First sail.. Marker and back...

Hottest early May Bank Holiday on record according to the weather gonks in the national press, and it certainly felt like it, but as is usual on this weekend the tide gods were not with us...  There was the option of an all day/double-tide'r (go out on one, come back with the next), but the same hot weather high, had also brought in the typically windless days so I opted for a late afternoon sail, hoping for some sea breeze... if I'd been out all day I'd have roasted slowly while going nowhere...!

Arrived four hours before high tide as my new magnet had arrived in the post, spent a fruitless half hour rowing around trying to find the windex..  no joy...  time to try the mini-grapnel and then gave up... 

For a first sail of the year I'm late this year - last year I'd been sailing almost three weeks by now, but seemingly the weather was better earlier last year - this year two weeks to get the mast up, and then another two weeks to get some decent sailing weather starts to chew up the time...

Either way - for a shake down sail there were none better - perhaps a little more breeze, but the sun and warmth were splendid..  real shorts and tshirt weather and we played the traditional (delightful!) game of fighting the tide to Marker in light winds...  which was done just as the breeze began to drop....

Marker ahead..

...so we turned, rolled the genoa away, and ran all the way back to the mooring in a dying breeze, but on the last legs of the flow'ing tide..

...could be the Med...  end of the Emsworth channel....

...beautiful day, lovely first sail, summer's coming....   bring it on!

Log:

Distance: 7.04 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind: Both ends of a F3 dropping to a F2 - SWxS / SSW
Sail Plan: Full main and 75% genoa
Speed: 3.4/2.2 (knots - max/average)