Crew: Martin & Grant Richmond-Coggan
Friday
Arriving in good time we caught the boat service to Alize on a
wonderful sunny evening with very few people about at Ginns Farm. Alize was soon moved onto
the pontoon where we were on our own; the peaceful silence only broken
occasionally by birdcalls. In the dying rays of the evening sunlight we checked
the boat over and stowed our provisions. This weekend had been carefully chosen
to allow us to get to Weymouth with a morning of west going tide and return
with the east going tide in the afternoon the following day. The forecast was for
North Easterlies, 3-4 going north on Sunday, we fully expected to get there
and back over the weekend. Having made our preparations we retired to the
clubhouse for a few drinks and a fortifying dinner.
Saturday
At 4am we were up and keen to get off in order to catch as
much of the tide as possible. It was a fairly easy trip south down the river, although quite dark, as the half moon spelling out Neap tides had set. Once passed
the sharp turn in the river heading east we saw an amazing number of yachts
at anchor, all carrying the traditional hurricane lamp in the rigging instead
of the usual electric anchor light. We soon realised it was a Cruising
Club Rally.
Clearing the river took
some care as the light at the entrance was still out of commission but after
remembering to pass the inshore port channel marker and using the millennium
light we were soon out into the Solent. Here it was difficult to find our
bearings until we realised that the ominous dark patches were very localised
areas of mist that were quite disorienting, At one stage we could see Yarmouth
and Hurst clearly, but not Lymington, amongst many other lights on the
northern coastline.
There was sufficient breeze to get the sails up so we
ghosted down with the tide in the darkness to Hurst only making a couple of
knots through the water but over five over the ground. Unfortunately at Hurst
we had to put the engine on as the wind went dead astern after the slight
change of course. We progressed on swiftly so by 7am when dawn had broken we were off
the Needles in clear daylight. Here we could change course for St Albans Head
which was a more favourable point of sailing, more importantly the wind
strengthened, allowing a brisk sail although the sea had become
moderately rough.
In another two hours we were past Anvil Point making a
steady 5 knots under full sail in 15 kns of wind. We took
the inshore route to avoid the race off St Albans Head but found there was
hardly any disturbance at all, only a little to the west in the direction of
the tide. Chapmans Pool was just around the corner providing excellent shelter
in a Northerly or easterly; we had plenty of time so this was an opportunity not to be missed. Hardening up around the rocky headland we kept close
inshore until we saw the little bay a mile to the north, being quite small and
surrounded by craggy hills it was not clear until quite close in.
Having dropped the sails, we motored directly into the bay with the wind dead ahead watching the depth,
which suddenly shoaled past the entrance enabling us to anchor in 3m of water
right in the centre. All alone, this was an idyllic anchorage, reminiscent of Scotland
and not at all typical of the South coast. We were surrounded by rough rocky hills with a deserted beach, it was a quiet, remote spot. The only signs of habitation was
a fisherman’s cottage with a few small open boats outside; that is until we noticed a steady stream of walkers climbing over the hills like ants later on. For
over an hour we were on our own in this idyllic spot until we finally decided
to move on to Lulworth for lunch.
With a tinge of sadness, the moment of peace was
over, the anchor was raised only to find that it was fouled by a steel hawser. Fortunately a few minutes work with the grapnel and the winch it was off, allowing us
to make our departure. Once seemingly clear of the bay we hoisted the sails and were away following the coastline westwards. Unfortunately a small rocky
outcrop to the northwest was further out than expected and only the depth
The little round bay was quite crowded despite being out of
season. A Sigma 38 that had overtaken us had taken the prime spot so we settled
down to anchor in three metres of water, closer to the entrance than ideal, but still well
protected from the wind. The anchor winch makes life so much easier and is a
real enticement to dropping the hook; anchoring twice in one morning would not
have been a pleasure on any of the other boats we've sailed in!
The Cove had a
delightful seaside feel to it even though it was out of season. The bright
sunny day had invited lots of sunbathers and swimmers, the ice cream shop was
doing brisk business and a big Rib had a steady stream of people wanting a trip
around the headland to see Durdle Door. Following a rather civilised lunch with a glass of wine the
tender was inflated and a quick trip ashore made to revive memories of earlier
visits. Everywhere could be seen signs of the geological formations that had resulted in World Heritage site status being granted to this coastline;
immediately in front of us was an amazing cliff with the soft strata exposed
reaching out to the hard limestone of the barrier to the seas progress.
By
the time we set out for the last eight miles along the coast to Weymouth the
wind had dropped so we had to motor. In no time we were passing the RFA Fort
George anchored in Weymouth Roads before entering the harbour itself, passing the
fishermen on the pier and weaving amongst a small flotilla of boats going in
and out. It seemed unusually busy, and for good reason – it was Weymouth
Festival weekend. Up by the cove every boat was decorated overall, there was
bunting all around, tents and lots of activity.
Despite this we had no difficulty in mooring alongside a
motorboat rafted well out with a splendid view of the proceedings. Against the
background music from several bands there were birdman contests, Gig races and
raft races. The new lifeboat gave demonstrations of its equipment and was the
centre of the proceedings, which was only fitting as it cost over £1m and they
were trying to raise as much as possible to support it. In the evening we had
dinner at Perrys, some excellent seafood was on the menu, which could not be
missed. Returning to Alize we were just in time to see the extensive firework
display which marked the end of the evening. A trawler had moored in the middle
of the harbour off the Cove and set off a low level display which was followed
by a second high altitude display set off from The Nothe, all very impressive
and accompanied by many oohs and aahs from the crowd.
Sunday
Slightly apprehensive due the forecast of a NE force 4-5
wind we were anxious to get off on time at 6am. Unfortunately the Sigma we had
seen earlier had moored outside us and although had said they wanted to leave
at first light were a bit slow in departing. Nevertheless, we set off in
reasonable time and motored out into Weymouth bay to find the wind, as forecast, on the nose. With a reef in the main and slightly shortened Yankee we made a
steady 4kn across the bay in the general direction of St Albans Head but not
able to make it on one tack. We sheeted in the sails as far as we could get them, but the best we could manage was 45 degrees off the wind which
was between 15 and 20 Knots. Fortunately the sea was not that rough as it was
blowing off the land, this allowed Alize to maintain a steady, if rather
sedate, progress. After an hour and a half we were off Durdle Door where the
Sigma 38 that had delayed its departure by a good half hour sped by, hard on
the wind, much to our disgust. The only consolation was that they had new
sails, the main alone cost £3000 and needed a full crew to manage it.
By 11am we had reached St Albans Head and were struggling through a surprising
amount of rough water close inshore where the passage was meant to be; offshore
it all looked calm! Hard on the wind we retraced our steps past the cliffs
riddled with caves to Anvil Point and the pretty white Lighthouse. Here the
grey sky’s had cleared and once again we were in bright sunshine, which always
makes the most difficult of sails easier to undertake. Reaching Poole Bay the
sea state changed, now there was some real fetch and the seas showed it,
becoming moderately rough. One long tack took us south of Needles fairway in
what was now an increasingly favourable tide; here faced with a headwind all
the way up the channel and anxious to get back in time for the boat service we
took the only option and motored. If only we had good upwind sails! After
several crossing situations with “Creightons” one of the Chay Blythe round the
world yachts we were passing Alum bay, heading into Hurst and more sheltered
water.
Following a spot of lunch we were going through the narrows where the water was disturbed due to the tide, now at full flow. Avoiding the ferries we made our way past the many yachts out for the weekend back to the entrance of the Beaulieu River, where we passed a few of the Cruising Club members still at anchor. Back at the mooring there was a minor problem, Vagabond, a neighbouring yacht had taken our place. Fortunately this was soon resolved with Roy, the boatman’s who assistanced, moving her back into her rightful place so that we could moor just after 5pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment