Lymington to Newtown via the Needles

Bliss
Fri 16 Sep 2016 10:43
Well it had to be done! The wind and sea state much more favourable than Friday when we opted for the North Channel, the opportunity to take the last of the ebb out to the Needles and the flood back was irresistible, a lovely day too, our luck with the weather continues. We beat out and ran back, a nice little jolly, the Needles are impressive, and intimidating. When you get the timing right it's hard to imagine how terrifying some 'fearsome passages' can be, but with Needles it's not difficult at all, add a four to five knot tide and standing waves to those jagged rocks and you have a scene from your worst nightmare.

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The Needles, in perfect conditions they are very photogenic

We moored in Newtown River on the Isle of Wight, in Roman times a huge thriving port, now run by the National Trust as a wildlife haven and is mostly inhabited by birds and boats.
We picked up a visitor's mooring, not many boats on a Monday evening, apparently is was crammed full over the weekend, it was a beautiful spot on a beautiful evening. This would probably be our last night anywhere remotely remote, and we were glad to have such a perfect, still evening to enjoy it.

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Newtown River

Tuesday morning was glorious, and so started with a swim off the back of Bliss, the water doesn't feel cold at all at this time of the year, a bit different to the near-freezing water in Scotland back in May!
We struggled to reach even four knots against the wind and tide on our way to Portsmouth, and so were glad of the distraction and excitement of seeing Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup yacht out on the water being put through paces, we got in quite close while the team changed the mainsail.

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Incredible!

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