Rally Report – `Bembridge – 7th September 2013
Work In Progress !!
A personal view, by Stuart Gaunt (organiser)
The GXSA sailing season in 2013 had been quite full. From my own perspective, I had organised and attended the Channel Island Cruise, which had only returned two weeks before the Bembridge Rally was due to happen. Most of my attention over the summer had been focused on making sure that the Channel Island Cruise was a success, and frankly, the Bembridge Rally got short shrift.
Whether it was the proximity of the previous cruise, the time of the holiday season, the poor advertising, or something else, we had just four boats attending, three of whom had been on the Channel Cruise.
That said, so long as anybody turns up, yotties can make a good time of it. In practice, boats rarely have more than 15 people on-board at one time, and over a dinner party you can rarely talk to more than 10 people whilst eating. So, rather than a large party spread over several boats and dinner tables, we had a small party where everybody got together on fewer boats and dining tables. In the end, it turned out to be just as much fun as a larger rally.
Who came along? Here’s a list, for posterity
| Boat | Crew | Boat | Crew | |
| Sunfleur | Mark Gardener | Beyond Belief | Gerry Knight | |
| Felix |
Ray Prowse |
Coldplay |
Stuart Gaunt Sue Gaunt Llewellyn Watkins Morag Watkins Steve Daish |
Coldplay (our Bavaria 37) is based on a swinging mooring in Gosport, so Bembridge is a short hop across the water. We decided to depart Gosport on Saturday morning, and had an excellent sail on a beam reach to St Helens.. As is usual in our case, we took longer to set off than intended, and with a falling tide, we knew that we would need to make good time, if we were to get over the drying entrance.
Fortunately, we had a good wind (F4-F5), on the beam and, in-spite of our heavily fouled hull (more of that another time), we
had a lovely sail over.
For myself, this was the first time that I had an opportunity to make use of the weather lore that cumulus clouds indicate a change in wind direction and strength (yes, I know we all know this intellectually, but how much do we know it in practice). Anyway, approaching St Helens in the sun, I saw a cloud, reefed, and charged on without any drama. [editor: that’s the problem with sailing: No mistakes = No drama]
We arrived in Bembridge to find the harbour full of Old Gaffers, but Malcolm ??? (harbourmaster) had reserved some space for us, so we pulled in with no problem.
The traditional GXSA Pontoon Party started early; Gerry Knight had been saving champagne purchased to celebrate the repatriation of Beyond Belief until the crew were reunited…and today was the day!! Not wanting to miss a good party, all the rally-goers climbed aboard Gerry’s Sigma 362, for a spot of fizz, and the red stuff (this was the start of my own downfall).
After the party aboard Beyond Belief, we made our way to the “Baywatch on the Beach” restaurant.
The food was excellent, served from their a la carte menu, but there appeared to be a leak in my wine glass, because it kept emptying itself!! Baywatch really can be recommended.
And so, to bed….
Then up really early in the morning – at least, I was up early (that’s how wine affects me). Strangely, I was the only person walking around at 05:00 on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful day; please enjoy some of my early morning photos.
Here are some interesting photos of the entrance to Bembridge at low water, at dawn. I guess that not many people have seen this view of the place:
When all the laggards finally woke up, it was time for breakfast, then we went off for a morning constitutional walk – no exit from Bembridge until HW-3 (lunchtime).
We took a walk back down to Baywatch on the Beach, and carried along the beach, until we were forced to climb up and over a promontory , through the woods. It was at this point that the heavens opened, and we spent a while sheltering under trees, until the rain stopped. Sandra Prowse had been wise enough to bring a brolly, but the rest of us had to make do with leaves!!
Eventually, the rain stopped, the walk continued, and we all had a good time, chatting, as you do.
It turned out to be quite a long walk, and we were all happy when Bembridge harbour came back into view.
The walk (and the rain) had consumed most of the morning, so we had a very quick lunch, before setting off.
The journey back from Bembridge to Gosport was quite uneventful, but a very pleasant sail.
My overriding memories of the Bembbridge Rally are:
Good Company
Food and Drink
•Walking round Bembridge at stupid’o’clock in the morning
•Another good walk on the Isle of Wight
•…and a very pleasant sail
Good times !!
