On Hayling Island

Actually Thursday, 4th October


Well, we finally made it to Hayling Island after an exciting sail and a pleasant few days stormbound at Sparkes Marina. A force 6 was not ideal for our first sail but it did mean that we were able to get down to Portsmouth in record time on the first day. With only the genoa unfurled we were making over six knots most of the time, she certainly can sail. Frequently the hull was trembling as the deep vee hull was lifted onto a plane, I didnt think that was meant to happen on headsail alone! 

The only incident was the failure of the auto helm caused by a 5amp fuse in the circuit instead of a 12 amp one; a minor problem compared with the mayday in progress off Ryde as we passed by. An accidental gybe had caused severe head injuries to a crew member, a salutary reminder that conditions were not at all forgiving. 

With gales forecast  we scooted over to the shelter of Chichester harbour the following day whilst we could. Shame we couldn't have dropped into Cowes but that's weather for you.  The short trip was made memorable by Illustrious cruising past as we were off Southsea (just outside the shipping lane!) Although we were the only boat between them and Ryde the ships company lined the deck, seemingly just for us, all very impressive. The few nights at Sparkes were pleasant enough, enabling us to get a feel for the interior, certainly plenty of space for two to be comfortable in, not sure about how many more though. 

We did eventually make it into our berth at Hayling Yacht Company on the Thursday, but only after learning a few lessons about handling her the hard way. She's a bit like a long keel yacht such as our Tradewind 35 in reverse, rather unpredictable; in addition due to a really strong prop kick she only likes to go round anti clockwise. If that's not enough the engine is reluctant to pick up quickly, especially in reverse; we found that out at the cost of a  broken bow navigation light as we tried to manoeuvre around the pontoons and get into our berth. 

Whilst it's been all very nice on board for the last few nights, I cant wait to strip her out and get on with the re-build, the carpet alone is enough to drive you to distraction and as for the curtains, well at I suppose they match the white cushions but neither rate highly on the practicality scale.