A sunny harbour potter

Sundays forecast was for very light winds in Poole, so it looked like it would be an ideal day for a drift around the harbour with Mrs Ciao Bella and a picnic.  We made our way to the boat and were onboard and ready to sail by mid day.
It really was a drift for the first half hour but as we got closer to Brownsea the breeze filled in and we reached the dizzy speeds of 3 knots :).   Our first stop was to be at Arne, as we approached I could see Jelly Bean at anchor. The Lewis clan were having a BBQ on the beach. We stayed on board and had a Mediterranean inspired lunch to go with the weather.  Half way through lunch I felt the tell tale bump of the keels touching.  A quick engine start and re-position before getting back to lunch.   I had let out a lot of chain so by the time the boat had settled she had dropped back into shallower water.  Glad it didn't beach.. We'd have been there a long time :)

Jelly Bean at Arne.

Tim re-positioning

As we were preparing to leave I received a call from John and Michelle on Whipser who were wondering where we were.  They had been out in a race in the bay and were just coming back in.  We made plans to meet up off Brownsea Island and set about drifting back down the harbour.

Whipser is a Southerly 30 something with every conceivable extra to help make sailing easier.  The previous owner had had a progressive disability so he had added as much as possible to extend his ability to stay afloat.  She has a bow thruster, electric winches, in mast reefing and the list goes on.

We spent a pleasant hour chewing the cud and drinking their wine before making our way back to the mooring.  

It had been a successful day not least because Julie had actually enjoyed it.  I'll make a sailor of her yet.. well maybe not but if I can get her to be a happy passenger then that would be a start. :)