2025 WEEK 1

Thursday 10th July 2025.

Jumped in an Uber to Bosham at about 09:30 and arrived just after 11:00. The traffic was bad around Chichester due to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is running over the next three days. I filled the taxi with three cans of petrol and two camping gas cylinders, along with the last of the stuff I needed onboard. If we had crashed, it might have been quite spectacular. The Bosham ferry took me out to EIVIVA, and I spent the afternoon sorting things out and putting everything away. At 20:30 I went over to the Itchenor pontoon to fill up with water, thinking that the harbour authority money-grabbers would be long gone. It takes quite a while to take onboard 1,000 litres, especially with the water pressure on the new pontoon. Even so, a chap arrived at 21:30 and said he had been watching me on CCTV and I had gone over the free 20 minutes! He was understanding, and I escaped back to the mooring without penalty.

Filling up the water tank on the new pontoon in Itchenor.

Friday 11th July

I woke up early, but the tide was not running west until around 10:30. I decided to read the running-in process for the engine and discovered that it is essential to give it a good workout for the first 50 hours. Many more revs than I would have thought, even racing the engine for 5 minutes every 40. As no wind was forecast, my plan was to motor to Cowes and fill the fuel tank. In the end, there was sufficient wind to put up the spinnaker. After faffing around for a bit, it popped out of the bag and we were in fine colourful form. I even took the narrow gate in the WWII submarine fence between Horse Sand Fort and the mainland for the first time flying a kite. Spinnakers are fairly limited in their ability to change direction, and the gate appeared amusingly narrow as we approached.

Successful fuelling in Cowes. The fuel barge sent me an email when I was underway again saying that I had overpaid £56. Very nice of them. Cheap fuel too. The UK Powerboat races are happening over the weekend—the chap on the fuel barge said that the Martini Racing powerboat had just taken on £1,000 worth of petrol, good enough for one race. Now at anchor off the entrance to Lymington. There are many RIBs and speedboats about today as the water is flat. I am anchored in the middle of the Solent and very close to the RIB route from Lymington to the anchorage at Colwell Bay and the ever-popular Hut restaurant. It’s like sitting on a motorway… anchor light on! Check.

Call that an anchorage? Only in good weather.

Saturday 12th July

The RIBs stopped buzzing past when it got dark. I guess doing 30 knots when you can’t see what’s in the water isn’t appealing. The first one in the morning woke me up with a start, as it sounded like a car going past very fast and it took me a moment to realise where I was. I had a lazy breakfast (porridge these days), raised the anchor, and set off through the Hurst Narrows at the western end of the Solent under engine. As the engine speed has to be 2,300 RPM due to the running-in procedure, we punched along into the last hour of incoming tide, merrily overtaking the other sailing boats. The wind was only 7 knots from the southeast, so I knew when I switched off the engine everyone would pass. As it happened, the wind picked up to 13 knots just after Hurst Castle and we were soon romping along under sail, leaving six boats in our wake.

I think I might have discovered what makes EIVIVA go. It has taken a few years as she is very different to sail from any other boat I have owned. The wind died and went around to the west, blowing a gentle 3 knots over flat water. That wasn’t predicted, so I changed course to Portland Harbour, where I know there is always plenty of room to anchor. Beautiful sunny day—it was a shame the wind stopped; otherwise I might have pushed on to Dartmouth. Tomorrow looks promising with a southeast wind that should get me across Lyme Bay to Dartmouth.

I was here.

Sunday 13th July

I wore eyeshades last night so I managed to sleep until 07:00. Luxury.

We set off (EIVIVA and I) at 11:15 towards the southern point of Portland Bill. The wind was blowing from the east at about 12 knots as predicted so good sailing for an hour. When we arrived at 'the most dangerous stretch of water in the south of England' it was slack water and benign, we took the inshore route and waved at the tourists on shore.

Spinnaker up again and we settled into a downwind cruise to Dartmouth. A few of the other boats that had arrived at slack water also deployed cruising chutes, but these do not work as well as EIVIVA’s Parasailer dead downwind, so we soon left everyone behind. There was a Hallberg-Rassy 36 that was only flying the foresail that kept pace all the way to Dartmouth. I think there might have been a bit of sneaky engine running. If not, very impressive.

Dolphins jumping around the bow as we approached Shag Stone rock and the entrance to Dartmouth Harbour. I always love entering Dartmouth. The way the town opens up once past the forts that guard the entrance can't help but take the mind back to the great days of British naval supremacy at the start of the 19th century. Now at anchor in my favourite spot opposite the historic town quay.

A good day on the water.

Ferocious conditions at Portland Bill.

They were jumping around all over the place but could I get one to jump where the camera was pointing?

The entrance to Dartmouth.

EIVIVA in her favourite Dartmouth anchorage with upmarket company in the form of the 46m yacht Constance. Constance is owned by American entrepreneur Alan Dabbiere. He also owns another $50 million Constance which is 60M long. I guess you can never have too many super yachts.