Lunch on the verandah..

A reduced contingent of the Jolly Boys (Smithy was elsewhere occupied) convened at Rod's gaff at 0800 on Thursday for a much anticipated trip on the water..  the day before had been breezy to say the least (4's and 5's powered by the heatwave we're currently experiencing) but the day in question was light and almost non existent when we arrived at the pontoon (and true to form the day after was 4's and 5's as well..😏)..

Undaunted, and fortified with cups of coffee and pain au raisins, the Jolly Boys went for it and had a quite surprisingly good sail to Cowes..  wind was on the nose, F2'ish, but good enough for a long tack towards Cowes before turning on the motor for the last bit (we were hungry 😁)

Isle of Wight Festival this weekend so we anticipated problems getting a lunch time berth and had a back up plan to shoot up the Hamble and have something to eat there if it didn't all work out, and sure enough East Cowes advised they were full - even for a short stay..

As we went past the Island Sailing Club though, we noticed their pontoon (members only) was empty..  I wonder...  cheeky phone call later asking if we could moor there to have lunch and they advised we would be OK to do that! Fantastic..

One of the best views in the Solent I think from their verandah, and even better with one of their home cooked fish and chips in front of you! Lunch and two pints later, it was back to the boat for a snooze, before the return trip..

Which was largely a repeat of the morning since the wind had gone round 180'ish degrees and was back on the nose again! Top end F3 to start with though which saw Dave doing a cracking job on helm - four tacks saw us approaching Gilkicker, but with the wind dropping, it was time for the motor again..  

Fantastic days sailing on a super warm day..  

Log:

Distance: 27.06 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F2 occasional F3; E going W going SE
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 6.3 / 2.5