Two fish, a Macky D, and a sail..

..it must mean the grandson was on board..  😁

With a grandson sitting session lined up (while his mum was at work), it seemed mad not to get out with him for a quick sail as it was the first bout of decent weather, coinciding with a decent tide, we've had in an age..

Neaps at the moment - HT 10:27 and 3.7m so not a huge amount of water about, and if I'm honest, not a lot of wind about either, and what there was almost dead easterly. Not the point though really - as grandson was super keen to try some fishing and to go out on a boat.

Motor on then, and a gentle putter through the ditch, where bugger me if he doesn't catch his first fish only 5 minutes after dropping the lure in!

Schooly bass, admired, photo'd, and released.. 😏

Main went up as we went past Northney towards Sweare Deep - took the reefs out from last time. The sun shone, gentle breeze, grandson was enjoying himself, and when I had enough angle to turn and take the wind I bore off SW'ly, and then rolled out the genoa. 

Engine off, we chatted, we sailed, he fished, he tried a piece of apple as bait as he was convinced it would work (😂) we heeled and I advised we were unlikely to sink - all in all a cracking day. So a bit more mooching about at the bottom of the Emsworth Channel, and as lunchtime was coming, and he advised he was hungry we headed back...

Turned head to wind at Northney and dropped the ain, and then a gentle utter up the ditch and bugger me if he doesn't catch his second..

Even smaller than the last one, and another school bass - no wonder the seals are doing so well in the harbour! Photo'd, admired and released..

All in all an excellent trip out - he may even want to come again, and to be honest that was the the  main aim.. though maybe the MacDonald's I bought him on the way home may have been the clincher! 😏

Log:

No GPS track as Strava decided to throw a conniption so I'm guessing the following..

Distance: Approx. 4 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F2 gusting F3 occasionally ; ExN
Sail Plan: Full main and 95% genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 3 / 5

Cowes again... thank goodness.. 😀

Really low key trip this one, but perhaps it only seemed that way after the fun and games of the last one...  😏

Either way, unusually for the Jolly Boys we found ourselves convening at Rod's gaff at 0830, but on a Saturday..  Dave couldn't make it, but this was the best we could do to get the majority, and we were desperate for a sail given the hideous state of the UK August so far (Storm 'Lilian' has just passed through, following the remnants of ex-hurricane 'Ernesto')

Despite the wind currently though, there was little or nothing on this sailing day - sub F1 at best when we left, and what there was northerly..  so a motor sail to Cowes, on a very quiet Saturday in the Solent. Got a lunch spot in East Cowes and then a cracking lunch in The Lifeboat. Followed by some zzzz's in the cockpit to sleep off the carbs and wait for the east going tide to cut in..

Not a bad spot for a zizz..

No sign of any breeze when we left, direction largely the same, so a repeat of the motor sail in the morning, though bugger me if it didn't honk up to a lovely F4 sailing breeze as we were coming in to moor up! 😏

Quick tidy up and wash down and that was another another brilliant day out done and dusted..

Log:

Distance: 27.39 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F1 going F4 as we were coming in to moor; N going SxW when the breeze kicked in
Sail Plan: Full main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 7/2.9

Purple guano.. 😝

Late tides so snatched a couple of hours for a quick sail ..

16:15 HT and going neap'ish but I was on the boat by about 13:30'ish..  conditions were brisk so I took the opportunity there and then to roll some reefs in - two slides worth as it was feeling feisty. As the main was up already for the reefs I then motor-sailed off the mooring (I don't fanny about, there's a lot of club boats in close vicinity so I don't take unnecessary chances 😏) and bore off down the ditch - with minimal motor and adverse tide we were still seeing 3.5kts plus.

That was largely it - WxN so bearing up as we went, we shot past Marker on a single tack like a cannonball - HISC was in view (and my first target) but as it got closer and closer I began to think about the Bar Beacon.

Alas not to be - wind was gentling off as time went by, then I got blanketed by the headland HISC is on the end of, tide still running hard, and rather than have to start tacking I bailed just short of WestWinnr and enjoyed a fast travellator on the end of the tide back to the top of the harbour in 'company' with a small Hunter Horizon (you know how it is - there's always a race to be had somewhere.. 😏) and which was where I saw the 5.7 top speed (and a few 6's and 6.1's too)..

Brilliant day out, but the birds have started eating blackberries - deck was covered in purple guano.. 😝

Wash down of the boat, and a quick coat of paint on the cockpit hatches and the day was was done..

Log:

Distance: 9.52 (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): Both ends of a F4; WxN
Sail Plan: Reefed main and genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots): 5.7 / 3.4