbers, 10 Coasters, 2 original Drifters, 2 Long Boat Cruisers, a Gig, a Winkle Brig, a Deben Lugger and of course a Cornish Shrimper.
Sharon arrived to continue her sailing lessons and very kindly took me to Force 4 to use the vouchers I had been given for my birthday to purchase a PLB which seemed like a good idea, although quite expensive for something you hope you'll never have to use.
The dinner in the yacht club went well and the Drascombe Chairman, John Stanage, had made his way over from Ireland and introduced himself to the crowd.
Saturday 28th May
The weather was very kind to us over the while weekend and following briefing the fleet set sail ..or motored... out of the lock and into the harbour, making their way down to East Head for lunch.
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| Deben Lugger and Gig 'Hippo' mixing it with some Mirror dinghies |
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| Little Dipper..and the youngest crew member |
In the lunch break I managed to get a sail with Alex in his Deben Lugger - very light and quick...fun to sail.
We also managed to sort out the rigging on Dabbler so that Norm and Trish could make better progress but that didn't seem to help Trish stay upright....
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| Trish ..sat down ? |
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| Bob in his Winkle Brig 'Cockle' |
We had a sail back exploring a few different channels with Sharon becoming much more adept at tacking and feeling the wind....a nice steady wind to play in.
After a sail back the barbecue started early to take advantage of the weather and we were blessed with a really lovely evening.
Sunday 29th May
The following day followed a similar pattern, although my crew was changed for Peter and Trevor Spink and Trevor's young daughter, Esme, not forgetting the dog,,who was really well behaved. Following briefing we set of to explore the Thorney Channel and a little backwater looking for seals. Although some had trouble in finding and then using the entrance to the channel quite a number found their way up in time for lunch with a lonely seal obligingly hanging around to have his photo taken.
Some of us tried to get out of the top end of the channel and after a little time aground managed to worm our way through. There was then a race back towards the marina with a number of Cape Cutters who were also enjoying a rally in the harbour.
The afternoon/evening were so lovely that we headed on past the marina up to Dell Quay where the sailing club made us most welcome and we enjoyed a beer or two on their new sun drenched decking area.
Trevor's wife, Emma, joined us for the short journey back to the marina which brought to an end a lovely day on the water.
Monday 30th May
Monday was a day of free sailing or recover for the drive home for many but for a small band it was the start of a new adventure ...a cruise to Weymouth...more of which later.
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