What sort of season did you have?

[Iliade]

Frustrating, in that we aren't allowed to sail crosswind without quarantining for a fortnight after each leg. Everywhere we are allowed to go was usually directly up or downwind, which diminished the inclination to travel far.

Still, shouldn't complain, plenty of good day sails and at least the new windfarm adds interest to an otherwise pretty featureless area. Indeed I'm planning to pop out today.

 

[Poignard]

My wife and I had 4 weeks very enjoyable sailing in Quiberon Bay and the Golfe du Morbihan in glorious hot weather.

A bit more wind would have been welcome but we had a great time.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Fine ... ?

 

[Lucky Duck]

Autumn now and an old man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of hot pot suppers and laying up.

I must say that I have no complaints at all, though it was a game of chance at the outset. How did your summer go?

.

Another five months before I start thinking about hauling out.

Given the apparent gross overcrowding on Lake Solent in July/August I am now looking forward to re-visiting some of my usual haunts. Indeed I stayed the night on a mooring in Newton Creek for the first time ever last Monday.

 

[davidaprice]

I'm based in Helsinki, Finland. Travel restrictions put paid to my Easter holiday plans of sailing in the Solent for a few days with my brother, then sailing a rented old gaffer for a week on the Norfolk Broads. Maybe in a year or two...

Covid hasn't affected Finland so badly, so lockdowns were less severe and didn't much affect sailing. The requirement to quarantine when returning from abroad meant that most Finnish sailors stayed in Finnish waters, so the guest harbours had a very good year.

We had a five-week summer holiday sailing our Maxi 999 in the Finnish Archipelago Sea and the Åland Islands, very pleasant, and almost every weekend of the season we were off sailing to our club's island harbour. Near the end of the season my wife slipped and fractured a vertebra, so the cruising boat's season ended there, and we lifted her out for the winter.

My other boat, a fibreglass Hai (think slightly bigger, less race-oriented Dragon) which I use for evening sailing, got used once or twice a week as usual, but my hobby of taking out random strangers from our Facebook crewing group had to be put on hold, and I mostly sailed by myself. The Hai gets lifted out for the winter on Sunday, so my season is over a little earlier than usual.

 

[capnsensible]

Looking forward to a twelve day cruise around the Canary Islands, hopefully leaving Lanzarote on Saturday, first stop Tazacorte over on La Palma. As you do. ?

 

[Clancy Moped]

Crap! Put in an offer on a boat which was accepted subject to survey, seller messed about and eventually pulled out, then it all went Covid so maybe a blessing. Got invited out on a friend of a friends boat twice, both times it was conveniently when something needed fixing we never left the berth once.... shan't be doing that again, if I was asked for help no problem.

So now waiting for the dust to settle on Covid and Brexit before I even think about my next move.

 

[PetiteFleur]

Terrible season, not launched until lockdown lifted, only 2 trips up the river but a nice sunny day with friends at Ramsholt Inn, moored on the Quay as tide was right, nice meal outside politically correct party of 6, excellent service as usual. But did manage a few days on a friends boat at Dartmouth which was lovely, not much wind but sunny. Now looking at laying up jobs etc.

 

[Sandy]

Interesting, but its not over yet. One of the joys of being in Plymouth and afloat 12/12 is we can play all winter.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Absolutely zero, Aberaeron boats are still on the hard. Only plus is that work on the boat has been possible in warm sunny weather instead of freezing cold.
Lets just hope things improve in 2021.

 

[XDC]

Yacht.

£87.50 per mile ??

 

[newtothis]

Anyway, I'm glad to see no-one has answered: "nasty, brutish, and short"!

Only because mine was nasty, British, and short.

 

[johnalison]

Arranged for lift-out some time Feb-March but this didn't happen and so spent an anxious few months worrying about the prop anodes, not helped by friends in a similar situation whose saildrive hub corroded for that reason. Eventually came out in June and the anodes were doing their job and the saildrive was fine. Fitting out was a bit tiresome in the hot weather and we launched at the end of the fine weather. Had one very hot trip to Woodbridge, which was nice, but had to re-attach part of the screen whose rubber had failed in the heat. Otherwise just day sails when the weather and tides have allowed. We have down-sized our cruising in recent years anyway but it would have been nicer to have had more choice of sails.

Considering that back in March it looked as if we might get no sailing at all, that is, if we escaped getting ill, I have to admit that we have been pretty lucky. I have also been able to engage in some vicarious cruising via our HR Facebook pages, which I enjoyed.

 

[John 32i]

Better than we feared....didn't get across to France this year, but we did manage quite a few long weekends away locally...
River Ore, Orford, Ramsholt, Waldringfield, Wrabness, Hamford Water, Walton Channel, Titchmarsh, Woolverstone, Pyefleet, Burnham, Bradwell . Shame the seasons nearly over but thankful we had one!!

 

[Scillypete]

Different for sure, launched as soon as we were able and then had nearly 8 weeks of cruising around the islands with only a few other local boats out and the weather was good. July 4th came and all of a sudden I had to start keeping a proper lookout as visitors turned up in numbers and from then on had to share our favoured anchorages. Managed to fit in a trip to France ?? for all of 24hours, as quarantine was becoming imminent, while we filled the boat with wine then headed across to Plymouth for a gentle cruise back west followed by more pottering around the islands.
Not quite how I had envisaged our first sailing season of retirement but it was pretty good.
Being able to get out on the water made getting through this much easier.

 

[[178529]]

Yacht.

£87.50 per mile ??

That's cheap.

 

[doug748]

Another five months before I start thinking about hauling out.

Given the apparent gross overcrowding on Lake Solent in July/August I am now looking forward to re-visiting some of my usual haunts. Indeed I stayed the night on a mooring in Newton Creek for the first time ever last Monday.

I was very lucky really, I had already formulated a new master plan for having the boat in the water only 4/5 months of the year so events, sort of, played into my hands.
I went in late May and came out mid Sept, maybe 120 days of which c 60 days I was actually using the boat. Of course this is easier for a retired phart. Short and sweet and some very good spells of weather (though either too little or too much wind, as always).

.

 

[Never Grumble]

Short, little wind when we did get out, planning on staying in during the winter and C-19 lockdowns permitting making up for lost time.

 

[Cheeky Girl]

Bought Cheeky last November, so this is the first season
Had issues on both holidays Battery/alternator & Fuel bug but over 40 nights onboard so a good season for me.

 

[Jonny A]

Pretty good, got in several excellent day sails, a couple of single nights on the anchor a four blissful days basing myself out of Worbarrow during the heatwave in August. And hoping to get out this coming Sunday for another quick one.