Gilli-Anne and Friends, September 2021

It was on a very warm and cloudless day that Gilli-Anne and eight other yachts set sail for Gosport Premier Marina with perfect weather – an easterly wind and the tide with us. But whatever wind had been forecast soon disappeared, our jib was furled and the motor deployed.

We arrived in Gosport early afternoon, where we relaxed on deck and enjoyed the very warm sunshine.  The pontoon party was arranged for 5.30. It was fun meeting old friends and having the opportunity to chat to others who we hadn’t met before. Geoff and Gill had devised a quiz which had us scratching our heads for a while!

After a couple of hours, people began to drift off to find some supper, the options were to  eat on board, find the nearest Chippy, or take the ferry over to Gunwharf to sample the delights of restaurants there.  It proved to be a wonderfully warm evening, sitting outside till late in the evening with the beautifully lit Spinnaker Tower as our backdrop.

The following morning we set sail for Lymington.  Again, very little wind to speak of, and it proved to be yet another warm but calm day on the water. At Lymington we moored up on the Town Quay, which was a great location as it was very close to all facilities, including a very pretty High Street and shops.  Some of us went for a walk, whilst others enjoyed the opportunity to engage in a little retail therapy.

We met for drinks on the pontoon at 6.30 before walking up the cobbled street to the Kings Head pub for supper, where we had a very nice group meal. Geoff gave out the answers to the quiz, over which there was some discussion!

Most of us made a very early start the following morning in order to catch the tide for the sail back to Chichester.

Sally Knight, Serendipite