Colour supplement

First of all: Happy New Year to all crew and followers.  Thank you for making 2011 such a success.  I am looking forward to the new sailing season with great enthusiasm.  I hope we will be undertaking some longer passages.  The first is likely to be over the Easter weekend, probably along the coast to Weymouth with stops in Poole and Yarmouth or Lymington.  Meanwhile here are some pictures from the autumn.  First the jib following "hurricane" damage.  It is now expertly repaired and I can barely see how it was done.

Sarah and Michele on a trip which included a stop in Hamble: 

Here we are in Cowes: 

Jean and Roger on a very pleasant day in the eastern Solent: 

Penny, Hugh and Stephen on an autumn trip to Yarmouth:

A view from the foredeck:

Jolie Brise - a very famous old boat:

  

Midweek trip to Cowes

Just come back from a rare midweek cruise with Reading friends Jean and Roger. They came on Tuesday afternoon and we had baked cod on board that night. On Wednesday we set off in reasonable weather towards the Solent. It remained pleasant as we went down Southampton Water, although the wind built from a gentle force three to a brisk five or six. The rain came when we were in the Solent: the trawler specification wet weather gear came into its own. We got into Cowes and had plenty of berths to choose from at the Yacht Haven. After lunch Roger and I took a walk to Egypt Point: the weather was fine by now.
In the evening we enjoyed a very good meal at The Red Duster.
Today (Thursday) there was little wind and plenty of sunshine. We motor sailed back taking a scenic route off Osborne Bay, Ryde, Gilkicker, Lee and Hill Head.
The wind picked up in the afternoon and we had a slow run back up Southampton Water and were back on our pontoon by about 1600.
A nice gentle trip with a bit of excitement in the rain on the way out. The forecast is looking windy again for the weekend. Thanks Jean and Roger for giving me the opportunity to get out in the week and enjoy a quieter Solent.