A Breezy Day On The Solent.

On Saturday we had a little sail in the Solent. Having checked the weather and coastal forecasts we knew that a big fat weather front was approaching for the weekend carrying lots of well needed rain for the Island.

So Skipper planned a short sail out on the Solent while the wind was still manageable for our small Sunstar 18.

Once out of the river Medina we had a good SW F3-4 and we raised full sails and creamed along making 4-5 knots of speed.

I like to think we gave this lovely "Round The World Clipper" yacht a run for her money! sailing on the same tack together before she sped off- well she was much bigger than our 18foot and had a lot more sail area, especially when her crew raised a third sail!

The wind blew stronger the more we headed to the North shore and the sea was pretty lumpy out in the centre of the Solent. We tacked around heading back to the Island shore and lowered our mainsail and sailed under jib only. We were in more sheltered waters here and making 3 knots we leisurely made our way back to Cowes.

Arriving at " Cowes Roads" the entrance to the harbour just as both the Red Funnel High Speed Red Jet and the Car Ferry were passing.

Also spotted this Helicopter which had landed on a very small space on the harbour wall!

The pilot was taking photos of his amazing feat too!

Sailing back up the river under jib only was a bit tricky as the wind was swinging through a westerly and then southerly direction, but here on the Island the sun was still shining.

Back on our mooring we had a delicious late lunch of Cornish pasties, hot coffee and a generous slice of ginger cake.

The Isle Of Wight Music Festival was on all this weekend just up the river and when the weather is good we sleep aboard on our mooring, enjoy listening to the music, have a glass of wine and cook our supper on board. Sometimes we take the dinghy up a little closer to view the big screen of the main stage from the water.

Not this year, we knew what was forecast...

Heavy rain and F7 Winds

Skipper little planned quick sail before it was too windy was excellent. Sunday was a snug day at home happily watching the rain "water" my garden. Those poor Festival goers, hope they enjoyed the weekend all the same.