The Great Escape

Owen arrived and completed the last few jobs on the heating and by 11.00 I was ready to leave.
A breeze had picked up so I waited for a calm before leaving the berth at 11.20 and heading out bound for somewhere west.

Once out in the channel the wind increased and Eureka heeled over slightly in the gusts. It wasn't looking good with the wind being stronger than forecast.

Once I was out in the Solent proper the wind increased to the high 20's / low 30's.
I hoped this was just wind funnelling down the Needles Channel as the forecast had the wind in the low 20's at worst, more than I'd have liked but I could cope with a beat across Lyme Bay to Exmouth or Brixham.
If the wind went around to the south then I'd make Dartmouth which was my goal.

As I approached Hurst Castle just before the open sea I saw two yachts heading in and soon identified them as French.
The game was up, if the French were heading for shelter then there was going to nobody outside!

At 13.00, soon after the French yachts had past I turned and headed back in.
I thought about going to Cowes for a change of scenery but it was too far if conditions worsened and as I now had a good idea of the layout of Lymington Harbour I decided to go back the way I had come with my tail....I think you know what I mean.

I headed right up to the Town Pontoon but as expected it was full so I turned back downriver and tied up at the Dan Bran pontoon which is also owned by the harbour and much cheaper than either of the marinas.
The skipper of a nearby yacht assisted me in tieing up as the wind was blowing me off and I was surprisingly tired after only 4 hours at sea.

Later when the skipper was passing, he invited me to join himself and his wife and another couple for a drink aboard his Starlight 35.
After a pleasant hour or two I returned to Eureka in the rain and had dinner while I licked my wounds and listened to a forecast that was going to keep my tied up tomorrow.Read more