Marchwood Weekend Cruise 13th-14th August

The annual weekend cruise to Marchwood Yacht Club took place over the sunny and hot weekend of 13th-14th August. Some participants met up in the club for the 2nd Friday Social on Friday night and turned in that night with no weather worries, as light winds and hot sunshine were forecast.

Marchwood Yacht Club is a small member run club 30nm away from CYC at the top end of Southampton Water, with walk ashore berthing for visitors. It is a very different destination from Solent marinas, with the chance to be ‘up close and personal’ with both cruise and container ships. It affords the opportunity to sail right up Southampton water and with berthing for £15 per night, whatever the size of yacht, and bar prices that are unbelievably cheap, some visitors think they’ve died and gone to Heaven!

With a bit of a jiggle and a juggle we managed to sort out berthing for 19 yachts who all arrived during late morning and afternoon. Sadly, for the first time in the 12 or so years we’ve been running the cruise, we couldn’t accommodate all who wished to come. The winds were light in the early part of the day but picked up mid-morning allowing some to enjoy a good downwind sail.

Hazel, Marchwood’s OOD, was on hand to welcome everyone and assist with berthing. With a normal prevailing westerly wind Marchwood is quite sheltered, but the wind was from the North East and was ‘quite lively’, which didn’t make berthing easy, but with plenty of hands to help everyone was safely moored.  In fact, some of the last yachts in had so much assistance and advice that the in-bound crews ears and indeed the pontoons were in danger of being overloaded!

As we gathered for the pontoon party, right on cue a large cruise ship provided our entertainment by completing her turning manoeuvre just off the pontoons. Some crews were large in number, Crazy had turned into a mini cruise ship for the weekend with eight crew on board.  The ensemble moved up to the clubhouse for dinner, all 48 of us, the most Marchwood has ever had to dine on a rally.  Due to our numbers we could not fit in the club dining room, so Mairi and her family team set up the tables in the main bar area and served a three course meal. She took on the catering function at the club this season, and after two years without a caterer she provided us with a very tasty meal at a tasty price too.

Being moored just across the water from the container port that works 24/7 there is always the possibility of strange noises in the night as ships manoeuvre and indeed there were, some watching at 4am as a large ship was pushed gently onto its berth nearby.

Sunday dawned hot and sunny. Crews that needed to return to Chichester set off as soon as the tide allowed, but with it being big Spring tides, one or two vessels had gracefully sunk into some comforting mud. The cruise ships we had seen leaving the previous evening had been replaced by others that had come in in the early morning. Other crews made a later departure for Portsmouth to join the Eastern Venture cruise.

Thanks to all participants and particularly to our deputies Tim and Beryl Walker who were there way ahead of us and did a super job of helping everyone berth as well as being just helpful and cheery.  It was lovely to share Marchwood with new visitors and old hands alike, thank you all for coming and joining in with the spirit of Marchwood.

Jane & John Gosnell, Cruise Leaders on First Light with Dawn Chorus, Crazy Feeling, Sounio,  Pell Mell, Kerry Dancer, Windreaver, Rascallion, Raven, Topsy, Good Day Sunshine, Elise, Avalon of Hamble, Kerenza, Quintette, Star Dancer, Flat White, Lowena and Cool Runnings.