When I wrote my last article, my wife
Julie and I were only days away from
our new Marex 310 Sun Cruiser
arriving in Poole. To say we were
excited was an understatement. With
Guy from Wessex Marine letting me
know that the boat had completed its
final checks and was being loaded on
to a transporter to head for the UK,
that excitement built to fever pitch.
It was like waiting for Christmas when
you’re six years old.
Guy suggested that it may arrive
over the weekend with any luck,
but with unpacking, checking and
commissioning, it probably wouldn’t
be ready until the following week.
We set off very early the following
Friday from our home in the New
Forest to head for a wedding that
weekend in Cornwall, hoping that our
present would arrive by Monday. At
about 8am, we stopped at a very nice
service station on the A30 just past
Exeter (the Hog & Hedge if you’re ever
that way) for bacon sandwiches and
coffee. With the free WiFi, I checked
my email and guess what? There was
a nice email from Guy letting me know
that our boat had arrived – just as we
were getting further away from Poole!
The email included a couple ofphotos of her on the trailer all nice and
wrapped up and I resigned myself to
not seeing her until Sunday morning- but I was very twitchy. When we
arrived in Cornwall, I checked my
email again – more photos from
Guy. Was this amazing customer
service or torture? I wasn’t sure.
The wedding was lovely and since
my plan was to drive back early
Sunday morning (our original
departure time was 8am but soon
became 7am, then 6am) I decided
not to drink. However, by the time the
band started to play in the evening
I couldn’t wait a minute longer. With
a big congratulations to the very
understanding bride and groom
Sarah and Alistair, we slipped off
to the hotel to check out a day early,
and set off for home immediately.
TAKING A HOLD
The following morning we were up
at the crack of dawn and headed
straight to Salterns Marina. And
there she was. I didn’t have any
keys but after waiting almost eight
months, I didn’t care. It was a lovely
sunny day so we sat in the cockpit,
sat on the sunlounger at the front,
opened the covers, closed the covers,First love
Richard gets his hands on his new pride and joy
looked in every locker we could
find and grinned like Cheshire cats.
I took the following two weeks
off and planned to take her out as
soon as the handover was completed.
Now, as anyone who boats in England
knows, if you plan anything, the
weather changes. And yes, you
guessed it – wind, rain and more
wind. So I set about doing all the little
tinkering bits I had planned to do later
in the year: lining all the drawers with
StayPut rubber matting (brilliant
for stopping things sliding), adding
carbon monoxide alarms to bothMAREX 310 SUN CRUISER
Soaking up the
sun in MudefordMBY ’SFLEET
PRESTIGE 680
ARTEMISIA
MARK WEISS, Marina d’Arechi, ItalyPRINCESS 67
JENNYWREN
MIKE ROTHERY, Sant Carles Marina, SpainJENNEAU LEADER 805
SMUGGLER’S BLUES 2
NICK BURHAM, Torquay, UKFAIRLINE SQUADRON 78
M ATC H I I
JOHN WOLF, Antibes, FranceMAREX 310 SUN CRUISER
OFFSHORE
RICHARD HALL, Poole, UKSTEELER PANORAMA FF53
SYMPHONY
PETER CHESTER, the NetherlandsFPB 78
GREY WOLF II
PETER WATSON,
Guernsey, Channel IslandsSEALINE C330
LET’S GO
GILBERT PARK, Aigues-Mortes, FrancePRESTIGE 500S
BREAKING BAD
NIGEL PICKIN, Port Hamble, UKJEANNEAU NC14
DIANA
JOHN BRUNYATE, Port Solent Marina, UKKARNIC BLUEWATER 2250
BOHEMIAN GIRL
HUGO ANDREAE, Poole, UKDALE NELSON CLASSIC 45
ARLETTE
HARRY HORNBY, Badachro, ScotlandPRINCESS 61
BATEAU9
HARRY METCALFE,
Port Antibes, FranceNORDHAVN 46
ENVOY
LAURIE CRANFIELD, the MedFLEMING 55
P L AY D’ E AU
PIERS DU PRÉ, Guernsey, Channel IslandsPRINCESS 43
SAPPHIRE
GORDON CHRISTIE, Loch Lomond, UKBÉNÉTEAU SWIFT TRAWLER 34
B LU E’ S AWAY
JACK HAINES, Portimão, Portugal90Top tips from real boat owners in the MBY fl eet
OUR B O AT S
Richard and his son
relax on the sunpad