Recent content by SolentBoat

I am so grateful to live a 10 minute bike ride from my boat and, when I go to SIBS, a five minute walk to a bus route to Soton.

Baton entanglement when raising the mainsail. Solution: curse and try again. I'm new to these as well!

Many, many years ago, when still a teenager, I used to crew on an RNLI RIB. I remember doing exercises with (IIRC) Arun class boats and we'd swap crews for a while. The older Arun class blokes almost always concluded that ours was a "young man's game". I used to wonder what they were talking...

I had a look yesterday; I think it's a "Bruce" anchor. It seems to work most of the time. At least, it works sufficiently often and predictably that I won't be looking for a new high tech one.

Many thanks - makes me optimistic that I (well, Mrs S-B, actually) might get away without inflating and wetly deflating the dinghy!

Planning on nipping across to the IOW for supper tomorrow so wondering if the water-taxi is likely to be running. Not been to the Folly for a while so am a bit out of touch on logistics - am assuming mid-river pontoons are still there (and one or two boatspaces on a shoreside one?) Thanks.

Ah. That's what I'm doing wrong - I was completely unaware of these critical final steps. I've never got round to marking out the chain; just sort of guess metre lengths as I lay it out on the deck. Don't even know what sort of anchor I've got!

I hate fog. You set off from home in glorious sunshine and by the time you've walked to the boat you find yourself in a pea souper and unable to see the end of the pontoon and have to abandon before you've started. Hoping to go to the IOW for supper tomorrow so hope it holds off.

Yes put me down as "Did Not Start" :( Can't get the Monday of work properly sorted as something has Cropped Up. Hope you all have fine weather and great crossings.

Even after a fortnight I have to remind my wife that (1) passing port to port on the road is frowned upon and (2) you can do more than 5 knots.

Thanks for that. Just hope there'll be a bit of sun (forecasts seem to suggest it'll be cloudy).

I like sailing at night - I just don't like crossing the shipping in the middle at night. I've done it once (well, twice - out and back) and hated it. So many red, green and white lights! I've got AIS on board now which may help but I really ain't keen. I'd need to do it with someone with a...

It was Crableck when I started keeping a boat there. And it was cheap. Now it's "Universal" - and it ain't.

Some have "official" status through dint of simply having been there so long. The Crableck ones (still there), for example - or the bigger boats on the other side of the river. You'd be hard pushed (ie you can't) to create new "official" residential moorings on the Hamble today; would breach...

Thinking about it, I can probably get away from the desk at lunchtime on Friday. That means I can do the Solent leg Fri afternoon/eve. Anchor nr Bembrige (or go against the tide to Yarmouth for a better night's sleep) and get away first thing on Sat with 15 of the 80 miles and a decent snooze...