SAILING ON THE SOLENT: DAY 3 THE BUMPER BRUNCH

Sunday  A grey dawn

Sunday dawns grey and the wind is still blowing sharply from the West. The light turns the whole landscape and outskirts of Portsmouth lifeless as if no one wants to get up.

Chichester Harbour near Bar Beacon

We are up and off the mooring by 07:00, tides are kind and we are tearing out of Portsmouth harbour towards our turning point East.

Past Southsea beach and not another craft visible in the Solent; we have this waterway to ourselves and hope it might stay that way for a moment longer as we head East, running parallel with kiss-me-quick Hayling Island beach.

We went east at 'the Dolphin' that takes us through the gap in the submarine barrier. When we got to the entrance of Chichester Harbour we turned North at the Bar Beacon.

Off East Leigh Chichester Harbour

We enter Chichester Harbour, past the super-douper Hayling Island Sailing Club. And then hard round to starboard and we drop anchor off West Wittering’s East Head Spit. The sky has cleared and the sun is out. Across on the sands and shingle we see dog walkers and soon, like flies, tiny motorboats are depositing cargos of families on the beach.

The crew demands ‘brunch’  - eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon and sausages, bread and butter and mugs of hot tea. Our last meal before we weigh anchor and head back round to and along the Emsworth Channel and Northney Marina which is our point of handover to Mark and Liz.

Skipper supervises as thorough clean up of Ragdoll and we are allocated tasks.  (see list below)

I re-pack my chef’s knife and the sharpener and we haul ourselves ashore, gladdened with banter the experiences of another great voyage on Rag Doll.

SIDE BAR

Rag Doll pack up list – things to do!
1.     Battery off
2.     Engine stopcock shut
3.    Mooring chain tied to anchor roller
4.     Transom fenders on
5.     Anode lowered over transom
6.     Bilge pumped dry
7.     Sink drain stopcock off
8.    Loo stopcocks shut
9.     Spinnaker pole stowed below
10.  Horseshoe, boathook, paddles stowed below
11.  Throwing line – in starboard aft locker
12.  Clip spinnaker halyard and pole up haul forward onto push pit
13. Elastics halyards to shrouds – to stop tapping mast
14.  clean loo (flush through with fresh water, whenever possible, reduces odours!!!)
15.  Wipe out fridge (Tim Baynes)
16.  Wipe black off saucepans and kettles with Dettol wipes
17.  Wipe down cooker and grill
18. Cover on securely – tighten aft & forward webbings last
19.  Ties to lower guard rail (not through toe rails)
20.  Clips to base of stantion posts