| What a change from last time. We left the Hamble just as the fog and rain cleared and had a lovely sail round the Napoleonic forts off Portsmouth Harbour. 'Atlantis' waited off the shallow entrance to Bembridge harbour for 'Nerdvana' to catch up after a stray cricket (scorer) had been picked up from Gunwharf. While we drifted around under just mainsail the entire crew took to their books and read to the gentle sound of water lapping on the hull. |  |
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| We also negotiated a meal at the Brading Haven Yacht Club whilst waiting and then we entered gingerly up the channel having determined from the tide guage that there was enough water to enter. The channel is marked by buoys that follow a very twisted and narrow path and eventually opens out into a picturesque harbour that it is almost unspoilt , apart from the yachts that is! 'Nerdvana' chose to watch the passing of the QM2 on her way to the USA. |  |
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| We all ate well at the sailing club desite our late arrival which meant that the menu was very limited. Next time it would be worth booking well in advance especially for 13. |  |
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| The next morning was windless with clear blue skies apart from a few whispy high cirrus clouds. 'Nerdvana' left some 25 minutes before 'Atlantis' as they had tied up next to an enormous 'Gin Palace' that wanted to leave. They also had some shopping mission at Cowes, presumably supplies for lunch? |  |
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| As we passed through Hurst narrows Atlantis was attacked by pirates armed with a giant water pistol. It was the Crew on Nerdvana 1 who had raised a skull and cross bones on the port flag hailyard and shot at us with jets of water. The fun continued after an excellent brunch. This had been prepared en route and smelt so appealing even when Nerdvana was half a mile in front! |  |
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| After a two and a half hour motor both boats arrived in Totland bay at the other end of the Isle of Wight to Bembridge. |  |
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| Some folk decided it was warm enough for a swim, which as the water temperature was only 14 deg C made for a very short time in the water. There was still very little wind so we motored back to the Hamble still bathed in glorious sunshine. |  |
The picture below shows exactly where we went over the two days. Click on it for a larger picture |
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Click on any picture to get a larger image of it
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Click HERE for a self extracting downloadable slideshow. It will put all the files in folder \StJohnsMay2004.
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This is a 3mb AVI |
All the pictures are reduced in quality and size to speed web download.
If you need better quality images for hard copy use please ask.