Joanna Spencer-Smith

Up until the point when we wanted to do our first gybe it was a fairly steady F5 from SW. obvs it jumped to F6 for the first one and F7 for the second. Let all the sails out as far as the would go (2reefs) and suddenly found the end of all our sheets! All sailboats were suddenly heading to the shade of the Isle of Wight. boats reported on channel 16 as running aground and capsizing

wSW wind, mostly F6 or 5. We set off with the tide to get us past Hurst castle and then spent the rest of the day sailing again both wind and tide. Started with two reefs but at about 5 or 6pm we shook one out and all the Genoa as the wind had dropped to F4. Obviously it picked up again so it got a bit more hairy when the 30knot gusts blew in. Arrived safe and sound. Hoping for a peaceful nights sleep, but first DINNER!

Wind from the NE, anywhere from F4 to F7. Put in 1reef and also reefed the Genoa. Sailing against the tide. Only a little spot of rain towards the end. Was a bit chilly!

Sunny with F4-6 NE winds. One reef.

1-2kt to begin with, so mostly drifting with the tide. SOG log not working, suggesting vegetation growth again. Stuck our nose in at Newtown creek, but botttled it as not much space and we weren’t familiar with the area. Being high tide we didn’t want to run aground! Came back to lymington with better winds mostly from a NE direction. Otherwise sunny.

The forecast promised SSW wind of 9kt with gusts of over 20kt. That didn’t materialise! There was just about enough wind to make it around the course, but there were also moments when the boat was making no progress (other than being carried by the tide) and the windex was just spinning aimlessly! Also experienced a bit of sea mist. Obviously we came last, and that’s even before the handicap is applied! All topped off with nice lunch at the sailing club.

Beautiful sunny day with SSE winds of about 18-20kt. Bit gusty but nothing to worry about as we had a reef in place. You could tell we hadn’t done much sailing this year as we realised we’d we hadn’t prepped the sail or moved all the halliards sometime after leaving the marina! Shared the helm with Paul. No third person with us today. Looks like the fuse for the bow thruster blew whilst parking!!

After a little shenanigans getting the anchor up, Force 4 winds, none of the promised gusts and lots of, beautiful sunshine. Beam reach all the way.

Motored across to Isle of Wight with intention of dropping anchor and water taxi to shore. Arrived only to find the windlass not working. Unable to find multimeter so decided to head over to Yarmouth to pick up a bouy. Fortunately Paul checked the fuses only to discover it had been removed. Found a new one, popped it in (hope it’s the right size) and back to the Hut. All moored up- now we just need to figure out why the log (speedo) wasn’t working today…

SW winds f4. Mostly Ben on the helm today with somewhat more guidance than I got yesterday in f4-7!!! Followed a variation on yesterdays course, but going the other way round.