Drascombe Association: Chichester Rally, 27-30 May, 2016
Sunset over Chichester Marina
This was my first visit to Chichester Harbour and its environs; a Drascombe Association rally seemed too good an opportunity to miss. It really is a splendid Drascombing location and it's not difficult to see why south coast Drascombers enjoy this location as much as they do. We were based in Chichester Marina which provides lock-based access to the harbour.
The marina is extremely well-appointed and, perhaps unsurprisingly, wasn't cheap, although we apparently had a special weekend deal - three days for £60, berthing, slipway use and car/trailer parking.
Winds for the three days were northerly, the weather being truly exceptional for the first two days of sailing.
The following video gives a flavour of the event.
Most boats arrived either by land or by sea on Friday 27th May. Work commitments and bank holiday traffic delayed my arrival until very late that same evening, so I slept aboard with the boat on the trailer and launched at 7am the following morning.
Slipway at Chichester Marina
The rally involved two days of sailing around the harbour with visits to East Head on Saturday and the Thorney Channel on Sunday; at this point, the rally ended with some leaving, others planning an extended cruise as a postlude. Despite a forecast of increasing winds, I tagged on a solo trip taking in the Emsworth Channel on the Monday morning before recovering the boat and trailing home.
Overall track 46.9nm: yellow (Saturday) 15.7nm; red (Sunday) 14.5nm; green (Monday) 16.7nm.
This was a first opportunity to try out my new chart plotter, the Garmin Echomap 45dv. It also has the potential for attaching a transducer and this may well interest me in due course since my current echo sounder has broken down. However, as can be seen from the tracks, the chart plotter is working well and has lots of interesting functions with which I should spend time gaining familiarity.
Saturday 28th May - trip to East Head
Unusually, I had the pleasure of company in the guise of the Chair of the Association, over from Ireland without boat. We sailed downstream for a planned lunchtime anchorage off East Head before my crew jumped ship to join the ex-Chair in his boat.
I beat a passage upstream as far as Del Quay before retiring to the marina.
Dabber action!
Saturday track: 15.7nm
Sunday 29th May - trip up the Thorney Channel
Today's trip involved a trip up the Thorney Channel aiming, amongst other things, to catch a glimpse of seals. In the event, we saw one, although of these wonderful creatures are such a common sight in my usual sailing areas, I wasn't disappointed. Again, I had company for the trip to Thorney and back.
Lunchtime anchorage off the Thorney Channel
Having parted company with crew mid-afternoon, I anchored off Copperas Point for a while, watching boats on their way up to Dell Quay before setting off myself under full (albeit not particularly well-set) main for another beat past Dell Quay, retiring once again to the marina for supper.
Coasters Blue Peter and Nonsuch rafting up off Copperas Point
Amongst other entertainment in the evening, I admired nesting birds using the boom ends of the two neighbouring boats to my own - footage of this can be seen in the video above. I wonder how often those boats are used...
Sunday track: 14.5nm
Monday 30th May - solo trip up the Emsworth Channel
Freshening winds were forecast today so, with the rally now officially ended, I departed early aiming to take in the western wing of the harbour - the Emsworth Channel.
Itchenor
I sailed with the ebb along to East Head before rounding the corner just off Hayling Island. Now pointing into the wind and against the ebbing tide, I resorted to motor for the long northerly trip up to Emsworth. Once there, I thought about stopping at the visitor jetty but decided the strengthening breeze merited an early return to base - there would be plenty to do, hauling out the boat ahead of a three and a half hour road trip back home.
This is a log of sailing activities aboard Daisy II, a 22ft Drascombe Coaster No.280. Formerly named Aquarius, she was built in July 1997 by Honnor Marine(UK) Ltd of Totnes, Devon. The original Daisy, a Devon Lugger, was purchased in 2005 following an unexpectedly early opportunity to realise a mid-life crisis! Daisy II, with cabin, afforded more scope for overnight stops, and was purchased at the end of 2006.
For several seasons she was moored at Pin Mill on the River Orwell, Suffolk. More recently, the trailer sailing option, utilising a versatile ‘roller coaster’ road trailer, has extended the sailing range. Over the years, we have sailed from various locations off the south coast from Cornwall to Hampshire, a number of inland reservoirs and the Norfolk Broads. However, her key stamping ground is the east coast, usually based around the Harwich area and reaching destinations ranging from North Kent up to Southwold, whilst also launching on the North Norfolk coast at Wells next the Sea. Most recently, a trip from Harwich to Whitby has served only further to whet the appetite: perhaps, one day, Daisy II might complete her journey, in small stages of course, around the UK!
Now that looks like fun!!
ReplyDeleteIndeed it was, Curt! Many thanks for reading and commenting!
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