Sailing in the Solent



In the Solent, practically in home waters with the journey nearly over we were able to meet up with a fellow Eastbourne Sailor, Peter Dickens who had just taken delivery of a new toy:  An Elan 37.  Undedterred by the 25kts of wind we set off for Cowes Yacht Haven under #4 headsail only and arrived a couple of hours later - to see the Yacht Haven as never before, empty!

Having only previously visited Cowes in the summer when boats are rafted 6 deep on the pontoons it was a very different Marina at this time of year.

Cowes promenade - not a beer tent or yacht to be seen. 

Having met up with Peter we decided to sail in convoy to Buckler's Hard the following day - a favoured destination of all RYA Practical Courses as the entrance is very tidal.  There was very little wind and we had to repair our #2 headsail before setting off.  As it's only a couple of miles we motored and caught up with Peter in the entrance.  We motored up the river for about 40 minutes - this is Zilla's kind of sailing!

We tied up alongside the pontoon in Buckler's Hard.

The Dinghy Pontoon - and a lot of mud!

We took Zilla for a walk up to Beaulieu, a few miles inland along the river.  Now that we are back in 'home waters' there is an obvious change to the wildlife - no more dolphins, porpoises or seals,  instead we have ponies grazing on the river banks.

A reminder that we are in the New Forest.

The birds have also changed - gone are the diving gannets and guillimots, instead we have the mud loving varieties:

Curlew

And the Little Eagrets.

All this mud was not good for Zilla - the only option was a shower before she could even be let on the boat

Bucklers' Hard, with the new  'Perches' used to mark the deep water channel drying in the background.

The next day we motored back down the Beaulieu River - much better sailing conditions this time and an opportunity to see the new boat in action:

Looking good!  The Bavaria sail is just to confuse -  It really is an Elan 37!

We wedged ourselves into Gunwharf Quays Marina - a quick round of Retail Therapy followed - and as if that wasn't enough, we met up with Debbie, Abbie and Chelsea for an early birthday meal for Steph.  A perfect day!

Wedged into Gunwharf Quays, next to Peter's Boat.

Spinnaker Tower, and one of the more unusual Trimarans we've seen for a while.

The next day we crossed the river to Gosport Marina - best showers in any marina we have visited to date - and met up with more friends!  This time Richard and Joan Buckland who live nearby.  All this socialising is at least some compensation for being nearly at the end of our trip.

The MoD real estate - in a very prime location  on the banks of the Solent.  All boarded up.

But the final treat ...

A submarine!!!  Admittedly it did look as if it had washed ashore in some freak weather accident, but it was impressive none the less!

Off to Yarmouth so see the Needles from the Land for a change.

Jersey

We had dinner with our daughter Clare in Poole, then made a passage plan for Jersey, with a Plan B for Alderney, and a Plan C for Guernsey.  We left at midnight in order to catch the tide in the Alderney Race.

It was one of the best night sails we have done - a clear starry night, big bright moon and 10 to 12kts breeze for the first 60 miles.  All went according to plan until we got to The Race - no problems with the tide, but no sooner had we committed to continuing on to Jersey when the wind dropped, and kept on dropping.  There was hardly a ripple in The Race, we motored for 5 hours, the excitement only just keeping us awake after a night of virtually no sleep!  The wind finally picked up as we rounded the Corbiere Lighthouse, but by then the engine seemed the way forward!

The Alderney Race

We arrived in St Helier Harbour just as the sun was setting.

The tide on the Passage Cardinal, just outside St Helier.

St Helier Breakwater.

The sun melts into the sea off Jersey.

Our first mooring in Jersey, in St Helier Marina - until the Harbour Master noticed we had a dog with us!  In the nicest possible way - we had to leave!  Luckily a space was found for us in the Elizabeth (No Visitors) Marina, and we were instructed that Zilla was not allowed to place her feet (or anything else) on the pontoons.  Luckily she's not a St Bernard!

Elizabeth Marina is very high spec, with immaculate pontoons and excellent facilities and also just as convenient for the town.

Jersey has not managed to escape the 'Dodgy Art' that seems to exist in many harbours - this Steam Clock, a full scale replica of the central section of a Paddle Steamboat, occupies rather a prime location and would appear to be universally despised by  visitors and locals alike.

We preferred the bronze Freedom Tree - 'planted' by the Queen in 2005 and marking the 60th anniversary of the Liberation from the German Occupation.


There was also the interesting interpretation of the Beaufort Wind Scale, carved in Granite and set into the pavements round the harbour.

Just outside the harbour - Elizabeth Castle - construction began in 1594 - although you can walk there at low tide, you can also go on the 'Wading Vehicle' in order to visit the Jersey Royal Militia Museum in the castle.

Both harbours have tidal cills  with a holding pontoon outside. The cill makes an impressive sight with the 12m tidal range in the Channel Islands


The old drying harbour was a study of interesting old dinghies

With the #1 Place definitely going to this one:

We spent a lovely few days on the island, dragged my sister Rose Anne out for a sail.

Caught up with the family:

Rose Anne was all ready to get her own back and take us surfing but the weather had other ideas - with 30 to 45kt gusts forecast for the next few days we decided to head North across the channel whilst we still could.

All was calm and peaceful as we went outside the  Corbiere Lighthouse on its rocks - having heard my Mother's story about how she and my Father won a sailing race having interpreted the Rule prohibiting the use of the Corbiere Inner passage by using the Inner Inner Passage, the next photo is for her!

A gentle sail which then turned into yet another motor through the Alderney Race followed - arriving off Alderney at sunset.

They do a good line in Sunsets in the Islands

We arrived in Braye Harbour well after dark, pumped up the dinghy to take Zilla ashore and saw nothing of the island.  Oh well - having waited over 50yrs to visit Alderney, I'll just have to wait for another year to actually see the place!


We left Alderney at 0400 and headed back to England - the sailing was worth the early start:  we hoisted the Spinnaker at first light, and took it down as we got to the Needles - must be our longest ever Spinnaker leg!

And now we are in Lymington - re visiting destinations for the first time in 6 months - only a couple more weeks and it really will be time to go home.  And plan our next adventure.

Lymington Harbour in the background - in the foreground - the alternative view of Lymington!

Back to the Mainland - Falmouth to Poole

We left the beauty and tranquillity of the Scilly Isles at the beginning of October - again we saw nothing of the Cornwall Coast which was shrouded in fog which gradually thickened until we had visibility of less that half a mile.  We did see a pod of dolphins early on, but they were almost touching the boat at the time!

We stayed in Port Pendennis Marina in Falmouth - it's the first one we came to - and was clearly the home of some very large vessels.

There were also several Navy Support Vessels which kept their engines engines running 24/7 which did little to add to the ambiance of the location!

Another creation from the Pendennis Superyacht Yard?....We didn't know that a Laser had reached the Superyacht status!

A Force 8 kept us there for three days, we were right next to the Maritime Museum so decided to pay it a visit - 

The Museum was holding Touring Exhibits of Polar Explorers Scott and Shackleton and also Lighthouses which were excellent - as the Museum ticket entitles you to a year's entry we visited several times and I believe we saw everything including Ben Ainslie's 2000 Laser.

The view from the observation tower in the Museum.

There were a few more unusual boats at the Museum - these were apparently going to be used to carry children in the forthcoming Oyster Festival but I'm not sure I'd trust them for long!

The wind was still blowing a F5 to 7 but we really felt that the delights of Falmouth had been fully explored so decided to move on to Plymouth 40 miles to the East.  We had our small headsail and two reefs in the main and all went well. 

Tough Fishing off Falmouth.

Plymouth had a selection of Marinas - guided by the Pilot Book we chose Sutton Harbour Marina, which is in a Lock basin right in the centre of the town.  

It was very smart, with comfortable seating presumably for watching the boats manoeuvre in the harbour.

We took a quick walk round the city walls up to Plymouth Hoe where Drake kept watch for Spanish Invaders (or played Bowls) 

Drake keeps watch.

Memorials - on Left - National Armada Memorial - for 300th anniversary of the first sighting of the Spanish Armada.

Middle:  Naval memorial to Commonwealth Sailors lost in WW I and WW II.

Right:  Royal and Allied Airforces Monument.

The Royal British Legion

Looking out to sea.

Looking West - the Lido.

And back at the Marina, The Killer Shrimp? 

We only spent one night in Plymouth, then went on to Torquay where we were meeting up with some friends in the area.

We are now almost on home turf - for the first time we are sailing in waters we have visited before, although it was now 2 years ago.

Torquay seemed to be an interesting combination of small fishing boats and super expensive power boats, plus loads of jet skis.

Next stop:  Portland (Weymouth) the new Olympic Venue.  Slightly challenging pilotage as we hadn't updated our charts, but the IPad came to the rescue and we found our destination in the dark.

This Marina is clearly a well kept secret - I think we were the only visitors.

Next Stop Poole - to meet up with Clare, in her last year at Bournemouth University.

We could see the Isle of Wight in the distance, so it is starting to feel that we are almost at the end of our journey.  The price of Poole Marina reflected our proximity to the Solent - it's the most expensive of our trip so far.

Old Harry - The White Cliffs of Poole Bay

The Swash Channel into Poole Harbour.

The old Fishing Harbour, Poole.

Next Stop:  The Channel Islands