Weekend from Hamble Point, October 15  – 17, report by skipper Dave Lloyd 

Dave Lloyd (Skipper), Peter Ashdown  , Jeff Birkin  , Claire Turner  , Rob Reynolds  and Alan Howells 

We all arrived at Hamble Point more or less together and took over a tidy "Apaloosa  ". None of the concerns reported by previous charterers from the club were apparent (leaks and damp), the handover was completed and we settled in with one of Alan's celeriac soups and crusty bread for supper and a safety briefing!. Engine checks revealed a loose and squealing alternator belt which was duly rectified by Jeff and whilst he was at it he cleaned the engine sea water filter as well. There was just enough time to pop up to the marina bar for a beer or two before lights out.

Saturday breakfast was topped-off with Alan's bacon butties cooked to perfection by Rob. I don't know where Alan gets the bacon from but it's simply the best I've tasted. We were not in any particular hurry. Options were discussed and an outline plan of Yarmouth for the evening was mentioned.

We slipped at 10:30 and made out into Southampton Water. An initial light breeze filled-in all the time and we soon had a very useful NNW F5. We rode the ebb tide down the western Solent following our noses. Soon we passed Lymington and Hurst but the ebb was failing fast with the Needles in sight.

We turned at Totland Bay to ride the flood tide from whence we came, the wind picking up all the time. We reefed just past Hurst and wound in a bit of genny. Apaloosa handled the increasing wind surprisingly well for a Bavaria as she has a deeper fin keel of about 2m. The wind increased further

still and veered N then NNE, we now had a solid F7 gusting 32knots. Time for the second reef and more of the genny rolled away. Jeff took the helm and we all know how Jeff likes to "fiddle". And he fiddles very well indeed, Jeff soon had Apaloosa trimmed and balanced in an F7 such that she sailed her course with no hands on the helm for a while - or had he sneaked the auto helm on for a bit!

Yarmouth loomed but we were having too much fun to go in just yet. We were now making big tacks back up the Solent and Alan, thinking ahead, spotted that Newtown Creek would be on the nose after the next tack. A very pleasant but windy lunch was had at anchor in Newtown. Fed and watered the flood tide was still running strong so we said farewell to thoughts of Yarmouth and rode the tide to Cowes. We were saddened to hear a Mayday from a sailing yacht north of Gurnard because he couldn't get his engine in gear. Shocking. Clearly not in grave and imminent danger but soon surrounded by offers of a tow, which were gladly accepted. We arrived in West Cowes where we had fish 'n chips for supper.

Together our two resident cooks, Rob and Alan, did a fantastic job with the provisioning and galley skills. We wanted for nothing and added more than an inch or two to our waistlines. Thank you guys.

We motored back to the Hamble in a flat calm, refuelled and handed the boat back. There was only one word to sum up the weekend - unforgettable!

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