Didn't we have a lovely time
The day we went to Bangor (..err "Cowes".. though the way Smithy was steering it may as well have been..)
A beautiful day, we had lunch on the way
And all for under a pound, you know (..clearly not been to the Folly pontoon recently)
The day we went to Bangor (..err "Cowes".. though the way Smithy was steering it may as well have been..)
A beautiful day, we had lunch on the way
And all for under a pound, you know (..clearly not been to the Folly pontoon recently)
Day Trip To Bangor (Debbie Cook)
Those of you who follow the blog regularly will know that the Jolly Boys Outing to the Solent happens once a year, lasts three or four days, and generally involves us not getting to France while eating, drinking, talking bolleux and laughing far too much... we planned to do the same this year, this weekend in fact, but due to the Royal Marine Sailing Club (Rod's the member) changing the boat we charter for a new one, and the new one not having been certified for charter yet, the planned weekend has been shifted to September.. which left us with the option for a day sail in Rod the Mods boat to tide us over to then... we almost bit his arm off... 😁
So it was that half nine on Sunday morning saw us departing Portsmouth for the Isle of Wight.. lunch in Cowes with a bit of sailing either side being the order of the day..
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| ...and it all started so well... |
Weather was clear, sunny, but the wind was directly west (ie. right on the
nose), and light, so a decision was taken to stay on the donkey...
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| ...that's Gilkicker [clicky] in the immediate distance with Cowes beyond it.. beautiful morning but hardly a breath... |
....and so it stayed until almost all the way to Cowes.. tried a small
stretch under sail but the wind died almost as soon as it started so back went
the engine, and a decision was taken to take lunch... quick vote and the
decision was taken to go for the
Folly [clicky]...
Past the huge new breakwater protecting the small ship channel into Cowes (very impressive, and will be even more so after they put the rocks on it), and then the bit I love, which is the left turn and the run up the Medina. It's stupidly busy (and was this day as well), but the section past the chain ferry has lots to see (though apparently I did miss Jelly Bean Phil who was in town in his Hurley 20, "Ciao Bella" [clicky] unbeknownst to me at this very time and in this very spot!) - spotted two separate Fantasie 19's, and the unusual one with the double spreaders [clicky] is still on it's mooring...
Lunch at the Folly was, errrr, "OK" - food and drink were nice enough, but the
cost of a short stay with five crew was stupidly expensive at £25... (twelve
odd for the boat, and the rest for us on the water taxi)... you may as
well stop off at one of the marina's in Cowes, would probably cost the same
and you can walk ashore from there...
Couple of pints and some food later and it was back to the boat - we had hopes we might get some good sailing in but unfortunately in the same way as the morning had been directly on the nose, the wind was in the same direction as Cowes to Portsmouth so it was a long run downwind... we shaved the angles a bit to give us a more comfortable ride, so first run was to Ryde pier and then a couple of gybes across to Gilkicker, and along the shore via the Inner Swashway (first time I've used this passage)
Couple of pints and some food later and it was back to the boat - we had hopes we might get some good sailing in but unfortunately in the same way as the morning had been directly on the nose, the wind was in the same direction as Cowes to Portsmouth so it was a long run downwind... we shaved the angles a bit to give us a more comfortable ride, so first run was to Ryde pier and then a couple of gybes across to Gilkicker, and along the shore via the Inner Swashway (first time I've used this passage)
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| Passing Ryde on the way home |
Saw this beauty as we were coming up to Ryde - Danish sail training vessel
Georg Stage....
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| Danish full rigger Georg Stage [clicky] |
...and then motor on as we got to the harbour entrance, before one last brisk
sail up harbour and back on to the pontoon....
Brilliant day - shame about the sailing - but we have the Jolly Boys weekend in September to look forward to!
Log:
Distance: 14.72 miles in the morning and 13.06 in the afternoon so a sum total of 27.08 miles
Wind: Started Force 1, built to good Force 3 in the afternoon .. dead westerly
Sail Plan: Full main, full jib, mostly motor in the morning..
Speed: GPS says max speed was 5.7 knots which was under motor on the way back somewhere between Gilkicker and the entrance to the harbour I reckon. Average speed of 4.3 knots
Brilliant day - shame about the sailing - but we have the Jolly Boys weekend in September to look forward to!
Log:
Distance: 14.72 miles in the morning and 13.06 in the afternoon so a sum total of 27.08 miles
Wind: Started Force 1, built to good Force 3 in the afternoon .. dead westerly
Sail Plan: Full main, full jib, mostly motor in the morning..
Speed: GPS says max speed was 5.7 knots which was under motor on the way back somewhere between Gilkicker and the entrance to the harbour I reckon. Average speed of 4.3 knots
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| Most interesting bit for me was from Gilkicker down to the harbour on the way back.... one long succession of forts and blockhouses |
What a splendid day. Eeck.. The Folly was expensive, glad I didn't go. A short stay at Cowes yacht haven was £6 for Ciao Bella. Clearly much shorter than Rods boat but still. Better choice of pubs, cafes, icecream and you don't have to pay for a ferry.
ReplyDeleteGeorg Stage looked fantastic, thanks for identifying it. I saw it heading west near Yarmouth that evening.
Watcha Phil - apologies for lateness responding... Georg Stage was lovely, Folly pontoon prices weren't.. :o)) To be fair though there were five of us - the boat was only £12 or so.... but yeah, next time we'll give it a miss and go in to town...
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