Where is Summer?

It is so frustrating, sitting in the office working away, with the sun shining, blue skies and warm temperatures in the full knowledge that when I plan to get out on the boat - Thursday/Friday this week for a few days, the wind is F6 and rain forecast. I don't mind being in the office in the rain, why is it all the wrong way round.....

Still I will make the most of it - should finally get the last metal works measurements and fitting sorted out with Cover 2 Cover who promise that they will have the full spray hood ready for fitting by the 2nd July. As of then it is, hopefully, several long cruises almost joined together, with brief intervals at home.

Looking forward to seeing the gang out on the water - Poole looms large and the weather always seems to be ok - no doubt this year will be the exception but determined to enjoy it whatever.

Will keep you all posted on progress.

First Cruise of the season May 24th - 27th

Chris came down from University for a summer job interview so he extended his stay and we took the opportunity to get out on the boat - and what an opportunity it was. Wall to wall sunshine , even in the strong winds and rough seas we had at times.

We set out from Chichester at about midday on Thursday and had a gentle sail down the harbour - the wind became so light our ETA at Cowes became 22.00  so on with the engine and a pleasant motor sail got us to Cowes for about 18.00. Richard  and Steve, who had been out for a few days,  called up to let us know they were bailing out due to adverse winds and unbreakable commitments so it was a merry band of three boats, Nick in Virginia, Marcus in Salicorne and Chris and I in Daislebee, that met up at the pontoons up at the Folly. After a meal in the pub we adjourned to Daislebee to consume some Rebellion ale.

River Medina - Folly Reach at dawn

The next day, Friday,  dawned bright and sunny. We had a leisurely start which included lowering my mast to sort the lights out - it looked as though I was sailing sideways as the lens had turned in its mounting. Once the tide had eased we set off down the Medina with a single reef in deference to the forecast, bound for Keyhaven.

Chris - leaving Cowes

Marcus

It was the Old Gaffer weekend at Yarmouth so we saw some lovely old ladies on the water as well as some younger models that turned a few heads.

With the wind from the east we had a great sail down, stopping in Newtown creek for a late lunch of mussels in garlic with French bread. As we tied up at the quay we were greeted by Barry and Pauline. We met up with Andy and Judy and took advantage of the Friday night curry event at the club.

The next day - Saturday - had been forecast F7 easterly so the morning was a pleasant surprise with F6.... instead. We took a walk around to the point to see what the conditions looked like. The Gaffers were out and plenty of other sails so we decided to go across to the island to seek some shelter from the full force of the wind.

Keyhaven Quay

It was very rough getting across but not too bad coming up the north shore of the island past Newtown. Marcus headed into the creek up to his mooring as he has a commitment for the Sunday, and Nick had tried to sail so we arrived just after lunch in Cowes and decided to sail up to Newport for a look around.

We came back down again at about 16.00 and met Nick coming in past Shepards Wharf - there was no room at the inn and East Cowes was very busy so we decided to go up past Island harbour and anchor for the night. En route we stopped for provisions finding a very useful public pontoon on the East Cowes side, located between the big ferry and the chain ferry, where attended boats can stop briefly to take on provisions - Waitrose and other shops are a 5 minute walk. You may have to bribe young fishermen with a beer - hearts and minds at work....

Public pontoon - East Cowes

We anchored out of the main channel and christened my new BBQ attachment which worked very well...once the BBQ decided to light...

We gently took the ground and with food and wine in equal quantities the world took on a very warm feeling...it was not to last...drama was not far away....

Nick decided that a stern anchor was required and donned waders to recover his anchor to re deploy behind us.

All was going well up top the point when we decided that recovering the anchor was not quite so important as recovering Nick, who , having got near the bow of his boat became totally stuck in the cloying mud of the Medina.

As he tired, and the tide began to approach, we decided to abandon efforts to extract him and his waders and focus on him. So bare foot Nick was hauled aboard and the rest of the evening and much of the following morning were spent trying to rid boats and kit of black sticky mud.

I'm happy to report the waders were saved as well.

Sunday was another scorcher - with much less wind so felt incredibly hot.

Virginia and Daislebee parted company at the mouth of the Median and we sailed gently past a crowded Osbourne Bay towards Chichester - the wind dropped to almost nothing and we were forced to motor quite a lot of the way. On the plus side we got to the marina before the rush and earned some valuable brownie points by being home in time for a family supper.

Another great adventure with great weather,great company, a little drama and a happy ending - what more can you ask for.

Chichester Rally 4th - 7th May 2012

They're a hardy lot Drascombers. This was proved by the large attendance figures at this year's Chichester Rally. Held over the early bank holiday weekend in May and based in Chichester Marina, (1 Drifter 22, 3 original Drifters, 15 Coasters, 1 Gig, 2 Long Boat Cruisers, 1 Long Boat, 5 Luggers, 1 Scaffie and, er… hmm, 1 Cornish Shrimper) -
30 boats, in total, took part with over 50 skippers, crew and visitors attending, with some new faces and new boats.

Feeder cruise en route Ashlett – Chichester          Photo – Andy Cooper

A feeder cruise from Southampton (Jim Hopwood, Andy and Anne Cooper, Dave Quick, John Gingell, Douglas Hopwood, Stewart Brown, Ian Cowie and Peter Tiplady) which was joined by Marcus Niner in his Coaster who had sailed from Newtown IOW to join the others on the "north island", arrived in the marina on the Thursday afternoon, with other trailer boats arriving during the course of the Friday.

Feeder cruise arriving at

and in Chichester Marina Lock   Photos - Andy Cooper

Friday, itself, was grey, cloudy and cold, with a few showers but undeterred boats were launched and tents erected, not only on boats but also in a field adjacent to the marina.

A welcome dinner was held in Chichester Yacht Club and Roger and Anita Whiffen shared their Golden Wedding celebrations with us, providing a lovely cake.

Happy Anniversary – Roger and Anita   Photo – Andy Cooper

Saturday’s weather was more of the same and the original plan for a shakedown sail followed by a rendezvous in Bosham were amended once out on the water with many of the fleet taking up the offer of food, drink and, most of all, warm shelter at Dell Quay Sailing Club.

It remained cloudy and grey, but largely dry for the remainder of the day and in spite of the elements the evening saw the barbecue in full swing, using the now familiar ladder rack system.

The Ladder Rack BBQ   Photo – Andy Cooper

Roger and Anita with Stewart Brown presenting the Churchouse Boats Trophy         

                        Photo - Andy Cooper

         
Stewart Brown presented the Churchouse Boats trophy to Roger and Anita Whiffen in recognition of their long association, over 30 years, and boundless enthusiasm for Drascombing exemplifying the spirit of the Association.

John Christie (Drascombe Chairman) presenting Jim Hopwood

with the Hans Vandersmissen award   Photo – Andy Cooper

John Christie, who had travelled down for the day, then made a speech and presentation of the Hans Vandersmissen award to Jim Hopwood. 

The band played on and the singing and merriment went on until the barbeques finally stopped giving out any heat. Several different parties started on various boats and the carousing continued until the early hours. Indeed I was quite surprised to see some faces at the briefing the next morning...

“The Motley Crew”   Photos – Andy Cooper

Sunday was also grey, cloudy and cold, but many boats went out, including the Southampton fleet who headed to Cowes to catch the tide into Ashlett the following day. Once again for those remaining in the harbour, Dell Quay Sailing Club proved a useful stop over. Others took the opportunity to walk in the surrounding countryside.

Walking in the fields

        

Sailing in the Dell Quay  

Photos – Andy Cooper     

                                    

During the afternoon there was a steady trickle of departures as skippers and crew decided to beat the Bank Holiday traffic.

Monday started with rain but it soon dried up and the sun came out and it was warm with a good breeze, making it the best day of recent weeks. Two stalwart Lugger skippers, Robin Carter and Ross Archer, together with their crews, explored Bosham quay and adjacent roads that were under water due to the height of the tide.

By 6.00 pm all the last of the fleet had departed on the journey home.

The weather had been poor and could easily have put a huge dampener on the whole event, but the people who came along all pulled together to make it a very satisfying and enjoyable event so my thanks to all of them and, next year, I'll book the weather.

A brief visit to the dark side....

I got the season off to an early start this year when I joined Jeff H on a charter from Port Solent. The Sun Odessey 35was in excellent condition with full standing headssroom, a fridge, a shower and a heater that saw quite alot of use.

We set out on Sunday 11th and left Port Solent at about midday. We motored down the main chanel and out to sea before setting some sail and had a glorious sail down to Yarmouth in the bright and warm conditions.

Monday 12th March

The next morning we were up early to catch the tide through the Needles. Leaving Yarmouth in the dark, in late winter was quite eerie - there is normally someone up and about using the tide to their advantage, but as far as we could see we were the only boat leaving harbour that morning.

The sky lightened and the sun began to rise as we approached the Needles in a flat calm and we passed out of the Needles channel with one other yacht that had appeared from the direction of Lymington.

Our destination was Weymouth so we set a course to come outside of the target buoys off the head and try and sneak the edge of the gunnery range. The fog and mist rolled in to make visibility quite poor but after a period of wind assisted motoring the buoys came up a little closer than intended. The fog didn't confuse the range boat and in the clearing skies he came alongside for a chat and to give us a leaflet about the ranges and the Olympics - we were probably the only yacht he would see all day.

We complied with his request and altered course to head out for a few miles before turning at the waypoint into the bay and Weymouth.

It was a lovely afternoon in the harbour , but once the sun went down the cold was quite noticeable so we adjourned to a local establishment for supper. £18 for a 10 metre yacht at winter prices - this will rise to £18 a metre during the Olympics (£180) for an overnight stay.......

Tuesday 13th March

A foggy and misty morning we took a leaf out of Brad and Bob's book and had breakfast in Wetherspoons - a least 4 people were on the beer at 09.00 in the morning - too early .......

We wandered around the town and put to the point where the ferry quay is being re built - all sailings are currently out of Poole, and looked at the base of the new tower that is being built as a feature of the town. It looked like the second section was going to be raised into position soon but the fog was clearing and we decided to press on instead of waiting around to watch.

We set out on a reciprocal course to the previous day and were moored up in Poole Yacht Haven by late afternoon.

Showered and refreshed we met up with Bard and Bob for a 'quick' drink and at about midnight.... got back to the boat.

Wednesday 14th March

Leisurely start this morning - not such a distance to travel - aiming for Newtown Creek on the IOW.

A misty sail across but the sun cane out to welcome us back into the Solent and we had a good tacking duel with a Beneteau - they weren't to know that the cardinal mark was the finish line so we had beaten them well before they left us for dust....

Thursday 15th March

Set out from Newtown in brightening conditions...

but soon the fog got thick and we headed for the 5m contour and felt our way up to Cowes. The poor visibility distorts time and distance and we arrived at the outer markers for Cowes before we thought we should - which lead to a bit of surprised to hear a loud fog horn quite close and see the ghostly image of a Red Funnel ferry pass across our bows - some distance away thank goodness. So we dived into Cowes and picked up a buoy. It was strange seeing the break water appear, disappear and appear again as the fog swirled around. Several schools yachts poked their noses out, only to return quite quickly.

After a brief run ashore the fog cleared by about 14.00 and we set off for Portsmouth arriving in Haslar by about 17.00. A visit to Gun Wharf Quays was required and we went and saw the sights - of which there were quite a few.....

Friday 16th March

A quiet start and breakfast in Wetherspoons again before setting off up the harbour to put the yacht back on her mooring in Port Solent and hand her back to her owner.

A great week - some good weather and good sailing - roll on summer.

Recording of Stewart Brown's interview

On 1st March 2012 Stewart Brown, Churchouse Boats was interviewed about the two gigs he is building that will feature in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations on the Thames - click on the link to listen.

Stewart Brown's interview