Ollie Broughton

10-12 knots straight up southampton water, wind died at the end.

17-20 knots on the nose, no reefs, on the limit

Daytime sea breeze died quickly to almost complete calm. Everything’s well lit which makes this quite an easy evening trip.

Once the wind filled in as we travelled east in the Solent, this became one of my favourite legs of our trip. Sally loves a close reach in 15-20 knots of wind. My contribution was providing weight on the rails (and to watch for cruise ships). Lovely visitor mooring and welcome at Royal Southern Yacht Club.

Shallow bar in the Beaulieu entrance channel but the current depth is on the harbour website. Takes about 30-40 mins to motor to the marina. Henry’s Pub is v nice. Marina is the perfect venue for a picnic on deck.

A lovely kite run until the breeze disappeared in the last half-hour off Fishbourne. Strong tide off Cowes where we started sailing backwards on approach to the yacht channel. Great visitor mooring at Shepards Marina. Sheltered, nice showers. Dinner at Island Sailing Club (or a small starter in my case), a drink at RORC and another at the Union Inn. Breakfast in town before heading off. Perfect spot!

Sally C and crew in their happy place. Consistent SOG of 6+ knots all the way across the Solent on flat water. Bembridge is tricky to find. Look out for the old stone watch tower building just by the entrance (and remember it’s on a shallow stony bank). Current shallowest depth at the entrance is on the harbour website. Very nice welcome - staff took our lines and helped us into a snug finger berth. Another warm welcome at Brading Haven Yacht Club where we stopped for lunch.

A single broad reach along Southampton Water. Perfect warm up for our trip. Nice visitor mooring at Warsash. Harbour Master office open till 10pm in summer. Decent dinner in nearby pub, then a drink in Warsash Sailing Club. Co-Op in Warsash is a few minutes’ walk away. A very handy spot for getting away early the next day.