[2068]
...
As some might already know, Plan A for our mini-adventure (attempting to cross the channel) ended with:
"We're not exactly sinking, but you drive the boat and I'll man the pumps"...
...due to a poorly heat exchanger. Which left Plan B, which was to head westwards instead, and see where we wound up.
Let's start with the run up the Solent.
Conditions could not have been better, and if we had been able to set off sooner we could have aimed for further, but it was late in the day, and Yarmouth had space.
Swmbo on the helm: 22kts and flat seas
The forecast for the next few days was poor (F6+), so instead of pushing the outer limits and getting thrown around, we decided to stay put and do some exploring.
Carisbrooke Castle was the first stop. King Charles I came here to escape the issues he was having with Parliament, initially as a guest. His bedrooom and the inside of the castle are fascinating. The negotiations went badly wrong for him, and somewhere along the way, "guest" turned into "prisoner", and errm, by the way, we've been asked to cut your head off. Is that okay?
The well goes a hundred feet or so straight down.
I can see where the inspiration for the film "The Ring" came from: being thrown in there would be a poor finish to anybody's day.
Just as we thought things were settling down in the UK (post riots), a fight broke out!
A disagreement over land caused the Normans and Saxons to fight with a distinct lack of honour, although commanding the dead to rise at the end of each battle is a neat trick that would have saved a lot of heartache in previous conflicts.
The next day was spent walking down the river Yar, across the bridge, and to a very good, but not very child friendly, pub.
Fortunately the weather was good enough to eat outside without putting the 7yr old into cryogenic suspension.
The weather broke, and we made a dash for Weymouth. The lawn on top of the Nothe Fort will be an excellent spot to watch the racing in 2012.
I'm not sure exactly which race we were watching, but the UK boat was doing well.
I imagined the messerschmitt me-109's coming from out of the Sun, and made suitable "boom" noises.
"This entire fleet of warships was created by Mr. Phil Warren. Phil Warren began constructing the Matchstick Fleet in 1948, and the collection now includes models of warships in service with the world's Navies since 1945. While ships of the Royal Navy make up the largest portion of the Fleet, ships of the United States,
Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and many Commonwealth Nations are included along with hundreds of naval aircraft.
Each and every model, both ships and aircraft, are hand made to 1/300th scale using only matchsticks and the wood from matchboxes. No other material is used.
The finishing touch comes with painting, all done by hand; even the squadron markings on aircraft are applied without the use of transfers."
Something like 400 ships constructed by hand, all from matchsticks and matchboxes!
I could have spent longer wandering around the lower levels of the fort, but the 7yr old "expired" towards the end.
Some of the corridors and nooks and crannies were quite spooky, especially if nobody else was there.
There is a video of the cannon being set off.
I perched in the best spot, got all lined up, had the video running, was fully prepared for the sound, and ...
BOOM
... the sound caused me to instantly hit the button to stop recording.
After a brief consultation with the forum, the next destination was decided to be Brixham.
There are various ways of coping with a long passage: this is one of them:
Some shots on the way out.
I suspect that on the way in, we could have probably made it under the bridge in the "down" position by just lowering the VHF aerial, but I was too chicken, so we waited around for a lift. On the way out, it was high tide - there would have definitely been a crunch sound.
After we made it around Portland Bill, I read on a cruising guide "Don't go between the Bill and the Shambles on an Easterly tide".
Hmmm. I did wonder where the bumpy stuff was coming from. No photos are available for this bit: we were all too busy holding on to our breakfast.
Brixham was lovely: the photos don't really do it justice, as I didn't have the camera for the "not very extreme" tender ride around into Tor Bay.
But we did get to swim in an incredibly cold seawater swimming pool, and explore some of the rock pools towards Berry Head.
The 7yr old went to play in a corner of the beach, and found a small hole in the rocks were she wanted to nestle a Barbie, but it was already occupied.
I looked at the weather again, and panicked somewhat. We were now well into our second week, and although I would have liked to spend more time in the area, a nasty low was approaching. It would probably skirt North of us, but maybe not, and I have been caught out before when a low pressure system has not exactly followed the predicted track, so we made a dash back for Poole.
No chop, just a moderate swell, which half way across Lyme Bay is very different to anything you find in the Solent.
The S28 was quite happy at 18-20kts so long as you steered around the larger waves.
Swmbo helmed most of the way, and was really getting the hang of it.
Poole was our final destination for a few nights.
Day 1 was airshow day (the Friday), and we anchored in a prime spot on the SW corner of the zone.
I'm not sure if I like this or not:
...
"We're not exactly sinking, but you drive the boat and I'll man the pumps"...
...due to a poorly heat exchanger. Which left Plan B, which was to head westwards instead, and see where we wound up.
Let's start with the run up the Solent.
Conditions could not have been better, and if we had been able to set off sooner we could have aimed for further, but it was late in the day, and Yarmouth had space.
Swmbo on the helm: 22kts and flat seas
The forecast for the next few days was poor (F6+), so instead of pushing the outer limits and getting thrown around, we decided to stay put and do some exploring.
Carisbrooke Castle was the first stop. King Charles I came here to escape the issues he was having with Parliament, initially as a guest. His bedrooom and the inside of the castle are fascinating. The negotiations went badly wrong for him, and somewhere along the way, "guest" turned into "prisoner", and errm, by the way, we've been asked to cut your head off. Is that okay?
The well goes a hundred feet or so straight down.
I can see where the inspiration for the film "The Ring" came from: being thrown in there would be a poor finish to anybody's day.
Just as we thought things were settling down in the UK (post riots), a fight broke out!
A disagreement over land caused the Normans and Saxons to fight with a distinct lack of honour, although commanding the dead to rise at the end of each battle is a neat trick that would have saved a lot of heartache in previous conflicts.
The next day was spent walking down the river Yar, across the bridge, and to a very good, but not very child friendly, pub.
Fortunately the weather was good enough to eat outside without putting the 7yr old into cryogenic suspension.
The weather broke, and we made a dash for Weymouth. The lawn on top of the Nothe Fort will be an excellent spot to watch the racing in 2012.
I'm not sure exactly which race we were watching, but the UK boat was doing well.
I imagined the messerschmitt me-109's coming from out of the Sun, and made suitable "boom" noises.
"This entire fleet of warships was created by Mr. Phil Warren. Phil Warren began constructing the Matchstick Fleet in 1948, and the collection now includes models of warships in service with the world's Navies since 1945. While ships of the Royal Navy make up the largest portion of the Fleet, ships of the United States,
Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and many Commonwealth Nations are included along with hundreds of naval aircraft.
Each and every model, both ships and aircraft, are hand made to 1/300th scale using only matchsticks and the wood from matchboxes. No other material is used.
The finishing touch comes with painting, all done by hand; even the squadron markings on aircraft are applied without the use of transfers."
Something like 400 ships constructed by hand, all from matchsticks and matchboxes!
I could have spent longer wandering around the lower levels of the fort, but the 7yr old "expired" towards the end.
Some of the corridors and nooks and crannies were quite spooky, especially if nobody else was there.
There is a video of the cannon being set off.
I perched in the best spot, got all lined up, had the video running, was fully prepared for the sound, and ...
BOOM
... the sound caused me to instantly hit the button to stop recording.
After a brief consultation with the forum, the next destination was decided to be Brixham.
There are various ways of coping with a long passage: this is one of them:
Some shots on the way out.
I suspect that on the way in, we could have probably made it under the bridge in the "down" position by just lowering the VHF aerial, but I was too chicken, so we waited around for a lift. On the way out, it was high tide - there would have definitely been a crunch sound.
After we made it around Portland Bill, I read on a cruising guide "Don't go between the Bill and the Shambles on an Easterly tide".
Hmmm. I did wonder where the bumpy stuff was coming from. No photos are available for this bit: we were all too busy holding on to our breakfast.
Brixham was lovely: the photos don't really do it justice, as I didn't have the camera for the "not very extreme" tender ride around into Tor Bay.
But we did get to swim in an incredibly cold seawater swimming pool, and explore some of the rock pools towards Berry Head.
The 7yr old went to play in a corner of the beach, and found a small hole in the rocks were she wanted to nestle a Barbie, but it was already occupied.
I looked at the weather again, and panicked somewhat. We were now well into our second week, and although I would have liked to spend more time in the area, a nasty low was approaching. It would probably skirt North of us, but maybe not, and I have been caught out before when a low pressure system has not exactly followed the predicted track, so we made a dash back for Poole.
No chop, just a moderate swell, which half way across Lyme Bay is very different to anything you find in the Solent.
The S28 was quite happy at 18-20kts so long as you steered around the larger waves.
Swmbo helmed most of the way, and was really getting the hang of it.
Poole was our final destination for a few nights.
Day 1 was airshow day (the Friday), and we anchored in a prime spot on the SW corner of the zone.
I'm not sure if I like this or not:
...
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