by Antony Sluce

The barometer had been high for almost a fortnight and so the weather was ideal for dinghy cruising. Five DCA boats took advantage of the weather on the Dee. As HW was in the early afternoon we were able to get our boats down onto the firm sand at the end of the hard at Thurstaston and float off as the tide rose, without too early a start. Joan was moored higher up the shore so Peter and I were afloat and under way at about the same time as Joan. Phillip launched up at Heswall and we did not see him till later.

By 12.00 we were running before a warm easterly, but an hour later it changed to a sea breeze with a noticeable drop in temperature.

Given the settled conditions, we decided to anchor in the gutter east of Hilbre Island. The anchorage is protected as the tide drops by a ridge of sand about 6ft above the bottom of the pool, which we managed to find after some prompting from the shore. The sand ridge means that as you dry out it becomes smooth, with little chance of surf. The disadvantage of a shelving beach is that there is no chance of missing the surf if the wind gets up. Phillip had anchored the other side of the island and we wandered across to exchange visits and tour the island.

The next day, after we had floated off, we met Dennis, 7 hrs out from the Ribble, in the Hilbre Swash. We finished up at Thurstaston at HW. Peter and I recovered our boats, but the others stayed on for another night — Dennis making it the start of a week’s cruise. Given the timing of HW, in the early afternoon, we were not able to explore as far as sometimes because we would have been getting back to, for me, little known anchorages in the dark. Also I was single-handed, and you really need two people for working the swashways as it usually involves quite a bit of anchor work.

SOUTH COAST RALLIES by John Laughland

Shake-down at Wootton

Few members risked such a shake-down as was promised by the Met. Office. However, I hear that Bryan Collins ventured as far as Calshot, and Evan Pringle went out looking for fellow masochists. Bryan finished the day in the Jolly Sailor with Roddy and John; Evan returned to his home on the island, and I tidied the garden in the afternoon and watched Val Doonican in the evening (actually he wasn’t bad).

Sausage Sizzle at Hurst

Perfect weather and a great turnout of 18 people in 8 or 9 boats, but a disappointing turnout of sausages. No matter as we all ate well and enjoyed the camp fire.

Newlyweds Denis and Sue Daly sailed their fine wooden Hurst O/D from Christchurch and we certainly hope to see more of them and Evan Pringle and his family in their Drascombe Longboat. Nice to see long-time members Bob Russell, Peter Glover and George Dyer round the fire, and welcome to Terry Hughes and his party who walked out from Keyhaven, having left their 14’ Zoom ashore. Anyone who has done that walk knows that the OS and the Admiralty have it wrong — it’s at least 10 miles! Luckily Stuart and Carol Jones were to sleep ashore so gave Terry’s party a lift back in their new Tideway.

Bryan’s yawl made the 4th open boat, and Phil’s WWP and my Foxtrot made up a total of 5 with lids. Thus the pattern of last season was repeated, when over the course of the season 60% of boats at the rallies had cabins.

I’m sorry to say that the wrecked pontoons on Hurst Spit are now completely deckless, so firewood may in future be a problem and we may have to do as Stuart Jones, who went to the trouble of installing double glazing in his home so that he could bring the old timber frames for firewood! (He’s replacing his roof next; the man’s a fool for sausages!)