Solent at last.. just.. 😄

"Weather sniping" we're beginning to call it.. 

After a simply stupendous June of day after day of glorious weather we were lulled into a sense of false security - little were we to know that that was probably our 'summer'..  July and August have been mixed, and mostly bad, day after day of F5+ winds, usually with grey skies and rain - the windsurfers are loving it.. 

...so we're reduced to combing the forecasts and looking for our weather window - usually at very short notice as the fronts move fast - and so it was yesterday/Tuesday, for what turned out to be one of the nicest days sailing I've had this year, and that immediately after a day where the rain howled and the wind blew.. unbelievable.. 😒

First though an update on t'other Daves grounding..  boat went aground at about high tide on Thursday (10th) and Dave spent the night on board with every expectation he would be off next morning in time to get to Rod's gaff for the Jolly Boys trip on Friday..  regrettably though it wasn't to be, as the heights of the high tides were in a period of dropping - he was neaped.. he finally managed to get himself off the boat Friday evening with the assistance of one of the club boats (but not without losing a Croc first though 😀) but despite trying Saturday to shift her there was no way she was going to move - happily the tide heights were increasing, and he finally got her off on Monday (14th)....

"Groovy, baby"... get it? There's a Croc down there somewhere 😁

Got the above as I went past on my way down the ditch, but I am jumping ahead of myself... keel grooves clear to see..

A 12:24 HT and a 4.2m height, and I was on the boat by 10:00, and dropped the mooring at 10:30 after a quick chat with one of the fellow club members who has a boat next to mine..  glorious warm sunshine, and what was clearly a westerly - single tack to the bottom of the harbour!

With a direction like that you don't waste 'sail time', so the main went up in the pool in front of the bridge before bearing away for a run down the ditch as I rolled out the genoa. Engine on idle was switched off, and swivelled up, as I went past Northney.

Stupidly lovely day, a single not so close, beat to the harbour entrance in both ends of a F3, sometimes dropping to nothing, but the weather was stunning, and when I got to the the bottom of the harbour unlike usual it stayed in the direction it was, and also didn't die off, and so it was that we made our most south'ing this summer so far... 

I'd have carried on to the Bar Beacon but unfortunately there wasn't quite enough wind, and therefore not quite enough time, and it was already 15 to 30 minutes after HT so as I reached Eastoke and passed it, I turned and aimed back up the harbour after a long look at the Solent in all its splendour.

Click to embigen - "Dinghys! Fars'ands of them..." (said in your best Michael Caine voice)..

Federation Cup week in the Harbour this week so the horizon to the East was absolutely covered in dinghy's - every club in the area will send boats to compete in the various classes - never seen so many, and glad I wasn't heading back to Marina's near Chichester.

The fishing rod was deployed - unsuccessfully - the harbour was enjoyed - back on the mooring at 14:00'ish to chat, tidy up, and contemplate the missing sun tan lotion I should have put on.. 😎

More, please..

Log:

Distance: 10.37 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): Both ends of a F3 ; W
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 4.2 / 2.3