Hugh and Colin joined Toucando at lunchtime on Wednesday 22nd August. We agreed on a westerly destination... possibly Lymington, possibly Poole. We set off down Southampton Water, raising the sails off Weston. The wind came and went. The forecast indicated reefing would be required, and this certainly proved to be the case when we came out of the lee of Calshot and turned into the "precautionary area" by the Bramble Bank. The wind got a lot stronger... we recorded over 30 knots, and the waves rolling up the Solent from the west were quite big. Unfortunately we let the staysail flog, and sustained a little damage. We decided to go to Cowes where we found a berth at the yacht haven. Fortunately it was very quiet (Cowes week having taken place the previous week). We ate steak and mixed vegetables on board before enjoying a pint at the Anchor.
Thursday was quite a contrast. Very light winds took us down the eastern Solent. We had contemplated going out to the Nab Tower, for no particular reason other than it was there, but we weren't going fast enough for that. Instead we went in to Chichester Harbour, Toucando's first visit, and anchored off East Head. I haven't done a lot of anchoring in Toucando, and was pleased with how well it worked. We had lunch below decks. We became aware of a lot of masts going past at close quarters, and looking out of the hatch found that there were hundreds of dinghies racing about. It was the week of the combined clubs' regatta in the harbour. We had clearly arrived while they were all ashore for lunch. Now they were all out again. It was crazily busy, particularly so at the junctions of the various channels of the harbour. While we were at anchor they all had to avoid us, but once our anchor was raised and we were under way we had the interesting challenge of avoiding myriads of small boats scooting around very fast, all of which had "right of way" over us. We managed to do so, without putting ourselves aground or impeding any of the races, which was quite a feat. We then sailed off to Haslar, where we moored near the lightship.
On Friday morning we were booked in to Sealift at 0900 for washing and replacement of specialist anodes. Unfortunately the bow thruster propeller was lost overboard by an enthusiastic member of staff.... fortunately Sealift immediately set about sourcing a replacement (at their expense). This meant that ist was midday befopre the job was finished and we were on our way back to Southampton. We had a good tri[p back to the Itchen and toucando's home pontoon.
Showing posts with label Haslar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haslar. Show all posts
Monday, 10 September 2012
Monday, 24 October 2011
Autumn sailing
We had some amazing weather in the middle of October... bright, almost windless days, and cold nights. On Friday I had booked a lift for Toucando at Sealift in Haslar to replace her anodes, and get a bit of a wash. Hugh volunteered to crew. Our start was slightly delayed by the reluctasnce of the engine to start, which can be put down to the cold weather and relatively long period without a charge. Anyhow we sorted that problem out and had a pleasant motor for three hours to Portsmouth Harbour: there was virtually no wind, and the little there was came from the east.
We were entertained en route by the navy, or perhaps the army, conducting an exercise which involved sending landing craft from a large vessel moored in the middle of the Solent to invade Hampshire at Browndown. Other than that the sea was pretty empty: a pleasant change from summer weekends.
We arrived early, but they were quite happy to bring forward the time of the lift. Although it was only two months since the last one, there was quite a lot of slime and a few crustacea on Toucando's hull, and her anodes had been significantly easten away. I put the slime down to the amount of fertilizer running off down the Itchen, and the erosion of the anodes to the intense industrialisation of the docks. Anyhow, some below waterline attention was definitely required. We got our money's worth as a thorough jetwash was applied and the relevant bits of sacrificial metal were bolted onto the appropriate places.
After lunch we headed for home, and sailed back under main and (newly repaired) jib. The wind had picked up and we made good progress. Instead of her usual mooring we took Toucando to Shamrock Quay so she could benefit from a good period of mains electricity to bring all the batteries up to full charge. In fact, the motoring had topped them up pretty well, but it seemed a wise precaution.
On Saturday Michele came and we had to decide where to go. The barometer had plummeted from 1030 in the middle of the week to barely abover 1010. The winds were much stronger. In the event we decided to go to the Hamble, and berthed in Swanwick: Toucando's first visit. For afternoon entertainment we took the tender and explored the upper reaches of the river, beyond where all the boats are moored. We got up to the point where the river branches... one way to Botley the other to Curbridge. The water was too shallow to get any further - it was some hours before high tide. We returned and repaired to the Jolly Sailor in Bursledon for some soft drinks.
On Sunday the wind was blowing from the south east... we had a good sail back up Southampton Water with the wind behind us. In fact we were able to sail all the way to St Mary's before we needed to make use of the engine for the last few hundred yards approach to the pontoon.
Toucando is now safely back on her home berth looking forward to a relaxing autumn. No more cruises are planned, although some day sailing is not ruled out. It's maintenance mode now. Next week I have booked on to a week long "Yacht Maintenance" course at Hamble School of Yachting, when I hope to discover how much I don't know.
Thanks to Hugh and Michele for their contribution.
We were entertained en route by the navy, or perhaps the army, conducting an exercise which involved sending landing craft from a large vessel moored in the middle of the Solent to invade Hampshire at Browndown. Other than that the sea was pretty empty: a pleasant change from summer weekends.
We arrived early, but they were quite happy to bring forward the time of the lift. Although it was only two months since the last one, there was quite a lot of slime and a few crustacea on Toucando's hull, and her anodes had been significantly easten away. I put the slime down to the amount of fertilizer running off down the Itchen, and the erosion of the anodes to the intense industrialisation of the docks. Anyhow, some below waterline attention was definitely required. We got our money's worth as a thorough jetwash was applied and the relevant bits of sacrificial metal were bolted onto the appropriate places.
After lunch we headed for home, and sailed back under main and (newly repaired) jib. The wind had picked up and we made good progress. Instead of her usual mooring we took Toucando to Shamrock Quay so she could benefit from a good period of mains electricity to bring all the batteries up to full charge. In fact, the motoring had topped them up pretty well, but it seemed a wise precaution.
On Saturday Michele came and we had to decide where to go. The barometer had plummeted from 1030 in the middle of the week to barely abover 1010. The winds were much stronger. In the event we decided to go to the Hamble, and berthed in Swanwick: Toucando's first visit. For afternoon entertainment we took the tender and explored the upper reaches of the river, beyond where all the boats are moored. We got up to the point where the river branches... one way to Botley the other to Curbridge. The water was too shallow to get any further - it was some hours before high tide. We returned and repaired to the Jolly Sailor in Bursledon for some soft drinks.
On Sunday the wind was blowing from the south east... we had a good sail back up Southampton Water with the wind behind us. In fact we were able to sail all the way to St Mary's before we needed to make use of the engine for the last few hundred yards approach to the pontoon.
Toucando is now safely back on her home berth looking forward to a relaxing autumn. No more cruises are planned, although some day sailing is not ruled out. It's maintenance mode now. Next week I have booked on to a week long "Yacht Maintenance" course at Hamble School of Yachting, when I hope to discover how much I don't know.
Thanks to Hugh and Michele for their contribution.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
A proper summer weekend
Most weekends this summer have been marred by: 1. too much wind; 2. too little wind; 3. rain; 4. plague... etc.. In other words a typical British summer. This one was rather better. Charlotte and Michele joined Toucando on Friday, and after a crab salad we set off for Yarmouth. We had a pretty good sail down Southampton Water, then tacked down the western Solent. Yarmouth unfortunately had its "Harbour Full" sign up, so we went to Lymington instead. We had a few exciting minutes stuck on the mud by the Lymington River channel, but were helped off by a passing rib (rigid inflatable boat). We stayed on the excellent Dan Bran pontoon.
On Saturday we had thought about going to Poole, but it would have meant a ridiculously early start, so we went with the tide to Gosport instead. Haslar Marina gave us a good berth - easy to get on and off. We had a walk around the town centre and up to Royal Clarence yard: then curry on board Toucando and a viewing of "Deep Water" the documentary about Donald Crowhurst's ill fated participation in the 1968 Sunday Times Round the World Race.
On Sunday we thought we would take advantage of the tide and sail east first towards the Nab Tower and then come back into the Solent and up to Southampton with the tide. It all worked very well. We went on every point of sail and only had to tack twice to get all the way back from the Nab to Weston Shore and the entrance to the River Itchen. Thanks to Charlotte, Michele and some decent summer weather.
I am going to try and upload a video: let's hope it works.
On Saturday we had thought about going to Poole, but it would have meant a ridiculously early start, so we went with the tide to Gosport instead. Haslar Marina gave us a good berth - easy to get on and off. We had a walk around the town centre and up to Royal Clarence yard: then curry on board Toucando and a viewing of "Deep Water" the documentary about Donald Crowhurst's ill fated participation in the 1968 Sunday Times Round the World Race.
On Sunday we thought we would take advantage of the tide and sail east first towards the Nab Tower and then come back into the Solent and up to Southampton with the tide. It all worked very well. We went on every point of sail and only had to tack twice to get all the way back from the Nab to Weston Shore and the entrance to the River Itchen. Thanks to Charlotte, Michele and some decent summer weather.
I am going to try and upload a video: let's hope it works.
Monday, 25 July 2011
The Far Side of the Island
It was to have been Cherbourg weekend... sailing overnight on Friday, a day of recovering, shopping and dining, then back on Sunday, however Toucando found herself shorthanded at the last minute, and the skipper and crew decided instead to stay local.
Andrew and Hugh sailed down to Lymington quite slowly in light winds. We berthed on the Dan Bran pontoon, ate and drank aboard. Instead of crossing the channel we decided to sail to Gosport, but rather than going through the Solent, we thought we would sail round the Far Side of the Island.
Now the Solent is full of boats, especially at the weekend. Hundreds and thousands of them - from kayaks to container ships, fishing boats to gin palaces. But the Far Side of the Island is a very different place. Once you are past the Needles and turn hard to port you enter a deserted sea, sailing under a sequence of cliffs of chalk and clay. The random choppiness of the Solent is replaced by the regular predictable swell of the channel. The wind is cleaner, less influenced by land.
We came out of the Lymington River and raised the mainsail. While we were doing that it was quite windy... however as soon as it was up the wind dropped. We drifted slowly down to the Needles.
When we turned, the sea was glassy smooth and we had no choice but to motorsail - to make life really simple we put on the autohelm.
However as the morning progressed a sea breeze picked up. We agreed to have an early lunch whilst still motorsailing. Once that was finished somewhere west of St Catherine's Point, we turned off the engine, pulled out the staysail, and sailed 120 degrees off the wind on starboard tack. We maintained a decent speed as we ploughed through the overfalls.
Once south of Ventnor we gybed round to port tack, and were able to stay like that all the way to Bembridge Ledge, passing Shanklin, Sandown and Culver Cliff on the way. Ok, we did see one yacht, and perhaps a fishing vessel or two, but it was pretty sparse. There were a lot of ships anchored between Bembridge and the Nab, waiting for their berth to become available in Southampton or Portsmouth.
When we turned round the Bembridge Ledge buoy Toucando was at the most easterly point of her sailing career to date. We were able to stay on a port tack as we sailed between Lord Palmersone's Solent forts towards Portsmouth harbour entrance.
We rolled up the staysail and put the motor on enter the harbour as the harbourmaster prefers, and we dropped the main once inside. We were given a comfortable berth on a leeward pontoon by the ever helpful Haslar Marina staff. It was a pleasant wartm summer's evening. We were entertained by the sailing school boats all around us and a party of drunken motorboaters.
We left Haslar at 0925. Hugh raised the main. We turned and sailed out of the Harbour, noticing HMS Victory and an aircraft carrier with no aircraft as we went.
Now, the one part of the passage which did not work from a tidal point of view was that between Portsmouth and the central Solent on Sunday morning. The tide was running from west to east, and the wind was going the same way: never a good arrangement for a gaffer. So although we had some fantastic sailing, wqe weren't realy going the right way (or not fast enough), so we motored from Gilkicker to Lee, before we started to catch the tide flowing northwest up Suthampton Water. We then had some excellent sailing, although slightly nerveracking as we had to pick our way through several races. The water was really crowded as it is every summer Sunday morning. We were back on Toucando's berth by ten to five... in good enough time for Hugh to catch the 1730 train back home.
Whilst a couple off long channel passages would have been good, not to mention the shopping opportunities in Carrefour and an evening meal in a French restaurant, it was very pleasant to be able to sail in local waters, including the much neglected Far Side of the Island. Thanks to Hugh for all his help.
Postscript: the engine worked fine.
Andrew and Hugh sailed down to Lymington quite slowly in light winds. We berthed on the Dan Bran pontoon, ate and drank aboard. Instead of crossing the channel we decided to sail to Gosport, but rather than going through the Solent, we thought we would sail round the Far Side of the Island.
Now the Solent is full of boats, especially at the weekend. Hundreds and thousands of them - from kayaks to container ships, fishing boats to gin palaces. But the Far Side of the Island is a very different place. Once you are past the Needles and turn hard to port you enter a deserted sea, sailing under a sequence of cliffs of chalk and clay. The random choppiness of the Solent is replaced by the regular predictable swell of the channel. The wind is cleaner, less influenced by land.
We came out of the Lymington River and raised the mainsail. While we were doing that it was quite windy... however as soon as it was up the wind dropped. We drifted slowly down to the Needles.
The Needles
When we turned, the sea was glassy smooth and we had no choice but to motorsail - to make life really simple we put on the autohelm.
Tennyson Down: You can just make out the Celtic style cross which is T's memorial on the top
However as the morning progressed a sea breeze picked up. We agreed to have an early lunch whilst still motorsailing. Once that was finished somewhere west of St Catherine's Point, we turned off the engine, pulled out the staysail, and sailed 120 degrees off the wind on starboard tack. We maintained a decent speed as we ploughed through the overfalls.
St Catherine's Point Lighthouse - at the southerly corner of the IOW
Once south of Ventnor we gybed round to port tack, and were able to stay like that all the way to Bembridge Ledge, passing Shanklin, Sandown and Culver Cliff on the way. Ok, we did see one yacht, and perhaps a fishing vessel or two, but it was pretty sparse. There were a lot of ships anchored between Bembridge and the Nab, waiting for their berth to become available in Southampton or Portsmouth.
Anchored ships east of the IOW
When we turned round the Bembridge Ledge buoy Toucando was at the most easterly point of her sailing career to date. We were able to stay on a port tack as we sailed between Lord Palmersone's Solent forts towards Portsmouth harbour entrance.
A prospect of Portsmouth
We rolled up the staysail and put the motor on enter the harbour as the harbourmaster prefers, and we dropped the main once inside. We were given a comfortable berth on a leeward pontoon by the ever helpful Haslar Marina staff. It was a pleasant wartm summer's evening. We were entertained by the sailing school boats all around us and a party of drunken motorboaters.
Toucando at sunset in Haslar Marina, Gosport
We left Haslar at 0925. Hugh raised the main. We turned and sailed out of the Harbour, noticing HMS Victory and an aircraft carrier with no aircraft as we went.
The Royal Navy: An out of service aircraft carrier and Nelson's flagship
Now, the one part of the passage which did not work from a tidal point of view was that between Portsmouth and the central Solent on Sunday morning. The tide was running from west to east, and the wind was going the same way: never a good arrangement for a gaffer. So although we had some fantastic sailing, wqe weren't realy going the right way (or not fast enough), so we motored from Gilkicker to Lee, before we started to catch the tide flowing northwest up Suthampton Water. We then had some excellent sailing, although slightly nerveracking as we had to pick our way through several races. The water was really crowded as it is every summer Sunday morning. We were back on Toucando's berth by ten to five... in good enough time for Hugh to catch the 1730 train back home.
Whilst a couple off long channel passages would have been good, not to mention the shopping opportunities in Carrefour and an evening meal in a French restaurant, it was very pleasant to be able to sail in local waters, including the much neglected Far Side of the Island. Thanks to Hugh for all his help.
Postscript: the engine worked fine.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
More from Haslar
Moored by the Lightship bar and restaurant at Haslar:
As viewed through the periscope at the Submarine Museum:
A clearer view:
A nice view of Portsmouth:
As viewed through the periscope at the Submarine Museum:
A clearer view:
A nice view of Portsmouth:
Friday, 29 April 2011
Haslar
Vic and I have motor sailed to Haslar, where we are berthed by the green lightship that serves as a bar and shore facilities. We will have a day in Portsmouth tomorrow, returning on Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)