Saturday:
Atlantis and SouthPoint II left the Hamble at 9am and headed out of the Solent, it was 10.30 when Atlantis passed the 'bridge buoy' at the entrance to the Needles channel and altered course to the west heading for Anvil Point. There was about 10 knots of wind aft and not enough to make a good passage time to beat the tide gate at St Albans ledge. As a result both yachts motored most of the the way.
Once past St Albans Head / Ledge Southpoint II and Atlantis stopped for a late lunch in Chapman's Pool at around 2.30pm.
Some of the crew had slept on the way and awoke to find themselves at anchor.
After Lunch some of the boys went swimming and found the water somewhat colder than anticipated, one even pretended to be a seal, catching 'haribo' in his mouth. Once the frivolities were over the boats carried on for Weymouth - now against the tide and wind which had changed to a Westerly. This forced a continued use of engines to make the 6pm brige opening in the harbour at Weymouth.
This bridge allows access to the marina and only opens a few times a day. Atlantis made the waiting pontoon twenty minutes before the bridge opened.
Sunday:
The next morning saw a very different day - Wind from the Southeast at 20-25 knots and heavy rain at times. This did not prevent a full English breakfast from being consumed. It was cooked on SouthPoint II and delivered on a baking tray to Atlantis.
At 10am we left the shelter and safety of the Marina, passed through the open bridge, harbour and out to sea.
As soon as the harbour entrance was reached the boat started pitching and slamming into the waves and it looked like a long and uncomfortable trip was to be had by all.
Some ten minutes later a rougue wave washed over the boat and soaked all those in the cockpit with some water even finding its way below. At this point it was decided that enough was enough and to return to port, which proved interesting when manoevering in the harbour.
Monday:
It was a great relief to find the seas very much flatter that the day before with the wind now blowing offshore from a Northerly direction. Atlantis put up her sails after motoring a short way from the harbour. The wind was blowing 20-25 kts gusting 35 to 40 kts at times which made for an interesting but quick passage against the tide to St Albans head.
It was bitterly cold with the odd shower thrown in, as a result most of the crew elected to remain below in the heated warmth of the cabin and sleeping bags.
Between St Albans Head and Anvil Point the sea fell flat and the wind decreased sheltered by the high cliffs and Atlantis pushed her way though up to four knots of tide against her making 8 knots or so through the water.
The Tide turned in our favour as we approached Hurst narrows, but now the boats had to head in a more northerly direction which meant they were hard on the wind.
The Solent was quite calm compared to the rest of the passage but the wind was gustier and more fickle being closer to the land.The young helmsmen did very well coping with these conditions 'pinching up' when the wind allowed to gain extra upwind distance. Atlantis sailed until she reached Lepe Spit off the Bealieu River entrance and then motored the rest of the way to Hamble
