Nothing to do with boats, but the first mate has had to work from the office recently, so the sea dawg has acquired a dog-walker for a couple of days a week.
She snoozes most of the time we're away, but now she gets woken up, whisked into the back of a Honda estate with eight other waggy, excited dogs, gets to run around the woods with her very own pack for a couple of hours, before being deposited home and snoozing until we get back.
I'm trying to work out what she must make of her new, exciting life. It must be like some doggy vision of paradise. Or does it seem like one of her dreams when she's fast asleep but twitching and woofing, presumably chasing cats and squirrels?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Smash and Grab.
We thought that the trip with Mark and Helen was probably the last of the season, but when Saturday dawns bright and sunny, what can you do?
Up at 8am, out by 10:00, on the boat by 11:15, out at the beginning of freeflow, a lovely sail down to Bembridge with the sun shining and an East wind giving us a very kind broad reach. We were the last fin keel boat into Bembridge at around 3:30pm. We had plenty of water under the keel, but the water was really streaming out at 2 hours after high water.
We rafted up against two very nice boats with very understanding couples who didn't mind a dappy boxer trampling all over the place and Clemmie was gambolling on the dunes in the sunshine by 4pm.
We had a couple of glasses of pink wine (Last of the summer wine?) and headed up the hill to St Helens for dinner and the rugby. Watching the rugby more in hope than expection, it was a very happy pair of us who headed back down the hill in the dark a few hours later. (Ha - the head torch wasn't so silly now, was it?).
Sunday was just as wonderfully warm and sunny, so we had a really lovely morning, fetching the papers, coffee and rolls in the sunshine, a walk on the beach and away by 11:30.
The wind wasn't quite as kind to us on the way back and we had to motor from a couple of miles West of East Head, but the sun was still shining, the sea was blue and it really felt like August. We scraped in at the very end of freeflow and were home for tea by 6pm.
One of the nicest weekends we've had. I guess the feeling that we were somehow cheating by being out there so unexpectedly made it all the sweeter.
Up at 8am, out by 10:00, on the boat by 11:15, out at the beginning of freeflow, a lovely sail down to Bembridge with the sun shining and an East wind giving us a very kind broad reach. We were the last fin keel boat into Bembridge at around 3:30pm. We had plenty of water under the keel, but the water was really streaming out at 2 hours after high water.
We rafted up against two very nice boats with very understanding couples who didn't mind a dappy boxer trampling all over the place and Clemmie was gambolling on the dunes in the sunshine by 4pm.
We had a couple of glasses of pink wine (Last of the summer wine?) and headed up the hill to St Helens for dinner and the rugby. Watching the rugby more in hope than expection, it was a very happy pair of us who headed back down the hill in the dark a few hours later. (Ha - the head torch wasn't so silly now, was it?).
Sunday was just as wonderfully warm and sunny, so we had a really lovely morning, fetching the papers, coffee and rolls in the sunshine, a walk on the beach and away by 11:30.
The wind wasn't quite as kind to us on the way back and we had to motor from a couple of miles West of East Head, but the sun was still shining, the sea was blue and it really felt like August. We scraped in at the very end of freeflow and were home for tea by 6pm.
One of the nicest weekends we've had. I guess the feeling that we were somehow cheating by being out there so unexpectedly made it all the sweeter.
Stolen Weekend.
Last year, we didn't manage to get out in Moonshine after the August Bank Holiday. Missy was recovering from surgery and the October weather was awful, I had the woodwork off for varnishing by mid month. This year, however, we've had two fantastic weekends to finish the season.
We'd arranged a weekend out with Mark and Helen some time ago for October 6th and 7th. I wasn't expecting much from the weather given the time of year, but it looks like 2007 will be remembered for the terrific weather at either end of the season and not much in the middle.
We travelled down on Friday evening (Ship at Itchenor, fish n chips x 2)to get things fettled so that we'd be ready to get out early, with Mark and Helen coming down early on Saturday. The ulterior motive was to get to Cowes in time to see the Rugby World Cup 1/4 final match against Australia.
We had a very pleasant sail over to Cowes with brilliant sunshine and the wind almost cooperating. From the East, which made things nice and calm, but with a few shifts making it hard to avoid the occasional gybe (mostly planned ones, but a couple of "oops" ones). I did cheat a bit, motoring for the last few miles to make sure we got to see some rugby.
Apple, Banana, Carrot, Desk, Elephant, Frog, Giraffe, Hotel, Iguana, Jellybeans, Kangol flat cap......I got sucked into Missy's favourite travelling game somehow. I'll never get those out of my memory now.
We just about managed to squeeze onto a pontoon at East Cowes. We had to reverse in and had about 3 metres of Moonshine alongside and 5 sticking out the front. I was going to suggest to the nice marina people that we should only pay 1/2 price, but they were already grumbling that they weren't making any money because it's now winter rates, so I thought I'd better not push my luck.
We actually got to see most of the second half of England's shock win against the Aussies at the Lifeboat Inn. (surprisingly good, I'm always a bit suspicious of any pub built in the last 100 years or so). It was very pleasant sitting in the sunshine on the terrace watching the boats go by and smirking about putting the Aussies out of the World Cup.
Dinner was, predictably, at the Folly. We took the Folly water bus down there for the first time, which was pretty cool. I'm not sure why, but the trip made eating down there feel something of an adventure. The Folly was busy, but the extremely efficient waitress found us a table while we had a beer on the terrace.
Clemmie got very spoiled with leftover ham and lamb, so much so that she wouldn't eat her kibble and was really rather ill on Sunday. Ooops, bad dog-parents.
The crew were a bit lethargic on Sunday morning. I'd showered and taken Clemmie for a walk into East Cowes to get a newspaper before I could rouse anyone else. Shocking behaviour. I wonder if bringing back the lash is an option?
I abandoned my plan of filling up with diesel because the fuel dock was busy, reasoning that we'd got enough fuel to get us home unless there was absolutely no wind and we had to motor the whole way, and the chances of that were so remote as to be laughable.
Anyway, we put into Gosport at about 2:45pm to fill her up, which was nice. We got to see the Spinnaker tower at close quarters and everything. The crew were very understanding about the whole thing and didn't spend the entire journey back giving me grief about it, oh no.
Anyway, after our slight detour into Portsmouth Harbour, we got back into Chichester just as free-flow started, so that was OK.
So, a hugely enjoyable, warm, sunny October weekend. It really did feel like we were getting something for nothing.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
September Week IV - Home
Not much to report on the way back to Chichester. After a leisurely breakfast we headed out into the river, very conscious of the shiny big boats all around us and the ebbing tide. We felt that we were disturbing the peace with the engine, so we got the genoa up to give us some steering, turned the engine off and just drifted down on the tide.
We had just enough wind to get us home, although we had the engine on around Cowes to avoid a huge number of kevlar sails milling around. After that, it was pretty much like this all the way back to Chichester.
All in all, a great week of fairly undemanding sailing in pleasant weather. We got to Lymington, Newtown and Beaulieu for the first time before heading back, which means we've done most the "destination" places in the Solent now.
We had just enough wind to get us home, although we had the engine on around Cowes to avoid a huge number of kevlar sails milling around. After that, it was pretty much like this all the way back to Chichester.
All in all, a great week of fairly undemanding sailing in pleasant weather. We got to Lymington, Newtown and Beaulieu for the first time before heading back, which means we've done most the "destination" places in the Solent now.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
September Week III - A Spot of Yachting.
Lymington-Beaulieu is barely a sail at all, so we were able to spend the morning in Lymington. Missy needed some contact lens solution. (She found out the painful way that the bottle she'd brought along was contact lens cleaner, not saline) and we needed to order some flowers for my mum's birthday on the Thursday.
I'd always mentally got Lymington down as a dull, grey town, so was surprised to see that it's colourful and bustling. It took me a while to work out that the only two times I've been there previously were in the evening out of season in April.
I said that Lymington - Beaulieu is barely a sail at all. This about sums it up:
The Beaulieu River is surrounded by the New Forest and is stunningly tranquil and beautiful. It's been owned by the Montagu family for centuries and development has been kept to a minimum, although Bucklers Hard was once a major shipbuilding centre when ships were made of oak, and was active as recently as WWII when parts of the Mulberry floating docks used in the Normandy landings were built there.
Once you get past the spit at the river entrance, channel markers become decidedly low-tech.
The marina is the opposite to Lymington, it's small and peaceful. On second thoughts they're not exactly opposite, they're both similarly and frighteningly expensive.
We headed over to the Master Builder pub at Bucklers Hard for a couple of drinks before we ate. On a calm and warm late summer evening, there can't be many nicer places to sit and listen to your dog beg for treats.
We even had the treat of encountering Tom Cunliffe holding court at the bar. Tom's probably the nearest thing to a British sailing celeb that we have. Apparently he'd been doing "A spot of yachting" that day, which I guess we were doing too. His boat, Westernman, is moored just down the river and is really rather beautiful.
Despite appearances, she's only ten years old, being built for Tom in the style of a Bristol pilot cutter.
All in all a very pleasant day indeed, although we did spend more time in the pub than actually sailing, but you can't be an intrepid adventurer every day.
Oh, and we actually cooked on the boat for once. Pasta, meatballs, salad and a very nice red.
I'd always mentally got Lymington down as a dull, grey town, so was surprised to see that it's colourful and bustling. It took me a while to work out that the only two times I've been there previously were in the evening out of season in April.
I said that Lymington - Beaulieu is barely a sail at all. This about sums it up:
The Beaulieu River is surrounded by the New Forest and is stunningly tranquil and beautiful. It's been owned by the Montagu family for centuries and development has been kept to a minimum, although Bucklers Hard was once a major shipbuilding centre when ships were made of oak, and was active as recently as WWII when parts of the Mulberry floating docks used in the Normandy landings were built there.
Once you get past the spit at the river entrance, channel markers become decidedly low-tech.
The marina is the opposite to Lymington, it's small and peaceful. On second thoughts they're not exactly opposite, they're both similarly and frighteningly expensive.
We headed over to the Master Builder pub at Bucklers Hard for a couple of drinks before we ate. On a calm and warm late summer evening, there can't be many nicer places to sit and listen to your dog beg for treats.
We even had the treat of encountering Tom Cunliffe holding court at the bar. Tom's probably the nearest thing to a British sailing celeb that we have. Apparently he'd been doing "A spot of yachting" that day, which I guess we were doing too. His boat, Westernman, is moored just down the river and is really rather beautiful.
Despite appearances, she's only ten years old, being built for Tom in the style of a Bristol pilot cutter.
All in all a very pleasant day indeed, although we did spend more time in the pub than actually sailing, but you can't be an intrepid adventurer every day.
Oh, and we actually cooked on the boat for once. Pasta, meatballs, salad and a very nice red.
September Week II - Cowes to Lymington
The weather really improved on Tuesday. The contrast with our last trip West of Cowes in July (ripped genoa, broken traveller) was stark.
It's not really a full day's trip to Lymington from the Folly, although it was nice and relaxing. It did mean that we had time to stop off in Newtown Creek for lunch. There was barely a breath of wind by now, and we had to put a tarpaulin up to shade Clemmie, but it was beautiful and there was even a spare mooring buoy to pull up to, so we didn't even have to break our duck on anchoring.
If we didn't have Clemmie on board we could have stayed all day, but we made the short trip to Lymington for the night. We sailed most of the way, but as we approached Lymington, we came across a matched racing fleet of Beneteau 40.7's, doing the most weirdly complex course. (Up/Down/Up/Down past the first buoy/Across/etc.
With the wind getting up and not much chance of predicting what they were going to do, we got the sails down and motored around them and on into Lymington, following the Yarmouth Ferry in.
We didn't have the greatest of berths at the Berthon marina, being right up against the wall. It was convenient, but a bit industrial, all concrete and cranes. It won't be our first choice next time we head over there. The Town Quay looks more fun, although we'd have to be there fairly early to avoid rafting a long way out.
First choice for dinner was the recently renovated Ship Inn. Trouble is, it's not dawg-friendly and the place is a long way up itself. Overly primped and preened, with bored-looking waiting and barstaff. We declined the opportunity to sit outside and, after a quick recce up the hill, found the Kings Head. The sign in the window saying "Dogs Welcome" was reassuring and we were very happy in a traditional local boozer with decent food and beer and friendly staff.
It's not really a full day's trip to Lymington from the Folly, although it was nice and relaxing. It did mean that we had time to stop off in Newtown Creek for lunch. There was barely a breath of wind by now, and we had to put a tarpaulin up to shade Clemmie, but it was beautiful and there was even a spare mooring buoy to pull up to, so we didn't even have to break our duck on anchoring.
If we didn't have Clemmie on board we could have stayed all day, but we made the short trip to Lymington for the night. We sailed most of the way, but as we approached Lymington, we came across a matched racing fleet of Beneteau 40.7's, doing the most weirdly complex course. (Up/Down/Up/Down past the first buoy/Across/etc.
With the wind getting up and not much chance of predicting what they were going to do, we got the sails down and motored around them and on into Lymington, following the Yarmouth Ferry in.
We didn't have the greatest of berths at the Berthon marina, being right up against the wall. It was convenient, but a bit industrial, all concrete and cranes. It won't be our first choice next time we head over there. The Town Quay looks more fun, although we'd have to be there fairly early to avoid rafting a long way out.
First choice for dinner was the recently renovated Ship Inn. Trouble is, it's not dawg-friendly and the place is a long way up itself. Overly primped and preened, with bored-looking waiting and barstaff. We declined the opportunity to sit outside and, after a quick recce up the hill, found the Kings Head. The sign in the window saying "Dogs Welcome" was reassuring and we were very happy in a traditional local boozer with decent food and beer and friendly staff.
September Week. I - Chichester to Cowes.
Not quite a a week, more than a long weekend, but at last we had some decent weather and a few days off to use it.
Reasons to buy a boat - 103
If you stay at home, you may be tempted to change the brake pads on your car to save money.
You get filthy and tweak a muscle in your back. It's worth paying someone else.
But anyway, we travelled down to the boat on Sunday, intending to head off to the Folly for dinner. It was supposed to be F3-4 according to the board at the marina. That's not what it felt like as we rounded Chichester Bar at about 3pm and realised that we'd have the wind on the nose and a nasty 1 metre chop for the five hours or so to Cowes.
Missy looked awfully relieved when I suggested that we turned straight around and had fish and chips at the Ship instead!
Our second attempt was much smoother. We still had a decent breeze on Monday morning, so kept the main reefed down, but the sea was much flatter and the sun started to shine, so it turned out to have been a good decision.
I was feeling so confident that I decided that I was going to sail down to the Folly with the wind behind us. Fortunately I remembered the chain ferry before we got into the river. There would have been much chaos and panic on Moonshine if it pulled out in front of us, so the sails came down pretty quickly!
We parked on the visitor's pontoon about twenty minutes before the water taxi started up, so Clemmie had to cross her legs for a while, since she's still not prepared to wee on anything but solid, dry land, preferably with a nice patch of grass.
Dinner was great. A huge piece of ham hock for Missy, which was big enough for Clemmie to get the leftovers as a treat in each meal for the next three days.
Reasons to buy a boat - 103
If you stay at home, you may be tempted to change the brake pads on your car to save money.
You get filthy and tweak a muscle in your back. It's worth paying someone else.
But anyway, we travelled down to the boat on Sunday, intending to head off to the Folly for dinner. It was supposed to be F3-4 according to the board at the marina. That's not what it felt like as we rounded Chichester Bar at about 3pm and realised that we'd have the wind on the nose and a nasty 1 metre chop for the five hours or so to Cowes.
Missy looked awfully relieved when I suggested that we turned straight around and had fish and chips at the Ship instead!
Our second attempt was much smoother. We still had a decent breeze on Monday morning, so kept the main reefed down, but the sea was much flatter and the sun started to shine, so it turned out to have been a good decision.
I was feeling so confident that I decided that I was going to sail down to the Folly with the wind behind us. Fortunately I remembered the chain ferry before we got into the river. There would have been much chaos and panic on Moonshine if it pulled out in front of us, so the sails came down pretty quickly!
We parked on the visitor's pontoon about twenty minutes before the water taxi started up, so Clemmie had to cross her legs for a while, since she's still not prepared to wee on anything but solid, dry land, preferably with a nice patch of grass.
Dinner was great. A huge piece of ham hock for Missy, which was big enough for Clemmie to get the leftovers as a treat in each meal for the next three days.
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