The Warsash based cruise planned for April 10th was changed at short notice to a Keyhaven based cruise to Lymington due to the low level of interest expressed, the organiser Andy Peter and myself being the only boats signed up….

The journey from our base in Dorset was just over the hour, arriving at Keyhaven YC to find Andy rigging W198 in the dinghy park. Once 'Joshua' was unhitched and our assorted ‘stuff’ dumped out unceremoniously on Andy’s boat park space we removed the car to the adjacent car park – beware it is Pay and Display so a good selection of (large denomination) coins are needed.

Rigging took the usual hour, despite some new innovations introduced during the winter, including a bungee lacing for the reefing points and various new stowage arrangements.

The weather was just about perfect for a first trip out of the season, sunny and a steady breeze giving us a fair reach to Lymington and back.

Boats rigged and readied, Andy was joined by a colleague from the Keyhaven Wanderer fleet as crew for the day and I was assisted by my 6 year old crew Niamh. I left the outboard in the car as the wind looked solid enough and we ran the boats in down the hard shingle slip into what was still very cold water – cramp in the toes kind of cold.

Making sail I decided not to reef, disregarding my usual practise of always putting the reef in first when sailing alone with Niamh, and of course regretted this as soon as we were out in the Solent. Andy and crew were sat inboard quite comfortably, but having very little crew weight in the boat I spent most of the trip to Lymington fully hiked and felt the result the next day in my stomach and tops of my legs. A Wayfarer from Keyhaven gradually overhauled us enroute and an RS ‘speedy wet thing’ flew around for a while, but otherwise the Solent was a peaceful place to be.

The GPS showed a healthy 5 to 5.5 knots SOG most of the way to the mouth of the river at Lymington, where we beat up the channel to the slipway by the lifeboat station, avoiding the large and speedy ferries churning in and out, plus the group of dinghies circulating off the slip with mystified learners aboard.

Just upstream of the slip, beside the Yacht club building, is a small half tide beach, where we tucked ourselves away for an early lunch and watched the antics of folk trying to get their First 211 ‘trailer sailer’ off the trailer without immersing their brand new 4x4 too much. They were still trying an hour later when we left…the joys of dinghy sailing spelt out large in the comparison between our days sailing and their frustrating and possibly expensive afternoon arguing and breaking things on the slipway.

After lunch we re-launched and Andy suggested trying a different route out of the river via the saltings to the west. Heading downstream he identified the gap in the baffle wall to the right just after the marina, through which we were able to slot easily enough and follow a channel along the sea wall for several hundred yards before turning south and breaking out into the Solent once more.

Turning towards Keyhaven I was surprised once again by how well the boat went with the mainsail reefed (I had popped a reef in during the lunch stop in preparation for the return journey even though the wind was dropping). I no longer had to hike out uncomfortably and we were able to hold station reasonably well with Andy’s unreefed boat.

Back in Keyhaven we stopped at the yacht club for a pint and some more food before deciding to explore the saltings outside Keyhaven within the hook of Hurst Spit. Andy lead the way down the various channels with us following, jib furled and Niamh sat up forward astride the bows Titanic fashion, playing her feet in and out of the freezing water.

With only the reefed main to worry about we had a relaxed meander amongst the mud, moorings and reeds beside the Hurst Castle and lighthouse, until we came to a very short, narrow and completely up-wind channel that lead into the sea wall drain heading back to the yacht club. We had avoided this route on the way out as the wind would have headed us at this point, however during our wanderings the wind had dropped and swung around so it now headed us again at this tight pinch point.

Andy and crew sneaked through using some cunning unknown to me, we however, left our first tack too late and found ourselves caught firmly on the mud. Despite unfurling the jib, paddling, pushing off and gybing round to have another go we found ourselves stuck straight back on the same patch of mud once more.

As I was covered up from head to toe in my drysuit, the easiest solution proved to be to jump over the side and wade the boat up-wind the 50 yards or so to the sea wall, though I so nearly went headfirst into the sticky stuff on several occasions, much to Niamh’s amusement. Once in the channel we reconnected with Andy and drifted up the narrow drain alongside the sea wall back to the main Keyhaven channel, surprising many bemused walkers atop the sea wall with our proximity to land and ability to sail in a ditch.

Recovery on the hard yacht club slipway was easy, especially thanks to the assistance of Andy and his crew. We were de-rigged and were out of the clubhouse changed into fresh clothes by six o’clock. After making use of the clubs water barrel to test run the outboard for the first time this season, we set of back home tired but pleased with the boat changes made over the winter and the new cruising grounds discovered.

Thanks to Andy for organising and reorganising the day for us, and we look forward to exploring the area more later in the year on the next WCOA Keyhaven cruise – maybe the IOW is beckoning?

Lesson Learnt:

1. Reef before you start if in any doubt or have a light crew / are single handing…don’t just ‘risk it’ or follow what everyone else is doing. Once out in the Solent I was over-powered and once or twice uncomfortable keeping things together. The boat is only marginally slower with the reef in and our trip back was far more relaxed and enjoyable.

2. My new steering compass mounted on the foredeck (Silva 70UNE) didn’t foul any sheets or ropes and was clearly visible wherever I sat. (See Hurst Castle from saltings photo)

3. The bungee arrangement laced in and out of the reefing points on the main with captive hooks on one side worked much more easily than the previous reefing points. (see Hurst Castle from saltings photo)

4. Oar stowage worked well, with the oar handles bungeed directly under the centre thwart either side of the CB case and the blades tucked up to the bow under the foredeck, much better than flat on the floor as I had them last year, the aft cockpit floor is now completely clear. The only drawback was that wanderbox lids are now a bit fiddly to get on and off. (see Hurst Castle from saltings photo)

5. Telescopic tiller extension from RWO is much more convenient than the standard extension, allowing me to sit well forward on the beat and steer from pretty much wherever I like.

6. Niamh’s safety line clipped to her BA harness and U bolt through the back of the CB case was easy enough to use, however it needs a regular crew routine to prevent tangles developing with jib sheets. I considered this arrangement for some time before putting it in place, balancing likelihood of tangles and entrapment during capsize against Niamh getting separated from the boat.

7. My fix to the buoyancy pad stayed up all day…Porters wanted £70 for a new pad. The rubber valve on mine had perished and split. To save the £70 I cut up Niamh’s arm bands and contact adhesive’d the valve into the old pad, keeping a 1” overlap from the arm band valve to tuck inside the pad and ensure a decent contact patch to glue.
 

Report & all Photos - Tim Robertson W1038 May 2005