We have not held a Cruiser Rally for some time, due to COVID restrictions, but the way finally cleared for a Rally to Lymington, ably organised by Jenny Chilvers. We only had three boats available and the final line-up was:

Emelita: Jenny and Roy, James, Phil, Martin;
Frenzy Trimaran): Paul, John, Anna;
Solitaire: Mike, Adri, Lisbeth.

The first job was to get all the kit and the food on to the relevant boat. My little boat (Solitaire) is already full; so where are we going to put everything? (But we managed!)

The Rally then started with the traditional meeting of everyone on board Emelita, to get to know each other and to plan the days ahead – but there was also the serious matter of lunch, and Solitaire’s crew were determined that the skipper would not go hungry! Then to the boats, leave the pontoons and proceed out of the harbour and thus encounter the first problem: the tide was a very high Spring and the flow of water into Portsmouth Harbour was spectacular, made more so by the number of boats trying to get out of the Harbour and make the most of what remained of the Summer. With the tide very much against us and the speed over ground much reduced, progress was slow.

Once out of the Harbour, the density of other boats thinned a little, the tide slackened and then turned in our favour, so sails were hoisted and we encountered problem 2 – almost no wind.

On board Frenzy; John writes: “After the excitement of navigating the back eddy at the Portsmouth Harbour entrance, we settled in to the transit across to Lymington. In the light winds we experimented with the sails to find out which ones worked best. We were initially making about 4 kts over the ground, assisted by the healthy current planned for by Jenny. But by the time we approached Cowes the wind had all but died away and we settled in to a gentle drift with the current down the western Solent. We stuck with it and only started the engine at the entrance to Lymington Harbour.” Emelita also was principally tide propelled.

Solitaire used the engine much of the way but also used sail power towards the Lymington approach, engine on again once in the Lymington channel, where we played Dodge the Ferry, Next, sort out fenders and lines, and then seek the channel amongst an amazing concentration of moored boats complete with a camouflaged starboard-hand marker. Solitaire was then puzzled by the new arrangement of pontoons; but the Harbour Master explained how to reach the spot which Jenny had booked for us. By this time Emelita had joined us, Frenzy soon afterwards.

Once the fleet was securely moored close to each other, there was another meeting on the hospitable Emelita, and then the walk to the Mayflower (closer hostelries being fully booked – evidently a busy week-end). We had a very enjoyable evening with lots of boating chat, even though, curiously, trout had become plaice.

Early (perhaps not as early as intended), next morning, and following a delightful breakfast, Solitaire was extracted from her mooring and proceeded down river through a rapidly clearing early-morning mist and, of course, no wind. Once again, the tide was in our favour, but this time a light northerly breeze sprang up once we were clear of the land, so we were able to sail; peace descended as the engine was turned off. Also sustained by a hearty breakfast, Frenzy’s crew were not far behind and, once outside the harbour, were able to get sailing and maintained a healthy 8 – 9 knots (with an occasional peak of 10 knots over ground). To ease logistics for skipper Paul, Frenzy was taken back to her mooring in HMS Hornet and the crew joined Emelita for tea and cake back at POG, with Solitaire reaching POG shortly afterwards.

All in all. a very successful and enjoyable week-end.

Text by Mike with help from John. Club members can see the photos from this trip in the Newsletter Archive.