This time it was my first trip out on t'other Dave's boat, "Kings Ransom", as the plan was to bring her round from her summer moorings in Port Solent for a lift out, and her winter stay on the hard at the club.. Given we had had no excuse to convene and eat pork pies this year on Sparrow , the annual mast dropping session, t'other Dave had come up with the idea of a pork pie eating delivery trip.. #splendididea!!
Almost..
The usual scenes of frantic activity (following)...
...and out.. and a much relieved t'other Dave..
Log:
Distance: Approx. 21 miles (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): Top end 4 gusting 5 or 6; Going from WxN to WxS
Sail Plan: Genoa only
Speed (Max/average in knots): Plenty of 5's and 6's
So it was that Rod the Mod, the aforesaid Dave, and I met at the sailing club* at a truly God foresaken hour (it was 8 but you don't want to let the truth get in the way of a little drama 
) to swap cars and make our way to Port Solent..
) to swap cars and make our way to Port Solent.. *t'other Dave and I are members of the same sailing club..
Lovely day if not a little cool - first sailing trip of the year in long trousers for me and very much needed... a careful wend of the way down harbour through the "S" shaped approaches to Port Solent, and then a quick trip out through the harbour entrance only to see a mahoosive Royal Navy auxiliary ship (HMS Scott [clicky] I think), with accompanying tugs, come out of the harbour almost on our shoulder, and next a polite request by the MOD police launch escort for us to keep just outside of the main channel to give them as much room as possible (it was low tide)
Super fast transit to the IoW where Dave's plan was to drop the hook in Priory Bay (one of our old stomping grounds) for a chat and some beer and some of the aforementioned pies, before pulling the hook and departing for his lift out at about 13:00'ish... genoa only but we were easily reeling in the 5's and 6's, and the sailing was good!
Dropped the hook in Priory, and after an initial drag, pulled it, shifted over, and dropped it again and all was good.. much banter, beer and porkpies later, we pulled the hook for a slightly more sedate trip to, and transit through, Langstone harbour entrance (a first for Rod, but my second time [clicky])
A brief stop on the waiting pontoon, and Dave was invited to nudge his boat aground for recovery by the lift and tractor..
Not much water, so Ray got to use his very bright waders (following)..
Last shot.. this fascinated me.. couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was until one of the other guys told me.. that's mullet (fish) feeding tracks... they are clearing the growth as the move across the keel.. amazing..
Lovely day out, good company, boats, beer, sails, wind.. and pork pies... doesn't get much better!
No GPS with me for the day so the following distance/speed results are estimations..
Distance: Approx. 21 miles (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): Top end 4 gusting 5 or 6; Going from WxN to WxS
Sail Plan: Genoa only
Speed (Max/average in knots): Plenty of 5's and 6's
I think it is time for the rest of you guys to change your Christian names to Dave and form your own yacht club. You could call (with official approval) the club 'The Royal T'Other Dave Yacht Club' - and it's a no brainer that your club flag will be a pennant with pork pies rampant on it.
ReplyDeleteHey Alden.. rampant pork pies, now there's a thought... trust you and yours are all well, separately, I see Britannia has arrived in the last week..
DeleteAlls well at the moment thankfully. Yes all the overseas challengers have arrived - and what an exotic lot of rocket ships they look like too. The racing is going to be very interesting.
ReplyDelete