Len would be hosting Newtown, but I decided to take the Monday off for contingencies and go anyway. Having sailed from Cobnor to East Head on Friday night, Tessa and I crossed Chichester Bar under motor about 8am next morning. With fickle headwinds we rowed, sailed, motored, and eventually passed Cowes about 7pm, to find in the Western Solent a good W F3 and a wall of fog. Beating in and out of sight of the shore, I felt my clammy way into Newtown about 8.30pm, just in time to raise my tent before dark. I met John Perry, Josephine Street and Chris Jenkins returning from the pub, but had to wait till morning to welcome new members David Cullingford and his crew, Bernie, with their immaculate Drascombe Lugger. No Len? A message had been received via the harbourmaster that his car had broken down and he’d been towed home.

The fog on Sunday morning was as thick as ever, and we waited until mid-day for it to clear, then had an enjoyable sail in loose convoy as far as Cowes, where in a failing wind and with further to go than the others I started my outboard. Before I’d left Cowes astern the fog had descended again. With the tide out, I was hitting bottom while still out of sight of the shore, so I anchored in Osborne Bay. With compass and charts aboard I wasn’t so worried about getting lost as being run down, and judging by the cacophony of fog horns, there was some sizeable shipping about. The fog didn’t clear till 7pm, so I overnighted in Wootton Creek, finally getting back to Chichester on Monday afternoon.

Folly Inn, Cowes — May 27th-28th

It is difficult deciding not to sail when there’s no wind at all but gales and heavy rain are forecast. I slept in the car on Friday night and awaited the 05.35 forecast, which was even worse, but still not a breath of wind; by 7pm however, great gusts were stirring the trees. I spent the day walking around the shore, then drove to the Southampton ferry and popped across to Cowes on an evening ticket, walked to the Folly, where I was rewarded by the lovely sight of a barn owl patrolling a field, ate at the pub and returned in torrential rain. Not surprisingly, I found no other DCA members! Liz Baker

Poole 3rd-4th June

The forecast was confused with high pressure over the Midlands struggling to swamp two Atlantic lows heading for the Channel. Thus we had varied conditions from calm to F3/4, with fog forming over the Purbeck Hills and spilling onto the sea off Poole Harbour entrance.

On Saturday morning David Morl, myself and David Sumner launched, respectively, our Potters and Mirror at Rockley Sands. The manager of the yacht yard allowed us to leave our trailers within the compound overnight, and offered a massive discount on launching fees. Keith Butler and his family launched their Gull later and were spotted on Brownsea Island during the afternoon. Ursa Minor (myself) and Roamer (David Morl) lunched at Maryland Point, off Brownsea. A round-the-island attempt was called off as the spring tide approached its lowest, and we turned for the upper Wych Channel through Balls Lake. After a lot of depth-finding with centreboards, two more DCA boats were spotted well up the beach on the Shipstall side of Long Island — David Sumner and Keith Holdsworth (own design). The Potters moored at the end of the sand causeway. Another boat flying a DCA burgee was seen ashore, believed to have been skippered by Derek Milbourne.

The early evening was spoiled by gloomy overcast leading to rain, but at 03.00 everything was calm; the water like a mirror. Poole port lights blazed and the stars gleamed in their thousands. Later the Potter skippers were awoken by a hail from Philip Ashwin in another Potter, Kinkajou. He had launched at Ridge, near Wareham after being delayed by a traffic hold-up at Bodmin.

At 6.30am on Sunday the sun was bright and the Purbeck Hills were reminding us how beautiful Dorset is. The three Potters sailed in company for some hours towards Sandbanks and, in a brisker wind from the SW, carried out formation evolutions off the ferry port. David Sumner followed and had an exciting sail around Brownsea before returning to Rockley. Bruce Longstaff

Bembridge 10th-11th June

NW F3 winds were forecast. In fact most of us had SW5, although Chris Jenkins landed in a patch of flat calm half way over! He had started the day before from Haslar Creek, overnighting at East Head. Tom Hart with crew Bruce sailed from Northney in his Wayfarer. I sailed with John Perry and Josephine Street from Warsash in John’s 15 ft own design, as I was without a boat.

A good evening was had in The Rowbarge. It was agreed that Bembridge had every advantage as a venue except the length and exposure of the crossing from Chichester or Langstone harbours. John and Josephine stayed another day, but Chris kindly took me back in his 15 ft Potter AX.

Meanwhile Alan Glanville, having launched from Northney, found he had a long beat from Chichester bar as the forecast NW3 turned into a SW3-5. At 17.00 and still several miles from Bembridge, Lowly Worm was making very little headway. Alan ran back to Chichester under mizzen only, camped at East Head and sailed in Chichester Harbour on Sunday. Len Wingfield

Fowley Island 1st-2nd July

Apart from a couple of hours of heavy rain early on Saturday, the forecast rain never materialised and the weather got better and better. Early on Saturday morning I took my first ever phone call on board my boat:

“Hello Liz, Keith here. What’s the weather like there? Are you still going?” “Very pleasant — rain’s stopped, hardly any wind, sun’s coming out. See you there!”

I’d planned this rally as a family picnic, and thanks to Tom Hart and his family and friends, a family picnic it was. I managed to barbecue my sausages and beefburgers till they were nicely charred, and these were shared around, to be followed by Len Wingfield’s fresh fruit salad. Most people also brought their own food.

Tom Hart brought his own family, Penny and Will, and also two other families, John, Mike and Tom Bridges, and Paul, Jane, Beth and Eleanor, all in two journeys in a single Wayfarer, a masterpiece of organisation, and he got them all off again before the tide went out! The seven children all seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. We were pleased to welcome new members Derek (‘but everybody calls me J”) Milbourne who had sailed his small yacht, Star Trekka Ka Lae, from Christchurch, and Chris and Lesley Vincent with a Mirror but no camping equipment, who were happy to be able to meet other members without the need to camp. Keith Holdsworth arrived in a new, yawl rigged 11 footer, designed and built by himself to avoid the need for a centreboard, and very nice she looked too with her blue Polytarp sails. Bruce Longstaff arrived in his Potter, and Len Wingfield brought his Leader.

As the tide receded most went their separate ways, but several of us sailed down to East Head, and Keith and I returned to Fowley Island on the evening tide and rejoined ‘J’ who had stayed there all day. Liz Baker

Hurst Point 8th-9th July — A DCA/Leader Class Rally

The forecast predicted wet and windy weather up to Force 7, and this no doubt put many members off. I launched my heavily reefed Leader at Warsash on the Friday evening to find the wind had eased to a comfortable following breeze, with idyllic conditions for my overnight stop at Pitts Deep, a deserted tidal creek and landing near Lymington. The fine weather and fair breeze held until lunch time when as predicted the wind strengthened and swung round to the west, leaving our Hurst Point venue exposed. Even the shore normally sheltered by the Hurst Castle walls became untenable as the wind veered and strengthened further.

However by this time the other boats had arrived. John Perry and Josephine Street had been cruising locally in their 15 foot Perry Special, Tom and Simon Hart had made the long haul from Langstone in a Wayfarer, and John Bull sailed in from Keyhaven in his Leader. Fortunately John Bull got us out of our predicament by arranging for us to moor up at Keyhaven on his club’s pontoon, which is sheltered by a substantial wall. We were also offered the use of the HCSC clubhouse, its lawn for camping and facilities for the DCA’s traditional Hurst barbie. Andy Peters and Stuart Jones called round to see us and we were offered facilities at the Keyhaven YC too. It was agreed that the Hurst Point barbecue rallies should continue in their traditional form, but that the option of using the Keyhaven facilities would be of great value in inclement weather.

During the night the wind really blew up and despite the shelter of the wall those of us camping in our boats had a rough time, and the one who took his sleeping gear into the shelter of the club veranda had the best night’s rest. By morning however the wind had moderated again somewhat. I left under double reefed mainsail only, but after passing the Jack-in-the-Basket mark played safe and sailed back to Warsash under working jib only. Even so I was surfing much of the time. Tom and Simon, a heavyweight crew, left soon after under full sail in the more stable Wayfarer. They found the experience ‘educational’ and soon put two reefs in! Len Wingfield