Friday evening saw our crew of six gather on board Eagle, run the boat checks, practice the rigging of the MOB lifting tackle, sit down to a pre-prepared curry and thus having got to know each other retired to bed.
On a bright, sunny Saturday morning with a very light NE wind we motored down the Hamble and after a failed attempt to make headway under sail motored to Wootton Creek. The creek offers limited space for manoeuvres and the pontoon dries to -1.5 metres. We entered just before HW aiming to pass the small pontoon on our port side and turn sharply to enable berthing starboard to, ready for our departure. The helmsman didn’t expect to be met by a fleet of model racing yachts coming towards him claiming their water! Matt made some nifty corrections and all was smiles 😃
As we enjoyed a drink at the friendly Royal Victoria Yacht Club we were joined by fellow Spreadeagle member Richard who generously offered to take us all up the remainder of the creek for a guided tour in his RIB sharing some of his endless local knowledge.
Departing the creek the wind increased and a strong ebb gave us a swift sail to Lymington Yacht Haven and the opportunity to relish their luxury facilities. However now our plans went awry, freshly showered we entered the Royal Lymington Yacht Club for our 6:30 meal reservation to be told that the chef wasn’t expecting us and along with another couple who were told the same we left disappointed. The Ship Inn, Lymington rescued the evening for us.
Sunday morning the sun still shone but the NE wind persisted. We departed through the fairway and under full main and half Genoa the strong flood tide enabled us to lee-bow at about 30 degrees off the the wind and make the entrance to the Beaulieu river in one tack. Once up the river we berthed on the pontoon of the Royal Southampton Yacht Club thanks to a prior reservation with Harry the Bosun and enjoyed a drink on the balcony of their Gins Clubhouse. Leaving the pontoon is interesting, requiring a departure at right angles to avoid a shallow area. This was successfully achieved by gently motoring forward against a ‘Dutch spring’ slip attached to the waterside aft quarter cleat and a pontoon cleat giving a leverage of approx. 45 degrees.
The wind and ebb gave us a rapid sail to Yarmouth harbour which we found to be unusually quiet and the opportunity to puzzle out their new ‘BerthVend’ internet system of paying for shore power. Best to download the app in advance. We dined on board and again amused ourselves with very silly card games.
Monday morning produced similar weather and we motored to Newtown Creek just to experience the entrance. The skill of maintaining course on the transit which consists of a ‘Y’ in the foreground and a disc in the distance is like lining up the sights on a gun, extremely difficult in a strong cross tide. We went in, turned around the isolated danger mark and exited using the back transit to keep out of the shallows. This early visit left us enough flood tide to assist our passage back to the Hamble and our home berth.
A full weekend made very enjoyable by good weather and making new friends within our Club.
Peter Dollin, Skipper
We still have places on several of our events. And the club is very keen to encourage new Skippers and existing Skippers to upgrade their tickets, so please do let us know if this is of interest to you. We can then organise preparation or testing events during the year. All that remains now is to direct you to the website, encourage you to register and remind all that a waiting list does operate so please show intent, as like the weather, things can change.
For any questions concerning the events programme, please contact Christine de Quincey