SELENE - CAPTAINS LOG

June 2008-

Isle of Wight Festival 13/14/15 June 2008

This weekend took me down memory lane as I rejoined the music business for a few days and we had a fabulous weekend. Many years ago, I produced Sting singing Roxanne on his own, and inspired by the programme "Three men in another boat" where Griff Rhys Jones sailed into Cowes and got backstage at the festival when the Stones were on last summer, Julia said the Police are headlining this year - and I thought I'd see if we could get on the guest list as I used to in the old days.

Sting agreed to my request and also said that he would be happy to see us for a few minutes before they went on stage, which he did.

We sailed over Thursday night to get tucked into Island Harbour which is right next to the festival, and set off on Friday to get our passes. What was a shame is that this year they had closed the footpath along the river, so we had to take the long way by road, and actually having backstage passes, meant we had to walk right around the festival and back in from Newport - about two miles instead of one, so we did some walking!

We were allowed in before the crowds and had quite a high VIP status allowing us to drink in the artists bar and have our own viewing area to the side of the stage. On Friday we saw the Kaiser Chiefs.

The weather stayed wonderful all weekend. Saturday, we had lunch at the Royal Corinthian - taking the water taxi to Cowes. Saturday night we saw the Zutons and The Sex Pistols.

Sunday was the big day with the Police headlining and our meeting with Sting. We spent the afternoon waiting to get information, and learned that the band were literally flying in about an hour before and flying straight out after the gig. Around 1830, one of his team came out to see us and our passes were upgraded. This was truly amazing and with these passes we could go on the stage itself (the back bit) and into the dressing rooms. Where the security guys had all been defensive before, suddenly everywhere we went we had access - it was just fab.

We don't know what's more amazing: looking out at 55,000 people from on stage or having a quiet chat with Sting in his dressing room. I have actually played to 2500 people and been backstage at many gigs when I was in the business, so I wasn't totally phased, but it was still pretty awesome.

Check out the photos section for loads more pics.

We were actually on the stage at the side as the Police went on, and then we discovered we could get into an even more exclusive area to the right of the stage - where most of the time it was just us two. The band were great and we really enjoyed the gig.

Monday we stopped at Shepards Wharf and had lunch at the Royal Corinthian again, and enjoyed the sunshine. We then sailed back over to Haslar and ended a truly fantastic weekend.

Gins Summer Ball 21st June 2008

I took Selene round to Gins on Thursday 19th in 30+ knots on my own - I ended up motoring as the wind increased, and the sea west of Cowes was the roughest I've ever seen. I lost the bow under water up to the spray hood on one wave.

It was tough mooring in a small space behind a huge motor yacht with the wind blowing me off, but with a little help, I got in OK. We had the Gins Committee meeting and then a Greek theme evening. This was poorly attended and the food wasn't very good either.

Julia had come down in my car for the evening, and brought our marquee. We spent Friday erecting this and some gazebos provided by Pimms for the occasion.

Friday night we went out for a drink, and ate aboard. Saturday, we went to Lymington market and also bought stuff for the ball. Then we finished setting up and waited for our guests to arrive. We had bubbly in the cockpit as Lynn and Andy Moran arrived, followed by Richard Potter, Bob and Alison and Keith and Lorna. The weather hadn't been good for the past few days, but the sun finally popped out and it stayed dry long enough for us to have the Pimms and canapés outside.

The evening was a great success with Peter Hanratty doing a little after dinner speech with plenty of good jokes. Lynn and Andy and Richard Potter stayed aboard.

Regrettably it chucked it down and blew old boots overnight and we were awoken early with news that the marquee was "in distress". Basically, it was mangled! So we had to clear all that up with very thick heads. We then cleared every thing up, as we were in motion, and then had a big breakfast. As it was very windy, and I wanted to sail, I got Andy to crew me, and after extricating ourselves from the inside berth (great entertainment for all!) we had a cracking downwind sail under jib alone - going like the clappers!

Andy enjoyed himself at the helm, and we rounded off the weekend with a BBQ back at Woodpeckers with Lynn and Andy.

Emsworth Yacht Harbour BBQ  12/13 July 2008

Malcolm and Mave joined us early on the Saturday and we motor sailed as fast as we could to get to the visitors pontoon in Emsworth so that we could get ashore in the dinghy before Low Water. We just made it in, with Mave and Julia walking around from the Town Pontoon and Malcolm and I lugging the dinghy over the sill into EYH.

The weather wasn't great but it didn't rain.

Afterwards, the ECA members gathered on John & Jackie's motor boat for drinks, and then we towed the dinghy back out to Selene and went for a burn around the harbour. I started to cook dinner and we had further drinks with the ECA crowd and then after they went we had dinner and all went to bed early.

Sunday morning was warm and sunny, with a light breeze. We sailed off the pontoon and gently drifted down to West Pole. The weather got cloudier, but we did get some good breeze, and Malcolm enjoyed helming from West Pole to the Dolphins.

We had hoped for some sun, but had lunch in the cockpit at Haslar under a cloudy sky. We then tidied up and Julia and I rounded off the weekend with a BBQ back home.

Gins via Cowes with Mika & Sarah Hall 17/18 July 2008

Mike and Sarah joined me on Selene and we sailed out into a stiff F4/5 W/SW with slight sea state. We went to Cowes for lunch at the Royal Corinthian, mooring at Shepards Wharf. Both Mike and Sarah enjoyed the beat over, but the sun was not in evidence.

The wind and sea got up a bit on the crossing over to Cowes but at least the sun shone for a while. We tied up without any problems at Gins and I rushed off for a committee meeting. Then I got everything ready for the Tapas evening (music from my laptop and some posters from the Spanish tourist board!)

Great evening, but forgot to take any pictures. Julia came down by car, and Sarah went home with her. Mike stayed overnight and we sailed back in similar conditions on the Friday morning, although it was downwind. Mike really enjoyed himself flying goose-winged and poled out downhill to Gilkicker.

Short sail on Green Rival & Gins Hog Roast 19 July 2008

Original plan was that Aly, Graham, Gina and I would sail Green Rival round to Gins and Julia would meet us there. We only made it as far as Ocean Village, when the engine overheated and we were without engine. I volunteered to sail her back onto the finger pontoon, which I duly did!

We then came back and picked up Julia and all went in the one car, and had a great evening at Gins.

Day trip to Sandown Bay with Ed 22 July 2008

Ed and I went for a day trip from Haslar and picked up one of the new buoys off Sandown beach, where we had lunch. Finally the summer arrived and it was a very hot day. The wind got up for the return trip, and we had a cracking sail from Bembridge Ledge into Haslar.

Beaulieu River for lunch and Dinner at the Royal London 26 July 2008

Malcolm and Mave joined us on a beautiful hot summer's day, and we motored into the Beaulieu, where we hung off a buoy at Gins and had a superb lunch, provided by Mave.

We then got a cracking sail over to East Cowes with Malcolm at the helm, and we were joined by Keith and Lorna for drinks on Selene, before catching the water taxi over to the Royal London YC for dinner.

As you can see, East Cowes was busy as there was a Paul Weller concert at Osborned House.

We usually prefer the Royal Corinthian, but they were fully booked two weeks ago, so we thought we'd try the Royal London. It was very quiet there, and we were given a superb table. Oddly, we had a fixed menu, and it was very "Mary Celeste" like, as the club remained quiet all evening. Anyway, we had a great time, and of course had drinks on Selene afterwards.

Sunday was still hot and sunny, and we rushed back into Haslar ahead of the Harbour closures for the "Meet the Navy" afternoon. The air display wasn't as good as we'd hoped, but we had another great lunch in the cockpit and invited John and Anne-Katrina from the Halsberg Rassy 37 on A pontoon over for drinks during the afternoon. I also loaned the dinghy out to some French kids!

Julia and I rounded off the weekend with a BBQ back at Woodpeckers

Selene hosts a Royal Southampton YC Rally 8-10 August 2008

I took Selene round to Itchenor on the Friday afternoon, and got the best weather of the weekend. A superb NW 4-5 gave a very fast reach to West Pole. I beat into the entrance, but as it funnelled and came from the North, I dropped the main and motored to Itchenor. Arabesque was already there and Jono arrived just in front of me.

I easily picked up the next visitors buoy and relaxed in the sunshine.

Norman, Jo and Robert Fowler invited me aboard Jono for drinks and along with Bob & Jackie Stevenson, we sipped red wine in the cockpit watching the world go by. We had spilt wine when an inconsiderate fellow came charging past, but otherwise it was very pleasant.

Julia arrived by car and we all ate in the Ship Inn. Itchenor SC were having a very noisy bash, and the harbour was filled with disco music but it was still nice enough.

Saturday started OK, but by 11, the rain and wind was on its way. Of the two boats due, one phoned to say they were turning back as they heard a gale warning for Sunday, but the other one, Wind Gypsy with Brett and Susan aboard arrived rather wet and bedraggled about midday, and rafted outside us.

The weather then turned foul, but after lunch we went back to the Ship for a few pints of Ballards best and then out by car to the local chandleries.

We held drinks at 1800, and although windy, the rain had stopped. Everyone fitted into Selene's saloon ok as you can see. It wasn't really nice enough to sit in the cockpit unfortunately.

We then all got in our dinghies and went ashore where we had dinner at Itchenor SC. Paul and Jan from the boat that turned back, came by car for the dinner.

It was a bit dark and creepy taking the dinghy home! The wind was still howling and it was blowing an 8, so we had to wait to see what Sunday brought.

Next morning, the forecast still showed 5-7, and the wind had been dropping to a steady 5-6, so as Julia wanted to be home in the afternoon, and the tidal window was early morning, we left at 0815. Annoyingly, the wind went more west than south west and got very gusty with peaks of over 30 knots.

So after having quite a nice, but rather wet sail, we got fed up and motor sailed from Langstone Harbour entrance, as it was just too much hard work, for such a short distance! We had been keeping track with a much larger yacht, but you could see they were just sat there with their long keel, whilst I had to work Selene all the time.

It continued to blow old boots all the way into Haslar, and it still wasn't nice enough for a beer in the cockpit. We packed up and after rescuing Julia's car from Itchenor, stopped off at "The Office" (Square Brewery Petersfield) where we saw Richard and Helen having lunch with John and June. Nice weekend - shame about the weather - again….

A trip to the Folly aboard the Island Packet (420) Manakoora with Ian & Jill Malby 16/17 August 2008

Selene stayed in Haslar, and we joined Ian and Jill Malby aboard their Island Packet 420 Manakoora at Chichester Marina on the Saturday morning. I have always liked the look of these boats, and Ian and Jill kindly agreed to let us spend a weekend with them. The weather was fairly grey and we headed out into a S 5-7. Ian gave me the helm soon after leaving the marina, and only took it back as we entered the Medina, which was very kind. I had a super reach across the Solent and although it was very busy, we managed to get a pontoon berth at the Folly.

Jill provided a super lunch, and in the evening we ate at the Folly and ended up dancing on the tables as usual. It was good to see Andy, the landlord there again and have a good chat.

Sunday we did have some sunshine and a brisk SW / W 5-7. Again Ian gave me the helm at the entrance to the Medina and I steered until just outside the marina. A super sail and she really is a superb boat in all respects.

We got back into Chichester marina as the skies turned grey again, and Jill again laid on a wonderful lunch. Many thanks to Ian and Jill for such a super weekend, and I really am impressed by the Island Packets.

August Bank Holiday trip to Littlehampton 23/24/25 August 2008

We left Haslar at 0830 on a blue sunny morning motoring with no wind. Really fantastic viz as well. Finally around the Looe Channel, we had enough wind to sail and gybed out and back to come into Littlehampton with enough water over the bar. It was a really nice downwind sail - just as it should be! Steady F4-5 WNW.

We were fortunate to get alongside the pontoon and after lunch, we went into Arundel. We were disappointed there wasn't much happening around town as we were there because it was "festival" weekend, and we remembered it being fun two years ago.

We drank in the Ship Inn and then had an early dinner at a nice wine bar up the hill. Coming back into Littlehampton, we spotted the Legend Scallywag (Mike and Sue and Nelson the Westie) on the pontoon and I invited them over for evening drinks, which involved several bottles of wine and a lot of port!

Overnight the weather was truly awful, pouring rain and howling wind. I sneaked out and got the papers and we stayed inside all morning. Finally it cheered up a bit and we went back to Arundel, where again nothing much was happening, so we had a traditional roast lunch and came back to sit in the cockpit and enjoy the weather. It was windy but sunny.

As we walked back, we were hailed from Scallywag for afternoon drinks, so we whiled away the afternoon watching the dinghy racing and relaxing. Sue's mother Elaine was also aboard.

Early start Monday, and the forecast 4-5 was in reality 5-7 with a really ugly sea and mainly WSW. It was all too much for Julia who went back to bed, and I bounced off the waves until finally at South Pullar, I was able to free off and get a decent sail in holding 307 all the way to the Dolphins. It was so depressing weather and sea wise - grey, drizzle and a horrid sea until past Selsey Bill. Next time we'll take another couple of hours and go right out to avoid the effects of the Bill.

We met Richard and Helen in the Good Intent for a "debrief" and followed this up with an impromptu BBQ back at ours.

2008 Summer Cruise 07 - 21st September 2008 - "The wind on the nose holiday"
435 nautical miles in all

Bad weather meant that the planned departure of Late Wednesday evening became Sunday afternoon, when a window finally opened to get across the Channel. Richard Stoneman and Mike Hall were aboard to get the boat to St. Malo, where Julia would arrive early Wednesday morning, as she couldn't get any more holiday.

We had a Westerly through the Solent, and finally started sailing off the Needles, but after six hours the wind came from the South and stayed that way. Mike had a couple of issues with his beer from earlier, and then got six hours sleep. Richard sneaked a couple of hours, and I kept going through the night.

Dawn saw us entering the Alderney Race at HW Dover as planned and I made the guys bacon butties for breakfast. As we got into St. Helier the sun came out, and we moored in La Collette, on the holding pontoon as we planned to leave in the small hours when we couldn't get over the sill if we'd gone into the main marina.

We had G&Ts at the Yacht Club in the sunshine, and had a wander around town, where Richard and I found a new "Office". We then booked a restaurant for dinner, which turned out to be splendid.

We were up and away about 0430 into a strong southerly with a huge swell, so it was quite unpleasant coming out of St. Helier in the dark, and the trip to St. Malo was bumpy. I still served bacon butties though!

It chucked it down with rain as we arrived in St. Malo, but we had a beer in the cockpit on arrival anyway. We marched into town and spent the afternoon eating Moules Frites and relaxing. The afternoon then dissolved into an evening and the weather improved. We  had G&Ts in the cockpit, more beers, a pizza and even more beers.

Boat time was still running on English, and so I when I was awoken by my alarm expecting an hour before Julia arrived, I realised that I actually had no time, and did the same swearing as in the beginning of Four Weddings and  Funeral as I ran down the harbour, and could see Julia's boat was in and she was the last passenger in the arrivals area as I ran in and got to her just as she was reaching for her phone.

The boys then packed and set off to take the same ferry back, and Julia and I went for a walk around St. Malo. Next day, Julia and I went shopping to Carrefour using a taxi to bring the wine home, and I got some stuff from the Chandlery whilst Julia bought some boots. Then Alison and Bob came over with Oscar and we had a great time seeing them.

On Friday we set off for Treguier and after waiting for an hour and a quarter for the lock to open, we discovered that the bloody wind had decided to come from the NW exactly where we wanted to go. So we had quite an unpleasant bumpy motor with me finally being able to sail into the river when things then settled down.

We moored in Treguier and went up the hill and found a nice restaurant. Good meal. We spent the next day there and had lunch in the square and a meal in the evening at another good restaurant.

On the Sunday we went round to Lezardrieux and the sun came out as we moored on the outer pontoons. We did manage to get a sail into the river which was great while it lasted. Here we met David and Ian on Exuberant of Exmouth, David's Hanse 315. We had a beer with them, and went to explore, finding and booking a Moroccan restaurant for later.

David and Ian moved their boat into the inner marina and we met them for drinks and they joined us at the Moroccan for dinner, followed by a rum session aboard the Hanse afterwards.

Next morning, Julia and I headed for St. Peter Port and it was so quiet compared to last summer. The wind had now gone round to the NE so again it was on the nose. However, the weather was improving, so it wasn't so bumpy. We were now right on Spring Tides and the navigational challenges were much greater than last year when I came through in Neaps.

We ate in the Thai restaurant that evening and spent the next day shopping and wandering. We then ate in the Waterside the next night which was nearly empty compared to last year when we couldn't get in.

Wednesday 17th saw us head up to Alderney, and again the wind stayed NE and whilst I pointed the boat at France, the tide carried us up to Alderney. We were tied up by lunchtime and spent the afternoon and evening ashore. We ate in the Braye Chippy which was still great and turned in early for cross channel in the morning.

Thursday 18th at 0530 saw me pull out of Braye Harbour. Julia stayed in bed and we motored out into a NE 5 which gave an apparent of 6, so it was very unpleasant with wind over tide until HW Dover at 1300, Julia stayed down below. I had taken the boat a long way East on the tide as I knew there would be ten miles of tide taking me back West. This meant that at 1300, we bore off onto a cracking sail to the Needles. Julia came out on deck, the sun shone and the wind gradually eased, so much so that it more or less died at the Needles.

I kept in really close to find the reverse current and it was a stunning sight. We were due to join the Royal Southampton Cruisers Rally which started on the Friday at the Royal Yacht Squadron, and I had arranged for us to moor in their private marina on the Thursday night as well, so it was great fun to go into there!

The next day we went over on the Red Jet to the Boat Show and met Mike and Charles Hall there, along with bumping into many friends. The sun shone and it was hot. We had a really good day out, and then came back over to see the marina now full, and we changed ready for the drinks party and the black tie dinner in the Squadron.

On Saturday, we had a cracking sail down to Lymington where we had the Rally Dinner in the Royal Lymington, and before that Julia and I went and looked at some second-hand boats. I saw a lovely Oyster 435 - twenty years old , but she was a super yacht that really took my fancy.

Dinner was great and we sat with Tony and Heather and their crowd and had a great evening.

Sunday morning saw the glorious weather continue and we motored to Gins where we sat on a buoy for a while and then went ashore for Sunday Roast as part of the Cruisers rally. It was good to be back at Gins again, and we enjoyed everyone's company. We had gone on the buoy escape quickly and we almost got back into Haslar before the tide turned. Mooring up saw 435 nautical miles come up for the whole trip. I hope more of those miles will be sailed on the next holiday!

Richard and Helen had kindly invited us to dinner, and we called in there on the way home, and it proved to be a fitting end to our holiday.

Beaulieu River, Yarmouth and Fareham with Neil and Jane 27/28 September 2008

We then motored over to Yarmouth and after queuing to get in, we rafted and took another outside us before jumping into the dinghy and going for a stroll along the pier and then dinner in the Bugle.

The next day, we were away smartly at 0830, to make sure we didn't eat too much tide. We tried to sail, but there really was no wind all weekend. We had something around the prop from Cowes into Haslar, but it freed when we were back on our pontoon, and as it was so nice, we went for a motor all the way up Portsmouth Harbour to Fareham, which was great. So peaceful and tranquil up the top there.

Back into Haslar for some lunch and then Neil and Jane set off on their long drive home. Julia and I sunbathed in the garden and had a BBQ.

Shepards, Cowes with Malcolm & Mave 11/12 October 2008

We all arrived at the same time at Haslar in glorious sunshine. We made coffee and motored out, and over towards Wootton Creek in no wind. Then the breeze picked up enough for us to sail close hauled to Cowes in lovely weather.

Got tucked into Shepards - outside Geoff in Karis (Westerly Konsort) who had been outside us at Littlehampton. I opened some bubbles and Mavis provided lunch. Another yacht sandwiched us in and it was Shepards as usual!

We then went for a wander through Cowes and selected DB's restaurant for our meal later. Then back to the boat and enjoyed the cockpit and the sunshine.

DB's turned out to be a mistake, as although the menu prices weren't too bad and the food passable, they were charging over £20 for the cheapest bottle of wine and even the house at £15.95 was undrinkable, so it wasn't a great experience. Had wine and cheese back on  Selene afterwards!

It was thick fog all night and we were kept awake by the foghorns of the car ferry. The fog lingered in the morning but cleared to glorious sunshine again and a breeze too. We stayed and had lunch and then set off as the tide went slack and beat back with the tide gradually helping us along. Easy sailing, lovely weather and good company - great weekend all round.

Gins Mexican Evening, Lymington, Gins Laying up Supper 16-19 October 2008

Julia and I left Haslar in the early afternoon sailing into a lovely breeze and sunshine. We beat all the way to the Beaulieu River and went to Gins for the Mexican Evening, which was fun. Next day, we motored in sunshine to Lymington, where we went onto the floating pontoon just off the Town Quay and went ashore for some shopping.

We came back and I cooked some Sea Bream and we met Dianna and Phillip on "Grumpy Bear", who arrived on our pontoon along with their Red Setter, George. They are also RSYC members and we went aboard for drinks with them later in the evening.

Saturday, we had a huge cooked breakfast at the Vanilla Pod and enjoyed the market. We then sailed downwind back to Gins for the laying up supper, and we had convinced Dianna and Phillip to come too, so they were also there.

We were up early on Sunday and motored back to Haslar on the tide, so that we could get away to a friends "do" and later onto my parents for a family do.

Halloween Weekend: Gins and Island Harbour with the Legends 31 October 2008

Julia and I left Haslar on the Friday afternoon and had a sparkling sail all the way to the Beaulieu River with a good 4/5 NE and bright sunshine. Absolutely super. We enjoyed the Halloween evening at Gins although it was poorly attended.

The forecast wasn't good for Saturday, so we got away earlier than planned and motored over to Cowes as the weather worsened and the seas and wind built. Cowes entrance was very rough. We sneaked into Island Harbour just ahead of the torrential downpour that went on until the early evening, ruining a lot of the Legend Owners' rally fun and games for the kids. We were still asked to make a boat out of a plastic bin liner, some bamboo stakes, string, paper and a witches broom. I made a catamaran with a monster genaker.

The rain eased a bit and we had a race of all these across the marina. Mine went off like a rocket, and would have won, but sailed into the back of two other boats and got stuck behind these until at last the sheer power of mine pushed past. We came third.

The BBQ on the beach was cancelled and some ate on board and some ate in the Bistro. We had drinks with Mike & Sue aboard Scallywag and then I cooked our BBQ food aboard.

We then went and watched the fireworks, which were great and the rain had stopped. However, I hadn't been too well during the afternoon, and I got much worse with what turned out to be gastroenteritis. I had a dreadful night is all I can say. Although I was very tired, we motored home on the Sunday morning and I didn't start to get well again until Tuesday.

Square Brewery Sailing Club - Inaugural trip 9 November 2008

The original group of 13 was down to 9 by the Sunday morning. We took a mini bus down from the pub to Haslar where Richard and Helen were already aboard Kotka. The forecast was for strong winds from the SW, but we decided to head for Cowes and see what happened. We both planned to motor sail there and enjoy the downwind sail back.

Selene headed out and motored into the fierce wind and rain along to Gilkicker Point with Philip and Louise with us. Kotka had Pete and Natalie and Colin aboard. As we got to Gilkicker, we could see Kotka was struggling to keep up, but at the time didn't think much of it. The sun came out, and actually despite some of the gusts reaching 35 knots, it was quite pleasant.

As we were about 400-500m from Gales HSB buoy, we heard Richard on the VHF telling us his engine has packed up, so we turned around and went back to provide a tow and / or assistance. We had a cracking sail back on the jib alone and soon got back to Kotka over in Stokes Bay.

Looking at the sea state, I suggested we got the "professionals" to tow Kotka in, and within 10 minutes a rib was on the scene, and they took Kotka into the visitors area by Mary Mouse.

We moored back in our berth and had drinks, with the others gradually joining us on Selene. Richard and Helen tidied up Kotka and we all then headed into Landers for a late lunch, (where we saw Liz - who works there now) followed by more drinks in Selene and then the taxi back to the Square Brewery for a full de-briefing.

Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves, and we look forward to more trips soon.

Hamble (Scrubbing berth) & Ocean Village 14,15,16 November 2008

Julia & I motored round to the Royal RAF YC scrubbing berth on Friday morning, arriving at high water, and moored against the piles easily. By 1545, the water had gone, and I was able to pressure hose off all the slime. There wasn't really any growth at all, which is good since it's a year since this anti-foul went on. I found that the rubber gaiter around the saildrive had come off and the remains were still wrapped around the prop, so (a) that's what the major loss of speed was when Neil was aboard i.e. when it detached, and (b) why we've been going slower than usual - hence one of the reasons for drying out.

Tim and Christine, who also have a Legend 29.5 came aboard (yes through the mud) and had a look around Selene, gathering ideas for jobs on their boat. We had a drink in the Yacht Club with them, and then we stayed and ate there.

We floated again at 10pm, and I ran lines back so that we could pull Selene onto the waiting berth, where we then spent the night.

We were up and away sharpish at 8 am as the waiting pontoon was already in use at that time. Being little wind, and that on the nose, we motored round to Ocean Village and got tucked into the Club Pool. We then cleaned the boat off properly getting rid of all the mud etc.

We spent some time aboard Drake with Steve and Rena in the afternoon, and had Gordon & Christine aboard for G&Ts at 1800. Then into the club for the Cruisers Dinner & Dance, which was great fun.

Breakfast on Sunday morning was with David & Diana Gebbet in their wonderful apartment overlooking the Itchen. I got croissants and the papers from Tesco. Steve & Rena also came round.

Then we had a cracking sail back to Haslar and carried the cruising chute most of the way in a nice W 3-4. Popped into the Office on the way back and had a drink with Pete & Natalie, and then home - great weekend.

RSYC Rally to Newtown River 22/23 November 2008

Julia & I set out from Haslar on the Saturday into a good 4-5 NW, and sailed from Haslar bank almost into the Newtown River. Great beat with some lumpy gusts.

We motored in around low water and took the shallowest buoy giving the least distance to Shalfleet Quay. We relaxed during the afternoon, and I took a reccie in the dinghy to prepare for going up the Creek in the dark later.

We then went to the quay along with all the other dinghies and walked to the pub at Shalfleet, where we enjoyed a very pleasant evening. John & Ann Bass were hosting and Bob & Jackie were there also. We met Adam and Louise Greig on Aquaholic (who had Alan and Gillian crewing them) - Adam knows our doctor! Gordon and Christine Agnew were there on board Laurella Jo with Paul and Priscilla Rea.

David & Diana Robertson were there also aboard Latimer Lady and two crew (??) and Rex was there with Paul Frampton and two other chaps.

We met a couple at the bar who were interested in joining the RSYC - Peter and Sylvie (French lady) aboard La Recompense and we invited them for drinks after the meal. We made it back in the dark and entertained our guests.

The overnight forecast wasn't good, but there were supposed to be drinks on board Heidi at 1200 and then we planned to take the tide home. It blew up during the early hours, but we thought nothing of it, and Julia thought we heard an engine. When I went to put the ensign out at 0900, all the other Rally boats had gone! They had to a man heard the 0730 gale warning for F9 and all buggered off!

We decided to clear off ourselves as the weather was lousy, and so we just had to  eat some tide. It gusted only into F8 and the sea was rough, but it was a reasonable sail that was quite hard work. In the end it wasn't windy enough for the jib but too rough to sail double reefed so we motored the last couple of miles as the weather was lousy and we fancied getting to the pub! When have I ever said it wasn't windy enough!

Gins Xmas Party 13 December 2008

The wind was blowing and it was raining Saturday morning, and although I knew that the front would clear, Gina rang to say she'd rather not sail with us, although she would drive to Gins and join us for the dinner.

We went down Haslar, and it really rained, so we read the papers and waited a bit. The wind died before the rain went, so we didn't even get a sail and motored to Gins as the rain gradually stopped. Wasted no time getting there!

We tied up outside Lance and Kay in Prop Rider, and Ben & Suzie came outside us later. We invited them all for drinks at 6:30, and we moved onto Ben & Suzie's boat at 7 as they had even more guests coming for drinks.

We met Gina up in the club house. The Xmas dinner was a bit subdued, as 20+ people had cancelled through illness. We had booked on the basis of the music being good (disco) last year, and we got boring jazz, which got hardly anyone dancing. The food standard has dropped back to very average, and it wasn't as good a night as we'd hoped for.

Things didn't get any better as the weekend wore on either, as when we got back to the boat, we realised the Eberspacher had stopped, and it wouldn't start again. Gina, who had decided to stay over, now had to drive home, as we decided to go home also. We weren't staying in a boat with no heating and in a couple of hours, we could be in a warm car on the way home.

Unfortunately, we had to get Ben to let us out, which did cause him a few problems we gather, but he seemed fine about it when we spoke the next day. We ate foul tide all the way, so it took an hour longer than usual and the fog came into 100m viz as we came into Portsmouth!

No idea what's wrong with the heater - will have to go down and see what's wrong during the week. - Not such a great weekend! - Oh well.

As it turned out, it was only a fuse that had dislodged, so the fix was easy. I finally got the new autohelm I had ordered at the January Boat Show, and fitted this - all it needs now is a set up trip around the harbour.

Portsmouth Harbour December 2008

Fitted and set up the new auto helm - here's the track! All seems to work really well.