Last gasp to Lymington

With the end of the season racing towards us we organised a last minute cruise to Lymington.  The Tides for the weekend were pretty good,  just a 5am alarm clock this time.  I was at the club for 0540 and made my way out to Ciao Bella.  I got the engine running, and released the mooring and motored about 10 meters before the keels touched down.. this is getting far too common, I will have to pledge to get up really early when there is a morning low or be content to leave as the tide returns.  I had to refit the battery before setting off as it had been taken home to charge.  A replacement solar panel is very high on my wish list.  So at least I had time to fit that, clean the Nasa paddle wheel and have a general tidy.

The forecast was for NNE but only f1 or 2 so very calm, I lifted off and was underway by 8am.  I had a good sail to the entrance before having to start the donk to push me past the chain ferry and left it on through the East Looe channel.

Thermos twins make a welcome return.

When I did turn the motor off the speed remained at around 4 knots, clearly the breeze was a little stronger than forecast,  I had a great sail across the bay and in through the needles channel.  It was all a little chilly so I pressed the Thermos twins into service for the first time this year... The blue one full of Tea and the black one full of Leek & Potato soup.

I caught Paul up just outside Lymington, where we dropped the sails and motored in. It was just Paul and myself for this cruise so once alongside the town quay we tidied up and pushed off to grab some lunch.  Pauls family had driven over so we we settled into the Kings Arms for Bangers & Mash.  On the way out I bumped into Kirk who had decided to set off late, great to have someone new on the cruises. Fully fed it was time to find a suitable venue to watch the Rugby.

The next morning arrived far to early as workmen were bashing the railway bridge around from around 6am.  It was a very slow morning as I gradually came back to life after the previous evening, helped by a runny egg and bacon sandwich. 

Lapwing (Corribee) and Hannah Snell (Seal 22) rafted up

Ciao Bella wedge in between the bigger boats.

Departure time was planned for around 12 noon with a bit of tide against us for the first hour.  We took the shallowish water towards Keyhaven before popping out into the main channel as the tide changed.

Hannah Snell posing in front of the Needles

The wind in the solent had been good but when we got out into Christchurch bay it was the opposite of yesterday.. F3or 4 with F5 Gust were forecast but really it was only F2 at best.  With the tide we were able to maintain 3.5 to 4 knots.. we would most likely need to start the engines at some point.

Nice to be sailing in Company

That point came as the wind just about disappeared as we transited from Bournemouth to Poole.  We pushed into the harbour entrance about 20 mins after high tide and the ebb through the entrance was starting to really go for it.  I kept in close to Sandbanks to avoid the worst of the flow.  The sunset as I arrived at my mooring was just stunning.  It's been a great season, I feel like I have really made the most of Ciao Bella this year.

Wow