Stephen went swimming in the sea the week before at West Wittering dressed in a shorty wetsuit and in a water temperature of 14.5C. He decided that there was still life left in the sailing season if he could do this and suggested to Cody that a sail should be arranged the next Saturday. The Dinghy Cruising Association had also arranged a cruise for that day, and we decided to join them. Joe is both a Cody and a DCA member and he supported us since he was also attending this event. In fact, three of us Cody sailors are also DCA members as well. Edmund, Stephen and Martin were in one boat and Steve and Mel in another.

We launched at Itchenor at 1000 into very little wind and sailed against the flood tide for Thorney Channel. Stephen used to sail from Thorney Island Sailing Club, so he knows the Channel well and he had been to the marina that was our destination. The wind built through the day, and we had a nice spinnaker run up the Channel with gorgeous views of the South Downs. Spinny down, we crept up to the head of the channel and promptly ran aground as we looked for the DCA. We were the first to arrive and Joe had told us to look for a small beach on the south side of the marina. We found what we thought was it and anchored there. None of us knew about this little beach anchorage before and it is a lovely spot.

Suddenly, several boats seemed to emerge from nowhere including Alastair pedalling, yes, not paddling, a canoe. He had slept the night in his car nearby and gone for a pedal around the Harbour before our meeting. We Cody folk were made very welcome by the DCA members, and the chat flowed freely. Stephen announced that he had been a member of the DCA for ten years and this was his first attendance at an event. This was met with applause of well done and also a joking comment of, “shame on you”! It is clear that Cody and the DCA have a lot in common even if we tend to sail different boats on the whole. Another noteworthy difference was that the DCA were dressed in a mixture of sailing clothes, including bare arms, whilst we Cody were each in dry suits.

Giant beef burgers were eaten from the marina cafe, and we sat on the beach chatting. Some of the DCA had come without their boats for a chat with friends. When it as time to go several of the DCA decided to sail home through the salt marshes in a channel that can be open at high tide. We Cody thought about it for ten seconds and decided that a mistake could mean that we were in the marshes for twelve hours or two weeks! Instead, Steve led us on a beat in quite a breeze to East Head beach where we landed and talked boats for a few minutes. The tide now meant we had to go and up went the Spinnys for a run back to Itchenor. Packing away was followed by a drink in the pub. We all agreed that this day was a great success and we agreed that we would like to sail again in the winter. This cruise was such a stimulating day.

Stephen