Southampton boat show 14th - 22nd September

Here she is at the show. It seems to have gone well and we had an opportunity to speak to suppliers of equipment and make plans for next year.  She is now, hopefully, back in Haslar Marina, Portsmouth. Broadblue want to use her for a few demonstration sails. In exchange they will pack her up for the winter. We'll go down this week and remove anything that needs to be off the boat until spring.

Southampton

We welcomed Kennan and Melanie for what was probablty our last sail of the season. In blustery conditions we tacked up the Solent to Cowes and then motored up to the Foley Inn for lunch. It was an opportunity for our visitors to have fish and chips. After lunch we headed up Soutampton water to leave our boat with Broadblue for the boat show.

Back in Portsmouth

We survived the night at anchor in Chichester Harbour. I was looking forward to idling round the harbour in the sunshine, perhaps a walk to a pub for lunch. As it was the day was grey, the wind was howling, the sky was laden with rain. So we upped anchor and bounced our way over the Chichester bar and headed for home where we knew there was a good shower and plug in power. It was also a good opportunity to clean the boat. We now sit amongst a gaggle of Broadblues - including us there are 2 385s, 3 435s and a solitary 345.

Chichester Harbour

We finally got off the mud at 4pm and made our way out into the Solent. We only had to go 10 nm to the Chichester bar at the entrance to this massive natural harbour. The wind was blowing at 20 knts and we had a downwind sail achieving 7 to 8 knts. We've anchored yet again. A little bit trickier but we seem to be OK at the moment. Let's hope we'll have a comfortable night.

Bembridge

This morning we took the dinghy ashore and walked to the pub for a drink. After a sandwich on the boat we left an increasingly crowded anchorage and sailed and then motored to Bembridge on the North East coast of the Isle of Wight. We can only get in here near high tide. We're happily berthed in a few centimetres of water and will sink into the mud as the tide goes out. It does mean we can only leave near high tide tomorrow, either at 5 am or 5 pm.

Newtown River

For once we're having glorious weather although no wind. We stayed in anchor in Poole yesterday for a second night. We took the dinghy ashore to Brownsea Island, had lunch and a long walk. Today we left at 8am bouncing along the bottom until we got into the channel. We motored towards the Sent stopping at Yarmouth to do some shopping before getting into the Newtown River for lunch. This is a peaceful, although somewhat crowded anchorage. We'll stay here tonight.

Poole harbour

We're peacefully anchored in a backwater of Poole Harbour. It was another early start and a long day beating into a choppy sea and a cold wind. Something always goes wrong on a boat. Today it was the mainsail out haul that broke. At least we're within sight of the Solent so, baring disasters, we can be sure of getting to Southampton for the boat show.

Teignmouth

We woke up to thick fog so back to bed. An hour later it had cleared so we motored the 10 miles round to Teignmouth. They have 2 small visitors pontoons and we took up a side if one. We took the dinghy across the river for lunch and are now having a cup if tea before going ashore in Teignmouth.

Brixham

We're back on the boat again. We celebrated Lucinda's birthday over the weekend and took the train to Plymouth yesterday afternoon. The train was packed with unpleasant children and uncouth youth. Plymouth was grey, wet and miserable. It was a bit brighter when we got up at 6am this morning. There was no wind and as we motored east the sky brightened and it started to feel a bit warmer. We're now in Brixham having lunch in the harbour side cafe. It actually feels like summer and people are wearing shorts. It's starting to feel nice to be back.

Plymouth and home for a while

18th August
We finally managed to get out of Salcombe. As we crossed the bar we headed into a big swell which rolled in from the South. A wet mist created a circle round the boat of a few hundred metres at best. From time to time a ghostly yacht slipped in and then out of our circle. We could see the white of waves crashing on the shore and sinister dark rocks were imagined on the edge of our vision. We clutched our emergency beacons, checked our safety equipment and held on tight to handholds and each other. As we neared Plymouth the mist dissolved, boats become defined and the horizon reappeared. The sun came out and suddenly it was a glorious day for sailing.

Sadly we had to get the train back to London. Sophie, David and Hester are arriving back from France. Sophie has a really bad back and yachting has been put on hold until we can sort her out. We were going to Plymouth to take part in the Eddystone pursuit race and the Millbrook Mulithull weekend. It was one of our major goals of the summer. We've learnt when sailing be flexible and don't expect plans to work out. We will be back.

Stormbound in Salcombe

10th August
We're nothing if not persistent. Off to the Channel Islands again. We had an early start and an easy passage to Alderney where we took the last free buoy in the harbour. We were secure but a bit uncomfortable as the harbour was unprotected from the swell kicked up by the North Easterly wind. Some shopping, a walk and lunch ashore then off again.

11th August
A late afternoon departure through the Swinge. No sign of the formidable overalls on the 23 mile hop to Guernsey. The wind was behind us but we needed every combination of sail as wind strength went through the whole spectrum. We rafted up in the inner harbour and were eventually allowed into the inner harbour at 1 am. The following day we has lunch with Joss and Mike followed by dinner with Nola and Andy getting back to the boat in time to watch the Olympic closing ceremony.

13th August
The forecast for the rest of the week is appalling. We thought we'd better get back to the UK. So we dragged ourselves out of bed outrageously early and headed back across the Channel. It was pretty miserable with a lumpy sea superimposed on a big swell. However, it was a swift passage and we were safely on a pontoon in Salcombe by 5 pm. We went ashore yesterday, did some shopping and had a long walk. We made it back in board shortly before the rain came. This morning (Wed 15th) it's windy and he rain is bucketing down. The forecast is for force 7/8, perhaps 9!

Still in the Solent

Today the weather was glorious. Should we have chanced the fog and headed to Alderney? Never mind we motored up the Beaulieu river to Buckler's Hard and had lunch in the pub overlooking the river. We're now moored to a buoy for the night outside Yarmouth. If the forecast is ok we'll be off tomorrow for the Channel Islands.

Back on board

We came back to the boat last night. Today our cockpit enclosure has been fitted so as the weather improves we're finally ready for anything. We were intending to head for Alderney tomorrow but have put our plans on hold because fog is forecast. We'll go somewhere in the Solent and see if the forecast improves.

Back in Portsmouth

Today looked ok but the weather for the next few days is predicted to be awful. We decide to seize the opportunity and come back across the Channel. We didn't see much of France except Cherbourg. However,we did have a great sail back. We left at 5 am and arrived here some ten and a half hours later, not bad for 75 nm. The wind was mostly on our beam and rarely dropped below 20 knots. It was cold and as usual we were kitted out in full wet weather gear and Lucinda also had a hot water bottle.

We'll be back but our plan is to go home for a few days and come down if the weather improves. We hope to set off for a few weeks once Alice's wedding is over and we have been to the Olympics.

Cherbourg, once again

> The forecast was up to force 6, as good as it has been for the last few days. We set off in the dark at 4 am heading west and then south through the Alderney race to Jersey. However, the nearer we got to the race the larger were the waves and the stronger the wind. It was decision time; press on and hope things would calm down once we were through the race or turn back downwind to Cherbourg once again? Well here we are again.

Back to Cherbourg

We couldn't take it any more and crawled back here yesterday (11th). The forecast was horrible, the reality worse. The Figaro single handed fleet are in harbour and there is meant to be a big celebration going on with music, tents and crowds. The few visitors are cold and bedraggled. We've done the washing and shopping. Do we stay here, head for Jersey where it will be just as wet and miserable with worse cooking, or take the ferry home. I'm meant to be enjoying my retirement. Lucinda has done her back and I've a stinking cold. It's the first time I've missed going to work - at least it's warm.

Alderney

We're moored to a buoy in the Harbour. We'll be snug as long as the ropes hold and the wind doesn't come from the north. The best restaurant has Alderney steak on the menu? How many cows can be on an island only 3 miles long by 1.5 wide?

Transatlantic embarkation hall

Imagine in the marina

Redoutable

Redoutable

Cherbourg

The weather has improved which gave us the opportunity to go into town. We visited La Cite De La Mer, the fabulous maritime museum. It's built around the magnificent old transatlantic terminal and focuses on underwater exploration. First we went through a decommissioned nuclear submarine, Le Redoutable. It's enormous and was part of the French nuclear deterrent. We then had a quirky interactive presentation where we we received training before taking part in some futuristic underwater exploration. A trip to the huge aquarium was next followed by a trip through the Titanic rooms. I'll post some photos separately as I can't load them with my iPad. We then strolled through the deserted town. If the forecast is OK we plan to leave tomorrow to Alderney.

Cherbourg

Yesterday, 6th July, we took the opportunity of a reasonable forecast to make the Channel crossing. Apart from the fully crewed trip back from Poland this is our first cross Channel voyage. To our relief it went well and we are now safe in the marina. We've been to Carrefour and have enough wine to sit out the miserable weather. It's cold, wet and horrible - what's new? We'll stay here tonight and then, depending on the weather, we may push off. On the other hand we're comfortable and warm - what's the harm in staying?

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight

We had to wait until about 11:30 until there was enough water in Newport for us to head downriver to Cowes. We stopped to have a chat with Ben at the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. We then crossed the river to pick up our trophy for winning our class in the Round the Island race. I then discovered the toilet pipe was blocked with mud from when we took the ground last night. Four dirty hours later and the pipe is now unblocked.

We've moored in Yarmouth and I now need to do some planning to see if we can leave for France tomorrow.

Newport Town, Isle of Wight

We finally got fed up sitting on the boat in Portsmouth. We were hoping to be on our way to France but it's been too miserable to think about a cross channel journey. Instead we took a trip across to Cowes and continued up the Medina river to Newtown. As you can see from the photos the tide goes out leaving us high and dry. One advantage of a catamaran is it can sit on the mud without falling over. This is our first attempt at drying out - a new experience. It does mean that we can't leave unti shortly before high tide which will be About lunchtime tomorrow.

Water gone

Water in river

Round the Island Race - 30th June

Luxcinda and I went back to Portsmouth and had a couple of days preparing the boat and also looking round the historic docks in Portsmouth.  Stuart, Iain and Linda joined us on Friday night which was also our 33rd Anniversary.

On Saturday we had a 5 a.m. start to get to the starting line at Cowes by 7 a.m. The race attracted 1647 entrants and it was a spectacular sight as we all raced down the Solent, out by the Needles, round the Isle of Wight and back to Cowes.  Throughout we had strong winds of between F5 and F7.

Our class of Bridgedeck catamarans was one of the early starters and we had the tide under us as we tacked West. As we reached the Needles the wind and seas picked up and boats crammed closely together. We then sailed South and then East round the bottom of the Isle with the wind behind us and the tide against. At this stage we were in the middle of the pack with hundreds of boats both ahead and behind. The wind slowly increased and the monohulls were rolling under their spinnakers with their siderails loaded with wet and miserable crew. We were sitting down enjoying our sandwiches with a cup of tea. As we turned West again around the bottom of the Isle we were averaging 8 to 9 knots on a close reach before enduring a final tack against the tide to cross the short, hectic finishing line.

Our total time for the race was 9h56m14s - and incredibly we won our class.  That was a considerable achievement for which we have been awarded a trophy. Thanks to Lucinda and all the crew. It was an amazing and exhausting day. Lucinda and I are now going home for a few days before setting off again. Finally I must confess that although we did win our class we were the only boat that completed the race so the award is more about perseverance and the seagoing properties of the boat than our speed and tactical prowess.

Try a boat - 22/23/24 June

We left our precious boat with Mark and Mark from Broadblue to demonstrate.  David was on board for Friday and the whole weekend was windy blowing F7 and F8. The test sails either proved how robust and seaworthy Imagine is, or put them off sailing for life.  Here are a few photos of Imagine taken over the weekend.

Haslar, Portsmouth

What a miserable day, grey and wet with the sea and sky merging into one soggy, windy, wet and rolling seascape. Anyway we're safely back at our temporary base.

Brighton

We couldn't get out of Dover until they opened the dock gates at 9:30. The wind started light and built gradually over the day until it was force 6 at Beachy Head. We sailed almost all the way arriving heer as the light faded. The rain held off and the wind was from behind. Who could ask for more?

Dover

Another 5:30 start but despite that all but 2 hours was motoring against the tide. No wind but clear and sunny. The light as we left early was wonderful. We had the usual dodging the ferries coming into port but are now showered and ready to hit the town. It's great having Mickey on board. We hope to do some sailing before the end of the journey.

Queenborough

We've returned to the mouth of the Thames at Queenborough. There was no wind so we had to motor all the way. It was a bit cold but there was some sunshine and no rain. We're now on a buoy for the night.

St Katherine's

We've had a great weekend here with lots of visitors. It's high tide about 1 pm and we'll start heading off back down the river.

Queenborough

This is a desolate, windswept place. We made an earl start from Ramsgate and had the tide with us and the wind behind until 10 am as we rounded North Foreland and headed west. As the tide turned the wind picked up and we surged down foamy waves. When we reached our anchorage at the mouth of the Medway the wind was gusting force 7. It is 42 miles from here to St Katherine's and we will have to leave at 5:30 to make it. Let's hope the weather improves.

Ramsgate

Another 60 miles done. A long day but much nicer than yesterday. Unfortunately had to sail against the tide for much of the day but the sun came out and the sea was calm. We're on target to get to London by Friday.

Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne

We'll we're finally off, Lucinda and me. With some trepidation we headed east into the forecast force 5 to 7. Fortunately it never got above a force 5 although it was cold and wet and miserable. We're very comfortable in the marina. I've just put 291 litres of diesel in the tank. Distance covered today was 60.2 miles.

Delivery trip, Szczecin, Poland to Haslar Marina, Portsmouth

On Wednesday 16th May Lucinda and I flew to Szczecin, Poland carrying the maximum luggage allowed by Ryanair.  We found the marina and Imagine looked wonderful, albeit without sails and with some work still to be done.  This included rebuilding the saloon table and reversing the navigation lights so that green was on starboard and red on port. The sails went on late on Thursday and we found that the reefing system would not work.  By the following morning the sail maker and rigger had made alterations and we had a viable system.  Mike Davis (MD) and Stuart Withington (PSW) turned up at lunchtime and Iain McLuckie (IM) arrived in the evening bringing paper and electronic charts. We had filled the tanks with fuel and water and made the decision to start early the following morning even though we hadn't had a test sail.

So early on Saturday 19th May our delivery journey began.  We motored many miles through fresh water canals and lakes until we reached the Baltic Sea.  As night fell we tied up in Lohme, Germany, the biggest boat by far in the marina. We left early the following day and made the long passage to Fehmarn Island where we tied up alongside the only pontoon in a small marina. We then had to try and measure the height of the mast and estimated that it was just less than 20 metres.  Early next morning we crept very slowly under the 22 metre bridge next to our mooring hoping the calculations were correct.  From there it was 39 nm to the entrance of the Kiel canal.

Many large ships pass through the canal and we were squeezed over to the starboard side. After 21 nm we were able to refuel and from a marina round the corner walk to a supermarket for provisions. We stayed the night 20 km from the end of the canal in what is best described as a layby with the boat strung between two lines of posts while the big ships thundered by on one side.

Although navigation was allowed from 3 am it was still pitch black at that time and we finally left just after 4 am. By 6 am we were in the lock into the North Sea.  This was Tuesday morning and we then continued without stopping to Portsmouth where we arrived on the Friday afternoon. We had very heavy wet fog from late Wednesday afternoon which lasted until late morning on Thursday. It was a nerve racking time glued to radar and AIS as we passed through busy shipping lanes. Otherwise the weather was pretty good. We lost quite a lot of our fresh water because of a leaky pressure release valve and some of the instruments were giving inaccurate readings. However we got safely to Portsmouth thanks to MD, PSW and IM, with Lucinda looking after us magnificently despite the lettuce freezing.