Bank Holiday Weekend with Ayfer and Ollie (Cowes - Yarmouth)

28th August - 30th August 2010 (Bank Holiday Weekend) :)

We were joined by Ayfer and Ollie for the bank holiday sail.  The plan was to drive down on the Friday night and set sail for Cowes the following morning with a stop over before sailing over to Yarmouth on the Sunday and then back to Chichester.

Ayfer and I work together and it was a pleasure to have her and boyfriend Ollie along with us to help sail Troskala.

We woke up Saturday early to catch a favourable tide to cowes, we had a great sail with 4-5 knots of wind from the South West, so although we had to tack a few times we made Cowes in a good time.  Again we decided to stay over at Shepherds Wharf Marina, which although we are kept on the outside pontoon it is cheaper than Cowes Yacht Haven and has access to land; we pay £24 a night instead of over £30 at Cowes.

Whilst we were rafting at the pontoon Ollie lost his £200 sunglasses over the side.  The next hour or so was spent deciding on whether or not it was a good idea for him to go over the side and get them, but with only a minimum of 4 meters depth at low tide and the fact the we were now on the Medina so the tidal race was strong we managed to convince him not to go.

We went into Cowes for dinner and experienced the most amazing meal at The Red Duster (http://www.theredduster.com/).  The meal was so good that we were back there the next morning eating their full English breakfast, Ayfer and Ollie decided that before they went back sailing they would have a couple of Bloody Mary's, so our breakfast was spent watching Ollie (the expert) teach the land lady how to put together the best Bloody Mary.

We took a walk up the high street to catch a view of the sea state before we ventured out.  I was aware of a force 5-6 but all looked fine from the safety of the harbour wall.

We wondered back planning to set sail around midday.  We checked the weather once more before we slipped the lines and although the wind speed had crept up we decided to continue with a voyage to Yarmouth, it was not until we passed the port and starboard cans marking the entrance to Cowes that the wind really hit us with a speed of 28 knots recorded.  The situation was not good, we had a South Westerly wind and would only be able to set the Genoa as I had not reefed the main already.  After around 20 minutes battling high winds and waves we collectively decided to head back down the Medina and spend the night at the Folley.

The wind was perfect to sail down the Medina but more problems occurred when we tried to get onto the pontoon, the wind was blowing us off and the tide was pulling us down river.  Our first attempt landed us with Ollie stuck on the pontoon and the three of us left on the boat.  We came in again but touched the boat in front, it was impossible to bring Troskala close enough to the pontoon before being blown off, but thanks to Ollies strength, Carlotta and Ayfers courage we made it.  Later the harbour master told us that we were unlikely to have another boat along side as it was such a dangerous manoeuvre.

The rest of the day was spent walking from the Folley into Newport and then catching a taxi back as we were too tired to do the walk.

We had dinner in the Folley Inn and then spent the rest of the night playing pool.  After the disappointment of not reaching Yarmouth the day and evening we did have with Ollie and Ayfer was fantastic.

The next day could not have been better, the sun was out and we has a South Westerly force 5-5.  The we made brilliant progress over the Chichester Bar and whilst at the bar entrance we were greeted by hundreds of Olympic Laser racers, the sight was amazing if not a little unnerving as trying to keep a course and not hit any of them was more luck than expertise.

We anchored in Easthead and had lunch and enjoyed the last part of our weekend.  Our weekend was over but we had a fantastic time again and having Afyer and Ollie along had made it all the more fun.

I look forward to sailing with you both again soon!

Bye for now,