4 Kidneys and a Wonky Leg

After the minor success of yeaterday We took our boat from Poole Harbour down to Portland Harbour for a weekend of sailing. The weather forecast was for light easterly winds on Saturday, veering round to the west on Sunday.

Friday night hadn’t been very quiet as there is little shelter from the east and neither of us slept very well. The morning was bright if a little overcast at first and we made an early start in order to catch the tide at least as far as Durlston Point.

We dipped into Swanage Bay just to check our mooring was OK to come back to. The pick up was there although it looked a little tangled up.

There were surprisingly few boats out and it took several hours to get to Portland. We arrived at around 2:30pm and anchored near to Castle Cove Sailing Club.

The boat seemed to be in good shape. On the way we had got all the sails up and tried them out, not that there was enough wind to sail, but happily all the ropes were in the right place and everything checked out. On our arrival, the engine had stalled as we slowed down from the cruise speed to idle, which was a bit of a worry. Once anchored, I checked the water separator and checked oil levels on the engine. There was some water in the fuel, but that’s not all that unusual.

Soon after we arrived we noticed a harbour seal playing around with some divers about 50 yards away from the boat and it stayed around, on and off, until it got dark. Each boat that anchored got a bit of a welcome from it. Maybe the anchors disturbed food, who knows.

Saturday night, we slept much better. We got underway by 9:00am, . Not far from the harbour, there was enough wind to sail. As sailing dead downwind is not our best point of sail, we broadened the run a little, even if it meant sailing off course. It’s just more fun when you go faster.

In fact, we had enough wind to sail almost all the way home, the wind eventually giving up at Peveril Ledge. So, just a few hundred yards motoring to the mooring buoy.

The mooring buoy itself was a nightmare. Several ropes had been attached and everything was tangled. The knife had to come into play. Eventually, we sorted it out, got the bridle on, and got off to shore. By this timehowever, I was covered in slimy seaweed and smelt of fish.

Overall, it was a great weekend. The weather was good, the sailing was fun, and we saw some amazing wildlife. We’re already planning our next trip!