Motor Cruise to Island Harbour July 2022
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Participants The rally was originally planned for a weekend, but this clashed with the Round the Island Race, when Solent harbours become extremely busy so rally organiser, Mike Van Klaveren, moved the dates to mid-week which proved to be popular timing, with a very good turn-out:
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Rally preparations – so much to think about! – thanks Mike!
Our destination – the Medina River
Bearfoot heading for the passage through the submarine barrier
Pontoon party at Island Harbour
Water taxi to Cowes
Dinner at the Island Sailing Club Mam’selle leaving Island Harbour Blue light incident, Chichester Harbour entrance – thanks to Charlie and Ludo from Chichester Harbour Patrol for their friendly and expert assistance
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Day 1- Wednesday 6th July – friends old and new Whilst some boats converged from further afield, most participants departed Chichester around mid-day, timing their arrival in the Madina River on the rising tide. Sunshine and light winds made for a very pleasant crossing to the Island, some choosing to pass through the submarine barrier to keep clear of the planned salvage operations at Horse Sand Fort, as announced in Notices to Mariners by the Queens Harbourmaster, Portsmouth. We were greeted by the friendly staff at Island Harbour, who guided us through the lock and onto Pontoon B, with everyone helping each other in to their finger berths. Mike and Karen hosted an excellent pontoon party on Bearfoot, which overflowed on to the pontoon. We enjoyed a welcoming glass of Prosecco with strawberry and delicious nibbles prepared by Karen, before strolling across to the Breeze for dinner. Day 2 – Thursday 7th July – a full programme We awoke on Thursday to the early morning news that Boris Johnson would be announcing his intentions to stand down as Prime Minister. Some crews relaxed on board, enjoying the wonderfully fine weather, whilst others walked across the surrounding countryside to various destinations, including Newport and the Quayside Arts Centre. After lunch, two water taxis arrived on the waiting pontoon to ferry us all down the Medina River to Cowes. One of the water taxis was justifiably delayed, as we assisted a sailing boat which lost power in front of the departing Red Funnel ferry. Multiple taxis were organized to take us all up the hill to Seaward’s factory, where Martin and Angus conducted a fascinating tour of their operations, building hand crafted luxury Nelson motor yachts and commercial vessels.
Seaward leisure and commercial vessels – thanks to Martin and Angus for showing us around their factory We made our way back down to Cowes, enjoying the sunshine and general yachting bustle of the town, before meeting for drinks on the terrace and dinner at the Island Sailing Club. As expected, the club looked after us extremely well, the service was jolly and the food was much enjoyed. The two water taxis met us on Trinity Landings and ferried a very merry party back to Island Harbour, just as darkness fell. Day 3 – Friday 8th July – home ports The tide offered two options for locking out of the marina, with sufficient water on either the falling tide between about 08:00 and 09:30, or on the later rising tide after about 15:30. Crews had lodged their preferences with the lock keeper, who reassuringly arranged departure times for each boat, calling us forward on VHF when the lock was ready. The morning passage back to Chichester and home ports found almost millpond-like conditions, making for a smooth and fast trip. Some found time for paddle boarding and a swim, whilst others made for an early return through Chichester Marina lock.
Homeward bound from Cowes Nigel confessed to a silly mistake. Whilst pushing the ebb tide at Chichester Harbour entrance he clumsily nudged the ignition with his knee and everything shut down. Unfortunately, the engine then refused to restart and Herbie started drifting seaward in the deep-water channel. Chichester Harbour Patrol responded immediately on channel 14 and towed Herbie to a safe anchorage at East Head whilst Sea Start dispatched an engineer. Everything ended well, after the problem was resolved and it’s so good to know that we have such good support and backup in the Solent area. |
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Thank you Without exception, we all had a wonderful time – many thanks to Mike and Karen for their planning and hard work, which delivered such a successful rally. |
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Perfect evening back home in Chichester
Acknowledgements: Nigel and Sue would like to thank all those who contributed photos and anecdotes for this report. |
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