2020 strikes again
An updated version of this blog is available at my updated blog site over at www.sailingsouth.org. You can find the blog article here.
The sailing season that was supposed to be 2020 was limping towards its end. It was October and I had no winter storage sorted in Poole harbour. I was paying for a berth on the river Hamble that I hadn't been able to get to. And there were definite signs that the country was going to return to a state of lockdown as Covid-19 infection rates got worse again.
I had one week of holiday left where I had the chance to get Isosceles to her new home, I even had crew to go with me if things got a little dicey with the new engine. I had concerns over a build up of condensation in the fuel tank that the new filters were picking up, water in a diesel engine really does not go well. All we had to do was one day sail across to the Isle of Wight, either over night at Yarmouth and then head on, or go straight on to the Hamble if we could get the weather and tide right.As we sat outside the bar on the first weekend, the weather forecast was not looking great for the next couple of days, so we wouldn't be rushing off on the Sunday morning, but we would meet up on the Sunday evening to see how the weather forecast looked.
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| Friends Dave and Lydia enjoying a break from the rough weather out on the water. |
This was to become a regular pattern, the weather promised to improve in a couple of days time, but by the time those couple of days had gone past, the promised improvement was still a couple of days away. At one point myself and Daren on the boat next to me gave up and went to stay on shore. If I hadn't been so desperate to get Isosceles moved I would have given up and gone home.
As the week went by I began to look at alternative arrangements. A winters layup in Poole while still paying for the mooring in the Hamble was a couple of thousand pounds I could no longer afford. There were a couple of options for delivery skippers to move Isosceles for me, not the cheapest option, but better than the alternative. I still kept hoping for a break in the weather, but it was looking less and less likely, and I had to be back at work the following week.
As more and more storm systems moved through I knew this was not going to happen. I arranged to put the boat into Poole Quay marina for the following week. There were definite signs of improvement in the weather in a few days time, but then there had been these signs for the past week.
Poole Sailing managed to get the boat moved over to the Hamble the following week, which at least meant I was now only paying for one mooring, for the first time since June. I also managed to make one scrambled run down to make sure she was secure in her berth ready for the winter. By now lockdown 2 was imminent, and I knew I would not be able to see my pride and joy until well into 2021.
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| Better weather in Poole Harbour. It is a glorious place to sit and relax when the weather is good. |
As the week went by I began to look at alternative arrangements. A winters layup in Poole while still paying for the mooring in the Hamble was a couple of thousand pounds I could no longer afford. There were a couple of options for delivery skippers to move Isosceles for me, not the cheapest option, but better than the alternative. I still kept hoping for a break in the weather, but it was looking less and less likely, and I had to be back at work the following week.
As more and more storm systems moved through I knew this was not going to happen. I arranged to put the boat into Poole Quay marina for the following week. There were definite signs of improvement in the weather in a few days time, but then there had been these signs for the past week.
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| Finally on her new mooring at Swanwick on the Hamble, after a long and difficult few years |
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| The view may not be as spectacular, but the convenience outweighs the loss of a view |
On the final Saturday Dave and I made arrangements to move both of our boats down to the Marina. Ironically that was the one day we had good weather all week, and the move down the harbour was an easy potter, and then one last dinner in Lakeyard before returning to the world of work.
Poole Sailing managed to get the boat moved over to the Hamble the following week, which at least meant I was now only paying for one mooring, for the first time since June. I also managed to make one scrambled run down to make sure she was secure in her berth ready for the winter. By now lockdown 2 was imminent, and I knew I would not be able to see my pride and joy until well into 2021.
Swanwick Marina is a nice place, but it does feel like a big car park.
Still, at least now I have a working boat, in a place that is cheaper and easier to access.
