End of season review

It always seems a sad time of year....packing up for the winter, putting all the toys away but it does seem to be eased by looking back though the entries for the year and re living the memories that have been captured.

This year I managed 40 nights on board looking at my diary, not all of which are reflected in the blog but then again some where just little trips or nights on the boat at the club and not strictly bog material.

I have noticed as well, that my blog entries are more sporadic and sometimes quite a while after the event so a note to self...keep on top of entries.
I have bought myself a little notebook pc which will be much easier to take on board and hopefully will get me into more regular entries next season.

It is a Lenovo Mix 320 - very compact - the keyboard is a little small after a proper one but once you get used to it works well.....the screen separates from the keyboard to run as a tablet which may be handy - so very pleased with it so far and unlike my poor old Dell laptop I won't be loading it with programs and documents so hopefully it will remain quick to start....I'll let you know.

Highlights of the season are pretty easy-

The trip to the Morbihan was as they say aboard super great...it really was...a superb experience in great surroundings with a great gang. I still look back though the pictures and feel the warmth....not only of the weather but the local people as well as the visitors. So good in fact we are seriously debating not going back...could a second visit ever be as good???

The other huge highlight of the year was the Drascombe Golden Jublilee at Weymouth - again the weather and the people made it fantastic ...couldn't have asked for more....some truly lovely pictures and memories....so many Drascombes and their owners in one place -  a scene not replicated since the last anniversary event 10 years ago.

We have decided that Weymouth was such a good venue that we will go back there...on a smaller scale...for an event every two years...with the intervening years having Drascamp in Poole as the focus.

The new dockyard cruises have proved great fun and it is nice to use the boat as a home to go somewhere and do something...much as I love sailing...it does add a new dimension and is more like the big boat cruising I watch with envy on YouTube.  In fact that has given me a thought , I might do a review of my favourite YouTube logs  - perhaps a poll to see if you agree--nice project for the winter months.

Inevitably  as I pack the boat up thoughts turn to next season - what do I need to keep on board...what was never used...what will I do for next season. 

I'll give it some thought and include it in th blog so I could look back and think...why ?

Things to look forward to -

We have our end of season dinner this weekend - always a fun time, even if the next day is a little cloudy....this year it is being held at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club so at least to start with we will be on out best behaviour . The day after the boat will be snugged down for winter and the Sunday sees us doing some work to maintain the water depth under the pontoon at the club...which will no doubt prove to be a messy affair...but with a small party afterwards should be fun.

Work is still getting in the way and I hope next season sees opportunities open up for me to pack up for good and earn a little pocket money elsewhere to fund my hobbies and interests...we'll see

Solent cruise - with another visit to the dockyards

October 10th - 12th

Monday 10th

The main fleet assembled at Ashlett - Stewart in Bolitho, Tony in Pellew, Ian in Moksha  , Jim and his daughter and son in law in Hippo and myself in Daislebee, together with Marcus with Sundance, who had come up from Newtown and had joined those that had launched over the weekend.

We departed on the tide and had a fair sail down to Yarmouth, using broad tacks to make our way down to the west, avoiding the larger waves being kick up in the main channel.

The sun was lovely as we tied up in the harbour with the dark sky behind setting the scene off very nicely

We ate in the Kings Head, not the best meal we have had, some good, some not so good but the ale went down well and we retired to bed ready for the morning.

Tuesday 11th

The plan had been to go up the Medina to Newport on the Island and visit our old favourite The Bargeman's Rest, but the forecast for Wednesday was not good so we decided to go direct to Portsmouth. With wind and tide in our favour it promised to be a swift passage and so it was. About a F4 with strong tidal assist made short work of the trip and the rain held off until we arrived so it was up with tents quick sharp.

Jim could only come out for the night so he departed for Ashlett whilst we carried on and soon arrived in Hazler again, this time opposite the Trinity Lighthouse boat that marks the Hazler entrance.

We decided to try the restaurant on the lighthouse and were very pleasantly surprised...... a very good time was had by all.

Wednesday 12th

The day dawned bright and cold...but with strong winds so our choice of direct passage to Portsmouth the day before was validated.

Stewart had pulled a muscle so elected to have a quiet day on board, whilst Ian was meeting Glenys later so Tony, Marcus and I set off on the Gosport ferry to visit the historic dockyards again. 

After coffee we headed to the Mary Rose and encountered a very smartly dressed Tom Richardson on the way..chat was kept brief as the heavens opened and we scuttled on our way.

The Mary rose is hugely impressive, not just the ship itself but the building and layout of the whole experience....well worth a visit and there are plans to add new timbers to the exhibit to complete the bow section we were told.

We re visited Boat House 4 where the restoration of small boats goes on and saw quite a lot of progress on some of the boats.

We returned to the boats quite early as visitors were expected...and sure enough before long Ali and Sharon, together with Brad arrived and the party got going.

We adjourned to Wetherspoon's after a while and were joined by Ian and Glenys before moving onto the Great Wall Chinese which is fast becoming a favourite venue.

The evening concluded back in the pub from where we made our way back to boats, cars or hotels depending on the choices available....

Thursday 12th

The wind had died down and the lunchtime tide was going to be ideal to make it back to Ashlett. Before we departed however, Marcus and I waked round to the Submarine Museum, stopping on the way to admire two small steel yachts who were rigged as square riggers.

We couldn't work out how people would climb the rigging to set the sail but the penny dropped after awhile....the yards are on a slider and can be lowered to the deck so the topsails can be unfurled then the yard raised and the lower set of sails unfurled in turn as the yards go up.

The submarine museum was a sobering place...what sort of people put themselves through that sort of experience....very brave ..or quite mad...

The outside is huge and a baby compared to todays subs

Inside is a mass of pipes

 We returned quite amazed at the bravery of the sailors who undertook missions in these sorts of craft.

Our sail back to Ashlett seemed very tame in comparison and all too soon it was over..probably the last sail of the season