Snowhill and seals..

Even the seals were enjoying the sun...

At last - a glorious day on the water, after two weeks of man flu, poor tides and indifferent weather..

17:06 HT so out on the boat by just after 2, quick check to make sure all was good (we've had some pretty rubbish weather since I was last aboard), all looked good, quarter of an inch of rain water (which I can live with - the insulation seal on the cockpit locker lids is clearly working), everything else where it should be (including, wonder of wonders, the windex! )

Whacked in a couple of rolls of reef on the main as the wind was fairly brisk in the anchorage and better safe than sorry...  engine on and dropped the mooring, headed for the bridge and unrolled the jib as I turned the cardinal for a lovely run down the cut with the wind on one quarter - three or so knots against the tide, with engine on tick-over only, is not to be sniffed at ..

At Swearedeep I engaged auto pilot and told it to keep head to wind, and I went forward to raise the main ...  what a joy....  no more standing at one end of the cockpit with the tiller between your legs twerking to keep the boat head to wind while simultaneously hauling up the main, ducking out of the way of the boom, and with your third hand adjusting the main sheet..  instead engine on tickover there was the gentle whirr of pilot and I had time to sort everything out in peace..  LOVED it..

Bore up for the bottom of the harbour past Emsworth Breacon and then came hard on the wind for HISC - the wind direction was perfect - single tack to the bottom of the harbour against tide, and Marker hurtled past..  lovely views of the seals on the mud banks on the Hayling side between Marker and Verner, and when Verner was reached bore away for a drag race across Pilsea flats to East Head and the Snowhill boy.. 

Busy East Head..

 Stupidly busy down there with both the Sunbeam and Swallow fleets out racing from Itchenor in the near perfect conditions..   dodged across the main channel, rounded Snowhill and headed for home..

Couple of tacks to make my west'ing, before bearing away across the sands which is always a little heart in mouth as every now and again the sea gets very light as the sand gets closer to the surface (ie. shallower! ) for the drag race to the top of the harbour with the last of the legs of the incoming tide under me....  saw a few 6.4's/6.5's, not bad at all for a boat with a theoretical maximum hull speed of 6 knots, even if it was tide assisted..  

Bore up for Northney but was enjoying it so much I gybed and went back for another run round Emsworth Beacon before gybing again and heading back for the mooring under pilot, while I tidied up..

Cracking day - both ends of a F4, a direction that allowed a rip roaring race to the bottom of the harbour and back, and with a little shimmy on the end for the sheer joy of it..  more, please!

Log:

Distance: 12.08 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): SW going WxS ; both ends of a F4
Sail Plan: Reefed main/reefed jib
Speed (Max/average in knots):  6.3 / 3.8