14 July 2008
Hilary's Blog - 14 July 2008
Yesterday we got up at 4am for a 6am departure. I don't think anybody, least of all the guys from Berthon, who have been just fantastic, could believe we were actually leaving! Ben and his family (albeit that the girls were looking slightly sleepy), Melvyn and Darren and his family all turned up as promised which was lovely.. Ben got the whole crew on the RIB and played Blondie's "The Tide is High" to send us on our way.
It's great to have made such good friends. It was a marathon sail. Although it's only slightly further in miles from Lymington to Portland than Dover to Eastbourne, it took us 12.5hrs as opposed to 9hrs. Arty's keel has begun to move in it's casing, which means that we lose 0.1 knots for every clunk. It may not sound a lot, but it keeps me sailing just slightly further away from the wind to avoid stalling.
The other reason it was a tougher sail is that we had the wind on the nose for the whole trip. By the time we made it to Weymouth Bay, the tide had gone against us so we had to go around the outside rather than straight across.
It's great to finally be moving and the weather is looking good for a sail the day after tommorrow. In the meantime the sailing centre here is looking after us whist building up for the 2012 Olympics. As usual we were met last night by a Lion, but today they turned up in force with the Mayor in tow! They made a very generous donation to Hilary's Dream Trust, so it's great to know that their money will go to a good cause. Wherever we go we find Lions who are helpful, supportive and generous with their time. It makes me feel very proud to be a member.
Page last updated on 20 July 2008 at 11:01