A delivery and a Greek One..

Mucho mileage this week (..so far? 🤔)

First off a delivery, which also gave me the opportunity to break my catamaran virginity..

My ride for the day..  Macavity

The club had it's second lift in this week, and those boats that for one reason or another had not been ready to go in on the first one finally had their chance to splash..  mate Julian (who I need to be nice about as he reads this drivel) offered me a crewing opportunity for Wednesday as his normal volunteers were unavailable. Having had to miss out on last years invite due to a clash of delivery interests I bit his arm off..

Julian moors in Chichester (like I do) but because the mast is significantly bigger he doesn't drop it for lift out/in, so this delivery would require a circumnavigation rather than a quick trip under the bridge.

Either way - after a wet launch from the hoist at roughly half 12, we had a cracking day on the water and the only real disappointment was the lack of wind, and the direction - easterly's continue, so dead on the nose for the transit across Hayling Bay, and precious little for the 'drop' down Langstone, and 'lift' up Chichester harbours..  motor sailed all the way (just shy of 3 hours for the transit), but the boat is lovely, the fodder was excellent (sausage rolls from his local butcher - top notch!) and he gave me a beer as well - fair to say I'll bite his arm off again if I get the opportunity! 😁

Then on Thursday it was time for the (full quorum this time) Jolly Boys to head to the water for another fun packed day of escapades and jolly japes (well it would make a nice change 😁) on AmiLy..

What a difference a day makes, Wednesday/Macavity delivery, had been light winds and blistering - think it topped 25 or 26'C which for May is ludicrously delightful, but Thursday saw a temperature drop of 10 degrees, the wind shift to northerly with just a hint of East (and I think that was why it suddenly got cooler) but it also strengthened by a couple of notches. 

Midday HT again and I'd been hoping the easterly's would continue so that we could finally get to Bembridge for lunch, but it wasn't to be, and with the wind on the beam/quarter it was definitely optimal for Cowes, even with an adverse tide both ways we were clocking 4.5/5's and for brief spurts 6/6.5's.

Quick trip as the midday HT gives us some tidal challenges with a late'ish start (10:00) and an early'ish finish (17:00) required because of water depths on the berth, but even so, what a cracking sail - she was absolutely hoon'ing it coming back.. chuffing cold though after the day before. Lunch in the Lifeboat (again - we know it's boring keep going to the same place but the food is lovely especially the Greek One burger!)

Delivery Log:

Distance: 14.47 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F3 / East going SWxS
Sail Plan: Full main but mostly motor
Speed (Max/average in knots): 6.3 / 4.4

Jolly Boys Log:

Distance: 26.34 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F4 gusting 5 ; NExE going NExN
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa with/without motor
Speed (Max/average in knots): 6.8 / 3.3

East'ing...

What a stonking day on the water and as is usually the case when a sailing day exceeds expectations, so unexpected..

Arrived to the club to find it suspiciously light in the wind department when all the forecasts were screaming out F4 and I'd been wondering about reefs when I left home. Either way after a brief chat with fellow club member Martin (an Anderson 22 owner) who had the same ideas me, I was in the tender and then on board Sparrow by 0845'ish.

Plan was to get sails ready as I went as with the wind very firmly in the east it was clear that I'd have to motor to the end of the channel before any sailing could be done - despite that direction I still love an easterly in the harbour as that means the options for fast passages to the bottom of the harbour and back, and also a run down the channel back to the mooring should anything go wrong. 

So a gentle motor to Sweare Deep, sails up and out in what was only a gentle F2, but happily we are on Neaps so far less water sloshing round than last time - bore away, and then had a  lovely 4 knot reach down to HISC

...fool on the hill? I think not when I think of all the poor souls in the office on a day like today...

Turned and headed back to the top of the harbour at NW Pilsey as I still wasn't sure whether it would be one or more tacks to get back, but as it turned out, just the one to make a little east'ing..  glorious - and so good I then repeated it..

Great to be out on the water - joined by the aforesaid Martin, and also mate Simon on his boat Marcy - all of us agreed that the whole summer could carry on doing that as far as we were concerned, as it was more than adequate recompense for a winter of grovelling in the mud and the gravel to get our boats ready.. 😏

Log:

Distance: 10.6 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F3 (occasionally 2 and occasionally 4!) / NExE going E
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots):  5.1 / 3.1

Scorchio..!

With Jolly Boy Smiffy away the cats will play and so it was that the rump of the Jolly Boys decided on a mid week dash to Cowes in what has been the hottest week of the year so far in the UK..  mid twenties in April..  unheard of but hugely welcome..

The downside of this of course is that we're in a fairly chunky High so wind was never going to be in abundance (as I found on Monday), but also a brand new moon continues to provide a mahoosive tide (4.8mtrs yesterday), and the aforesaid tide times were not super helpful for the day we were proposing to go either..  

..however...  needs must and the Jolly Boys convened at Rods gaff at 9, and were on AmiLy by 10 - dead low water had been 3 hours before, and with the state of tide lots of mud was still visible, but as a fin keeler had gone just before us we took our time getting her ready and slipped about 20 past - with 0 mtrs under the keel we were away..

Main up as we went past the aircraft carrier (singular - "Prince of Wales" is off on duty) but it was pretty much just a case of showing willing as there was precious little breeze about. Enough water by now for the inner swashway as we exited the harbour but every time we dropped the engine revs the apparent wind also disappeared and left us rolling and in the end, with a fairly tight schedule and lunch beckoning we left the engine on and motored all the way..

Vickies gaff.. 😏

Lunch in the Lifeboat (again..  but we love the food and the moorings in East Cowes are very handy for it), and then a repeat motor home as although the wind had picked up, it was dead on the nose and against that same huge tide...

The sun shone, the Solent glittered, we may have seen our first dolphin (it may have been a seal), we were all burnt, salty round the edges, and what a cracking day..  

Log:

Distance: 23.74 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): SSE going SE ; F2 going F3
Sail Plan: Main/genoa (but mostly motor)
Speed (Max/average in knots): 7.8 / 3.9