Sailing in the UK (Part 2)

 Following on from Sailing in the UK (Part 1)

 

Back in 2019, I undertook what started off as a "simple" mile-building trip in tidal waters and was to be one of the best sailing trips I have ever had. In fact calling it a "trip" is an understatement... it was a voyage!

Following my arrival on Minke II, the Hallberg Rassy belonging to my friend Tim, I had a couple of free days while waiting to depart. I took the opportunity to explore nearby Portsmouth and catch a ferry to the Isle of Wight, where more friends awaited.

A few years back, having given up on being a shop owner, I had toyed with the idea of taking a course at IBTC. That is the International Boatbuilding Training College in Portsmouth.

I found my way to the Portsmouth dockyards and discovered that the college was based there!

I was enthrallled by the number of projects, the beauty of the wood and the hulls laid open in various stages of repair. Like a massive surgical bay, what some might call carcasses of a large variety of boats lay there below the walkway and I snapped happily away, trying not only to take it all in but also to somehow retain some of this magic to take away with me. 

Where to start I do not know... This could be a very long post, easily worthy of "parts" 2b and 2c even... 

So here goes with a few photos...

Spinnaker tower, a Portsmouth landmark.

One of the things I most loved about my voyage along the voast of te UK was that every seaside town seemed to really live and breathe its nautical and historical heritage. This was something I had first noticed back in 1989 when I had visited Cowes on the isle of Wight. I seem to remember even the butcher there had some kind of nautical theme on his sign!

So here in Portsmouth, Spinnaker Tower. If you are a sailor, you kind of immediately know, you are in the right place... 

It took the maximum zoom of my camera to take this photo of the end of the pier

My first experiences of what it means to be in a tidal area. Mud!

In fact mud as far as the eye can see...

and a bit more mud...

A boat with legs

almost seems unbelievable the large boat is floating..

 This was a tidal mile builder and I was getting my first experiences of tides even before I had set off. Here is a little piece of etymological treasure I found in a book too. Did you know that the word "tidy" comes from the tides? Because tidy is neat and regular like the tides... 

The HMS Warrior

Hms Warrior detail of bow

Work boats to the backdrop of HMS Warrior

 

The Hms Warrior 

HMS Warrior was  the largest, fastest, and most powerful warship of Queen Victoria’s fleet.Click here to find out more about her.

Spotted this going out when I was there, it is an MTB!

As you may have gathered I am interested in boats, period.  Sailing, motor, classic, modern, work boat or pleasure, if it floats I am intrigued. Furthermore I am interested in their stories... The above is the MTB or Motor Torpedo Boat 102. Click on the name to find out more about her history too. Now some of you who are local sailors in my waters (the North Ionian) may find something you recognise in that hull shape. Especially those of you who often do the "milk run" between Corfu and Paxos Island. If you haven't recognised it or guessed yet, yes it is the two daytripper boats, one called Sfendoni and the other Petrakis who are converted MTB hulls from the war!!

In fact that is something fairly common in Greece, where many wrecks of the war were salvaged and became the first ferries and trade ships to connect the mainland and islands of war-ravaged Greece.

A black headed gull

A young Herring Gull

Another black headed gull on the beach

I also had a chance to snap a few seabirds while there, you shall see more in later posts.I was amazed at the size of some of the gulls in UK. they seemed so much bigger than the Mediterranean ones.

Heading into the Dockyard itself, here are some photos of boats that were being repaired there.

Hey there is a bit of bare wall here! "Stick a boat on it!!"

A corner of the workshop floor

Steamboat Janet

 

 I am going to wrap this up somewhere here, there is just too much. 

I'll be coming back soon with more photos and stories from Portsmouth, HMS Victory and my "English voyage".

 

Sailing in the UK (Part 1)

By 2019 I had been looking for a while, to find a way, to go sailing in the UK. I needed the tidal miles, and also craved the experience. I had a bunch of contacts from my days with the chandlery that I was friends with on Facebook. One of them, Tim Bishop, seemed to be getting in a lot of sailing on his Hallberg Rassy 36, so I thought I would contact him to see if there was any chance of joining for a cruise. 

As it turned out, Tim was Commodore of the Hallberg Rassy Owners Association at the time and they were organising their annual Summer Cruise Rally. It was to begin from Havant for us, where the boat was moored, specifically Northney Marina, and the 15 or so other boats would join us from various parts of the South. 

I flew in to Gatwick and made my way by train to Havant. I had not been to the UK for 23 years. I had also never been to England in May, at least not as an adult. 

As I got on the plane in Corfu, it was pouring with rain. As we crossed the Channel , the clouds and rain where left behind and England was spread out under our wings in full, sunny glory, a patchwork quilt of greens and yellows and darker greens... criss crossed with blue and grey from rivers and roads. 

Tim and I met at the station. Something had come up nd we were going to have to delay our departure. Tim had kindly arranged for me to go on another boat, so as not to lose time on the water, but I decided to wait so we could go together on his HR 36 a couple of days later. I had friends to catch up with in England so this was my opportunity.

We drove first to Birdham Marina, apparently the oldest proper marina in the UK. It was also my first close up experience of a marina affected by tides. Just not in the way I expected. Birdham is a closed basin, served by a lock. So when the tide is low, you can be sat in your boat, looking over a wall at the water and mud 4-5 meters lower down outside, while you are still floating happily away. There I met one of the other crews, with whom we would be sailing in company with over the next couple of weeks. 

 

Bird's eye view of Birdham Marina, not my pic, found on the net

Looking out to the low tide from the boat floating inside

After that we went to Northney Marina, on Hayling Island. This was a proper, tidal marina which actually went up and down with tide, pontoons, boats and all, two times a day.

 

There was a long bridge/platform joining the pontoons to the land which would sometimes be almost level and other times steeply inclined downwards, depending on the time and tide. 

Northney Marina pontoon

 I had a couple of days here free, the aft cabin was mine, so I proceeded to explore the area. Snapping away as usual. 

Northney Marina

Power Cat

Boats, boats, boats!

Cornish Crabbers

There is something about classics. Heart skips a beat...

Another surprise was how early the sun came up. I woke to sunshine thinking it must be late and it was bloody five o clock in the morning. !!

The quiet and stillness were a good opportunity to catch reflections in the water.

 Surrounding the marina and Hayling Island were wide mudflats and tidal areas where it occasionally dries. That woud be the green bits on a chart for those who know... 

Portsmouth and Spinnaker Tower seen in the distance

What looks like some kind of blockade left over from the war

Beautiful little wooden classic.

A passage way in the blocks, and boats drying out

Seabird looking for worms

Another eerie reflection, my little ghost ships

Marvellously clear moon

The West Pole Beacon.

Havant and Nortney Marina are part of Chichester Harbour. A wonderful area famous amongst other things for its top level dinghy racing. There are 14 dinvhy sailing clubs in that are alone which explains why we saw so many of them as we were leaving a few days later. 

In the next installment, I take atrip to the Isle of Wight and catch up with friends. Also I get a tour of the Bembridge lifeboat... 

Not the place to stand in an emergency