Planes, trains and automobiles..

Well maybe not planes, but there was a Fastcat... 😏

Rodders, the erstwhile captain of the Jolly Boys, was booked to go on his holidays with his good lady wife to the isle of Wight for three nights on AmiLy, and being the kind caring and considerate crew we are, Smithy and I volunteered our services for the docking at each end - he didn't need it, but it was one less faff to worry about, so our offer was taken up. Then at some point in the interim, the skipper also came up with the idea of our taking our wives along as well, "as they never, ever, come sailing with us so they might fancy it"..  and call me gob smacked, but both of them leapt at the chance..

So it was that at 08:00 Rods trusty Land Rover arrived outside my place to pick up me and Smithy (who had already arrived) and our better halves, and take us to Whale Island for the start of the adventure. First time I've travelled in the boot of a car since my youth, and I can tell you I now know why...

HT was 14:19 and a pretty healthy 4.61m (Springs) so we were expecting a lot of water to be flowing which surprisingly wasn't as we exited the harbour four hours before high, very strange.. but with the lack of water, we took the outer Swashway, and in a fitful norther westerly breeze of roughly F3 had a lovely sail to Cowes under full main and genoa

"Follow that bugger.."

...before a leisurely motor up the Medina to show the ladies where we usually hang out, pointing out the Folly and the Lifeboat (which was the venue for todays lunch)..

East Cowes

Rod's three days were going to be in west Cowes at Shepherd's Marina so we called them up and, unlike Thursday, they told us we could moor up anywhere we wanted as they had plenty of space - yes the Fastnet boats* had all departed the day after our previous trip..  he got a lovely spot just inside the entrance but on one of the outer pontoons - so easy to get out, but sheltered from the wash from the river. We also ended up, by the by, moored behind one of the Fastnet race boats which was back far earlier than they wanted as a result of a forestay failure just off Hurst Castle..  rigger was up the mast as we arrived.. such a shame, but they said they'd be back..

Admin completed, a walk down to the Ferry saw us in East Cowes, and a walk to the Lifeboat for lunch, before we then got the bus to Ryde, and the Fastcat back to Portsmouth, and a train home..  so all in all boot, boat, ferry, bus, ferry, train... 😁

Lunch spot..

Cracking day..

* Post edit: Black Jack, who we saw leaving the harbour to practice last Thursday took line honours in the monohulls in the Fastnet race, completing in just over 2 days and 12 hours - the first multihull did it in 1 day 17 hours!

Log:

Blue = boat, yellow = bus, red = Fastcat.. 😁

Distance: 15.42 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)

Wind (Speed; Direction):  F2 gusting F3; NW
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 7.0 / 3.5

What folly.. err.. Folly..

Been a while since the Jolly Boys took to the seas one way or another, so an opportunity for the full complement to go sailing on AmiLy was grabbed with open arms..  and what a day it turned out to be..

HT Portsmouth 11:58 which meant we had fair tides all morning for a trip westwards (and where else were we going to go? 😏), forecast northerly winds starting light going stronger and then going light again, which potentially gave us a beam reach both ways, so it's fair to say expectations were high - but we've been there before, and usually been disappointed..

Either way - the team convened at Rod's place at 0900, casting looks to the sky (bit grey and gloomy) and tree tops (which showed little movement) but we had biscuits to eat and tea to drink, so bugger it..

On the boat by 0930'ish - warps singled up, covers off, engine warmed and we cast off at 10 - destination Cowes and anywhere that had space for us, as we're heading towards Cowes Week, but more specifically for the first time since 2003 the Admirals Cup is back, culminating this coming weekend with the Fastnet Race, so not only were there some glorious boats about, but there were also a very large number of them!

First boats spotted as we came out of the harbour - couldn't miss this one - the mast towered over everything else in Haslar marina - Thomas Coville's 'Sodebo' Ultim 3 trimaran - a Jules Verne round the world challenger, and here for his 3rd attempt at the Fastnet

Then the tour de force (for me) came past - this is Black Jack - one of two yachts that the pundits are putting their money on to win line honours for the mono hulls..

..and this one I'd already heard of - this is "Pyewacket" (which funnily enough was "Black Jack" in a previous incarnation) - she's owned by a grand nephew of Walt Disney (honestly) and started her life back in 2011 as the Volvo Ocean Race boat "Telefonica"..

Simply stunning - 'Black Jack' in particular disappeared off to the horizon at a rate of knots making us look like we were going backwards..

Anyway, sails all up on the trusty AmiLy, engine on tick over, a northerly breeze is always fickle when your on the north side of the Solent up against the shore, but as we came out into the central Solent , the engine went off and we had a very nice sail practically all the way to Cowes - tidal assistance is always a boon ..

Early signs were that Cowes was rammed - East Cowes Marina was full when we called even for a short stay lunchtime stopover - there were Rolex Fastnet race flags on every other boat as we went up the Medina, so a decision was taken to make for the Folly Inn - somewhere we haven't been in a couple of years. There was space on the moorings, but 26 quid for a lunch stop is rich indeed - and is mostly due to four of us needing the ferry across to the pub where the food was definitely a step up on last time, but the beer choice even poorer..  6/10

Tide was due to turn eastwards at about 15:30 / 1600'ish, and as dead low water was 17:15 in Portsmouth and we'd need at least a couple of hours to get enough water to get back on to the pontoon at home, we finally dropped the warps and headed for the Solent at about half 3..

Still a bit grey, and the wind was clearly kicking up, so we put in a couple of reefs, before deciding that they weren't actually needed, and taking them out. Solid 5.5's and 6's SOG all the way home - a cracking sail where the wind got stronger the nearer we got home, and it kept heading us, a typical offshore breeze.. we were seeing 30 knots on occasion, but I would say most of the time it was top 4 or 5 gusting a force stronger..

As suspected it was a quick passage, and not enough water on the inner pontoons so pulled in on one of the outers for a cup of tea and another biscuit before gingerly feeling our way in half an hour later - top result and one of the best sails this year, only improved by finding a top notch quality fender on the shoreline (finders keepers) as we were making our way back to the car at 8..  result!! 😁

Thinking ahead now - first overnight already booked for Lymington in August.. 👍

Log:

Distance: 28.51 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F3 ending F6; NxE going NNE
Sail Plan: Full and reefed main / full and reefed genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 7.1 / 4.1

Sublime to the ridiculous..

...but ain't that sailing?! 😏  Second time out in three days and the weather and wind looked like almost a carbon copy of Fridays awesome jaunt. Suffice to say expectations were high... idiot boy..

HT 14:27 and a bigger tide as they continue to get Spring'ish - an extra quarter of a metre of water sloshing around than had been the case on Friday. The wind was also clearly stronger, but I decided to go with the forecast and leave the reefs out. Either way on the boat by 11, fresh fuel added to the tank, covers off engine warmed up and we dropped the mooring just after half past.

Mainsail up in the pool by the bridge, and then bore away for the ditch and Northney/Sweare Deep, motor sailing as per Friday - much much windier though, and while I was motoring head to wind I took the opportunity to put some reefs in on the main.

Motor sailed through a lot of weekend traffic to Marker and then engine off and started tacking - but it just wasn't happening - tide was so strong it was pushing me back half of every metre made, and the wind direction was going more southerly/adverse with every minute. Ten tacks and 200 or 300 yards later I gave up, bore off and lit the afterburners for some fun back and forth in Sweare Deep before heading back to the moorings..

From the sublime to the ridiculous indeed, and a valuable lesson not to assume anything when you go sailing!

Notes:

• 3 litres fresh fuel added

Log:

Distance: 9.26 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): SSE going S; F3 going F4
Sail Plan: Full and reefed main/90% and 75% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 4.8 / 2.7