GOSPORT to LYMINGTON 50:45.03N 001:31.55W
Callidus Harwich and Beyond
Richard Wells
Sun 15 Jun 2008 19:42
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Dear Friends, Relations, Romans and
Countrymen,
Lend me thine ears and a £5 note (says
Richard).
Here we are in sunny Lymington but it has just been
pissing with rain. We are well fed, oiled and watered. The boat is leaking like
a sieve and no-one has pumped her out for a few hours. We are just changing our
wet socks and going for a run ashore.
Bernard join us for today's sail and Pete Wills
from Leicestershire joined us also. We had a vist from John Darrah (aged 86 - an
old shipmate of Richard's) and his son Hugh. We fed and watered them all so we
are down to hard tack, ship's biscuits and weevils on the morrow (not
really!).
What with hangovers lingering from the Castle in
Gosport with port and red wine chasers on board, the day's sailing is a bit of a
blur. Richard was merciless giving us a good thrashing and keel-hauling for
cocking up the passage plan and communications with Solent CG. They are on
strike and Dick unwisely asked them for the weather. He got short shrift and was
directed to look into the Almanac, which they hyoped they hoped we had on
bvoard.
There was a Mayday shortly after, but not by us - a
motor boat had set on fire and was drifting into an Ocean Village so Solent had
to get off theior arses and behave like true Coastguards instead of all this
moodiness. She did a good job and had a very professional manner, if
perhaps a little sexy
The fish have obviouslty eaten more than we have
nad were not in biting mood. Perhaps they were striking in sympathy with Solent
CG?
The boss is a hard bastard and gave us grief
whenever he could especially over passage plans and starting the engine on batts
1+2 rather than just no.1..
Tomorrow we push off at 8am for the fuel pontoon
which we hope is in the same place as it was this evening and that Richard does
not take on a tour of the Lymington Yacht Haven as he did at Ramsgate. We
then hope to proceed westwards down the Neeedles Channel and arrive off the
nudist beach at Studland by evening, and hope that the sun is out.
If that doesn't work out we will try for Lulworth
or perhaps Weymouth, but the wind will have to buck up a bit for
that.
by Dick (with suggestions from Richard and
Peter)
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