| Offshore Foolishness |
New Year and Thoughts Turn to SummerAlready our second sail of the year - blue skies overhead dotted with fluffy clouds, asymmetric up in fickle offshore breezes. No not the summer, it is just the second weekend in January and Temptress with FullFlight is heading west down the Solent. The "plan" should we stick to it, is a night on Lymington Town Quay. Just beyond Stokes Bay, Temptress's white asymmetric collapses - the breeze goes behind as it fades. Slowly it returns gradually moving forward of the beam, dropping back as it dies away. We stand on the side deck gently playing the kite river-style as the breeze plays games with us for nearly an hour.Some way off Cowes what wind there was dies away completely. We were growing bored with the game of watching the boat speed move through the numbers in tenth of a knot increments - something very familir from last years offshore races! Full Flight, some way ahead with her cruising chute up, calls on channel 77 - how about Beaulieu? No one fancies a motor all the way to Lymington. Its not too long after low water but with Neap tides, Temptress's 2.1 m draft shouldn't find the bottom at the entrance. Mid afternoon finds both boats on bouys in the reach above the sailing club, watching birds wheeling in large skeins across the pink skies as the sun sets. Who can beat it? Talk over supper is of Ireland; Full Flights first destination when she leaves the UK in the Spring before heading south and potential holiday cruising for Temptress this summer. The next day out comes the Irish Pilot again and the Alamanc. A cruising note book is started - phone numbers of marinas, distances between safe havens from Dingle to Cork and a page is headed up "recommended places" - we'll start recording anywhere of interest we find mentioned. Later the four of us look at charts electronic and paper to see what detail they have to offer - the answer is plenty. All we need are tourist guides to the delights ashore, road maps ready for cycling adventures and hopefully some books telling of past cruises to those shores. With time off work already provisionally booked and first conversations with our home marina about taking a cruising credit ( a 3 month sabbatical that is refunded off the following years fees) already made, our cruising year is starting to take shape. Somehow I have a feeling that all the planing and preparation is going to be as much fun as the actual voyages themselves. 7:26 PM - Jan. 8, 2006 - post comment
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Description When you reach a certain age and have done more than a few offshore races the time comes to look for a little more comfort.  Home User Profile Archives Recent Entries - Happy New Year - End of the Line - The project becomes a Project! - eBay: Not Exactly Where You'd Look for a Classic Boat... - Its been a while |