Equinoctial Gales

In the picture below, you can see what I feel about expensive Solent marinas and nasty strong headwinds.  No, not pleased.

Medina River - Off the Folly Inn

There is some debate amongst meteorologists as to whether "equinoctial gales" is a valid concept.  This is a discussion for academics in warm, dry universities.  Sailors know that more gales turn up at these times of year.

Our folly at the Folly Inn was to pay for 3 nights, and then only use two, because the weather gave us a break to get to Lymington.  The improvement turned out to be minimal.  We tacked down the Solent with the tide, against the SW wind, which gusted to gale force.  The main was heavily reefed (a rare time that we used the deepest, 3rd reef) and we had our heavy weather jib on the inner forestay.  Rapport was well balanced and only occasionally slammed in the choppy waters.  When she dipped her bows, green water ran aft down the decks.  We were very glad not to be out in the open Channel.

In Lymington we had an appointment with Sanders Sails, who are going to make us a new mainsail.  They measured boat and sail.  I went to their loft with Peter, the boss, and we spread out our damp, tatty old sail on their bright, clean floor.  Yes, it's time for a gleaming, shapely, new one.

Next morning, we left Lymington in unusually gentle conditions, wind not wailing in the rigging, which was refreshing.  However, the forecast was for strong winds, so we only planned to go 3 miles to Yarmouth, an old stamping ground.  Out on the grey Solent, the Needles glinted in the distance and the tide began to run to the west.  Before we knew it, Rapport swung her bows to starboard and we were beating down the Needles channel.

We didn't know where we were bound but with strong rising easterlies, all obvious anchorages were too exposed.  Soon we were surfing down the waves, 2 reefs in the mainsail and mid-afternoon we ran into Weymouth, well pleased both to have moved west and to have reached shelter again.

Very wet and windy, downwind to Weymouth

Weymouth is another old haunt from younger sailing days, a pretty place which combines tourism with fishing and today, a half-iron-man event.  Such people could make one feel a little inadequate but I'm sure that I could turn my reserves to iron, if I needed to.

Cold and Sunny - Rapport in Weymouth