Renegade Log 2021
Gosport - SYH - 25-28 July - Mike, Chris & Tony B.
Solent - 23-25 July - Tony B & family
Solent - 17-23 July - Len & crew
Along with my crew spent an enjoyable week in The Solent being based at East Cowes and probably one word sums up the week best..........HOT.
Week consisted of light winds interspersed with decent sea breezes. When there was very light winds in all honesty it was just too hot out there so sitting in an air conditioned pub was a far better idea. The inconsistent breeze removed any thoughts of travelling away from the Solent and the furthest we bothered to go was a sail to The Needles.
Great week and everything went well including the fridge and ice box in the caravans !!
Donated a couple of bottles of wine to helpful Haslar staff who throughout I believe have done well to accommodate us and the only time they couldn't was the weekend of the Round the Island race where everywhere was basically booked well in advance.
Gosport - Fowey - Gosport - 2-16 July - Tony E, John, David & guest crew Kit, Pete & Rupert
Our crew (in various combos) had a great fortnight on R. Thanks to Murray, Bob and John we rendezvoused at Poole. Then followed a rather gruelling 25 hour sail direct to Plymouth with solo watches due to both guest crew's mal de mer. The objective was to push west as fast as possibly but then recovery time and strong winds held us captive in Plymouth for three days!
Our first passage also highlighted the need to apply a fudge factor to passage plans above the 5kts an hour rule of thumb ...we opted for 20% which generally saw us in good stead. We did manage a Devon cream tea (I did mine Cornish style of course) and a lovely afternoon cruise up the Tamar as far as Cotehele Quay.
We also switched marinas between Mayflower (where the Bistro is pretty good) and Kings Point (newish sister marina to Sutton and rather disorganised).
We finally escaped Plymouth's charms for Fowey, a return visit for me but a first for the rest of the crew. We were directed by the HM to a floating pontoon off the town.
A quick lunch then a water taxi to the town quay. Our visit coincided with the England-Denmark game and after checking out the Galleon Inn and the British Legion, Tony led us to the Royal Fowey Yacht Club where we managed to reserve front row leather sofas for the game in a clubhouse with a magnificent view over the river too. Perfect!...except extra time meant we had to leave after full-time to bolt for the last taxi back.
We had to return (again) to Plymouth for a crew change on the Friday but to ring the changes we first spent Thursday night in the River Yealm. Again a return visit for me but a first for most of the others. Despite not being able to go ashore (water taxi finishes around 4pm) the crew agreed it was a gorgeous haven and a short hop back to Plymouth for the changeover and a bit of provisioning and laundry.
Then onto Salcombe with careful timing to clear the Bar on the falling tide, picking up a visitor buoy and calling up the water taxi Tony's call to a chandlery for gas was successful so we dragged the empty bottle ashore and relayed the replacement around town until we took a break in the first significant sun of the cruise by the war memorial.
With the pleasures of RFYC fresh in our minds, we realised we were right by Salcombe Yacht Club and a quick enquiry revealed that there was a BBQ on the terrace that night we were welcome to attend. We were there sharp at 5pm to grab a table before the food from 6pm...burgers and Merguez sausage hotdogs with great chips and delicious monumental mixed salads. The terrace has fabulous views over the harbour and we basked in the sunshine over a couple of pints of Salcombe brewery ale.
Dartmouth was our next stop. We arrived in murky conditions again and picked up a spare buoy to eat and finalise our plan to get a berth on the Town Quay. These are available on a first come, first served basis now from 5pm in season. We adopted a similar strategy to two years ago...arrive at the quay around 15 minutes ahead of time and jill around until the last ferry arrives and leaves. There was a commercial boat hovering about and on our first approach we were asked to wait until this has docked then come on close behind. We circled around, diving in front of a 40+ foot yacht showing the same intention. Poor Pete on the bow line was nearly asphyxiated by the choking exhaust fumes from the commercial boat but we were on.
That night was the Euros Final. Warmed to the idea of yacht clubs, we had emailed ahead and booked a table at the Dartmouth Yacht Club. After connecting to shorepower and paying our dues, we visited the club to check out reservation for the footie was secure and grab much needed showers. Then to the bar for the big match! It was not RFYC or SYC in standard but the welcome was warm and there was a great atmosphere as the tables filled up. We had asked about food beforehand and learned that the club were serving complimentary burgers. These appeared at half time and were really good, they even offered seconds! This time, with no water taxi to worry about, we were able to stay until the bitter end...and sadly bitter it was.
Monday saw us on our way early, bound for Weymouth. Winds had perversely turned easterly, in fact the forecast rarely held true even for 24 hours in the changeable conditions of our cruise. We were aiming for the inshore passage but at a go, no-go point, despite having allowed some extra time 'in the back pocket', it was clear we were looking tight. Changing course for the outside route would only add 2.5 miles at that point. But as we arrived well below the Bill and the Race the tide against us took its toll and our progress slowed. We were still within a safe state of tide for the Bill and in the otherwise benign conditions we identified a passage between the Race and the Shambles Bank which, stemming the tide, carved an hour or more off the passage and , after an almighty deluge off Portland Harbour, saw us reach the harbour in time for a fish and chip supper before the 2130 closing time. A first visit to Weymouth for all of us and we agreed it was a good haven worth a visit.
We had to move by 0900 on Tuesday as though we thought we had moored clear of the ferry's dock, it extended further than the main signage suggested. We picked up another pontoon for breakfast and to ship the anchor in readiness for the day ahead.
We set off across Weymouth Bay to check out the mothballed cruiseliners before continuing eastward. Both the website and a leaflet for mariners had given the impression that the Lulworth range was not active but VHF traffic suggested otherwise. A call on channel 8 revealed part of the outer range was in use until 1700 so a diversion further offshore was required. We traversed the outer limit of the range before heading for Chapman's Pool, just shy of St Alban's Head, an anchorage only large enough for a couple of yachts. It needs a lot of care both navigating in and selecting a spot to drop the hook. We opted to rig a tripping line too, using the smaller of our fenders. It is an interested spot for a lunch or in our case, afternoon tea stop.
20 minutes before firing was scheduled to end we weighed anchor and headed for Lulworth Cove. The range patrol boat had already gone, indicating firing had finished and we would enter the range after 1700 anyway. An hour back West to the cove where we circled around to select the best remaining spot. We had heard they were night firing that day too and sure enough as darkness fell the peace was broken by the firing of shells and machine guns beyond the cliffs. Again the forecast understated the winds and it was a lively night at anchor with several visits on deck, first to lash the tiller, to check we weren't dragging and to explore some noise from the bow that was just some snatching on the anchor chain. Perhaps in futurerigging a rope snubber in spite of the forecast would be advisable.
Wednesday saw us heading back to Poole where we needed to reunite Tony with his car he'd left there. We had a cracking sail with the wind in the N/NW, oversailing the channel before tacking back, dodging the lobster pot buoys.
Aa
L
Like so often on our cruise we hadn't been allowed to reserve a berth in advance but were told to check on the day. Today, we were drawing a complete blank. We took the North Channel to refuel in Salterns Marina. Though we had already called them up, we asked again for a berth and were offered a hammerhead. £50 later we were moored, surrounded almost exclusively by Princesses and other motor cruisers.
We were one of of only three masts in the whole marina! We celebrated our last night as a complete crew with a great Thai meal at a recommended restaurant nearby.
On Thursday Tony left us early, leaving David on breakfast galley duties. A full English later, we set off at 1000 for the Solent. Another cracking sail saw us arrive early at Hurst Narrows where we entered via the North Channel at HW-2 with both wind and tide for us. The wind direction was variable in the Solent, one minute we could only make the Island shore, then we could clear the Island, then we just lay our course towards Portsmouth. Eventually just before Cowes our favourable tide ended and in lighter winds we added some motor. As we neared Fort Gillicker we heard that the small craft channel would be closing due to the imminent arrival of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. We got a pretty good view of her as we turned in past the Fort.
As we approached the turn towards Portsmouth proper, a police launch held all traffic as POW made her slow progress to the boatyard. A chance to get fenders and lines ready before the jostle for position as all craft were released.
A late bit of drama as we struggled to find pontoons A & B even with the marina plan in front of us (they are tucked behind pontoon C) and our allocated A2 berth. One crew member even suggested we had entered the wrong marina (the rather prominently signed Haslar lightship confirmed otherwise!) In Gosport we opted to hit an old haunt of mine during my time sailing with the former NatWest Sailing Club out of the old Camper & Nicholson's marina, the Castle Tavern. A proper old pub serving great Sharp's Sea Fury and traditional pub grub at reasonable prices. We returned to Renegade enjoying a light show at the Spinnaker Tower across the water in Portsmouth enroute.
Friday was busy making the boat ready for Len and crew before a much needed shower and a dash across to the station in the heat for trains home.
All in all, a great fortnight with great crews!
Solent - Poole - 25 June - 2 July - Murray, Bob and John
Gosport - Weymouth - Gosport - 18 - 25 June - Mike & Chris
SYH - Gosport - 5th - 9th June - Len, John, Murray & Bob
Decided against leaving on Friday 4th June as not wanting to experience (again!) a day long deluge of rain whilst at sea. Left SYH about 0900 Saturday 5th and the wind was effectively non existent and 'variable'. Needing to make progress we motor sailed, and then we motor sailed some more until we had gone past Dover and as the daylight increased past Dungeness. Almost without warning in no time at all a very pleasant S.W. breeze started and we had a very enjoyable sail all the way to Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne arriving at midday. With a very similar lack of wind on Monday we decided to spend the day at Eastbourne and planned our departure for 0600hrs on Tuesday 8th.
On leaving Eastbourne once again we experienced very light winds and having to make progress once again motor sailed until at some distance off of Brighton where a slight breeze kicked in and gradually rose to about F.3 and we sailed through to Cowes having an enjoyable stop at the Cowes Yacht Haven.
On Wednesday we had a leisurely sail across The Solent and up the Beaulieu River to Bucklers Hard for a brief visit. On exiting the river we now had a very good breeze and had a very enjoyable period hard on the wind before sailing through to our destination at Gosport. Left Renegade safely there to await the arrival of Mike & Chris.
