Saturday 23rd March 2024
0000 hrs
Lat: 50° 45.62'N Long: 001° 17.60'W
0900 hrs
Slipped our lines at Sheppards and headed up river to the fuel barge that opened at 1000 hrs. On going up river I spotted a boat that I last saw in Scarborough back in 2021, and latter dropped them a message saying I had spotted them.
1000 hrs
Alongside the fuel barge Josh and Rooby tended the refuelling while the rest of the crew had a 'happy hour', boat cleaning.
1130 hrs
Fuelling complete. Thankfully, I was not paying, but wondered if they give Nectar Points.
As we entered the Solent we could see some very dark angry squalls to the west of us and waited until they had passed before raising the mizzen and the staysail.In a matter of half an hour the day had changed from a pleasant spring morning to a cold and very wet day, but the squall soon passed and we got to work putting the boat through he paces making sure that she good for the start of the season.
After several hours of sailing to windward and lots of tacks it was decided to call into Lymington, not one of the usual ports of call on the Solent, for the night.
Prolific tacking in the Solent
1530 hrs
We dropped the anchor to the east of the channel into Lymington to wait for the tide. Sitting in 40 knots of wind with the rain lashing the boat watching it from 'the shed' was quite comfortable, in an open boat things would have been very wet.
1630 hrs
The weather had cleared and the anchor lifted before we followed the ferry into Lymington. Andrew being a member of Royal Lymington Yacht Club had arranged for us to tie up to their pontoon for the night.
1730 hrs
Lat: 50° 45.26'N Long: 001° 31.67'W
After a couple of practice parks, which attracted quite a large audience, we tied up alongside and Andrew left for his own boat. House rules state that you must fly a club pennant when alongside.
After supper we piled into the bar and enjoyed a few beers - I enjoyed the atmosphere in the club to the hurly burley of the pub in Cowes the previous evening. Several club members came over and asked about the boat and the charity.
Sounds like Prolific holds the record for the largest boat to come alongside.
All times are UTC.
| Underway | Distance NM |
Avg SOG knots |
Max SOG knots |
Night Hours |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day: | 6h 00m | 23.25 | 3.87 | 10.00 | 0h 00m |
| Trip: | 12h 45m | 57.85 | 4.53 | 12.00 | 0h 00m |
| Year: | 12h 45m | 57.85 | 4.53 | 12.00 | 0h 00m |
Crew: Constantinos (Skipper), James B, Josh, Andrew W, Tom K, Robert J, Sara A, Rooby, Juliette D and Sandy.
Sunrise: 0602 hrs Sunset: 1824 hrs
Weather: Forecast valid from: 00:00 (UTC) on Sat 23 Mar 2024 until 00:00 (UTC) on Sun 24 Mar 2024.
Wight, Portland, Plymouth
West or northwest 5 to 7. Moderate or rough, becoming rough or very rough in west and south Plymouth. Squally showers. Good, occasionally moderate.
© Met Office Synoptic Chart 23/03/2024