Portsmouth Dockyard Rally 29th Aug - 1st Sept

Four of the usual suspect gathered at Ashlett in the 29th Sept  - Marcus came up from Newtown to the quay in Sundance and Brad trailed over bringing Siobhan from Poole. Tony (Pellew) and I joined them and all were launch ready to depart on the Wednesday tide.

The destination was Portsmouth, so we set of when the tide allowed keeping close to the north island (north side of the Solent) as we headed east, to take advantage of the eddy that runs along the shore. Out in the main stream the tide runs west which puts quite a lot of extra time on the journey.

The wind was northerly and quite fair but it did start to rain as we arrived in Portsmouth Harbour.

Our destination was Hasler Marina on the Gosport side. Arriving first I was initially directed to the usual visitor pontoon area by the green lighthouse that makes Hasler so recognisable, but just as the others arrived and tied up we were directed to some other berths in the main part of the marina. It appears they were moving boats around so they could start their dredging program. So a strange sight of small boats, with their tents half rigged created a sight for the residents as we passed en route to our new berths.

Once installed on our berths we rigged up properly for the night.

The fleet

Siobhan and Daislebee

Pellew and Sundance

My tent is a D&D Hammocks 3 x 3 tarp. I managed to get it in maroon which fits in really well with my spray hood, sails and sail cover. Looking at their website more recently they don't seem to do this colour anymore but the quality and fittings are very good.

The sunshade option

As you can see from the picture below each edge has 5 attachment points as does the centre line - it can be used as a tent but on a small boat it makes and idela quick and easy tent to keep the cockpit dry.  Use this link to visit the DD tarp site

After paying our dues and settling in we decided to visit the fleshpots of Gosport - The Star , a Wetherspoons in the High Street being our target.

Brad was dressed for bad weather in his black mac and wellies - which, when he popped to the loo were swiftly utilised as decorating items...

The Wellie Chair

The late afternoon passed in comfort sat in the cosy armchairs but we decided to adjourn to the Great Wall of China for a meal..Tony remembered it from his misspent youth in Gosport  ..if fact I think he was worried some of the waitresses might mention him to their mums !!! The meal was great value at £16 a head for a veritable feast ..not perhaps gourmet but a fun meal for hungry sailors.

Thursday

Bright and dry we breakfasted on board before venturing off across the water to Portsmouth via the Gosport ferry, to join the queue at the historic dock yards...and boy was it a queue.

Just a note on the tickets - the full price for the Dockyards is something like £28 but they can be got on various website for £18 or so..they do last a whole year and as we found there is far too much to see in one visit.
Once inside we had a look at the Jutland exhibition and then took the ferry over ot the Explosives museum which with our own personal guides (Brad and Tony) was very interesting.

We also explored HMS M.33 which is the only remaining British veteran of the bloody Dardanelles Campaign of 1915-1916, and also of the Russian Civil War which followed. Apparently the ship is one of just three British warships from World War I still in existence.

It made a Drascombe/Shrimper look very comfortable.

We also visited Boathouse No 4 in which there are various attractions from yesteryear including an example of a Cockleshells Heroes canoe as used by 'Blondie' Hasler and his team. There are other interesting boats that have been restored as well as a large number, in the main arena, of craft of all shapes and sizes undergoing restoration - one of these included a very old landing craft that had Brad's attention immediately.
That was all we had time for..and indeed the energy for, but is was a great day and we will undoubtedly be back next year..it gives a great focal point for a rally.

Friday
We set off back to Ashlett, but in no particular hurry as we needed the water in the creek before we could pull out so we dawdled and Brad and I tried to 'snurgle' (1) into Hill Head harbour but decided to leave that for another day.
(1) Snurgle :- a term from the Drascombe dictionary..generally translated as trying to get in somewhere with too little water, too early on the tide.

We arrived back at Ashlett and made good use of the Tony Wood recovery service (his electric winch makes light work of recovery) before having what has been come to be known as a 'Drascombe cook in' in the club house.

Saturday
I departed after a bowl of Museli...leaving the others to enjoy their fry up. Marcus was still afloat, heading back to Newtown later that day..and I had a new car to collect.
That was all we had time for..and indeed the energy for, but is was a great day and we will undoubtedly be back next year..it gives a great focal point for a rally.

Friday
We set off back to Ashlett, but in no particular hurry as we needed the water in the creek before we could pull out so we dawdled and Brad and I tried to 'snurgle' (1) into Hill Head harbour but decided to leave that for another day.
(1) Snurgle :- a term from the Drascombe dictionary..generally translated as trying to get in somewhere with too little water, too early on the tide.

We arrived back at Ashlett and made good use of the Tony Wood recovery service (his electric winch makes light work of recovery) before having what has been come to be known as a 'Drascombe cook in' in the club house.

Saturday
I departed after a bowl of Museli...leaving the others to enjoy their fry up. Marcus was still afloat, heading back to Newtown later that day..and I had a new car to collect.