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| Hanoly - our ride for the day - ready to go... |
Was feeling a bit fed up that the season was over on Sparrow earlier than I would have liked, when Smithy pipes up and offers me a ride on Hanoly his lovely GP14, and the apple of his eye.. bit his arm off if I'm honest.. I'd even bought a shorty wetsuit last year in expectation of getting out on her, but what with one thing and another (sailing on Sparrow mostly 😏) I'd not got round to it - but now there was no excuse! Good forecast for the Friday (and it actually delivered what it was forecasting which was a bonus) so the date was made..
Back in the day, Smithy (and the other Jolly Boys) and I used to sail and race windsurfers together - our race track was the top of Langstone Harbour, and one of our favourite races was what we called the north west passage - a small channel that runs between North Binness Island, and the edge of the Farlington Marshes. Depending on wind direction you could do it one of two ways, north to south or opposite, but either way it had been an age since I'd done it so we thought we'd give it a go in Hanoly for old times sake.
Rigged up and on the slip for 10:45, HT was 13:20 and a biggy (4.3 mtrs) so Smithy's plan was to be back for high water, as hopefully the tide (which for geographical/geological (?) reasons runs permanently east to west between the two harbours) would have slackened by then making it easier to get back through the bocks of the old Hayling Billy line to the slip. All a fresh challenge to me as I don't have to do this on the other side of the bridge where I moor..
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| Not my photo [clicky] but these are the blocks - the slip is over there top right, Langstone harbour is to the left, ingress and egress between the pool and the harbour is between the two metal objects in the centre of the blocks (which are the remains of the old swing bridge) |
Launched, through the opening in the blocks sweet as a nut, and then a lovely run, some of it goosewing, to the northern end of the passage, where it then all went pear shaped three quarters of the way down the channel 😁 While we'd been wending and chatting our way over the wind had gone round and was almost southerly, so a trip through the channel was always going to be a 'challenge' - wind head on, and the channel is only 10 yards wide at high water.. n'er mind, me over the side, manually haul her round, and sail out... nothing harmed but the copious mud.. most of which I managed to get off.. 😏
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| "Northwest passage".. |
Having turned her round it was then a beat back to the beach at Southmoor, before tacking to head off down harbour, and then tacking again just past the small island (Round Nap Island) on the south eastern corner of South Binness Island. A cracking smooth reach/run down Binness Rithe and past Baker's Island and we came up to the southern end of the passage which this time, we completed successfully.. it is a magical thing to run down there under sail, just the breeze and the sound of the water at the bow.. cracking..
...and that was largely it - a four tack beat back to the blocks, before cutting through the entry and getting back to the slipway error free.. wash down of the boat and packed it away, and for the first time in an age, a warm shower after a sail - that took me back!
Brilliant fun - would love to do that again..
Addendum.. So Smithy has a Garmin watch which gives you all manner of stuff... from it I took the message that sailing is healthy for you (anaerobic), and that two hours on a dinghy is worth two pints of beer in calories! 😁
Log:
Distance: 9.25 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F3 gusting F4; SSE going SxW
Sail Plan: Full main and jib
Speed (Max/average in knots): 3.5 / 9.3 (!)
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