2023 8th September, A dash home, stats for 2023 and what to do in 2024.

I was all geared up for Guernsey on Thursday but the forecast was for very light winds and fog so, as mentioned in the previous post, I stayed put in Hope Cove; then just after 8 pm I got a phone call, The Lady Wife had fallen and broken her hip. 

So after a quick check of the tide atlas to make sure it was sensible to leave immediately, the anchor was weighed in about 10 minutes (when at anchor I keep the boat pretty much ready for sea with the engine ready to start in case of a dragging anchor or other emergency), it was a 20 hour motor back to the Solent. 

I was fortunate that on the neap tide I had an adverse current for only a couple of hours by which time I was almost at Start Point, thanks to the new anti-foul and a calm sea I was motoring easily at better than 6 knots, even with the dinghy in tow. I couldn't get past Portland on one tide but I did have a favourable tide past The Needles and through the Solent to be back on my mooring at 17:00.

The bad news was that most of the way, almost to The Needles Fairway buoy, there was mist and patchy fog, sometimes with visibility down to a cable or so, that meant I was on an intensive radar and visual watch all the way - very tiring.

It was too late to get home that night, even if I had not been exhausted, so after 9 hours kip I left early on Saturday morning with a long trek home by bus, hike, train and an hours walk (actually hobble is a better description) in 30 degrees because there were no taxies for at least that long. Then to cap it all the car had a puncture as I reached the hospital 

Not the end of season sail I had hoped for!

Waves, sometimes breaking, over the Shingles Bank although
there were no significant waves outside. A good reason to take
care in adverse conditions,

 

As happened on my final day of my sailing last year as I went up the Solent I was greeted by the Waverley paddle steamer (also seen in Milford Haven on my first cruise this year) and a Spitfire. 

The Paddle Steamer "Waverley" 

No mistaking the shape (or sound) of a Spitfire.

My track till midnight.

And the rest of the way to the Hamble

114 miles over the ground in 20.5 hours.

Stats for 2023

2023	Days	Hours at Sea	GPS N Miles	GPS S Miles	Days Sailing	Places Visited	Weather Bound	Marina or Buoy	At anchor
St Kilda	76	421	1,890	2,175	52	54	11	31	41
Summer	34	139	580	667	21	23	7	14	17
Total	110	561	2,470	2,842	73	77	18	45	58

33 places visited for the first time.

Stats for previous years and explanations here or from the top bar.

2024

I do like to have a "mission" or goal when I sail, next years I think will either be round Ireland or more likely Shetland by a route that will be decided depending on the weather but probably west about so as not to arrive in Orkney and Shetland too early in the year. Wind permitting Sancerre will be dried out for a scrub on March 15th and I'll leave soon thereafter.