What a cracking and windy weekend.

[FairweatherDave]

Desperately wanted to single hand from Chichester to Portsmouth on Friday, but the weather gods had other ideas. Forecast F 5-7 NW. I went to the boat on our swinging mooring pretty sceptical but had a plan B of pontoon bashing in the Emsworth channel. Also thought a sail inside the harbour should be a good test, (of my single handed abilities which have grown rusty). Got the main up with two reefs in and all was good but the tiller pilot (and my use of it) combined to demonstrate it was far too windy to be relied on. That was the nail in the coffin of my plan. Resolved to try out using my Duncan Wells techniques, the stern bridle, which for those that don't know involves lassoing a cleat from the edge of the cockpit. So, very windy, gusting 30 knots across the pontoon. My efforts to get close to the pontoon were hilarious, must have gone round about 10 times at least before I got onto the cleat. And then driving the boat forward in the hope of getting a bowline on took some doing. The point is I was learning lots about handling my boat and about stern bridles. And no audience. Also tried out the loop on the end of a boat hook but seriously could not get close enough to use it. If I had been in a hurry I could have easily gone the other side and got blown onto the pontoon, or simply reversed up into wind and lassoed from the cockpit, and then winched the boat round maybe. Anyhow thoroughly enjoyed trying things out in those conditions before rendezvousing for the evening with family in Emsworth.
Saturday destination still Portsmouth, so not far. A bit less windy so more pontoon practice, this time introducing family to the techniques I'd been trying to master. Relationships still intact we set off and popped in to Langstone for lunch isolated at anchor (and had a visit from the harbourmaster checking we were okay). On exit we glued ourselves to the Southsea seafront and passed the inshore end of the submarine barrier and bore away from the fishermen at the end of Southsea Pier. Daughter well excited to see her home patch up close. First time into Port Solent Marina. With my well drilled crew headed into berth and daughter on cleat duty. Now I am genuinely hard of hearing but she confessed she barely made it audible and she wasn't facing me to say the rope was on the cleat,.....but not round it. My driving forwards against it really didn't work as I hit the pontoon , but at least I have watched the Patrick Laine video of how he "rests" the bow against the end of the berth. No damage done.
Today, still pretty windy and cold (ie not summer). But a magic sail back to Chichester and our mooring. The same 2 reefs in the main and various amounts of genoa, three hours from Port Solent to Hayling Island Sailing Club. Again inside end of the submarine barrier. Cold and clear, and an easy flat sea with the off shore wind......as good as any sail this year just more clothes.
Could easily have cancelled the weekend sailing on that forecast but so pleased I didn't. Hope others got out (share it here!).

 

[Lucky Duck]

Good for you

I had high hopes for the weekend which were quietly shelved when the forecasts changed.

Hopefully off to the boat in a few hours

Edit - when I last visited the visitor's pontoon there was a sufficient tide running through that ferry gliding took care of the wind but it wasn't blowing 30 knots!

 

[DJE]

Got a couple of days off this week so we came across to Bembridge yesterday. The long school holiday is finally over and the place is deserted. Off to Chichester this morning.

 

[Lucky Duck]

Got a couple of days off this week so we came across to Bembridge yesterday. The long school holiday is finally over and the place is deserted. Off to Chichester this morning.

Went there a week ago, once the short stays had gone home the place was just under half full.

 

[dunedin]

Glad you made the most of the weekend. Sunny and light winds up in Scotland, but a little chilly overnight Clyde has been absolutely mobbed the last 2 weekends due to the great weather. Nice to see so many enjoying being out on the water.
PS Judging by the fleets of boats heading East out of the Kyles, the “not the CCC final muster” at Tarbert must have been very busy.

 

[DFL1010]

Managed a quick send on Fri night. 18 gusting low 30s, with 20-odd degrees of shift in the gusts.

Had a bit of a moment with the kite up, then sat happily under white sail in the low teens boatspeed.

 

[johnalison]

The East Coast bore the brunt of the wind and I doubt if anyone went out for the fun of it. Sailing in sheltered water in half a gale is worth doing occasionally, especially for those of us too cowardly to face the Roaring Forties. The last time we did it was in the Scheldt from Ternuizen to Breskens in a F8, against the advice of the locals. It was straighforward, but even reaching in the river was stressful and it was a relief on the occasions when the meter showed that the wind had dropped to 35 knots.

 

[BobnLesley]

...wanted to single hand from Chichester to Portsmouth on Friday, but the weather gods had other ideas. Forecast F 5-7 NW...

That'd be an offshore wind on the quarter, no bother...

Says the man who deemed it too cold to travel 12M on his motorbike.

 

[FairweatherDave]

Sailing in sheltered water in half a gale is worth doing occasionally,.....

Well put. Not sure it is something I would do every weekend.... my wife found it particularly chilly
On the Friday I did see 40 knots (apparent) flash up briefly as I motored into it at about 2 knots. That's a first, and not something I would aim for. But the balance between testing oneself, getting out of the comfort zone and learning stuff, and being safe and responsible was a valuable mental exercise.

 

[BobnLesley]

Sailing in sheltered water in half a gale is worth doing occasionally, especially for those of us too cowardly to face the Roaring Forties.

Agreed. We came to sailing late and began with a series of sail training weekends over a a couple of years before graduating to our own boat; at that stage getting into sailing was very much secondary to riding our motorcycles, so 90% of those sailing weekends/experience were undertaken between October and March. As a result, in the subsequent 20 years 60k+ miles we've very rarely sailed inshore in weather any worse than some of that which we encountered whilst sailing with the added security & reassurance of having an RYA instructor aboard.