29th September – Monday – Southampton to Chichester Harbour

25 miles in 5 hours 11:00 – 16:00.  We had reasonable wind on our side so sailed half the way, motor-sailed the rest.

Sparks marina is actually on Hayling Island, where neither of us have been before.  The channel from the sea is well buoyed and relatively easy to traverse, however beware of the sand bar which has a tidal height of only a few metres.  Good tide timing is essential.

 

We entered at high water and were once again amazed as the tide lowered to reveal a lot of land very close to the marina.  The picture shows the boats at the edge of the marina and the dried out land in the background.

Info: The marina is relatively small but has modern facilities.  Hotel hairdryers and no plugs meant hair-drying in the laundry again.  The marina gave us a map but unfortunately did not mark on the local shops which we managed to circumnavigate (miss).

We walked along the seaside which was reminiscent of Camber Sands, and found a chippy for a quick bag to bolster our walk back. 

30th September – Tuesday

Returned to Southampton, Hythe marina.  Good wind assistance and interesting shipping meant an enjoyable trip back.

We have not really given Hayling Island a fair look around and will re-visit in the future.  The weather and tides meant that we were better leaving earlier than planned as we could get stuck behind the sandbar with unfavourable tide times.

Hythe marina is purpose built marina village and is entered through a lock from Southampton Water.  It comprises 3 basins which are surrounded by luxury houses and has its own shops and restaurants. 

1st October – Wednesday

Walked into Hythe town centre, which is a charming small town only 5 minutes from the marina. 

There is a pier on the water front where you can catch a small ferry to Southampton.  To get to the ferry you ride on a small train (above), which looks like it has been there for many years. 

There are nearly as many charity shops as proper shops on the high street, just like most small towns at present.  I found a great bag sewing book for 50p.  There is also a traditional bakers shop too, where pasties were sample and scones purchased.

The marina has a fabric shop, (no kidding) New Forest Fabrics, so I spent a little time staring the spots off the fabrics and managed to only buy 4 fat quarters (small pieces of fabric).

2nd October – Thursday

Walked to Tesco in Dibden.

Lovely sunny evening.

Back to Southampton tomorrow.

15th September – Monday – Lymington to Ocean Village, Southampton

Lymington was a great marina to stay in.  However at this time of year boat owners are plagued with the purple peril.  Our nice shiny white plastic buckets get bombarded by Blackberry Bird Poo.  It takes some shifting, stains and as soon as you get rid of it another little blighter takes a pot shot.  Some marinas have it worse than others.  At Lymington there is a very handy breakfast buffet for the little darlings in the shape of a quarter mile of Blackberry hedge which edges one side of the marina on the path to town.  One boat near us was literally covered and the owner told us he had only been away a few days.  The gentle muttering of boat owners cursing meant it was time to make a sharp exit.

We had a leisurely 4 hour sail back to Southampton.  10-12 knots of wind in the right direction for near perfect tacks all the way back.  The resulting pattern on the chart plotter was textbook.

Celebrated with diner at Wetherspoons near the marina.  Bargain and only one fight.

16th September – Tuesday

Very sunny, cleaned the boat due to potential visitors, shopped at Lidl in Town.

17th September – Wednesday

Southampton Boat Show

For anyone who has not been the Southampton Boat Show it is a massive festival of sailing which takes over a large area of Southampton’s water front.  There are three areas on land separated by walkways over the main roads, many marquees and stalls and the largest temporary floating marina in Britain, which is assembled just for the show.

We have previously been at weekends and used the Park and Ride, but this year we came in the boat to the nearby marina and walked in.  Far less crowded than our normal experience which was nice.  We met Graham and Pauline and then spent all day gawping at all things Yachty.  We took full advantage of the hospitality from our mutual marina providers, so ended the day with a warm glow to the cheeks.

Finished the day with Dinner at Southampton Yacht club, with Graham and Pauline, which is located at Ocean Village and great value for money.

18th and 19th were overcast rainy days so we stayed on board and recovered.

20th September – Saturday

Walked into Southampton to find the Art Gallery.  It is located near the Guild Hall at the top of the town.  Entrance is free and there was a good selection of traditional and contemporary pieces.

We made the mistake of going shopping in Asda on the way back at the same time as every new student at Southampton University.

21st-23rd September

General ‘lozzing’ around.  Mick updated all the computers and phones.

Walked through the Town Park and bought a Knot book from a charity shop.

We are awaiting the arrival of our friend Andy from Portugal, so more cleaning and re-arranging.

24th September – Wednesday

Walked to the station to collect Andy and made our way back to the marina via the ‘Red Lion’ pub, the oldest in Southampton, for him to get a proper pint.

Wetherspoons again for tea at it was No-Tax Wednesday, where you do not pay tax on food and drink as a protest to Westminster for taxing pubs at a different rate than supermarkets. 

25th September – Thursday

To Cowes as Andy had never been to the Isle of Wight.  Sunny and windy. Gusting to 20 knots with full sails out was exciting.

We stayed at Shepherds marina on West Cowes which is very conveniently located near the chain ferry, just a short walk into town.

We found a real ale pub called ‘Cowes Ale House’ which sold a selection of real ales and was like someone’s front room.

In the evening to went out to a local Indian Restaurant, that had no other than Richard Branson as a patron, probably only once, but the owner had a huge picture of him on the wall.  It was a ‘take your own booze’ place so we did.  Weirdly the end price was pretty similar to the price you pay when you have paid for drinks, oh well, suppose the rates on the Isle of Wight are pretty steep.

Info:  Good clean showers, with plugs.  £29 per night.  Very friendly marina staff.

26th September – Friday

Full English breakfast on board then back to Southampton to sample the marina pub.

Not much wind today so a less exciting return sail.

Dinner on board, house Salmon Pasta.

27th September – Saturday

Walked Andy back to the station via the ‘Curry Man’ on the market who sells excellent Samosas.

It was great to see Andy and hopefully he will have had a little break.  We certainly had a good catch-up and look forward to visiting Portugal soon.

28th September – Sunday

Papers and Washing.