Our 01, complete with myself and crew Pat Collins, arrived at Hamble at 1900 on Friday. After a meal at The Bugle in Hamble we spent the night ashore on Hamble Spit. This was an excellent camping site and much more sheltered and acceptable to tent pegs than we expected.

Launching at Hamble is often difficult with the slip often obstructed by cars and very muddy. We decided to launch at Warsash and arrived at 1100 just missing Jack Whitby. Ian McCreery and Sulair, a Kestrel with crew, and a Mirror 16 (trailed from Coventry) were ready to leave and we hastily launched Our 01, following them out of the River Hamble at 1230.

At this late hour the tide was now against us and a variable fI-2 wind did not improve matters. The Kestrel and M16 were soon lost to sight but we followed Sulair down the coast to Hillhead, at which point the wind gave out completely.

My visit to Wootton last year told me that to camp ashore at Wootton, a wider variety of waterside camping sites is available if one is there at high water. The time being 1430 and high water at 1630, we took down the mainsail and started the engine. Sulair followed our example, and after an argument with a sheet of polythene she followed us under engine across the Solent on a SE course to Wootton.

It was at this point that the forecast rain arrived in glorious bilge-fulls. The tide was foul for us and the wind SE f2. Pat told me after that it was not a very warm day either!

It was at 1700 that Sulair, M16 and Our 01 entered Wootton Creek to find Jady Lane, John Deacon and crew indulging in supper, and leaving Jady Lane at Fishbourne we motored to the top of the creek where we tied up and took the ground as the tide fell. The Kestrel’s crew camped ashore nearby, but rather than get any wetter we erected the cover on Our 01, and with the primus alight and soup cooking, things seemed a little better. The rain continued until 0300 on Sunday.

Taking the last of the tide on Sunday morning we joined Jady Lane at Fishbourne and enjoyed breakfast under a blue sky and a rising SW f4 wind.

At 1200 we departed from Wootton, Jady Lane for Beaulieu River and the rest of us for Warsash. With the wind SW f5, the conditions were ideal for exhilarating broad-reach sailing with reefed mainsail or a comfortable passage under jib.

1530 saw us ashore at Warsash and Jady Lane probably beating up Beaulieu River. Despite the rain we enjoyed the weekend and must thank Ron Dean once more. (Ron, incidentally, spent the weekend at Datchet painting his recently acquired Rambler).