The Needles

Lesley writes: The rain lashed down like arrows and the wind howled as we got up, for a second morning, intending to set off from Yarmouth to Nic's childhood sailing ground of Studland Bay in Dorset. Yesterday we decided to stay put because of a forecast Force 6-7. Today the Met weather looked better, (F4-5) so we waited until the rain eased off and I helmed us out into the western end of the Solent, just before high tide.

Almost immediately the read-out showed 25, 28, 30 knots of wind (Force 7), coming from dead ahead (of course!), as we progressed down the infamous Needles Channel where a huge body of water is compressed into a small space. The wind was increasingly fighting against tide, making the waves so short and enormous, that Sirena IV was being flung around like a 7-ton cork. It would have helped if we had had a scrap of mainsail up, but trying to raise a sail, and reef it in those conditions seemed too dangerous. 

I wrestled with the wheel as great showers of spray flew all over us, drenching us every few minutes. Later we found our faces caked in salt. It was at this point that the chart-plotter at the wheel (our sat-nav of the sea) decided to play up. An alarm sounded plaintively as the screen declared moodily it 'could not fix our position.' Nothing to do but carry on on the current heading. 

The scuppers beside the cockpit were permanently full of water as it couldn't drain away fast enough before the next wave. We increased the engine revs to 2000 just to try and forge our way through (usually it's 1500-1800). At last we saw the famous Needles lighthouse go by and hoped to be out of the worst. The chart-plotter revived, though it would occasionally black out and then re-start again.

The trip did not become more comfortable. We rolled madly all the way across Poole Bay. As Nic helmed, we discovered his waterproof trousers didn't live up to their name and his deck shoes got soaked. Our hands were numb inside drenched gloves. In short, we got a bit fed up with it.

Lessons Learned:
1. put reefs in mainsail whilst on pontoon - always easier to shake out than reef, and you'll get a better set of sail
2. put small mainsail up while in protected water when safe to be on deck in head to wind
3. wear full wet-weather gear & boots - easier to change 'down' when dry than change 'up' when wet
4. have lifelines ready in cockpit instead of buried in a cupboard
5. don't forget about the effect of wind over tide, especially in narrow channels - it can make the deck a no-go area.

Nic in Studland Bay with Old Harry behind

As we approached our goal, the wind and waves subsided. Studland Bay, where we had to negotiate our way through a herd of racing catamarans to gain a quiet corner of the bay and anchor in 2.2 metres of water. This is the corner where for many years, Nic and his dad Ken would sail in their family dinghy to admire the big boats anchored there. Ken never owned a big boat where he could spend the night in the Bay. But Nic does, and here we are today, loving it and remembering Ken with a small Drambuie (his tipple of choice).

Nic writes: it's a strange feeling for me, being in a now very familiar boat, and in a very familiar place that I have visited for more than 50 years, and putting them together.  It's a good feeling, remembering when Dad & I used to sail around the 'big boats' in our little dinghy, fantasising about owning one, or just about being invited on board (which did happen once, as I recall).  If there was a dinghy today with people looking admiringly at our boat then I would invite them on board.

Last night's tuna stir-fry