With strong southwesterly winds forecast for the Solent, expected to be on the nose from West Princessa cardinal to St Catherine's Point (the plan was to go round clockwise for the first time), it was a distinct possibility that we were not going to make it round the Back of the Wight, the first time in three years of Keith's rally that Odin would not manage it. Luckily Keith had already told us that he would have a cunning back-up plan, although he didn't manage to fix the wind strength. It wasn't really the forecast windforce but the potential for gusts, wind over the tide and the consequent bumpy beat down one leg of the island that looked daunting.

Odin's weekend out began on Friday afternoon when we drove round to HM Coastguard at Lee-on-Solent to drop off our collection of out-of date flares (as recommended). You need to persevere with this; the charming lady I spoke to when I made the booking tried hard to put me off with other solutions first. The whole exercise is yet another example of the old 'elf and safety' dilemma. The equally charming gentleman who met me at the door of the coastguard station explained that in the old days they would accept flares without an appointment. They would save them up for a disposal team who blew them up a handy beach. Now they can only be accepted by appointment because they have to make sure there is someone on duty who is properly trained and authorized to handle them. They still save them up but now they have to pay a private contractor to take them away. It's important to be safe but...What does everyone else do with their old flares?

Saturday's voyage involved the challenging passage from Gosport Royal Clarence to Gunwharf Quays (ie across Portsmouth Harbour). With a new member of crew on board we decided to go for a daysail in the Solent and check out the nuclear warship parked up in the middle. We found it hard work with the gusty conditions and the boat didn't settle very well. As we didn't join in the 2010-2011 winter fast cruise series and Easter saw hot sun and light winds (oh what a contrast) Odin is a bit rusty over tacking technique. We finally gave up in the gusts and went into Gunwharf Quays where one or two boats had already congregated. Two more crew joined us that afternoon, including one who only signed up on Friday evening. See it is worth asking for a berth at short notice.

In no time at all everyone was assembling on the pontoon for the pre-dinner drinks. Quite a few went on to eat at the Spice Island Inn (not the Old Spice Island Inn as we all want to call it) but Odin and Willow (who had come from the Hamble) opted for a very congenial meal together at the Loch Fyne restaurant at Gunwharf Quays.

We were all up promptly the next morning as Keith brought round the revised course inside the Solent, carefully drawn out round the cans and exploring the corners of the water including a leg right up to Hill Head and then down the Thorne channel and some zigzagging to Yarmouth. Odin womanfully and manfully gritted their teeth and decided to give it a try. Outside Portsmouth we found it hard to settle the boat (again) in the strong gusts and so we never really got a rhythm going. We quickly abandoned the idea of the course and settled for just making it to Yarmouth. We saw the distinct profile and topsides of Lazy Life and I thought enviously of her wheelhouse.

It was clear that it was an eventful weekend when we heard a message on the VHF that a capsized yacht had been taken into Royal Clarence and was no longer a hazard. By Monday afternoon she was up on a jetty there and I spotted her without realising what it was or that the keel was missing. Too busy checking the fenders by then.

Anyway as we were bucketing along, Ketih radioed the fleet and offered the option of returning to Portsmouth or stopping at Cowes. Like Ariel, we opted for Cowes. As we turned into the Medina we saw Lazy Life passing by majestically. There were was no rain, just low grey clouds and horrible gusts - Odin recorded 37kn at one point. We had two reefs in the main on Saturday and Sunday.

Once in Cowes the distaff side of the Odin crew took the bus to Newport, briefly looked round (why no info outside the Minster on its age...Google tells me it was built in 1854 on a site of worship for over 800 years) and then took another to Yarmouth. It was a fascinating trip through the countryside where we speculated on why the field crops looked so short, noted the mist over the tops of the downs and revelled in the novelty of a bus driver waiting for someone running up the lane towards the bus stop. We also covered 18th century monarchs of the UK and the Netherlands (cf the joint rally with the Corinthians next year) - which is a bit of a coincidence because I have just discovered that one of Charles I's daughters is buried in Newport Minster and he was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle) (memo to rally organizers - we never explore the IoW hinterland - should we?)

A lovely walk up the Freshwater Valley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a delightful walk up the Freshwater valley studying the wildflowers, the views and eventually the late afternoon sunshine as well as giving out tourist information. Our members really are multi-faceted. The day culminated in a great meal at the Royal Solent Yacht Club where the Yorkshire puddings were definitely bouffant. Our Commodore thanked Keith for a testing rally and Keith awarded prizes - Azanti for completing the course in a very respectable time (I believe the only boat on the rally to do so), Shearwater for racing the course until their gear failure, and Delphinus for making it all the way to Yarmouth at just 27ft.

On Monday we delayed departure waiting for some favourable tide. Winds were lighter but still very fretful and from the west/southwest- really only an issue when we played with the cruising chute - still something of a new toy for us. Although we had lighter winds, visibilty was pants for a while as some tentative rain crept up. We managed to avoid being harrassed by the policeboats around the warship which were very mother-henish all weekend. We heard one yacht on Saturday being hailed by them - obviously they were heading for the 250m exclusion zone. We speculated on what would happen if we did get too near and whether taking photos would be seen as a bad idea. It was noteworthy that we only worked out that it was a US vessel by the accent on the VHF and the gossip gleaned from another boat crew - they only identified themselves as Warship 77 on the VHF. Surely the US stretch to naming their vessels these days?

Anyway it was another typical LSC rally, full of the unexpected and new friends and companions and very enjoyable despite the strong winds. So now it is onwards to Littlehampton and Normandy...