Catch up!

Have had further problems with internet access, but am now in Wetherspoons in Weymouth, getting the blog up to date. Simplest and quickest is to copy my cruise log.

Day 4
6th May
Left Rye at nearly six and motored out to the harbour entrance. As soon as we were outside the wind began to pick up from the north east, and so the genoa was unrolled and engine switched off. The wind gradually built to force 4 and apart from a brief episode off Seaford where the wind dropped of completely for a few minutes, we sailed all the way. It dropped as a sea breeze set in, and soon main was set and off we sped on the other tack. The initial destination, Newhaven, was soon forgotten, and course set for Littlehampton. Tied up there at 18.00. Fish and chips for supper!
Day 5
7th May
On the boat I have no difficulty waking and getting going. The alarm was set for 6 but I woke at 5.30. After the usual hearty breakfast the little ship was soon ready for the sea. The anticyclone over the eastern Atlantic continues to supply a favourable wind, N'ly f4 is forecast. As we leave the pontoon and make our way along the river to the sea it is calm. 2.4m depth at the bar. Almost immediately the wind picks up and after motoring out far enough to give space into wind, the main is set and the genoa unrolled. It is very satisfying to use the engine only to get in and out of port.
4kts is reached, then 5, but it settles at around 4. This is ideal trolling speed for mackerel, so the rod is soon in action. By nine o'clock tonight's supper is caught. Last weekend the farm shop at Brize Norton was selling these mackerel at over £3 each! Through the Looe Channel in fine style we accelerate as we turn from a broad reach to a beam reach and then a fine reach. From Selsey you can see the Spinnaker Tower in the sunshine. By way of a change I choose to pass through the old submarine barrier to the north of the Horse Tower, and enter Portsmouth Harbour as the Royal Navy, in the shape of HMS Dauntless, moves out. The Royal Clarence Marina was quite full, and not trying very hard, so I moved back a few hundred metres to the old Camper and Nicholson yard, Now Gosport Marina, where I was received with courtesy , if not affection. Text from Steve: he comes tomorrow. Also texts from Birgit and Mogens, confirming their travel arrangements to meet me in Scotland in July. The marina is very near the main shopping street in Gosport, and so I was soon in Morrison's, stocking up. It is in places like this that you sense the economic downturn. So many charity shops! Tomorrow morning I plan to take the ferry to Portsmouth and seek out a card reader. If Steve comes early enough we can slip across the Solent to Newtown River to anchor for the night before sailing to Weymouth the next day. If the anchorage is too crowded we shall have to choose between Yarmouth and Lymington, or perhaps Keyhaven. If he comes late we can seek out an anchorage in the upper reaches of the harbour here.
Day 6
8th May
Slept till 8!! Had shave and shower, then changed into “walking out “ clothes, and had a hearty breakfast at the Crew Mess Café, after which took the ferry to Pompey. The aircraft carrier that had been moored across the river had gone during the night. At Gunwharf Quays in Carphone Warehouse a very capable and pleasant IT expert, Richard, succeeded in installing my BT mobile modem and getting me on internet. Bought a USB mouse. The fiddly touch pad had been annoying me somewhat. No luck with the xD card reader. The light rain is still falling. A good day to spend in port. There is a half-hourly train service from Waterloo, so Steve could show up any time. As I typed that, he arrived at the boat, with Isolde, who had driven him over from Canterbury. We chatted over a cuppa until it was time for her to drive back. As it was still only 1pm and the weather, though cool and damp, was very suitable, with the Northeasterly breeze I have been getting used to, we decided to head off down the Solent. It being Saturday there were many yachts by East Coast standards, but it was quiet by the standard here. We tooled along downwind but into tide at a respectable 4kt, but decided to use the motor to get to Yarmouth in time to go out for a meal. A call to the marina established that there was space for us, and we squeeezed into a 28'6” gap on Red Pontoon at 7pm. Our chosen eatery was the Blue Crab, a fish restaurant that Paul and I discovered a few years back. Steve insisted on treating me. He's the sort of crew you want!! At about 10pm we negotiated the short crossing back to the boat in the inflatable and went to bed. In the night the wind got up, but we were pretty snug.
Day 7
Sunday 9th May
Woke early and had breakfasted by 7.30. The marina runs a water taxi service, and the boat just happened along as it became apparent to us that we needed to get ashore. The young lady driver was very skilled and deposited us at the office in no time, taking us back to Pepsand shortly after. Since putting the boat back in the water I had not refilled the tanks, so we watered up before leaving at 7.45. The weather was certainly drier than the day before, the wind a good f4, and soon we were progressing down-tide towards the Needles. Here we turned to a westerly heading for Poole. The trip across the bay was uneventful, and we finally anchored in South Deep at 1.30. Steve excelled himself by cooking sausages for lunch and capped this by getting my GPS repeater working and tidying up the wiring. I had unwittingly disabled the GPS NMEA port. The warmer day forecast did not happen, but it helped when the tide turned and allowed the boat to head into wind at anchor. The passing tripper boats were not well filled. The same weather is promised for tomorrow, so we shall head for Weymouth.