Dell Quay Sailing Club

Newtown Informal Rally & BBQ May 31st 2022

With good weather forecast earlier in the week Treble C and Fairwind made plans to head west on Monday 30 May and rendezvous in Newtown Creek for a get together and beach BBQ on Tuesday.
Fairwind enjoyed a good close reach all the way to Beaulieu River where they picked up a visitors buoy opposite the Beaulieu River SC for the night.  These are now charged out at £2.50 /m and not the £10 flat rate as before.  Treble C popped into East Cowes for the night.

Treble C made a very early start to carry the last of the ebb tide into Newtown, Fairwind left a bit later and had to tack inshore to stay out of the tide. Martin Watson in Frith was leaving Newtown in company as Fairwind entered in a heavy rain shower and picked up a mooring that was very convenient for the proposed BBQ site. Treble C’s crew had a trip in the dinghy up on the tide to Shalfleet for coffee and lunch in the New Inn. Fairwind’s crew checked out the shop (still open all hours) and made a trip to the Newtown boathouse slip to collect water from the tap in the hedge at the end of the wooden bridge followed by a spot of fishing.

The BBQ site was selected and about to be set up when the heavens opened and Fairwind’s crew scuttled back to the boat and a decision was made to cook aboard. Treble C’s crew were picked up and ferried to Fairwind later and enjoyed a drink and cake to celebrate Sue’s birthday in sunshine in the cockpit.  

Wednesday dawned bright and sunny and both boats left early, Treble C bound for Portsmouth whilst Fairwind motored to Cowes with a spring tide under her and sailed under genoa from the Forts back to her mooring.

Sue Pearson

Bembridge Rally Saturday 14th May 2022

10 yachts set off for Bembridge (Tim on Firebird arrived a day before) making 11 yachts in all ranging from 22ft to 36ft, with the wind on the bow as usual! Mandalay left Chichester Marina 08.00 hrs an hour earlier than planned to be in Bembridge before the fleet, only to be beaten by a number of yachts. We motored against the reducing tide and passed over the bar just before high water. Two thirds across the Solent we manage to sail the rest of the way to St Helen Fort at the entrance to Bembridge in sunshine. We arrived in Bembridge at 12.16 hrs with a number of Dell Quay already moored up and the remaining arriving during the next hour. The yachts leaving Dell Quay later had a much better sail across the Solent and some sailed all of the way.
The following yachts enjoyed the rally:
Opus IV; Hi Time; Moody Maid; Hobo; Snoopy, Mandalay; Firebird; Jacob faithful; Laudi; Osprey and Piquant from Bosham SC.

Having all arrived we turned our minds to socialising with pre-dinner drinks from 17.30hrs to 18.30 hrs. Bembridge Harbour Authority reserved most of the marque on the quay for us but as it was sunny we sat outside looking over the harbour and at our boats.

At 18.30hrs a water Taxi was waiting to take those not walking to Brading Haven Sailing Club for our evening meal.

Our meal was pre-ordered with the service and food being very acceptable. Brading Haven made us most welcome. We all had a lovely walk back in a moon lit evening along the salt pan walls. A really good social with good company.

On Sunday most boats left between 08.00 and 09.00 hrs missing out on the bacon and egg baps on the quay to get back to Dell Quay for high water at 11.43hrs. All returned safely despite a wet sail home with the wind on the bow!! That’s sailing for you. We had a lovely weekend rally with Bembridge Harbour and Brading Haven Yacht Club making Dell Quay very welcome.

Thank you to all on the rally that helped make it such a good event.

Martin Greenhalgh
Mandalay        20/05/2022

Cruiser Rally to Beaulieu Tuesday 3rd  – Wednesday 4th May 2022

Five cruisers, Hobo, Mandalay, Fairwind, Osprey and Frith left from various locations within Chichester Harbour and the Solent to meet up at the Beaulieu River Marina at Buckler’s Hard.

The day was grey and windless with little marine traffic about so engines and auto-helms were put to good use. There was some excitement around Portsmouth as we spotted two naval frigates, HMS Somerset at anchor and HMS Lancaster under way plus a patrol boat.  Hobo passed close to SV Tenacious anchored off Lee-on-the-Solent.  This is an impressive 65m three-masted barque, launched in 2000 and owned by the Jubilee Sailing Trust.

Frith was the first to arrive, having drifted up on the tide from Newtown, Fairwind, Mandalay, Osprey and Hobo all arrived shortly after and by 14:30 we were all secured alongside the southern Visitors H pontoon.  

A BBQ had been booked and although there was a period of rain in the afternoon we were optimistic that it would brighten up and be dry later.

Which indeed it was! We all had a very convivial evening with good food freshly BBQ’d and Toby (the dog) did rather well out of it.

Wednesday dawned bright and sunny with the promise of a fair sailing breeze later in the day. 

Mandalay was first away, slipping quietly out of her berth astern, followed in turn by the rest of the rally boats.

A gentle following breeze and flood tide carried us up past Cowes toward Portsmouth where the wind died and it became much busier with Isle of Wight ferries and container ships so a burst of engine power for an hour or so to get beyond the Forts where the wind filled in to a F4 as promised resulting in a splendid sail with the wind off the aft quarter all the way back into the harbour and up to the moorings.
Sue Pearson, Fairwind of Dell Quay.

Photos by: Pam Foden, Sue and Barrie Pearson