Impromptu Summer Cruise

Well to quote a well known Shakespearian phrase “to cruise or not to cruise”, this was the dilemma the crew of Cleo had this year.

We had been planning all summer to join in the Channel isle cruise and had planned 3 weeks holidays leaving us a week to cross the channel to Cherbourg and have time to explore and perhaps catch the train to Paris for a few days. However with the weather being so poor this year left my with the thought that if we got caught out I would be left sailing on my own for the rest of my life!

So having watched the forecast, we decided that there was little sign of much improvement for the next few weeks we opted for plan B -10 days in Ireland and home on the Thursday, and if the weather settled we would have another 12 days pottering and maybe head a little west!

The key to this was that nothing was going to be planned so nothing could go wrong!

We flew home on Thursday 2nd August to find there was a small high pressure filling from the west and the weather would settle for the next few weeks. Brilliant!

I had taken the liberty of sending out a “round robin” to all the local boats and had said that we were about and would be In Wootton creek on the Friday night and on Saturday we would be in Newtown creek if anyone would like to join in.

The wind was from the north and we had a lovely sail making good speed and were tide up in Weymouth at 1045hrs (the only way to sail).

We spent 2 days in Weymouth and by then we all had enough and started our leisurely cruise eastwards. John Coyle who had organized the original Dorset cruise had some great ideas which we took up. As the wind was northerly it made this coast a pleasure to potter along.

We had lunch at Osmington Mills’s and 2 lovely nights in Lulworth cove and a visit to the pub up the hill. Studland, on the Thursday night, was the beginning of the Banks's Arms beer festival which we all enjoyed as we had not ever been here at the same time. Friday had us back into the upper reaches of Newtown creek and to view to fireworks of the end of Cowes week.

All in all a great week, we did not have to beat anywhere the sun shone and we swam off the boat –well a few of us did! And good times good food and good company, the best thing was nothing planned so nothing went wrong!!