Winner winner chicken dinner

" 'ello"...

...little overdue, but only because this was the day before the long delayed, and much anticipated, Jolly Boys adventure over the weekend (stay tuned for the usual pile of reminisces and anecdotes, and general bolleaux.....) and I didn't have time to write it up, what with ensuring the necessary spare socks etc etc etc were in the right place.. 

A most unusual for me, mid-week sail, then which was taken purely because I knew I'd be away over the coming weekend and had so enjoyed the last sail I was looking forward to getting out again..

High tide was at 10:58, and I was on the boat by nine before getting everything ready and dropping the  mooring straight away - light winds so a steady motor to the end of the Northney channel at the head of the harbour..

While admiring matey the seal (left), I raised the main, but as winds remained light I hoisted while head to apparent wind which was a first... finally turned off the motor and started sailing just past Marker as the wind was filling in..

Wind continued to build and slip round a little further easterly, which allowed for some glorious long beats towards the bottom of the harbour - a plan was forming to slip out into the Solent for the first time in some considerable time, but a fluky and dropping wind, along with the change of tide brought that idea to a halt...

Arrived off a very busy HISC (summer school holidays have just started), and then gybed and headed over to East Head opposite dodging the almost continuous line of yachts and motor boats coming out of Itchenor Reach opposite and heading for the sea.. 

Sparrow's big brother - Hurley 22...

Nice long beat towards Sandhead, quick shimmy tack, rounded Snowhill and then decided it was more than soon enough that I needed to be considering heading for home before the water all disappeared..

..been here before, but not for a while... 😀

Glorious, and I mean really glorious, goose-wing run up the harbour against tide, before turning on the motor at Marker, and skedaddling for the mooring which I arrived at probably with not much time to spare..    Put it this way, there was plenty of harbour bottom to look at as I ghosted in to the moorings...

What a fantastic day..  more please..

Oh and the title??  That's Winner behind me.. 

Log:

Distance: 13.63 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): Both ends of a F3, very occasionally F4; ESE going SE
Sail Plan: Full main, few rolls in on the jib on occasion (lots of tacking)
Speed (Max/average in knots): 4.8 / 3.0 (the 4.8 was under sail)