Swimmers and Sunbeams

A surpassingly enjoyable trip out for what was only ever going to be a short jaunt due to tide times...  I really enjoyed it...

Just a short trip then because, as mentioned, HT was 0500 and 1700 and as there was no way I was getting out of my pit at that time of the morning, the evening tide was the one...  on the boat by 13:30, and as the tides are Neap she was already floating, just about... 😀

Tidied up, checked the conditions at the bottom of the harbour (N/A looked like they had server issues as none of the beacons was providing data), had already taken reefs out from last time, so fired up the donk and dropped the mooring at just shy of 1400. 

More interesting wind this week being a NW'ly/N'ly this time - whatever happened to the 'prevailing' SW'lys?! According to my logs the last sailing SW'ly was beginning of August, and the whole year seems to have been a flavour of easterly...  either way, that NW'ly means a run/reach down the ditch, so the main was out just after Northney, genoa shortly after, and there then ensued a goosewing down to the end of the Emsworth Channel, followed by a bear off, and an almost downwind run to the bottom of the harbour...  not quite 'dead' enough to goosewing, and not quite broad enough for the genoa to fill...

Passed 13 long distance swimmers on the way to HISC (they were swimming in aid of the RNLI and the Fire Fighters Charity - more on last year's event here [clicky]) who were swimming from the Hayling lifeboat station to Emsworth - a long old slog, albeit with the tide thank goodness. When I got to within sight of HISC I could see the bottom of the harbour was rammed! Wall to wall keel boats racing up the harbour, mostly Solent Sunbeams...  so many of them criss-crossing it was kind of difficult to keep track never mind figure out if I was getting in the way! 

Lone Sunbeam at the head of the fleet - I was soon surrounded!

Diverted through the line of anchored cruisers to get out of the main channel, but they were there too... clearly no holds barred, and any advantage taken, they were all, however, in a good mood... 😁 They really were a glorious sight and because my photo is seriously underwhelming, this one is from the Haines Boatyard website (link above)

Glorious...

Either way traffic was getting dense, and I was well aware I had a long beat back to home (for every downhill there's an uphill) but just for once had enough of the tide left to give me a helping hand..  turned at NE Pilsey and started to beat back up the harbour. The run down had hidden how fresh some of the gusts were, but what a cracking beat..  most enjoyable.

As the wind was blowing direct down the ditch, sails down by Fisherman's and then a gentle run under motor home - that wind was brisk..

I'll miss that view over the winter... 😕

Back on the mooring, tidied away, and time to sit in the sun for a bit...  I have a lift out date, the summer is coming to an end, but on the plus side there's still time for a few trips, and I have Southampton Boatshow coming up next week...

Log:

• Oil checked and topped up

Distance: 8.66 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): Both ends of a F4; NWxN through N
Sail Plan: Full main/90% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots):  4.1 / 2.7