Three men in a boat go to Chichester

[ishtar]

Vince, Paschall and myself went down to Chichester last weekend, to bring back Paschall's new boat. This is the story so far.....

Met in the club Thursday night, forecast not good. We decided to give it a go, even if we had to do the trip in short hops to avoid the bad weather. Sheila and Vince kindly put me up that night, and Sheila drove the three of us down to Chichester on Friday. Paschall and I set about checking out the boat and S&V went shopping.

Vince and Paschall briefly discussed who was most knowledgable when it came to sailing Junks:



Left Chichester about 13:00, and out into the Solent.



The hat turned back almost immediately, and was last seen swimming back towards Chichester.

Paschall put up the sail, and it looked great!



This led to big grins from the new owner, despite hat problems:



The Solent was very busy when we entered it, but the boat sailed well. We had a couple of problems with the engine, a stuck stop lever and a water filter problem leading to overheating which, in turn led to a leaking exhaust. Vince and I were below, making a mess



and Paschall dodging Solent traffic above

[ishtar]

We decided that discretion was the better part of valour and Vince helmed us expertly into Haslar Marina, Gosport for the night.



He also did a fantastic job with gaffer tape in the morning, sealing the leaking exhaust.

The following day, Saturday, was great fun. The boat sailed well, surprising Vince and I, who'd been led to believe that Junks don't point. This one does, very well. The Solent was packed with yachts, some of them very nice indeed.

[ishtar]

[ishtar]

We left the Solent under bright Sunshine. The wind, Westerly, force 3-4. There then followed a fantastic sail across Christchurch bay and Poole Bay, where we spied another fine old sailing boat.

[ishtar]

The water filter problem and overheating surfaced again as we entered Poole, but we coped well. Vince and Paschall helmed as we entered the harbour, tying up in Salterns Marina just after 20:00. By now the Forecast for Sunday was back to Force 7, with 6-7 for Monday as well. I think we all knew then what the outcome would be.

I quickly cooked up a pasta, and Vince and Paschall said it was delicious

[ishtar]

A couple of pints in a local hotel led to some quite interesting revelations from my two shipmates. Paschall went off on a fantastic rant about chavs. Vince told Paschall and I something in confidence, relating to Clint Eastwood, but we promised we'd keep it to ourselves.........


By Sunday morning it was blowing a full 7, with gale force gusts. Reluctantly we had to concede that the game was up, at least for now.



Louise kindly drove down to pick us up, and Sheila cooked a lovely meal ready for our return to Cardiff. I'm not sure what the plans are, it's very much weather dependent at this stage, but we had a great time, despite the short distance covered, and, though not a complete convert, I really enjoyed my first sail on a junk.

[ishtar]

Video diary to follow........

[sheila]

May 23, 2011 18:27:21 GMT ishtar said:

The water filter problem and overheating surfaced again as we entered Poole, but we coped well. Vince and Paschall helmed as we entered the harbour, tying up in Salterns Marina just after 20:00. By now the Forecast for Sunday was back to Force 7, with 6-7 for Monday as well. I think we all knew then what the outcome would be.

I quickly cooked up a pasta, and Vince and Paschall said it was delicious

Looks like Paschall is about to throw up any minute!

[ishtar]

I wasn't going to bring that up....as it were.

[Sui]

May 23, 2011 20:38:59 GMT ishtar said:

I wasn't going to bring that up....as it were.

I brought it up, very early as it happens ;D It's all to do with planning, you see.

I'm eternally grateful to Vince 'n' Martin (well, at least for another week or so) for agreeing to crew/helm/skipper/cook/fix for this trip - we had a great time, despite the ever-changing weather (leading to ever changing plans). It was disappointing to have to leave her in Poole (and flamin' expensive!), with plans now afoot (due to time pressures, and the few bob) to bring her overland. A tiny, tiny, possibility of hopping back over a week; I'm hoping for this one, but it's slim

One should mention the escape of another's hat, who shall remain nameless Martin, who then took to wearing a girlie pink Musto cap; very embarassing when passing beautiful Gaff rigs (though probably not as much as 'relieving' oneself off the starboard aft rail; yes, we left our Cardiff mark in the Solent ;D)

cheers lads; it was a fantastic learning experience, thoroughly enjoyable company in a small space, with many tall tales, and bon homie. Vince farted though

[ishtar]

As I recall, my hat went over the side whilst I was responding to a near emergency situation involving some mountainous waves near the exit to the Solent.

[ishtar]

Forgot to post this picture, of Vince's new boat.......

[sheila]

I wish!