Gosport to Hamble. Final trip for winter lay-up

Having done our research on best options for laying up the yacht for winter, we chose Hamble Point Marina located at the mouth of the Hamble river in Southampton. Many of the marina deals were expensive and had add-ons such as hire of cradle etc.
Generally the costs involve about 300£ for lift out, 100£ for the wash and 300£ for re-launch. The actual shore side storage amounts to about 1,800£ for five months. (14.6 m yacht)
So on the 1st October we motored from Gosport Haslar marina up the Southampton waters to Hamble where we moored on the visitors pontoon just in front of the marina. Although our appointment was for 13.00 local time they actually lifted us at about 11.30. From the sling they put the yacht into a flat bed motorised trolley and took her to the designated position right beside the water overlooking the river.

In the transporter trolley

Our view from the cockpit

Looking up the river

Parked along the grass behind madam

Long stay in Portsmouth

We are enjoying a sedate stay in this great harbour visiting the new house that Miles our son has recently bought. Helping with some interior lighting enhancements. We are also spending time with Grant our youngest who is on holidays from University, and we had a quick visit from our daughter Caitlin who lives in London.

Also planning to visit the Southampton show to buy more equipment for our long term cruising, and to find a suitable place to store our yacht for the winter.

Beaulieu to Portsmouth Harbour

Exciting trip across the Solent avoiding supertankers and yachts. Entered the melee of Portsmouth and turned into Haslar Marina. Communicated on Channel 80 with a very efficient marina supervisor and ended up with a nice berth. Consequently we booked in for ten days. So next we go ashore and visit family.

Another night in Beaulieu

We asked the harbour supervisor of the Beaulieu river if there was room on the Bucklers Hard pontoon, and sure enough there was, so we left the mooring on the lower river, motored upstream and moored up. We immediately got the dinghy in the water and went ashore to visit the old 'Hard'.

Later in the evening we had supper in the Old Forge Hotel.

Nice evening in a beautiful setting.

From Poole to Beaulieu in the Solent

The harbour of Poole was unimpressive, although we went ashore for a trip to nearby Boutnemouth which was enjoyable. The strong wind a crazy tide pattern left us numb, and the astronomical prices that the marina wanted to charge us was enough to put anyone off.

So we departed Poole at 11.00 this morning and had a nice gentle trip to the great Solent. Past the Needles and into the Beaulieu River to pick up a mooring.

Dartmouth to Studland Bay near Poole

We eventually dragged ourselves away from Dartmouth after a wonderful few days that included a visit from Miles our number one and a stay of Grant our number three.

The recent hurricane left some unsettled weather, high seas with strong winds, but we had a need to move East to Solent area.

The trip from Dartmouth started at midnight and was quite a challenge! Major swell and rough turbulence especially near Portland Bill. But the latter few hours was a nice sail before we dropped anchor in the wide yet exposed bay of Studland.

Plymouth to Dartmouth

After a night at anchor in Cawsand Bay we sailed East, on the 3rd August, for 6hours to Dartmouth. Glorious day and lots of other yachts and boats. We moored on the deep water pontoon just opposite Dartmouth town. Following day we took a trip to Totnes on the lovely old paddle steamer.

Technical downtime in Falmouth

We still have the Dock-And-Go fault whereby the power is low and erratic. The manufacturer of the stern drive system has been procrastinating and moaning about their part in this warranty issue. They like to blame Yanmar and Yanmar doesn't get active. A shambles and the only people to suffer are ourselves. The Dock-And-Go system would be very useful to us during marina berthing.

So we are staying here in Falmouth another coupl of days so that ZF engineer can visit and troubleshoot the fault.

We are biding our time watching the lovely sailing boats etc.

Helford River to Falmouth

Overnight in Helford then on to Falmouth on a bright sunny day. Falmouth is very crowded with all kinds of water craft. We picked a mooring outside the Visitors Yacht Haven. Since it was Heather's birthday we went ashore to buy some provisions and look for a restaurant to have a birthday dinner.

Penzance Bay to Helford River

The morning of the 24th was very quiet and we motored gently past the famous Saint Michael's Mount, which is a castle situated on a high island isolated from the mainland by a spit of land that floods at high tide. Very Impressive. Then we motored towards Lizards Point so as to reach it at slack tide because the overfalls and rough seas are reputably terrible. However the wind increased and we sailed on a close tack towards the headland and then because of the wind direction we had great difficulty rounding the head, and of course the sea was very rough.

Saint Ives to Penzance

After a detailed calculation of tides around the extreme South West point of UK, namely Lands End, we left Saint Ives against the tide and motored for four hours until we got into the East going tide just South of Lands End. This then helped us to sail to Penzance Bay. We thought about stopping in Mousehole but it look a bit bleak so we passed Newlin and dropped the anchor off Penzance harbour for the night of 23rd July. This area is very crowded compared to our Hebrides cruising. Polution in the air and sea, and the noise of traffic coming from the shore. Also there are a lot of ships and sailing boats. Sure to get worse as we work our way further East towards Southampton.

Saint Ives in Corwall

Leaving Dale Bay in Milford Haven at 07.00 on Monday 21st July, we ventured out into the wide Bristol Channel. It was calm and virtually no wind initially. We were amazed and amused by the large number of Dolphin that we encountered and that 'buzzed' the boat. We felt privileged !

The distance to St Ives was 90 N miles almost due South. After two hours we got enough wind (SW) to sail for 10 hours, then we motor-sailed for the final 3 hours and anchored in the bay at sunset. A good trip.

Rounding Saint David's Head

The far Western tip of Wales is called St David's Head and is famous for its treacherous sea conditions because it juts out into Saint George's Channel which is the narrow southern entrance to the Irish Sea. Luckily it was a very calm day and we even ventured into the tidal gate between Ramsey Island and the Head. An eight hour motor took us to our next destination of Dales Bay in Milford Haven. A days rest to do some washing and we are planning our next stop.

Gale force in Fishguard

The 17th of July was meant to be the hottest day this year in uk. For us it was just about good as we gently motored in still conditions down the Welsh coast to Fishguard. The wind was forecast to reach Force 8 in the evening so we carefully chose an anchorage on the East side of Fishguard bay under the headland.

Holyhead to Porth Dinllaen and New Quai

From Holyhead we caught the South going tide to Dinllaen which is a sheltered bay 5 hours away on the North side of the Lleyn Peninsula. Then we took one of our most strenuous trips out across Cardigan Bay towards Fishguard our planned destination. For this crossing we had to leave at night so as to get the tide and wind. It was indeed a tough night!! The wind was force 5 and 6 and right on our nose. We tacked out into St George's Channel into rough seas, then tacked back and ended up in New Quai just East of Fishguard. This was the best we could do in the terrible conditions. Anyway we relaxed in New Quai for the night.

Next stop Holyhead

We departed on Sunday 13th heading due South. Wind was on our tail and we made good time however as we approached Holyhead we had to cross the TSS which was a bit difficult due to shipping traffic. We turned East a bit late and nearly overshot the Holyhead entrance and ended up in some over falls . This headland can be very stressful when wind and tide are flowing. Just about all the water that fills the Liverpool bay passes this headland!

So we stayed at anchor in Holyhead for a day and a half. Wind was terrible and we had a dragged anchor situation.

Arrived in Saint Mary's on the I of M

Isle of Man with the three legged flag.! Enjoying a day in the capital of Douglas on the Eastcoast. Kwanza is moored on a buoy in St Mary's bay, and our tender (rubber dinghy) is on the beach. It's a warm balmy 20 degrees ! A new experience.. All this warmth..