First Jolly Boys trip and a change of plan..

Launch day has been and gone, but while I was on the lift crew I heard word of a delayed launch date for those who weren't quite ready to go in as a result of that concentrated bout of "Atlantic hate" we had during the earlier part of launch week.. 

Now Sparrow was OK to launch, but what swung me was that there was more "hate" forecast for the week(s) after that earlier launch, and as I didn't have any (sailing) plans for Easter I decided to take up the offer, so Sparrow will now launch between 19th-21st this month.

It gives me an opportunity to do a little more painting and prepping, and two or three weeks missed at this time of the year is neither here nor there given weather and temperatures we're currently experiencing...  as it happened the second set of storms rolled through and I was happier she was in the car park than bouncing on her mooring.

So it was, that after that endless series of storms, heavy weather, cold, and what seemed like ENDLESS rain, the opportunity to get out on Rod's boat for what would be the first Jolly Boys Cruise of the year was definitely too good to miss for Smithy and I (the others were busy). Add in the fact that the forecast looked good (wall to wall sunshine and a moderate breeze) and the three of us were more than a little cheerful when we conjoined at Rod the Mods gaff at 0830 yesterday (4th)

Destination for the day Cowes (as the wind direction was perfect) - track and log below, but suffice to say it was an almost* perfect day, but for me the trip back (after a lovely lunch in the Island Sailing Club) against a changeable SE'ly (SSE and SEE at times) with a good F4 made for some truly awesome loooonnnnng beats up the Solent and home.

The sun never stopped shining..  glorious doesn't even begin to describe it.. 

* Almost... well it was a shakedown cruise.. 😂

• Turned the engine on off of Cowes and an engine alarm came on - low oil pressure...  ah...   not good, but Rod investigates and advises oil levels good, sump clear..  so we "dick about" (an old and slightly archaic sailing term from the time of the Egyptians 😀) outside Cowes waiting for car ferries to pass with the intent of sailing into the river and onto an outside berth at the Yacht Haven...  no joy of course...   race track tide across the entrance east to west, and with the wind direction it was getting funnelled directly down the river, so we think "sod it" and turn the engine on - no alarm - interesting...  turn it off - head to wind, drop the sails, turn the engine on, and alarms again - at which point Rod notices it's a DSC alarm from the radio, not the engine..  doh... we were convinced there was a red oil pressure light on earlier but it may well have been sun reflection on the panel..  either way, we had no trouble with the engine, but there is a curious electrical thing going on in that turning the engine on triggers the DSC receive alarm!
• Coming into moor at Cowes and I got one foot caught in the genoa furling line, which made my jump a more "athletic" arrival on the pontoon than I might have wanted...  pffft..  no harm done except to pride... 😏

Log:

Distance: 33.46 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F4, mainly F3; ExS through SxE
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots):  9.3 / 3