Portsmouth to Weymouth first-timer: Any tips?

Yer daft bugger, the quay is good fun, the marina a bit out of it, a bit of a lonley place and hard to get anywhere.

Rafting up. Horrours of horours. Thort that was what boating was all about.

Hummf. Portland bill dont actually have a harbour.

Portland does. But it seems to have been given over to the Olympics, so may be a few rowing boats about. Also a bit of a lonly place, less you can fit in by the normandy landing spare bit and dinghy into town. marinas bah!!
 
No no, the rowey boats are gonna be on the boating lake at Eton (cue a song), the little saily boats are gonna be at Portland.

Jolly boating weather,
And a hay harvest breeze,
Blade on the feather,
Shade off the trees,
Swing swing together,
With your bodies between your knees,
Swing swing together,
With your bodies between your knees.

Skirting past the rushes,
Ruffling o'er the weeds,
Where the lock stream gushes,
Where the cygnet feeds,
Let us see how the wine-glass flushes,
At supper on Boveney meads,
Let us see how the wine glass flushes,
At supper on Boveney meads.

Thanks to the bounteous sitter,
Who sat not at all on his seat,
Down with the beer that's bitter,
Up with the wine that's sweet,
And Oh that some generous "critter",
Would give us more ducks to eat!

Carving with elbow nudges,
Lobsters we throw behind,
Vinegar nobody grudges,
Lower boys drink it blind,
Sober as so many judges,
We'll give you a bit of our mind.

"Dreadnought" "Britannia" "Thetis",
"St George" "Prince of Wales" and "Ten",
And the eight poor souls whose meat is,
Hard steak, and a harder hen,
But the end of our long boat fleet is,
Defiance to Westminster men.

Rugby may be more clever,
Harrow may make more row,
But we'll row for ever,
Steady from stroke to bow,
And nothing in life shall sever,
The chain that is round us now,
And nothing in life shall sever,
The chain that is round us now.

Others will fill our places,
Dressed in the old light blue,
We'll recollect our races,
We'll to the flag be true,
And youth will be still in our faces,
When we cheer for an Eton crew,
And youth will be still in our faces,
When we cheer for an Eton crew.

Twenty years hence this weather,
May tempt us from office stools,
We may be slow on the feather,
And seem to the boys old fools,
But we'll still swing together,
And swear by the best of schools,
But we'll still swing together,
And swear by the best of schools.
 
Thanks, yes it will be a 34' and I from the responses here - is it about whether the long tack into the channel is better (in a SW) than beating up the Solent, even with a friendly tide?
 
Top