Chastised by the sea
T
his didn’t start well.
“You have to go and talk to
Pete and John”, said Horace.
It was the first week of May
and Horace (real name
Antonia, but so called as she claims to be
as prickly as a hedgehog) and I had
planned a three-day circuit around the Isle
of Wight in our Shrimper, Topsy.
It was an hour before we were due to set
off on the first leg from Bembridge to
Cowes and my first mate had been
ambushed by two old harbour sea dogs,
hence the order to listen to their advice.
They were concerned about the Force
5-6 easterly and advised against our
departure. Horace insisted I speak to them
before we left.Hum and haw
Earlier that morning I had been down to
the old church seamark on the Duver to
look at the sea state through my
binoculars. I had checked the forecast and
decided it was safe to take each leg as it
came. We agreed to turn back
immediately should it become
uncomfortable. I was relieved that the
wind seemed set on about 45°, better than
90° for the Bembridge approaches. Thesea dogs hummed and hawed. I wished
them well and bade them goodbye.
So, we set off and had an easy exit from
Bembridge harbour – choppy around No
Man’s Fort but a comfortable sail on full
main and jib to Cowes. We enjoyed a
good pub meal and a comfortable night
aboard at East Cowes Marina.
I had bought Topsy, a 19ft Shrimper, five
years previously from Colonel Davy at
Bosham. She was forgiving, had minimal
draught, was easy to learn to sail and felt
very stable in tricky conditions. Over the
years we had quite a few issues with air
locks and electrical malfunctions and aA nagging doubt over the stowage of his yacht’s anchor rode turned out
to be a premonition of a dangerous passage for Dr Charles Godden
48 Practical Boat Owner • http://www.pbo.co.uk
LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE